Open mike 15/04/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 15th, 2013 - 140 comments
Categories: open mike, uncategorized - Tags:

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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Step right up to the mike…

140 comments on “Open mike 15/04/2013 ”

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  1. Chris 1
    15 April 2013 at 7:12 am

    Will be shopping around for a new power supplier today!

    • Lanthanide 1.1
      15 April 2013 at 8:28 am

      I recommend Powershop. They have a $50 friend referral promotion at the moment: you and your friend both get $50 credit when they sign up. I’d be happy to refer you but I’d need your email address to do so. Let me know if you’re interested and we can work out how to exchange ‘real’ addresses anonymously.

      • Chris 1.1.1
        15 April 2013 at 9:17 am

        Will talk to my partner and get back to you.Thanks.

      • infused 1.1.2
        15 April 2013 at 12:19 pm

        Powershop only work out cheaper when you have spare cash you can buy up winter power in summer and vice versa.

        • Lanthanide 1.1.2.1
          15 April 2013 at 1:01 pm

          Nah, not true.

          Using Powershops detailed price history, I calculated I was about $20 ahead compared to one of the companies (Mercury I think), but only because I purchased every available special that powershop had. If I hadn’t, I would have been slightly behind.

          Powershop also have the 30 minute power usage chart if you’ve got a smart meter, so you can see over the last 4 weeks how much power you used in any given 30 minute block. Since I am on a day/night meter, this lets me hightlight periods of high usage, remember what I was doing at the time, and make a conscious decision to defer that power usage to the night period when the power is cheaper.

          Puchasing power in advance is something that powershop offers though, and this year although they put their prices up by 5% (thanks to Transpower etc), they gave us the opportunity to buy power in advance at the ‘current’ price.

          I should also add with Powershop that all of these features are entirely optional: you can just treat it like any other power company “set and forget” and they’ll automatically bill you your usage at the end of the month. But you can also buy power in advance (months, or just the current month), track your power usage and buy specials etc. If you’ve got a smart meter it is all fully automatic. If you don’t then you’ll need to enter your own meter reads.

    • millsy 1.2
      15 April 2013 at 11:33 pm

      They are more or less all the same. They all use the same contractors for their field work, and a lot of them have the same billing system. Contact, Genesis and Pulse have GenTrack and MERC have SAP. Reading/billing are done on a 20 day cycle, with Genesis/Contact being read 2 monthly and the rest monthly.

      Due to so many people switching there has been huge instances with data getting mixed up. For example if you live in Devon Street, New Plymouth, and switched to CEL, you might just end up getting signed in as a customer in Devon St, Rotorua.

      And dont get me started on smart meters. The amount of issues that people are having after having one installed are horrendus, things not working, fuses blowing, part power, etc and so on.

  2. pollywog 2
    15 April 2013 at 7:15 am

    C’mon Fa’afoi…do ya job and stick it to Collins if you can!!!

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/8549984/Patience-wears-thin-in-police-force

  3. Saarbo 3
    15 April 2013 at 7:17 am

    “The average farm worker is now earning $5500 a year more than the national average wage and salary, according to a Federated Farmers/Rabobank survey, and pay levels for most pastoral farm positions have continued to increase.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10877550

    Quote from the NZ Herald.

    A little more journo work and The Herald would have discovered that farm workers need to work 80 to 100 hours a week to get this. Many farmers require “couples” so often this is a combined household income, the conditions in dairy farms with over 500 cows are atrocious….come on Herald, do your work, do an hourly rate.

    • tc 3.1
      15 April 2013 at 7:27 am

      ‘A little more journo work and The Herald would have discovered that ….’

      2 issues with that statement, 1. They aren’t jouno’s but press release recyclers and 2. ‘work’ as in research and verifiability of facts from disparate sources doesn’t happen in granny’s world.

      They’ve done their work which is giving a soapbox to their backers being the wealthy elite under the illusion the story has actually been validated.

      • KJT 3.1.1
        15 April 2013 at 9:21 am

        In fact farmers around here that pay decent wages are having no trouble at all finding good staff, even for 90 hour weeks.

        You will find that the ones, as usual, who complain about lack of staff, expect 100 hour weeks for less than 500 dollars.

        • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.1
          15 April 2013 at 12:31 pm

          Sounds about right. Decent pay, enough staff so that other staff can take their time off, and you won’t have to try and employ cheap foreign labour.

        • Augustus 3.1.1.2
          15 April 2013 at 2:51 pm

          Same’s true for orchardists and fruit pickers, where I’m from. Only the greedies have trouble finding staff, usually corporate farmers. Give decent pay and conditions, voila, no problem finding staff. They should try it sometime.

  4. Rhinocrates 4
    15 April 2013 at 7:22 am

    Who says Shearer won’t listen?

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10877541

    Labour would consider allowing the GCSB to spy on New Zealanders in limited circumstances but …

    In reversal of the usual rule, everything after the “but” is bullshit, and I’d take the “limited” with a grain of salt, several Siberian mines and the Red Sea.

    • ianmac 4.1
      15 April 2013 at 9:34 am

      I think that this position is pretty good.
      “”An inquiry’s necessary because it’s not just about the GCSB, it’s also about the SIS and the relationship with the police. It’s right across the board and what I don’t want to do is to have a narrow, quick-fix Bandaid type of solution for something that is much more fundamental.”
      The essential point is that a full enquiry be held first. Surely you would expect the facts and consequences of any “reform” be considered? There is a probability that Mr Key will rush through changes without an enquiry and in a way to suit the National agenda.
      What would you choose?
      Band aid or decisions based on an enquiry?

      • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1
        15 April 2013 at 11:02 am

        Then what Labour should have said was that an inquiry was needed but not to say that they would support the spying before that inquiry.

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1
          15 April 2013 at 12:33 pm

          FFS if a NZ citizen needs to be surveilled it should be a police job with police protections in place, not the job of the spooks – whose role is to keep a watch on the activities of foreign powers.

          Or does Labour think that we should head down the US route where the bullshit ‘terrorism’ flag is waved around in order to justify expansion of state security powers over local citizens.

          All this from Shearer, Mr Mercernary Man himself. How reassuring.

          • Ennui 4.1.1.1.1
            15 April 2013 at 1:21 pm

            Read Trotter on the subject: he asks the question of “why a non military appointee?”

            The answer he has is that the whole spy / surveillance thing has moved away from foreign nations (posing a national sovereignty threat) to the enforcement of international private interests (commercial copyright etc).

          • millsy 4.1.1.1.2
            15 April 2013 at 11:38 pm

            The police and the NZDF can quite easily do the jobs that the SIS and GSCB do.

        • Murray Olsen 4.1.1.2
          15 April 2013 at 2:37 pm

          Exactly DTB. Shearer has sold out our rights to not be spied on before the process has even begun. I don’t think they’ll kick up much of a fuss even at an inquiry, because they would want to spy on the same people that Key does. Given a golden opportunity to make a stand, he falls over in a puddle of his own dribble.

          • Rhinocrates 4.1.1.2.1
            15 April 2013 at 4:00 pm

            Apart from the egregious contempt for civil liberties, which Labour has long played fast and loose with (Hello Goff!), I’m pissed off by Shearer’s own utter, utter, utter stupidity. Once again, when an issue seems to be gaining some traction, Shearer barges in trying to prove how important and statesman-like he is and once again he fucks it up for everyone.

            His brain-fade over his bank account might have been an honest mistake, but he gave ammunition to National – who can now say “He’s incompetent or a liar, take your pick. Do you trust this man with the country’s finances?”

            Now it’s going to be, “But he supports expanded GCSB powers too,” thereby marginalising the Green campaign on the issue and undermining his own frigging deputy Robertson’s own work.

            What’s he going to say in a debate?

            “Well, ah, I mean… I mean I meant… within… I mean, ah, with appropriate safeguards…. and I do disagree – yes, I disagree – I’m making a stand here! I disagree… I mean I might, I might disagree over your placement of a comma on line twelve of… um, something you released…. um… oh dear, where’s my bit of paper…”

            Key’s just going to smirk and crush him with a soundbite.

            He’s worse than wrong, he’s a phuqyng idiot. Again.

            One week, Dear God, please, one week without Shearer being a dick.

            • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.2.1.1
              15 April 2013 at 6:34 pm

              One week, Dear God, please, one week without Shearer being a dick.

              I think you’d have a better chance of finding a snowball in hell.

              • Colonial Viper …
                15 April 2013 at 11:52 pm

                Let me channel McFlock for a second here:

                Shearer’s performance or lack thereof doesn’t matter in the slightest.

                In fact whichever talking head is Labour Leader is of zero importance to me personally, since I’m an Alliance supporter (although somehow I always end up reflexively smashing at the Cunliffe devotees but not the Shearer bearers, whoops).

                Because in the end Labour is only there to facilitate the Greens and Mana, who will make it all good in the end.

                So everyone, please relax. There is no problem.

                • McFlock …
                  16 April 2013 at 1:25 pm

                  CV, you’re shit enough at channelling that you should be on Sensing Murder. You’re batting zero for … how many now?

                  I already gave my response to rhino’s passionate soliloquy. Which was that I really didn’t think enough of it or the perceived issue it lampooned to bother giving either a response.

  5. JK 5
    15 April 2013 at 7:35 am

    Is this an Own Goal ?
    In this morning’s Herald – “ Party may support law change to allow GCSB to keep watch on Kiwis but only if full intelligence review held. Labour would consider allowing the GCSB to spy on New Zealanders in limited circumstances but only if that was recommended by a full independent review of intelligence agencies, party leader David Shearer says.”

  6. Tigger 6
    15 April 2013 at 8:08 am

    http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8549746/Blunt-message-to-Telecom-staff

    Is on $4.7 mill pay package. Institutes wage freeze, ‘me included’. Forgets to say whether his ‘incentive’ (3/4 of his package) is part of freeze…

  7. Tigger 7
    15 April 2013 at 8:17 am

    http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10877551

    How are judges appointed? Well since National got into power you’ll find ‘is friend of Chris Finlayson’ was a criteria. Finlayson to certain friend in Sydney law firm ‘Want to be a judge? Just let me know’.

    • tc 7.1
      15 April 2013 at 8:30 am

      add QC to that now.

      • North 7.1.1
        15 April 2013 at 10:25 am

        See The Herald this morning. It is valid for the Law Commission to identify and discuss myriad aspects of our legal system, the role of the judiciary among them. It is valid for a government to engage in the debate which follows, of course.

        My real concern is that in its destructive worship of austerity, its singlemindedness in retention of power, and its doubtless taste for authoritarianism, this government will unhesitatingly sully legitimate debate on the question of where and how the judiciary sits in the justice system.

