Posts by linger

Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First

  • Access: Fighting seclusion with…, in reply to Angela Hart,

    Attachment

    Ashley represents the tip of an iceberg

    albeit a particularly curly one?

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Speaker: The Brexlection, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    Supporting Le Pen clearly correlates with Fear of the Other:
    immigration, terrorism, insecurity (=non-specific fear, maybe including fear of violent crime, but possibly also including fears about economic security, including of course fear of “foreigners, coming over here, taking our jobs”).

    Interestingly, “unemployment” by contrast (if you’re not already experiencing it) is something that happens to other, “undeserving”, people, so isn’t strongly associated with support for any one candidate; but it ranks a little higher among Macron supporters.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Speaker: The Brexlection, in reply to Ben Austin,

    I can’t think of a recent New Zealand example

    So, Springbok-tour-level divisiveness.
    Yeah … not with referenda at least.
    It’s not that NZ hasn’t had referenda hijacked and wildly misrepresented in the media by promoters of extreme ideological positions (e.g. the so-called “anti-smacking” referendum). We just haven’t yet subjected ourselves to a referendum defining the future direction and definition of the nation (the flag ones don’t count, as most voters could tell the difference between an arbitrary symbol and a country, and weren’t all that fussed about the former; and the MMP one was too abstract to engage most people on any highly emotional level).

    Actually, in both of those cases there was some element of "the people" recognising and opposing the government's self-interest (Key seeking a legacy; major parties wanting to hold on to power).

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Speaker: The Brexlection, in reply to Ben Austin,

    Pure flight of fancy I know (in that it would raise some fundamental existential questions), but it’d be interesting if the SNP started fielding candidates south of the border.

    “Brassed off with Brexit?
    Hate the smug Tory bastards, but can’t bring yourself to vote for the alternatives?
    Why not join Scotland, for a stronger opposition, and a stronger democracy!”

    I suspect they could probably do quite well out of the London protest vote.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Hard News: Local journeys on the cusp of…, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    the planet passes through the remnants of Comet Thatcher

    sounds like someone took up Michael Fabri’s suggestion for disposing of the remains of someone especially despised:

    "We gave her quite a send-off."
    "Oh, did you have her buried or cremated?”
    “Catapulted."

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Speaker: The Brexlection, in reply to Nick Russell,

    I suspect the intention of the walnut comparison is something like "to have at least the appearance of a brain"

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Speaker: The Brexlection,

    How does 52% translate to "overwhelming support" for Brexit?
    (I mean, apart from through using a nondemocratic FPP electoral system to skew the support within Parliament.)

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Hard News: Mike Moore: A pretty ordinary…, in reply to Jim Cathcart,

    renowned for being savers

    when they have the opportunity; but several factors have been removing that opportunity. The Japanese bank interest rate effectively went to zero more than 20 years ago and some inter-bank rates went negative this year. So on the one hand, it’s likely Japanese who can save are still saving, but there’s increasingly little incentive to do it in banks. But on the other hand, there’s increasing income inequality in Japan as elsewhere, and an increase in minimum-wage temp work, so fewer households actually have disposable income to save. And on the wrinkled third hand, an increasingly ageing population who pretty much by design are now spending their savings. So when you look at the Japanese household savings rate across time, you are not looking at comparable populations.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Hard News: Media Take: the poor health…, in reply to ,

    A minority group? (In much the same way as being left-handed is not typical, but neither is it a "disorder" -- and if someone decides to label me as having a "disorder" on that basis because I have "drifted from your norm", then my reply is very much unprintable.)

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Top Gear and reality TV, in reply to Alfie,

    And the comment just above it (from 7 months earlier) is actually another spam in the same series, albeit a much subtler variant: the entire text content is copied from Anne's comment at the top of this page, and the user homepage is ... a link to another "dissertation services" site.

    Both already reported (makes for cleaner removal than explicitly commenting on the buggers).

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

Last ←Newer Page 1 37 38 39 40 41 194 Older→ First