Constar

Blogging

2005-04-13T11:44:00.000+12:00

Hello,
As you may have noticed I am not blogging at the moment.
I have simply run out of time with all the things I have on at the moment and things dont look like they are going to get any less hectic for the moment.

I may start up again next semester.

Cheers
Conor

Hate is not a family value

2005-02-28T17:25:00.000+13:00

Got this email from the good folks at "Not my destiny" who are organising an event in the AUSA quad this Saturday in opposition to the not so good folks Destiny Church who will be huffing and puffing their way up Queen Street the same day. Pass it on to people who might want to come.

> On Saturday March 5th Destiny Church under the> banner of 'Defend the> Legacy' is marching in Auckland. They are walking up> Queen Street> into Myers Park for a rally. Because of the hatred> that the Destiny> flock is spreading, and the experiences of many> Civil Union> celebrators during the Wellington Enough is Enough> march we feel it> will not be a safe place either physically or> emotionally for those> with a differing view. > > Don't hate, celebrate! is a peaceful response the> Defend the Legacy> Destiny Church rally. Join in the fun, family> festival; Don't hate, celebrate!> March 5th at the University Quad, Princess St,> Auckland Central 11am - 2pm> > Bring your family, a picnic and enjoy entertainment> including Chris> Knox, Christine White, inspiring speakers, a kid's> corner, stalls and> face painting for the young and old. See the website> for more information> www.notmydestiny.org.nz (operational 27th Feb)> > We are also requesting donations [financial or> useful products for> the event] because we are not an organisation rather> just a few> individuals who want to make sure Destiny Church are> not the only ones with a voice.> Please send cheques made out to cash to P.O Box> 44-067 or contact us> if you want to make alternative plans. > > Any donations will be used to cover the costs of> printing posters and> flyers, hire of sound equipment, cleaning> requirements, t-shirts,> media promotions all individuals involved are> donating their time and> expertise and will not be paid for their services.> In the unlikely> event of excess funds, these will be distributed> evenly between those> community groups participating on the day.> > Any support would be appreciated, we look forward to> seeing you there.> > Annalise> Don't hate, celebrate!> > For more information on the 'Defend the Legacy'> march check out> www.legacy.org.nz

The week before O week

2005-02-25T12:30:00.000+13:00

God I am busy.

It is the week before O week and we are flat stick getting ready for it (that and moving into the new place)

I'll let you all know how it goes next week.

Summer school

2005-02-21T23:07:00.000+13:00

No blogging over the weekend as I was away at Young Labour's excellent summer school.

Oh and my friend just texted me to say that Hunter S. Thompson has died, may he rest in peace.

He said it...

2005-02-16T17:46:00.000+13:00

Interesting.

I had it pointed out to me that I had made some rather interesting posts on David Farrar's blog.

David is rabbiting on about how Helen is to blame regarding the problems with the NCEA.

In the comments section I apparently stated:

helen clark is right the government are not accountable for what nzqa do and thats that labour have done a great job with educationand you should all stop taking cheap shotsand the pm and her team.Posted by: conor at February 15, 2005 08:30 AM

A few things of note.

I am awake at 8:30am but not normally at a computer.

I always use a capital in my name as I am worth it.

I do not have an email address constar@yahoo.com I always leave my proper email address for fanmail.

I write much wittier posts and comments than they one that some moron came up with and whilst not normally the best at spelling or punctuation I dont write like that.

Of course all the thinkers out there jumped on it:

And halt the presses again - a Labour Party activist declares Helen is right and that it should be illegal for people to criticise Helen and her team.
After all it is more important that people do not criticise Helen, than oh you know students actually have a fair qualifications system.Posted by David Farrar at February 15, 2005 08:36 AM
Jeez, in my day, the youth were ANTI-government, full of fire and spunk; not soft "stop being mean to our PM! We love our dear leader!" government stooges.Posted by Glenn at February 15, 2005 09:12 AM
Someone get conor a hanky and some councilling! After that attack on his Mum...er Helen by the beastly Farrar he needs hugs and cuddles.Oh the humanity!Posted by James at February 15, 2005 09:43 AM

Is this going to be the death of blogs? when people have things attributed to them which they had nothing to do with? Come on, grow up.

What the journos say about National and Brash

2005-02-16T16:04:00.000+13:00

Jane Clifton: "It's uncanny how meticulously National times its own pratfalls. The churls won't let us sit in on their caucus meeting's but I'll bet at least an hour is taken up with small-arms instruction: "You hold your gun - so! You hold four foot - so! Now, point and shoot, point and shoot."[1]

"...what National MPs have managed to tell us, before the first parliamentary sitting of election year, is that they can't get on, and are therefore unelectable."[2]

Otago Daily Times (editorial): 'Losing spokesmanship may be attributed to the ruthless gamesmanship of politics in election year, but the demotion is the specific action that reflects poorly on Dr Brash and his advisers. While he might think Mrs Rich's relegation demonstrates his strong leadership, it will in fact further exacerbate the divisions within his caucus and the wider party over both policy and his erratic leadership style.'[3]

Barry Gustafson: "You had four prominent women I thought you could take into the next election - Georgina te Heuheu, Lynda Scott, Katherine Rich and Judith Collins - but it's a bit like bottles on the wall and I'm down to my last bottle." "It's not a good look."[4]

Jonathan Milne (NZHerald): "There has been much comment about the relegation of National's women MPs: of the six, only first-termer Judith Collins has anything remotely resembling a real portfolio now. Georgina te Heuheu was sacked as Maori issues spokes-woman last year, and Lynda Scott has announced her retirement and appears to now be an angry MP with nothing to lose."
"Moreover, Auckland-based Brash has upset five of his seven South Island MPs since taking the leadership. He ousted Bill English as leader, took the deputy leadership off Nick Smith, angered Scott and Brian Connell, and demoted Rich. Only deputy Gerry Brownlee and supporter David Carter remain."[5]

Timaru Herald (editorial): 'Just as it looked to be re-establishing credibility with the electorate, leader Don Brash has not only shot himself in the foot following his Orewa call for a tougher line on beneficiaries, he has removed the entire leg....His ability to handle caucus, his attitude to women and his motives in attacking beneficiaries are now all being debated.'[6]

John Armstrong (NZHerald): (5 Feb)"If Brash's own welfare spokeswoman could not swallow his more hardline ideas, what hope does he have of convincing the rest of the country of their validity?"[7]

Cook Strait News (editorial): "Don Brash is starting to show his age" Orewa II "...highlighted just how the good doctor is edging towards a twilight of shuffling around the kiwifruit orchard in slippers, making unsolicited and longwinded small-talk with passing strangers."
"...he's started coming up with schemes that were disastrous in the middle of the last century, but now have a certain nostalgic appeal to anyone who was young then."[8]

[1] Listener 12 Feb 2005
[2] Listener 12 Feb 2005
[3] Otago Daily Times, 3 Feb 2005
[4] Marlborough Express, 2 Feb 2005
[5] Herald on Sunday, 6 Feb 2005
[6] Timaru Herald, 4 Feb 2005
[7] NZHerald, 5 Feb 2005
[8] Cook Strait News, 1 Feb 2005

2005-02-13T22:02:00.000+13:00

I like doing this caption thing. I might keep it up. Here is one for that interesting fellow Mr Murray McCully.

mccully.no.gays.org

2005-02-13T20:03:00.000+13:00

You have to wonder what is going through the mind of Don Brash's chief adviser or "Parliamentary Assistant to the Leader of the Opposition " when he comes out with email newsletters like this one.

Understandably Jordan and Xavier take issue with his musings.

I mean this guy is off the planet.

I guess when the headline says: "Sisterhood Markets Homosexuality" you had better be weary about what rant is about to take place.

He then goes on to declare that we do not need to worry about which team the McCully team is batting for by stating that the people of mccully.co display "unambiguously and rampantly heterosexual proclivities" Rampantly eh? Being a heterosexual myself I find myself drawn to their office. Sounds like fun in there! Any jobs going?

Anyway, "We are now well past the debate on legalisation of homosexuality. And all manner of protections from discrimination against gays now exist in the law of the land." Good eh? People not judged about what they get up to in the bedroom. I'd agree with that. Always seems funny to me that Tories are so quick to moan about the government in our lives but then seem to see fit to judge what people do in their bedrooms.

"Cynics suggest that its subliminal message is clearly that homosexuality is officially endorsed by the Government of the land (which has gone to the trouble of buying the ad) as one of the lifestyle options to be carefully considered by young people." What the hell? I can only guess that you are one of the cynics you refer too... So you don't think that young people already carefully consider their sexuality? I guess that you mean to say that people simply make up their mind on their sexuality over their morning bowl of cornflakes and that the socialist government is trying to destroy the family so as to bring about the revolution...

"Above all else, the ad will simply cause offence to many people. The ad is being pushed hardest on TV2, where the largest audience of young people is to be found." So I guess the ad causes offence to you Murray. It must disturb you that there are people out there continuously performing sodomy. That people you know could even be doing it too. Its a shame your email newsletter didn’t deal with the problems of rising sexually transmitted infections but rather cheap populist point scoring crap.

"The Sisterhood will no doubt defend the advertisement on the basis that it delivers a health message." Aside from the fact that I doubt that Helen had much to do with the ad, yes I am sure that the sisterhood would agree that trying to get people to wear condoms is a good idea. Whilst Xavier and Murray don’t like the 'No rubba, no hubba hubba' slogan, I do. I am sure they must have focused grouped it with the target audience so it was probably the best they could come up with. I am also grateful that another slogan has been added to our lexicon, this has given rise to many humorous pisstakes...

"But they could easily have done that without graphic depictions of sexual encounters of any kind." Umm, two people kissing on a couch counts as graphic depictions of sexual encounters? Maybe working at mccully.co wouldn’t be as exciting as I first thought.

"And they certainly did not need to spend taxpayers’ cash rarking up the very un-gay folks at the worldwide headquarters."

I cannot fathom why any homosexual person would ever vote for the National party. The good folks at rainbow labour shouldn’t have a hard time convincing their communities that the National party doesn’t give a shit about them. McCully was surely instrumental in having the Don renege on his support for the civil union bill.

I wonder if it was one of McCully's mates that walked into the lions den of the Big Gay Out proclaiming sodomy to be a perversion. If not then it should be remembered that this guy seemingly shares the same sort of views about a part of our community as Mr McCully.

Whoever elevated the narrowminded and seemingly intolerant McCully to be the strategist for the National party has done my party a huge favour. Thinking about it I believe that McCully simply believes that some kind of conservative backlash a la United States is going to take root here and thrust him and his other arch-conservatives into office. I happily believe that he is wrong. New Zealand is not narrowminded and intolerant.

Nothing this evening

2005-02-10T23:37:00.000+13:00

No blogging tonight. I finished off a piece about other people's piece's for my 'side project' group-blog "About town"

That should keep them happy for a few days.

Upcoming seminars at Uni

2005-02-10T13:05:00.000+13:00

FYI:

Monday, Feb. 21, 4pm Department of History, Monday, Feb. 21, 4pm
David Wright, McMaster University, Industrialization and the Institutional Confinement of the Insane in the Western World The rise of the lunatic asylum remains one of the most controversial events in modern social and medical history. For several decades, the historiography of the mental hospital was dominated by a group of historians and sociologists who argued that these institutions were largely instruments of social control, conceived by the medical profession but supported by elites within society eager to incarcerate marginal and dangerous elements within society. Over the course of the last ten years, however, this 'revisionist' thesis about the mental hospital has come under attack. An unprecedented investigation into the characteristics of asylum patients has demonstrated repeatedly that women, the elderly, and vagrants were not disproportionately incarcerated in these purpose built institutions.
This paper will summarize the principal findings of the new history of asylums, and particularly the confinement of the insane in various industrializing countries. After outlining the broad socio-demographic characteristics of the patient population found in most mental hospitals, the paper will seek to outline a new over-arching thesis of institutionalization, one based on the demographic and epidemiological impacts of industrialization. Particular attention will be paid to the impact of migration and in-migration on kin-availability, as well as the changing role and status of women in industrialized societies. Directions for future research will also be discussed.

16 February Professor Virginia Berridge: Visit to University of Auckland, February 2005
, 6pm: Public lecture and Keynote opening address to 'Health and History: International Perspectives', the 9th biennial conference of the Australian Society of the History of Medicine, 16-19 February 2005.
Can history predict the future? Reflections on the role of history in policy. Abstract: History is a popular public subject. Tracing family history has stimulated interest in ' roots'; and historical programmes are a staple of television scheduling. Historians are recognisable public figures, and history books on war or biography top the best-seller lists. History has entertainment value. But is it now time for it to move on? Another role beckons, the use of history for policy makers. This lecture will analyse the role of history and of historians in policy making for health. Should historians be activists in policy and what are the implications of getting involved? Is history the best means we have of predicting the future?

22 February, 12.30: School of Population Health
An historical perspective on tobacco control

23 February, 11am: Department of Sociology
'Doing contemporary health history and being activists in policy - the historian's role?' This will be a follow-up talk and discussion to the public lecture on 16 February.

24 February, 4pm: History Department
The Sources Bite Back: Oral History and the Study of Elites in Contemporary History'

25 February, 3pm: Seminar Series in the Social Science for Public Health Programme (location: the School of Population Health)
Changing places? Using drugs, alcohol and tobacco since the nineteenth century

Fixing the worlds greatest democracy.

