Open mike 19/04/2011

67 comments on “Open mike 19/04/2011 ”

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1. Jenny 1

   19 April 2011 at 6:15 am

   ‘
   In the rankings of wilful idiocy, this is up there, with building the Fukashima nuclear plant on the waterfront of a coast with a known Tsunami risk.

   6.4 earthquake in seabed off the East Coast

   Umm…… Isn’t this where Petrobras hopes to put down a very fragile Deep Sea test drill thread into?

   Isn’t this the exact sort of test drill thread that ruptured in the Gulf of Mexico, even without an earthquake.
   • Cnr Joe 1.1

     19 April 2011 at 7:20 am

     Let this be the definitive rebuttal to those who wish to drill baby drill Jenny although you don’t even need ‘natural causes‘ to create a hideous disaster in the deep drilling industry.
      
   • todd 1.2

     19 April 2011 at 9:16 am

     Yeah! The Government is obviously blinded by money.
      
     I got up to check how big the Earthquake was and after an hour of waiting for Geonet to put it on their website, got pissed off and went back to bed. Our tsunami warning system is woefully inadequate and all the money New Zealand has spent on seismic monitoring stations is for the oil industry to gain data. Fuckers!

     You have to wonder if the sonic booms into the sea floor have caused this quake.
     • Lanthanide 1.2.1

       19 April 2011 at 10:17 am

       According to the geonet site, the earthquake info was published 30 minutes after the earthquake. I guess you didn’t see it.
        
       http://geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/3499092g.html
        
       “Universal Time April 18 2011 at 13:02”
       “Earthquake information last modified: 2011 Apr 18 13:31 (UT).”
        
       “You have to wonder if the sonic booms into the sea floor have caused this quake.”
        
       No, you don’t really. Seismic imaging is is like a pin-prick in intensity compared to a chainsaw cutting off your arm (an earthquake).
       • todd 1.2.1.1

         19 April 2011 at 12:34 pm

         Perhaps I missed it but I doubt it, however half an hour is a lifetime in such circumstances; or a lot of lives if there is a tsunami triggered. There’s no excuses for such a woeful system that could cost many lives.
          
         Being that the American army has developed the technology for warfare and that when a build up of pressure exists, even a small shock can set it off… Your completely unscientific reasoning Lanthanide, has no basis in reality.
         • joe90 1.2.1.1.1

           19 April 2011 at 1:18 pm

           A seismic source like Vibroseis is used onshore and either an airgun or a plasma sound source are used offshore. I’ve worked as part of an onshore survey team and unless you were standing beside the thumper truck you wouldn’t feel a thing and if you think that a seismic source would have enough energy to trigger an earthquake I’d say you’d know sfa.
           • todd 1.2.1.1.1.1

             19 April 2011 at 3:59 pm

             Have a read of these joe90 and get back to me about how great sonic booms are:

             http://www.ecgs.lu/ecgs-fkpe-workshop-induced-seismicity/

             http://www.beachapedia.org/Seismic_survey

             http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/sonarvideo/video.asp

             http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/sonar.asp
             • joe90 …

               20 April 2011 at 5:42 am

               Nothing there about offshore seismic surveying and earthquakes sport.

               And yes, the ocean is a noisy place and loud noises have an adverse effect on marine life but loud noises don’t cause earthquakes.
         • Draco T Bastard 1.2.1.1.2

           19 April 2011 at 1:49 pm

           Perhaps I missed it but I doubt it,

           It was on Twitter within 11 minutes.
           • todd 1.2.1.1.2.1

             19 April 2011 at 3:31 pm

             Wow! 11 minutes, I wonder why it took them another twenty minutes (according to their website/over an hour by my count) to put it online?
             • William Joyce …

               19 April 2011 at 4:14 pm

               If you read deeper in the site they explain why it takes time to publish what becomes an official determination.
               And….my understanding is that geonet is not the CD tsunami warning system.
               I also understand that we rely on “Our American Cousins” for threats from the north and north east but we are unprotected from stuff coming from somewhere like Chile.
       • travellerev 1.2.1.2

         19 April 2011 at 3:54 pm

         Here is rare earth man again explaining why all is cool and no risk is taken by our corporate plunderers.
         He, rare earth man how about those fuel rods melting through the bottom of the containment in reactor one, two, three with radiation being too high for any human to be able to enter the reactors? What you reckon, everybody and their dog is evacuating Tokyo, should Rob Fyfe pull finger and retreat his Air new Zealand crew too?
          
