Open mike 10/10/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 10th, 2011 - 52 comments
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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Step right up to the mike…

52 comments on “Open mike 10/10/2011 ”

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  1. tc 1
    10 October 2011 at 7:46 am

    With the MMP referrendum questions what happens if you vote to retain it in Part A and don’t vote in Part B because that’s simply ignoring my answer to Part A….don’t dick with it.

    counted or invalid? If I want it, why should I have to give them an option to play with.

  2. mickysavage 2
    10 October 2011 at 8:12 am

    Can anyone tell me if the photo in this Herald article on Don Brash is one of him near the Speaker in Parliament?  Is the Herald pulling a sneaky one?  I presume this also breaches standing orders.
     
     

  3. aerobubble 3
    10 October 2011 at 9:24 am

    Norway govt. What’s Port Arthur Massacre? Could not happen in Norway!
    Ch.Ch Council. What’s Liquidifaction? Could not happen in ChCh!
    Pike River Coal Mine. Safety standards?
    Are public servants are not required to own the problem any more?

    • Campbell Larsen 3.1
      10 October 2011 at 10:36 am

      Bubble – I think laying the blame at the feet of the Govt in Norway for the massacre is unfair to say the least. The only way to prevent extremists entirely is to remove entirely the freedoms which are vital to a healthy society. Norway has courageously decided against allowing one mans horrendous actions to compromise the trust and liberty which are more precious still than even the many young lives that were lost.
      Christchurch City Council – why are you taking a stab at them? Assessments after the Feb 22nd quake found that they are by no means the only city that has buildings which are vulnerable to quake damage – has it got anything to do with greedy Gerrys possible bid to replace the christchurch city council with commissioners? Are you suggesting that the council is somehow responsible? I disagree – but note that this is possibly a line of reasoning that jabba brownlee will use go justify selling council assets to pay for the rebuild.
      Pike River Coal Mine – let’s not forget who reduced the number of inspectors ie the government – it’s a bit harsh to blame public servants isn’t it? Have you had a bad experience or are you just ideologically opposed? Or when you say public servants do you mean the government?

      • Campbell Larsen 3.1.1
        10 October 2011 at 1:42 pm

        – EDIT –
        this is a line of reasoning that Nick Smith will use to justify wresting control of RMA out of the mouths of the Trout and Salmon who in a diabolical plot are forcing us to build in earthquake/ volcano/ tsunami/ flood prone areas [pretty much the whole country no?]

        http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/87859/govt-using-quakes-to-weaken-rma-eds
        http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/87731/consent-changes-needed-over-other-hazards-minster

      • aerobubble 3.1.2
        12 October 2011 at 10:05 am

        Port Arthur a lone gun man shot dozens? Globally governments should have
        instituted policies that allowed quick reaction squad to deploy. Like the fire
        department. The fact that the Norway government could not get a chopper
        into the air in time…

        Pike river safety was flawed. Government removed the regulations.

        A ship now spews oil into the Bay of plenty.

        Governments are there to provide fire fighters, police with guns, ensure
        safety in mines, and yes even stop developers building on liquidifiable
        sandy water logged soils.

        Less of course we just do away with government since that is
        what it is supposed to do with our taxes, connect the dots.

        I don’t blame Norway for a crazed man, i blame Norway for
        thinking it could not happen. Plan for the worse, hope for the best.
        Governments that don’t plan for the worse aren’t worth my vote,
        and have earnt my contempt. Norways police minister should have
        resigned.

        Thats how civil servents show leadership. Bennett should resign
        over child poverty.

