Posts by vangam
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Haha. David Kemsey couldn't wait to get out of there. Good show, Russ.
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I quite like the idea of a half-Maori Senate. I see them as more reliable custodians of NZ's resources than a bunch of politicians with close ties to finance and business. However, I can't see the country ever going for it. And there's no guarantee an upper house would achieve what we're after here, is there? I mean, even the House of Lords was brow-beaten into compliance in 1910/11. Or do we think a veto of two years is sufficient to dampen the knee-jerk changes wrought by our dictatorial parliament?
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And the Legislative Council wasn't always the lapdog of Parliament. In the early 1890's the LC refused to pass several Liberal measures and it wasn't until the new Governor General stepped in that the dispute was resolved. The fact that it "didn't do anything" is a problem of form, not of substance.
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Cracker: Gimme Shelter, in reply to Chip Matthews,
Are you telling me that trouble with a big 'T' is just beneath the surface at these events? Coz if that is the case then I can only conclude a north island gig draws a different crowd from the ones I have been to - christ, even my sister goes to these things and she is as straight-laced as they come. They're all a bunch of middle-aged men and women out for a pleasant evening. Hardly a formidable crowd in terms of security needs, I would've thought.
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Security are the party-poopers no matter where you go. Even at something as sedentary as the Winery Tour there is overkill on the security - I look at all of them standing around watching us and I can immediately see where most of my ticket price has gone.
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Legal Beagle: Coalition of Losers, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,
Parliaments are elected and have a mandate to do whatever they want.
Wouldn't a 2nd House or an Upper Chamber limit the powers of parliament? We used to have one and it seemed like the expedient thing to do back then. Why the hell did we get rid of it?
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Hard News: Wikileaks: The Cable Guys, in reply to Keir Leslie,
There is a very complete willingness to accept that the complainants are lying, and that the entirety of the charges are trumped up attempts to discredit Assange.
You would agree, I presume, that there is a possibility - however remote - that the charges are 'trumped-up'? That being the case, doesn't the politics surrounding this issue make this scenario more likely? All I am saying is that there's a foul stench in the state of Denmark (or should that be Sweden?) and I, for one, are not prepared to discount that possibility until all the facts are on the table.
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I'm inclined to agree with Seriatim on page 10. The timing alone of the charges leveled against Assange should raise eyebrows, and one should be able to question their authenticity without being labeled a misogynist. There seems to be a great reluctance to question the facts as presented to us by the powers-that-be in this particular case.
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Hard News: What about that Welfare…, in reply to Petra,
...The best solution lies with job creation and skills training...
This is what Rebstock & Co. should've been studying in the first place, not welfare reform!
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Hard News: What about that Welfare…, in reply to Petra,
he other 31 billion, I guess, is in management and administration of the welfare system, plus staffing WINZ centres.. Which is still ridiculous.
Do you think the govt would concede that the administration of welfare actually costs more than the benefits themselves? So the 50 billion is a fabrication, but even if it is somewhere in the vicinity of that figure - like for example 35billion - it would still be preposterous.