Open mike 26/02/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 26th, 2010 - 74 comments
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74 comments on “Open mike 26/02/2010 ”

  1. luva 1

    Heatley charged some wine up. He resigned. Good riddance you sponge.

    However is this kind of expenditure acceptable to us?

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3376174/Goff-to-cut-limo-use-after-70-000-bill

    • QoT 1.1

      I suppose it’s too much to expect you have some kind of evidence showing that this spending was inappropriate? Looks like, from your source, the increase is due to the company involved raising their fees and Goff will change providers where possible accordingly.

      Goff and Key are obviously both going to have big transport bills because their roles require national coverage. As long as none of that cash is going on boozy personal joyrides to mates’ parties I’m not sure I see a problem – unless your objection is to any money being spent by our representatives?

      • Matt Andrews 1.1.1

        Remember last Key’s figures were released for his time as Leader of the Opposition he spent more than then PM Helen Clark did.
        http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/politics/712706
        In fact given the the hourly fee rose from $65 to $90 and the cost per kilometre from 62c to $1.25 between the release of the Key (as opposition leader) figures and the Goff (as opposition leader) figures, it’s clear Goff is actually more frugal with VIP cars than Key was.

  2. logie97 2

    For Business Confidence Survey, substitute, the question, “Do you like the government that is currently in Parliament?”

    Bill O’Reilly is feeling really good. The first time in 10 years. Despite the fact that the country is at the bottom of a recession cycle, business confidence is higher than at any time in 10 years – what a load of bollocks. For 9 of those 10 years we didn’t have a National led parliament – that’s why business confidence was low. It begs the question, just how much the Business Round Table and it’s mates went around the world bitching and moaning and under-selling New Zealand between 1999 and 2008.

    • prism 2.1

      Yes I remember Don Brash dissing NZ in Australia. It is almost treasonable. We spend a lot on pr for tourism etc. Running the country down is undermining us and our achievements.

  3. CrosbyTextor 3

    – – – – – CONFIDENTIAL MEMO – – – – –

    To: Beehive Employees Brownlee, English and Key

    From: H.Q. Command

    Re:Operation “Dig, Baby, Dig”

    As per the agenda finalised in June 2008, finance has been arranged and equipment put in place to commence the release of underground resources.

    As you know, distraction operations commenced yesterday with the “accidental” fire in Dunedin, the “resignation” of a minor minister and other minor matters related to expenses, and the plug was temporarily pulled on the 111 emergency service. In addition, the media has been “leaked” news that the “original” plans to mine the New Zealand conservation estate have been scaled back in response to concerns. It is expected that the media will only skim-report this news and will focus on the perceptions of: “scaled-back”, “$140 billion bounty”, and “for the sake of the economy”. You are to avoid any comment in relation to this Operation until instructed otherwise.

    Interim standing instructions remain in place: maintain urgency in the House, be nice, and keep smiling.

    That is all.

  4. vto 4

    when will the government admit to the public that power price rises are effectively tax increases?

    biggest bloody con in decades.

  5. Can someone explain Jennfier Aniston to me ?

    Ageing, talentless hairdo from racist american shitcom who dominates gossip mags for no reason other than she shagged Brad Pitt back in the day…

    Why the fascination and what’s the relevence to NZ ?

    • vto 5.1

      why is it racist pollywog? you sure you not being reverse-kneejerk-racist yourself?

      • pollywog 5.1.1

        Did you ever see a black person on Friends or hear a black accent ?

        Ok so that might not make it racist but as Friends in real life, they cant have been that cool if they never had any black friends in new york…and yeah possibly i’m confusing it with Seinfeld and that Kramer fucktards melt down in real life.

        At the very least both were pro-semitic to the exclusion of lesser ethnicities except for that dim witted italian actor guy on friends which i thought was a bit off as well.

        But anyway…jennifer aniston. She might be americas sweetheart but fuck knows why and i just dont understand why she gets the magazine coverage in NZ for it.

        • lukas 5.1.1.1

          are you seriously calling Friends racist? Please tell me you are joking

          • vto 5.1.1.1.1

            ya, bit of a stretch there polly.

            I guess Jennifer is popular because she is gorgeous and comes across as a girl-next-door sweetheart. She apparently has some comic talent. And she is famous. Sheesh, I would be quite happy hanging out with her …

            Sometimes these things grate but there we have it. Dont let some minor form of envy get the better of you mr polly.

