General Debate 12 June 2015

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Dennis Horne

Today the climate will change a little
The basic science is not a riddle
CO2 is easy to detect
Less so its real effect
Grounds to agree in the middle
At the edge it might be a fiddle
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June 12, 2015 8:01am
Shawn Herles

“A Kiev-based Ukrainian friend, after meeting a delegation of young Russians, emails me: “totally terrible, young Russian diplomats. Manipulation, propaganda, gloating over victory in Eastern Ukraine, this new generation even worse than before. We will have big trouble with Russia for a very long time.”

Russia threw down the gauntlet last fall, publicly declaring that further expansion of NATO into the Balkans would be seen by the Kremlin as a provocation. Ukrainians found out that even modest steps toward EU accession are unacceptable for Moscow. Georgia was invaded by Russia in 2008 for the country’s sin of wanting democracy and Euro-Atlantic integration.

It’s hard not to see that all of this is part of a larger project. By use of espionage and energy dependence, cyber terrorism and propaganda, support for extremist parties, diplomatic bullying — and war when necessary — Russia is busy (again) splitting Europe in two. From the Baltics to the Balkans, the democratic and strategic gains of the 1990s are being challenged by the Kremlin. Europe whole and free? Not exactly yet.

The United States needs a robust, multifaceted new Europe strategy, of which continued NATO enlargement — for Macedonia included — must be a part. Keeping NATO enlargement moving forward is an overhead cost for peace and security in this part of the world. If we fail to make the investment, we’ll have big trouble with Russia for a very long time.”

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/macedonia-and-balkans-russia-throws-down-gauntlet_969309.html
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June 12, 2015 8:03am
Hugh Pavletich

CANTERBURY NEW ZEALAND HOUSE PRICES AND RENTS MODERATING WITH INCREASED SUPPLY

Canterbury house prices still settling … Liz McDonald … The Press

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/69297785/canterbury-house-prices-still-settling

There is more good news for Canterbury house buyers.

New real estate figures show average house prices continue to slide downwards, as interest rates also fall.

Christchurch’s median house price in May was $422,000, down from March and April and five per cent below its November peak of $446,750, the Real Estate Institute said on Thursday. For the Canterbury-Westland region, the median of $400,000 was also down on previous months. … read more via hyperlink above …

REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF NEW ZEALAND (REINZ) MONTHLY REPORT … MAY …

https://www.reinz.co.nz/reinz/index.cfm?1CB561D5-18FE-7E88-42FB-507342EF7F81&obj_uuid=2C848664-902C-4E8B-8DDE-A02D596D29BD

STATISTICS NEW ZEALAND BUILDING CONSENTS … APRIL …

http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/Construction/BuildingConsentsIssued_HOTPApr15.aspx

… AND RENTS EASE TOO …

Christchurch rents on downward slide … Liz McDonald … The Press

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/69210910/christchurch-rents-on-downward-slide-landlords-finding-it-tougher

Rents are sliding in Christchurch, as some landlords struggle to find tenants for homes.

The city’s average weekly residential rent according to May bond figures is $403, after falling for three months straight from a high of $434 earlier in the year.

Landlord Roydon Smart recently had to drop his rents, for the several houses he owns in east Christchurch from $760 to between $550 and $650. He prefers long-term tenants for the unfurnished houses. … read more via hyperlink above …

CHRISTCHURCH IS INTERNATIONALLY RATED A “SEVERELY UNAFFORDABLE” CITY AT 6.1 TIMES ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD EARNINGS (MEDIAN MULTIPLE) …

2015 11th ANNUAL DEMOGRAPHIA INTERNATIONAL HOUSING AFFORDABILITY SURVEY

http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf

… BECAUSE OF ITS DYSFUNCTIONAL “COSTS OUT OF CONTROL” LOCAL AUTHORITY … THE CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL … WHERE A START IS BEING MADE ON RESTRUCTURING AND RESTORING IT TO HEALTH …

Jobs on line in Christchurch City Council revamp … Lois Cairns … The Press

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/69230727/jobs-on-line-in-christchurch-city-council-revamp

CHRISTCHURCH MAYOR’S BUDGET PLAN ‘WIMPY’ … MIKE YARDLEY … THE PRESS

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/69198610/mike-yardley-mayors-budget-plan-wimpy

WILL HEADS ROLL IN CHRISTCHURCH (COUNCILS) PLANNING DEPARTMENT ? … JOHN McCRONE … THE PRESS

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/68972257/will-heads-roll-in-christchurchs-beleaguered-planning-department

For some, it is black and white. Christchurch City Council’s planning department has been doing a useless job for years. And it is about to get what’s coming.

