Summer service: open mike 29-31/12/2011

65 comments on “Summer service: open mike 29-31/12/2011 ”

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1. Sanctuary 1

   29 December 2011 at 9:00 am

   Old Garth has been kicked into touch by the Herald. Probably one bit of plagarism to far led to a quiet word in his shell-like.

   Since it was NRT who pointed it all out a few weeks back, I think we can chalk Garth’s head on a pike up to Idiot/Savant.

   Cheers Bro!
   • millsy 1.1

     29 December 2011 at 10:24 am

     Yes! No more sexist, racist, homophobic bigotry poisoning the NZ Herald.

     Next, its Michael Laws, and then our resident bigot, Gordon Brown!
     • QoT 1.1.1

       29 December 2011 at 12:05 pm

       No more sexist, racist, homophobic bigotry poisoning the NZ Herald.

       Now millsy, they have plenty of other writers to do that to fill Garth’s vacuum. Though admittedly not half so well.
       • logie97 1.1.1.1

         29 December 2011 at 12:21 pm

         Look out for the names of Armstrong, Young and O’Sullivan (and outside chances of Farrar, and Hooten) on Jan 1st. That would be really taking the piss …
         • millsy 1.1.1.1.1

           29 December 2011 at 2:01 pm

           Admittedly, I think Farrar’s name would be justifiable, given that from what I understand, he has had a lot of involvement with online/world wide web/internet community over the past 15-20 years…
     • Ari 1.1.2

       29 December 2011 at 12:16 pm

       Please tell me that first sentence was sarcastic, lol.
2. mickysavage 2

   29 December 2011 at 9:06 am

   Memo from Crosby Textor

   To the RWNJ community

   It is that time of year again where the year’s outstanding efforts on the internet are remembered and celebrated.

   It has been a tough but ultimately successful year.  Despite the Teflon being chipped off him and despite the real John Key starting to show through despite huge amounts of CT resources being applied, Key and National kept sufficient support to retain power, just.  It took extreme manipulation of the ACT Party and the Epsom electorate as well as the continued support of the coiffured one but when it comes to retaining power the ends always justify the means.

   The winners of the various categories are as follows:

   1.         For the most extreme anti union belligerence to the point of obsession and for still refusing to pay his debts Big Bruv gets the bludger of the year award.

   2.         To higherstandard goes the award for the most misleading pseudonym used by a Standard commenter.

   3.         The Cyclops award goes to Gosman for consistently refusing to accept that there is any possible coherence in any left wing idea.

   4.         The Lord Monkton award for extreme refusal to acknowledge that there is any climate change whatsoever and if anything is actually happening the earth is cooling like a hocky stick goes to Clark.

   5.         But the coveted troll of the year award goes to someone who day in and day out showed an enhanced ability to stuff threads up, someone who was able to consistently post banal idiotic generalized meaningless comments, someone who was obtuse to the point of being totally indecipherable, someone who refused to even say which party he was going to vote for even though he was a United Follicle candidate.  Yes folks, the troll of the year for 2011 is Petey George!!!
    
   • Colonial Viper 2.1

     29 December 2011 at 9:08 am

     Congratulations on your well deserved ‘win’ Pete George, and have a Happy New Year!
     • RobM 2.1.1

       29 December 2011 at 9:58 am

       Hear hear! A well deserved victory for common sense.
   • mik e 2.2

     29 December 2011 at 9:54 am

     Pompus git congratulations
     I thouht Queenie deserved an award for the most persistant calculating spin
   • higherstandard 2.3

     29 December 2011 at 10:51 am

     Memo from Crosby Textor.

     To Greg Presland.

     Dear Greg

     Thanks for all the hard work in 2011.

     We couldn’t have achieved half of what we did without the work of committed activists like yourself.

     The fact that you did it all for free has added significantly to our bottom line.

     Kind regards

     CT
     • grumpy 2.3.1

       29 December 2011 at 11:06 am

       Hilarious!!!
   • millsy 2.4

     29 December 2011 at 2:02 pm

     Ah, Pete George, the right winger who assured us that he wasn’t really a right winger, honest.
   • lprent 2.5

     29 December 2011 at 2:58 pm

     Hey. What about Gormless Fool aka OleBiscuitBarrel.

     I’d put him as the most good humoured operative.