2005-02-10T11:04:00.000+13:00

Got the below email from Hillary Clinton asking my help in fixing their democracy.
First step in a build up to a presidential challenge in 2008 maybe?
God knows they need help, I cant believe that you cant get a print out of your vote from the diebold voting ATM machine. I heard from someone that the new Kiwibank ATM's are from the same company, does anyone know if this is true? I certainly hope not...

HILLARY CLINTON

Dear Conor Roberts,

It's time to tell those who celebrate elections and voter participation in countries around the world that we must make sure every vote is counted in elections right here at home!
That's why I am asking you to sign on now as a citizen co-sponsor of vitally important election reform legislation.

http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote

Next week, I will introduce the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, co-sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer. This comprehensive election reform bill will:

Provide a verified paper ballot for every vote cast in electronic voting machines.

Set a uniform standard for provisional ballots, so that every qualified voter within the state will know their votes are treated equally and will be counted.

Require the Federal Election Assistance Commission to issue standards that ensure uniform access to voting machines and election personnel in every community. It's outrageous that some people in predominantly minority communities had to wait up to 10 hours to vote, while people in other communities often voted in minutes!

In 2004, I introduced legislation similar to the Count Every Vote Act. But it never saw the light of day. I couldn't even get a hearing for my bill before the Senate Rules Committee. We can't allow this new legislation to suffer the same fate.

The Republicans who control Congress don't want to address this issue. So we've got to build grassroots momentum to make sure they don't have any choice but to act. That's why I am determined to keep moving forward -- on the Hill, with advocacy groups, and with all of you!

http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote

Will you join me in calling for action to Count Every Vote? Will you sign up to become a citizen co-sponsor of this bill, so that we can demonstrate that the American people won't sit still for inaction on legislation so essential to our freedom?

Please forward this e-mail to your friends, and ask them to join us. Together, we will restore the credibility of American democracy, and make sure that we count every vote.
Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

P. S. I thank you for all you have done to build a stronger Democratic Party. Now, as we say goodbye to the outstanding leadership of my friend Terry McAuliffe, I look forward to working with Governor Howard Dean and the new DNC leadership. Let's make sure that our hard work counts on Election Day!

- You go girl.

My flag is catching on...

2005-02-10T10:38:00.000+13:00

See here.

Change of flag?

2005-02-08T13:26:00.000+13:00

David Farrar notes that another reason to change the flag is that Iti couldn't even tell them apart at close range and had to shoot an Aussie flag (because the Warehouse had run out of our one). Can I suggest that Mr Iti may well be happier with this design?

Act effectively throws in election towel.

2005-02-07T20:22:00.000+13:00

Aside from the idea that after 5 and a half years of a Labour government contributing nothing to New Zealand's economy... this weeks 'Letter' from the ACT party contains a revealing paragraph on their view of the election outcome.

The ACT party states:

IT'S THE ECONOMY Last year's 4.5% growth was the second highest in the OECD, the last five years have been amongst the best economically in most voters lifetimes. While economists point out that the foundations were laid in the Douglas/Richardson reforms, it's the government of the day that claims the credit. The Labour government is not doing everything wrong economically. It is passing free trade agreements and has left much of the reforms in place. Governments are hard to beat when the economy is growing.

Such a defeatist view from a party I once use to listen to say that it looked forward to being in government with its 9th MP (Iti's mate Brash) as the Prime Minister.

Look for the ACT 'Letter' that comes out at the end of September with one of their 'we told you so, the Letter predicted way back in February that Labour would win because of the way they managed the economy' self referential rants. Well, we will have to see - there may not be a September ACT 'Letter' - they may have reverted to a sweaty male university debating club.

Defeat so far out? Have a bit of heart, you still have a huge election campaign budget to get through.

2005-02-06T18:49:00.000+13:00

This photo appeared in the Sunday Star Times today and is the funniest thing I have seen in ages.

The person who suggests a better caption will receive a pint of Guinness from myself at a time of mutual agreement.

Waitangi

2005-02-06T15:58:00.000+13:00

Rather than me trying to make sense of our national day I thought I might point you to a few interesting lectures relating to the subject. Today on National radio I heard a lecture from Professor Winiata which looked at the reconciliation of two key words in the Treaty of Waitangi: Kawanatanga or government and Tino Rangatiratanga or chieftainship.

It forms part three of the Waitangi Rua Rau Tau lecture series which is building up to the bi-centennial of the signing of the treaty of Waitangi.

You can hear and read today's lecture here

The previous two lectures can be viewed here

(Waitangi Rua Rautau (Waitangi Bicentenary) was launched by the New Zealand Maori Council in 2001 for Maori, individually and collectively, to set long-term goals, monitor, evaluate and respond to them. It is a commitment by the Maori Council to develop a programme to rebuild harmonious relationships between Maori and Pakeha, culminating in the bi-centennial of the nation in 2040. Each year, an eminent speaker will deliver a public lecture on a topic related to this goal.)

I will say however that in contrast to sections of the media and many prominent figures I am not ashamed that our national day is Waitangi. I would rather we are open about our disagreements and can use the forum of the day that signifies the forging of this nation as a way of seeing, understanding and hopefully resolving the problems that face our people. I am glad we do not hide our disagreements, I heard a talkback radio hosts comment that Australia day is so much nicer in that you don't see a bunch of louts running around and screaming their heads off - No you don't do you? Their 'louts' are all nicely tucked away out of sight and out of mind in settlements and on the streets of Redfern. I would much rather our problems be out in the open. You may not like the fact that there are people in this country that feel aggrieved - but there are, and I want to live in a country where we hear that sense of injustice and not hide from it.

Jackaroos and our Universities.

2005-02-06T13:52:00.000+13:00

The Sunday Star Times has a big, but unfortunately somewhat lop-sided article relating to Aussie's coming to NZ to go to our Universities.

It suggests that students are coming over here, accessing the student loan scheme and denying places to NZ students because it is cheaper here and entry requirements to some of their courses are high.

I would be wary of any knee jerk reaction that toughened up on access to our cousins for the simple fact that our students still get a pretty good deal when they head over across the ditch. Especially when they go over to undertake post-graduate research based study.

You see in many cases the Australian government will pay for your fees in addition to living allowances if your post grad study is research based.
This is under a scheme called the 'Australian Postgraduate Awards' and they are great.
I had this spelt out to me when I visited the ANU's attempt to lure our students to their institution, basically they where willing to pay for my fees and give me A$18,000 a year to spend if I went over and undertook my research masters in International development studies in ANU's Politics department. This is of course dependent on me nutting out a 1st class honours degree which is yet to be seen.
The scheme is very well used and I would be interested to see just how much NZ students are benefiting from it.

Where there is disparity it rests in the cost of the courses and the fact that we have to pay their University fees up front. Also prior to this year we were able to get HECS discounts but Howard's government changed that - thanks (this is what the changes mean)

However we are still entitled to access the 'student learning entitlement' - please do not rush off and apply just yet, there is a massive bureaucracy to wade through to receive it - if you are lucky.

The article was also a little misleading in that it said that Aussie students can get a student allowance - yes they can but only after 2 years.
And anyway we are entitled to their equivalent called Austudy

Further you may remember a couple of weeks ago the SST ran an article stating that "Tertiary fees in NZ among highest "- interesting yet seemingly inconsistent with the gist of this story, why would Aussies want to come here again I hear you ask???

Its funny though. Obviously we don't want what small imbalance there seems to be - to go overboard, yet I would not want to get into a pissing contest with the Australians with regard to fees, assistance or especially awards and scholarship entitlements. However I would be really concerned if the increases meant that our students are missing out.

The SST article would have been better if it looked more closely at the sort of help our students get when we head over there, then a better comparison would be able to be made rather than a simple 'Aussies are screwing us again' story.

Personally I am happy carrying a few of them through our Uni's. It means when someone starts blubbering on about how we neglect our duties when it comes to defense (questionable in itself) one can retort that we would prefer to spend our money carrying people in education rather than annihilation.

I am pissed though that our universities see fit to head over there on recruitment drives (read massive marketing budgets) It is well known for example, that at Auckland University we have reached both the physical and desirable limit for numbers of students attending yet we spend millions and millions trying to simply cram more people in.
To need to go over and endevour to bring students back seems like an absolutely silly idea and can only result in higher fees for us Kiwi student types.

Room for rent

2005-02-06T11:39:00.000+13:00

Righty I spent my weekend looking for a new abode. Obviously this blog didn't help judging by the non-reaction to my post requesting an apartment. But never fear Kate and I have found a fantastic place in Grafton not 10 minutes from Uni which will be handy in what looks to be an incredibly busy year.

Alas I have to leave my humble abode in lovely Arch Hill. My flatmates will of course miss me for a few minutes before the realisation that they need someone new sets in. Therefore I have donated a couple of lines on this blog forum to offer a room for rent. Its a double sized room, suit fun loving friendly female. $130 per week inc. power and water, close to Great North Road. Call 3760103 if you are interested.

Oh and if any of you are looking to get rid of a couch and/or dining table and chairs in reasonable condition I'd love to take it off your hands for our new place.

I hate flathunting.

Scooter

2005-02-04T17:00:00.000+13:00

Normally I ride around town on a 50cc Honda scooter which one day I shall do a lengthy post on the joys of doing such.

However right now my lovely scooter has a puncture and sits idle in Kate's garage out in Glendowie.

Humph.

I have thus 'downgraded' and can be seen clearing the pavements of central Auckland on a metal push scooter.

The indignity is even worse than being on a petrol powered one yet being overtaken by some Sarah Ulmer wannabe, and more dangerous too.

Blumsky

2005-02-03T21:43:00.000+13:00

Jordan has a post on an 'own-goal' from Mark Blumsky - his candidate's opponent in the Wellington central race.

It basically centres around Mr Blumsky not getting his facts right regarding the Labour governments Wellington region transport package.

Now many of the right wing bloggers seem to think that Wellington Central is a marginal electorate, admittedly I did too when I first heard that Blumsky has been selected.
I mean an ex-mayor with a high profile, seemed an excellent choice.

However I have changed from that initial reaction for a few reasons.

Firstly, the good people of Wellington central are public servants who remember the hatchet job the National party did on them in the 1990's and know that it is this Labour government that is rebuilding their public sector.
Secondly, the good people of Wellington central are a liberal lot. I don’t think they would be too happy with the ex-prez of the Untied Fundies as their representative in parliament.
Thirdly, Jordan's post - regarding the fact that Blumsky seemingly does not have a handle on local issues.
Fourthly, the Wellington LEC is pretty shit hot.
Fifthly, Marion is an excellent campaigner.

But mostly sixthly, I saw Mark Blumsky in action for the first time at the recent NZUSA conference I attended. He was part of a panel discussion that discussed the state of NZ politics and was very interesting. Professor Margaret Clark and Michael Appleton ex-salient editor and now in the Greens media unit led the way. After Blumsky began to speak I felt more confident about Welly central staying red. He was all over the place, I cannot remember exactly what he was saying, just that he said it badly. Getting up in front of the crowd and trotting out the line that National is somehow going to miraculously sweep back into government seemed silly. This was after Clark and Appleton had given such a strong and convincing line on the state of the nation and the fact that this election looks as if it will again turn into a "who will be in coalition with Labour", it was fairyland stuff verses political realism. I guess you cant blame him. He seemed to sway into criticising the student loan scheme noting the huge problems an indebted generation will cause the country. I guess he was trying to reach out to the crowd, yet every single person in the crowd knew that if National somehow manages to get to the treasury benches then students are once again fucked.

The contrast with the late arriving Stephen Franks was obvious, he knew most of us didn’t agree with him, but he took us on, head on. Blumsky fluffed about and looked incompetent. I think I even noticed his campaign manager's eyes widen at some of the dribble that was coming out of his candidates mouth. It was embarrassing. I wish I had a camera, you should have seen Mark's face (and David's) when the rest of the panel and crowd either tore the National party to shreds or consigned them to irrelevancy come time to form the next government.

He looked like he was sucking a lemon - hard.

It seemed to me to be some kind of realisation of the position and reality of his situation had set in. I think being surrounded by yes men has not done this candidate very much good.

I wondered if my observations had been simply one-eyed and what I wanted to see...
I believe my position was justified when one of the academics present noted to me that 'Blumsky has a lot to learn doesn’t he?'

Yes he does have a lot to learn, and I don’t think he will be learning it as the candidate for Wellington central.

Apartment please

2005-02-03T21:16:00.000+13:00

If anyone knows of any one bedroom apartments going in the Auckland CBD or city fringe can you please let me know as Kate and I are on the hunt.
Willing to pay up to $260.
Looking for flats or apartments near Uni.
Email me on conor_roberts AT yahoo DOT com

Garth's fantastic political analysis.

2005-02-03T11:59:00.000+13:00

Mr George has as good as any others' political analysis piece in today's herald. I don't usually link to other people's opinion pieces but George is great. The National party is stuffed when even this man is putting the boot in.

The Second Great Auckland Central Hero Debate

2005-02-03T11:48:00.000+13:00

Hon Judith Tizard, MP for Auckland Central, presents the Second Great Auckland Central Hero Debate

“Heroes and Heroines of the World Unite;
Civil Union is your Destiny”

Monday 21st February 2005, 7.30pm
Classic Comedy & Bar, 321 Queen Street, Auckland

Featuring a star-studded lineup of politicians and Auckland Central identities including: Hon Chris Carter MP, Tim Barnett MP, Hon Lianne Dalziel MP, Edward “Buckwheat” Cowley, Steven “Good Morning” Gray, Ross “Franklin Rd Xmas Lights” Thorby, Chris “gayNZ.com” Banks, Dame Catherine Tizard and Special Guest all the way from the United Kingdom, Ben Bradshaw MP, Minister for Nature Conservation & Fisheries …..