        • Campbell Larsen 3.1.2.1
          12 October 2011 at 10:45 am

          “Globally governments should have instituted policies that allowed quick reaction squad to deploy”
          What like Team America World Police!!?
          Don’t worry Bubble after the last drone assassination of a US citizen abroad it looks like that plan already being put in place…
          “Governments are there to provide …. Police with guns..”
          WTF – yeah sure arming everyone up to the eyeballs is guaranteed to usher in a new era of peace /sarc
          How about we stop glorifying violence and war and actually try and create caring, just and equitable societies in which instances of mental illness and rebellion are less likely to occur instead of ‘preparing for the worst’ and attempting to crush problems with an iron boot.
          I struggle to connect your dots Bubble – you have once again confused ‘civil servant’ with ‘minister’
          It is an important distinction when there is an active campaign by some in NZ to discredit the public service – by all means hold the minister to account, but blaming the public service is just passing the buck.
          Maybe a little bit confused is just your style – but when your comments are littered with little innuendos like the above I start to feel like you are just using confusion to disguise an agenda.
          But hey, benefit of the doubt and all that…

  4. Arthur 4
    10 October 2011 at 9:44 am

    National. Now a cult.

  5. logie97 5
    10 October 2011 at 10:06 am

    This from the RNZ web site …

    “Afternoons with Jim Mora is a programme based on the daring proposition that people are capable of thinking in the afternoon as well as in the morning. This show aims to banish post-prandial torpor with lots of audience interactivity.”

    So while they are on the subject of balance, how have they allowed Farrar, Corbett, Gibson, Franks and Bishop to name but a few, and all with political axes to grind, to be heard occasionally on the show together?

  6. Lanthanide 6
    10 October 2011 at 10:56 am

    Here’s an interesting story:

    “Red-tape is good for businesses.

    It’s a notion that many businesses would heartily disagree with, but a Massey University researcher has challenged the prevailing belief that resource consent processes create hefty compliance costs.”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5759689/Red-tape-good-for-business

    As the story says, there’s a first-mover advantage. This makes sense, of course. Because the resource consent process takes so long and costs so much, smaller companies are effectively locked out of the process. This also helps to create artificial scarcity of whatever is being sought, making it all the more valuable once it’s actually granted.

  7. joe90 7
    10 October 2011 at 10:57 am

    Has Big Brother arrived?.

    Summary: A well-established group of German hackers has accused the German government of releasing a backdoor Trojan into the wild. Security firm F-Secure has confirmed that the program includes a keylogger and code that can take screenshots and record audio.

  8. randal 8
    10 October 2011 at 11:15 am

    none of this matters all that much.
    this is a bad luck government and they are about to disappear back into the oblivion from whence they came.

    • Treetop 8.1
      10 October 2011 at 1:38 pm

      Yeah government is like a magnet when it comes to attracting natural disasters. I’ m just waiting for a tornado to hit the beehive.

  10. AAMC 10
    10 October 2011 at 11:41 am

    If you haven’t signed in solidarity yet, it’s almost at 500k signatures.

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_world_vs_wall_st/?cl=1314986537&v=10623

    Livestreams from all #occupy actions, consolidated into one page, amazing..

    http://occupymanifesto.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=chat

    Nice analysis of the horizontal democracy and 21st century social network fueled movement as expressed by #occupyeverywhere

    http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/05/opinion/rushkoff-occupy-wall-street/index.html

  11. Draco T Bastard 11
    10 October 2011 at 11:43 am

    The electoral commission has the referendum site up. It has a question on it:

    Which voting system is right for me?

    Which is completely the wrong question. It should be:

    Which voting system is right for the country?

    The first question orients upon the selfishness that has become endemic to our society over the last three decades and which has caused massive poverty and inequality both of which are bad for the country. We need to get away from thinking as pure individuals and back to thinking as individuals within a society.

  12. PJ 12
    10 October 2011 at 12:37 pm

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10757576

    “Finance Minister Bill English said New Zealand would need to run sustained current account surpluses and spend less than it earned. It would have to stop borrowing overseas and selling assets to foreigners.”

    – Voting for Labour then are we Bill?

    • Lanthanide 12.1
      10 October 2011 at 12:59 pm

      Nah, it’s a private debt problem. The government, being public, can sell off all the assets it wants overseas.

