Open mike 01/07/2011

69 comments on “Open mike 01/07/2011 ”

• Comments are now closed

1. dad4justice 1

   1 July 2011 at 6:15 am

   Well done Ian Wishart. I wonder if he could also solve the Kirsty Bentley murder for the dumbo keystone cops?
2. mickysavage 2

   1 July 2011 at 7:09 am

   The trend is in the right direction and this election is getting interesting …

   Latest Herald poll is out.

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10735604
   • The Voice of Reason 2.1

     1 July 2011 at 7:35 am

     The rise in Labour’s vote in Auckland is excellent news. If we can turn out last election’s stay away vote, then it really is game on. I see the Brash coup has yielded a positive result for ACT, lifting them by an awesome 0.2%. That’s enough to reduce them to just two MP’s, assuming that they win Epsom. Nice.
     • ianmac 2.1.1

       1 July 2011 at 10:25 am

       Interesting too that “Undecided voters totalled 11.2 per cent of those polled,…..”
       When deciding they might fall either way but might be persuadable?
       • The Voice of Reason 2.1.1.1

         1 July 2011 at 12:26 pm

         Yep, Ian. At all elections I can recall, the actual gap between Labour and the Nats narrows significantly from the polling, no matter which party was the favourite going in. That’s basically the undecided making up their mind. At the last election, Nationals actual vote dropped compared to the polling and Labour’s went up slightly. However, a significant number of potential Labour voters simply did not vote on the day. The challenge is to get the maximum number of that 11% undecided to a booth and ticking Labour twice.
   • Salsy 2.2

     1 July 2011 at 8:05 am

     Latest roy out too.. not much change there
     http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2011/4681/
   • Herodotus 2.3

     1 July 2011 at 2:36 pm

     MS pity Labs rise is not thru any positive policy, Then again I am waiting for the Ax the Tax to be policy, or when the $5k is to be fully implemented, or how a low wage economy can also be a net saver. Another case of succes as a result of protest against something, not that The Opposition is worthy of any support. rememerb that the crap we are in is part attributable to poor leadership that has gone before. 4 months to go and no solutions to our pressing problems.
     With a close election looming all for me that will result is that a valuable few swing voters will be brought at the long term cost to the country.
3. Lulu 3

   1 July 2011 at 7:34 am

   The EMA is continuing to grapple with what to do with their CEO. I see that “Mr Thompson has been on leave since Friday”. I hope he is ill because if he is not actually sick we can add hypocrisy, lying and irony to the list of his transgressions.
   • mickysavage 3.1

     1 July 2011 at 8:17 am

     A bad case of manflu!
   • Colonial Viper 3.2

     1 July 2011 at 8:33 am

     Thompson must have strong backers in the EMA, a number of them. Otherwise this would have been an open and shut case – gone by lunchtime.
     • Lanthanide 3.2.1

       1 July 2011 at 9:43 am

       From small bits I’ve caught on National Radio (checkpoint, mostly), he is making sure they go through a full and formal dismissal procedure before they can get rid of him, which is his right under the law.

       One wonders if he’ll now have a better appreciation of those rules now that he is using them himself.
       • Jim Nald 3.2.1.1

         1 July 2011 at 9:56 am

         What a wonderful way of using ‘sick leave’ as a guise for his own pre-dismissal period.
         • Draco T Bastard 3.2.1.1.1

           1 July 2011 at 12:55 pm

           Who said he was using sick leave? He could be using annual or unpaid.
           • Jim Nald 3.2.1.1.1.1

             1 July 2011 at 1:54 pm

             That was a question in my mind too.
             But have a look at this:

             “Thompson remains on sick leave”
             Fiona Rotherham
             16:32 30/06/2011

             The EMA (Northern) says it’s uncertain when it will be able to speak with chief executive Alasdair Thompson who’s been on sick leave since he sparked a furore over his comments about women’s ”monthly sick problems”.

             Association president Graham Mountfort says Thompson is ”not very well at all” but he wouldn’t comment on what that sickness entailed and whether it was related to stress over calls for his resignation since his controversial comments about gender pay equity last week.

             Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5215151/Thompson-remains-on-sick-leave
             • travellerev …

               1 July 2011 at 2:56 pm

               No wonder, it appears males cycle hormonally every 24 hours. That explains a lot!
               • Jim Nald …

                 1 July 2011 at 3:14 pm

                 Great material for me to show my boss later this afternoon to make a case for my working hours for the rest of the year.
                 I feel my testorone cycles tend to hit a low about 3pm every day. So I should be calling the afternoon off and going home then.
                 • Jim Nald …

                   1 July 2011 at 8:12 pm

                   AirNZ has withdrawn membership from the EMA.

                   Good on AirNZ for the brains to do that.

                   I’m visiting their site next to plan my next overseas flight with them .

                   http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=132919&fm=psp,nwl
4. logie97 4

   1 July 2011 at 7:54 am

   RNZ sports correspondent on the news this morning.
   “At last Wimbledon’s Women’s tennis has a star quality final, lacking in the last few years…” Sharapova is one of the finalists.
   So apparently the Williams sisters are not stars.
   (Just wonder if the male reporter might be showing some of his personal preferences here.)
   • The Voice of Reason 4.1

     1 July 2011 at 8:03 am

     Heard it, too. Very odd remark, given that not only the Williams sisters, but Mauresmo, Davenport, Henin, Bartoli and Svonereva have all played the final since Sharapova last made an appearance. Of course, they’re only tennis players, whereas Sharapova is a celebrity, which makes all the difference.
     • dom proust 4.1.1

       1 July 2011 at 3:07 pm

       When will the hard news component of TVNZ catch up up with the sports dept? Promo items should always contain a compilation package of newsreaders exposing their knickers during Wimbledon fortnight.
     • Jenny 4.1.2

       1 July 2011 at 9:33 pm

       The treatment of the Williams sisters by both white fans and the MSM throughout their careers has been nothing short of disgraceful.

       Every victory is depicted as a fluke, every upset even at the peak of their careers described as the beginning of the end.

       It was if the media couldn’t wait till the Williams dominated era was at an end and “normal play” could resume. Now that the Williams sisters are getting older and that time is almost here, is it any surprise that this behavior still continues?.

       Booed and defamed they have suffered every indignity down the years with grace and tolerance.

       The RNZ comment, could more honestly have read: At last Wimbledon’s Women’s tennis has a WHITE quality final, lacking in the last few years…” Sharapova is one of the finalists.

       Type in “Williams Sisters booed” into Google and this is only one of the incidents that comes up.
       • Jenny 4.1.2.1

         2 July 2011 at 10:38 am

         The wealthy white tennis loving fraternity don’t like the Williams’ and they never have.

         They have never made any secret of it.

         When you type “William sisters booed” there are numerous examples of the sisters being booed by white tennis audiences in the US and Paris, from Wimbledon to Australia.

         The following is Serena’s account of one incident from a 2001 tennis tournament in California’s Indian Wells, a rich area in her home state of California.

         “What got me most of all was that it wasn’t just a scattered bunch of boos. It wasn’t coming from just one section. It was like the whole crowd got together and decided to boo all at once. The ugliness was just raining down on me, hard. I didn’t know what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened to me. What was most surprising about this uproar was the fact that tennis fans are typically a well-mannered bunch. They’re respectful. They sit still. And in Palm Springs, especially, they tended to be pretty well-heeled, too. But I looked up and all I could see was a sea of rich people—mostly older, mostly white—standing and booing lustily, like some kind of genteel lynch mob. I don’t mean to use such inflammatory language to describe the scene, but that’s really how it seemed from where I was down on the court. Like these people were gonna come looking for me after the match. … There was no mistaking that all of this was meant for me. I heard the word nigger a couple times, and I knew. I couldn’t believe it. That’s just not something you hear in polite society on that stadium court. … Just before the start of play, my dad and Venus started walking down the aisle to the players’ box by the side of the court, and everybody turned and started to point and boo at them. … It was mostly just a chorus of boos, but I could still hear shouts of ‘Nigger!’ here and there. I even heard one angry voice telling us to go back to Compton. It was unbelievable. … We refused to return to Indian Wells. Even now, all these years later, we continue to boycott the event. It’s become a mandatory tournament on the tour, meaning that the WTA can fine a player if she doesn’t attend. But I don’t care if they fine me a million dollars, I will not play there again.”

