Open mike 17/06/2011

61 comments on “Open mike 17/06/2011 ”

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1. Lazy Susan 1

   17 June 2011 at 6:57 am

   Just heard Joyce on RNZ dancig on a pin trying to justify the removal of the Kiwishare from Chorus when Telecom is split into a lines and retail company. Yesterday it was the youth minimum wage down to $10. Before that Kiwisaver and asset sales, We’re in the run-up to an election and just about every day there’s another piece of news that shows this NAct government has no regard for the well-being of the great majority of New Zealanders. If this is what they think they can get away with prior to an election we really will be in a deep hole if they get re-elected.

   For 25 years we’ve been hearing the same old neo-liberal spin about leaving things to the market and every year that goes by things just get worse for all but the very few wealthy elite. What a greedy manipulative bunch of self-serving sycophants this NAct government and their hollow men are.
   • Bored 1.1

     17 June 2011 at 7:29 am

     Stripping the lines (Chorus) from Telecom and there is nothing to share but a poxy sales / marketing / billing entity. The Kiwishare was based upon getting value from a tangible assets, aka exchanges, telephone network, the copper which is now the fibre. In effect this is the final stripping of any NZ return from Telecom.
2. millsy 2

   17 June 2011 at 8:07 am

   I wonder how many of those who have screamed the loudest for pay cuts for our young people benefited from jobs for life at award wages when they were young.
3. felix 3

   17 June 2011 at 8:36 am

   Yesterday in parliament Trevor threw down the gauntlet and announced that all contracts the govt enters into based on the Telecommunications (TSO, Broadband, and Other Matters) Amendment Bill/Act will be subject to review upon a change of govt, and most importantly that changes deemed necessary will not be compensated for.

   Any of Joyce’s mates lining up to fleece the public purse have now been warned. Excellent call.

   Video here: http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/9311
4. gingercrush 4

   17 June 2011 at 9:05 am

   How many of you stooges are posing as trademe users and making terrible, “Vote Labour” posts in the Christchurch Earthquake forum over there?
   • Lanthanide 4.1

     17 June 2011 at 9:11 am

     Yeah, it’s all a big conspiracy. It’s not like people in CHCH have any reason for voting against National this coming election… none at all.
     • The Voice of Reason 4.1.1

       17 June 2011 at 11:44 am

       Hey, Lanthanide, you are closer to the issue than me. Would I be right in thinking that the suburbs that are likely to be abandoned are primarily in Labour held electorates? I’ve got a feeling they are, for the most part. I can’t help thinking that if it was Fendalton or Merrivale under threat King Gerry would be only too happy to be open and engaging with the affected residents, because they’re his kind of people.
        
       The phrases George Bush and New Orleans keep popping into my head for some reason, too.
     • John D 4.1.2

       17 June 2011 at 1:46 pm

       I am sure the people of Christchurch are more then happy to be used as political pawns coming up to the next election. /sarc
   • Deadly_NZ 4.2

     17 June 2011 at 11:53 am

     What do you mean ? “posing as trade me users”? I AM a trade me user. I also do not make terrible anythings anywhere. I also have not posted on the CHCH forum there. So you are none for 3, as usual. You are just doing the usual troll dance of the uninformed, and ill advised. Yep a NACT troll crying that someone has beaten them to the idea.
   • Roflcopter 4.3

     17 June 2011 at 1:53 pm

     Probably Curran again, after her last failed attempt.
5. Descendant Of Smith 5

   17 June 2011 at 9:10 am

   More rural job losses:

   Losing its second-biggest employer is another kick in the guts for Waipukurau, which is still trying to recover from the April storm that trashed coastal farms.

   “We’ve got our own little Christchurch here,” Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Peter Butler said of the proposed closure of the 26-year-old Ovation boning plant in Waipukurau.

   A closure would result in up to 304 job losses, with a final decision due in two weeks after consultation.

   http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/national-news/5155584/Another-kick-in-the-guts-for-rural-NZ

   Of course all they need to do is pull their socks up and get another job. There’s plenty out there especially in places like Waipukurau.