          
2. mickysavage 2

   19 April 2011 at 8:04 am

   Very good interview with David Cunliffe on Morning Report this morning here.  David spoke about the roll out of policy the need for it to be fiscally coherent but the overwhelming need to do something for ordinary kiwi families who are hurting under the onslaught of increased prices.

   He kept the language simple and called Key’s statement that price rises are beyond the control of the Government for what it is, a lie.

   He talked about an increase in the minimum wage and a fair tax policy as a start.

   More of this please Labour.
    
    
    
    
    
   • Carol 2.1

     19 April 2011 at 8:17 am

     Yes, I just caught a brief summary of it.  My first thought is that Labour are taking up the call from some online to front-foot things, and set the agenda more, and for the Labour team to front up, not just play the National game of a presidential-like focus on leaders.
     • Colonial Viper 2.1.1

       19 April 2011 at 8:58 am

       Yep at long last 🙂
   • Lanthanide 2.2

     19 April 2011 at 10:17 am

     Yes, it was very very good. I’d much appreciate if someone could transcribe it (at work and can’t listen to MP3s, or I would).
     • Carol 2.2.1

       19 April 2011 at 10:29 am

       The Cunlifffe interview on RNZ this morning begins:

       RNZ: Well, isn’t it the case that much of this cost of living increase is beyond the government’s control?
       David Cunliffe [DC]: No it’s not. There’s a very, very big push here from the rise in GST and don’t forget things like tobacco tax and the alcohol excise going up as well. Those are directly within the government’s control.
        
       DC: The government isn’t responsible for the war in Libya. Let’s give them that. But this does not excuse the huge pressure on household budgets as being just an external thing. It is not. And let’s not talk in fancy language about stuff that is hurting thousands and thousands of New Zealand families who are having trouble putting food on the table in this land of milk and honey. It is not good enough, and it is not OK for the government to wash their hands on this.

        
       • Carol 2.2.1.1

         19 April 2011 at 10:56 am

         The next part of the Cunliffe interview (up to 3.4 mins of a 4.4 min interview):

         RNZ: But the government is saying, if you take out the petrol and diesel, most of the other increases balance out; the tax cuts for example:
          
         DC: I’ve got the Stats Department figures in front of me for the year to March, Household utilities were up 4%, food is up 4.8%, alcohol, beverages and tobacco up 11.4%. Look, apart from the smokes and the beer, the rest of it is stuff that people just cannot afford. They cannot avoid and 4.8% for food in a year when people have had wage rises of less than 2% is a kick in the guts for Kiwi families who just cannot afford it. So I’m just sick to death of hearing a Prime Minister who made a cool $5million on his investments last year, telling other people they choose to be poor. He should put himself in their shoes and try to feed a family of 3 kids on 80 bucks a week groceries like the story like the story we heard from Maori budget advice service yesterday.
          
         RNZ: OK but the, um, it’s not all bad, is it, Mr Cunliffe. I mean as the Prime Minister points out, interest rates are at the lowest levels since the 1960s.
          
         DC: The interest rates are low, Simon, because the economy is in a hole so deep it can’t see the light at the top of the tunnel. I mean, that is hardly something to celebrate. But you know a government is desperate when they say, “Oh, interest rates are low, because the economy’s as flat as a pancake.” [Laughing] And the reason it’s as flat as a pancake, is not because it’s somebody else’s fault. As Treasury said, it’s not because of the earthquake – two thirds of the reasons are non-earthquake related. It is because the government has no idea how to grow an economy. They have no plan for growth.
          
         RNZ: What would Labour actually do?
          
         DC: Well, firstly Labour would take immediate steps to relieve the pressure on ordinary Kiwi household budgets. That means adjusting the minimums wage upwards very quickly. That means fair tax policies so everybody pays their fair share and everybody gets a fair go. And part of that is GST off fruit and vegetables. That’s 5 or 6 bucks a week for a struggling family. And it’s the first $5,000 of everything that everybody earns tax free.
         • Carol 2.2.1.1.1

           19 April 2011 at 11:18 am

           The final part of the Cunliffe interview:

           And it’s the first $5,000 of everything that everybody earns tax free, within the first 5 years. That’s 10 bucks on the table for a family that can’t feed its kids. Now that’s not everything, by any means, but that’s a real tangible, definite, costed down-payment on our intentions and our values, which are to put ordinary New Zealand people ahead of profit and put food back on the tables of families that are struggling to feed their kids..
            