        Recall Simon Power’s risible ticking-off of the Chief Justice for her mature and informed comments about the justice system a couple of years ago. Risible indeed coming from a life-long National Party arse-wipe joke of a man.

        On many occasions this government has sunk to the depths of defamation, pejorativeness and abuse of practitioners in law and other areas. Non-exhaustively, legal aid lawyers, Justice Binnie, teachers, unions.

        It is routine. First blame the practitioners. Then, assisted by the patently shallow “journalism” of child-scribes on their way up and that of accommodating older hacks, sell the lunacy that less gas in the tank of any particular vehicle will naturally see it go further, more safely and more efficiently. When the vehicle conks out halfway down the road of ill-considered and often ridiculous “reforms” – blame the practitioners.

        In terms of convention the judiciary may not be such a sitting-duck but of course McVicar and the SST could always be relied upon to spew out anything the spin-doctors vetoed. More or less the same result.

        It is alarming to see this government and the delightedly malevolent Judith Collins poking and prodding in matters constitutional. They are just too dishonest and not nearly as competent as they claim.

        I’m reminded of Glenda Jackson re Thatcher – the cost of everything, the value of nothing.

        • Murray Olsen 7.1.1.1
          15 April 2013 at 2:55 pm

          We’d be better off if the judiciary ran a review of the government. I can’t see this as anything but an attempt to scare any slight remnant of independence out of our judges and make them even more overtly political.
          I’m not a big fan of judges in general, but I’m a sworn enemy of the WhaleSpew/MacVicar types who carry on with the rubbish that NAct MPs believe but can’t say in public.

  8. ghostrider888 8
    15 April 2013 at 9:23 am

    “givin’ us a Heart Attack, Heart Attack…”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10877548

  9. freedom 9
    15 April 2013 at 9:30 am

    lately i have had no luck getting html into comments. I do not understand what the fault is.

    below was copy pasted direct from FAQ and even that didn’t work. As you can see bold and italic worked but strikeout and underline do not. i see others with underline and strikeout in comments so it is pretty confusing, Any ideas ? Anyone ?

    bold; write my text
    italic; write my text
    strikeout. write my text
    underline. write my text

    • karol 9.1
      15 April 2013 at 9:48 am

      strikeout: here’s my text
      underline: testing never tried this before

      PS: I used :strike, not strikeout

      try ul not u

      • karol 9.1.1
        15 April 2013 at 9:52 am

        testing ul:
        see if this works

      • freedom 9.1.2
        15 April 2013 at 9:57 am

        can you write what you did for strikeout but put a space between each character so i can see the actual keystrokes.
        test:
        i wrote w o r d (with spaces) (afteredit: greater than less than characters did not show up just shows the ‘word’ inside them
        word (as html text in FAQ, no spaces)
        test after edit:
        still nada, what am I doing wrong?

        • Draco T Bastard 9.1.2.1
          15 April 2013 at 11:09 am

          [left angle bracket]strike[right angle bracket]Text[left angle bracket]/strike[right angle bracket] should give Text

          BTW, you have to have the WYSIWYG editor off to use HTML coding.

          • freedom 9.1.2.1.1
            15 April 2013 at 11:23 am

            bold; write my text
            italic; write my text

            bold and italic work, which is why I am expressing my confusion

            • freedom 9.1.2.1.1.1
              15 April 2013 at 11:31 am

              word 🙂

              ok by using the whole word ‘strike’ it seems to function, so why not just ‘s’ as per FAQ?

              ‘b’ ‘i’ etc work for bold etc 😕
              it’s a weird old world

              • weka …
                15 April 2013 at 11:36 am

                Success!!!

                Can’t seem to get underline to work, but it’s not something I would use anyway.

          • weka 9.1.2.1.2
            15 April 2013 at 11:35 am

            BTW, you have to have the WYSIWYG editor off to use HTML coding.

            There is no WYSIWYG editor at the moment.

    • weka 9.2
      15 April 2013 at 10:57 am

      my test, as cut and paste from FAQs

      bold; write my text
      italic; write my text
      strikeout. write my text
      underline. write my text

      • weka 9.2.1
        15 April 2013 at 10:59 am

        strikeout

        freedom, here it is, just change the bracket type.

        (strike)strikeout(/strike)

      • freedom 9.2.2
        15 April 2013 at 11:00 am

        doesn’t make any difference, tried it both ways, numerous times

        I wonder if it is something to do with being on Ubuntu ? but that really makes no sense as the bold and italic work fine. 😕

        • Hayden 9.2.2.1
          15 April 2013 at 11:02 am

          Strikeout
          Bold
          Italic
          Underline

          ..to jump on the bandwagon.

          Okay, so <u> and </u> get stripped out, and don’t appear in the editor.

          “UL” is unordered list
          does it work?

          Edit: nope.

        • weka 9.2.2.2
          15 April 2013 at 11:06 am

          freedom, try a different browser.

        • weka 9.2.2.3
          15 April 2013 at 11:08 am

          What do you mean both ways?

          Show us what you are actually typing, but use () brackets.

          • freedom 9.2.2.3.1
            15 April 2013 at 11:19 am

            (s)wordythingtofillspace(/s)
            test below with angle brackets
            wordythingtofillspace

            p.s. I only use firefox browser.

            • weka 9.2.2.3.1.1
              15 April 2013 at 11:25 am

              freedom (s)whatever(/s) doesn’t work. You need to write this

              (strike)whatever(/strike)

        • Draco T Bastard 9.2.2.4
          15 April 2013 at 11:12 am

          I wonder if it is something to do with being on Ubuntu ?