   No doubt the market will provide.
6. jackal 6

   17 June 2011 at 11:19 am

   Hero of the Week Award – Cameron Leslie

   Most able-bodied people wouldn’t have a clue about the challenges and difficulties disabled people face on a daily basis. It’s not just the physical barrier that the disabled need to overcome; people’s attitudes are often as great a barrier to achieving independence. There’s a fantastic program called Attitude that helps to promote and enable the participation of the disabled in society as full and equal citizens. The appropriately named show helps to break down the barriers that inhibit equality within New Zealand.
7. ZeeBop 7

   17 June 2011 at 12:44 pm

   Branson was on news, said free market were hold up the price because of speculators.

   He didn’t do into detail about why he should get the benefit of lower oil prices at the expense of the speculators.

   Nor did he call the environmental movement out for its bad news story but essentially that’s what he means. Those damn speculators telling everyone that prices will rise the moment the gap demand outstrips supply.

   But realistically China will be able to buy all the cheap stuff, so Branson would still have
   to pay more, Duh. China will build more storage capacity and fill them up, storing real assets as opposed to buy the junk that passes as investment in most markets (due to its reliance on valuations based on oil plateau – which Branson just blow out of the water in his comments).
   • Draco T Bastard 7.1

     17 June 2011 at 2:50 pm

     Link?
     • ZeeBop 7.1.1

       17 June 2011 at 3:31 pm

       Mid day news. Branson said he thought fuel prices should be much lower and
       speculators were the problem. Key must have cringed had he saw it, being
       a speculator was how he made his money. Its the dichotomy between the
       business entrepreneur and the fiscal speculator that is changing, before they
       were bedfellows, now the ones that create real worth loath the speculators
       running off with profits. We need a real business party in NZ.
       • Carol 7.1.1.1

         17 June 2011 at 3:49 pm

         Branson in Miami:
         http://www.marketwatch.com/story/branson-calls-for-greater-oil-trader-regulation-2011-06-16
         • ZeeBop 7.1.1.1.1

           17 June 2011 at 4:02 pm

           Branson shames all NZ by attack speculators, our PM is a supreme specimen of breed.

           Key says he is there for Business. But the greatest business men loath speculators!

           Oh, the tarnished National branding, that National know what businesses need.

           Branson wants more regulation. I can hear Douglas whince from here.
8. Jim Nald 8

   17 June 2011 at 1:02 pm

   Wow! Amazing. This must be the kind of ‘Brownlee recovery’ and National Government’s approach to rebuilding Christchurch:

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/employment/news/article.cfm?c_id=11&objectid=10731926
   • freedom 8.1

     17 June 2011 at 1:57 pm

     i smell a bailout appeal

     you can almost hear the first calls of ‘save our stadiums’ ‘save the sacred Rugby grounds’
     i wonder if the TAB has odds on the stadiums getting a cheque before any residents
   • ianupnorth 8.2

     17 June 2011 at 2:46 pm

     They’ll be right, there’s 170K new jobs coming, treasury said so.
     • Colonial Viper 8.2.1

       17 June 2011 at 4:30 pm

       Fun facts: those jobs are all in New South Wales.
       • Vicky32 8.2.1.1

         18 June 2011 at 2:45 am

         ;D
     • William Joyce 8.2.2

       17 June 2011 at 5:24 pm

       ianupnorth : getting a bit naive there, pal. Remember David Carter said who really promised the jobs…

       “Bear in mind the Government hasn’t said it will create the 170000 new jobs – the Budget said there will be 170000 jobs.”
9. Morrissey 9

   17 June 2011 at 1:04 pm

   National Radio “Nine to Noon”
   Friday 17 June 2011
   Gemma Gracewood’s ignorant endorsement of “caring” Anthony Weiner

   Every Friday on National Radio’s Nine to Noon programme, the last ten minutes before midday are taken up with two comedians commenting on the news of the week. Usually this is excellent—the comedians are not only wittier, but usually more astute and more thoughtful than most specialist political commentators.

