General Debate 13 August 2012

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Longknives

Well blow me down! ‘Oppressed’ and ‘Downtrodden’ Maori are cashing in on ‘Whanau Ora’ and laughing all the way to the bank…

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10826513

Amongst other things $20,000 to the Mongrel Mob to spend as they like (drugs..)
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August 13, 2012 8:12am
Keeping Stock

Charles Chauvel is wanting to vet the credentials of organisations wishing to comment on the issue of same-sex marriage. Isn’t it a little alarming that Labour’s shadow Attorney-General has such a narrow position on free speech?

Or is there a more simple explanation? Is Charles Chauvel simply as bigoted as those whom he criticises?

http://keepingstock.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/is-charles-chauvel-bigot.html
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August 13, 2012 8:27am
dime

did anyone hear shearer on zb news this morning?

speaking about dropping the MMP threshold to 4%.

im pretty sure he said “that will make it easier for US smaller parties”
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August 13, 2012 8:46am
Other_Andy

“Fact Free ‘News’ from the Huruld

It must be a slow news day when they slavingly copy articles from the Grundian via the Observer.

Sea ice disappearing faster than predicted
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10826458

So what did they predict?

2007: The Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012, much faster than previous predictions.” (NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally 2007)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071212-AP-arctic-melt.html

2008: The ice is in a “death spiral” and may disappear in the summers within a couple of decades, according to Mark Serreze
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/09/080917-sea-ice.html
2010: “I stand by my previous statements that the Arctic summer sea ice cover is in a death spiral. It’s not going to recover,” — Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in the U.S. city of Boulder, Colorado. http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52896

Sea Ice in Its “Death Spiral”
by Matthew McDermott
http://biophile.co.za/the-biofiles/sea-ice-in-its-%E2%80%9Cdeath-spiral%E2%80%9D

Arctic Death Spiral: Sea Ice Passes De Facto Tipping Point Thanks to Deniers, Media Blow The Story, Again
By Joe Romm on Aug 9, 2011 at 4:02 pm
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/08/09/291788/arctic-death-spiral-sea-ice-tipping-point/

Arctic ice in ‘death spiral’ means civil resistance is our best hope
Saturday, October 30, 2010
By Simon Butler
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/45871

The reality?

Sea ice in the Arctic is around the same level as 2007 when Zwally made his prediction of a nearly ice free Arctic according to all the data.
Take for example the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) – Arctic Regional Ocean Observing System (ROOS)
http://arctic-roos.org/observations/satellite-data/sea-ice/observation_images/ssmi1_ice_ext.png

Also note that they only have data for the last 33 years. Anecdotal data from the 1920s and 1930s (Before evil anthropogenic CO2 came into play) suggests that the arctic ice extend was far lower than it is now.
Check the NOAA archives……
http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/050/mwr-050-11-0589a.pdf

And how is the Sea Ice in Antarctic doing?
According to the National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIDC), it is still trending above the 1979-200 average.
http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/S_timeseries.png
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August 13, 2012 8:49am
Viking2

New Google Algorithm Change Immediately Raises Concerns

By: Chris Crum | Staff Writer

As previously reported, Google announced that it will implement a new ranking signal into its search algorithm next week. The search engine will start taking the number of “valid” copyright removal notices it receives for a site, into account when ranking content.

Are you concerned about this new addition? Let us know in the comments.

Almost as soon as the Blogosphere was able to react to the news, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) put out its own post about it. Julie Samuels and Mitch Stoltz with the EFF write, “Earlier this summer, we applauded Google for releasing detailed stats about content removal requests from copyright holders. Now that we know how they are going to use that data, we are less enthusiastic.”

The two go on to express concerns with how “opaque” Google is being about the process, despite Google’s claim that it will “continue to be transparent about copyright removals.”

The EFF’s concerns are the vagueness of what Google considers to be a high number of removal notices, how Google plans to make its determinations, and how “there will be no process of recourse for sites who have been demoted.”

Google does say that it will “continue to provide ‘counter-notice’ tools so that those who believe their content has been wrongly removed can get it reinstated.”

“In particular, we worry about the false positives problem,” says the EFF. “For example, we’ve seen the government wrongly target sites that actually have a right to post the allegedly infringing material in question or otherwise legally display content. In short, without details on how Google’s process works, we have no reason to believe they won’t make similar, over-inclusive mistakes, dropping lawful, relevant speech lower in its search results without recourse for the speakers.”

“Takedown requests are nothing more than accusations of copyright infringement,” the EFF addds. “No court or other umpire confirms that the accusations are valid (although copyright owners can be liable for bad-faith accusations). Demoting search results – effectively telling the searcher that these are not the websites you’re looking for – based on accusations alone gives copyright owners one more bit of control over what we see, hear, and read.”

The EFF concludes by saying that Google’s “opaque policies” threaten lawful sites and undermine confidence in search results.

The EFF is not the only group to quickly speak out about the announcement. Public Knowledge, a consumer rights group, also put out a much longer response.

We also received the following statement from Public Knowledge Senior Staff Attorney, John Bergmayer:

“It may make good business sense for Google to take extraordinary steps, far beyond what the law requires, to help the media companies it partners with. That said, its plan to penalize sites that receive DMCA notices raises many questions.

