I'm a perfectly sane and reasonable person,

sorry craig, I didn't mean to infer that you weren't.
crossing ghostbuster beams there.

In the US election (bush part one) the argument that it was best not to upset the voters by extensive recounts was used successfully to stop recounts in progress.…

Thanks for digging a little deeper than my speed read of the relevant page on the Elections website. I guess Victoria Law School isn't a complete waste of carbon after all. :)

to a sane and reasonable person you'd think so. but that didn't stop people using it as…

I suspect that most NZers, like me, are confident that's already happened once, and think our system is fairly trustworthy, and doesn't need to be done again.

true, but in this instance wasn't it the margin of error aspect of it.
surely if a bank can manage to make sure…

[and the point you're all missing]

Yesterday was the last day to do it!

In most forums, I suspect, one might say: no one likes a smart arse :>

This forum is quite different however, and I think we mostly do.

People who vote not really wanting the votes counted in full?

I suspect that most NZers, like me, are confident that's already happened once, and think our system is fairly trustworthy, and doesn't need to be done again.

People who vote not really wanting the votes counted in full? Surely that's just nonsense.

to a sane and reasonable person you'd think so. but that didn't stop people using it as an excuse to put Bush into power for his first
Term, and it worked. "Don't upset the voters…

But voters not liking a recount?

Tussock: I think you're missing my point. As far as I'm aware, the only way Labour gets a complete recount is by the party secretary making seventy applications to the relevant District Courts to recount the party vote. Judicial recounts are not a trivial…

losing a race by a thousandth of a second is still a loss.

Nah, it's a statistical dead heat, 'cos the timekeeping for most races isn't that accurate.
I basically agree with tussock that recounts should be automatic if
(i) there is reason not to trust the result (and if…

not unless there's evidence of a flaw in our system, and if it actually got someone into parliament.
it's the public backlash part I have a problem with.…

I don't like that 'keep your mouth shut' line of argument.

Neither do I, Rob, which is why I didn't say anything that silly. If I was Damien O'Connor (or Cam Cameron who is out of Parliament on the specials) I'd be gutted. And just quietly, I'm pretty sure there…

and would Labour really want to get stuck with the perception (probably unfair) that they're casting aspersions on the competence of the electoral officials,

I don't like that 'keep your mouth shut' line of argument.
look at America. they used that line successfully in two very dubious elections, and there…

A one in fourty thousand shift is surely worth asking for a nationwide recount, one vote per two electorates. Even though Nat-Act still have 62 of 122 afterward.

I'm sure Mr. L. Beagle will correct me in a matter of seconds, but couldn't every Labour electorate candidate request a recount?…

A one in fourty thousand shift is surely worth asking for…

Or bear gifts

Fresh fish? Honey?

Out geeked!

But not BSG (or more general sci-fi) geekiness.

DVD geekiness.

Part 1 of season 4 of BSG will be released in New Zealand on 17 December – SRP $39.95.

Hold on, I'm a little confused – You're talking about BSG, not Dr Who, right? you're saying BSG Season 4 isn't available on DVD in the US yet?

As far as I'm aware the first half of season four isn't available in the US until January 6, a few weeks…

And who knows, C4 might actually pull digit and we'll get to see at least the first half of season four before the DVDs come out here.

And thanks to the writers strike and a very long mid-season hiatus, they're not being released in the US until the middle of…

Really, what hope did Tizard have in the face of this kind of policy "analysis".

Well, when poet Archibald Macleish became the Librarian of Congress in 1939, he was brought a stack of papers to sign on his first day. When he promptly announced he wouldn’t do any such thing…

Last week, at an MED "workshop" on ACTA and other IP crimes I was totally when in the same breath an MED official spoke about terrorists, arms traders, organised drug traders and... digital copyright piracy.

I'd have asked to sniff his breath, but I guess you'd need to be a…

even if she was to some extent fronting the policy opinions of MED lawyers.

Last week, at an MED "workshop" on ACTA and other IP crimes I was totally when in the same breath an MED official spoke about terrorists, arms traders, organised drug traders and... digital copyright piracy. I…

Craig, could I politely ask you not to post any more BSG spoilers, even with the warnings?

