Interesting

What I've been browsing this chilly weekend:

Boing Boing covers NZ's Alan Gibbs' art collection.

Peter at Dub dot dash points out that Oz gyms may be reduced to playing Elvis Presley and Beethoven, as licensing fees for playing music in businesses goes stratospheric:

"Cafe and restaurant patrons could soon be eating in silence, after a proposal by Australia's largest record labels to increase the cost of background music by up to 2000 times."

On a related note, a solo mother in the US is fined almost $2 million by the copyright holders of 24 songs she shared online. The Independent lists the 24 songs that were worth so much. Top of the list is Gun N Roses' November Rain and Welcome to the Jungle. Axl Rose managed to swindle the original band members out of their copyrights dues then, so it's all business as usual here.

Jetstar Airlines gets off on the wrong foot in their opening week with rugby fans and DJs alike grounded at Auckland Airport instead of getting what they paid for.

Tony Wall digs a bit on the two men at the centre of the Napier Siege, Len Snee and Jan Molenaar.

And finally a bit from Kiwianarama on NZ, where men are men and so are the women.

You and whose army?

No Right Turn has been asking questions over the use of the Light Armoured Vehicles in the Napier Siege. While it's a common expression in NZ to "call in the army", there are very serious and explicit rules limiting the use of the armed forces in civilian situations. Search and Rescue this wasn't.

The NZ constabulary has many tools at its disposal, the Armed Offenders Squad and the Special Tactics Group among them. Calling in the army a la Sleeping Dogs requires the approval of the Prime Minister or a vote in parliament. According to the reply I/S received today, neither occured. The police under National have broken a big constitutional separation:

The Prime Minister did not provide a written authorisation under section 9 (4) of the Defence Act 1990, as he was not requested to do so by the Commissioner of Police.

Prime Ministerial approval is only required under section 9 (4) in cases where an emergency cannot be dealt with by the Police without the assistance of members of the armed forces exercising the powers that are available to constables.

The situation in Napier was dealt with by the Police and at no time were members of the Armed Forces required to exercise powers available to constables. Accordingly, there was no need for the Prime Minister to provide authority.

LAVs were called in. I doubt anyone outside the NZ Army is allowed to drive one of those things, for third party insurance reasons if nothing else. The NZ Army had set up base in Napier to oversee its deployed arsenal. I would be very interested to know what the chain of command looked like over the period, especially since the Independent Police Conduct Authority will not be investigating.

A bloody fucking chance

"No man alone now has got a bloody fucking chance." - Hemingway

There are reports that the Napier siege has ended in the only way it could. Jan Molenaar has apparently shot himself. So ends the tragedy. What a clusterfuck.

It's not the cops at fault. Their response to this has been pretty damned good. The LAV was inspired, both as a defensive retrieval as well the the psychology of it. The guys driving the LAV would have been people Jan Molenaar could have related to, him being a former Territorial.

The journos covering the siege have also been pretty good. If ever there was a story fit for live crosses, it is this. But a pox on the subeditors at the Herald and Stuff. If MacDoctor can diagnose Spam Journalism, I call dibs on this strain I call Subjudging. This is where headlines completely misrepresent an otherwise balanced story.



Unable to portray as a gang member, brown or Young Feral Teen, Jan Molenaar is a "loner". Who lived with his partner. His "short fuse" resided in a calm, collected person. A neighbour referred to him in the TV3 report as an "average normal father".



Stuff has gone for the Rambo angle, from the money quote:

"The guy is a total Rambo, OK? I've never met another person that's fitter than him. He's a very good marksman, he's just the wrong person. Wrong person, wrong place, wrong time, the police should have f...ing known. That's their business."...

That's from Molenaar's friend and business partner Arthur Hyde. This was Rambo the peaceful honourable one from First Blood, who gets pushed once too far by the cops, not the one shooting down helicopters from all the other movies.

It's bloody awful that Senior Constable Len Snee is dead. Family man, friend and good keen rugby player to those who knew him. Much like Jan Molenaar. Both were in their early fifties, both took good care of themselves and the ones they cared for.

These points had better not get lost in the media trying to force a good guy/bad guy narrative on this. It doesn't fit that mould. Give this "Man Alone" a bloody fucking chance.