“Sites may not know about, or have the ability to easily challenge, notices sent to Google. And Google has set up a system that may be abused by bad faith actors who want to suppress their rivals and competitors. Sites that host a lot of content, or are very popular, may receive a disproportionate number of notices (which are mere accusations of infringement) without being disproportionately infringing. And user-generated content sites could be harmed by this change, even though the DMCA was structured to protect them.

“Google needs to make sure this change does not harm Internet users or the Internet ecosystem.”

It’s going to be quite interesting to see how Google’s new policy/signal holds up to abuse, and whether or not we see fair use significantly jeopardized.

August 11, 2012
http://www.WebProNews.com
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August 13, 2012 9:00am
iMP

Keeping Stock (7,952) August 13th, 2012 at 8:27 am Says:
“Is Charles Chauvel simply as bigoted as those whom he criticises?”

So, is the new definition of “bigot” anyone whom Charles Chauvel might criticise?
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August 13, 2012 9:02am
Weihana

Keeping Stock (7,952) Says:
August 13th, 2012 at 8:27 am

Charles Chauvel is wanting to vet the credentials of organisations wishing to comment on the issue of same-sex marriage. Isn’t it a little alarming that Labour’s shadow Attorney-General has such a narrow position on free speech?

Or is there a more simple explanation? Is Charles Chauvel simply as bigoted as those whom he criticises?

http://keepingstock.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/is-charles-chauvel-bigot.html

Before responding to an organization’s comment on public policy is it not fair to determine whether the comment actually has a mandate from the organization it claims to represent?

From your blog his quote is “…so I can satisfy myself…” Hardly a threat to “free speech”
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August 13, 2012 9:07am
david

iMP, works for me. Chucky and his ilk are pretty good at redefining our language with new meanings for fun things like “gay”and “rainbow” so why not the sinister things like “bigot” or “racist”
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August 13, 2012 9:08am
Keeping Stock

@ iMP – the issue is that as Labour’s Justice spokesman, Chauvel is the one who should be setting the example in complying with justice-related legislation such as the Bill of Rights Act. By questioning Right to Life’s right to speak out against same-sex marriage, he is effectively challenging a fundamental right that every New Zealander holds, simply because he does not want their viewpoint articulated.

Charles Chauvel is free to challenge Right to Life’s viewpoint, but their opinion is as valid as his is. But by seeking to censor an opinion that collides with his worldview, he is most certainly being bigoted IMHO.
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August 13, 2012 9:14am
iMP

But keeping Stock, as Pat Brittendon has rightly challenged, Charles is inconsistent on this, and only resorts to this kind of thing with groups he disagrees with. As an MP and using parliamentary letterhead to write them, this appears to be intimidatory bordering on threat-bullying. He does not for example make the same demands of groups like the AIDS foundation, just Christiany groups.
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August 13, 2012 9:21am
iMP

Constant rain in Chch some suburbs starting to flood. Lyttelton and Beckenham.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7466073/Flash-flood-threatens-Lyttelton-homes
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August 13, 2012 9:22am
Weihana

Keeping Stock,

By questioning Right to Life’s right to speak out against same-sex marriage, he is effectively challenging a fundamental right that every New Zealander holds, simply because he does not want their viewpoint articulated.

But by seeking to censor an opinion that collides with his worldview, he is most certainly being bigoted IMHO

Where did he do what you allege? From your blog quote he questioned whether the comment had a mandate from the organization itself, not whether the organization had a right to free speech. He did not appear to “censor” the opinion nor attempt to. Perhaps you are inferring things that are not there?

If I write to him on behalf of the Queen is he not entitled to question my mandate to comment on her behalf? Or would that be an attack on free speech?
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August 13, 2012 9:22am
Keeping Stock

Quite so iMP; quite so. And it is precisely for that reason that I have questioned whether or not Chauvel can be accused of bigotry. Somehow, I doubt that he subscribes to the old saying that “I disagree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it”.
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August 13, 2012 9:25am
iMP

Keeping Stock (7,953) Says: August 13th, 2012 at 9:14 am “…By questioning Right to Life’s right to speak out …”

Right To Life’s “right” to speak out is NOT determined by Labour’s Justice Spokesman. This is typical of the left, your “rights” are determined by them or the ideology you support. We are all FREE PEOPLE including Right to Life.
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August 13, 2012 9:25am
Weihana

iMP (663) Says:
August 13th, 2012 at 9:21 am

But keeping Stock, as Pat Brittendon has rightly challenged, Charles is inconsistent on this, and only resorts to this kind of thing with groups he disagrees with. As an MP and using parliamentary letterhead to write them, this appears to be intimidatory bordering on threat-bullying. He does not for example make the same demands of groups like the AIDS foundation, just Christiany groups.

Oooo parliamentary letterhead. Have you heard of a rubbish bin?