Tickets $20. Bookings phone 373 4321 or visit www.comedy.co.nz.

Proceeds to HERO 2005 and the Auckland Central LEC

Two from two

2005-02-01T13:19:00.000+13:00

Brash gets rid of one spokeswomen per orewa speech per year. This is amazing stuff.
I look forward to him getting rid of the rest of them.

Chat to the boss

2005-01-31T14:07:00.000+13:00

Labour has set up a way for people using their work computers to chat with the boss of the country, this came through the email:

New Zealanders have the opportunity to chat with Prime Minister Helen Clarkthis Wednesday at 5.30pm.

The online chat session, held via the internet and text messaging - willdiscuss themes and messages from Helen's speech to the opening ofParliament on 1 February. This is a great way to have your say, askquestions, and let the Prime Minister know what you think on a range of government initiatives and achievements.

Log on to www.headsup.co.nz and follow the links, or text for free fromyour mobile phone, text CHAT then a space, then write your comment orquestion (up to 150 characters) and send to LABR (5227)

2005-01-28T13:19:00.000+13:00

Don Brash from 2001 Knowledge Wave Conference - scary.

Nobody that I have ever met in New Zealand wants to deny those who are temporarily down on their luck sufficient income support to enable them to get back on their feet. In that respect, we are not willing to pay the price which Singapore paid to achieve very high growth, a society almost devoid of taxpayer-funded income support. But increasingly it is recognised that we will not achieve a radical improvement in our economic growth rate while we have to provide income support to more than 350,000 people of working age - 60,000 more than when unemployment reached its post-World-War-II peak in the early nineties - to say nothing of the 450,000 people who derive most of their income from New Zealand Superannuation.

This is partly because of the huge fiscal costs of these transfer payments - amounting to an estimated $13 billion this financial year, or some 11 per cent of estimated GDP (both figures include the fiscal cost of New Zealand Superannuation)). This cost substantially constrains the government from devoting more resources to education, law and order, research and development, and tax reduction. Indeed, it is probably fair to say that there is no other part of the government budget which can provide resources for these things. Certainly, it is hard to see scope for big reductions in the health or education budgets, the only other really major categories of government spending.

But I mention these transfer payments and the very high effective tax rates faced by those trying to get off them at this point not simply to draw attention to the fiscal costs but mainly because these payments have an influence on the numbers of those contributing to the production of goods and services in the market economy.

Are there ways in which we can change the incentives facing people now receiving such transfer payments? There are clearly a number of alternatives to the present way in which we provide income support short of adopting a cold-turkey Singaporean approach, and there is no single "right" way of doing it. Could we, for example, drop all benefits to the able-bodied and scrap the statutory minimum wage, so that pay rates could fall to the point where the labour market fully clears, but simultaneously introduce a form of negative income tax to sustain total incomes at a socially-acceptable level? Could we introduce some kind of life-time limit on the period during which an able-bodied individual could claim benefits from the state? Could we, perhaps, gradually raise the age at which people become eligible for New Zealand Superannuation, reflecting the gradual increase in life expectancy and improved health among the elderly? One of my colleagues has suggested the idea of abolishing the unemployment benefit but introducing some kind of "employer of last resort" system, perhaps run by local authorities with support from central government, under which every local authority would be required to offer daily employment to anybody and everybody who asked for it. Clearly, there would be huge benefits not just to economic growth but also to social cohesion if we were able to achieve a radical reduction in the number of those dependent on income transfers from the state.

NZUSA Conference

2005-01-28T13:17:00.000+13:00

I am at the NZUSA annual conference here in Wellington, hence no blogging for a couple of days.
I'll post any comments of interest when I am safely back up in Auckland.

Happy Clapping Homos

2005-01-25T14:32:00.000+13:00

Antoher Destiny website rip off - with a real message.

A big day not a bad day.

2005-01-24T22:12:00.000+13:00

Went to the Big Day Out on Friday. I had forgotten just how tiring 12 hours of sun, fun and music is. It was nice to get home at the end of the night and share a whisky and stories with Kate and David. I loved the Chemical Brothers and enjoyed the way they mixed in heaps of samples of their back catalog into their set without it sounding like a greatest hits album. They changed it around enough so that the sound was interesting and new, whilst reflective and familiar.

I also caught Kid606 - an errant electronica producer with a flare for self indulgence and noise. It was an interesting show.

I did notice that the crowd didn't seem so packed in this year and put that down to the opening of the eastern stand which must have sucked a few thousand out of the crowd.

I also noticed that the papers and news the next day focused on the fact that there where 6 arrests and that 7 people went to hospital.
Oh and it could be those evil party pills that did the business.

Funny how they focus on such things.

I mean 40,000 young people turn out in the sun for 12 hours and only a handful end up in some kind of state and that is the news that is reported.

Compare that to an All Black test where 40,000 adults turn up, drink piss at the game, get boozey in the stands and pick a fight with some guy three rows in front that could have given them the eye. At least twice as many people are thrown out of the game as the BDO, and many more end up as out of it as some of the more exuberant music punters. The rugby hordes then descend on the pubs to continue the drinking session and god help the wives of some of the men in this country if the AB's loose.

In the papers the next day do you hear how society nearly collapsed the day before because of the dozens of arrests, the large amounts of intoxication and the violence? Not usually.
But annually though, along with usually terribly crap reviews, the news media focuses on an incredibly small amount of problems that accompany the Big Day Out.

I take my hat off to the organisers for another successful event.

One infant mortality rate for all

2005-01-24T22:05:00.000+13:00

I heard on National radio today that Maori have a four times higher infant mortality rate than Pakeha. Makes sense to target assistance to Maori and to the causes of that ethnically distinguished higher rate of child deaths eh?

But didn't you just have an article on...

2005-01-24T21:18:00.000+13:00

You have got to wonder about the Herald sometimes. I mean just a week or so ago they did a whole week spread called 'Whats in our food?" - on the dangerous state of New Zealand's food supply. See here, here, here, here and here

Ok not so bad I guess, however you have got to wonder about their consistency and indeed sensationalist tendencies when you pick up the Herald today and see a story entitled:
New food rules may hurt small businesses

Well, scare the people in one story then get them pissed off in another story about the nanny state trying to fix the problem you outlined in your first story...

Oh and then you get to the Op-ed pages and get an article from Andrew McKenzie the executive director of the Food Safety Authority, assuring us that NZ food standards stand up in international comparisons - hmm.

TV3 News

2005-01-20T19:48:00.000+13:00

You hear how people say 3 news is 'cooler' than one news.

Well I kind of had it confirmed tonight when 3 news played the entire new Jib Jab piss take clip 'Second Term' as a story - Excellent.

Could you kill your Mum?

2005-01-20T16:47:00.000+13:00

Driving home this afternoon I inevitably flicked through the radio stations. Scanning over the talkback stations they where hitting the death penalty buttons due to the recent terrible murder of Mona Morriss.

Whilst her killing is so so sad, killing other people is not the way to fix it.

I wanted to ring up to ask the armchair executioners a question.

If you want the death penelty back you have to accept that once in a while you are going to get it wrong and execute an innocent person.

For this reason alone, I would have thought that people would reject capital punishment.

If you dont, then I would like you to consider this:

Would you support capital punishment if we could theoretically ensure that everybody who ended up being executed was guilty - on the one proviso: that now and again the state had to randomly select one innocent person to sacrific?

I mean if you support the death penelity now you kind of already do.

Would you still support killing all the murders if the first 'innocent mistake' was to be your own mother?

(More information on killing innocents here)

Spreading the message.

2005-01-20T13:11:00.000+13:00

DPF has jumped on the *news* story that a few of us members of Young Labour are in trouble for *defacing* the Timaru CBD with Labour stickers.

The headline in the local paper read: "Goodhew lambasts Labour over posters "

I dont know about posters, I have seen those stickers and the are not that big, rather they are the size of a credit card. Seems the local Nat candidate is getting his nickers in a twist over the fact that on our recent Clarion Tour we let the good folk of Timaru know some of the successes of the Labour government. Like the fact that under Labour the unemployment rate is 3.8% whilst under National it stood at 7.6%, like how Labour kept NZ out of Bush's Iraq war whilst National would have taken us in, like how under Labour there are 6000 apprenticeships whilst under National there where nil.

I can understand why Aoraki National candidate Jo Goodhew would find the stickers "Shameful" - the remind people just how "shameful" the National government was.

Well the next day another story appeared revealing just how much of a beat up it was. You can see a pic of the offending stickers here.

"A great fuss about nothing is how Labour electorate chairman John Gardner describes the fuss over the Labour Party stickers defacing Stafford Street bollards."

Activism in action I say.

Unequal earth

2005-01-20T11:26:00.000+13:00

Remember that the ten richest people onearth have a combined net worth of $255bn – roughly 60% of the income of sub-Saharan Africa. The world’s 500 richest people have more money than the total annual earnings of the worlds poorest three billion people.

Interesting Politics Seminar

2005-01-20T11:18:00.000+13:00

Here at Auckland University the Politics Department holds a number of interesting seminars from time to time. I'll post the details of them when they pop up. This one appeared in my inbox today.

Civil Society: A Name for Starting Over
Monday 24 Jan 2005
Host
Prof J.A.W. Gunn

Department
Political Studies

Venue
James Henare House, 18 Wynyard Street

Time
3.30pm

Contact
Political Studies Department - Ext. 84870

Professor J. A. W. Gunn, Professor of Political Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. Professor Gunn has worked and published extensively on early modern political theory in Britain and France and has also played a leading role in a project based at Queen's that focussed on issues bearing on the movement from non-democratic to democratic regimes. His paper has developed from a study of the conditions for democratic government in the Ukraine and is particularly timely given recent developments in that country.

Biographical Note:
J.A.W. "Jock" Gunn (D.Phil. Oxon.) has recently retired, as Sir Edward Peacock professor, after forty years service to the University. Appointed full professor in 1970, he was Head of Department 1975-83 and was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1983. He does the history of thought, chiefly British and French, and is interested too in social-science theories and political philosophy. Scholarly editing, with Disraeli (letters) and Hume (essays, forthcoming) is another interest. Just out is an entry for Disraeli in the Thoemmes Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century British Philosophers; appearing soon a review article on Isaiah Berlin in Clio. Recently completed is a work provisionally called "Lessons in Civil Disagreement: Party and Opposition in the French Restoration". The third part of a proposed triptych on French political ideas will treat the 19th-century problem of inauthentic government. Supervisor of some 15 Ph.D. theses, his passion in education has been helping people to say what they mean in readable English. (Source: Queen's University).

Immobilising the brain

2005-01-19T14:30:00.000+13:00

David Farrar along with numerous other right wing blogs bemoans the fact that the government is making the fitting of immobilisers and use of 'Whole of Vehicle' Marking on newly imported cars and light vehicles mandatory.

Predictably the argument goes that it is blind regulatory nanny state knows best ideology that is inducing these regulations.

He quotes Jim Peron from the institute for Liberal Values in saying that:

Justice Minister Phil Goff wants to reduce car thefts by forcing automobile owners to install immobilisers. He admits this will cost at least $300 per car.

He justifies this expense for consumers because it will reduce "opportunistic" car thefts. No doubt it will. Mandatory curfews for women would reduce rape. And mandatory burglar bars and security gates would reduce break-ins.

Well I wonder if one day, just one day, that people like this may, just may admit that regulations sometimes can work.

From Goff's release:

"In West Australia vehicle theft fell 34 per cent between 1999 and 2001, during which time the number of vehicles fitted with immobilisers rose from 45 per cent to 70 per cent. In the UK, where all new vehicles have required immobilisers since 1998, vehicle theft has fallen 23 per cent."

Goff points out that "Vehicle theft costs New Zealand about $110 million a year. It imposes on thousands of ordinary New Zealanders significant financial costs, involves major inconvenience, and adds to the cost of insurance premiums for every motorist."

"Just over 22,000 vehicles were stolen in 2003/04, accounting for 5.2 per cent of all recorded crime. About 80 per cent of vehicle crime is opportunistic; the remaining 20 per cent is professional crime involving the fraudulent re-identification of a vehicle or theft of its parts."

So, yes it does seem to work. I am interested in solutions that work. It seems to me that rather than the government being the one hung up on an ideology of excessive regulatory zeal it is opponents to this move that are blinded to the fact that this will work to reduce crime. You are right that it will impinge on peoples liberty to be free from having immoblisers, however don't you think that more liberty is created by regulating away crime? It may be hard for you to see things from this way round of course.
Noting that regulation along the lines of 'mandatory walking reduces car crashes' is silly, surely the object of government is to find a balance. A balance that works.

Sequels are normally not as good.

2005-01-18T11:54:00.000+13:00

Its a common adage that sequels to a high profile event, album or film are never as good.

On the whole this is indeed correct.

For example on the event front: Woodstock II, Gulf War II, being a mature student, when Jesus returns to earth. All not as good the second time around.

