@Stephen Judd
And that's why Hamas takes such pains only to aim rockets at military targets
The Israelis complain endlessly about how 'indiscriminate' the Hamas rockets are because they cannot be targeted. Which makes the above either manifestly ignorant, deeply biased or just callously indifferent.

Only skimmed through this topic,…

http://publicaddress.net/5621

I did also go for a swim yesterday.

So. A mistake? or blatant copyright infringement? Did Harper pass it of as one of his own and Greer was duped?

Maybe they were just trying to emulate Led Zeppelin 2.

and he was happy for NZ troops to stay in Iraq post the invasion:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3560517

Does that clear it up?

Except that they recorded it, released it as a single and then released it on the album a bit later, mistake intact. I asked Maurice Greer once about it a few years later and he just laughed.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Obscure NZ connection: I wonder if Neil's aware that a very big band (at the time), Human Instinct covered this song, pretty much note for note, as a single and on their album Burning Up Years in 1969 but thought they they could get away…

Israel and its neighbours are, after all, on the other side of the world, and I doubt whether one Kiwi in 100 gives a damn about what goes on there, let alone takes sides.

Nor should the Government. It has…

manifestly ignorant, deeply biased or just callously indifferent.

Garth George, in the Herald, on Thursday, takes that particular soggy biscuit.

I am crotchety and old. Ha.

A tee-shirt there – actually "defiant codger" wouldn't be bad either..

(I also really really hate bands who yell variants on 'you having a good time? Let me hear you!', etcetera, between every song,

Ahhh, memories.
I remember being at a gig at the Powerstation, years back, when the singer of songs, not Wane Anderson, yelled out "Hello Wellington" there were…

Fatima's, I should have purchased some eatables there

Always a good idea.

having to pay $130 to be treated like a cross between cattle and refugees grates a little

I think I was agreeing with Steve upthread – the contrast after attending the superbly organised Gathering…

Don't listen to Danielle: Pendulum was an event.

Yeah, it was an 'event', but not all events in life are, you know, actually enjoyable. :)

(I also really really hate bands who yell variants on 'you having a good time? Let me hear you!', etcetera, between every song, and they…

Say it ain't so? They and TVotR were my biggest regrets for yet another Pete BDO no show. I heard that the TVotR sound mix was munged but Pendulum rocked arse?

Don't listen to Danielle: Pendulum was an event. I wouldn't want a whole day of that, but as part…

Being on a Neil list I knew what to expect, he has been doing a number of new songs but this setlist was a bit safe with only one new one but the performance was something else.

I'd read about 'Just Singing a Song' but never heard it. A gather…

That's just begging for satire.

Bet you can't do as well as the actual list though.

And that's why Hamas takes such pains only to aim rockets at military targets

The Israelis complain endlessly about how 'indiscriminate' the Hamas rockets are because they cannot be targeted. Which makes the above either manifestly ignorant, deeply biased or just callously indifferent.

They released a list of "one hundred things that you might not have known about the Bush administration".

That's just begging for satire. I'll start:

100: Likes dogs too. In fact, several have been delivered to Dick Cheney's office since he first found he needed a bypass. We're…

Set List was;
Love And Only Love / Hey Hey, My My / Powderfinger /…

(In the ongoing 'who does that person look like?'-fest that is my main topic of conversation with my husband, we agreed that one member of Neil's band looked like Nick Lowe and one of his backup singers looked like Christine McVie.)

That's Ben Keith who's been with Neil on and…

Thus Pendulum, who made me want to beat them to death with their own keytar or whatever the hell they were playing...

Say it ain't so? They and TVotR were my biggest regrets for yet another Pete BDO no show. I heard that the TVotR sound mix was munged but…

fat and worthless lives but it gives me the shits

If you think the life of another human being is worthless you deserve to get the shits.

So it's wrong of me to think they were kind of awesome?

Heh. My husband, quoted verbatim: 'You know, this is so horrible that in parts it's actually kind of awesome!'

