Open mike 26/05/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 26th, 2010 - 30 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…

30 comments on “Open mike 26/05/2010 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. andy (the other one) 1
    26 May 2010 at 7:48 am

    What is the Government trying to hide? Big Gezza talking mining, Garrett making up 10-20% drop in crime stats due to 3 – strikes and Hone talking 3 – strikes down on Nat Radio this morning.

    Something big must need to be damped down with all this media activity.

  2. Jenny 2
    26 May 2010 at 7:54 am

    What’s on Telly tonight?

    How about something completely different?

    Debate Is capitalism working?

    Wednesday, 26 May 2010 (tonight)
    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?’

    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

    • The Voice of Reason 2.1
      26 May 2010 at 10:28 am

      Whats on telly tonight? The State of Origin, Jenny! Great to see the debate is 7-9 to allow participants to get home in time see the Blues upset the Maroons. Both events should be rippers!

  3. Hilary 3
    26 May 2010 at 10:07 am

    So sorry to hear about the resignation of Kiwibank’s Sam Knowles. I suppose he didn’t want to fight the government’s determination to privatise the bank he built up.

  4. prism 4
    26 May 2010 at 10:53 am

    Interesting comment from Sir Max Hastings former Editor of the Daily Telegraph on his employer Conrad Black’s outlook on the world ‘His interest was in making the world a safe place for rich men to live in”. (Conrad Black ended up in jail.)

    Guess that sizes up the aims of NACT, perhaps trembling on the point of being the zeitgeist of the day.

  5. Pascal's bookie 5
    26 May 2010 at 11:19 am

    Quote of the day, (read-the-rest edition)

    “The report includes other examples of troubling behavior discovered by investigators.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/us/25mms.html?ref=us

  6. randal 6
    26 May 2010 at 11:40 am

    I see no comment yet on the long view.
    you know.
    the irrational, illogical mixture of lies and assertions every tuesday in the Dompost.
    Old dicky longfellow really exceeded himself this time.
    just mixed up a whole lot of garbage and roundtable propaganda and called it a reasoned approach.
    nope.
    just more camouflage to prevent the average guy from drawing a proper conclusion.
    when will it all end?
    nearly as bad as the other long in the wairarapa midweek who gets halfa page to push the biggest load of bushwa you have ever read.
    sample.
    obama and pelosi are amateurs.
    yeah right.
    this country has really gone on the wonk when editors and such allow this sort of infantile pap to grace the pages of once respectable pub,ications.
    my conclsuion is that they cant read properly either.

  7. I dreamed a dream 7
    26 May 2010 at 11:59 am

    Why is the conservative party in Australia called the Liberal Party?

    In the aftermath of the UK Elections recently, I was puzzled by why a party of conservatives in Australia is called the Liberal Party.

    A news item today caught my attention and went a long way towards clearing my confusion. In this news item “Fraser quits Liberal Party”, Mr Fraser, the prime minister from 1975 to 1983, confirmed his decision to quit on Tuesday, saying the party was no longer a liberal party but a conservative party. He quit over a belief it has tilted too far to the right.

    So, the Liberal Party did have liberal roots, but have transformed to a conservative party. They probably should change their name.

    • prism 7.1
      26 May 2010 at 12:07 pm

      I noticed in reading about the USA that the parties had changed direction there. Republicans started out as a more open liberal? party and the Democrats were more conservative, now the direction seems to have reversed. Whether the Democrats are even centre-left now I couldn’t say.

      • ianmac 7.1.1
        26 May 2010 at 2:41 pm

        And the left is colour blue and the right is colour (or color) red. Something to do with maps and TV.

        • bill brown 7.1.1.1
          26 May 2010 at 3:21 pm

          I read somewhere that they used to swap the colours around every election but stopped one year on this combination.

  8. MickeyS 8
    26 May 2010 at 1:36 pm

    Since when is “Scientific Research” protected as “Commercial Activity”?

    This has been puzzling me for some time – Pete Bethune is about to go to trial in Japan for his actions – I won’t take a side on the rights & wrongs of what he did here, but I do wonder how the Japanese get away with defending their whaling as ‘Scientific Research’, then prosecute him (inter alia) for disrupting a ‘Coomercial Activity’, when they steadfastly claim that their whaling is NOT commercial but scientific? All the while Murray McCully stands idly by avoiding offending their delicate sensitivities.

  9. MikeySmokes 9
    26 May 2010 at 4:39 pm

    Origin tonight yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhh. Nothing like watching the Convicts bashing each other.

    On Pete Bufoon, isnt the “commercial activity” label just the charge in court? like its name. I would have thought that going by his actions our Japanese friends could charge him with “disrupting some shit that is none of your fucking business, wether commercial activity or scientific research”.
    He shouldnt have boarded their boat.