   This morning the comedians were DAI HENWOOD and GEMMA GRACEWOOD. Dai Henwood was fine—he made several pertinent and interesting comments, without straining things by trying to be too funny.

   Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Gemma Gracewood. Her first contribution was about the ludicrous Anthony Weiner’s disgrace and resignation. Gracewood was calling from New York, so it would be reasonable to expect her comments about the fall of a New York City congressman to be well-informed.

   Not so, however. This is what she said: “Weiner was one of the better, hard-working, more caring people in Congress.” That’s not true. Weiner is infamous in Washington for harrying and haranguing his subordinates, and smashing up office furniture during his rages; he has had a higher turnover of staff than anyone else in Congress.

   Weiner’s harassment of staff might have been justified if he had achieved anything—even ONE thing—as a result of it. In fact, he achieved nothing. From 1999 until this year, Weiner was the primary sponsor of 191 Bills, not one of which was enacted. Maybe this record of bullying and wasting prodigious amounts of Congressional time are what led Gracewood to say Weiner was “hard-working”. Or, more likely, Gemma Gracewood did not know what she was talking about.

   How is Weiner one of the (in Gemma Gracewood’s words) “more caring people in Congress”? Well, his record speaks volumes. In 2002, he supported the vote to give Bush a free hand to attack Iraq. Much worse than his willingness to act as a stooge for the scofflaw Republican regime, however, is his record as an extreme supporter of Israel’s brutal occupation of the West Bank and its depredations in Gaza, and his unending stream of Soviet-style verbal assaults on Israel’s victims. In May 2006, Weiner attempted to bar entry by the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations. He claimed that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas did not represent the PLO, and implied that this was because the group is listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department. Weiner further stated that the delegation “should start packing their little Palestinian terrorist bags.” He went on to claim that Human Rights Watch, the New York Times and Amnesty International were biased against Israel.

   In other words, Weiner is a bully, a chicken-hawk and a hypocrite. The recent revelations of his Clinton-like sexual shenanigans are the least of it.

   A few minutes after ignorantly praising the “caring” Weiner, Gracewood condemned some Auckland Councillors for their “heinous and disgraceful verbal attacks” on a couple of schoolgirls who had made a verbal presention to the Council. Whatever those Councillors did and said, they are a collection of Albert Schweitzers compared to Anthony Weiner.

   Not that Gemma Gracewood would know enough to judge.
   • D-D-D-Damn ! 9.1

     17 June 2011 at 4:15 pm

     True. Mind you, Morrissey, when it comes to ultra-sycophantic Israeli apologetics pretty much the same could be said of 95 % of the US Congress.
     • Morrissey 9.1.1

       17 June 2011 at 9:05 pm

       Actually, D-D-D-Damn !, that apparent support is wafer-thin. It’s obviously easy to get Congressmen and Senators to sign pieces of paper, as we saw with the recent hastily organised U.S. petition against Pharmac. And compared to AIPAC, the medical companies are reserved and civilised lobbyists.

       It’s always easier to opt for a peaceful life and sign whatever AIPAC petition you are told to—-especially when you know that the alternative is an unceasing barrage of abuse and defamation.
   • Colonial Viper 9.2

     17 June 2011 at 4:33 pm

     Weiner’s 191 bills did not get enacted?

     That’s because he didn’t sponsor sell out bills to get Republican support.

     Weiner is one of the few Democrats who actually pushed for and spoke for universal healthcare even when every other Democratic representative was running for cover and running from President Obama.
     • Morrissey 9.2.1

       17 June 2011 at 9:08 pm

       Weiner spent more time abusing Palestinian children for getting in the way of American-supplied bombs and White Phosphorus than he did “pushing for” healthcare.

       Good riddance to him; the contempt and ridicule he experienced at his resignation announcement is going to haunt him forever.
10. prism 10

    17 June 2011 at 1:10 pm

    Clayton Weatherston has lost his bid for something by alleging provocation caused him to kill his girlfriend, over and over again. Well he is an economist. They can reorder reality to suit their preferred theory. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/5157279/Clayton-Weatherstons-appeal-dismissed
    Hearing about this creates a vicious circle. Now I feel vicious and want to go out and knife various economists who I find very provoking. For instance many of the comments under Monopolies on The Standard 15/6 – 253 comments. Some of the economists there have only been saved from being aerated by the recent change in the law against provocation.

