Open mike 01/07/2010

18 comments on “Open mike 01/07/2010 ”

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1. joe90 1

   1 July 2010 at 8:45 am

   Why the rush into private prisons?, wonder no more.

   How The Recession Hurts Private Prisons.

   Baldwin residents were counting on the private prison to create jobs, but this past March, the federal government pulled back its funding on the bid. This left the Geo Group, Inc., with an empty fortress in the middle of rural Michigan, 85 miles north of Grand Rapids.

   A similar scenario is playing out across the country, in states such as California, Oklahoma, and Colorado, where entire private prisons now sit vacant.

   The private prison industry’s reliable mix of housing state and federal inmates and illegal immigrants—a model that helped to fuel two decades of growth—is no longer a surefire way to get rich.
2. John Dalley 2

   1 July 2010 at 9:46 am

   Dick Quax at the public purse/trough. Scrooge McQuax even claims $1.54. What a miserable hypocrite.
   Is it not always the same. Those in glass houses should not throw stones!
3. prism 3

   1 July 2010 at 9:52 am

   The Min of Health refuses to set standards for tattoo parlours thus opening the way for cowboy operators who can use dirty needles and spread disease like hepatitis, and whose work may leave scars that need further treatment. The MOH says it is the local government job to regulate!! This illustrates why local government rates are going up, and that central government has become a henhouse with a lot of squawking but addled eggs. (Definitely not a busy productive beehive producing a needed and quality product.)

   Funny ha ha to hear John Howard not get his wanted cricket post. Out! We apparently gave up on putting our man Sir John Anderson forward, though he has long term dedication and involvement with cricket in all its aspects. Perhaps Howard’s racist comments over refugees and his lies over the Tampa affair have registered and festered in countries outside of the English-speaking western cabal of Brits, USA Oz and NZ. Perhaps they didn’t want a precedent of defunct politicians sliding into plum jobs on the basis of their notoriety. Good heavens just think they could have Mugabe next. (He will outlive them all – monkey glands?)

   Further from Oz, one of their fighting lobbyists on RADNZ Morning Report 8.18 a.m. ‘Academic says Afghanisation rejection may harm relations’ trying to pressure us about our decision not to enter an Anzac operation in Afghanistan.
   One of his comments is that the operations there could go on for years. Australia under Howard cosied up to the USA, and supported it in its foreign adventures giving it multi-country legitimacy, now its in the pit and wants us to jump in too. We are doing something positive in our area along with SAS in the fighting sphere. Good that we know our limitations, and those of this unfortunate war. The USA can use going to war as a stimulant for their failed economy, but we don’t have the same economic advantages, and the ability to say one thing then do the opposite, and demand amnesia from spectators.
4. prism 4

   1 July 2010 at 10:09 am

   Thought that these figures/information are of interest too everybody so have copied my post onthe Key comes clean site from yesterday.

   Mr Key tells me that the retired are now getting fortnightly
   Single on own $636.24 (after 1/10/10 $667.50 $17555 p.a.)
   and
   Married-d/f couple ea. $489.42 (1/10/10 $511.06 for two $26,575 p.a.)

   Added to that may be Accommodation Supplement up to $100 per week I think. Then there is small amount of tax taken off the financials are handled by the IR Dept which watches over beneficiaries’ incomes and adjusts taxes for extra earnings.)

   Mr Key explains that changes will ‘make the tax system fairer and encourage people to save’.
   And ‘The National-led Government is careful to spend money wisely and we are on track to rein in growing debt. The largest amounts of new spending in the Budget are going into education and health, to increase spending in schools and early childhood education, and to boost elective surgery.’ (Joke elective laughter! Want to lose 10 ugly lbs? Cut off your head.)
   • ianmac 4.1

     1 July 2010 at 10:41 am

     Those Super figures have to be gross. I know 1 bloke on super who gets $489 per fortnight. His wife is still working and is under 65 years.
5. G8 5

   1 July 2010 at 10:14 am

   Dick Quax tells pork pies. He said in the Herald today he is waiting for an invoice so he can repay the $1,500 he owes us all. BUT he voted against the Council resolution asking him to repay it! This guy is dishonest and at the best just dumb. His boy wonder C&R partner Jamie is no better.
   • ianmac 5.1

     1 July 2010 at 10:43 am

     I know that the Herald has written about this but I wonder if he will get the huge publicity that Mr Brown got?
   • Draco T Bastard 5.2

     1 July 2010 at 1:42 pm

     BUT he voted against the Council resolution asking him to repay it!

     He shouldn’t have been voting at all as it’s a massive conflict of interest.
6. John Dalley 6

   1 July 2010 at 11:28 am

   No. Herald reporters have the attention span of a gnat.
7. John 7

   1 July 2010 at 11:56 am

   Rudd’s ouster a right ring coup to avoid a 40% tax on mining profits which would redistribute wealth to ordinary Aussies
   Refer link http://www.countercurrents.org/hassan280610.htm
8. I dreamed a dream 8

   1 July 2010 at 2:21 pm

   Time for a laugh 🙂 🙂 🙂

   ==> Lord Mayor’s trousers fall down
9. pollywog 9

   1 July 2010 at 4:13 pm

   There’s a survey for NZ on Airs music and video funding policies which have long since been out of step with the reality of the industry for at least 10 years, as is the use by factor of the CEO in charge of music Brendan Smyth.

