Properispomenon

Don't we get a vote on that this year? A referendum run in conjunction with the Election, I mean?

Oh I know who he is, ziggy! I was congratting him, sarcastically, on his trolling...

Great stalking, QH! Keep going!

Careful, you two, lol... It mightn't happen this Election - or even, hopefully, the next one - but some day the public is going to back a Centre Left government again... Of necessity, it'd probably need to be a coalition... Can you imagine Hone in discussions with whoever is leading Labour that year: Hone: For me to join your gang I'd need a special concession. Labour leader: What would that be, Hone? Winston has got Foreign Affairs... Hone: I'd want Mumsie as Governor-General. In perpetuity...

However do you perceive that as a lie? I said, perfectly truly, that all mails I get that aren't okayed by me go into Spam. They stay there - except that once in a while I go through and look at new names (including your one) and decide whether or not to accept that mailer as a Goodie. You failed to make the cut. But the mails stay in Spam... I just stopped reading them after you made the nose-punching threat...

He did it again! Oh how they must be laughing!

Let's do the checking again: Relevant comments. Zippo Messianic complex in play? Yep Answering of questions made to him? Zero Demands that I answer questions he puts to me? Plenty And now you're a lawyer? Are there no ends to your talents? Or to your 'stalking'? Race Cafers might care to know that this individual has not just ben flooding my e-mail In Box with threats (as detailed earlier), insults - including to a person I hold dear, and - bizarrely - a running total of my daily posts. If I wanted to know how many posts I was making, buffoon, I would go to the Membership page here that tells me exactly that detail! Get a friggin' life you saddo Can you not see that you are fast becoming a menace to decent society?

Ah I thought the nutter would reply ... in the nutter's usual language, too... Let's go through your 'points', such that they are: My interpretation of assault is actual or threatened assault. 'I am going to punch you' pretty much fits that bill... An ISP number is remarkably easy to track down, Taylor... You? In a corporate box? When I mentioned I was in a corporate box once, you accused me of being 'up myself', 'above the rest of us' etc etc. Implying that you were an unsmirchable, salt-of-the-earth type that only frequented places like the bank at the Basin Reserve. Oh how disappointing it is to learn the truth... Once again - I calculate that that's 8969265456236526356826 times now - you fail to appreciate that folk are allowed to have opinions different to yourself.. Your point? This is a democracy. I am free to say (within bounds ... and without threatening to punch anyone) what I choose. Just as you are perfectly free to either reply to my posts ... or to ignore them. I don't think there has ever been a post of mine you have not critiqued so surely you must concede that you, too, must 'have an opinion on everythng from aardvarks to zyrtec'? Of course, such critiquing usually follows such boringly-predictable lines as 'I know everything there is to know about aardvarks' or 'How many zyrtecs have you seen?' - lines that would see you laughed out of any debate in a real world... Really? How hypocritical of you, of all people, to say that! Once again - 8969265456236526356827 times now - you fail to appreciate that it is you who is taking this personally. You can say whatever you like about me in here - and you usually do. I will reply in kind but I don't believe I have ever tried to silence you. You, on the other hand, cannot reply even once without implying I either know nothing or, more usually, that you know everything. Both of those positions are nonsenses. You also - alone of every chatter in Race Cafe - have taken it upon yourself to send abusive e-mails not just to me but to others who you disagree with. Again, it is you who is taking this personally. Your name is a laugh amongst people I am happy to accept e-mails from, some of them former friends of yours dismayed at your descent into delusion. Well, I see no reason to bring my surname into this, knowing full well that - besides the All Blacks brothers you are probably referring to - there have also been two quite-recent convicted murderers named Meads. I have no desire to be associated with the latter examples and, as for the Rugby players, may I remind you that my opinion of Colin took a giant leap downwards when he allowed himself to be the frontperson for a finance company that went bust, at a cost of millions to people who (foolishly) 'invested' thinking the company was as 'hard' as he was... As regards the Hurricanes, please understand that I am not saying that the current backline is better than one with an on-fire Nonu, Smith, Jane in it. I was saying that, with this season dead and gone, and with those players all injured, it would make more sense for the Canes to draw a line and simply play the not-bad replacements they've fielded since - who have the advantage of youth and, yes, enthusiasm. I stand by my criticism of the three All Blacks I name as looking jaded or disinterested... This is opinion, can't you comprehend? I might well be wrong - I expect you to tell me I am wrong - but it is my opinion... Kirkpatrick was only No 12 becuase Ngatai was out, remember. Did you not agree that, errors aside, the youngsters did very well against the team that still leads the competition? Did you not think that they might be even better next year, in a season where other teams will be denuded of stars through retirements, transfers up North etc?

