Posts by giovanni tiso

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  • Hard News: Not doing justice, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    remember when he started his own party and was searching for candidates on TradeMe

    Love the comments:

    "I think this will be a one election wonder."
    "You underestimate my plans and determination"

    Turns out that no, he wasn't.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Hard News: Not doing justice,

    Honestly, if we're discussing why National is getting hit more (and in Wellington, it most certainly is), it doesn't stretch credulity for me at all that it would be a mix of healthy hatred for the bastards and frustration for the lack of alternatives as we march towards Key's third term, as expressed by people who are not very sophisticated at expressing themselves. Social media might have amplified things a bit (look mum, I'm on tumblr!), but on the whole it seems to me that the vandalism is the mirror of the quality of the election campaign. Which is simply atrocious.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Hard News: Not doing justice, in reply to Russell Brown,

    I think it says more about Pete's personal reality than any politics.

    It's honestly one of the funniest things I've read all year. A billboard was defaced, it must have been the people who put up the next billboard along! For the same reason, whenever there's a burglary I immediately suspect the neighbours.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Hard News: Not doing justice, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Show-off.

    Boom! Seriously though, a lot of actual political campaigners don't leave their homes much these days, and that's okay. Terms like slacktivism are bandied about mostly by people who are lazier than the supposedly lazy.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Hard News: Not doing justice, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Yes. As I indicated in the post, quite a few valued commenters here are actively and usefully involved in the political process.

    Sitting at one's keyboard can also be quite useful in and of itself. Activism can be carried out effectively from one's chair, in the right circumstances.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Hard News: Not doing justice, in reply to Joe Wylie,

    Linwood College here in Chch staged The Merchant of Venice back before the earthquakes, with a multi-ethnic cast and a female Shylock.

    To say nothing of the Maori Merchant of Venice.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Hard News: Not doing justice, in reply to Tom Semmens,

    You are assuming he was knowingly anti-semitic, which he says he is not. On what grounds do you challenge his word?

    Because I read his comment. Because it had all the hallmarks of the classic antisemitic rant - the shadowy financial world conspiracy, Key's sinister "sneer". It was phrased in a very familiar way. And I just don't believe that a constituent would put those particular words in his mouth.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Hard News: Not doing justice, in reply to Tom Semmens,

    Everyone sits around wringing their hands at the trivialisation of politics, when the trivial issues are all they seem to want to can talk about

    Anti-semitism isn't a trivial issue. Neither is the inability of our major parties (remember Aaron Gilmore, etc) to recruit enough half-decent candidates to cover 71 electorates. This is all stuff that contributes to impoverishing our political discourse - it's not all Paddy Gower's fault.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Hard News: Not doing justice, in reply to Matt Crawford,

    I think refusing to stand on the list indicates that that these candidates are not genuinely campaigning for the party, rather acting more selfishly. The electorate are being fed the coded message loud and clear: "this candidate does not necessarily endorse head office".

    Where would you place Mallard, then? At 50? How would a former Minister take being told quite so plainly the party doesn't want him, when his LEC still does and he has the good fortune of living in a safe seat? So long as there are no mechanisms for Labour to get rid of people like that, having him way down the list isn't going to make him any more faithful to the leadership.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Hard News: Not doing justice, in reply to John Morrison,

    Gibson said in this morning's radio i/v he repeated what a constituted said to him, not understanding the full background of the term.
    BTW I know the word but I didn't realise the sensitive meaning of it either.

    I may be being sensitive here, but if you read Gibson's whole comment, with the part about John Key's "sneer" and his role in the GFC, it was as if he had drawn the classic antisemitic cartoon.

    Also, if Labour candidates could stop blaming their constituents for putting bad thoughts in their ears - see Shearer after the "man on the roof" debacle - it would be dandy. What are they, children?

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

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