Open mike 01/12/2010

90 comments on “Open mike 01/12/2010 ”

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1. pollywog 1

   1 December 2010 at 10:05 am

   If a new political party were to be formed, one that focussed on closing the ineqality gap between have’s and have nots. one that also seeked to emphasise a point of difference from the existing parties and looked to appeal to the less than average NZer…ie ‘we’re not like them, we’re like you’

   What would some choice names be for it ?

   I reckon the ‘Social Party’ sounds pretty sweet…
   • just saying 1.1

     1 December 2010 at 12:57 pm

     Can’t think of a better name.
     Unless we have a little spoof on Labour and call it “The many”.
   • Pascal's bookie 1.2

     1 December 2010 at 1:13 pm

     Pretty sweet could be useful branding.

     How would you think of a party that did x,y, z? Pretty sweet.

     If you honestly think things are pretty sweet right now, you prolly don’t need to vote for us.

     NZ. Pretty sweet country.

     How do you feel about the future? Pretty sweet.
     • Colonial Viper 1.2.1

       1 December 2010 at 1:28 pm

       Left Wing Sugar not Right Wing Salt

       Pretty, Sweet, Social. Perfect for your Party (vote).
       • pollywog 1.2.1.1

         1 December 2010 at 2:24 pm

         sounds all good…

         …keen on the ‘not like them (salaried suits/politicians) and more like you (hi vis vests/ low waged semi skilled workers)’ meme as well. in the vein of iwi/kiwi bilboards and big brother style faceless suits vs struggling families.

         so who would lead this party and how would it need to be formed ?…from the top down or from the ground up ?

         i reckon it needs to be student led with the old guard of usual suspects leading from behind.
         • just saying 1.2.1.1.1

           1 December 2010 at 3:04 pm

           Did you have some particular students in mind pollywog? Tertiary students tend to be “aspirational” – not that many learning in order to best serve others, from my experience.
           • Descendant Of Smith 1.2.1.1.1.1

             1 December 2010 at 5:54 pm

             I’m still keen on The Egalitarian Party.

             Equality of opportunity, a link to the historical desires of the past, and a concerted effort to ensure the gap between top and bottom does not get too big.
             • jcuknz …

               1 December 2010 at 9:25 pm

               Shortened to the Egg Party … not very good, rather rotten in fact.
               Please note I am not casting aspertions about the new party only the suggested title.
             • pollywog …

               1 December 2010 at 9:42 pm

               the trouble with a lot of those old tags like egalitarianism, socialism, communism, marxism is, they’re so tainted by negative history that they serve no real positive purpose anymore…

               …they just dont resonate with youngers and in my case as a Pasifikan, never did

               we need a new ‘ism’…Pasifikanism

               google it 🙂
           • pollywog 1.2.1.1.1.2

             1 December 2010 at 9:33 pm

             maybe theres hope in mobilising this current intake of tertiary students who are soon gonna realise that the game is pretty much one out, one in now…

             …plant the seeds of discontent now and harvest them in 3 or so years as they’re looking to graduate and enter the job market

             they have to wake up to the fact that pretty much the only way they’re gonna get ahead is if someone retires or dies or they’re willing to be a bigger total selfish arsehole and screw anyone over including their own family to get ahead

             so any party looking to set up shop would have to write off the next election and just look to establish a brand and emphasise the point of difference then keep ramming it home for the next 3 years no matter which major party gets in

             i still reckon, forget the mystical apocalyptism of 2012 but, things are going to come to a global head and force a personal decision around that time…a re-evolution of the political and economic landscape and choosing which side of the fence you’re on, maintaining the status quo or revolution, the devil you know or the devil you don’t ???

             in the meantime we’re just killing time fluffing round on the net, as Professor Jodi Dean argues…

             the left’s ability to develop and defend a collective vision of equality and solidarity has been undermined by the ascendance of “communicative capitalism,” a constellation of consumerism, the privileging of the self over group interests, and the embrace of the language of victimization. As Dean explains, communicative capitalism is enabled and exacerbated by the Web and other networked communications media, which reduce political energies to the registration of opinion and the transmission of feelings. The result is a psychotic politics where certainty displaces credibility and the circulation of intense feeling trumps the exchange of reason.

