Open mike 28/04/2011

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1. Carol 1

   28 April 2011 at 8:41 am

   And some other stories of the day, tommorrow, the weekend & for the future:

   Harawira contemplates a by-election

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10721960

   Mr Harawira will launch his new Mana Party on Saturday and the Herald understands he and his strategists are considering forcing a byelection to seek a mandate for his new party from Te Tai Tokerau voters.

   It would be a deliberate echo of Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia’s departure from the Labour Party over the Foreshore and Seabed Act in 2004.

   And Goff fronts up in the South, carrying the NO ASSET SALES message:

   http://www.odt.co.nz/regions/otago/157987/goff-points-govt-sell-plan-fault

   However, Mr Goff said people should not be fooled by the Government’s claims that it would always maintain a controlling stake of any company formed through privatisation. He pointed to the Clyde dam, owned by Contact Energy, as an example of why assets such as dams needed to stay in public ownership.

   “These things are a licence to print money. That’s why the big corporates want to buy into them. Because they are a natural monopoly, we need to keep them in the public sector.”

   Mr Goff predicted asset sales would be a key election issue, along with the cost of living, employment and taxation.
   • Draco T Bastard 1.1

     28 April 2011 at 2:28 pm

     he and his strategists are considering forcing a by-election

     He won’t get one, not this close to the election. If he tried to force it I suspect it’d backfire on him illegitimating the party rather than giving a mandate as most voters would then see him as wasting taxpayer time and money.
2. Morgan Godfery 2

   28 April 2011 at 8:43 am

   Dayle Takitimu, spokeswoman for Te Whanau a Apanui, informs me that the Police are planning “raids” against protestors.

   http://mauistreet.blogspot.com/2011/04/terror-raids-in-te-whanau-apanui.html
   http://mauistreet.blogspot.com/2011/04/terror-raids-in-te-whanau-apanui-2.html

   I tend to think the accusations have a solid base. A number of Maori police officers have come out saying they were approached by senior police officials who asked whether they would take part in planned “Tuhoe style terror raids” against Te Whanau a Apanui.

   It wouldn’t surprise me to see this occur under a National government. Using public power to protect private interests is so, so National. The integrity of NZ Inc comes before the democratic rights of citizens.
3. rosy 3

   28 April 2011 at 8:55 am

   this made me smile this morning

   THE only royal wedding street party in Glasgow has been cancelled … due to lack of interest.
   Shettleston Historical Society wanted to celebrate Prince William and Kate Middelton’s big day on April 29.
   But chairman Tony Jaconelli, 77, said: “In this neck of the woods, a street party about celebrating anything to do with royalty is a bit of a no no
   • Draco T Bastard 3.1

     28 April 2011 at 2:32 pm

     

     Now if we could just get the same attitude here
4. MrSmith 4

   28 April 2011 at 9:13 am

   “The planned fuel tax increase of 1.5 cents per litre which was due to come into effect on 1 July has been deferred while economic conditions remain tight, says Transport Minister Steven Joyce.”

   The lolly scramble has started folks.
5. Herodotus 5

   28 April 2011 at 9:41 am

   You forgot about the GST off F&V
   The deck chairs are certainly being rearranged
   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10721677
   and then we get this from the biggests blanket and musket seller of all time
   “His calls for taking GST off food and putting a ceiling on rent increases and petrol prices were supported by most New Zealanders, Mr Harawira said” – Pity realism plays no part !!
   • Draco T Bastard 5.1

     28 April 2011 at 2:34 pm

     It would be nice to see realism form part of a politicians world view and the vision they had for our society.
6. The Voice of Reason 6

   28 April 2011 at 9:51 am

   Interesting comment from the Police this morning that initial video scans of the Pike River mine appear to show the body of a fully clothed man laying face down. Fully clothed is interesting; perhaps conditions were not as fiery as we have been told.
   • ianmac 6.1

     28 April 2011 at 10:26 am

     And in breaking news: Police last night told families of the Pike River mine victims that there was a possibility rescuers had identified a body in the mine. There was also evidence that rescue boxes in the mine had been opened.
     Wonder if this will be a comfort or more distressing?
     http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10722020
7. ianmac 7