Whether he is satisfied that a comment represents an organization or not is about as consequential as what you had for breakfast.
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August 13, 2012 9:25am
Pete George

If Chauvel was consistent he would have sent the same sort of letter to the organisations that are involved in the anti asset sales campaign.
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August 13, 2012 9:29am
iMP

Xactly Pete George.
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August 13, 2012 9:34am
Weihana

Even if he is not consistent. How does any of it amount to a threat or an attack on free speech?
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August 13, 2012 9:35am
Pete George

This is what Chauvel wrote:

“Please provide me with a copy of the Right to Life New Zealand Inc”s articles of incorporation so I can satisfy myself of its mandate to comment on this issue.”

I wasn’t aware he worked for the mandate police.
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August 13, 2012 9:41am
Other_Andy

‘Green’ energy = NO energy

Do Greens Have A None-Of-The-Above Energy Policy?

Solar plants can disrupt fragile desert ecosystems, wind turbines can slaughter endangered birds and bats, biomass plants can emit pollution and threaten forests, hydroelectric dams can disrupt fish habitats, and the transmission lines that renewables need pose various local issues. And all tend to require huge amounts of land.
“We are starting to see that all renewable energy projects, no matter how well-planned, are being questioned,” Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy Group, said after his company settled a fight with greens over a Nevada wind farm.

http://news.investors.com/article/621692/201208091842/environmentalists-have-none-of-the-above-energy-policy.htm
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August 13, 2012 9:44am
Weihana

Pete George,

Where is the threat in that statement? The police do not simply satisfy themselves, they take action as a consequence of non-compliance. Arguably he is not minding his own business, though the organization did initiate contact with Chauvel and not the other way around. But I see no attack on free speech or threats of any kind. It’s a pissy little response to enrage people who are so easily enraged.
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August 13, 2012 9:46am
Keeping Stock

Pete George said

If Chauvel was consistent he would have sent the same sort of letter to the organisations that are involved in the anti asset sales campaign.

Quite so Pete. After all, is sponsoring a petition about the partial sale of non-education state assets the core business of the New Zealand University Students Association?
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August 13, 2012 9:48am
Nookin

An incorporated society is a creature of statute. It can only do what the statute permits. The Incorporated Societies Act requires that every incorporated society has a Constitution which defines its objectives. In general terms, if a society undertakes activities beyond its objectives then it is acting ultra vires (outside its powers). You cannot do that.

Chavel is taking a somewhat legalistic and narrow approach. The only explanation for asking for the Constitution is to identify whether the society does have power to comment on such matters. If he were to conclude that the society has no power to comment on a matter then it is a logical inference that he would disregard whatever the society says. There can be no other explanation
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August 13, 2012 9:49am
dime

is it just me or does Whale seem in love with Obama?
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August 13, 2012 9:50am
Paulus

Chucky Chauvel’s views have always been queerly bigoted, so what’s new.
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August 13, 2012 9:59am
redeye

I suggest anyone interested in Australian Politics should have a browse through Larry Pickering’s facebook page

A sample about the red head.
Julia was excited, in love, and it showed. But Nicola was aware that Bruce was bedding a number of other women, and it showed too, as she lowered her head and glared at Wilson. Wilson was known in AWU circles as “Wilson the Rooter”.

…

She left The University of Melbourne to join the Left wing Law firm Slater & Gordon. A firm she was later to be sacked from for “indiscretions”.

Bruce Wilson was a well-practised AWU thug who extorted major developers. AWU members’ dues also found their way to his own private piggy bank.
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August 13, 2012 10:02am
iMP

INTERESTING debate. Good points KeepingStock; liked your blog on the Chauvel issues (link: 8.27am above), which are discussed and linked on coNZervative.
http://conzervative.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/labour-leeching-our-liberties
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August 13, 2012 10:17am
kowtow

Rainbow boy Chauvel challenges Right to Life submission.

The truism that politics is about perception applies neatly here.

The left/homosexual lobby shut down free speech by either outright banning or labelling it something else. Here it appears to be a case of attempted disqualification.

He may have a point legally,but the perception is to reinforce what we already all know.
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August 13, 2012 10:17am
Weihana

kowtow,

He may have a point legally,but…

As Nookin has pointed out, an incorporated society is a product of statute. So having a point legally is quite a substantial thing.
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August 13, 2012 10:43am
krazykiwi

So just to be clear Weihana, you support Chauvel’s scrutiny of Right to Life and the absence of that same scrutiny to other submitting organisations?
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August 13, 2012 10:51am
Monique Watson

You lucky fellas in NZ. The MMP review will firmly entrench WP with it’s recommendation to lower the threshold to 4% and no coattailing on single M.P seats.
BTW – Hope you’re enjoying the closing ceremony. NBC is holding it back for another 3 hours.
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August 13, 2012 10:52am
Manolo

Lies and incompetence go hand in hand: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/12/republicans-tally-obama-failed-campaign-promises-as-november-nears/
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August 13, 2012 11:04am
kowtow

Closing ceremony?
I note the anti Christian “Always Look on the Bright side” with dancing nuns ( reference to Meaning of Life,also deeply anti Catholic)exposing union flag underwear. Perfectly acceptable in oh so PC Britain.

