Open mike 04/11/2010

51 comments on “Open mike 04/11/2010 ”

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1. Bored 1

   4 November 2010 at 6:12 am

   ‘400,000 will leave in next 15 years’
   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10685213
   Yes its the Don Brash tesk force again, proof economists predictions are not worth the paper they are written on. Given what the future has in store for us with energy depletion and climate change 400,000 less of us might be a good thing, I suspect they will stay put in NZ as one of the few places that may not suffer systemic collapse.
   • Lanthanide 1.1

     4 November 2010 at 9:20 pm

     Heh, you think 400k might stay put in NZ? What about the other expats (and their families) that are going to start surging back home from abroad to live in a country that has a nice surplus of food? We could be in for some very interesting ups and downs depending on how peak oil plays out.
2. Dan 2

   4 November 2010 at 7:35 am

   Just in from the net!

   You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.  

   You didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate Energy policy and push us to invade Iraq . 

   You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

   You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.    

   You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.   You didn’t get mad when we spent over 800 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.    

   You didn’t get mad when Bush borrowed more money from foreign sources than the previous 42 Presidents combined.      

   You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars in cash just disappeared in Iraq .      

   You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people.       

   You didn’t get mad when Bush embraced trade and outsourcing policies that shipped 6 million American jobs out of the country.

   You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.       

   You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden.

   You didn’t get mad when Bush rang up 10 trillion dollars in combined budget and current account deficits.      

   You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.    

   You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans drown.     

   You didn’t get mad when we gave people who had more money than they could spend, the filthy rich, over a trillion dollars in taxbreaks. You didn’t get mad with the worst 8 years of job creations in several decades.     

   You didn’t get mad when over 200,000 US Citizens lost their lives because they had no health insurance.    

   You didn’t get mad when lack of oversight and regulations from the Bush Administration caused US Citizens to lose 12 trillion dollars in investments, retirement, and home values.     

   No…..You finally got mad

   When a black man was elected President and decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.

   Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, job losses by the millions, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, and the worst economic disaster since 1929 are all okay with you, but helping fellow Americans who are sick…Oh, Hell No!! 
   • Olwyn 2.1

     4 November 2010 at 8:46 am

     @ Dan: That is almost too sad to think about. What is it with people? It is tempting to think that there is a psychological thing – that the only way I can think I’m OK is if I feel assured that someone else is in a worse position. However, it is more likely that big money is quite comfortable with the long list of ills, but less comfortable with health reform. Hence the latter gets the negative publicity. Anti-spam word: kings
   • pollywog 2.2

     4 November 2010 at 8:58 am

     Obama has had two years to fix the problems he inherited.

     jeez…how much time does he need ?
     • Zorr 2.2.1

       4 November 2010 at 9:30 am

       Can’t tell if that is your real feeling or just your sarcastic spin on it… 😛
       • ianmac 2.2.1.1

         4 November 2010 at 10:00 am

         Lets cut support for Obama because he has not been quick enough to save the world. Lets make it even harder to get action. Clev-er!
         • Colonial Viper 2.2.1.1.1

           4 November 2010 at 10:07 am

           The Right really know how to spin and prey on fears.

           Obama has not helped himself by not backing fierce courageous positions since Day 1 in office, and by hiring back all the same old Washington hands when he promised real change including kicking out the insiders and the special interest lobbyists.

           Well its frakked him good and he is on track to let the Republicans make him a one term lame duck President.

           And you know what will be the icing on the cake? Palin for President FTW
           • the pink postman 2.2.1.1.1.1

             4 November 2010 at 3:00 pm

             They certainly do !Once a black man was elected it spelt doom to the Democrats . it immediately bought all the forces of hate ,bigotry and racists under one wing . Financed by big business who wish to keep workers controlled . I unfortunatly predicted this the night Obama was elected. What was a remarkable and wonderful victory was only a dream that was doomed to end. Just be glad we dont live in ‘the land of the free”
             • Vicky32 …

               4 November 2010 at 6:28 pm

               Just hearing a lot of glee about Obama’s “failure” on 3 News… Predictable!
3. Frank Macskasy 3

   4 November 2010 at 8:40 am

   Brash suggests that asset sales will increase jobs?