      Or, alternatively:
      The government is going to sell their public assets to private NZ citizens. If they then choose to sell the assets overseas, it’s a problem the private citizens have created and not the government’s fault.

  13. freedom 13
    10 October 2011 at 1:12 pm

    As a small distraction to the lies of our Government we return to the lies of the real experts.

    A new and well organised resource for those wanting to understand the basic points of reality that so many have trouble coming to terms with. Originally conceived as a mechanism to assist the media in engaging on 9/11 issues, it is useful for all people. Don’t let fear destroy truth.
    http://www.consensus911.org/

  15. thejackal 15
    10 October 2011 at 1:17 pm

    Occupy Movement Gains Momentum

    Being that the Mainstream media has done very little reporting on the topic, you’d be excused for not knowing that there’s a huge groundswell of free people around the world protesting against the current destructive system. People are simply fed up with the corporate agenda, and have started to organize en mass to express their wish for positive change…

    • Treetop 15.1
      10 October 2011 at 1:45 pm

      Those marching against corporate fraud are going to be a group to be reckoned with (day of reckoning) by the time the next election is in the USA.

  16. randal 16
    10 October 2011 at 1:19 pm

    Why are national using the same billboards they used last election? either they are cheapskate chisellers or they think Kiwis are so dumb that they wont remember. btw it says “building a better future”. Well they have had three years. Whats gone wrong?
    Oh I know. they meant building a better future for themselves after they sell the states assets and piss off to hawaii or somewhere.

    • Treetop 16.1
      10 October 2011 at 1:51 pm

      “building a better future” Whats gone wrong?

      Nothings gone wrong if you are in the top 25% of income earners.

      • KJT 16.1.1
        10 October 2011 at 2:52 pm

        Yes it has. Don’t like seeing friends, students and my kids wondering if they have a future here.

      • Colonial Viper 16.1.2
        10 October 2011 at 8:09 pm

        Nothings gone wrong if you are in the top 25% of income earners.

        You don’t even need to be on $60K pa to hit the top 25% in this shitty tin pot little economy. And trust me $60K pa is not comfortable living by any means, in any of the big cities, raising a family. It is still a penny pinching week by week, bill by bill existence.

        A lot of people around that pay mark have had to leave NZ due to a lack of opportunities; and the public sector has had many workers around that pay grade laid off.

        We should understand something from the OCCUPY protests against Global Bankster Occupation.

        This is not about the top 25%, or even the top 10%.

        This is about the top 1% against the other 99%. And if I were being serious about it, we are probably talking about the top half of the top 1% who are the real pricks driving our country off the edge. Not all of them, but too many of them.

        • Treetop 16.1.2.1
          11 October 2011 at 5:45 pm

          I know that 60 K is not a lot. To have said the top 10% may have been more reasonable. The ones I worry about are the families on 25 K.

        • Misanthropic Curmudgeon 16.1.2.2
          13 October 2011 at 6:14 pm

          $60kpa was enough for the previous government to consider you a “rich prick” worthy of the top tax rate.

          • lprent 16.1.2.2.1
            13 October 2011 at 6:17 pm

            $60kpa was enough for the previous government to consider you a “rich prick” worthy of the top tax rate.

            The current government seems to think that you deserve the top tax rate at what? 30k or so. How does that figure in your strange wee world of idiotic troll statements

            Not to mention of course the rich prick remark was made to a single person John Key (who in all likelihood is now paying more tax as PM than he ever has before) and not to generally people on the highest tax rate.

            I guess you never bother think through these idiotic statements before you make them? Perhaps you should shock yourself and do so. It will make you look a little less like a wanker boasting about the fingers you have known.

            • higherstandard 16.1.2.2.1.1
              13 October 2011 at 6:22 pm

              Top personal tax rate kicks in at 70k

              • lprent …
                13 October 2011 at 6:27 pm

                Ummm I was robbed – the nasty National government hasn’t given me my tax cut they promised so I’d be like all of the other peasants (despite earning 5x as much).

