General Debate 23 August 2011

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Scott Chris

Skydiver Breaks Ankle After Both Parachutes Fail

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-world/2011/08/04/skydiver-survives-3-500ft-terror-plunge-after-both-parachutes-fail-with-just-a-broken-ankle-115875-23318087/

What’s the difference between a skydiver and a golfer?
A golfer goes “[WHACK] … Oh shit!”. A skydiver goes “Oh shit! … [WHACK]”
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August 23, 2011 8:07am
Monique Watson

I was luckily enough to be up early cleaning crap out of a blocked toilet this morning. Symbolic of the approaching election silly season?
So Pete G. How would you engender a more interactive democracy? I was reading the Your NZ constitution.
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August 23, 2011 8:09am
Longknives

It’s been two days now and All Black fans (in my office anyway) are still crying like little girls over NOT being allowed to score a try from a blatantly forward pass-These are the same All Black fans who have been howling and wailing about a certain French forward pass for four bloody years now! Is the concept of irony completely lost on NZ rugby fans??
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August 23, 2011 8:19am
mikenmild

Longknives

They just want consistency. Wayne Barnes didn’t see the forward pass in 2007 and the French scored. George Clancy didn’t see the forward pass on Saturday and the try should have been awarded. But it’s not a big deal. Considering the strength of our second-string lineup, we did pretty well.

It appears the make-up of the RWC squad has been confirmed by player movements (some came straight home from SA; some went to Brisbane). It seems Messam has lost out to Vito. Gear, Crockett and Hoeata also out.
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August 23, 2011 8:27am
Longknives

Hmmm… By “consistency” you mean All Blacks being able to score from forward passes but no other team??
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August 23, 2011 8:48am
Chuck Bird

Car pushed by mother rolls over 1-year-old – National – NZ Herald News

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10746835

I wonder if the police will charge the mother and if not why not. I am not suggest that they do but I would like to know if they do not what is the difference between this tragedy and the case where the unfortunate father left off the handbrake probably because he was not used to driving manual.

The point I am making is that police are not capable of using discretion properly and why the anti-smacking law should change.

I also suspect that there is a likelihood of sexual discrimination in deciding who to charge.
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August 23, 2011 8:49am
Scott Chris

Naughty New Entrants ‘Often Undiagnosed’

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/5489458/Naughty-new-entrants-often-undiagnosed

You’d think it would be a good idea to catch them as early as possible. Intensive early intervention is the most successful and cost effective way of modifying anti-social behaviour, so surely it makes sense to target this age group and make sure none slip through the net.
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August 23, 2011 9:06am
Brian Smaller

@Longknives – You are completely off mark. The situation the other day in South Africa arose because the TMO broke IRB protocol and made an improper call – his own boss Paddy O’Brien said as much and put him on notice for the RWC. Any more bad calls and he wont get a finals game.

The French forward pass did not lose the game for the All Blacks – the piss poor decision making when they spent the last five to ten minutes camped on the French line and never tried a drop goal lost it for the ABs.
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August 23, 2011 9:24am
Griff

Early intervention means more funding. The information is out there on how to screen out these kids and redirect the to more beneficial targeted schooling. This is not doable at present due to the wooly thinking that all can fit in one big happy family. The systems in place are inclined to drag all towards the lowest common denominator.
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August 23, 2011 9:25am
mattyroo

A classic example of all that is wrong with our dysfunctional capital markets: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10746818

Commtest were a niche player in the machinery condition monitoring space, who had an excellent product that was far superior to Bently Nevada (GE) in so many ways, they just could not compete well enough, due to a lack of capital. They couldn’t expand into more critical machinery rapidly enough and lacked capital to do the R&D required in this space.

Sad to see them swallowed up by Good Enough, as they will not have the dreams and aspirations for the product that Commtest did.
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August 23, 2011 9:27am
Pete George

So Pete G. How would you engender a more interactive democracy? I was reading the Your NZ constitution.