     Those multiple dickheads I found running a astroturf campaign out of the political quarter in Wellington on a static IP would have to be the dumbest.
     • mickysavage 2.5.1

       29 December 2011 at 7:53 pm

       The judging panel gave serious consideration to Ole and to tsmishfield for awards but they were both ruled out on the basis that they occasionally make coherent comments …
3. Tigger 3

   29 December 2011 at 9:19 am

   Is our PM on holiday and if so who is in charge. I must have missed the ‘news’ which was buried this year since Key is looking out of touchsad it is.
   • mik e 3.1

     29 December 2011 at 10:51 am

     Key moonlighting as Hawaiian tourism minister
   • mickysavage 3.2

     29 December 2011 at 1:19 pm

     Answers:

     1.  Yes
     2.  No one.   

     The neocons are taking a break.  The pillaging will start in earnest in February.
4. Jackal 4

   29 December 2011 at 9:19 am

   Anonymous survival guide

   Anonymous has released a Survival Guide for Citizens in a Revolution (PDF), which is well worth a read. Although focused on what to do in the event of a violent uprising, the document is relevant for any disaster like emergency situation.
   • Colonial Viper 4.1

     29 December 2011 at 11:05 am

     
     This one also worth looking up.
5. Jackal 5

   29 December 2011 at 10:43 am

   Radioactive muttonbirds

   Despite the possible contamination, there’s been no official warning about eating sooty terns (Onychoprion fuscata) that could have been exposed to Strontium-90 after the Fukushima nuclear accident.

   […]

   Adams believes that the Muttonbirds offspring will not be affected… he’s wrong! Sensitivity to radiation is elevated from conception through embryonic development… that means if the Muttonbirds are exposed, they will pass that exposure onto their offspring through maternal bone stores.
   • Ari 5.1

     29 December 2011 at 12:25 pm

     On the plus side, we can all look forward to the plethora of avian japanese superheroes in the future from people getting pecked by radioactive birds. 😉
   • weka 5.2

     29 December 2011 at 1:52 pm

     “Sensitivity to radiation is elevated from conception through embryonic development… that means if the Muttonbirds are exposed, they will pass that exposure onto their offspring through maternal bone stores.”

     Have you some back up for that statement Jackal?
     • Jackal 5.2.1

       29 December 2011 at 5:12 pm

       It’s a reasonably well documented process in humans. I’m presuming that the effects are similar or greater in birds.
       • weka 5.2.1.1

         29 December 2011 at 8:40 pm

         That’s a lot of PDFs on birds and fallout (and sorry but google is too stupid for me to start trawling the results), not on how that passes to offspring in birds and how the eating of the offspring would affect humans. I think it’s reasonable to be cautious, but also reasonable to wait until the science is done on those particular birds (next autumn). Banning harvest seems OTT. Notifying Rakiura Maori of the issues seems a better way to go.
         • Jackal 5.2.1.1.1

           29 December 2011 at 11:49 pm

           Google is stupid or you’re just lazy weka?

           We should perhaps agree to disagree. Personally I think the best precautionary measure is to ban the eating of potentially contaminated food until testing is undertaken.

           I believe I’ve already answered your question re how Strontium 90 passes from a mother bird to their offspring. You might be aware that Strontium 90 enters and leaves cells easily. You also need to accept that there are numerous studies that show radionuclide uptake in the in utero period.

           A large portion of the strontium will build up in bones. Eventually it will dissolve from the bones and return to the blood. Since radioactive strontium acts a lot like calcium and is taken up into bone, the bone itself and nearby soft tissues may be damaged by radiation released over time.

           The demand for calcium to make the egg shell is very high, and so the circulating levels of blood calcium in birds are greatly elevated compared to mammals, typically twice as much. This means they are even more susceptible to radionuclide uptake and transference to offspring.
           • weka 5.2.1.1.1.1

             30 December 2011 at 9:12 am

             No I’m not lazy. I do think that it’s fine that people post opinions, but when they’re speculating from fact on something so important the facts need to be backed up some how. You obviously know more about this than I do, so it makes sense for you to spend a couple of minutes posting on that, rather than me spending an hour wading through those PDFs that don’t seem that relevant.

             As for google, what can I say? I searched for the word fallout in a string of words and I get hits that include birds falling out of nests.

