Posts by simon g

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  • Southerly: If You Don't Hit Them, You…,

    Yeah, I'm sick and tired of being told how I should live my life by trouble-making do-gooders who didn't have kids themselves.

    Jesus, I'm talking to you.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report

  • Hard News: Public Address Radio,

    Blog people on the radio? What do they do, cut and paste voices? Provide links to more interesting radio programmes? Have wacky sound effects for smileys?

    OK, OK, I'll listen in. Because at the end of the day, the reality is, it's got to be better than Radio Sport, at the end of the day.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report

  • Speaker: Part 12: Match state = drinks,

    From memory (because I'm too lazy to look stuff up, you do that if you want to correct me) the Black Caps did not have a single injury in the 1999 World Cup. In fact the team went through almost the entire tournament with an unchanged side, except for one game, against ... somebody. Look, I said I can't be bothered to look it up.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report

  • Yellow Peril: the identity game,

    I think we should keep one Yellow Peril thread alive and hold it hostage until Tze Ming agrees to return. How about this one?

    Anyway, I've been pondering the whole Babel-label question again today.

    Two young Asians appeared at the Auckland District Court. They were our nation's newest national (no, global) heroines, appearing as star witnesses in the case of Lisa Simpson versus Monty Burns. Exhibit A: Vitamin C (absence of). Top work, girls. Insert obligatory reference here to Kiwi Ingenuity.

    And in every report I've noticed so far, they have been New Zealanders. Which should be obvious, and unremarkable except ... what if they were in the same building, but in the dock?

    Just a thought.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report

  • Speaker: Part 3: Grating Expectations,

    Being intermittently English myself (i.e. during the Ashes, or whenever Tony Veitch opens his mouth), I thought it was quite funny and pretty obviously tongue-in-cheek.

    No sense of humour, the English.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report

  • Speaker: Part 2: Remembering Kenya,

    On second thoughts, Suzy's involvement is subject to much more scepticism than the Nairobi nonsense. Mind-edit accordingly, please.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report

  • Speaker: Part 2: Remembering Kenya,

    The "Kenya myth" is NZ cricket's version of Suzy the waitress, isn't it? A necessary self-delusion, now well established, often repeated, rarely questioned.

    Minor facts: the Black Caps qualified for the Super Sixes anyway, despite not going to Kenya. They then lost to Australia and India, for which no Nairobi native could be held even remotely responsible. But they did beat Zimbabwe. (A feat also matched by ... er ... Kenya).

    We wuzn't robbed.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report

  • Hard News: Bad men,

    I understand that Michael Laws is going to be "dancing with the stars".

    After reading his column today, I can only conclude that he has been practising with Rodney Hide and was repeatedly dropped on his head.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report

  • Hard News: Bad men,

    OK, Stephen, your last sentence is fair comment - guilty as charged! I should dismount from my hobby-horse.

    But I do wish the process was discussed more in the media. For better or worse, it's how verdicts are reached, and it is a key part of the system.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report

  • Hard News: Bad men,

    I think the men were found not guilty because the jurors had been stuck with this awful, unwanted burden for a very long time, and just wanted to be rid of it. Really.

    It's about human nature, and group dynamics. Not the law.

    Ever been a kid at school, stuck in detention? "Just do what teacher says, and then you can go home." That's the jury system. How long would you hold out? Escape is just a word away. Just ... agree. With no personal consequences. Nobody will ever know who you are. That makes it a unique life experience - nothing else compares.

    Of course, academics, lawyers, journalists, police, politicians etc will have their own "informed" views on the whole process, and they will all have one thing in common - they've never done what they're talking about.

    I think we should stick all the "experts" in the one room, tell them they can never leave until they ALL agree, and make it into a Reality TV show. Rated R18. That will tell us all we need to know how verdicts happen. It's not pretty.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report

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