             http://www.dukeupress.edu/Catalog/ViewProduct.php?productid=19249
             • Colonial Viper …

               1 December 2010 at 9:45 pm

               i still reckon, forget the mystical apocalyptism of 2012 but, things are going to come to a global head and force a personal decision around that time…a re-evolution of the political and economic landscape and choosing which side of the fence you’re on

               The basic infrastructure, organisation and doctrine need to be in place ready and in advance. When people suddenly realise they are looking for answers, it should not be the answers that the RWNJ’s are pushing.
               • pollywog …

                 1 December 2010 at 10:17 pm

                 absolutely CV

                 which is where the old left guard of usual suspects need to be leading from behind, pushing young people to the fore while having their back and not looking to hang them out to dry or intoxicate them with the promise of power.

                 each one, teach one, as they say
         • Colonial Viper 1.2.1.1.2

           1 December 2010 at 6:49 pm

           so who would lead this party and how would it need to be formed ?…from the top down or from the ground up ?

           The party would need an organisational culture which hits a bullseye on political and operational effectiveness. Fun, fast, furious, fair. The values and objectives of the party are left wing but the party itself is not about feeling warm and fuzzy, it is about effecting real change and being disciplined about it.

           Could a fast, effective democratic socialist structure be set up as the basis for running the party?

           Also the party needs ways to screen out the sociopaths, the self centred political careerists etc. (Might not be many people left after that).
           • KJT 1.2.1.1.2.1

             1 December 2010 at 9:46 pm

             Need democracy, then the parties become irrelevant.

             http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/swiss-canton-system.html

             http://kjt-kt.blogspot.com/2010/06/kia-ora-greens-talk-about-consensus.html

             “Just because you may or may not like the results of a recent BCIR is no reason to say that is the wrong way to run a democratic system. The majority are more likely to get it right than a minority of power hungry self centred idealoges in Parliament. How many of the things imposed on us by Labour and National have been in the best interests of more than a few narrow groups in NZ. The sheer arrogance of politicians and journalists contempt for the “great unwashed” and the inability to give up power to the governed is behind most of the objections to citizens having a say in Government”.
2. marty mars 2

   1 December 2010 at 10:15 am

   Great new maori blog to check out with an interesting analysis of the Maori Party successes and failures to date…

   http://mauistreet.blogspot.com/

   onya muzza
   • Bored 2.1

     1 December 2010 at 12:50 pm

     The guy seems to make an assessment that certain MP members will get re-elected in their constituency seats merely through their wakapapa, iwi and hapu connections etc. I hope to hell he is wrong, as a Pakeha I have a deep and abiding distrust of hereditary privelege based upon blood lines.
     • pollywog 2.1.1

       1 December 2010 at 2:32 pm

       then you woulda been well pissed of with these 2 young rich white old moneyed younguns from Christchurch getting elected in their recent local body elections ?

       http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/lifestyle/mainlander/4240400/Power-privilege-in-public-service
       • Bored 2.1.1.1

         1 December 2010 at 3:22 pm

         Too right Polly, cant stand those buggers either…might be “nice young chaps” but if it was you or me or our children we would have to do the hard yards without the cash to back up the campaign. Bloody squatocracy lording it over us.
         • vto 2.1.1.1.1

           1 December 2010 at 9:43 pm

           Yep brown or white much the same. Bloodlines count. But in the white world only as far as your money goes, which is usually just one or two generations. What’s that saying about the first generation makes the moola, the second maintains it and the tird loses it..

           But if you take an objective assessment on it from afar it would appear incontrivirtible that the concept of privilige exists more in the polynesian world than the white white world. Perhaps a question for them to answer …
           • pollywog 2.1.1.1.1.1

             1 December 2010 at 10:09 pm

             …and one that should be put to Georgina Te Heu Heu while shes still relatively coherent enough to answer it.

             back in the day there were reasons for privilege in preserving the royal bloodlines…survival of the fittest and maintaining order through strategic marriages.

             polynesian darwinian social evolution and eugenics in action…sure, that stuff has fallen by the way side but you still need the bloodties to preserve order
             • vto …

               1 December 2010 at 10:27 pm

               You sound like you are subject to such privilige yourself mr polly with an answer like that.. you know.. about preserving order and all that. about preserving order and all that.
               • pollywog …

