General Debate 30 July 2012

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Pete George

David Clark was interviewed on Q+A yesterday, first on his Miminum Wage bill. He responded with well rehearsed phrases, until…

SHANE So how much will it cost employers?

DAVID What will it cost employers? Well, it depends who you are as an employer. Most employers and most small and medium businesses pay their employees more than the minimum wage. They understand-

SHANE So the overall cost?

DAVID Well, we don’t know exactly how much it will cost. Um, we understand-

SHANE You haven’t costed it?

DAVID I haven’t costed it myself. I understand there has been work done.

That’s embarrassing. But wait, there was more, on Clark’s Monday-ising bill.

SHANE And how much is this going to cost? Have you costed this policy?

DAVID The government says that it will cost 13 cents per worker, per day.

SHANE No, has Labour costed this?

DAVID I’ve seen all of their costs, and I’ve done my own calculations on it which suggests it will be considerably less than that. It may even have a net positive effect, and that’s because you get a boost to domestic tourism, you also get more productive workers from having rests. But anyway, even if it costs 13 cents per worker, per day, as the government estimates – and the government officials acknowledge themselves it’s likely to be overestimated – we don’t think that’s too much to pay to make sure people get to spend times with their families. Hard-working Kiwis deserve all the public holidays they get.

Falling back on the talking points, but no financial substance from Labour’s Revenue spokesperson.

This is Goffesque – show us where the money would come from David.

But it’s more than just a new MP who hasn’t done his homework. Clark has been groomed by Labour as a supposed up and coming MP. All they have groomed him to do is to be a loyal reciter.

Labour seem to be too engrossed in trying to destroy Key and his government and too busy running a perpetual election campaign.

The minimum wage bill policy was announced a year ago and was a major election focus for Labour. Clark was using the same talking points then that he used in the interview yesterday. But still no substance.

Clark has to take this on the chin, but this is a whole party problem.Labour embarrassed David Clark.
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July 30, 2012 8:09am
Longknives

And the Black Caps once again prove themselves the joke of World Cricket…could these guys look any less interested in the five -day form of the game?
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July 30, 2012 8:20am
Fletch

According to a new book, ‘Leading From Behind’, Obama called off the operation to take out Osama Bin Laden three times –

At the urging of Valerie Jarrett, President Barack Obama canceled the operation to kill Osama bin Laden on three separate occasions before finally approving the May 2, 2011 Navy SEAL mission, according to an explosive new book scheduled for release August 21. The Daily Caller has seen a portion of the chapter in which the stunning revelation appears.

In “Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him,” Richard Miniter writes that Obama cancelled the “kill” mission in January 2011, again in February, and a third time in March. Obama’s close adviser Valerie Jarrett persuaded him to hold off each time, according to the book.

Miniter, a two-time New York Times best-selling author, cites an unnamed source with Joint Special Operations Command who had direct knowledge of the operation and its planning.

Obama administration officials also said after the raid that the president had delayed giving the order to kill the arch-terrorist the day before the operation was carried out, in what turned out to be his fourth moment of indecision. At the time, the White House blamed the delay on unfavorable weather conditions near bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

But when Miniter obtained that day’s weather reports from the U.S. Air Force Combat Meteorological Center, he said, they showed ideal conditions for the SEALs to carry out their orders.

“President Obama’s greatest success was actually his greatest failure,” Miniter told The Daily Caller Friday. “Leading From Behind,” he said, traces the arc of six key Obama administration decisions, and shows how the president made them — and, often, failed to make them.

Another chapter, he told TheDC, concerns the push to pass the Affordable Care Act. The president, Miniter said, was less interested than then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in passing his own signature legislative achievement.

Osama bin Laden steered the global operations of the al-Qaida terror network until his death last year at the hands of the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six. The president and his surrogates have made the terrorist leader’s death a focal point in Obama’s re-election campaign, painting Obama as a decisive leader who took down America’s greatest mortal enemy.
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July 30, 2012 8:29am
hj

Russell Norman:
And then you’ve got the Government’s economic programme, which is very much fossil fuels, very dirty, 19th Century. So I think we are developing. We’re in a situation now where we’ve got these two models in front of us – a 21st Century, smart, green economic strategy and very much a 19th Century old-style one.”

