Posts by simon g
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OK, so now I really have to watch X Factor tonight, when I haven't had the slightest interest since they had the Manic Street Preachers. Any chance the sacked judges will come storming on screen, take hostages and drop c-bombs? Any chance this won't be the lead story on TV3 (Pam who?) ...
Peter Finch, Network, way ahead of its time.
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You'd think the attempt to link "terrorism" and "Greens" was so clumsy it would be met with derision. But no, not when there are journalists all too willing to play along.
Here's TV 3 reporter Dave Goosselink, whose hashtag and Twitter profile proclaim him to be "greenfree". He's a Judith Collins fanboy who spouts from the Whale whenever he can.
Ditto Mike Hosking on Seven Sharp. 1080 Blackmailers = Kauri protestors = Greens. Why does Russel Norman want to murder our babies?
But these are not random ranters on the internet. They're the people who bring us the nightly news.
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Ever wonder why the PM acts like a 5 year old? Perhaps it's because there are 5 year olds in the press gallery.
Patrick Gower says Labour's position in Northland is a "rort". Now, it could be debatably described with various words - "tactically muddled", for instance.
But there can't be any debate about "rort", provided you have access to an English dictionary. It isn't a "rort" any more than it's a "badger" or a "condiment" or a "shuttlecock". You only need to look it up.
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Legal Beagle: The Northland by-election;…, in reply to Lucy Telfar Barnard,
I do get your point on the fact we can’t choose candidates’ places on that list. I’ve been present for an election in Peru where people could write in the name of a preferred candidate to bump that candidate up the list; and seen other places where you get to rank the whole list if you like.
And that brings us to the core issue, which politicians don't like to discuss because nobody wins votes by telling the voters it's their own fault. But actually, it is.
We have chosen a system that rates simplicity above participation. Every three years we only have to - in fact, only can - tick a name and a logo. We can't rank people, we can't rank parties, we can't do anything except the bare minimum. Most other democracies require a bit more from their citizens. In some American states you can spend half the day going through all the options in the booth. In other jurisdictions there are tasks (hardly onerous) such as STV ranking.
We could have a lot more say if we demanded it. But we don't. (We did, back in the late 80s and early 90s, and we got a better voting system as a result).
The question of why we are so disengaged is not easy to answer: after all, people are not slow to voice their opinions across a range of platforms (social media, text voting etc) on the issues of the day. But ultimately, we don't seem to care enough about our Parliamentary elections, except to grumble in some ill-focused way ("Bloody list MPs!", "By-elections waste taxpayers' money!").
So the parties retain the power of selection, mainly because we don't seem to want it.
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Legal Beagle: The Northland by-election;…, in reply to sean mahoney,
Sean, I think your logic is being fairly challenged, on your own terms. You state:
"People should either be list candidates or electorate candidates".
Which means, candidates should avoid fighting for seats they may not win. The consequences of that can be easily foreseen, none of them good for democracy.
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I can never understand the logic that says if you receive 11,698 votes (Hekia Parata) you shouldn't be in Parliament, but if you receive 0 votes (Steven Joyce), then you should.
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I can't see much point in getting worked up about 1 MP affecting proportionality based on the general election result, when 120 MPs could do that any time they wanted.
(I'm not implying that party-hopping should be banned, it's a lesser evil than total party control removing members' independence, but still ... unlike a by-election winner, they can't claim the voters have changed their minds, and therefore Parliament).
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It's now official: New Zealand's foreign policy is written by IS(IS).
"Hello, is that the 6 pm news? Here's today's murder clip, all ready to go. I think you'll like it, a real video nasty. Saves on paying journos, eh?"
"Ooh, thank you. Keep 'em coming! Remember - reports on global human rights abuses never reach the Prime Minister's desk. Too many words. He's a big picture guy ... well, just a picture guy, in fact. Cut out the analysts and academics, they just make things complicated. Keep it simple. You record, we'll relay, he'll respond. Everybody wins!"
What a lovely triangle.
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Sommet Sports, on Freeview Channel 14, has just closed down. No cash, no ad revenue, it seems.
So, one more alternative to the Sky-Monster has gone. Shame.
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Did you nominate them, Raymond?