            • pollywog 5.1.1.1.1.1

              Possibly not racist but culturally elitist.

              Perception is reality. We see shiny happy people of our own culture on telly we feel shiny and happy. We see the opposite and we feel lack lustre and depressed. We dont see them at all and we feel invisible.

              What does it say about seeing most ads targetting shiny happy euros cheerfully buying consumer products ?… They are rich and well to do.

              What does it say seeing ads targetting polynesians not to shake their babies, to get cervical smears and sitting in the backs of cars eating maccas as the car gets pulled over for drugs testing… we are dirty, violent, drug addicted, unhealthy and poor.

              In much the same way as y’all get tagged ‘lefties jealous you’re not calling the shots in gov’t’, calling envy is just a distraction from the fact that the left/right thing is a eurocentric construct designed to keep the underclass minorities in check by seeming to act in our best interests without dealing with the underlying institutionalised cultural bias still reinforced by the mainstream media and polticians on either side of the political spectrum.

              I’m sorry but i cant look at classic cinema by such icons as orson welles and hitchcock or john wayne without thinking they were made in racist times and that a large percentage of people who made them were racists livng by racially enforced laws which excluded people of colour from not only working in that environment but even producing their own culturally relevent works of art. In the same context i cant help but look at Friends and see a continuation of said traditions.

              FWIW i’ve played the fame game and knocked boots with a few hotties way more bootylicious than jen…besides i support team angelina 🙂

              • vto

                wake up and smell the roses polly. What a load of bullshit.

                You are Lost in Paranoialand.

                Every sector of society suffers from stereotyping, whether by race, gender, age, bloody clothing, cars they drive, freakin’ religion. I mean, following your own particular line perhaps we should apply your second-last paragraph to the Chatham Islands situation some 150 years ago re Maori and Moriori (that’s bound to set someone off..)

                Why don’t you check out the way the middle aged white man is portrayed in ads on the telly these days.. try overweight, bored, boring, of little use, corrupt … and maybe compare that to how, say, a young brown woman is portrayed …

                You aint alone fulla.

                btw, betcha I knocked boots with more hotties than you.. lol (woops, that’s bound to set someone else off)

              • vto

                I must qualify the above mr polly. All of what you say is not bullshit of course. I guess perspective and context are what need to be kept in mind. Peace.

              • pollywog

                S’all good vto. i respect diversity of opinion and your right to hold and express a contrary one, even if it is dead wrong.

                Its the classic kiwi yeah nah…yeah i hear what you’re sayin but nah, you got it all twisted.

                I mean c’mon, poor hard done by boring, white, middle aged man like John Kirwan all depressed and shit. Cry me a fucking river why dontcha or just harden up and go get laid 🙂

  6. Paul 6

    The NZH has a story on its website from a teacher in South Auckland who supports the national standards. She suggests through the article that the NZEI should forget about its campaign and get on with supporting schools to implement them. Well done Herald – you found one!

  7. Hands up those of you who think that this government will hold a fully fledged, honest, open, expertly run inquiry into our telecommunication industry (read Telecom) which will actually give us full disclosure of what the F**K is going ON (read XT)
    Has as i and others more eminent than me who think the under investment by Telecom since they became a private entity.

    • prism 8.1

      Interesting what has happened about Telecom’s effectiveness and reliability.
      Just imagine if we still had it in state hands. Probably much the same but the profits would be less because charges would be less, we would still be whingeing over problems but may too have done better. We would also have all the revenue staying in the country if we had kept this vital piece of infrastructure for ourselves, apart from any repayments on overseas capital borrowed for improvements.

      Telecom apparently has not used the best technology – the system it uses is too rigid. Private ownership has been a failure for providing us with effectiveness and efficiency which includes value of service per $ spent.

      • pollywog 8.1.1

        Not the best technology and not best practise in installing and testing it before rolling it out, but you get that when you’re pressed to make a deadline. Sometimes corners get cut…oh well

        Damn !!!…we had some fun ripping round the sth island, climbing towers in some truly beautiful spots

        http://pollywannacracka.blogspot.com/2008/11/anti-travel.html

        Fuck i love NZ 🙂

        • pollywog 8.1.1.1

          hmmm…australia or auckland ?…pass, at least for now 🙂

          Just heard from a mate about some tendering in Papua/New guinea to build towers for 4 months. Sounds like me.

