Open mike 17/10/2010

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1. Carol 1

   17 October 2010 at 7:19 am

   http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/16/france-airport-running-out-of-fuel-protests-pensions

   Shades of ’68! I don’t really agree with the criticisms of raising the pension age. I think the movement should be focusing on other, or broader issues of the ways neoliberal austerity measures are unfair on workers. However, are we looking at the beginnings of an international people’s movement against attacks on welfare states and/or neoliberal austerity measures?

   There’s rumblings from the peoples here in NZ, too. I will be joining my union for the rally this Wednesday (20th Oct). I believe it will be part of a national CTU action.

   http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1008/S00257/fairness-rallies-the-start-more-to-come.htm
2. Lanthanide 2

   17 October 2010 at 7:26 am

   Election 2011 is hotting up? On this backdrop, if Key did call a significantly early election, may it backfire on him with a public seeing it as a grab at power?

   “JOHN KEY is one of the country’s most popular prime ministers of all time, crossing the political divide, but sources within his National Party say there are concerns the public is beginning to perceive the party as a one-man band.”

   “He’s been photographed with builders, bedmakers, butchers, businessmen and even tarantula spiders, leaving some people wondering if the prime minister might have more important things he could – and should – be doing.

   One National MP, who asked not to be named, said there were concerns within parliament that the party had been reduced to The John Key Show.”

   http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4241690/Is-John-Key-a-lone-ranger
   • The Voice of Reason 2.1

     17 October 2010 at 7:44 am

     And then there’s this quote:

     “There is a bit of a concern that there is John, and thank goodness for that, but not too much below him. I mean, it’s hard to know how many people could actually name the deputy prime minster,” the MP said.

     Not too much below him. Perfectly describes both the state of Key’s caucus and his own morality.
   • comedy 2.2

     17 October 2010 at 8:00 am

     Wot wot someone’s clicked about how elections are won and lost in NZ ?

     A very large number vote on the basis of who they don’t/do want as PM and little else.

     I’m all for Colin as the next PM.
   • Blue Boy 2.3

     17 October 2010 at 9:20 am

     You missed out the bit where it said ” But the MP also said Labour had encountered a similar problem under former Prime Minister Helen Clark. “They have their own problems with Phil Goff taking over from Helen. They are making no headway”
     • The Voice of Reason 2.3.1

       17 October 2010 at 9:32 am

       A National MP saying Goff is doing it tough is no surprise, but to bag his or her own caucus as being non existent, a liability even, is definitely news. Obviously, I don’t know when the comment was made, but it appears the ‘no headway’ statement doesn’t take into account the Roy Morgan poll, which suggest Labour and the Greens are on the cusp of the numbers they need to win the next election. Not a bad place for Goff to be going into a party conference, eh?
   • Armchair Critic 2.4

     17 October 2010 at 10:42 am

     You also missed the bit where Matthew Hooton says:
     “John Key is by far National’s greatest political asset…” My emphasis.
     Normally I don’t agree with Hooton, but he is absolutely correct with this comment. And this comment is worse than faint praise for the rest of the National team.
     My favourite bit is where Johnny says:
     “Being prime minister means serving, and being answerable to, the people of New Zealand.”
     So we can expect him to be showing up for more media interviews. Got the courage to show up on morning report Johnny?
     • Dan 2.4.1

       17 October 2010 at 1:18 pm

       Key would not cope with domineering interviewing such as Espiner gave Goff this morning on Q&A. Goff handled it well but still has room for improvement!
       But then Espiner always gives Key patsy questions and does not rock the boat.
   • gobsmacked 2.5

     17 October 2010 at 3:44 pm

     Party leaders usually have a base, i.e. the support of a strong faction within the caucus. Don Brash and Helen Clark had die-hard followers, based on their track record and fostering good relationships over many years.

     John Key has no base at all. He just has opinion polls. There are no “Key-ites” (and if you doubt this, name them).

