Posts by Craig Ranapia
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Hard News: What Now?, in reply to Sacha,
Are you saying Brian Rudman opposed the regional fuel tax?
No because that wouldn't be true and we both know it, so I'm not going to fall into that perjury trap. Thank you. But he's engaging in more than a little "oportunistic politicking" of his own.
I don't know if Rudman bothered reading what Brian Fallow actually wrote yesterday, but it was (typically) a damn sight more careful and nuanced than "borrowing [is] another acceptable option." It's an option. So is going Freddy Kruger on WFF and student loans. Both options, I think it's fair to say, that Fallow find equally glib. Oddly enough, because he actually agrees with Rudman that we don't know what the size or distribution of the reconstruction tab will be.
And his casual conflation of government borrowing with tax-cuts was, at best, careless and at worse fucking deceptive rhetorical sleight-of-hand. Which you really shouldn't do when accusing others of "pushing their own agendas".
And I think it's totally fair to muse on why this year's corporate tax cuts escaped Mr Rudman's anathema, unlike (ironically enough) Fran O'Sullivan's call for every tax cut -- including APN's -- to be on the table. (To be fair she's also a lot more enthusiastic about a reconstruction levy that either Fallow or Rudman. Bet that gave many a Green a funny turn.) Perhaps I should Rudders the benefit of the doubt and assume he neither knows nor cares about such things when he can just cut and paste from press releases, but he should.
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Hard News: What Now?, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
By which I mean, as far as I can see the New Zealand Herald’s opposition to regional fuel taxes to fund regional public transport infrastructure (like the CBD rail loop) have been downright Wagnerian. If Rudman supports the Greens’ proposed “progressive levy” to fund the Christchurch reconstruction, then perhaps he can start a grown-up discussion of their ‘polluter pays’ approach to taking public transport and infrastructure seriously.
Instead the Greens get sneered at every time they suggest it might actually be time to stop treating car ownership and cheap petrol as some kind of fundamental human right, while public transport (which isn’t driven by unicorn farts and pixie dust but serious long-term investment) is some tree-cuddling masturbation fantasy. But I guess when it comes to "opportunistic politicking" columnists like Rudman have to be careful not to tell their fans anything they really don't want to hear.
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Hard News: What Now?, in reply to Sacha,
Brian Rudman notes the opportunistic politicking and gives it some perspective.
Pot, Kettle, Brian Rudman.
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Hard News: Nothing important, just some tunes, in reply to Mark Cubey,
Charlie Sheen got over 1 million Twitter followers in 24 hours.
I was one of them for about five minutes, until I asked myself this question: "Is passively enabling a mentally-unstable drug addict with a history of domestic violence really on your bucket list?" the computer said no.
At least fellow Mel Gibson wannabe John Galliano has the decency (or very good legal advice) to STFU and get his tragic, trashy arse into rehab. (At least, I hope the media reports he has are true.)
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Hard News: What Now?, in reply to Sacha,
Some light relief. Cameron Slater described by the Herald as a National “party insider”.
*sigh* He's no more an insider than I am -- and given his rather squalid jihad against the party president I rather doubt anyone who is would touch him with the proverbial barge pole. To quote Mrs Mia Wallace, when boys get together they're worse than a sewing circle.
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Sorry for stinking up the room with seriousness, but I'd be more generous than you about last night's Media7. It really got as close to the tonal bullseye as anyone could be reasonably expected to get Lighten up on yourself and take the compliment..
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Hard News: What Now?, in reply to Sacha,
TVNZ news were using the word ‘frustration’ in their coverage but I didn’t notice any interviews with locals.
Well, of course there’s bloody frustration – but some of the media coverage does have the awful high-pitched dog-whistle of a story being spun to fit the headline when the reality is both less melodramatic and more complex. “Conflict” is an easy hook to hang a story off, but if this isn’t the time and place to resist it what is?
I already look forward to the articles in the Listener about the wonderful impact this will have on the value of houses in Auckland.
While I dread the inevitable Herald bourgeois property porn-cum-pity-party. Someone new to blame for those poor six figure double-income Aucklanders denied their fundamental human right to live in over-valued, over-leveraged houses in fashionable inner-city suburbs. Staying home on Friday nights and having to wear your Karen Walker and Trelise Cooper for another season (after picking through the sales tables)! O, the humanity! Will nobody think about the entitled infants!
Rant over. Promise.
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Hard News: What Now?, in reply to Bart Janssen,
Oh fark, Malcolm McDowell called. His droogies want their Neezhnies back or pretty Judie is going to get a britva in the litso and other ultra-violence done on his pretty plott. Right-right, o my brothers?
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Hard News: What Now?, in reply to George Darroch,
… I can’t condemn them.
No, but the after-taste of hyperbolic judement-pants to some of the media overage is damn annoying. Yet again, PAS FTW!
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Hard News: What Now?, in reply to Scott A,
The thing is, Bennett’s not wrong. Lots of shit gets done very quickly in China; as you would expect when you don’t have to arse around with tiresome bullshit like labour and environmental standards, resource management laws, building codes, private property, oversight from an independent judiciary and free press and so on.
Still, I don’t recall Joe being awfully keen to immigrate after publishing Where Underpants Come From. Guess a functional parliamentary democracy operating under the rule of law isn’t so bad.
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