          Nope, that’s got nothing to do with it as the interpretation is done by the server once the comment has been posted.

          • Colonial Viper 9.2.2.4.1
            15 April 2013 at 11:25 am

            go on strike

            edit – ah what fun

            • weka 9.2.2.4.1.1
              15 April 2013 at 11:27 am

              confusing :x:

              • freedom …
                15 April 2013 at 11:37 am

                i suggest a strong cup of tea for everyone and if possible, play with a nearby kitten to alleviate aggro 🙂

                as i do not have a kitten nearby i will make do with using powertools instead

                leaving it alone now before i do something crazy like trying underline 😎

            • Rogue Trooper 9.2.2.4.1.2
              15 April 2013 at 11:38 am

              didn’t we have The Day We Went To Bangor

              • freedom …
                15 April 2013 at 11:44 am

                😆

                it’s gremlins man, those damn gremlins are out and they’ve been fed
                http://gentlemint.com/media/images/2012/10/11/83bbbdba.jpg.505x650_q85.jpg

                • Rogue Trooper …
                  15 April 2013 at 11:59 am

                  Tungsten, my friend tungsten; (just in case we need some confirmation without bias, i ghosted out of the shower yesterday and was working through Seven Nations Army in my head, turned the radio on (had been off to save power), Hauraki, and who woulda’ thunk it; this has happened many times before, Test-ReTest and all those Validity / Reliability study requirements; now gonna try this encode HTML stuff; could be some time… 🙂

                  Stone Cold

                  • ghostrider888 …
                    15 April 2013 at 12:03 pm

                    thanks to everybody who persevered, yet it was felix’s link that helped the ghost back to the other side. now, if I could just materialize a root from branch office
                    🙂

                    • Jokerman …
                      15 April 2013 at 12:06 pm

                      …didn’t hurt a bit ya’ big freakin spooky blouse, whatta ya playin’ at; getta beard-cut and getta feel job…

                    • ghostrider888 …
                      15 April 2013 at 12:10 pm

                      right, oops, left to the macrons and other little funny punctuation marks above the gaelic now and we’ll all be tickety boo in the cave Longshanks.

                    • ropata …
                      15 April 2013 at 1:31 pm

                      bullet point — doesn’t work with <ol> <ul> <li> 🙁

                      This line of text is not underlined. — so <span> and <u> don’t work either

                    • ghostrider888 …
                      15 April 2013 at 6:45 pm

                      tyre flat; a second opinion doc. you”ll know what they say about ritual parking

  10. Rosie 10
    15 April 2013 at 9:46 am

    Well, this is a change, and encouraging if it continues. Two articles today from the Dominion Post critical of the Key Govt.
    The first one is about Buffoon Bridges’ anti democratic anti marine protest law

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/8550388/Proposed-sea-protest-law-a-big-blow-to-human-rights

    The second one written in a mildly piss take style about Key’s trip to China

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/8548292/Dear-friend-Key-and-party-feted

  11. freedom 11
    15 April 2013 at 9:53 am

    TPPA is not a good thing

    http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/04/14/msians-must-reject-the-us-trade-deal/

    We kow we are never going to see the full text till after it has been signed off. Even if only half of the known details are true, the TPPA is a suidice agreement for the self-determination of all Nations who sign it and those that don’t will be signed up to something equally dangerous. No profit is worth our sovereignty as a Nation. No Nation should put profit before its people. I do not care what a court says, a Corporation is not a person and this single legal distinction, more than any war or financial scandal or illegal election is single handedly responsible for the ongoing destruction of real Democracy.

    • freedom 11.1
      15 April 2013 at 10:04 am

      “Six hundred US corporate advisors have negotiated and had input into the TPP, and the proposed draft text has not been made available to the public, the press or policymakers.”

      I am sure this is one of those passages of reality that Groser would rather we ignore

    • karol 11.2
      15 April 2013 at 10:10 am

      Thanks for the link, freedom (interesting website, “Free Malaysia Today”). It’s pretty critical of the US and its role in promoting neoliberalism internationally – not sure where it is re- Malaysian politics.)

      This bit from the article is worrying:

      The proposed legislation on Intellectual Property will have enormous ramifications for TPP signatories, including Internet termination for households, businesses, and organizations as an accepted penalty for copyright infringement.

      Signatory nations would essentially submit themselves to oppressive IP restrictions designed by Hollywood’s copyright cartels, severely limiting their ability to digitally exchange information on sites like YouTube, where streaming videos are considered copyrightable.

      “Broader copyright and intellectual property rights demands by the US would lock up the Internet, stifle research and increase education costs, by extending existing generous copyright from 70 years to 120 years, and even making it a criminal offense to temporarily store files on a computer without authorization. The US, as a net exporter of digital information, would be the only party to benefit from this,” said Patricia Ranald, convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network.

      • happynz 11.2.1
        15 April 2013 at 11:10 am

        not sure where it is re- Malaysian politics

        After a quick scan I’m not sure either where its editorial biases lie.

        Right now Malaysia is in the midst of “election fever” – according to the radio, TV, and newspapers. The current government, headed by Najib, will likely be returned to power. The only question is by what margin.

        I’ve only been here since January so I’m not up to speed on who the main players are except for the aforementioned Najib. The glaringly obvious thing here is that politics are very much “racial”. The Malays, which make up over half of the population, will likely as not vote for the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) backed Barisan Nasional party – Barisan Nasional has ruled the country since Malaysia became independent of the UK. The Chinese, who as a block control a great deal of the country’s finances and commercial entities, will make deals that will best serve their community. The Indians, well they don’t have the numbers or financial clout, will go along to get along.