   Mr Smyth has personally been in charge of dishing out grants to sycophants who share his vision for contemporary popular music for 30 yrs now since the days of the QE 2 arts council days.

   So if you’re looking for someone to blame for the cheap, nasty, foreign cloned crap music we see and hear on commercial radio and TV…look no further.

   Now it seems he’s so fresh out of ideas that he wants us to supply them, just to keep his snout firmly in the civil servants arts funding trough. Cheeky fucker.

   Glad they’re finally getting round to the loooooong overdue review of practises though. I just hope they performance review personell too and recommend sacking Mr Smyth.

   Time for some fresh young blood in the mix.

   http://nzmusic.org.nz/news/general/nz-on-air-nz-music-review/
   • prism 9.1

     1 July 2010 at 8:59 pm

     what’s your blood type pollywog? seems fairly fresh
     
     [lprent: I draw the line at blood jokes. I’m a bit sensitive on the subject after being forced to watch the start of the 3rd season of some vampire program last night…. 3 seasons of that claptrash! Who in hell watches such predictable dreariness.

     I can just feel a dose of the taliban talkback afflicting me. ]
     • pollywog 9.1.1

       1 July 2010 at 11:39 pm

       yeah nah…i burnt my bridges long ago cos i never planned on backtracking

       There does need to be a whole lot of changes to NZ on Airs music and video funding policies/focus and a fresh injection of talent but as long as Mr smyth is at the helm, he’s always gonna work to protect his job and his industry mates and the system which allows him to dictate who and what gets funded for public consumption.

       so yeah…i’m never gonna get a look in unless i change my name and kiss some arse and thats not ever likely to happen 🙂

       Its such a total ego wank for them. Deciding which bands/ artists are worthy and which not, when the truth is, they wouldn’t know a decent song if it shat in their ear. I imagine its how Peter Jackson feels about the film commission and the damning report he gave them.

       They’re not fostering talent, they’re maintaining their influence over the output and expecting us to be grateful. Chris Finlayson as minister for Arts Culture and Heritage along with Jonathon Coleman for Broadcasting need to call these fuckers to account over the shonkey way they’ve been running NZ on Air’s music and video dep’t while hiding behind the mandate of the broadcasting act in saying their hands are tied.

       It’s straight bullshit how narrow they’ve interpreted it to only support commercial radio and mainstream music TV. And what with this survey and review it’s just too little too late to save thier arses. They had their chance to fix it with a wide range of industry insiders experts calling for change but nah…

       as far as they were concerned it aint broke from their angle so why fix it ? Just maintain the status quo for as long as possible then call for public submissions and rip off the best ideas they can get from that. Not unlike the latest push polling National survey.

       But in all honesty, in as much as i say they, the blame can be firmly laid at the feet of one man…Brendan Smyth. He’s got to go !!!

       captcha : facts (heres some from a few months ago )

       Follow the money
       http://publicaddress.net/assets/files/RG0510-NZonAir.pdf
10. I dreamed a dream 10

    1 July 2010 at 9:10 pm

    Well, it looks like the Auckland Mayoralty is still Len Brown’s at this time. TV3 did a poll on Twitter and the results were:

    Neither – about 50%
    Len Brown – 38%
    John Banks – 12%

    Obviously, there’s still a lot of undecideds. But on a Brown vs Banks basis, Brown is really leaving Banks in his wake!
    • gingercrush 10.1

      1 July 2010 at 9:24 pm

      They’re now doing twitter polls? Jesus.

      Plenty of room for someone else to come on board and get the votes. High-profile and not currently a mayor and we have a winner. It just doesn’t look like it will happen since I would have thought you’d need to in the race by now.

      And in my opinion Brown and the left-wing candidates have always had the advantage going into the first Super City race and I maintained that view despite the scandals concerning Brown (and frankly anyone then deciding Brown was done were pathetic to even say that shit). I just won’t discount the right and John Banks despite him in every poll being below Brown. Local politics has always had extremely low turnout and while this year will be a better turnout it’s still going to be pathetically low. And as a result of that low turnout you simply can’t dismiss the right and John Banks despite the opinion of many out there and poll results which show Brown in a clear lead. In Christchurch prior to the last mayoralty race the polls had the left candidate in a sizable lead. She ended up losing rather badly.

      And when it comes to smears and scandals etc. They tend to bite you in the ass eventually as Banks and the two right-wing councillors are finding out. That’s why both the left and right should think before they go out on the attack. Because no one is immune to scandal and often attacks look messy.
11. Olwyn 11

    1 July 2010 at 9:32 pm

    I just thought I’d draw attention to this. While English is no doubt right about overpriced housing, the reason he gives for debt as opposed to saving is classic:

    “English said that one powerful influence driving personal debt over savings was government welfare.
    “I remember going along to AMP to talk to their staff and they said I was by far their biggest competitor.
    “The government gives free childcare, free compulsory education, no interest on tertiary … and pay per week per child. Everything is free so why should people save?”

    High costs and low wages, it seems, have nothing to do with it.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10655715

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