Screw diamonds — a sharp stick is a girl's best friend. But no killing people: Just blood sucking politicians and demon lawyers.

during the first season of buffy (which i only saw a little of) a friend had a turn of phrase i always heard as "that skinny b*tch needs…

And why should they not? They've paid large amounts of money (my season ticket was GBP300 a month at one stage) to travel on the railway – why can't they have a bit of refreshment on the journey home

Because we have already established a direct correlation between Englishmen drinking…

I don't know what the Mr Pointy referred to in the above post is, and I'm not going to risk clicking on the link.

Rob, give me some credit — as a courtesy, I don't ambush folks around here with NSFW linkage. I assault them up front with lurid and…

I withdraw the second half of my last comment. I think that diminishing marginal utility is sufficient counter to the claim of dead weight welfare loss.

Thanks. Off home now but will have a read. I'm not at all sure about the dead weight welfare losses you talk about though: wouldn't these presume that there was no such thing as diminishing marginal utility and also that the real world was at least approximately close to…

He'd have been a disaster as Prime Minister.

strong words Russell, can you qualify that?

I don't know what the Mr Pointy referred to in the above post is, and I'm not going to risk clicking on the link.

Dude, s'alright. Without visiting the link, I can tell you that Mr Pointy is a special stake that Kendra gave Buffy during Series 2. My daughter…

1. Yes there is an income effect, however there is a rich body of literature estimating the elasticity of labour supply and the usual finding is that it is low but positive. So on average higher taxes leads to a (small) reduction in hours worked. However,…

and let's not to forget their able application of that great leveller of complex ideas, "the wedge".

"iwi – kiwi" was particularly despicable.

I agree. Although all parties, Labour included, are guilty of similar sins, I find the Ansell approach particularly worrying (living in Australia however, it's instantly recognisable however).…

gives out free beer in the Koru lounge, without too much drunken rioting from the frequent flying classes

that about says it all really. you can't imagine the members of the koru-club doing beer-bongs and descending into a drunken brawl.

although... the other week a well-oiled acquaintance did explain in…

it was something of a shock to see suited City businessmen board the train at Waterloo, place their briefcase carefully in the storage rack above, and then crack an extra-big can of Heineken to keep them company on the long journey back to Surbiton or Strawberry Hill

And why should…

The link you are looking for is rigidly comitted. It is iow all about cleaving to an ideology. The further out you go in the political spectrum the more dogmatic the ideology gets and the more you are expected to prove your cojones by cleaving to it.

The centre is…

The whole non-existent brain/mouth filter thing isn't a good fit with modern…

What they do all seem to have in common (the above, Brash and other neo-con converts such as Franks) is an appreciation of the power of propaganda to sway the "ignorant masses" (aka "punters").

and let's not to forget their able application of that great leveller of complex ideas, "the…

Some dreadful people are former Marxists — Great Global Warming Swindle producer Martin Durkin, revisionist historian Keith Windschuttle.

What they do all seem to have in common (the above, Brash and other neo-con converts such as Franks) is an appreciation of the power of propaganda to sway the "ignorant masses"…

God, I love you, Craig. If it was you standing up there to be PM instead of slimy yukky Keys, I might even vote National for once in my life.

I'm not so sure you'd appreciate the influence of Mr Pointy on a Ranapia Administration. Seriously, I was one of…

ever so slightly 'right-wing' or 'conservative' without the clinging perfume of sulphur about one's person? Just saying...

Dirty sulphurer! Take it outside!

A friend said she saw a gaggle of drinking buddies staggering along the…

The grass roots members feel a National government, even an imperfect one, will make them happier than 12 years of Labour government? Just a wild guess.

