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Showing posts from July, 2009
A note to Paula Bennett, her cabinet colleagues, and their staff
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In this blog it is likely that, from time to time, the authors and commenters will criticise government policy, speeches, and political tactics.
We would like to reassert that this is neither explicit nor implicit consent to release any private information about the authors or commenters that is held by any government agency, minister’s office, local government organisation, political party, or any other person, organisation or agency.
For the purposes of clarification this non-consent includes, but is not limited to, the following information:
- benefit status or history;
- family status or history;
- ACC status or history;
- health status or history – including information held by DHBs, PHOs, central government agencies and private providers whether directly or indirectly contracted by the state;
- interactions with justice or law enforcement – including complaints, interviews, interactions, documents supplied;
- employment status or history;
- any grants applied for or received; an…
We would like to reassert that this is neither explicit nor implicit consent to release any private information about the authors or commenters that is held by any government agency, minister’s office, local government organisation, political party, or any other person, organisation or agency.
For the purposes of clarification this non-consent includes, but is not limited to, the following information:
- benefit status or history;
- family status or history;
- ACC status or history;
- health status or history – including information held by DHBs, PHOs, central government agencies and private providers whether directly or indirectly contracted by the state;
- interactions with justice or law enforcement – including complaints, interviews, interactions, documents supplied;
- employment status or history;
- any grants applied for or received; an…
Nick Smith. Spanking. Now
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On Q&A on Sunday, Nick Smith claimed that Greenpeace's campaign for a 40% emissions reduction was unaffordable, and cited a report showing that it would have "a cost of about $15 billion per year at 2020", or $60 per person per week.
Keith Ng owns Nick Smith. hopefully the media pick up on this 'error' before the public get the wrong impression...
Cause we wouldn't want that now, would we?
Keith Ng owns Nick Smith. hopefully the media pick up on this 'error' before the public get the wrong impression...
Cause we wouldn't want that now, would we?
And so we climb back upon our horse for another week
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What the hell is happening to my country
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Image grabbed from Bomber's Tumeke blog - check it out, whilst I don't agree with everything Bomber and co say... I do share their sentiments over whats going on here in NZ. I don't gnerally talk about politics in NZ in any detail here, there are way better brains out there doing so.... so check some of the blogs (loads of links via Tumeke) and read, learn, think and decide for yourself. Mr Key and co, I am sure you feel you're doing what is right by this nation... but bob says NO
They don’t know what they are doing
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War Without Purpose
By Chris Hedges
Al-Qaida could not care less what we do in Afghanistan. We can bomb Afghan villages, hunt the Taliban in Helmand province, build a 100,000-strong client Afghan army, stand by passively as Afghan warlords execute hundreds, maybe thousands, of Taliban prisoners, build huge, elaborate military bases and send drones to drop bombs on Pakistan. It will make no difference. The war will not halt the attacks of Islamic radicals. Terrorist and insurgent groups are not conventional forces. They do not play by the rules of warfare our commanders have drilled into them in war colleges and service academies. And these underground groups are protean, changing shape and color as they drift from one failed state to the next, plan a terrorist attack and then fade back into the shadows. We are fighting with the wrong tools. We are fighting the wrong people. We are on the wrong side of history. And we will be defeated in Afghanistan as we will be in Iraq.
The cost of the …
By Chris Hedges
Al-Qaida could not care less what we do in Afghanistan. We can bomb Afghan villages, hunt the Taliban in Helmand province, build a 100,000-strong client Afghan army, stand by passively as Afghan warlords execute hundreds, maybe thousands, of Taliban prisoners, build huge, elaborate military bases and send drones to drop bombs on Pakistan. It will make no difference. The war will not halt the attacks of Islamic radicals. Terrorist and insurgent groups are not conventional forces. They do not play by the rules of warfare our commanders have drilled into them in war colleges and service academies. And these underground groups are protean, changing shape and color as they drift from one failed state to the next, plan a terrorist attack and then fade back into the shadows. We are fighting with the wrong tools. We are fighting the wrong people. We are on the wrong side of history. And we will be defeated in Afghanistan as we will be in Iraq.
The cost of the …
Any Port in a Storm
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Imagine you're a woman. This will be easier for some of you than others, obviously. Enjoy the easy, it's about to get harder.
You're widowed, and you've been on your own with your kids for a long time when you meet a man. He's charming and funny. He compliments you and makes you feel better than you have for a long time. There's a very attractive dynamic energy about him. He's got the gift of the gab. Better than any of that, he loves you.
You get married. A bit after that, you have a daughter. He dotes on her: it's pretty
clear he thinks she pukes sunshine and poops rainbows. He's a wonderful father to her. He can't spend enough time playing with her. He doesn't read to her, he tells her stories, wonderful made-up stories about an invisible orange leprechaun called George whose job is to look after her. He'll come home after a day at work and let her ride around the lounge on his back. And alright, he spoils her a bit, but obviously only b…
You're widowed, and you've been on your own with your kids for a long time when you meet a man. He's charming and funny. He compliments you and makes you feel better than you have for a long time. There's a very attractive dynamic energy about him. He's got the gift of the gab. Better than any of that, he loves you.
