Open mike 16/08/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 16th, 2011 - 76 comments
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76 comments on “Open mike 16/08/2011 ”

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  1. Lazy Susan 1
    16 August 2011 at 6:59 am

    UK PM launches yet another “war”. What a pathetic and sorry load of authoritarian rhetoric from a PM who commanded less than 23% of the popular vote at the last election.

    Cameron’s “big society” is now the “broken society”. Not one mention of the top down moral decay that has occured in the UK. No “war on banks”, no “war on MP’s expenses”, no “war on greed and consumerism”, no “war on corruption”, no “war on inequality”. Trickle down moral decline in action. The stench of hypocrisy can be smelt as far away as our shores.

  2. travellerev 2
    16 August 2011 at 7:38 am

    Here is a presentation by Susan Lindauer. Susan was a CIA asset in the run up to the 911 attacks and tried to warn Adam Carr (her cousin) and the Bush top of pending attacks and was imprisoned for a year in a military brig and indicted for 5. Effectively stopping here from speaking out about the treasonous actions at the top of the US Government.

    She has finally been able to write a book about here experiences and while she believes that the Government used excising real terrorist attacks to blow up the buildings and as such brings her own unique view to the table her book is of immense value to the 911 truth movement in our quest for a new and independent investigation!

    • higherstandard 2.1
      16 August 2011 at 8:09 am

      Where do you find these people ?

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Lindauer

      In 2006, she was released from prison after Michael B. Mukasey ruled that Lindauer was unfit to stand trial and could not be forced to take antipsychotic medication to make her competent to stand trial.

      • travellerev 2.1.1
        16 August 2011 at 8:40 am

        Oh goody, Mr. Stupid gives me an opening to give more information:

        As a U.S. Intelligence Asset, Susan Lindauer covered anti-terrorism at the Iraqi Embassy in New York from 1996 up to the invasion. Independent sources have confirmed that she gave advance warning about the 9/11 attack. She also started talks for the Lockerbie Trial with Libyan diplomats. Shortly after requesting to testify before Congress about successful elements of Pre-War Intelligence, Lindauer became one of the first non-Arab Americans arrested on the Patriot Act as an “Iraqi Agent.” She was accused of warning her second cousin, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and Secretary of State Colin Powell that War with Iraq would have catastrophic consequences. Gratis of the Patriot Act, her indictment was loaded with “secret charges” and “secret evidence.” She was subjected to one year in prison on Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas without a trial or hearing, and threatened with indefinite detention and forcible drugging to shut her up. After five years of indictment without a conviction or guilty plea, the Justice Department dismissed all charges five days before President Obama’s inauguration.

        Here is an over the years account of her plight by Michael Collins called the Cassandra files.

        I remember fondly being accused of having a Cassandra complex here at the Standard. That was of course before the economic collapse of the US and the rest of the global economy at the hands of the bankster became apparent to even the dimmest of Standard readers…. Oh no, that is minus one. HS well done, you made it to the bottom of the pack with sheer stupidity!!!

    • vto 2.2
      16 August 2011 at 8:44 am

      travellerev, I always find this sort of thing of interest and have a quick glance to see what these people have to say. But unfortunately each time I clink on a link I find a youtube thingy which goes on for over an hour or two. And the speakers fumble around with intros and blah de blah. Just so much to wade through. Might I suggest that brief summaries would be more useful..

      • travellerev 2.2.1
        16 August 2011 at 8:53 am

        Thanks vto for the interest. I agree with you but you also have to realise that in this case this is a woman who has been bullied into silence for five years and her story is very compelling once you get passed the intro.

        However here is her own website to read as you have time with a page on the documents and affidavits supporting her story.

      • freedom 2.2.2
        16 August 2011 at 10:31 am

        with all due respect vto, and others who balk at the scale of information available, think of it as an investment in your future. Instead of a couple of hours of TV or the next dvd you watch, work your way through some videos. Break the viewing into half hour slots over a week. Make it your private weekly best ever reality show, because unlike reality tv, this stuff actually happened.

        Be creative with your viewing time. Sure it may be a bit tiresome listening tho those who are trying eranestly to share information and the production values are generally not much better then a media class at your local high school, (which these days is pretty damn good) but the difference that these videos have, is they are not bought and paid for by soda companies and sports gear manufacturers wanting to sell you real estate and new cars They want you to be able to make an informed choice. Not something you get many opportunities to do these days without forking over cash.

        The Truth movement goes out of its way to supply free, verified, peer reviewed information and all it asks of you is the same consideration you give the nightly news . Truth Docs or Fairfox/MediaWorks?

      • Draco T Bastard 2.2.3
        16 August 2011 at 1:00 pm

        If you’re using Firefox you can use NetVideoHunter to download said long videos to watch when you’re ready to do so.

