Posts by Joe Wylie
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Southerly: Tower Insurance Have Some Bad…, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
A great article by the marvellously well-informed Janine Starks. Like her earlier piece on red zone issues, it's a refreshing change from the usual mealy-mouthed timidity.
A pity that the Press has attempted to headline it as bait for the usual idiot's auction of online comments.
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Hard News: The Politics of Absence, in reply to DexterX,
Apple Polishing Ninny
We're usually kind to people with cognitive disabilities, at least that's kind of the house style around here. Because whatever afflicts Brash has been publicly misinterpreted to the point where he's been accorded shaman-like status, along with material rewards far beyond any ability he's demonstrated, we call him names.
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Hard News: Thanks, Steve. For everything., in reply to Robert Fox,
Jobs was undoubtedly a briliant inovator and industrialist but when even the most rational amongst us refer to him with reverence bordering on the spiritual its time to take a few steps back and get a grip.
Russell did set the tone pretty accurately with the arsehole qualifier.
@Bart:
56 seems far too young.
Ten years younger than Walt Disney. Both brilliant at bringing dreams to reality by merging creative innovation with technology, while being ruthless users.
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Gerry Brownlee has told red zone homeowners that they’re not to remove fittings before vacating their homes, as such things are considered part of the spoils of demolition. "It costs a minimum of $15,000 to $20,000 to demolish a house. The demolition contractors will expect to get some salvage out of it."
Do these kind of cost calculations translate as a nod & wink at the coalface to have the fellas get the job done quicker in exchange for perks? During WW2, when Buckminster Fuller designed prefab structures for the US military to be erected in England, he specified that each building would include a full set of the necessary tools. When the Pentagon pointed out that the British tradesmen who’d carry out the work usually supplied their own tools, he replied that they’d get the job done in half the time in order to make off with the spoils of American largesse.
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Thanks, you glorious, brilliant asshole.
+1.
Jobs put wheels under so many people's dreams. For example, without Steve there'd have been no Toy Story. -
Hard News: The Politics of Absence, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Remember, never for evil:
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Hard News: The Politics of Absence, in reply to Paul Williams,
Is this Hawkins? Not one of my mob I've got much time for frankly.
Not who I'm thinking of. Because the info's easily Googled I've sent you a private message. Although some of it's years old it does bother a few folks. A rather high price to pay for your MP's help.
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Hard News: The Politics of Absence, in reply to Paul Williams,
There are no standards that I’m aware of but there’s clear custom and practice that anyone who has ever worked in an agency, parliament or ministerial office could explain.
Perhaps it's because most MPs abide by a sort of common decency "clear custom and practice" that there hasn't been a need for some kind of rule book. I do know of one who habitually put out information in press releases about constituents his office had helped. Even though his valedictory speech has now been delivered, personal information about his constituents' medical and financial circumstances is still out there, to the glory of the great man, without his having bothered to seek their consent.
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Hard News: The Politics of Absence, in reply to BenWilson,
Sure, local MPs are powerful people, but why go to them in particular? There’s hundreds of powerful people in every electorate. There’s institutions for nearly every kind of complaint.
Sounds fine, assuming those institutions aren't geared towards fobbing off an initial approach from the naive and unassertive. Even local MPs have been known to do that, sometimes while having the best of intentions towards their constituents.
For example, I know of a woman caring for an adult intellectually disabled son who got nowhere with welfare agencies. Only when the intimidating dragoness who fielded calls for her MP had been promoted up the party hierarchy was she able to get through, and yes, he did get things moving.
Some local MPs seem to have a rather unworldly faith in the effectiveness of community agencies. When a paranoid and P-addled aging gang member mounted a campaign of intimidation against his neighbours who displayed Community Support stickers on their letterboxes, the local MP spoke glowingly of the work of the ex-policeman who ran the scheme. Unfortunately the guy's response when people told him they believed they'd been targeted for displaying his stickers was to snort derisively. When it came to the crunch, more interested in protecting his brand than serving the community.
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Hard News: Angry and thrilled about Arie, in reply to Sacha,
Good guess Sacha. To give the worthy Doctor his due, it’s encouraging that he seems to have taken the initiative on this. While his own once-vaunted first-hand cred in such matters is now a bit too distant to dine out on indefinitely, it might have helped Arie’s case if he’d spoken sooner. Better late than never.