It failed early on after the earthquakes because Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee had to take over the council’s draft central city plan and create his own recovery blueprint. … read more via hyperlink above …

THE NEW ZEALAND PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION DRAFT REPORT “USING LAND FOR HOUSING” (FOLLOWING EARLIER ALLIED HIGH QUALITY REPORTS) IS DUE TO BE RELEASED SHORTLY …

Using land for housing | Productivity Commission of New Zealand

http://www.productivity.govt.nz/inquiry-content/2060?stage=2

… WHILE AUSTRALIA HAS YET TO START ON THE PATH OF RESTORING HOUSING AFFORDABILITY …

Sydney house prices ‘crazy’: RBA chief | SBS News

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/06/10/sydney-house-prices-crazy-rba-chief

… extract …

One of the problems is that wages aren’t growing as quickly as house prices and while estimates vary, a recent report by Demographia claims it would take 6.5 times the average annual income to afford a home in Australia, but that figure varies depending on where you live.

Of Australia’s five biggest cities Brisbane is most affordable, while it takes Sydneysiders nearly 10 years of work – to pay off a home but that doesn’t include living expenses.

“So we’re paying typically double what Americans are paying, relative to our incomes to buy an average house. That’s what i mean by severely unaffordable,” says Shane Oliver. … read more via hyperlink above …

… WHY ARE THE AUSSIES SO SLOW IN FACING REALITY AND RESTORING HOUSING AFFORDABILITY ? … A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT …

Hugh Pavletich
Co-author Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey
http://www.performanceurbanplanning.org/ & http://info.scoop.co.nz/Hugh_Pavletich & http://info.scoop.co.nz/Performance_Urban_Planning & http://info.scoop.co.nz/Demographia
Christchurch
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June 12, 2015 8:08am
Inandout

Paul Henry had an Indian chap on commenting on lower interest rates, and how investors need to look elsewhere from banks. He mentioned that finance companies are a no no, but financial advisers are good. I then remembered David Ross, who was an Authorised Financial Adviser under the FMA, all licenced and ‘trusted’, who fleeced investors of countless millions. Even if an adviser was licenced clean, he could still turn bad when things got tough. If I were retired (and not into property), I would leave my money in the bank and perhaps get a part time job to increase my income.
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June 12, 2015 8:11am
Griff

Grounds to agree in the middle
At the edge it might be a fiddle

The problem is the middle is 3C for a doubling of co2 .
The fringe calls themselves lukewarmers when they are luck warmers with their view of only 1C
being well under the 95% margin for all the evidence and in the realm of exceedingly unlikely.
https://www.skepticalscience.com/climate-sensitivity.htm
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June 12, 2015 8:14am
G152

And Liebors shock horror about the interest rates?
get Liebor to claim that its the end of the world
and we’ll be here for a few billion years
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June 12, 2015 8:15am
Keeping Stock

So Anthony de Malmanche isn’t going to get the death penalty. Instead, the prosecution is seeking a sentence of 18 years in an Indonesian prison, and given that de Malmanche isn’t in the greatest of health, that’s probably a death sentence in itself.

de Malmanche is proof of the old quote spoken about showman and entrepreneur PT Barnum; “There’s a sucker born every minute”. Whilst I have a small amount of sympathy for the bloke having been set up, carrying the bags of someone you don’t know into a country known for its brutal treatment of drug offenders requires a certain level of stupid.
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June 12, 2015 8:15am
mikenmild

Georgia was invaded by Russia in 2008 for the country’s sin of wanting democracy and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Even you know that is not the case.
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June 12, 2015 8:17am
Manolo

How many deadlines do the lazy Greeks need? http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GREECE_BAILOUT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-06-11-08-51-15

International creditors sent Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras home from a summit Thursday with a clear message: swiftly tone down your demands in the bailout talks over the next week or face financial ruin.

The International Monetary Fund took the toughest stance, saying it was bringing its negotiators back to Washington as there had been no sign of compromise.
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June 12, 2015 8:20am
Odakyu-sen

Most “Financial Adviser” are commissioned salesmen of financial products such as unit trusts.

Someone walking in off the street should not expect them to give advice about how to manage one’s personal finances or how to diversify one’s investments. Sure, the adviser will prepare a “portfolio” but it will just be a smorgasbord of financial instruments that charge entry fees and then creams off an annual percentage.
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June 12, 2015 8:21am
James Stephenson

Having made the road trip from Auckland down to the Waikato Stadium last night, here are four things we’ve learnt from the Junior All Whites’ 2-1 loss to Portugal:

1) These lads are a very very good side who absolutely deserved to be in this tournament, even if they qualified as hosts.

