All posts tagged support

More New Zealand sympathy and solidarity on show

Dunedin: Community rises in wake of mosque terror

Hundreds of members of the public gathered outside Dunedin’s Al Huda mosque in Clyde St for nearly three hours in a show of support for the city’s Muslim community.

Bouquets of flowers and messages of support have lined the entrance to the mosque since Friday afternoon.

In an emotional address outside the mosque, senior member Haizal Hussaini said his community was still grieving but it was also time to return to some sort of normality.

“This is very emotional at this stage for us, which is why we have been keeping quiet while we grieve, but normalcy needs to go on, children need to go to school tomorrow and we need to pray in our mosque,” Mr Hussaini told the crowd while fighting back tears.

Basin Reserve, Wellington

Thousands gather in Hamilton to show support for victims of Christchurch shootings

Thousands of people stood as one in Hamilton to support the victims of the Christchurch terror attack.

They gathered at Claudelands Park on Saturday night opposite the Jamia Masjid Mosque where flowers, messages of unity, and soft toys covered the footpath.

NZ Herald:  Online donations reach $6.3 million for victims of Christchurch mosque shooting

More than $6.3 million has now been donated to the victims of the Christchurch massacre via online fundraising pages.

The largest of those pages is Givealittle’s official “Christchurch Shooting Victims’ Fund” which as of 9.30pm tonight had raised over $4.3 million from 60,000 plus donors.

The New Zealand Islamic Info Centre has also set up a LaunchGood page which has raised more than $1.7 million from 31,000 plus donors.

A separate online donations page also set up on Victim Support’s own website, after overload on the official Givealittle page, has raised over $120,000.

A handful of other separate Christchurch fundraising pages have also contributed over $100,000.

Memorial events and vigils:

  • Invercargill: A vigil for peace and solidarity will take place at Wachner Place at 11am on Sunday.
  • Timaru: A vigil is being held in Timaru on Sunday at 1:30pm in front of the lookout at Caroline Bay.
  • Christchurch: A memorial event will be held at Cathedral Square on Thursday at 8.30pm.
  • Dunedin: Amnesty Otago will host a vigil at the Octagon on Thursday at 7pm.
  • Auckland: A vigil planned for Aotea Square will take place on March 22.
  • Monday March 18, 6pm, Wairarapa, Masterton Town Hall
  • Thursday March 21, from 7pm, Civic Square, vigil by Amnesty at Vic
  • Friday March 22, 12.30, Nelson Islamic Cultural Society Mosque, 320 Hardy St invite you to hold hands to show solidarity in prayer.
  • Monday 18 March, 1pm, The Soundshell,

22 Comments
by Pete George on 18th March 2019  •  Permalink
Posted in General
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Posted by Pete George on 18th March 2019

https://yournz.org/2019/03/18/more-new-zealand-sympathy-and-solidarity-on-show/

If medical cannabis is effective Dunne will back it

One News finally got their medical cannabis report on air on Saturday (from news and interviews gathered on Wednesday).

Medicinal marijuana: If it’s effective Peter Dunne will back it

A group called United in Compassion which wants more trials of medicinal marijuana has met with Mr Dunne to discuss the issue and the ONE News Colmar Brunton poll also backs them.

Nearly half (47%) say marijuana should be legal for medical cases while 21% say it should remain illegal. But just 9% believe marijuana should be legalised for recreational use with 21% saying possession of a small amount should only incur a fine and no criminal conviction.

“I think fundamentally people have some real compassion for people who are suffering who could benefit from the medicinal properties of cannabis,” Drug Foundation chief executive Ross Bell says.

The Government is currently reviewing national drug policy and laws and while Mr Dunne won’t support legalising recreational use he is taking a wait and see approach on medicinal marijuana.

He wants proof of extensive, approved testing processes and says it depends entirely on whether it’s effective.

Like any drug it should be proven effective and relatively safe.

The pool looks poorly done, combining two issues in one response. But playing that game if if you add up the numbers:

  • 77% think marijuana should be legal for medical cases, should be legalised for recreational use, or should only incur a fine and no criminal conviction.
  • 21% say it should remain illegal

This One News item follows up a ‘pre-news’ item on Friday – Should medicinal marijuana become more available in New Zealand?

See a post on that –  Poll supports medical cannabis, Dunne considering

5 Comments
by Pete George on 10th May 2015  •  Permalink
Posted in Medical Cannabis
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Posted by Pete George on 10th May 2015

https://yournz.org/2015/05/10/if-medical-cannabis-is-effective-dunne-will-back-it/

Messages of support for Whale Oil

Over the past week or two Whale Oil has posted a number of messages of support. There’s another one today:

Message of Support

by Cameron Slater on August 31, 2014 at 8:30am

From the mail bag

By the way, despite all the haters out there, I and many others continue to enjoy your site. We dont have to like or agree with everything you say – but it is a good platform for you and many others to have their say about whatever is topical at the time.

At times discussions, expressions and sentiments may get a bit carried away, but that is what we should all be able to enjoy in NZ, the freedom of speech and the right to express a view despite how others may view it. It seems the liberal left no longer regard freedom of speech as a a cornerstone of our society and want comments that express a view politically opposed to theirs shut down.

Never mind that they can shout obscenities at the Prime Minister or create songs depicting a despicable act on his daughter – that is not “dirty politics” because it was one of their own saying it. They have such different rules it is laughable.

You have to laugh about it Cam although I am sure you are finding it hard to do this at times. None of us, and I mean none of us would want our personal emails hacked and then put on the public stage for every Tom, Dick & Harry to pick over and come to there own conclusions.

In my group of friends there is a friend of a friend who we think is a cocaine user.

We call him snorter and often make reference to the fact that whenever he makes another stupid decision that he has probably snorted another line of cocaine. We have absolutely no evidence that he has ever taken cocaine and to be fair – he probably hasnt.

However, if someone was to read our personal emails and then put it out there that “so in so” was a cocaine user that would be so wrong.

People say things about others all the time, without actually knowing the truth and never expecting it to get out to the public domain. Rachel Smally called fat women Lards and I am sure she didnt want that to be known.

This could be a genuine message from a supporter. As could the current comments in response.

GoingRight 

Great letter. I concur with all that has been written. We won’t be going elsewhere for our news, anyway where would one go to get a balanced viewpoint? I suspect that for a short while those tips from politicians and journalists might be a little lean, but eventually they will come back as they will need you Cam. Be true to yourself and all will be fine.

rightofleftcentre 

This is a really important point. I work in the health sector – if conversations between staff were recorded and distributed publicly there would be outrageous indignation that such things could be said. This would apply to most occupations. Private communication is not and should never be subject to public broadcast unless there is criminal activity involved. This is a really important privacy issue.
It seems that it’s OK if the “greater good” is being protected – but who is to decide what the “greater good” is? In politics it seems that it is that which your side supports. That’s all.
Well it seems that those who are digging up private communications (illegally!) and hurting others do finally deserve to have it dished up to them.

You have warned them several times.
Go for the jugular, Cam!
They deserve nothing less.

But it’s difficult not to see these as anything other than self promoting PR. Whale Oil has history.

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by Pete George on 31st August 2014  •  Permalink
Posted in Politics
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Posted by Pete George on 31st August 2014

https://yournz.org/2014/08/31/messages-of-support-for-whale-oil/