Posts by Craig Ranapia
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I think it's a bit bloody rich of the Herald, of all papers, to be pointing out the spelling mistakes of others. There's usually at least a couple of total shockers to be found daily within it's pages.
But they are fans of open-source proof reading, and you have to doubt it's copy has ever been sullied by a MicroSatan spell-checker. :)
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Oh, and one more comment: While I'm pretty obviously not a huge fan of the incumbent government or the Prime Minister, I draw the line at anyone throwing around the T-word. While Brian's taking a remedial course in New Zealand history and constitutional law, could he also explain to us what the frig **'religious treason' **is?
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Including the freedom to believe religious claptrap of all kinds and the freedom to protest with bad spelling.
Indeed, Simon. But at the risk of sounding like a slightly hysterical mayor ;), those freedoms come with a few responsibilities. Including, in the case of Bishop Tamiki, to make arguments from history that bear some faint relationship to reality. While I don't want to pretend inter-faith relations in New Zealand (particularly between Catholics and protestants) have all been group hugs and warm fuzzies. But there's a reason why we don't have any kind of analogue to the Shankill Road or the Kuta Beach bombings or Kosovo in our history books. And I'd argue that's in large part due to the fact that we never quite took the turn into sectarian politics or sectarian violence and terrorism.
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Michael:
Yes, the British Parliament has required the sovereign to be "in communion with the Church of England" for a little over three hundred years. (Which, to be pedantic, is a slightly different beast from being an Anglican. An Episcopalian, for example, would be no more eligible to become our head of State than a Catholic.) Among her titles is 'Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith'.
That is not the same thing as New Zealand having a state religion, and it certainly does not make it a 'Christian Nation" - whatever the frell Brian means by that, which I can't quite figure out.
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I'm sure privilege would extend in such circumstances, otherwise Ministers would be dragged into court everytime someone was upset with what they said in the House.
And what would be the downside of that, exactly? As I don't enjoy a near blanket immunity from defamation, I'll just say there are a few MPs whose contributions to political discourse would be vastly improved if they were occupied paying off a large defamation settlement, with costs.
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Heh...
Sanctimonious blather from politicians and media folks who are busy cultivating spiteful rat bastards who leak like a cheap colostomy bag - or valued sources acting only out of the highest regard for the public interest, if you like. Priceless.
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That's two ships passing in the night. 'Senior coppers' and 'frontline police' are by and large non-intersecting sets.
Oy vey, quote that for truthiness - especially when you've got a couple of cops around for dinner, cocktails and a bitch session. ;) But I don't think that's a distinction the media always makes.
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Statements by senior coppers on the current perils facing society seem to have about as much credibility as any conservative with an opinion.
And where did that come from? I'd hardly blame Police management for desperately wanting any PR that doesn't involve what Michael Laws so repulsively describes as 'sensual excesses' in the provinces.
Anyway, yes I do think Russell has a point - but at the same time, I also have a fair amount of sympathy for frontline police officers who feel as if they're bagged for policy decisions made well over their heads, and no matter what happens it's always their fault.
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Especially when it ran just ahead of the final of "American Idol". The difference in singing ability was striking.
In the sense that Ebola and necrotising fascitis are strikingly different in that one eats your flesh, and the other turns your internal organs into goo. Both are excruciatingly painful, lethal in most cases, and to be avoided at all costs. :)
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Nobody Important:
I wouldn't be in the least srurprised if Police prosecutors were very careful about, shall we say, embarassing the folks who (effectively) are going to have to go into the next Budget round and argue about how big a slice of the pie gets labelled VOTE POLICE. And let's not be naive in pretending that senior police managers and their union is as intensely 'political' as everyone else.
Having said that - and it might surprise some folks, give my clear ideological bent - I'm very reluctant to go as far as to suggest the Prime Minister, or anyone in her office or inner circle, would be stupid enough to politically interfere in police operational decisions they have a blindingly obvious political interest in.
It's like the whole decision not to prosecute either National or Labour over breeches of electoral law. Do I think the officers involved were spineless twats who knew nothing about electoral law, and cared even less. Certainly. Political meddling from the Ninth Floor or the Opposition Leader's office? No.
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