Music?- How about Band Aid II, Any post-whitening-plastic-surgery-Michael-Jackson music, Limp Bizkit's version of 'Faith', Madonna's 'American Pie', Shania Twain doing "You Shook Me All Night Long"??? - AC/DC should be left alone. Kelly Osbourne - using Ozzy's name in vein. What All Saints did to "Under the bridge".

I could go on and on

It is much more obvious to look at movies that don't stand up to the original.

- The Matrix sequels spring to mind as not capturing the imaginative heights as the first installment.
- Indiana Jones and the temple of doom was terrible - except for that one scene where the bloke tears the heart out of that other live bloke and then holds it beating in his hand. Terrifying.
- All the Batman sequels are crap and don't match the dark and dinginess of the reality of modern life in Gotham city
- Revenge of the Nerds II is... well... nerdy.
- Highlander II - What were they thinking??
- Mission Impossible II - Were they even thinking?
- Jurassic Park: The Lost World - Quit while you are ahead.
- Predator II - No mini gun.

Obviously there are a few exceptions to the rule.

The Empire strikes Back (Star Wars Episode 5) was the second installment of the Star Wars franchise. The characters are more interesting, the story was deeper and the special effects were fantastic (Ice moon land assault is still kick ass) We also met Yoda.

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King -2003 Peter Jackson's third film of the ambitious Ring trilogy is the best. Even if you were not obsessed with the books , this is one of the most breathtaking epic adventure films ever made. It's fantasy and humanistic elements are blended seamlessly at least until the film's sappy last half hour. You can quibble about all kinds of things with the films (yeah some interesting characters were left out of the series - I want to BE Tom Bombadill) but they are just quibbles. It's an incredible 3 and a half hour long experience.

ALiens - Directed by James Cameron. The first Alien set this film up perfectly and it managed to go one further - good sets and scary plot. Perfect female lead - tuff but feminine Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. Incredible special effects highlight the film.
Excellent one liners - Alien opens the door to the Armored vehicle, shotgun in it's mouth "Eat this" - Boom.
Or,
"Let go of her you BITCH"
Gold.

The Godfather Part II springs to mind directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It would have been hard to top the original Godfather-- particularly Brando's acting. A wider story retracing the history of the Corleone family and the continuation of that story. The movie includes a host of impressive performances from an impressive cast that includes Robert DeNiro, Diane Keaton, John Cazalle, and Robert Duvall who are eclipsed by a stunning performance from Al Pacino.

Superman II - super.

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey - Philosophy, physics and humour for early 90's teens to chew on.

You are welcome to suggest further examples for all sides.

Jordan Carter has looked into what kind of topics Brash could focus on in his Orewa II sequel speech next week.

Let me make a prediction: Brash's Orewa sequel will not live up to the same sequel status that say the sequel status of say "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" received and instead will fall to the disturbingly crap sequel status of say any of the films that dared try to try and build on the status of "The silence of the lambs".

Student debt blog

2005-01-18T11:30:00.000+13:00

Came across this clever one line blog letting you know how much us student types owe.

Good old week

2005-01-17T16:31:00.000+13:00

Be happy in the knowledge I am having a good week. This was set up by two days at the beach over the weekend where I got burnt and pretended to be a dog for a long time chasing a Frisbee around.

Tonight is the first AUSA exec meeting of the year and it will be good to meet up with the new exec.

Friday is the BIG DAY OUT

I am going to be on the Labour party stall (apart from when Kid 606 and the chemical brothers are on)

Labour has a good message to tell about support for NZ Music so it will be good to get out there.

For now though I am trying to think of something more interesting to write...

Arriving at constar

2005-01-14T16:38:00.000+13:00

Odd. I was checking with the statcounter where people 'come from' when they come to this blog.
Heaps of people come here after searching for 'campylobacta'

That is because when you search for 'campylobacta' - My blog is the first hit.

Excellent. Good to be known for my bowl and stomach movements...

You ruined my breakfast.

2005-01-13T11:32:00.000+13:00

I nearly chocked on my toast this morning as I read Brash’s brain fart opinion piece in the Herald. What a load of rubbish. I use to think this guy was at least dignified and respectable - with every single utterance I hear from the man I loose more and more of that feeling. He is shocking and this year I am going to do all I can to keep him from getting anywhere near the treasury benches.

From this mornings Herald.

The five-year term of the Government has been marked by profound and often deeply controversial changes to our social order.

You would expect that with a change from a heartless right wing government to a centre left one…

Civil unions will soon be a feature of society. Prostitution has been legalised. The Property Relationships Amendment Act, in effect, deemed those in de facto relationships to be married.

I thought you supported those Don? I mean you voted FOR the prostitution reforms...
Oh and what’s that?- you changed your mind at the last minute because of pressure from fundamentalist interest groups like the rest of the National party caucus, your advisers suggesting that the Destiny party is stealing your vote, and I understand through the political gossip grapevine your change could be due to the influence of your wife.

Smoking has been banned in restaurants, clubs and bars. Access to the Privy Council, as the highest court, has been abolished and a new Supreme Court established in its place. And the signal that the abolition of the monarchy, in favour of a republic, is next on the agenda is unmistakable.

Workers do not have to breath in cancer causing air, I don’t have to breath in other peoples smoke and my clothes don’t stink - oh and a fair number of the public agrees with the ban - thanks Labour led government.

Britain was going to cut our access to the Privy Council anyway and your suggestion that we should have stayed simply equates NZ with the remaining countries. Of the 16 remaining countries, 10 are members of the Caribbean community, and they plan to withdraw in the near future. The other five countries retaining the right of appeal to the Privy Council are the Bahamas, Brunei, Kiribati, Mauritius and Tuvalu.
Most other Commonwealth countries have already abolished the right of appeal to the Privy Council.
Canada abolished criminal appeals in 1933 and civil appeals in 1949.
South Africa ended appeals in 1950.
Australia terminated all appeal rights between 1975 and 1986.
Hong Kong severed its ties with the Privy Council in 1997.
Other countries which have abolished the right of appeal to the Privy Council include Pakistan, Ireland, India, Malaysia and Singapore.
Caribbean nations have discussed plans to replace the Privy Council with a Regional Court of Appeal.

The move, or at least the debate on the monarchy has been going on for ages now and I am sure you are aware of a number of your own MPs, current or past that favour the move. I hope that you are at least willing to talk about NZ’s future. I think we are strong and independent enough to strike out independently on our own. I think we can see a clear divide between our parties emerging here - yours seems to be stuck in an 80’s neo-liberal economic mindset coupled with a traditional Tory social agenda. Mine is the party of the future. I look forward giving the voters that choice.

These changes were, and are, opposed by substantial minorities - in some cases, possibly the majority - of New Zealanders. And the experience has left many harbouring serious doubts both about the way in which we elect our Parliament, and the way in which we make major changes to our key institutions.
They ask, correctly, whether MMP has delivered on the promise of a more consensual, more accountable form of government. And they ask how it is that a Parliament of 120 representatives can impose such profound changes on our social institutions without seeking a specific mandate from the public.

Mandate? There is a new mandate given every four years. Funny how political parties always claim there is no mandate when they are in opposition. One could ask the same about you and your ilk’s changes to the social order in the 80/90’s - do you remember what happened then? After the reforms hurt so many people in the 80’s National promised to soften the reforms - giving them more heart, that was put to a general referendum in 1991 and there was a change of government. When the public reforms continued and the style of government by your party so upset the electorate we turfed you out in 1999. This year there will be another general referendum on the state of play and that is the way things work.

Even supporters of some of these changes have been disquieted by the spectacle of so-called conscience votes being managed by the ninth floor of the Beehive, down to the last abstention.
That the advent of MMP has resulted in greater representation for women and ethnic and other minorities is beyond doubt. Whether it has produced the more accountable, more consultative style of Government promised by its advocates is open to the most serious challenge.

Although it must be horrific to traditional Tory voters to see such diversity with parliament having more women, more gay people, a transgender person (from a rural electorate - amazing), more Maori and pacific people I notice that that diversity doesn’t extend to your predominantly white male party. And what examples do you have that the government is less accountable or consultative? Assertions wont get you that far.

Indeed, it is arguable that the reliance on backroom deal-making with minor parties to make progress with legislation has removed the whole process one step further from direct accountability to the public, the more so when some of the key participants are able to enjoy the comparative shelter of election as list MPs.

You what? YOU are a list MP. YOU enjoy that shelter. YOU have lost every electorate seat election you have stood in. YOU or YOUR advisers wont let you stand in an electorate. YOU would have made a backroom deal to get that list place. YOUR assent to the leadership was a back room deal. YOU will have to deal with minor parties if god help us you win this year. That is the promise of MMP, more voices in parliament, more consultation to more parties who are more democratically accountable to the electorate.

There is a widespread impression among New Zealanders that when MMP was introduced we were promised an opportunity to review the position by way of referendum two elections hence. The fact that this review was undertaken by a select committee of MPs, without any public referendum whatsoever, is rightly seen as self-interest on steroids. The time has come to put the matter to the test by way of a new referendum on the manner by which we elect our MPs, inside the next term of office. That is a proposition I will ask the National Party to endorse as a matter of policy.

Hmm, interesting policy plank. Cant have made you too popular with ACT - the other party you are the 9th MP for, or is your party simply worried about NZ First ’stealing’ your vote. I wonder where the great public outcry for a vote on the electoral system. I am sure it seems that way down in the corridors of the beehive, out here most people are just getting on with it - but with more parties aren’t things more interesting down there now Don?

*As a side, Bfm is playing Paul Ubana Jones an amazing NZ solo guitarist. The guy sounds like he plays the guitar with three arms and 30 figures, or even two guitars at once. If you get the chance, go and see this man.

Any referendum need not be restricted to two choices. It may be, for example, that in addition to the former first-past-the-post system and the MMP system, New Zealanders will want to consider the supplementary member (SM) system, which would cut the number of list MPs by half. That would provide some assurance of retaining improved ethnic and gender balance (arguably the only benefit of MMP) while delivering a more accountable Parliament.

Whoa, I thought you where going to put it to the party to adopt as a policy position. Sounds like you have already made up your mind here Don. So much for talk of accountability and transparency. Anyway we have already had this debate in the 1990’s, why don’t you just come out and say that you think the people back then made the wrong decision rather than implying that there is ‘public disquiet’ about our electoral system. One could just as easily state that it is working just fine, the way we told you it was going to work.

A great benefit of both the first-past-the-post or SM systems is that they would make possible a substantial reduction in the size of Parliament, to 100 MPs or even fewer, with a consequent reduction in the size of the Executive. Reductions to both would be very desirable.

I think that representation should be determined and pegged to population size, not to the level of grumpy late night callers to talkback radio.
I noticed you implied that the benefit of MMP was more diverse representation - how are you going to ensure that this continues in a smaller parliament?
You say that a reduction would be “very desirable” - why?

If a referendum is the appropriate means to resolve such important constitutional issues - and I can scarcely imagine a less appropriate process than a select committee made up of people with a very direct personal interest in the decision, as with the review of MMP - why should we restrict such an approach to the electoral system? Why not use referendums more widely to determine other changes that significantly affect our social landscape?

Ah, on the first point, we already have.

So referendum are the way to go now eh? How about one on spending on hospitals or schools? How about one on tax rates? What if they are contradictory?Oh and how about one on interest rates? Or the inflation band for that matter…

I am mindful of the famous comment of the great British parliamentarian of the 18th century, Edmund Burke, that "your representative owes you not his industry only but his judgment, and he betrays, instead of serving, you if he sacrifices it to your opinion". But it has been with a growing sense of discomfort that I have seen controversial social legislation being managed through the Parliament by the Government.

What? This seem to contradict everything you have said. Don’t just open a political philosophers book and pull out a random quote.

It is not simply that I disagree with some of the measures it has promoted. What troubles me is that, unlike many other measures it has introduced, it can claim no specific or even implied mandate for these changes. The legalisation of prostitution and the institutionalising of civil unions are not matters on which the Government or, indeed, any political party campaigned at the last election. It sought no mandate on such matters, and it has none. Yet far-reaching changes have been made, leaving distraught and angry minorities, possibly majorities, in their wake.

What? Civil Unions and the legalisation of prostitution have been Labour party policy for ages now. Further people know what the Labour party is about - you might not like it but the polls suggest the people do - sorry.
I would hazard to suggest that the distraught and angry minority is simply your caucus.

Far better, I suggest, in the absence of a mandate won at election time, that such controversial changes should at least enjoy the legitimacy of endorsement by a referendum of all people of voting age.

The next mandate will occur some time this year. Get your head around it. I can only suggest that referendums should only be enacted when their outcomes affect all people. Yes have one on the electoral system, one on becoming a republic - but not one on giving rights to discriminated groups. Would you suggest a referendum on giving women the vote in 1893? Freeing slaves?

No doubt election-year caution will see such controversial social measures given a wide berth for the short term. Indeed, the Prime Minister was quite open in her cynicism in this respect as the civil union legislation was passed under urgency before Christmas.

Well the government has a really good message to communicate to the public and I am sure it will campaign on its record and vision for the future. I for one will be using the progressive pieces of legislation we have passed in the campaign. Further I note you are not one for skirting cynicism having got your shite nuclear policy out in the public arena before lunchtime. Don’t be such a hypocrite.