         Serena Williams

         Serena Williams was only 19 at the time.
       • Morrissey 4.1.2.2

         3 July 2011 at 12:21 pm

         Type in “Williams Sisters booed” into Google and this is only one of the incidents that comes up.

         This is extremely misleading, and it’s not insignificant that it appears in the hard-right Telegraph. Serena Williams was being booed because the day before this match she had made several bumptious and ignorant remarks condemning the French government for “not supporting” the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

         THAT is why the French crowd was booing her.
     • Jenny 4.1.3

       2 July 2011 at 11:29 am

       Good on you VOR for commenting on this “odd remark”.

       However if you are really taking notice you will see it is not that “odd”.

       Talking of the almost unremarked racism we tolerate, when spoken by European New Zealanders:

       When she visited this country Tony Veitch compared Serena Williams to “an ape” on the radio.

       And still he has a job in Broad Casting.

       Paul Holmes called Kofe Annan a “Cheeky Darky”. And it didn’t affect his career one bit.

       Phil Goff says he will work with “non Maori” Mana MPs in the “unlikely” event they ever elect one.

       Nobody even questions him about it.

       Helen Clark labels the Maori Party as “Haters and wreckers” for opposing the confiscation of the Foreshore and Seabed, and is applauded.

       We all think it is quite acceptable. And these people are held up and kept in their prominent positions in our society.

       Compare this soft ride for European New Zealanders, to the way we pillory the like of North, or Harawira for thinking we’re racist, (and worse yet, voicing it).
       • Jenny 4.1.3.1

         2 July 2011 at 11:57 am

         Does this character description of controversial Californian professional tennis instructor and father of Serena and Venus Williams remind us of any controversial public figure, in this country?

         Venus and Serena have quieted detractors who panned their father’s style and language. They said Richard Williams was arrogant, that he served from the mouth and that he hurt his daughters’ chances, not only by criticizing the racism and the stuffiness of the people who run tennis, but criticizing the game itself.

         In an exclusive interview from his home in Palm Beach, Fla., Richard Williams says from day one others attempted to tell him a “better” way to raise Venus, and later Serena, to be tennis champions. And while he has maintained a public persona of a man who couldn’t care less what others thought, he does admit now that the negativity did get to him. “When people criticize you, I don’t care how much you say it doesn’t bother you, it does,” he says. “It bothers you when people criticize you, especially when you’re doing the best that you can do. Because once you are doing the best you can do, you realize there is nothing else you can do.
5. Lazy Susan 5

   1 July 2011 at 8:02 am

   Anne Tolley on Morning Report describing the number of schools refusing to submit national standards targets in their charters :

   A handful

   John Key on Morning Report describing the number of SAS troops involved in the Kabul hotel shoot out :

   A handful

   Have both been to the latest Crosby Textor night school on obfuscation?
   • jackal 5.1

     1 July 2011 at 10:27 am

     Is it obfuscation or can’t they remember? It would be interesting to see how many schools deliver their own charters today to the Ministry of Education’s regional offices. I hear at least half of the schools are rebelling.

     According to the Herald, the SAS have defeated the Taliban. So there must have been more than just a handful huh!
     • ianmac 5.1.1

       1 July 2011 at 10:43 am

       I have heard of some schools who are submitting their charters but with a sort of Claytons nod at National Standards. A sort of compliance but not complying. Notice the comments of support on the Yahoo link are only about obedience and never about the validity of NS. (See my note below re “Insight.”)
       • ianmac 5.1.1.1

         1 July 2011 at 11:10 am

         “….the National Standards Sector Advisory Group includes a recommendation that Education Minister Anne Tolley authorise the ministry to “explore with the sector the desirability of extending national standards to years 9 and 10”.
         That would go down well eh?
         http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/5216445/National-standards-in-high-schools-proposed
         • Tigger 5.1.1.1.1

           1 July 2011 at 11:35 am

           @jackal – hilarious headline! Those pathetic terrorists crushed under the mighty heel of the proud and mighty Key-wi Empire!
       • rosy 5.1.1.2

         1 July 2011 at 8:08 pm

         It seems so… and I guess it depends on what you’re counting when a handful = 200 .

