Posts by BenWilson
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Hard News: Any excuse for a party, in reply to Russell Brown,
and thus isn't, in itself, a great argument for abolishing the monarchy.
Word...That's neolib thinking, abolishing it entirely on a cost/benefit calc. Surely the reason would be much deeper than that? Something to do with self-determination, multiculturalism etc. The great irony for NZ is that Maori leadership would most likely be opposed to republicanism, since the Treaty is a deal with the Crown. Unless they were able to extract Tino Rangatiratanga from the rest of NZ, which seems highly unlikely.
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Hard News: Any excuse for a party, in reply to Robert Fox,
whose side would you be on in battle between Good King William and the prospect of the Evil President Brash/Banks etc?
Ooooo hard one. I doubt a King would be into selling off the family silver, that's what makes him King.
Edit: King Billy is hardly going to sell off all our hydro, right?
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I agree Russell. I'm not a monarchist at all, but that doesn't mean there isn't a sense of occasion around a royal wedding. It's still a wedding, and it's between famous people, and it's going to be a massive affair. That's watchworthy by itself. It doesn't hurt that, at least to my mind, there is a real sense of romance between these two that was very much lacking in the Charles/Diana one. It's like this is one of the only good outcomes of that union.
It's rather like appreciating a grand finale in a soap - I'm not into soaps but finales are often worth the time.
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Cracker: RIght On., in reply to Sacha,
Quite interesting, although I think both Hager and Gustafson focus just a little too much on the influence of Brash in the party, without really considering how he came to be the leader of that party. How credible is it that no-one amongst all those career politicians understood what the guy was about? It was bloody obvious even to "the punters in punterland".
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Cracker: RIght On., in reply to Sacha,
There has long been a significant overlap of the right of National with Act.
Yeah, but it's never been so overt that the guy who came within a hair's breadth of running this country turns out to be so aligned with ACT that he not only wants to lead it, but is welcomed with open arms, like he's returned from a personal odyssey to his natural home. He didn't even have to hack the heads off the suitors, they fell on their swords willingly. And the guy who ran Auckland for many years is just dying to be a piece of it too.
. Do you know anyone involved with ACT, or are they the Higgs boson in your model of the political universe?
Yes, I do, and how is that relevant to my speculation that the former leader of the National party is highly likely to have discussed this move at great length with the party leadership - either directly or by proxy, or more likely both?
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Cracker: RIght On., in reply to Sacha,
lol @ shady cesspit. Yeah, I get an impression of a lot of behind the scenes maneuvering. Frankly, I find it very hard to believe that both Brash and Banks could be making such bold moves without even the slightest consultation with National, given that both have been very senior Nats in their time. I'm not going to claim I know a conspiracy when I see one, but it does rather freak me out that two major contenders to lead the whole country, and the entire amalgamated city of Auckland turn out to be so sympathetic to ACT that they are prepared to stand as candidates for it. WTF is going on in this country? Is this seriously how fucked in the head our leadership is?
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Cracker: RIght On., in reply to Craig Ranapia,
and it's tendency to foul its linen in public isn't clearing things up .for anyone. Bugger.
Not likely to change under Brash either, who left under the cloud of scandal too.
I think Act would always win Epsom though wouldn't they?
I don't think it's certain at all. A lot of Nats don't like ACT, and there is the possibility for Labour voters to tactically vote the National candidate in. I don't know why they didn't do it last time. ACT could have been history if only a few thousand Labour voters in Epsom could look past traditional tribal enmity to the big MMP picture.
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Hard News: The file-sharing bill, in reply to Matthew Poole,
If I thought the current government gave the teensiest, tiniest shit what anyone outside (or even everyone inside!) the caucus thinks, I might be more inclined to accept this proposition.
I'm pretty damned sure they're concerned about what opinion polls say, and therefore Labour's message should not be pitched at National, but at the people. Both to influence National, to garner support for themselves, and because this is meant to be a democracy.
On this issue, I'm not sure that they do.
I'm seldom sure these days on any issue.
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Up Front: Home is Where the - Ooo, shiny!, in reply to Lucy Stewart,
It was a public holiday in Massachusetts last week. I forgot about it until it was midday and no-one else had come into the lab, because I've got so used to the idea that holiays are sort of optional, unless it's Christmas or something.
Yes, my business partner touted as a great bonus to home-work (he does it too) that you weren't stuck with the public holiday seasons and could avoid all the traffic, high fares and crowds. But what I found happening was:
a) I didn't take many holidays
b) When I did take holidays, it was rather dull because everyone else was working.I've come to realize that I actually like taking holidays at the same time as everyone else. I took Easter on Waiheke, my parents got to spend a lot more time with the kids and I went fishing every day with Dad. A number of other people I know were there too so there were plenty of social meetups. And the Jazz festival was on.
Edit: I do recognize that international travel might be much better had off-peak, the cost savings are compelling and seeing people you know is less likely, unless you pre-arrange it.
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I can't take much credit. Millions of overpromising programmers have lowered the general expectation of reliable predictions. The usual response to "how long will it take?" is "how long is a piece of string?". I've never liked it, but it's an institution.
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