General Debate 28 August 2010

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pdm

Chalk one up for the London based readers.
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August 28, 2010 8:09am
Rufus

2nd! getting closer
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August 28, 2010 8:12am
Pauleastbay

A suggestion:

Let The Crusaders buy the entire All Black Squad.

The benefits as I see could be:
1. The All Black Selectors wont have to travel as much.
2. The self esteem in the Canterbury region may improve ( God knows they need this)
3. It may prevent some citizens engaging in bizarre sex acts with animals.

I also have it on good authority ( a man in a pub, who was over 30 and drunk) who apart from defending his right to drive stated they don’t mind ” darkies” in Canterbury as long as they are good footy players.

It appears to be a win win.
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August 28, 2010 8:24am
MyNameIsJack

John Key Crosby-Textored, again.

A Government survey on the sacking of Environment Canterbury (ECan) councillors is countering “misinformation”, says Prime Minister John Key.

How odd. i thought the idea of a survey was to glean opinion, not to tellpeople what to think. I am not privy to the contents of the survey as Key obviously thinks us country folks harder to take in the city slickers, so only sent his “survey” to Chch residents.

Yesterday, he said even a public response overwhelmingly supporting the restoration of councillors would not lead to a Government backtrack.

“The purpose of the pamphlet isn’t to validate that decision. We believe we were right in making that decision.”

That’s right, it isn’t a survey at all, its a pamphlet, propaganda if you will. And not the arrogance of “we were right, you’re all wrong, eat shit” contained in even a public response overwhelmingly supporting the restoration of councillors would not lead to a Government backtrack.

The four-page letter sent out said: “There are major problems with water management in Canterbury”.

It justifies the intervention by saying “the Government wasn’t confident that a highly politicised and divided council would be able to sort out these problems”.

And what have the hand picked commissioners done to address this supposedly pressing issue, an issue so important it could not be decided democratically, but had to be given to a facist-statist clique? They’ve decided to give Canterbury locations maori names! Just what will they come up with for Kaianga, Kaiapoi, Rangiora, Rakaia, Waimakariri etc.?

The tone of the feedback could affect how quickly democracy was restored to the ECan but that would not happen until a water management plan was in place, he said.

That’s right, fellow Cantabrians, sit down, shut up, take what you’re given and we might let you vote again, one day, some day, who knows?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch/4070916/Survey-to-counter-misinformation-Key
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August 28, 2010 8:33am
Inventory2

What does a moron look like?

http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2010/08/picture-of-moron.html

Thank you Judith Collins for not mincing your words!
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August 28, 2010 8:38am
Redbaiter

First Green elected to Australian House of Representatives admits to being a Fabian red, and wanting to use the Green Party as a path to socialism-

“In the 1995 memo, Mr Bandt said he was “towards an anti-capitalist, anti-social democratic, internationalist movement”.

Identifying himself as a member of the Left Alliance, Mr Bandt said, “the parliamentary road to socialism is non-existent”. He called the Greens a “bourgeois” party but said supporting them might be the most effective strategy.

“Communists can’t fetishise alternative political parties, but should always make some kind of materially based assessment about the effectiveness of any given strategy come election time,” he wrote in the 1995 memo.”

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/greens-too-bourgeois-for-adam-bandt-when-he-was-a-uni-student/story-fn59niix-1225911093349

They’re not Greens, their Reds, and Watermelons is the most apt term for these deceitful arseholes who pretend to be something else in order to dupe fools into voting for them.
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August 28, 2010 9:12am
MyNameIsJack

Welcome to the warped world of Russell “there’s reds under my bed” Baiter, in which democracy should only be the preserve of those who seek to destroy it, the Libertarians.
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August 28, 2010 9:17am
Jack5

New topic for a mo…

Are John Key and his advisers eating magic mushrooms?

The Enviornment Canterbury councillors National appointed when it kicked out democratically elected locals is pushing the adoption of Maori names in Canterbury, including “Otakaro” for the Avon River and “Ka Tiritiri o te Moana” for Southern Alps. These National-imposed commissioners say these are dual names, but you can bet this is only a beginning.

One of the new National-imposed commissioners, Donald Couch, of Ngai Tahu, headed the names move. Couldn’t they have at least waited until a new board is democratically elected? And what’s Couch doing among the Government appointees – is he there to humour the 2 per cent Maori Party?

The reaction has already begun in the letters column of today’s Christchurch Press.

