Posts by simon g
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Matthew Hooton said:
When are Labour-leaning people going to say no to Peters in the way many National-leaning people, particularly those of us on the socially liberal wing of the party, did some years ago?
Matthew, I thought National had started saying No to Peters about 48 hours ago? They certainly didn't say No after the last election. It was a matter of arithmetic, not principle.
I'm delighted to hear that National has a "socially liberal wing". After Orewa and civil union votes and Burqa Bob and "immigrants who spit in the street" and the Sisterhood and all the other thoroughly illiberal attitudes demonstrated over the years, it seemed like less of a wing, more a flimsy feather.
Loathing Peters is not evidence of liberal principles. Standing up for something would be. Preferably before the pollsters say it's OK.
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Edit: to George, obviously.
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No, they didn't make it to government. But Tariana Turia made it as far as sitting down with Don Brash and drafting the famous (or perhaps forgotten?) letter, in direct contradiction of her pre-election promise.
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This just in: Tariana Turia dances jig.
Ruling out is fun. Sticking to it is the hard part. It's worth noting that John Key has gone rather quiet about Roger Douglas, who he ruled out even more emphatically. So that's two down already. Who's left? Presumably Hone Harawira could now publicly fart on the flag if he felt so inclined, there's no way Key is going for the "ruled out" trifecta.
It's kind of touching that anyone still believes in the notion of "ruling out". Some previous unequivocal statements from the last election campaign: the Maori Party wouldn't go with Don Brash (but did) and of course Winston wouldn't go with anyone. Well, as long as they say so ...
As Dubya's Dad said: Read. My. Lips. He may even have held up a "No" sign.
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TV One's general approach to the Olympic coverage reminds me of the days when my sister got me in to babysit her kids: "Stick a video on, doesn't matter what, they won't care."
No context, no background info, no imagination, no follow-ups, no sense of what it all means, just pictures. Stick a video on. The sport doesn't matter, the public won't know any better.
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On NOW.
Crashes in almost every race so far, so expect drama one way or another.
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The plain fact of the matter is we do not know who is and who is not cheating until they get caught, and that using culture, race or indeed google as a basis for argument is a pretty poor means of making such determinations.
True. Annoy your workmates with this one today:
Which nice little country has had its last two Olympic gold medal winners busted after the drug tests?
Ireland. (aka NZ with a sexier accent)
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Now that's a real hard luck story. Dutch Antilles (pop: 200,000) deprived of their medal by the USA's protest.
Olympic spirit.
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Hadyn: those aren't the people he beat (except the Frenchman).
Nick Willis is the first white man (or politely, "Western athlete") to win a medal in the men's 1500m since ... the 2004 Olympics.
I'd love to see a NZ journo tell his audience that. But it doesn't fit the theme they've decided on.
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Underlying all this is the gradual expansion of the list of "superior" athletes who are deemed to have (implied or not) unfair advantages over "our boys", who are still true to Jack Lovelock.
The Kenyans >> the East Africans >> the sub-Saharan Africans >> all Africans, including Algerians, Moroccans etc >> all those of immigrant background running for other countries ... and so on. It would be interesting to hear the scientific argument that makes all people of "African continent" background superior, whether they are anything from Arab villagers to mixed-race Londoners. And I'd like to hear the reaction of black American athletes to the notion that Algerians are black!
Unfortunately, this line of argument also negates Valerie Vili's gold medal, as she comes from "unfair" ethnic background, and so the real winner is the plucky whitey who came second. (See also Northern Hemisphere rugby commentary, ad nauseam).
Noticeably missing from the dim-witted racial anlysis of Nick Willis' achievement is any mention of athletes' names. That's because (a) they're all the same, they iz African, and (b) he didn't beat Morcelli or Kip Keino or Filbert Bayi or any other superstars with significantly better times and records. In fact, the current Commonwealth champion heading off a French athlete for the bronze is not really big news at all. Yes, a fantastic personal achievement. But not reshaping the athletics world.
See international coverage of the event, outside our bubble. It's barely rated a mention. It isn't stunning news. Unlike, for example, the total domination of the women's marathon and steeplechase. Front runners, leaving the field in their wake. Both were white.