I'll say this: they were *committed* to that keytar. Which is something, I suppose.

Thus Pendulum, who made me want to beat them to death with their own keytar or whatever the hell they were playing ...

So it's wrong of me to think they were kind of awesome?

Sleeper hit: My Morning Jacket. Those Kentuckians can fuckin' rock! The drummer…

I know Israeli people who still try to keep that particular ideal alive. Interestingly they opposed the occupations and the general belligerence of Likud, whilst at the same time voluntarily doing military service (their residence outside Israel meant they didn't have to).

As the kibbutz movement was strongly identified with…

He was incredible. The best mainstage performance ever at a Big Day Out, IMHO.

He encored with a version of the Beatles' 'Day in the Life' that was so artistically valid there are barely words for it.

Can't disagree. After decades in the business he still exudes sheer musical intent…

He was incredible. The best mainstage performance ever at a Big Day Out, IMHO.

He encored with a version of the Beatles' 'Day in the Life' that was so artistically valid there are barely words for it.

Can't disagree. After decades in the business he still exudes sheer musical intent…

By 1987 the whole romantic kibbutzim sctick was a distant memory.

I know Israeli people who still try to keep that particular ideal alive. Interestingly they opposed the occupations and the general belligerence of Likud, whilst at the same time voluntarily doing military service (their residence outside Israel meant they…

Last but not least – Neil Young ... I sure hope he has a good night.

He was incredible. The best mainstage performance ever at a Big Day Out, IMHO.

He encored with a version of the Beatles' 'Day in the Life' that was so artistically valid there are barely…

I do not think that word means what you think it means.

But I'm not sure it means what you think it means either.

(* Just for the record the doco "My Voyage t Italy" puts Visconti into context very nicely and is worth watching every year or two – it is very long 3 or 4 hrs but something of a master class in film history.)

I love it too — along with…

Put it another way: how do you define Hamas?

An organisation dedicated to my death, and the death of members of my family.

In the South Island the Bellbirds are incredibly loud as I have found on on my annual…

Nothing to do with the neighbourly feelings about Israel, then?

I think she was critical of nations and militant groups towards Israel.

And the first intifada took place almost a full decade before "arguing on the internet" came about.

Not quite sure where you're going with that. If you don't think that we argued before the Internet, I'd have to question your judgment. But I'm not wishing to relitigate the Middle East…

Nope. A full five years elapsed between Sabra and Shatila and the first Intifada.

And the first intifada took place almost a full decade before "arguing on the internet" came about. If you'd like to dispute that I'll have to pass :)

As the Sabra and Shatila massacres took place in 1982 I'll have to assume that 1987's a typo.

Nope. A full five years elapsed between Sabra and Shatila and the first Intifada.

. . . but the overall attitude of the left was still widely supportive even at the time of Lebanon and Sabra and Shatila.

As the Sabra and Shatila massacres took place in 1982 I'll have to assume that 1987's a typo.

Let's start by a fact: Israel has dispossessed the Palestinians of their land, has engaged and is still engaging in ethnic cleansing, and is a country designed for perpetual wars with its neighbours precisely because of its practices. That is a given.

Is it now? Wow. Nothing to do with…

an airdrop of bacon butties

Boy I bet that would go down well at BDO tho..

Take a deep breath. I'm not seeing any substance behind idiotically hyperbolic headlines, that are contributing about as much to ending a horrible mess as an airdrop of bacon butties.

This is obviously an issue you feel strongly about, but take a deep breath.

By 1987 the whole romantic kibbutzim sctick was a distant memory.

No it wasn't. Not in Italy at least. I know in part because my sister is nine years older than I am, so I was well schooled in the movement from 1977 onwards. There had been critics of the…

I believe many people, in the West as in the Arab world, cannot…

ok. sorry. no more swearing.

. . the (Italian, but I'm sure it happened elsewhere too) left went from supporting Israel to just the opposite in the space of one autumn of protest marches.