It’s another hole in the chances of the re-election of our air-head celebrity mayor. Following Key’s venture to the city during the mayor’s electoral campaign, the current mayor is now firmly linked with National in Canterbury minds.

Where does National find its fuck-witted policy advisers? Does it leave application pamphlets in the waiting rooms of psychiatric patient out-centres?
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August 28, 2010 9:50am
MyNameIsJack

Where does National find its fuck-witted policy advisers? Does it leave application pamphlets in the waiting rooms of psychiatric patient out-centres?

Well, there IS Nick Smith already IN the party…
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August 28, 2010 9:54am
JiveKitty

I thought Canterbury had huge problems with its water resource allocation? Why are they promoting name changes instead of dealing with the most important problems (not that the names not being in Maori is necessarily even a problem)? What a bunch of fucking muppets.

Here’s a piece on anecdotes: http://www.badscience.net/2010/08/in-praise-of-anecdotes/ Would probably be good for some around here to keep in mind.
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August 28, 2010 12:17pm
reid

This guy sounds like Nicky Hagar. I didn’t think it was possible for two to be quite as mental but apparently, I was wrong.
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August 28, 2010 12:53pm
reid

So this is potentially excellent and potentially calamitous at the same time, isn’t it.

BTW, Red Alert has a link to a live feed of DPF at 1:58 today. I’m going to watch cause I want to see what a roomful of real lefties looks like. I’m expecting tentacles and slime.
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August 28, 2010 1:02pm
reid

Is Tolley mental?

For a lousy $14m she buys herself a hugely emotive bun fight in which all young parents and grandparents have a stake and in which there is absolutely no upside to the position she is taking. What a complete and utter moron. This is just dumb.
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August 28, 2010 1:43pm
reid

So this is from this.

A total of just over $6,209 million for educational services from schools (including teacher salaries),
early childhood education providers, and other education providers.

So for the sake of saving 14/6209*100=0.2%, Tolley pays the heavy political price she’s about to incur. It’s heavy, cause guess what? Every parent both rich and poor has kids in kindy and guess what again? For some reason people think kids pre-school education is really really important.

So let’s do the sums again. Nope. Still 0.2%. There’s a time and a place Anne, and this ain’t it. Start performing, because other work you’re doing is relevant and beneficial in the longer term. But FFS, who’re your advisors? It’s not Jerry and Murray is it? They’re the usual suspects when things like this appear. Try Steven, he seems to know a bit more…
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August 28, 2010 2:26pm
reid

And Wyatt as well.
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August 28, 2010 2:44pm
Redbaiter

You never get the big picture Reid.
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August 28, 2010 2:52pm
Viking2

Free toll calls to USA and others. Noticed it came up on gmail this morning.

Google gifts Aussies with free US calls through Gmail

* By Nicholas Gilbert
* From: news.com.au
* August 27, 2010 12:55PM
* 51 comments

Google

Google’s new internet call service was initially meant for those in the USA only. Source: AAP

* Google launches web call service
* Accessed through Gmail
* Set language options to “US”

FOR once, it seems Australians arent being forgotten in the rollout of a new Google service.

A new addition to Google’s Gmail feature that allows users to call phones virtually anywhere in the world from their browser has appeared for some local users, despite the fact that Google had earlier stated it would be US only for now.

The upshot of all this is that Australians now have a way to make calls to US landlines and mobiles for free, all from their Gmail browser window. And according to Google, it’s entirely deliberate.

The secret for Australians who want to use the service is the language setting.

Simply set it from English (UK) to English (US), and a ‘Call Phone’ option should appear in your chat window.

Install a plug-in, type in a phone number, and away you go.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related Coverage

* Kindle 3: ‘All the iPad isn’t’

* Gmail phone service raises eyebrows Australian IT, 16 hours ago
* Google launches free phone calls Adelaide Now, 1 day ago
* Google challenges Skype in web calls Australian IT, 2 days ago
* Google weighing options on China Perth Now, 18 Mar 2010
* Call for privacy probe into Google Buzz Australian IT, 17 Feb 2010

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

News.com.au tested this with several different user accounts and the language switch worked a treat.

According to a Google spokesperson, however, this switch is particular to this specific rollout.

“We are launching this to US users as our first step and will be rolling out additional localised versions in the future. Depending on local laws and regulations, if an account is set to US-English, you might be able to access the feature in some other countries, like Australia, as well,” they said in a statement.

It also seems other English-speaking countries may be able to access the service in the same way, though Google were unable to provide details at time of posting.

