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15.5K posts
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@Head_Weasel
Just your average kiwi bloke...with an extra helping of unusual humour. Criticising biased media doesn't mean I'm RW Tweets do not define me - so don't try.
Many people discovered The Taxpayers' Union today after they attempted to criticize the government funding of @davidfarrier & @DylanReeve's critically acclaimed and financially profitable documentary 'Tickled.' So for the initiated, here's a primer on The TPU. Thread 🧵 1/
A couple of days ago I made comments supporting Maiki Sherman — and I stand by those comments. But now it’s time to go further because there are still legitimate questions that remain unanswered. Firstly, Lloyd Burr now has serious questions to answer himself because there are obvious gaps emerging in what has been publicly presented and discussed. Secondly, it was completely inappropriate for someone who was not even present at the event to release details publicly. It is increasingly clear that parts of this saga have been agenda-driven from the outset, with selective narratives pushed before all facts were known. Thirdly, there is the conduct of the Minister of Finance. I personally believe it is entirely inappropriate for a Minister to be hosting what has been described as a booze-fuelled gathering inside a ministerial office in the first place. The public are entitled to expect better judgement and professionalism from those in positions of power. And finally — the closure of the BSA may well have been politically driven, but to the bloggers, self-styled “journalists”, influencers and online pile-on merchants now weaponising social media: Be careful. New Zealand law still applies online. Defamation laws exist. The Harmful Digital Communications Act exists. The Harassment Act exists. People cannot simply publish material designed to deliberately humiliate, intimidate or cause serious emotional harm without potential consequences. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from accountability. The online lynch mob culture that has emerged in this country is becoming toxic, dangerous and reckless. Enough is enough. #Media #Politics #Accountability #NZMedia #MaikiSherman #Defamation #HarmfulDigitalCommunications #Aotearoa #SocialMedia #Justice
Tough economic conditions for media companies, failures around the Official Information Act and online harassment of journalists seem to be indicators for why NZ's press freedom score has fallen
Serious questions need to be asked about the Green Party’s standards after selecting Michel Mulipola as their candidate for Māngere. His social media is full of vile abuse: calling police “cunts” and “pigs” while laughing at them, labelling a minister “a piece of shit,” and sharing grotesque cartoons that depict one minister with faeces streaming from his eyes and an anus for a mouth, while another is shown as a baboon with the minister’s face on its rear. He has incited outrage against a Samoan woman simply for volunteering with the IDF, celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination, issued threats, promoted his own “Death, death to the IDF” t-shirts, edited a video purporting to show Israel shooting a small child, and casually referred to Hamas as “armed resistance” and “a misnomer” — ignoring its designation as a terrorist organisation, its structured military wing, and its tactics and ideology. He has even labelled democracy itself a “red flag” and dismissed peace in Gaza and a two-state solution as a “cop-out.” The list goes on and on. It simply beggars belief that the Greens consider this kind of violent, toxic behaviour suitable for a potential Member of Parliament. How can a party that claims to stand for compassion, justice, and democracy possibly endorse someone who so brazenly glorifies violence, dehumanises opponents, and rejects the very democratic values he would swear to uphold? This is not political passion; it is poison.