             Thanks for the extra explanations. We can disagree. I think Southern Maori are quite capable of making the decision on their own about whether to harvest next year or not, and I would see the authorities’ responsibilities being to get and supply good information, rather than banning. I thought the scientist interviewed in Nat Radio was balanced in his views: he acknowledged what they don’t know, and was cautious, and said they will be doing further studies. What I’d want to know now from the govt here is how NZ will be part of that.

             I agree that the authorities here should issue a warning.
             • Jackal …

               30 December 2011 at 10:33 am

               The dynamic I’ve explained is not speculation… it has been well documented since 1969 when research was undertaken into the pathologic consequences of radiostrontium in fetal and infant dogs.

               It does not make sense for me to spend my time finding research to back up my assertion when you can allay your disbelief by spending the same amount of time researching the topic yourself.

               You’re assumption that Southern Maori are capable of making a decision themselves is highly flawed. Firstly many of them will not be aware that there is a potential hazard… and like yourself, some will not be aware of the potential effects from the hazard.

               Further studies are most likely not going to be in time to ensure Muttonbirds that could potentially contain Strontium 90 and other radionuclides are not consumed. Appropriate precautions and prevention of harm is preferable… a warning will not suffice to ensure public safety.
               • weka …

                 30 December 2011 at 1:16 pm

                 You said: “I’m presuming that the effects are similar or greater in birds.” Sounds like speculation to me. And like I said, I don’t have a problem with that, if it’s well informed then just back it up.

                 Further, I don’t disbelieve you, I just see the process differently. You are speculating, I am trying to find out how well informed you are. One of the tools I use to judge information is to look at who is saying it. I don’t know you or your background well enough to take what you say at face value. You may well be right in that the govt should ban muttonbirding until this is sorted out, I just don’t see the evidence for it yet.

                 I *am* aware of the potential risks. And my suggestion about Southern Maori isn’t flawed because I specifically said that the authorities had a responsibility to notify of the risks.
                 • Jackal …

                   30 December 2011 at 5:17 pm

                   Fair enough weka. I believe the fourth document in that link above concerning Strontium 90 being found in cancer victims teeth because their mothers were exposed to radiation is probably where you want to start. It also references other studies that pertain to the discussion.

                   As far as I can tell, the only difference between humans and birds in the form of uptake of radionuclides is that in humans there’s evidence that the human placenta provides some protection from certain radionuclides being transfered and that birds have an increased risk of transference of maternal bone stores to their offspring because of their higher levels of blood calcium compared to mammals.

                   My speculation was entirely to do with birds offspring being more susceptible to uptake of radionuclides compared to humans… not about whether the dynamic is in effect at all. Perhaps you might like to provide some research that refutes my assertion?

                   As to whether a notification of potential risks would be adequate or not, I doubt we’ll ever find out.
     • Fotran 5.2.2

       30 December 2011 at 9:19 am

       Hands up who has ever tasted Muttinbirds ?. I did once – was not nice.
       • weka 5.2.2.1

         30 December 2011 at 1:17 pm

         I’ve eaten muttonbirds, very yummy. Wouldn’t suit everyone though, and you have to have them prepared right.
       • David H 5.2.2.2

         30 December 2011 at 9:19 pm

         Yes I have once and it was in a situation that it was considered impolite to refuse,  thankfully there was plenty of Beer to wash the unmentionable thing down.  Never again, and I was informed that I was lucky to have missed the cooking of said bird.
6. just saying 6

   29 December 2011 at 12:27 pm

   Dunno if anyone caught the editorial in this weeks listener. (I was away and had to read any news I could get my hands on).

   The right is strongly pushing the line that Shearer will need to be relentlessly “positive” in opposition in order to prosper. Obviously they are hoping for another three years of hapless and cheerful me-tooism from Labour.

   I suspect they will have their wish granted.

   Maybe a grand coalition is the plan…..?
   • Colonial Viper 6.1

     29 December 2011 at 1:28 pm

     Three years? Shearer and Robertson have one year to make their mark. Well, more like 49 weeks now.
     And I doubt that there is anything “relentlessly positive” happening in global or regional affairs next year. It will be quite a challenge for every party in Parliament.
   • Carol 6.2

     29 December 2011 at 1:36 pm

     So are Key and National going to be “relentlessly positive” too?… instead of answering every question for oral answer beginning with “after the damage done by 9 years of Labour-led governments”…?
     • Treetop 6.2.1

       29 December 2011 at 2:21 pm

       “after the damage done by 9 years of Labour-led governments”…?

