Public Address 8 February 2013 - Free and Legal

Monday, 11 February 2013, 10:23 am
Column: Public Address

Public Address 8 February 2013 - Free and Legal

Friday Music: Free and Legal
9:21 Feb 8, 2013 in Hard News by Russell Brown
Imagine if public libraries provided free music of all kinds to their members, to keep, in an orderly, accessible and thoroughly legal fashion. Well, you don't have to imagine it: that been the case at Auckland Libraries for the past…
http://publicaddress.net/hardnews/friday-music-free-and-legal/

A four-year parliamentary term?
8:50 Feb 8, 2013 in Legal Beagle by Graeme Edgeler 17
The Constitutional Advisory Panel has kicked off its public consultation efforts. One of the issues the panel will look into is the term of Parliament, most likely by assessing whether it should be increased to four years, and whether…
http://publicaddress.net/legalbeagle/a-four-year-parliamentary-term/

The economic revue comes to Christchurch
8:44 Feb 8, 2013 in Hard News by Russell Brown 1
I've sometimes struggled for a description of The Voyage of a Lifetime, but it came to me today: it's an economic revue. An accessible, entertaining and bloody serious account of New Zealand's economic position and possible future. As the host…
http://publicaddress.net/hardnews/the-economic-revue-comes-to-christchurch/

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Franklin Lamb: The End Of Syria As We Know It? Why Obama Is Declaring War

The short answer is Iran and Hezbollah according to Congressional sources. “The Syrian army’s victory at al-Qusayr was more than the administration could accept given that town’s strategic position in the region. Its capture by the Assad forces has essentially added Syria to Iran’s list of victories... More>>

Paul Bruce: Why Light Rail Must Go Ahead In Wellington

In introducing a debate on Wellington’s future, the Dominion Post challenged us to think about big changes. The current transport model has failed to deliver, and all the recent studies show more of the same is going to make things worse. We need a different approach if we want a vibrant, economically successful city. More>>

Binoy Kampmark: Edward Snowden: Whistleblowing At The NSA

He has been so naughty, at least in the eyes of the security establishment. The British are up in arms about what information is being obtained on their citizens via U.S. channels. Foreign Secretary William Hague has tried dousing the fires, claiming that GCHQ’s alleged involvement in the global surveillance program PRISM did not involve any circumvention of the law. More>>

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Undernews - NSA Spygate Special
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Martha Rosenberg: A Little Arsenic Never Hurt Anyone, Says US Chicken Industry

A study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found detectable levels of arsenic in chicken from grocery stores in 10 American cities, including in organic chickens. If the drug were fed to all chickens, over 100 US deaths would result from arsenic-related lung and bladder cancers, report the authors. More>>

Franklin Lamb: The West To Pay A High Price For Targeting The Syrian Govt

A number of analysts and security experts who specialize in intelligence and security subjects in Lebanon and France have expressed this week shock at the way many Western authorities, including several in Europe and the United States, are avoiding engagement with the Syrian authorities and thus missing important avenues to help end the crisis in Syria. More>>

Andrea Brower: Coming Soon To Your Backyard, Monsanto And Gang!

When the handful of corporations set on owning, controlling and über-profiting from our common seed heritage — Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont, Dow, BASF and Bayer — began experimenting with their proprietary chemicals and genetically engineered crops in Hawaii in the 1990s, barely a peep was made. Two decades later, we can’t even convince our Hawaii state government... More>>

Greenpeace: The Video Every Kiwi Should See

John Wathen is an award winning photojournalist who recently toured Aotearoa recounting his experience both on the ground and in the air documenting the catastrophic 2011 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. John flew out over the gulf in a light plane and captured the event as it was unfolding resulting in some amazing footage and images of the worst environmental disaster in American history. More>>

Mitchel Cohen: For Each & Every Warrior Whose Strength Is Not To Fight

The weakness of strategies based on Lowest Common Denominatorism was in full evidentiary blossom during the 1991 bombardment of Iraq, re-packaged as “the Gulf war.” “Support Our Troops, Not the War!” insisted the National Campaign for Peace in the Middle East, which grew out of the old National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam... More>>