You get married. A bit after that, you have a daughter. He dotes on her: it's pretty
clear he thinks she pukes sunshine and poops rainbows. He's a wonderful father to her. He can't spend enough time playing with her. He doesn't read to her, he tells her stories, wonderful made-up stories about an invisible orange leprechaun called George whose job is to look after her. He'll come home after a day at work and let her ride around the lounge on his back. And alright, he spoils her a bit, but obviously only b…
The real price of Goldman’s giganto-profits
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So what’s wrong with Goldman posting $3.44 billion in second-quarter profits, what’s wrong with the company so far earmarking $11.4 billion in compensation for its employees? What’s wrong is that this is not free-market earnings but an almost pure state subsidy.
Last year, when Hank Paulson told us all that the planet would explode if we didn’t fork over a gazillion dollars to Wall Street immediately, the entire rationale not only for TARP but for the whole galaxy of lesser-known state crutches and safety nets quietly ushered in later on was that Wall Street, once rescued, would pump money back into the economy, create jobs, and initiate a widespread recovery. This, we were told, was the reason we needed to pilfer massive amounts of middle-class tax revenue and hand it over to the same guys who had just blown up the financial world. We’d save their asses, they’d save ours. That was the deal.
It turned out not to happen that way. We constructed this massive bailout infrastructure, and in…
Last year, when Hank Paulson told us all that the planet would explode if we didn’t fork over a gazillion dollars to Wall Street immediately, the entire rationale not only for TARP but for the whole galaxy of lesser-known state crutches and safety nets quietly ushered in later on was that Wall Street, once rescued, would pump money back into the economy, create jobs, and initiate a widespread recovery. This, we were told, was the reason we needed to pilfer massive amounts of middle-class tax revenue and hand it over to the same guys who had just blown up the financial world. We’d save their asses, they’d save ours. That was the deal.
It turned out not to happen that way. We constructed this massive bailout infrastructure, and in…
The Mystery of the Missing Unemployed Man
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I woke up one morning late last week to the news that taxpayers, already $149 billion in the hole in the Treasury Department's TARP bailout program, are set to lose even more. As rescued banks now try to extricate themselves from the government's control, they must buy back stock warrants proffered at the time of the bailout, which, as the New York Times described it, offer "the right to purchase shares in each of the companies at roughly the price of their shares at the time of the deals."
As it happens, thanks largely to that taxpayer-funded bailout, bank stocks have risen since last fall's meltdown. Selling those warrants, then, should mean a tidy profit for taxpayers. But no such luck, it seems. Almost a dozen small banks have already bought back their warrants, and for a considerable discount -- a mere 66% of their value -- costing taxpayers upwards of $10 million. If this were to continue when giant firms like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanl…
As it happens, thanks largely to that taxpayer-funded bailout, bank stocks have risen since last fall's meltdown. Selling those warrants, then, should mean a tidy profit for taxpayers. But no such luck, it seems. Almost a dozen small banks have already bought back their warrants, and for a considerable discount -- a mere 66% of their value -- costing taxpayers upwards of $10 million. If this were to continue when giant firms like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanl…
Haciender 89 NYE
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3hr dat mix from hac new yrs eve 1989 its cd quality with crowd noises hat tip to faith
tracklist
1. Gino Latino 'No Sorry'
2. K-Os 'Definition of Love'
3. Inner City 'Do You Love What You Feel' (Power 41 In Control Remix)
4. Inner City 'Do You Love What You Feel' (Power 41 Remix)
5. Royal House 'Get Funky'
6. Raven Maize 'Forever Together'
7. White Knight 'Keep It Movin' ('Cause The Crowd Says So)' (Insane Mix)
8. Sound Factory 'Cuban Gigolo'
9. Dionne 'Come Get My Lovin''
10. 28th Street Crew 'I Need A Rhythm' (Vocal Club Mix)
11. Adeva 'Warning'
12. The Bass Boyz 'Lost In The Bass' (Mike 'Hitman' Wilson Mix)
13. Julian 'Jumpin' Perez & Kool Rock Steady 'Aint We Funky Now'
14. Monie Love 'Grandpa's Party' (Love II Love Mix)
15. Tony Scott 'That's How I'm Living'
16. Chubb Rock 'Ya Bad Chubbs' (Crib Mix)
17. Akasa 'One Night in …
tracklist
1. Gino Latino 'No Sorry'
2. K-Os 'Definition of Love'
3. Inner City 'Do You Love What You Feel' (Power 41 In Control Remix)
4. Inner City 'Do You Love What You Feel' (Power 41 Remix)
5. Royal House 'Get Funky'
6. Raven Maize 'Forever Together'
7. White Knight 'Keep It Movin' ('Cause The Crowd Says So)' (Insane Mix)
8. Sound Factory 'Cuban Gigolo'
9. Dionne 'Come Get My Lovin''
10. 28th Street Crew 'I Need A Rhythm' (Vocal Club Mix)
11. Adeva 'Warning'
12. The Bass Boyz 'Lost In The Bass' (Mike 'Hitman' Wilson Mix)
13. Julian 'Jumpin' Perez & Kool Rock Steady 'Aint We Funky Now'
14. Monie Love 'Grandpa's Party' (Love II Love Mix)
15. Tony Scott 'That's How I'm Living'
16. Chubb Rock 'Ya Bad Chubbs' (Crib Mix)
17. Akasa 'One Night in …
Walk On
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The Hidden Cameras have a new record coming out on September 22 through the good folks at Arts & Crafts called Origin:Orphan, as well as an EP for the song In The NA which features some great remixes.