Fair enough, because half the fun is getting blind-sided with something you think is total bullshit... until it turns out to not only be right, but you couldn't imagine it working out any…

C'mon the elephant scene was good fun. Legolas' answer to Gimli beating him by one orc at Helm's Deep

Oh the elephant scene was fun.

I just wonder what tea the undead were drinking while they waited for it to finish, before rampaging over all the orkin in 10 seconds…

My eye moves faster than my brain can react.

I've just finished season 2, and season 3 should be in the shop tonight.

WRT the season 2 eps, I found I enjoyed the…

My comment was more aimed at your suggestion that we should watch what we say not to spoil future careers in officialdom, though.

haha, yeah, well I've never practiced that policy myself but um, it's a public forum, and in nz a reasonably popular one and if you're using your…

just cos you're campaigning on a policy of circumnavigating the law doesn't mean you won't get voted in.

I like "circumnavigating the law". I'll be the Magellan of the Copyright Act!

My comment was more aimed at your suggestion that we should watch what we say not to spoil future…

Which lead to stupid scenes where the undead did nothing for 5 minutes while Legolas killed 20 guys and the giant elephant they were riding on, and then the undead overran the whole city in 5 seconds flat.

C'mon the elephant scene was good fun. Legolas' answer to Gimli beating…

This particular comment of yours has just made my day 10% sadder.

don't be sad Giovanni, remember this is a country that votes for change apparently. just cos you're campaigning on a policy of circumnavigating the law doesn't mean you won't get voted in.
look at the last bunch that…

That said, I thought the black market episode, even though it was completely out of the blue character-wise, tackled a really interesting aspect of the society that would develop in a situation like that.

Indeed – and this is where the podcasts are interesting. Moore himself has said he'd have…

It wasn't actually a question :-)

:(

And I only half answered it too.

It wasn't actually a question :-)

I was making the point where the extended edition explained it, and the theatrical cut did not. They just kinda turned up and kicked ass deus ex styles.

I think Kyle won the right to answer that question. My guess is that most of them came from NZ.

And I only half answered it too.

The army of the dead were cursed, while alive, after they failed to show up, after swearing to do so, to the War…

And from something closer to home (for Craig), I think there's some agreement about the extended version of Pegasus on BSG. Some of the scenes deleted from other episodes so they'd fit a 44-minute time-slot have also been quite worthwhile.

Fair call, but I'd agree with Moore that the 44…

Having not read the book ... so where the hell did those skeleton guys comes from in LOTR 3?

Oh, right, someone went and got them to come...

This was a simplified story line for the movie. In the book the skeletons killed all the Corsairs down south, and then…

Having not read the book ... so where the hell did those skeleton guys comes from in LOTR 3?

I think Kyle won the right to answer that question. My guess is that most of them came from NZ.

And for my money the extended versions of LOTR improved the films considerably.

Agreed. They also extended the films considerably. But they will probably be an exception to the rule, since they were able to take for granted right from the outset that the interest in an extended addition would…

That said, I thought the black market episode, even though it was completely out of the blue character-wise, tackled a really interesting aspect…

I prefer the extended LOTR movies. They are closer to the books and actually make more sense.

Having not read the book ... so where the hell did those skeleton guys comes from in LOTR 3?

Oh, right, someone went and got them to come...

has anyone ever seen a deleted scene or "extended cut" that actually enhanced the reputation of a film?

Robocop, for a given value of "reputation" (in that it includes all the extra gore they had to cut out for the theatrical release).

I find it interesting to watch deleted scenes…

has anyone ever seen a deleted scene or "extended cut" that actually enhanced the reputation of a film?

... Ridley Scott['s] first thoughts were the right ones

There was some sort of critical consesus of the view that the additions to Scott's Kingdom of Heaven in its four-disc version added…

And while we're saying nothing nice about not-so-special features on DVDs, has anyone ever seen a deleted scene or "extended cut" that actually enhanced the reputation of a film.

The Star Wars ones were generally awful. I remember seeing them and getting exciting at seeing a new scene in a…

Was that the one with Lee floating around in space?

