Posts by Joe Wylie
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Speaker: So NZ First gets another list…, in reply to Sacha,
Given Carter’s abysmal track record in the role, he would ask the National party what they want him to do.
Everyone grabs their ankles at the mere thought of John Key. Everyone except that godawful throwback Winston Peters, and now that horrid Andrew Little:
"Initially I thought it would be much easier. I misread Labour. I thought Andrew Little, because he was new in the job, would be keen to prove he was an effective campaigner so he wouldn't pull up stumps and leave the role of Opposition to Winston Peters." -
Legal Beagle: The Northland by-election;…, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
…and I now see that KidsCan was the charity all this violence took place for
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Legal Beagle: The Northland by-election;…, in reply to BenWilson,
Yes, there is a new King In The North. Now, can he survive a season?
Of course he can, he's like one of those Happy Meals that never decay. Eventually of course some child will prod it, causing it to crumble to nutrient-free dust, but anyone hoping for that to befall Winston better plan on a long wait.
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Envirologue: Hook, Line and Sinker –…, in reply to ,
Catching and releasing fish just for fun, is really sick. But it’s culturally acceptable, so doing its not going tick any boxes...
A cartoon which I can no longer find, but which made a deep impression back when I saw it, had an interesting take on that theme. It portrayed an angler who takes pity on an undersized fish, and basks in the feeling of having done a good deed after he returns it to the sea. What he doesn't know is that biting a baited hook is a capital crime among the fishes, and the one he imagined he'd reprieved is tried and beheaded by the undersea authorities, complete with tolling bells and a hooded executioner.
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Hard News: An unacceptable failure of care, in reply to Russell Brown,
Or Nicky Hager, who had his house turned over by a team of cops as a witness.
So a complaint from Cameron Slater was important enough to justify an over-the-top search and seizure on a prominent investigative journalist
The kind of "other work" that underresourced police are called away to do?
Police Association president Greg O'Connor told ONE News the blame is with a lack of police resources not the investigating detectives."You've got a group of detectives overworked and having to prioritise their files every day, being called away to do other work, and the reality of it is not every victim gets the attention that they need."
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Hard News: An unacceptable failure of care, in reply to andin,
They jump in hobnail boots and all when its not required
Amen. Lest we forget the persecution of the alleged Christchurch light bulb looter, whose name I won't invoke out of respect for his presumed desire for privacy.
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Hard News: An unacceptable failure of care, in reply to ,
Are we allowed to ask if the policeman beats his wife?
Or what she thinks of it all?When the ultra-prurient Chch Press hounds the "sex romp duo" to the point where “It’s not known whether the wife is standing by the man”, it seems fair enough to wonder why those questions haven’t been asked.
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Envirologue: The Agony of Vanuatu and…, in reply to BenWilson,
We can adapt to anything.
Yes, I don’t think many scientists would suggest that we actually wouldn’t survive a climate change disaster – it’s not an extinction level event for our species. But that doesn’t make it OK.
I'm not suggesting it's OK, My understanding of Flannery's take, which was on ABC radio some years ago, was that it's a reminder of the power we hold and it's attendant responsibilities. Retreating into spurious claims about how "nature intended us to be" is a vast cop-out.
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Envirologue: The Agony of Vanuatu and…, in reply to Bart Janssen,
Paleolithic humans were healthier than modern humans
Not meaning to threadjack, but mention of the paleo diet always reminds me of Tim Flannery’s meeting with genuine cannibals in the Niugini highlands. The man of a village household described how they’d resort to cannibalism when times were tough. A neighbouring tribe served as “olosem eisbox” – the same as an ice box – for those occasions.
After carrying out a night raid on their unfortunate neighbours they butchered the bodies and bundled the joints onto their backs. As they were about to depart a baby was heard crying from a string bag hung from a nearby tree, where his presumably now deceased parents had attempted to hide him.
Returning to the present, the wife of the household put an affectionate arm around her now grown adopted son, who smiled happily as she explained that because they’d had so much to eat she’d had plenty of milk, just look how big and strong he’s grown.
The moral that Flannery drew from that story was “We’re the ultimate plastic species. We can adapt to anything.”
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Access: Right to die?, in reply to Martin,
We’re disable people Joe, not the “disabled”. As the disabled we have been incarcerated in institutions, subject to experimentation, and a whole host of other dehumanising treatments including involuntary euthanasia…
You poor dears. Having spent a sizeable chunk of my adult life providing care and support for someone with an intellectual disability I really have to confess myself a tad underwhelmed by your brand of scenery-chewing.