GARETH Well, I mean, I think Russel’s right in saying that this government has moved further, if anything, towards the fossil fuels-based economy. We’ve already got the fifth highest carbon footprint per capita in the world, and it’s moving that way.
//
GARETH I think so, but I don’t think quick enough. There’s a huge hole in the middle of the spectrum at the moment. They’ve got the public in terms of items around conservation. They’ve got that. Ok, park that. Now get your economic policy coherent.

SHANE Because you also said that they need to drop their extremist supporters. Do you still stand by that?

GARETH Well, I mean, I talked to Russel about that this week. The Greens are a bit of a mixed church. They have their nutters out there, and all parties have got that. National’s got ACT, for God’s sake. [RUSSEL LAUGHS]

SHANE So, Russel, are you going to walk away from the nutters?
http://tvnz.co.nz/q-and-a-news/transcript-gareth-morgan-russel-norman-interview-4992930
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July 30, 2012 8:36am
big bruv

Longknives

The thing that gets me is this. We waited for Neil Wagner to qualify to play for NZ for the last couple of years, I was under the impression that we might have in Wagner a guy who could bowl consistently at over 140km.

But no…the man we have been led to believe was our “saviour” is just another in the long line of 130km pie throwers.

FFS!…if we are not short of one thing in NZ it is guys who bowl medium pace rubbish, I am not big on people “qualifying” to play for a country that is not their own however with Wagner I was prepared to overlook this because I thought he was genuinely fast.

If we are going to select another military medium pacer then it should at least be a Kiwi.
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July 30, 2012 8:37am
graham

Oh yeah – go the Women’s hockey team, the Black Sticks. They beat Australia 1-0.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/olympic-games/news/article.cfm?c_id=502&objectid=10823096

It’s the first time in five Olympic matches New Zealand have avoided defeat against the most successful side in history who have won three golds.
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July 30, 2012 8:41am
krazykiwi

From the files of “the models are bunkum, and the data is rigged” …

PRESS RELEASE – July 29th, 2012 12PM PDT – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A reanalysis of U.S. surface station temperatures has been performed using the recently WMO-approved Siting Classification System devised by METEO-France’s Michel Leroy. The new siting classification more accurately characterizes the quality of the location in terms of monitoring long-term spatially representative surface temperature trends. The new analysis demonstrates that reported 1979-2008 U.S. temperature trends are spuriously doubled, with 92% of that over-estimation resulting from erroneous NOAA adjustments of well-sited stations upward. The paper is the first to use the updated siting system which addresses USHCN siting issues and data adjustments.

The new improved assessment, for the years 1979 to 2008, yields a trend of +0.155C per decade from the high quality sites, a +0.248 C per decade trend for poorly sited locations, and a trend of +0.309 C per decade after NOAA adjusts the data. This issue of station siting quality is expected to be an issue with respect to the monitoring of land surface temperature throughout the Global Historical Climate Network and in the BEST network.

So the hickeystock models are rubbish, the temperature data has been rigged, and we’ve been at the edge of an imminent global catastrophe to 30 years.

Emissions tax anyone? Well you paid some reading this comment!
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July 30, 2012 8:44am
Longknives

Big Bruv- It’s the batting that bugs me. Day one of a TEST MATCH and our guys are playing T20 ‘Hit and Giggle’ across-the-line slog shots…then having a good old laugh and smile as they head back to the pavillion. All these turkeys care about is their IPL contracts, hence they are prepared to throw away their wickets in a test match to make themselves appeal to the IPL slog gods…

And don’t get me started about Jacob ‘I’m injured’ Oram…
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July 30, 2012 8:44am
Longknives

Go the Black Sticks indeed-I like how whenever there is an article about the team on the news they always seem to interview those two hot blonde sisters…
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July 30, 2012 8:49am
Pete George

After David Clark’s reality check his response this morning is as good as could be expected:

@DavidClarkNZ
@damianchristie Fair cop. First time caller has learnt his lesson.

If he ditches the slogan library approach that’s been drummed into him and learns there are policy details plus learns to think on his feet then it will have been a good lesson.

