General Debate 9 October 2011

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Peter

The
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October 9, 2011 8:06am
Peter

The Gweens are wonderful! I think what they say makes a lot of sense!

Signed

Just A Regular Citizen In No Way Connected With The Gweens
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October 9, 2011 8:12am
Inventory2

Outstanding column from Chris Trotter. He seems to be implying that selecting Phil Goff as Labour’s leader was a means to an end in the Left recapturing the party. By setting Goff up as sacrificial lamb, then quietly undermining him, the last vestiges of Labour’s right get expunged.

http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2011/10/chris-trotters-man-of-constant-sorrow.html

However that also shows what contempt that some in Labour have for the democratic process; that the last three years have effectively been a waste of time, with Labour having pre-determined the outcome of this year’s election.
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October 9, 2011 8:15am
Tauhei Notts

I’m hoping somebody will be able to help.
re THAT SHIP WRECK near Motiti Island.
What was the name of the captain?
What nationality was the captain?
How much did the raffle ticket cost that he won his Master’s ticket as first prize?
Who are the N.Z. agents for that shipping company?
What was the blood alcohol count of the captain when he disregarded the G.P.S., numerous marine charts, depth sounder equipment and any other marine industry safeguards?
I do not need to know how whether the number of dead birds exceeds the number I have shot with a slug gun, in my youth.
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October 9, 2011 8:16am
tvb

I note BMW are promoting the x1 as the ultimate all-wheel drive. It is laughable of course and I wonder whether the Germans know the meaning of ultimate. Same for an old sluggish 318 is considered by BMW to be the ultimate driving machine.
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October 9, 2011 8:35am
renderer

Looks like the brains of the blogging world are up early this morning
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October 9, 2011 8:37am
Rodders

IV2 – Is that the same Chris Trotter who rarely has a bad word to say about Winston?
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2011/01/seans-going-to-need-bigger-stake-to.html
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October 9, 2011 8:45am
Viking2

Tauhei Notts Not a lot of info coming out yet as its the subject of the inquiry going on. They have interviewed crew etc and taken logs, GPS logs etc. and have said that information should be forthcoming during November. They obviously have a need to be careful about their investigation just like any other.

There is a lot of hysterical rubbish being written by silly little press harpies and dopey girlies with TV camera’s looking to make a name for themselves.so on.
That’s a big ship and its well up on the ground. Its got about 2000 containers on board which can weigh up to 40 tonnes each.
There are no cranes on the boat and there are no helicopters in NZ big enough to lift the containers.
There is a balancing act to perform when lightening the ship as relieving weight one end may cause issues elsewhere and so on.
The big thing is to get the bunker fuel off asap then they can start on the rest.
We can take a bit of comfort at the moment from the fact that the crew are all still on board. They would be taken off if there was imminent danger of the ship breaking in two, which could happen.

There is lots of noise from various quarters such as the empty kerosene tin party ,The Greens and now I see Hughes is using this to stop oil drilling. What a dick head he is.
This is a major job and its well out in the ocean with nothing other than a rock that surfaces occasionally to work from.
Its exposed to the swells and the reef has a cave through it although I not sure if the ship is sitting over that cave or to one side. You can actually scuba through from one side to the other. If its over the cave then that’s another problem.

There all sorts of guesstimates about the weather coming. Well the metservice can’t get most days right and have been wrong most of the last 18 months when it comes to weather.

You can get a bit more info by checking here. http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/17170-rena-focus-daily-coverage.html

and of course with everything the Maori’s have been whinging and moaning like stuck pigs. Money around the corner.
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October 9, 2011 8:56am
hj

Nick Smith pleasing master.

“Politically correct” planning rules will be toughened after more than a thousand earthquake-hit Canterbury homes were found to have been built on unstable land.

“The RMA required [authorities] legally to ask the question, ‘How does this subdivision affected the trout and the salmon, the cultural and recreational values, the flora and fauna’, but didn’t ask the question `Is this land safe to build on?’ That’s a deficiency and something this Government is determined to fix.” ”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5751861/RMA-planning-rules-to-tighten
…..

So if a developer sees a swampy area with swans and pukeko, the priority should be to ask how it should be made safe for humans to live, not should humans build elsewhere?
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October 9, 2011 8:58am
Viking2

Speeding tickets bar new Kiwi citizenship.

No not going to jail, not committing some heinous crime but a speeding ticket stops you becoming a citizen. FFs where is the Govt.s fucking brains.

Meet Graham Macdonald.

He’s a church deacon, runs a business employing 26 people and has embraced New Zealand as his home for 15 years. The former South African even cheers for the All Blacks.

But according to Internal Affairs Minister Nathan Guy, he is the only member of his family not fit to be a New Zealander.

Guy ruled Macdonald had failed the “good character” test after bureaucrats identified a technical breach of citizenship rules.

