Posts by Dismal Soyanz
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Hard News: Dirty Politics, in reply to Tom Semmens,
But to be fair, Key is blithe about everything.
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Hard News: Dirty Politics, in reply to nzlemming,
I've not read the book yet but at least with iPredict if people are trying to manipulate the prices in a systematic way there is an exploitable opportunity (in theory, at least) to make money from them.
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Staggering that. A variation on the "I'm just following orders" defence. And then to say it was ok because the judge and prosecutor didn't complain. I understand the need for a lawyer to advocate positions that he may not personally agree with but this is taking it to such a low it is mind boggling.
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I'm impressed by Rudman's ability to dog whistle, feed the "real" trolls and stick his head in the sand at the same time. Quite the circus act.
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Hard News: Narcissists and bullies, in reply to Richard Aston,
Agreed. But until we as a society acknowledge that the norms need to change (and that has to start somewhere), change won't happen. Understanding why some/many resist that change makes the process more bearable.
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Hard News: Narcissists and bullies, in reply to Kumara Republic,
I'm going to go out on a limb and say yeah. I have no evidence to hand but would be very surprised if rapists were going to rape no matter their environment.
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Hard News: Narcissists and bullies, in reply to Sacha,
Once you accept that rapists do not wander around with horns and 666 tattooed on their foreheads, you realise that they are a product of their social environment. This in turn implies the social norms need adjusting. For many, especially the privileged males, this is a challenge to their orthodoxy and position. Hence the JT and Willie reaction. And possibly the initial police response.
More light, please.
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Hard News: Done like a dinner, in reply to Quentin Davies,
That's not time travel. That's a temporal loop. But either way it sucks.
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OnPoint: H4x0rs and You, in reply to Bart Janssen,
But every scientist I know would be only too happy to spend the half hour or hour to explain in lay language, preferably with access to a pencil and paper to draw pictures.
Absolutely.
Although I prefer to use a whiteboard. From my interaction with experts in my own field and across other disciplines, getting an explanation in simple terms is never that hard. Getting them to shut up, sometimes is...
Given the time/space constraints inherent in either TV or print reporting these days, it is almost a truism to say that they will not get the whole picture. After all, some of us have spent whole careers/lifetimes trying to understand the damn thing.
So I have plenty of sympathy for the journos who are trying to push the square story into the round time/space slot (Dr Who, anyone?). But the answer is surely less about expressions of loathing aimed at the those who work within the mainstream and more about strengthening the alternative. Yes, there will always be those who believe that Granny tells us the truth (the whole truth, and nothing but) in the same way that there will be those who think cage fighting is fun and tobacco is not harmful. They will be with us always. What we need (and have, to some degree, praise be to the Omnipotent) are informed voices who have the willingness and ability to (loudly) call the mainstream on their errors.
Long live teh interwebz.
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And just when you thought it was safe to be a pirate.... as Tony Abbot says "Shit happens".