2) New Zealand football’s development plan is pretty bloody good too, and I wish the English FA would take note.

3) Football (and Rugby BTW) needs a proper rectangular stadium. These oval, multi-use Cake Tin / Eden Park places are bollocks and put the fans waay to far from the action, I don’t care how nice the concourse and toilet provision is. If Hamilton and New Bloody Plymouth can have them, why not Auckland and Wellington?

4) Fluoro orange knitted booties with fancy schmancy moulded soles are all very well, but sometimes you really need something in black leather with six screw-in studs.
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June 12, 2015 8:21am
Dave_1924

Interesting story in stuff…..

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/69304074/arena-capital-investors-angry-at-loss-of-money

Who is that guy smiling out of the selfie picture half way down the story? And what is his connection to Arena Capital – Stuff don’t say because they don’t mention his name… very odd
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June 12, 2015 8:21am
Scott Chris

Morning Dennis.

Vogon poetry is of course, the third worst in the universe.
The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria. During a recitation by their poet master Grunthos the Flatulent of his poem “Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in My Armpit One Midsummer Morning” four of his audience died of internal haemorrhaging and the president of the Mid-Galactic Arts Nobbling Council survived by gnawing one of his own legs off. Grunthos was reported to have been “disappointed” by the poem’s reception, and was about to embark on a reading of his 12-book epic entitled “My Favourite Bathtime Gurgles” when his own major intestine, in a desperate attempt to save humanity, leapt straight up through his neck and throttled his brain.
The very worst poetry of all perished along with its creator, Dennis Horne of Auckland, in the destruction of the planet Earth. Vogon poetry is mild by comparison.”

― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
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June 12, 2015 8:24am
Dennis Horne

Griff. 😉
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June 12, 2015 8:28am
ross411

Scott Chris (6,411 comments) says:
June 12th, 2015 at 8:24 am
Morning Dennis.

The very worst poetry of all perished along with its creator, Dennis Horne of Auckland, in the destruction of the planet Earth. Vogon poetry is mild by comparison.”

― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Oh Scott, putting words in the mouth of someone who is no longer with us. How low can you go? 😆

I’d like to refer you to the words of Gandhi: “When I’m not sleeping naked with my grand-niece, who I’m totally not having sex with. And when I am not refusing medical treatment for my wife, where I will take it several months later, I listen to the melodious stylings of Dennis Horne of Auckland.”

And to the words of Mother Teresa: “When I am not watching people suffer in pain, and consorting with ne’er-do-wells like Charles Duvalier, I make the suffering people listen to the poetry of Dennis Horne of Auckland because I believe more suffering brings one closer to god.”
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June 12, 2015 8:34am
kowtow

So if Mother T didn’t care for the uncared for ,who would?
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June 12, 2015 8:38am
James Stephenson

So if Mother T didn’t care for the uncared for ,who would?

Harold Shipman?
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June 12, 2015 8:40am
Dennis Horne

Repeated by special request.

Dennis Horne, June 11 at 10:25 pm:
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2015/06/mcivor_on_euthanasia.html/comment-page-1#comment-1536837
There was an old god called God
Who came to Earth as a bod
He did the odd miracle
Rose to the pinnacle
Till Judas the sod gave him the nod
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June 12, 2015 8:46am
RRM

Failbook is full of articles about how leaked documents show the TPPA is going to force Pharmac to pay more for medicines.

Sounds like soap dodger activist BS to me, can anyone confirm or refute?
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June 12, 2015 8:47am
cas

I’ve often thought that the Greens theme song should be that piece of Groucho Marx brilliance ” Whatever it is, I’m Against it”. Now it could be Labours as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtMV44yoXZ0
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June 12, 2015 8:48am
Inandout

Odakyu-sen: Like most government inspired licencing organisations, their first priority is to grow their own income and empire. That is why their net covers not only traditional commission advisers, but insurance brokers and workers; my broker doesn’t invest my money, he gets me insurance cover. But commercial real estate people do advise on investment property, yet they are exempt from being an authorised adviser – typical political bungling.
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June 12, 2015 8:48am
hj

The transport blog seems like an elitist labour/Green Party mouth piece, complete with same censorship as Frogblog/standard .
They are pro immigration and scapegoat “baby boomers”.
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June 12, 2015 8:49am
Nookin

Why does the Horrid insist on shaping headlines about the Prime Minister in a manner that conveys criticism?

The term “tamper tantrum” suggests an angry and irrational reaction. The term “admission” has confessional overtones.

