Open mike 29/08/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 29th, 2010 - 17 comments
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17 comments on “Open mike 29/08/2010 ”

  1. r0b 1

    Matt McCarten on the death throes of ACT. He tells it like it is!

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10669555

  2. joe90 2

    Delicious rOb, f***en delicious, and this comment over at the Dimpost from actite James makes their demise even sweeter.

    HIS ministerial entitlement on a well deserved break with his girlfriend…

  3. prism 3

    A little news item on early world news RadNZ today. One of those items that flash up now and then, surprising and troubling. A French town in 1951 had a severe outbreak of mental hallucinations. Five people died. Many were hospitalised, some had to be chained to their beds where in the throes of their madness they threw themselves around with such force that their metal beds made a deafening noise. One man questioned had had bad effects like a serpent twining around him. He said if it became known who had caused it he would wish to shoot them.

    It was thought to be argot a fungus disease that grows on flour. No doubt the town bakers were roughly treated. Research after a CIA document with some odd comments was found, points the finger at the CIA, and a desire by one of its scientists to test the effect of LSD on people as a means of avoiding traditional war and weapons, but knocking out the opposition with chemicals. With friends like this who needs enemies?

  4. Richard 4

    Anne Tolley still seems be out to make friends with teachers…
    Criminal teachers still in class!

    • Tigger 4.1

      Ick. Another sensationalistic piece of trash journalism with no context…how old are these convictions? Did they do time? Rehabilitated? Serial offenders? Give me some context you tossers.

  5. Bill 5

    anyone else having trouble submitting comments?

    • lprent 5.1

      Not that I have heard of… I’ll run a another test in a logged out state – seems ok.

      What exactly is it doing?

      There has been a pretty major site update today and I’ve been running some reasonably short but intense update routines (like search and replacing gobblygoop characters with what should be there). If you were posting during one of them then you might get timed out while posting a comment.

      It looks like I screwed up a line in the config and it copied some UTF-8 content as Latin1. But that looks like the only real error and I’ve fixed everything that I can see.

  6. The western world seems yo be moving toward a take over of Xenophobic
    actions. Nicolas Sarkovy is rounding up and deporting Roma . the Italian governmment is also arresting and deporting Roma people.In Arizona the Republican state government is giving the police the right to demand individuals show their identity resulting in racial profiling .Palin and her Right-Wing cohorts are about to publicly burn copies of the Koran ,this must surely e bordering on Fascism.
    Even here down under we have Gillard and Abbot taking a tough line on refugee boat people.
    Even our smile and wave PM has taken a tough on entry to boat refugees .
    What is so sad about these whole epsodes is that all of the above are either refugees or imigrants themselves.
    Sarkovy was with his father a refugee from Easten Europe and Abbot and Gillard are imigrants .
    Our PM is the son of a Refugee who spun this for all it was worth at he last election.
    It always amazes me just how some people forget their past. Its sad.

    • Vicky32 6.1

      “.Palin and her Right-Wing cohorts are about to publicly burn copies of the Koran ,this must surely e bordering on Fascism.”
      My giddy aunt! I knew Palin was crazy, but not to that extent…
      Deb

    • Carol 6.2

      The lurch towards xenophobia and/or racism seemed to be a theme in Al Jazeera News Hour on Triangle this morning.

      The lead item was on a right wing rally in the US organised by Glenn Beck, with Palin as a speaker:

      http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/201082813632474697.html

      Tens of thousands have gathered in Washington DC for a rally organised by Glenn Beck, a talk show host, at the site and on the anniversary of the iconic 1963 civil rights demonstration.

      Civil rights leaders have protested the event, scheduling a march not far from Beck’s gathering.

      There was another item on clashes at a a far right demo in Bradford, England:
      http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/2010828142657112299.html

      Clashes have erupted in the northern British city of Bradford, during the staging of a rally by the far-right English Defence League and a counter-rally by the anti-Fascist Unite Against Fascism.

      Supporters of the English Defence League (EDL) threw bottles, stones and cans at Unite Against Fascism protesters in the multi-ethnic city of Yorkshire on Saturday….

      Analysts have drawn connections between the EDL, which was formed about 18 months ago, and the British National Party.

      The EDL deny this and accusations that the group is racist or fascist. Rather it has said that it is simply against the Taliban and extreme forms of Islam.

      “Frankly, you can take that with a pinch of salt,” Brennan said.

      “Because the evidence is in what they do rather than what they say. And what they do is certainly very indicative of a far-right organisation which has much wider political aims than simply extreme Islam,” he said.

      It does seem like there’s a light of scapegoating of selected ethnic groups by the right in a range of countries – or is it just being over-exaggerated by media attention?

  7. Has anyone picked up the connection with Key and the Hubbards .
    the Herald reported Hubbard ,when this business first came out , as saying.”This would never had happened if John Key had been in the country. Interesting !
    Today we are told that Hubbard is going to write to Key regarding this shambles over peoples investments with the Hubbard’s . Just what is going on and what is Key’s relationship with the Hubbards if any?

  8. Draco T Bastard 8

    Cullen: New Zealand should be republic

    “But talking to plants and extremely conservative views on architecture are scarcely confined to Prince Charles.

    “And as for the old Duke, his insensitivity and prejudices would in our nation make him highly suitable material for a breakfast television or talkback radio host.”

    Which would probably show how such medium is seen in NZ 😀

  9. Draco T Bastard 9

    Error 404 – Not Found

    The page you are looking for (thestandard.org.nz/afghanistan-strategy/) cannot be found.

    Was the Good reasons to Stay in Afghanistan post removed?

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