Macdonald has five family cars registered in his name which have accrued six speed-camera tickets in two years. The tickets included three by a “sternly-told-off” teenage son and one by his wife Joanne.

But Guy followed rules which state anyone with four or more identical traffic infringements over two years could be barred from becoming a Kiwi.

And because Macdonald paid the fines promptly, there is no way to get photographs from the speed cameras to prove he was not the person driving.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10757607
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October 9, 2011 9:03am
Scott Chris

Inventory 2 “Outstanding column from Chris Trotter.”

A well written piece of over-analysis.

The idea of Goff being a sacrificial lamb to an elaborate repositioning of Labour on the political spectrum is a hell of a stretch.

Goff was simply the best of an average bunch. The absence of a meaningful challenge would bear that out.

Sounds to me like Trottter’s frustration with his own party is being vented here just a tad.
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October 9, 2011 9:09am
DavidC

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/5753103/Lockout-looms-at-plant

The union believes the company proposals would cost a nightshift meatworker on a B-grade pay scale with six years service $443 a week.

Meatworkers Union spokesman Roger Middlemass said management had asked workers to take a 15 to 20 per cent pay cut, and also wanted to change shifts and allowances.

Plant has lost $60 mil since it opened.

If a meat worker stands to lose $443 a week as 20% then he must be on $2200 a week ! No wonder the place is going backwards.
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October 9, 2011 9:28am
Manolo

More revelations about the Messiah’s administration playing crony capitalism: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/solyndra-obama-and-rahm-emanuel-pushed-to-spotlight-energy-company/2011/10/07/gIQACDqSTL_print.html
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October 9, 2011 9:34am
first time caller

Ha, on Q &A just now Cunliffe referred to “My front bench team”
Thinks he’s leader already
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October 9, 2011 9:40am
joana

Vivre La France..and good riddance to the sleazy , cheats.
Where was bully boy Collins this am? At church? I doubt it. She was thinking up more ways to spend all your hard earned cash.
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October 9, 2011 9:44am
Pete George

Ha, on Q &A just now Cunliffe referred to “My front bench team”
Thinks he’s leader already

That jumped out at me too. Perhaps Cunliffe is the de facto leader and Goff is the arranged fall guy for this election, if so it explains a lot.
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October 9, 2011 9:51am
first time caller

Please let him take over, please, please, please! He’s so revoltingly arrogant he’ll never win an election
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October 9, 2011 9:54am
Manolo

Gross overcharging: http://msn.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10757699&ref=rss
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October 9, 2011 9:55am
Manolo

I noticed that too. More shame heaped on Goff, who has lost all control of his troops and is only a puppet waiting to be beheaded.

Cunliffe, the smarmy and arrogant one, will become the next socialist leader after the election.
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October 9, 2011 9:59am
nasska

Tauhei & V2

Thanks for providing me with an excuse not to do any work. I’ve been doing a little amateur research on the background to the “Rena”. Built 1990 in Germany, originally registered as the”Andaman Sea” in Malta. Currently managed by “Ciel Shipmanagement SA Greece.

Shipping blog commentators are sounding off about ships run by ‘monkeys’ as opposed to crews trained to western standards so it is unlikely that the master will be a near neighbour of many New Zealanders.

There is quite a lot of technical info out there & it appears that the vessel has a history of “multiple navigational deficiencies”. Most of the good info seems to be hidden behind a paysite Ref: http://www.lloydslistdcn.com.au/archive/2011/october/05/oil-slick-ship-had-multiple-navigation-deficiencies

Hint…if you are googling for information use the IMO No 8806802. This bypasses the breathless TV halfwit employees standing on the wharf posing as reporters.
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October 9, 2011 10:08am
adze

Rodders, he’s only being nice to Winston because Winnie is Labour’s only hope of election. I rarely read Trotter these days, his utterances have become increasingly erratic, fanciful and troll-like.
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October 9, 2011 10:16am
kowtow

V2

That is an interesting story concerning Macdonald and Guy.
The operative word there seems to be “could”. Guy should have shown some leadership and commonsense and granted the citizenship,that’s why we have ministers.

I dread to think of the backgrounds and activities past and present of any number of our refugees and “asylum seekers” who no doubt get to apply for the privelige of citizenship ,paid for by you and me the taxpayer with an army of bureaucrats assisting.
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October 9, 2011 10:18am
Inventory2

@ Manolo; read Trooets comment from my link at the top of the thread, and you’ll see that Goff has never had control of his caucus; nor was it ever intended that he would.
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October 9, 2011 10:26am
Rodders

@adze – I have enjoyed reading Chris Trotter’s writings but his column implying that Goff is (to quote The Bard) more sinned aginst than sinning reminded me of his repeated assertion that Winston was the victim of a VRWC in 2008.

