Open mike 17/02/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 17th, 2011 - 40 comments
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40 comments on “Open mike 17/02/2011 ”

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  1. mickysavage 1
    17 February 2011 at 6:40 am

    Following a series of disasters and with his Government on the ropes John Key does the only thing possible …

    Bene bashing!

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/headlines.cfm?c_id=280

  2. ron 2
    17 February 2011 at 6:52 am

    I have heard through the grapevine that Crusher Collins is going to phase Social Workers out of prisons.
    Anyone got any info on this?

  3. ron 3
    17 February 2011 at 6:55 am

    I hear Crusher Collins is planning on dumping social workers from prisons. Any one have info on this?

  4. logie97 4
    17 February 2011 at 7:04 am

    It would be interesting to know how much of New Zealand business is owned by overseas interests – is there an easy way of finding out?

    When Bill O’Reilly, Alasdair Thompson or members of The Business Round Table lobby or advise Government, they speak with good old Kiwi accents, but are they doing the bidding for absentee masters?

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      17 February 2011 at 7:37 am

      Start with the ‘old fashioned’ GNP numbers. (are they even still kept) Globalisation meant that economic leaders all moved to GDP in order to hide the amount of economic activity due to offshore enterprises. Activities of Australian banks in NZ would be removed from the talley – that’s several tens of billions of dollars activities removed straight away.

    • Jim Nald 4.2
      17 February 2011 at 7:39 am

      Extract from Key’s Memoirs:

      We can’t do anything about it.
      (Why bother?)

    • Vicky32 4.3
      17 February 2011 at 5:49 pm

      On a side note, I have heard the 2Degrees boss on TV – he’s an American. So what’s with all the good old NZ adverts for 2Degrees? Is anyone fooled?
      Deb

  5. Pascal's bookie 5
    17 February 2011 at 7:58 am

    I see that a slim majority, but a majority nonetheless, of voters likely to vote in GOP primaries next year are birthers:

    http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2011/02/romney-and-birthers.html

    Digging into the candidate preferences of those there birthers is also starkly interesting.

    But on the broader point, I wonder if they really believe it, or if it is a pure shibboleth. A marker of identity. A statement of something that it is not really about the world as you think it exists, but a statement that is meant to signify where you stand and what you stand against.

    Not that it matters either way of course, daft is as daft does afterall, and it’s really just another working of the eternal question, are they stupid, evil, or both,

    Which again, is a question that doesn’t actually matter.

    But over half of GOP primary voters are birthers? Grow the fuck up.

  6. pollywog 6
    17 February 2011 at 8:17 am

    Whena Owen’s report from Campbell Live last night, highlighting the Wong’s dodgy dealings and lies to Parliament.

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Hovercraft-designer-speaks-out-about-Wong-connection/tabid/817/articleID/197594/Default.aspx

    If ever there was a case of liars, cheats and frauds not deserving of the public subsidised travel perk for ex MP’s, these scumbags are it.

    What kind of arseholes rip off someone’s designs, set up business in China to produce them, under a partnership, then cut the designer out of the picture and the payments when the orders start rolling in ?

    …according to the piece, the Wongs are just these kind of arseholes.

    Surely an auditor general invstigation needs to be actioned now ?

    • Draco T Bastard 6.1
      17 February 2011 at 9:36 am

      It needed to be actioned when the rorts that the Wongs had been carrying out first came to light.

    • Lanthanide 6.2
      17 February 2011 at 10:01 am

      The guy is now on the dole. Lets see WINZ go in for bat in a legal battle against this chinese company. Surely getting him some royalties up in the 7 figures would be good for his self-confidence, as well as for the government’s purse.

      Of course WINZ are only interested in sending people to ’employment skills’ seminars etc.

  7. johnm 7
    17 February 2011 at 9:47 am

    THE COURAGE AND DEDICATION OF SEASHEPHERD HAS CAUSED THE JAPANESE TO SUSPEND THE ILLEGAL CRIMINAL WHALE HUNT IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN.
    (compare the above with this government’s cowardly kowtow to the Japanese by Murray McCully who virtually gave them a green light to ram the Ady Gil and all the kiwis who think might is right and little boats shouldn’t mix with big boats)Plus the media here who refuse to assist NZers to articulate their outrage at Japan’s behaviour kowtowing to Japan for trade and wealth generation reasons

    “Japanese whaling fleet gives up the hunt
    AFTER decades of bitterly opposed Antarctic ”research whaling”, Japan has suspended its hunt and is near to formally pulling out only halfway through the season.”

    http://www.commondreams.org/further/2011/02/16

  8. felix 8
    17 February 2011 at 10:49 am

    Wow, looking at the pictures of the losers entering the “win a ukranian slave” contest is like putting faces to the names in a Kiwiblog thread. Especially page 2.

    http://www.therock.net.nz/Win/WinAWife/tabid/1020/Default.aspx

    • Vicky32 8.1
      17 February 2011 at 6:01 pm

      What a bunch of tossers! Also, the bad spelling just leapt out at me, as always! (Occupational hazard..)
      Deb

    • Lanthanide 9.1
      17 February 2011 at 12:42 pm

      I got 6, apparently. But the questions are fairly obvious for which is the ‘narcissistic’ answer and which isn’t, so I think that someone who is trying to prove that they aren’t narcissistic will lie to themselves and the test in order to prove it.