           RNZ: Mr Cunliffe, is there room in the budget to put those measures through though?
            
           DC: Oh yes, there is. I can tell you that I have a spreadsheet, which can, ah, roll out debt reduction within the forecast period, quite happily and can front end-load some immediate relief to New Zealand families. And we have pledged – I will repeat thi pledge on, and now we will go to this election with a fully-costed, fiscally responsible set of policies that will relieve the pressure on Kiwi households, and grow the economy and give New Zealand the brighter future that its been cheated of , by this lacklustre National government.
            
           RNZ: When will we see that?
            
           DC: You will see that well before the election. You will see announcements rolling out within the next few months following the Budget. You will already see, Labour out of the gates, and campaigning hard against this iniquitous asset sales programme, against rises in the cost of living, and on the call for the good Kiwi jobs and the best start for our kids. Those are our early themes. We are going to be rolling out campaign announcements as we get near the election. But mark my words it’s a fully-costed, robust programme that can be paid for, and will make a difference.
           • Lanthanide 2.2.1.1.1.1

             19 April 2011 at 12:57 pm

             Thanks very very much Carol, truly appreciated. Now we have a nice record we can link to when someone says “what are Labour going to do? what’s their policy”.
              
             Seems like we’ll start to see a lot more of their policy in the next 2-3 months.
           • PeteG 2.2.1.1.1.2

             19 April 2011 at 1:17 pm

             And it’s the first $5,000 of everything that everybody earns tax free, within the first 5 years.

              So to get that we don’t really have to vote Labour in until 2014? It doesn’t sound like a first term policy, or he would surely be pushing that point.
             • Mac1 …

               19 April 2011 at 3:24 pm

               PeteG, is that anything like National’s promise not to do all sorts of things in their first term? So we can expect the second term to be full of leftover business from failed 2005 scenarios? The Hollow Men Revisited! Who remembers Key’s brazenness from 2005 about using the second term to do the business?
               • PeteG …

                 19 April 2011 at 3:36 pm

                 Deferring it is similar, but I suspect more due to financial constraints rather than not wanting to scare the electorate.
                  
                 But the situation now is much different. In 2008 voters were tired of Labour and a cautious National could cruise in. Now the polls suggest the voters are not yet tired of National (despite a few lefties having nightmares) and they are still tired of old Labour trying to sound even older.
                  
                  
                 • Colonial Viper …

                   19 April 2011 at 7:34 pm

                   Its a first term policy. And there are a bunch of other good’uns coming too.
                    
                   Hold on to your hats.

                   more due to financial constraints

                   What financial constraints? The top 100 entries on the NZ rich list control somewhere around $60B in assets between them.
   • Puddleglum 2.3

     19 April 2011 at 10:41 am

     I have to agree (though I’m wary of false dawns).

     It was almost Winstonesque (but with none of the obfuscation, confrontational attacks on the interviewer, lack of clarity and ‘the reality is’…). In other words it sounded passionate, committed, serious and ‘important’.

     I said to my wife that this was feistier and clearer than anything I’d heard from Labour in a while. It also pre-empted the critical ‘memes’ around (e.g., about costings). Even in listing Labour’s policies that could help ordinary families Cunliffe didn’t over-egg it. He said it’s a start and spoke about $6 here and $10 there.

     Irrespective of it being election year, the major supposedly left-wing party really needs to be making these points clearly – and often. The message will resonate.
     • Lanthanide 2.3.1

       19 April 2011 at 12:58 pm

       100% Agree with everything you said.
   • Deadly_NZ 2.4

     19 April 2011 at 9:44 pm

     Now that is what I would expect from a leader of the party, But you can’t have everything.  Well said, finally something.
3. Carol 3

   19 April 2011 at 8:15 am

   I just watched Riz Khan interview with Alaine de Botton, questioning the western contemporary notion of success, as summarised in the promo for the interview:

   As countries around Europe brace for a long period of austerity, high unemployment and falling living standards, many fear society is set to become harsher on those the system leaves behind.