I don’t buy either theory.
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October 9, 2011 10:30am
adze

Rodders, I enjoyed him in the past, but when he started inventing “future histories” such as his recent breathless tale of student revolution, I realised it was time to move on.
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October 9, 2011 10:34am
Andrei

All Blacks rocked in World Cup scandal
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October 9, 2011 10:44am
Scott Chris

Pete George – “That jumped out at me too.”

If he becomes leader, he will be forever saddled with the tag of being one of those who fiddled whilst the labour party burned.

Still a poisoned chalice. Gotta be someone left-field to take over as leader. Pun not intended.
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October 9, 2011 10:51am
Scott Chris

Andrei

Ha! The nicotine nazis have a victim. Not one but THREE CIGARETTES!!! Fine if they’d run over a homeless person……

But SMOKING INSIDE????? Heaven forfend.
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October 9, 2011 10:59am
hmmokrightitis

Goofy a plug in? IMHO, yes and no. Yes, because he was an obvious choice. No, because the then labour party was bereft of succession planning – Hulun wouldn’t allow it.

Hulun had made sure there were no credible contenders, all silenced, too scared to show anything approaching leadership. And when the head falls, a huge vacuum is created – and into that steps goofy 🙂 I suspect there was in some labour quarters quite genuine surprise when they (a) lost the last election and (b) Hulun quit.

Leading to disarray. Whats has been surprising and quite delightful has been that continued disarray, watching labour flail about madly, trying desperately to hit a death spiral, held back from that state by union support. Effectively the walking dead as a result.

The gift that keeps on giving. I never thought I would be grateful for anything Hulun did, but by god, I am about this 🙂
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October 9, 2011 11:16am
reid

Just in case anyone thought the GFC was well and truly over…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8812260/World-facing-worst-financial-crisis-in-history-Bank-of-England-Governor-says.html
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October 9, 2011 12:13pm
Viking2

http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/17207-rena-oil-pumping-operation-close.html

http://clearnet.co.nz/news/weather/satellite-images.html#infrared

http://www.jma.go.jp/en/gms/largec.html?area=4&element=0&mode=UTC

doubtful storm. more likely to go south.
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October 9, 2011 1:06pm
bereal

John and Mary visit the marriage guidance counsellor to try and save their failing marriage.

Counsellor explains, “We begin the therapy by each of you thinking of all the little things that
you have in common. Lets begin with you John, Tell me some of the little things you have
in common with Mary.”
John thinks for a while and finally anounces, “Sorry, I can’t think of anything.”
Counsellor says, “Come on John, there must be some things, try harder.”
John thinks real hard for several minutes and finally says, “Well, neither of us sucks cock.”
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October 9, 2011 1:20pm
Inventory2

If Winston is Goff’s only chance of re-election, than Goff has no chance whatsoever of ever being PM. I’m starting to wonder if Winston knows deep down that the writing is on the wall, and is only going through the motions.
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October 9, 2011 1:52pm
publicwatchdog

Response to Nookin – more appropriately – here in General Debate?
re: my attempt to get J Winkelmann’s (unlawful) suppression order regarding the ‘Operation 8’ defendants lifted.

Nookin – I didn’t just ‘plaster my intentions all over the place back in May/June’.

I followed through and this was the result.

By interlocutory application without notice dated 19 July 2011, I appied for permission to commence a proceeding by originating application, in order to get revoked, lifted or ruled legally invalid the alleged suppression order of Winkelmann J 9 December 2010 judgment and her further ‘Minute’ of 21 December 2010.

It was quite a performance just getting these papers filed, and I acted upon the written advice of the High Court Registrar.

In my opinion, it just shows what happens when the ‘Rule of Law’ is not followed, and effectively ‘out-of-control’ Judges – just ‘make it up’.

When you try to undo something which should not have occurred in the first place – it just becomes a big fat mess.

(There is NO law in New Zealand which lawfully allows a Judge to suppress their decision or the reasons for that decision.)

My application relied on the decision of the High Court in Solicitor-General of New Zealand v Vincent Ross Siemer CIV-2010-404-8559 MacKenzie and Simon France JJ, 4 July 2011:

“[41]…..It is open to persons including Mr Siemer to apply to the Court for a variation of the order, or its removal, but until that is successfully done the order is binding.”

However – the decision of Judge Brewer, (in the form of a ‘Minute’) dated 26 July 2011, in the Auckland High Court – CIV-2011-404-4294 between Penelope Mary Bright (Applicant) and The Attorney-General (Respondent) was as follows:

“[5] It is clear to me that it is not in the interests of justice to permit the applicant to file her proposed originating application. This is because:

[a] The Court has no jurisdiction to make the orders she seeks; and

[b] The applicant appears to have no standing to make the application; and

[c] The application would certainly be opposed by the Crown and the originating application procedure is therefore inappropriate.