Was Salman Rushdie and Satanic Verses featured?
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August 13, 2012 11:05am
Weihana

krazykiwi,

Chauvel’s scrutiny of organizations which petition his office is not my concern one way or the other. Whether he is consistent and whether his inquiries are genuine is irrelevant to me. If he gets his jollies from needling those who are victimized by their own paranoia then I suppose that reflects his disdain for those people. My point is simply that nothing which has been quoted demonstrates opposition to freedom of speech nor qualifies as a “threat” or “bullying”.
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August 13, 2012 11:10am
Weihana

kowtow,

…reference to Meaning of Life,also deeply anti Catholic

Is it though?

“58% of all Catholics agree employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception. That slides down to 52% for Catholic voters, 50% for white Catholics.”

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2012/02/contraception-catholic-bishops-obama-hhs/1#.UChCjKDcCCU
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August 13, 2012 12:00pm
James Stephenson

How is “Always look on the bright side” anti-Christian, other than being from a film that (some) Christians took to be parody of JC?

One sketch in a whole film does not make Meaning of Life “deeply anti Catholic” either..
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August 13, 2012 12:12pm
kowtow

The Python crowd themselves maintain Life of Brian was an attack on organised religion.

2 religions are featured,Judaism and the founder of Christianity.ergo.

In the interests of balance would Python consider a Life of Mo?no didn’t think so,wonder why?

weihana
to jump from Meaning of ,to how some people vote does not prove Pythons intent was not offensive to catholics.
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August 13, 2012 12:21pm
RRM

I guess the Pythons had to pick some religion to actually base the look of their sketches on, so they chose the one that the majority or British viewers would recognise.

OR

Monty Python’s Flying Circus is part of the global western-culture-hating progressive socialist conspiracy of Muslim-enablers. Take your pick… it sounds like you have already.
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August 13, 2012 12:24pm
Weihana

kowtow,

…to jump from Meaning of ,to how some people vote does not prove Pythons intent was not offensive to catholics.

To *some* Catholics is the point. Not all of them are the joyless carrot-stuck-up-their-arse types.
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August 13, 2012 12:39pm
kowtow

None of this should distract from the point that in todays’ oh so PC Britain that they can parody Christian religious ie nuns at the closing ceremony.
Could anyone honestly say thay any other religious group in society would be similarly portrayed at such an event?
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August 13, 2012 12:41pm
Weihana

kowtow,

Take it as a compliment on Christian tolerance and a reflection of the fact that most Christians seem capable of laughing at themselves. Surely this elevates Christians above the rest. Why would you want to lower Christianity to the level of intolerance displayed by the likes of Islam? 🙂
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August 13, 2012 12:47pm
iMP

Yes, in the interests of diversity and ethnic equality, there shoulda been some jolly Muslims tossing their turbans in the air to dance with the Python Nuns. “Oh wait, our Malls would be bombed if we did that….yeah, let’s just go with the Christians…”
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August 13, 2012 12:48pm
James Stephenson

Yes, an attack on organised religion, but they went out of their way not to attack JC or the teachings attributed to him. It’s a parody of religion and human behaviour. “Yes! We must think for ourselves!”

I would have thought you’d have enjoyed the bits where they send up revolutionary Lefty-ism…
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August 13, 2012 12:52pm
my 2 cents

My 2 cents
When I saw it first as a teenager in UK I saw it as a piss take on religion.
Now I understand that it was an attack on organised traditional Christianity as I now know the anglicans and RC to be.
I still love the Holy Bomb scene with the nasty rabbit.

Islam/muslims weren’t an issue then as they were subjucated by western culture, not like now.
The religion the MP team knew was Christianity/Judaism so whilst they wanted to lampoon the religion what else does one expect from them?

They make so many very good points.
One I just love is the peoples front for the liberation of palestine’s committee meeting resolving to discuss brians arrest rather than actually do something for him!
Absolutely priceless!
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August 13, 2012 1:05pm
Pete George

This is really quite funny in the end. The Secret Diary of Colin Craig
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August 13, 2012 1:14pm
joana

Kowtow,
Just the usual double standards at the Olympics.
Prior to the games the organizers were asked to have a minutes silence to remember the Israeli athletes killed at Munich..No way.. A German woman was sent home when it was discovered her boyfriend belonged to a ”far right ” party..a Greek athlete was sent home for some comment re all the illegal African immigrants in his country.. But when the Lebanese team couldn’t stand the sight of the Israeli athletes , they were given a screen to shield their delicate eyes.
Truly the Dhimmi Games.
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August 13, 2012 1:26pm
kowtow

I enjoyed the film almost in it’s entirety. Even watched it when banned. Naughty me.
What have the Romans ever…Romans are people who live in houses ,Incontinentia buttocks,fwee bwian…..Brilliant comedy.

That does not detract from the fact that Pythons Brian,taken together with Meaning of Life were doing more than simple parody.
Pythons have also always been particularly anti Establishment and those 2 films are part of that.

Times have also changed since the films were made and my particular issue is that the Olympics would allow the nun/Brian song at the closing ceremony.I suspect that certain religions sensibilities are kept higher on the PC respect/fear/untouchable spectrum than Christianity.

So while celebrating all things British it’s still OK to attack what was once a central tenet of Englishness?The Church.

And I am not suggesting Christians can’t take a joke,my issue is that these people would never dare poke fun at anyone else(and nor should they at such an event).
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August 13, 2012 1:28pm
Luke Mutton

So, barely a day after Paul Ryan becomes the GOP’s next sarah Palin, he is having to run from his previous pronouncements.

