Posts by Kyle Matthews
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Unfortunately, Corrections could be described as a basket case, if that wasn't such a grotesque libel on baskets.
Meh. Corrections has to be near the top of the list of 'government departments that the public is least well-informed about'. Starting with parole, but correctional facilities not far behind.
Some of the stories bitching about the transfer of prisoners from Hawkes Bay to Otago, which was required by law to stop the prisoners getting sick, annoyed the hell out of me.
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But for every right there has to be an obligation, which is to release the work to society to benefit society.
But if we are to put Islander's work in the spotlight for a few seconds, where would the benefit to society be if it was out of copyright now (lets say copyright runs for 20 years from date of publication)?
The book is available in shops, libraries. It's not difficult to get, indeed to get for the price of a trip to the public library. It's not difficult to buy for a not-unreasonable price, a part of which goes to the author.
It could be made more available if it was put on the internet, but only 'more' available, it's already available for anyone that wants it.
If it was unavailable and wasn't going to be reprinted, I could see the argument.
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Ugh. You get the idea.
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You were being ironic, some people aren't...
There's a cheery bunch of folks:
"I would like to see our government reintroduce the death penalty. It's simply not good enough locking the grossest offenders up for life in some cushy cell with underfloor heating and widescreen television. The most serious crimes should carry the highest price ticket," one said.
I like the use of the word 'ticket' there. Makes execution sound like a good seat at the rugby.
Also at that page, and really quite fun: [[http://www.stuff.co.nz/vote08/0a28758.html|Whack a poll]. Hit John Key and Helen Clark with a big hammer.
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As I said the rate of growth in this measure is the second highest in the OECD, so it is possible that Prebble was referring to this and was misquoted, or misspoke. Either way it is emphatically not the second lowest in the OECD, and saying he is "raving, drooling out of his tiny mind wrong ..." on that basis strikes me as a little unfair.
Perhaps Russell was misquoted and he meant to say "Prebble is a silly twit who makes shit up for political purposes." Difficult to say...
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No, wrong. A person who buys the painting does not get a copyright right over it, unless the artist assigns the copyright to the purchaser. By default, that doesn't happen. A person who commissions an artwork holds the copyright in the resulting commissioned work, but a person who simply buys an artwork that's already been created doesn't.
An artist (for example) can't sell a work, then take a photograph of it, and publish that photograph, without the permission of the owner of the work.
Part of my job is getting the permissions to reproduce artworks for advertising, and we always have to work with the gallery or private collector as well as the artist, even if our reproduction of the artwork has come from another source (ie, the artist). The legal advice was quite clear on this.
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Are we all familiar with the number of people currently in prison for murders committed after they served time for an earlier murder?
I believe it's three.
The policy apparently is for violent offences with penalties of more than 5 years, 2nd time around.
This will affect 'about 100' people I was informed this morning, if it was applied retrospectively to people in prison at the moment.
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If a talk is taped by a media organisation, does the copyright sit with the media or the speaker. Do groups like the Oxford Union have their speakers sign a release that transfers the copyright?
Copyright for such things typically rests with multiple people and organisations.
Take for example an artwork. The artist paints it, they have copyright. Someone buys it, they have copyright. A photographer takes a photo of it, they have copyright. A book publishes the photo, they have copyright. All four of those people/organisations have copyrights over the version that appears in the book. Copyright of the original artwork however rests with the artist and the owner.
If TVNZ recorded the speech with their cameras, they have copyright over that recording, though it possibly also rests with David Lange's estate, and the Oxford Union.
If another organisation recorded it as well, then TVNZ doesn't have rights over that recording, unless they have a piece of paper giving them some sort of exclusive rights.
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Whatever the rational questions to be asked about such a policy, it will play well, especially given that the verdict on one shocking murder case is likely to come down just before polling day.
I was talking to my father about this in Wellington airport this morning. He and my mother bemoan the complete lack of knowledge that people, who are otherwise well informed on many things, have about parole and its purpose.
This change will result in two things:
1. Long effective sentences for some offenders (due to not being eligible for parole).
2. A less effective parole system (it might be called something different, but it will be similar to parole), which has no incentives at all to hold over the prisoner while they are serving their sentence.The headline will get a pile of votes however.
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But they are playing the game; it's just not the game you're trying to see.
Yup, that was my point. I don't find football interesting. If they chopped 30 or 40 metres off the length of the field, and some of the width it would liven up I'm sure.
Also, football spectators value things other than just vulgar dramatics -- skill, elegance, good tactical play, &c. Something can be absorbing without being continually exciting!.
Lots of sports have those things in bucketloads, without losing the excitement.