The proof will be if there’s any change.
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July 30, 2012 9:09am
graham

Longknives: Yeah, funny that 🙂
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July 30, 2012 9:10am
Keeping Stock

@ Longknives – Oram has retired from test cricket, and isn’t even in the West Indies any more 😀

And to his credit, Martin Guptill wasn’t smiling when he threw his wicket away late in the day after a bloody good test match innings; he looked absolutely gutted.
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July 30, 2012 9:16am
Longknives

Keeping Stock- Yep I’m aware of that. I just think that the clown Oram is the epitome of everything that’s wrong with NZ cricket these days-“Sorry New Zealand I’m injured again…but I should be right just in time for IPL ‘Hit and Giggle’ season”
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July 30, 2012 9:20am
barry

With us all laughing at the maori council grab for water – it might be well to keep in mind that the person who took the Govt to the privy council for it waveband claim (that resulted in the terrible waste of some $60mill a year on Maori TV) was none other than the boss of the supreme court – one Sian Elias in her early days as a QC

So dont be surprised if the obviously biased Supreme court comes down on the side of the maori council.
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July 30, 2012 10:14am
OTGO

By failing to get Chris Gayle out early in both innings, the Black Caps were never going to win. They got him out cheaply for 11 in the one dayer and what happened – we won!
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July 30, 2012 10:16am
Keeping Stock

Actually Longknives, Oram doesn’t have an IPL contract any more. The only cricket he plays is the abbreviated forms of the game, for New Zealand and domestically.
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July 30, 2012 10:23am
UpandComer

Great piece there on David Clark Pete George. Really interesting that he didn’t know how much it would cost. I would think that a revenue spokesperson would know that as the first port of call but I was mistaken.
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July 30, 2012 10:27am
Elaycee

@KS: If ever there was a candidate for the suggestion that someone was mowing the coach’s lawns, then Oram would be in the picture. IMO, he should have been tossed out years ago…

The thing that disappoints me most about the Test is the apparent lack of guts – apart from Martin Guptill (who ground out both of his innings and was clearly gutted when he was dismissed) there seems to be a cavalier nature about much of the batting and the overall appearance of the NZ team is not one that suggests they are going to be competitive any time soon.

Bowlers opening the attack and trundling in at 130kph (or less!), are not going to drive fear into the hearts of opposition batsmen and Chris Gayle is currently having a field day – he would face quicker and more hostile (local) bowlers in the nets leading up to the test.

This tour is not a good look for NZ cricket. And not good for the long suffering supporters either…. 🙁
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July 30, 2012 10:29am
Longknives

Keeping Stock- Cricinfo and Wikipedia must both be wrong then. As they both state he played for the Rajasthan Royals in the last IPL…
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July 30, 2012 10:31am
liarbors a joke

http://news.msn.co.nz/nationalnews/8507534/shearer-the-invisible-man-of-nz-politics

another one down…whos next in line for the poison chalice?
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July 30, 2012 10:37am
Keeping Stock

@ UpandComer – part of the reason why Clark doesn’t know how much this policy is going to cost, is because most of the cost will be bourne by the owners of small and medium sized businesses such as myself. And as I noted when I blogged on this last night, it doesn’t just stop with an increase to the minimum wage. Employers will have to adjust every employee’s pay by a similar percentage to preserve relativity, and the merit of different jobs.

My personal estimate is of an increase of around $150k per annum on a wage and salary bill of just over $1m. Our businesses simply don’t have that kind of money sitting around, so if we are forced to increase pay by 15%, jobs will have to go so the pay rise is achieved without the budget being blown and the accountant and bank manager stressed out. So who wins then?

This is poorly thought out policy by Labour and David Clark. More importantly, it’s a policy that has already been rejected by the electorate.

http://keepingstock.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/the-clueless-dr-clark.html
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July 30, 2012 10:42am
b1gdaddynz

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10823043

But Taylor said it was an urban myth that more land brought cheaper houses.

“It won’t make any real dent on cost because raw land value – a greenfield site before it’s subdivided and developed – is only around 10 to 15 per cent of the total value of a new house and land package,” Taylor said, advocating instead the creation of a more competitive building supplies market, improving labour inputs, reducing development levies and consenting costs and tightening up on infrastructure spending.”