    To describe them there is a great selection of alternative nouns in Roget’s thesaurus under 922 Contempt in the Morals section. (Possible winners, scorn, superiority, superciliousness, ridicule.) Then move on to 481 Misjudgement under Results of Reasoning. An interesting duality – are economists reasoning beings mainly or immoral dabblers in financial and number manipulation attempting to alter financial systems to match their predilections and predictions?
    • Morrissey 10.1

      17 June 2011 at 1:22 pm

      “Clayton Weatherston has lost his bid for something by alleging provocation caused him to kill his girlfriend, over and over again.”

      Well, Bruce Emery successfully invoked provocation and got a ludicrously light sentence for the same offence. Clayton Weatherston quite reasonably thought he could get the same discount. There’s an inconsistency in the two sentences.

      Look for an announcement in the next few days by the the Sensible Sentencing Trust chairman Garth McVicar: he is going to come out in support of Weatherston, in the same way he supported Emery.
      • ianupnorth 10.1.1

        17 June 2011 at 2:36 pm

        Garth McVicar = Sensible Sentencing Trust = bunch of eejits who can’t read research = people who don’t believe in sociological research = ACT voters
      • prism 10.1.2

        17 June 2011 at 3:51 pm

        Morrissey – Perhaps is was the 200 knife thrusts by Clayton Weatherston. Perhaps that was considered excessive and in bad taste by the court. Provocation as an excuse has been definitely carried to excess in the Justice system. I don’ know if it was intended to be used only by a lesser, weaker person against a stronger person as in battered spouses, children etc.

        Bruce Emery stabbed a tagger to death.
        The Herald found the task of reporting on this court case so onerous that four reporters were needed to cover it. In one part of the item someone is giving a brief sketch of the defendant and finds his ordinariness surprising. This is deep thinking for these days. (The four with bylines Andrew Koubaridis, Beck Vass, Chris Barton and Phil Taylor.) I didn’t read it all as I didn’t think I couldn’t be bothered wading through the verbiage to get the facts.

        I wondered the other day what I would get if I caught two cyclists coming at me at speed on the footpath as I weeded it. What if I jumped on them and kicked them in the ribs. I definitely felt provoked to do this. I felt like stabbing them but then thought that this might be excessive.

        Incidentally have you noticed how many men in their forties are committing crimes? At one time it was the under 25’s and then they settled down and presumably used their spare time to mow the lawns. Now the age rage has gone up. I think higher home ownership is needed with lawns and gardens to look after. The answer lies in the soil!
        • Colonial Viper 10.1.2.1

          17 June 2011 at 4:35 pm

          Coincidentally, these men in their forties were early in their working careers when they faced the high unemployment and shock changes of Rogernomics and Ruthanasia, and the general destruction of the NZ they had grown up in..
        • Morrissey 10.1.2.2

          17 June 2011 at 8:52 pm

          1.) Bruce Emery stabbed a tagger to death.

          No, he stabbed a fifteen-year-old boy to death, after chasing him with a knife for 300 metres.

          2.) The Herald found the task of reporting on this court case so onerous that four reporters were needed to cover it. In one part of the item someone is giving a brief sketch of the defendant and finds his ordinariness surprising. This is deep thinking for these days.

          The Herald‘s coverage was, and continues to be, a disgrace. The reason people like you are referring to it as the “tagger case” is in large part due to the prejudicial and distorted coverage by the Herald and, in an even more virulent and sustained form, by the hosts at NewstalkZB. And this organised assault on the memory of the dead boy was amplified by the demeaning comments about the victim and his family by Emery’s lawyer Chris Comeskey.

          Their “finding” that the killer was ordinary is not “deep thinking”, as you proclaim, it’s a banal observation which could be made of 99 per cent of murderers. The only reason the Herald even mentioned it was to engender sympathy for the killer and to diminish and trivialize the killing of the boy.