The determination of the Government to advance its social agenda has left deep scars and even deeper doubts about the way we elect our MPs, and the extent to which those MPs owe true accountability to the public. It is timely, then, to consider greater use of referendums to resolve those controversial social issues for which the Government and the Parliament can legitimately claim no mandate. And even more so to provide the public with the opportunity to pronounce judgment on the MMP electoral system, which they have thus far been denied.

Do you have no policy of your own? In the lead up to the election are you simply going to steal any polices New Zealand First has?

* Don Brash is leader of the National Party.

On this last point you are correct, but only just as you are going to loose the next election and thus wont be the leader for much longer.

Loos for all.

2005-01-12T16:44:00.000+13:00

I am back at AUSA house now - beginning the year as AVP

Inevitably the conversation with other exec members has run over the recent controversy of our well meaning university installing squat toilets to the relief of our Asian international arrivals.

I have moved on from my earlier view that this is a waste of time and resources to a point of acceptance - on the proviso that toilets from all nationalities are installed.

I am especially looking forward to the German sit down loos with the 'shelf'. Whilst others are repulsed by the shelf I love it as it ensures zero splash back and the chance to check out your prize before it is whisked away to the Waitemata harbour.

Not the time nor the place.

2005-01-12T15:46:00.000+13:00

In the wake of the Asian Tsunami you have to hand it to the leaders of our right wing parties when it comes to point scoring.

Today in the Herald there was a letter from Rodney Hide berating Helen Clark for not stating publicly that the US is doing a good job at the relief effort, putting this non-disclosure down to the fact that she is simply anti-American. Rodney, everyone knows that the US is doing a good job - amongst dozens of other countries. I fail to see how a well-done stamp on the hand from NZ is going to do any good. No right turn has a list of donor countries that by Hides reasoning should also be officially thanked. No wonder that man will be looking for a new job at the end of the year.

Also I note Don Brash returns from putting his feet up in Hawaii (and no doubtable moaning to any yank that he comes across about our nuclear free policy), to label our aid contribution ’inadequate’ Well $10 million up front was not a bad response in the immediacy after the waves. Obviously as the scale of the disaster became apparent one would look for an increase in our contribution which is what seems to be happening. I would not expect that the minister on duty over the break should start writing hundreds of millions of dollars in cheques simply due to political expediency and am glad that the next cabinet meeting will be the place where the decision on NZ’s aid contribution is made.

I also now wait with baited breath the right wing bloggers feigned outrage at Brash’s absence from the country in such an important time.

I am also glad that the government has decided on a national day of mourning.

Lets hope the political games from all sides can stop there too.

Old poor people - do not educate yourself before you die.

2005-01-12T14:59:00.000+13:00

Well not exactly but then again Deborah Coddington would not really offer any solutions to the *problem* of older people accessing the student loan scheme to educate themselves once they finish working.

She notes in this story that the number of people aged 60 and over who have student loans increased from 2413 in June 2002 to 4713 in September last year.

I really would worry that there was some kind of octogenarian rout going on if I turned up to class in March and half of them where from the local grey power branch. I'd also worry that when I protested at the pace of the class was to slow due to the constant "Can you repeat that please I cant hear you" interruptions - that I may well be rolled from my AVP position by a seemingly super well organised group of grandmas.

Quite frankly I am not worried about this. I know an elderly person who attends some of my classes at university and the thought that he might disappear off this earth without paying back his student loan does not worry me too much. I am glad that people like him are getting out and doing something of interest to them rather than simply being excluded from society. I mean what does Coddington really want? Old people to pay up front for any education they receive post-working age? Automatic deductions from their estate? Or simply denying them the chance to further their minds simply because it is not going to result in them being able to utilise that knowledge in some kind of employment.

What a meanie.

In addition to that crap she more usefully notes that the average student loan has increased 22 per cent since 1999. The average student debt was $11,855 in December 1999 and in November 2004 stood at $14,547. Yes well the cost of living has gone up and so have fees (Using the Uni's 1.6 x inflation as the actual increase in the cost of providing education) and one would envisage that increase being in line with expectations.

She said some graduates were going to find it difficult to pay off their loans and many would leave the country to escape their debt. I say that is spectacular analysis.

I read through the article to see if Deborah offered any solutions to the problem of student debt over and above the governments current policies of no interest while studying, restricting the fees increases and expanding access to student allowances but was disappointed.
I then did a quick search through her recent press releases to see what ACT would do... not much expect drop taxes.

Maybe I should give her a chance to equate 'one law for all' with universal access to student allowances...

Cant have it both ways.

2005-01-09T22:43:00.000+13:00

Hey righty - I had a thought reading some of your types blogs - you cant have it both ways.

You cant on the one hand continuously call this Labour government "socialist'
and on the other hand brand the fantastic economic success of the past 5 years as being wholly due to the neo-liberal economic reforms of the 80/90's...

Some consistency please.

Home again, home again...

2005-01-09T22:30:00.000+13:00

Back home at the end of Young Labours Clarion Tour and I have that feeling, you know that one that says it is sad to be home yet it is good to be back in comfortable familiar surroundings...
It was good to see my lovely Kate again. She did inform me that my little jaunt on the tour is the longest break we have had apart since I came up to Auckland.

And so tomorrow along with countless others of you I will be heading into work, albeit a different job to any I have had before and that is being the Vice President of AUSA for 2005

I must say I am looking forward to the opportunity of representing and serving the student body. I intend on using this blog as a way on keeping people up to date with what is happening around campus so stay tuned for the tasty tid-bits and goodies.

I do hope to get away later in the summer for a proper break. The weather will be better then and the kids go back to school in late Jan.

Clarion touring.

2005-01-05T10:53:00.000+13:00

If you have been wondering just what I have been up to in the post Christmas and New Years period and why I have not added to this blog in such a long while (as I am sure you all have been), it is because I have been on a tour of the country with a number of other Young Labour activists.

I dont know if I want to start telling you just what we have been up too as I would spend the rest of the trip writing all the juicy details.

In the absence of doing this I would like to direct you to our website so you can see for yourself - go and have a look at www.clariontour.co.nz

More when I get back.

Hope you all had happy holidays.

Campylobacta

2004-12-23T19:59:00.000+13:00

I have a suspected case of campylobacta which has curbed my online activity... maybe more posting in a day or so.

I hope it completely clears up before the 2 Christmas dinners I have lined up on Saturday -excellent.

On another note I wonder how Auckland Universities squat toilets would stand the constant unending volume of....

Well you get the picture.

Oh and I wonder what it would be like to yunder into one of those things?

Cabinet reshuffle

2004-12-21T08:48:00.000+13:00

I'll offer this brief observance of the moves in an attempt to not add to much to the already huge amount of comment on the subject.

If its not broke... then don't fix it

From where I am sitting its not broke and it seems somewhere in the vicinity of 40-50% of New Zealanders agree if the polls are anything to go by.

Why mix things up before the election creating uncertainty?
Why create expectations when they may have to be dashed following post-election maneuvers?
Why not allow experienced ministers who know their portfolios well, to go into the election campaign with that experience and taking/using that knowledge to good effect?
Why not make a few changes to the associates in order to signal the future faces and direction of the government?

Squat toilets

2004-12-21T08:33:00.000+13:00

Joey who is the acting president of AUSA rang me yesterday to ask my opinion on the university installing squat toilets in order to cater for the bowl movements of our international students.

I must say I was somewhat bemused.

I cant help but think that this measure is a waste of time and resources. I am happy that the university is endeavoring to make the NZ student experience in Auckland as easy as possible for international visitors but surely they should be focusing resources on proper pastoral care, reversing the declining amount of international students visiting our shores and improving our image abroad.

I understand that cleaners are having problems with messy loos that have not been used properly.

Well I say rather than ripping up existing blocks - a simple 'how to use' diagram on the back of the door should suffice.

Our they could write this little ditty on the toilet paper holder:

"If you want to shit with ease,
Place your hands upon your knees.
Give a push and give a squeeze
and it will come like melted cheese."

Its their earth too.

2004-12-18T14:47:00.000+13:00

I admire the stance taken by the father of the boy who was killed by a shark recently in Australia.

Philip Peterson today visited West Beach with his wife Leonie to see where their son died. He said the decision to destroy the shark was "out of my hands". "We acknowledge that the sea is, in fact, the shark's domain. "We don't, and I certainly personally don't, advocate the indiscriminate killing of any shark. They are to be admired, appreciated and respected, and Nick knew that."

I agree, it is their earth too of course. You maybe able to make an argument that the shark should be sacrificed if it dares to come to close to beaches where humans are swimming... but the boy was taken hundreds of meters of shore. He was in the sharks environment.

I hope it isn't killed in some sort of humans are on top retribution.

The last debate

2004-12-18T13:24:00.000+13:00

David Farrar states that Labour blinked first by moving the motion to adjourn for the year. I don't know about whether you consider it blinking considering the amount of contentious legislation they have got out the way. Nothing like leaving a some non-controversial boring legislation on the books at the beginning of an election year so the government can focus on all the goodies in the lead up to the election.

I listened to the adjournment debate and as always it was a classic with all sides tearing strips off each other and then thanking all the parliamentary staff, families etc. (More here)
It was pleasing to hear all the MPs acknowledge Jonathan Hunt. He has listened to 32 adjournment debates - amazing.

The most toe-curling speech was given by Don Brash. I have heard he was bad in the house but even being a avid listener to 882am (geek) I hardly hear him. Given he does ask the initial question at question time now and again, but he is not quick, never sure of himself and doesn't follow through - leaving that to other members and other parties.
Yesterday he was terrible. The amount of interjecting from fired up government members and National members seeking to back their man was immense.
Brash would start with lines like "Eerrrr Helen needs a break because she is tired" resulting in hysterical sustained laughter
"This has been a government of flip-flops" Ditto.
"The economy is in good shape but...but..." You get the picture.
The worst part of the performance is in his seeming inability to control the debate, where a sharper peformer may have more luck.

He consistently needed to rely on the speaker to maintain order and allow him to continue.

Does not bode well for him going into the heat of the election year.

Its your turn

2004-12-16T09:34:00.000+13:00

I have a younger brother who has been living in London for a couple of years now.

The Roberts' family is not the best at keeping in contact with each other. For example my mother rang me late on Saturday night when I was partly inebriated at Kate's step mothers 50th birthday party to let me know she was leaving in the morning to go to Sydney for a short break.

Keeping up with parents down country is tuff enough. Keeping up with younger brother in London is a nightmare.

However we have found a way of doing so. It is called 'Its your turn' which is an online chess game and lets us battle each other, leaving "Your going down knob jockey" comments as brothers do.

Its a much better way of keeping in contact than email or phone and I recommend it to all.

Not enough experience!!?!???!

2004-12-16T09:15:00.000+13:00

It had to happen. Bleating about the appointment of the new speaker I mean.

Well blow me down. Of course all this bluster is simply that the right do not like Wilson. She is tough. She is hard. She gets things done that the right do not like. You may not like what she has achieved but she has bloody well achieved it. I personally think she will be a good speaker, putting that tough mindedness and law background to good use.

Today on Nat Rad I heard Ken Shirley complain that the new speaker that the new speaker doesn't have enough parliamentary experience since she only arrived in 1999
Other ACT and National MPs complain that she has never been a whip, never been a backbencher and thus simply does not have enough experience to do such an important job.

Sorry but who do you want to replace Helen Clark for the most important job in Parliament????

Don Brash who has only been in parliament since 2002

Come on....

Molesworth and Featherston

2004-12-15T10:00:00.000+13:00

I was disappointed to hear that the Molesworth and Featherston online weekly politics, business and all other things magazine will cease to be free from next year.
I got my final one this morning with an good 'Moll Poll' for Labour. A Moll Poll is a average of the last few polls, which is great for spotting trends. Remember the trend is your friend.

I understand that there is of course a need for people to earn some money from their endeavors and hope that the new edition does well in the market place - I am of course a poor old Uni student and cant shell out $135 for 45 editions per year.

I will however be nagging the Politics Department at Uni to add it to the publications database.

Muldoon on the US

2004-12-14T10:41:00.000+13:00

I am reading the biography 'His Way' of Rob Muldoon by Barry Gustafson and its really interesting.

Last night before nodding off to sleep I came across this interesting passage on a trip Muldoon took to the US in 1965. At the invitation of the US State Department he spent 3 months studying topics of his choice. He focused on the workings of the US economy, especially taxation.
The most interesting part of the passage was the record of his development or conformation of generalised views on the US which Gustafson notes he later recorded in The Rise and Fall of a Young Turk.

Gustafson states that Muldoon "chided his Treasury guide on the number of US presidents who has been assassinated, described US culture as 'mush' which made Americans 'emotionally immature and warped', argued that the US 'political system formulated two hundred years ago is totally unsuited to the modern world' and is 'hopelessly corrupt', and concluded that 'it is almost impossible to be a successful politician in the US and remain an honorable man.' Although he conceded that 'the ordinary American... is a warm friendly person', he deplored the fact that 'so many things have an overlay of insincerity'. Muldoon believed that the United States exhibited all 'the classical symptoms of the decline of a civilisation."

Obviously not the type of things one would normally attribute to a National party politician in any era.
I wonder what Muldoon would think of today's US? I would hazard to say that I don't think he would think much has changed.

The bottom of the barrel

2004-12-13T09:15:00.000+13:00

The day after a another terrible poll the Nats are scraping the bottom of the barrel with headlines along the lines of Nats attack $1.6m cost of PM's travel

Is Tony Ryall seriously contending that the Prime Minister should not be a face of New Zealand to the world? Should not represent New Zealand at overseas trade forums? Should not allow our business people to coat-tail into meetings? Should not try to present our foreign policy to the world?