   28 April 2011 at 10:32 am

   Well something doesn’t add up. PM’s office had given a very different spin didn’t they?
   “They show Mr Key has used the Iroquois helicopters 10 times for a total of 29.9 flying hours over the period. That doesn’t include the trip he took two weeks ago from Auckland to Hamilton in order to attend the V8 Supercar races and be back in time for a golf club dinner.”
   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10721955
   • Draco T Bastard 7.1

     28 April 2011 at 2:41 pm

     Just more proof that John Key, and National, are liars, that they think they’re entitled to waste our money however they wish and that they think that they need to keep the truth from us.
8. rd 8

   28 April 2011 at 11:10 am

   An interesting blog about taxation in the US in an analysis from the 60’s to 2011

   ‘Rather than equalizing society, governments have shifted the burden of taxes from the wealthy to those of lower and middle income .

   http://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2011/04/rich-get-richer-how-taxation-in-america.html

   Via Anrewj at interest.co

   Would it be possible for someone to do the same for NZ?
9. lprent 9

   28 April 2011 at 12:08 pm

   Ok, we now have conditional anti-spam. If the spam engine thinks that you might be spam then it will ask you to fill in a anti-spam recaptcha. Don’t be offended, it will give you an opportunity to correct your spam like behavior

   We’ll try that for a while. In the meantime I’ll fix the old anti-spam in case I need to put it back in again.
   • Armchair Critic 9.1

     28 April 2011 at 3:45 pm

     Does that mean there’s no captcha unless some software thinks the comment looks like spam?
     • lprent 9.1.1

       28 April 2011 at 4:22 pm

       Yep. Talk about a highly effective negative feedback loop (especially after I get around to getting it to give more feedback). It should massively reduce the amount of work the mods have to do ove rthe medium term.
10. lprent)the_spammer 10

    28 April 2011 at 12:10 pm

    Write a spammer type comment
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/bluepeter/
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_Truth_movement
    http://www.slate.com/id/2292081/

    [lprent: Ok that did it – wound up in moderation after I did the correct words. ]
11. todd 11

    28 April 2011 at 1:45 pm

    Asshole of the Week Award

    http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/04/asshole-of-week-award_28.html

    On the 28 April 1995, 14 young people lost their lives and another four were injured, some very seriously. The disaster occurred at Cave Creek in Paparoa National Park and will forever mark the 28th April a sad day to remember. A party of students from the Outdoor Recreation course at Tai Poutini Polytechnic in Greymouth and the Department of Conservation’s Punakaiki Field Centre Manager went onto what appeared to be a safe viewing platform high above Cave Creek.
    • anarcho 11.1

      28 April 2011 at 9:46 pm

      I remember that day very clearly…. working on the Rununga Mine Rescue centre, first it was a police car, then two ambulances and finally the rescue helicopter screaming over us. Heading into Greymouth after work it was super quiet… a real tragedy. The polytech was the spark of the town and we knew a lot of people – artists, musicians – they made that shit-hole bearable for a while.
12. Polymath 12

    28 April 2011 at 3:16 pm

    It’s bread and circuses time… eg. Frankly I don’t give a damn & Rodders

    From ‘The Medieval Inquisition’: “A slow roasting was considered preferable to quick incineration… The events were closely linked to ROYAL SPECTACLES… Such burnings were even held to help celebrate ROYAL MARRIAGES.” (emphasis added)

    * 29 + 4 + 2011 = 19. 1 + 9 = 10. 1 + 0 = 1 World (dis)Order

    Also, Radio NZ yesterday reported Key and Cameron “took their shirts and ties off” after meeting at No.10 Downing St. Ye gads, olde chaps, what do those frat boysss get up to behind closed doors?

    And as for getting sssssso excccccited about a corgi licking his hand . . .

    When can we have a Prime Minister that SOUNDS like a New Zealander?
13. Arthur 13

    28 April 2011 at 3:23 pm

    So! J Key professes in France to be a great rugby supporter, yet he can’t recall his position re the 81 tour.
    • Bored 13.1

      28 April 2011 at 3:42 pm

      I can, it hurt, lots.
14. Adonijah 14

    28 April 2011 at 4:16 pm

    Just came to say hi and tell you all about the awesome day I had

    I recently challenged my employer on several issues of inefficiency and incorrect practice at the job at which I have been working for just five weeks now.