         About 200 primary schools across the country – nearly ten per cent – have thumbed their noses at the Education Ministry by handing in their school charters without controversial national standards targets.

         Many of the charters, which outline a school’s aims for the upcoming year, were taken to seven Education Ministry offices nationwide at 10am this morning by representatives from the schools, Boards Taking Action Coalition spokeswoman Jane Forrest said.

         Charters were handed in with targets using ”existing and reliable achievement data” as required by National Education Guidelines, she said.
         • Puddleglum 5.1.1.2.1

           1 July 2011 at 9:30 pm

           Anne must have big hands. (John too.)
6. Bored 6

   1 July 2011 at 8:13 am

   There is a quite brilliant read on todays Archdruid report where the question is asked:

   The declining years of a rich and powerful society resemble nothing so much as a game of musical chairs in which, in the end, all the chairs will be taken away. What’s the winning strategy in a game in which everyone inevitably loses sooner or later?

   A common thread on posts from left and right is the question of who should get what today? Very few ask the question in relation to a long gradual decline in what is available to divide diminishes.
7. travellerev 7

   1 July 2011 at 9:11 am

   The war in Libya is a rich man’s war!!!
   • Vicky32 7.1

     1 July 2011 at 4:13 pm

     Thanks for that! It’s all such a mess of confusion, but one thing is certain, it’s not as simple as it is portrayed…
8. ianmac 8

   1 July 2011 at 10:30 am

   National Standards was announced last Sunday as a topic for this Sunday’s “Insight” program on National Radio after 8am. (Some of those Insight programs start off OK but get bogged down especially if Chris is asking the questions.)
9. Kevin Welsh 9

   1 July 2011 at 10:30 am

   Toot, toot!!
   All aboard, have your tickets ready.
   • ianmac 9.1

     1 July 2011 at 10:46 am

     It was said on the radio a few days ago that Vietnam is having 30% inflation now. That will have a terrible effect on their economy and may be a forerunner of your link Kevin.
10. tc 10

    1 July 2011 at 10:59 am

    Can someone enlightren me as to if our PM actually draws his salary or donates it to charity (which one) or takes a token value of $1.

    I’d also be interested to know if the MP for Mangakieie (sam the man) in akl has proved he donated one his salalries to charity as he was an akl city counciller and an MP for awhile there.
    • Jim Nald 10.1

      1 July 2011 at 11:07 am

      I yam thinking …

      The saying goes ‘charity begins at home’.
      So pledges to donate to charity should go to the family trust?
      🙂
      • Tigger 10.1.1

        1 July 2011 at 11:37 am

        I’ve wanted this answered for years. Key made a deal of his donations. It should, therefore, be outed. He raised, it, not us. But he trades on it (or at least his supporters do, how many times have we seen, ‘he donates it to salary’ in posts?) so it should be a matter of record.
        • travellerev 10.1.1.1

          1 July 2011 at 11:49 am

          Very interesting.

          Also very interesting is that John Key has shares in BoA (bank of America). This is a matter of public record as they are mentioned on the Beehive website and they are not part of the blind trust.

          This means that he might also have shares in other US banks as a lot of bonuses would have been paid in shares and bonds but we don’t know that as they would have been in his blind trust.

          Why is this important? If John Key has a massive financial interest in the collapsing banking system he has a massive conflict of interest when it comes to making the best decisions for the NZ people.

          For example the BoA is very exposed to the European debt crisis and the only way they can stave of collapse is by pushing the Greek people (and the other PIIGS countries for that matter) further into debt and thereby causing extreme poverty and deprivation for the people living in those countries.

          With the MSM pointing out that we are already in debt per person for the sum of $ 4000 we are being prepared for the last great looting of our assets by the international banksters.

          Are we to believe that John Key will actively look for better solutions for the people he represents or for the banks in which he own shares or who does he really represent: Us little people or the banks in which he holds such a stake.

          His 20 year banking career tells me that he will let nothing interfere with him amassing a fortune, never has and never will.