     So when the end comes (after the next election) it will be swift and brutal.
     • Armchair Critic 2.5.1

       17 October 2010 at 6:16 pm

       “John Key has no base at all.”
       I’m not convinced, GS. Key must (as in “it is compulsory” sense of the word) have the full support of the whole caucus, because without him they are toast. I’ll re-quote Matthew Hooton:
       “John Key is by far National’s greatest political asset…” My emphasis. There is no one to replace him.
       Labour haven’t got far to date by attacking Key personally. IMO they won’t get far in the future attacking Key, either. What they need to do is attack his ministers and their policies. Discredit National’s brand, rather than their leader.
       We will be able to see how successful they are, if they choose to do this, by looking at the polls as we get closer to the election. National’s party rating will drop, but Key’s popularity will remain high.
       If Labour can form a government in 2011 they will have a good chance at six years because the in-fighting in National after Key departs will make ACT’s little battles look like kids squabbling over lollipops. Big if, though; I’m still rating Labour a 50/50 chance in 2011.
   • Vicky32 2.6

     17 October 2010 at 4:30 pm

     ““He’s been photographed with builders, bedmakers, butchers, businessmen and even tarantula spiders”
     Not forgetting that he turned up for no good reason, at the All Whites vs Paraguay match in Welly on 12th October.
     I asked my son and myself “Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!”
     Deb
3. Lazy Susan 3

   17 October 2010 at 7:36 am

   So the same elites that so “efficiently” bundled up CDOs and caused the GFC are now “efficiently” foreclosing on millions of people homes.

   People have a threshold of how much crap they can take and throughout Europe and USA that threshold is coming very close to being breached.

   Before much longer the next shoe will fall in the slow motion train wreck that is the meltdown of the global financial system. With millions of people without homes, jobs, or a future and a sense that they have been dealt a huge injustice, Europe and USA are increasingly looking like a tinderbox.
4. Robert Atack 4

   17 October 2010 at 8:14 am

   Every argument about our collective futures, regardless of which group of despots we have at the top starts with future energy supply’s
   http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/ParlSupport/ResearchPapers/4/6/a/00PLEco10041-The-next-oil-shock.htm
   If we are lucky we will get a group of people who can think like Fidel Castro, or Hugo Chavez rather than Kim Jong Il,
   Korea and Cuba hit the point we are heading for in 2012 back in 1990, with the collapse of the soviet union, there oil supplies plunged by up to 80% (about the same as we import) if we go down the National/Labour track we will look like Korea inside of 10 years, if we are bloody lucky and have some thinking people running the show, we could look like Cuba. There are only those 2 choices ……………. sitting here doing nothing now = North Korea
   Knowing and understanding people (as my 10 year quest has taught me) leads me to believe that we will end up somewhere between Zimbabwe and North Korea, with the government controlling the people via the food supply…. giving the term ‘working for families’ a whole new meaning.
   And the fact that we will not discuss this also confirms my fears.
   • comedy 4.1

     17 October 2010 at 9:31 am

     “And the fact that we will not discuss this also confirms my fears.”

     Nah just take it as confirmation that most who read your comments think they’re in danger of conversing with an attention whore/troll.

     http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Troll
     • Robert Atack 4.1.1

       17 October 2010 at 10:49 am

       Here is another troll for ya

       One day conference in San Fransisco, happening now http://www.earthatrisk.net/

       Derrick Jensen
       Opening Remarks for Earth At Risk

       What is the problem?

       There’s a sense—a very real and overwhelmingly devastating sense—in which you could say that the problem is that this culture is killing the planet. One hundred and twenty species were driven extinct today. Another 120 will be driven extinct tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after. Ninety-seven percent of native forests are gone. Ninety-nine percent of native grasslands. Amphibian populations are collapsing, migratory songbird populations are collapsing, mollusk populations are collapsing, fish populations are collapsing, and so on. Nearly all rivers in the US (and world) are dammed. Dams are the death of rivers. There are two million dams in the United States alone: with 60,000 dams over 13 feet tall and 70,000 dams over 6 and a half feet tall. If we took out one of those 70,000 dams every day it would take two hundred years to remove those dams. And the salmon don’t have that time. Sturgeon don’t have that time. Ninety percent of the large fish in the oceans are gone. There is six to ten times as much plastic as phytoplankton in much of the oceans. The oceans are being acidified. The oceans are being murdered. Big cats are going. Great apes are going. Vertebrate evolution has effectively been ended by this culture. The world is being poisoned: there is dioxin (and many other carcinogens) in every (human and nonhuman) mother’s breast milk. More than half of the fish in many rivers are changing genders because of endocrine disrupting chemicals put out by this culture. And of course humans have grotesquely overshot carrying capacity, and are committing unparalleled drawdown.
       • prism 4.1.1.1

         17 October 2010 at 10:58 am

         Help. Just locally there is a desperate attempt to keep a proposed dam venture going in the Hurunui I think. Need $1 million dollars. Going to irrigate huge areas for agriculture. With seasonal droughts and uncertain weather patterns this would seem sensible and practical. But this type of thinking helps to change our environment so its part of the problem isn’t it? Just more of the same.
         • millsy 4.1.1.1.1

           17 October 2010 at 11:14 am

           Personally I am not opposed to water storage and irrigation schemes in Canterbury, but they must be PUBLICLY OWNED, with the PEOPLE having some sort of say in how they are run. What’s more, they should be non profit – any revenue they generate go back into the enviroment.