                 2 December 2010 at 9:05 am

                 if i went back to Samoa and enforced it i’m sure i could privilege myself…

                 cos yeah i got a polynesian royal bloodline running thru, but if one is not sitting at their post in the meeting house and representing for the wider family, then one’s opinion isn’t worth shit. blood isn’t eveything, you still need money and there’s also an element of personal mana involved.

                 for Maori in NZ, being tangata whenua, they’re still intricately tied to the land, so individuals charged with repesenting their iwi and rohe through whakapapa and inherent privilege are in essence safeguarding the land, sea and sky for the best interests of hapu and iwi as the latest LabourTirikatene candidate has been chosen to do in Te Tai Tonga. In true Pasifikan tradition though he should have been groomed for it.

                 unfortunately puppet dynasties can eventuate and power corrupts. never more so is abuse of privilege in evidence than in the holding back of donated tsunami aid funds in Samoa by the gov’t for distribution as ‘bribes’ in the upcoming elections.

                 it’s a shitty way to preseve order but it’s the only way they got at the mo’ and i’m in no position to challenge that…yet
           • Olwyn 2.1.1.1.1.2

             1 December 2010 at 10:43 pm

             I have heard that said as “clogs to clogs in three generations.”
             • vto …

               1 December 2010 at 10:46 pm

               It is a consistent average
       • big bruv 2.1.1.2

         1 December 2010 at 9:51 pm

         Right!!!

         Yet it is perfectly OK for Faafoi to parachute his way into a once safe Labour seat simply because he had the right connections?

         You guys really don’t have an issue with blinding hypocrisy do you.
         • pollywog 2.1.1.2.1

           1 December 2010 at 9:58 pm

           Yet it is perfectly OK for Faafoi to parachute his way into a once safe Labour seat simply because he had the right connections?

           No it is not OK, far from perfect and i think you’ll find no one slagged him harder than me.
           • lprent 2.1.1.2.1.1

             1 December 2010 at 11:52 pm

             Agreed. All grist for the mill and at least you mostly made sense even if I did disagree with almost all of your conclusions 🙂
             Just didn’t have time to argue and I don’t know that electorate particularly well.
             • pollywog …

               2 December 2010 at 9:12 am

               sometimes it’s a swing and a miss, sometimes it’s a homer but i don’t think i’ll ever stop stepping up to the plate and giving the pitchers some stick…
         • felix 2.1.1.2.2

           1 December 2010 at 10:08 pm

           Yeah keep up bruv, lots of us have spoken pretty harshly about Faafoi and the way Labour planted him in Mana.

           You’d have to actually read the comments to know that though.
     • Muzza 2.1.2

       1 December 2010 at 3:08 pm

       Hi Bored,

       I certainly stand by that assessment. Whakapapa holds enormous sway in the Maori world. Success is often defined by ones connection to the land and the people of that land. In my opinion the retention of Parekura Horomia and Nanaia Mahuta, despite their underwhelming performances in opposition and in government, shows that Labour understands this concept.

       It is arguable that underprivileged urban Maori do not take account of Whakapapa. This is true to a certain extent; however it ignores the fact that this is a group of more marginalised Maori who are less likely to be enrolled (on either the general or Maori role) let alone actually vote.
       • Bored 2.1.2.1

         1 December 2010 at 3:28 pm

         Agree with the privelge thing: I really dont care if we have separate race based representation, what really stumps me is when a group of people who are underpriveleged for some obscure reason vote for somebody that when elected do not give a f**k about them. For example in Chch as Polly points out, some rich white kids with big business daddies and their money. Or Maori estranged from their hapu etc.
         • pollywog 2.1.2.1.1

           1 December 2010 at 9:53 pm

           Or Maori estranged from their hapu etc.

           and thats where i see real gains can be made with Whanau Ora.

