Of all the vast array of things in the world I'm interested in, Maggie's weight loss is definitely?

I too used to love the Listener but have only bought one or two copies since I cancelled my sub a few months after Finlay left – I gave Pamela Stirling a?

I think it was probably prudent to execute Saddam Hussein, given the current anarchy in Iraq it was always on the cards that his supporters would free him and that's no longer an option.

But?

sweet jesus... that is the most jaw-droppling offensive site i've ever seen... someone must have got the bitch-slap from another kid at the kindy.

I followed the links to see what other definitions most of those poisonous people had written, and the vast majority of them had written nothing else.?

Hager has made it known that he had a great deal of information that he couldn't publish because it would have identified his sources. I suspect National already knows whom at least one of their leakers were.

National under Brash used the "stolen" meme a lot last year to divert?

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1175489,00.html

Iraq's oil is Iraq's oil, to do with as they please

James, I know Russell would disapprove but, you're an idiot.

Or maybe you're simply naive. Either way, it's embarrassing.

http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2006/11/murder-rate-in-baghdad.html

It seems the meme has evolved – at the time that post was written (last November), it was Washington DC that Iraq was being compared to...

Thank you. I suspect you might think that people like Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore are really smart guys, so to be called an idiot by you is a compliment.

What evidence do you have that the US is expropriating oil from the Iraqi government? I havent seen or?

the urbandictionary entries for pakeha are in a similar vein.

what. are. these. people. like?

what. are. these. people. like?

Six years ago I was in New Caledonia on holiday, having dinner at the hotel restaurant. At a nearby table was a middle-aged New Zealand couple who had acquired a middle-aged French lady, and were giving her a primer on New Zealand.

According to them,?

Che asks what these people are like and Robyn gives an example that could be taken from my own extended family :-(

Sigh! Back when I was making an attempt at being a family man, my stepdaughter was thinking of teaching her baby daughter a language. She asked whether I?

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1231-23.htm

If they are intent on taking out dictators and tyrants around the world that threaten peace and security, perhaps they would?

Michael,

Thank you. I suspect you might think that people like Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore are really smart guys, so to be called an idiot by you is a compliment.

Michael, you are actually doing quite well. When I dared to dissent I was tossed in by James as?

the urbandictionary entries for pakeha are in a similar vein.

what. are. these. people. like?

I have to second the comments of Span, Robyn & Tom: We'd like to think these kinds of people inhabit some Deliverance style locality far away from us, and that they're easily identified by their cracked?

And I do not buy the line that it "would have happened anyway".

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Are you saying that this level of ethnic/religious violence would not have happened had Saddam's regime ended in any other way?

It seems to me that this was brewing?

Hamboy, you are the first to tell me about a posting problem, but then I suppose if you can't comment then I wouldn't know about it. I can't see any cause but everything has been a bit strange since the new version of Blogger went?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Are you saying that this level of ethnic/religious violence would not have happened had Saddam's regime ended in any other way?

It seems to me that this was brewing for 30 years – Saddam spent that much time fostering and exploiting pre-existing?

re: the Run DMC rider...your memory is correct I think Russell. The rider for the 1988 NZ shows was about the same, but with the addition of large amounts of McDonalds too.

But did they get through all two dozen condoms?

At least summer's out of the closet here in Welly, and the Beach Volleyball is starting on the weekend. I can hear?

What exactly was your Christmas whisky? Inquiring minds want to know. I assume it was single malt but from which distillery?

I see dumb people, they're everywhere, they don't even know they're?

But did they get through all two dozen condoms?

My best guess is that they would've handed a few on to Derek B, the support act...he was much more of a lad about town than the brothers McD or Mr Mizell who were more interested in getting back to the?

The main problem with the Saddam.exe thing is not really the emotive stuff at the event but how completely dodgy the trial itself was.

the Human Rights Watch report on trial discrepancies runs to 97 pages, its here and worth a read if you have the time.

How anybody could?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Iraq_Casualty_Count.html
http://www.wafb.com/global/story.asp?s=5885002

I posted the comparison to provide a data point that shows that maybe Iraq is not such a complete disaster as it is commonly held to be. All?

Now, I'm one of those people?

AFAIC

???

Could you translate this for me?

Ta.

If it was such an obvious consequence Neil, why did you never think to mention it when we argued on the merits of an invasion in 2002 and 2003? Why didn't anyone think to mention it?