   It’s kinda strange then, that after the asset sales of the late 1980s and 1990s, unemployment continued to rise. It was not until the 2000s that asset sales stopped and unemployment dropped to about 3.4%…
   • Colonial Viper 3.1

     4 November 2010 at 8:45 am

     Like someone else implied, Brash is a dinosaur who should have been buried next to Bear Stearns.
     • Frank Macskasy 3.1.1

       4 November 2010 at 8:48 am

       Indeed…

       I’m reminded of the old saying, “Those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” (Or words to that effect.)
   • Olwyn 3.2

     4 November 2010 at 8:51 am

     Brash does not specify who is included in the word “we.” Perhaps he thinks that our so-called elites could be up there with the Aussie billionaire mining bogans if only someone could find the stomach to get really tough with the underlings.
     • mickysavage 3.2.1

       4 November 2010 at 9:07 am

       Brash does not specify who is included in the word “we.”

       In 2005 Brash lost the election for National when he talked about “mainstream New Zealanders” being everyone except,

       Helen Clark
       Childless Women
       Samoans
       Tongans
       Fijians
       Indians
       Chinese
       Pakistanis
       Those born in any country on the African Continent
       Those who did not send their children to private schools

       That is most of us …
       • felix 3.2.1.1

         4 November 2010 at 9:51 am

         IIRC he explicitly excluded Maori from the group too.
4. marty mars 4

   4 November 2010 at 8:59 am

   is the term Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Otepoti so ‘funny’ that when a customer says it, that would cause a staff member to laugh, call their manager to listen and have a laugh, and then get someone sitting having a coffee to have a listen and a laugh too? apparently

   http://mars2earth.blogspot.com/2010/11/teacher-teaches.html
   • KJT 4.1

     4 November 2010 at 4:32 pm

     I have a little surf cat called Te Poti. You can imagine the comments.
5. Jim Nald 5

   4 November 2010 at 9:18 am

   Hey, did anyone hear Westpac in Australia announce their A$5.8b record cash profit ?

   “We’re substantially stronger than we were before the Crisis.”

   http://www.smh.com.au/business/kelly-calls-for-caution-on-financial-sector-reforms-20101103-17e0d.html?autostart=1

   And Commonwealth Bank increased its home loan rates by 0.45 percentage points, almost twice the 0.25 point increase granted by the Reserve Bank, on Tuesday

   Hurray. Three cheers all round. Ra ra ra.
   More of the same old policies please. No reform to regulatory rules please.
   Let the bankers and free market roam unbridled please.
   Just more of the medicine administered to the economy for the past 20 years.
   No significant changes please.
   Certainty badly needed to ensure the players can play the system – better and more.

   *Westpac is the banker for the NZ Government
   (http://www.westpac.co.nz/olcontent/olcontent.nsf/Content/Westpac+today)
6. freedom 6

   4 November 2010 at 9:44 am

   what a wierd co-incidence that the day Hillary touches down no media in New Zealand publish this news story but we get every Reuters/GOP press release
   • NickS 6.1

     4 November 2010 at 11:05 am

     Why, why, why did you have to link to WorldNutDaily?…

     They have less credibility than a Bush fanboy, or Glen Beck.
     • freedom 6.1.1

       4 November 2010 at 11:59 am

       true, a hasty grab, but aspects of the story are everywhere, also this article has plenty of verified links. This piece actually pulls together most of the reported fraud pretty well.
       At least it is a Bi-Partisan fraud ;]

       The point is our Media is choosing not to cover it. They normally mention the reports of fraud during any US election process, but with Hillary in town it’s suddenly taboo? It’s pathetic is what it is, but hey we are talking about 21 Century MSM journalism and I am well aware i am only preaching to the choir, but doesn’t it bug you that they roll over so willingly these days?
       • Pascal's bookie 6.1.1.1

         4 November 2010 at 4:42 pm

         nah freedom. The right wing in the states wank on endlessly about voter fraud. What they mean is black people voting. The last administration spent millions looking for the sort of retail fraud they talk about, (dead people! fake names!) and came up with nothing. What it’s about is disenfranchising voters by making it as difficult as possible to vote.