    My big mistake… for my efforts, today I was awarded with two weeks notice of termination of employment.

    Simply because the boss decided to take it personal when I (in the most appropriate manner possible) highlighted what wasn’t being done, what needed to be done and how best to do it.

    Never in my life have I been fired from a job, nor did I think anyone could be fired just for doing their job properly.

    Funnily enough I don’t blame the boss for being an asshole, instead I blame the dickheads in power who made it okay for him to treat my fellow (un)employees and I like some proletariat trash who can be discarded for whatever reason he sees fit.

    When I think about going back to WINZ after they fucked me around for almost three months last time I feel a pain building in my chest.

    I’m young enough that I shouldn’t have to worry about having a heart attack, besides I don’t have time to die, I have to find another job so that I can make rent first.

    This may not be of any interest to anyone but I just needed to have a rant so that I don’t do anything impulsive like THROW JOHN KEY UNDER A BUS.

    Lucky for him he’s probably still on world tour giving foreign leaders sloppy handjobs for trade deals or kudos or whatever we benefit from paying him to ride helicopters… I don’t know… Fuck it
    • r0b 14.1

      28 April 2011 at 4:20 pm

      It’s of interest to most of is Adonijah, that’s why we’re here.

      Is there a union at your workplace you can talk to?
      • Adonijah 14.1.1

        28 April 2011 at 8:24 pm

        Thanks r0b appreciate it

        I’m not a union member and untill today I wasn’t even aware there was a union for the hospitality industry, which has got to be one of the most overpopulated by bad managers.

        I’m looking in tosigning up tomorrow for sure.

        Had a good chat to someone at the community law centre though. Really helpful people gives me a renewed sense of faith that there are people willing to help out.
        • r0b 14.1.1.1

          28 April 2011 at 9:13 pm

          Glad to hear it – and good luck.
    • JS 14.2

      28 April 2011 at 4:24 pm

      Sorry to hear that, Adonijah. When you feel able, put your energies into fighting to get our country to a place where everyone is valued. In the meantime, best wishes with Work and Income.
      • Adonijah 14.2.1

        28 April 2011 at 8:30 pm

        Thanks JS.
        I do believe in us fighting for a better country, however I know that it’s not a fair fight.
        Cheers for the support much appreciated
    • Colonial Viper 14.3

      28 April 2011 at 4:31 pm

      New Zealand is full of really really shit managers holding our enterprises back.

      Which is why I think we should move to worker owned co-ops, mutual organisations, and not for profit private sector operations.
      • Adonijah 14.3.1

        28 April 2011 at 8:38 pm

        Don’t I know it. I’ve worked too hard for too many of these clowns.

        I have learned enough about how not to run a business and treat your employees that I could run my own shop if it weren’t for the huge costs involved in setting up.

        I agree with your second statement but TBH I don’t know enough about how co-ops work so I may have to make a trip to the library on my day off.

        Any recommended reading?
    • mickysavage 14.4

      28 April 2011 at 7:00 pm

      Don’t just get angry Adonijah, get involved. Whether Labour, Green or even Hone’s crew get active. This is the only way that ordinary people will change things for the better.
      • Anne 14.4.1

        28 April 2011 at 7:34 pm

        @Adonijah
        To add to what ms has already said… it will feel like an act of revenge for what was done to you, and in the process you will meet some great people.
      • Adonijah 14.4.2

        28 April 2011 at 8:47 pm

        I’m in. I give my party vote to the good guys but it still feels like pissing in the wind sometimes. I don’t really care for this government thing we have, Democracy seems like a giant misnomer to me. Demos Kratos, For the people by the people, right? Heck. Really?
        • mickysavage 14.4.2.1

          28 April 2011 at 8:49 pm

          What you need to do first is to make sure that you vote left. Then persuade a mate to vote left. Then persuade 2 mates to vote left. Then persuade three mates …
    • higherstandard 14.5

      28 April 2011 at 8:31 pm

      Name and shame the place of business.
    • M 14.6

      28 April 2011 at 8:56 pm

      Adonijah

      I’m so sorry to read of your plight – this kind of crap makes my blood boil.

