Posts by Matthew Poole
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How would you propose that all those duplicated bills be disposed of? And would a member then be subject to some kind of stand-down if their bill wasn't the one drawn but was one of the duplicates?
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i'd be curious to hear which portfolio people think has contributed more to nzl over the last three years.
I'd say it's actually a very tough call. Goff's done a stellar job on the FTA with China (which is actually very, very favourable to NZ, especially when considering what it could've looked like), but Winston's done wonders for our relationship with the US. It was thawing before, but he's turned a hair dryer onto things.
In terms of the future, it's hard to say. My views on us trying to get an FTA with the US are no secret, and that's going to be the next big step for us. There are few things that are foreseeable internationally that would have the same impact.
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asking to be taken off your fucking mailing list should do the job
Fair enough, too. Apologies.
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Aren't hard-working candidates meant to do that?
Only when their policies agree with Craig's, I suspect. Personally I don't want any of it, particularly when we've got a big "Addressed mail and local papers only" sign on the letterbox, but there's no point complaining since political spam is an excepted category. Pity.
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Good
Yup. Winston will be missed for his antics, and he's definitely achieved far more for seniors than anyone else would ever even have tried, but to paraphrase Craig he's been thoroughly confirmed as a pathological liar with these latest revelations. Quite what this will do to the final numbers remains to be seen.
And, of course, there's still the potential wild card of the Rimutaka election. In the absence of a popular incumbent, it could potentially end up going to Mark. That would drag Winnie straight back in again, since NZF is pretty much certain to get list votes sufficient to entitle them to at least two MPs, if not three or four. -
And perhaps there's an up-side to the EFA, because two unsolicited and unwelcome letters from Phil Twyford have been the only political junk mail we've received this campaign season.
We've received three or four things from Rodders/Act, and one from whoever it is that Labour's putting up. Nothing from Worthless that I've seen, and the other parties don't really try and contest Epsom except in the most token of fashions.
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Just occasionally it'd be nice to hear people starting an investigation because it was the right thing to do to help protect our democracy.
hahahahahahaha. Sorry, I must stop... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
OK, I'm over that now. You're right, it would be nice for oversight of the politicians to occur because it's "the right thing to do". But look at how unpopular it was just getting rid of the lifetime perks that came with being a retired pollie, and that was just about money. Things that deal with reputation are even more unpopular.
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Actually, a fuck of a lot taken. Obvs.
That's your choice. I'm going to leave this topic alone.
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But isn't the TV3 news coverage of a FIFA World Cup Tournament just a bit, er, crap?
That'd be coz it's women's sports, and not netball. Seriously. I don't usually accord too much credence to the "Poor us" cries of the women I know, but when it comes to the blatant imbalance on sports coverage they're bang on the money. We've got some of the best women's sports teams in the world, but you wouldn't know it.
Hopefully I'll see you at the Lessig talk, Russell. For a question, ask if he sees the In Re Bilski ruling - particularly if it leads to a sea change in how business method patent cases are decided - as leading to a change in the USTR's position on patents in fora such as TRIPS. Or does he expect it to be yet another case of "Do as we say, not as we do"?
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bank ATM's manage it
And didn't Diebold make both?
Emphasis on the past tense. Diebold Election Systems or whatever it was called got flogged off. They decided that there wasn't enough money in election systems, particularly for the harm being done to their reputation.
Banks pay good money for quality ATMs, for reasons that include the fact that ATMs make money by reducing the necessity for staff, and that cheap ATMs potentially cost more due to increased servicing as well as possibly screwing up on dispensing. Voting, on the other hand, is purely a cost. There's no money to be made from having voting systems, so operators will naturally be attracted to the cheapest possible option. That accurate voting has a value all of its own doesn't attract the accountants, especially in a money-centric system such as the US electoral one.