Open mike 15/01/2010
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6:03 am, January 15th, 2010 - 11 comments
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Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Ka mihi ki te mana whenua ko Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. Kia ora and good morning everyone. Thank you Fran and Simon for inviting me here today, and importantly your leadership of this forum over several years now. I want to acknowledge David Gehrenbeck, Deputy ...6 hours ago
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I see that the campaign against the manufactured pop music industry. Was a great success with the promotion of Rage Against the Machine, versus the drivel that comes out of Pop Idol.
This was a political campaign with a message aimed at the consumerist music industry. Off the back of this campaign a new (but trivial) campaign is being started to get a million down loads for the song Mrs Robinson,as a satyrical statement on the marriage problems of a Northern Irish MP.
While being humorous, For a more meaningful internet campaign – I was thinking instead of starting a campaign to download the song “Stop Loss” by jailed US soldier, Marc Hall.
What do do others think?
If you agree please read the following message and forward as widely as possible.
Free Marc Hall – Download “Stop Loss”
Despite Americans voting for a president who campaigned on a promise to stop the war in Iraq.
Still continuing the prosecution of the Iraq war, the US army is to resorting to unpopular measures, stoking resentment from the ranks.
Soldier jailed for violent anti-army lyrics.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/3223484/US-Soldier-pens-anti-army-rap
Infantryman Spc. Marc Hall who had served in Iraq, was at the the end of his four year tour of duty, when the army tried to force this veteran back to Iraq for another term.
The policy of preventing soldiers from leaving the army when their agreed tour of duty is finished, is called “Stop Loss” which is also the name of the soldiers song.
After a month in jail without trial, this soldiers ordeal is starting to match those of his supposed enemies in Quantanamo.
So instead of “Mrs Robinson”
Soldiers and civilians around the world, no matter your army or your country, make “Stop Loss” your most down loaded song of the year.
And free Marc Hall.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/3222814/Net-campign-to-push-Mrs-Robinson-to-the-top
A political campaign against the manufactured pop music industry? I’m sorry, I missed that, any links? I honestly don’t know what this is about!
Would’ve thought that people had more important things to campaign against than boy-bands and Hannah Montana in this day and age, but there you go …
Quantanamo guard meets ex-inmates, apologises.
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8452937.stm
Professor Henry Brubaker, of the Institute for Studies, said: “It’s very evenly balanced. China has millions and millions and millions of people, whereas Google has things like Chrome, Street View and access to every piece of personal information that has ever existed despite what they keep saying in their relaxed, open-necked shirt, hacky sack-playing manner.”
The last great battle of our time
The Disposable Worker
Pay is falling, benefits are vanishing, and no one’s job is secure. How companies are making the era of the temp more than temporary
That’s pretty much how capitalism started. It was only through hard work and political agitation that workers managed to get the slightly better deal that we’ve been working with for the last few decades. Now that capitalism is collapsing, again, it’s going back to the way it was to try and save capitalism.
So now that Clinton isn’t coming can Mr Key reveal his secret plan to stop whaling?
The government in Finland has become the first in the world to say it intends to phase out smoking completely.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8458347.stm
Question is, how do you achieve it?
How do you prevent illegal growing, curing and distribution?
Is it feasible to give addicts a time frame in which they sign up in order that they receive heavily subsidised tobacco that they pick up some designated outlet (chemist?).
Every current smoker gets a guaranteed supply for life or until they give up….. whichever comes first.
Meanwhile, no points of sale or advertising etc.
Could some such scheme lead to a country of non-smokers within a generation or two?
Lest you are thinking that those people who cuff and execute children are in fact simple benefactors who occasionally make mistakes as evinced by their rush to aid the people of Haiti….
From the Heritage Foundation….”In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region.”
Seems the ‘good guys’ are going to be imposing themselves again.
@ Tigger.
“So now that Clinton isn’t coming can Mr Key reveal his secret plan to stop whaling?”
Nah. It’s going to be put on hold now til she does come – like next year or the year after that or…