Mosque shooting, Christchurch NZ

[Ozlsn]

49 minutes ago, Black Aliss said:

Still, there have to be enough people who do agree with him that he was elected in the first place

Yes, and also no. This is where we get into the bizarre part of our electoral system. In the Upper House, which Anning is not part of, it's pretty straightforward. You have candidates for each district, you number them in order of preference, you distribute votes in order of preference until one candidate has a winnable majority. 

The Senate on the other hand has much larger state-based districts, what is known as group-based voting and above/below the line voting. How it used to work until 2016 was that you could either number all the boxes for all the candidates below the line to ensure your preferred order of candidates, or you could choose a box for a party above the line, which meant that you were opting to follow that party's often opaque preference dealings with other parties. Unsurprisingly most people opted for one box, rather than numbering up to 120 boxes (me, on the other hand...) After the Motoring Enthusiasts Party scored a seat with only 0.51% of the vote (17,122 votes) the rules were changed to require limited preferential voting above (minimum 6 preferences) and below  (minimum 12 preferences) the line to better reflect voter preferences.

And so we get to Anning. Anning started off with One Nation, in their third spot on the ticket. He got 19 first preference votes. The first two spots managed to get enough votes and preferences to be elected (#1 spot, Pauline Hanson, got over 20,000 first preference votes, #2 spot, Malcolm Roberts, got 77 first preference votes.) 

Roberts however fell foul of the citizenship requirements (which went kind of batshit crazy for a while) and had to step down from Parliament. Traditionally when that happens the vacant spot is filled by the next spot of that Party's ticket - enter Anning, the 19 vote wonder.

Anning promptly spat the dummy, quit One Nation, was Independent, joined yet another batshit Queensland vanity Party run by Bob Katter, got kicked out of there after four months for being a Nazi racist, and is now an Independent again. Personally I feel he should have been kicked out of the Senate at the point he left One Nation - I have no love for them either, but that Senate spot was to their party, not an Independent. (Although given how godawful their 3rd party ticket placer holder was... who knows what #4 would be like.)

So tl;dr: his election is dubious as hell, and hopefully Queenslanders will vote him the fuck out. Even more hopefully he and his thugs will start being investigated for terrorist sympathies, being placed on watchlists etc etc. 

 

[adidas]

1 hour ago, Black Aliss said:

I'm sure they don't agree with him just as I'd like to believe that most Australians don't agree with Fraser Anning's sentiment that if there were no Muslims in NZ, there wouldn't be any anti-muslim violence. Still, there have to be enough people who do agree with him that he was elected in the first place. Just like there have to be enough Iowans in the 4th congressional district to keep electing Steven King.

I see your point, but Fraser Anning was elected with 19 votes. 

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.news.com.au/national/politics/19-people-got-this-bloke-a-200k-job/news-story/f8d8aaa83f0c2bcab53626455a3698d6

It’s ridiculous. 

Edit: I cross posted with @Ozlsn

[Vivi_music]

I was horrified to see something happening in such a peaceful country as New Zealand. I have a good friend down there and we chatted a bit online just to see how he is. He is not in the Christchurch area so he is physically safe and I know is familly is okay too. But he has been in complete shock since it happened. As someone who remembers the Quebec City Mosque shooting, I knew that sentiment of disbelief... the thought that it would never happen in your own country.

What was also complety horrifying were some comments I saw criculating around my FB feed. Some digusting, disgraceful Islamophobic comments posted on the Facebook pages of mainstream media, not some alt-right dark source. A lot of these comments have been removed by Facebook page moderators pretty fast but some people were able to screenshot them. And these people should totally be exposed. It is scary but real. Hate is present in the more dark corners of the web yes, but it is also present in your next door neighbor who watches the night news on CBC. ?

[Ozlsn]

45 minutes ago, Vivi_music said:

What was also complety horrifying were some comments I saw criculating around my FB feed

The comment that made me pause was saying that they should have carried out another massacre at Gosford Anglican Church. But then agsin, Nazis have always exterminated people who challenged them - Fr Rod should be proud. 

[Captain Obvious]

8 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

Unsurprisingly most people opted for one box, rather than numbering up to 120 boxes (me, on the other hand...)  

