Posts by Konrad Kurta
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Substitute the word 'n****r' for the word 'faggot' (or whatever the slur was). I wonder how Eden Park would deal with it then?
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Perhaps the best exchange I've seen on the issue was over on the Transport Blog, where Jan O'Connor (councillor and/or board member) seemed to get caught posting false information under a pseudonym.
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You're right - it is a complicated area. I know people who were barely capable of talking to the opposite sex at 15, and others who had moved out of home and had numerous partners by that time. Is there a 'reasonable man' test involved if a case ends up in court? That's probably the only practical way to decide if a young person is mature enough to be giving any form of meaningful consent.
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I kinda agree with Craig on this one. If someone gives you $400,000, you'd think you would make damn sure that every cent of it was squeaky clean, lest it politically blow up in your face. Personally, I'd love to know exactly who was donating. It could scare away potential donors, but if being identified scares a potential donor should they really be bankrolling a political party in the first place? Like Craig says, our reputation as one of the least corrupt countries in the world isn't one we should take lightly; it's built upon political transparency and systems that aren't too much trouble to adhere to - certainly not when someone gives you $400,000.
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Hard News: Competing for Auckland, in reply to Andre Alessi,
want to own property that isn’t so far north as to have to swear allegiance to the Starks
Hah! I get it.
Milford is also pretty close to the busway, too; regular bus services that linked to it would make it easy to get to the city and back. Crystal ball gazing, there seems to be a fuzzy consensus that there'll be northern rail line alongside the Southern Motorway within our lifetimes, which would make Milford a good candidate for intensification for the same reason. My Aunt lives in a seaside mansion in Milford and seems to be more relaxed about intensification there than about housing affordability for her nieces and nephews. NIMBYs aren't ubiquitous, and they have enough money to head North of The (Orewa) Wall if their peace and quiet really means that much to them.
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Hard News: You can Roughan but you just…, in reply to Marcus Turner,
I’d like to see these statements collated after the event, and those who’ve made such statements confronted with them. I have the impression that some people get a lot of publicity for statements about any upcoming change, and that their predictions are mostly wrong.
Right there with ya'. At least people still seem to remember John Banks's, 'Britomart will be a white elephant' quote, though that didn't stop Aucklanders voting him in again for another round of, 'say no to everything'. It's been interesting to see the sheer magnitude of mouth-frothing and hysteria that has been drummed up over the CRL and Unitary plan, especially considering the plans themselves are so un-sensational. I still don't get why anyone would get Chicken Little over either one.
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I walk to work here in South Korea; partly because it's so close, but also because braving the traffic on a bike (courtesy of terrible driving and un-enforced road rules) would be suicidal. My last job in Auckland was in Pt. Chev, a 15 minute sprint from Herne Bay. I treated it as a cardio workout rather than a leisurely commute, so I never wore my work clothes. In summer I wore generic sports shorts, a bright-coloured t-shirt and that was all (aside from lightly hardier 'sports' briefs). I had shower facilities at work, so I'd take my work clothes with me. In winter, I'd wear spandex pants, a thermal-ish undershirt, a t-shirt, and a reflective/fluoro cycling jacket over top. I quickly found the cut-off gloves to be a must as well; blisters suck.
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Oh, sonofabitch. My age of 26 disqualifies me for everything - cheap Europass rail fares, 'yoof' subsidised things, and just general 'yoof' things... And I haven't driven a car in two years, so I can't even claim the belated, "you're not a boy-racing fuckwit", insurance premiums. You were wrong, Bowie. My girlfriend is still 25; sounds like this could be a good place for her to submit pictures (she's just bought a DSLR and is taking a 'how to' course).
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Very late post, but I just remembered this and thought it was pretty salient. If you want an idea of the degree that high-level obstruction hinders evidence-based discussions on the subject, here's the DEA head talking about marijuana. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykwaXsQY6Eg
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Hard News: When the drug warriors turn, in reply to Stephen Judd,
All good points. I still think there's a knee-jerk, "drugs are bad, mmmkay?", bent to strongly opinionated and poorly researched voters. I can't see National tackling this issue if it alienates their core voters (fairly conservative older white folk) so the Greens and Labour would have to tackle it. It'd be a tough PR battle, and a subject that the likes of Colin Craig/the Family First wingnuts would use as evidence that the sky is falling. We still have the same conservative posturing as the US, too, but when this issues comes to head - and it will - I hope that we find room for a grounded, reasonable national discourse. If that happens, there should eventually be public consensus for meaningful reform.