I read this with interest in the Herald this morning and I have to take issue with his line about “advocating instead the creation of a more competitive building supplies market”…he obviously hasn’t asked anyone who works in the building supplies industry about where margins are sitting at the moment and the cut throat competition that already exists! I work in the pricing aspect of this industry both commercial and residential and I can tell you that it is extremely competitive; we often survive on volume rebates from suppliers to make any money! It also defies logic that an increase in the supply of something won’t lead to an decrease in price!
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July 30, 2012 10:48am
Weihana

Fletch,

Obama called off the operation to take out Osama Bin Laden three times…

I see, he exercised caution before invading an ally and when he did go in it ended up well. Damn that Kenyan. 🙂
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July 30, 2012 10:52am
Other_Andy

@Weihana

“….invading an ally….”
By name only.
Pakistan plays both sides of the field.
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July 30, 2012 11:03am
Weihana

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/7373314/LSD-case-reflects-growth-of-problem?comment_msg=posted#post_comment

The sentencing of a 16-year-old Invercargill girl for dealing the class A hallucinogenic drug LSD to teens reflects an increase in the amount of hard drugs in circulation, police say.

…

Judge Becroft said LSD was a highly addictive drug which could have devastating if not catastrophic consequences.

Bzzz wrong. The drug is not highly addictive, in fact it has a very low potential for dependence. Moreover, there are no documented cases of overdose or death from the drug, and there is no conclusive evidence of any long term mental health effects amongst people who do not already have a mental health disorder. All-in-all the drug is probably less harmful than both alcohol and cannabis, objectively considered.

Perhaps the judge should stick to enforcing the law rather than offering misinformed opinions about the nature of the drug, a subject on which he obviously knows very little.
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July 30, 2012 11:25am
Weihana

Other_Andy (1,948) Says:
July 30th, 2012 at 11:03 am

@Weihana

“….invading an ally….”
By name only.
Pakistan plays both sides of the field.

Indeed. I merely borrow the description offered by Romney.

“I do not concur in the words of Barack Obama in a plan to enter an ally of ours…”

🙂
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July 30, 2012 11:47am
cha

Another hypocrite outed.

http://www.advocate.com/society/coming-out/2012/07/27/prominent-antigay-evangelical-blogger-outed-gay
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July 30, 2012 12:00pm
Pete George

David Shearer has just done a live online chat on Stuff. Reasonable effort from him, up front on a number of questions, shows a sense of humour.

Do you believe New Zealand should become a republic?

Yes. It’s not our top priority but I’d like to see NZ stand up for itself in the world and have its own flag without someone else’s in the top left hand corner.

Were you surprised by the latest poll that said people didn’t feel they knew you?

No not really. New Zealanders take time to get to know people and to trust them. The onus is on me to get out there and earn their trust and their support.

More David Shearer chats Stuff.
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July 30, 2012 1:01pm
hj

“”There are many other influences on the cost of housing which were extensively canvassed in the Productivity Commission report and Jonathan’s comments merely sought to highlight one of these as a significant area requiring attention.”
…….
That is bunk. Where is population growth (80% from offshore )?:

Particular attention should be given, without limitation, to the following matters:
(a) factors influencing the supply of land and basic infrastructure for residential
construction;
(b) factors influencing the cost of residential construction, including the effect of
standards, specifications, approval and title requirements on the cost of new
housing construction;
(c) the level and growth of productivity in the land development and residential
construction industries, and the effect of government regulations on productivity
in these industries;
(d) the efficiency of taxes, levies and charges imposed at all stages of the housing
supply chain;
(e) the efficiency of the tax treatment of owner-occupied and rental housing;
(f) the influence of changing consumer housing preferences, willingness to pay, and
financing costs on housing affordability; and
(g) the operation of the overall housing market, with specific reference to the
availability of a range of public and private housing types, the demand for
housing, and the efficiency of use of the existing residential housing stock.
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July 30, 2012 1:06pm
hj

Productivity Commision:
We recommend that you:
a agree to the inquiry selection process set out in Appendix 1
Agree/disagree
b agree that Commission’s second tranche of inquiries be selected on the degree that
they:

• are relatively uncontroversial given the desire to establish broad political support for the Commission

[means National, Labour and the Greens don’t want to be seen as part of the problem]

• utilise the Commission’s unique position as an independent agency with high
quality analytical ability and community engagement approaches
• support the establishment of the Commission by developing its capability,
capacity and reputation, and
• have the potential to improve productivity and support the overall well-being of
New Zealanders.
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/informationreleases/productivitycommission/pdfs/t2011-2000.pdf
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July 30, 2012 1:25pm
Manolo

You want Nanny? This is Nanny (New York-style):
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/mayor_knows_breast_WqU1iYRQvwbEkDuvn0vb1H
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July 30, 2012 1:58pm
Nookin