                You’re right of course – they failed to do the second taxcut because there wasn’t enough money in the kitty after they gave it away to the wealthy (like John Key) in the first tax cuts.

                I was mostly pointing out that his statements were essentially meaningless.

                • higherstandard …
                  13 October 2011 at 6:28 pm

                  Bad day at work ?

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    13 October 2011 at 6:33 pm

                    typical Tory tactic of blaming the woman for being emotional and therefore irrelevant

                  • lprent …
                    13 October 2011 at 6:57 pm

                    Nope. Work was good. Finally froze the feature set and switched from adding features to killing the list of 15 or so pretty easy bugs (and I have weeks to do it). Now I will have more time to concentrate on things outside of work.

                    Irritating lack of sleep last night – woke up, failed to get back to sleep, and so got up and spent 4 hours updating my plugin for this site with the multiple google analytics accounts (ours and several for advertisers) to run asynchronously. It has been overdue for a 4 months of so since google finally managed to stabilize that system (and produce usable docs).

                    Being short of 4 hours of sleep tends to bring out the sarcasm in me when I encounter blatant stupidity, as well as getting a bit vague on the memory access.

  17. thejackal 17
    10 October 2011 at 1:51 pm

    Globs of thick black oil started washing up on beaches early this morning. Where are the clean up crews to ensure it doesn’t get washed back into the ocean?

    You can keep up to date by visiting this FB page: MV Rena Response Monitoring & Action Group

  18. freedom 18
    10 October 2011 at 3:08 pm

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/dave-armstrong/5758653/Why-shouldn-t-John-Key-say-pricktuss

    only Dave Armstrong could equate a bribe to a media company whose pricipal business is the selling of advertising space with the building of affordable housing for families

  19. William Joyce 19
    10 October 2011 at 5:07 pm

    RENA riddled with problems and Maritime New Zealand knew about it in Sep 28

    The Maritime Union claims the Rena was riddled with problems, including issues with its charts, which could explain how it ended up getting stuck on a Tauranga reef.
    The union released a statement today, claiming Maritime New Zealand found multiple deficiencies with the cargo vessel when it carried out an inspection on the ship in Bluff on September 28.
    Prime Minister John Key is calling for answers on how the Liberian-flagged 235m vessel became stuck on the reef in the early hours of October 5.
    The Maritime Union says it has information that the Rena had many deficiencies, including problems with its charts, “a possible clue as to how the vessel may have ended up running into the Astrolabe Reef at top speed”……….
    Fleetwood said many of these deficiencies were similar to problems reported by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority during inspections of the Rena in Australia.

    • tc 19.1
      10 October 2011 at 5:52 pm

      We have a monitored shipping lanes and Rena was going from Napier to Tauranga….what action was taken once she strayed out of the lane ?
      We don’t leave foreign ships to just wander up and down the country FFS…..take a look closer at perhaps a port authority, all to easy to blame the boat etc but don’t we have systems to mitigate for this.

  20. prism 20
    10 October 2011 at 6:37 pm

    A radionz piece on passing laws under emergency has speech clip from someone saying “We’re here to do things, to get on with it.” Think it is Simon Power. Attempting another Roger Douglas spectacular by the sounds of it – keep things moving and don’t give people time to think and protest and don’t worry about democratic conventions and thinking through the problem.

  21. thejackal 21
    10 October 2011 at 7:08 pm

    Just a heads up people. Please don’t touch the toxic oil that is washing up on Bay of Plenty Beaches with your bare skin.

    The Price of Oil

    Representatives from some of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world met in Wellington on the 3rd of October, to promote new deep sea oil exploration and drilling in New Zealand’s frontier basins…

    • Vicky32 21.1
      11 October 2011 at 8:17 pm

      Just a heads up people. Please don’t touch the toxic oil that is washing up on Bay of Plenty Beaches with your bare skin.

      I heard that on Radio New Zealand this morning and didn’t believe my ears!