Nope, the one where [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Market_(Battlestar_Galactica)|Lee has a hitherto unsuspected hooker habit, tried being Sam Spade (badly), then tries to get his Dirty Harry on (even worse), and you don't even want to know why there's a black market in children…

The only things I bother with commentary on are the collected Whedonverse. I could sit and listen to him talk about the story-telling and character-building processes for hours. But I am a massive fangrrl.

But even then, I don't actually want to listen to Whedon yammer over the opening of…

And there's one second season episode that Moore just shreds

Was that the one with Lee floating around in space? That episode was lamé.

And for my money the extended versions of LOTR improved the films considerably. Especially the first one — the theatrical release just didn't make all the…

The only DVD commentaries I've found to be worth a damn are the ones that talk about the actual film-making process.

The only things I bother with commentary on are the collected Whedonverse. I could sit and listen to him talk about the story-telling and character-building processes for hours. But…

If you're willing to pay a premium, we'll give you all the stuff that wasn't good enough to make the film in the first place.

I dunno where you guys get the time to watch all this stuff.....maybe I need to multitask more.

Give up sleeping, and focus on the relative trivia in life. It more or less works for me.

hopefully russell doesn't have any political ambitions. As hip and street as bittorrenting copyright material is it's not the sort of thing you'd want to be seen to be pushing if you were involved in anything arts in a professional capacity.

This particular comment of yours has just made my…

You'd be surprised to know that I agree with you.

???!!!!! (is that enough surprise?)

hopefully russell doesn't have any political ambitions. As hip and street as bittorrenting copyright material is it's not the sort of thing you'd want to be seen to be pushing if you were involved in…

Did you also watch the extended credits?

The extended credits include all the members of the club that paid $200 US or something to get a set of magazines and their name put at the end of the extended DVD. I fastforwarded to make sure my friend was there, noted…

The only DVD commentaries I've found to be worth a damn are the ones that talk about the actual film-making process.

There's a reasonable not-really-a-commentary that's just historic audio from the real players on Thirteen Days that I managed to get through, and the commentary from soldiers who were actually…

I generally agree. It depends on what it is you wish to be informed about.

Sure – though it's not on the DVD, one of the more interesting 'Battlestar Galactica' podcasts was a three hour writer's meeting where they were 'breaking' an episode. I find it fascinating hearing a room…

The cast one was the least informative, but if you were a fanboy/girl, entertaining.

I generally agree. It depends on what it is you wish to be informed about. If you want to know how the actors thought and what they had to do, then that was quite informative. If…

There are 4 different commentaries on the extended edition of LOTR. Cast, director/writer, design team, production team.

Having listened to all four, it was too much. The last two should have been merged together. The cast one was the least informative, but if you were a fanboy/girl, entertaining.

Although I would have appreciated having a running commentary from him for the second half of Mulholland Drive, telling me exactly what the frack was supposed to be going on.

Easy – the first half was Naomi Watts' character's drug induced dream, the 2nd half was what really happened.

The…

I'm told good things about his joint commentary on Conan the Barbarian.

I'm not sure if Conan the Barbarian needs dialogue, let alone commentary.

Cough ...

interesting segue from giving props to the assistant minister of arts and culture to giving a link to downloading pirated material, in an add on discussion amongst people who were interested in owning legitimate copies of media.

If the readers would like a more legal (is bypassing zones…

They've also sold out of West Wing boxed sets (every episode, plus two discs of special features we got screwed out of in New Zealand) for $125...

OK, now I'm angry.

Well, if you have to shell out $100 for it, no.

But if it was an extra $20, and the whole thing was brand new at the CD & DVD store's latest sale, you might :-)

Probably not — though I don't want to come across as pissing on Warner Brothers,…

Join me in my hatred of extra content and stupid filler, CraigI'm glad poor Orson died before they could get him to comment Citizen Kane on DVD (the guy ALWAYS needed money, he'd have done it). What's wrong with just watching the bloody film these days?

Well, like anything else…

Then again, I'm turning into a fan of quality over quantity. Personally, I'm quite happy with the two-disc edition I have of the 'final cut' of Blade Runner, whose sole special feature is a doozy.

Join me in my hatred of extra content and stupid filler, CraigI'm glad poor Orson…

Do I really want to shell out another 80 dollars for, in effect, four more cuts of the movie I'm never going to watch more than once?

Well, if you have to shell out $100 for it, no.