I saw this prick being interviewed after the road race (or at least, somebody tried to interview him). He was singularly ungracious and rude. His rant against the Aussies for having the temerity to outwit the English cycle team simply confirms that he has a major attitude problem. No doubt he is bitterly disappointed that he did not get a medal. My belief in karma however tells me that when he learns how to lose, he will be blessed with the joy of winning. Until then, he needs to take the lemon out of his mouth.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/cycling/7371078/Cavendish-takes-aim-after-disappointing-race
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July 30, 2012 3:47pm
James Stephenson

@Nookin. That was the BBC Sports Editor who demonstrated a complete absence of any clue about cycling and was given a well-deserved verbal slap for it. He blogged a whinge: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/davidbond/2012/07/cavendish_and_co_disappoint_in.html and got a double dose from cycling fans.

The Aussies didn’t “outwit” the British team, they obviously just decided that O’Grady had a better show of winning from a bunch of 22 riders than Goss did in a sprint with Cavendish and Greipel. In other words, they admitted defeat and were just happy that Cav wouldn’t win either. That’s negative in my book.

It was a more than reasonable expectation that the teams with decent sprinters (GB, Germany, Aussie) would have enough firepower to setup a bunch sprint, but the latter two decided not to try too hard (in the case of Germany) or at all (in the case of Aussie).

Personally, I like a sportsman who’s prepared to tell it like it is, and tell idiot journos where to get off.

Oh, and wrt “the joy of winning”, you realise he just landed a record fourth final TdF stage win on the Champs Elysees, right?
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July 30, 2012 4:06pm
Nookin

Not everybody knows about cycling. A lot of people who do not follow cycling would have wondered about the likely impact of the Tour de France on performance at the the Olympics. The journalist was probably asking just the sort of question that thousands of “non-cyclists” were asking. Cavendish was tied up in his own tight little world and seems to think that only those with an interest in cycling and an understanding of it have any right to ask any questions. I know his record in the Tour de France. In this case, he was not bitching about that. He was bitching about the fact that they did not get a medal at the Olympics. Cavendish himself did not get a medal at Beijing either.
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July 30, 2012 4:25pm
kowtow

Those games.

The left in Britain really are trying to outdo the 1936 Berlin Olympics with symbolism for the cause.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2012/jul/28/olympics-2012-danny-boyle?newsfeed=true
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July 30, 2012 4:37pm
James Stephenson

No, not everybody knows about cycling, that’s why decent coverage (which we never get from TVNZ or the BBC) generally employs someone like Paul Sherwen to do the de-mystifying for the noobs, rather than waste riders’ and viewers’ time asking idiot questions.
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July 30, 2012 4:38pm
MT_Tinman

Nookin, cyclist are always right and always in the right.

Mr Cavendish, Mr Wiggins and indeed Mr Stephenson have told us so – several times recently.
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July 30, 2012 4:39pm
James Stephenson

Yeah, yeah Tinny. What would your opinion be if Richie McCaw was asked if the scrum going backwards all night had affected the result of game and responded in a similar fashion? I know, it’s hypothetical, because All Blacks are all boring media-training graduates who only answer interviews from a list of approved “yeah-nah-but to be fair…” phrases.
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July 30, 2012 4:50pm
Yvette

“Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over.” – Mark Twain, 1884
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July 30, 2012 4:56pm
Nookin

James
You are picking a false analogy. A better analogy would be to ask the captain of the Sharks whether a trip to Australia, back to South Africa and then on to New Zealand within the space of 2 weeks is likely to have an effect on the game?
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July 30, 2012 5:30pm
James Stephenson

That’s not a good analogy at all since a) everyone that was a serious contender had also ridden the tour and b) racing again a week after a Grand Tour is what cyclists do every year.

The reasons Team GB were out of the medal contention were: a big breakaway that were super-motivated to work together because a bunch sprint would only realistically be won by Cavendish, Sagan or Greipel; the smaller national teams (of 5 rather than 9 in the trade teams) and the negative riding of the other sprinters teams (ie Aussie and Germany). The Tour was quite simply irrelevant.
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July 30, 2012 5:56pm
Viking2

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman called on the Government to heed the recommendation and stop the asset sales.

“Government must uphold the mana of the Waitangi Tribunal and not proceed with asset sales to give the Tribunal time to make its full findings.”

Who considers that the Waitangi Tribunal has any Mana?

