Open mike 19/02/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 19th, 2010 - 40 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

Comment on whatever takes your fancy.

The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner).

Step right up to the mike…

40 comments on “Open mike 19/02/2010 ”

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  1. marty mars 1
    19 February 2010 at 7:54 am

    morrison has said that

    “Director-general Al Morrison said attracting more businesses to work on the conservation estate was a priority for DOC this year.”

    It needed to work pragmatically and be a more efficient business, while in the past it had been driven by “high principles”.

    and

    “Mr Morrison said establishing the new commercial unit was also a response to the possibility of more energy-generation projects on the conservation estate which covers more than eight million hectares.”

    and

    “It’s now fashionable to be seen as green. If we’re not leveraging off that, we are dumb.”

    For me ‘energy generation projects’ means mining. And you are a gutless wonder morrison and you have forgotten what the purpose of DOC is. You are a fake. Some of us actually believe.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/new-zealand/3347093/DOC-to-provide-home-comforts-for-a-fee
    http://mars2earth.blogspot.com/2010/02/doc-in-it-for-money.html

    • Pascal's bookie 1.1
      19 February 2010 at 9:23 am

      “It needed to work pragmatically and be a more efficient business, while in the past it had been driven by The Conservation Act.”

      fxd

  2. pollywog 2
    19 February 2010 at 9:03 am

    Is it me or do mods/admin here seem to be wielding the ban stick too frivolously.

    Fisiani gone, classic liberal gone, kiwiteen gone and why ?… cos they inevitably respond to some pretty cheap insults from admin and get labelled trolls cos of it ? The thing is it’s hard to tell the difference between troll and troll baiter.

    C’mon guys, I’m calling bullshit. If you want to keep this place vital and relevent then allow the dissensus. Nothing kills a board faster than ridding it of those who have a differing opinion.

    tripping on your own popularity is most unattractive and transparently obvious.

    http://pollywannacracka.blogspot.com/2007/01/talk-is-cheap.html

    • wtl 2.1
      19 February 2010 at 9:52 am

      Classical liberal seems to be still around, but I’m glad kiwiteen is gone – all he ever did was fire comment after comment that was short and mostly pointless, ending up with threads hopelessly infested with garbage.

      • pollywog 2.1.1
        19 February 2010 at 10:52 am

        Irish bill showed classic liberal the door when he raised the ad hominem defense in reply to IB calling him smug and thick as shit and i refuse to engage with or discuss KT. Some people , me included some times, just aren’t worth the time and effort and energy to reply to.

    • The Voice of Reason 2.2
      19 February 2010 at 10:17 am

      Fisiana’s gone? When did that happen? Perhaps a hall of shame is needed, so that readers can keep up with the bannings. Trollywood? Cybersiberia? IB’s House of Trolls?

      • marty mars 2.2.1
        19 February 2010 at 10:33 am

        perhaps entitled ‘below standard’

      • pollywog 2.2.2
        19 February 2010 at 10:56 am

        Lprent sent him to the timeout room for 2 weeks for not doing his homework in providing a link to substantiate his opinion masked as fact. Sheeeit…we’re all guilty of that sometimes.

        A bridge too far ?

        • felix 2.2.2.1
          19 February 2010 at 11:01 am

          It wasn’t “sometimes” though pollywog, it was almost every single frickin comment and with many, many warnings to boot.

        • Armchair Critic 2.2.2.2
          19 February 2010 at 11:17 am

          “A bridge too far?”
          Nah, well deserved by fisiani and CL. Though CL was capable of making good points and reasonable debate, at times.
          Kiwiteen’s exile is, as far as I know, self imposed.
          Is burt banned?

        • lprent 2.2.2.3
          19 February 2010 at 11:19 am

          It was for not giving links when challenged on ‘facts’ (in Fisiani’s case Mac1 was doing a lot of that). A ‘fact’ without backup is an assertion and is essentially a statement of faith. It does nothing for the discussion.