The free calls will only last until the end of the year, when users will be charged for calls to the US, as well as every other country.

The plug-in, which comprises elements of Google Talk, and the US-only Google Voice, functions similarly to that other internet phone service Skype, in that it allows users to call landline or mobile phones from their computer, often at very low call rates.

Gmail VOIP users can call landlines in Australia for US$0.02 a minute or mobiles for US$0.14.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/google-gifts-aussies-with-free-us-calls/story-e6frfro0-1225910897786#ixzz0xrj8SctJ
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August 28, 2010 2:58pm
reid

See the point is, it’s a micro-blip on the horizon of the total education sector, but it’s a highly sensitive part of the country’s educational anatomy, which means: it costs little and has significant benefit if you’re popular within it, but the converse is also true in both axes.
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August 28, 2010 3:00pm
krazykiwi

Just for fun: A complete list of things caused by global warming… all on just 0.006 degrees per year. The ‘extinctions’ section looks grim
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August 28, 2010 3:32pm
Brian Harmer

On a totally different topic … is it just me or has Google been MIA for the last few hours. I can retrieve everything else but Google. Is there an attack? Or is it a consequence of the free phone feature?
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August 28, 2010 3:34pm
Brian Harmer

ok, forget my last. It’s back … but It has been timing out on me for at least two hours. Weird!
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August 28, 2010 4:14pm
Luc Hansen

Hey, all you climate change deniers should be watching Hannity right now!

He’s repeating all your favourite myths!

A fact free zone!
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August 28, 2010 4:25pm
Viking2

More than just google. WordPress and ,coms have been slow as well.
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August 28, 2010 4:56pm
Viking2

Luc, are you still stuck in last years failed rort?
Get a life.
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August 28, 2010 4:57pm
reid

Luc, has it occurred that IF science via history proves that AGW is indeed bollocks and was just a vapid propaganda ploy for unusually useful idiots, that the rest of us are going to realise we’re sharing the planet with a large number of dubiously qualified specimens?
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August 28, 2010 5:00pm
WebWrat

This has to be the last straw!

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/08/outrage-of-the-day-ground-zero-supremacist-mega-mosque-may-get-public-funding.html
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August 28, 2010 5:49pm
Luc Hansen

Ah, Viking, I just couldn’t resist it. I had just popped back inside for a break during a heavy afternoon section clearing (including buried roofing iron and treated timber left, I would say, by the original owners) and peeked at FoxFiction and there was Hannity and Lindzen spouting their misinformation.

You must admit, it’s pretty slow on the local news front, judging by the lightweight (except for the Blonde!) items DPF is posting recently.
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August 28, 2010 5:53pm
Pete George

Re kindergarten funding cuts – that’s the end of the education pyramid that should get the most attention, and therefore adequate funding. What is invested there can make a big difference, in education and socially.
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August 28, 2010 6:10pm
Viking2

Well true Luc but today two items have caught my eye. The first one will have Mr Key having a fit of self righteousness about one of his favourite MP’s and her description of his second favourite MP. Apparently Nikki Kay has called Melissa Lee a “brown noser” on her facebook.

Brown nose comment part of politics

Saturday, 28, Aug, 2010 5:17PM

Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye has publicly called fellow National Party backbencher Melissa Lee “a brown noser”.

The comment appeared on Ms Kaye’s Facebook page as she highlighted Melissa Lee’s compliments to Police Minister Judith Collins while discussing prison escape statistics.

But Nikki Kaye says it was just a bit of banter between friends as they hassled each other during question time.

She says a big part of why people watch question time is for the political humour so it is part of politics.

When asked how Prime Minister John Key would view making this comment on Facebook she says MPs make their own decisions about how to communicate.

http://www.telstraclear.co.nz/news/news-story.cfm?content_id=795013

and talking of brown/green; I saw the Dr Russel has climbed onto the oil is doomed fairy-tail again. Obviously the CO2 crap has run out of steam and no longer reasonates with the poor or the socialists and save the world twats.

http://www.telstraclear.co.nz/news/news-story.cfm?content_id=795004
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August 28, 2010 6:40pm
tristanb

Smartest judge in the world: Josephine Bouchier
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10669471

Man defrauds $3 million. Passport surrendered. Convinces judge he needs to visit his “sick mother” in Australia. Judge believes this highly credible story. Man doesn’t return to NZ. Turns out fraudster is a liar. Judge shocked – idiot.
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August 28, 2010 6:42pm
Viking2

Pete; Remove the free student loans and we just might be able to spend the money there where it is of good use.