The reality is that he has a completely rational (as opposed to emotional) policy of maintaining security by changing cell phones on a regular basis and disposing of cell phones that could have been interfered with.

The story makes it clear that other world leaders do exactly the same thing, that he has the support of an independent expert in the field and that it is entirely the right and proper thing to do.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11463761
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June 12, 2015 8:49am
Odakyu-sen

Dennis,

Don’t you have any work to do today?
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June 12, 2015 8:50am
mikenmild

Work? Doesn’t his poetry count as hard work?
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June 12, 2015 8:52am
Odakyu-sen

Hard work for whom? The person writing it or the people struggling to wade through it?
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June 12, 2015 8:56am
Grant

Nookin, I wondered at exactly the same thing.

Perhaps the herald is helping to “frame the debate”?

G
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June 12, 2015 8:58am
SGA

James Stephenson at 8:21 am

but sometimes you really need something in black leather with six screw-in studs.

hmmm… works on all sorts of levels 🙂
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June 12, 2015 8:58am
hj

National gets away with it’s high house price policies because Aucklander’s are sucked in by it. They are partners in crime (those with their own homes) Those who don’t can run to the gloabist Labour and Green Parties for a dose of density and diversity.
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June 12, 2015 8:58am
Shawn Herles

WHAT CONSTITUTION? Obama Plans To Muzzle Gun-Related Speech.

http://bearingarms.com/constitution-obama-plans-muzzle-gun-related-speech/?utm_source=BearingArms1_7&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=BearingArms1
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June 12, 2015 9:02am
Shawn Herles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXXHwVqCI9k
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June 12, 2015 9:03am
Griff

Dennis I know you get as much delight from manipulating the morons into up ticking something they do not agree with as you once received form gently prodding an exposed nerve in a collapsed molar with your pick and quietly asking did that hurt? when they leaped a couple of inches out of the chair.
however for any joke there must be a punchline
Pointing out they just up ticked something to agree with their position being on the fringe is the punch line .

also

Your poetry is that bad if it was recited loud enough it would open a rift in pan dimensional space time smearing both the audience and the reciter across multiple dimensions instantaneously and causing the collapse of not only this universe also all probable universe and the entire theoretical cosmos simultaneously.
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June 12, 2015 9:08am
Shawn Herles

“Shawn posting Russophobic crap yet again”

Says the guy who never misses an opportunity to shit on the USA, now matter how dishonest the shit is.
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June 12, 2015 9:09am
James Stephenson

@SGA – leave your whips and chains for the after-match. 😀
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June 12, 2015 9:09am
freemark

This says it all really. “Housing crisis a godsend for Labour”
The only things good for the Left are shit for the poor…
Check out Twyford’s background as well..Oxfam, Unions..blah blah..
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11463690
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June 12, 2015 9:09am
SGA

mikenmild at 8:52 am

Work? Doesn’t his poetry count as hard work?

I read somewhere that the CIA tried to use it as a step up from waterboarding, but the interrogators couldn’t cope.
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June 12, 2015 9:15am
Paulus Gnome

Today is International Superman Day!

I am participating by wearing my boxers outside my trousers after a quick change in a telephone box (remember those?)

I have run around the office trying to be faster than a speeding bullet and caught my Lois Lane; sadly the kryptonite has had long last effect and now Lois is in my arms, I am powerless to have my way with her due to advancing years.

Can someone come over to Auckland Central and get me out please?

Never lose touch with your inner child!
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June 12, 2015 9:17am
Andrei

You know Shawn I deleted my comment, why waste should I waste my time debating with the abysmally ignorant.

All over the world thousands are dying on a daily basis, poor people in general who have the misfortune to live on lands coveted by rich white folks with the money to buy weapons that these people cannot defend themselves against and use them to advance the business interests and bank balances of their political backers.

Not much we can do about it but there is a day of judgement and those who hob nob at the high table today will not evade justice on that day
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June 12, 2015 9:24am
kowtow

For stephiechild

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/politics-blog/11668771/Getting-naked-on-a-mountain-in-Malaysia-isnt-half-as-offensive-as-what-we-let-foreigners-do-in-Britaina.html
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June 12, 2015 9:26am
Shawn Herles

“You know Shawn I deleted my comment, why waste should I waste my time debating with the abysmally ignorant.”

Coming from a guy who claimed all Western women are tattooed, selfish harridans that’s hilarious.

“Not much we can do about it but there is a day of judgement and those who hob nob at the high table today will not evade justice on that day”

Putin’s fucked then.
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June 12, 2015 9:28am
Manolo

EAD would agree: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21654053-it-only-matter-time-next-recession-strikes-rich-world-not-ready-watch
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June 12, 2015 9:29am
Maggy Wassilieff

There are a lot of bitter, jealous people on this blog.