           By politicising disenfranchised urban/rural Maori living outside their rohe to challenge their rangatira, on issues not related to hereditary privilege, and try to cut a sweeter deal as far as re distributing resources.

           this shit i linked to previously…

           http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/4396742/Tainui-costs-phenomenal

           … is not a good look and should not just pass by unnoticed or unchallenged by wider Maori culture.
           • hateatea 2.1.2.1.1.1

             1 December 2010 at 10:26 pm

             Actually, it is only Tainui’s business, not that of the members of other iwi, nor the public in general.
             • Colonial Viper …

               1 December 2010 at 11:14 pm

               And that’s exactly what the Righties said about Telcom and Fonterra million dollar executive pay levels. Its between the business, the shareholders and the directors. Everyone else please naff off this does not concern you.
             • pollywog …

               2 December 2010 at 9:19 am

               and that is why Maori won’t be uniting under one nation status any time soon with the current generation of rangatira leading.

               so would you agree that it’s not a good example for Tainui to be setting ?
               • Colonial Viper …

                 2 December 2010 at 9:22 am

                 Its the same old question we ask everyday. Are the leaders sitting around the board table for the many, or are they sitting around the board table for the few.
3. ianmac 3

   1 December 2010 at 10:31 am

   Having read all the Standard questions (Your chance to ask the PM…) it shows just how hard it is to ask the right questions. Many of them are so slanted they would be unanswerable. It probably needs the interview format from a skilled interviewer who can follow a thread. The Stuff format was bound to be the sort that is used for pop stars/celebrities. What do think of NZ? What is your fav drink? How rich are you? What is your favourite TV program? What are you going to privatise?
   My question for Key? Can’t think of one. But is that because John has kept so far from substance that it would be like asking a question of a cloud?
   • Pascal's bookie 3.1

     1 December 2010 at 11:06 am

     I reject the premiss!!

     There is nothing wrong with slanted questions. If someone can’t answer a slanted question, then what the fuck is wrong with them?

     Pull the question apart, identify any unspoken premisses you disagree with and reject them, reframe it with the correct premiss and voila, your position is made clear. Equally importantly, it has been made clear that you understand the opposing view and why you regect it. Making a politicians position clear on an issue should be the point of a question.

     Politicians are all media trained up the wazoo, if they can’t deal with a bit of rhetoric, then they suck too hard to be in the job.
     • ianmac 3.1.1

       1 December 2010 at 11:17 am

       Pascal.Of course there is nothing wrong with slanted questions. But in the format under discussion the re-framing, pulling apart, supplementary questioning is not possible. Hence the one right question is very difficult if not impossible.
       I believe that the question is the answer when researching. Once you have the right question you are halfway there.
       Perhaps you could show me the perfect question for John Key ? That would be one where the expected response is credible/useful/compelling.
       • Pascal's bookie 3.1.1.1

         1 December 2010 at 12:32 pm

         I think the point of a question to a politician is to get their thoughts about the issue on record. Where the issue is controversial, or where their position is unpopular, the politician will try and avoid getting their position on record.

         So, I think a good question is one that the politician needs to ‘unpack’ in order to leave a good impression. It’s any question that gets them talking about the underlying issue rather than a prepared talking point.

         That said, no question or format can force a politician to play ball, so the question might be phrased in such a way that refusing to answer it leaves an obvious conclusion about why they refused.
         • ianmac 3.1.1.1.1

           1 December 2010 at 2:29 pm

           There is a difficulty when Questions in the House do not get a “good” answer. Even with very clever people framing the question and having the benefit of supplementary questions, it still is not very productive. And there is seldom a forum these days in which to gauge the quality of the answers. (It is said that the answer given is applauded by the supporter and rubbished by the non-supporter yet it is the same answer.)
           Anyway I think within the Stuff forum, especially if the questions are selected or censored it cannot be very productive.
           • Pascal's bookie 3.1.1.1.1.1

             1 December 2010 at 3:00 pm

             Oh yeah. I think the stuff forum was about, in no particular order:

             1) making Stuff readers feel connected to Stuff
             1a) making Stuff readers feel Stuff is enabling them to partake in ‘journalism’
             2) making JK seem look kind of like Len Brown having chats with punters in Aotea square
             3) page impressions

             ‘Journalism’ and ‘getting JK on the record’ are quite deliberately not on that list.
             • ianmac …

               1 December 2010 at 3:16 pm

               Yep. Ha!
4. john 4

   1 December 2010 at 10:45 am

   Is Wi-Fi frying our brains? Fears that cloud of ‘electrosmog’ could be harming humans
   Refer link:
   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1334291/Is-Wi-Fi-frying-brains-Fears-cloud-electrosmog-harm-humans.html