           But somehow I dont think that this will happen.
           • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.1.1.1

             17 October 2010 at 12:10 pm

             Canterbury already has more cows than it’s environment can handle. The proposed Hurunui dam is a proposal to double that number putting more filth and pollution into the ground and rivers.
   • KJT 4.2

     17 October 2010 at 1:07 pm

     Copy of my comment on Frogblog on energy.

     http://blog.greens.org.nz/2010/09/23/dams-sustainable-and-permanent/#comment-159237

     “We have so many good options in NZ or renewable power that compared to most countries we are spoiled for choice.

     Unless we are invaded for energy, food and living space which would be a strong possibility. I do not see the people who happily murder just to become richer sitting put and starving while countries like NZ and Australia are available.

     I agree with Kevin. Apart from bigger schemes that work on already degraded areas like Stockton. Reducing demand with green buildings, energy efficient transport and lower energy technology is one strand.
     Renewable energy. Distributive generation, bio-mass solar water heating, wind, geothermal, solar tidal and run of the river hydro are the other.

     I gave an example above of how the timber industry. (To build Green houses) can produce all its own renewable energy from the waste stream.

     These are only very approximate numbers to get the idea. I have some, but do not have the time to wade through all my papers at the moment. Orders of magnitude are close enough to show the theory. Changes in technology may mean more or less contribution. Bio fuels from sewerage are now looking more promising than first thought. Especially for farming which produces lots of it. 🙂 . Those tractors will be run on bio-methane produced on site.

     Electric urban transport. (Trains and cars). Reduce transport fossil fuel demand by 50%. 100 PJ saved. Green buildings in California reduce demand by 15% 20 PJ saved.
     All houses with solar heating. 40 PJ saved.
     Ships and trains for long distance transport another 50 PJ saved.

     Distributed generation by households on a smart grid. 50 PJ.
     Council woody waste 4PJ. Bio-mass (Sewage plants) 10 PJ.
     Forestry waste stream. 9 PJ short term. Up to 20 medium term.

     It will require a lot of work and commitment, but I do not see why we cannot be 100% renewable in electricity and 50% in transport fuels by 2020 if we started now. Good for employment too.

     Get the idea. New Zealanders are well placed to have a good life style with our current resources and technology.

     There will likely even be some surplus for exports to pay for things which it is not sensible to produce locally. The French and Russians will sell us all the weapons we may need.

     The caveats are. We need to start NOW.
     WE NEED TO CHANGE TO AN ECONOMY WHICH SUPPORTS A DECREASING USE OF RESOURCES”.

     We cannot afford to wait until politicians, who have too much invested in the current system, do something.

     Carrying on as we are is not an option. Niether is a reversal to some agrarian horse drawn utopia.

     This requires a change from the bottom up. Real democracy.
5. prism 5

   17 October 2010 at 10:53 am

   RadioNZ this morning –
   10:06 John Anderson – The Contiki Journey
   Kiwi John Anderson founded of one of the biggest tour companies in the world – Contiki. Then the sharemarket crashed in 1987 and a couple of years later, he was penniless and homeless. He tells Chris about the company he formed in the ‘60’s on the back of a scribbled note and a lot of nerve, its demise, and his new directions.
   John Anderson’s book ‘Only Two Seats Left’ is published by Messenger Publishing

   John A has so much interesting to say. Roller coaster of the rise of a business where he advertised for people to take a proposed trip round Europe before he had a van with something like 25 pounds in his pocket. To where the 1987 crash and an Ansett strike hit the new venture in Whitsunday Is and the company had to be sold.
   He is interesting on entrepreneurship and an example of how to build a brand that delivers what people want. The comment on how much bureaucracy there is for business in the USA. 300,000 Kiwi travellers and about 3 million from the world later, plus a lot of marriages amongst passengers, Contiki goes on under different ownership.
   An exciting story, business is exciting, a thriller, and let’s get knowledgable and supportive of good business with the enthusiasm spent now on sports teams. Perhaps we could start fan clubs for good NZ businesses or a Facebook page talking about the sort of businesses we are keen on and what they are up to (the things that are not commercially sensitive).
6. millsy 6

