General Debate 5 November 2009

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Redbaiter

An attempt by leftists to attack Glenn Beck backfires hilariously-

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/884575613?z00m=19801465

Note the use of the phrase “Hate Speech”, and think about how it is a concept that can be so open to misuse by the politically motivated.

As it is in this case.

Why there should never be such laws.
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November 5, 2009 7:24am
XChequer

Rodders Hide is in the shit!

Marvelous stuff! “Key does nothing” the headline rings.

Look for ACT to hit true minority status after this gaffe. I wonder if Rodders is in any way related to Prince Philip?

(I reposted this from GD 4/11 as I was awake to early for this mornings GD)
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November 5, 2009 7:26am
Mr Nobody NZ

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…
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November 5, 2009 7:32am
Inventory2

Hide hasn’t had a great few weeks has he? The controversy over the “cash-for-speech” issue (a non-issue IMHO), the overseas trip with his lovely young lady, and now this. Perception is everything, and on that basis, Hide is not doing Act’s brand a lot of good just at the moment.
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November 5, 2009 7:43am
wreck1080

It seems NCEA has acheived its goal…

Two-thirds of bachelor degrees last year went to women, the highest figure on record in New Zealand.

Women have outnumbered men in the tertiary sector for more than a decade, but a new Ministry of Education report shows the number of men who finish bachelor degrees is falling.

Education experts warned that if the trend continued, it would have far-reaching social and economic consequences.

Reasons for the widening gender gap include an increase in men going into trades and a secondary school system which may discourage or poorly prepare boys for further learning.
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November 5, 2009 7:47am
Patrick Starr

Rodney gets headlines for claiming to do a lot of work – whilst Harawira gets headlines for playing hookey at taxpayers expense.
Which one do ya think the MSM will keep in the headlines?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10607323
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November 5, 2009 7:48am
XChequer

No doubt C Kate et al will fiercly defend their “idol” as having staunchly said things that needed to be said, yet really, Rodder’s is being entirely counterproductive.
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November 5, 2009 7:51am
Dougie

Yet again we remember a failure to blow something up hundreds of years ago by lighting explosives in November

Why can’t we move fireworks sales to the beginning of June? That way we could celebrate or commiserate Queen’s Birthday, Matariki, US Independence day, and Bastille Day
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November 5, 2009 7:54am
XChequer

Oh bugger it Patrick, the guy makes me laugh!

Sure it was on the taxpayer dime but the idea of skipping out on a meeting to go tour Paris is so “rangi” – so Kiwi – I like it!

Besides, wouldn’t you rather see Paris than that great, glorious and fun loving city that is (sic) Brussels?
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November 5, 2009 7:55am
MikeNZ

Good article in Dompost on water meters and privatisation.
Profits on tap from metered water.

you won’t find in online though, just the last one.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/local/2957101/Fix-leaky-pipes-before-charging-for-water-use
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November 5, 2009 7:56am
big bruv

Well done Claire Trevett..

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10607323

It is about time that the rest of the MSM put the blowtorch under the arse of this racist brown thug.
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November 5, 2009 7:58am
petal

“Key ‘doesn’t do anything’ – Rodney Hide”

I often thought the same of CEOs. Until I understood their actual role.

If you can’t see what Key “does”, you completely fail to understand how a good CEO operates.
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November 5, 2009 8:05am
Manolo

Sightseeing in Paris with his wife! What a chore for the champion of the downtrodden and defender of the poor, the racist Hone Harawira.

Meanwhile, many of his people continue to wallow in jai and in poverty, albeit propped by the welfare system.
The racist Maori Party MP has lost his moral compass, if he ever had one.
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November 5, 2009 8:15am
wreck1080

xchequer: since you think it’s funny that Hone went on a taxpayer funded jaunt through europe, why don’t you pay for it?

You seem pretty happy for everyone else to pay for it, but different story when it comes out of your own pocket isn’t it?