I'm not saying it was obvious, I'm just pointing out the dynamics behind the?

What exactly was your Christmas whisky? Inquiring minds want to know. I assume it was single malt but from which distillery?

Delighted to answer. We did a little contra with Whisky Galore, which allowed me to order something a cut above what I could normally afford.

I originally plumped for?

The following para was in the article from wafb.

"If the figures remain steady, Peter Scharf, executive director of the Center for Society, Law and Justice at the University of New Orleans notes, that would mean a June-to-June rate of 105 killings per 100,000 residents."

I said in my?

...the invasion of Iraq tipped the scales in favour of the Shia, who are now determined to emerge as the governing majority after?

He came up with a 20 year-old BenRiach (Speyside) and Adelphi's Breath of the Isles, a 13 year-old single-cask bottling (309 bottles) from an unnamed island distillery – substituting for the Longmorn and the Talisker respectively.

Nice. I came across the BenRiach (10yo) as the 'mystery malt' at a tasting?

I find his "the Shites turned out and smiled and waved whenever Saddam went to the south" a bit?

But as RB points out its understandable that many Sunnis would be pretty scared by what the Shiites are?

Yes self help does sell well off the news stand and so has it always been. My wife has just?

And, without going into another long running battle over the figure, your dismissal of the Johns Hopkins research on Iraqi deaths bemuses?

I think I read the Iranian – Sunni insurgent link with reference to the 2 Iranian intelligence guys who were captured in Iraq last week or the week before

I think you'll find these guys were, as it turns out, actually in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi govt.?

long forgotten rapper Redhead Kingpin

How can anyone forget Redhead Kingpin and his F.B.I. crew and their 1989 hits "Do the Right Thing" and "Pump it Hottie"?

Oh, I keep forgetting. Not everyone was a 14-year-old girl in 1989.

On the streets, in newspapers and over the Internet, Mr. Hussein has emerged as?

Here is a link to an article that discusses an Iran Sunni insurgent link.

http://www.nysun.com/article/46032

"One example of a mindset that may hinder analysis of Iranian involvement is the belief that Iran would never have any dealings with militant Sunni Arabs. But they allowed hundreds of Al Qaeda operatives?

Firsly these are not, as far as I can see, being negotiated by equal partners, the terms are being, and have been determined behind closed doors, in secrecy by firstly the CPA, and now the executive level of the?

Simon,
So you think it is perfectly fine for Iran to support Shia death squads?

no I don't but I do think its worth pointing out that all available evidence is that many of these death squads exist inside the security apparatus bankrolled and supported by the US government. Secondly,?

The Iranian revolution was the bitter harvest of a previous generation's oil greed in the Middle East. It would be to heap a further tragedy on Iraq if, in a country where the?

The terms of these deals were always going to become public knowledge at some stage, as they apparently have now. Any deal that sticks it to the Iraqis would cause a hell of a stink,?

As for stability. I dont think many Iraqis want to go back to the "stability" of Hussein's hellish regime. Disrupting that stability was a good, humane thing to do.

Denying or?

You seem to have more faith in the "seven sisters" than most of us and I hope you are right, but the way similar deals?

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467674368&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

As for Iraqis wanting the US to leave, according to polls they want the US to leave after some stability has been achieved. Americans want that as much as Iraqis do.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/27/iraqis-poll/

? More broadly, 79 percent of Iraqis say that the US is having a negative influence on the?

Much of the expertise you talk of is already?

__ * 30 dead in central Baghdad clash between Iraqi Army and gunmen following reports that Sunnis had set up fake checkpoint where they were detaining Shiites, shooting them, and hanging their bodies from lampposts;

* 27 bodies were dumped behind a hospital in?

On the other hand, there may be people who want to read such discussions.

It's just?

Hmmm, Iraqis are going to be in charge of their own resources?
With permanent US bases in the middle of their country?
What if they introduce such Anti-American policies as Venezuela has or what Iran did in the?

The women & men behind this have the sole object of?

My personal fave homeboy was Tone Loc though – there has never been a better hiphop remix/cover than his classic take on 'Wild Thing'.

What say you?

A question to consider: If a discussion ends up being two people making long posts to each other, should it, as a courtesy, go to private email instead of being in the general discussion.
On the other hand, there may be people who want to read such discussions.