   On Monday’s Riz Khan we talk to celebrated British philosopher Alain de Botton in layman’s terms about the challenges faced by society in the wake of the global financial crisis.

   de Botton expresses pretty much my views on success, but he clarifies, deepens and extends it by setting it in its historical and political context.  He talked about the unrealistic notion of success in the west, at its most extreme in the US, where we are all meant to aspire to be Bill Gates, in a supposedly meritocratic society; a society where people are told we make our own luck.  He said it breeds greed and envy because it can only be achieved by the few.
    
   I liked the bit when de Botton replied to Khan’s question about who he sees as heroes.  de Botton said it is the publicly unknown people who do a little bit extra to make the world more humane, stable and sane, eg the mother who gets up alittle bit earlier to help her child with homework, the public servant who goes that extra yard to help someone, etc.
    
   In the interview there were quite a few references to de Botton’s book Satus Anxiety.  I see there are some vids on youtube of de Botton talking about this.
   • pollywog 3.1

     19 April 2011 at 9:27 am

     …in line with that, perhaps your good selves could see the way clear to helping these heroes out.

     We come in peace, with love in our hearts
     humble in acknowledgement of the supreme creator.

     We seek not to harm, nor to destroy,
     but to follow in the footsteps of our ancestors,
     to learn the truth that was lost,
     to heal the wounds of past injustices.

     May we forever walk in the light,
     be guided, strengthened and protected
     by the sacred spirit and the divine energy.

     http://pollywannacracka.blogspot.com/2011/04/things-we-do-for-love.html
      
     BTW i’m looking to transcend my hero status and become a god. Forget western standards of success.
      
     This is how we role in Pasifika… 🙂
     • Bored 3.1.1

       19 April 2011 at 9:43 am

       Polly, be careful about deity status, tends to spread you a bit thin being omnipresent.
       • pollywog 3.1.1.1

         19 April 2011 at 10:00 am

         Heh…cheers B

         i’ll settle for demigod status and am already working on immortalising our exploits in word…

         …by the time i’m finished we’re gonna be the equals of Maui or Odysseus
   • M 3.2

     19 April 2011 at 9:51 am

     Jenny I saw a series on de Botton on the TV ages ago and remember he we was speaking with a man who felt the need to have heaps of watches to match his ensembles and his constant need to turn over and refresh his wardrobe. IIRC this man would not even donate his barely worn clothes to charity but would throw them out in case he spotted them being worn by someone else – the ultimate in status anxiety.
     • Vicky32 3.2.1

       19 April 2011 at 10:31 pm

       IIRC this man would not even donate his barely worn clothes to charity but would throw them out in case he spotted them being worn by someone else – the ultimate in status anxiety.

       With maybe a touch of OCD thrown in? I actually feel sorry for him…
4. tc 4

   19 April 2011 at 8:29 am

   Not hard to see the Nats investment in mediaworks paying off with last nights lead item on tv3 late news as……not chch, nor japan/ Libya or any actual events but a poll they claimed said 78% don’t see goff as PM.

   Taxpayer funded electioneering so blatant you could plant a blue flag on it…..nats I’m lovin it.
   • Carol 4.1

     19 April 2011 at 8:32 am

     Which is why I am now boycotting TV3 news.  I’m not watching anymore of their blatantly biased electioneering.
5. todd 5

   19 April 2011 at 9:04 am

   UN finds credibility gap on emissions

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10720250&ref=newsl_morningnewsdirect_J20080513_133717_5781_6889_875540616

   Mr Terry’s analysis concludes that some of the emissions reductions the Government is claiming for the ETS are, in any case, dodgy.
   • Draco T Bastard 5.1

     19 April 2011 at 2:16 pm

     We didn’t really need a UN report to know that – we just have to realise that 90% of anything NACT say is an outright lie.
     • todd 5.1.1

       19 April 2011 at 5:29 pm

       Agreed! It is sort of just confirming what we all knew anyway. With a bit more pressure though, maybe the Natz will wake up from their right-wing dream, which is our nightmare.
6. prism 6

   19 April 2011 at 9:37 am

   I thought about the usa report on their government finances from Standard and Poor that they are uniquely named to provide silent censure, ie the usa financial health is in its long-term condition which is standard – poor!
7. prism 7

   19 April 2011 at 9:49 am

   Carter who has NACT positions in agriculture and economic development I think, shows their wonky attitude to building this country’s capabilities in business and encouraging employment rich ones.  This morning he was talking down the Pike River hopes, though they are building a conference centre which is something.  But building is not the expertise that contractors have.  Along with the conference centre the gummint could provide scholarships that are bonded in health, business etc. so youth with qualities for those areas can help to make a wider economy.
    