Seriously Giovanni, if you believe that any left-wing movement anywhere in the world largely supported Israel after 1967, you'd do well…

That is, there…

a very two-sided history

a two-side history where one side, supported by the most powerful superpower in the world, steals the other side's land and houses and villages and farms and herds them into refugee camps for 60 years?

Published: January 14 2009 18:52 | Last updated: January 15 2009 09:54

The death toll in Gaza climbed above 1,000 on Wednesday as Israel’s massive military offensive in the strip continued into its 19th day.

Many of those killed…

Hamas wants to do the same to Israel but hasn't and can't. apparently.

aren't we glad Israel is held to higher standards than everyone else!

a convenient excuse used by Israel to bomb the hell out of Gaza.

Nicely done, rhetorically speaking. But at this point I think you owe this conversation a little more than that. There are slippages in the debate around this conflict, coming from my side, which equate – without always…

Here is the link in case you missed it: http://uk.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUKLF220621

1. Genocide of Palestineans has been going on since 1948.

I do not think that word means what you think it means.

2.…

TV3 has Sunrise doing the inauguration from 5:30am on the 21st Jan.
Sky News (90) is doing lots of the other stuff. Inauguration is noon on Jan 20th Washington DC time (18 hours behind us timewise).

Apparently CNN and Facebook also doing live feed.…

how do you define Hamas?

a convenient excuse used by Israel to bomb the hell out of Gaza.

there has been a lot of harsh criticism of Israel around the world, but mainly by non-government sources and non-mainstram media.

major governments and international bodies have been very restrained in their criticism of Israel's ongoing war crimes, imo.

and the immune thing, imo, refers to the fact that…

However, Hamas are either a "terrorist organisation" or an elected government (although without control of your borders, power and water,…

How shall you refer to Hamas?
however you feel like.

Put it another way: how do you define Hamas?

you obviously have been avoiding the papers in the last few days, eh?

WRT to Cloughley's article, there are some specific things that I do find... overstated.

1. Repeated use of the word "genocide". The last count I saw from…

A Galaxy of Partisan Propagandists

Stephen,
it must be Cockburn's way of summing up the US politico-media-think tank complex's subservience to the Israeli killing machine.

Just not seeing it

just not seeing what?

so, having been not criticised by the US president, US congress, US president-elect, and meekly told its behaviour was unacceptable by the EU, UNSC, et al, has the racist state of Israel suddenly changed its behaviour and stopped murdering people?

How exactly…

Israel, supported energetically by Washington (and using US-supplied aircraft, bombs and rockets), has caused "incidental loss of life" and general civilian casualties on an enormous scale. The Israeli military and the Israeli people knew full well that their genocidal attack on Gaza would kill civilians.…

]]> Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:51:05 +1300 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-off-the-back-of-the-deck/?p=89109#post89109 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-off-the-back-of-the-deck/?p=89109#post89109 what the fuck are you on about?
the Israeli racist death machine is using US-supplied weapons and diplomatic cover to commit disgusting war crimes at this very moment.
what the fuck has Japan got to do with it, apart from being a US sicophant?
piss off with your petty bullshit,…

]]> Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:39:57 +1300 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-off-the-back-of-the-deck/?p=89108#post89108 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-off-the-back-of-the-deck/?p=89108#post89108

contemporary Japan

Why, are they invading someone too?

Israel is Immune From Criticism

Just not seeing it, Stephen. By the way, want to give us a rundown on the paragon of multicultural tolerance and diversity that is contemporary Japan since you're in the neightbourhood?

They released a list of "one hundred things that you might not have…

Article two, Protocol III of the 1980 UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons states: "It is prohibited in all circumstances to make the civilian population as such, individual civilians or civilian objects, the object of attack by incendiary weapons."

Here is part…

That people who should know better actually think the choice of First Puppy or the presidential choice of PDA has any news value whatsoever.

The Daily Show last week brought in Anderson Cooper and did a clip on 'The Race to the Doghouse', a debate involving dogs.

