Posts by Rich Lock
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I personally hate how public discourse these days pits one project against another. I want the tunnel and the highway and the CBD link. They've all got benefits
If the holiday highway has solid tangible benefits, then let's hear them. I'd be very interested to hear a business case that doesn't look, sound and smell like it's been farted out of the backside of a diarrhetic cow. Unfortunately, I don't believe it exists.
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Is [Restrepo] officially available in NZ in any form yet?
Don't know, but was shown on the discovery channel two days ago, and will apparently be repeated this Sunday and Monday.
You might also be interested to know that the US military has now pulled out of the Korengal Valley. But don't worry! MinPax has assured us that we're still winning, and that this is merely a tactical advance in the reverse direction.
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I was put in mind of Sebastian Junger's latest book on his experiences with a US unit in Afghanistan, which gives a great insight into the psychological effects of being embedded in a combat unit (thus depending on and to some degree identifying with the soldiers protecting you).
+1 from me. It's excellent.
And is where I got the reference from that it is illegal for US military personnel to proof-read journalistic copy. As an aside, I haven't read 'Death in Belmont', but I highly recommend 'Fire', and 'The Perfect Storm'. 'Fire' also contains a few articles about the time he spent in Afghanistan with the Northern Alliance back in the 1990's when they were fighting the Taliban.
Sam, have you seen the related film doco ('Restrepo')?
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Less solid, but still credible is the *incredible* accusation that Russia is a Mafia state, with Putin pocketing billions, criminals working for the state and the law enforcement agencies working towards criminal ends. And not even war crimes, or human rights kind of crimes, but just plain old crime. If this is true, the a former superpower *is* a criminal organisation now.
Bit surprised that you find it increadible. I've recommended it several times beofre, but I'll recommend it again: McMafia, by
Misha Glenny.Here's a quote from the NYTimes review:
“All manner of operatives lost their jobs: secret police, counterintelligence officers, special-forces commandos and border guards, as well as homicide detectives and traffic cops,” Mr. Glenny writes. “Their skills included surveillance, smuggling, killing people, establishing networks and blackmail.”
What that quote goes on to say, but which I can't find on line, is (paraphrased) something like this:
"A lot of these ex-government operatives ended up selling their skills to the people who would pay: organised crime. In Russia, it is usual for a law-enforcement operative to also be some combination of a politician, a criminal and/or a businessman. The boundaries are so blurred as to be virtually non-existent".
Well worth a read. Although it's the sort of book that'll make you wan to go out an get filthy drunk after reading it. And not in a good way.
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If I can remember where I saw the references, I'll post it up.
OK, the UK armed forces document for journalists is called the green book.Copy here.
As it states, it was produced as a co-operative document between the army and various journalist organisations. But that notwithstanding, it has attacted rumblings of criticism from some quarters, such as this one:
no journalist can travel with the British in Helmand if he or she has not given signed agreement to an annex to the MoD "Green Book" which sets out the procedures for coverage, including the requirement for pre-publication approval of all text, audio, and pictures. A soldier even sits in on my interviews. No wonder American journalists decline to report on the British in Helmand. Their own government makes no such demands of the embedded press. Astonishingly, I learn the Newspaper Publishers Association, the National Union of Journalists, the Society of Editors and the BBC were consulted in producing the Green Book.
Does the NZ military have an equivalent? If so, what are it's requirements?
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Does anyone know/would it be a good idea to ask, if reporting on NZ armed forces involvement in Afghanistan has anything like the constraints that reporters operate under when reporting on UK armed forces.
Reporters with UK forces have to abide by a set of conditions outlined in a publication called 'the blue book' (or something similar). It is, apparently, long, highly detailed, and highly presecriptive, to the extent that a lot of journalists don't bother. They would far rather embed with the US forces, where it is actually illegal to read a reporter's copy before he/she files it (which doesn't mean there aren't other ways of spinning the story).
If I can remeber where I saw the references, I'll post it up.
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I ended up listening to Hauraki a reasonable amount in the evenings recently when I'm playing with my daughter and can't be arsed firing up the stereo. Less swearing than Bfm, the music wasn't as teeth-grindingly annoying as the yoof-oriented commercial stations, and the DJ's were slightly less annoying, too.
But I stopped when I realised that their playlist would more or less have a secondary function as a sort of speaking clock.
When you. Hear. The opening bars. Of. 'Shine on you crazy diamond', the time will be. 6.40pm. Precisely.
When you. Hear. The opening bars. Of. Any recent Chilli Peppers (but none of the older stuff). The time. Will be. 7.05pm. Preceisely.
When you. Hear. The opening bars. Of. 'Hotel California'. The time. Will be. Any of. 8.42am. Or 10.12am. Or 12.02pm. Or (repeat ad nauseam, just like Hotel California).
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Doesn't Hauraki have a free slot now? Where that Staples chappie was going to do whatever it is these shock-jock types do when they're not getting righteously smacked down?
Wouldn't be surprised to see Mikey pop up again there.
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would "I fingered her twat" (rhyming with hat), mean digital foreplay,
Yes it would. It's a vey crude way of putting it, though, and wouldn't be used in relation to a special ladyfriend.
The word is also frequently used both as an insult and also as a term of affection between good mates, in much the same way as 'wanker': By itself (oi! wanker! [twat!]), or prefixed with 'you' (piss off, you wanker [twat]). Generally has the same insult-strength as 'wanker', as well, but many connisseurs prefer the superior mouth-feel of the single-syllable expletive. Not generally used as part of a compound insult, but can be prefixed with, for example 'fucking' for additional effect..
Happy to help.
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tantamount to a declaration of war
To continue to play devil's advocate for one final post for my own amusement, deliberately sinking a warship is also tantamount to a declaration of war. As is shelling a town. Although I suppose since they technically never finished fighting the civil war they started in 1955, it's a bit different.
The rocket fired over Japan could have accidentally landed where it wasn't supposed to, if there had been a problem with it's motor or guidance system. Since it was a test flight of an experimental rocket, that's not all that unlikely.
Some commentary I've read suggests that the current sabre-rattling is so that the new crown prince can get a few results on his CV, and buddy up a bit closer to the N. Korean military. It's not beyond the bounds of possibility that the accidental rocket crash I'm speculating on could happen, if he decides to sabre-rattle a bit further afield than S. Korea. I'm just wondering what would happen afterwards.