Open mike 27/10/2013

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, October 27th, 2013 - 59 comments
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openmikeOpen mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step right up to the mike…

59 comments on “Open mike 27/10/2013 ”

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  1. andy (the other one) 1
    27 October 2013 at 7:38 am

    Slaters/Cook/Palino/Wewege and Chuang.

    its a bloody circular firing squad (and a vortex of crazy).

    Two front pages & an editorial

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11146923

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9331664/The-mayor-the-love-rat-and-nudity

    • Murray Olsen 1.1
      27 October 2013 at 4:40 pm

      I can only hope that this attempted Americanisation of our politics has backfired so badly that it’ll be a long time before anyone tries it again. Americanisation of our foreign policy, spying laws, ngati poaka, culture, and fast food has already gone too far.

  3. Draco T Bastard 3
    27 October 2013 at 8:29 am

    Bernard Hickey in the NZHerald:

    The Government’s argument that it wanted to widen and deepen the ownership and the make-up of the stock market was the only good one for the asset sales programme.

    But selling 49 per cent of the biggest electricity generator in the country to just 1.4 per cent of the population is not a democratisation of the stock market.

    The Mom programme also failed to strengthen the share market. Instead, the sales have triggered a backlash wiping a combined $1.3 billion or 13 per cent off the stock market values of Contact Energy, Mighty River Power and TrustPower.

    Must that infernal equilibrium of the market kicking in.

  4. phillip ure 4
    27 October 2013 at 8:34 am

    “..Forget the relationship help aisle –

    – this is the best marital advice the world has to offer..”

    http://www.alternet.org/sex-amp-relationships/9-relationship-tips-dont-suck

    (ed:..bloody hell..!..this should be taught in high-schools..)

    phillip ure..

    • AsleepWhileWalking 4.1
      27 October 2013 at 8:57 am

      Or schools could explore whether marriage is an outdated concept.

      • phillip ure 4.1.1
        27 October 2013 at 9:17 am

        @ asleep..

        ..isn’t it more about freedom of choice..?

        ..than either/or dictates..?

        ..and you said ‘marriage’..

        ..the linked article talks of ‘relationships’..

        ..close..but no prize..

        ..phillip ure..

  5. karol 5
    27 October 2013 at 8:36 am

    Stuff has picked up on Lucy lawless Twitter criticisms of Steven Joyce, in ‘Warrior in tweet war with minister‘:

    Joyce said he had not paid much attention to Lawless’s tweets.

    “Lucy has her views. I think they are slightly contradictory – on the one hand she argues for more subsidies for the film and television industry; on the other she spends a lot of time opposing oil and gas, which are big earners for New Zealand taxpayers and help pay for the things she is seeking.”

    Joyce’s snide remarks claiming oil and gas are the answers for all NZ’s problems, shows a man not really suited to political leadership.

    How have such ill-suited people (as in Team Key) come to have so much political power?

    • Draco T Bastard 5.1
      27 October 2013 at 10:55 am

      Report exposes Government hypocrisy on fossil fuel subsidies

      The New Zealand government is subsidising the oil and gas industry to the tune of $46 million annually, an investment at odds with its claims on the world stage to be ‘spearheading’ efforts to reform fossil fuel subsidies, says global conservation organisation WWF.

      Oil and gas doesn’t appear to pay that well.

      • Tat Loo (CV) 5.1.1
        27 October 2013 at 11:01 am

        And its going to pay worse as the years roll on. While the oil and gas industries complain bitterly overseas about “subsidies” to renewable energy initiatives, they themselves are the ones sucking up the most subsidies. That and society at large ignoring and not accounting for all the damage (externalities) the industry causes on the environment.

        But our global civilisation is absolutely dependent on this energy and I expect that more and more is going to be taken out of society in order to prop this sector up even as its base resources continue to deplete.

        • Rosie 5.1.1.1
          27 October 2013 at 11:55 am

          On the subject of energy: You thought Simon Bridges was tard enough, thank goodness we don’t have this guy writing our energy policy.

          http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023819890

          Wind energy controversy

          “In June 2010, Barton has questioned the wisdom of deficit spending to fund an extensive national wind turbine energy generation grid. He said, “Wind is God’s way of balancing heat. Wind is the way you shift heat from areas where it’s hotter to areas where it’s cooler. That’s what wind is. Wouldn’t it be ironic if in the interest of global warming we mandated massive switches to wind energy, which is a finite resource, which slows the winds down, which causes the temperature to go up? Now, I’m not saying that’s going to happen, Mr. Chairman, but that is definitely something on the massive scale. I mean, it does make some sense. You stop something, you can’t transfer that heat, and the heat goes up. It’s just something to think about.”

