Open mike 24/05/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 24th, 2010 - 37 comments
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37 comments on “Open mike 24/05/2010 ”

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  1. Jenny 1
    24 May 2010 at 6:48 am

    Debate – Is capitalism working?

    Wednesday, 26 May 2010
    7pm-9pm
    Library Basement Theatre B15
    Auckland University

    Unite on Campus and the AUSA International Affairs Officers host this debate, an ideological boxing match between New Zealand activists and personalities fighting over the question: “Is capitalism working?’

    Over the last few years the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression has decimated housing markets, toppled international finance companies and seen Governments in the USA and across Europe try and rescue banks at the cost of trillions of dollars. American Vice President Joe Biden describes the bank bailouts as “socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor’ and with general strikes and riots in Greece, the legitimacy of the free market system is in crisis.

    A red team consisting of

    Matt McCarten – left-wing Herald on Sunday columnist and National Secretary of Unite union.
    Mike Treen – Global Peace and Justice Auckland organiser.
    Maxine Gay – from the National Distribution Union.

    A blue team, headed up by

    Matthew Hooton – political commentator and former National Party speechwriter
    Fran O’Sullivan – Senior Business Columnist, NZ Herald
    Nikki Kaye – Auckland Central National MP

    Open to all students and the wider public. Refreshments provided afterwards.

    For more information, please contact Joe Carolan, Unite On Campus Co Ordinator-
    029 44 55 702 email: joseph@unite.org.nz 0800 2 UNITE

  2. ak 2
    24 May 2010 at 1:14 pm

    Encouraging results from the latest NACT internal polling – evidenced by English attempting to whitewash the rich-poor gap, and Carter and Key quashing the Crafar sale.

    Damage control in overdrive already, and the winter of disjonhtent hasn’t even really started yet…. watch for big backdowns on Privatisation in the near future.

  3. prism 3
    24 May 2010 at 2:07 pm

    Got some links on the Italian agricultural land toxicity problem. I was mentioning that its another reason why we should buy NZ tomatoes. It got lost in previous day’s comments tail so I’ve brought it forward for those who are interested. I’ll have to see if the links are still alive after being copied.

    Here are some links on the Italian toxic leaching problem and the role of corrupted political control –
    http://www.italianfilmfestival.co.nz/films/2009/13_biutifulcauntri.html
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biùtiful_cauntri
    Italian toxic problem (Have to set this up again apparently)

  4. MikeySmokes 4
    24 May 2010 at 2:19 pm

    I’m really glad to see that dickhead Pete Buffoon is likely to spend a fair bit of time banged up in Japan.

  5. Bill 5
    24 May 2010 at 2:23 pm

    And in world news….Israel tried to sell nuclear weapons to South Africa back in ’75.

    Well, who’d have thunk it!

    For that and relevant links just go ‘The Guardian’ front page

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/

  6. prism 6
    24 May 2010 at 2:46 pm

    MikeySmokes Aren’t you lucky you’re not in Japan too as if a fine person like ‘Pete Buffoon’ as you put it, can be shut away, then you would be over-ripe for the same.

  7. Draco T Bastard 7
    24 May 2010 at 2:59 pm

    Well, it looks like UKs conservative-liberals are already moving the privatization of Britain’s assets forward. More rorting of the British people by their government for the rich.

    • Bill 7.1
      24 May 2010 at 4:38 pm

      I’m guessing they’ll do a ‘Lange’ insofar as social policy will be pulled to the left by the Lib Dems and then that used as a feel good factor cover for the introduction of heinous ” we have no option” – cough, hard right wing economic shit.

  8. prism 8
    24 May 2010 at 3:22 pm

    Interesting to hear English and other financial boffins praising the idea of part private ownership of government assets like Kiwibank.

    It’s very revealing of the lack of quality investment we offer here. Now that land speculation is on the downward trend and bad financial practices have demolished other investment vehicles – what to turn to? Why the government that has managed to keep something going and with a decent asset backing. The NZ Stock Exchange needs more variety on its threadbare menu. So what is the government having for dinner? The SX says ‘I want some of that’.

    Of course if investors did want to back real industry, they could amalgamate their money into a syndicate or something and buy the Crafar farms. But our lightweight investors haven’t the nous to cope with real productive business, they want the flim-flam and marginally higher interest rates of credit financiers. Pity that they have gone bust and taken along the nest eggs of so many with them. Never mind the government will suckle the Mum and Dad investors, part of the social security. And all these Mums and Dads clamouring for this – where are they making their views known? At socially elevated dinner parties? The USA has its Tea Party – do we have a NACT Dinner Party?

  9. MikeySmokes 9
    24 May 2010 at 4:25 pm

    Prism I am not a terrorist or pirate so I would be sweet as in japan

  10. john 10
    24 May 2010 at 4:46 pm

    THE JAPANESE FORMALLY,LEGALLY ADMIT THEY ARE DOING COMMERCIAL WHALING IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN IN CONTRAVENTION OF IWC MORATORIUM

    The Japanese have charged Peter Bethune, New Zealand hero, with amongst other charges of : OBSTRUCTING COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES. here they have admitted to the cynical pretense of research whaling, which is in fact COMMERCIAL WHALING. Moreover they are persecuting this political prisoner who legally tried to make a citizens arrest of the Captain who rammed his ship the Ady Gil deliberately endangering the lives of its crew and causing 3 million dollars of damage. It is time our Government stood up to the Japanese and if necessary pursue a civil action through international Courts to prosecute Japans Whaling Industry for criminal actions in the Southern Ocean which area the Japanese have signed the Antarctic Treaty which PROHIBITS COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY in that part of the World. this Political Prisoner must be freed as soon as possible. OR ARE WE A VASSAL STATE OF JAPAN?

