Author: Dr Te Whetu O Rongo

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Lethargic Loathsome Legislation

I never expect a perfect work from an imperfect man. — Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers The frailty of human logic and the proclivity to make costly mistakes is evident in the law making business when spurious laws, suspect amendments and specious law reforms take centre stage showcasing

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Unmasking the unknown

There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors. — Jim Morrison, American singer and songwriter The germ warfare that is visiting us has made us wonder whether medical experts have discovered an effective vaccine that could either prevent the onslaught or cure the

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The Chagos chokehold

If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn’t plan your mission properly. — David H. Hackworth, American military journalist In 1964, American and British leaders planned and decided that Diego Garcia in the Chagos archipelago off the eastern coastline of Africa would make an ideal US military facility.

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An aggravating agreement

All broken relationships can be traced back to broken agreements. — Stephen Covey, American author Why does MA63 appear like a person sitting in a canoe with the oars being paddled by others? How long will it continue to be an enduring endless experiment exposed exponentially to excruciating experience? And

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The qwerty factor

All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. — Aristotle, Greek philosopher Programming, conditioning and indoctrination make us who we are to sustain us from womb to tomb through original genetic structure, family, community and ultimately peer pressure. As I

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SEPARATION, OR BALANCE, OF POWERS?

If men we angels, no government would be necessary. – James Madison, 4th US President The executive, legislative and judicial branches of government should not intrude, intervene or interfere in each other’s domain if indeed the “separation of powers” doctrine is what the Westminster model of parliamentary democracy meant it

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SELECTIONS, ELECTIONS, DEFECTIONS AND CORRECTIONS

Elections belong to the people; it’s their decision.  – Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President An interesting question was raised concerning the principal issue of the applicability and application of federal law in the matter of “State elections”, and whether States in the Federation of Malaysia are bound by Article 113

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Subtle strains of statehood

A State is not a fact in the sense that a chair is a fact … it is a legal status attaching to a state of affairs by virtue of certain rules. – Professor James R Crawford, Whewell (Cambridge) Professor of International Law In 1880 William E Hall, an English

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The Oath of Secrecy

Truth is literally that which is without secrecy, what discloses itself without a veil. – D Laing, Scottish psychiatrist The difference between privacy and secrecy is this: one is used to protect, the other is used to hide. Governments are usually embarrassingly mired between these two biases often accompanied by

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IQ – influence quotient

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. — Kenneth Blanchard, American author We are nothing but sacrificial animals being constantly, redundantly, and mercilessly influenced by family and community including a government-controlled educational system. This is our fate, willy-nilly, from womb to tomb. The conditioning is justified because