Only 120 boxes? I dream of only numbering 120 boxes. How about 346 in the NSW election...

[AmazonGrace]

1.5 million people wanted their aunt to see 48 dead Muslims.

 

[Ozlsn]

@Captain ObviousI see you number the same way I do, beginning with who do I hate most. You, you or... definitely you. Also why hasn't Latham just gone yet??

[Gobbles]

I saw parts of the video by accident and it is scary how easy a young child or anyone else who deals with stuff like that in a different way could stumble over it. It was posted as a comment under an article (breaking news kind of thing from a normal German magazine) on Twitter, autoplay on and there you have it.. I reported the tweet asap and it took a while until it was deleted.

 

[dora]

I attended the vigil in Wellington, along with tens of thousands of others. 

I was off work with a sick kid when it happened. Going to work today is going to be weird. Part of of our team deals with claims of international students, and I expect we will have at least one fatal claim. It's going to be a really tough day for that team.

[Ozlsn]

Sky New Zealand pulled Sky News Australia off the air because they kept playing the live video.

Good. I hope this impacts heavily on Murdoch. 

[Smee]

There’s a Change.org petition to remove Fraser Anning from the senate - over a million signatures so far, so that’s what, 999980 more than the people who voted for him?

Has anyone reported whether the guns used in the attack were obtained legally? I remember the guns used in Port Arthur weren’t legally owned by the shooter even under the existing legislation. Not that I have the slightest issue with NZ getting rid of semi-automatics. Just that gun culture in NZ is VERY different to the US as it is.

[thoughtful]

On 3/16/2019 at 6:59 PM, adidas said:

I’ve always been told that if the fingers point down it’s the circle game - if the fingers point up it’s white power. Considering he spoke about dozens of memes in his manifesto it’s probably a ‘funny’ (in his opinion) mash up

Considering what this piece of shit did, I imagine he meant it as a white power sign. It looks like his restraint belt may have prevented his flipping his hand fully upward, which may explain the downward position.

[nvmbr02]

1 hour ago, Smee said:

Has anyone reported whether the guns used in the attack were obtained legally? I remember the guns used in Port Arthur weren’t legally owned by the shooter even under the existing legislation. Not that I have the slightest issue with NZ getting rid of semi-automatics. Just that gun culture in NZ is VERY different to the US as it is.

It appears they were sold legally, though I am sure they will investigate further. 

 

[Captain Obvious]

15 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

@Captain ObviousI see you number the same way I do, beginning with who do I hate most. You, you or... definitely you. Also why hasn't Latham just gone yet??

Definitely think about who I want to put last, that’s the best part. 

The annoying thing is - I meant to put Leyonhjelm (libertarian sexist gun-fucker) second-last, but I actually fucked up the numbering and wrote 345 twice. By that stage the election office had closed and the officers were looking pissed off - it took 20 minutes to number all the boxes - so I couldn’t fix it. Damn.

The sad thing is, when the media keeps giving Latham airtime and softball interviews, he’s going to get in easily.

[FluffySnowball]

Both images hit home in the sense that the connection seems so obvious. 

However, I’m grateful for the PM’s dignified reaction and the sense that NZ as a whole appears to stand together instead of being divided. Also, efforts to humanize the victims and make their names and stories known are successful. They deserve it! I’m heartbroken. 

[Glasgowghirl]

3 hours ago, FluffySnowball said:

Both images hit home in the sense that the connection seems so obvious. 

However, I’m grateful for the PM’s dignified reaction and the sense that NZ as a whole appears to stand together instead of being divided. Also, efforts to humanize the victims and make their names and stories known are successful. They deserve it! I’m heartbroken. 

People here in the UK were comparing the Daily Mails headlines about the shooter and the headlines they have made about footballer Raheem Sterling, the daily mail commented on how angelic a child the shooter looked angelic as a child and how tragic it was his dad died while he was a child. They seem to love writing bad headlines about Raheem Sterling they even criticised him for buying his mother a house, when a black footballer receives more negative headlines than white terrorist then that shows how racist certain UK newspapers are.