       I think this will be modified to after the damage done by 9 earthquakes over 5.7 and that Labour did not have enough provisions with the EQC to cover the cost.

       Never mind the zoning issues, insurance shortfalls, increased premiums…
     • just saying 6.2.2

       29 December 2011 at 9:41 pm

       I think there is good reason for Key’s apparent positivity. Everything is going to plan with ‘raid NZ’ and he is quite literally “laughing all the way to the bank”. There are, I believe members of the National Party, however, who believe that their misguided policies actually will lead NZ out of what they like to call a recession, (well those NZanders who “matter” anyway) who will certainly find the next few years difficult from a ‘relentless positivity’ POV.
   • millsy 6.3

     29 December 2011 at 1:53 pm

     I cant imagine if a Cunliffe-led Labour party would be any different.

     Looking back, I think the destruction of the Alliance was a huge setback for the left. Had that party still been around, there would have been a decent and powerful genuine left force in Parliament, rather than just a wish-washy ‘me too’ Labour. But, as is the case, too many people wanted their own way, and in the end, its the grassroots supporters that lost out.
     • Colonial Viper 6.3.1

       29 December 2011 at 2:56 pm

       Oh yes a Labour with Cunliffe would have been quite different – but that would not have been obvious after just a couple of weeks.
        
       Agree; essentially the Left can’t get its shit together so it has rings run around it by the far more socialistic and co-operative (amongst the top 1%) NATs.
7. randal 7

   29 December 2011 at 1:57 pm

   I get really pissed off with the tory commentariat trying to micro manage the opposition.
   Labour wil stick to its knitting and expose the nashnil gubmint for the pseudo, ignorant posturers that they are.
   the thing about tories is that in their rotten little black hearts they think there is not enough to go round so they have to grab everything and enslave everyone.
   it only works when the economy is going forward (hahahahahaha) and events will overtake them this year.
   we have had enough of their bad luck and a resignation before the assets sales is likely.
8. Tony P 8

   29 December 2011 at 2:07 pm

   Charter School profiteering at it’s worst.
   http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/12/28/florida-gets-acquainted-with-ohios-master-of-charter-school-disaster
   Of course it won’t happen here….. will it?
9. Jackal 9

   29 December 2011 at 5:08 pm

   Cameron Slater douchebag

   The ever-repugnant Cameron Slater has been running his meaningless Whaleoil Awards in which he nominates The Jackal for worst blog of the year…
   • deuto 9.1

     30 December 2011 at 9:31 am

     I would take that as a compliment, Jackal.
     • Jackal 9.1.1

       30 December 2011 at 10:41 am

       You’re judged by the company you keep I suppose.
10. randal 10

    29 December 2011 at 6:58 pm

    I nominate slater as the worst thing next to poice of dog sh*t I would like to find undr my shoe.
    next is toe henry who has just tweeted that the boy arrested in Taupo is guilty of the heinous crime.
    that may be so but we have the rule of law in this country and both slater and henare think they are above it.
11. Robert Atack 11

    29 December 2011 at 7:47 pm

    Kiwi Saver anyone ……………… lol 😉
    What a joke we are, roll on 2012

    http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2011/12/50-doomiest-stories-of-2011.html

    50 doomiest stories of 2011
    Posted by Jim at Monday, December 26, 2011

    Here are 2011’s most profoundly doom-laden stories, chosen arbitrarily by Des. Last year, this feature was The Twelve Doomiest Stories of 2010, to evoke “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, but twelve stories just aren’t enough to capture the zeitgeist of doom that permeated the year.

    Nuclear meltdowns at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi plant and the resulting widespread radioactive fallout dominated the doomscape for months, much as BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster dominated 2010. Desdemona figures that we can count on one huge technogenic catastrophe per year, as civilization slides down the energy-production curve and loses the ability to maintain its complex, aging infrastructure.

    2011 was a bad year for the Amazon basin, with illegal deforestation spiking as farmers anticipated government pardons. The Belo Monte dam was approved, as a “green” form of energy production for Brazil; it will destroy 400 square kilometers of rainforest. Conservation activists were murdered.