They have a free download of the song Walk On available here.
They have a free download of the song Walk On available here.
How does it Feel?
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So This Is What Victory Looks Like?
By Scott Ritter
Fireworks lit up the Baghdad sky on the evening of June 30th, signaling the advent of “National Sovereignty Day.” Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared the new holiday to commemorate the withdrawal of American combat troops from the Iraqi capital and all other major urban centers, although thousands of “advisers” would remain in the cities, embedded with Iraqi forces. The celebration transpired inside a city that has been radically transformed over the past six years. Even with American combat forces ostensibly withdrawn, Baghdad remains one of the most militarized urban areas in the world. It wasn’t always so. When I was in Baghdad during the 1990s, I was struck by the lack of an overt military presence for a nation purported to be governed by one of the world’s worst militaristic dictatorships.
Of course, in the city areas housing Saddam Hussein, his family and inner circle, and the seat of government, one would see green-clad…
By Scott Ritter
Fireworks lit up the Baghdad sky on the evening of June 30th, signaling the advent of “National Sovereignty Day.” Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared the new holiday to commemorate the withdrawal of American combat troops from the Iraqi capital and all other major urban centers, although thousands of “advisers” would remain in the cities, embedded with Iraqi forces. The celebration transpired inside a city that has been radically transformed over the past six years. Even with American combat forces ostensibly withdrawn, Baghdad remains one of the most militarized urban areas in the world. It wasn’t always so. When I was in Baghdad during the 1990s, I was struck by the lack of an overt military presence for a nation purported to be governed by one of the world’s worst militaristic dictatorships.
Of course, in the city areas housing Saddam Hussein, his family and inner circle, and the seat of government, one would see green-clad…
My home???
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The Jedi People's Republic of Nu Zeelind, also known as "Sheep Light District", is the world's largest dairy farm, and was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien for a joke in the late 1900s. Manufactured using several quadrillion sheep's droppings, the nutrient rich crap has solidified into four large-ish islands: The North Island; The South Island; The Stewardess Island; and The Other Island. It also consists of a few smaller islands and a group of moderately sized fishing boats owned by Ngai Tahu and bound together with baling twine, #8 fencing wire and duct tape. These latter islands and fishing boats are currently adrift in the South Pacific Ocean as a result of the global economic crisis. According to indigenous legends, a man named Meowi (descendant of Kitler) fished up the North Island. Nuu Zeiland is a multicultural society with 4 million people, and eighteen billion sheep. Unlike the United States of America and Australia it is a peaceful country with little viol…
Michael Jackson and the Zombieconomy
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"...Sales of his recordings through Sony's music unit have generated more than $300 million in royalties for Mr. Jackson since the early 1980's."
Want to know why we have a zombieconomy? Because the beancounters killed the incentives to create real value.
Let's use MJ's tragic death as a mini case-study. $300 million over, for example, 25 years? That's $12 million a year.
I'm deliberately leaving out ads, endorsements, concerts, etc., to focus on the the structural problems in one industry: music.
If the world's biggest pop star only made $12 million a year from his recordings, why would anyone make serious music? Where did the rest of the money go? Why, straight into record labels' pockets. Did they make better music with it? Nope — they made Britney and Lady GaGa. And that's how they killed themselves: by underinvesting in quality, to rake in the take.
Wait a second — that sounds familiar. You can add back in the endorsements, etc. now — they…
Want to know why we have a zombieconomy? Because the beancounters killed the incentives to create real value.
Let's use MJ's tragic death as a mini case-study. $300 million over, for example, 25 years? That's $12 million a year.
I'm deliberately leaving out ads, endorsements, concerts, etc., to focus on the the structural problems in one industry: music.
If the world's biggest pop star only made $12 million a year from his recordings, why would anyone make serious music? Where did the rest of the money go? Why, straight into record labels' pockets. Did they make better music with it? Nope — they made Britney and Lady GaGa. And that's how they killed themselves: by underinvesting in quality, to rake in the take.
Wait a second — that sounds familiar. You can add back in the endorsements, etc. now — they…