Posts by BenWilson
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Yes, comments on how the US should be run are never welcomed by Americans. The rebuttal that you're free to leave is somewhat compelling. However, this kind of incident does give us plenty of ammo to say that *our* countries needn't model our gun laws around the US.
Sick, shocking. Sure. But as you say, dozens and dozens died in Iraq in equally sick, shocking and stupid ways. And probably hundreds in Darfur. I'm losing all enthusiasm for even thinking about the US, much less moralizing at them.
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I think I prefered the pagan gods - they only fucked with famous people's lives.
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"I don't really know how to counter such out right denial. Its seen as a mental disorder by most pychologists, should climate change deniers be reasoned with in the same way a pyschoanalyst teases out issues with a patient in denial?"
Nah, just head to head on the evidence, and don't give up. It's getting through slowly. Thinking about it as 'curing insane thoughts' is insidious. Stick to 'trying to find and show the truth'.
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A consensus is good, even if the Nats would like to paint it as a contrast. I guess it's 'Hitting the enemy where they are strong', but in a sort of jujitsu way where you take your opponents force in the direction they are pushing, and then a little, hoping to offbalance and throw them. If that's how they're fighting now, all good! Much less damaging than a head to head clash, kickboxing style. The environment will be the winner.
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Josh, my problem is I touch type, and I really do think in fully formed paragraphs. Too many years of uni debating and philosophy. Doesn't mean it's not irrelevant bollocks, though.
Span, I guess you might be right if you mean blog-owners. Obviously the trolls are still into trolling.
Ben Austin, I'm guessing you'll never see my response :-)
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"I've sensed that too, although it seems like tempting fate to claim any credit."
It is. There's more trolling going on than ever, I think, but not here....yet. I can imagine it's hard to turn around once it gets a foothold.
Question for the masses: What's the longest comment you've ever written and then thought better of and deleted? I got to 2 screens full once, and it felt sickening to kill all that work, but rereading it I could see it was just troll bait.
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Span, "some seem to see the comment threads as their own Colosseum for senseless gladiatorial battle."
Yup, or a place for a cheap snack on Christians. Ironically, I would be a Christian in that metaphor.
I think you're right that it's hard to resist the 'spin defence'. Just because something is spin doesn't mean it's wrong. That's another form of ad hominem. Or is it 'fallacy of affirming the consequent'? Can't remember, doesn't matter.
I think you're also right that it doesn't mean 'spin' has no meaning. It's just suffered from word-inflation through overuse.
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The only value I can see in the code of conduct is to save oneself the trouble of writing it. A bit like GNU GPL. But having it tied into some kind of external trademarking thingo sounds like asking to be sued for someone else's actions.
Russell said:
"A flame war might be fun now and then, but mostly, it's just tedious. I generally only get angry when someone brings my family into it."
Heh, I think the only time I've got genuinely angry was when someone on kiwiblog called my views postmodern. The bitterness.
I do find it strange that SH commenters haven't flooded PA with trolls yet. I notice dad4justice comes here sometimes and is mostly civil, a strange mindfuck since every time I go to kiwiblog the threads are littered with his abuse. I find it hard to believe they're *scared*. Russell, are you censoring a lot?
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I still think argumentum ad baculum is the best fallacy, and if you disagree I'll bash you.
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Wouldn't a latin name be more plonky than a number? Argumentum ad analogium or something like?
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