[KeshetParparNesicha]

And just like that, New Zealand has banned semi-automatic weapons, assault rifles, and high-capacity magazines. Gosh, did they even try thoughts and prayers?

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/03/christchurch-terror-attack-jacinda-ardern-announces-ban-on-semi-automatic-weapons.html

[Ozlsn]

'Bugger off', NZ ex-police minister tells National Rifle Association

Spoiler

Christchurch: A New Zealand MP and former police minister has told the National Rifle Association to "bugger off" out of the nation's affairs as it prepares to introduce sweeping gun law reforms. National Party MP Judith Collins said that when she sought to introduce gun law reforms during her two stints as police minister, she was inundated by lobbying from a small, vocal and passionate group of lobbyists from New Zealand’s gun industry.

She told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that these lobbyists typically directed massive amounts of material that appeared to be sourced directly from the National Rifle Association to her office and those of other MPs. “They talked about how we were trying to take away their Second Amendment rights to own guns. We don’t have a right to bear arms. To own a gun in New Zealand is absolutely a privilege and not a right,” she said.

“When I met with these lobbyists they spoke the language of the NRA.”

She said she had again begun receiving similar material, but now deleted them without reading. “Firstly, I am no longer the police minister so I don’t have to read them. But also I know what my position is and it is not going to change. We have lost 50 people.” Earlier this week it was reported that Nicole McKee from the New Zealand Council of Licensed Firearm Owners had received messages of condolence from the NRA on the weekend after the shooting.

"The first point of correspondence has been about sharing the grief and acknowledging the terrorist attack," she told Newshub.

She said her organisation had not been given any advice on potential changes to the gun legislation. "There's been lots of offers of help which has been great, but until we understand and know what the Government intent is no one can help us with anything." Ms Collins said she fully supports the government's move to ban semi-automatic weapons with magazines that hold more than five rounds and urged the government to go further by introducing a gun registry.

She said she understood the current police minister, Stuart Nash, had begun receiving the same sort of lobbying material that she did when in the role. As police minister Ms Collins was able to introduce just two minor gun law reforms. High-powered air rifles were categorised as firearms after a police officer was shot dead with one, and pistol grips for military-style semi automatic weapons were banned to make them harder to fire from the hip. The NRA is widely viewed as America’s most feared lobby group, with the political power to shape policy simply by publishing pre-election rankings of candidate’s stance on gun policy. When American politicians step "out of line," not only does the NRA campaign against them, they typically channel massive amounts of funding to their opponents.

 

[adidas]

On 3/18/2019 at 11:10 AM, Smee said:

Has anyone reported whether the guns used in the attack were obtained legally? I remember the guns used in Port Arthur weren’t legally owned by the shooter even under the existing legislation. Not that I have the slightest issue with NZ getting rid of semi-automatics. Just that gun culture in NZ is VERY different to the US as it is.

Jacinda Ardern:

“The attacker on 15 March took a significant number of lives using primarily two guns,” Ms Ardern said on Thursday.

“They were assault rifles, and they were purchased legally on an A-category gun licence, the standard licence held by gun owners in New Zealand.

“Every semiautomatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned.”

 

[Ozlsn]

We shall speak their names.

Profiles of the victims. Lest we forget.

[Beermeet]

It's really hard to talk about this. I have an internet friend from NZ. We have been friends for 10 years. Stemming from True Blood fandom. I messaged him to ask how he was doing.  He doesn't live near Christchurch nor is he Muslim, so, I knew he was safe. It's his mindset I worried about. They know no such things there. I apologized, as an American for our shit touching his peaceful country.  I apologized that our president did nothing to condemn the shooter's actions or mention the white power/muslim hate of it all.  I'm so sad. Idk why, but this shooting has bothered me more than usual.  Is no where safe? This nasty nazi like shit has to go to NZ too. I don't want it anywhere but I'm feeling no hope here in America.  I applaud how NZ has reacted.  That's what you do when faced with such a horrendous, racist act of violence.  I'm angry we don't react like that. Our politicians don't give even 1 shit. Why, I don't know. NRA money? Illicit shit. Something.  Are they humans? I'm starting to believe in lizard people running our government at this point.  

