Posts by Malcolm

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  • Hard News: Scuffling and screaming on…,

    Richards' five-minutes-old party membership should be in question now -- it'd be good riddance, given the damage he's done -- and he has only himself to blame if the police do decide to prosecute for assault.

    Um. What about Trevor Mallard then?

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Moron y Moron,

    And to be fair to Trevor Mallard, having done the crime, he is making a point of doing his time. Everything post-punch is a model of "owning your own shit"; facing up, apologising, and getting on with it.

    And whatever elase Henare may have done - he has accepted the apology, said that's the end of it, and has made no further complaint.

    Could be worse. Mind you, it has triggered a circus from the rest of us (including me!).

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Moron y Moron,

    The report I saw on TV news said Mallard punched Henare three times and had to be pulled off him when he had Henare on the ground and was choking him. (If memory serves.)

    I'm amazed that some people are treating that so lightly, or are willing to play it down. It is a very different matter from a single angry punch, or from the situation with John Prescott. As reported, it is very violent and sustained attack.

    The TV report could be wrong, although I'm not aware of anybody contesting that account yet.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • Southerly: Energy Special, Part 3:…,

    Ooops. Hit Post Reply instead of preview. The second part of my post was meant for the later comment. The key thing I was really trying to say was that I prefer explanations in terms of institutions to explanations in terms of character. Not that I deny character is important, but rather that I think we need some deeper explanations as well. There has been some great work from Marx through to Petitt on institutions as key features of society. Sorry for the incomplete fragment before.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • Southerly: Energy Special, Part 3:…,

    I think it's safe to say that ideas of moral decline as the basis for the collapse of the Western Empire have been left in the early twentieth century.

    I don't mean moral decline in terms of alcholism, sex and cruelty. The point I'm trying to make is a bit more subtle; that easy times and brutalism undermined their committment to shared values and the institutions that created the empire.

    It may also be worth bearing in mind that Roman history includes tens of millions of people in dozens of countries for 1000 years in the west and another thousand years in the east. So generalisations about character can be a bit dangerous.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • Southerly: Energy Special, Part 3:…,

    Well, I really liked that podcast. Thanks. And here's my certified theory about the fall of the Roman Empire ...

    Ultimately, the Roman empire fell because they lost the battle of Adrianople, when the Goths wiped out the Roman field army. But the interesting thing is that Rome had suffered whole series of such awful defeats in the past - notably against Hannibaal, and also against Cimbri and Teutones. So what really happened is that that they lost the reslience to deal with such setbacks. Their society had become ossified, for whatever reason (I have my own right-wing theories on that). I've no doubt that energy shortages, and failure to innovate in response, played a role. However, perhaps slavery and conquest also engendered a moral corruption that undermined their moral and institutional virtue.

    What is really interesting is that the Eastern Roman Empire went on for another one thousand years. That is, three times the age of the USA, or as long as post-1066 Britain. So despite all their many failings, a strong city with impregnable walls and the key Eastern trade route (and Greek fire) was enough to prop them up - well, forever, despite their corrupt political and economic system. Amazing.

    So I think the Roman Empire fell because its institutions failed. But I guess you're right; cheaper energy could have propped them up for longer. Or maybe I should say, cheap energy and military might propped them up for 250 years before the overdue collapse finally came. Or maybe the collapse only came because Constatine gutted the west to feed the east? A flight of capital could also explain it - although that boils down to pretty much your argument; that is, about relative productivity and cost of production.

    Our societies do have cheap oil at the moment, but that is just a blip. More generally, we keep our energy cheap and production costs low through innovation. If innovation stops, then I think our societies will decline.

    Really thought-provoking podcast David. Thanks.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: A Taito Spot,

    BTW, great subbing RB.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: A Taito Spot,

    Helen Clark stood by Philip Field while he claimed to have been exonerated by the Ingram report. Here is the picture and story.

    After the Ingram report was released, Michael Cullen continued to say "After all, the fundamental fault Mr Field committed was to work too hard on behalf of the many, many hundreds of people who come to his electorate office on immigration matters."

    Here is the Hansard of Dr Cullen's comment in the snap debate. The Hansard includes a number of other gems, including the Deputy Prime Minister saying Mr Brownlee would "have to dry out Mr Siriwan if he were to put him in the witness box" and being immediately followed by Taito Philip Field saying "I am delighted that the Ingram report has now finally been completed and that I have been cleared of the serious, false allegations of conflict of interest."

    That was the official Parliamentary Labour party response in the snap debate on the Ingram report.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • OnPoint: Spoonfuls of sugar,

    Gak! SST has a feature. Apparently 80% of new doctors are foreign trained. Go figure.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

  • OnPoint: Spoonfuls of sugar,

    I'm not sure bonding will work. Not a bad idea in theory, but people can always buy their way out of bonds. I think making people feel valued and rewarded will work better.

    I'm also not sure how many Doctors do come back from overseas, but admit to having no data on the issue.

    Since Apr 2007 • 69 posts Report Reply

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