          Added to that: If he donates his wages to charity he can claim that since he did not receive any money form NZ he does not owe it allegiance. Well, he can to himself at least.
          • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 10.1.1.1.1

            1 July 2011 at 12:06 pm

            Brink. Abyss.
            • travellerev 10.1.1.1.1.1

              1 July 2011 at 12:42 pm

              Motivation and arguments, gormless fool. Sticks and stones and all that.
              • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …

                1 July 2011 at 12:52 pm

                This idea that John Key is in the pay of a secretive international cabal of bankers hell bent on taking over the world is, even by your standards, quite bonkers.
                • travellerev …

                  1 July 2011 at 1:03 pm

                  Where do I say that in this comment?

                  I am saying that John Key has a huge conflict of interest because he has millions worth of shares in banks which are exposed to huge financial risks in Economically week countries.

                  The loans given to these countries, most notably Greece at the moment mostly goes straight to French and German banks who hedged their investments in these countries with US banks.
                  And the SEC filings are those given by the BoA. What makes you think that these banks will not give loans to keep the financial system from collapsing especially if they can buy the countries assets for cents on the dollar. Whether you believe in secretive cabals or not has nothing to do with the way “to big to fail banks” operate.

                  John Key has millions he stands to loose if the BoA goes under. If he has to make a choice between the interests of us little people who have “made poor lifestyle choices” and his own millions what do you think he will do?
                  No “conspiracy theory” here. Just greed and a small group of greedy people working together to protect their interests.
                • felix …

                  1 July 2011 at 1:31 pm

                  Even for a Gormless Fool you’re a fucking idiot, Oleoleshitbucket.

                  Why don’t you learn to fucking read and then have another go at what Ev wrote, eh?
                  • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …

                    1 July 2011 at 1:51 pm

                    Damn you, Felix. You’ve forced me go to her website and wade through nine flavours of nuttiness. My eyes hurt, and you are to blame. I just cannot resist a goading, especially when someone has skilfully and wittily worked excrement into my name. It is my one character flaw.

                    Ev is, of course quite right when she says: “Where do I say that in this comment “[emphasis, mine]. She did not explicitly say that John Key was guiding New Zealand towards a new World Order controlled by the shady Bilderberg group.

                    She saves that really nutty stuff for her blog:

                    “Of course not a lot of people here even know about the existence of the Bilderberg group. But they should because their ambassador to the US is a Bilderberg man… Michael Moore, labour party man, ex-finance minister, WTO CEO and one time prime minister today is serving as the ambassador to the US and him together with John Key and Don Brash are the three finance guys guiding New Zealand towards a new World Order.”
                    • travellerev …

                      1 July 2011 at 1:57 pm

                      Suit yourself Gormy,

                      John Key is a nice guy and people just gave him the $50 mill because they liked him and all that economic collapse is because people borrowed for mortgages they could not pay back.

                      And the banks really are the victims here and the ridiculous bonuses they pay themselves are really just little compensations for the hardship they go through.

                      Yeah right!

                      Here is a good link to an article about the Bilderberg group for those curious about this secretive group of rich pricks
        • Kevin Welsh 10.1.1.2

          1 July 2011 at 12:03 pm

          All we have to do is wait until he leaves politics because at that time there will be 1, 2, 3 or whatever, charities having a big drop in funding. 🙂
          • travellerev 10.1.1.2.1

            1 July 2011 at 12:04 pm

            That would be too late!
            • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 10.1.1.2.1.1

              1 July 2011 at 3:16 pm

              @ Ev (a bit above): with such a flagrant misrepresentation of what I said, I think we should expect Felix to direct an angry tirade at “Travellerexcrement”. Or not.
              • travellerev …

                1 July 2011 at 3:25 pm

                Felix an me go back a long time Gormy, no chance of playing us against each other I’m afraid.

                For those of you who want to educate themselves or who still believe that 19 young mostly Saudi’s directed by a mad man with kidney problems in a cave in Afghanistan could pull of 9/11 breaking all the laws of physics collapsing three buildings with two planes in free fall speed into pyroclastic flows here is one of the best doco’s called 9/11 mysteries.

