Posts by InternationalObserver
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David Collins QC announced his decision just after 4pm.
"The Terrorism Suppression Act legislation is unneccesarily complex, incoherent and as a result almost impossible to apply to the domestic circumstances observed by the police in this case," the Solicitor-General said.
"Some may try to interpret my decision as a criticism of the police. Nothing could be further from the truth."
He said he believed the police had sufficient and proper basis for investigating the activities in question.
So there you have it. The Police did no wrong, the fault lies with the current Terrorsim legislation. Gee, if only our Politicians would give the Authorities the tools they need to do the job that needs to be done ... hmmm, what a shame there's no new legislation pending ...
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oh, so was I the only one rushing around like a mad dog this afternoon buying up **Bindeez** from retailers who hadn't heard about the recall/GHB connection?
They're gonna make excellent stocking stuffers this Xmas. Who's the coolest Uncle now, eh?
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__ That suggestion is 100 per cent pure genius, Craig. In fact, I'm printing out a hard copy for my future blackmailing needs as I type these words...__
Neither of those will work. They'll just look at you and go "Email!? Man, that's so 2007. None of my friends will look at anything unless it's hologram/ingested 3d viewer/data projected onto the surface of Mars."
Actually, you're both right. In the future people won't shoot their own YouTube videos (or the 2027 equivalent) because that's too amatuer and (let's be honest) something only the poor do. So the middle class will outsource their wacky videos.
David will just need to provide the printed copy of today's blog to GreenAcres and they'll convert it to a script, employ professional actors, hire a sound stage (they'll most likely shoot green screen and then CGI the rest), and deliver the finished re-enactment in multiple formats for your viewing pleasure. For a nominal charge they'll also circulate it digitially directly to 10,000 people within the Haywood nexus.
All for about one days salary.
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left with some change and about $10 of alcohol inside me
Yeah, but that booze probably cost them only $1-2. Why do they give away the free drinks? Because they want to keep you there gambling ....
The only way the Casino can lose is if not enough punters come in.
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we will go on to the state-owned farms, into the forests, to the wild places where very few people live, and we will say: 'This is ours, now try and stop us taking it. We've been patient, we've believed your fine words, for too long. We know what is right'".
Is this land not previously covered by a Treaty settlement, or is it land covered by a Treaty settlement but a settlement not recognised by this generation of Maori? And will urban Maori be entitled to a stake in those State Forests, or just local Iwi?
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Modern gambling is now a mathemetical equation designed to ensure the House always wins. Gambling machines (pokies and their variants) are programmed to deliver a % to the house, a % to the government, and a % the punter. But not every punter gets to win of course. The only guaranteed winner is the Casino who knows that for every dollar put in the machine they get to keep 40¢. The only way the Casino can lose is if not enough punters come in.
The other weird thing is that when it comes to games of skill (ie where the %'s can't be programmed) Governments protect the Casinos from losses by making it legal to turf out winning players. If you win a lot at Blackjack then you must be 'counting cards' which is illegal and you are out. No player can predict the next card out of the deck (or 'shoe') all s/he can do is make a guess based on probability based on the cards already dealt previously. That is a skill and you can still be wrong when the actual card is dealt. But even with 4 or 5 decks in the 'shoe' (200+ cards!) the casinos don't want to risk losing so they toss winning players as card counters. And the Govt have made this legal.
Try going into the Roulette Table in a Casino and putting $100k on red. They won't accept the bet, because they might lose $100k. They'll accept five bets of $20k each, but they won't accept it in one hit. This was famously proved by a UK reality TV show in which a Brit sold all his worldly goods and went to Vegas to put it all down on Black. No casino would take it.
Remember how we were sold the idea of casino's in NZ? Monte Carlo comes downunder! The international jet set were going to beat a path to our door, and everyone would look so debonair in their pearls or black tuxedo's ...
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Gambling will always be with us and the poor are often driven by circumstances to gamble
See, I don't buy into that either. The idea that poor were always poor and driven to gamble. Prior to the liberalisation of the gambling laws (that saw the introduction of casinos, which in turn saw the introduction of pokies) the only legal way to gamble was by placing abet on a horse race thru the TAB. Or the ubiquitous 'raffle' for a meat tray at the local pub on a Friday/Saturday afternoon.
Whilst vast sums of money were spent/wasted on the TAB, it was a drop in the bucket compared to what is spent now on Lotto, Pokies, and casinos. Why? because most ppl weren't interested in horse racing. Now you can bet/gamble anytime almost anywhere and now the result is immediate (as opposed to having to wait for the weekend race day, and then for the actual race). As has been noted by others: by having an immediate result you provide instant gratification to the gambler. They either win or think they're about to win. If a scratch card gives you 2 of the 3 icons needed to win you think you're lucky and maybe will get all three next time, so you turn round and buy another. If your scratch card has no matching icons then you don't, so guess how the scratch cards are printed?
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I think we got off lightly this year due to the rain everywhere. I suspect there's a lot of delinquent teens biding their time. Come New Years Eve it'll all be on.
I'm over fireworks and think they should be banned. Living in a high density area you have no control over the noise. I couldn't even tell which one of my many neighbours was throwing fireworks into my back yard let alone remonstrate with them.
So my 5y.o. daughter was freaked out (and crying) all night because fireworks are 'fun' and it's a 'tradition' - all part of 'kiwi culture'. What? Supposedly we're celebrating a plot to blow up the British parliament a few hundred years back - what's 'kiwi' about that?
Okay, so we all know it's really about blowing shit up cos it's fun. Yeah, well everything is fun until someone loses an eye.
No, I wouldn't be best pleased if some fucktard threw a sparkler through an open window into my house. But not more or less than if the offensive object was a lit cigarette, or a rock.
Yeah, but that the problem with Guy Fawkes -- it's like we're giving delinquents a liscense to to do stupid shit they wouldn't dare try another time of year.
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You might not be so tired if you let your wife carry a bit more of the load. It sounds like all she does is lie around the house on plumped up pillows, do the odd bit of breast feeding if she feels like it (and formula if she doesn't, the lazy sow), and watch you run round like a headless chook.
But seriously (yer knew I wuz joking right?!) you missed out on some real fun: telling the ante natal class (where the debate is usually over hospital birth vs home birth vs water birth) that you were planning on having yours by CAESAREAN!!
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from 81stcolumn's link:
They were stopped by Police and taken back to the safety shoulder of the Motorway. A Police Officer then offered to drop the couple off at their home as they lived nearby. Before the couple reached their home a female Officer was allegedly assaulted and the couple ran off. They ran off but were apprehended a short distance away. they too will now face charges as a result of their actions.
Y'see, when you're psyched up to do a runner and not pay for your taxi fare .... well, even when offered a free ride you sometimes can't help yourself ...