  3. tc 3
    16 August 2011 at 7:51 am

    And in the states neo nazi gangs, incited by tea party rhetoric, are labelled as the single biggest terrorist threat by homeland security, led by some ex republican candidates, oh what a great place the western world has become under neo lib policies.

  4. Bored 4
    16 August 2011 at 8:46 am

    There is a large body of historic opinion that the previous Neo Liberal experiment came to the violent crunching halt that was WW1, and then was given an extension leading to the Great Depression and WW2. Maybe it will be different this time with the wars being internalised.

  5. vto 5
    16 August 2011 at 8:47 am

    What on earth is going on in Libya?

    Last night on te news “rebels” were shown celebrating the capture of some town or place. Funny thing was… these “rebels” all had clean and ironed shorts on, were clean shaved and basically looked like they had just rocked out of some hotel to pose for pictures. The vehicles were clean. Basically everything looked staged. There was absolutely no sign of dirt, dust, used weapons, stinky smelly dirty signs of war at all.

    Who are they trying to kid? And who is the who?

    Someone is pulling our tits.

    • Deadly_NZ 6.1
      16 August 2011 at 9:58 pm

      And Whaleshit is such a paragon of society. pot’s kettles glasshouses and stones come to mind.

      • millsy 6.1.1
        16 August 2011 at 11:59 pm

        Quite.

        Only Cameron Slater can call for the elimination of the welfare state and then turn around and go on the sickness benefit.

        If there is anyone in the country who should get of his fat lazy blubber filled ass and get a job, its him.

        • mik e 6.1.1.1
          17 August 2011 at 12:50 am

          I think slater is one of those criminals that camoron the pm is talking about . looking at the state of him it won’t be long until hes on the DPB hes almost ready to drop.

          • chris73 6.1.1.1.1
            17 August 2011 at 9:26 am

            hehehe, diversion tactics nice

            Ignore the message and go after the messenger, we’ll see how that works out

  7. ak 7
    16 August 2011 at 9:06 am

    Any Standardistas with time on their hands? A look back at the Hikoi of Hope might be timely – if sir Paul thought “enough was enough” then, surely its way past “more than enough” now. CPAG, Mana, the churches; time to march again in his honour?

  8. Pete George 8
    16 August 2011 at 9:44 am

    Should we address yet another part of our dishonest society?

    Is it time for ‘cash only’ jobs to end?

    Bugger the tradesmen trying to evade taxes – it’s time to refuse offers of under-the-table work, says former Fair Go presenter Kevin Milne.

    He is pushing for a campaign to end “cash only”, unrecorded payments – which let tradesmen dodge taxes.

    He said that every job that skirted taxes cost everyone else in extra taxes to make up for it.

    But it’s just what Kiwis do, get away with what we can and complain about others that do it.

    • travellerev 8.1
      16 August 2011 at 10:20 am

      I agree. The rich have just become 20% richer with the tax cuts we had to borrow for and we are paying for it.

    • KJT 8.2
      16 August 2011 at 10:49 am

      For once I agree with you.

      Competing with people (often unqualified cowboys) who undercut you because they are paid cashies, who then pay under minimum wage cash to employees is not fun.

      I lost a lot of work because I could not undercut the fly by nighters.

      I remember one moaning because one year he declared his real income for a bank loan and then his son lost his student allowance.

      Just like farmers really.

      Many times I had to tell customers I was charging the “cash” rate, even though it wasn’t, (I always put it through the books) because they had the illusion “cash” was cheaper or they liked the idea of putting one over.

      They do not realise on a “cashie” there is no guarantee (How do you prove they have done the job) and the tradesman is usually an unqualified cowboy who may charge less per hour, but take a lot longer.

      I am quite happy for anyone who does not pay their share to be taken down.

    • Draco T Bastard 8.3
      16 August 2011 at 1:12 pm

      Agreed. It’s another reason why I think getting rid of cash, having all banking transactions go through IRD servers and have online accounting software available also through IRD is a good idea. Change the laws so the everybody gets relevant expense tax deductions as well (going to work is expensive after all) will help people to accept it.

      • travellerev 8.3.1
        16 August 2011 at 5:11 pm

        DTB, WTF?
        You might want to reconsider that.

        • Colonial Viper 8.3.1.1
          16 August 2011 at 5:18 pm

          In a de-industrialising society physical community currencies and barterable goods are going to be pretty important.

          And its bad enough at the moment if EFTPOS or ATM networks goes down. Businesses grind to a halt as few carry more than $20 in cash on them these days.

          Although I know old timer tories who routinely keep $500 plus in their wallets…many of them farmers 😈

  9. William Joyce 9
    16 August 2011 at 9:49 am

    Passive aggressive resentment or is their trouble at mill?