   17 October 2010 at 11:23 am

   Paul Henry’s fellow hatemonger, Mr L(h)aws defending hate in all its forms:

   http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/opinion/4241293/Henrys-exit-is-an-assault-on-our-freedoms

   Personally I think Laws is more threatening to this country than Henry – Henry merely has the mentality of a 5th former behind the bike sheds, while Laws is deliberately nasty to those he sees as inferior. He thinks, talks and acts like a Southern governer from the 1920’s. With open ties to the KKK. (His orders to WDC contractors to take down ‘Whanganui’ signs from SH3 reminded me of George Wallace standing in the doorway of Alabama schools to stop black students from entering them),

   What is ironic that he left the National party in the early 1990’s when Richardson chopped benefits, now he is making a living calling for DPB mothers to be sterilised.
   • M 6.1

     17 October 2010 at 12:59 pm

     ‘The point is that viewership of the Breakfast show is not compulsory. If you don’t like hearing such sentiments, don’t tune in.’

     Yeah, ‘spose many people in Germany thought the same in the 30s but were eventually caught up in the Nazi juggernaut by which time it was too late to speak out, that is, if one wanted to avoid the death camps.

     This guy is just a wanker – like you say millsy, harsh to his perceived inferiors like DPB mothers (don’t forget Laws there are DPB dads too) but wants all the sympathy in the world ’cause his precious little Lucy has cancer. Don’t even get me started on the pictures of him striking a supposed sexy stance in the black shirt – sick bowl please!
7. Robert Atack 7

   17 October 2010 at 11:28 am

   Sorry to harp on … but if the latest report regarding oil, (that has been ignored by the government and Labour) is correct, and we are going to be facing oil shortages from 2012 onwards http://oilcrash.com/articles/wake_up2.htm With the opening line >Oil is “the lifeblood of modern civilisation < .
   The fact that oil and natural gas help make up about 90% of our industrial food production http://oilcrash.com/articles/eating.htm . You have to ask what chance has any child got ?
   John Key Il is ignoring the issue, just as much as Labour

   This is a samples of the correspondence some of us have had with Labour.

   Letter to David Parker http://oilcrash.com/articles/monro_02.htm

   Letter from Hodgson http://oilcrash.com/articles/hodgson.htm note 'peak oil' 2030 , in a recent email Pete said he wouldn't sign off that letter today.

   Letters to/from Hodgson
   http://oilcrash.com/articles/hodgson2.htm
   http://oilcrash.com/articles/moore_03.htm
   http://oilcrash.com/articles/monro_01.htm

   Letter to Mallard http://oilcrash.com/articles/moore_04.htm

   Letter to Clark http://oilcrash.com/articles/clark_01.htm

   Letter From Duynhoven (mayor of NP now) http://oilcrash.com/articles/duynhovn.htm

   And as far as Labour helping children. What did they do while in power last time?
   I know they ignored the opportunity to start preparing children for what the pore buggers are going to have to try and live through.

   http://oilcrash.com/articles/concernd.htm

   [lprent: Moved to OpenMike. This is only peripherally connected to the topic of where it was posted. It is just a thread-jack / link-whore and the system properly picked it as spam. If I don’t see some improvement in your behaviour then you’ll go into auto-moderation until I do see some (or I get tired of releasing them and just ban you for wasting my time). ]
8. Draco T Bastard 8

   17 October 2010 at 12:01 pm

   Rapist: ‘Send me back to jail’

   Canterbury University criminology professor Greg Newbold said the case was unusual. “Although it’s often said convicts like being in prison, that’s rarely the case – most people can’t wait to get out,” Newbold said.

   “What is more common is that ex-prisoners sometimes find the stresses of outside life unbearable,” he said. “In prison there’s no bills to be paid and no problems finding food.” That was why some view prison as a “form of sanctuary”.

   “To me, this sounds more like a cry for help, or that he’s trying to convey a message that his life’s been made miserable.

