Posts by Kracklite

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  • Hard News: Congratulations, Mr Key,

    ...and placing my pessimist hat on, I expect Wishart and Whaleoil to move through these progressively unpleasant phases:

    1. Piling expectations on Key and Nat/ACT (done already).

    2. Disappointment and at first blaming 'subversives'.

    3. Noting that, following the precedent of the rabid right in the US claiming that Colin Powell is not a 'real' Republican when he endorsed Obama, Key might not be a real Nat.

    4. Especially on the Wishart end (Whaleoil will go off about his sexuality or the irrefutable fact that he's a Freemason, Bilderberger, Trilateralist, Grey with a rubber mask or suchlike), noting the importance of a deep cultural commitment to Christianity in the practice of government.

    5. Noting that Key is not a Christian...

    I won't go further - I expect the certifiable Mr W to do that.

    There, is that suitably depressing?

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

  • Hard News: Congratulations, Mr Key,

    *in the Cockney rhyming slang sense

    Well, we know what 'merchant banker' is rhyming slang for as well. (Hey, I'm trying to be optimistic, but that doesn't mean that I have to like him).

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

  • Hard News: Congratulations, Mr Key,

    Could be why there appears to be factions . Snakes and ladders?

    Looks like we could be in for an interesting few years...

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

  • Hard News: Congratulations, Mr Key,

    Incidentally, how many commentator have already invoked Night of the Living Dead when talking about Douglas? Seems like that's a meme that will stick

    OK, fodder for the cartoonists:

    Key=Kane
    ACT=facehugger
    Douglas=chestburster
    English=Ash

    Where's Ripley?

    To be honest, I remember Trace Hodgson doing a Douglas-as-chestburster cartoon during the Lange government.

    Machiavelli once wrote, "Your greatest strength is your greatest weakness". It could be that Key's greatest weakness will be his strength. By that I mean that his very lack of apparent belief in anything will mean that he will be more interested in power than ideology - and that therefore extreme ideology that would alienate (pun intended) the electorate and limit his government to one term is precisely what he'll do his best to avoid. Holding ACT at arm's length and attempting at least to open a dialogue with the Maori Party would seem to indicate this... not to mention that that may just tease Te Borg (self-mockery of simplified characterisation intended also) away from Labour, making National a centrist and 'natural party of government' in the long term. It may be also that National itself has misjudged him and that the smiling assassin will start cutting their dead wood...

    My, I've just got my pony and it's delicious.

    Isn't wishful thinking fun?

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

  • Hard News: Congratulations, Mr Key,

    the manners and countenance of a Ferengi trader

    I'm thinking the countenance of a Sontaran at least, even after he lost weight.

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

  • Hard News: Prospects,

    It's raining - bloody government!
    (Italian proverb)
    Heh. For a second, I had visions of a downpour of men in grey suits :-)

    Only if it were a Belgian proverb.

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

  • Hard News: History is now,

    To quote Marx: "I'm not crazy about reality, but it's still the only place to get a decent meal."

    To quote Philip K. Dick (and he'd know): "Reality is that which refuses to go away when you stop believing in it."

    I could cope with all the fussing and fighting on this thread, but not with the Sci-Fi. People, there is a big grown-up world out there, which is filled with much better stories, both real and imaginary, than you will find on those children's programmes you watch.

    Ha ha. Try Dave Langford's regular "As Others See Us" quotes on Ansible.

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

  • Hard News: History is now,

    Can we agree to agree?

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

  • Hard News: History is now,

    I agree Craig and my point was not so specific - I know that making one-to-one correspondences with Iraq is not Eick and Moore's intention. Rather they are looking at the Bush mythology of "us" versus "them" as if there were some deep, fundamental difference of essence and then pulling the rug out from underneath it by having ...ah, to avoid spoilers I'll be vague... characters performing acts that only terrorists are supposed to commit and having some of "us" turn out to be "them" and some of "them" becoming some of "us". Not to mention having Roslin, who is presented as a very admirable character, making grave errors and then there's (the increasingly Kennedy-like) Lee sincerely and eloquently defending Baltar.

    But can equally plausibly see Vichy France; or a broader question about what makes a 'civilization', and how truly fragile it is.

    And I mourn Deadwood, as I gather that if it had gone a full four seasons, we would have seen the producer's and writers' intentions of presenting four stages of civilisation from barbaric mining camp to modern civic structures.

    El-e-vate!

    Bugger, beat me to it.

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

  • Hard News: History is now,

    Your wish is my command.

    Well, since we're discussing Battlestar Galactica a little bit, that should be "By your command."

    And Jake, Romo Lampkin doesn't really have a leg injury, Baltar grows a beard for a while and the final cylon is- mmmph mmm mmmmph...!

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

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