Posts by Keir Leslie
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
I think the short answer is that Lesley Soper doesn’t know anything. I remain baffled by the Invercargill LEC’s decision to select her.
-
But unlike Labour or the Greens, party members will have no direct voting ability on the Leader, no? Which is surely less membership input?
And whereas the Greens elect the party list via delegate conferences and a party wide vote, the Internet Party executive will have the sole discretion to determine the party list, no? Which is surely less membership input?
And whereas Labour, the Greens, and National all put selection of electorate candidates in the hands of the local party, the Internet Party puts that power in the hands of the executive, no? Which is surely less membership input?
And where Labour and the Greens elect their peak policy making bodies from the membership, the Internet Party appoints its, at the absolute discretion of the Executive, which is surely less member input?
By the way, where does the law require that the executive council make the final decisions on leadership, list, etc?
-
Certainly the separate property arm is usual and the fact the informant quibbled it reveals a lack of familiarity with the arcana of political party constitutions.
But, Vikram, wouldn't you say that the lack of member input into list, electorate, and leader election is both unusual for New Zealand political parties, undemocratic, and in conflict with the Internet Party's values of transparency and accountability?
-
It’s hardly controversial to state that German technological prowess was in many areas more advanced than that of their opponents.
This is a contentious claim, unless you mean it in a very no True Scotsman way. "We rushed this prototype into production and man it sucked and it cost heaps" isn't proof of more advanced technology, it's proof of poor procurement policies. I'm generally pretty suspicious of claims about Nazi technological supermen, because on closer inspection it generally turns out Nazi technological superiority was very much a paper tiger.
Now, sure, that myth may be widespread and I'm not saying that going along with the belief that the Nazis-had-cool-kit is immoral (although it's also wrong 'cause dude, there's no way Spitfires aren't objectively cooler than anything the Luftwaffe ever fielded etc) but I do think there's some pretty unpleasant underlying causes for it.
-
I think the idea that the Nazis had the “cooler stuff"* is kinda problematic and often associated with some deeply screwed up ideas about Nazi Germany. It’s like the people who wander around saying that the Waffen-SS were, you know and after all, excellent professional soldiers etc. Sure, fine, whatevers, weird military historiography’s not my bag etc, but it’s also pretty damn suspicious.
I also absolutely don’t think that Naziism is without shock value for people under thirty. It’s still a hugely loaded ideology, which is why it features in games like CoD.
Finally, of course Dotcom’s collecting practices are fair game, both for moral judgement and practical political purposes. He’s purchased one of the most loaded books in the world, an autograph copy of Mein Kampf, a book that could quite literally be described as a genocidaire’s manual. It’s also a book that is key to the leader-principle ideology of the Nazi state, and he’s just installed himself as permanent “visionary” of his own political party. I think there’s some pretty legit questions you can ask at this point. Now of course I’m sure you could construct a justification for owning this item, and Dotcom’s more than welcome to, but it’d have to be a pretty good argument.
-
Muse: Guilt By Association Copy, in reply to Chris Waugh,
Yeah. I reckon it's like deciding you want to own the Wannsee Conference house or whatever. It's part of the architecture of the most disgusting crime in history -- which is the attraction, of course.
-
The people I know who are fans of WWII war games and own copies of Mein Kampf are normally extremely quick to clear up the whole "not a Nazi" thing. And I believe them, of course. But it is a thing you rather have to make clear, because being a fan of WWII and owning copies of Mein Kampf is a pretty Nazi thing to be.
And the autograph? Getting to the point of being pretty icky, really.
-
To be ultra-pedantic, it's not based on the socio-economic status of the school's pupils. It's based on the socio-economic status of the school's pupils' meshblocks.
-
KDC is using his huge personal wealth to bankroll a political party with a pretty clear subtextual goal of influencing a minister's use of discretion in a matter in which he a huge personal interest. It's not pretty.
-
Take Vox though --- it's a collection of Washington insiders who have been bouncing around various places looking for a home for the past 10 years, and now they don't need institutional backing. I don't think it's a surprise that these people turn out to be kind of a clique.