Posts by Sam F

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  • Hard News: Unhappy Birthday,

    Ben & Sam,

    Well, well, its your lucky day, the alternative universe arrives!!

    Anyone would think it was still my birthday. Was I right about the Google Alerts? In any case, a sincere welcome back.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: A business most feral,

    Sure, Sam, but can you understand why I get really irritated when people make dumb - and frankly rather offensive - generalisations about quote unquote 'Christians' based on the latest brainfart from Brian The Bish?

    Oh, absolutely - I'm not defending those sort of broad-brush claims at all, but rather IO's vivid illustration of just how pointless and offensive they can be.

    Kyle: as for the "how low can you go" approach - sure, it's not the most elegant form of argument ever, and I don't think anyone would want it to become the dominant form of argument on PAS. But like Craig says, it does demonstrate how pointless and gratuitous such posts look when they're aimed within your comfort zone - rather than at a safely distant target one doesn't really sympathise with, whoever that might be for one personally.

    Given everyone's response, I think IO's succeeded rather well in reminding us how useless and offensive sweeping generalisations can be, no matter who they're being pointed towards. Careful, you'll have someone's eye out with that.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: A business most feral,

    Somehow I doubt that

    Your comment, whilst possibly made with frivolity in mind, conveyed an unnecessarily patronising view of a group of people who have as much of a right as anyone to vote in their own interests

    would have got the point across quite so vividly...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: Unhappy Birthday,

    Say it loud, say it often: say the name of James Bremner. With any luck his Google Alerts will pick it up.

    I liked it when he posted. This bizarre parallel view on the world just sort of opened up before you on the screen.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: A business most feral,

    Oh wow. Although I'm all for thinking about the ideas that can be passed on through uses of particular language (the whole "your mum and computers" thing, and so on), surely PAS ought to be a safe place to lampoon racist bigotry without being accused of being a bigot yourself... or maybe this is just another example of the fraught nature of satire/sarcasm on Internet.

    Despite being a generally left-centrist voter I have something of a contrary soft spot for ACT in that they're fairly up front about the sort of policies they stand for - and it's only become clearer with the return of Roger. You might call it lunacy, perhaps, but you know exactly what variety of lunacy you're voting for.

    And as IO says, if indeed the majority of ACT supporters did live in Epsom (and I have no idea if it's true or not), that shouldn't invalidate their choice - although I'm personally glad that not many other people have voted that way in the past...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: A business most feral,

    Thanks for the thought, Leigh, but you're welcome to hang onto the beer!

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: A business most feral,

    Oh you slutty readers -- always off to anywhere with free beer ...

    Theirs was posted before 5:00am, so it'd be a miracle in the Feeding Five Thousand league if there was any left now!

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: A business most feral,

    Curses - too slow. Waiting on the two for one... hooray!

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: Another Big Day,

    I doubt the Democrats would be interested in stuffing up a McCain presidency from day one. They probably remember how well that played out for the Republican congress under Clinton in the 1990s - the GOP in Congress were so uncooperative that Clinton successfully painted them as arseholes and rocked up to another term. And he didn't even have the option of making accusations about "betraying the troops", as McCain certainly would ...

    My bet for Dems under a McCain presidency would be pretty much what we're getting now: occasional vocal protests against a background of supine bipartisanship.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: There's Always One,

    Just because I can, I'd like to report that TBR.cc has painstakingly dissected the incident, in their own inimitable style. The consensus appears to be that we can never ensure perfect safety on small planes, so it's pointless taking steps in that direction. Instead, since these actions are 'imported cultural baggage', we need to think harder about allowing Muslims into the country.

    Astounding.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

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