I can only hope that such a sensitive soul as our poet laureate is not pushed beyond the realms of sanity before he has received his festschrift.

I trust that the literate amongst us are already putting the final touches to our scholarly papers on the Collected Works of Mr Horne.
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June 12, 2015 9:41am
Griff

Big Oil changes sides in the War on Coal
June 11th, 2015 John Quiggin

http://johnquiggin.com/2015/06/11/big-oil-changes-sides-in-the-war-on-coal/

As the time left to save the planet from uncontrolled climate change gets shorter and shorter, the previously glacial pace of movement on the issues has speeded up. One of the most important, and surprising, developments has been a string of increasingly sharp attacks on coal, coming from representatives of major oil and gas companies. As this (rather excitable) piece explains, the reason is simple. The policy debate has crystallised around the idea of a carbon budget – the remaining amount of CO2 that can be emitted while keeping atmospheric concentrations at levels consistent with 2 degrees of warming or less.

Obviously, if such a budget is imposed and adhered to, a lot of fossil fuel resources, currently sitting on corporate account books, will have to be left in the ground. Unsurprisingly, fossil fuel companies have done their best to prevent such an outcome, promoting science denial, and encouraging national governments to shirk their share of the burden with the argument that others should do more. Such a strategy implies a united front among fossil fuel owners, since the longer the imposition of a budget can be delayed, the better off they all are.

The recent break in the fossil fuel coalition therefore marks a new stage. Rather than try to expand the budget for all fossil fuels, the oil and gas companies have decided to get as much as possible for themselves, which means shutting down coal as fast as possible. The facts that have made such a strategic switch sensible are many and varied but the most important are

(a) the increasing recognition of the health effects of burning coal which gives national governments like that of China a strong incentive, independent of climate change, to reduce coal use
(b) the fact that the most immediately promising alternatives to fossil fuels are renewable sources of electricity which compete directly with coal, and are, to a significant extent complementary with gas (as a dispatchable source, gas-fired electricity tends to offset problems associated with the variability/intermittency of renewables.

What’s the appropriate response here? In the end, it will be necessary to phase out fossil fuel use altogether. But the logic of tackling coal first is inescapable. If that logic drives a wedge in the fossil fuel coalition, so much the better for all of us.
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June 12, 2015 9:43am
Nookin

Paulus

If you want someone to help you fulfill your obligations to Lois, ring Len Brown. He has been known to help. Just put your feet up and have a hot toddy rather than a tad hotty.
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June 12, 2015 9:44am
Shawn Herles

Canada court rules cannabis cookies legal

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/69324993/canada-court-rules-cannabis-cookies-legal
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June 12, 2015 10:00am
hj

31 year old Japanese fished out of the harbour referred to the coroner.
I wonder how that compares to other nationalities. A lot of Japanese who come here are refugees from Japanese society (i think). I can recall 4 incidents (off the top of my head including the Tomonaga clan in Chch who lost their money in a bad business deal also Moke Lake, Skyline Gondola top station).
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June 12, 2015 10:22am
hj

Got a contact request on Skype:

Mohammed Saeeb (it’s Kowtow he wants not me).
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June 12, 2015 10:29am
kowtow

hj

If he worked for Mossad maybe, but with a name like that, fuck off.
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June 12, 2015 10:35am
Old.Mickey.Blue.Eyes

Wonder how long before Slater retaliates against Spark ?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11463706
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June 12, 2015 10:40am
Manolo

Violence Islamic-style: http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/world/isiss-deadliest-atrocity-600-bodies-confirmed-found-following-worst-massacre-by-jihadists/ar-BBkZUi2?ocid=mailsignoutmd

The bodies of almost 600 victims from one of the worst atrocities ever committed by the Isis militant group have been exhumed from sites in northern Iraq, officials have said.
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June 12, 2015 10:49am
Odakyu-sen

hj

Refugees from Japanese society. Yes. It can happen.

To many Japanese, NZ has an image of bucolic paradise.

Japanese society is undergoing a tremendous shake-up, as the younger generation (after 23 years of recession) question the wisdom of their elders and wonder what the hell it means to be Japanese. Growing up in constant gloominess has left its mark. The disaster at Fukushima, the tsunami, and the never-ending cock-ups by local and central government have got a lot of younger Japanese searching for a different path to follow. So all this is helping to create push-factors encouraging people to leave Japan.