        As an “orang putih” I get an earfull from the locals about the different “races” when we are out of earshot from any who might overhear. The Malays moan about the Chinese, the Chinese complain that the Malays don’t play fair because of their demographic advantage, and the Indians swear that they can never catch a break.

        • Colonial Viper 11.2.1.1
          15 April 2013 at 11:53 am

          Very interesting…here’s a speech I found on youtube given by Hannah Yeoh, a young Malaysian state politician…speaking (in part) on women in Malaysian politics; honestly she seems way more talented than a shit load of our hapless NZ ones.

          • prism 11.2.1.1.1
            15 April 2013 at 1:04 pm

            CV
            Those Asians always showing us up. Just when we get to sit complacently at the supposed top of the pile, someone still thinking comes along and rains on our parade.

            • Colonial Viper 11.2.1.1.1.1
              15 April 2013 at 1:17 pm

              Waffle. She didn’t. It was quite something to experience a politician who doesn’t waffle and sidestep.

        • kiwi_prometheus 11.2.1.2
          15 April 2013 at 12:33 pm

          Another superb example of the wonder and beauty of Multiculturalism.

          • ghostrider888 11.2.1.2.1
            15 April 2013 at 1:11 pm

            where has all this bonhomie lately come from bonhomme?

            • Colonial Viper 11.2.1.2.1.1
              15 April 2013 at 1:16 pm

              And that is a notable question.

              • ghostrider888 …
                15 April 2013 at 1:35 pm

                Hay, here’s a thought brother, trade in one of those suits ya don’t need, you’ve got them all in spades anyway, and help a brother into a new set of Flat-Screen-PC compatible wheels; though, now i’m back on the race-course, Harvey or Noel might be interested; Frek, when you examine the backgrounds of, oh I don’t know, your average Act or NZ First candidate tracey, Virgil, “Brains”, Kyrano, Aloysius or even Tin-Tin would be better mariners.

                now, there’s a an Echo Gaudette from the Beach.

      • muzza 11.2.2
        15 April 2013 at 1:05 pm

        including Internet termination for households, businesses, and organizations as an accepted penalty for copyright infringement

        Was wondering how the flow of information would be stemmed, just stop people from accessing it!

        Nothing the establishments despise/fear more, than the sharing of information amongst the plebs.

        The internet has been a doubled edged sword for the planets rulers, while it provides them with greater capabilities to control, than ever before equally it provides greater ability for people to learn, and understand the frauds being perpetuated against humanity.

        Taking complete control of the narratives/information flows, will be very high on the list of outcomes!

        Its not about money, its about control!

  12. ghostrider888 12
    15 April 2013 at 9:57 am

    a Boo-Boo for Mister Park-Ranger
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10877508

    Racists and the Queens Chain
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10877574
    Matthias = Truth (We Can Remember It For You Wholesale)
    from the UFB; Let SeE, and the BBC espionage studies in the DPRK

  13. ghostrider888 13
    15 April 2013 at 10:08 am

    ‘Tree Tree 1 2 3 Treee turn into Cow for me! (my name’s Mud Wiggle and I eat Mud)
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10877519
    (God ; too big a part to comment , Silly Sausage)

  14. Rogue Trooper 14
    15 April 2013 at 11:36 am

    I would just like to repeat this anecdote from my burn ed colleague ghostrider; apparently, after checking out some interesting mark-downs at his local exorbitantly priced supermarket he struck up a conversation with a lady-pensioner (probably spying the flash mobility-scooter got him going), anyway, this lady was originally from Dartmoor (the UK one) and it seemed that her husband had been a principal who was very conversant re politics; they got talking about the lovely day, politics and the young of today, as you do, and regarding Thatcher, she considered her an important person to British political history (lets leave it at that) yet she COULD NOT STAND JOHN KEY. kinda makes me wonder what it is about him that revs Fran O’Sullivan’s motor running.

    • prism 14.1
      15 April 2013 at 1:10 pm

      Rogue T
      The answer is obviously that Jokeyhen is an upstart, johnny-come-lately, nouveau riche person of no standing in British class lines. Thatcher and others were excused their un-aristo starts because they were successful and Thatcher was a good swot. And she knew how to dress like a lady, even attempting to eclipse the Queen. (Who probably would have liked to e(clip)se her round the ears.)

      • Colonial Viper 14.1.1
        16 April 2013 at 12:07 am

        Thatcher was also a bloody serious and capable pollie. When she went in to fuck the miners she did so front on and full on. Key just shuffled apologetically around the edges. Plenty of right wing NAT hardliners think that Key just needs to harden the frak up, and has needed to for the last, oh, four and a half years.

  15. DH 15
    15 April 2013 at 12:09 pm

    How many people know how our justice system works? The media don’t seem to.

    Granny looks to be having a go at judges and sentencing, can expect more of this I think;

    “You be the Judge”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10877196

    FWIW the sentencing regime works on the principle of precedent. Judges don’t have autonomy on sentences like the Herald seem to believe, they have to follow sentencing guidelines which are legislated by Govt. Whenever there’s a law change to sentencing the first sentences of the new laws are carefully analysed by the Chief Justice and discussed with all of the judges around the country. Any mistakes are quickly rectified before they become a precedent, from thereon they all have to follow the precedents set.