Not so long a go he was proud, proud I say, to declare Ayn Rand his inspiration and to insist all his employees carry “Atlas Shrugged” to be read whenever there was sapre time.

Now, someone’s informed him that he’s a catholic, Mittens is a Mormon and Rand an ATHEIST! ZOMG!

Running backwards as fast as he can he now declares that his inspiration was nver rand, rather it was Thomas Aquinas. So how’s he going to reconcile that with his greedy and grasping the weak can go to the wall philosophy? Not very Aquinnian, is it?

Will the GOP ever learn from its past mistakes?
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August 13, 2012 1:35pm
James Stephenson

So while celebrating all things British it’s still OK to attack what was once a central tenet of Englishness?The Church.

An ability to laugh at yourself is a more central tenet of Englishness than the church, but religious figures in British comedy go back a long way…more tea vicar, as the actress said to the bishop…
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August 13, 2012 1:37pm
iMP

Pete George (14,176) Says:
August 13th, 2012 at 1:14 pm This is really quite funny in the end. The Secret Diary of Colin Craig

PG, that is hilarious. Headline shoulda been “Craig In the Su’a”

This is pretty funny too: review of movie: Abe Lincoln Vamp Hunter.
http://conzervative.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/review-abraham-lincoln-vampire-killer-2012
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August 13, 2012 1:39pm
kowtow

JS

Yes but not at the PC Olympics.And not in PC.inclusive Britain which wouldn’t do it to any other minority.
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August 13, 2012 1:43pm
Weihana

Luke Mutton,

Not so long a go he was proud, proud I say, to declare Ayn Rand his inspiration and to insist all his employees carry “Atlas Shrugged” to be read whenever there was sapre time.

Now, someone’s informed him that he’s a catholic, Mittens is a Mormon and Rand an ATHEIST! ZOMG!

I like her books as well. One can appreciate the ideas put forth by an author without necessarily having to join their cult and believe unquestioningly in every word they ever uttered.

Of course it’s interesting that he has been quoted as citing Rand as the one person who most influenced his ideas, but now he apparently rejects her views on epistemology in favour of Christian revelation. A mystic who shares some of Rand’s political positions is hardly someone who should cite Rand as an inspiration. Arguably her views on epistemology and ethics are far more fundamental and central to her views than her political positions on limited government.

I find the following Rand quote amusing in this context:

“The trouble with the world today is philosophical: only the right philosophy can save us. But this party plagiarizes some of my ideas, mixes them with the exact opposite—with religionists, anarchists and every intellectual misfit and scum they can find—and call themselves libertarians and run for office.”

Indeed it is further amusing for the fact Rand talks of plagiarism whilst recognizing no one other than Aristotle as helping her to form her own views.
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August 13, 2012 2:00pm
wreck1080

The reasons (and people) behind the CTV building engineering flaws are now clear.

I hope criminal charges are laid, and let a jury decide.

For the peace of families who lost people.
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August 13, 2012 3:39pm
Monique Watson

Atlas shrugged was great but got a bit dull towards the end.
Have been musing about j Ardern after the recent profilie by Espiner and the post by DPF:
http://nowoccupy.blogspot.com/2012/08/hello-dolly.html
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August 13, 2012 3:44pm
chiz

Technology comes to the aid of religious nutters. New glasses for ultra-orthodox Jewish men blur vision so that they don’t have to look at immodestly dressed women.
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August 13, 2012 5:04pm
chiz

Right To Life New Zealand Incorporated:

Our objects are:

To uphold and protect the inalienable God given right to life of all human beings from conception to natural death.
To vigorously promote the statutory recognition of the unborn child as a human being endowed with an inalienable right to life.
To encourage and promote study and research and the collection and dissemination of information on the moral, medical, legal, political and social implications of pregnancy and questions associated therewith.
To inform and promote the public on the need for legal and other safeguard for protecting the rights of unborn children.
To assist and promote the well-being of mothers, fathers and children, both before and after childbirth, and in particular those who face adverse circumstances.
To co-operate with Government Departments, other organisations and individuals engaged in fostering respect for human life and in promoting social conditions which will provide the best opportunities for mothers and children.
To work purposefully towards, the achievement of the realisable ideal of no abortions within our society.
Right to Life New Zealand has over the last few years widened its area of concern to other important life issues such as Euthanasia, Physician Assisted Suicide, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Human Cloning, and a range of important social issues, including Prostitution and the sexualisation of our nation’s children.
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August 13, 2012 5:10pm
Luke Mutton

You left a bit out, chiz,

To ensure that LGBT people are kept hidden from sight and accorded no more rights than those given to a dog.

To pretend that we have a god given right to over ride the wishes of a woman and how she may wish to use her uterus.

To hide information on sex, sexuality, contraception, pregnancy and abortion from children and insist that abstinence only sex education is a success, in spite of all evidence to the contrary.

To make sure that no pleasurable sex act goes unpunished.
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August 13, 2012 6:11pm
wat dabney

“Take it as a compliment on Christian tolerance”

It’s got nothing to do with tolerance and everything to do with the fact that they no longer have the power to burn people at the stake.
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August 13, 2012 6:15pm
thedavincimode

An interesting day for news that puts some people and some issues into perspective.