Another push factor has been the traditional intolerance of Japanese society. This has weakened a lot in the last few decades due to several factors: the Internet, the recession, and the passing of the Baby Boomers into retirement. The younger generation of Japanese realize that the old ways aren’t working anymore, and are more open to new ideas. As a result, Japanese are not as likely to want to leave Japan due to their perception of conformity as they used to 20 years ago. The country has become a lot more accepting since the 1990s.

On top of that, Tokyo will host the Summer Olympics in 2020, and the government is preparing for a big push in tourism. My mates report huge numbers of Chinese, South Korean and Thai tourists already. Certainly we are seeing more multi-language signage (English, Chinese, Korean and Thai) in Tokyo, I am told. A lot of the department stores in the tourist-popular areas of Tokyo have announcements in Chinese about where the bargains are.

Some Japanese who have come to Auckland recently are shocked by the high prices and the poor level of service. Japan, it seems, is not all that bad after all.
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June 12, 2015 11:04am
OneTrack

Nookin – “Why does the Horrid insist on shaping headlines about the Prime Minister in a manner that conveys criticism? ”

Because they are socialists doing their bit to get Labour/Green into power, and/or puerile idiots?

And Sean Plunket was feeling all butt-hurt this morning because journolists are apparently the second least trusted occupation. Well there’s your problem right there Sean – the NZ Herald and Red Radio. Campbell Live would have got a mention but TV3 simply couldn’t afford to keep funding their own political activist.
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June 12, 2015 11:14am
Paulus

Nookin 9.44

I read your reply to Paulus – I do not know what you are talking about as I have not entered any blogs today.

I deny any wish to converse with you today.

There is a usurper with a similar name – suggest you refer to him/her.
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June 12, 2015 11:20am
OneTrack

Old.Mickey.Blue.Eyes – “Wonder how long before Slater retaliates against Spark ?”

And John Drinnan thinks that this is even worth mentioning in a newspaper column? FFS. Why is their circulation falling through the floor? Beats me.
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June 12, 2015 11:24am
OneTrack

Manolo – “The bodies of almost 600 victims from one of the worst atrocities ever committed by the Isis militant group have been exhumed from sites in northern Iraq, officials have said.”

We must be more tolerant of other cultures. Embrace the diversity.
11 3
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June 12, 2015 11:26am
Fletch

Children being indoctrinated about Bruce Jenner. The man asking them the questions is obviously queer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWCZIZwiCkY

Frankly, I’m disgusted. This is not something children should even be thinking about, much less being brainwashed into approving of.
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June 12, 2015 11:27am
Ryan Sproull

Indonesia is investigating claims that people smugglers were paid $5000 each by the Australian government to turn around.
3 1
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June 12, 2015 11:33am
Ryan Sproull

Frankly, I’m disgusted. This is not something children should even be thinking about, much less being brainwashed into approving of.

People tell kids all kinds of crazy stuff. Some folks even describe in detail to children the torture and execution of an innocent man and then tell the children that it’s partly their fault.
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June 12, 2015 11:37am
Weihana

Fletch (7,237 comments) says:
June 12th, 2015 at 11:27 am

Frankly, I’m disgusted.

Frankly, you’re an idiot.
4 11
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June 12, 2015 12:16pm
Fletch

Ouchies!

An arm wrestle on The Footy Show goes wrong when one of the wrestlers arm snaps.

http://tvnz.co.nz/rugby-league-news/not-squeamish-horror-injury-during-live-air-footy-show-arm-wrestle-video-6336731
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June 12, 2015 12:26pm
Manolo

(You can put Auckland instead) On Sydney property prices: http://www.cnbc.com/id/102750254

The asking price for all housing units in Sydney is up 11-12% over the past year and 25-29% over the past three years, according to data from SQM Research. The median asking price for a house in Sydney is around 1.1 million Australian dollars, the data show.

Sydney housing’s median price-to-income multiple of 9.8 ranks it well above the 5.1 times that would mark the “severely unaffordable” level, according to Demographia’s housing affordability survey of 2014 data.
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June 12, 2015 1:35pm
wellygirl

Hello All,

Another lovely day in Beijing with sunshine, blue sky, a warm 26 degrees, AQI of 23 (Good), and a gale warning – though to be honest I am not sure their definition of a gale is the same as mine after 8 years in Wellington, it is more like a windy day. 🙂

Hopefully the wind will last the weekend and aid the clean air staying.
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June 12, 2015 2:49pm
stephieboy

Why a tribe in Vanuatu believes their god Prince Philip is set to visit

The Tanna islanders believe the Duke of Edinburgh, a man they see as a God, will visit them next year and – if they are exceedingly lucky – take up residence among them…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/vanuatu/11563091/Why-a-t

Now why does this cargo cult make me think of our home grown one ( Manolo, kowtow, Fletch , Harriet, Ed Snack etc, etc ) devoted to Queen Sarah and the Tea Party ?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/201009/the-tea-party-cargo-cult
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June 12, 2015 2:53pm
Shawn Herles

“Now why does this cargo cult make me think of our home grown one ( Manolo, kowtow, Fletch , Harriet, Ed Snack etc, etc ) devoted to Queen Sarah and the Tea Party ?”