[6] The application is dismissed. I direct the registry not to receive an originating application in this matter. ”

I did not pursue an appeal which was ‘out-of-time’.

Vince Siemer has been sentenced to six weeks jail for contempt of court, pending a further order of the court.

http://www.kiwisfirst.co.nz

In my considered opinion, our NZ ‘Justice System’ is a disgrace – particularly in a country ‘perceived’ to be the ‘least corrupt’ in the world.

Penny Bright
Independent ‘Public Watchdog’
Candidate for Epsom
Campaigning against ‘White Collar’ CRIME, CORPORATE WELFARE, CORRUPTION – and its root cause – PRIVATISATION. (How is it decided WHO gets the contracts?)
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October 9, 2011 1:55pm
Scott Chris

Penny

I suggest that if you really want people to read your posts, that you learn to be more concise.

You do wish to communicate I assume?
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October 9, 2011 2:04pm
plebe

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10757607
another angle on what the dept would call a good NZr
The thief who is the chairman of bridgecorp who stole /lost/stuffed up the lifes of 14500 NZs and got home detention in a palace from a old fart judge would be called a good NZr -NOT
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October 9, 2011 2:09pm
thedavincimode

Water lady

Thanks for the excellent news about the idiot Siemer.

I must admit though, I was hoping it would be longer – does he get out in two or does he have to do the full stretch since its contempt of court?

PS, hope your new handle doesn’t mean you’ll be giving up on the water fraud and vandalism.

thedavincimode
Citizens Amused at the Stupidity of the Idiot Siemer
Campaigning for Nothing in Particular
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October 9, 2011 2:20pm
publicwatchdog

Why is so much focus on Government debt and borrowing rather than Government spending?

Could NZ at central government level halve the current $81 BILLION spend to $40 BILLION by ‘cutting out the contractors’?

First-time ever research in the USA by POGO (Project on Government Oversight) has proven that at USA Federal Government level – the private sector ‘contractocracy’ is TWICE as expensive as the ‘in-house’ public service ‘bureaucracy’!

http://www.pogo.org/pogo-files/reports/contract-oversight/bad-business/co-gp-20110913.html
“Executive Summary

Based on the current public debate regarding the salary comparisons of federal and private sector employees, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO)[1] decided to take on the task of doing what others have not—comparing total annual compensation for federal and private sector employees with federal contractor billing rates in order to determine whether the current costs of federal service contracting serves the public interest.

The current debate over pay differentials largely relies on the theory that the government pays private sector compensation rates when it outsources services. This report proves otherwise: in fact, it shows that the government actually pays service contractors at rates far exceeding the cost of employing federal employees to perform comparable functions.

POGO’s study analyzed the total compensation paid to federal and private sector employees, and annual billing rates for contractor employees across 35 occupational classifications covering over 550 service activities.

Our findings were shocking—POGO estimates the government pays billions more annually in taxpayer dollars to hire contractors than it would to hire federal employees to perform comparable services. Specifically, POGO’s study shows that the federal government approves service contract billing rates—deemed fair and reasonable—that pay contractors 1.83 times more than the government pays federal employees in total compensation, and more than 2 times the total compensation paid in the private sector for comparable services.”

Both Don Brash and John Key support further privatisation of public services, and the replacement of the ‘bureaucracy’ with the ‘contractocracy’.

Isn’t it time now to cut out the consultants and private contractors at central and local government – so that the public majority – not certain private consultants and contractors benefit from public monies?

Isn’t it time to bring back the Ministry of Works and Council Works Departments – and cut out the private ‘piggies-in-the-middle’?

What is ‘cost-effective’ about effectively letting private contractors ‘write their own cheques’?

Who is checking those who are writing those cheques and who is receiving those cheques in ‘the least corrupt country in the world’?

Penny Bright
Independent ‘Public Watchdog’
Candidate for Epsom
Campaigning against ‘White Collar’ CRIME, CORPORATE WELFARE, CORRUPTION – and its root cause – PRIVATISATION. (How is it decided WHO gets the contracts?)
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October 9, 2011 2:44pm
hj

Trotters support for Winston is perhaps to do with the disenfranchisement of a good chunk of the population as referenced here:
http://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2011/08/david-round-tragic-lessons-from-norway.html

Trotter is a conservative Labourite:

http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2010/07/arrogant-left.html

“The truth of the matter is that most of the young New Zealanders currently raising children long ago stopped using the “smack” as part of “good parental correction”. If they hit their kids at all, it’s only in the extenuating circumstances already contained in the current legislation – which basically sanctions the use of parental force to prevent a child from either inflicting or experiencing greater harm.