    But climate disasters comprised the overwhelming majority of doom stories in 2011, with reports of species extinctions and agricultural failures from all over the globe. Record droughts and floods struck a number of nations, with La Niña getting much of the blame, and 2011 saw increasing acceptance of the idea that the global climate is changing rapidly before our eyes. Pakistan was hit with another round of record monsoon flooding, adding to the misery from 2010. More ominously, global civilization has been unable to muster the necessary humanitarian response, implying that we’ve passed Peak Humanitarian Aid. The long drought in East Africa continued to drag on, creating huge refugee flows and killing endangered wildlife across a wide swath of the continent. Texas experienced record agricultural losses and depopulation as the ongoing drought makes the center of the state uninhabitable.

    http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2011/12/50-doomiest-stories-of-2011.html

    Comment
    This list is, indeed, impressive, but for those of us who have followed the environmental news over the years, the eventual outcome of all of this irresponsible action will be neither surprising, nor unexpected. Why? Because we know how parasites act, and we also know that the vast majority of our species are parasites; those who would trample over common decency and responsibility just to enrich themselves at everybody elses expense.

    Like all parasites, they will, eventually, wind up killing their host. Our host was the Earth. So many people seem to think this thing is going to be turned around for the better, but that is not going to happen now.

    We have long since passed the point of no return, and we, as well as every other living thing on this planet will face extinction within the next 100 years; mankind’s reign ending far sooner than that. It’s only a matter of time. The larger the organism, the faster it will die off, as it requires more resources to survive than its smaller counterparts, and even an organism’s level of intelligence can not provide the rudimentary resources it needs to continue to live if they no longer exist.

    Those resources will reach critical values perhaps within the next year, and if people don’t like this projection, that’s too bad. They should have thought about this outcome 50 years ago when they had the chance to do something to curtail it, but they didn’t. Now, it is about time to pay the piper for all the music they’ve listened to for the last one hundred and fifty years.
12. Huginn 12

    29 December 2011 at 10:56 pm

    Thinking about low voter turnout:

    From the Guardian:

    Across the [US], state legislatures and governors are pushing laws that seek to restrict access to the voting booth, laws that will disproportionately harm people of color, low-income people, and young and elderly voters.

    The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund have just released a comprehensive report on the crisis, “Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America.” In it, they write: “The heart of the modern block-the-vote campaign is a wave of restrictive government-issued photo identification requirements. In a co-ordinated effort, legislators in 34 states introduced bills imposing such requirements. Many of these bills were modeled on legislation drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) – a conservative advocacy group whose founder explained: ‘Our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.'”

    from:
    The new wave of US voter suppression

    Rightwing state legislatures are pushing laws that seek to restrict voter access. It’s an alarming trend, and Democrats will lose out
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/dec/28/republicans-voter-rights-suppression
13. Jackal 13

    30 December 2011 at 10:14 am

    Stratos Television closure

    I purchased my freeview decoder specifically to watch Stratos Television and not infomercials. I have also grown to like TVNZ 7. One month after my purchase, closures were announced because of a lack of government funding…
    • Peter Marshall 13.1

      30 December 2011 at 1:04 pm

      Cry me river Jackass. Were these channels gaurrenteed to be on air forever? Nope.
      Fund the programmes yourself if you want them. As a hard suffering Tax Payer I draw the line at Maori TV. Get Sky, has a much greater range, CNN to nullify FOX etc.
      • Colonial Viper 13.1.1

        30 December 2011 at 1:11 pm

        Sorry Peter Marshall, you’re only a tax payer, one of millions and no more special than any other person in this country. You don’t get to reduce the common wealth of NZ society for your own benefit. While pushing for increased corporatisation of broadcasting.

        Well…you shouldn’t be able to, you fucking ripe-for-the-guillotine RWNJ.

        As a hard suffering Tax Payer

        If you pay a lot of tax it means you are raking it in. Didn’t you ever get taught when enough is enough.
        • Colonial Viper 13.1.1.1

          30 December 2011 at 9:35 pm

          You’re on buddy.

          (this orphaned comment was in response to Peter Marshall saying that he was a big earner and that he’d bring a bazooka in against my guillotine)
      • mik e 13.1.2

        30 December 2011 at 5:10 pm

        Sky just keeps repeating its bullshit as well.
        My friend has unlimited broad band and gets tv shows from all over the world for the cost of his broad band.
        • Jackal 13.1.2.1

          30 December 2011 at 5:22 pm

          That’s what I do now as well. Sky TV can rack off!
        • millsy 13.1.2.2

          30 December 2011 at 5:46 pm

          I noticed that lots of NZ On Air funded content has found its way onto Sky in the past few months.
      • Jackal 13.1.3

        30 December 2011 at 6:50 pm

        Peter Marshall

        Were these channels gaurrenteed to be on air forever?