   The other day my Power company I’d been with for 15 years,Genesis, told me not asked me they were putting in a “smart meter” which communicates electrical usage using microwave signal.They say a signal is sent out once a month, however there is an obvious ability for two way communication much more frequent than once a month. I have changed to Trust Power that doesn’t use these meters.
   There are worries about WIFI’s electrosmog downside,a boarder of mine wanted to use wifi here,at home I won’t have it and stick to cable. Down at the Wellington Waterfont the Council is supplying free laptop wifi connection. People are having to walk through this potentially dangerous radiation soup. We already have heaps of warnings about the dangers of mobile phones.
   You know what side I’m on what do you think? These radiating signals are incredibly pervasive.
   • Bill Browne 4.1

     1 December 2010 at 10:48 am

     Make sure you only go out at night (or use a tinfoil umbrella) – and as for those neutrinos, don’t even let me get started!
   • Draco T Bastard 4.2

     1 December 2010 at 11:02 am

     Why don’t they just connect it through the telecommunications network…

     Oh, wait, because we screwed it up by selling it.
     • joe90 4.2.1

       1 December 2010 at 11:34 am

       A cell phone held to your head for half the day probably isn’t too good for the health has no proven effects on health and spending the other half of the day holding your head to a wifi transmitter would be much the same. But a smart meter John, really, if you’re so concerned about electromagnetic radiation and your health then perhaps you should forgo electricity and go and live somewhere far far away. And then all there is to worry about is the Sun and gravity itself.
       On a personal note, after more than thirty years in the electrical industry working with mostly HV equipment the only observation I’d make about the safety or otherwise of electromagnetic fields is that, anecdotally, electrical workers father more girls than boys.
       • Draco T Bastard 4.2.1.1

         1 December 2010 at 12:02 pm

         I’m not concerned about the effects of the microwave signal – it’s only once a month after all. I was thinking more in terms of reliability and switching from once a month to real time. Technically, I suppose they could do real time using wireless as well.
       • john 4.2.1.2

         1 December 2010 at 12:17 pm

         Ho joe90
         Refer link: http://www.psrast.org/mobileng/mobilstarteng.htm

         Studies have been done showing usage of cell phones increases risk of cancer. Part of this link,scroll down, is an interview on Campbell Live with an Investigator of this issue(Chosen by the cell phone companies themselves!). There is so much money tied up with this that proponents of cell phones and wifi go ballistic at the thought their livelihoods are threatened by this evidence. Of course the same applies to smoking and CO2 emissions!

         No way CO2 is going to get cut back for the Planet’s sake,you can be sure of that!

         “Since the public communication of his findings, Dr Carlo “has been threatened, physically attacked, defamed, and his house mysteriously burned down.” Instead of listening to the well founded evaluation of the scientist the mobile phone industry trusted as most suitable for assessing the issue, they did not only ignore his results, but they sought to discredit him personally among reporters and other scientists.

         How can anyone trust research and scientists sponsored by such corporations as it is very evident from the case of Dr Carlo that the corporations do not accept other than favorable results regarding safety? “
   • john 4.3

     1 December 2010 at 12:39 pm

     The new”Smart meters” do not need to be read by an employee out in the field. Instead, data from residences and businesses are transmitted by a mesh network of radio signals.

     Critics argue that the smart meters are too smart. They often inflate electric bills. Worse still, they may be harmful to our health. There is evidence that radio-frequency exposure is linked to cancer and other diseases. A number of ratepayers already complain of being sickened by the heavy doses from smart meters. Electrical companies gives reassurances that the frequencies pose no great danger, but it continues to face community resistance and skeptical questions from independent investigators.
     Smart meters cut labor costs. Lower labor costs do not bring lower rates for ratepayers, but higher profits for managers and stockholders. Power companies know what they’re doing. In keeping with the essence of the corporate capitalist system, they exists not to serve the public, but to serve themselves.
5. joe90 5

   1 December 2010 at 10:51 am

   Climate progress on The Royal Society vision of a hellish 4c degree world.

   Royal Society original here..
   • Bored 5.1

     1 December 2010 at 12:29 pm

     ….This paper is not intended as a message of futility, but rather a bare and perhaps brutal assessment of where our ‘rose-tinted’ and well intentioned (though ultimately ineffective) approach to climate change has brought us. Real hope and opportunity, if it is to arise at all, will do so from a raw and dispassionate assessment of the scale of the challenge faced by the global community…..

