Open mike 30/12/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, December 30th, 2010 - 36 comments
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36 comments on “Open mike 30/12/2010 ”

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  1. travellerev 1
    30 December 2010 at 6:44 am

    For those who are interested here is the link to the interview I gave to Kevin Barrett yesterday.

  2. jcuknz 2
    30 December 2010 at 7:47 am

    Is this a life? without a proper social security system. Life in America for 50 million ….
    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/29/us/29families.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2

    • Bored 2.1
      30 December 2010 at 8:02 am

      Its all a little confusing when you look at the indicators….real US unemployment rates up at over 20%, and the Stock markets up 10-15% in the last year, which begs the question where did the rise in share values come in during a year in which GDP fell and this number of people were sent to the breadline? My guess is that the “money” created too bail out the banks has been channelled into keeping the stock market inflated, because there has certainly been no 10% increase in production or consumption.

      • jcuknz 2.1.1
        30 December 2010 at 8:54 am

        Without a proper social security system it is possible to send a proportion of the population to the breadline while the rest enjoy a sort of recovery of confidence … Xmas sales rose 11% I think, but maybe that is the foolishness of a consumer society whereas here in NZ sales dropped 6%.

      • KJT 2.1.2
        30 December 2010 at 12:57 pm

        Reinvested in Government bonds at 3% so the Government can lend it back to the banks at 0%.

  3. Bored 3
    30 December 2010 at 8:50 am

    Talking stocks and shares heres my laugh of the day, at the expense of those oh so poor and benighted lovelies who are presented to us as “Ma and Pa” investors.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10697055

    It would appear that the not so wimpish Mr Whimp is offering the shareholders in NZ companies what he believes is a “fair” price. My take is that he is short changing himself, but as they say “let the buyer beware”. He is described as “immoral” by those who obviously see the values as higher. Ma and Pa may be feeling the first chill winds threatening their dreams of the “happy life” backed by the dubious morality of taking an income based upon somebody else’s labour.

    • Logie97 3.1
      30 December 2010 at 1:01 pm

      Sorry Bored. Didn’t see your entry – see below

      • Bored 3.1.1
        30 December 2010 at 1:33 pm

        Its all a bit Alice in Wonderland…things are not always what they seem…especially if you are a middle class NZer with “aspirations”.

  4. joe90 4
    30 December 2010 at 9:35 am

    Surprise surprise, it works.

    Drugs in Portugal are still illegal. But here’s what Portugal did: It changed the law so that users are sent to counseling and sometimes treatment instead of criminal courts and prison. The switch from drugs as a criminal issue to a public health one was aimed at preventing users from going underground.

    Other European countries treat drugs as a public health problem, too, but Portugal stands out as the only one that has written that approach into law. The result: More people tried drugs, but fewer ended up addicted.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      30 December 2010 at 10:25 am

      Sick of these soft ass European countries with their hippy liberal BS attitudes, no wonder they are all circling the gurgler, fact of the matter is the only thing which works is to put drug users and dealers in the slammer together, the longer the better, they are criminals all don’t think you can hide that by trying to pretend like they are “sick”, they made the choice to take drugs they can go rot for all i care, and even better if they go rot in maximum security what a laugh, losers take some personal responsibility, keep them out of my nice neighbourhood is all I give a shit about.

      /sarcasm

      • just saying 4.1.1
        30 December 2010 at 12:08 pm

        Real nice of you to post for JBanks and Big Brother while they are away. Bit like picking up the mail for the neighbours. The hecklers need their hols like everyone else:-D

      • grumpy 4.1.2
        30 December 2010 at 12:20 pm

        Hell, CV, trust you to leave it until the end of the year and everyone on holiday to post your most intelligent comment yet.
        I always thought you were a closet righty

      • the pink postman 4.1.3
        30 December 2010 at 2:40 pm

        Well now I know why we have so many Tory Governments !What a selfish unhappy lot these Right-Wingers are. What is our education system teaching New Zealanders when they come out with this Im alright Jack crap”

  5. john 5
    30 December 2010 at 10:24 am

    Difference between a Plutocracy and a Kleptocracy?
    Plutocracy: Government by the rich for the rich.
    Kleptocracy: Your Government using your tax payer funds bails out the rich bankers whose bets went wrong incurring huge debts to be paid by you! Or Privatizes your Publically owned assets.

    Examples:US bailouts and Irish bail outs plus here South Canterbury.
    The rich are too important to take a haircut.
    Oh yes! Let’s not forget the Privatization for wealthy Investors of Public Assets, which the Rich consider fair game for themselves.Refer link on these definitions:

    http://maxkeiser.com/2010/12/29/ruling-kleptocracy-1-earned-10-debt/#comments

    • Draco T Bastard 5.1
      30 December 2010 at 12:05 pm

      Seems about right. It’s certainly what NACT did with their “tax swaps” of cutting the taxes on the rich and putting them on the poor and in such a way so that the government had to borrow to do it.

  6. Logie97 6
    30 December 2010 at 12:57 pm

    Who was responsible for the cutesy expression “mums and dads” investors.
    As if this is a group of unsophisticated, uninformed people.

    And why am I being blamed for purchasing on plastic or putting my extra money into property during the last government’s occupation of the treasury benches. I did no such thing.