And then a great…

Forget the BDO

Sacrilege! I'm leaving for the hallowed ground in half an hour.

Coronation, you mean..

Nah, I think there's something splendidly democratic about making the President of the United States take the vow of office standing outside on a shitty winter morning. Then the fun really begins...

It now occurs to me that I have spent a lot of time over the last year sitting in a dark room with Craig, all unawares. Weird.

In a non-creepy un-stalkerish kind of way, you forgot to add. :)

I have four words for you: John Key. Barack Obama.

Oh,…

I have four words for you: John Key. Barack Obama.

Which reminds me: what's the best NZ channel for me to watch the inauguration on and weep buckets?

Plus: ridiculous hippies shagging uncomfortably in the desert and big explosions in Zabriskie Point! What's not to like?

Pantomime tennis! Pantomime tennis!

Excuse me while I go out in the snow and cry.

I have four words for you: John Key. Barack Obama.

Feel better now?

There is terrific Italian film of the last decade that I would urge people to see, Moretti's Dear Diary.

Oh, yes, that's lovely. I think I saw it at the Penthouse *sniff*. And had dinner afterward at the Brooklyn Cafe *sniffsniff*.

Excuse me while I go out in the snow…

But you sat through the season of dreary German films on the profound theme of the general suck-i-tude of being a woman?

Heh. I was less than impressed by that lot myself. Although I must disagree on Antonioni – I've seen three of his films now and loved them all.…

See, Passolini I just don't get — though 'Salo' would be a pretty tough entry point for anyone.

What can I say? I'm a fan, and will in time bore to tears anybody who might be foolish enough to come within a fathom of my blog on the subject of…

although admittedly he had me at Pasolini. Cultural chauvinist that I am.

See, Passolini I just don't get — though 'Salo' would be a pretty tough entry point for anyone. To be fair, it took me a long time to get Fellini and read Visconti as anything more than yummy…

The moderator is gone. Let's trash this joint – who's with me?

You'd be setting a great example by settling things out in the middle of the Negev. Minimise civilian casualties & all, y'know.

You'll have to work it out between yourselves. I'm going to the Big Day Out.

Byeee!!

The moderator is gone. Let's trash this joint – who's with me?

I was quibbling with Philip neither knowing nor taking to time to check

Not his day job at this point, one would…

You'll have to work it out between yourselves. I'm going to the Big Day Out.

Byeee!!

Have a nice day, and don't worry about. Giovanni and I have a very strong difference of opinion, and we're going to deal with it without Cronenberg-ish cranial splatter all over the virtual carpet…

Besides the quibbling on this small point (Bashir's claim is to be the first feature length animated documentary, but it's utterly beside the point) it's an extraordinary and timely and important film and people should go see it.

I wasn't quibbling with Bashir's claim (though Victory Through Air Power is…

Russell: can the fact that I'm not responding to this one count as an extenuating circumstance next time I tell Craig to jump into the nearest body of water at his disposal? Nearly made a vein pop there, I can produce a medical certificate to that effect.

You'll have to…

I was looking at a quoted statement of the International Red Cross, and remarking that it was nice that they hadn't jumped the gun – even if it was true, they hadn't seen evidence to know it was so said so.

No, I got your point. I wasn't meaning to…

The LA Times has a story describing one death and multiple burn injuries from what appears to be a WP attack. I'm not sure that "it was an accident" washes...

I wasn't trying to get into the debate over what happened, or whether it was illegal. It may well have…

using WP over residential areas seems to involve an unacceptable degree of callousness to me

Didn't that go out the window when the tanks rolled in, and then again when a school was bombed? I mean, I appreciate the egregiousness of this particular allegation, but surely we're talking degrees of…

The International Red Cross said Tuesday that Israel has fired white phosphorus shells in its offensive in the Gaza Strip, but has no evidence to suggest it is being used improperly or illegally.

...