I have?

The self help thing really doesn?t bother me. The self help thing with no sensible evidence to support it bothers me somewhat. The self help thing with no evidence being adopted by teachers and policy makers – makes me want to rant a lot and use the c word.?

The obtain-evaluate-use paradigm is particularly important in an age when the Internet brings us a huge amount of information of hugely variable quality.

Ironically, when those skills are built into an NCEA curriculum, in place of rote leaning, some people complain that's dumbing down ...

Not that I know much?

Manakura's post was probably the best one...

Aww shucks, thanks... are you left or right handed. If its the latter I hear the Destiny Church runs a right hand de-programming workshop. Their motto is love the person, hate the hand.

If its the latter I hear the Destiny Church runs a right hand de-programming workshop. Their motto is love the person, hate the hand.

...in direct literal adherence to Matthew 5:30.
"And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better?

A question to consider: If a discussion ends up being two people making long posts to each other, should it, as a courtesy, go to private email instead of being in the general discussion.

the thought occurred but once you start typing things tend to have a life of their?

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01072007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/hanging_hysteria_opedcolumnists_kirsten_powers.htm?page=0

I do go off on long posts, apologies to anyone who was bothered. But hey, that is one of the great things?

And instinctively I knew that they key comment on the thread, from Manakura, was yet to come.

I'm humbled to be in the company of peeps that recognise the greatness of Tone Loc. That was the key post you were referring to right?

Tom, how can you not give a?

Here's a Tone Loc story for you. Go back 18 years to the time when Mr Loc was supposed to play Auckland but cancelled because he had a "sore tongue" (yes, indeedy...that's the best excuse for poor ticket sales I've heard). We were hosting the afterparty and decided to?

Oh no, not the oil nonsense again. The US has been in Iraq for over 3 1/2 years now and how many barrels of oil have they expropriated? That would be none, zip, zero, nada. Iraq's oil is Iraq's oil, to do with as they please, and?

]]> Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:15:22 +1300 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5302#post5302 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5302#post5302 As far as who the "international left" is, it is a term I have heard used and use for brevities sake, to refer to the many organizations and people around the world that are active on particular issues and are of a left wing persuasion.

There are so many such?

]]> Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:15:49 +1300 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5304#post5304 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5304#post5304 Jimmy Jangles in NOLA....

Must give you credit for your unshakeablility and the quality of your blinkers....

I can't be fucked debating you so will only say...

a) wood and trees

and

b) Chomsky for President

Now...resume polishing your weapon!

]]> Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:45:05 +1300 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5305#post5305 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5305#post5305 Mark, your quote

"As for the Iraqis now benefitting from their own oil, if anyone believes that I have a big grey bridge I'm selling shares in and can let you all in on the ground floor...reeeeal cheap!"

"Al-Shahristani says he hopes to quickly make deals with major foreign oil?

]]> Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:49:35 +1300 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5308#post5308 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5308#post5308 Mikey Savaloy,

Language young man, language!!

You are to be congratulated!! Based on your comments, apparenlty you can fit your head, complete with blinkers, up your you know what!! (just joking Russell, just joking)

Best wishes from NOLA (really!)

]]> Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:55:22 +1300 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5309#post5309 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5309#post5309 James,

I know I've been bad, what with making with the sarcasm and the naughty words and all....

But your assiduous analysis and balanced opining just blow my mind out my mouth before tongue can constrain.

Apologies of course...it's just personal.

]]> Mon, 08 Jan 2007 17:01:09 +1300 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5312#post5312 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5312#post5312 Mon, 08 Jan 2007 19:01:42 +1300 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5313#post5313 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5313#post5313 __You could also ask where were those from the left when 2 1/2 million North Koreans were starved to death in the 1990s?

Where has the left been as North Korea has run a horrendously brutal police state as bad as anything Stalin did for something like 60 years. .?

]]> Mon, 08 Jan 2007 21:19:33 +1300 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5318#post5318 http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-inauspicious/?p=5318#post5318

?We?re wondering where these organizations were during the crimes of Anfal and Halabja,? he said, referring to Mr. Hussein?s persecution of Iraqi Kurds. ?Where were they during the mass graves and the executions and the massacres that killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis??"

