Posts by Craig Ranapia
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Hard News: The Hager saga continues, in reply to
, which is “not a finding made by Police or us after investigation.”
And which is a finding that should be made in a court of law, to be perfectly pedantic.
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Speaker: “Foreign forces”, hope and Hong…, in reply to
Why idealise the colonial era? If colonial Hong Kong was so perfectly sweet and innocent, why was the ICAC set up? Care to discuss the political troubles of the ’60s?
Well, yeah - let's discuss. But I'm sorry, but you're going to dismiss Nickkita's whole post because she isn't delivering a detailed history of Hong Kong's rather complicated history?
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Hard News: The Hager saga continues, in reply to
Can we just agree to disagree about this Craig?
We can - perhaps you can be a little more generous spirited than "Unless of course Hide knows that Slater has the goods on him, which can in its way totally be read to tally with Hide’s reaction from the outset. The cost of admission is high."
It's equally possible that Hide knew the claims were bullshit and came from someone whose credibility is roughly zero, but he'd be a fucking fool to give them legs by responding. Which is not far from the reason why Helen Clark and Peter Davies, quite sensibly, weren't in the habit of engaging with the sleazy paranoid gibbering of Ian Wishart.
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Hard News: The Hager saga continues, in reply to
Yeah, who would want to expose blackmail attempts made with empty “menaces”.
Because of exactly what you’re doing here, Mark. I don’t think anyone here is in any doubt of your contempt for Hide, but there’s no reason why he should have kept a media circus going around incredibly serious and gross allegations because you think he should.
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Hard News: The Hager saga continues, in reply to
That is quite odd, isn’t it? Surely the natural response would be to be angry at the people talking about blackmailing you and wrecking your marriage.
How do you know he isn’t, Russell? The media savvy response to allegations of that nature would be not to give the story any legs by talking about it in public, don’t you think?
If anything, Hide's response was the only smart and effective one in this whole saga. "The allegations against me are utterly false, and I have no further comment to make." He pretty much killed that aspect of the story by not playing the game.
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Up Front: Good to Go?, in reply to
I suppose the potential danger is that some moron might think that the app somehow creates a legally enforceable contract. Whereas, as far as I know, making contracts for sexual acts is specifically prohibited.
True, but hell... an app is not a contract, and it's kind of depressing anyone should need to be told that but there you and here we are in the world as it is, not the one we'd like to see. That is going to take some work. :)
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Up Front: Good to Go?, in reply to
But having exactly the same conversation about sex? Way too scary. It is fear, and it’s fear out of all proportion to “what’s the worst that could happen?"
Exactly – and as I think you’ve said before consent is sexy. Being treated like you might as well be a blow up doll with vibrating orifices isn’t.
Expectations colour much of our sexual behaviour.
So do assumptions. I find it endlessly bemusing how many people assume I must love anal because that’s what gay men are into, right? Yes and no, but I'm in the latter. And that’s why clear unapologetic communication of your needs, expectations and boundaries really matter. It’s not the assumptions that do the damage, but what we do with them.
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Hard News: Friday Music: Cilla!, in reply to
You see, if she’d just kept hanging out with the Beatles and done loads of acid with them, this would never have happened.
Bryan Ferry would like an elegantly clad word with you young man.
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Smith can sing too, but that’s where Cilla falls short. She’s not Cilla, and for all the air she moves, she doesn’t really come near the blaring, brassy voice, with its remarkable dynamic range, that seemed to come effortlessly to the Liverpudlian singer.
Remember the Jimi Hendrix biopic, All Is By My Side that played at the film festival this year? In a weird way, the Hendrix Estate did an interesting if flawed film and lead Andre 3000 a solid by refusing to let them use any of Hendrix's music. It was quite refreshing to see a movie about a musician where you're not assessing a ventriloquist act that's never quite going to come off.
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Hard News: Terror panics and the war imperative, in reply to
I think I hear a no in there. I still can’t be sure.
Fine, Ben. I think I'm hearing a baited hook being waved in front of my nose I really shouldn't rise to, but I'm certain I should take my own advice and presume good faith on your part.