Having read a description of the meeting , it sounds like crap anyway so why did he even have to leave nz at all?
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November 5, 2009 8:27am
MikeNZ

I think he like most people is taking advantage of his breaks.
let’s be clear the people he represents (or claims to) wouldn’t have a hope in hell of going to Paris so they get to experience it through their hero.

Does it do anything for his re-election chances ?
Probably doesn’t hurt it as those same supporters see him as sticking it to the white man!
He does right for us, good on him.
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November 5, 2009 8:41am
Onamus A.N.

There is this cool new fad, metrotexting. Should it be embraced here wholeheartedly?

XX
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November 5, 2009 8:45am
Elijah Lineberry

Rodney and Co – being overwelmed with self loathing for having betrayed everything they ever claimed they believe in (who would have thought Sir Roger would vote for a $13 billion deficit?) have finally snapped.

This childish display at a fundraiser would have had more credibility if Hide had announced a list of 20 things (tax cuts, spending cuts, welfare cuts etc) which were vital for the Country and threatened to resign if not implemented.

Instead he just looks like a little man on the make; a swine-ish figure seeking attention.

The most bizarre part of it was the ACT claim of being ‘hated’; the reason for that is for selling out – no one ever hate men of principle.

http://www.nightcitytrader.blogspot.com
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November 5, 2009 9:06am
david

The last bloke who failed to attend a meeting (to which he was apparently not invited by the Gummint of the day) and went elsewhere was Richard Worth who went to the Great Pyramid on a camel. He was absolutely pilloried for his decision. Are we going to see one rule for rich white men and another for ……. others?
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November 5, 2009 9:09am
david

Interestingly also can anyone see who paid for the wahine to travel? OK, Hone paid for the side-trip but there is no mention of who is picking up the tab for the fares and hotels on this “official delegation” to Brussells.

For someone who by his own claims only represents the bro’s, he is very happy to spend the taxes extracted from the rest of teh population.
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November 5, 2009 9:14am
Inventory2

Hone reckons that his little “hikoi” in Paris was fine because he paid for it himself. Has he forgotten whose taxpayer dollars flew him there, and whose taxpayer dollars pay his salary? And hasn’t he pulled this stunt before? I seem to remember him disappearing from an official trip in Aussie to hook up with aboriginal rights activists.
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November 5, 2009 9:22am
Master Hogwash

Did anyone else watch the Inside NZ doco last night and have trouble figuring out if it was a comedy, or an actual serious account of a failing business.
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November 5, 2009 9:29am
Johnboy

Justin Du Fresne has just mentioned the strange case of Te Marama and Shane Kawanata Bradbrook on Wgtn. Newstalk ZB.

He must read WOBH.

Warning to Min Health—-Get your alibis up to speed. Tonys on the way over to have a chat!
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November 5, 2009 9:33am
Sonny Blount

he describes the Louvre as “the museum made famous by Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code”

Priceless. Nice one Hone.
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November 5, 2009 9:34am
llew

What’s up with Tim Shadbolt at the moment?
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November 5, 2009 9:41am
llew

In it, he describes the Louvre as “the museum made famous by Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code” and tells why he and his wife went to only the second level of the Eiffel Tower: “Too many people, not enough time, but high enough to see the grandeur of a beautiful city.”

This story can’t be true, you can’t see Paris from the Eiffel tower because of all the smog. They have photos there, taken around 1940 to show you what the city might look a bit like if you could see it.
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November 5, 2009 9:44am
Pita

Does anyone ever wonder what has happened to Sonic?
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November 5, 2009 10:04am
llew

I presume he got bored.
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November 5, 2009 10:05am
Nigel

Shadbolt is facing yet another coup in Invercargill, the “Establishment” hate him & have a crack on a regular basis, but in reality he’s the best Mayor they’ve had.