          3.) I didn’t read it all as I didn’t think I couldn’t be bothered wading through the verbiage to get the facts.

          You need to read the coverage again, this time in a serious and critical spirit. You seem to have been persuaded by the spin of Chris Comeskey and his faithful media megaphones.

          Before you do your reading, though, have a look at these two clips:
          Here’s the dead boy’s grieving mother Leanne Cameron being interviewed outside the court. This is the footage that so enraged NewstalkZB host Kerre Woodham that she scolded Mrs Cameron in her Herald on Sunday column for being “weak”….
          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGDuOUR_K5c&feature=fvw

          And here’s the killer’s lawyer Chris Comeskey weaving his cynical web of disparagement and disinformation….
          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50PxDi2F2q0
          • prism 10.1.2.2.1

            17 June 2011 at 9:21 pm

            Morrissey – I don’t know if you understand everything as well as you think. You certainly can’t sort out irony in comment. When I referred to the reportage on Emery’s ordinariness as deep for these times, it was irony, meaning it was facile and cliched.

            Seeing you know all about it – why did Emery stab the teenager? You say the teenager wasn’t tagging. Did Emery think he was tagging?

            And I don’t believe everything grieving parents have to say to the media. You don’t necessarily get the facts from them as they have their own bias and their shock affecting the way they tell their stories.
            • Morrissey 10.1.2.2.1.1

              17 June 2011 at 9:45 pm

              1.) You certainly can’t sort out irony in comment. When I referred to the reportage on Emery’s ordinariness as deep for these times, it was irony, meaning it was facile and cliched.

              Fair enough. You and I are in agreement about that, then. And maximum respect for your neo-Swiftian irony!

              2.) Seeing you know all about it – why did Emery stab the teenager? You say the teenager wasn’t tagging.

              I never said that. Where on earth do you get that notion from?

              3.) Did Emery think he was tagging?

              Of course he did. Then he decided to kill the boy, instead of doing what a rational person would do—either call the police or run and punch the boy. No one would complain about that; but do you really think there is some justification for a man killing a fleeing boy with a knife?

              4.) And I don’t believe everything grieving parents have to say to the media.

              What did Mrs Cameron say that was not true? Do you agree with Kerre Woodham of NewstalkZB that the mother of a murdered child has no right to display her grief? Do you support Chris Comeskey’s derogatory comments about the dead boy’s family?

              5.) You don’t necessarily get the facts from them as they have their own bias and their shock affecting the way they tell their stories.

              This has nothing to do with the facts, which are known by everyone. What it does have to do with is why these media organizations took Chris Comeskey’s lead and engaged in a relentless campaign of belittlement of the dead boy and his family, and a concomitant and equally cynical campaign of excusing and “understanding” the boy’s killer.
              • prism …

                17 June 2011 at 9:54 pm

                So the boy was tagging. Yes. Knifing him was certainly a terrible thing to do. Yes.
                I’ll just leave it at that. Thank you for giving me some background Morrisey.
                • Morrissey …

                  17 June 2011 at 10:02 pm

                  Thank you, prism, and good night.
11. travellerev 11

    17 June 2011 at 1:24 pm

    I just came across this lecture from Michael Parenti again and thought I’d share it with you:

    Dr. Michael Parenti On The “Stupidity” Of Our Leaders

    “They’re not stupid.  You’re stupid if you think they’re stupid.  You’re stupid if you think your enemies are stupid.  All of North America is full of liberal intellectuals who love to say how stupid their leaders are.  In the U.S. I can tell you, everybody is making jokes about how stupid George Bush is.  I tell my fellow country men and women, I say, you know, we keep electing these stupid leaders, does this have any reflection on our intelligence?”  […] “You hear this all the time… ladies and gentleman, it’s time we give less emphasis to how stupid these people supposedly are, and give more attention to how vicious and relentless and uncompromising they are.”
    Here is the link to the entire lecture. Enjoy!!
     