          Wow.(With apologies if this already been posted)

          • Lanthanide 5.1.1.1.1
            27 October 2013 at 1:04 pm

            Fundamentally it is true. TANSTAFL after all: the electrical energy has been harvested out of the kinetic energy in the wind. Of course humans would be lucky to ever harvest 1-2% of the wind’s total available energy.

            • Tat Loo (CV) 5.1.1.1.1.1
              27 October 2013 at 1:09 pm

              I read that the total wind energy available might fall between 100TW to 200TW. Extracting 1% of that would be huge.

            • Draco T Bastard 5.1.1.1.1.2
              27 October 2013 at 3:39 pm

              Yep, there was an article about it a year or so back. Can’t find it now though. The author’s paper basically said Yes, it’s clean, yes it’s renewable but there’s still consequences to putting up all those blades. Still, I figure that we could put a few without concern. The idea would be to calculate just how many we can put up before we put too many up rather than the burn it all now creed of the fossil fuel partisans.

              • Rosie …
                27 October 2013 at 3:59 pm

                Lol. Clearly I’m no energy expert but the other ‘arf, an amateur wind energy enthusiast (and has recently been studying this topic for an assignment) reckons the planet would need to be covered in wind turbines before anything detrimental occurred. (No, you’re right, not a scientific calculation)

                The main point is that the Texan Republican Congressman who had a lot to do with energy policy in the US and who was one of the main writers of the energy policy Act 2005 (which gifted Haliburton with subsidies) during the Bush regime is a climate change denier and has a belief that God controls the weather. Would you really want him advising on wind energy?

                We are unfortunate enough to have Simon Bridges as our Energy and Resources Minister but so far despite his promotion of deep sea oil exploration and defence of the industry, he hasn’t yet got God involved, although, that theme could be lurking under those angry smouldering eyes given his background. If you’re looking at comparing govt energy spokespeople than you may have a case of worse and worst.

                Check this out for more Barton crazy:

                http://americanloons.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/473-joe-barton.html

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  27 October 2013 at 5:37 pm

                  Just saying that we should consider possible consequences before rush in. It is, after all, the rushing in where angels fear to tread that has given us AGW.

                  Would you really want him advising on wind energy?

                  No, I’d want actual scientists backed up with observations and calculations.

        • greywarbler 5.1.1.2
          27 October 2013 at 12:51 pm

          Tat
          It’s base all right.

          Rosie
          Now I’m (really) confused. How many ways are there for finding our way out of this maze. Damn all these cul de sacs.

    • seeker 5.2
      27 October 2013 at 11:11 pm

      +100 Karol . How have they indeed. Seeing joyce (unfortunately) this morning , I was asking myself the same question.

  6. phillip ure 6
    27 October 2013 at 9:07 am

    it has long puzzled me just who colin craig looks like..

    ..and seeing him on q & a..

    ..it has just come to me..

    .it is e.t..!

    ..check it out..!

    .and wow..!..isn’t he a smug/simpering/supercilious prick..

    ..eh..?

    phillip ure..

    • greywarbler 6.1
      27 October 2013 at 12:59 pm

      p ure
      and karol
      The question of how such pricks get into politics has just been stated by philip.
      For NACTS they have to pass the smug, supercilious prick test and they have to have been in some successful business – doesn’t matter what. Showing that they can move the pieces on the board successfully and get money or have a burning desire to learn this. That’s the high jump they have to pole vault over.

      For LABOUR it’s different – isn’t it?

      • Draco T Bastard 6.1.1
        27 October 2013 at 3:47 pm

        and they have to have been in some successful business

        No, they just have to have been in business and know the right people (part of the “smug, supercilious prick test”). It doesn’t matter if the business was successful or not.

  7. Philgwellington Wellington 7
    27 October 2013 at 9:09 am

    Slater WO was correct, politics is a filthy, disgusting, depraved business. Couldn’t think of a more appropriate family business for them.

    • weka 7.1
      27 October 2013 at 12:39 pm

      Slater wasn’t correct. He wants politics to be a filthy, disgusting, depraved business because it legitimises who he is and how he likes to behave. Plenty of politics out there that doesn’t fit his description, due to the kinds of people involved.

      • greywarbler 7.1.1
        27 October 2013 at 12:45 pm

        weka
        +1
        Smoke and mirrors. With mirrors you get a different perspective each time you shift position.
        Getting out in the sunlight would be a good shift for Slater.

  8. North 8
    27 October 2013 at 9:46 am

    Michelle Boag’s comments on Q+A – Do they see Conservatives as their only hope ?  Great ! Means ShonKey Python is fucked.