Rodney Hide, if there was an obvious successor in ACT I’d say out by Lunch Time, but he’s put himself in a critical role with taking Epsom. My guess is he’s blown it big time & will be put in charge of a major portfolio, something like Minister in Charge of White Island ( in residence ), certainly my bet is National are doing the numbers on whether to break the agreement with ACT & let them try & get in govt with a strong candidate running against them in Epsom. The risk is making him a political Martyr, which he’s engineered a sweet position to become, whatever I think he’s gone as he’s trying to Bully people who are in a different league of intelligence & toughness.
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November 5, 2009 10:24am
Inventory2

So, what if Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” turned out to be a VERY inconvenient fiction?

http://www.infowars.com/al-gore-admits-co2-does-not-cause-majority-of-global-warming/
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November 5, 2009 10:27am
philu

http://whoar.co.nz/2009/glenn-beck-peta-president-join-together-to-rip-al-gore-videothe-groundsthe-very-real-hypocrisiesdouble-standards-of-goreand-othersclaiming-to-be-environmental-activistsgreenbut-who-still-eat-animals/“..

You can give in your SUV.

You can trade it away.

You can change your lightbulbs,

these are the things he suggests.

You can shower with a friend, but it’s still not enough if you continue to eat meat…

..Glenn Beck and the organization PETA make strange bedfellows, but they’ve found a common cause to rally around: ..

.. criticizing Al Gore for hypocrisy .. because he is an environmentalist who eats meat.

Ingrid Newkirk, founder and president of PETA, joined a delighted Glenn Beck tonight to rip Gore as a “steakaholic” ..

..and a “baby” .. who is betraying his own movement:

He says it’s very hard for him to go vegetarian.

He’s admitted that, and I think he’s basically a steakaholic ..

.. and he needs to stop being a baby .. and just decide..”

phil(whoar.co.nz)
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November 5, 2009 10:34am
serge

Well, today is my birthday…I will toast this excellent Kiwi Blog and all of you that participate in it, I say GOOD ON Y’ALL!
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November 5, 2009 10:36am
getstaffed

IV2 – that’s interesting. So it this (linked from your story): Al Gore set to become first carbon billionaire.

Climate money is dirtier than all the smoke from all the world chimneys combined!
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November 5, 2009 10:38am
getstaffed

Have a great day serge!
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November 5, 2009 10:39am
andrei

Happy Birthday Serge;
Its my boy Nik’s birthday today too – he is celebrating it with a Physics exam
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November 5, 2009 10:40am
Johnboy

‘That’s right, the church of environmentalism has come full circle with Gore’s intention to deliver his widely debunked presentation with spiritual overtones, a move that will shock most hard-headed empirical scientists.

“I’ve done a Christian [-based] training program; I have a Muslim training program and a Jewish training program coming up, also a Hindu program coming up. I trained 200 Christian ministers and lay leaders here in Nashville in a version of the slide show that is filled with scriptural references. It’s probably my favorite version, but I don’t use it very often because it can come off as proselytizing,” Gore tells Newsweek.’

From your link IV2. No mention of Pope Brian’s Destiny Church yet must be on Al’s list has he would recognise another top class shyster when he sees one. What a double act they could be!

Happy birthday Serge 🙂
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November 5, 2009 10:44am
Jack5

Regarding the rather slimy attack on Hide in today”s Christchurch Press (XChequer 7.26 am post and link below).

This entrapment comes from the newspaper’s hierarchy as much as from its resident fraud reporter Martin von Beynen, an ex-lawyer who often does a good job on uncovering minor fraudsters, and did excellent work reporting the recent Dunedin murder trial (held in Christchurch).

Buying a ticket and going incognito to a political function and eavesdropping at the lead table comes from the tactics usually applied to trying to trap criminals, rather than elected politicians or other law-abiding citizens. The Press turned its anti-fraud pit bull on to a right wing political leader. It would be interesting to know what the unnamed reporter (von Beynen or one of his colleagues) uttered, if anything, to encourage Hide’s indiscreet words.