     Have a good read one and all. if this is not your number one election issue you might as well go and shoot your children now.
     • joe90 5.1.1

       1 December 2010 at 2:13 pm

       Another warning, this time from an outgoing Republican.

       On clean energy development, Mr. Inglis warned his Republican colleagues that China was preparing to “eat our lunch.”

       “They plan on innovating around these problems, and selling to us, and the rest of the world, the technology that’ll lead the 21st century,” he said. “We may press the pause button for a few years, but China is pressing the fast-forward button.”
       • joe90 5.1.1.1

         1 December 2010 at 2:27 pm

         In February a warning on ocean acidification and now another about mass extinctions as oceans choke.
6. prism 6

   1 December 2010 at 12:22 pm

   Contracting work out is part of the government process and is not about saving money. So what is it about?? Long term employees – decades – at an airport have lost their jobs when the task of airport screening for Maf etc was given to some agency. The agency chose not to re/employ them.

   An accountant getting $1650000 pa operated on the computer system to put his income up $10,000 and give himself more holidays. At the time he was also being appointed to important national boards as a suitable member. He is being jailed. This is an outrage. He is merely following the practice espoused by so many wealthy people in NZ. They aren’t in jail! And some are being hounded by mean Serious Fraud Office investigations but should manage to keep the money they have finagled and slide out from such unreasonable controls and expectations of probity.
   • Bored 6.1

     1 December 2010 at 12:34 pm

     The thinking behind “rational” economics is fundamentally corrupt. The reason for this is that all costs that cannot be avoided are externalised (i.e socialised / avoided / given to somebody who has no legitimate concern to provide etc). By doing so the cost of immediate delivery is cut, and a wedge of profit may be extratced profit from the “gain”. More sane societies might see this activity as larceny and hang the exponents.
   • Vicky32 6.2

     1 December 2010 at 6:58 pm

     The agency was ADECCO – they are American, and I signed up as a temp for them 6 months ago. I am gonna call ’em and tell them to take me off their list because of this…
     (Not that they’ve actually given me any work!)
     Deb
   • jcuknz 6.3

     1 December 2010 at 10:15 pm

     If he was on $1650000 and only added $10,000 he’s an idiot …..it was 165,000 I believe 🙂
     • Colonial Viper 6.3.1

       1 December 2010 at 11:17 pm

       You’re still right though, he’s an idiot. With a sense of entitlement which did him in for what return? An extra $121 p.w. in hand? When he was already getting ~$2100 p.w. in hand?
7. prism 7

   1 December 2010 at 12:31 pm

   Google in the USA is being criticised for choosing to put small competitors low down on lists of traders so limiting the business advantage they get. They are trying to mount a case about it.

   Reminds me of Trademe here. They used to have a number of links to various shipping companies including NZ Post. Now Trademe has introduced their own parcels system which comes up first and freely, while if you want to link through to NZ Post it is very hard to find the route. I think the same applies to other shippers/couriers.

   These large companies can too easily tread over other companies with their great big footprint. The tendency to vertically integrate then leads to becoming monopolies and less choice, and less opportunities for other businesses. It then becomes no different to government dominating the business arena and the profit doesn’t go direct to the taxpayer funds, and may have to go out of the country so sucking up the export revenue so carefully accumulated .
   • Draco T Bastard 7.1

     1 December 2010 at 12:54 pm

     I came to the conclusion a while ago that Trademe should be government owned. Same as the supermarkets should be.
8. prism 8

   1 December 2010 at 12:58 pm

   Concerning Australian anti our apples project 1921- . I wonder how fireblight can be so unmanageable when we have a vital and profitable apple industry? And the Australian spokesperson referred to curling leaf disease and another pest – further stonewalling?
9. oscar 9

   1 December 2010 at 2:12 pm

   We keep getting told to stop driving to reduce CO2 emissions.
   All well and good, except cars put out carbon monoxide.
   So, do we stop breathing, or stop driving?
   • Draco T Bastard 9.1

     1 December 2010 at 2:31 pm

     That’s got to be one of the most senseless comments I’ve seen yet. Car exhaust has numerous gasses in it including CO2, CO, NO2, and H2O.
   • Mac1 9.2

     1 December 2010 at 9:58 pm

     Oscar, CO released into the atmosphere converts to CO2 anyway. Therefore, cars are sources of CO2.
10. vto 10

    1 December 2010 at 3:06 pm

    Ireland, Spain and the absolute mess that is the sovereign debt crisis currently raging like a firestorm out of control in Europe……

    China on the verge of its asset / credit bubble exploding like a thousand neutron bombs …….

    shit there is some shit about to hit…..