But if it was an extra $20, and the whole thing was…

It's very rare (and still a little disappointing for our R1 brethren) when we get the better deal over special features.

Then again, I'm turning into a fan of quality over quantity. Personally, I'm quite happy with the two-disc edition I have of the 'final cut' of Blade Runner, whose…

Cough...

But I've only got a 10 GB limit for the month!

;-)

It seems to me that the whole 'Region n' thing for DVDs is a crock. Why can't we all watch the same DVDs in a global village?

The answer's simple: the MAFIAA.

Don't get me started. It is by far the worst example of R4 being screwed over, but there are numerous others.

Cough ...

Well that's crappy.

Don't get me started. It is by far the worst example of R4 being screwed over, but there are numerous others (thankfully, usuualy only over special features, not actual content!). It's very rare (and still a little disappointing for our R1 brethren) when we get the better…

Do you think it would have made any more sense cut in half?

It's not about sense. It's about finding two hours to watch the thing! They're lucky I did. I taped the first double (not double-length) episode of Lost, didn't find the time by the next week and never…

Though I think there was a slight error. They're not double episodes, they're just two hours long each :-)

And how... If Ken Burns has made a documentary that clocks in under three hours, I've never heard of it. It runs in the family — Andy Warhol might have said…

Oh, and when it comes to saying something nice while waiting for Fiona to start tele-blogging again...

Super-snaps to Prime, which on Thurday starts screening Ken Burns' The War in prime time...

Maybe you could just read The Listener. The War got Fiona's doco ups this week. Though I think…

You have a point there, Craig. TVNZ is almost unique in being neither fish nor fowl – it's too commercial to be the BBC or ABC (in Oz)

Then again, to be scrupulously fair, the BBC is neither fish, nor foul nor good red herring too — and you can…

Now, remind me, isn't it supposed to be the foreign multinational corporate-owned broadcasters dumbing us down with foreign trash?

You have a point there, Craig. TVNZ is almost unique in being neither fish nor fowl – it's too commercial to be the BBC or ABC (in Oz), and not commercial…

Super-snaps to Prime, which on Thurday starts screening Ken Burns' The War in prime time (pun intended) while TVNZ offers up on One an Aussie Hell's Kitchen/Top Chef knock-off, and on TV2 20/20…

Voters didn't just elect the producer to anything, and she's not (even nominally) in government over us.

__Eye to Eye_ does screen on two state-owned platforms (One and TVNZ7), and Front of the Box Productions gets public money to produce the show. So, yeah, while I'm in principle no supporter…

doesn't mean it's unreasonable to ask what the hell kind of judgement was involved in letting him go to air [...] in my view "pretty poor" sums it up.

Sure, it's reasonable to ask the question, and that's even a reasonable conclusion. But it is also reasonable to ask, as…

and Native Affairs host Julian Wilcox is an under-rated master IMNSHO), or the kind of substantive panel discussion that is routine on Marae,

I agree with Mr Ranapia here. Julian Wilcox is under-rated. I used to watch him regularly til someone fiddled with the settings on my telly and the…

Are you playing at being disingenuous? You're not a guest, you're the host of this thing, yes?

I'm a freelance contributor, Giovanni, and no more indispensable than anyone else. And if I was stupid enough to break my sobriety, and take it into the workplace I wouldn't expect any indulgence…

And, hey, if I turn up to a Public Address Radio taping toasted, causing significant delays in recording, am obnoxious to Glynis and Damien, and just creep out guests everything will be fine. Yes?

Are you playing at being disingenuous? You're not a guest, you're the host of this thing,…

It wasn't live or unedited — it never is — and the HoS story said the recording was stopped and restarted several times because of Garrett's behaviour.

Um, yes... that was the point. Really do have to download that sarcasm font someone brought up a while back...

I've never…

I think if you watch the show, you'll find that he wasn't actually rolling around in the gutter.

No, it seems clear that his more obnoxious behaviour was off-camera or edited from the show.

pretty irresponsible to turn up at a tv talk show plastered

I think if you watch the show, you'll find that he wasn't actually rolling around in the gutter.

