Posts by Paul Williams
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Graeme, thanks for the break down of the remaining primaries.
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... But like a lot of ex-pat comments it seems to betray a rose-tinted view of where they are, and a sort of cultural cringe towards their homeland that leads them to complain about it isn't, rather than loving what it is.
That's an interesting observation. I certainly had a rose-tinted view of Sydney for a long time and there's much to like about Sydney but I miss NZ intensely. I particularly miss being in NZ when significant events occur; like when Sir Ed died or when Cambo won the US Open (no equivalence intended, just events that occurred to me). I miss feijoa juice and Pohutukawa trees. I miss Maori and Polynesian faces and sounds. I lament the lack of good coffee. I suffer no cultural cringe, quite the opposite. I think NZ has a great deal to be rightly proud of and get well and truly pissed off when NZ is talked down. I work in government and, in my experience at least, NZ government is superior to Australian government. It is leaner and more focused. I'll not say anything about race relations today because I believe Australia is now on a track to make real progress.
I spent three or four weeks in Auckland over December/January, I had a great time revisiting old haunts and discovering some new places - my 2 and a half year old loved Muriwai beach, loved being able to paddle in Kohimarama and loved being able to play with a hose (can't do that in Sydney). My only gripe is the serious lack of good playgrounds.
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I saw the Coulter endorsement, gwad!
Now that McCain's pretty much sewn-up the GOP nomination, Dems will have to be thinking which candidate presents the best alternative? An alternative candidate or a non-alternative? Perhaps that's a little unkind to Clinton but on several issues, McCain and Clinton occupy similar territory. I think Obama as a relative newbee to Washington, an active opponent of the Iraqi war and a Gen Xer - the Gen X dimension would be important to me if I were voting - presents a real alternative to McCain.
I don't, however, doubt that Clinton is the superior politician.
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Hillary vs. Obama?
This post says it all.
Hells bells this is good writing! Thanks Deborah, this blog looks like a great read.
Obama's obvious charisma and passion are enormously attractive but surely no one thinks that he writes all his own material? Surely no one thinks MLK, JFK or RFK wrote all of theirs? I didn't, should I?
The comparison with Regan is interesting though; didn't RB link to a SlateV piece on the hope-as-clarion-call-for-all-ages? Obama's only marginally more experienced than Regan was but less likely to develop dementia during his term, should he win. Interestingly for me, all the vox-pops I've seen unerringly refer to Obama's cross party appeal and maybe this is why he's doing so well since Super Tues? Perhaps Graeme can advise if the remaining primaries permit independents to vote for Dems?
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As a very dear sparring partner from a politics list I'm on -- and a self-described 'raging lesbian-feminist liberal from your nightmares' -- tersely puts it:
"Yes, but not her."
Now there's a weird coincidence. I woman I worked for, a while back, and a raging hetro who herself once worked for Bill Clinton says much the same thing (actually she worked for Reich but had a fair bit to do with Bill, nothing like that though).
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The parliamentary opening is the first in Australia's history to include a "welcome to country" ceremony... it's only the 42nd parliament...
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I'm pleased that the SIT situation is resolved. SIT's strategy made good sense when demand-driven funding encouraged all institutions to grow by relocating to large population centres and homogenise their products.
I know many advocates of demand-driven funding argue that market approaches lead to better allocative efficiency, which may be true, but was not what was happening; instead there were all manner of frankly faddish programmes being offered with very low labour market outcomes. A classic is in fact from CPIT which pumped hundreds of kids through fashion/design courses that didn't include commercial garment construction and meant few were employable (this particular example I've heard from both the Apparel and Textile Training Organisation and Karen Walker herself).
The new approach to allocating funding may not be perfect, but it at least balances individual aspirations with the needs of the labour market.
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First comment, surely not? Either way, congrats Russell. It's a little overdue and I suspect it'll go great. Only sorry I'll not be able to enjoy here in 'straya.
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Ugh... I'd be more worried about security at train stattions -- some of the stations in central Sydney are already disasters begging to happen, that were never designed for the kind of traffic they already carry. I shudder to think what Sydney's version of the bombings in Madrid and London would look like.
I have a good friend who is in the NSW fire service and has been part of many emergency exercises. The biggest worry is a gas attack at Town Hall. Town Hall is multi-leveled and heavily patronised therefore ideal for maximising casualties. I try not to think of this when I go through there many times a week.
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It's now being reported that the hi-jacker wanted the plane to fly to Australia.
Cullen to blame, says Key.
The press coverage in Australia was pretty reasonable however there was some pretty OTT radio coverage including a rather patronising interview on Sydney ABC with an RNZ reporter (can't recall her name). Lots of questions about 'so is there no screening in NZ', and 'what about metal detectors, you do have them in NZ right'. The RNZ reporter did well to point out that Blenheim was a smaller centre but you could be excused if you thought all Australian airports are Fort Knox...
Anyone flying into or out of smaller centres in Australia would experience exactly the same level of security as applies in Blenheim (I say this from experience, I travel twice weekly and often into/out of smaller centres).