    A sense only but I can’t see New Zealanders being prepared to tolerate another cuppa tea bullshit. Yes it’s MMP but that doesn’t exclude people saying “Oh no not again……”. The spectre of entitlement and any trick for power is gonna tell on them.

    Besides Craig is religious nutter. We have a significant history of that carry on going tits up politically.

    • miravox 8.1
      27 October 2013 at 9:54 am

      Craig is also anti-asset sales, so that would be interesting if there was another National-led government and they had an appetite for more sales.

  9. phillip ure 9
    27 October 2013 at 9:51 am

    joyce is on q & a sneering at the idea of a living wage/raising the minimum wage..

    ..bill maher has the best response/riposte to him/his bullshit..

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/26/bill-maher-minimum-wage_n_4166212.html?ref=topbar

    phillip ure..

    • Draco T Bastard 9.1
      27 October 2013 at 11:05 am

      Hah, that was good 😈

    • tc 9.2
      27 October 2013 at 12:51 pm

      Bill maher rocks, is he available amongst any of das skys dross ?

      You could back to back him, daily show and colbert as a therapy regime of sorts.

      • Tat Loo (CV) 9.2.1
        27 October 2013 at 1:01 pm

        Very enjoyable. Although Chris Hedges would say – remember that all of these people are multi-millionaires. They make good points, and necessary points – but all they are doing in the final analysis is picking fun at some of the more extreme aspects of the crony capitalism that we find ourselves in.

        They never advocate for any serious change or upending of the system (no surprise as it is the same system that they are in the top 0.1% of). For instance, none of them ever says – it’s time to walk from the Democrats and the Republicans, and support an independent third party. Saying that McDonalds or Walmart should pay their workers at least $10/hr is safe of course. Nothing really changes, albeit a bit of worker hardship and poverty is relieved.

        Hence their role is merely part of the long weakened liberal elite: to try and soften a few of the more egregious and unfair aspects of the current political economic disaster zone that we find ourselves in, and to conduct a bit of education on the way.

  10. North 10
    27 October 2013 at 9:51 am

    Not to forget the toxicity of the supremely entitled Weetbix baggage Bling Rankin.

  11. North 11
    27 October 2013 at 9:58 am

    Q+A…….I’ll never use it…….but you know I will.

  12. greywarbler 12
    27 October 2013 at 11:12 am

    On Down the List this morning they are playing a game of ‘Monopoly’ which is right up to date with current political moves and properties. Land on Sky City casino and you might get bankrupted!
    What a marvellous on-line business for a smart and ironic deviser to develop into a game that changes perhaps daily, and punters will pay to play it. How interesting and fun.

  13. greywarbler 13
    27 October 2013 at 12:18 pm

    There was talk in Open.m 26/10 about intergenerational education on the past and reality. I’ll just put here a really sound Chinese Confucian precept from Thinkexist.com

    “By three methods we may learn wisdom:
    first, by reflection, which is noblest;
    second, by imitation, which is easiest; and
    third, by experience, which is the most bitter.”

    Confucius quotes (China’s most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, 551-479 BC)

  14. Rosie 14
    27 October 2013 at 12:19 pm

    If you’re interested in the experience of the factory worker and you’re in Wellington, this may be a fascinating exhibition to go and visit:

    Li Xiaofei’s exhibition, Assembly Line – A packet of Salt, shows video footage of 100’s of factories around the Yangtze river, footage that he has compiled over the last three years. It’s on at the Toi Poneke gallery until 9th November.

    “The Assembly Line videos deliberately mix artistic and documentary language. Images of the individual and the machines are constantly being cut up, restructured, transformed and rebuilt into an evocative film. This body of work explores a number of interlocking themes including the relationship between labour and management, people and machine, factory and individual and individual and society”.

    http://asianz.org.nz/events/packet-salt-li-xiaofei

  15. risildowgtn 15
    27 October 2013 at 1:38 pm

    This just came up on Facebook feed..

    Mozilla have released Lightbeam

    http://www.occupycorporatism.com/new-mozilla-app-shows-users-who-is-tracking-them-online/

    It enables the user to watch who is watching them……..

  16. Tat Loo (CV) 16
    27 October 2013 at 2:00 pm

    Wall St rental homes: Billion dollar slum lords

    I knew from the start that this whole “buy-to-rent” thing would be a disaster. Over the last decade or so, everything that Wall Street touched has turned into a scheme primarily focused on parasitically funneling wealth and resources away from society at large to itself. This is no different. They call it a “new asset class.” I call it Wall Street serfdom.