   Also recently Carter spoke about putting biosecurity costs on horticultural producers.  Fancy burdening people who are taking another road beside dairy, and we desperately need to have diversity, with costs and difficulties that arise directly from government choice and action in having open markets.   Biosecurity is the responsibility of government, this attitude by this NACT government to make it user pays is totally irresponsible, short-sighted, neo-liberal ideological, places unreasonable cost burdens on hard-working small companies and can lead us into disastrous collapses of hard-won markets for producers here.
   • Puddleglum 7.1

     19 April 2011 at 8:07 pm

     “Also recently Carter spoke about putting biosecurity costs on horticultural producers.”

     If that’s the case, it is very odd policy.

     Is it ‘just’ some proportion of the biosecurity costs (a levy or something)?

     Biosecurity covers more than just agricultural/horticultural pests/diseases (includes human health, dangerous animals – e.g., poisonous snakes – and, in America, is primarily short for ‘anti-terrorist’ security – anthrax et al.) and I can’t see how you’d separate out the costs in any way that would be remotely fair (what proportion of someone’s time is devoted to apple-related biosecurity issues?? Peach issues? grapes? ???).
8. aj 8

   19 April 2011 at 10:05 am

   Bill O’Reilly (RNZ News) seems to think that kiwi’s only have to cater for the effects of ‘underlying’ inflation. I have news for Bill, and it’s all bad – we have to pay the real inflation rate even if it’s not on essentails like food, fuel, power, etc
9. Pascal's bookie 9

   19 April 2011 at 10:09 am

   Rger Ailes. Strange fish.

   http://gawker.com/#!5793012

   All told, including the most recent departures, more than 10 full-time and freelance staffers have left the Ailes’ Putnam County papers in the last 10 months, insiders say. In addition to the aforementioned instances of surveillance, several former employees told Gawker that they had reason to suspect that their e-mail was being read and that rooms in the News and Recorder offices were bugged—Ailes, who is notoriously obsessed with his personal security, has the building thoroughly wired with video cameras. As if to underscore the message that the Aileses are all-seeing, the single unisex bathroom in the papers’ headquarters features portraits of Elizabeth and Roger on the walls, watching you, while you poop.
10. joe90 10

    19 April 2011 at 11:23 am

     

    9 Things The Rich Don’t Want You To Know About Taxes

    For three decades we have conducted a massive economic experiment, testing a theory known as supply-side economics. The theory goes like this: Lower tax rates will encourage more investment, which in turn will mean more jobs and greater prosperity—so much so that tax revenues will go up, despite lower rates. The late Milton Friedman, the libertarian economist who wanted to shut down public parks because he considered them socialism, promoted this strategy. Ronald Reagan embraced Friedman’s ideas and made them into policy when he was elected president in 1980.
11. todd 11

    19 April 2011 at 11:38 am

    Deepwater Horizons Poisonous Legacy

    http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/04/deepwater-horizons-poisonous-legacy.html

    Tomorrow marks a date that will be forever remembered as a dark day in human history. The explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon as it was drilling a test well off Louisiana’s coast on the 20th April 2010, will leave its mark in the Gulf of Mexico for centuries to come. Two days after the initial explosion, the rig sank into the ocean and left a poisonous legacy that should never be forgotten.
    • joe90 11.1

      19 April 2011 at 12:19 pm

      The Gulf War.

      The oceanographer Ed Levine said, “With all of the skimmers in the world out there, you might as well be using thimbles.”
      • grumpy 11.1.1

        19 April 2011 at 1:15 pm

        You guys are talking crap, if we are going to have an oil spill it’s best to have one where it won’t cause any polution.

        
        
        
        • todd 11.1.1.1

          19 April 2011 at 5:34 pm

          What! Since when does an oil spill not cause pollution? Perhaps you are advocating that oil tankers be made of papier mache or something similar?
          • Colonial Viper 11.1.1.1.1

            19 April 2011 at 7:32 pm

            todd, oil spills do not cause any pollution if there are no environmentalists around to witness it. It’s a known physical law, dude.
            • Deadly_NZ 11.1.1.1.1.1

              19 April 2011 at 9:47 pm

              Yep thats why some icebergs have, or had a black ring around them from tankers scrubbing their tanks way out at sea.
        • rosy 11.1.1.2

          19 April 2011 at 8:44 pm

          That’s really funny. I’ll have to send it on to a few people I know. Amazing how many people think it’s real.