I have no idea. The cargo cult mentality reminds me far more of the ongoing devotion to Obama, despite his utter failure on almost every front.
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June 12, 2015 3:17pm
Shawn Herles

“Obama confesses: ‘We don’t have a strategy yet’ for Islamic State”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/28/obama-admits-isil-dilemma-we-dont-have-strategy-ye/?page=all

No no, in your own time Barack. It’s not like it’s important at all. And you have those far more important priorities, like silencing conservative Christians, expanding abortion, and destroying gun rights. ISIS can wait.
5 3
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June 12, 2015 3:56pm
dime

I know im a sick puppy for clicking on this shit, but what the fuck did i just read?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11464177

what a worthless rag the herald is. sink lower guys! not sure youre catering to 8 year old girls yet.
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June 12, 2015 3:58pm
Viking2

This has tp be the biggest piss take ever.

Fonterra CEO ‘should take voluntary pay cut’

The Labour Party has launched into the controversy surrounding Fonterra’s latest restructuring by saying chief executive…

The biggest losers and troughers New Zealand has had forever telling our biggest business how to pay its staff.

Haven’t noticed any single one of the slimy labour bastards giving us taxpayers any money back after their piss poor performance in the last 9 years or more.

“Our farming sector needs Fonterra to get back on course. A voluntary pay cut will send a strong message that Theo Spierings is serious about righting the ship,” O’Connor said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11464231
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June 12, 2015 4:06pm
dime

V2 – thats hilarious. labour probably think they are onto a vote winner.
3 0
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June 12, 2015 4:10pm
kowtow

stephiechild is a devotee of the Culture Cult.

“In our culture we…”

Roger Sandall’s brilliant, impassioned and sardonic The Culture Cult explains among other things how the phrase “in our culture” has come to be used to defend behaviour that would otherwise be seen as quite abhorrent. Until recently Sandall was a Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Sydney. His career coincided with the high tide of an intellectual fashion which held three dogmas to be unquestionable. In his words:

1. Each culture is a semi-sacred creation.

2. All cultures are equally valuable and must never be compared.

3. The assimilation of cultures (especially the assimilation of primitive culture by a secular civilization coldly indifferent to spiritual things) is supremely wicked.

For adherents of what Sandall calls the culture cult, primitive culture is not inferior to modern civilization—it is different and quite likely better. ”

http://www.rogersandall.com/the-culture-cult/review-times-literary-supplement/
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June 12, 2015 4:26pm
Manolo

stephieboy must be the only Muslim who is a multiculturalist, progressive, and embraces infidels. Not a surprise he adores that incompetent fella named Obama.
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June 12, 2015 4:33pm
UglyTruth

No way known is that idiot a Muslim.
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June 12, 2015 4:46pm
Old.Mickey.Blue.Eyes

Labour continue to stcik their nose in where it is not wanted or needed !

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11464231

FFS, who gives a shit what labour think about Fonterra ? The 12,000+ shareholders certainly give a shit what labour think about anything !
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June 12, 2015 4:50pm
Shawn Herles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZYaYEyNpuI
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June 12, 2015 5:38pm
OneTrack

kowtow – “2. All cultures are equally valuable and must never be compared.”

Except for white, anglo-saxon culture which is invariably considered bad by the usual suspects who, for some reason, continue to live in that culture.
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June 12, 2015 6:21pm
stigie

This old codger is still causing grief in Nelson. I believe he now owes the courts well over $100,000

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/69326672/lewis-stanton-arrested-after-doc-clears-his-courthouse-campsite
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June 12, 2015 6:29pm
Dennis Horne

@Kowtow. Thanks for the Roger Sandall link. Born Christchurch, died 2012 (Wikipedia).
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June 12, 2015 6:30pm
Scott Chris

Hope old Pete George is alright. He’s been rather quiet lately.
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June 12, 2015 6:42pm
Manolo

P.G. is in a deep retreat with fellow UnitedFuture and Peter Dunne’s followers planning the party’s comeback. They are aiming for 15% of the vote, and ready to support Labour or whoever comes first.