         Digby has good post on it here

         http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/voter-fraud-where-do-they-get-this.html
         • NickS 6.1.1.1.1

           4 November 2010 at 10:18 pm

           Correction, what they mean is people not voting Republican. Black, White, Hispanic, convicted criminal, female, if they voted Republican it’s a-ok.
7. ianmac 7

   4 November 2010 at 9:45 am

   Let’s appoint our Don Brash to head a Committee at a handsome salary, and his job is to produce the usual ideas from the far right and present these annually.
   The plan though is a cunning one Baldrick.
   At the release of this report let’s have our favourite PM smile indulgently and reject the ideas out of hand. This will clearly put the PM on the side of the People and thus, yet again, Johnboy has championed the concerns of us all.
   (Mind you some privatisation snuck onto the agenda before the next election will seem small stuff compared with what Don was recommending.)
   • Jim Nald 7.1

     4 November 2010 at 10:09 am

     Under this Government, the same old ideas that are failing the NZ economic system keep breaking out annually in a rash. Thanks, Brash.

     It is sickening for taxpayers to foot the bill for these same old mouthpieces to trot out the same old routine, flogging the dead horse of lazy neo-con laissez-faire.

     The report is a time-wasting, money-wasting copy-and-paste job and … that’s right, it is another media opportunity to make Jonkey look like he is being centrist.
     • KJT 7.1.1

       4 November 2010 at 12:03 pm

       It makes knowing how to improve our economic performance easy. Just do the opposite of anything Brash suggests.
       • Jim Nald 7.1.1.1

         4 November 2010 at 12:14 pm

         Ah. As Ianmac would say, clev-er!
8. ianmac 8

   4 November 2010 at 11:18 am

   The Herald, surprisingly, has an Editorial re National Standards which instead of bashing the teachers looks at the issue in a balanced way:
   The 225 boards comprise just over 10 per cent of the national total. Most of them may be strongly influenced by the school principal and staff representatives, but elected parents are not likely to be swayed by political antagonism or professional jealousy. They have listened to teachers’ concerns and taken them seriously. It may be time we all did.,
   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10685124
   • Joe Bloggs 8.1

     4 November 2010 at 11:45 am

     interesting.

     There’s another point of view on just how many parents were consulted by these 225 boards.

     For example Wellington’s Island Bay Primary BoT ignored any consultation with parents when they unilaterally announced their would not comply with the National Standards policy. Parents were excluded from that resolution and the Board shirked its obligations to them.

     One need look no further than Island Bay and Balmoral Primary in Auckland to see the political motivation behind this
     • pollywog 8.1.1

       4 November 2010 at 12:09 pm

       For example Wellington’s Island Bay Primary BoT ignored any consultation with parents when they unilaterally announced their would not comply with the National Standards policy.

       I think that one just got shot down in flames at kiwiBog…
       • Pascal's bookie 8.1.1.1

         4 November 2010 at 12:41 pm

         Funny in that thread to see how many of the kiwiblog faithful have their kids in the treasonous schools. They always seem to be directly affected by everydamnthing. No wonder they’re so grumpy.
     • Pascal's bookie 8.1.2

       4 November 2010 at 12:23 pm

       One need look no further than the fact that david farrar was cc’d the letter to see the political motivation behind this.

       FIFY
9. Pascal's bookie 9

   4 November 2010 at 11:54 am

   Why we should have an upper house.

   http://www.google.com/buzz/mike.riversdale/1jtLYSjQaes/Did-somebody-just-try-to-buy-the-British
   • Jim Nald 9.1

     4 November 2010 at 12:11 pm

     The parasites of society panic into offering so-called free, gratis, no strings attached help when they see that the host population is starting to shrivel up ?
     • Pascal's bookie 9.1.1

       4 November 2010 at 12:30 pm

       nah. It’s a nigerian scam. Surely?