  22. Penny Bright 22
    10 October 2011 at 8:57 pm

    FYI folks!

    (Lindsay Fergusson was a former NZ Business Round Table ‘heavyweight’.)

    http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/key-denies-throwing-act-epsom-lifeline-ne-102211#comment-208590

    Key denies throwing Act an Epsom lifeline
    Rob Hosking | Monday October 10, 2011 | 7 comments

    Comments and questions

    ACT are history …the two previous votes for Rodney were protest votes against the pathetic non existant offering of Richard whats his face useless..Epsom voters dont want a tired old ‘John’ ..so we will give the new kid a go as hes fresh faced with a bit of mojo!
    dukep | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 4:52pm
    ___________________________________________________________________________

    Well said dukep
    Yep thats my thoughts TOO
    Thats how we will be voting
    Fed up with the ongoing shananigins

    GO THE ALL BLACKS
    Willy Wonka | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:12pm
    __________________________________________________________________________

    In response to dukep | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 4:52pm

    Then I hope you are looking forward to a Labour lead coalition of losers as the next Government, with increased taxes, a capital gains tax, increased spending and increased borrowing – because that is the outcome if Epsom voters don’t vote tactically for John Banks.
    Lindsay Fergusson | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:17pm
    __________________________________________________________________________

    In response to Lindsay Fergusson | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:17pm

    don’t forget the land tax…and increased rates….oh…and double the emissions scam tax…
    Anonymous | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:48pm
    __________________________________________________________________________

    In response to Lindsay Fergusson | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:17pm

    And the fire and brimstone too, obviously.

    We much prefer spin to reality these days, especially where the economy and the lifeblood of businesses are concerned.
    Anonymous | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 6:04pm
    __________________________________________________________________________
    In response to Anonymous | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 5:48pm

    ….and the Maori party holding balance of power…..
    Ralph | Monday, October 10, 2011 – 8:04pm
    __________________________________________________________________________
    @ Lindsay Fergusson

    Do YOU think that John Banks and Don Brash should be charged as former Directors, for untrue statements in Registered Prospectuses for Huljich Wealth Management (NZ) Ltd, (dated 22 August 2008, and 18 September 2009) , under s.58 (3) of the Securities Act 1978?

    How come only Peter Huljich was charged?

    Or are you ‘soft’ on ‘white collar’ crime Lindsay?

    Or do you think that the former leader of the National Party (Don Brash) and former National Government Minister of Police, Tourism and Local Government (John Banks) should be treated differently , arguably because of their political connections?

    Has it occurred to you that a number of the good people of Epsom might arguably feel sick of being treated with contempt by self-serving businesspeople who appear to be seeking public office in order to maximise business opportunities – not serve the interests of the public majority?

    Penny Bright
    Independent Public Watchdog
    Candidate for Epsom

  23. logie97 23
    10 October 2011 at 9:18 pm

    Not quite the sort of all black headline the Bay of Plenty wanted.

    Surely, the moment a ship is stranded on a reef, the first action is to get the fuel oils off. History tells us that strandings almost always turn out for the worst. Ministerial directives should have been given to remove the fuel immediately. I thought I was watching a John Clark special when I saw the interviews with Joyce tonight. Where were our leaders? Probably at the Cake Tin or Eden Park.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=8-QNAwUdHUQ

    • Draco T Bastard 23.1
      10 October 2011 at 11:33 pm

      Surely, the moment a ship is stranded on a reef, the first action is to get the fuel oils off.

      you would think so but not according to our government. It should have been off in the first day or two.

  24. Colonial Viper 24
    12 October 2011 at 10:10 am

    NZ SAS Prisoners may have been tortured

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10758412

    If the Govt is saying this much, they definitely know more.

    Get our boys out of there, now.

  25. Misanthropic Curmudgeon 25
    13 October 2011 at 5:33 pm

    In saying “Globally governments should have instituted policies that allowed quick reaction squad to deploy” I think that you’ve shown you watch far too many adventure tele-movies.