US claim against Huawei is unproven and not our fight
The US is indulging in a devious game when it protests about Huawei being used to spy on American secrets. Julian Assange and Edward Snowden have proven that the American NSA is storing email messages and phonecalls worldwide. This means that the NSA has the technology to listen in on our personal phone calls and can read our personal email messages. The claim against Huawei is unproven and it is possibly motivated by the need to promote US telecommunications interests. NZ has a large trade surplus in our two-way trade with China. Our Prime Minister and Foreign Minister are endangering that trade.
It would be in our best interests if we stayed out of the fight which the US is pursuing with China. NZ is a small country and if we lose our trade with China our country will suffer a nasty recession. Johann Nordberg, Paeroa
Special privilege
Peter Moeahu (Letters, February 10) blithers on about Section 3 Burial and Cremations Act 1964 striving to get local council handouts to maintain urupa¯ sites. Yes, part-Ma¯ ori can be ratepayers with the right to be buried in any public cemetery with all other Kiwis (equality of choice) yet often choose to be buried in private Ma¯ori urupa¯ for cultural and other indeterminate reasons. Being Ma¯ ori land of this type, likely no rates are paid on it nor do the recipients presumably pay plot fees nor anything else relating to this race-based special privilege. In these circumstances in return for this special deal, then tribes and families must maintain their “private” cemeteries, not taxpayers or ratepayers. Perhaps Mr Moeahu is prepared to undertake some proper background research to enlighten us as to how the 1964 statutory provision came about and at whose request Section 3 appeared in the legislation. The answer is probably obvious, viz. it freed Ma¯ ori from control on their customary burial grounds, enabling them to run them as they saw fit and gave them rights other Kiwis do not have, while avoiding compliance costs. Rob Paterson, Mount Maunganui
Pathologising belief
Responding to Dennis N Horne's assertion that we invented gods for comfort (Letters, February 10), I said a God invented for comfort would be an easier gig than the God I actually worship. Horne now says I was “persuaded to accept a god another man invented”. What can I say, but “No, I wasn't (and I was there)”.
Pathologising people's beliefs is a tad presumptuous. If I suggest atheism is an adolescent tantrum on a grand scale will that get us anywhere?
The typical atheist seems either unable or unwilling to recognise that great numbers of sane, reasonable, socially competent Christians adhere to Christ on His merits and in full consciousness. Gavan O'Farrell, Lower Hutt
Occam's Razor favours atheism
Gavan O'Farrell (Letters, February 10) is right: “ditching God doesn't produce peace”. But neither does promoting God. It is the vigour and ruthlessness with which its adherents promote any particular ideology which does the damage, regardless of whether or not that ideology involves a deity. However, historically far more ideologies have incorporated a deity (or many) than have not. Therefore, any damaging ideology is far more likely to have been, and continue to be run, by theists than by atheists. Every religion (theistic ideology) insists that it, and it alone, is right, and that all other religions are wrong. Atheists differ only in that they believe that all religions (theistic ideologies) are wrong. Logically, being mutually exclusive, religions cannot all be true. Occam's Razor favours atheism, since it is the simplest ideology, without the complication of (added) deities. Dennis N Horne (Letters, February 10) is right: God, in all his/her/its multivarious manifestations, is a human invention. Actually, God is a whole set of human inventions. The sooner O'Farrell and his ilk recognise that and learn to stand on their own two feet, without the supernatural crutch of theism, the better it will be for all of us, including — especially — them. John Mihaljevic, Te Atatu South