The article does seem to fit von Beynen’s world view. In a generally “I, I, me, me” weekly column, he has come out as a mid-age conversion to atheism, and I’m told he lives in a harbour suburb on Banks Peninsula renown for its liberals, lifestylers and so on.

The Christchurch Press chose von Beynen for this attack on Hide. The once proudly conservative newspaper is now a leftist publication. You have to wonder what has moved the whole Fairfucked Media NZ chain to the left. It can’t be the Aussie capitalists who own it. It must be those at the top in NZ. They aren’t following their newspapers’ readerships because the country has moved strongly to the centre-right in politics. So what’s going on?

The link:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/3032497/Hide-says-Key-doesn-t-do-anything
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November 5, 2009 10:52am
llew

Regarding the rather slimy attack on Hide

Oh get over it. Hide stupidly blurted his opinion (or faux opinion perhaps, depending on who he was bragging to) at a public meeting (which presumably the reporter had paid to attend), and he was sprung.

End of story.
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November 5, 2009 10:57am
Jack5

Llew: since when did you decide when a story ended?

The Press reporter, obviously incognito, was sitting at a table with Hide at a function for which entry was charged.

These are slimy tactics such as those used by the Labour scum at the National meeting recording comments by Bill English.

Perhaps it’s no surprise von Beynen switched from the law to muck raking. The question remains why the Press, with falling paid circulation, is moving to the left of its readership.
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November 5, 2009 11:06am
A.N. Onamus

Buying a ticket and going incognito to a political function and eavesdropping at the lead table

It was a commercial function – buy ticket, go and listen, no?

Freedom of speech, freedom to listen. This “off the record” thing is ridiculous – reporters should be able to report and not have to slice and dice the truth.

Hide is increasingly showing signs that he has been corrupted by the baubles of a little bit of power.
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November 5, 2009 11:09am
Jack5

Re AnOnamus’s 11.09 post… “Well not really buy a ticket and listen, no?”

Journalists (when they were still mainly men, reporters who owned two suits), have privileges such as being able to report in courthouses. Police and other Government departments give them access to information they could not readily provide to ordinary members of the public. Journalists have access to local and national politicians beyond that available to ordinary citizens. To obtain this privileged access, journalists must identify themselves. To report deliberately incognito contradicts the responsibility that comes with this privileged access, IMO.

In the past there seemed to be an unwritten code that incognito reporting applied to cases of criminal or suspected criminal behaviour. Where the line was drawn in allowing such reporting seems to have varied with the publication. For example, decades ago, New Zealand Truth would have been expected to use incognito tactics more widely. I think I recall an old reporter acquaintance telling me, and journalists are welcome to correct me on this, that Truth’s staff were paid “dirt money” allowances because of the widespread hostility they encountered because of their tactics in gathering information.

The Christchurch Press, once perhaps the most conservative newspaper in NZ, has now not only moved to the left of its readership politically, but has moved the line marking when incognito reporting is permissible.

There is a downside for the Christchurch Press. Prudent politicians and other newsmakers might now conclude it is dangerous to talk off the record to Press reporters.
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November 5, 2009 11:36am
Eisenhower

Latest unemployment figures show a considerable jump from 6% to 6.5%. I bet NZ Bus drivers are kicking themselves for not accepting the latest pay offer. The companies position would have just become a little bit more entrenched IMO. Muppets.
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November 5, 2009 11:37am
philu

http://whoar.co.nz/2009/david-nutt-governments-should-get-real-on-drugsnutt-is-the-british-govt-advisor-on-drugswho-was-fired-for-giving-honest-advice-on-drugs/

“..If there is one thing that politicians can and should do to limit the damage caused by illegal drugs ..

.. it is to take careful note of the evidence and develop a rational drug policy.

Some politicians find it easier to ignore the evidence, and pander to public prejudice instead.

I can trace the beginning of the end of my role as chairman of the UK’s official advisory body on drugs to the moment I quoted a New Scientist editorial (14 February, p 5). Entitled, fittingly enough, “Drugs drive politicians out of their minds”, ..