On the one hand, we have the CO of our troops involved in the Bamiyan engagement talking publicly for the first time of the action that killed two and injured six others. We learn that he received a medal for gallantry in Afganisthan in 2004 and following multiple wounds now, is unlikely to be able to continue as an operational soldier. He thanks coalition forces for their support during and after the engagement, and us for our support at home. Yes, that’s right, he’s thanking us.

On the other hand, we have a former All Black and ill-disciplined boof-head in court charged with an assault in a pub car park and the gay dumpling demanding incorporation documents with preening menace from an organisation that is presumably opposed to same sex marriage. Perhaps he feels that only homosexuals should be entitled to have a view on this point. Or perhaps he just felt this is a good day to grab a headline.
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August 13, 2012 6:49pm
Johnboy

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine :
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
In memoria æterna erit iustus,
ab auditione mala non timebit.

Just for Big Bruv after Sundays Epiphany! 🙂
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August 13, 2012 6:51pm
Other_Andy

@LM

Wow Luke, you are a psychiatrist’s dream.
Going by your extreme exaggerated and irrational comments you seem to have about every form of cognitive distortion known to psychiatry. Your fascination with the church and everything sexual and the way you are able to weave it into EVERY conversation and EVERY post also points to an obsessive–compulsive disorder.
A perfect case study.
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August 13, 2012 6:52pm
Johnboy

Has Luc become Luke?

If so are the Jews and Ragheads forsaken? 🙂
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August 13, 2012 6:56pm
Fairfacts Media

More words of wisdom about Obama from Sarah Palin.

Congratulations to Mitt Romney on his choice of Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate. President Obama has declared that this election is about “two fundamentally different visions” for America. Goodness, he’s got that right. Our country cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama’s fundamentally flawed vision. We must now look to this new team, the Romney/Ryan ticket, to provide an alternate vision of an America that is fiscally responsible, strong, and prosperous – an America that understands and is proud of her exceptional place in the world and will respect those who fight to secure that exceptionalism, which includes keeping our promises to our veterans.

When I think about the direction our country is rapidly drifting in, I can’t help but look at California as a cautionary tale. The Golden State once boasted the entrepreneurial innovation of Silicon Valley, the American creative engine of the arts, economically powerful and beautiful cities from San Francisco to San Diego, and fertile farmlands that helped feed the nation. Now it is descending into financial ruin accompanied by an exodus of middle class Californians leaving for other states. As one writer put it, California’s “fastest-growing entity is government and its biggest product is red tape.”

Obama’s vision for America will make the rest of the country look like California, minus the beautiful scenery and warm weather.

Obama’s America is today’s California – complete with $100 billion taxpayer funded bullet trains to nowhere; out of control environmental extremists who have destroyed family farms and left some of the most fertile farm land in America fallow in order to protect a three inch fish; permanent high unemployment; government policies hostile to small business job creators; crippling high taxes; an abysmal real estate market; bloated government that wastes taxpayer money; endless budget shortfalls due to massive unfunded liabilities; city after city declaring bankruptcy; and a state government run by, in the words of one Wall Street Journal writer, “a brothel of environmentalists, lawyers, public-sector unions and legislative bums.”

We can’t afford Obama’s vision. Our children can’t afford it. Today we are over $15 trillion in debt and running up trillion dollar budget deficits year after year for as far as the eye can see. And our “leaders” have no plan to stop it! President Obama and this Congress don’t even have the fundamental blueprint—a budget!—to outline where they intend to take us as they merrily roll along with their out of control spending and constant increases of our debt “limit.” Our debt to China alone is more than we can ever hope to pay off in multiple generations. Such debt and dependence on foreign nations weakens us in countless ways. And yet our government keeps on spending despite the risks and despite conscientious, hardworking citizens telling them to just stop it. Our debt is growing by $3 million per minute. This debt, in conjunction with Obama’s massive government over-reaches like Obamacare, has strangled the private sector, which in turn has stifled job growth and slowed all economic growth. The only way to get our country moving again is to get back to basics like normal people do with our home and small business budgets! That means we must live within our means, get government out of the way of our job creators, develop the God-given natural resources we have been blessed with to provide real jobs and real energy security, and stop growing government and wasting taxpayer money on D.C. cronyism and useless stimulus kick-backs for favored donors.

Barack Obama’s record is one of dismal failure, which is why he isn’t talking about it. He would rather spend his time demonizing his opponents. The simple fact remains that Mitt Romney is not responsible for the dire state of our economy or the corruption and incompetence of the current administration.

Over the next 86 days, Barack Obama will try to distract us from his record. Many in the media will roll along with him in this mission. We must not let them continue the deception and distractions, and we must not be afraid to call the President out on his lies. His entire record in office exposes the false promises he made four years ago. So, let’s take a moment to remember what candidate Obama said just four short years ago.

Candidate Obama promised us fiscal prudence. But President Obama’s reckless spending and lack of fiscal leadership has led to the downgrading of our nation’s credit rating for the first time in history.