    • ianupnorth 11.1

      17 June 2011 at 2:38 pm

      Like people who say Brian Tamaki has a cult – no he doesn’t, he has a successful business ripping of Maori and PI people with false promises and deluded dreams.
      • travellerev 11.1.1

        17 June 2011 at 2:52 pm

        Yep!
12. randal 12

    17 June 2011 at 1:56 pm

    today i read somewhere where John Keys is cosying up to brian tamaki and the density cult.Firstly Brian Tamaki is not a bishop. He has neverbeen ordained in an anglican church and he has never obtained a degree at a recognised sminary. secondly he is a theologaster. i.e. a shallow and paltry theologian and a pretender and smatterer of theology. thirdly he maintains a blackshirt force of shock troops. To pretend that he is bringer of the word of god to people is just a risible fantasy. He humiliates and repressess people by guilt and this is the same tactics that national uses to bash beneficiaries.
    Brian Tamaki has no more direct connection to the holy city and God than I do.
    and john key is an atheist!
    what the f*ck is going on here between those two.
    • Draco T Bastard 12.1

      17 June 2011 at 3:04 pm

      what the f*ck is going on here between those two.

      They’re both rich from exploiting others and they want to keep in place the system that allows them to do that.
      • Colonial Viper 12.1.1

        17 June 2011 at 4:36 pm

        Reminds me of GW Bush converting Blair to a new religion. Under the guise of waging a new crusade in the middle east.
13. ianupnorth 13

    17 June 2011 at 2:45 pm

    Apparently the electoral agent for Rotorua’s National MP Todd McClay (him with the father Roger who double dipped, claiming his travel costs from charities whilst having the state pay these) has resigned and will be standing against him in the forthcoming election for ACT!
    Mike McVicker is a former cop and a current (redneck) Rotorua District councillor, and like most, is a local business proprietor.
14. The Voice of Reason 14

    17 June 2011 at 3:01 pm

    Gosh, I miss having a leader who had real authority and actually got things done.
15. jackal 15

    17 June 2011 at 3:08 pm

    An Excuse for GE

    We should all know by now that climate change will affect crops that we humans rely on for sustenance. Changing seasons and fluctuating weather patterns could be devastating for food production, which is essential to maintain current population levels. The side effects of unchecked industrialisation could grow further in scope with diseases, viruses and bacteria all finding more favourable conditions under a warmer and unstable climate. So what is the answer to this threat?
    • ZeeBop 15.1

      17 June 2011 at 3:54 pm

      Well first we must make sure the workers of the future, the young don’t get their fair wage so they can when they grow older be generous fair minded citizens too. Oh, wait, no, that’s the proto fascist policy.
16. NickS 16

    17 June 2011 at 3:44 pm

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5156648/Destiny-battling-for-control-of-Maori-womens-league

    So that’s what those fuckers are up to.
    • Colonial Viper 16.1

      17 June 2011 at 6:08 pm

      Hey thats a nice $250 hair-do Hannah Tamaki is wearing. Where did that money come from?
17. jackal 17

    17 June 2011 at 3:48 pm

    I knew the Royals often overindulged, and that Obama had a penchant for Guinness… but this is ridiculous!

    Friday Fun with Photos #5
    • Rodel 17.1

      17 June 2011 at 8:59 pm

      ha!excellent humour
18. aj 18

    17 June 2011 at 6:04 pm

    Justice Wilson defends his case on the Court Report.

    http://tvnz.co.nz/content/3602661.xhtml

    Fascinating, and very illuminating.
19. Rodel 19

    17 June 2011 at 8:06 pm

    Watching Cameron Slater on TV
    My god…. what a creep!
    I’m ashamed to be a member of the same species as him (it)…Hopefully I’m not…
20. ianupnorth 20

    17 June 2011 at 9:16 pm

    Still laughing at the ridiculous Peter Dunne and his bow tie on Close Up – what a lemon.
    • Pascal's bookie 20.1

      17 June 2011 at 9:42 pm

      I know. I was waiting for it to start spinning around. Clown shoes.
      • Jim Nald 20.1.1

        17 June 2011 at 10:51 pm

        Any publicity is good publicity. Including stupid ones.
        One of his forthcoming wankey media appearances will be an X-rated demo of how he will assist Nats with asset stripping. Starting with his own. Except he will reveal his are liabilities, even to himself.
21. logie97 21

    17 June 2011 at 10:05 pm

    A problem with who is driving the new Technologies.