.. the editorial asked the reader to imagine being seated at a table with two bowls, one containing peanuts, the other the illegal drug MDMA (ecstasy).

Which is safer to give to a stranger?

Why, the ecstasy of course.

I quoted these words in the Eve Saville lecture at King’s College London in July.

This example plus other comments I have made – such as horse riding is more harmful than ecstasy –

– prompted Alan Johnson, the home secretary, to say that I had crossed the line from science to policy.

This, he said, is why I had to go.

But simple, accurate and understandable statements of scientific fact are precisely what the advisory council is supposed to provide.

Why would any scientist take up some future offer of a government advisory post .. when their advice can be treated with such disdain?

As well as ignoring its own advisers, the UK is falling out of step with international trends.

When Portugal softened its drugs laws in 2001, drug use remained roughly constant .. but ill health and deaths from drug taking fell.

Decriminalisation quietly crept up the agenda in Vienna this year at a meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs ..

.. where governments heard new, independent evidence on how the harms of criminalisation were outweighing the benefits.

In August, President Felipe Calderón of Mexico approved a law decriminalising possession of small amounts of marijuana and other drugs.

And just last month, Eric Holder, the US attorney general, instructed federal prosecutors to stop hounding medical users of marijuana in the 14 states where such use is legal..”

phil(whoar.co.nz)
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November 5, 2009 11:38am
Brian Smaller

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…

As long as you stand well clear after lighting the touchpaper, don’t have anyone within 50m of the firework – in fact – don’t have any fun at all.
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November 5, 2009 11:42am
Brian Smaller

‘Key does fuck all’ is pretty accurate as far as I can see. Classic politician – won’t rock the boat at all. Result – nothing gets done. Like Chester Burrows said to me – the big problem is that 60% rating. It is a mantra to the National caucus at the moment that is paralyzing them.
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November 5, 2009 11:46am
A.N. Onamus

Prudent politicians and other newsmakers might now conclude it is dangerous to talk off the record

And continue the charade of keeping hidden what they really think and only reporting the public (PR) version?

One of Key’s perceived strengths is that you usually feel you are getting him talking to you, not some filtered bullshit.
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November 5, 2009 11:55am
side show bob

Brian got a good supply of fireworks in, now working on Al, his position is reserved for the top of the heap.
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November 5, 2009 11:58am
getstaffed

Tamiflu for tabby-flu anyone?

A cat in the United States has tested positive for H1N1 swine flu, the first time a cat has been diagnosed with the new pandemic strain.
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November 5, 2009 12:04pm
petal

“So, what if Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” turned out to be a VERY inconvenient fiction?”

The Nobel Peace prize certainly hasn’t been worth the paper it’s printed on for some years.
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November 5, 2009 12:24pm
Inventory2

Indeed petal, and I suspect you’re not JUST referring to this year’s “deserving” recipient 😉

Gore is a fraud, and as getstaffed noted in his 10.38am contribution, a very wealthy one at that.
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November 5, 2009 12:33pm
Brian Smaller

Brian got a good supply of fireworks in, now working on Al, his position is reserved for the top of the heap.

Not really. Got some to let off when my son gets back from school in Dec.
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November 5, 2009 12:35pm
Spam

Does this classify as a push-poll?

Your opinion is needed by EXMSS.

Legislation is currently before parliament that, if passed, will fundamentally change the nature of EXMSS, your Student Society. Due to the expected loss of critical mass, (read more) the Freedom of Association Amendment Act will prevent EXMSS from: representing you on campus, providing free and independent advocacy and providing services like the free phone to lecturers or the shuttle to campus. Because EXMSS is directed by its members we would like you to complete a short survey here (The questions in the survey are also listed in the side bar). The feedback we receive will be used to determine the EXMSS position on the FoA Amendment Act.

SURVEY QUESTIONS

Do extramural students need a voice on campus?

