Open mike 12/01/2010 to 14/01/2010

21 comments on “Open mike 12/01/2010 to 14/01/2010 ”

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1. Jenny 1

   12 January 2010 at 7:05 am

   Knight vs. The Commons

   In days of old when knights were bold

   And the commoners did what they were told.

   Honoured for services to himself.
   New Zealand’s richest man and newly minted knight, arise Sir Douglas Myers.

   Encouraged by your enoblement, you are taking self aggrandisement to new truly heroic levels.

   http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/3216795/Myers-praises-mineral-stocktake

   Though this brave stand will further distance yourself from us ‘commoners’ who put environment above profits. No doubt you will be able to bear your isolation with the quite dignity of your station and with the forbearance of the feudal nobles and knights of old.

   Pardon me Sir Knight if I don’t kiss your ring (metaphorically that is).
   • jcuknz 1.1

     12 January 2010 at 9:34 am

     A nicely thought out comment but it ignores the common sense of knowing what sort of piggybank you are sitting on.
2. Ron 2

   12 January 2010 at 7:46 am

   These guys are hilarious.
   Reminds m of a couple of years ago when Mrt Talley told a Nelson College graduation that the decline in fish stocks was because of the ban on whaling.
   • jcuknz 2.1

     12 January 2010 at 9:38 am

     Obviously the whales were eating too much crill and other fish were starving to death perhaps 🙂
3. 350ppm 3

   12 January 2010 at 8:19 am

   Looks like the Auckland “SuperCity” transition agency has just about completed it’s bloodless coup over Auckland citizens’ local democracy: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10619673
4. Draco T Bastard 4

   12 January 2010 at 9:58 am

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10619608&pnum=0

   Auckland International Airport was left to soldier on alone without a controlling shareholder and with the biggest stakes held by the Auckland and Manukau City Councils.

   Well, it seems that Granny finally got round to admitting that the bids for AIA were bids for control.

   Dubai Aerospace, in particular, had shaped as an excellent stakeholder. Its industry expertise could have delivered significant benefits to the airport and to tourism.

   And we would have been helping pay off Dubai’s debt blowout.

   Indeed, the fact that the two airports were privatised by the Queensland State Government about a year ago suggests a more realistic assessment of the limits of foreign control of such assets.

   Actually, it suggests that the Queensland state government hasn’t learned from all the pain caused by privatisation of state assets around the world over the last few decades. It probably also proves that the Queensland state government is owned lock, stock and barrel by private business people.

   Auckland’s presence is not about to raise airport security concerns, undermine development, or impose an inappropriate, perhaps asset-stripping, management style.

   That’s probably because it’s not a controlling stake. The next question: How many people actually knew that the sell-off was happening?

   But maintaining a holding pattern would have offered no answer to a recent pattern of flat profitability, passenger growth below international trends, and sluggish retail and property development activity.

   There was a recession on and they expected growth? Who are these clowns?
5. grumpy 5

   12 January 2010 at 2:15 pm

   Heh,

   http://www.xepisodes.com/southpark/episodes/1311/Whale-Whores.html
6. Tigger 6

   13 January 2010 at 10:22 am

   Well I’m glad someone else doesn’t like the idea of privitisation of water…and in the Granny as well…
   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10619819
   • Draco T Bastard 6.1

     13 January 2010 at 11:22 am

     After extensive research into the use of such partnerships a research unit attached to Greenwich University has found no evidence that the private sector is more efficient than the public sector in delivering water. Meanwhile, a 2007 analysis of 1000 US water utilities by independent watchdog Food and Water Watch, found private companies delivered poorer service and charged water users between 13 and 50 per cent more than their public equivalents.

     Basic fact and, even more telling, basic logic that most economists fail to comprehend. Privitisation in natural monopolies pushes prices and costs up. It must do due to the extra bureaucracy needed and the dead weight loss of profit.
     • prism 6.1.1

       14 January 2010 at 10:35 am

       Good research find DTB Will be more and more relevant as the century stretches.
       But prices are almost certain to go up once privatised as assets are revalued to allow for inflation and changing mcurrent market prices. Also the percentage return on investment is set at acceptable market levels, and with each sale of the commodity provider, the profit paid out to the previous owner has to provide a return which will come from higher prices or more volume or both. Then there is a problem where an incoming firm has bought on leverage and the high debt levels require interest payments which in turn go high .
7. prism 7

   13 January 2010 at 11:11 am

   What is this on Wednesday’s Radio NZ news? The USA federal bank is supposed to be overseeing banks operations there and charges for this, and has made $US52 billion last year. Some oversight, some profit!