      • BLiP 8.1.2

        I would love to believe you but then I consider the power companies. The bulk of them are state owned, the prices are hideous, and there’s been little set aside in terms of infrastructure. Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . the electricity market is National Ltdâ„¢’s frankenstein – but, “nine years” and all that??

        Prove me wrong. Please.

        • Draco T Bastard 8.1.2.1

          The problem with the state power companies is actually the government – they keep demanding dividends from them. The latter is probably because taxes aren’t high enough.

          may too have done better.

          No “may” about it, we would have done better as all the profit would have been fed back into the telecommunications system rather than going into shareholders pockets (just so long as the government kept their hands off of it). It’s actually the perfect example of profit being the dead weight loss that it is. Resources (money) paid to keep the telecommunications going was taken away from that task and put into a few peoples private bank account resulting in the degradation of the telecommunications network.

          • the pinkpostman 8.1.2.1.1

            Well Draco, is it time to bring back Nationalization? I’m beginning to believe that in a small country like Aotearoa there are a few “services”that need to be State owned and managed for the benefit of the people . Electricity,water, telecommunications ,healthn and education are all essential to life .they are too important to be held by private companies ,many overseas , or to be used for sheer profit.

            • Draco T Bastard 8.1.2.1.1.1

              Well Draco, is it time to bring back Nationalization?

              Yes, Labour should have started the process back in 2000 but they were still wedded too much to the neo-liberal ideology. They’ve shifted a little more left since the 2k8 election but probably not far enough to re-nationalise yet.

  8. Mach1 9

    Damn !!! we had some fun ripping round the sth island, climbing towers in some truly beautiful spots

    Yeah, great job but I betcha ya had assisted climbs, ya poofta!.

    • pollywog 9.1

      Assisted climbs ?…oh fuck off, i was nearly always alpha monkey boy. First up the tower setting up the ropes in all sorts of shit weather and usually last down.

      • Mach1 9.1.1

        i was nearly always alpha monkey boy.

        Hah!,twenty five years past alpha monkey boy myself, started with the NZED in 1972 so I got to silver hair status, where I got the assisted climb, if I was needed that is, cos my rightful place was reminding alpha monkey boys how it was done in my alpha monkey boy youth.
        Bestest job in the world though so enjoy alpha monkey boy status while ya can.

        • pollywog 9.1.1.1

          Cheers bro and yup, great work when you can get it.

          We was mackin it for a while on some 2 degrees shit based in Welli til they pulled the plug on expanding beyond city limits in the main centres. What was supposed to be a 3 yr roll out turned into a 6 month contract and theres the door now fuck off thank you very much, unless we wanted to go burn up the desert in Perth. No thanks, she’s right, its not cos of the insufferable heat, more the insufferable ozzies 🙂

          So I wonder if 2 degrees will ever get to doing it right and not piggybacking of vodafone beyond city limits ?

          • Mach1 9.1.1.1.1

            Latest from WA is that the lay offs have begun so lottsa boys heading to Q’land where things are a little better and there appears to be at least some work for the transmission guys. Distribution guys are doing better in Q’land with new subdivisions and the like but that really is dependent on how many new immigrants to the state.

            But not to worry, if you’re young enough you’ll probably see the formation of new power boards when the owners of the existing systems have finished the asset stripping, deferred enough maintainence and run them into the ground.

            • pollywog 9.1.1.1.1.1

              Funnily enough i turned down work cleaning/painting pylons up and down the main trunk line for the possibly next 10 yrs but it’s good to know theres work there.

              Would love to get back into building lattice towers anywhere. Know of anything like that going on ?

  9. lukas 10

    Irony- Trevor Mallard questioning Tolley on education issues and not being able to count to six.

  10. NickS 11

    And now, for some science!

    /squeee

    http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/02/12/0912895107.full.pdf+html

    Hot damn, and for the non-bio-nerds, basically they’ve shown you can get not only get the proper formation of amino acid polymers with an RNA polymer, composed of just 5 RNA nucleotides paired to 4 other RNA nucleotides (see page 2), and it see…mingly from these results doesn’t make use of any metal or phosphate ions to do this, which is something of a rarity in RNA enzymes.