    The way I see it, it was the “mums and dads” that decided to buy the rental properties and the apartments hoping to make quick bucks.

    Any extra I came by I retired mortgage and children’s student debt.

    • the pink postman 6.1
      30 December 2010 at 3:04 pm

      The country in debt ,unemployement up , prices of food skyrocketing and wages being kept down. The country is in crisis and who gets the blame ?
      Why the poor old worker for not saving enough. Bill English”s “Mums and
      Dads do not have enough cash at the end of the week to pay all the bills let alone buy shares on the stock exchange, However it sounds good, and all the “mums and dads” go out and vote National

      • Zaphod Beeblebrox 6.1.1
        30 December 2010 at 10:42 pm

        Yep, we’ve all been naughty and lived good lives- now according to Bill and John its time to suffer for our sins. Of course the fact that our leaders and their buddies won’t be sharing in the sufferings besides the point- we haven’t felt enough pain.

    • Bored 6.2
      30 December 2010 at 7:50 pm

      I’m with you Logie, Ma and Pa to me might have a cv like: worked 40 years as a lawyer or accountant, bought shares in the company we worked for, sold them to a new partner (silly boy thinks they are worth the paper they are wriiten on) for a fat profit 30 years post purchase with inflation factor and tax rorts making the deal sweeter…invested it in real estate, took capital gains and tax benefits, sold the place from under the tenants (where the f did they go? who cares) hell just got lucky with the investment finance bail out (saved me from taking bath) lets put it in……theres been a bail out by the tax payer of finance houses, fekk it lets invest it there, more fat returns……….

      Dont you get the feeling as Johnny Rotten asked “you have been had?”

  7. randal 7
    30 December 2010 at 1:36 pm

    hey joe, heheheehehe, good ole portugal eh.
    what about some tory relics from the 60’s with reputations for putting lsd in peoples drinks so they could observe?
    hmmmmmm.

  8. Draco T Bastard 8
    30 December 2010 at 5:20 pm

    NOAA reports 2010 hottest year on record so far, while Arctic sea ice extent hits a stunning December low

    Following fast on the heels of NASA reporting the hottest January to November on record — despite the deepest solar minimum in a century — NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center has released its State of the Climate: Global Analysis for November. It finds this was the second warmest November on record (after 2004)…

    Global temperatures are, on average, increasing but the interesting bit is that Arctic ice has hit a record low for December even though it was not a record low in September indicating a slower than normal increase over the winter months. It’s going to be worthwhile to see just what happens over the next month or so (Arctic ice coverage is still increasing) to see if the slow ice increase continues.

    • Bored 8.1
      30 December 2010 at 7:57 pm

      Lanth, do you want to buy a holiday villa from me at my Gulf de Sol investment apartments on the beach front that used to be the Ross ice shelf? You can kit it out with the latest technology, pity that there is only solar power, not a bad idea for 6 months of the year, wont help winter heating though.

    • mickysavage 9.1
      30 December 2010 at 6:52 pm

      … at the same time as North Pole ice decreases by a greater amount. And your point is?

    • NickS 9.2
      30 December 2010 at 7:41 pm

      And yet the mass balance of the Antarctic Ice sheets is still in negative mega tons.

    • Draco T Bastard 9.3
      30 December 2010 at 10:00 pm

      Do try to keep up.

      There has been lots of talk lately about Antarctica and whether or not the continent’s giant ice sheet is melting. One new paper 1, which states there’s less surface melting recently than in past years, has been cited as “proof” that there’s no global warming. Other evidence that the amount of sea ice around Antarctica seems to be increasing slightly 2-4 is being used in the same way. But both of these data points are misleading. Gravity data collected from space using NASA’s Grace satellite show that Antarctica has been losing more than a hundred cubic kilometers (24 cubic miles) of ice each year since 2002.

  10. Bored 10
    30 December 2010 at 8:11 pm

    Dear everybody, stumbled on this little gem on the Archdruidreport, its Whites Law and it goes like this “culture evolves as the amount of energy harnessed per capita per year is increased, or as the efficiency of the instrumental means of putting the energy to work is increased.

    To paraphrase, as energy increases so does GDP, as energy decreases so does GDP….oil has peaked annd there is no replacement, energy decrease means GDP decrease….now where are we?

    • Draco T Bastard 10.1
      30 December 2010 at 10:01 pm

      About to lose some culture – although, I really don’t think the loss of TV is anything to cry about.

      • Lanthanide 10.1.1
        31 December 2010 at 8:38 am

        Peak oil will shut down a hell of a lot of things before it shuts TV down. It’ll be one of the last things to go, because it inherently doesn’t use much oil in it’s direct production and is indispensable in keeping the masses informed and/or dis-informed and/or entertained.

  11. KJT 11
    31 December 2010 at 10:17 am

    Paul Krugman analyzes the strange persistence of Neo-Liberal thought despite the total failure of Neo-liberal economics to deliver.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/opinion/20krugman.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

    “How, after the experiences of the Clinton and Bush administrations — the first raised taxes and presided over spectacular job growth; the second cut taxes and presided over anemic growth even before the crisis “

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  1. The Standard: posted on 29 December 2010 at 5:11 pm

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