Posts by Steve Withers
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Sorry you're going.
I hope you aren't like me.....and stopped blogging NOT because there is nothing to say, but rather far too much...and one doesn't want to sound like one is whining. :-)
(Overly much).
Good luck!
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The Herald is clearly working in with the right wing muck rakers. It can't be an accident we get TWO PAGES of trivial credit card nonsense - mainlyabout Labour - only a handful of days after national's poll support went below 50%.
Their campaign against Len Brown kicked off within 24 hours of reporting he had a huge lead in a mayoral poll.
A shonky newspaper trying to manipulate voters to pick their scripted winners.
Auckland deserves better than this.
New Zealand deserves better than this.
It's frankly disgusting. Its like Fox News had a monopoly in Auckland.
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I met Paul Reynolds a few years back when I worked for IBM, based on Wellington. I had the privilege of spending a couple of hours in his company in his office in Auckland. We had a great old chat and he suggested I meet this mate of his, Russell Brown, as he thought we would get along famously. He gave my Russell's phone number.
I called Russell soon after and unfortunately I'd been working long hours and had a major brain fart and said "Paul McGovern" had suggested I give him a ring.
No such person. Instead, I think Russell thought he was talking to a complete nutter.
But thanks, Paul for the great afternoon and some laughs. :-)
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Support for MMP varies depending on where you live. If you live in electorates where the National party always wins then you'l tend to find a fair bit of hostility toward MMP. Geographically, this covers most of New Zealand outside the cities and some of the wealthier pockets in the cities themselves.
But all major polls I'm aware of have shown over and over for the past several years - and for most of time since 1996 - that more kiwis support MMP than oppose it.
There has been no major call for a referendum. That policy is purely and entirely a creature of the National Party and in particular its wealthiest backers. No petition was ever raised to trigger an informal poll. Any attempts failed dismally. I've observed for many years that business people tend to favour dictatorship. No one takes a vote on the CEO's orders and setting the company plans. They are accustomed to dictating actions to ensure outcomes.
While its history is full of honourable actions, one has to say the National Party today has an unbashed, overt hostility to democracy. The evidence is everwhere.
1. The sacking of Environment Canterbury and the appointment of unelected commissioners to that body. Scheduled elections have been blocked. The new head of ECAN is the same man who lead the push for the Hurunui irrigation scheme. We have had a water coup in Canterbury and the intentin is entirely to frustrate democracy in favour of the interests of the farmers who want that water.
2. The new Super City could have been a shining example of the National party's claimed commitment to democracy. Instead, we have 20 councilors for 1.4 million people who won't even have control over the grossly mis-named "Council Controlled Corporations" (CCO's). They will actually be run by unelected appointees put in place by National and ACT. Even worse, National have resurrected the rotton boroughs of yore...with the 869 reidents of Great Barrier island getting a Super City Councillor while the voters of the North Shore must number 120,000 to get a Councillor. In fact, the North Shore will have 4 MPs and only two Auckland City Councillors. So much for "local" government.
3. The MMP referendum. National wants desparately to return to a system where the largets minority gets to rule absolutely over everyone else. To aid this outcome, there are NO SPENDING LIMITS on the referendum...or on any organisation that wants to campaign for...whatever. The way is clear for Peter Shirtcliffe and his deep-pocket mates to try to frighten the bejesus out of everyone - again.
I could go on, but it should be more than clear by now that if you're a kiwi who values democracy, there is no rational basis on which you can justify voting either for the National or against MMP.
The National Party of today (to distinguish it from more honourable times gone by) is clearly the most significant threat to democracy New Zealand has faced for decades.
If you don't live in Auckland, this still matters. It may not be long before the Nat business cronies eye up your local resources and use the National party to legislate to hand them over, lock, stock and barrel, for their personal and several enrichment.....and our expense.
Note that I am not promoting any other party. Vote for anyone you like......but if you value democracy in NZ...then National should not receive your support.
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I have no issue with people who adopt the best humanitarian values of the major erligions and tr ytheir best to live them in a practical way for the benefit of all.
But religion performs the rather insidious trick of placing a belief system at the centre of the lives of adherents, without a skerrick of proof.
That's how we end up in secular matters with millions ignoring all the practical, everyday evidence supporting evolution and instead proclaiming belief in Creationism.
The same impetus underlies much of the evidence-ignoring "skepticism" to climate change science and comes from the same faith-blighted centres of political power allied with (or manipulated by) Big Business and its political agents.
The US "Tea Party" / Obama Birthers bizarrely equate universal health care with Communist Democrat Nazis condemning grandmothers to die.
All ustterly bizarre and divorced from reality......but as religions (and most Disney movies) make clear: All you have to do is BELIEVE.
Bugger that.
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There has been a trend away from evidence for some time. It probably began when evidence began to challenge - threaten - people's sincerely held preconceptions and prejudices. Add to this the religious impulse to commit one's live, being - "soul" - to something for which there isn't a skerrick of proof...(any diety - pick one) and we have a body of people who are quite happy to believe whatever they please. They've already abandoned any semblance of evidence-based critical thought about the most important aspects of their lives.....so denying climate change, evolution or anything represents no real challenge to them.
We wonder at the actions of the Catholic Church against Galileo and others 350 years ago.....but the same tactics are employed today by those who feel their interests threatened.
Some sincerely believe stuff and it doesn't matter there is actually nothing in it. Others cynically manipulate these "faithful" to block change that threatens there short term interests.
I used to own pigs. They were ruthlessly selfish in pursuit of their own goals and were quite happy to completely exhaust every resource. I've come to see people as functionally no different in aggregate...and only marginally more polite.
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I would prefer a tablet that does what the iPad does but also lets me do what I want to do with my own data.
The best thing the iPad will do, in a broad sense, is set a benchmark for makers of tablets with other, more open and accessible systems on them. There are already several Android-based that look very attractive, will run over 35,000 android apps....and will probably be cheaper, too.
I'm thinking if a huge iPod Touch is what I really need then I probably want it running some other system that lets me access files from any source, via wifi, bluetooth and mobile data *and* I can use them as and when I want to without requiring iTunes or the use of a single, Apple-censored app store.
The removal of Wifi apps like WifiTrak and WifiFoFum from the Apple Store recently was further confirmation that the Apple eco system isn't one I'm interested in extending my relationship with beyond the iPod Touch I already own. You know...it's the Ipad Nano that came out a couple of years ago.
My new Google Nexus One is doing a fine job of being multitasking netbook, phone, music / video player, camera, camcorder, webcam...and it fits in my pocket.
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Luke: I;ve noted a couple of others things that may give voters "national heartburn".
1. More and more people are earning the $12.50/hour minimum wage.....and no prospect of earning any more.
2. A number of employers seem to be using teenage "job trials" every weekend to cut their wage bills. There are no jobs there....just a long string of teens hoping to get jobs who instead end up working a weekend day or evening for free.
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George: Why is there a bitter taste in your mouth? I'm sure Campbell would love to do real journalism if Kiwis wanted to see it on TV.
They don't...or they would watch it.
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On the other hand, one might hope the sight of the chest of either sex in public becomes so normal and boring it ceases to draw viewers.
It's only a draw because it's " naughty". So make it not naughty.