Parties aren’t likely to do it at a national level so I think it needs to be introduced at electorate level, and that’s what I want to do, prove what is effective (and what isn’t) at that level, spread it around more electorates and eventualy grow it to national level – if it’s what people actually do want.

I think it needs a varied approach – regular public meetings, electorate blog (mutli-MP/party participation), polling and possibly referenda on major issues. The key is to do them quickly and early in the debate, many public protests come far too late to affect any change.

I think polls and/or referenda can usually only be “strongly indicative” of public opinion rather than binding, MPs should normally promote the results but may sometimes have wider considerations – if they don’t back an obvious electiorate stance they need to make it clear why they have done that and be judged accordingly.
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August 23, 2011 9:34am
Pete George

Here’s my initial explanation for My United Future.

Didn’t want to swamp with too much, it will take about three months to explain it all properly.
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August 23, 2011 9:39am
trout

Could someone be good enough to give me a link to Chris Trotter’s excellent essay on ‘Waitakere Man”. The new commercialized Google format is a pain in the neck; the first page is being smeared with sponsored links that have very little relationship to the search target, and specific targets are being demoted (probably because they don’t pay).
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August 23, 2011 9:58am
kowtow

You can hand wring all you like about dysfunctional families,youth crime intervention blah blah
but the ’60s experiment has failed and the chickens have come home to roost.Slightly off topic but relevant all the same.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/janetdaley/8713091/UK-riots-The-end-of-the-liberals-great-moral-delusion.html
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August 23, 2011 10:22am
KevinH

NZ taxpayers funding of international companies:http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10746634.
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August 23, 2011 10:23am
lastmanstanding

Price of oil falling as a result of Libya. Will pump prices fall. No. Why should they. Heh has anyone got evidence on the movement of oil prices vs pump price in NZ.

Bet its would make fascinating reading. Like when oil prices drop pump prices rise. The cartel have the Gumint by the balls. Too scared to act and have the Com Com do a number on them. Beat Com Com could find all sorts of incriminating evidence on the oil cos hard drives. All those meetings ‘Your turn to raise/lower th price this time”

What a bunch of smucks we are for letting these bastards get away with it
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August 23, 2011 11:43am
Elaycee

Where are the bleeding hearts who were quick to convict Dominique Strauss Kahn before the facts had even been aired?

“Manhattan prosecutors, who arrested Strauss-Kahn, 62, on the word of 32-year-old Nafissatou Diallo, said on Monday she told them lie after lie, leading them to urge the judge overseeing the case to dismiss all charges against the former head of the International Monetary Fund. “The complainant has been persistently, and at times inexplicably, untruthful in describing matters of both great and small significance,” prosecutors said in a detailed 25-page filing to New York state Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus.”

Case has been dropped.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/5490303/Strauss-Kahn-case-to-be-dropped
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August 23, 2011 12:49pm
Pete George

Yesterday some uninformed (or mischievous) comments were made about UnitedFuture’s lack of policy success. Here are details on what they have achieved:

Dunne: UnitedFuture has out-delivered bigger parties

UnitedFuture has “consistently belied its size and got its policies into the system” over many years, its leader Peter Dunne said at the party’s election year conference.

Speaking immediately before Prime Minister John Key at the conference in Mr Dunne’s Ohariu electorate, he said that “on a pound for pound basis, on an MP for MP basis, UnitedFuture has been the most successful support party under MMP”

“The saying ‘punch above your weight’ could have been invented for UnitedFuture when you look at the list of what we have delivered.

The Families Commission
Medicines New Zealand under which nearly 250,000 more Kiwis get access to medicines they need
All donations to charity tax deductible
Business tax reform

“And in this term alone:

– Transmission Gully getting the go-ahead
– The Game Animal Council which is set to go
– Income Sharing legislation before Parliament
– Payroll Giving introduced just 18 months ago to benefit charities which are already $3 million better off (and Telecom just signed up)
– Major personal tax cuts
– Gift Duty on the way out – in fact, I guided the bill that does away with it through Parliament just this week

Facts can be quite interesting.
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August 23, 2011 1:24pm
kowtow

Elaycee,
Re DSK and charges I must admit I too thought he was guilty.We will never really know. He seems to have a bit of history.
Of course in our system of”justice” it should be innocent until proven guilty,beyond a reasonable doubt and all that.