    The reason they use precedent is to ensure uniformity in sentencing. If they don’t have uniformity the crim can appeal their sentence on the grounds that someone else got a much lighter sentence for a similar offence. It’s pretty basic stuff.

    If sentences are wrong it’s because the law is wrong or some judges are not following the guidelines properly. The Chief Justice (I think) is in charge of monitoring the performance of judges in that respect, those who get it wrong are supposed to be warned & reprimanded.

    So, without knowing what sentences were handed down for similar offences previously, the Herald’s survey is a pointless attack on judges who may just be doing their job.

    • Draco T Bastard 15.1
      15 April 2013 at 12:31 pm

      The reason they use precedent is to ensure uniformity in sentencing.

      Doesn’t seem to be working

      • DH 15.1.1
        15 April 2013 at 1:04 pm

        Can’t make that conclusion from what’s been said there. Most likely scenario is the actual law is dictating those sentences, or that’s the precedents that have been set.

        The judges’ job is to do what the written laws tell them. Their sentencing has a built-in check & balance via the appeals process. If the judge’s reading of the law, and subsequent sentencing, is wildly out you’ll see an appeal against the sentence either by the Crown or by the offender.

        Too many people have this expectation that judges can suddenly get ‘tougher’ on offenders. They can’t, for that to happen the law has to be changed and judges don’t make the law (nor should they)

  16. Boadicea 16
    15 April 2013 at 12:50 pm

    There is a “story” behind the NBR firewall that a new “One Law For All” Party is about to be set up. Seemly 100 grumpy white men turned up for a John Amsell gig in Have-a-lot North. Read more on http://www.treatygate.wordpress.com . That site sees Willie Jackson as a Kiwi incarnation of Robert Mugabe!
    http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/poll-result-would-you-consider-voting-one-law-all-party.
    An untypically poorly written piece in the NBR.

    • kiwi_prometheus 16.1
      15 April 2013 at 1:18 pm

      ” 100 grumpy white men turned up”

      As compared to the 100 angry lesbians who turnout for Feminists Against Men gigs.

      • ghostrider888 16.1.1
        15 April 2013 at 1:26 pm

        Oh Well, it was good while it lasted said the Mac to the Nicks.

      • weka 16.1.2
        15 April 2013 at 3:03 pm

        ” 100 grumpy white men turned up”

        As compared to the 100 angry lesbians who turnout for Feminists Against Men gigs.

        No, and I w i l l s p e a k s l o w l y n o w…

        It’s 100 grumpy white men as compared to everyone else. Geddit?

        • kiwi_prometheus 16.1.2.1
          15 April 2013 at 4:47 pm

          So how come you been out of power for 2 terms then?

          Why the constant whining on here by the Far Left that Labour just isn’t really them anymore?

      • Murray Olsen 16.1.3
        15 April 2013 at 3:03 pm

        Nah, KP, they just said they were lesbians to stop your unwelcome advances. They were angry though.

        • weka 16.1.3.1
          15 April 2013 at 3:03 pm

          Snap 🙂

        • prism 16.1.3.2
          15 April 2013 at 5:03 pm

          MO
          Masterly riposte.

        • kiwi_prometheus 16.1.3.3
          15 April 2013 at 5:04 pm

          You are obviously not informed about Feminist Doctrine.

          Here, let me help you:

          “All men are rapists and that’s all they are” — Marilyn French

          “The proportion of men must be reduced to and maintained at approximately 10% of the human race.” — Sally Miller Gearhart, in The Future – If There Is One – Is Female.

          “Heterosexual intercourse is the pure, formalized expression of contempt for women’s bodies.” — Andrea Dworkin

          Feminism was hijacked years ago by man haters and lesbians, it is an ideology of hate.

          It helps explain why the Left is so broken, bogged down in Identity Politics and the hyper relativism of trendy Post Modern Philosophy

          • ghostrider888 16.1.3.3.1
            15 April 2013 at 5:11 pm

            still a neo-platonist then?

          • One Anonymous Knucklehead 16.1.3.3.2
            15 April 2013 at 5:14 pm

            Don’t you understand the difference between what a character in a book says and what the book’s author thinks? Probably just another symptom of hate. You should probably get that looked at.

            • weka 16.1.3.3.2.1
              15 April 2013 at 6:59 pm

              I’m fairly sure that k_p doesn’t understand the difference between fiction and reality 🙂

          • Murray Olsen 16.1.3.3.3
            16 April 2013 at 12:03 am

            Aww KP, find a nice man who’ll understand you. You’ll be less bitter, and think of how much you’ll have in common.

    • ghostrider888 16.2
      15 April 2013 at 1:23 pm

      yes, i stumbled, fell over, the announcement of this party; the whities sure seemed to be a-feared of change (have very little awareness of the inevitability of demographics, and too much money to hate)

      personally, we could do with an Unbelievable Party for the Body Electric

      • kiwi_prometheus 16.2.1
        15 April 2013 at 1:30 pm

        ” the whities sure seemed to be a-feared of change”

        What about the brownies and the yellowies?

        Your electronic music is tame and boring.

