Posts by DexterX

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  • Hard News: Crossing the line into idle bigotry, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    That is, until they collapse under their own weight, as happened with the News of the World last year.

    That was a long time coming - two decades perhaps even more.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Righteous Humour,

    Obama’s “success” as President begins with his mother – the measure of success will be what can be achieved in the next four years.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/opinion/11dove.html

    Running through Dr. Soetoro’s doctoral research, as through all her work, was a challenge to popular perceptions regarding economically and politically marginalized groups; she showed that the people at society’s edges were not as different from the rest of us as is often supposed. Dr. Soetoro was also critical of the pernicious notion that the roots of poverty lie with the poor themselves and that cultural differences are responsible for the gap between less-developed countries and the industrialized West.
    Indeed, Dr. Soetoro found that the villagers she studied in Central Java had many of the same economic needs, beliefs and aspirations as the most capitalist of Westerners. Village craftsmen were “keenly interested in profits,” she wrote, and entrepreneurship was “in plentiful supply in rural Indonesia,” having been “part of the traditional culture” there for a millennium.

    Based on these observations, Dr. Soetoro concluded that underdevelopment in these communities resulted from a scarcity of capital, the allocation of which was a matter of politics, not culture. Antipoverty programs that ignored this reality had the potential, perversely, of exacerbating inequality because they would only reinforce the power of elites. As she wrote in her dissertation, “many government programs inadvertently foster stratification by channeling resources through village officials,” who then used the money to further strengthen their own status.

    Obama is an inspiring guy, the President of a Nation with consderable challenges to face - America could not have picked anyone better - that is the power of democracy.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Righteous Humour,

    The GOP lost the election in the primaries; in a nation divided the Republicans were unable to field a Presidential Candidate who could project that they were capable of doing the right thing. On the political freeway the Republicans have taken the last exit to irrelevance; the rhetoric indicates they are not likely to turn the car around anytime soon.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Big 2012 US Election PAS Thread,

    The balance of one’s mind must shift and sway markedly the longer one spends in a cave worshipping at the altar of Rand – getting covered in that much guano can’t be good.

    The Libertarian response – is batshit crazy – particularly Perigo’s bullet for Obama view – he has distanced himself from this – though I do not doubt his initial expression is a genuine reflection of his reality.

    The voter suppression issues in the great republic, although an expression of the free market, don’t bolster liberty. The myriad of voter suppression practices needs to be outlawed in the interests of liberty.

    That the republicans stack the deck and can’t win is simply the best outcome.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Big 2012 US Election PAS Thread, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    And, sadly, I don't think Republicans lost big enough to puncture the denialist narrative that the only problem is that Romney wasn't extreme enough.

    I agree - the Republicans need to lose again and only then will the GOP purge itself to the degree it begins to position itself where it will have a chance of a win.

    Demographics are against the Republicans and until they being to reflect these changes they will be irrelevant to the swinging voters who look to the lessor of two evils.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Watching World, in reply to Pete,

    Actually it is going to be a conservative wetdream with all the swing states going to Romney.

    http://www.unskewedpolls.com/unskewed_projection_2012%20president_02.cfm

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report

  • Hard News: Media3: Whistleblower Season,

    that there may be serious problems with some public-sector processes.

    There are serious problems that stem from the public sector not having regard to the objects of the governing legislation - the failure to read or wilful ignorance of instructions, and when it all turns to shit rather than consult the manual a spin doctor and cover up are employed.

    It is accepted as the new "normal".

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report

  • Hard News: Weekend Compendium,

    All power to Colin the cat for the pursuit of a contrivance where outputs far exceeded any discernable input.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Mega Conspiracy,

    This seems to tbe the best thread for this:

    RIANZ withdraw one of first cases to Copyright Tribunal
    http://techliberty.org.nz/rianz-withdraw-one-of-first-cases-to-copyright-tribunal/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TechLibertyNZ+%28Tech+Liberty+NZ%29&utm_content=FeedBurner

    The defence could be run for the Kim Dot Com Case with the exception that you would change in 3 from "outrageously high sum requested by RIANZ as a penalty" to "the outrageous claim of criminal conspiracy alleged by the FBI"

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report

  • OnPoint: MSD's Leaky Servers,

    The MSD Leaks, the KDC GCSB Saga, the Banks sagas, the education debacles all have an overarching factor is unfathomable incompetence – should Bennett or Key have been Ministers in the Clark government they would now be back benchers.

    That Bennett still retains the confidence of the Prime Minister is a reflection on a Prime Minister who should really sack himself, if only he could remember what it is he is doing in the job in the first place.

    On talk back radio one of the default position offered is that “they” are very hard working and that the job is a thankless and frustrating – that is the lot of work for most working people.

    The lack of account is extremely wearisome as is the way the issues are getting skewed and the "incompetence" keeps repeating on itself.

    They are really really really bad at what they do.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report

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