Do extramural students need an independent advocate?

Do extramural students need services such as the free shuttle, free phone to lecturers, EXMSS scholarships and the contact course help-desk.

Would you like to connect with other extramural students through the Extramural Community website?

Should membership be universal (retain the existing system)?
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November 5, 2009 12:55pm
starboard

Blue
November 5, 2009 at 8:04 am
Today’s edition of the Herald is just nauseating – Garth George has forgotten about God and started worshipping John Key.

Then there’s Martin Johnston’s panegyric to Tony Ryall.

..more masterbation from the strandard…
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November 5, 2009 1:01pm
Johnboy

This obsession with visiting the stranded is starting to rule your life starboard I suggest a course of leeches may be the only cure. 🙂
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November 5, 2009 1:07pm
Pete George

There seems to be a few that visit the Standard, but they come back here as if complaining about drug addicts after visiting a brothel.
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November 5, 2009 1:13pm
Sonny Blount

Reading the Standard feels like watching a conversation between Ric, Neil, and Vivian.

They are all permanently frozen in adolescence.
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November 5, 2009 1:17pm
Brian Smaller

On a different topic. Apparently Hugh Grant feels suicidal after making his movies.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/3034995/Hugh-Grant-suicidal-over-own-films

Funnily enough, so do I if I watch one.
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November 5, 2009 1:26pm
Johnboy

Hugh has done a lot of good for the poor though Brian.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-466250/Vice-girl-turned-millionairess-Divine-Brown-thank-Hugh-Grant-enough.html
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November 5, 2009 1:35pm
llew

Llew: since when did you decide when a story ended?

Uh… just then.

OK, obviously the apology too, but it’ll blow over. And regardless of what you think, he was stupid to say it in public, in front of people he didn’t know. Journos don’t wear uniforms as far as I know & I’d say it is in the public interest to know what a politician really thinks.

“muckraking” ? Do you consider Rodney’s opinion of Key “muck”?
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November 5, 2009 2:13pm
llew

Prudent politicians and other newsmakers might now conclude it is dangerous to talk off the record

Duh.

The smart ones have known that for years.
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November 5, 2009 2:18pm
philu

http://whoar.co.nz/2009/on-the-quiet-the-us-is-legalising-marijuanathe-concentration-of-thc-the-active-compound-is-much-higher-than-in-the-past-but-since-no-one-has-ever-overdosed-on-marijuana-it%e2%80%99s-difficult-to-say-w/

“..The humble joint can save lives.

We look forward to the end of senseless prohibition

You know things are shifting in America when Fortune magazine, the bible for business journalism, runs a cover story titled “Is pot already legal?”.

You also know it when Barack Obama’s Department of Justice publishes a long-expected memo signalling that the federal government will no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries if they are legal under state law.

That happened formally this month.

It was not, moreover, a symbolic gesture.

Marijuana for medical reasons — to tackle chemotherapy-induced nausea or Aids-related wasting or glaucoma, among other conditions —

– is now legal in 13 states, including the biggest, California.

Next year, 13 more states are planning referendums .. or new laws following suit.

Last week a California legislative committee held the first hearings not simply on whether medical marijuana should remain legal ..

.. but on whether all marijuana should be decriminalised, full stop.

The incentive?

The vast amounts of money the bankrupt state could raise by taxing cannabis.

Now look at the polling on the question.

In 1970, 84% of Americans supported keeping marijuana illegal.

Today, that number has collapsed to 54%.

The proportion believing that marijuana should be legal has gone from 18% at the end of the 1960s to 44% today.

On current trends, a majority of Americans will favour legalisation by the end of Obama’s first term.

In the western states, 53% already favour legalising and taxing the stuff.

Support for legalisation is strongest among the young — the Obama generation —

– but has climbed among self-described Republicans as well.

But the reality is already ahead of the polls.

Take a trip, so to speak, to Los Angeles today, where one would be forgiven for thinking that marijuana was already legal.