   The other is BBC report that so many scientists in nuclear use have died totally unexpectedly that a program of deliberate assassinations is posited. Israel along with other countries, is considered to be involved.
8. Tigger 8

   13 January 2010 at 4:54 pm

   Great line in this article – http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3224612/NZ-US-to-sign-diplomatic-secondment-agreement “Mr Key has met President Obama three times”

   Someone should tell our PM that standing behind Barack in the line for the urinals does not constitute ‘a meeting’.
9. Pascal's bookie 9

   13 January 2010 at 7:18 pm

   Item: NZ, Fiji agree to improve diplomatic relations

   Tuesday, 12 January 2010, 11:18 am

   Press Release: New Zealand Government

   Item: For the first time in Fiji’s history food has been used as a weapon

   January 13, 2010 at 8:43 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

   Starving out the opposition is now an option

   On Tuesday Commodore Frank Bainimarama gleefully announcing on Fiji Broadcasting Corporation that any pensioners that oppose the regime will now have their pensions cancelled.

   The Fiji National Provident Fund holds individual accounts for its members that it accrues interest on and every employee in Fiji is required to be a member of FNPF.

   ————————

   Good timing there muzza.
10. Pascal's bookie 10

    13 January 2010 at 8:10 pm

    Everyone remember when Key said:

    ‘We may be many voices but ultimately we are one people. One of the unique things about New Zealand is that we are not a country that’s come about through civil war or a lot of fighting internally. We’re a country that peacefully came together Maori and the Crown decided from both partners’ side that it was in their interests to have a peaceful negotiation. That’s what the Treaty was, a founding document a development document for New Zealand, and I think that we could work things out in a peaceful, sensible and mature way has actually been a defining part of New Zealand’s history. It’s very important, and it’s important we honour that now’.

    http://www.thestandard.org.nz/key-denies-land-wars/

    ?

    I’m sure ya’s do. It got a bit semantic, with him and his reckoning that he was just talking about how the Treaty was signed, and that he wasn’t talking about anything after that. If you want to be picky, that’s not what he said though, if you check the tenses the meaning of what he said is roughly:

    ‘We are not (now) a country that came about through internal fighting, we (Pakeha and Maori) peacefully came together to be this current nation’

    Anyway, storm in a teacup.

    Here’s what he says now:

    “I would utterly reject the perspective that Hone Harawira has on New Zealand’s history and the role of the settlers and others in New Zealand.”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3227799/Harawira-hindering-race-relations-Key

    Can we have a PM that’s read some books please.
11. Bill 11

    13 January 2010 at 9:00 pm

    But the winners were the good guys PB because it’s always the good guys who win and being good guys they couldn’t have done anything bad, right? ‘Cause if they had, they wouldn’t be the good guys and so wouldn’t have won.

    And racism is bad guy stuff. And fucking over the inhabitants of lands you want to colonise is bad guy stuff. Stealing is bad guy stuff.

    And Johns a good guy. So good he’s a figurehead of a historical good guy phenomena that brought fridges and lots of good civilised stuff to lots of people who were not necessarily altogether grateful nor necessarily good themselves.

    And whereas the good books that good guy John might read would perhaps, breathlessly admit that mistakes were made and even suggest that given the benefit of hindsight this or that detail might have been better done differently, that was then and the good guys did the best that the good guys could under very trying circumstances and the contemporary bad guy ingrates who wont understand this are in fact the cause of unnecessary frictions in our society.
12. prism 12

    13 January 2010 at 9:09 pm

    good one bill
13. BLiP 13

    14 January 2010 at 10:23 am

    Has anyone got a copy of yesterday’s New Zealand Fox News Herald lying around? There was a story on their website about how journalist Janet Wilson has been employed by the John Banks team – I was going to make some great and witty comment about it but the story seems – oddly – to have disappeared.

    If its true, the employment of Janet Wilson and some mysterious “board of advisers” is beginning to let loose the odour of desparation and an indication of the sort of money John “potentiated” Banks is prepared to throw around.
    • gitmo 13.1

      14 January 2010 at 10:31 am

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10620042
      • BLiP 13.1.1

        14 January 2010 at 11:12 am

        Good work gitmofo. Thanks.
14. Tigger 14

    14 January 2010 at 2:36 pm

    So Clinton isn’t coming now – http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1001/S00032.htm

    McCully’s need to appear relevant in this presser is hilarious. He’s desperate to be seen as Clinton’s bff here – coming off as needy instead.
15. logie97 15

    14 January 2010 at 4:16 pm

    Can someone enlighten me please?

    Throughout 2008 “Perkbuster” popped his head out of the gutter during question time in parliament trying to make hay attacking Peters over his involvement in the Scampi fisheries issue and particularly a libel action against TVNZ.

    It now appears that the issue has been settled. Where does that leave Peters and the opinions of “Perkbuster”? Who should be coming out of this with credit and where are the apologies to Peters from TVNZ (who systematically tried to dismantle his career as a politician.)
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3230590/Settlement-in-30m-defamation-claim

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