    ENGLISH MAKES JOKES AT PRIME MINISTER’S EXPENSE
    Is it us, or are Finance Minister Bill English’s barbs about Prime Minister John Key starting to sound a bit more, well, barbed?At the National Party conference on Saturday, Mr English made several pointed remarks about the prime minister, including a reference to his favourite song: Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble. Mr English added that he usually stacked the first few paragraphs of his speeches with references to the PM, since that was usually as far as Mr Key bothered reading. Ouch.
    Link
     

    • chris73 9.1
      16 August 2011 at 10:02 am

      Now thats clutching at straws…

      • felix 9.1.1
        16 August 2011 at 10:15 am

        Hardly, the Dep PM just called the PM arrogant and lazy. If it were Labour you’d call it a leadership challenge.

        Not that it’s surprising though, Keys lied and stabbed him in the back when he backed Brash, and English has never gotten over the bitterness.

        Luckily for Keys though, English is too much of a puss to do anything about it.

        • travellerev 9.1.1.1
          16 August 2011 at 10:22 am

          It would be so easy for English to ditch Key too. All he has to do is to expose Key for the filthy derivatives trader that he is. He would be a Kiwi hero defending NZ against foreign interests (get the NZ first crowd on board no problem) John’s conflict of interest with his shares in BofA which is collapsing as we speak and he can still sell of the assets while John buggers off to the next bankster board job.

        • chris73 9.1.1.2
          16 August 2011 at 10:35 am

          I suspect Bill English is smart enough to realise that:

          A. John Key is the most popular PM we’ve had since…well a very long time
          B. He himself didn’t do so well last time he was in charge
          C.That its better to be number twos (and yes I’m being childish) in the govt then number ones in the opposition

          Also English stepped into the ring for fight for life, anyone that steps up like that (regardless of result) is not a puss

          • William Joyce 9.1.1.2.1
            16 August 2011 at 11:36 am

            A. So was Mugabe, Stalin and that man with the Chaplin mustache. Popularity don’t mean shit.
            B. Then he’s smart enough to know that he’s playing second fiddle to a cardboard cutout. Doing the graft, taking the hits, while Key attends endless photo-ops. That’s gotta breed some resentment.

            C. If you have to compromise your integrity and eat shit then you expect some payoff – what does English get out of it – cheap accommodation, new Series 7 BMW, status, great retirement package – question is, “has English reached his limit?”.

            • Colonial Viper 9.1.1.2.1.1
              16 August 2011 at 12:02 pm

              English also knows that Key favours Joyce to rise up the ranks, not him.

            • chris73 9.1.1.2.1.2
              16 August 2011 at 4:05 pm

              A. Meaning that rolling JK wouldn’t make him too popular with the electorate and would end up with him getting dumped at the next election
              B. and C. Cullen managed to suck it up and take his ego out of it so theres no reasons why English can’t do the same

          • felix 9.1.1.2.2
            16 August 2011 at 12:32 pm

            A. Since Helen Clark.
            B. That’s my point, dipshit. And Key ended him. And he’s still bitter.
            C. Sure, he’s a real tough guy. Goodo.

            Can we get some proper trolls back please?

            • chris73 9.1.1.2.2.1
              16 August 2011 at 4:02 pm

              A. More popular then Dear Leader
              B. Knows that the people (you remember them?) wouldn’t vote for him if he rolled JK
              C. Point being hes many things but a puss isn’t one of them, which is what you claimed

            • swordfish 9.1.1.2.2.2
              16 August 2011 at 4:03 pm

              A. Since Helen Clark

              Spot-on, felix. The idea that Key’s unusually popular is an utter myth. People have unfortunately been taken in by The Herald’s unprecedented exclusion of ‘Don’t Knows/None-of-the-Aboves’ in their presentation of the Digi Poll’s Preferred PM figures. Hence, their way-over-the-top figure of 70% for Key in recent polls.

              The real figure for Key (as confirmed by all the other major polls) is about 50%. Half of New Zealand voters prefer Key as PM, Half don’t.

              Helen Clark was still receiving this sort of support as late as 2007/2008. Indeed, she was still often ahead of Key as Preferred PM in the run-up to the election.

      • joe90 9.1.2
        16 August 2011 at 10:17 am

        Ignoring the possibility that Blinglish would like to slip the blade between ShonKeys scapula is, well,……

  10. joe90 10
    16 August 2011 at 10:08 am

    This was in today’s DomPost print edition.