"In some of the strikes in Gaza it's pretty clear that phosphorus was used," Herby told…

Who would have guessed that part of Radio New Zealand's public service mandate was to provide a home for more awesomely crapulous music that you could shake a colostomy bag at..

About 10 years ago, one insomniac night, I tuned in, and there was a kind of fore-runner to 'Matinee…

http://www.3news.co.nz/News/InternationalNews/International-Red-Cross-Israel-not-using-white-phosphorus-illegally/tabid/417/articleID/86896/cat/61/Default.aspx

The international Red Cross said Tuesday that Israel has fired white phosphorus shells in its offensive in the Gaza Strip, but has no evidence to suggest it is being used improperly or illegally.

The comments came after a human rights organization accused the Jewish state of using the incendiary…

If you're looking to accidentally burn down warehouses full of food and medicine, you couldn't pick a better munition.

The excuses so far have been: 1. it was a mistake, followed by 2.…

The Humiliation of America

Roberts quotes Olmert:

“Early Friday morning the secretary of state was considering bringing the cease-fire resolution to a UNSC vote and we didn’t want her to vote for it,” Olmert…

why do you have to put two spaces after the italics

Peter, its a relatively new System glitch.

I find it meditative rather than melancholy

It's the repetitive circularity of the melody, exacerbated by the lyrics... it sounds like the beginnings of someone cracking up. Elegantly.

BTW why do you have to put two spaces after the italics __? I don't have that problem on other systems using

Spiritualized the other night at the power station ? gee it was really pretty great , one of the best . We were almost shot into
orbit

oh, indeed, i actually broke free of gravity a couple of times, just for a few moments like....

@ ferrit
my take on…

There have been several animated documentaries

and, of course, Watership Down.

Part 1 for the PAS terrorist out there:

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=3gYpLGxAetg

Let's all agree with Philip's review of Waltz with Bashir.

Must we?

Hear Hear!

Any film critic who includes a comment like this:

Ari Folman’s animated documentary – is that a first?

Isn't deserving of the name :-)

No, it is not the first.

There have been several animated documentaries,…

There was then a decision that they had to create a Web 2.0…

I'd welcome a function that let me identify plonkers like that and have all their comments made invisible.

Really? I'm continuing to think the 2008 Purge of Political Blogs from my RSS reader was (unintentionally) the smartest thing I ever did. the vicious circle of bloggers writing troll bait, getting…

According to flicks.co.nz Waltz with Bashir is playing at the Paramount in Wellington.

I'd welcome a function that let me identify plonkers like that and have all their comments made invisible.

Usenet's old *plonk*, oh, how I miss it theee. Although it's a testament to PAS that I wouldn't have any use for it here.

re your two Gaza-related links, they both look…

Maybe once the italics is stable and the clamouring for an Edit button has died down..

Apropos KiwiPolitico – can't say the comments are adding anything to the posts thus far...

I saw Redbaiter in the "Recent Comments" list and thought "Why bother?"

The chap sitting next to me muttered, "If they open their mouths to sing again, I am going to leave", and did so. I wished I had had his courage.

But you sat through the season of dreary German films on the profound theme of the general suck-i-tude of being…

the Israeli effort against Hamas

i wonder if Mr. Fallows' opening sentence might not be a giveaway to the fact that he doesn't know shit?

"Israeli effort against Hamas"? oh, right, the one where UN schools and houses full…

The chap sitting next to me muttered, "If they open their mouths to sing again, I am going to leave", and did so. I wished I had had his courage.

Philistines!

the Auckland Film Society had a Jacques Demy retrospective last year

The chap sitting next to me muttered, "If they open their mouths to sing again, I am going to leave", and did so. I wished I had had his courage.

All together now:

Nous sommes deux soeurs jumelles
Nées sous le signe des gémeaux
Mi fa sol la mi ré, ré mi fa sol sol sol ré do
Toutes deux demoiselles
Ayant eu des amants très tôt
Mi fa sol la mi ré, ré mi fa sol sol sol ré…

while our family stages a lightning raid on Wellington.

