Posts by Andre
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And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The (Pacific) Ring Of FireHow about the fact that warming of the sea and atmosphere results in increased volcanic activity and causes other changes in the earth's crust: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327273.800
Auckland has a plume below it that seems like it will react faster to changes in the crust than tectonic-plate volcanoes like Ruapehu. 100km down the magma is super-heated and when it can it breaks out to the surface forming a new volcano. So it's unlikely that one of the existing 49 will go up. Just a new one somewhere in-between them all. What great news! http://www.gns.cri.nz/what/earthact/volcanoes/nzvolcanoes/aucklandprint.htm
I preferred parts of Omaha in 1978 - they hadn't destroyed the other half of it at that point. I'm astounded that the council let them build the houses on the hill at the end overlooking the beach. It used to at least have a quiet end where you could "get away from it all". Now you've got to walk to Pink Beach (or just not bother). The best part about Omaha is still the great cockle bed on the estuary side of the peninsula - and the fact that Warkworth doesn't get volcanoes or many earthquakes - hence the satellite station was built there.
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I think that TVNZ (& TV3) let us down yesterday morning. They should have continued broadcasting news at least until the warning was withdrawn - it was a national emergency and TVNZ are a public broadcaster.
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We are one of the least corrupt nations on earth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index
That is why we despise what Bill English has done. If he was a backbencher on the bones with his large family to look after and if his wife wasn't working then we would probably give him some slack.
He definitely lost me when he announced that he lives in the large family home on English Rd when he's not enjoying the expensive Wellington home owned by his family trust. It's a bit like sponsoring Bob Jones or somethng at that point in relation to how the average Kiwi lives. And from my point of view his behaviour has been corrupt. His obfuscations are not what we expect from our elected representatives - especially the finance minister. -
My partner is half-Samoan and has dozens of relatives there, many of whom have been affected by the tsunami. We found it difficult contacting them directly and had to rely on NZ media to find out what had happened. It started with Deborah Hill Cone and others on facebook questioning why TVNZ didn't cancel Good Morning and continue with the news - it was a national emergency. TV3 could have cancelled Rachel Ray as well for example. But no - our public broadcaster let us down. The only news coverage on TV until later in the day was really Skytv news on Channel 90 and that was piecemeal. The fact that the Civil Defence staff member interviewed on TV1 Breakfast seemed to know less than Paul Henry about what was happening was farcical and reinforced the need for them to stay on air.
National Radio was the best source of news (other than the internet) in the morning and Danny Watson on Newstalk ZB did a great job in the afternoon.
It was a difficult day anyway but TVNZ could have responded better. Thank you to publicaddress and other websites that helped communicate information throughout the day to many worried kiwis. -
Maybe Civil Defence weren't accounting for daylight saving? Stranger things have happened...
My partner's sister-in-law just texted from Samoa. They think over 100 have died. It is very tragic.. -
Wow! How interesting!
While the BBC were embracing Dame Edna in 1968 by making a TV show, we were banning Barry Humphries book "Bizarre" How Bizarre indeed.
How about Muldoon going all anti-marijuana on 29-Sep-78. It must have been a big week!
They were really going a bit far with Madonna in 1992: R18. Sales to be made in original heat sealed vacuum-packed aluminium foil bag which carries the caution: Warning this book contains adult material and its exterior packaging reflects the controversial and sensitive nature of what is inside (IPT). Information overload anyone? It sounds like a WMD.
Star Distributors published 24 of them from 1997 - 2002. It sounds like their demise was very much deserved...
I wouldn't celebrate any of these works but respect that the burning of books a la Nazi Germany is wrong. Would American Psycho negatively affect under 18 year-olds in book form? Many have now seen it on DVD - isn't that worse? -
Interesting that the whole Bill English rorts taxpayer issue segues neatly with the painfully slow action being taken against obviously guilty finance company directors. Do we really trust this government to hold the shonky bunch to account or will they be given no punishment having blamed everything possible on the credit crunch? I saw one of the owners of one of the biggest failures in the street 6 months ago and he claimed no knowledge ogf wrong doing. He lied to my face and said he'd left the firm a year before the crash (when I checked later on google, he hadn't). He was off to a meeting with a quasi-qovernment organisation giving advice on an hourly rate. The Bill English issue is all about trust in a financial industry still in shock from major frauds where no-one has yet to see the inside of a prison as a result. He's policing it all and we've got to trust his judgement...
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My dad was a public servant - a primary school teacher. We shifted to different houses & towns almost every year as his career progressed. During that time travelling around the country my parents rented our house in Auckland out.
This is a case of different rules for MP's than the rest of us. Why not just admit that they want a 25% pay rise instead of sneakily dipping their noses in the trough instead? Couldn't Bill rent the house in Dipton out? Or does he think he's too good for that? -
Mrs English is a highly-paid medical professional. You would think that having one highly-paid adult in the average household would ensure a comfortable lifestyle for the family. Bill English goes on about "having breakfast" with his kids. I wonder who looks after said kids? Do they see their parents other than in the morning? Does the taxpayer pay for child care as well because it seems both parents must be really quite busy out there making money? Most senior MP's work 14 hour days. Maybe he'll have to become a full-time house hubby instead?
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That's a great post Graham! Thanks for the insights - I'll avoid Alice Springs like the plague in future. The Aussies have major problems to deal with. Do you agree with Howard's policy of banning alcohol & pornography from Aboriginal settlements? It seems when they do try to help they go too far...
Where are the rumoured BDO acts David Bowie and/or Sir Paul McCartney. I reckon it's a shame at least one of them isn't in the line-up - give us some old buggers I say!
It's worth the ticket price just to see Groove Armada, Muse, Kasabian, Ladyhawke, Lily Allen & Powderfinger I reckon. Many of the punters are likely to be unamused at the rehashed look of it though. Adding a mega-band that hasn't performed the BDO before, like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers would have helped (think Metallica)...