But not if you’re a rich,powerful white man and your accuser is a poor black unionised woman.
I think the MSM should be on trial over this one.
But in this day of celebrity news and the modern equivalent of the witch hunt there is little chance of the media ever behaving themselves.
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August 23, 2011 2:00pm
mikenmild

The NZ RWC squad:
Backs: Mils Muliaina, Israel Dagg, Isaia Toeava, Corey Jane, Zac Guildford, Conrad Smith, Richard Kahui, Ma’a Nonu, Sonny Bill Williams, Dan Carter, Colin Slade, Jimmy Cowan, Piri Weepu, Andy Ellis

Forwards: Kieran Read, Victor Vito, Richie McCaw (capt), Adam Thomson, Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Brad Thorn, Sam Whitelock, Anthony Boric, Owen Franks, John Afoa, Ben Franks, Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu, Andrew Hore, Corey Flynn

The reports this morning were accurate about who was in and who was out.
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August 23, 2011 2:17pm
Elaycee

Headline in todays NZ Herald: “Serial Tagger Jailed for 14 months”

Excellent. 😛

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10746934
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August 23, 2011 2:46pm
RRM

Your good friend and mine, Redbaiter sounds a bit suicidal.

Cheer him up here:
http://truebluenz.com/2011/08/22/is-it-all-futile/
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August 23, 2011 3:17pm
big bruv

Zac Guilford?….really?

The guy has no talent, he is the modern day Brian Ford.

Guess that’s what happens when you play for the Crusaders, you get given and All Black jersey at the same time, talent has nothing to do with it.

Oh well, just makes my RWC all the more fun, I eagerly await the day the NZ team chokes and 30% of the nation goes into depression while the rest of us are left paying for their minor sporting tournament.
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August 23, 2011 4:58pm
mikenmild

Well I’m looking forward to it. I could have lived without Guildford, Ellis and Flynn in the squad (just coincidence they are Crusaders, honest!), but overall we have the team to win. It is generous of the taxpayer to support the tournament – good on them.
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August 23, 2011 5:01pm
Scott Chris

Mike

I’d prefer Jane at fb with Guildford on the wing. Mils was never all that good under the high ball and has lost some speed, though his positional play and defence is fairly sound. Not sure about Jane’s kicking game though. I’d have Mathison over Ellis and Cruden over Slade and anyone but Flynn.
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August 23, 2011 5:16pm
Pauleastbay

RRM (3,650) Says:
August 23rd, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Your good friend and mine, Redbaiter sounds a bit suicidal

Typical Red, nothing like a massive generalization…the net is dead…obvioulsy D4J, Lucia and Kris K don’t have the mental ability to keep the resident political giant entertained, Jesus and several saints wept.
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August 23, 2011 6:38pm
thedavincimode

Scott Chris

Mathewson has zero tactical awareness. That hasn’t been helped by now having coaches with zero intellectual awareness.
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August 23, 2011 6:44pm
nasska

Kiss Me Hardy

This year, in October, we celebrate the 206th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in which that Great National Hero, Admiral Horatio Nelson, took on, and beat the Pom’s long-term adversaries, the snivelling Frenchies and their Spanish allies.

But what would have been the case if the battle had taken place in October 2011 ?

Picture the scene:…

October 21st 2011 – Upper Poop-Deck – HMS Victory – 0700 hrs

Nelson: “Order the signal, Hardy.”
Hardy: “Aye, aye, sir.”

N: “Hold on a minute, that’s not what I dictated to the signals officer. What’s the meaning of this?”