Hey baby, if you're looking for a good time while you're down here, give the Wellingtonista a call...

My standard snark at Ferrit used to be "why didn't they just buy Pricespy?" Because Pricespy works extremely well in its sphere of computer-related gear. I use it all the time and love its simplicity and effectiveness.

But actually, when you think about it, computer parts etc…

Heh. The 'Chanson des jumelles' song just about ruined my life for a week after seeing that film.

the Auckland Film Society had a Jacques Demy retrospective last year, and Les parapluies de Cherbourg and Les demoiselles de Rochefort are certainly a candy-coloured shock to the system if your picture…

Heh. The 'Chanson des jumelles' song just about ruined my life for a week after seeing that film. In case anyone else wants to have an earworm for the ages.

All together now:

Nous sommes deux soeurs jumelles
Nées sous le signe des gémeaux
Mi fa sol la mi ré,…

Come on people, I'll easliy pay $40 apiece ... don't make watch them on the Internet!

Ironic (having just come from the copyright thread), how DVD regions, designed to protect the company making the DVD and make money for them, stops a lot of people buying DVDs.

the pathologically chirpy soundtrack to Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. Which is also a hell of a thing to have stuck in your head at 3 AM

Heh. The 'Chanson des jumelles' song just about ruined my life for a week after seeing that film. In case anyone else wants to…

Controversial, though (which, perhaps, all good history is...).

Well, I don't know if I was entirely convinced by the thesis of Colossus — the problem with the Pax Americana isn't it's very existence, but that Americans are in such denial about the reality of it all they're not doing it…

Windmills of Your Mind

That song is like Dr Demento for middle-class intellectuals, or something. It really is quite evocatively creepy.

Oh, absolutely. What gets me is that Michel Legrand could write that, and then produce the pathologically chirpy soundtrack to Les Demoiselles de Rochefort . Which is also a…

This shouldn't be read as to imply that it's not a good read. I meant to add that I've yet to read it [in part because I think it may be a better view than read].

That seems to be the view of people who've both read and viewed The…

I suspect, as the book of the TV series, it will make for a better view than read.

This shouldn't be read as to imply that it's not a good read. I meant to add that I've yet to read it [in part because I think it may be a…

Windmills of Your Mind

That song is like Dr Demento for middle-class intellectuals, or something. It really is quite evocatively creepy.

Friends let friends copy bits, and I've really enjoyed watching Niall Ferguson's Channel 4 doco The Ascent of Money , which provides a sophisticated but highly accessible perspective on how we came to have money, what it is, and how we got in the current mess.

You can [[http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2008/12/29/niall_fergusons.html|watch it…

Wikileaks has published a large cache of confidential United Nations reports and investigations, including those relating to sexual abuse by serving UN personnel in Africa. Shit to hit fan?

There's a really interesting article in the January 5 New Yorker on the UNHCR mission to Chad, which provides relief for…

Can't say I am too charmed by the emergence of Noelle McCarthy. She may sound like a crate of Guiness but really hasn't much of substance…

no – it was funny once but playing bad music all summer is so the year before last –

You don't ever listen to National Radio between the hours of midnight and six? Wayne Mowatt not ring any bells?

Who would have guessed that part of Radio New Zealand's public…

Missing BDO tomorrow and 90 minutes of Neil Young, but it came to a toss-up between Mt.…

I don't care much for the name,

Ah, so I'm not the only person who noted the (purely coincidental, I'm sure) similarity to a certain American site that was (at least for me) one of the few pleasant on-line discoveries of the US primary/election season.

Tsk...

As for tree news.…

The tui's song has evolved. It began with a two-note honk: kree-kraw, but every few days he seemed to add a note to the front, so kree-kraw became coo-kree-kraw, then kor-koo-kree-kraw. I'd pull into the driveway, step out of the car and be greeted with kor-koo-kree-kraw!

It's playing Simon! You're…

I'd read accounts of…