Open mike 02/07/2011

58 comments on “Open mike 02/07/2011 ”

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1. tsmithfield 1

   2 July 2011 at 7:52 am

   Jafa pussies

   From the article:

   “Spudmasher said: “State of emergency declared in Auckland after 2.9 earthquake disturbs glasses of pinot and causes machiatos to spill over cup tops.”

   And

   “TheDimsBand said: “Harden up Auckland. Stop going on about a magnitude 2.9 quake like it’s news.”

   We don’t even notice anything under a 4 here in ChCh anymore.

   🙂
   • kriswgtn 1.1

     2 July 2011 at 7:55 am

     lol @ “Spudmasher said: “State of emergency declared in Auckland after 2.9 earthquake disturbs glasses of pinot and causes machiatos to spill over cup tops.”

     thats bout the state of it
     • Tigger 1.1.1

       2 July 2011 at 8:43 am

       “Jane Watson of Pt Chevalier said it was enough to make the remotes move on the coffee table.”

       Oooooh, better declare that building a no-go zone unless you’re Key or someone he wants to be filmed with.
       • Vicky32 1.1.1.1

         3 July 2011 at 5:40 pm

         It’s hilarious really… I noticed it, and thought I had imagined it and got on with life…. 😀
   • Lanthanide 1.2

     2 July 2011 at 10:26 am

     This is the saddest one: “Duncan Milne said: “The magnitude 2.9 earthquake was certainly felt out in Saint Heliers tonight. All the neighbours came out onto the street wondering what was going on. It felt like a truck drove into the house!”

     Really? Unless this quake lasted like 5+ seconds, which I seriously doubt, wouldn’t anyone with a clue just go “well, that was a little quake” and then forget about it? I know we had a small quake earlier in 2010 or maybe 2009 (all I remember is it was winter), must’ve been around 3.0-3.5, made the lights swing and the other flatmates in the house were like “was that an earthquake?” and I said yes. That was the end of it. Don’t think it was even reported in the news.
     • ianmac 1.2.1

       2 July 2011 at 10:39 am

       Remember the hooha when Auckland lost electricity for a few hours. In Christchurch some lost it for weeks. A matter of degree I suppose. In some countries they loose house, food, water etc for years. Count our blessings.
       • lprent 1.2.1.1

         2 July 2011 at 11:17 am

         You mean in 1998? I had just moved into my new apartment, and the frigging power started going on and off like a yoyo. My computer systems kept rebooting with windows blue screens until I did a highly expensive purchase of a couple of ups’es. This went on for weeks. That is when you find out how uninhabitable apartments are without power.

         Not as bad as ChCh, not exactly the most fun either.
     • felix 1.2.2

       2 July 2011 at 11:51 am

       wouldn’t anyone with a clue just go “well, that was a little quake” and then forget about it?

       If they knew what earthquakes felt like, yeah. But a lot of people in Ak have never felt one.
       • Lanthanide 1.2.2.1

         2 July 2011 at 12:34 pm

         The one I mentioned in my post, from 2009 or 2010, was only about the 2nd or 3rd quake I’d ever felt (the prior one to that being a 6.3M some distance off when I was 10 or so, nothing at all like what we’ve had recently). I didn’t rush out and find out what the neighbours were up to…
         • felix 1.2.2.1.1

           2 July 2011 at 2:54 pm

           Yeah, which is exactly what I was pointing out.

           You’ve felt a few, many in Ak have never felt any.
           • Lanthanide 1.2.2.1.1.1

             2 July 2011 at 6:29 pm

             IMO, not having felt the biggish one when I was 10 wouldn’t have made any difference to how I reacted to feeling the 3 to 3.5M that I later felt in my 20’s
             • felix …

               3 July 2011 at 7:38 am

               I’ve seen this reasoning from you before, Lanth.

               You seem to think that completely different experiences can be compared and equated.

               What was that big long dumb argument you had here a while back? About how you could relate to rape victims because you lost a sandwich or something?