H: “Sorry sir”

N: (reading aloud) “England expects every person to do his or her duty, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion or disability. What gobbledegook is this?”

H: “Admiralty policy, I’m afraid sir. We’re an equalopportunities employer now. We had the devil’s own job getting ‘England’ past the censors, lest it be considered racist.”

N: “Gadzooks, Hardy. Hand me my pipe and tobacco.”

H: “Sorry sir, you’re not allowed to smoke whilst on board ship. All naval vessels have been designated as smoke-free working environments.”

N: “In that case, Hardy, break open the rum ration and we’ll splice the main brace before the battle.”

H: “The rum ration has been abolished, sir. It’s all part of the Government’s policy on Binge Drinking.”

N: “Good heavens, Hardy. I suppose we’d better get on with it then. Full speed ahead.”

H: “I think you’ll find there’s a 4 knot speed limit in this stretch of water, sir.”

N: “For fuck’s sakes, man! We’re on the verge of the greatest sea battle in history. We must advance with all speed. Send a man to the crow’s nest.”

H: “Not possible, sir.”

N: “What??”

H: “Health and Safety have closed the crow’s nest sir. No harnesses, and they say that the rope ladders do not meet current regulations. They won’t let anyone up there until a proper scaffolding can be erected.”

N: “Then get the ship’s carpenter without delay.”

H: “He’s busy building a wheelchair access ramp to the fo’c’sle, sir.”

N: “Wheelchair access ? I’ve never heard anything so absurd.”

H: “Health and Safety again sir. We have to provide a barrier-free environment for the differently-abled”

N: “Differently-Abled? I’ve only got one eye and one arm, and I refuse to hear mention of the phrase. I didn’t get to be an Admiral by playing the disability card.”

H: “Actually, sir, you did. The Admiralty was under-represented in the areas of visual impairment and limb deficiency.”

N: “Whatever next? Give me full sail, the salt spray beckons.”

H: “A couple of problems there too, sir. H&S won’t let the men up the rigging without harnesses and hard hats, and they don’t want them breathing in too much salt – haven’t you seen the adverts?”

N: ” I never heard such infamy. Break out the cannons and tell the men to stand by to engage the enemy.”

H: “The men are a bit worried about shooting at anyone, Admiral.”

N: “What? This is mutiny!”

H: “No, it’s not that, sir. It’s just that they’re afraid of being charged with murder if they actually kill anyone. There’s a couple of Legal-Aid lawyers on board, watching everyone like hawks.”

N: “How then are we to sink the Frenchies and the Spanish?”

H: “Actually, sir, we’re not”

N: “What??”

H: “No sir. The French and the Spanish are our European partners now. And, according to the Common Fisheries Policy, we shouldn’t even be in these waters. We could get hit with a claim for compensation.”

N: Devil take it, Hardy. You must hate every Frenchy as you would hate the Devil himself.”

H: “I wouldn’t let the ship’s diversity co-ordinator hear you say that, sir. You’ll be up on a charge.”

N: “You must consider every man an enemy who speaks ill of our King.”

H: “Not any more, sir. We must all learn to be inclusive in this multicultural age. Now put on your Kevlar vest, sir. It’s the rules, and it could save your life.”

N: “Don’t tell me, Health and Safety. Whatever happened to rum, sodomy and the lash?”

H: “As I explained, sir, rum is off the menu, and there’s a ban on corporal punishment.”

N: “What about sodomy?”

H: “I believe that it is now legal, sir.”

N: “In that case, kiss me, Hardy.”
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August 23, 2011 7:00pm
Scott Chris

thedavincimode

“That hasn’t been helped by now having coaches with zero intellectual awareness.”

I couldn’t agree more, but maybe Henry & co would get more out of him, like they seem to with Nonu. One measure of a good coach is how well he articulates his ideas, and Lam certainly fails that test. Bring back John Hart for Auckland I reckon.
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August 23, 2011 7:05pm
Luc Hansen

This time, I just must comment on ex-plod Graeme Bell’s latest dribblings on RNZ’s The Panel.