These parents are part of the great virtuous circle of childrearing which traces its origins back to the dramatic cultural shifts of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. With each passing generation, this circle will widen until, in a relatively short space of historical time, the use of corrective violence will almost entirely disappear from New Zealand society.

Sue Bradford’s “Anti-Smacking” law reinforces this trend – but it did not create it. And, regardless of whether the law survives this referendum result, the trend will continue.”
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/search?q=Section+59
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October 9, 2011 3:01pm
publicwatchdog

@thedavincimode

‘The idiot Siemer’?

I don’t think so.

In my considered opinion, Vince Siemer is a gutsy ‘Whistle-blower’ who acts as a fellow ‘Public Watchdog’ in helping to expose NZ judicial ‘conflicts of interest’ , and how our NZ Judges are effectively ‘out of control’.

All you need to do is have a look at what I consider to be the foremost website in NZ exposing judicial corruption and the lack of NZ judicial accountability – http://www.kiwisfirst.co.nz and you will see for yourself why Vince Siemer has been subjected to such malicious and vengeful persecution.

What have YOU done ‘thedavincimode’ to help improve our NZ ‘justice’ system?
Or – do you think it’s all good – no room for improvement?

In order to help transform our NZ ‘Justice system’ so that it is ‘open’, ‘transparent’ and ‘accountable’ -in my considered opinion we need three things:

1) An enforceable ‘Code of Conduct’ for NZ Judges (preferably based upon the ‘Bangalore Principles for Judicial Conduct’).

(Which includes the requirement for judicial decisions to be based upon the ‘Rule of Law’ – unlike now – where under the pretext of ‘judicial discretion’ many Judges are just ‘making it up’.)

2) A Register of Pecuniary Interests for NZ Judges.

3) ALL court proceedings to be recorded, and copies made available to parties who request them.

How can a ‘court of record’ not keep a record?

How can ‘justice be done and be seen to be done’ – when there is no record in court of WHAT was done?

Penny Bright
Independent ‘Public Watchdog’
Candidate for Epsom
Campaigning against ‘White Collar’ CRIME, CORPORATE WELFARE, CORRUPTION – and its root cause – PRIVATISATION. (How is it decided WHO gets the contracts?)
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October 9, 2011 3:22pm
Nookin

Just curious Penny – when you condemn judges for making it up, why do you base your own application on the inherent jurisdiction of the court? Isn’t that a bit like saying that while you damn the court for making it up for someone else but it’s quite ok if they make it up for you?
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October 9, 2011 4:12pm
Inventory2

Oh Nookin; you’re not supposed to ask Penny questions like that; she might have to answer honestly, instead of just repeating the same old cliched phrases over and over again.
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October 9, 2011 4:17pm
Manolo

Don’t you worry, it will be solved if the price is right. Iwi will see to it: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5751912/Te-Papa-to-lose-treasured-Maori-whare
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October 9, 2011 4:18pm
Rodders

hj said “Trotter is a conservative Labourite”

Chris Trotter is a gifted writer, alright. He has a way with words and the manner in which he expresses himself is a joy to read. But don’t forget that the reason he left the Labour Party and went with Jim Anderton was Rogernomics. He has often written in scornful terms about those connected with the Fourth Labour government (including Goff.) That rift has never been healed, so if Chris can write about the inner thinking of Goff and the Labour caucus, he must have skills of clairvoyance.
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October 9, 2011 4:47pm
reid

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-top-100-statistics-about-the-collapse-of-the-economy-that-every-american-voter-should-know

#99 During the Obama administration, the U.S. government has accumulated more debt than it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that Bill Clinton took office.

#98 Since Barack Obama was sworn in, the share of the national debt per household has increased by $35,835.

#97 The U.S. national debt has been increasing by an average of more than 4 billion dollars per day since the beginning of the Obama administration.

#96 It is being projected that the U.S. national debt will hit 344% of GDP by the year 2050 if we continue on our current course.

#95 The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that U.S. government debt held by the public will reach a staggering 716 percent of GDP by the year 2080.

#94 In 2010, the U.S. government paid $413 billion in interest on the national debt. That is projected to at least double over the next decade.

#91 In 1980, government transfer payments accounted for just 11.7% of all income. Today, government transfer payments account for 18.4% of all income.

#90 U.S. households are now receiving more income from the U.S. government than they are paying to the government in taxes.

#76 In the United States today, there are more than 100,000 janitors that have college degrees.

#71 The United States has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976, and since that time the United States has run a total trade deficit of more than 7.5 trillion dollars with the rest of the world.

#70 The United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs per month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.

#69 The U.S. trade deficit with China is now 27 times larger than it was back in 1990.

#62 If you can believe it, more than 42,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States have been closed down since 2001.

#60 Back in 1970, 25 percent of all jobs in the United States were manufacturing jobs. Today, only 9 percent of the jobs in the United States are manufacturing jobs.