The answer to Maliki?s question is ?no?

http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/individual.asp

I haven't laughed so much since someone wrote to the Dom describing Michael Bassett as "a left-wing columnist". "Left-wing"! "Columnist"!!

I love one particular description on the site:

This section examines activists for leftwing agendas and causes — egalitarians, socialists, and opponents of American "imperialism."

Egalitarians? Egad!

This category profiles individuals who identify themselves as part of the ?social justice? movement ? which is post-Communist terminology for socialism and communism.

The source material seems to consist greatly of drivel from Michele Malkin, and the definitions are ludicrously selective.

Honestly, if that site?

http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/individual.asp

I haven't laughed so much since someone wrote to the Dom describing Michael Bassett as "a left-wing columnist". "Left-wing"! "Columnist"!!

Hilarious, is it a satirical site? I hope not, it's even funnier if someone is serious about it. This is particularly good:

For an explanation of this picture grid,?

http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/Thinkmap%20SDK%202.5%20Standard%20Edition/webapp/TM-1VER/index.asp?keyword=Davis

Its quite a fun game, sort of like the 'link 2 disparate movie stars in six steps game'. The graphics suck, but i went from ex-Black Panther Angela Davis to Bonnie Rait in to easy steps! I?

That is SO cool. Now I see how John Kerry is linked to Pearl Jam, who are linked to R.E.M, who are controlled by Greenpeace and Fidel Castro.

That is SO cool. Now I see how John Kerry is linked to Pearl Jam, who are linked to R.E.M, who are controlled by Greenpeace and Fidel Castro

Yes, you can literally see the link – according to the java map they are all connected by thin grey lines. I'm?

Has anyone had a play with the conspiracy theoryJava map function yet?

To be fair, that sort of "conspiracy" analysis is based on left-wing sites that have been around for a while: things like "They Rule" which allow you to look for the linkages between the politically and financially powerful. Of?

(what exactly is the link between REM and Pearl Jam?).

They both know Neil Finn?

Here's a Tone Loc story for you.

Simon, thank you so much for that story. I'm sure you have many more like it, but I did delight in this one.

I'd rather have Andrew Cheese on Toast DJing than Tone Loc MCing any day.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10418086

It was Always About Oil

I have to admit that I find it astounding that anyone seriously believed that it was ever anything but about the oil and geopolitical strategy. If it was about tyrants then the US would be fighting on many many fronts.

Which is why I get so frustrated and?

It was Always About Oil

...and for good reason too...

Thanks for that.

I especially enjoyed the quoted piece:

"The Iraqi government is working on a new hydrocarbons law that will set the course for the country's oil sector and determine where its vast revenues will flow. The consequences for such a law in such a?

Secondly....the sanction regime was largely vindictive in its nature. Large?

The Euro /US exchange rate moves on interest rate differentials more than anything else,?

President Bush
Speech to the Nation
January 12, 2007

__"I?ve already got it all figured out. During the test I?m going to hide under a pile of coats and hope that somehow everything?

"In reality, there is no credible alternative. The Iraq Study Group proved rather better at setting out the many problems that exist in Iraq than in offering precise solutions. Its recommendation that the White House co-opt Iran and Syria as its allies?

I didn't realise Shia Iraqis were losing this conflict (is anyone really winnin?). Is it really possible to defeat a group of people that make up 60% of the population? Who dominate the central government (so far as there is one?). Do you have some sources to verify?

__I didn't realise Shia Iraqis were losing this conflict (is anyone really winnin?). Is?

he intelligence that the US, the UK, France, Russia, Egypt,?

"Again in Wichita, November 17, XXXX said that what happens in Iraq "matters to you, to your children and to the future, because this is a challenge we must face not just in Iraq but throughout the world. We must not allow?

That is?

Putting aside the cost and the lives lost (both Iraqi, US and other MNF), do you really think?

Since when has the loss of life been of particular concern to war-mongers? History shows us that, if necessray, those in charge will expend lives in the millions to achieve desired outcomes.

And let's not forget that the cost of war borne by tax-payers, not Generals and Presidents. Why?

Saddams approval ratings were consistently in the high 90's as well . . .

__The contradiction at the heart of the US approach, however, is this: after casually overturning the Sunni order in Iraq and empowering the Shia in an Arab heartland country for the first time in nearly a millennium, Washington?

Also suggests reasons it might be in the latter's interests to?