   Why we need better rehabilitation which NACT went round cutting.
   • millsy 8.1

     17 October 2010 at 12:05 pm

     Reminds me of that film “Shawshank Redemption”, in which one of the characters, an elderley man who had been inside for 50-odd years, is paroled, but ends up hanging himself because he couldnt handle the outside…
     • pollywog 8.1.1

       17 October 2010 at 12:50 pm

       …and in that vein, ‘Bronson’ is a real hoot of a film.
9. Draco T Bastard 9

   17 October 2010 at 12:04 pm

   Statisticians attack Treasury plan to switch inflation measure

   It said the CPI failed to reflect the spending patterns of pensioners and people on benefits and the rising costs they faced.

   The society, which represents the UK’s leading statisticians, said the CPI measure of inflation was also a poor reflection of costs for workers and should not be used as the inflation index for wage bargaining.

   Now, we call our measure of inflation the CPI but I’m not sure if it’s using the same calculation. Still it does call into question the accuracy of the CPI and if it can be made more accurate.
10. Draco T Bastard 10

    17 October 2010 at 3:20 pm

    Well, I read Phil Goff’s speech and all I can say is that he still don’t get it.

    We will force would-be buyers of New Zealand rural land to invest in New Zealand and our people by bringing jobs, transferring technology, increasing exports or bringing other benefits for New Zealand.

    These rules will apply to sales of rural land over 5 hectares.

    And the young couple looking for their fist home still have to compete with the rich older couple from England looking for a nice place to retire. I’m pretty certain that being a retirement village isn’t a step up from being a bunch of ignorant farmers.

    We will also introduce new rules around investment in monopoly infrastructure to guarantee these crucial assets, such as airports, seaports and water services remain in New Zealand hands.

    All monopolies should be government owned. No ifs, buts or maybes. You’d need to identify what a monopoly is in statute. It would have to be a realistic definition with a lot of reasons why. Here’s a couple of examples for you:
    Telecommunications: This is a monopoly because it’s damned inefficient and costly to have more than one network. On top of that, we absolutely need the communications for the betterment of our democracy.
    Electricity: Again, having more than one network, which thankfully we don’t as the polys seem to have woken up a little after giving Telecom away, is inefficient. The generators need to work together so that the best supply is available at the right time rather than trying to compete which drives prices up (due to bureaucratic duplication). And, again, it’s an essential service to our people providing heating in the winter, refrigerators to keep food and other essential public services.

    But other foreign direct investment is and we encourage it.

    Wrong again. Direct foreign investment is bad for us the “wealth” that we produce will be off shored propping up another economy rather than ours. If we need access to foreign knowledge and research, which is the only thing that I can think we may need, then the government can buy or lease it direct and make it available for any NZer to use.

    Labour is going to make some tough calls to make sure our exporting businesses are competitive; some big calls.

    Good call but you missed the important bit. We need to ban the export of raw materials so that our local industry is encouraged to develop.
    • just saying 10.1

      17 October 2010 at 4:52 pm

      Yeah, it could have gone a lot further, but I was heartened by Goff’s speech, there is real progress there if they carry through with their promises.

      I know it’s easy to say, and may be just hollow words, but I was glad to hear him say that Labour was going to make sure there is a “place at the table for every New Zealander”.

      Now that’s Labour.
      • Carol 10.1.1

        17 October 2010 at 6:21 pm

        Interesting that the MSM seems to be mostly concentrating on the restrictions on overseas investments in Goff’s speech. IMO, the main theme of the speech was being critical of the “two New Zealands” and the wealth gap, and saying Labour will be doing stuff to make life fairer for the less well off. I haven’t seen any of the MSM mention that. There was loads of other stuff in that speech eg references to repealing the 90 day employment rule, and stuff about education and health care.
    • millsy 10.2

      17 October 2010 at 5:36 pm

      He probably has to be mindful of the reaction in the right-wing media.

      This was a good speech, but the newspapers, right wing commentators, and the government are going to show him no mercy.

      The Herald for example, supports the RBA and the sale of this country to the highest bidder, and is going to defend it to the death (To be perfectly honest, I dont think the NZ Herald has any right to have ‘New Zealand’ in its name, given its hostileness to any form of patriotism).
      • Draco T Bastard 10.2.1

        17 October 2010 at 6:56 pm

        (To be perfectly honest, I dont think the NZ Herald has any right to have ‘New Zealand’ in its name, given its hostileness to any form of patriotism).

        And the fact that it’s owned by APN.

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1. The Standard: posted on 21 August 2010 at 3:32 am
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