#59 According to Professor Alan Blinder of Princeton University, 40 million more U.S. jobs could be sent offshore over the next two decades.

#58 If you gathered together all of the workers that are “officially” unemployed in the United States today, they would constitute the 68th largest country in the world.

#57 There are fewer payroll jobs in the United States right now than there were back in 2000 even though we have added 30 million extra people to the population since then.

#75 In the United States today, 317,000 waiters and waitresses have college degrees.

#74 In the United States today, approximately 365,000 cashiers have college degrees.

…

Sorry for the lengthy quote, I just found those staggering. I already knew some of them but seeing all of them together, it’s just frightening.
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October 9, 2011 5:02pm
F E Smith

Penny,

you need to give this a rest. I have answered you before on the Bangalore Principles and I repeat that their adoption here is unecessary because they represent rules that would see no changes whatsoever in judicial conduct in NZ. Notwithstanding our small size, our judiciary, on the whole, does a good job. Moreover, by promoting those principles you are essentially saying that our judges operate with a third world sense of duty.

And our judges do operate on the rule of law. If you go and read what the rule of law actually is then you might understand that. You harp on about something that you do not understand and do not appear to want to understand.
I base that on the fact that you are wrong in what you say and but you appear to be unwilling to accept it, no matter how many of us, some of us legally qualified and experienced in the Courts at all levels, try to tell you. By the great W S Churchill’s definition, that makes you a fanatic.

But, apparently you, the laywoman, know better.

And justice is seen to be done in NZ courts by them being open to the public. A majority of court cases are actually recorded, which is something that you do not seem to accept, and those recordings are indeed available to parties who make a request. However, any party to a court case is more than able to record what goes on in a hearing simply by writing it down. I have done that on many an occasion. I have seen other counsel have their notes accepted as accurate in appellate hearings. You speak out of ignorance, based upon one particular case. A case that is nowhere near as controversial as it has been made out to be..

Now, I know people will tell me to ignore Penny, and I usually do, but every so often I just have to remind her that she is completely and thoroughly wrong.
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October 9, 2011 5:05pm
reid

#35 Starting on January 1st, 2011 the Baby Boomers began to hit retirement age. From now on, every single day more than 10,000 Baby Boomers will reach the age of 65. That is going to keep happening every single day for the next 19 years.
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October 9, 2011 5:08pm
reid

Now, I know people will tell me to ignore Penny, and I usually do, but every so often I just have to remind her that she is completely and thoroughly wrong.

And a very good remindering it was FES. Thanks for that.
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October 9, 2011 5:25pm
MyNameIsJack

But its OK, reid, John Key is dealing with more important things, can’t be fucked looking 10 years in to the future.
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October 9, 2011 5:26pm
Tauhei Notts

re the REMA
Viking2 at 8.56 and Nasska at 10.08.
Thank you. I come on Kiwiblog to learn and be entertained.
Your comments are helpful and appreciated. Nasska’s stories, told in a humourous manner, are excellent.
But here’s another side to the story.
Chris Trotter has written at length, and I agree with him in this instance, that what lost the 2008 election for Labour is that they lost the support of “Waitakere Man”. Waitakere Man in many instances is a keen fisherman. He has a rudimentary knowledge of comprehending the basic intricacies of his G.P.S. As such he cannot comprehend how a container vessel can run aground on his favourite fishing spot. Nor can he comprehend how the government can be so slow in acting on this calamity. There are votes for Phil Goff here but, as it does not offend the “tongue in groove” crowd, his party will not be concerned. That is a pity as our political system is dependent upon a strong opposition and we ain’t got one.
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October 9, 2011 5:41pm
reid

John Key is dealing with more important things

You mean like what he’s going to wear at his next public appearance Jack?

Yes, he probably is.

Still, compared to Hulun and her gang of thugs, this govt is much much much better, isn’t it.

At least Key’s doesn’t look incredibly ugly, angry and sour all the time, at least Smith isn’t Wilson or Hunt, and on and on it goes from there really, doesn’t it.

So who cares if John’s biggest admirer is his own reflection? Give him that, at least.

I doubt when Silent-T takes over the reigns the public will warm much to him, after having had smile and wave for so long. And so it goes. Sour, stringent Liarbore vs bright, fun National. Oh how galling all this must be were you a lefty Jack.

Let’s hope you’re not.
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October 9, 2011 5:51pm
Viking2

http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/viewer/index.shtml

http://www.jma.go.jp/en/gms/largec.html?area=4&element=0&mode=UTC

Storm movin south.
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October 9, 2011 5:54pm
Viking2

Tween games giggles.

Number 10

Life is sexually transmitted.

Number 9

Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

Number 8

Men have two emotions:

Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.

Number 7

Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day, teach a person to use the internet

and they won’t bother you for weeks.