       Comments at the original post suggest these guys…

       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_International_Treasury_Control

       or maybe an agent from Special Circumstances (Iain M Banks ‘Culture’ novels)
       • Jim Nald 9.1.1.1

         4 November 2010 at 12:38 pm

         Ok. A hoax?
         Perhaps was being too optimistic (!)
         That site was down because of traffic although there was a drop ‘expand’ link.
       • NickS 9.1.1.2

         4 November 2010 at 10:29 pm

         Nah, SC would be working well behind the scenes.

         It’s a beautiful scam though.

         And Charlie’s blog is now back up.
   • ianmac 9.2

     4 November 2010 at 2:26 pm

     MMmmm. Wonder if John would be willing to sell to such a high bidder? Finders Fee perhaps?
10. Pascal's bookie 10

    4 November 2010 at 4:31 pm

    This here squid is worth reading…

    Once upon a time, there was a wealthy man who owned a lovely house. It was big and fancy and expensive, but it was also falling apart. So he called a repairman. The repairman was named Will. Will spent many years touching up the house and fixing things when they broke down, and the rich man liked him. When Will retired, he suggested another repairman from his company, whom he promised would do an equally good job.

    But the rich man decided to try another company….

    continues…

    http://squid314.livejournal.com/285422.html
    • ianmac 10.1

      4 November 2010 at 4:47 pm

      Is this a plea for Unions or a case for Management Stupidity?
    • felix 10.2

      4 November 2010 at 5:03 pm

      A horribly familiar tale.
11. Gina 11

    4 November 2010 at 4:34 pm

    ??? Are Labour Planning to support the Search and Servillance Bill?????

    The creepiest piece of legislation I’ve ever seen in NZ and on a par with CERRA. Make a stand labour if you will really care (want to win votes). We don’t need the meat board putting cameras in our homes. This is a liscence for government agencies and the meat board to perve at any woman or man they like.
12. Vicky32 12

    4 November 2010 at 6:24 pm

    Just hearing that I am competing with 80 000 other women… as female unemployment has risen to 7.2%…
    Just great… Phil Goff cares, (he was given a wee soundbite on 3 News, which makes it a red letter day, they hardly ever let him speak.)
    Kate Wossname, Labour Minister just sits there and says how delighted she is that unemployment has fallen. Yeah, by a wee bit, For men. Which is good for them, especially if they want to work in agriculture or forestry… but if they don’t?
    • Colonial Viper 12.1

      4 November 2010 at 6:44 pm

      Don’t knock it, those lush agrihort jobs are going to push the incomes of NZ families and our nation as a whole through the roof, as well as attracting kiwis back from their well paid work in the Sydney CBD.

      Just wait and see.
13. Vicky32 13

    4 November 2010 at 7:08 pm

    This may not be the place to ask, but can someone tell me why I am not getting notifications of new posts any more? (Even though new posts are happening…) 🙁
    Deb
14. freedom 14

    4 November 2010 at 8:05 pm

    He’s our prime Minister, He is Smile and D’oh
    • ZeeBop 14.1

      4 November 2010 at 8:22 pm

      Love what Key did for ChCh employment, job creation scheme that has march thousands of men off the unemployment line and into work!

      Oops, no that wasn’t Key. Seems natural phenomenia do a better job of creating jobs!
15. Logie97 15

    4 November 2010 at 10:58 pm

    Only this lot could get away with it.

    Smoking regulations – banning any displays in shops.
    I am sure the last administration tried this one and came in for all sorts of vitriol from
    Key and his mates. Freedom came the chant.
    What price Energy saving light bulbs and flow reducing shower heads are back on the agenda before too long…?

    Aren’t this lot priceless?
    • Colonial Viper 15.1

      4 November 2010 at 11:08 pm

      NATs get away with it because of their authoritarian approach. Also their general lack of explanation and consultation. It forces people to like it or lump it, and many will just come up with their own reasons as to why things are being implemented – ie NATs get people to convince themselves while they have already moved on to stuff they actually care about as Right wingers.

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