      I’ve been in my present job for some years and I’m always on guard for my fellow workers because I process the pays and know the law. I can tell you that if I wasn’t there there would be some abuses going on. As a result of this I’m not kindly regarded by management and constantly have to remind them that everything I do is completely correct and that I’ve checked with the Department of Labour.

      Only today I had to say to one of them,” Well of course we have to pay for X as we can’t afford to have a whiff of scandal that we’re defrauding workers of their wages.” which I judged to be less direct than, “what, you’re going to rip this person off?” but it rankles that I have to remind people to act morally and within the law. If this person could immolate me on the spot there would be a pile of ash.

      Fully agree with your sentiments on Key, he’s pure evil.

      Please join a union when you can. If it’s any comfort to you, I went to some courses in the 80s run by the Employers’ Association and one guy taking a course said that middle management in NZ was some of the sorriest excuses for he’d ever seen where competence was concerned. I applaud you for pointing out what was wrong at work but unfortunately the arsehole who’s sacked you must have the most fragile ego going – heaven help us all.

      I echo others’ good wishes in your having to deal with WINZ – the description in the above paragraph would seem to suit them to a T.
15. The Voice of Reason 15

    28 April 2011 at 6:08 pm

    Latest Roy Morgan, not much change, Nats and Labour up marginally. Next one should be interesting, ACT up, Nats down?

    http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2011/4661/
    • mickysavage 15.1

      28 April 2011 at 6:58 pm

      Aye and I wait for the MSM to say that Labour is at 32%. The way the Reid Research results were taken as valid and repeated and repeated and repeated makes you wonder about possible bias in the MSM.
      • The Voice of Reason 15.1.1

        28 April 2011 at 7:20 pm

        The sort of bias multi million dollar loans at below market interest rates buys? Nah, couldn’t possibly happen here!

        I was wrong above, by the way. The Nats haven’t improved, but the overall right lead went up by one due to a lift for the Maori party.
    • PeteG 15.2

      28 April 2011 at 7:13 pm

      It suggests TV3/Reid was a blip and anyway it’s sort of moot since the polling was done before Brash got hyper on Easter eggs.

      It may take two or three polls to get an idea of how things are likely to pan out.
      • mickysavage 15.2.1

        28 April 2011 at 7:19 pm

        Ahhh PeteG

        Care to agree now that you may not have been right trumpeting that Labour was down to 27% and that the Reid Research poll may not have been accurate?
        • The Voice of Reason 15.2.1.1

          28 April 2011 at 7:25 pm

          Take it easy on Pete, he’s had a tough day over at the sewer. Funnily enough, some people over there think he’s a concern troll. A leftist concern troll, ho ho.

          “Pete George@10:38am on the previous thread: “Ah yes, and Banks. Brash’s new Exclusive Brother.”

          You had quite a lot to say in 10 comments on the earlier Brash thread – much of it questioning Act / National in ever-so-reasonable tones calculated to conceal support for policies of the left.”

          Loved ‘exclusive brother’ though, Pete!
        • PeteG 15.2.1.2

          28 April 2011 at 7:26 pm

          Ahhh MS, care to agree now that you weren’t a teensy weensy bit worried about 27%?

          I’m sure you know one poll at odds with others shouldn’t be taken too seriously unless it repeats.

          But of you look at the Roy Morgan poll graph you will no doubt be hoping that another sub 30 blip won’t coincide with the end of November. Look more closely – it has a record of diving in November, that’s what’s happened in 2009 and 2010.
          • mickysavage 15.2.1.2.1

            28 April 2011 at 7:30 pm

            Roy Morgan poll continuously and have a very good record.

            BTW PeteG I know that you do not want to read “The Hollow Men” but I found an alternative for you. Have a look at http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/the-hollow-men-2008 released very fortuitously today. Watch it and be very afraid. This is about the people who could take over our country. Be very afraid …
            • PeteG 15.2.1.2.1.1

              28 April 2011 at 7:37 pm

              BTW MS, I’ve never been a fan of Brash, I was pleased he failed in 2005, and I will be very wary of the Brash Act. His initial surprising success is tempered by that fact he wants Banks to try and keep Epsom in the Act camp.

