Posts by Robert Fox
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I won’t be watching tonight as my lukewarm republicanism overrides my desire to consume royal kitsch or watch British eccentricity mediated by the terrible presenters on TV1 and 3. Seeing Springtime London in glorious Hi Def certainly has appeal though so I may take a sneak peek between sporting events. As far as NZ becoming republic goes, whose side would you be on in battle between Good King William and the prospect of the Evil President Brash/Banks etc?
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Hard News: Time to get a grip, in reply to Russell Brown,
Correct, someone with Henry's political background could get a Kilroy-Silk type gig in the UK but they would never be considered for the position he managed to hold down with the state broadcaster here for far too long. Also, the moment a news presenter on any of the major networks attempted one of his spitefully puerile outbursts on live TV they would be down the road before you could say broadcasting standards.
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I think the social value of people going to university and studying literature, philosophy etc is currently a negative value, since the net result is generally a person who is unable to communicate their ideas about art/philosophy/whatever to a non-academic audience
This is a huge generalisation. The same could be said of a great many scientists being unable to articulate theory to the public, the climate debate being just one example. Ironically in the UK at least, most of the politicians who make this kind of argument about supposedly unproductive degrees, are the product of public (private) schools with arts/philosophy/classics degrees from Oxbridge. I think we should never underestimate the value that a university education has in developing important critical thinking and research techniques whatever the subject.
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find a stronger angle to hang their criticism on unless they want to grace us with their tipping point where duly appointed Ministers of the Crown become credible
Key knew that the Auckland Super city would be an issue during this parliament but still chose a man with vary little political capital and who is ideologically wedded to reducing the scope of local democracy, to usher through huge political changes that wiil effect a third of the national electorate. Its looking more and more like a another bad call by Key with each passing week.
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The Rhino in the room during this bye election was Yellow. As the HOSs editorial suggested, Key would do well to get the little fat mushroom to pull his woolly head in or he will be looking at a single term in office. 3% of the national vote does not a mandate make. Unless conscessions are made my bet is that the Super City will be a huge political albatross for national come the next election.
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Graeme, if I wasn't a bit busy, I'd try and come up with a more contemporary military analogy for "drawing a long bow" ...
After reading Graeme and DPFs posts i was going to mention Agincourt but you kinda beat me to it Russell. Cant think of anything more contemporary than that i'm afraid
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Unlike 1989 this was directly cause by hooliganism
plus extremely poor organisation and a hopeless old stadium about a secure and safe as the colluseum in its current state. UEFA and the British government were quick to conveniently pile up all the blame on the Liverpool supprters whilst ducking there own culpability. Warnings about the state of the crumbling stadium were totally ignored.
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Hillsborough's impact was huge precisely because it was played out before a live TV audience. The attempt by the police and authorities to shirk any responsinbility and effectively blame the victims for what happend could never be reconcilled by a public who could easily recall the horrors they witnessed in their living rooms and pubs that day. The Sun newspaper’s sales have never recovered in Liverpool as a result of a boycott after the despicable “The Truth” smear headline, and the fact that no one has ever been held to account for the tradgedy to this day is still a source of great anger and resentment on Merseyside. Anyone who spent time on the terraces at British football grounds int he 70’s and 80’s as i did, when hooligans were the youth folk devils de jour, will be able to tell at least one story of a time they exeprienced a frightening life threatening crush exacerbated by heavy handed policing and fenced pens on the terraces. Hillsborough was an accident waiting to happen.
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AC Grayling has an interesting critique of Gray's Black Mass here:
http://newhumanist.org.uk/1423
His point seems to be that secular humanism, through rationalism/science and democracy, can engender ad hoc progressive political outcomes whereas utopian political ideologies tend to be exclusive totalitarian monoliths and therefore counter enlightenment. He figures that Gray's failing is that he lumps them together and therefore cant see the wood through the tree's as it were.
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Bunting sites the particulary unhinged John Gray in her Guardian column. Enlightenment and humanism as sub genre of Judeo Christianity etc. After redifining religion to align neatly with their conservative values the modern world becomes a dark and disturbing place for these people. Leave them to it I say, i’ll stick with the Enlightenment thanks even if I do have to step on every crack in the pavement on the way to work everytime Liverpool play. Didn’t work for me this morning though!