  10. The Voice of Reason 10
    26 May 2010 at 6:30 pm

    A rather odd lead on 3News tonight. Some old video of a pissed Key bragging about owning a vineyard, then in a corridor interview today denying knowing whether he currently does, due to his blind trust. The implication seemed to be that the vineyard in question has gained in some way from the association with Key or that Key gained by being punted 200 bottles of vino from the vineyard he used as thank you gifts to staff and colleagues.

    I say it was odd, because the reporter didn’t seem to ask the right questions. Eg: Have you ever owned or had shares in an vineyard? Have you been bunged a case or twenty of Otago pinot lately? That sort of thing.

    Anyhoo, the look JohnBoy gave the reporter as he tried to work out what the fuck was going on was priceless. Should be on 3 news’ website shortly, definably a curious piece.

    • bobo 10.1
      26 May 2010 at 6:42 pm

      Its called a smile and wave stage exit left 🙂 was laughing watching the end.

      • The Voice of Reason 10.2.1
        26 May 2010 at 7:46 pm

        Ha, got it now! Thanks, Anita. The ‘pissed and pleased with myself’ video was shot after the blind trust was set up and he should not have known it was in the portfolio. So what else is in the trust? Any mining companies? Good work TV3!

        • Anne 10.2.1.1
          26 May 2010 at 7:57 pm

          ” So what else is in the trust? Any mining companies?”

          Didn’t Smile and Wave say he “had a few shares in the L&M mining company? Or am I mixing it up with something else?

          • Bill 10.2.1.1.1
            26 May 2010 at 8:18 pm

            Somebody passed some shares over to John Boy’s son. Said they weren’t worth much…at the time of passing…plummeting value….could have been John Boy himself or it could have been another cabinet minister or it could have been both.

            That doesn’t help in the least, does it?

            Any other cabinet ministers with these ‘blind trust’ affairs?

      • ianmac 10.2.2
        26 May 2010 at 11:11 pm

        Thanks Anita. Thinking of Helen Claks signature being such a “crime” so where does this story go? Questions have been asked of Key in the House re conflicts of interest, by ummm, and over two or three days. I wonder where they are going?

  11. Herodotus 11
    26 May 2010 at 6:34 pm

    All the worlds problems it seems have been solved and we have the greatest govt in NZ of all time. This must be the case as on such challanging informative programs as “Close Up” all we have is the ginger issue 2 days running. How is it that such time slots are wasted, was there something regarding mining and a couple of people perhaps even 3 who disagree with this tyre kicking idea, and a couple of minor tv celebrities taking a walk down Queen St.?
    Perhaps I have over read this issue!!!!!

    • gingercrush 11.1
      26 May 2010 at 6:43 pm

      Blame Labour. For a party that was said to be serious about broadcasting and implementing a charter that was suppose to deliver great television. Instead, we’ve had the opposite. TV One is a shadow of what it use to be.

      Programs such as Agenda and Q&A are good and TV One does those public broadcasting programs in the morning both Saturday and Sunday. And TVNZ 7 at least has a few functions of public broadcasting. Then there’s Maori TV. But TV One forget about it.

      As for Close Up. When it was Holmes it was semi-serious but now days reflect the same crap you see in Australia with Today Tonight and A Current Affair.

      • gobsmacked 11.1.1
        26 May 2010 at 6:46 pm

        “Then there’s Maori TV”

        Opposed by Gerry Brownlee and National when it was set up by the last government.

        • gingercrush 11.1.1.1
          26 May 2010 at 6:49 pm

          Yeah and they were wrong. Doesn’t excuse the fact under Labour, TVNZ became increasingly pathetic.

          • Herodotus 11.1.1.1.1
            26 May 2010 at 7:21 pm

            But the news reporters are so lovely and fresh faced, why destroy a nice story with hardened reporters.Have yuo notice the more established reporter (e.g. The mature man from Southland TVNZ) gets voive overs in his stories and these lovely people can add so much with a bust shot informing us of the story.
            It is almost a bit like “State of Play” with the real hard nosed reporter pushed aside becasue they are not viewer friendly
            When was the last time at 7:00 did we see Nat Ministers and their opposite discussing an issue. The 24yr old women in Whangaunui pysch care who had a relationship with staff memebers and what was going to be put in place to protecter her and assist in her troma and to stop this occuring again to someone else. Great opportunity but nothing.

  12. BLiP 12
    26 May 2010 at 10:07 pm

    hehehe – Labour skewers Chopper Tolley . . . again!!

    Hat Tip Red Alert.

  13. felix 13
    27 May 2010 at 2:27 am

    Peter Dunne, eh?

    In the house on Wednesday he proudly boasted that the Institute of Chartered Accountants had said the budget was “like pulling white rabbits out of a hat”

    Peter you thick bastard. The rabbit/hat trick is, um, a trick.

    The rabbits aren’t really coming out of the hat.

    You. fucking. moron.