          More seriously single-hull tankers were meant to be phased out beginning 2005 to prevent spills like the Prestige.  The EU expected all single-hulls to be phased out by the end of 2010 and New Zealand likewise. I’m not sure how far it’s moved on since then, as far as I can tell transporting the stuff has been way more likely to cause a spill than drilling for it – pipelines and ships…(Gulf of Mexico excepted).
12. grumpy 12

    19 April 2011 at 11:52 am

    How to get Labour/NZF higher in the polls????

    Simple, just get Winnie to announce a new policy of Capital Punishment…. with Malcolm Chaston as the posterboy there is a huge market for votes here and no other party is pushing it.

    guaranteed to get Winnie over 5%
13. ianmac 13

    19 April 2011 at 12:20 pm

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/4904789/Chopper-beats-beamer-for-Key
    Would you believe it! Key ordered up an Airforce Chopper to take him to his V8 photo op, then back again. What sort of arrogance and wasting taxpayers money is this. Remember the hooha for a past PM being raced in a car to catch a plane?
    • Pascal's bookie 13.1

      19 April 2011 at 1:03 pm

      Nice2have.
    • Deadly_NZ 13.2

      19 April 2011 at 10:06 pm

      Well I posted this In the message boards but just in case stuff do their usual to what i write i said this
       

      So he probably could have used one of his nice shiney beemers with seat warmers, and drive to Hamilton from AK, then use a puddle jumper for the last little bit cost??  Not too much for diesel in a nice new Beemer they do run lean, and a puddle jumper ?? $500 bucks.

      But Oh No John Key has to come in in a Vietnam era Huey, probably dreaming of twin mini guns to straffe the poor below, and imagining the smell of napalm.

      Bloody Photo OP
14. Penny Bright 14

    19 April 2011 at 1:47 pm

    HOWICK BY-ELECTION:
    First Candidates Public Meeting
    TONIGHT 19 April 2011 7.30pm
    Ormiston Senior College
    Ormiston Road
    FLAT BUSH
    Organised by Botany /Flat Bush Residents and Ratepayers Assn:
    The ‘platform’ upon which Independent Candidate Penny Bright is standing:
    I, Penny Bright, am calling for a ‘partial’ RATE$ REVOLT!
    NO RATE$ INCREASES!
    The Auckland Council is proposing is to put the rates up 4.9%!
    So much for the ‘economies of scale’ with the $upercity amalgamation!
    WHAT UTTER RUBBISH!
    As I tried to warn people of Auckland during the Auckland Council Mayoral campaign – the Auckland $upercity IS a ‘super ripoff’!
    Pity about the $upercity ‘transition’ and ‘integration’ costs?
    Seems they are proving to be more than the ‘economies of scale’ – arising from the forced amalgamation of eight Councils, which were railroaded through Parliament in another ‘Rogernomic$ blitzkreig’ with the public being denied as citizens our lawful right to a binding poll.
    Did Treasury do any ‘cost-benefit analysis’ here, comparing the ‘benefits’ of ‘economies of scale’ vs’ costs of ‘transition and integration’?
    DID ANYONE?
    My candidates statement – which will be going out to over 90,000 voters, will be saying the following:
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    CANDIDATE PROFILE STATEMENT:
    The Auckland ‘Supercity’ is indeed proving to be a ‘super ripoff’!
    Effectively it has been a corporate raid, by unelected business interests to run the Auckland region ‘like a business – by business – FOR business’.
    Bigger contracts – for bigger contractors.
    The public never voted for this, or the ‘$upercity’, full stop!
    The books are NOT open.
    We don’t know the names of these contractors; the scope,term or value of these contracts.
    Have there been arguably corrupt ‘conflicts of interest’ in the awarding of these contracts?
    The root cause of corruption is privatised contracts – how is it decided who gets the contracts?
    We need determined ‘Public Watchdogs’ to help protect our public assets, public monies and public health and safety.
    NO RATE$ INCREASES!
    Cut rates by cutting out consultants and private contractors!
    Bring back Council ‘Works Departments’!
    STOP PRIVATISATION!
    STOP ASSET SALES!
    http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
    http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
    http://www.stopthesupercity.org.nz
    http://www.stopprivatisation.org.nz
    Penny Bright
    Judicially recognised ‘Public Watchdog’ on Metrowater, water and
    Auckland regional governance matters.
    ‘World Water Warrior’ – NZ attendee at World Water Forum Kyoto 2003.
    Auckland Mayoral candidate 2010.
    Botany by-election candidate 2011
    ‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
    Attendee: Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference (Brisbane) 2009
    Attendee: Transparency International 14th Anti-Corruption Conference
    (Bangkok) 2010
    • mickysavage 14.1

