Posts by FletcherB
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Another point on why free trade with USA is preferable to with China....
Local wages..... When any two countries go into a free trade association with one another..... that's going to hurt wages in the higher paid country and help lift them in the lower paid one.....
I'd rather the US was outsourcing it's work to us rather than us outsourcing it to China....
No judgements about human rights or other intangibles... just hard economics.
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Paul,
When I'm incorrect, I convert fairly quickly when presented with facts... :)
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Craig calling bullshit.... fair enough. I'll try and explain what i mean...
Maybe I'm projecting some of my own issues (ego?)into this.... I dont feel inclined to send him questions or alternative viewpoints if they are not going up on the site... He's always answered mine well and convincingly when I did (back when he did have commentss).
I doubt I'll ever persuade him otherwise from his points of view as they are obviously very firmly held (much like yourself), so I dont see much point in disagreeing with him in private.... whereas, if my comment is answered in public, others get to see it, and yet others still may provide an alternative take either on a comment or its reply..... its the whole sharing of ideas and balancing the shades of grey that I really like in a comments section like here....
But yeah, I totally get the not wanting to be a troll farm or invest the time needed to moderate against becoming one.
So, lets say you're correct that he hasnt gone more (I said feral before, that was unfair), lets say 'extreme' because of lack of comments... do you have an alternative explanation or do you not agree with the observation at all? (I know I'm not the only one to have made the observation in various blog comments).
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I'm fairly sure I/S was calmer at the previous election.
I agree totally.... I was just wondering if lack of calmness was a side effect of not getting contrary feedback (of a rational nature, not the wingnut variety).... or if in fact it might have been an intentional 'persona' taken on to push your version of the truth against competing blogs of an opposite view?
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I remember when I/S had comments....
Mostly they were balanced and civil, much like here.... and when a few started to become a bit nasty, I understood why he decided to turn them off....
But frankly, I'm dissapointed in what's happened to his site since then....
Since turning comments off, while much of his commentary is the same as it used to be.... much detailed analysis etc. that even people of quite opposing political views have admired and linked to... he's also turned a little feral himself... he now includes more personal invectives, and even when not being personal, some of his positions seem less balanced and more campaigning.... overstating his "side" or ignoring obvious deficiencies or mitigating factors...
I'm unsure if this is just a side-effect of not having balanced and rational commenters challenge you, or if it was an intentional plan with an upcoming election on the horizon?
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No story... just relating that I too was a member of the Costello Mailing List back in 96, and remember reading Simon Griggs comments (among others) at the time... (I may have just been a lurker, cant remember if I posted?, certainly not frequently)
It's actually that list that opened me up to an appreciation for lyrics in general.... I grew up in a Jazz household where singing (if present at all) is frequently just another part of the musical sound...
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I think we hit on the possibility of an alleged offender leaking details to do the whole unfair publicity prejudicing the trial thing back during the Urewera Terrorism thread didnt we?
If you did such a thing, and were then found out.... you'd get done for perverting the course of justice, or contempt of court wouldnt you?
I'd really really hope that the penalties for such would be made to be at least as bad as what you're trying to get off?
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medal counting....
I can see that just counting the total number of medals does not give appropriate "weight" to the value of winning over being second or third (which are still VERY good... but are not the same as winning.)
But I find the counting of golds over anything else is also egregious... Should a country with 1 gold only be ranked higher than a country with ten silvers and ten bronzes?
I think if you want to rank the countries, you need to weight the value of the medals somehow..... whether thats 3,2,1 or 5,3,1 or some other accounting..... you need to be able to acknowledge golds as more valuable and desirable without completely discounting the effort and achievement required to come 2nd and 3rd.
And, with China having twice as many golds as USA, and one or two less medals in total.... that's obviously places China above USA in this years table to my mind...
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So Grant, lets say you and your friends apply to hold a parade.... for the sake of illustration, lets say the topic is completely uncontroversial, and nobody particularly objects to what you want to say or show..... but the council says no anyway....
You're saying you'd be perfectly happy with that? They are in charge, and if they say no, then thats it.... they dont have to give a reason.... they dont need a legal backing to decline, they just say no, and you're happy?
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Actually.... as an "ordinary voter" with no particular allegiances, I'm going to say that despite not liking Clifton's "old media snobbery"... I do actually agree with part of her basic premise...
It sometimes is hard to tell which people have a line on the truth and which are just spinning a little and who's telling outright lies....
What she's possibly discounting is that us plebs are aware that those distinctions do exist... we are not oblivious that we are (possibly) being manipulated... but it can still be difficult to pigeon-hole any particular piece of info.... there are so many sources.... which to trust?
And, unfortunately for Clifton and her ilk.... I've seen enough wrong reporting in the MSM that they dont automatically get a pass mark either...