Way to go, Don Quixote of Dunedin.
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June 12, 2015 6:53pm
hj

Towards a Shortlist of Suitable Flag Designs Gareth morgan

Given these desirable elements I find it difficult to find the appeal of a flag that

includes the Union Jack – not because I’m in denial of the role the British have played in establishing New Zealand post 1840, but rather because the unfortunate practice of colonisation was an horrendous betrayal of Maori that has cost their society dearly. Thankfully, 135 years on from that fateful period New Zealanders of all kinds came together to try and put things right, and form the foundation for a New Zealand that can now go forward on the basis of an honest acknowledgement that it is the treaty rather than a British Governor’s unilateral declaration of colonisation, that makes provides our rights of citizenship.

https://garethsworld.com/blog/treaty/towards-a-shortlist-of-suitable-flag-designs/

If there had been no colonisation we wouldn’t be here and (on the other hand) the treaty never addressed a situation with the demographics that eventuated, so (extrapolating) it comes down to Maori having property rights such as extensive ground rents and/or a power relationship not based on a population base but that would be unjust (and they should be subjected to a wealth tax?). Is this the cock-up we endorse by sacrificing the Union Jack?
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June 12, 2015 7:15pm
hj

Gareth Morgan
not because I’m in denial of the role the British have played in establishing New Zealand post 1840, but rather because the unfortunate practice of colonisation was an horrendous betrayal of Maori that has cost their society dearly.
…

Because tribal society meets industrial society with large scale agriculture and the larger population it supports plus it’s legal system and compartmentalisation. I’m fascinated by mafia movies because of the freedom they have: if you don’t like someone you bump them off and they can bump you off too, nevertheless it makes for an exciting life.
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June 12, 2015 7:24pm
nasska

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pcnpgoakl1xlj7r/Clinton%202.jpg?dl=0
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June 12, 2015 7:32pm
Johnboy

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/69166877/hutt-valley-barrister-launches-online-juror-vetting-service

Shocking stuff. Think of the loss to jurisprudence when all of the collective members of KB are challenged before they even get to be selected! 🙂
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June 12, 2015 8:00pm
thedavincimode

Mr Hillbilly

Bill Clinton wouldn’t have down-ticked your for that. There are some tragic individuals around; fortunately.
1 3
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June 12, 2015 8:15pm
nasska

History may judge him as a so-so president Davinci but few would deny him full credit as a top rooter.

Alas, automatic downticks are a fact of life around these parts. Still it proves that our merry japery brings meaning to the wretched life of some poor soul. 🙂
1 3
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June 12, 2015 8:22pm
thedavincimode

Yikes nasska! Straightaway you’re pinged. 😆

Are you sure that the perp isn’t actually peering through your window while you type?
1 3
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June 12, 2015 8:31pm
nasska

I’ll have a quick look over my shoulder before I hit ‘submit’ this time! 🙂
1 3
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June 12, 2015 8:34pm
thedavincimode

Shit!! I know we aren’t in the same room, so there must be two of them!! Hopefully they’re dressed up warm for the southerly blast!
1 3
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June 12, 2015 8:37pm
thedavincimode

Duh … I’ll stick some tin foil on my head. That should fix the problem. I should have realised sooner. You do the same.
1 3
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June 12, 2015 8:41pm
thedavincimode

Nope. That ain’t working. Who could be bothered logging in to do this shit?
1 3
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June 12, 2015 8:43pm
nasska

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mwv8t72g5pil1td/UT%2017.jpg?dl=0
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June 12, 2015 8:43pm
thedavincimode

nasska, isn’t that more of an antenna than a protective device? If that’s what you’re wearing at the moment it might explain what’s happening to your comments, although you should probably take it off anyway purely on the grounds of fashion/aesthetics.
1 2
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June 12, 2015 8:52pm
nasska

I think I see the problem……the thought waves are sneaking through the crochet holes! 🙂
1 2
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June 12, 2015 8:56pm
chiz

So, the christian couple who plan to divorce each other because of gay marriage, can’t legally do it:

But the Family Law Act states that an application for divorce will only be considered if the parties had separated and lived separately for a continuous period of at least 12 months.

Family lawyer Denis Farrar said the court also needs to be satisfied that there is no reasonable likelihood of cohabitation being resumed.

“It surprises me that any sensible person would make such a threat, because you can’t get a divorce unless you’ve been separated for 12 months,” he said.

“It doesn’t sound like Mr Jensen could truthfully swear that those facts are correct. And in that case he may apply for a divorce, but he won’t get it unless he lies.”
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June 13, 2015 4:12am
Manolo

A Chardonnay socialist betrays an incompetent: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/nancy-pelosi-president-obama-trade-118941.html
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June 13, 2015 5:58am

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