15 billion and rising. Like SCF we should just stop the bleed and collect the money.
But no we continue to borrow 250 mil a week.
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August 28, 2010 6:44pm
Luc Hansen

Remove student loans. Good idea Viking

Let’s get back to no-fees education.
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August 28, 2010 6:55pm
krazykiwi

Thanks for the heads up Luc. The 7min segment “The Green Swindle” is well worth watching. It includes an interesting interview with Patrick Moore, the [co-?]founder of Greenpeace.
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August 28, 2010 7:10pm
Viking2

Bulls’ prop arrested on suspicion of murder

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/bulls-prop-arrested-on-suspicion-of-murder-20100827-13w5s.html
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August 28, 2010 7:13pm
reid

“Let’s get back to no-fees education.”

Which services would you cut to enable that, Luc?
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August 28, 2010 7:14pm
Viking2

No wonder Aussie is stuffed.

this from the SMH.

Priced for retail and institutional investors at $4.10 a share, the shares opened at $3.88, and rose 12¢ to $3.70 yesterday.
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August 28, 2010 7:17pm
krazykiwi

Oh dear, it’s all coming unstuck for carbon-doom alarmists like Luc. Or rather… early-stage “pump and dumpers” have netted a fat profit, and the gullible majority have been left nursing their losses.

The Great Collapse of the Chicago Climate Exchange

Plagued by a free fall in carbon emissions prices and the perennial failure of Washington to pass any binding Cap and Trade Bill, it seems that the Chicago Climate Exchange is on its last leg, announcing that it will be scaling back its operations.

Chicago Climate Exchange or CCX, is North America’s sole voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas trading and carbon “offset” projects in North America and Brazil. Rueters reported on Aug 11th that Intercontinental Exchange Inc, the operating body for the CCX, will be scaling back major operations this month, a move that includes massive layoffs. This is likely due to the complete market free-fall of their only product… carbon emissions.
:::
What a difference a year makes. It’s been nine months since the world watched the bottom drop out of a much-hyped UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen back in Dec 2009, with its neo-colonial agenda exposed within the first days of the summit. One of the keystones of the Climate Change alarmist movement was its audacious attempt to create a functioning market by monetizing the atmospheric trace gas known as CO2.
:::
The formula: create an investment vehicle, hype the new commodity, buy low, watch share prices rise, sell high. The result is money, lots of it. In some cases it’s been about driving up the share prices of companies Gore’s group has already invested in. In fact, the self-styled leaders of the climate change crusade Maurice Strong and Al Gore have already cashed in carbon fortunes already, whilst other active politicians like US President Barrack Obama, and United Nations IPCC Chief Rajendra K. Pachauri are engaged in similar play with their own financial interests in the Carbon Markets.
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August 28, 2010 7:43pm
Viking2

Like Luc said DPF has rolled over and rarely now posts on contentious issues spending rather more space on bagging those of different views.

Maybe he might like to tell us why it is that his favourite Govt. is now running secrecy on everything. Not the open Govt. That DPF espouses.

Wonder what I am on about?

The government is refusing to release submissions to the Foreshore and Seabed Review, even though they indicated that they would do so. This is presumably because many are against the proposed bill and they want to suppress this information.

If the submissions were available on the Ministry of Justice’s website for all New Zealanders to see, the media would have some facts and figures to quote in stories in the lead up to the bill being tabled. This would raise public awareness and concern.

John Key clearly does not want this to happen.

Here is a reply from the Minister’s office to a query about when the submissions will be released:

Quote:
Dear XXX

No decision has yet been made about when the submissions relating to the review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 will be made public. It will be some time after the new Bill has been introduced to the House of Representatives.

Kind regards,
Briar Charmley | Private Secretary (Attorney-General)

HMMM, and yes we might get a week to have some say. This Govt. is running the place like its a business and we will just all have to like it or lump it once they decide.
Interesting to that The Speaker reminded the PM that he to could be thrown out. (albeit from the house.) Applies to his job as well.
Kiwi’s are not happy with Govt./Iwi’s.
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August 28, 2010 8:46pm
Guy Fawkes

“Let’s get back to no-fees education.”

Which services would you cut to enable that, Luc?

I have no problem with NO fees at all, as long as it is for commercially or scientifically useful subjects, and there is a de-minimus attainment for the honour students.

The suspect degrees that are fuck all use, that the Socialist slime prefer need to be full paid for with a 15% loading to pay for the former.
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August 29, 2010 8:14am

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