There are more than 800 marijuana dispensaries in the city — and an estimated 7,000 in the state of California as a whole ..

.. (many times more than in Holland).

Getting a doctor’s recommendation for marijuana is easier than getting health insurance —

– just look at the ads in the papers .. where a consultation costs about $200.

The dispensaries range from the dime store to elaborate palaces of capitalist taste.

Seminars are held for entrepreneurs who want to start a business selling medical cannabis.

On display are sophisticated strains that can provide exquisitely tailored effects: ..

.. some best for countering nausea .. some for building appetite .. others for going to sleep .. others for staying alert or for watching movies ..

.. or for general relaxation.

The concentration of THC, the active compound, is much higher than in the past.

But since no one has ever overdosed on marijuana .. it’s difficult to say why that matters.

Yes, if someone has a history of mental illness, it’s not that smart to experiment with the cannabinoid receptors in the brain.

But it isn’t smart for such people to take any drugs — or too much alcohol — for that matter.

For most people, stronger pot merely translates into a need for less of it to get the same effect.

Too much and you’ll likely nod off — and wake up later with no hangover.

If pubs served pot rather than beer .. crime rates would plummet..”

phil(whoar.co.nz)
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November 5, 2009 2:26pm
Johnboy

Making friends with a magpie:

One of the best ways to make friends with a magpie is to feed it occasionally. Gradually, the bird will learn to recognise you as a friend and will be less likely to swoop at you. Worms, insects, dry dog food or meat are the most suitable food. You may be able to recognise your individual magpie friends by small differences in their black and white patterns, or by other physical characteristics.

Be careful when feeding magpies. If you give them too much food, feed them too frequently or establish a regular feeding pattern, they will become dependent on you for food and may forget how to find food for themselves. This can lead to an inadequate diet. Also, ask your neighbours if they are happy for you to feed magpies occasionally.

So true, so true.
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November 5, 2009 2:31pm
starboard

” wardle oodle ardle ” say s the magpie…” gimmee a joint “…
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November 5, 2009 2:32pm
getstaffed

DPF – you place, and I consider myself reasonably tolerant… but IMO phil’s keyboard tourette’s has become a odious abuse of your hospitality.

Isn’t it time he was given an eviction notice?
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November 5, 2009 2:41pm
philu

stuffed..

i hate to be the one to break the news to you..

but that line down the side of the comment….

..and the speechmarks..

tell most readers that the ‘tourettes’..is actually someone elses’..

mmkay..?

phil(whoar.co.nz)
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November 5, 2009 3:37pm
MikeNZ

DPF
I just ignore his posts but you certainly seem to give him more slack for some reason.
Personally I find it very hard to make sense of what he writes often.
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November 5, 2009 3:46pm
Sam Buchanan

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.

According to the DomPost, which is a dubious source as it seems to always be trying to claim people don’t celebrate Guy Fawkes anymore, firework sales are falling. Bloody annoying – get out and but or politicians will claim nobody is interested and ban them.

And bring back skyrockets and double happys! (and those cute little spinning Bumble Bee things with litle cardboard wings that fly off in completely random directions)
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November 5, 2009 3:48pm
llew

Personally I find it very hard to make sense of what he writes often.

Neither can I, but that hardly makes him unique around these parts. He’s inoffensive, at least.
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November 5, 2009 3:56pm
Ryan Sproull

What do you do when you’re an environmentalist film-maker being attacked by three hoodlums in London?

Call for help.

And have the motherfucking Mayor of London come to your rescue on a motherfucking bicycle.
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November 5, 2009 4:36pm
Jack5

Sorry to hark back to Rodney Hide and his slip in front of a scribbler (posts on this thread this morning), but a thought now occurs.

Would the old Rodney (Rodney Jekyll, the boozy, hungry, under-exercising fire-eater of yore) have stumbled into the Christchurch Press trap as today’s Rt Hon. Rodney Hide did?