               Well you’re doing it again. You can’t say say you’ve been experiencing earthquakes since you were a child and expect people who haven’t to share your perspective.

               This one’s not all about you.
           • Kiwiiano 1.2.2.1.1.2

             2 July 2011 at 10:26 pm

             Quoting Felix “You’ve felt a few, many in Ak have never felt any”

             That’s precisely the point. Quakes are unusual in Auckland, they’re further away from the plate boundary, so a 2.9 is news.
             Note also that’ll be the Richter reading, what counts is the Modified Mercalli value, that indicates what people felt. Judging by the numbers quoted at QuakeLive, a 2.9 is equivalent to around 300-500kg of TNT going off a few km below you. Unsettling if you’re not used to it.

             Note also that today, Saturday, is the first day since September that ChCh has had NO earthquakes recorded*, with only 6 (all under 3.5) yesterday. Ken Ring really bummed out on this one.

             *He said at 10.24pm with fingers firmly crossed. Last time I made that prediction we had a real thumper around 10.45pm…..
             • Lanthanide …

               2 July 2011 at 11:12 pm

               Can you forward Ken Ring’s comments and wherever it is that he’s made them, on to Nick Smith please?

               Nick threatened Ken with the riot act if he started talking about quakes again. I’d like to see that threat carried out.
               • Kiwiiano …

                 3 July 2011 at 7:50 am

                 Done. It was in this Wednesday’s Star. Barry Clarke, the editor needs a rark up.

                 We did make it through to midnight with no quakes, so it’s a new record. YAAAAAAYY!!
                 • Paul …

                   6 July 2011 at 12:30 am

                   The Star editor wasn’t aware that Ring made a prediction. I emailed Ring after I heard his interview on NewsTalk ZB Christchurch. I challenged him over a number of facts he stated in the interview.

                   The Dusky Sound (Fiordland) quake of 15 July 2009 being an 8 pointer
                   Banks Island not being a Peninsular

                   To quote Ring: “As to the Te Anau event, some have said it was 8.4. There are many interpretations of these. On 20 March there was a 7-mag, but this was not reported. I have the screen shot as proof”.

                   According to Ring, Banks Island became a peninsular because of an earthquake and not because of an error made by Captain James Cook. He provided a map of the ‘Colony of New Zealand’ that was supposed to be drawn by someone other than Cook as proof. The image is too small to be of any use.

                   He also said he was ‘misquoted’ in the Star article.

                   Ring is clearly someone who is incapable of accepting responsibility for his own actions.
           • Vicky32 1.2.2.1.1.3

             3 July 2011 at 5:49 pm

             I am in Auckland, but I grew up in Rotorua and lived in Welly during a swarm, I know earthquakes. Auckland’s 2.9 was nothing! However the Herald story said that the last noticeable Auckland quake was in the 19th century, and so I sort of understand how the Aucklanders feel…
   • Draco T Bastard 1.3

     2 July 2011 at 11:34 am

     Meh, didn’t notice it until it came up on twitter. Pretty sure you’ll find most of Auckland didn’t.
     • mickysavage 1.3.1

       2 July 2011 at 2:38 pm

       I did not feel a thing.  Mind you we are extra tough out west …
       • Carol 1.3.1.1

         2 July 2011 at 5:50 pm

         No, I didnt feel it out west either. Nor did anyone I know as far as I’m aware, including people in other parts of the city. It is news worthy because it’s unusual for Auckland, but I really don’t think anyone but a few drama queens & kings got that excited about it: some people who like to get attention on Twitter etc. No-one a work today even mentioned it.

         I lived in Christchurch for a couple of years & experienced a few jolts & rumbles, so a 2.9 wouldn’t phase me.