          There is quite a difference between stating something as an opinion (which is what you often do) and asserting something as a fact without support. The first starts a discussion. The second starts tedious flamewars

          Repeating the same pattern of behaviour even when warned is the bridge too far.

      • felix 2.2.3
        19 February 2010 at 10:59 am

        Much as I find that idea amusing I suspect it would make banning a badge of honour for some of the juvenile delinquents who visit the site and put even more strain on the mods.

        I remember a while back there were a lot of trolls coming from one particular site (pandasport?) just to get banned so they could go back there and brag and giggle about it.

        Pretty sad really.

        • pollywog 2.2.3.1
          19 February 2010 at 11:21 am

          Not to brag or anything but i been repeatedly banned from some of the finest and not so finest establishments in cyberspace…yup sad alright.

          What doesnt kill you makes you stronger (and wiser).

          • lprent 2.2.3.1.1
            19 February 2010 at 11:52 am

            The most extreme case for that (apart from d4j who is sort of a law unto himself) was robinsod in 2007/8. This was the guy that could make Cameron swell up like a pufferfish with a few words. I’m convinced he was using operant conditioning techniques (and Cam was too thick to understand what was going on).

            At one stage he was on bans from all of the major political blogs – including this one. He got a wee bit wound up about his bans from here because we’d published a few guest posts from him. Hell of a good writer – his book review of one of Ian Wishart’s Absolute Power is a great satire. He started his own site that wound up largely documenting his bans. Then he disappeared…

      • lprent 2.2.4
        19 February 2010 at 11:26 am

        I have a little list… He is only banned for two weeks to encourage him to learn how to insert links when he asserts ‘Facts’. He did a list of ‘Facts’ last night and I wasn’t interested in looking at more comments asking him to back them up (or writing more notes).

        Be interesting to see if he learns anything, or indeed comes back.

  3. Draco T Bastard 3
    19 February 2010 at 10:35 am

    An interesting article over @ Pundit on the errors that have been reported in the IPCC AR4.

    The error made by the author of this section was to have not adequately checked that particular reference prior to amending the text and including it. But then he or she was human, and probably, like most authors, under tight deadlines and also with a full-time position to maintain.

    As the author notes, the people doing the IPCC reports are human and they do make mistakes. After that though he asks some interesting questions:

    So the questions beg: Who is digging very deeply into the AR4 looking for errors over three years after it was first published? What is their ambition? Are they trying to undermine the IPCC process? Who, if anyone, is paying them to do it? Has the media now unjustly brought into question the whole of climate science as a result of these relatively minor errors?

    The mistakes that are being reported in the IPCC reports are minor and make no difference to the overall message of the report and science is all about correcting errors any way.

    • RedLogix 3.1
      20 February 2010 at 8:07 am

      The contrast between the insane hype over these trivial, largely inconsequential IPCC errors and the almost total silence on the endless litany of daft dofus errors made by the sceptic community… tells us exactly where the media want the story to go.

  4. prism 4
    19 February 2010 at 11:25 am

    Interesting that Oz environmentalist politician Peter Garrett has got into trouble over the very good intent of insulating homes. There have been fires and deaths and the word is that insulation has been packed up to light fittings and other heat output areas and fires have started from there.

    The way that business has gone, always tendering for the lowest price etc. and the contracting out of the grunt work from successful tenderers who don’t personally want to crawl round ceilings etc. is a likely cause. Without any quality control of implementation, and ‘good business’ of cheap costs giving higher profits, this sort of thing is predictable. But Peter Garrett is apparently being blamed for the disasters as the initiating Minister of Environment.

    • Bill 4.1
      19 February 2010 at 11:39 am

      Meanwhile, JK walks away unscorched from a disastrous audit of home insulation here where very similar shit was uncovered. Fact, he laughed off the safety concerns. It’s all in the ‘Phil Goff Trips Up Sloppy Key’ post’s vid link.

      • prism 4.1.1
        19 February 2010 at 12:42 pm

        Thanks Bill. Other problems here in NZ are some people finding the prices from dedicated installers of home heating etc. are too dear even though there is some help with cost and deciding against it.

