But back to the issue at hand. Personally I suspect that the net has been cast far too wide and there is a lot of guilt-by-association going on. That doesn’t mean there are not genuine issues at the heart of it involving weapons training for a core of those arrested. Time will tell. But I do have a feeling (and I am not basing this on any particular knowledge, just an opinion) that the authorities may be drawing a long bow in the case of the searches in Taupo and Wellington in particular.

One thing I am 100% sure of, when all is said and done the media are going to come out looking the worst of it. You can already see from their creative use of the Police statements and absolute hysterics in terms of headlines (which then get repeated around the world, I almost choked on my cereal at breakfast in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning when I opened up The Standard and saw the article) that they have not been reporting in a responsible manner.

also, it is laughable to suggest that the Greens are dominated by people who favour anarchy. I maintain we are the most family/community/society orientated party out there (as witnessed by our strong social justice and peace stance and policies that focus on education, personal health and civics and so on). By advocating for sustainable ecology and for action on peak oil we seek to maintain a strong society rather than to have it descend through the chaos of recession, petrol and food riots, into gun law or even feudal warlords.

I argue that the Grey parties, who by refusing to face up to a finite planet, are the ones who are likely to lead us into anarchy (in the negative sense).

I’m genuinely interested JH, you seem so sensible on most issues, why do you have to then keep posting the negative attacks on Greens? Are you being influenced by the views of others? Think for yourself!

the time to complain will be if the bill remains shoddy and ill-definied (and hence overly restrictive) after select committee, which surely it won’t, and then if the Greens vote for it.

by saying “get this bill through” you seem to think that we are in the middle of second and third readings. You also seem to have bought into the hysterical scaremongering opposition to the bill, when a more sober and measured criticism of the bill is more appropriate at this stage, e.g. that of Russel Brown and Nicky Hager,
http://publicaddress.net/default,4533.sm#post4533
or Idiot Savant and Peter Dunne
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2007/10/election-funding-dunne-on-efb. html
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2007/10/election-funding-shaky.html

Can’t we all just wait until it is out of select committee and see what it contains before foaming at the mouth? I guess not unfortunately.

Hey Nick, can you answer this question?

Where did frog or Russel make up excuses for what the various arrestees are alleged to have done?

And where did they make up an anti-police conspiracy theory?

Or if you were not referring to frog or Russel, then who were you referring to?
………………………………………………………………………..

Kieth Locke said something along the lines of it being a big over reaction… not excuses but more like “no substance” with implications of police bullying..

We need to get the balance right between police state and anarchy. The Greens are dominated by types who are too far at one end.

Where did frog or Russel make up excuses for what the various arrestees are alleged to have done?

And where did they make up an anti-police conspiracy theory?

Or if you were not referring to frog or Russel, then who were you referring to?

I bet you can’t answer because you made it up that we have been making up excuses and conspiracy theories.