Or is Mr Ryall simply trying to stir up a few thousand angry talkback listeners?

This is desperate and pathetic. I cannot agree that the Prime Minister should not travel.

Happy tree friends is on C4

2004-12-12T17:29:00.000+13:00

Long time readers of this blog know that I am a fan of the website Happy tree friends.

Imagine my excitement when I heard that it is going to be on C4

Excellent. I have been waiting for this. My brother in London informs me that they have been screening episodes on Channel Four over there for a while now. We are good at belatedly catching on to fads.

This from www.c4tv.co.nz

Happy Tree Friends is pure gruesome cartoon hilarity! C4 premieres a 30 minute Christmas Happy Tree Friends Special, Sunday 19th 8.30pm, Repeated Thursday 23rd 9.00pm and Friday 24th 10pm.

Enjoy!

Sssssmoking...

2004-12-12T16:01:00.000+13:00

You have to admit it took balls for the government to stick to its agenda and enact the smoking ban. You might not like it but you have to admire them for persisting at a time when they could be and are being described as lefto-pinko-social engineers. Looking back 4-5 months to when I was looking ahead to this now, I was really concerned with the timing of the smoking ban in relation to the general publics perception of Labour.
My concern has passed.

Firstly, opinion polls show this to be a broadly popular move with 65-75% support.

Secondly it is being embedded very cleverly with not much stick. A small amount of smoke police across the country will ensure that the law is not zealously applied - making for growing acceptance. It seems as if the law is welcomed in the cities and that is where efforts will be made to push the smokefree message. Out in the sticks, pubs will be left to do as they please but as the law becomes the norm and people spread out about the country, I feel the rural pubs will simply agree that the environment of a smokefree pub is more enjoyable.
We will see acts of defiance but I think they will melt away.

Thirdly, overseas experience is good. In America and even Ireland where this type of legislation has been enacted the experience is that there is an initial slump but business picks up. I think that non-smokers will tend to stay longer whilst smokers may well stay at an establishment for a less amount of time, instead using the smoke break as a reason for moving on -they will still spend the same amount of net time in a bar. These people are of course the people that I see in pubs and I don’t think represent the larger pub going public. Smaller more isolated venues will have to work hard at keeping the smokers comfortable so they don’t just bugger off.

Fourthly, tis a clever time to implement it. Just before Christmas, when hopefully the better weather makes it easier to head outside and the increase in people in a festive mood will offset any potential losses from smokers turning in early.

Also my own personal observations over the weekend were encouraging. I went to the London bar on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and didn’t notice any drop off in people, nor any smoking delinquents.

Anecdotally (people I asked at the bar) there seems to be people who want to make the ban work and are planning on going out to pubs to make it so.
The ban seems to be self-enforcing with people basically either accepting it or resigned to it.
It is also self-enforcing in that from what I have read, the none-smoking public will quickly shoot you a cursed laser stare should you decide to flout the new law.
I look forward to many more evenings where I can sit in comfort at a bar, enjoy a pint and then a whisky without the sore throats and smelly clothes of previous outings. I look forward to the lessening temptations on social smokers.

On a personal note as to whether I support the legislation, I look on it from a utilitarian point of view. Firstly I was concerned with the loss of liberty involved as peoples choice as to whether their business should allow smoking has been legislated away. This loss of liberty was a decrease in some peoples utility and if it means a loss of income for the publicans then that is further loss. However I note and believe that it was right to legislate away the freedom to smoke on and in other areas of private enterprise such as transport systems used by the public. One can hear the cries that people would abandon the use of airplanes as a means for moving around when they where facing being unable to smoke on the flight from Auckland to Wellington or LA for example.
I also note that John Stewart Mill’s harm principle can be used here to describe how the liberty of smoking has a negative impact upon others. I believe that places such as bars which features as a focal point for much of our community interaction, places requirements that that environment be cleansed of an unnecessary action which does do harm to others. However the clincher for me is the record of overseas countries in that their drinking establishments have experienced increases in volume sales (although this is not uniform), combined with the utility gains in having people smoking less and smoking less around other people means I believe the action is morally justified.

I'd like your comments on your experiences over the weekend if you went out to bars.

Cause and effect

2004-12-11T14:00:00.000+13:00

I never studied economics at high school however I see it as simply cause and effect.
And so with Brash's tax cuts he has signaled, at the present time I see the effects simply as follows.
Cuts in current spending when we are just beginning to get to the levels of proper spending in health and education. Boo.
Higher inflation. More money in a hot economy means prices will go up offsetting any tax increases. Boo.
Then again he has said nothing new, and we have not idea what he is planning. So who knows.

Political intrigue

2004-12-10T14:40:00.000+13:00

What a bloody interesting week in politics.

Firstly congratulation to all those involved on the Civil Union Campaign. Very well done and very well earned. It was great to be involved in what was essentially an E-campaign. Online e-groups to keep people updated. E-petitions. Blogs. Email wizards. Email updates. Media. It was all very modern, nay a post modern campaign with an independent and variable structure which was populated with some of the most committed, clever and interesting people I have met. Tim Barnett thanked Michael Wallmansberger in his final speech and I wanted to do the same here. Michael was the facilitator of the Auckland campaign and took on a HUGE amount of work in organising and carrying the campaign up here. Unfortunately I cannot come to your celebration party as I will be out with Kates family, but I look forward to catching up. Well done.

I listened to the final speeches on the wireless in AUSA president Kates office at Uni, with the Gay Eaters for Jesus and assorted members of CHEWFOOD. We had a couple of wines, beers and then bubbles when it passed. Then a few of us went out for dinner and finally a drink at the good old London Bar. Speaking of London, Kate is off there to a conference and a holiday. She is staying with my younger brother. I look forward to hearing reports from her about his place when she gets back. Have a nice time my dear.

Speaking of London again, I had lunch with the grandfather of the house Jonathan Hunt today. My Kate and I are helping him move into his new place and we have the job of unloading his 60-70 boxes of books and ordering them, phew. The books accompany many assorted pamphlets and brochures of a numerous nature. Its very interesting looking througt it all, but its a big job. I offered my brothers couch to Jonathan if he needs somewhere in London to crash when he gets there...

And now I see Don has changed his tune on 4 weeks annual leave!!??!??!? That guy is all over the place. Cullen points it out best here. Who knows what he is going to say next. I am waiting for the announcement on state owned assets being retained, increased funding for state healthcare, better welfare provisioning and retaining income related rents.
You never know, no one was picking this change a month ago. I very good time for him to announce it - on the final day of the civil union debate and the day Zaoui gets out.

I am glad Zaoui is out on bail. Being friends with many people involved on his case outlined to me the toll that the uncertainty of his incarceration has had on the man.
He is of course the victim of crap legislation and one hopes that the rest of the process is worked through quickly.

I am off now to watch the cricket. Golly I love cricket.

I am looking forward to enjoying the second innings in a pub later on tonight. I am also looking forward to going home at the end of the night not stinking like death-artery-poison-cancer-nicotine injections (Smokes) I am looking forward to my throat not burning after breathing in peoples smoke. I am also looking forward to the lessening of the temptation to partake in the glorious joy of inhaling that smooth warm smoke perfectly accompanying a glass of Guinness...

The final push.

2004-12-07T10:31:00.000+13:00

And so now we get to the final push. Where that last bit of effort will help to pass the Civil Union Bill and establish a new form of relationship that is open to all people - regardless of who they are.

Opponents of the bill are shitting kittens and going nuts, and you can bet they are flooding the MPs with communication. They lost prostitution law reform and they will be gutted if they lose this one. The press releases the campaign against civil unions are releasing are off the planet. Try here, here, here and here.

Opposition MPs are doing all they can to wreck the bill. From referendums to civil relationships which Id say totally misses the intent of the legislation.

Xavier must be gorging himself.

Its all terribly exciting.

Last week Michael, my friend who has organised the Auckland Civil Union campaign, set up an email wizard to allow people who support the bill to easily send emails to the MPs. It crashed under the weight of public opinion. He has set it back up here, and it is even better. Please please go to this site and send the MPs an email. It doesnt matter if you sent one last week - the more the merrier.

Also please distribute the website address for the email wizard as far and wide as you can.

This is the final push.

An online petition I set up.

2004-12-06T11:37:00.000+13:00

I set up an online petition before the first reading of the Civil Union Bill. It got up to about 2600 signature and then went kind of silent. After a recent flurry of activity it now has over 3000 e-signatures.

I copy and pasted the comments from the petition in my submission to the select committee and Tim Barnett commented that it formed part of the submissions in his 2nd reading speech.

It has been fun to do. An easy way to participate in the debate.

You can sign the petition and read the comments from ordinary people here

I have again printed out all the comments from people, photocopied them and sent them in a letter to all MPs to show that ordinary New Zealanders support this legislation. Lets hope they listen.

God Hates...

2004-12-05T22:02:00.000+13:00

...Shrimp!

The last post

2004-12-05T19:12:00.000+13:00

Yes well guess that vodafone's double up for your top up wasnt such a big secret.

Oh well. Good tho. I topped up to $80. Thanks big faceless multinational phone company.

Vodafone

2004-12-03T13:49:00.000+13:00

I just heard from a little birdy that Vodafone is giving you $2 for every $1 that you top up with.

It may well be wide news, but I hadn't heard about it - so I thought I'd blog it anyway so all you regular readers can be rewarded.

I have added a stat counter to see how many people look at my musings, to see whether this is worthwhile writing.

Go counter go!

I am listening to the rock'n'roll wire on 95bfm. Troy Ferguson is on. That guy know soooooo much about all things music. Its amazing.

Media coverage of the Civil Union

2004-12-03T10:40:00.000+13:00

I got an email from my friend David Do who watched the media coverage of the 2nd reading of the Civil Union Bill.

He said I could post it. Its a good wrap up.

David:

I looked at the coverage on both TV1 at 6 and then Nightline on TV3 tonight.

TV3s report warned that the bill may lose support from a few MPs if an amendment to put Civil Unions to referendum was voted down.
The correspondent on National Radio said on Checkpoint that today's vote didn't hold any surprises. He says that while there might some loss in support with regards to the idea of a referendum, but predicted it would not be enough to sink the bill.

Judy on TV1 unfortunately introduced the piece in the headlines as'gay marriage laws', but Fran Mold did a good report. On the referendum issue, she got David Benson-Popes quote that human rights should not be the subject of referenda.

TV1 did the dreaded vox pop of surveying passersby, and both channels got quotes from Georgina Beyer and Brian Tamaki. They quoted enough from Brian to suitably discredit him in the eyes of most people. TV1also quoted from the leader of Destiny NZ(the political 'party') as well.

Thanks David, always interesting to see the comparisons between the media outlets.

I subjected myself to Newstalk for a while. Gulp. Not really much to say...

I also subjected myself to 'Close up at 7' who had quite a good story on Civil Unions with a lesbian couple who have been together for ages and have brought up kids. Then an interview with Lockwood (thanks for the 1st name mum) Smith, Ron (right on the) Mark (with his votes so far) and Stephen (how's this for a silly argument) Franks - all talking about their positions. It was suppose to be a flip flop piece, Susan misrepresented Marks view at first and then corrected herself. Very bad research. I noticed from the self styled 'flip flop' (new political catchword) interview that they failed to get someone who voted against or abstained from the first reading and who now is voting for the bill to speak. I am sure they would have had some nice things to say...

They finished up the show witha report on my pet hate. An opt in poll they had been conducting.

Do you think that the law should recognise a form of same sex relationships?

$1 per vote, kids ask your fundy parents if you can call up to save the sanctity of marriage.

The result? Something like 13000 against and 3500 for.

I hate opt in polls and think they should be banned. Susan finished the show in mock suprise and asked the audience who the MPs must be asking when they say that the bills have widespread public support...

Douglas and Quigley quit ACT

2004-12-03T10:14:00.000+13:00

I am not surprised considering Roger expressed his displeasure with Hide as leader.

I mean he even had to go to the extent of writing a ‘what we are doing wrong and where the right should be heading’ piece in the Sunday Star Times recently.

Guess they don’t want to be associated with a failure come next election when ACT looks like it will bow out of national politics.

Maybe they were pissed at “The Liberal Party” only being half liberal when it comes to socially liberal legislation like the CUB

Douglas is saying that he is leaving in part due to ACT losing its direction and says it should get back to talking about quality healthcare and education. But I guess when that means privatisation and privatisation, and the National party is continually stealing all those kinds of policies - your party can only get traction with side issues like trying to hang Tamihere or as Douglas put it: becoming a front office of the Serious Fraud Office.

The proverbial rats leaving the proverbial sinking ship…

Plato would have supported Civil Unions

2004-12-02T10:31:00.000+13:00

"Wherever it has been established that it is shameful to be involved in homosexual relationships, this is due to EVIL on the part of the legislators, to DESPOTISM on the part of the rulers, and to COWARDICE on the part of the governed.'" -- Plato, 427 B.C

And you know Plato and the Greeks came up with things like democracy and the basis for Christianity so they must know what they are talking about.

An interesting week

2004-12-02T08:44:00.000+13:00

It is an interesting week in Politics. It was an interesting week last week. That's why I love it.