         This op ed piece just about says it for me.

         http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10735914
         • Anne 1.3.1.1.1

           2 July 2011 at 7:07 pm

           T-shirt doing the rounds ” I survived Auckland’s 2.9 earthquake”. Hilarious.
           • mickysavage 1.3.1.1.1.1

             2 July 2011 at 7:20 pm

             I would not wear it in Christchurch ; )
             • Anne …

               2 July 2011 at 7:21 pm

               Agree ms. It’s a Jafa piss-take of course, but not likely to be funny to most Cantabrians and rightly so.
               • Paul …

                 7 July 2011 at 6:35 pm

                 I’m from Christchurch, I find it funny considering what we have been through. The idea is a rip off from the 1989  Loma Prieta earthquake. There is a tee shirt for sale on EBay.
                 
                 
             • Draco T Bastard …

               2 July 2011 at 7:35 pm

               I would but only if it had:

               …the resultant media storm almost got me.

               on the back.
             • felix …

               3 July 2011 at 7:39 am

               “I would not wear it in Christchurch ; )”

               True, they’re not too smart down there.
             • KJT …

               3 July 2011 at 5:45 pm

               Why not! Some of the best earthquake jokes I have heard have been from Christchurch and Lyttelton residents.

               Like. The barbershop is open. But! you have to wear a hard hat.
   • Deadly_NZ 1.4

     2 July 2011 at 4:13 pm

     Even in the lower half of the NI we don’t worry unless it’s better than a 4. What a bunch of girls all running around like headless chooks at a measly 2.9. State of Emergency??? More like a State of Hysteria. Bloody Pussies.
     • Susan 1.4.1

       2 July 2011 at 6:58 pm

       Wouldn’t the girls have all been at home having their periods?
       • mickysavage 1.4.1.1

         2 July 2011 at 7:21 pm

         +1
2. logie97 2

   2 July 2011 at 7:59 am

   SCF

   Was the speed of the bailout par for the course?
   Is the SFO prosecution going to enlighten us?
   Just who benefitted from the bailout?
   • Ianupnorth 2.1

     2 July 2011 at 9:14 am

     The report will find those paid out were (of course) “mum and dad investors” certainly not rich businessmen who are prepared to be gallant and brave and “take a risk for financial gain”
3. chris73 3

   2 July 2011 at 10:37 am

   http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/5223660/Strauss-Kahn-twist-change-stakes-in-France

   Released without bail and bond returned…interesting development
   • ianupnorth 3.1

     2 July 2011 at 1:04 pm

     Money talks
     • chris73 3.1.1

       2 July 2011 at 11:52 pm

       Of course it must be because of money how silly of me…so why did it get as far as the courts in the first place
       • uke 3.1.1.1

         3 July 2011 at 9:48 am

         “why did it get as far as the courts in the first place”
          
         Apparently, the police knew that accuser was not a credible witness from the start (second day) – but pursued the charges anyway. Under US media and political pressure, Strauss-Khan was subsequently forced to resign from the IMF and French political race. Practical politics in action, US-style.
         • chris73 3.1.1.1.1

           3 July 2011 at 10:49 am

           So IF this guy is found to be innocent will all the rabid left-wingers that declared him guilty preform a mea culpa and say “we were wrong”

           I bet not
           • uke 3.1.1.1.1.1

             3 July 2011 at 6:14 pm

             Yes, there’s multiple ironies going on in this case.
           • rosy 3.1.1.1.1.2

             3 July 2011 at 6:18 pm

             He won’t be found innocent. This man has form in going after women, but he may very well get away with a ‘not guilty’ beyond reasonable doubt because he can slag the witness all he likes, or he has a ‘no case to answer’ for the same reason. A thoughtful commentary on the ramifications of this case by Eve Ensler here

             Anyway you’ve got it wrong – French socialists seem keen to have him back.
         • just saying 3.1.1.1.2

           3 July 2011 at 7:21 pm

           okay

           So if you are a rapist you pick victims with little or no credibility. Because these people just can’t be raped in the eyes of people like you. You can rape with impunity – make a lifestyle out of it, and never have to face any consequences.