        That’s not the issue… they were advertised as part of the deal. “Buy this freeview unit and you get all of these free programes,” said the advertising. There was no disclaimer saying they were not going to be a part of the deal.

        There was an expectation that the services advertised would be available for a reasonable amount of time… they weren’t and that’s where the governments decision not to fund Stratos and TVNZ 7 is in breach of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.
    • millsy 13.2

      30 December 2011 at 5:44 pm

      And news has been filtering through that TVNZ7 is going to be turned into a shopping channel.

      Its disgusting the way that broadcasting in this country has been allowed to pan out.
      • Grumpy 13.2.1

        30 December 2011 at 9:37 pm

        So called broadcasting has been fucked in this country for years.
14. millsy 14

    30 December 2011 at 6:43 pm

    Unnoticed by almost everyone here, but the 20th anniversary of the fall of the USSR passed on the 25th, The right has been using that as a stick to beat the left with ever since.

    I dont know about anyone else, but I am getting sick of people somehow thinking that wanting high income earners to pay a bit more tax so we can fund health, education, welfare and housing services is supporting USSR style polices.
    • prism 14.1

      30 December 2011 at 11:28 pm

      millsy – Just reading Huginn at 12 (29/12 10.56 pm) and the comment about USA barriers to voting being introduced . It seems that now Russian communism has fallen the ‘free’ western countries don’t have to try to hide their fascist tendencies towards disenfranchising people and degrading living standards of the masses (the 90%).
15. Descendant Of Smith 15

    31 December 2011 at 7:50 am

    A few of us were talking about how since the Alliance Party – and Jim Anderton in particular – vanished that no-one really talks any more about regional development or helping the rural areas.

    Interestingly – and no surprise – information has come to light about the advice given to abandon Liverpool in the 80’s cause it was their own fault.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/30/thatcher-government-liverpool-riots-1981

    The story alongside it is food for thought as well.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/30/national-archives-1981-riots-parallels?intcmp=239

    Given the attacks on long term beneficiaries – many of whom live in rural areas – where there is often little employment and the lack of job creation this government supports / encourages you have to wonder whether this is part of this government’s approach as well.

    Leave the Ruatoria’s, the Taumarunui’s, the Murapara’s, …….. to fall over and disappear and as they deteriorate to blame them for it is surely their own fault.
16. Jackal 16

    31 December 2011 at 2:00 pm

    Jackal impersonators

    A while ago I had a bit of trouble with a right-winger using my email address to steal the Jackal handle, and writing crap on left blogs in an attempt to discredit me. Thanks to quick acting moderators, this wasn’t much of an issue.

    However another right wing impersonator has now started to comment on Kiwibog using the Jackal handle. This is obviously not the original Jackal, as I’ve been banned from commenting at Kiwibog.

    As is to be expected, Farrar hasn’t bothered to moderate the identity theft. In fact it’s likely he’s had to specifically remove the jackal handle from the systems banned list to allow comments to be made by the impersonator…
17. logie97 17

    31 December 2011 at 2:07 pm

    Constance Ellen Lawn, Virginia, US, for services to New Zealand-United States relations.

    Guess this is the one who occasionally comments on The National Programme about issues American. And so she gets recognised for services to New Zealand – American relations.
    Connie Lawn, Washington Correspondent

    From Wiki
    Connie Lawn is USA Radio Network’s White House Correspondent. She is also author of “You Wake Me Each Morning”. She was awarded an honorary Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the 2012 New Year Honours. …
    • millsy 17.1

      31 December 2011 at 2:54 pm

      Shes been TRN/RNZ’s Washington correspondent ever since I can remember — used to hear her voice on the radio as a kid. “Connie Lawn, Radio New Zealand News, Washington”

      This honors list seems to be largely about the National/ACT parties rewarding loyal donors and supporters.
18. coolas 18

    31 December 2011 at 5:18 pm

    2011 has nearly gone and I’d like to thank those folk who write and maintain The Standard for providing such an excellent news service and platform for discussion. I visit daily and greatly appreciate the wealth of knowledge and information available.

    Happy New Year to you all.

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