Firstly, about National and the superfund. I got a letter in the paper yesterday.
This is it:

I heard that Don Brash has signed up to the Labour government’s plan to tackle the growing question. I must say I am pleased he has seen the light. However I take Nationals acceptance of the scheme with a healthy pinch of salt. I still don’t believe National has credibility on the pension issue. Who can forget their promise to scrap the surcharge in 1990, only to renege as soon as they became government? Who can forget the way they cut people’s pensions later in that decade? People have good reason to be wary of this new announcement. Whilst Brash for reasons of political expediency may have signed up to the scheme now, who knows what he would do if he got into power. We know he doesn’t like the scheme. We know he hasn’t given true assurance to the millions of younger taxpayers that he would work to insure that their now work will afford them the security of a properly funded pension later. We know that we should continue to be sceptical of National when it comes to superannuation.
Conor Roberts
Arch Hill

I am glad that National has signed up. I just cannot shake the feeling that they would get stuck into it if they got into government.

This was of course Brash's first flip flop and is perfectly understandable and probably good politics.

The second one on the civil union bill is more problematic. I cannot believe he has changed his mind on this issue. Whilst saying that it is because the government is *rushing* it through parliament, I believe he withered in front of a conservative backlash - and that is disappointing.
Brash is by all accounts a committed liberal, hell he voted to legalise prostitution. However on Kim Hill he is now saying that that vote was a mistake in hindsight. One may say that they can see the hand of McCully and Long in this move.

I ask Don Brash to heed the words of the Rev Dr Alan A Brash, who wrote in his book Facing Our Differences: the Churches and their gay and lesbian members."Some of the people whom I most respect and love have shared with me that they are of homosexual orientation and have spoken of the agonizing problems that this creates for them in their personal relationships and social life and in the congregations of many churches. For me, these experiences have been more mind-shattering than any theoretical discussion of the issues could ever be. It has been confirmed to me again and again that discussions on the topic of homosexuality have little value unless the participants are personally aware that they are not talking of abstract ideas but of actual people, many of whom they know and admire. For whether we recognize it or not, discussions about homosexuality are about people -"

As for rushing it through. That is rubbish.
The government is taking its time. It has delayed the passage of the statutory references bill so that some of the problems around defacto relationships can be ironed out.
The legislation that will pass today has already been delayed for most of the latter part of this year. Further, this is an issue whose time has come. It has been in the pipeline for over a decade. Further still, this legislation is different than the previous legislation that passed recently under urgency. We know what this bill is about and all that it entails.
We know that at its base this is about removing discrimination, and that is what the MPs are voting on today.

Why I help the Civil Union Campaign

2004-11-30T01:10:00.000+13:00

The following is a small section of some of the *submissions* to the select committee considering the Civil Union legislation.

They make me sick.

These people have no idea...

Quotes taken from a sample of submissions which demonstrates the types of arguments used by opponents of the Civil Union Bill:
CU 2294
I believe that marriage is for a man to a woman, and not for a man to a man or woman to a woman. To do the latter will cause us to sin as a nation a curse to us all.
CU2721
God created Adam and Eve - he did not create TWO Adams or TWO Eves!! In my thinking gay people are a blot on society, unhealthy, repugnant, so why try to bring in a Civil Union Bill?
To change the rules and allow same sex marriages is turning society into damnation - would you like to be brought up by two "queers"?
CU2731
In the eyes of God and his Laws [same sex marriage is] not right, read the bible, bring back the Tem Commandments, the world will be a better place. Heaven help us all on Judgement day, please don’t let these things happen seriously think about it. Its all sin.
CU3101
Alternative relationships to marriage - and especially those involving sexual union…are corruptions of the divine order and invoke God’s wrath. We believe that the violence, sexual perversion, child abuse and other tragedies so common in our society today are a manifestation of that wrath.
The Civil Union Bill is a sad attempt to shore up our de ‘moral’ ised society by sanctioning the deviant behaviour. Behaviour that will inevitably increase if we continue to deny the unique institution of marriage, between one man and one woman. Civil union opens the floodgates to a range of unwelcome practices in the future such as polygamy and polyandry, since where does one now draw the line!!!?
CU 2849
A homosexual or lesbian marriage only promotes hidden insecurities in a child which do manifest at a time oblivious to our awareness. Two men cannot teach about sex education in relation to intercourse not backdoor course, the rectum is for excretion not for the wasting of sperm. Sperm is what produces children it was not created to flow up stream. Government, you will warrant the death sentence of a multitude.
I plead with you do not cause this dangerous behaviour to become normalised in our society do not try to normalise something that is highly abnormal.
CU141
Do you not know that if this Bill is passed it will bring a curse on our land? God will judge those responsible. I pray fervently that another evil law will not be passed in Parliament.
CU2973
…the logical conclusion of this legislation will be to encourage extensions to the bill to be sought to allow for the recognition of people already practising Bigamy, Polygamy, Paedophilia, Bestiality and Necrophilia.
CU3315
Homosexuals as a group are a burden to the state in terms of both mental illness and physical illness. Although the rights of homosexual as people should be respected as any others in society, their behaviour should not be sanctioned by the state.
CU793
Homosexual relations are unnatural, that is they violate the created order, and are immoral, that is they violate the Creator’s moral law, and thus they should not be validated further (or at all) by Parliament, as these Bills would.
CU1266
WHILE EVERY ONE WILL BE AFFECTED, IT IS VERY OBVIOUS THAT THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO WILL REALLY BENEFIT…ARE SAME-SEX, SICK HOMOSEXUAL PEOPLE WHO NEED URGENT TREATMENT RATHER THAN LISTENING.
CU748 (12 year old)
For a start God made us to marry together Man and Woman. For children to have father & Mother. The world would come to total caos (sic) if that was not so. Just imagine the world with famalys (sic) with two mothers or two fathers (disgusting).
In the bible…it mentions that God have the homosexuals over to a debased mind, to do things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, having evil-minds, to be proud, violent, boasters, haters of God, disobedient, unforgiving, unloving, back biters, & whisperers, it also mentions that they are worthy of death.

I hope many of you have written a letter to the MPs that are wavering asking them to support a tolerant society.

Bored

2004-11-29T23:44:00.000+13:00

The internet is the best cure for boredom one could hope for.

Why else would you be reading my blog???

Anyway to aid in the ticking away of the seconds of your life, try these websites:

The swear-o-tron, which is some bloke swearing.

Poke the penguin, which, like its namesake, involves poking a penguin.

Ask Snoop. This one is great. You just input some random website and it puts it into Snoop Doggy Dogs language.

For fun I tried it on the interesting anti-civil unions website www.civil-unions.org

Snoop would translate the front page of the website into:

The Campaign against da Civil Union 'n Relationships bills believes New Zealanders should be warned that there is a clear pro-homosexual agenda aligned wit 'n underlying da current social engineering programme of da Labour Government (supported by da equally left-leaning Greens), which seeks destroy izzle Christian-based culture by making homosexual practices 'n lifestyle choice normative, mainstream 'n protected by “hate-speech” legislation."
Read mo' n' shit. ..
Bully Tactics by "Gay" paper against MPs in Civil Union debate
The Express Magazine (30 June-12 July 04), da major organ fo' da homosexual, lesbian 'n transgender communities, resorted desperate bully tactics in its efforts denigrate MPs who voted against sending da Civil Union Bill da Justice & Electoral Committee, know what I'm sayin'?
Read mo', know what I'm sayin'? ..
How did da MPs vote?
How did da MPs vote on da first reading of da Civil Union 'n Relationships Bills? Find out here n' shit.
Latest Breaking Informative Shiznit." ..

Ahhhhahhahaha - hours of fun.

Oh and for even more satisfying fun, try this. Email donna.awatere.huata@parliament.govt.nz

Nothing really funny happens. Its just good to get the automatically generated Delivery Status Notification and know for sure that that woman and her crazy reasoning, illegal transactions and horrible haircut styles are finally gone...

Now pay that money back Donna!!

With enemies like these...

2004-11-29T16:22:00.000+13:00

With enemies like these one almost feels like one need not bother with a pro-civil union campaign.

See this website for the Campaign against Civil Unions

Their historical press releases here and here and here and here and here and here and here

The Society for the Promotion of Community Standards press releases here and here
(Especially this one that mentions me by name!)

Then we have the fasting pastor who is fasting and praying that the civil union bill will fail its 2nd or 3rd reading. Oh and just to show that our parliament is truly a representative place, MP Paul Adams is also fasting and praying.

Hey, nothing fails like a prayer.

And then read this one from my friend and fellow campaigner Xavier, concerning the Gay Eaters for Jesus (or GEFJ)

Now being as the campaign FOR civil unions is not an exclusive campaign (cruise) committee, made up from differing sexualities, including my heterosexual self - I was a bit disappointed with the exclusionary title for the Eaters for Jesus.

I had already made up my mind to join an eating group - but now feel left out. I even had 2 extra helpings of my partners mothers' dinner last night and then some strawberries and ice cream to make up for the hungry MP Paul Adams and the famished fasting pastor.

I guess I may have to start up my own pressure group. Either in support of the GEFJ or maybe a totally new 'Convinced Hetros Eat Well For Obviously Obfuscating Dickheads'
(or CHEWFOOD)

And while their on it...

2004-11-28T21:25:00.000+13:00

Got another couple of interesting quotes quotes from busy data miners around National and the Maori seats.

Dr Brash: "We can see no justification for retaining those seats. (Dom Post 25 Nov 2004)

Te Heuheu argued against a National Party regional conference remit in 2003 to abolish Māori seats. "They can't remove rights unilaterally...Maori should make that choice." (Dom Post 5 May 2003)

Tony Ryall: The National Party's policy has always been that the Maori seats will go when the Maori people choose for them to go. (Hansard 3 Aug 1993)

I wonder if there is more internal division on the subject than we can see.

What did she say? Oh who cares...

2004-11-28T19:20:00.000+13:00

I arrived back into Auckland from holiday on Friday. Gutted.

T'was a nice trip away. I read an entire book. It was by a guy named Stephen Baxter and was part of a science-fiction series and is very interesting.

Anyway whilst I was away one of the traditions of the trip is to shoot up to the dairy every morning and buy the paper.

The thing that stuck in my mind about all the stories I read last week was from this one.

The story itself is not so surprising and consists of the confirmation that the National party will not be contesting the Maori seats. Obviously they didn't have a shit show in hell in even looking respectable in them and they have stated they opposed the seats in principle.

The most disgusting thing about Nationals announcement was this statement by Don Brash about Georgina te Heuheu's view on the subject.

He stated that she had been present in caucus for the discussion but Dr Brash said that "frankly I don't remember Georgina's view."

Excuse me?

Don Brash cannot remember his only true (Simich is identified in the article as having Maori heritage, but don't tell anyone) Maori candidates view on the scrapping of the Maori seats!!?!?! This is tragic and shows you just what is running through the head of the man that wishes to run the country. Lets hope that doesn't happen as you might see the leader *forgetting* the points of view of people or parties that may have a important view on the subject... Or at least didn't share his view.
That is frightening no matter what you think of the value of the Maori seats.

And on the matter of the Maori seats. I just don't think that National would be able to simply sign away the seats. Surely it would have to be a case of the people on the Maori roll deciding for themselves that the seats were not warranted and not simply decided by someone who forgets the views of important members of the caucus.
The Hikoi of this year will only be ten times bigger if Brash tires it on.
Again, the only way that National could legislate away the seats is if they got consensus from the people.

But hey, who cares when you simply get to play populism...

Sleeping in

2004-11-24T14:17:00.000+13:00

I am away on Holiday down at our batch in Kuratau until Friday.
No posts until then I am afraid.

Sleeping in...

Reading the paper...

Beers at the lakefront...

Heaven...

2004-11-21T22:44:00.000+13:00

I am involved with the Campaign for Civil Unions (Auckland) Inc.
One of the things that we have done in support of the legislation pertaining to the Civil Union Bill and Relationship (Statutory References) Bill is to take out an add in todays Sunday Star Times. It was funded by donations from the people who put there names to it.

I just wanted to say thank you to all those who added their name and stood up for a more tolerant and fair New Zealand. I also wanted to say well done to the rest of the Campaign team for all their hard work, especially Michael Wallmansberger. Well done.

This is a critical stage for the legislation, we are coming up to the 2nd and 3rd readings of the bill. Its really important that the MPs know that the legislation has broad public support. Please go and visit your MP and/or write to them letting them know that these bills have wide public support.
More information can be found at www.civilunions.org.nz

Twangers

2004-11-21T14:31:00.000+13:00

For any of you that thought the children's show "Rainbow" was secretly some sort of dirty subversive sexual innuendo show, then this link to a Rainbow website complete with flash video will leave you in no doubt. You will never look at Zippy, Bungle, George, Geoffrey and friends the same way again.

It is also the funniest thing I have seen in ages, go and watch the video.

This is the transcript:

The sketch opens with Zippy peeling a banana...

Zippy: "One skin, two skin, three skin, four.... "

George: "Zippy, where is Bungle?"

Zippy: "I think Geoffrey is trying to get him up"

We see a view of the door and hear Bungle moaning from behind it.

Bungle: "Geoffrey, I can't get it in"

Geoffrey: "You managed it last night"

Bungle: "I know, let's try it round the other way around. Ooooooh, I've got it in"

Bungle and Geoffrey enter the studio with Bungle carrying a hammer and peg kit

Bungle: "Would you stick this on the shelf, George"

George: "I can't reach, you'll have to stick it up yourself,

Geoffrey (to camera) " Hello everyone, today we are talking about playing"

Bungle: "Playing with each other, Geoffrey?"