Ah, well done, Rumpole... The Boss here had a dollar each way on it, too, as an interest bet - the horse being chosen solely because it reminded her of the TV program, Coro excepted, she loves... (Why she loves watching animals on TV I don't quite fathom. When we were in KNP a real live zzzpard looked at her hungrily from 10 yards away and instead of her usual 'Aw, innit cute?' she whimpered a 'Save me!' to big macho me (who was, craftily perched, on the 'safe' side of the safari jeep...)

Now, see, kiah, that's the difference between normal, sane commentators (like you. And, one trusts, me!) in a chatroom and, well, a Taylor clone. You and I can read each other's posts, ridicule each other if we feel like it, but - after the event - agree that, in this instance, Arguer A was right and that Arguer B was wrong. Whilst fully reserving the right to disagree just as much over the next event, ha... This is called rationality - the acceptance of other folks views and the knowledge that, occasionally, your opinion is wrong. Rationality is not, however - as the previous Taylor clone pulled - sending anonymous e-mails threatening to punch you in the nose if he ever sees you... Those mails have been retained, dear Taylor clone - and, unless a written apology is received, can you see any particular reason why I shouldn't have Mr Plod go visit you to discuss what is an effective assault?

If that was the Oil slides as rally runs out of gas article, SS - I am reading the paper on-line - I see it is sourced '- AP, Bloomberg'... Predictable! Some curious claims there ... much talk, eg, of silver dropping '8 per cent, extending the biggest four-day slump since 1983 to 25 per cent.' (Why do newspaper use the words 'per cent' when there is a perfectly good % symbol easily typable by holding Ctrl down and pressing 5?) For mine, the recent fall back in commodies is simply because most are testing record highs at present and because some folk, particularly the big US funds, are taking profits... The Chinese and the Indians are still gonna buy oil, nickel, copper, silver, gold, aren't they?

Ta for the 'up', SS - I don't usually bother with the Herald which must surely be the most drab newspaper on the planet... But I will read that article... 'Black Caviar' odds says that it is simply borrowed from an overseas ragsheet! It's not just Oil prices that the burgeoning Chinese and Indian economies are going to push up ... think virtually any commodity: metals in particular and not just the precious ones either...

You wonder, don't you? There can be no advantage to them in continuing to take bets - they'll be refunded - and if they are doing a Fixed Odds Final Field market, they'd need to refund Uncle Mo bets there too... Lest they tell you 'We didn't know!', they talk bovine excretia: CNN had the story as a rolling-across-the-screen Newsbreak and the Teleprinter had it barely minutes later... What would be so wrong with one of the TAB presenters being handed the story and being told to mention it a few times during the day?

Latest US odds: Name - Trainer - Jockey - Morning Line - Current Odds Archarcharch - William Fires - Jon Court - 10 - 13 Brilliant Speed - Thomas Albertrani - Joel Rosario - 30 - 30 Twice the Appeal - Jeff Bonde - Calvin Borel - 20 - 7 Stay Thirsty - Todd Pletcher - Ramon Dominguez - 20 - 16 Decisive Moment - Juan Arias - Kerwin Clark - 30 - 37 Comma to the Top - Peter Miller - Patrick Valenzuela - 30 - 42 Pants On Fire - Kelly Breen - Rosie Napravnik - 20 - 9 Dialed In - Nicholas Zito - Julien Leparoux - 4 - 5 Derby Kitten - Michael Maker - Javier Castellano - 30 - 29 Twinspired - Michael Maker - Mike Smith - 30 - 21 Master of Hounds - Aidan O'Brien - Garrett Gomez - 30 - 19 Santiva - Eddie Kenneally - Shaun Bridgmohan - 30 - 29 Mucho Macho Man - Katherine Ritvo - Rajiv Maragh - 12 - 12 Shackleford - Dale Romans - Jesus Castanon - 12 - 21 Midnight Interlude - Bob Baffert - Victor Espinoza - 10 - 10 Animal Kingdom - H. Motion - Robby Albarado - 30 - 23 Soldat - Kiaran McLaughlin - Alan Garcia - 12 - 17 Uncle Mo - Todd Pletcher - John Velazquez - - SCR Nehro - Steven Asmussen - Corey Nakatani - 6 - 8 Watch Me Go - Kathleen O'Connell - Rafael Bejarano - 50 - 26