              BTW, I’ve never been a fan of Banks either. I rate Boscawen as a genuine guy and a hard worker. There’s nothing much else to speak of once they lose Hide’s experience – he made mistakes and wasn’t always aiming at the right targets but he had many successes too, and knew the system well.
              • mickysavage …

                28 April 2011 at 8:23 pm

                Wow PeteG

                I agree with almost everything you said except the suggestion that Hide achieved anything positive …
    • Armchair Critic 15.3

      28 April 2011 at 8:32 pm

      That trend on the GCR doesn’t look very good for the government.
      • Colonial Viper 15.3.1

        28 April 2011 at 8:38 pm

        And its going to keep declining.

        People are getting a bad feeling about this Government, the issue is that they do not know what to do about it yet, and as a default until they do, they will keep picking National and Key.
        • Armchair Critic 15.3.1.1

          28 April 2011 at 9:00 pm

          And its going to keep declining.
          I’m picking this winter to be one of the most unhappy since the mid-90s, which will ensure the GCR drops further. There must be a point on the GCR where it drags the government don with it.
          • Colonial Viper 15.3.1.1.1

            28 April 2011 at 9:09 pm

            There must be a point on the GCR where it drags the government don with it.

            The location of that point depends on a large extent on the guts of the opposition parties.

            Key must fumble, but the Opposition must be in position to catch the ball when he does that, and must then run with it straight to the try line.
16. William Joyce 16

    28 April 2011 at 7:23 pm

    After $10 Million has been spent by police, the family members of the Pike River miners and the mayor are demanding that more money be spent to remove their bodies.
    Although they are grieving, it cannot be said that NZ has not gone to great efforts and money expended to retrieve the bodies. Plus open their own wallets for them.
    It may be that some decisions made by the rescue team, in hindsight, were wrong but the very expensive royal commission will determine that.
    Surely there is a limit to which the NZ taxpayer could be expected to go to retrieve the bodies of people who knowingly engaged in an activity that could have resulted in them being entombed in a mountain.
    What really saddens me, is in holding this view, I find I am sounding like some RWNJ – but hey! It could be some recessive mutant gene coming to the fore.
    • Draco T Bastard 16.1

      28 April 2011 at 8:16 pm

      Surely there is a limit to which the NZ taxpayer could be expected to go to retrieve the bodies of people who knowingly engaged in an activity that could have resulted in them being entombed in a mountain.

      You would think so.

      What really saddens me, is in holding this view, I find I am sounding like some RWNJ – but hey! It could be some recessive mutant gene coming to the fore.

      It all depends upon why you hold the view that you do. To save limited resources or to give tax cuts to the rich. The RWNJs, of course, are all for the latter.
17. Vicky32 17

    28 April 2011 at 7:30 pm

    Bizarre item on Clive tonight – a woman whinging because Asians are buying baby “formula” to send to China, and a reporter trying to make a Chinese woman feel guilty because she’s buying it to send to her baby nephew who was caught in the Chinese earthquake last year…That’s a crime? A daddy does an email whine that he has to go to “two different ‘stores’ to get the ‘formula” for his family.
    I brought up 3 kids and never used ‘formula’ ever.
    (As a friend point out years ago, ‘store’ is one of the sillier americanisms. Stores are warehouses, they sell wholesale stuff, and the places that sell retail are *shops*!)
    • Colonial Viper 17.1

      28 April 2011 at 7:53 pm

      Idiotic people thinking food out of a machine is better for baby than food from an in tune with her own baby mother’s body.
18. Draco T Bastard 18

    28 April 2011 at 8:32 pm

    National Coal Expert: “Mining is a Loser” in Practically Every Way

    Anytime coal’s cost to America is discussed, the coal industry reflexively talks about what an economic lifeline it is for the states in which it operates. Headwaters Economics, a Bozeman-based think tank focusing on natural resource issues, has a solid new study that’s getting national attention for undercutting those claims. For instance, the Headwaters study finds that “[f]ossil fuel production has not insulated energy-producing states from fiscal crisis,” that “[f]ossil fuel extraction has a limited influence at the state level on economic indicators such as GDP by state, personal income, and employment,” and that “[t]he volatility of fossil fuel markets poses obstacles to the stability and long-term security of economic growth in energy-producing regions.”

    I think that should be enough to get everyone wondering just who benefits from coal mining in NZ as well.

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1. The Standard: posted on 28 April 2011 at 9:30 am

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