Posts by Ben Austin
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We had a succession of religious instructors come to my primary school, ranging from mainstream churches to the newer churches. I think we all stopped taking it seriously when one of them gave us a list of bands affiliated or inspired by Satan.
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I can have divided loyalties on this I think. To be honest though, my first love was the humble pikelet.
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It is worse than you think. A civil war is raging amongst the food service industry, between those who believe in freedom and light, and those who would deny us pancakes or waffles on demand. Their tentacles reach deeply into the media and organs of government too, why you would never know that yesterday was Pancake Day! Where was the parade or the pancake eating competitions?
It is time we, the pancake eaters of Wellington, stand up before we too are destroyed by the haters and wreckers that blight our inner city.
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Che, your good deed shall not be forgotten!
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Hm, well the way I read it, Tamaki's expressed desire to take over is more seditious than treasonous, since treason seems to need a military component of some kind.
Crimes Act 1961 - 81 Seditious offences defined
(1)A seditious intention is an intention—
(a)To bring into hatred or contempt, or to excite disaffection against, Her Majesty, or the Government of New Zealand, or the administration of justice; or
(b)To incite the public or any persons or any class of persons to attempt to procure otherwise than by lawful means the alteration of any matter affecting the Constitution, laws, or Government of New Zealand; or
(c)To incite, procure, or encourage violence, lawlessness, or disorder; or
(d)To incite, procure, or encourage the commission of any offence that is prejudicial to the public safety or to the maintenance of public order; or
(e)To excite such hostility or ill will between different classes of persons as may endanger the public safety.
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Anyone else encountered that internet fad of posting recipes for waffles when the poster thinks the discussion thread is an obvious troll? It is killing me, my craving for waffles is reaching previously unexplored heights and I’m pretty sure there are no waffle restaurants in Wellington.
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I'm not sure I'd like a government that could "do" something about Thursday night post pub parties to be honest.
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I remember at the time the NZ Flag people said that it was apathy that sunk their cause. That summed up my opinion at the time, the effort the campaign put into their petition was admirable but it seemed out of place for what is just a flag. Perhaps the campaign was too slick?
Oh, and points go to Juha for what may be the first time goatse has been mentioned on Public Address (prove me wrong!). You know there actually is a Wikipedia article on that, no images thankfully.
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Isn't cultural nationalism just one of those ugly things that goes in cycles?
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Key maybe a fresh face, but I think perhaps you over estimate the ability of one person to totally change a political party. Is a political party an entity that has a conscious will to evolve to survive, or is it a collection of people and views?
I incline more to the latter view, although I am sure it in some ways has a life of its own. I have no doubt in my mind that there is a large section of the community that whole heartily support the economic changes of the 1980s/90s and do not hold the negative views that other parts of the nation do. I also think that these people would be overly represented in the National Party membership, the people who actually make the party a party, who do the organisational work for elections and the like.
Plus, unlike in the case of Cameron, the National Party has already restored its fortunes, with the Orewa line. So there is no widespread air of crisis like there was in 2002-2003 that would allow a visionary leader to reorientate National to your preferred option Riddley.