                And for those who warm their house with Kerosene heaters; Best beware, Kerosene burns so hot it collapses steel framed buildings within the hour. Your heater and your house don’t stand a change!!!
11. prism 11

    1 July 2011 at 1:19 pm

    Intermittent signal getting through. I have just heard some things that I hope will be good news for us in NZ. One is that a person with meat and wool background has got the lead position in Federated Farmers. Of course that doesn’t mean that dairy interests have the wrong steer but its good to see a shift from the one sector fencepost.

    Another signal – from Wools of NZ I think they call themselves. The sheep farmers have been thinking, coming up with ideas which didn’t take, then thinking again. Brilliant we need some smart forward thinkers with ideas to get ahead by mixing their own nous with best information and systems for best outcomes. Wool must come back into prominence with peak oil causing greater costs for synthetics. We will be ready to ride that wave.

    And sheep pellets are good for the garden – so that helps with the pollution side. Perhaps dairy farmers can collect the pats, dry them in methane fuelled machines and ship them to India for fuel. The country people use them for cooking I have heard.

    We can now work further on developing hemp which is a more than viable alternative to cotton I have heard. First we have to get some politicians who are interested in advancing the country, to take the bold step from criminalise, punish, imprison to acceptance, control, overview, treat excess, and tax anything taxable. This would require a change from the present of just tapping into our combined wealth to advance their mates never-ending wants and power plays.
12. Lord Zealand 12

    1 July 2011 at 1:41 pm

    It is a shame the “left”,(whateva that reduces to), do not have the leadership, (that understands what it would take), to win this election, win NZ back for people who want open government, insted of these neo-facists. I’m sure this is part of their ‘plan’ to make themselves richer while we down stream just get cow shit!

    It is an even greater shame that the baby boomer generation have no attention span, are so easily mis-directed, mis-informed and led astray.
    (yes, yes you are, no look over there, no, really).

    I think it’s time we lost the incumbants, though there is probably a good one or two in any bunch, the vine is rotten and need to be cut down so it can grow towards the light again, the greens new paper ‘o lobbist is a very good start, but still doesn’t remove the problem of the highest-ups of all 3 main political parties answering to the same master.

    Want to fix the economy? Get rid of USA political influence in NZ!
    • Vicky32 12.1

      1 July 2011 at 4:31 pm

      Want to fix the economy? Get rid of USA political influence in NZ!

      Now this much, I agree with… Get rid of USA influence generally, I’d say. It’s why 20-something are so stooooooooooooooopid and 40-somethings on RNZ say that planes have bathrooms! 😀 (Has she ever tried taking a bath in one?)
13. jackal 13

    1 July 2011 at 2:45 pm

    Friday Fun with Photos #7

    Dr Brash says he is constantly regaled with horror stories of the “little Hitlers” who far too often seem to populate the lower levels of local and regional government. The comments came up as Brash was advocating for further reforms of the Resource Management Act.
14. Draco T Bastard 14

    1 July 2011 at 3:42 pm

    Official cost of wars short by trillions

    The total cost to the United States of its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus the related military operations in Pakistan, is set to exceed US$4 trillion ($4.8 trillion) – more than three times the sum so far authorised by Congress in the decade since the September 11 attacks.

    The hawks initial estimates were between US$40 to US$80b and some even suggested that they would pay for themselves. Well, the initial estimates were quickly proven wrong but this has gone far beyond what even the pessimists were predicting at the time.
15. ianupnorth 15

    1 July 2011 at 4:32 pm

    And you thought Alisdair Thompson was bad!!
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/30/italian-firm-women-job-cuts

    Family-owned company responds to downturn in sales by cutting half its workforce – and selecting only women for redundancy

    An engineering firm in northern Italy has sparked controversy after making almost half its workforce redundant – and selecting only women.

    A union official quoted the company as having reported to the small businesses association: “We are firing the women so they can stay at home and look after the children. In any case, what they bring in is a second income.”
    No one at the company, Ma-Vib, which is based in Inzago near Milan, could be reached for comment.

