Posts by Craig Ranapia
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It's all over the papers there, but I thought this Telegraph story provided one of the better accounts of how the police lost the plot.
And not even Greg O'Connor could slag off the __Torygraph as being full of wet hoodie-hugging, man-hating anti-cop pinkos. :) Sorry for sounding like a broken record, but the Police Association's members really need to take a time out and ask themselves this: Could there be some correlation between the NZPF's transparency and openness to public scrutiny and criticism, and its public standing being significantly higher than that of the Metropolitan Police?
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I could be wrong. Anyone know anything about Mana?
The people who constantly crap on about their 'mana', generally don't have any with me. It's a bit like the famous non-definition of jazz: If you have to be told what it is, you're never going to get it. :)
Yes, a primary teacher I was talking to yesterday is positively excited about his appointment.
A sense of 'finally one of us'? Pretty much everyone I know in the primary and early-childhood sector feels that successive governments talk a good game, but when push comes to shove it's always secondary and tertiary who get the serious attention and resourcing. Don't know if that fair - and I certainly don't have enough years left to master the Byzantine ins and outs of educational politics - but that's the sense I get.
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and not an elected member of Parliament - he was whipped in Te Atatu running under the National colours (he entered Parliament tagging for NZ First).
Balls, David. I didn't vote for MMP (and still prefer STV), but was definitely was on the losing end of that vote, but really get impatient with the nonsense that list members aren't 'real' members of Parliament.
Or are you saying people who cast party votes for National - and enough of them to put Tau in - don't count either?
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So it's dubious for National to claim that the new portfolios are promotions (with the highly arguable exception of Environment) when they value them so lowly in their own caucus.
Margaret, I think the real question is what value Clark places on them - and if those portfolios are trivial, I guess all the talk about the environment and broadcasting as a meduim of 'identity building' has been more than usually hollow poli-speak. Not do I think Labour's union allies would be pleased by the notion that labour isn't a frightfully important portfolio to the incumbent government.
One other think I'm surprised hasn't drawn more attention: Mallard conspicuously did not lose his associate finance role. Guess his hopes of becoming Finance Minister one day aren't completely dead, regardless of what Lila Haare thinks.
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And to make sure the plate is properly diverse, I can whip up a batch of my double chocolate brownies and fairy cakes with super camp pink icing. :)
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A strange statement. He could just say "That's not what happened". But he doesn't.
Listening to her on Morning Report she went a bit further than saying Henare initiated the punch-up by 'grabbing his tie'. I think Henare's statement wasn't 'strange' but (wisely) very carefully phrased. Think it might be time for a few people to join Trev on the naughty step for a period of quiet reflection.
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Thats a fairly impressive bit of doublethink there Rob. "Im not defending what Mallard did, but Henare was SOOO asking for a smack in the chops".
Hum... and here's something else to consider: If you're a slightly misanthropic curmudgeon with a short (but longer than it used to be) fuse, most of the human race is begging for a good kicking most of the time. I just hyperventilate and grind my teeth a lot. :)
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Finally, while we're exploring political hypocrisy around the Mallard affair, I'd like a journo to ask Miss Clark this question:
<quote>Why didn't you chivalrous concern for the 'honour' of women subject to offensive and inaccurate insinuation extend as quickly - and vigorously - to Mary English, Rosemary Bradford and Cathy O'Malley (who happens to be the sister of then Opposition leader and former Health Minister Jenny Shipley) - women who do not enjoy the protection of parliamentary privilege and cannot respond in kind?"
I don't like attack dog politicians, period; but what I like even less are the people behind them who like to pretend they're not holding the leash when it looks like backfiring on them.
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Finally, while we're exploring political hypocrisy around the Mallard affair, I'd like a journo to ask Miss Clark this question:
<quote>Why didn't you chivalrous concern for the 'honour' of women subject to offensive and inaccurate insinuation extend as quickly - and vigourously - to [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=178407|Mary English, Rosemary Bradford and Cathy O'Malley (who happens to be the sister of then Opposition leader and former Health Minister Jenny Shipley)]] - women who do not enjoy the protection of parliamentary privilege and cannot respond in kind.?"
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And I'd respectfully suggest that if positions were reversed, and Key responded the same way Clark did where Mallard was concerned, Labour would be incandescent with righteous indignation. And you know something, I'd probably have to swallow my tribal instincts and agree with them.
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