        Try BK Revolution as a contrast – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnvf2fDEcBE

        • ghostrider888 16.2.1.1
          15 April 2013 at 1:54 pm

          they were just plays on words for friends electric, you know, “friends” ;synth pop never really got better after Foxx, Krautrock, Ultravox and Numan imo (just kidding around). Anyway, you sometimes seem bright enough to read the signs; how do you think the domestic politics of NZ are going to impact demographics anyway; Maori role increases, Pasifika role increases, SE Asian role increases, Sub-continent increases, African increases, Middle-Eastern increases; while it is conceded that there is a drift towards conservatism in the post-empire after-taste hang-over, one size will definitely not fit all or do you not read beyond own subscriptions? and Gender politics, well, thanks to the roles of genetics, history, culture and language they are essential; I could write 500 Shades of Grey transcribing the utterances men make of their women in the pub, the work-place, the sports-club (well, maybe the gyms) and the smoko-rooms; Hell, I was a misogynist myself deep down for years;and, on the other side of the coin, how many women prefer their own, or the company of women to their husbands / partners, but you go ahead, flame-on.

          me, i prefer The Company of Strangers.

        • felix 16.2.1.2
          15 April 2013 at 2:10 pm

          “Try BK Revolution as a contrast”

          Doesn’t stand up nearly as well after ten years as Pulsing does after 30.

    • felix 16.3
      15 April 2013 at 2:03 pm

      Some interesting remarks from Ansell about maori being less evolved that pakeha on that site, Boadicea.

      And by “interesting” I mean “horrible, ignorant and disgraceful”.

      • ghostrider888 16.3.1
        15 April 2013 at 2:06 pm

        that’s alright mama, that’s alright with we; public addresses are easy to see.

      • Murray Olsen 16.3.2
        15 April 2013 at 3:13 pm

        Ansell is always happy to claim all the technological and cultural developments for himself and other Europeans. For example, he talks about Maori wanting money because some dams have been built and says they didn’t know how to build dams or turbines. Does he or any of his pathetic followers know how to do anything useful at all? Would he use a computer if he knew Turing was gay?
        Pathetic and scared little people who should be flushed back down the sewer from whence they came.

    • Rosie 16.4
      15 April 2013 at 2:12 pm

      Ugh! John Ansell. “one law for all” sounds alot like “one nation”. Same deal. Remember that crazy Pauline Hanson?

      http://www.qhatlas.com.au/sites/default/files/imagecache/Large/db5084.jpg

      Surely hope John and Pauline don’t get together and have a baby.

      • ghostrider888 16.4.1
        15 April 2013 at 2:16 pm

        funny, I was just thinking how universally loathed Hekia Parata is becoming; swimming to the Banks.

  17. prism 17
    15 April 2013 at 1:55 pm

    A commentator on radionz this morning said that broadly 70% of NZ dairy farmers (I think just the dairy sector) had 30% equity in their businesses. After all this wealth that is being frequently talked about, dairy farmers are still in the poo. WTF I can’t understand it.

    I There was a drought about 2008 that equalled the present one. I thought though that the backbone of the country’s economy, dairy, had more calcium in it. How can we raise some serious concern about the country and people’s welfare with the wider peopulation so we can get beyond this stale stalemate of 61 to 59, a risable Majority, and get some things done and new approaches trialled and get into new world mode with eagerness to conserve the good, progress in advantagous ways and improve our low levels of attainment????

    • ghostrider888 17.1
      15 April 2013 at 1:58 pm

      Labour on i guess

      • weka 17.1.1
        15 April 2013 at 3:07 pm

        Green on. Vote Green, join the Green Party, donate to the Green Party. Ditto Mana (although I still think party voting GP is better strategically than Mana).

        What we want is a Labour led govt that doesn’t rely on Peters or Dunne.

    • freedom 17.2
      15 April 2013 at 2:44 pm

      and nothing helps control droughts and protect Dairy Farmers like deforestation,
      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10877519
      hang on 😕

      • weka 17.2.1
        15 April 2013 at 3:14 pm

        That article exemplifies exactly why we shouldn’t use economics as the justification for caring for and protecting the environment. Just like with the clean, green brand and using the economic imperative of that as justification for ecological sensitivity, using the ETS etc is bound to fail. As soon as the economics don’t stack up, the trees will come tumbling down.

        We need to value and revere nature for its own inherent worth, irrespective of what it can do for use and not because of the five second dollar value we can place on it.

        That aside, anyone who converts to dairy from now on (apart from small/med scale farmers using sustainable management) is siding with evil and deserves all the approbation that will come their way.

    • DH 17.3
      15 April 2013 at 3:48 pm

      “A commentator on radionz this morning said that broadly 70% of NZ dairy farmers (I think just the dairy sector) had 30% equity in their businesses. After all this wealth that is being frequently talked about, dairy farmers are still in the poo. WTF I can’t understand it. ”

      It looks to be down to farms being way overpriced here, likely due to the amount of foreign buyers pushing the prices up. A typical Kiwi has to borrow huge sums to buy into a farm and the cost of capital is often too high for the income the farms generate. They make a living but rarely enough extra cash to pay down the principal on the mortgage

      Eric Watson had a commentary in the Herald talking about his dairy farm investment in Georgia USA. He claimed the climate there is better for dairying which makes the yields per cow & hectare better and yet the price of farmland there is considerably less than here so the returns are much higher.

      (If it was so great there though you have to wonder why foreigners buy our farms when the Yanks have such bargains to be had.)

  18. Ugly Truth 18
    15 April 2013 at 2:34 pm

    http://washingtonexaminer.com/extraterrestrial-truthers-holding-hearings-in-d.c.-next-month/article/2525371

    Bassett, the executive director of the Paradigm Research Group, wants the U.S. government to lift what he calls the “truth embargo” and acknowledge that extraterrestrials are real and are engaging the human race.

