Open mike 10/07/2010

Written By: notices and features - Date published: - 22 comments
Categories: open mike

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21 comments on “Open mike 10/07/2010”

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  1. 1

    >>>The Obama-Netanyahu statement said: “The president told the prime minister he recognizes that Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat or possible combination of threats, and that only Israel can determine its security needs.’

    Is that plain language or a hall of mirrors?

    Hmmm. <<<

    Roger Cohen NYT today

  3. 3

    Anybody got a link to the latest Roy Morgan poll?

    I hear that Labour’s support had eroded even further.

    It is time that you guys put the pressure on Goff to go, we need an effective and strong opposition.

    1. 4.1

      Thanks BB, not good for supporters of the left, huh?
      In return for your good deed, I have a link for you to follow.

      1. 4.1.1

        Armchair

        It is not good for followers of the left or the right, even when Labour are presented with golden opportunities to gain support they manage to stuff it up.

        1. 4.1.1.1

          Yeah, it’s a real indictment when even the right are calling for a decent opposition. I’m beginning to despair.

      1. 4.3.1

        National up 2.5% to 53%, Labour down 4% to 29%

        oh I just think that’s so tragic – how the Labour Party has imploded so spectacularly since Ms Clark’s departure – real case study material…

  5. 5

    Tolley to get a top spot at the National Party conference:

    Audrey Young today: “In some parts of the teacher union, the Educational Institute, there is a private expectation that the problems around national standards will force John Key to sack Tolley.
    They don’t know Key well.”

    and: “From National’s perspective, if parents like it there is no downside to persisting with it, even in the face of resistance from principals.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10657705

    1. 5.1

      I feel like I am living in a strange place where belligerence and ignorance succeed because it strikes a chord with the swinging vote sector of the population who do not like intellectuals.

      Lefties do not succeed because we insist on a detailed principled stance and for those whose allegiances shift this is far too much thinking for them.

      There is no other rational explanation for the continued presence of Anne Tolley as our Minister of Education. None.

      1. 5.1.1

        “with the swinging vote sector of the population who do not like intellectuals.”

        Micky old son, you have hit the nail on the head.

        Your voters, the very people who should be supporting Labour have left you in their droves because you no longer represent them, not only do they not like the so called “intellectuals” they are fed up at being ignored by them, the feeling they have is that the ‘intellectuals” kiss their arse for two months every three years then go right back to ignoring them.

        The working man looks at Labour and see’s nobody who represents him, sure, there are plenty of gay MP’s, plenty of females, loads of teachers and union hacks but very few MP’s that the average bloke feels he can connect with.

        As for Tolley, she has far more support than you realise, the longer you stay with your head in the sand the longer you guys will stay as a piss weak opposition, like it or not the parents want to know how their kids are doing at school, the continuing opposition to national standards from the Labour party is indescribably stupid, however, it seems you are more beholden to the teachers union than you are to your natural voters and supporters.

        1. 5.1.1.1

          What would you know about “the average bloke” – most of us keep our word, honour our debts, and don’t welch on bets.

  6. 6

    Having trouble transporting the links, there is an interesting opinion piece by Chris Trotter on Bowalley Road, and a razor-wit satirical response by Danyl at the Dimpost, worth a look, on the interweb this morning. Regarding the abortion bill debate.

      1. 6.1.1

        The Queen of Thorns has also responded to Trotter’s piece at Idealogically Impure – also worth a look for those interested.

  8. 8

    Recent fixes to the site (in between the usual household tasks and work).

    1. The smartphone theme was upgraded to the commercial version. Looks great.
    2. The comment count should now be correct ignoring trackbacks and pingbacks. My mid-week fix was correct – if it had uploaded 🙁 This does not fix the comment count on the smartphone theme (asking the authors to do that).
    3. Fixed the bad layout of the search.
    4. Moved the PayPal code for the donate button off to a seperate page. It was raising security flags on some browsers. This also allows a long explanation of what the donations pay for and have paid for in the past. Admins can rewrite that if they choose.
    5. Increased the size of the Contribute text area after a few grumbles from Guest Posters.
    6. Changed the colour scheme of the Contribute and Contact us forms after grumbles about my aesthetics.

    Now to put some more washing on and finish the Multisite updates.

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