    Somewhere along the way, however, this effort took on a life of its own. What started as a reasonable attempt at political rebalancing turned into a jihad against all regulation, all taxes and all government, waged by right-wing zealots who want to privatize the public schools that educate your workers, cut back on the basic research on which your products are based, shut down the regulatory agencies that protect you from unscrupulous competitors and privatize the public infrastructure that transports your supplies and your finished goods. For them, this isn’t just a tactic to brush back government. It’s a holy war to destroy it — and one that is now out of your control.

  11. Colonial Viper 11
    16 August 2011 at 12:00 pm

    David Cameron’s Zero Tolerance for Poor Looters = Zero Effective

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSqpx8Fh0kw&NR=1

    UK income and wealth inequality now back to 19th century levels.

  12. prism 12
    16 August 2011 at 12:21 pm

    lprent Whys –
    1 Why does the edit function stop when there is a minute to go?
    2 Why when I’m doing a personal comment search is the last one on 31 July?
    3 Do you have an idea why my contact query doesn’t react when I press Send button? My son says it’s broken but I don’t understand. (I will have put my version of deciphered code words – almost unintelligible to me to the third and fourth try.)

    • lprent 12.1
      17 August 2011 at 11:35 am

      Been dead with the flu for the weekend and the last couple of days. Just got back to work this morning.

      1. I’ll have a look after work.

      2. The search cron job is down – I was going to look at it on Friday but that is when I started to get the flu. Ummm… that should fix it – permission problems. I’ll check later in the day

      3. On my list of things to look at.

      • prism 12.1.1
        18 August 2011 at 9:25 pm

        lprent – Thanks for the changes. Take some of that VitC powder you get from the chemist, good value and good powerful stuff in a glass of water a few times a day. Hope you can say soon that the flu flew.

  13. William Joyce 13
    16 August 2011 at 1:16 pm

    David Cameron launches into traditional Tory rhetoric about the breakdown of society and it values and campaigns to restore it.
     
    But, his predecessor Margaret Thatcher said that society doesn’t exist.

    “We’re all wondering how we ended up so scared;
    We spent ten long years teaching our kids not to care
    And that “there’s no such thing as society” anyway,
    And all the rich folks act surprised
    When all sense of community dies,
    But you just closed your eyes to the other side
    Of all the things that she did.
    Thatcher fucked the kids.”
    – Frank Turner, Thatcher fucked the kids

    • Bored 13.1
      16 August 2011 at 1:23 pm

      The stupid Tory misanthrope said the “comminity” did not exist then promptly shut down mental health services and put the patients out into “community care”. Cameron thinks in the same manner.

  14. prism 14
    16 August 2011 at 1:51 pm

    They don’t want to be bothered with the common people – they are just too common – and not having come from the right background or school with the accepted speech standards, overall they are nonentities of no importance or worth.

    • William Joyce 14.1
      16 August 2011 at 2:13 pm

      Luckily they are not all like Cameron. Surprisingly, Frank Turner, whose lyrics I quoted, went to Eton.

  15. logie97 15
    16 August 2011 at 5:30 pm

    It’s true then! Joky Hen is just a smiling chicken.
    And a duck, was sent waddling from the chamber for confirming
    it in question time today.

    • RobM 15.1
      16 August 2011 at 7:25 pm

      Really quite a pathetic play by both sides. Yes it was started by the Nats passing the question off to one of the Brand Key Protection Squad but now we have the Herald headline “Mallard ejected from Parliament for calling PM a chicken”:

      “Labour’s Trevor Mallard has once again been kicked out of the debating chamber during question time, for calling the Prime Minister a chicken.”

      FFS.

  16. MrSmith 16
    16 August 2011 at 6:50 pm

    “Spending cuts are especially problematic from the point of view of growth if they are undertaken by countries like the US which already spend less than the average on education, infrastructure and social transfers. If a state that is already skinny is told to go on a diet, it can easily succumb to anorexia.”

    From this great piece why budget cuts and tax cuts don’t work, National are you listening you deaf ass kisses.  

    • mik e 16.1
      17 August 2011 at 1:01 am

      Berlusconi seems to have learned this lesson by raising taxes on the rich and going after tax dodgers

  17. jackal 17
    16 August 2011 at 8:06 pm

    Celebrating Youth Unemployment

    There’s a major problem with National’s policies that was highlighted in Parliament today; Youth Unemployment levels are the highest since records began and higher than in the great depression. The dysfunctional process that has led to such a huge increase is a direct result of National’s archaic policies that have caused an extended and deeper recession and worsening social conditions including a lack of good jobs for the young…

    • Treetop 17.1
      16 August 2011 at 8:48 pm

      National knew that there was a recession and in the last three years have done very little to assist youth into employment. In the 1930 depression there was retrenchment and soup queues. Now there are going to be food cards to replace the soup queue so that the soup queues are not visible.

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