And given his background and the organisation he was representing, I'm not sure if he would have made much more sense…

Muldoon announcing the 1984 election

to be fair, a different time.
a different attitude to alcohol. drunk driving was still practiced as a discretionary law infringement in some quarters.
pretty irresponsible to turn up at a tv talk show plastered, and like wise irresponsible to inflict him on viewers if…

Is *that* what it is? Sometimes I find myself reading Craig's posts and, with the best will in the world, there will be a moment where everything seems to spin madly around in my head and I have no idea what's going on. :)

I think you took a left…

You're not creative enough with your moral equivalences.

Is *that* what it is? Sometimes I find myself reading Craig's posts and, with the best will in the world, there will be a moment where everything seems to spin madly around in my head and I have no idea what's going…

...because the show was going out live and uneditied and since television is a world of teetotallers, the thought that someone who was well-toasted could have gone off at any moment never crossed anyone's mind?

Presumably these were all things that crossed the producer's mind, which is why they spoke…

But... I still don't see how it's Eye to Eye's fault that he was a douchebag...

...because the show was going out live and uneditied and since television is a world of teetotallers, the thought that someone who was well-toasted could have gone off at any moment never crossed anyone's…

I still don't see how it's Eye to Eye's fault that he was a douchebag...

You're not creative enough with your moral equivalences.

But... I still don't see how it's Eye to Eye's fault that he was a douchebag...

...because the show was going out live and uneditied and since television is a world of teetotallers, the thought that someone who was well-toasted could have gone off at any moment never crossed anyone's…

I imagine it's not something that they can do very lightly, but to claim that they had a responsability to do so seems extreme.

Gio: Last time I can be bothered saying this, but if Eye to Eye just wants to be talkback radio with pictures carry on — the…

Garrett wasn't even on the ACT list back in July, but it suddenly seemed to become terribly newsworthy when he became an MP.

Er, come again? Of course it is more newsworthy now that the guy is a member of parliament. What an extraordinary thing to say.

You might also…

Garrett wasn't even on the ACT list back in July, but it suddenly seemed to become terribly newsworthy when he became an MP. One might think it was also newsworthy when he was a spokesman for a high profile 'Laura Norder' lobby group, but never mind.

If the whole…

Equating homosexuality with kiddie-fiddling is so beyond the pale

That's not really what he was doing.

As much as he murdered his point and sounded like a dick, he was trying to say that:

1. Homosexuality used to be thought of as a disease that could be cured.
2. Paedophilia…

But if she wasn't responsible for giving him a platform to be one on national television, who the hell is?

Let me get this straight, as it were: besides not being allowed to record politicians when they talk in public, are we now supposed to not allow them to go…

It just felt like you were, y'know, trying to change the subject ...

Well, Russell, you might, y'know, want to step back from that. Equating homosexuality with kiddie-fiddling is so beyond the pale, I thought it was stating the obvious to say (drunk or sober) anyone who thinks that is…

But I think it's entirely legitimate to ask questions about Hauiti's judgement, and what the hell it says about whether Eye to Eye wants to be more than talkback radio with pictures.

It just felt like you were, y'know, trying to change the subject ...

The fault in this episode…

That guests trust you're NOT setting them up for a Jerry Springer freak-a-rama?

Personally, I'm waiting for the Media 7's 'tuxedoed little person leaping from a great height directly into a wedding cake while the rest of the guests throw spaghetti at each other' episode. Pull your finger out, Russell.…

For goodness sake, Craig: Claudette Hauiti, who is a very hard-nosed producer, had to make a last-minute call as to whether her programme could go on as planned.

So the show couldn't have gone on with the panel light one person who added precisely nothing to the show anyway? At…

And URL embedding is broken now – can someone please sort that out along with the recent video embedding failures.

Testing URL embedding:

http://publicaddress.net/index.sm

Working fine for me.

The Flash embedding is a pain. Flash 10 seems to have broken a bunch of things, and not in a consistent fashion.

Pardon me if I find the outrage four months after the fact somewhat less than convincing.

I'm not sure why it's come out now, but it's possible that the TV show agreed not to talk about it until after the election.

But umm, eye on the ball. Future Act MP…

I tend to agree with Christopher that Craig must be reading something different (link by all means) than Trotter's Dominion column, cos…

Gareth: Hey, perhaps it's the standard M.O. at Eye to Eye to put verbally abusive drunks on the air.