    [lprent: Do NOT

    SHOUT

    I can do it better, and I get irritated when people feel that they have to. In fact I think I will diminish your message… Yep – that is less irritating to the eyes…
    ]

  11. john 11
    24 May 2010 at 5:03 pm

    I don’t see that as shouting but equivalent to headlines on a newspaper just a form of emphasis of the main point.

    [lprent: When was the last time you saw all caps on a newspaper headline?

    In any case, it is completely irrelevant in this context. The moderators set the rules here (see the policy and the last section of the about) and I dislike anything that hurts my eyes because I view it as trolling. If you can’t post a comment without having to use CAPS to make your point – then don’t post.

    Personally I just view it as being argumentatively lazy as well as outright ‘noisy’. ]

    • john 11.1
      24 May 2010 at 5:56 pm

      Hi I see all caps and much much larger to emphasize critical points on all the worlds online newspapers, its a normal way of attracting attention and I’ve never heard any complaints about emphasis before. have a look at the UK’s newspapers The Sun or Daily Mirror 5 word headlines can sometimes take up half a page!!!! Those contexts its not considered shouting but merely emphasis.

      [lprent: It isn’t an debate. I will instead demonstrate the issue from your perspective. Banned for a week for being idiotic enough to argue with a sysop on their own site about the site rules. ]

      • just saying 11.1.1
        24 May 2010 at 7:37 pm

        LPrent, or other moderators,
        If you’ve got a minute, and it only takes that long – could you explain how to access ‘word’ tools from firefox please. I have mucked around trying to work this out, and it is a bit hard to express tone, humour, etc with only uppercase/lowercase.
        Thanks

        • Anita 11.1.1.1
          24 May 2010 at 7:53 pm

          I’m not a mod, but if you explain what you’re trying to do I might be able to help… what do you mean by “‘word’ tools”?

          • just saying 11.1.1.1.1
            24 May 2010 at 8:11 pm

            Thanks Anita,
            I see others italicising, cutting and pasting, going bold etc, but I can only use the tools on my keyboard. uc/lc, enter and delete. I can’t access any word processing tools. I’ve mucked around here, but haven’t found them yet. If you could help, I suspect others have the same problem.
            cheers

            • The Voice of Reason 11.1.1.1.1.1
              24 May 2010 at 8:28 pm

              Have a shufti in FAQ’s and there’s a guide to how to use tags there. The basic ones are at the bottom of each page, too, just below the ‘Submit Comment’ button.

              • Anita …
                24 May 2010 at 8:49 pm

                What VoR says! 🙂

                If you type something like <i>this</i> it will appear like this

              • just saying …
                24 May 2010 at 8:53 pm

                Very clever – if this works.
                It’ll take me a little while to master these – I’ve never seen them before.

                Many thanks VOR and Anita

            • lprent 11.1.1.1.1.2
              24 May 2010 at 10:59 pm

              I’ve been trying to find a workable wysiwyg for comments for a while. They have tended to either be unreliable or ‘cost’ too much in download kilobytes. I keep trying them out.

      • Anita 11.1.2
        24 May 2010 at 7:56 pm

        john,

        If you can find a reputable online newspaper that uses caps the way you used caps I’ll be very surprised.

      • Draco T Bastard 11.1.3
        24 May 2010 at 11:34 pm

        Using all caps in text is considered shouting and extremely rude. If you want to emphasise something in a comment then use the bold and/or italics html tags. These and how to use them can be found in the FAQ.

  12. Quoth the Raven 12
    24 May 2010 at 5:17 pm

    Missed this from before the election – George Monbiot on New Labour.

    While Labour has liberated billionaires, it has trussed up the rest of us with 3,500 new criminal offences(21), including provisions that allow the police to declare any demonstration illegal(22). It has introduced control orders which place people under permanent house arrest without charge or trial. It has allowed the US to extradite our citizens without producing evidence of an offence. It has colluded in kidnapping and torture. Britain now has more CCTV cameras than any other nation(23), and a DNA database five times the size of its nearest competitor(24). The number of prisoners in the UK has risen by 41% since Labour took office(25,26).

    Parallels to another Labour party there.

    This government blocked a ceasefire in Lebanon, sacked the British ambassador to Uzbekistan when he complained that the regime was boiling its prisoners to death(27), gave aid to a Colombian military that collaborates with fascist death squads(28), announced a policy of pre-emptive nuclear war(29) and decided to waste our money on replacing Trident. But worse, far worse than any of this, it launched an illegal war in which hundreds of thousands died. This is the government colleagues of mine on the Guardian want to save.

    and some commenters on this website too.

  13. The Voice of Reason 13
    24 May 2010 at 8:47 pm

    The C Slug has decided to investigate double bunking from the inside:

    http://whaleoil.gotcha.co.nz/2010/05/24/civil-servant-used-section-59-defence/

    Bye, Cam. It’s been average.

  14. john 14
    25 May 2010 at 6:15 pm

    Peter Bethune is a real hero not an overpaid brawling rugby Guy. That’s why NZ is crapping itself because this is not a game of Rugby but real world struggle to get the Jap parasitic Whalers out of our backyard. You want a real hero? Then back him NZ or become just a meaningless backwater of the Northern Hemisphere

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