I reckon Rod Jekyll would have spotted the lefty scribbler even if he/she came disguised as St Francis.

Exercise, muscles, ballroom dancing, and young love broke the venerable Mr Jekyll’s invincibility spell, revealed his achilles heel, and bust his bullshit detector. We are left with the vulnerable Rt Hon Rodney Hide.
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November 5, 2009 5:07pm
Luc Hansen

A couple of days ago I posted that Israel’s insistence on building ever more settlements would persuade Palestinians that the two state solution is dead and they should campaign for one state with equal human and civil rights.

Today, Haaretz reports that the PA long time lead negotiator, the very urbane and smart Saeb Erekat, has said it is time to prepare Palestinians for the reality that two states is dead.

For Israel, the danger has always been that its overwhelming military power would lead it to overplay its hand and I suggest this has now come about.

The obscene resolution passed by the deeply corrupt members of Congress in the US rejecting the Goldstone report actually shows Palestinians the way forward. They must find their own congressmen to bribe.
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November 5, 2009 7:11pm
Hurf Durf

Two states has been dead for a long time. The Palis in Gaza now have the capability to fire missiles at Tel Aviv. Time for Cast Lead II? This is what happens when you don’t finish the job like the Sri Lankans did.
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November 5, 2009 7:46pm
Viking2

Oh dear and we have just ordered another 14 of these. A bit of a worry.

Jetstar ‘blackout’ link to fatal Air France crash
Article from: The Courier-Mail

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Geoff Easdown and Geraldine Mitchell

November 03, 2009 11:00pm

A JETSTAR plane may have suffered the same malfunction last week that brought down an Air France jet in the Atlantic in June, killing all 228 on board.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority are probing the similarities between both incidents.

At 1.30am on October 29 the pilot of the Jetstar Airbus 330-200 reported an instrument blackout as the jet, carrying 200 passengers, passed through storm clouds between Japan and the Gold Coast.

Investigators are treating the incident as serious and have downloaded information from the jet’s flight data recorders before the jet was released back to the airline. After normal flight was resumed, the crew radioed Jetstar’s Melbourne HQ for advice where it was determined that the plane should fly on to the Gold Coast.

* Qantas probe: Pilots ‘forgot to lower wheels’
* The Punch: Black box – or brown undies?

The aircraft landed five hours later without the passengers knowing what happened.

During the six-second blackout, the automatic pilot malfunctioned and fluctuating readings were transmitted by one of the jet’s three airspeed indicators, a similar situation to what the pilot of the Air France jet is said to have reported in his final radio message before his aircraft broke up and plunged into the ocean.

Jetstar said last night that early indications were the airspeed sensing system suffered a momentary interruption, after which the instruments returned to normal. “The crew remained in full control of the aircraft at all times and responded in accordance with training and procedure,” the airline said.

A spokesperson said the carrier was also liaising closely with Airbus on the issue, adding that a number of parts were replaced during a detailed examination of the jet before it was allowed to resume flying.

The Jetstar and Air France jets were similar models, Airbus 330-200 jetliners.

Until now Jetstar parent Qantas has steadfastly maintained its jets are different to the doomed Air France airliner.

Jetstar aircraft are fitted with different speed sensors to those used on Air France planes and which investigators believe may have iced up and caused the mid-Atlantic disaster.
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November 5, 2009 8:14pm
Luc Hansen

Cast Lead II is already fully planned. Watch for the Israeli provocation to make it happen.

I do think that Hamas understands the game a bit better now but it will take immense willpower on their part to resist being sucked in once more.

They need a Ghandi, for sure.

By the way, Hurf, just what do you mean by “finish the job”?
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November 5, 2009 9:30pm
Luc Hansen

Viking

Airbus is such a pleasure to fly in after the Boeing experience. Just so effin noisy!

We love Airbus. If the Airbus we are flying in happens to fall out the sky, well, we will die happy 🙂
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November 5, 2009 9:33pm

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