     
    • travellerev 15.1

      1 July 2011 at 4:45 pm

      Italians, what do you expect with a PM who thinks that bunga bunga parties are the way to rule Italy and where every show has to have one male presenter and 20 very blond bimbo’s keeping the guy’s ego from collapsing. Oh, and were every male has a mother complex. Jeez, That those women had a job at an engineering firm in the first place is something to behold.
16. Herodotus 16

    1 July 2011 at 5:00 pm

    Can the epmu spend some money on handsfree car kits!!!
17. rosy 17

    1 July 2011 at 8:49 pm

    Corporations managing the energy narrative… again. And the industries are not a surprise – again…
    First up climate non-science and big petroleum

    Documents provided to Greenpeace by the Smithsonian under the US Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) show that the Charles G Koch Foundation, a leading provider of funds for climate sceptic groups, gave Soon two grants totalling $175,000 (then roughly £102,000) in 2005/6 and again in 2010. In addition the American Petroleum insitute (API), which represents the US petroleum and natural gas industries, gave him multiple grants between 2001 and 2007 totalling $274,000, oil company Exxon Mobil provided $335,000 between 2005 and 2010, and Soon received other grants from coal and oil industry sources including the Mobil Foundation, the Texaco Foundation and the Electric Power Research Institute.

    In second place Fukushima and the nuclear industry and the UK government.

    British government officials approached nuclear companies to draw up a co-ordinated public relations strategy to play down the Fukushima nuclear accident just two days after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and before the extent of the radiation leak was known.

    Internal emails seen by the Guardian show how the business and energy departments worked closely behind the scenes with the multinational companies EDF Energy, Areva and Westinghouse to try to ensure the accident did not derail their plans for a new generation of nuclear stations in the UK.

    “This has the potential to set the nuclear industry back globally,” wrote one official at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), whose name has been redacted. “We need to ensure the anti-nuclear chaps and chapesses do not gain ground on this. We need to occupy the territory and hold it. We really need to show the safety of nuclear.”
18. Anne 18

    1 July 2011 at 9:35 pm

    Earthquake in Auckland 9:09pm.
    2.9 on Richter Scale.
    9km deep.
    Centre located 10km east of Auckland.
    Short and sharp.
    My walls shook.

    OK. Not in the same league as ChCh, but sent me scrambling to get outside.
    • Vicky32 18.1

      1 July 2011 at 10:18 pm

      Earthquake in Auckland 9:09pm.
      2.9 on Richter Scale.

      I thought I had imagined it… Whew, only 2.9.. I am so scared of these things!
    • lprent 18.2

      2 July 2011 at 8:59 am

      I popped out to offer assistance to whoever had run into the concrete wall in the garage. Figured out what it must have been when I didn’t find them.
19. Alice 19

    1 July 2011 at 9:53 pm

    Are you alright about that shake, I felt it for like a second, I felt it though.

    If I died would you miss me?
20. Alice 20

    1 July 2011 at 10:12 pm

    I think we should both be grateful we are alive, with such a magnificent opportunity. I think at times, well most the time, you and I ‘both’ act like spoilt brats.

    Considering we have this case, we are hardly truly appreciating it, well ‘I do’, but at times I forget to appreciate it as I worry about my minute problems, sulking and so on.
    We just worry about the small things and hiccups without embracing the enormous blessing we both have.

    Anyway-

    Lets just say if you died, you are not going too, but if you did- I would miss you.
21. Alice 21

    1 July 2011 at 10:29 pm

    You’re not going to die, you need to solve the case, this is serious, you need to solve the case!!!
    I have reason to believe if ‘we’ conduct ourselves properly and work towards revealing truths, I believe we may have some sort of way of controlling an outcome.

    You need to solve the case and you need to get it together. It’s Her and She wants the case solved. I have a feeling She is angry with me at the moment for sulking.
22. Craig Glen Eden 22

    1 July 2011 at 10:49 pm

    Paula Bennett just made major stuff up at Friday nights Auckland stage challenge by announcing the wrong team had won, it appears she got her ST Peters and ST Cuths mixed up and yes their was tears.

    What a circus this National Government are proving to be.

• Comments are now closed

• Log in
• Donate
• Contribute post

• Articles RSS