    We been, relatively, immune so far. This time we wont be. Hope I am wrong.
    • john 10.1

      1 December 2010 at 3:27 pm

      I think I’ll keep on cowering down here!
    • Colonial Viper 10.2

      1 December 2010 at 4:34 pm

      I think China has been very proactive in constraining its asset bubbles. If anything, massive Chinese liquidity was being transferred overseas causing asset bubbles everywhere else in the world (e.g. Perth housing price bubble thanks to huge Chinese currency inflows used to purchase mineral ores).

      Re European sovereign debt crisis, all it needs is one additional unexpected shock and the house of cards will tumble as each country runs with self interest ahead of all else. What limited resilience there was left in the financial system is practically gone.

      Yes NZ is a good spot to hide out.
      • vto 10.2.1

        1 December 2010 at 5:54 pm

        China will take Australia with it. Asian and Australian demand is the only thing keeping our economy in its current stumbling tootle..

        As said above I hope I am wrong. I just dread that we are about to witness a major ‘adjustment’ in the world. In fact I am betting on it – or rather, removing the risk of being caught in it as much as possible.
      • KJT 10.2.2

        1 December 2010 at 6:31 pm

        China is busy spending there US dollars on land, coal, timber and other resources as quickly as they can while they are still worth something.

        NZ is busy selling off resources for US dollars as fast as possible so we can buy more to join the money market casino.

        I would not hold much hope for your retirement savings unless they are invested in future sustainable development industry and infrastructure within NZ.
        • Colonial Viper 10.2.2.1

          1 December 2010 at 11:11 pm

          I would not hold much hope for your retirement savings unless they are invested in future sustainable development industry and infrastructure within NZ.

          Starting with an acre of land to grow vegetables in and maybe graze a couple of animals.
          • vto 10.2.2.1.1

            1 December 2010 at 11:43 pm

            If you have some acreage with vegetables and animals what do you think is going to happen to them when all the supermarches within 50km of that acreage have run out of vegetables and animals?
            • Draco T Bastard 10.2.2.1.1.1

              1 December 2010 at 11:54 pm

              Which is why I think NZ needs to develop it’s own defence industry. Melanesia, Micronesia and Asia are all over crowded and when the shit hits the fan are going to be looking for a place that has food and space.
            • Colonial Viper 10.2.2.1.1.2

              2 December 2010 at 9:18 am

              You get to be the new richest, most favourite dude in town?
    • gingercrush 10.3

      1 December 2010 at 5:00 pm

      Australia is beginning to slow down and eventually their housing and land market will go through major bubble problems not to mention the day commodities crash they could be in real trouble.
      • Colonial Viper 10.3.1

        2 December 2010 at 9:20 am

        Yep, and this relies on the circumstances around two things
        1) China
        2) The strength and acceptability of the USD – which is what China has a lot of.
11. john 11

    1 December 2010 at 3:33 pm

    If you’d like a visual holiday(Though an unpleasant subject) from the printed word view this Photo Essay from the Rio Police incursion to arrest drug gangs!

    http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/11/rios_drug_war.html
    • ianmac 11.1

      1 December 2010 at 5:13 pm

      Brilliant but terrifying photography. Those who live in the slums have little choice. Trying to imagine the terror when a district is raided is just too hard. Marijana seems to be the main drug???
      • john 11.1.1

        2 December 2010 at 6:29 pm

        Marijinua is not criminal therefore all this police operation is bullshit
        demonation. F.ck sake leave them alone. It’s fascist.
12. john 12

    1 December 2010 at 4:29 pm

    Jesus Christ was a socialist. True Christianity (Not the American type where God is Money) is Socialist and against exploitation by Capital of workers and the disadvantaged.
    Refer link:

