Posts by Joe Wylie
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Hard News: Angry and thrilled about Arie, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
I can’t see waiting for JK to listen being on his mind right now and now is imperative.
Understood, which is why we can't simply wait. Key's only a politician, and there are more ways to bring influence to bear than the ballot box. Brownlee's been deliberately presented as an obstacle because of his philistine insensitivity, so best to concentrate efforts where they'll likely be felt.
Although the sheer political cynicism that's flourished in the wake of the quakes is sometimes hard to comprehend, there's no choice but to resist and defeat it.
Right now I'd rather not mention the name of the victim of injustice who this thread's really about, as he's hopefully making the best of his well-earned privacy. What's being done to those worst affected by the quakes is his story writ large. While he still hasn't received the overdue fulsome apology, if you'd gauged the public mood from online comments the day before charges were dropped you'd have assumed things were hopeless.
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Hard News: Angry and thrilled about Arie, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
Well all I can say to Mike Coleman there is “Good luck on that front ” cos
Key hears exactly what he wants to and it generally is just his ego.While the good wishes are appreciated, luck, in the form of an impending change of government, doesn't appear to be riding to the rescue. Even though the red zones run across one of the most solid Labour-voting heartlands outside of South Auckland, most quake-affected locals realise that they'll be dealing with Key into 2012, even if local MPs must pay lip service to the possibility of a Labour victory.
It's pragmatism, not defeatism. If Key really listened only to his own ego he'd have pursued a more Brash-like agenda from the outset, rather than the slow windup we've seen. His minders are expensive, and he treats them accordingly. The advice not to frighten the chooks by tampering too much with Helen's legacy is something he's taken pretty seriously until he's become sufficiently emboldened to show his hand.
I'm betting on some form of game-changer in November to put the brakes on the Nats' hubris, and to empower Labour's genuine progressives to seriously revitalise the Party. The groundswell of post-quake discontent will be a player in that, you betcha.
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Hard News: Angry and thrilled about Arie, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
Sorry Christchurch but it aint over 'til you get rid of Brownlee.
When your opponent presents insurmountable mass but little manoeuvrability, perhaps the best strategy is to go around rather than over.
While this might be better posted in Dr Haywood's marathon ongoing insurance woes thread, an excerpt from Mike Coleman's speech at Sunday's Bexley red zone rally:
We've really moved up a level from Gerry Brownlee. Gerry Brownlee is happy to take the hits. He doesn't care if we moan and moan for the next decade, he is there to take the hits. Roger Sutton is the form, Gerry Brownlee takes the hits, and it comes from Bill English. I'm sure of this. We need to challenge John Key to start hearing. It's not enough to smile on billboards at us. We need them to start hearing what is happening to specific individual lives of people in the red zones.
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Hard News: Thanks, Steve. For everything., in reply to Sacha,
. . . Adobe and others influential in digital typography may have other views to offer.
It was during the Scully era that Apple & Microsoft rather frantically struck a deal to make Microsoft's Truetype the cross-platform standard at OS level. Anything to prevent Adobe becoming another Microsoft via Postscript.
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Looks as if Christchurch has its very own thieves' market. Somehow I'm not expecting anyone involved to be given the perp walk for the media anytime soon.
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Hard News: The Politics of Absence, in reply to Kracklite,
whatever afflicts Brash has been publicly misinterpreted to the point where he's been accorded shaman-like status
See yurodivy.
More Chauncey Gardener with a doctorate and a mean streak:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=m_B0sqowD6w -
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Anthony "Pepper Spray" Bologna meets Jesus.
(Might need to turn off adblocking just for the page)
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Hard News: Who owns the news?, in reply to Sacha,
OMGs
Tell all teens
Kids today, they won't believe you :)
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One percenter:
Some outlaw motorcycle clubs can be distinguished by a 1% patch worn on the colors. This is claimed to be a reference to a comment made by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in which they stated that 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens, implying that the last one percent were outlaws. The comment, supposedly a response to the Hollister riot in 1947, is denied by the AMA—who claim to have no record of such a statement to the press, and that the story is a misquotation. As a result, some outlaw motorcycle clubs used it to unite or express themselves and are commonly referred to as "one percenters". According to the ATF they are also known as Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs or OMGs.