Posts by simon g
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Brad Haddin learns from Karl Rove, attacks Vettori for his lack of "decency":
Vettori said Haddin's reaction to the incident had been "disappointing" given he believed the Australian gloveman "knew something (was) wrong" with the dismissal.
That drew an angry response from captain Ricky Ponting, who said if Vettori was calling his teammate a "cheat" he should have the evidence to back up such incendiary claims.
Haddin also retaliated today, saying he was also disappointed that Vettori had not approached him before making his feelings known.
"I was disappointed in that, because he had not had a chance to speak to me after the game. I was very shocked after reading today's paper that he did not come and speak to me.
"I am pretty disappointed he has questioned my integrity. I think that is quite poor."
Haddin said he did not know his gloves had passed over the top of the stumps as the ball approached - but said he was still certain it had hit the wicket before it nestled in his palms.
"I was unaware at the time that my hands were in front of the stumps … but the ball, I am 100 per cent positive, hit the bail first and then came up into my gloves," he said.
"I am pretty disappointed in Dan that he did not have the decency to come and speak to me after the game if he had an issue, rather than air his thoughts in a press conference.
"The polite thing or the decent thing to do would have been to come and ask me. He has played as lot of cricket now and he knows all too well what happens in these situations.
"I thought it was a bit low he did not come and talk to me."
After Ricky Ponting said he might approach Vettori to discuss the issue before the next one day clash on Friday in Melbourne, Haddin said he would not.
"I don’t think I need to. This game is gone and we move onto the next one."
(WA Today)
I think the obligatory cliche here is: hole, stop digging.
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Terry Alderman on Radio Sport (ABC) last night summed up: "The best team won." So full marks for fairness, if not grammar.
No marks for Radio Sport closing down as soon as the cricket had finished, when the tennis was into the fifth set. There may be some issue of broadcast rights, I don't know: but, still. A guy in a studio giving updates would have been better than nothing (and no, not everybody has 24 hour internet access everywhere they go).
Mind you, tennis is the worst sport for radio commentary: "FedererforehandNadalcrosscourtbackhandFeder-Nad-Fed-Na-net!"
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"kill implies an intent to do so"
Wrong. Cause and intent, not synonymous.
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Matthew, if the likely outcome is death, I think "kill" is a pretty valid word, and certainly preferable to euphemisms that allow us to diminish the reality. Killing people (on our behalf) may, in certain circumstances, be justified, but it should never be euphemised. Leave that to the Pentagon.
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Some questions (because even the devil needs an advocate):
McDonald was finally arrested, not shot dead. How were police able to do that? If lethal force was not used to "take him down" (euphemisms be damned - we mean kill him), then to what extent was it the best - or only - option?
He has been described as a "rampaging gunman" (eg TV3 news). Strictly speaking, this is true. He was rampaging, he had a gun, he fired (allegedly etc). But it makes it sound like Virginia Tech, as if the (alleged) offender was intent on killing, or had already done so. The charges suggest that he was firing, and was therefore an extreme danger, but not that he was on a murder spree.
Of course, the police do not and should not wait for dead bodies before responding. But the response needs to be held up to scrutiny. Did they make us (and themselves) safer? Was good judgement exercised, even before the tragic death of an innocent man? We cannot pre-empt the courts, but so far McDonald has not even been charged with offences that would lock him away for life. So when should police be empowered to execute? Was this such a case? I'd like to know if the AOS were right to open fire in the first place. - or rather, I'd like somebody to be asking that. Not just automatically assuming that's now "normal" in NZ - God help us if it is.
These questions are not for the officer who fired the fatal bullet (unless s/he was in charge of the operation). The focus on one individual is not the core issue. There are serious questions here for the police. And for the media, who should be asking them rather than parroting O'Connor spin. Let's get past "nobody wanted this to happen", which is so bleeding obvious it's a haemorrhage.
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That Oath ... The Shocking Truth Revealed (from, er, the internet - i.e. someone quoting Christian Science Monitor quoting Dallas Morning News quoting some professor etc ...)
This marks the first time in history that a president was sworn in by a chief justice that he opposed [when nominated].
Reason: they're usually old dudes. Roberts is a relative newbie.
So he was getting his own back on former Senator Obama.
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Watch a football crowd in the UK (and other countries too, no doubt). See them react to the big moment. The goal, the win.
Old style: crowd forms one mass, one roar, one jump, the sound of two hands clapping.
Modern style: fans hold mobile in one hand, look around, capturing the moment, the moment when everyone held up their mobiles. Tinny, rhythm-less clapping. (You try doing it).
I know this because I stop roaring and jumping and clapping and watch them do it. Nobody's going to out-meta me.
The next step is to provide the noise artificially (see Warriors et al). The crowd can get on with texting each other about the fantastic atmosphere they no longer provide.
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And so it appeared this morning in the Dompost alongside a report of Judith and Pita's trip to Rimutaka prison with Pita Sharples proclaiming it was better than you would get in many restaurants
Others have noticed this too.
Speech by Dr Pita Sharples, 22 April 2008:
"Every Christmas, there is a standard feature that grabs space in every local paper.
It’s the prison Christmas menu. Last year, incidentally, it consisted of a portion of chicken, a serving of vegetables and luxury of luxuries, a Christmas mince pie. Hardly something to get excited about one would think, but the four dollar a day diet in our penal institutions falls into the same category as a series of other items that appear to fascinate readers.
You know the stories – those that ask WHY are prisoners playing petanque, watching flat-screen telly, getting access to Playstations, Xboxes, internet and benefiting from the luxury of underfloor heating?
Yet without fail, every Christmas, there are also articles missing from the paper which tell a different story than the lavish dinner in the School of Hard Knocks.
The stories about families living in shame or despair. Families who have become socially ostracized due to the crime of their loved one inside. Families with children who may have been bullied or teased or worse yet, treated with silence as society ignores the impact of their parent being in prison. Families who are desperately seeking understanding, who want to share what is happening to them, who are struggling with their own survival.
The way our society responds to the challenge of incarceration depends entirely on whose stories are told, whose experiences are shared."
etc
But that was before Pita had his mana enhanced. Now he thinks the prisoners' Christmas dinner is "awesome" (Dom-Post, today).
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Pita Sharples shares a ministerial portfolio (Corrections) with Judith Collins, who says there is no problem here, police are just doing their job, to keep us safe.
Pita Sharples shares a caucus room with Hone Harawira, who (according to Matt McCarten) has been one of the people monitored, to keep us safe.
Wouldn't it be cheaper just to get Pita to report to Judith about Hone?
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Judging by Question Time, I would expect the Prime Minister to hold a firm opinion about climate change, until the weather changes.
But well done to Jeanette Fitzsimons for flushing him out.