For goodness sake, Craig: Claudette Hauiti, who is a very hard-nosed producer, had to make a last-minute call as to whether her programme could go on as planned.

She wasn't the…

And I'm sure you'll pardon me if I find your assertion that the most troubling aspects of that story are the producer's decision and the timeframe somewhat less than convincing as well...

Gareth: Hey, perhaps it's the standard M.O. at Eye to Eye to put verbally abusive drunks on the…

Pardon me if I find the outrage four months after the fact somewhat less than convincing.

And I'm sure you'll pardon me if I find your assertion that the most troubling aspects of that story are the producer's decision and the timeframe somewhat less than convincing as well...
:>

These…

Whenever I see Key, Toy Love's song "Rebel" runs through my mind.

I *love* that song, but I think that the line 'he don't go to films unless he knows they're arty' is... not relevant. Johnny English, remember? :)

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4761237a26607.html

Chris Trotter slapping down those uppity niggers one more time (which seems to have disappeared from Stuff) is anything but.

I read that article. It was astonishing, and not in the way that Mr Ranapia is trying to spin it, and unlike anything I've seen before. Try the DomPost as…

The sound of a shark jumping...

New MPs under fire for gay remarks

Well, I sure think Claudette Hauiti should be called in for a "please explain" meeting with TVNZ management. Let's see: If this story is accurate, it sure sounds like she let someone on air who behaviour --…

And as for…

Except that it ain't in the fine print.

I have been trying to read the fine print also, regarding these agreements, and I still don't feel confident to say something nice, but it's not about me.I have tried burying my head in quicksand, I have a sandpit theory somewhere on…

The incoming National government will completely review the emissions trading scheme (ETS) – possibly including the science that says humans are to blame for climate change

I hope that there'll also be a review of the whole 'Earth is not flat' malarky. I'm tired of having science rammed down my…

New MPs under fire for gay remarks

"The incoming National government will completely review the emissions trading scheme (ETS) – possibly including the science that "

HenryB:

It may not be "nice" but I can see that the fun has already begun. I am really looking forward to JK managing this.

It'll be even more interesting…

Don McGlashan should try reading the fine print before signing contracts, I guess.

Except that it ain't in the fine print. APRA does blanket deals with broadcasters to allow incidental music to be used on the stations. Most acts are fine with this but stretching that to include tacit political…

I guess if you can't say something nice , this one cuts the cake. :)

Don McGlashan should try reading the fine print before signing contracts, I guess. But that's funny — Chris Trotter slapping down those uppity niggers one more time (which seems to have disappeared from Stuff) is…

So is this the official Friday Fun thread? In that case ...

New Zealand's election: the view from wingnut world

LOL that was great, just what I needed to cheer me up from my sickbed.

"ACT improved 135%" – and still ended up within the margin of error for most opinion polls, in case you're tempted to claim a greater mandate than is warranted.

It is of course, the margin of error for a party with exactly 50% of the vote. For a party polling…

Bad campaign? What election were you watching?

In 2005? The one where ACT was reduced to a caucus of two. Pretty crappy result, any way you squint at it. Sorry for not making that explicit.

Bad campaign? What election were you watching?

It didn't seem to be the one where ACT improved 135% on 2005.

The one where ACT still polled lower than NZ First and, without tactical voting by National in Epsom, would be cast alongside NZF on the dustheap of history. And, trust…

Well, I'd respectfully suggest ACT's real problem was a bad campaign and internal issues that had nothing to do with National.

Bad campaign? What election were you watching?

It didn't seem to be the one where ACT improved 135% on 2005.

Now, that Judith Tizard, there's another story...............

Yo G, let me fix your syntax:

See, I keep saying we don't need an edit button.

I'm in the process of designing a new widget that makes Russell come to your place and do the housework. Stay tuned!

Ohariu, though ...

Oh, they dropped the ball there, no question.…

It's not clear to me why the small party should roll over, even when it doesn't increase the number of MPs of the centre left in Parliament — and could even hurt its list vote due to weak campaigning in the electorate.

And…

We had been waiting for you.

Beat you to that one ;-)

Or maybe I'm Vladimir to your Estragon.