Candidate Obama decried reckless spending and promised to cut the deficit. But President Obama and those in Congress who control the purse strings and “go along to get along” have tripled it. President Obama’s proposed budget was so absurdly and wildly irresponsible that not one member of Congress, Republican or Democrat, voted in favor of it. And yet the Democrat controlled Senate still refuses to pass a budget itself, and this refusal has been going on for years now. That is irresponsible and, much more, it’s unconstitutional.

Candidate Obama promised us a “smarter government,” but President Obama has created a government that’s not too big to fail, but too big to succeed.

Candidate Obama promised us a plan for American energy independence. But President Obama has forced American taxpayers to subsidize bankrupt green energy companies with ties to his campaign donors. And when it comes to the energy we actually use to fuel our economy, President Obama’s administration blocks drilling and drags its feet on the permitting process. Meanwhile, he supports foreign energy developments, but not American made energy development. His administration opposes everything from drilling in ANWR to building the Keystone Pipeline to coal plants, but he’s all for subsidizing offshore drilling in Brazil and sitting back on his thumb while China moves in to pursue oil deals with Canada because his administration blocked responsible energy infrastructure development.

Candidate Obama promised us “the most transparent administration in history.” But in addition to refusing FOIA-requested documents, President Obama’s administration regularly holds meetings outside the White House and off the official White House visitor list with lobbyists and corporate interests they don’t want us to know about.

Candidate Obama promised to unite all America, but President Obama has cynically divided us again and again in his efforts to win reelection by playing identity politics and class warfare and pitting one group against another.

Candidate Obama promised us a “fundamentally transformed” America, and that is the only promise he’s delivered on. We can see now what his idea of “hope” is. Now we want change. He has failed to lead, so We the People must lead. And our leadership starts at the ballot box on November 6th.

Please continue to focus on the presidential race and on helping Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, but it’s also imperative that we get involved in the nation’s important House and Senate races. These candidates need our help to ensure that our next president has a responsible and ethical Congress that actually gets things done for America. Now on to November!

– Sarah Palin
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August 13, 2012 7:02pm
Thrash Cardiom

Has Judith Collins botoxed her forehead? I’ve just been watching her on Closeup and there’s no movement there at all. You can see her eyebrows occasionally twitch but that’s about it.
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August 13, 2012 7:13pm
Johnboy

You better hope you are never close enough to see her trigger finger twitch Thrash.

Not very likely for one such as you I suspect! 🙂
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August 13, 2012 7:36pm
Yvette

Inter oves locum praesta,
Et ab haedis me sequestra,
Statuens in parte dextra.
🙂
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August 13, 2012 7:46pm
Johnboy

Se un pur mais congrès d’une Français Donne un souhaiterais n’as jamais nous fantaisie l’ovin. 🙂
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August 13, 2012 7:57pm
nasska

Mother, “I think our son’s gay”.

Father, “What makes you think that?”

Mother, “Have you seen the skid marks in his undies?”

Father, “Yeah, but even we have skiddies in ours now and then”.

Mother, “True – but not at the fucking front”
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August 13, 2012 8:00pm
Johnboy

Come now nasska. Jokes of that genre are far better recounted in French or Greek! 🙂
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August 13, 2012 8:04pm
Pauleastbay

Well, I can’t think who Sky could have used that would have been better than Steven and Rowena as commentators for the Olympic closing ceremony.

Gee, they were really good and exciting, just what a 14 billion dollar extravaganza needed as icing on the cake
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August 13, 2012 8:04pm
Johnboy

Chaps of your age should have grown out of being excited by TV talking heads Eastbay.

Still there is a silly little boy hiding in all of us eh? 🙂
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August 13, 2012 8:07pm
Yvette

Why Ryan?

“Fairness dictates that the highest-income people should pay the greatest share of taxes, and they do,” Romney said. “And the commitment that I’ve made is we will not have the top income earners in this country pay a smaller share of the tax burden. The highest-income people will continue to pay the largest share of the tax burden and middle-income taxpayers, under my plan, get a break. Their taxes come down.”
– http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/12/paul-ryan-tax-returns_n_1770915.html

In 2010 — the only year we have seen a full return from him — Romney would have paid an effective tax rate of around 0.82 percent under the Ryan plan, rather than the 13.9 percent he actually did. How would someone with more than $21 million in taxable income pay so little? Well, the vast majority of Romney’s income came from capital gains, interest, and dividends. And Ryan wants to eliminate all taxes on capital gains, interest and dividends.
– http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/08/mitt-romney-would-pay-082-percent-in-taxes-under-paul-ryans-plan/261027/#

Why not
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August 13, 2012 8:08pm
Johnboy

I faire vous aimez lorsque vous s’entretenir mandats Yvette!!!! 🙂
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August 13, 2012 8:12pm
liarbors a joke

” Rajeed the Indian wife beater headbutts his wife every night at 7.30 on the dot “
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August 13, 2012 8:22pm
liarbors a joke

” A catholic Priest was on telly praising one of his alter boys for saving his life” “The 14 yr old apparently found a lump on one of his testicals”
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August 13, 2012 8:24pm
Yvette

Malheureusement Romney est une race de moutons, Johnboy. Il est remarquable pour sa laine longue.
Mieux adapté pour cacher vos yeux
🙂
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August 13, 2012 8:29pm
Yvette

English, Johnboy, before people say “Get a room”
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August 13, 2012 8:29pm
nasska

I know a bloke who is gay and one thing always made me curious, so I eventually came straight out and asked him:

“How did you become gay in the first place?” I asked.