           Don’t you think many rapists realise this.
           • uke 3.1.1.1.2.1

             3 July 2011 at 9:30 pm

             One might also say Strauss-Kahn – whether or not he is guilty – is a rape suspect without much credibility (eg. his past reputation as reported extensively in the media). Therefore, easy to condemn by American RWNJ and be forced from his job.
             • just saying …

               3 July 2011 at 9:52 pm

               So,
               (allegedly) low credibility + high power, money, and influence,
               versus,
               low credibility + no power, money or influence.

               Yeah, that’s the same thing.
               • chris73 …

                 4 July 2011 at 7:47 am

                 Or how about innocent until proven guilty
   • rosy 3.2

     2 July 2011 at 9:40 pm

     Little mention of the credibility of the defendant.
4. adriank 4

   2 July 2011 at 10:57 am

   Not inspired by anything in particular other than our horrible government but this song by Jarvis never gets any less accurate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRGGbyZzuTg
5. Purplescottie 5

   2 July 2011 at 11:12 am

   A good read.

   http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/06/from-the-hood-the-antipodean-nights-entertainments/
6. johnm 6

   2 July 2011 at 12:36 pm

   This article is a painfully clear explanation of the disaster of Neo-Liberalism in the U$: Privatizations, skewing the tax system to make the rich richer. America went from being a happy optimistic place where the everyman could realise the “American Dream” to the current feudalistic serfs and Barons system.When I first came to NZ in 1979 everyman could buy a house easily-now young everyman can’t buy diddly squat largely due to the greed of the banks writing out cheques out of thin air, fiat currency, so that already well off people can buy more houses that wage slaves pay the mortgages on and then the landlord (A feudal term!) cashes in on the capital gain fuelled by the ponzi scheme fostered by the banks and the Politicians who won’t charge a capital gain tax ’cause they’re in on the rort as well! GREED! Result a huge housing price bubble.
   ]
   “How Greed Destroys America
   If the “free-market” theories of Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman were correct, the United States of the last three decades should have experienced a golden age in which the lavish rewards flowing to the titans of industry would have transformed the society into a vibrant force for beneficial progress.

   After all, it has been faith in “free-market economics” as a kind of secular religion that has driven U.S. government policies – from the emergence of Ronald Reagan through the neo-liberalism of Bill Clinton into the brave new world of House Republican budget chairman Paul Ryan.

   By slashing income tax rates to historically low levels – and only slightly boosting them under President Clinton before dropping them again under George W. Bush – the U.S. government essentially incentivized greed or what Ayn Rand liked to call “the virtue of selfishness.”

   Refer below this article covers Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand( Yes,that one that Perigo looks up to with ecstatic feelings, his website http://www.solopassion.com(You bet it’s solo!)) One insight: The herd requires medicaid a social service Rand despises in her philosophy-keeps the dead weight of weaklings alive! YET WHEN SHE WAS DYING OF LUNG CANCER SHE GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED MEDICAID!

   My point is that ACTnat are continuing to follow this totally trashed eco-social system though the rest of the World knows it’s a selfserving system for the selfish superior rich types in our society.

   http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/06/28-12

   If John Key sells his house in Hawaii and puts the proceeds into the reconstruct CHCH kitty I’ll vote for him! He will have put the welfare of his fellow NewZealnders above greed, however I think he subscribes to the Yank system “grab as much as you can and it’s yours”!
7. ianupnorth 7

   2 July 2011 at 12:41 pm

   Transparency????
   Found an interesting offering on the GETS website this morning – a role for a “Tertiary Education Specialist”; what interested me was the minutiae of the detail “A Wellington based consultant”

   The Tertiary Education Commission Te Amorangi Mātauranga Matua (“Tertiary Education Commission”) wishes to engage an individual contractor capable of providing a Wellington based service offering specialised project support and guidance to senior management in relation to the key areas of performance based research funding and industry training organisations.

   In addition they ask a curriculum vitae – not a portfolio of work done in this area, not information regarding any business that the ‘expert’ may have or work for.