    Bassett and his allies are taking over the National Press Club in downtown D.C. from April 29 to May 3 to host the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure. “What we are going to do is bring the largest concentration of witnesses ever assembled in one place, at one time, and they are going to testify exactly as if they were in a real congressional hearing,” Bassett explained. Former members of Congress are being tapped to run the hearings, while witnesses, including former astronaut (and sixth man on the moon) Edgar Mitchell, are coming in from around the world. A film production crew from Los Angeles will film the whole thing, turning “Truth Embargo” into a documentary.

    • ghostrider888 18.1
      15 April 2013 at 2:41 pm

      ahhh, yes its a Paradoxical Circle indeed.
      yet, gotta go and have some lunch before Of Gods and Men…

      • Ugly Truth 18.1.1
        15 April 2013 at 2:57 pm

        The Fermi paradox isn’t based in reality: “But no convincing evidence of this exists.”

        In 2007 The National Press Club held a press conference in which a group of high-profile witnesses described their experiences. The moderator for the conference was Fife Symington, who described what he saw regarding the Phoenix Lights UFOs. Symington was the Arizona governor at that time. There was also good coverage of the Rendlesham Forest incident.

      • Ennui 18.1.2
        15 April 2013 at 3:41 pm

        Its a bit upsetting Ghost, since Nietzsche declared God dead, things have gone from bad to worse at Dionysian events for blokes.

        • ghostrider888 18.1.2.1
          15 April 2013 at 3:53 pm

          primarily (somethings happening here, what it is, aint exactly clear, we gotta stop, Children, whats that sound, everybody look what’s going down…)

          • Ennui 18.1.2.1.1
            15 April 2013 at 4:02 pm

            Yeah, and the 100 grumpy white men could make a good party dubious,…good boozers generally, not sure how fertile that makes them.

        • Colonial Viper 18.1.2.2
          15 April 2013 at 4:07 pm

          Its a bit upsetting Ghost, since Nietzsche declared God dead and that we ordinary citizens had killed him

          Just to clarify what Nietzsche actually meant.

          • ghostrider888 18.1.2.2.1
            15 April 2013 at 4:47 pm

            cha know, (refs not handy) but the introduction to me Oxford identifies the most influential philosophers beginning with Socrates…Plato…Aristotle…fec…wheres ya memory when ya need it…Aquinas…Augustine…Hobbes…Bacon…Berkeley…Locke…Kant…Kierkegaard…Spinoza….Liebniz…Hegel…Heidegger…Wittgenstein… (not in chronological order and some of these have been added personally), yet the list ends with Nietzsche. imho opinion, everything philosophical in the west ends and begins with Nietzsche (call it a hunch)… / and then on to Giddens, Foucault, Bourdieu, DERRIDA (k-p) Habermas and Goffman as the most cited in the Humanities Lit. (T.H.E), so I pray the feckin politicians listen to the philosophers and european sociologists for a change, yet I won’t be holding my breath or a torch for them.*sigh* anyway, appreciating all this sh*t comes naturally to me bad self; it certainly is not a worm-hole, it is liberating yet confining at the same time, as you can imaginitively see, and yes, it requires a fair amount of panadol sometimes, or some other distraction to shut the feckin brain off for a while. Oh Well, such is life, onwards and upwards 🙂 from my first stay in hospital, oo oo oo, what more’s a poor boy do…” ‘I Can’t Help Myself…when I get this feeling, I wanna be someone else…” Hope you have laughed and cried with me along the way. 🙂

          • Ennui 18.1.2.2.2
            15 April 2013 at 9:21 pm

            We killed God yes….will we be arrested before getting to attend the Dionysian event with the 100 grumpy white guys (or are they the ones who really should be arrested). Or do we plead guilty to killing God and all his creation?

  19. freedom 19
    15 April 2013 at 2:41 pm

    Every now and then an image comes along that highlights how lost we are as a society.
    Sure, this image has been designed for a campaign, but it is still as edifying as the circumstance it portrays.

    http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/559643_10152770476095602_543951126_n.jpg

  20. ghostrider888 20
    15 April 2013 at 2:48 pm

    lol

  21. ghostrider888 21
    15 April 2013 at 3:20 pm

    China’s Q1 QDP Growth Slows, oops
    apparently there is a real haircut correction going on in the Asian and affiliated markets
    -“huge decimation losses”

  23. freedom 23
    15 April 2013 at 5:18 pm

    http://www.times-age.co.nz/news/teachers-stage-protest-march/1829521
    this was over 200 people in Masterton on a Saturday
    Masterton

    Get the idea Kiwis are losing their patience ?

    how’s yours?

    National Day of Action
    April 27
    Wellington
    http://postimg.org/image/ywaocfttv/

    check social networks, street posters, car decals and other unexpected places for local events

    Maybe some rich person out there wants to take out a Newspaper page or two on behalf of all kiwis who do not have a real voice in this discussion. (oh to have the resources of the hate machine)

    This is not about party poitics, it is about self-determination and sending a message to Parliament
    This is for Kiwis who want to say, once again, NO ASSET SALES

    here is a blank title image, just add your local event details and share
    http://s5.postimg.org/s4k99l4uf/doa_blank.jpg

  24. ghostrider888 24
    15 April 2013 at 7:15 pm

    Seven was Sharp on the relaxation of drug laws post-Power
    Take a L.E.A.P
    Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
    -“prohibition creates gangsters”
    -“criminalises consensual exchange”