Open mike 18/03/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 18th, 2010 - 16 comments
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16 comments on “Open mike 18/03/2010 ”

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  1. prism 1
    18 March 2010 at 8:51 am

    Oh what a wonderful feeling to greet a sunny morning and make my mark on this pristine snow.

  2. Ianmac 2
    18 March 2010 at 10:10 am

    Had to keep checking that the column today in the Herald was actually Garth George! Always a bit embarrassing to see lovers falling out.
    “It seems to me that Prime Minister John Key’s intricate and inclusive coalition arrangement, rather than ensuring National’s re-election next year, is shaping up to generate its return to political oblivion.”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10632620

  3. prism 3
    18 March 2010 at 10:23 am

    Interesting fact quoted by Brit correspondent on Nat Radio – the British Army has had only 3 days complete cessation of action since 1945. The discussion is in the wake of the Waihopai court case. She said that it was unlikely that a similar argument to the NZ one used by the defendants of ‘claim of right’ if I have got that right, would be successful in Brit. Good that these brave people weren’t jumped on. Contrast that with the Outrage when somebody burned our national Flag in protest. Funny how a bit of coloured cloth gets people excited, bulls too – don’t wave red cloth in front of them. Of course people are more intelligent!

    There is going to be an interesting item at 8 am on Nat Radio Chris Laidlaw’s prog. Insight visits Ireland to discover that the much heralded roar of the Celtic Tiger has turned in to a whimper…

    Some thoughts –
    The piece about saving money so it can go on Front Line Services for the public must be under order to be mentioned at least once a day. Then talk about concentrating on Core Services and reducing Back Room Administration as if they really believe their own propaganda that there are acres of people doing nothing – just fat that can be peeled away. Reminds me of some years back when discussing Iraq it was obligatory to preface it with mention of their Weapons of Mass Destruction. All Pavlovian isn’t it.

    Is Canterbury next in line for restructuring? Auckland has had transport and getting ready for the Rugby World Cup as trigger. Canterbury has ECan, Environment Canterbury and I think one of the major triggers here is water allocation for irrigation. It is a big topic there, and much of it has been made available on a first come, first served basis. The handout has been managed but the process so unsatisfactory that the demanders against the cautionary has led to a revolt. That’s how I see it from afar. Nick Smith and Rodney Hide have been visiting. Watch for further revolution.

  4. Tigger 4
    18 March 2010 at 10:30 am

    Bizarre piece on leaky homes here. Doesn’t once mention dates or who was the ‘govt’ to blame…
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10632618

  5. freedom 5
    18 March 2010 at 10:55 am

    i know this site is primarily for NZ news etc, but this is a globally relevant document.
    the entire document is full of details how the Americam administration lied to the world about treatment of detainees but the gold is on Page 26. Page 26 has the letter that bound the hands of the 9/11 commission by not allowing them to interrogate/question the suspects in the investigation
    http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/CIA.pdf

  6. BLiP 6
    18 March 2010 at 12:09 pm

    Looks like the banksters have managed pulled another one off.

    Kathmandu, the outdoor clothing and equipment retailer, was sold last year via an IPO and today’s “good news” is that the company has managed to return some sort of balance-sheet-derived net profit of around $4.4 million.

    Needless to say, there will be no dividend paid until “earning expectations are met” and – surprise surprise – the reported profit excludes the cost to the banksters of running the IPO. The prospectus stated those costs would be $15 million but actually came in at $21.3 million – that’s a more-than 30 percent miscalculation which, no doubt, will be made up by “borrowings” from the same banksters.

    Three cheers for “the market” . . . hip hip . . . fuck off.

  7. BLiP 7
    18 March 2010 at 12:58 pm

    Sssup with the site today? 500 server error after error after error, blank pages, plus p-a-i-n-f-u-l-l-y s-l-o-w loading . . .

  8. BLiP 8
    18 March 2010 at 2:26 pm

    Wooo . . . Cosgrove slung out of the house for pointing out to the Speaker that he was wrong to let the Minister of Health get away with a blatant lie! And then ole Lockie has the gall to say that anyone watching the the sitting would be hard pressed to doubt his even-handedness . . .

  9. reddy 9
    18 March 2010 at 4:32 pm

    yeh it’s taking some time to load Lp.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10632754

    “As taxpayers you may have thought that you already owned a piece of these assets, and you do, sort of. But rather than the diffuse sense of ownership with which most citizens regard public assets, investors in the NZSIF will have a more intimate and direct relationship with specific jails, schools, hospitals and whatever else can be lumped under the ‘social infrastructure’ tag.

    The basic philosophical premise of the public-private-partnership (PPP), of which the NZSIF is an example, is that while governments may be good at identifying social needs, they’re not very good at developing and running the infrastructure that fulfils those needs.

    ….

    So, if you believe the line, it’s a win-win for taxpayers and investors over the long-term. ”

    Is this privatisation by stealth as the developing and running quote of theory babble suggests? What rights will these chumps have in the running? Are they in effect going to be dictating government policy? Why on earth would you invest in such a thing? This is why we pay taxes right? We’re already invested in this infrastructure.

    What returns are these people being promised?

  10. reddy 10
    18 March 2010 at 4:39 pm

    yeh it’s taking some time to load Lp.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10632754

    “As taxpayers you may have thought that you already owned a piece of these assets, and you do, sort of. But rather than the diffuse sense of ownership with which most citizens regard public assets, investors in the NZSIF will have a more intimate and direct relationship with specific jails, schools, hospitals and whatever else can be lumped under the ‘social infrastructure’ tag.

    The basic philosophical premise of the public-private-partnership (PPP), of which the NZSIF is an example, is that while governments may be good at identifying social needs, they’re not very good at developing and running the infrastructure that fulfils those needs.

    ….

    So, if you believe the line, it’s a win-win for taxpayers and investors over the long-term. ”

    Is this privatisation by stealth as the developing and running quote of theory babble suggests? What rights will these chumps have in the running? Are they in effect going to be dictating government policy? Why on earth would you invest in such a thing? This is why we pay taxes right? We’re already invested in this infrastructure.

    What returns are these people being promised?

  11. jason rika 11
    18 March 2010 at 5:43 pm

    Great doco the other night on crime and punishment. Anyone watch it?

  12. Pascal's bookie 12
    18 March 2010 at 8:57 pm

    Good old Roger Kerr eh.

    “Fiscal decisions by simple majority rule, we believe, are too exposed to the biases of special interests to reliably reflect genuine collective preferences,” he said, going on to add that the Government’s mandate to make laws was “determined by transient political majorities”.

    From today’s Independent with a tip o the hat to i/s.

    What a cute bastard. Anyone would think he hasn’t spent the last few decades in a lobby group pushing the fiscal policy preferences of special interests at the government. He would have had more success at it too, if it wasn’t for those pesky transient political majorities.

  13. a human 13
    18 March 2010 at 10:14 pm

    to those who are so worried about people breaking laws
    well good news, your government has decided the recent law changes for warrantless search and surveillance are going to be well utilised by our OFFICIAL new domestic spy service

    http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/greens-spy-agency039s-become-only-area-government-growth/5/42169

    http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/big-brother-watching-ahead-rwc-3421182

    goodnight

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