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26952.htm
    • Olwyn 12.1

      1 December 2010 at 5:52 pm

      It is pleasing to read an article in which Christianity is challenged for not living up to the kind of authority that it can rightfully claim, rather than lashing out at it as yet another authority base to be smashed or denigrated. If you look at the way international capitalism operates, it tends to either co-opt or destroy any authority base that gets in its way, whether religion, the media, the academy or the state, leaving nothing standing but its own raw power, since it has never had the conceptual resources to claim authority by any other means. Rather than joining them in rejecting these other areas of authority, and imagining that we are standing up to the establishment, we should instead be demanding that they live up to their calling. Without them, there is nothing left to give them pause.
    • Vicky32 12.2

      1 December 2010 at 6:20 pm

      Absolutely, John! I have always believed that to be true (I am a Christian, btw..)
      Deb
13. john 13

    1 December 2010 at 5:20 pm

    http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=23228
    Refer above link:Casino Capitalism wants the ordinary people of Ireland to pay for its bets gone sour:they shouldn’t. Even Krugman establishment economist of the New York Times says they shouldn’t.

    Ireland rises up against EU cuts100,000 protest in the snow filled streets of Dublin. Reminds me of the scene in Doctor Zhivago when protesters were ridden down by the czar’s
    cavalry. Fortunately they’ll only be ignored here, but there’s almost a revolution against the extortion being exacted against every Irish person,

    “Pat Condon and his two sons Manus and Kevin came with a homemade placard that read, “RIP Ireland”.
    “I’m a nurse and I’ve spent 15 years on the frontline,” said Mary. “I’d already got rid of the landline phone, and this week I’ve put a stop to the Sky television too.

    “The budget is undermining everything we have. If we just lay down, we’ll be walked over.”

    Liam added quietly, “It’s time for the government to go. That’s all there is to it.”
    Deidre from the Finglas division of the Senior Citizens Parliament said, “We need to stand up to the bankers, but most of all the crooked politicians who have destroyed this country.”
14. Draco T Bastard 14

    1 December 2010 at 5:34 pm

    Idaho prison guards ‘filmed watching inmate attack

    Prison surveillance cameras in Idaho have captured footage of one inmate beating another prisoner, while guards looked on, AP news agency has reported.

    Such great administration from the private sector.

    “Public release of the video poses an unnecessary security risk to our staff, the inmates entrusted to our care and ultimately to the public,” CCA said in a statement.

    Which really means that they’ll have a harder time convincing the judges and lawyers to find in their favour because if the judges and lawyers do then the people are likely to draw conclusions that they’re corrupt.

    Transparency – holding the psychopaths to account.
15. Jellytussle 15

    1 December 2010 at 5:57 pm

    Boot Camps……A 17 year old daughter of a friend of mine was offered the choice between 5 days at boot camp and then straight onto a version of the dole or having to do several work courses spread over a few weeks before getting the dole. Of course she choose the quick option.
    Two days in she’d had enough and wanted out. There was massive pressure against quitting and she ended up slashing her wrists!!
    • Vicky32 15.1

      1 December 2010 at 6:17 pm

      Oh no! Jellytussle, is she all right? She didn’t die did she?
      Deb
      • Jellytussle 15.1.1

        1 December 2010 at 6:25 pm

        Not at all. It was her way of making a point that she wanted to go.
16. Vicky32 16

    1 December 2010 at 6:29 pm

    The rape allegations against Julian Assange have come up again, as Hil’ry Berry on 3 News joyfully introduces an item (voiced by an American woman, unnamed) about Interpol having issued an arrest warrant – he’s “in hiding” says Hil’ry.
    I am confused. I first read of the rape allegations in Corriere della Sera more than 3 months ago, then an Italian friend sent me an item from a Swedish paper (in English) saying that all the charges had been withdrawn). So, what on earth gives?
    Of course he’s in hiding – duh! Wouldn’t you be? With the likes of Sarah Palin and other American government wonks demanding Assange be declared a “terrorist”…
    • Colonial Viper 16.1

      2 December 2010 at 9:24 am

      Italian friend sent me an item from a Swedish paper (in English) saying that all the charges had been withdrawn). So, what on earth gives?

      Guess we’ll find out when the next lot of leaked diplomatic cables gets released 😛

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1. The Standard: posted on 30 November 2010 at 5:02 pm

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