      • Draco T Bastard 9.1.1
        17 February 2011 at 1:03 pm

        Yeah, I wasn’t particularly impressed by the questions. As you say, they’re fairly obvious and, IMO, some of the questions don’t properly “reverse”.

    • M 9.2
      17 February 2011 at 12:50 pm

      DTB, did this and got a 5 bumped by the self-sufficiency section.

      I’m sure Key’s would be well over 20 – he just loves that power and control.

    • Vicky32 9.3
      17 February 2011 at 5:59 pm

      I got a 3, and it’s rather repetitive, isn’t it?
      Deb

      • M 9.3.1
        18 February 2011 at 1:02 am

        Yes Deb it is.

        Maybe it could have been just one question like –

        Do you crave power and control over others by the use of financial violence (benefit cuts), character assassination (calling people bludgers or welfare slappers), manipulate by employing dodgy statistics (guile), and would do anything short of throw yourself under a car (publicity junkie) and still be able to say: “I’m not a narcissist?”

        for the pure of heart like John Key.

  10. Carol 10
    17 February 2011 at 12:19 pm

    Question 12 for oral answer in the House today:

    http://parliamenttoday.co.nz/2011/02/questions-for-oral-answer-feb-17/

    12. Hon PETE HODGSON to the Prime Minister: Is he prepared to ask the Auditor-General to inquire further into the overseas travel of former Minister Pansy Wong?

    So, I’ll be interested to see JK’s response and the follow-up questions.

    I’ll also be interested in the responses and follow-up for this:

    10. CAROL BEAUMONT to the Minister of Women’s Affairs: Is it still the priority of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to close the gender pay gap?

  11. KINTO 11
    17 February 2011 at 12:32 pm

    Things are getting very personal over on Kiwiblog today, publicising the names of public servants whom they believe to be screwing over mr smile and wave.

    • Colonial Viper 11.1
      17 February 2011 at 12:41 pm

      Let’s keep turning the heat up. See how many psi the Right Wing machine will really take.

  12. toad 12
    17 February 2011 at 1:55 pm

    http://www.RedneckCoalition.co.nz

    Seems someone has been having some fun with the Coastal Coalition’s billboards.

  13. just saying 13
    17 February 2011 at 2:05 pm

    http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/02/from-the-hood-john-key-pm-wins-2011-walters-prize-for-modern-art/

    More warped genius from Lyndon Hood.
    Had me laughing out loud from the top picture title.
    Highly recommended!

    • M 13.1
      17 February 2011 at 2:17 pm

      LOL from me too.

      Key imitates his art, a blank sheet.

      • prism 13.1.1
        18 February 2011 at 7:07 pm

        Reveals previously unknown family history. For instance that he was a flamboyant Czech artist before he became John Key. But I want to know how shonkey had time to create art. Helen didn’t but she was not in Hawaii so often.

  14. Pete 14
    17 February 2011 at 4:32 pm

    There hasn’t been much comment on this article from the Herald quoting Standard & Poor’s sovereign rating analyst Kyran Curr:

    “However, unlike Key, Curry said Standard & Poor’s did not regard the state sector as “bloated and inefficient”.

    “Generally, we look at the Government in New Zealand as being relatively small and compared to its peers it’s quite efficient.”

    Furthermore, Curry said New Zealand was “relatively light” in government related entities.

    He noted the Government’s plans for partial asset sales, “but if you look at what’s left, the sorts of government related businesses in New Zealand are quite minimal compared to a lot of other countries”.

  15. Draco T Bastard 15
    17 February 2011 at 5:44 pm

    The Real Cost of China’s Non Performing Loans

    Throughout modern history, and in nearly every economic system, whether we are talking about China, the US, France, Brazil or any other country, there has really only been one meaningful way to resolve banking crises. Whenever non-performing loans or contingent liabilities surge to the point where the solvency of the banking system is threatened, the regulators ensure that wealth is transferred in sufficient amounts from the household sector to borrowers or banks to replenish bank capital and bring them back to solvency. The household sector, in other words, always pays to clean up the banks.

    And that is what is happening now around the world. All the bailouts are a transfer of wealth to the banks and the already wealthy. They do nothing for the people who are paying to clean up the mess of the financial system.

  16. Alistair 16
    18 February 2011 at 5:17 pm

    I see that National are now describing Government spending as a Stimulus Package, first I have heard of it from the Blue corner. So we have controlling government spending and a stimulus package all at once?

    http://www.national.org.nz/mediareleases.aspx

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