    And what makes this super neat, is that it’s further proof of concept in terms of small RNA polymers being potentially the first enzymes, but also gives potentially insights into how one of the key biological process, i.e. translation, may have evolved.

    Double-plus-awesome.

    • r0b 11.1

      and for the non-bio-nerds, basically they’ve shown…

      Being a bear of little brain (long words bother me) – can I break that down one more step? They’ve found a missing link in the description of the evolution of life. Very simple chemicals (related to our DNA) can facilitate the creation of proteins. (“RNA World” hypothesis supported). Right?

      • NickS 11.1.1

        I’ll do a breakdown later on tonight if I’m awake enough, busy trying to study at present before I need to head off to work.

  11. randal 12

    hah.
    loadsa fun this week.
    the right is finally getting its comeuppance.
    all the crap they invented and spun at the election is going down in a ton of used viagra bottles and dried goose droppings.

  12. Pollywog:

    How do you know she is racist? and isnt calling America racist, rascist in itself.

    BTW I cant stand that actress.

  13. pOLLYOG

    So friends is racist because there arent any african amerrcian people on it??????

    Is Ice Hockey racist too?

    What about the wiggles?

  14. Captain Rehab 15

    You’re a racist Brett

  15. ayo Brett…didn’t your daddy teach you not to turn up for a battle of wits unarmed ?

    • logie97 16.1

      not sure if this could add to what appears to be an aimless discussion but has anyone got a link to the cast of Fresh Prince of Bel Air?

  16. Captain and pollywog?

    How am I racist???

    Would you care to explain to me how friends is racist?

    Did they have a hispanic housekeeper, or african american janitor?

    Was it a sterotype???

  17. I dont remember writing anything about North Koreans?????

    I think you may have me mixed up with someone else.

    • Captain Rehab 18.1

      No I don’t and I’ve read what you’ve written about the Chinese too. You make assumptions about whole countries based on their political systems. If that’s not racist I don’t know what is.

  18. I havent written anything about China or North Korea that could be deemed racist.

    The only thing I can remember writing about North Korea was on my own blog about the final of the womans under 17 world cup which was a huge success.

    Heck the amount of BS that gets written here about America is racist.

    Please point out my posts that I made about China or North Korean because I cannot not remember.

    • Captain Rehab 19.1

      I’ve got better things to do today than read through all of your racist comments. But because you won’t believe me I’ve found this one:

      “If you believe in Communism, you end up selling soup in the rain”

      There are a billion Chinese communists brett and you think they are all stupid. That’s racism.

      • Zorr 19.1.1

        Actually Captain Rehab, it is bigotry. Simple mistake that I have made myself. Racism requires that you prejudge/discriminate against them on the basis of race specifically. Something more in line with some of the recent racist discrimination against Aboriginies in the Northern Territories.

  19. The soup in the rain comment had nothing to do with China, you silly Goose.

    I was walking in Town and a young hippy man was selling soup in the rain, he had a wee sign that said all proceedes go to ther NZ communist party and I thought, that is what communism gets you, you end up selling soup in the rain.

    Now can you find any comments I have said about China or North Korea. Heck I will try a google search myself, because I cant remember.

  20. My soup comment was directed at communists, no matter what their race is, so it cant be regarded as racist.

    Im sorry I still cant find any racist comment about CHina or North Korea, you have made an allegation, but it doesnt seem you have anything to back it up with.

    Where are my racist comments directed at China or North Korea???

    Or are you a liar?

  21. prism 22

    Captain REhab 101 Brett Dale 100. Captain wins all shut up now.

    Problem with our state owned electricity companies is they are supposed to run like profit driven private companies and the government hasn’t got the balls to step in and establish ground rules for getting electricity to everybody. Faint heart never won fair lady, and our itsy bitsy governmentS have failed to take the bold steps needed with commitment to infrastructure by the various companies. They’re all in the same business, all reliant on supply, and some co-ordination from a government with guts and good planning would have ensured problem solving and path smoothing and bulldozer pushing.

  22. BLiP 23

    Phew!! I’m glad it wasn’t me or anyone in my family who dobbed in the Mongrel Mob to the police. Not only do they leave complainants at risk, the White Wash Factory responsible for keeping an eye on them won’t even make a basic enquiry.