Tribunal recommends assets sale halt
The Waitangi Tribunal has suggested the Government hold off on selling shares in state-owned energy companies until the issue of water rights is resolved.

The Government will take time to consider the Waitangi Tribunal finding, but will not re-litigate its arguments, Prime Minister John Key said.

Well Key should tell the brown pricks to stick it their arse and call an election. Get rid of the buggers forever instead of having NZ governed by proxy and a bunch of disgraceful lawyers et al.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7377823/Tribunal-recommends-assets-sale-halt

We didn’t vote for the Bro’s to run Nz nor did we vote to give them ownership of anything. Time for a change or a trip to Australia.
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July 30, 2012 6:03pm
burt

Well well well;

From Stuff: Former Olympian found guilty of sexual assault

The man said he remembered tearing up the notes in a heated argument when she refused to have sex with him, but denied raping her.

OK, I get it… He thinks it’s OK to rip up study notes when his bitch don’t put up… but he never raped her… lol lol.
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July 30, 2012 6:36pm
slijmbal

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10823079

so we’re getting socialism on the quiet – less well off neighbourhoods now pay less for the same services as better off neighbourhoods.
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July 30, 2012 7:06pm
Tauhei Notts

Nookin at 5.30
I hope to be at the cauldron named Waikato Stadium to see the Chiefs win.
And, if by some miracle they do not win, I will stand and applaud the Sharks.
To play in consecutive weeks the Brisbane team, then the Cape Town team then the Chiefs; all away games; and win all three would be a herculean task.
Last time I saw a sporting contest like that was Sunline in the Doncaster as a three year old filly. She had no show. But she won. It was a freakish performance. The Sharks will need a freakish performance to get up on Saturday night.
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July 30, 2012 7:23pm
nasska

An Arab had spent many days crossing the desert without finding a source of water. It got so bad that his camel died of thirst. He crawled through the sands, certain that he was breathing his last breath when, suddenly, he saw a shiny object sticking out of the sand several yards ahead of him.

He crawled to the object, pulled it out of the sand, and discovered that he had a Manischewitz wine bottle. It appeared that there may be a drop or two left in the bottle, so he unscrewed the top, and out popped a genie. BUT this was no ordinary genie. This genie appeared to be a Hasidic Rabbi, complete with black alpaca coat, black hat, side curls, and tzitzis.

“Vell kid” said the genie “you know how it voiks. You got three vishes”. “I’m not going to trust you” says the Arab. “I’m not going to trust a Jewish genie!”

“Vott’ya you got to lose? Looks ta me like you’re a gonner anyvay!”

The Arab thought about this for a minute, and decided that the genie was right. “Okay I wish I were in a lush oasis, with plentiful food and drink.”

**POOF**

The Arab found himself in the most beautiful oasis he had ever seen and he was surrounded with jugs of wine and platters of delicacies. “Okee-dokee kiddo, vat’s your second vish?” “My second wish is that I were rich beyond my wildest dreams.”

**POOF**

The Arab found himself surrounded by treasure chests filled with rare old coins and precious gems. “Okay kid, you got just vone more vish. Better you should make it a good vone!” After thinking for a few minutes, the Arab says, “I wish that no matter where I go, beautiful women will always need and want me!”

**POOF**

He was turned into a tampon.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY: If you’re an Arab doing business with a Jewish genie, there’s going to be a string attached.
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July 30, 2012 8:00pm
RF

Happened to run my eye over what’s new on the red rag . The standard. What an evil bunch of no hopers. What scares me is that these pricks are Kiwis. FFS they must dwell in dark caves and under rotten logs as they are clearly mentally challenged. I note that one of their ilk named Micky Savage roams free on this blog without any restrictions. God help anyone from the right that try’s this in the sewer as they get quickly banned. So much for fee speech.
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July 30, 2012 9:29pm
krazykiwi

Green utopia:

Massive India Blackout Leaves 300 Million Without Power

A massive grid failure in Delhi and much of northern India left more than 300 million people without electricity on Monday in one of the worst blackouts to hit the country in more than a decade. About 40 percent of Indians, or 500 million people, lack electricity. Delays in opening new power plants and coal mines, among other things, have held back capacity.

Gaia will be rejoicing! The Greens will be delighted! All that saved carbon (never mind the human hardship and literal return to the dark ages). The UN will be pissed though. How can they tax an outage?
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July 30, 2012 10:50pm

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