    Okay, so I am getting older. But it would seem to me that, because the 20 to 30’s are the development engineers and entrepreneurs within the IT industry and the call centres are managed by the same age group, we are to be subjected to their whims and tastes.

    The family has recently changed to a new ISP and have therefore been doing a fair share of voice contact with operators to handle the teething problems. Now the operators have been brilliant and great to work with. I envy them their knowledge. However the ones who are managing their systems make no allowance for who is a subscriber.

    I am talking about the F..king crap music that I am subjected to while on hold, notwithstanding the initial queuing system. This pap muzak in the form of a wailing female or male wannabe singer

    You cannot risk putting the phone down to shut the sound out because you may miss the operator connection and then have to requeue for 30 minutes, so you put the receiver on “speaker” and, because of the quality of the “speaker” on the phone, the sound is even more painful. What’s wrong with a bit of Bach or Vivaldi or Mozart – particularly as you are probably in a slightly frustrated state given that you are needing to phone a Help centre anyway – the f..king music can raise the blood pressure even more.

    In fact this goes for all 0800 services (banks, electricity, utilities) in general.
    Anyone here prepared to start a campaign…

    I have an idea. When the salesman arrives at the door offering a far superior, all singing bells and whistles system, demand a section on the contract that asks you what type of music you want their Help Desk to play and if they cannot give you that option, tell them to get on their bike – you will wait for an ISP that will provide that option.
    • ianupnorth 21.1

      17 June 2011 at 11:17 pm

      You’ve just given me a great idea which I shall rapidly patent and become a capitalist!!
       
      When you get through top the call centre you input your date of birth, gender and ethnicity and it then picks a tune for you to listen to when on hold; example
       
      you say age 25, male and maori, you get Katchafire
       
      you say 50, female and European, you get some crooning male opera type
       
      you say 17, female and PI and you get Stan Walker.
      • logie97 21.1.1

        17 June 2011 at 11:36 pm

        ian … NNnnoooooooaaahhhhhh!!!! I give you an idea for a guaranteed retirement income and by way of a thank you you might have included my tastes as an example of some real classical meditation music – good for the soul stuff. (You see your demographic stops at the 50 year old – they’re not the ones who are most likely to succumb to the salesman offering a new system – it’s the 60 plus group who are struggling. You haven’t been reading Brian Edwards’ blog by any chance have you…?

        http://brianedwardsmedia.co.nz/2011/06/from-the-website-that-gave-you-the-solution-to-kiwi-unemployment-how-to-fix-the-international-economy/#more-5411

        (I can put up with Katchafire despite my age (my daughter left her cds and I have loaded them into iTunes – good tastes she has).

        Still if you get this up and running, will you recruit some of us older ones into your call centre? Will you give us share options …?
    • Vicky32 21.2

      21 June 2011 at 3:36 pm

      For some reason Housing NZ’s hold music is, and has been for years, a looped version of Tim Finn’s “Fraction Too Much Friction”, which I’ve always felt is scarily appropriate, as I phone HNZ if and and only if friction has happened or is about to…
      WINZ hold music has permanently put me off NZ music of the 70s and 80s. Whaling, Victoria, Six Months in a Leaky Boat, and the entire back catalogue of Crowded House and Split Enz… It makes me wonder who they think their callers are? I commented once to a StudyLink woman about the hold music (which call centre staff can’t hear), and asked her to mention to the higher ups that 90% of people phoning StudyLink are between 18-25 and would have no clue who Andrew Fagan is! Ah well, IMO Justin Timberlake would be infinitely worse. One blessed day Studylink did have Bach! (Ironically, StudyLink are unusually helpful and competent.)

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