    I don’t feel any safe with news that police are to carry more guns in their vehicles in response to the recent spate of assaults. The findings of the IPCA in relation to the fatal police shooting of Stephen Bellingham are certainly no comfort. In that case it was found that the officer concerned failed to follow protocols including the facts that he:

    did not tell his communications controller he was going to the scene, nor did advise them he was armed, failed to brief two other officers who were on their way to the scene so that he could tackle Bellingham with support, and, crucially, a dog patrol unit, which would have been a huge asset to the effort to contain Bellingham, was diverted to another crime.

    What’s Judith Collins got to say about it all . . . absolutely nothing.

  23. Captain:

    Your the one bringing up race. Still havent found any posts about China or North Korea, huh.

    I dont like the idealogy of communism, it has nothing to do with race.

    • BLiP 24.1

      Stop being a fuck wit and use the reply function for your pointless squabble.

      • Brett Dale 24.1.1

        Dont be a racist.

        • Captain Rehab 24.1.1.1

          That’s not racism brett. You’re continued attempts to portray whole nations as stupid is racist.

          • Brett Dale 24.1.1.1.1

            I never said people in China or anywhere were stupid.

            I said I dont like communism and suggested you dont get ahead under a communism system.

            I never mention race.

            You did

            • Captain Rehab 24.1.1.1.1.1

              So you admit you don’t like Chinese people. Don’t you think that makes you a racist?

              • Whar are you on? Are you a pandasport poster?

                You cant tell the difference between liking or not liking a idealogy and a whole race of people?

              • Lew

                And I find myself in the bizarre position of defending Brett Dale against someone even more boneheaded than he is.

                So Rehab, “Chinese people” are synonymous with “communists”, and hating one means you must hate the other? I suggest you talk to some Chinese people, pal, because there are plenty of ’em which hate communism. And let’s not talk about the amount of them who like communism by default, because it’s all they’ve ever known and it’s been heavily propagandised as an unmitigated good for half a century — much like a lot of folk in the West and capitalism. Does hating capitalism mean that you hate all Anglo people? Only the most unhinged Objectivists argue that.

                L

              • Captain Rehab

                You’re the one that abuses the way whole nations of people think. I think that’s racist.

              • Lew

                Rehab, you think the Chinese “think communist”? If so, why do you suppose that is?

                I have to ask, at this point, whether you’ve actually been to China or know any Chinese people.

                L

              • Lew

                Is there anybody in there? I’m knocking, but all I hear is a hollow echoey noise…

                L

            • Captain Rehab 24.1.1.1.1.2

              Only a racist would pretend to speak for those “poor little Chinese people” like you do Lew. You’re clearly a paternalistic racist.

  24. Rob M 25

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/small-business/news/article.cfm?c_id=85&objectid=10628530

    Confidence reaches 10-year high

    “But we have been on an improving trend now for just under a year. Growth has followed. Admittedly it’s not strong, but growth is still growth.”

    Growth in what? Employment? Wages? Wellbeing? These policy wonks are writing for themselves and their own little cabal of idiot savants. Sure the greedy cats at the top know it’s a crock (Key probably has a multi-billion dollar plan to siphon off a large chunk of govt services to his big business mates – there’ll be a fair few directorships on his plate when he retires from politics)) but there also a vast army of unthinking middle-class professionals who’s tacit support of this bollocks has locked us in to decades of social and economic decay. Unless you can insulate yourself from it, emigration will be the only option. Even then be prepared to spend a whack of your income on security. If we fail to elect a true worker’s/people’s party by 2014 I fear the point of no return may be reached for Gen XYZ. At that low point I’ll be scouting about for a true social democracy to flee to, away from the cosy cartel capitalism of these Islands and its parliament of crooks.

  25. kiwiteen is brett dale ?
    [lprent: no. ]

  26. Draco T Bastard 27

    Growth in what?

    Most likely profits as wages have gone down and prices have gone up.

  27. BLiP 28

    I’m being pestered by some Labour friends to attend some sort of “Axe The Tax” protest in Auckland over the weekend. I’m tempted but no one can answer my question: if National Ltdâ„¢ put GST up, will Labour reduce it if they should get into power next election?

    Has anyone seen any statements from Labour in this regard?

  28. BLiP 29

    As I thought. I think I’ll attend anyway and shout out from the cheap seats. Might as well wind up the MPs and watch them squirm from an entertainment point of view, but swallow the fact that the realities are otherwise.

    Chur bro’

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