Posts by Rich of Observationz
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We already censor some stuff because its harms are generally agreed to outweigh any benefits
I know that's the law but disagree with the principle. Censorship should be confined to works where someone was actually abused in making the piece.
Of course Russell is free to block anything from his site on aesthetic or any other grounds. It's his site. Same with the record company.
That video, however, has been referred to the censor. If they decide we can't see it, then it becomes an actual crime to watch it and (although they deny this) it might get blocked by the Great Firewall Of New Zealand.
That's what I object to. Adults should be able (subject to the obvious caveat above) to choose what they watch, hear and read.
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As a piece of fiction, how does that video differ from the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan, of which the main distinctive feature was the graphic depiction of death and mutilation:
Not to mention 24, which was basically a 24 episode apologia for US torture in the "war on imaginary terror".
I'm sure Dirty Sesh is a dick. Gangsta rappers tend to be, when they aren't just totally risible figures of fun. But I don't like censorship, and given that (presumably) the actors in the vid were consenting grownups and no kittens were harmed in the making, etc. then suppressing this vid would be censorship.
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McCully is now saying the WRC is *too expensive* for us (ANZ) to hold, and will probably run at a $40MILLION LOSS
No shit.
Thing is, it doesn't need to cost very much money at all. We're talking about putting on a few dozen rugby games. All you need for a game of rugby is a ball, a ref, a place for the players to get changed and a bar for the after-match function.
I've said this before, but they should stop this competition for who can put on the most impressive tournament. Just rotate it through all the countries in alphabetical order. An RWC in Samoa might not wind up being be very glitzy, but I'm sure people would have a good time.
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In the context of capitalist liberal "democracy", MMP is a good system. Sure, it isn't perfect, but it's way better than all the practical alternatives.
I don't see why we need a referendum. It hasn't come from public pressure, but from a wish in the National Party (and, I suspect, from some in Labour) to rule absolutely.
If we are to alter our arrangements, we should also look at an entrenched Bill Of Rights that forms supreme law. At the moment, parliament could pass a law killing all firstborn children, after ignoring a report from the Attorney General that it breaches almost every clause in the BORA. Personally, I'd go further and add social rights and the Treaty into the basic principles than no parliament would be able to ignore.
At the same time, we should entrench those provisions against partisan fiddling - a 70% majority in parliament and country ought to be needed to make any change.
That would be my idea of a constitutional reform, not dropping the threshold to 3% so Winston can sneak back.
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The Crown just means the New Zealand Government
So why don't we call it that? Calling our government the Crown just means that people can pretend the crap stems from a royal person in a castle, not the dumbass government they voted in.
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Sense has prevailed, and [Independent News and Media] has flicked the assets that have been costing, rather than making money
So the moral of that is that to make money in newspapers, you need more Garth George and less Robert Fisk.
Or, you need a pliant government that happily allows a daily newspaper monopoly in every city.
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<i>...the point of celebrating a war crime.</i>
If the UK hadn't engaged in war crimes of that type they'd have lost the war*
(*Or made it continue until either the Red Army reached the Seine, or Oppy's boys and girls finished their work and Berlin got turned into vapour).
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Which raises the whole issue of the value to New Zealand of allowing Universities (and technical institutes) to compete for students.
It's way better than the UK system of artificially restricting access and creating a league table of universities, based not on course quality but on a self-perpetuating ability to attract students with good grades.
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Hayley Westenra and the Bish are caning the upside down b? Must have missed that one...
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I even think I imply that all Wellington music is the same as Fat Freddy's Drop
I thought we had that whole downbeat thing beaten down for a while, but it seems to be making a frigging comeback. I blame Kerry.