    What makes this article even more interesting is that it’s not simply greed, it is also obvious that these Wall Street firms have no idea what the fuck they are doing.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-26/closer-look-decrepit-world-wall-street-rental-homes

  17. phillip ure 17
    27 October 2013 at 4:05 pm

    i just found this – on the afternoon trawl..

    http://www.salon.com/2013/10/26/12_other_governments_that_enjoy_spying_on_their_citizens_partner/

    “..8) New Zealand

    New Zealand?

    Really?

    A new law allows the country’s main intelligence agency to spy on its own citizens.

    The government realized that the Government Communications Security Bureau had been spying on New Zealand citizens illegally – anyway —

    – so it introduced the new law to make it a lot less illegal.

    As in other countries – there’s been a lot of public opposition to the law;

    – as in other countries – the government claims that the added surveillance is needed to protect the people.

    Aww – thanks government!..”

    phillip ure..

  18. Tautoko Viper 18
    27 October 2013 at 9:10 pm

    I have just heard from a friend of a suicide of a man who was taken off the benefit. I am so angry that giggling Paula Bennett and co will be happy accepting any increase in their remuneration while they are driving others to take such desperate measures. I regard their lack of empathy with contempt. This NAct government falls over itself to subsidise corporations but shows little compassion for the people. Shame on them!!

  19. Lionel 19
    27 October 2013 at 9:32 pm

    Watching Nat matriarch Michele Boag on Q&A trying to stitch up the ways the Nats can keep their filthy hands on the power levers in parliament reminded me of Karl Rove of Fox news who tried to come up with all manner of ways that Mitt Romney could beat Obama in the last US Elections she was grasping at straws suggesting ACT could win Epsom
    and on top of that telling Micheal Parkin off for accusing the incompetent Steven Joyce of Cunliffe bashing was laughable now that Miss Goody Two Shoes Jessica Mutch is off to the UK hopefully Micheal and Corin Dann might grow a pair ask some searching questions of the idiots running the country because the Herald won’t.
    Talking of Joyce why is it that him/Key and English are always right and everyone else is wrong.Its called arrogance and it sinks many a government.

  20. joe90 20
    27 October 2013 at 9:37 pm

    Bruce Schneier: Power in the Age of the Feudal Internet.

    PROPOSITION

    Bruce Schneier, Cryptographer and Computer Security Specialist and Author of Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust Society Needs to Thrive

    We’re in the middle of an epic battle for power in cyberspace. On one side are the nimble, unorganized, distributed powers such as dissident groups, criminals, and hackers. On the other side are the traditional, organized, institutional powers such as governments and large multinational corporations. During its early days, the Internet gave coordination and efficiency to the powerless. It made them powerful, and seem unbeatable. But now the more traditional institutional powers are winning, and winning big. How these two fare long-term, and the fate of the majority of us that don’t fall into either group, is an open question – and one vitally important to the future of the Internet.

    https://www.schneier.com/

  21. The Lone Haranguer 21
    28 October 2013 at 8:58 am

    And the Nats are up in one poll released today and Labour are back close to the Shearer levels they have become used to in he past year or two.

    A rogue poll? – maybe.

    But the one thing that leads to politic civil war more than any other, is bad polling. Get some great results like Labour has recently and Cunliffe is “The Man” and the Nats start looking for folk on their side to eat.

    A few more of the “rogue” polls like todays one and the Labour MPs will be looking for folk on their side to eat.

    Afterall, political cannibalism is okay when its self preservation. Isnt it?

    That some with VERY close allegiances to the Nats behaved badly in the Auckland Mayoralty can be forgiven if it doesnt affect polling, shows an ugly side of politics in New Zealand.

  22. Marie 22
    28 October 2013 at 12:45 pm

    New Zealand Superannuation NOT ASSET OR INCOME TESTED A universal entitlement for every citizen/permanent resident from age 65 ….. 10 years residency only qualification .required………. NOT SO……………..see
    http://www.nzprotest.com
    ethnic New Zealanders from Europe mainly discriminated against and forced to undergo Asset and Income test via S.70 the stealth clause in SSA 1964. see also Auckland University Research Policy Unit on Justice Delayed is Justice denied…………….www.migrantstonewzealand beware.org

  23. Marie 23
    28 October 2013 at 12:47 pm

    New Zealand Superannuation NOT ASSET OR INCOME TESTED A universal entitlement for every citizen/permanent resident from age 65 ….. 10 years residency only qualification .required………. NOT SO……………..

  24. happynz 24
    23 November 2013 at 1:58 am

    supamu… 😉