Number 6

Some people are like a Slinky .. Not really good for anything, but you still can’t help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.

Number 5

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

Number 4

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to Criticism.

Number 3

Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200.00 and a substantial tax cut saves you $30.00?

Number 2

In the 60’s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is Weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

And The Number 1 Thought For 2011:

We know exactly where one cow with Mad-cow-disease is located among millions and millions of cows in America but we haven’t got a clue as to where millions of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of Immigration.

” Life is like a jar of chilli peppers.

What you do today, might Burn Your Arse Tomorrow” .
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October 9, 2011 6:41pm
hj

NPQ | Perhaps the Scandinavian countries are a model to look at. They are high-tax but also high-employment societies. And they have freed up their labor markets much more than in Italy, France or Germany.

Friedman |

Though it is not as true now as it used to be with the influx of immigration, the Scandinavian countries have a very small, homogeneous population. That enables them to get away with a good deal they couldn’t otherwise get away with.

What works for Sweden wouldn’t work for France or Germany or Italy. In a small state, you can reach outside for many of your activities. In a homogeneous culture, they are willing to pay higher taxes in order to achieve commonly held goals. But “common goals” are much harder to come by in larger, more heterogeneous populations.

The great virtue of a free market is that it enables people who hate each other, or who are from vastly different religious or ethnic backgrounds, to cooperate economically. Government intervention can’t do that. Politics exacerbates and magnifies differences.
http://www.digitalnpq.org/archive/2006_winter/friedman.html
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October 9, 2011 7:37pm
Viking2

Kangaroos jumped the springboks.11 .9

how sad.
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October 9, 2011 7:50pm
Viking2

Oil removal tonight

Sunday, 9, Oct, 2011 6:22PM

Plans are underway to begin moving oil from the stranded ship Rena tonight. The MV Rena hit the well-charted Astrolabe Reef off the Bay Of Plenty coast on Wednesday.

Maritime New Zealand has announced another vessel is alongside the ship now, and preparations are being made for an oil transfer.

Spokesman Bruce Anderson says 25 international salvage experts are working to resolve the situation. He says the first priority to remove the oil, the second to move the containers to lighten the load, then to remove the vessel from the reef.

Mr Anderson says the ship is stable at the moment, and the oil transfer will take around 40 hours.

There is however a huge quantity of oil sitting in the hull at the bottom of the ship, which is spilling into the ocean. That oil is expected to reach the shore, and could hit Papamoa Beach by Wednesday. A forecast nor’easterly change in the weather will exacerbate that situation.

So far some eight birds have been taken to a special centre to be cleaned. That facility can handle up to 500, and has already had over 200 people volunteer to help.
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October 9, 2011 7:52pm
Manolo

Next week semifinals should be sensational!
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October 9, 2011 7:59pm
nasska

A young gay man is confronted by some of his friends and told by them that he may be drinking a bit too much and it seems like it may be getting in the way of his work and affecting some of his relationships. His friends are concerned that he may need to seek help…
He took their feelings to heart and joined AA. At the end of a year of dedication he is clean and sober and gets his “pin” showing his progress (of one year being clean and sober)…
He then thinks, he has wanted to stop smoking for awhile, could he use the same principles he used in AA to stop smoking? He sets himself on the path and does so…
By the second year when he gets his pin from AA, he is tobacco free… and has a small dinner party to celebrate the fact. When he get together with his friends, they are amazed at what good health he is in… and amazed that he is not only alcohol free but also tobacco free. They applaud his dedication.
About a year later he has another dinner party and announces to all his friends that he is “no longer gay”. His straight friends as well as his gay friends are totally amazed at this. No one believes he has managed to change so much in his life.
“Did you do the same things you did to stop drinking and smoking?” many asked. “Was it just a choice of lifestyle change” others asked. “Was it some type of religious revelation?” was even asked…
“No…. nothing so drastic” he replied…. “Its just when I quit smoking I found everything tasted different…..”
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October 9, 2011 8:01pm
Steve

How come this ‘Astrolabe Reef’ does not have a MAORI name? or if it does, why is the MAORI name not being used?
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October 9, 2011 8:18pm
Scott Chris

Steven had been drinking at a pub all night. When he stood up to leave and fell flat on his face.
He tried to stand one more time. Same result.

He figured he’d crawl outside and get some fresh air and maybe that would sober him up.
Once outside he stood up and fell flat on his face. Somehow he managed to drag himself home.

When he arrived at the door he stood up and again fell flat on his face. He crawled through the door and into his bedroom.
When he reached his bed he tried one more time to stand up. This time he managed to pull himself upright, but he quickly fell right into bed and was sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He was awakened the next morning to his wife standing over him, shouting, “So, you’ve been out drinking again!”
“What makes you say that?” he asked, putting on an innocent look.
“The pub called me up, Steven Hawking. You left your wheelchair there again.”

