Posts by Deborah
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I don't know - people will put quote marks around <i>anything</i> these days.
So they do. Just like this, really.
We now actually have a "smacking" conviction subsequent to the Child Discipline Bill,
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so historically this sentence would seem way over the top when people who have histories of multiple violent offending/multiple cyfs intervention and finally kill or maim their child get about 2-4 years
It's nine months of supervision, including counselling, not a custodial sentence. That doesn't seem like a harsh or onerous sentence me. The concern is not that this sentence is too heavy - it's not - but that other sentences have been far too light.
I was puzzled about the way the Dominion Post framed the story. It's all set up as an outrage, that someone should be getting a sentence for smacking a child three times. It's not until you get well through the piece that you realise the father lost his temper, and the bruising was sufficiently severe for the mother to take a photo. Did they just buy the Family First line on this? It's especially odd given that a few months ago they were supporting repeal of section 59.
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A quick look at The Golden Compass trailer on apple.com reveals what looks suspiciously like a golden monkey...
Deo gratias!
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My wife was upset when she saw on the posters that the chief nasty woman didn't have a monkey...
What do you mean - no monkey?!!! When I heard that Nicole Kidman was to be Mrs Coulter, I thought that it was casting perfection, because she really does put me in mind of a golden monkey. Her perfect daemon.
I of course, prefer a somewhat febrile looking cat....
My eldest daughter read Northern Lights, a.k.a. The Golden Compass, and the atheism passed right over her head, just like the religion in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
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There was a man in the pool in a suit and tie, which I thought was quite odd.
Well, yes. Any explanation?
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It is time...The Nerds Handbook,
[[http://www.randsinrepose.com/|www.randisrepose.commerc, that's wonderful. How long have you been saving it up for us?
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I got some Xtra help with moving. The whole story is here, but here's my suggestion for what we should do about the helpless desk.
I have had enough of helpless Xtra call centre operatives. Xtra is reducing its costs, by pushing the costs to its customers, in terms of time and emotional energy spent trying to deal with their systems and not-very-helpful call centre staff.
I know it’s not fair to yell at call centre staff - they are just doing their job. But I think that Xtra is relying on that nicety just a little too much. It’s impossible to find anyone to make a complaint to, and impossible to get good service. So I think the time has come to stop being polite, and to get Xtra staff, and Telecom staff, to start wearing some of the cost too.
I am not advocating that you harass hapless Filipinos (is that where the Xtra call centre is?) willy-nilly. But if ever I meet someone who works for Telecom or Xtra, in person, I’m going to talk to them about the problems with their service. If they tell me that it’s not their job, I will smile sweetly, and say that given that this is my only opportunity to talk to a real live person, I’m going to take it, use up their time just as Xtra and Telecom so happily use up my time, and suggest that if they don’t like it, well, they should complain.
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Come on Russell.
Actually, it was me who said "pretty damned close to being something very nasty".
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"talking seriously"
Were they? thats the point.
Well, yes. This wasn't just d*ckheads sitting around and mouthing off. They were backing up their words with guns.
Talking sh*t is not a crime.
Playing with guns is not a crime.
Combining the two may well be. Maybe not "terrorism", but pretty damned close to being something very nasty.
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NZ doesn't even have particularly strong civil institutions on paper, but practically it has worked so far, mainly because as a society we are so unaccustomed to armed violence that the boundaries are maintained by common sense.
We are also very small - it's only two degrees of separation here. We all know each other, and that tends to keep us in line too. So sure, our formal institutions may not be as strong as say, the formal US institutions, 'though that's arguable, but our informal institutions are very strong.