   So, are the various Ministries now being ‘selective‘ in whole they choose to appoint for government contracts (e.g. the decision is already made, but they are covering their backs HR wise)
   • rosy 7.1

     2 July 2011 at 9:36 pm

     This is why they can reduce the public service – no need for policy analysts, everything can be done by consultants with a scope based on gut instinct rather than research.
     • Colonial Viper 7.1.1

       3 July 2011 at 7:26 pm

       Well, I suspect the consultants get a scope based on what the Government has already decided it wants to do.

       This is why they can reduce the public service

       They preferentially take out anyone who has had more than 10 years experience, and leave behind complaint, inexperienced, easily led grads with only a few years behind them in the work force.
8. ianupnorth 8

   2 July 2011 at 1:09 pm

   This is going to be a priceless insight when it comes out; the extract also shows how Prince Charles views farmers and ordinary working people
   http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jul/01/alastair-campbell-diaries-blair-prince-charles
9. randal 9

   2 July 2011 at 7:29 pm

   I see boy racers are making a comeback. why aren’t the National government doing something about the resurgence of this nasty plague of defiant little shits on our roads and in our communities.
   • Bob 9.1

     2 July 2011 at 8:24 pm

     Randal It could be that they also have batches on the coro peninsula and need to get to them in great haste , Sod the speed limits thru small villages on the way , sod the blind corners WHERE you cant over take , sod the fact you drive so fast that the boat or trailer is well over the white line , in fact sod the locals cos they dont count because the [older ] boy racers need to get to the batch to go kayaking , biking , swimming , fishing ……… yes why are National not doing anything about this ?
   • ZeeBop 9.2

     3 July 2011 at 1:45 am

     Young people are cut off from house ownership by the lack of a CGT, and well paying jobs, and the brighter ones have already left for overseas. Also NZ is a clingy nation, odd things like beep their horns even though they know their family back inside knows their leaving. And yes, they do this at 2am without any care too. Its simple, its a break down in the fair go attitude, do a good turn and so pay it forward. Doesn’t happen any more, why be quiet at 2 am? What’s the point?
     Young people, poor people, the great mass of people are beaten up by MSM to provide for the wealthy few to get richer, when everyone keeps voting for the more ‘help the rich’.. Why exactly would they care about the voters trying to get a good night sleep who work in the morning? Ots all for one and one for one.

     Also I believe it has a lot to do with student loans, which effective subsidize the boy racer theme, buy a cheap second hand car (many people are dumping cars on the market to make cuts) but students don’t have kids to feed, and then add sub woofer under the bonnet so that the whole road gets blasted, and everyone can hear the car coming before they see it. Its far too easy to get people into education and then they run up loans, a basic subsidy to create a serf class of indentured employees.

     National can’t anything about it, rebuild people’s confidence in society, that would cost too much, think about the losses of profit to the top 2%.
10. Alice 10

    3 July 2011 at 6:09 pm

    Don’t worry about earthquakes – I am not worrying about it.

    I don’t think we need to worry about an earthquake happening in Auckland, and if one did occur it would not affect you or me, our lives are already mapped out and your not going to die in an earthquake, improve yourself, work well, and you ‘will’ be fine AND you ‘will’ live to an old age.

    I promise.

    It was a little weird that we had one, but I doubt it will come to anything, it is just my Mother having a grumble- at me, I suspect.
11. randal 11

    3 July 2011 at 9:23 pm

    hey bob the fact ot the matter is that national have to do something about everything but they are incompetent and scared the boy racers can get out their kayaks and stuff them up the national partys collective dialectical backside. that would really hurt.
12. randal 12

    3 July 2011 at 9:25 pm

    andf anyway national are the partyy of business so the party back room boys must be busy scheming up ways to make shitloads of money for everyone and we can go back to having a real good time. peeed out and everyfing.
    you betcha.
    so where is john keys?
    having a few bongs in India?
    indeed.
    always knew he was a hippy.
13. Alice 13

    3 July 2011 at 10:12 pm

    Powerful?- You are so powerful that every time you do something you destroy yourself.

    How is that powerful?

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