Well, Craig. It's called politics. ;-)

Expecting other people to do your work for you is called 'bone-idle' in my house. But seriously, this is like the lung-busting sulking some ACT-ivists were blaming National not "strategically" telling supporters in Auckland to vote for them. Well, I'd respectfully suggest ACT's real…

Goodoh

We had been waiting for you.

Beat you to that one ;-)
Thanx Goodoh, we've been waiting for you. ;-)

Goodoh

We had been waiting for you.

I was, wasn't I? I will concede, through gritted teeth, that I have made myself look like a dick.

No worries. I, too, may have ventured further in rhetoric than logic would strictly permit, in this thread ...

I told myself to shut up and take a bike ride. I…

My initial impression, looking at some of those close electorate seats, was that the Greens were fools not to tell their supporters to vote strategically (in Peter Dunne's electorate esp).

But that's really starting to piss me off — and though I might be rather biased by National's unfortunate experiment…

You were pretty much completely wrong about everything.

I was, wasn't I? I will concede, through gritted teeth, that I have made myself look like a dick.

I spoke to someone who spoke to Denise Roche on Saturday night, who said she was in tears about attracting electorate votes that…

I don't mean to harsh the general amity, but that's his frigging job — you stand for an electorate, you should bloody know what that entails if you win. Constituency clinics and going to various events are not some optional extra you "find time for", it's your damn job.

And…

It all seems to emanate from Tim Ellis

That answers that then.

Soooo... any truth to the much passed around notion that she went around saying that Roche had conceded to her, when it wasn't the case? If true, I'd find that a lot more damning that any other charge against the woman.

It all seems to emanate from Tim Ellis, who…

But it does have to be said that…

. . . I am interested as to how many readers did see their candidates, without, say, going to a public meeting.

Brendon Burns came doorknocking here in Chch central.

I find all this talk about voting for someone because they're cool and great to hang out with suspiciously similar to the 'I voted for Bush because he'd be fun to drink beer with' mentality that troubles American elections.

That's really quite patronising, and I said nothing like that, but…

I think this tends to underline my point about the the way she is oddly vilified.

Soooo... any truth to the much passed around notion that she went around saying that Roche had conceded to her, when it wasn't the case? If true, I'd find that a lot more damning…

Ahhh, happier days.

Hundreds of of people attended the US Embassy event at the Michael Fowler Centre on the evening of Nov 5. It was a big deal, and ministers would have been invited. No ministers fronting would probably have been written up as a snub.

I really doubt it; even if this…

I didn't see Helen Clark in our electorate either, but I am interested as to how many readers did see their candidates, without, say, going to a public meeting.

Sighted Jonathan Coleman (Nat) many times here in Northcote, for instance standing on Onewa Rd with his campaigners having littered the…

Apologies if the original comment sounded glib, but it is early in the morning.

Aw, I didn't mean to get on your case, Matthew. It's just this: I have enormous sympathy for the idea that — unless you're a total oxygen thief — when you enter politics you can pretty…

I think that, almost by definition, a late-20s candidate for political office is going to have an underwhelming CV. For two reasons: a) they're relatively young and haven't had time to accumulate much experience; and b) what experience they do have relates in large part to party politics…

There is some spin that Roche was upset that Tizard had lost--yet she has publicly

Sigh ... it's not "spin". I spoke to someone who spoke to Denise Roche on election night.

So here we have the contrast between an inactive, indolent, entitlement MP, and a hard-working candidate from the…

Nevertheless, the fundypost is perhaps on firmer ground in describing Kaye's CV as "underwhelming" as opposed to "largely fabricated" in the absence of evidence to support the latter.

Well, some people may find the CVs of equally youthful Labour MPs such as Chris Hipkins somewhat "underwhelming". Ditto for Darren Hughes.…

Hundreds of of people attended the US Embassy event at the Michael Fowler Centre on the evening of Nov 5. It was a big deal, and ministers would have been invited. No ministers fronting would probably have been written up as a snub.

I really doubt it; even if this…

Nevertheless, the fundypost is perhaps on firmer ground in describing Kaye's CV as "underwhelming" as opposed to "largely fabricated" in the absence of evidence to support the latter.…