Liam Hehir
@hehir.bsky.social
Midway along the journey of our life I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight path.
Pinned
Liam Hehir
@hehir.bsky.social
· Nov 25
Legal versus historical fictions
One proposed adjustment to make the Treaty Principles Bill a bit more honest
thebluereview.substack.com
The treaty principles bill is worse than the treaty principles deletion bill. Why? Because it has the whiff of a Soviet-like attempt to codify revisionist history into law. If we’re going to create legal fictions, we should be transparent about it. thebluereview.substack.com/p/legal-vers...
Even if political violence worked, it would still be wrong. The efficacy of violence is not the issue. You don’t need to construct some kind of utilitarian rationale for why you think murder is wrong.
Well said
Political violence disproportionately hurts people with less power, not people with more power. Political violence will disproportionately hurt people of color and women and LGBTQ people. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it works. Celebrating political violence means at best indifference to that.
September 11, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Even if political violence worked, it would still be wrong. The efficacy of violence is not the issue. You don’t need to construct some kind of utilitarian rationale for why you think murder is wrong.
A short and balanced explainer on what the UK decided and while it's neither earth-shattering nor insignificant and what impact (if any) it might have on the question here. Link in replies. thebluereview.substack.com/p/explainer-...
Explainer on the UK Gender Case
What was and wasn't decided and what (if anything) might it mean for NZ?
thebluereview.substack.com
April 17, 2025 at 5:01 AM
A short and balanced explainer on what the UK decided and while it's neither earth-shattering nor insignificant and what impact (if any) it might have on the question here. Link in replies. thebluereview.substack.com/p/explainer-...
People are acting like fans of Arthur Fleck in Joker but, here’s the thing: murder is wrong. open.substack.com/pub/thebluer...
Con: Murder is wrong
The deliberate, unlawful taking of a human life can never be reconciled with ethical reasoning.
open.substack.com
December 13, 2024 at 11:59 PM
People are acting like fans of Arthur Fleck in Joker but, here’s the thing: murder is wrong. open.substack.com/pub/thebluer...
The dumb, very stupid populist case for taxing charities. open.substack.com/pub/thebluer...
Cereal killers
Why taxing charitable businesses is a recipe for cutting community services, not creating fairness.
open.substack.com
December 4, 2024 at 8:00 AM
The dumb, very stupid populist case for taxing charities. open.substack.com/pub/thebluer...
An actual, structured, Lincoln-Douglas style debate between Seymour and Jackson would be awesome. Especially if the format kept them at arm's length and the moderator was just a neutral referee. But it will never happen.
open.substack.com/pub/thebluer...
open.substack.com/pub/thebluer...
Seymour versus Jackson
Just who would emerge as the master debater?
open.substack.com
November 29, 2024 at 6:53 AM
An actual, structured, Lincoln-Douglas style debate between Seymour and Jackson would be awesome. Especially if the format kept them at arm's length and the moderator was just a neutral referee. But it will never happen.
open.substack.com/pub/thebluer...
open.substack.com/pub/thebluer...
The conservative case for The Spinoff open.substack.com/pub/thebluer...
The reason conservatives *hate* the Spinoff
(Because we wish we had one)
open.substack.com
November 29, 2024 at 12:22 AM
The conservative case for The Spinoff open.substack.com/pub/thebluer...
The treaty principles bill is worse than the treaty principles deletion bill. Why? Because it has the whiff of a Soviet-like attempt to codify revisionist history into law. If we’re going to create legal fictions, we should be transparent about it. thebluereview.substack.com/p/legal-vers...
Legal versus historical fictions
One proposed adjustment to make the Treaty Principles Bill a bit more honest
thebluereview.substack.com
November 25, 2024 at 11:11 PM
The treaty principles bill is worse than the treaty principles deletion bill. Why? Because it has the whiff of a Soviet-like attempt to codify revisionist history into law. If we’re going to create legal fictions, we should be transparent about it. thebluereview.substack.com/p/legal-vers...
Crime in Antarctica is very rare, but not unheard of. At Russia’s Vostok Station, a heated argument in 1959 over a chess game led one scientist to attack another with an ice axe. This incident reportedly resulted in a ban on chess at Russian Antarctic stations.
November 21, 2024 at 8:10 AM
Crime in Antarctica is very rare, but not unheard of. At Russia’s Vostok Station, a heated argument in 1959 over a chess game led one scientist to attack another with an ice axe. This incident reportedly resulted in a ban on chess at Russian Antarctic stations.
Antarctica has no official time zones. Since the continent sits at the South Pole, where all lines of longitude converge every time zone applies. In practice, research stations follow the time zones of their home countries or the supply routes they depend on.
November 20, 2024 at 7:19 PM
Antarctica has no official time zones. Since the continent sits at the South Pole, where all lines of longitude converge every time zone applies. In practice, research stations follow the time zones of their home countries or the supply routes they depend on.
Antarctica operates under a unique legal regime where scientists and visitors follow the laws of their home country or the country that organised their expedition. This means that theoretically, if someone commits a crime in Antarctica, they are prosecuted according to the laws of their own country.
November 20, 2024 at 12:46 AM
Antarctica operates under a unique legal regime where scientists and visitors follow the laws of their home country or the country that organised their expedition. This means that theoretically, if someone commits a crime in Antarctica, they are prosecuted according to the laws of their own country.
New Zealand was one of the original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959! The treaty established Antarctica as a peaceful, scientific preserve, banning military activity on the continent.
November 14, 2024 at 6:48 PM
New Zealand was one of the original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959! The treaty established Antarctica as a peaceful, scientific preserve, banning military activity on the continent.
New Zealand exercises its authority over the Ross Dependency through the Antarctic (Environmental Protection) Act 1994 and the Antarctica Act 1960.
March 24, 2024 at 8:14 PM
New Zealand exercises its authority over the Ross Dependency through the Antarctic (Environmental Protection) Act 1994 and the Antarctica Act 1960.
Claimed by New Zealand, the Ross Dependency is administered by the New Zealand Antarctic Division within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The basis of New Zealand’s claim was the transfer by the UK of its territorial rights in 1923.
March 23, 2024 at 6:39 AM
Claimed by New Zealand, the Ross Dependency is administered by the New Zealand Antarctic Division within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The basis of New Zealand’s claim was the transfer by the UK of its territorial rights in 1923.
The Ross Dependency, an area of Antarctica, is under New Zealand's jurisdiction according to an Imperial Order in Council from 1923. Nevertheless, the laws of New Zealand and of the Ross Dependency were distinct for many years. This changed with the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.
October 29, 2023 at 10:30 PM
The Ross Dependency, an area of Antarctica, is under New Zealand's jurisdiction according to an Imperial Order in Council from 1923. Nevertheless, the laws of New Zealand and of the Ross Dependency were distinct for many years. This changed with the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.