And without presuming to speak for the rest of the gullible Tory-Borg, could it also be within the realm of possibility that one can…

However, given that the flat tax high growth belief is taken as axiomatic in some quarters, you'd like to think that something would leap from the data somewhere. It doesn't

This is exactly what prompted my initial question (and serious thanks to both of you for linking me into the…

"wet impulses" (and you get serious icky point for that, Russell

wot, after you've just raised the spectre of a possible Brash — and I quote —

fucking feature

!?
*shudder*

Of course, and committed quite rigidly to the ideas he believes are right, not equivocating like the rest of us. I'm quite fascinated by how short the leap is for some from a Marxist worldview to the far end of the ideological scale.

The link you are looking for is…

Why don't grass roots members apar to have any concern at all about that?

The grass roots members feel a National government, even an imperfect one, will make them happier than 12 years of Labour government? Just a wild guess.

I mean, I don't have a very high opinion of…

Just quickly, as I'm keen to head off on an after dinner walk:

I haven't had a chance to read Mankiw's paper yet and if he has some good empirics behind those numbers that will sway my view somewhat. Nevertheless:

1. As Gareth and the blogger at Stumbling…

Does it provide a valid insight into how policy is formed in the National Party today? The popular leader ambushes his caucus? is this why we se no policy from National? Wo does make policy in…

Even if they'd swallowed hard and paid him an exit fee, it could have saved a lot of blood and money.

But at what price their moral authority?

I left Iraq out of the comment deliberately. I think terrible things would have happened had the United States removed Hussein and done everything else "right". But they made so many monumental f' ups in the first few years that even trying to imagine that counterfactual strains my capabilities.

It's…

So we agree with George Bush now. If you don't like their politics shoot them. Great philosophy Dislike even hate the actions of others but don't hate them.

I thought that I said largely the opposite. I left Iraq out of the comment deliberately. I think terrible things would have…

I'm quite fascinated by how short the leap is for some from a Marxist worldview to the far end of the ideological scale.

In extremis, "left" and "right" are arbitrary terms – both are fundamentalist, all-encompassing constructs which supposedly account for every phenomenon within the same intellectual system and whose…

well placed bullets

well maybe, but those fascist leaders had a lot of willing followers too – hence:

But often, one despot is removed, and another steps into place

anyway, it's got to be better to understand than to hate

There is no doubt that sometimes removing a dictator solves a country's problems, and a transition to democracy follows.

So we agree with George Bush now. If you don't like their politics shoot them. Great philosophy Dislike even hate the actions of others but don't hate them.

And that ban was put in place for a very good reason. I was living in London in 1987 when the Kings Cross fire happened. And that was started by a dropped cigarette.

In the space of 30 months, two smoking-related fires in the UK (King's Cross in November '87…

There are plenty of politicians who deserve loathing and hatred.

And many, many more who don't. Representative democracy requires that some people stand up and are prepared to be representatives.

A well-placed bullet in a fancy restaurant could help solve a lot of Zimbabwe's problems.

Etc. There is no doubt that sometimes removing a dictator solves a country's problems, and a transition to democracy follows. But often, one despot is removed, and another steps into place, or the country disintegrates.…

I hope Russell that we would never suggest hate as a suitable emotion for for any politician

Why? A well-placed bullet in a fancy restaurant could help solve a lot of Zimbabwe's problems. A shot to the back of the head in the 30s could have made Spain a much…

I hope Russell that we would never suggest hate as a suitable emotion for for any politician.

There'd be the odd one on the world stage, but no, I've never been one to apply such feelings to people in elected office.

I was left with the impression of a man…

Indeed. Parlour psychoanalysis often provides delicious case studies in projection and various forms of confirmation bias.

Fair call, Craig, but I really don't think that's the case here. Brash has previously called Hager's book a scurrilous attack, now he says it was an honest one. That's a pretty stark contrast.…

Alcohol is different, you can't burn down a station with spilt drink, unless…

There's no chance you could defame any senior University academic

Well, actually it has more to do with the terms of my departure from that institution and agreements attached to that. I tell you, it was a gruelling experience – I cried all the way to the bank (I didn't…

Good call Rob and Graeme – I think its fair to say Judith Collins didn't sign off on that one at least.