I'm just so sorry it's spreading.  This is no way to live.

[Ozlsn]

On 3/16/2019 at 6:48 PM, nastyhobbitses said:

Strip him of his citizenship. If you're going to do that to extremists, be equal-opportunity about it, and this fucker doesn't even have the mitigating factor of being 15 when he decided to pull this shit, like Shamima Begum. 

The way the legislation is framed here is interesting. They can only strip him of legislation if it doesn't leave him stateless - if he has dual nationality or is eligible for dual nationality they can, if he doesn't or isn't they can't. It has been pointed out that it's an inherently biased piece of legislation in that Australians who were born here to parents who were born here are far less likely to have or be eligible for another citizenship than Australians who were born here to parents who migrated. (Having said that our parliamentary citizenship requirements debacle proved that possibly more people than realise it fall under the legislation's scope as countries have loosened their requirements in the last 30 or so years and more ancestors, particularly matrilineal ones, are recognised.)

[Glasgowghirl]

I wish Jacinda Ardern was the UK Prime minister right now, the way she has reacted to what happened has been brilliant and her determination to make sure the shooter doesn't get the attention he craved and the victims were remembered above everyone else is exactly what needs to be done everytime. 

I was 8 when the Dunblane shootings happened, not that far away from where I lived. Thomas Hamilton may have also killed himself that day but as a child I was still terrified of it happening at my school. Within days of it happening especially after discovering all his guns and ammunition were legally owned the government were talking about banning all handgun's and the next year John Major's government passed a law banning guns up to .22 calibre, his cabinet wouldn't support a full ban but when Tony Blair was elected a few months later he passed a bill banning all handguns. The UK is not perfect by any means but no school shootings and only one mass shooting in the 23 years since Dunblane speaks for itself.

[samurai_sarah]

On 3/22/2019 at 3:25 AM, Beermeet said:

It's really hard to talk about this. I have an internet friend from NZ. We have been friends for 10 years. Stemming from True Blood fandom. I messaged him to ask how he was doing.  He doesn't live near Christchurch nor is he Muslim, so, I knew he was safe. It's his mindset I worried about. They know no such things there. I apologized, as an American for our shit touching his peaceful country.  I apologized that our president did nothing to condemn the shooter's actions or mention the white power/muslim hate of it all.  I'm so sad. Idk why, but this shooting has bothered me more than usual.  Is no where safe? This nasty nazi like shit has to go to NZ too. I don't want it anywhere but I'm feeling no hope here in America.  I applaud how NZ has reacted.  That's what you do when faced with such a horrendous, racist act of violence.  I'm angry we don't react like that. Our politicians don't give even 1 shit. Why, I don't know. NRA money? Illicit shit. Something.  Are they humans? I'm starting to believe in lizard people running our government at this point.  

I'm just so sorry it's spreading.  This is no way to live.

This is no way to live, indeed! Hatred and fear tear all of us apart. Ardern set an admirable example against it all. And I'm with her. I'm not Kiwi, but fuck this shite.

[adidas]

Oohhhh poor diddums.

Well if you want to have access to your rights, how about you don’t go on a murder spree, you filthy terrorist. Simple.

https://www.news.com.au/world/pacific/christchurch-shooting-accused-gunman-complains-about-mistreatment-in-prison/news-story/2ad3229e6753c33f4af626d4a9711cb4

 

The man allegedly responsible for killing 50 people and wounding almost the same number in the Christchurch terror attacks has reportedly made a formal complaint from prison about being deprived of his entitlements.

...

A Corrections spokesperson confirmed today the man has “no access to television, radio or newspapers and has no approved visitors”.

“He is being managed in accordance with the provisions set out in the Corrections Act 2004 and our international obligations for the treatment of prisoners,” the spokesperson said.

“For operational security reasons, no further information will be provided.”

...

The Act also states that these entitlements can be withheld “if there is an emergency in the prison or the security of the prison is threatened or if the health or safety of any person is threatened”.

A prison director may also deny a prisoner access to the minimum entitlements if they are in segregation “for purposes of security, good order, or safety; or for the purpose of protective custody”.