Today, he proffered the plainly racist opinion that only despots can run the Middle East. Yes folks, those pesky A-rabs are just a divided rabble who need a strong hand to knock them into shape! That is, the shape we need them in to keep taking their oil as cheaply as we can manage. The cheapest way, of course, is what we are used to, which is propping up despots who do our bidding.

Good ol’ Graeme.

He never met a despot he didn’t like!

But that’s just doubling down on his previous rant, August 16, where Jim Mora indulged him in a RRW (rabid right wing) CWM (conservative white men) masturbatory fantasy exposition of all that is ill with the world.

I quote (sort of verbatim):

…the western world has created a monster, a combination of the welfare state, the death of individual responsibility, pandering to everybody’s wishes, the lack of any meaningful consequences for wrongdoing…and poor parenting…and the news media have provided a platform for every whinger, malcontent, vested interests, liberal do-gooder, assorted ratbags and cranks to sound off about people who have felt harshly treated in one way or another…social fiasco with governments of every shape and backing away form principle and discipline…

Oh yes, the evergreen favourite of the RRWCWM lot – a good whipping! Many lovely ladies make a good living these days providing fulfillment of this desire to be disciplined!

And guess what?

None of his supposed societal ills are any fault at all of the aforesaid RRWCWM!

No sirree. No way!

Not colonsisation, not rampant greed, not squeezing wages so much that the government has to provide WWF (employer subsidies) to working families, not galloping inequality…jeez Wayne!

If anyone knows Bell, by all means point him to this post.
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August 23, 2011 7:20pm
nasska

Superman and Lois Lane are out on a romantic flight above the clouds,
Lois “Superman, where are we?”
Superman sticks his hand through a cloud “Paris”
Lois “How do you know?”
Superman “I felt the top of the Eiffel Tower”
A while later,
Lois “Where are we now?”
Superman sticks his hand through a cloud “Egypt”
Lois “How do you know?”
Superman “I felt the top of the Pyramid’s”
A while later,
Lois “Where are we now?”
Superman sticks his hand through a cloud “South Auckland.”
Lois “How do you know?”
Superman “Because my fucking watch has gone”.
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August 23, 2011 7:33pm
Jimbob

I see Gareth Morgan has published another novel. Is he in some sort of mid-life crisis?
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August 23, 2011 7:48pm
Tauhei Notts

Jimbob;
Gareth Morgan had an opinion piece in this morning’s Herald.
The man is beginning to worry me.
This morning’s piece is journalism that Tapu Misa would be proud of.
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August 23, 2011 8:20pm
Luc Hansen

Too many indisputable facts for you, TH?
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August 23, 2011 9:03pm
Viking2

More than 100,000 could be jobless soon as Australian economy slows

By Stephen McMahon
From: Herald Sun
August 22, 2011 10:00PM
129 comments

Merrill Lynch strategist Tim Rocks told clients a further “100,000 job losses could be in the pipeline”. Picture: Thinkstock

Job losses expected as economy slows
“100,000 job losses could be in pipeline”
Bailout for BlueScope as 1000 jobs axed

http://www.perthnow.com.au/money/over-100000-could-join-unemployed-ranks/story-e6frg2uc-1226120129692
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August 23, 2011 9:11pm
Courage Wolf

Isn’t it completely fucking random that the media have decided to report on the fact that the hand was severed during a ‘sex romp’ – I mean, couldn’t they have just said: “Chick injured hand by severing it on handbasin”… It’s like the reporter deliberately wanted to embarrass this girl by adding on the fact: “While she was having sex.”

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/accidents/news/article.cfm?c_id=13&objectid=10743660

I also feel sorry for the retarded family member who thinks that because she was raised as a ‘good Christian girl’ she wouldn’t go ’round having dirty old premarital sex. Get with the times old man.
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August 24, 2011 3:09am

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