“Well,” he said, “when I was about twelve, a man followed me into the woods and raped me.”

“Why didn’t you try to run away?”

“What? In high heels?”
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August 13, 2012 8:32pm
Johnboy

Pas bonjour auprès la paysans Yvette. La aimé comme nôtres ira pas un longueurs après il sera tondue où dagged. 🙂
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August 13, 2012 8:36pm
Andrei

Wisdom

Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of evil men.

But his pleasure is in the law of the Lord; and in his law will he meditate day and night.

And he shall be as a tree planted by the brooks of waters, which shall yield its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not fall off; and whatsoever he shall do shall be prospered.

Not so the ungodly;– not so: but rather as the chaff which the wind scatters away from the face of the earth.

Therefore the ungodly shall not rise in judgment, nor sinners in the counsel of the just.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
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August 13, 2012 8:40pm
nasska

Johnboy

I just felt a bit of wisdom fly overhead……didn’t hit you by chance? 🙂
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August 13, 2012 8:43pm
Yvette

Avez-vous consommé de l’alcool, Johnboy?
Watch out for Andrei’s God – He hates fig trees.
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August 13, 2012 8:54pm
Johnboy

Stop picking on Andrei you guys. God and I were just having a bit of a chat down by my riverbank, over a jar or two, the other day and he told my that Andrei was OK. 🙂
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August 13, 2012 8:58pm
nasska

Thanks for the warning Yvette…..when the smiting starts & the thunderbolts fly I’ll make certain that I don’t stand under a fig tree! 🙂
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August 13, 2012 9:02pm
Yvette

In the enormous amount of discussion in kiwiblog on same sex marriage, many both for and against make reference to the Bible, but no one mentions –

Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10
5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Jesus, appealing to him 6 and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, in terrible distress.’ 7 And he said to him, ‘I will come and cure him …’

The Greek word ‘pais’ – euphemistically, ‘servant’ above – was widely accepted in contemporary Greek to mean ‘same sex lover’. So Jesus heals a gay partner with no rejoinder, but indeed commends the supplicant “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.” which seems to whole point of the text.

Now hide, but not under the fig tree
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August 13, 2012 9:15pm
Johnboy

What was contemporary Greek for “Ewe” Yvette?
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August 13, 2012 9:18pm
nasska

Yvette

I think that in the interests of civilisation as we know it, the contents of your 9.15pm had better be embargoed for a millennium or two. Failure to do so will probably see Christians self immolating & leaping from tall buildings.
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August 13, 2012 9:24pm
krazykiwi

Yvette, I’ve seen that definition of pais ‘widely quoted’… it’s almost viral in the blogosphere. Wether or not that equates to ‘widely accepted’ is a different matter. Either way, Jesus sought out and dined with a tax collector, and after the pesky gentiles these folks were the lowest of the low.
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August 13, 2012 9:26pm
Johnboy

“Wether or not “!!!!!! 🙂
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August 13, 2012 9:27pm
krazykiwi

JB, ooops 🙂
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August 13, 2012 9:33pm
Johnboy

No worries kk. I’m beginning to see sense in this gay marriage business.

Any port in a storm! 🙂
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August 13, 2012 9:36pm
nasska

krazykiwi

There was fine weather on Saturday so I went over the Hill. Just before lunchtime I was in hot pursuit of a couple of road lice coming down Tinakori Rd. I was out of gear & coasting up quietly on my quarry when something spooked them. Long story short they swerved off the road & took off through the Botanical Gardens. Unluckily I got a bit of the main gates stuck in the radiator of the Landcruiser & they escaped.

By next weekend they will have probably settled down & saddled up again so all is not lost.
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August 13, 2012 9:37pm
krazykiwi

nasska – That was you?!? Seeesh, I’ll maintain my vigilance in that part of town. Now, a bit senstive… I know you’d like to hunt road lice in a landcruiser, which would be easy, if it weren’t for the fact that this is what I saw you driving.
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August 13, 2012 9:57pm
Johnboy

Could fit six sheep on the back of that! 🙂
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August 13, 2012 10:08pm
Other_Andy

Valerie Adams gets gold!

Belarusian women’s shot put gold medallist Nadzeya Ostapchuk has been stripped of her title after failing a doping test, the International Olympic Committee has announced.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19242736

“She” tested positive for anabolic steroids….
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August 13, 2012 10:47pm
Johnboy

Has Valerie passed?
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August 13, 2012 10:53pm
Megatron

You didn’t need to have a dope test, she had a toggle and two tucked into “her” shorts. She’s a bloke FFS!!
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August 13, 2012 11:07pm
Manolo

The violent nutters in charge of the asylum: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/world/middleeast/egyptian-leader-ousts-military-chiefs.html?_r=1&hp
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August 13, 2012 11:55pm
Manolo

WTF? http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-chicago-example-what-makes-country-great_649896.html
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August 14, 2012 1:13am

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