And as I've said elsewhere, I don't think Nanaia Mahuta 'signed off' on the Foreshore and Seabed Bill. She did vote for the third reading, and has been…

The anti-smacking bill would be up there, I'd suggest.

Good call Rob and Graeme – I think its fair to say Judith Collins didn't sign off on that one at least.

Indeed. Parlour psychoanalysis often provides delicious case studies in projection and various forms of confirmation bias.

And with that berg of salt, allow me...

I've sometimes thought that Brash appears to display (please note the weasel words there) the external behaviours (and a couple more) of psychopathy.

Leaving aside the…

In the 10 years I lived in London and travelled on the tube, I was never hassled by people drinking.

Well, you're a very lucky chap. I know a young woman who is neither a hysteric nor a wowser, who found getting sexually harassed (and in one memorably nasty incident…

Its a pity Brash didn't expand on this – I'd be fascinated to hear his examples of 'Key unplugged'.

I suspect its a reference to the accord he reached with Clark over the anti-smacking bill. It was acknowledged at the time Key winged this one.

On the article itself -…

I'd be fascinated to hear his examples of 'Key unplugged'

The anti-smacking bill would be up there, I'd suggest.

There's a lot to be said for reading between the lines... :D

Indeed. Parlour psychoanalysis often provides delicious case studies in projection and various forms of confirmation bias.

Well he had to say that in 2006, seeing as he was a party leader...someone should ask him why they differ so much though.

I wouldn't be surprised if Laugeson actually did ask him that – and I'd be even less surprised if he declined to comment further. The whole…

Is this a Sunday Star Times story, or a Womens Weekly dribble? Wah wah wah.

Oh, it's a fucking feature not a front page news lead Kyle. Not really my cup of tea, but infinitely preferable to when the supposed "wet impulses" (and you get serious icky point for that,…

That descriptive passage is the key to the rest of the profile. If you're saying it shouldn't be there, you're wrong.

Oh it fits with the story. It's the way of writing. "His voice crumbles, his eyes brim with tears." Feels more Mills & Boon than a leading NZ newspaper. Talk…

Is this a Sunday Star Times story, or a Womens Weekly dribble? Wah wah wah.

LOL! I just tried picturing Helen Clark, ex-PM, doing the same "personal" interview...

Is this a Sunday Star Times story, or a Womens Weekly dribble? Wah wah wah.

That descriptive passage is the key to the rest of the profile. If you're saying it shouldn't be there, you're wrong.

DON BRASH is fighting his emotions. His voice crumbles, his eyes brim with tears.

He is telling the story of a "profound" old Labour Party minister who once advised an aspiring political candidate don't do it. Don't enter parliament.

"He said, `when you start you've got all these principles. And…

The book, he says "was at least an honest attack".

Compare this with his newsletter from December 06, 2006:

"...a scurrilous attack on both the National Party as an institution and me as its Leader.

From the same…

Craig, yes but to be fair, having travelled on the night buses many times over the years, they were as often as not, a fairly positively spirited party and quite a London institution.

Oh hell, yes. I had some great laughs upstairs on the night buses.

But for all that,…

In contrast, he says his successor John Key understands the strength stratospheric polls give him. Key has "made a few statements as leader which I strongly suspect haven't been through the whole party process".

Its a pity Brash didn't expand on this – I'd be fascinated to hear his examples…

In contrast, he says his successor John Key understands the strength stratospheric polls give him. Key has "made a few statements as leader which I strongly…

But for all that, there was nothing less pleasant than a bunch of cider swilling skinheads on…

At the back of the room was Shane and I wandered over. We'd never…

Such cuts would have delivered massive windfalls to the rich. But, argues Brash, they would also strengthen incentives for hard work.

Possibly the wrong site to be asking this on, but have been looking for a while for documented evidence of this "lower top tax rates incentivising hard work". I…