Ha Steve! Bet you thought I was talking about you!
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October 9, 2011 8:26pm
nasska

The Circle of Life

At the age of 3, success is not shitting in your pants

At the age of 12, success is having friends

At the age of 18, success is having a drivers license

At the age of 20, success is having sex

At the age of 35, success is having money

………

At the age of 50, success is having money

At the age of 60, success is having sex

At the age of 70, success is having a drivers license

At the age of 75 success is having friends

At the age of 80, success is not shitting in your pants
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October 9, 2011 8:37pm
Shunda barunda

Just felt a big jolt here in Greymouth, looks like Christchurch is rocking and rolling again.
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October 9, 2011 8:38pm
Shunda barunda

Yep, somewhere in Ch CH

http://www.geonet.org.nz/
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October 9, 2011 8:39pm
reid

So far some eight birds have been taken to a special centre to be cleaned. That facility can handle up to 500, and has already had over 200 people volunteer to help.

So we can’t solve unemployment or crime but we have a “special centre” for cleaning up the odd bird whenever an oil spill happens, which as we know, is all the time.

Hopefully this “special centre” is staffed 24/7/365 lest the odd bird doesn’t immediately receive the particular specialist care it requires and as a consequence, sadly expires.

Personally I’m extremely happy to pay for such a vital centre of bird well-being and I just hope we’ve spent enough money so the birds can learn Maori-tanga as well, while they recuperate. Otherwise, it’s merely a racist bird centre for everyone knows Maori’s core business is looking after the enviwonment (provided there’s OPM in it) and therefore no-one can do it better than Maori and therefore, if you don’t have a place where the birds can learn Maori-tanga, by definition, that’s simply racist.

I’m going to write to Annette, right now.

Thanks V2. Your information has been extremely helpful and I will mention your name to Annette.
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October 9, 2011 8:42pm
Viking2

Who????????
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October 9, 2011 8:47pm
reid

Sykes.
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October 9, 2011 8:55pm
Viking2

ah I thought you meant King!
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October 9, 2011 9:14pm
reid

“Men accept change only when it is a necessity, and they see a necessity only in a crisis.”

Jean Monnet (1888-1979), French political economist and statesman

“I have two great enemies, the southern army in front of me and the financial institutions, in the rear. Of the two, the one in the rear is the greatest enemy….. I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country … corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16th President of the United States (1861-65)

[There are] “three ways to be influential in American politics: make donations to political parties, establish think tanks, and control media outlets.”

Haim Saban, Pro-Israel billionaire and major political contributor, (2009)

Our world has become very complex, and, as a consequence, it is increasingly open to macro crises of huge proportions.
Indeed, what makes our time such a dangerous period, I think, is the fact that we are facing simultaneously at least five intractable worldwide crises that it will take years to solve or to outlive. They are a financial crisis that it will take at least twenty years to jugulate, an energy crisis that’s looming on the not too far horizon and which threatens the very foundation of the economic prosperity of the last half century, a double-barreled demographic crisis of a magnitude never encountered during the entire history of humankind, a political crisis that is related to the ingrained inability of governments most everywhere to solve society’s problems, and, as a general background, a moral crisis that corrupts most institutions and makes them ineffective in promoting the common good.

http://www.opinion-maker.org/2011/10/us-the-five-macro-crises-of-our-times/#

I don’t agree with his micro analysis which is in the link, but I do agree that those five points exist.
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October 9, 2011 9:17pm
TimG_Oz

Remember the rule people…. You’re not there, until you’re there. 40 mins to go, Argies have nothing to lose.
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October 9, 2011 9:26pm
reid

On further reflection isn’t it interesting we seem to be repeating history these days, with great potential for unrest, economic calamity and all the rest of it.

Let’s hope our leaders have studied and learned from it. Any bets as to whether they actually have?
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October 9, 2011 9:28pm
Shunda barunda

No they haven’t reid.

Interestingly, the world is getting closer and closer to the conditions that existed prior to WW2.
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October 9, 2011 10:03pm
adze

I think the fitness of the All Blacks told toward the end. A nervous start to say the least, they’ll have to step up to beat Australia, without a doubt – we can’t rely on Weepu’s boot to get us out of trouble.

I thought Cruden was more convincing than Slade.
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October 9, 2011 10:32pm
Scott Chris

Nonu: Don’t kick the ball.

Forwards: When you get fast ball, spin it wide.

Read: Work on your tackling technique.

Franks: If you can’t catch the ball, stay out of the backline.

Mils: You’re too old.

Slade: You’re not good enough.

Well played the wingers, the locks and the halfback and the hooker and the flankers.

Adze – First five is a worry.
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October 9, 2011 10:33pm

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