  5. Herodotus 5
    19 February 2010 at 12:48 pm

    With the world economy entering the initial uplift of a “W”, should not ACC’s value of investments increase? Thus eliminating the need for any increase in fees?

  6. schrodigerscat 6
    19 February 2010 at 2:09 pm

    Hmmm whats going on here

    “Huljich pulls KiwiSaver statement after Securities Commission probe”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10627211

    Oh and the directors list

    BANKS, John Archibald
    BRASH, Donald Thomas
    HULJICH, Peter Karl Christopher

    This could get worth popcorn to sit and watch.

  7. gobsmacked 7
    19 February 2010 at 3:38 pm

    Latest poll:

    Greens up, Labour up. Contrast – “Country heading in the right direction” – sharply down.

    http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2010/4470/

    Beehive strategy meeting being held, Prime Minister’s action plan revealed: a new, improved joke for next photo-op. Plus some more task forces.

    • Armchair Critic 7.1
      19 February 2010 at 3:52 pm

      No reason to celebrate yet. Many of the changes are within the margin of error, and there is not a definite trend to Labour over multiple polls, yet. And I really want to see Labour voted in because it has better policy than National, rather than National voted out because their MPs and ministers are less competent than Labour’s.
      PS – add to the plan “Two weeks holiday in Hawaii (when is the next recess?)”

      • gobsmacked 7.1.1
        19 February 2010 at 4:00 pm

        Agree about the margin of error.

        But it’s still far more meaningful than a self-selected “poll” of Herald readers, or an online Stuff “poll”, both of which got bigger headlines recently than this will.

        Anecdotally, I hear National’s private polling on GST isn’t looking good.

        • Armchair Critic 7.1.1.1
          19 February 2010 at 4:23 pm

          Definitely better than the Herald or Stuff polls.
          Just under two years to go to the important poll, too. So while this poll is interesting (thx for the link), it doesn’t really mean much.

      • gitmo 7.1.2
        19 February 2010 at 4:18 pm

        “…..and I really want to see Labour voted in because it has better policy than National, rather than National voted out because their MPs and ministers are less competent than Labour’s.”

        You do know this is NZ ? We only ever vote people out…….. usual choices being between a pack of retards and ……. a pack of retards.

        • Herodotus 7.1.2.1
          19 February 2010 at 4:34 pm

          I hope Lab have a master plan better than the void that was their 2005 plan. As if there are only slogans and nothing to support then they should be confined to follow NZ1 with the nats following in 2014. I am amazed that businesses have strat plans conferred to them by their boards, Yet I have never seen such a plan by any political party. If the pledge cards are it then perhaps H1 & JK are no better than Georgie Bush, NZRadio should be sold and to play rap musik!

    • lukas 7.2
      19 February 2010 at 4:05 pm

      National holding steady…. or did you not see that bit? 😀

      • prism 7.2.1
        19 February 2010 at 9:44 pm

        They’ll be ok till they have to let that breath out.

      • ak 7.2.2
        20 February 2010 at 1:13 am

        Funny what we see, innit lukas.

        I see Right 53, Left 45

        And hear the crack in the voice

        Of the one in 25

        As she clings to her choice

        To keep the dream alive

        Of a Nice Man.

        And we know, don’t we Luke

        The end of this story

        From prince of the fluke

        To knock-kneed tory:

        Brief release – then back to the den

        As the wheels of progression

        Start rolling again.

  8. ParkDrive 8
    20 February 2010 at 12:16 am

    Keys been upstaged yet again by Kevin 07

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/3349443/Stop-whaling-or-face-fight-Rudd

    Whatever happened to Keys whimsical remark over talking to Japan to stop whaling? Oh that’s right. Just populism.

    • ak 8.1
      20 February 2010 at 1:57 am

      Darn right Parky – and for another stark contrast between respective PMs, have a gink at Ruddy’s performance during the Indigenous/All Stars league game. Helenish. And maaaate…whadda game – haven’t watched rugger since 81 but after one game of league, who’d wanna? Kick and clap.

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