Posts by George Darroch
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Who would have guessed that the SAS Regimental March was the Sound of Music
SAS: The Musical. I'd love to see that.
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Ah fuck it, enough of the reserved moral equivalence, and failing to pass judgment til knowing all the facts. I'm going to come down on the side of harsh condemnation of all those who've expressed non-concern today. Not having followed the media extensively, my list has only two people on it. Mr Key, and Mr Goff.
"It is important that we do not mistake this as necessary operational security. The result of the PR strategies was shutting the media and public out of information about the wars and closing down discussion about New Zealand being part of an increasingly confused, counter-productive and ultimately failing war."
As one of the people interviewed is quoted in the book saying,
‘People assume that politicians make decisions, but often they’re busy, ill-informed or actively excluded.... The worst decisions were made by senior officials and military officers, often without [the ministers’] knowledge’ — senior New Zealand government official'""The public servants (military and civilian) seemed to believe they could go to war but only had to tell the public and politicians the things that suited them. When they see what is revealed in the book, politicians from all parties should be very unhappy at being misled and sidelined," Nicky Hager said. "The book reveals a military and foreign affairs bureaucracy that need to be brought under control."
If even the prospect of having an army going to war, without the permission of Parliament, without the knowledge of the Prime Minister, and hidden from Cabinet does not overly concern the PM or Leader of the Opposition, then they don't deserve their fucking jobs.
Or, maybe Mr Hager just made it all up. Maybe the documents are fake along with the interviews, and the whole thing is just an extremely inventive creative writing exercise. If so: give him a Booker Prize.
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I'd like to know (and this is possibly within the covers) whether the NZDF was involved in misleading some ministers over the Iraq War, or merely some of them. There's a huge difference there.
The PM, by comparison; his handwaving and 'relaxed' attitude to the whole thing is both disappointing and entirely in character.
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There's only one copy of the book in this house, damnit, and I'm not the one reading it. Hope to make a more meaningful comment shortly.
As Stephen Judd said this afternoon, "Mateparae -- credibility shot before he even began. If Jon Stephens' stories weren't enough, surely Hager's are about to seal it. Disgrace."
To have Mateparae even on the television, having to defend himself, is below the office. As a republican, I'm a little pleased to have the Governor General's public image tarnished again. As a New Zealander, I'm not happy at all.
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I caught the end of an interview with Phil Goff on Radio NZ about half an hour ago. He was fairly non-committal about whether he was concerned about being misled, and didn't seem to want to give the story legs. This might just be my partisan interpretation, but he was hardly jumping up and down like a man on fire.
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I retweeted this earlier today, but never thought to put it here. A fertility clinic ad (SWF), the first in Australia to show woman giving birth
(And the context). Via Lew Stoddart.
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I'll be interested to see how Radio NZ covers this.
he gives the same lecture to priests of any denomination – who preach at the churches attended to by the very freaked out people in his lay audience – and they shrug and say, ‘Yeah yeah yeah, we learned all of that stuff at seminary. So what?’
My Dad translates the Bible for fun. It's fascinating to see someone hold simultaneously a work as literal (god-given) truth, and the work of human fallibility. The capability of humans to hold simultaneously discordant ideas in their mind, and selectively discount or uphold them as needed, is almost infinite.
In this context, the knowledge that the NZDF is acting in an aggressive capacity, well outside its stated mandate is open insider knowledge, but nobody feels like challenging the government on misleading the public. Except Nicky Hager.
I hope he sells a lot of books, because his work otherwise gets a fraction of the recognition he's due. That said, The Hollow Men is still on two hour loan at the Health Sciences library as required reading. It has hardly faded in relevance, and remains recognised among the members of the informed public.
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There was a similar response to the Hollow Men – which contained rather astonishing revelations about the marketing and funding of political parties, and journalists like Jane Clifton yawned and replied, ’But we ALL knew all that.’
Insiders.
ETA: the cult of savviness.
Nicky Hager could show that the NZDF was eating babies in Afghanistan, and the response would still be a variation of the same. The ‘game’ would be the story, and they’d score the NZDF and Government on how well they ‘handled’ the story.
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I’ve been told to stop eating my trusted Indian. The neighbours are being to talk.
Think nothing of it. Personhood is conferred, not axiomatic.
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Anyone know if it’s going to be possible to be vegan there?
Yes. You'll mainly be eating tofu, simple vegetables, and the same Indian you trust back home. Most speak English well enough to make it easyish.