      19 April 2011 at 10:16 pm

      Go Penny!
15. lprent 15

    19 April 2011 at 1:55 pm

    The mail system that underlies the “contact us”, “contribute”, “registration”, and “notify me of followup” is now back online.

    Some of you will be receiving queued mail.
16. lprent 16

    19 April 2011 at 4:04 pm

    There is a bit more traffic than usual on the site this afternoon, probably due to the widespread linking to “Pagani Dead Wrong” by the likes of Audrey Young and others. New server is holding up pretty well to the loading.

    But I wish that I’d gotten the second part of the server upgrade operational and pushed the bots off to a separate server.
    • Armchair Critic 16.1

      19 April 2011 at 4:07 pm

      The search doesn’t work for me (usually it does).  Is that operator error or part of the upgrade?
      • lprent 16.1.1

        19 April 2011 at 4:16 pm

        The downside of the server upgrades is that there are losses of parts of the system until I get them back into play again. That is one of them 🙁 Just at present it is about the last one 🙂 The problem is that it uses a very effective search system (Sphinx Search) that has been interfering with the running of the site recently as the number of posts and comments has been escalating.

        The idea is to run the sphinx indexer on the old server which will have a replicated database (ie seconds behind the new server). The loading on that system should be somewhat lower because it will deal with the rest of the world (95% of our robot readers). NZ and aussie who are more than 95% of our human readers will run on the new server.

        It will be operational again tonight hopefully.
17. William Joyce 17

    19 April 2011 at 5:01 pm

    It’s been said (Woody Allan?) that the difference between tragedy and comedy is time. The same can be said about tragedy and plain-speaking / political debate.
     
    Has enough time past before we speak plainly about Pike River mine fire?
    During the coverage in the days after the disaster I became increasing annoyed (and at my age that is often) with the complaints from the family because the authorities were not doing enough to RECOVER (repeat : recover) the bodies.
     
    I understand the desire to recover the bodies of loved ones, however there must be a limit. Mining is a dangerous occupation and anyone entering it (and their family) should have accepted the fact, from the get-go, that if a disaster happened their body may not be recovered – that they could be entombed forever.
    As such, there should be no expectation of a right to have the bodies recovered. Once a determination had been made that there was no possibility of survival then the recovery should be guided by what is reasonable given that the miners and their families knew what they were getting into.
     
    Then figures have been release today show that the police operation has cost $10.9m.
    A lot of time and effort has gone into doing the best by the grieving families and communities but now the government has thrown an election bribe to Greymouth of $3.5 million for a sports centre.
    Given the amount of private giving, a national ceremony, a royal visit, millions spent on a rescue / recovery, OSH and police investigations and what will be an expensive royal commission costing millions, is a new sports centre just a “nice to have”?
     
    Or is it too soon to be hard-nosed about such things?
     
    Anti-spam : intervals (should be of a suitable period?)
18. ianmac 18

    19 April 2011 at 7:29 pm

    That’s odd. At 5:30pm Campbell Live advertised an item for tonight about Hide Act and Epsom. But it appears to have been pulled. If so by whom?
    • Anne 18.1

      19 April 2011 at 8:04 pm

      @ ianmac
      If it doesn’t turn up tomorrow night write to TV3 and demand an explanation. It could be a very interesting exercise!  Don’t email… they’re not duty bound to reply to emails.
      • ianmac 18.1.1

        19 April 2011 at 8:13 pm

        I have sent an e-mail but take your advice after tomorrow night. Ta.
        • ianmac 18.1.1.1

          19 April 2011 at 10:58 pm

          Received a reply from TV3. Epson Hide story tomorrow Wed.
          • Colonial Viper 18.1.1.1.1

            19 April 2011 at 11:01 pm

            Just enough time for approval by Joyce’s office and a bit of friendly re-editing based on feedback.

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