Geoffrey: "Yes Bungle, do you have a special friend that you like to play with?"

George: "Yesterday we played with our balls. Are we going to play with our friend's balls
today?"

Bungle: "Yes, and we can play with our twangers as well."

Geoffrey (to camera): Have you seen Bungles twanger?

Zippy: "Oh I have, I showed him how to pluck with it."

Bungle: "It's my plucking instrument."

Geoffrey asks the audience if they can pluck like Bungle

Zippy: "I can, I'm the best plucker here."

George: "And I'm good at banging. My peg's hard isn't it Zippy?"

Zippy: "Well of course it is, Your peg wouldn't go in if it was soft."

Geoffrey: "Let's get back to Bungle's twanger."

Bungle (excited): "Oooooh Geoffrey, we could all paint our twangers couldn't we?"

George: "Let's sing that plucking song."

Bungle: "Rod and Roger can get their instruments out and Jane has got two lovely Maracas."

Singers Rod, Roger and Jane enter.

Rod: "We could hear you all banging away."

Roger: "Banging can be fun."

Jane: "Ooooh yes, and I was banging away all last night with Rod and Roger."

Roger (looking sad): "Yes, but it broke my plucking instrument."

Geoffrey: "Never mind Roger, let sing the plucking song, come on everybody get your instruments out."

Rod (to Jane): "Do you want to blow on my pipe while I'm twanging away?"

Jane: "Oh no Rod, I was blowing a lot with Roger last night. But would you like to play with my maracas?"

Zippy: "No, let's just pluck away with our twangers."

Bungle: "Yes, it doesn't matter what size your twanger is."

Zippy: "I've got a big red one."

George: "I've only got a tiny twanger. But it works well and I like to play with it."

Geoffrey (to viewers): "Well, have you got your twangers out? And remember, you can bounce your balls at the same time. If you haven't got any balls, ask a friend if you can play with his. Now, let's all sing the plucking song."

Everyone in studio: "Pluck, pluck, pluck away, we're going to pluck all day today.""Pluck, pluck, pluck away, we're going to pluck all day."

Geoffrey (to viewers): " It's time for us all to go now, but don't forget to get your twangers out and play with your balls." "See you soon. Bye."

Kia Kaha.

2004-11-20T11:50:00.000+13:00

In case some of you missed it the seabed and foreshore legislation passed its final reading on Thursday.

Rather than add to the mirage of comment on the legislation I would like to take the opportunity to offer my maximum respect to Labour's Nanaia Mahuta who after what must have been huge pressure, talk of resigning, then working to make the legislation more fair to Maori - ended up voting for the 3rd reading.

Now I am not saying respect simply because she voted for the bill, I am saying respect because in voting for the legislation she also opted to not go on the Labour list at the next election and will simply stand as a candidate in the Tainui elecorate.
This means she has the courage of her convictions to let the people decide on her voting for, and the ramifications of, the seabed and foreshore legislation.

Kia Kaha.

Would you like type two diabetes with that sir?

2004-11-19T14:39:00.000+13:00

Confession. I am addicted to junk food. I dont know if it is a psychological addiction like that seen in marijuana users, nose pickers or blog junkies. Or if it is a more physical addiction, like smoking or using mint sauce on lamb cutlets.

Whatever it is I am starting to worry.

Now for those of you who don’t know me, I don’t look like I am addicted to junk food. Indeed I have at various times been described as skinny, puny even. I am teased for having shoulders that look like I am wearing an 80’s designer shirt with shoulder pads – without the pads. Or even funnier, that I left the coat hanger in when I put on my jumper. I am so skinny that my younger brother terms me the ‘runt of the littler.’ My father teases me by saying there is more meat on a jockeys whip or more meat on a butchers pencil, and then he taunts me by saying I must have to run around in the shower to get wet.

My mother is skinny, when people state ‘Oh you are so skinny’ - where I sulk and mutter to myself about the day when the shoe is on the other foot, she simply retorts ‘No I am not, you are just fat’

As I said, I don’t look like a junk food junky. I should do tho. I eat it regularly. Sometimes daily.
Yet my weight hovers about the mid-late to very-late 60’s

I never run.

Ever.

I avoid walking anywhere. I have a scooter so I don’t have to walk and I get a park right outside every time. I walk from the scooter to a desk and then sit down. I walk around in the day between classes and to get lunch. I then walk back to my scooter and scoot home.

At home I walk to the fridge and to the loo and to bed.

When I walk, I take the most direct route every time. When I am walking across a road I ‘J’ walk to cut down the distance. When I walk down and across a hallway - I consciously walk as diagonally as I can.
My philosophy for walking is that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

As an aside I ask you this. You are able to get disabled parking cards if you are over weight. Is this not counter-intuitive? Surely we should be making over weight people walk the greatest distance across the car park to get to the supermarket.

Anyway. Back to skinny ol’ me.
I use to play goal keeper when I was in a soccer team – less moving.
I get tired running - out of milk.
I dread running for buses and so avoid buses.
I like larger, pilsener, dark beer, Guinness and whisky.
I like McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Chinese, Asian Food Halls, Burger Fuel.
I also like heat and eat meals.
I also like big servings.
I last exercised properly sometime toward the beginning of this decade.

I am a creature of leisure and I am starting to get worried.

You see all over the western world the previously untouchable skinny person is coming under threat from late onset type two diabetes. I understand that this condition is more prevalent among my more bulky brothers and sizeable sisters, however I understand that anyone is at risk. I understand that you cannot tell who is going to get taken up by this disease. I guess I exhibit many of the risk factors of picking it up, however whether I do or not is still up in the air. Risk factors? As I understand it those are a bit up in the air too, millions of people across the western world are like me yet we aren’t all going to get it. Are the risk factors for diabetes kind of like the risk factors for being abducted by aliens? Such as you are more likely to be abducted by UFO’s if you happen to be American, live in the mid west Bush voting states, and are a lumberjack. These risk factors indicate your increased likelihood of becoming ET’s lab rat, just as eating crap, doing crap and crapping crap means you have the risk factors associated with type two diabetes.

Crap, no one can tell me. Can you tell me if I am going to get ill? Can you tell me how to stop everybody getting diabetes? Is quitting being a junk food junkie going to actually help?

I had hoped that medical science would not only catch up human illness by the time I grew up, but overtake it just before the inevitable infirmity of old age and disease caught up with me.
I shall continue to defer that hope…

The triumph of hope over self-interest

2004-11-18T16:26:00.000+13:00

Hello all,
Forgive the tardiness of this post, I know it has been a while. But lots of stuff has happened since last week. The last of my exams. Labour party conference. Getting ready to be Vice president of AUSA. And Kate moving out of her house.

Anyway since last week I have been wondering about why, WHY people voted George Bush and the rotten republicans.

I have come to the conclusion it is all about hope.

You see I wondered why, WHY do people in America allow Bush to pass tax cuts that only benefit the top 1% of taxpayers, you know - those people who least need monetary relief.
Why, WHY do they vote for a party that least represents them (The onion has an explanation) However I would like to offer another. People vote for their hope.

You see in the first election campaign Bush said he would pass into law a tax cut that benefited 1% of the people. Madness you would think. Surely the majority of people in their self-interest would oppose more money for the rich when they could easily just keep the tax rates for the rich and fund any number of worthy causes. But no.

Why, WHY do they accept it?

In 2000 the most telling polling result from the election was from a Time magazine survey by David Brooks called “The Triumph Of Hope Over Self-Interest” and asked people if they are in the top 1 percent of earners.

Nineteen percent of Americans say they are in the richest 1 percent.

A further 20 percent expect to be in the future.

In case you missed that:
- 19% of people believe that they are in the top 1% of income earners. This is of course nuts, 19% of people cannot be in the top 1% of income earners and is simply some kind of mass delusion (This could be why people believe US voters are stupid)
- A further 20% think that they will one day be in the top 1%

The Time magazine concludes that consequently when 39 percent of people who thought that George Bush was flying the flag for their interests, then heard Al Gore pointing out the problems with the tax cuts and how they would affect the accounts, they thought he was taking a direct shot at them.

And so the Republicans played on people’s hope in 2000 and I’d say they did so in 2004 albeit in a more subtle and underhand manner. Now the hope focused on a perceived sense of danger spurred on by pop nationalism. A hope that centred on a belief that the world is somehow going to stay the same and not change. That the free world will continue to be lead by America without the need or want to pay heed to others, that life consists of watching grid iron on Sundays, eating apple pie and watching their kids grow up, get rich, and get married.

This is a hope, wrapped in an incomplete vision, and manifested in a deluded conservatism.

It doesn’t help that the democrats could not offer up an alternate vision of hope self-interest. The world prays that they come up with that alternate vision and express it to the American public. They need to show that their vision of hope is also in peoples self interest. Easy eh?

The big con of the tax cuts in the first election campaign played on peoples hope that one day they too could be rich and wealthy. The big con of the second election was to ensure that voters understood that they were voting for the hope of the dream of a once great America.

The eagle has landed.

2004-11-10T14:01:00.000+13:00

Did you hear that the US attorney general John Ashcroft has resigned from the Bush administration? See here

Oh well. There goes one of the more colourful characters to say the least. Ashcroft is famous for the following things:

From 1963 to 1969 he received seven military deferments.

He ran for re-election in 2000 against then-Governor Mel Carnahan, who promptly died in an airplane crash about two weeks before the election. Due to Missouri state election laws, Carnahan's name could not be removed from the ballot, and his wife, Jean Carnaha, announced that she would serve in her husband's place should he be elected. Carnahan won the election, and it was widely reported that John Ashcroft was "defeated by a dead man"

Ashcroft is noted for having taken offence at the partially nude statues of Liberty and Justice in a meeting room where he held press conferences. He ordered the statues covered with multi-thousand-dollar curtains. Wicked, justice is blind and is a nudist.

Whilst he is regarded as on of the top tuff guys in the war on drugs, that war doesnt seem to reach his own house. In 1992, while Ashcroft was Governor of Missouri, his nephews Alex and Adam Ashcroft and Alex's housemate Kevin Sheeley were arrested and charged with production and possession of marijuana. A raid uncovered 60 marijuana plants, with lighting, irrigation, and security systems, in a basement crawlspace. While the production of more than 50 plants usually results in a federal charge and mandatory jail time, 25-year-old Alex Ashcroft was prosecuted on a state charge and received 3 years of probation and 100 hours of community service. Kevin Sheeley was not convicted, and his record was sealed; Adam Ashcroft, who did not live in the house, was never prosecuted. Though Alex Ashcroft tested positive for marijuana in his first probation-mandated drug test, no further actions were taken against him. The parents of Alex and Adam have denied that the young men received a lenient treatment as a result of their connection to the governor. Link

Speaking at a Justice Department prayer meeting: "The law is not about forgiveness. It is oftentimes about vengeance, oftentimes about revenge."

News that the ambassador to the Netherlands had calico cats upset Ashcroft's advance team, who knew their boss considered the animals 'instruments of the Devil'

Ashcroft likes to have reading matter reduced, in the words of one former staffer, to a "paragraph of background and a paragraph of talking points." Receiving a 12-page report,
Ashcroft said, "Do I get extra credit for reading all this?"

Ashcroft used black prisoners at servants at the Missouri governor's mansion.
During one dinner there, Ashcroft said, 'Women in the workforce have become so prevalent that a man's role has been reduced to a sperm donor.'

Interviewing a candidate for head of Missouri's social services, Governor Ashcroft asked, "Mr. Offer, let me start by asking you if have the same sexual preference as most men?"

He has supported ten additional amendments to the Constitution including one to make it easier to amend

He received the most negative votes ever cast by the Senate in opposition to his nomination as attorney general.

In his memoirs, Ashcroft regularly compares himself to Christ, describing his campaign victories as 'resurrections' and his defeats as 'crucifixions..'

John Ashcroft famously testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that his critics "only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve"

(All from the aptly named Ashcroft sucks website)

And who could forget that sign-a-long song he penned, “Let the eagle soar.”
"Let the eagle soar,
Like she's never soared before.
From rocky coast to golden shore,
Let the mighty eagle soar.
Soar with healing in her wings,
As the land beneath her sings:
'Only god, no other kings.
'This country's far too young to die.
We've still got a lot of climbing to do,
And we can make it if we try.
Built by toils and struggles
God has led us through."

Ashcroft’s biggest *achievement* was the promotion of the Patriot Act, that being the single biggest role back of civil liberties imaginable. But hey, if your not a terrorist - you have got nothing to be afraid of… see here

Go here for an interesting look at his some of his churches teachings.

Ashcroft is rabidly anti-gay, see here.

The attorney general of the United States said, "Islam is a religion in which God requires you to send your son to die for him. Christianity is a faith in which God sends his son to die for you."

However these are my most favourite quotes:

"We are a nation called to defend freedom - a tradition that is not a grant of any government or document, but is an endowment from God"
Link

"Unique among the nations, America recognized the source of our character as being godly and eternal, not being civic and temporal. And because we have understood that our source is eternal, America has been different. We have no king but Jesus."
Link

This is the type of person running the most powerful country in the whole wide world. Wicked.

Honey, come to bed.

2004-11-08T23:46:00.000+13:00

I am a politico geek. I watch the press releases come pouring in from www.scoop.co.nz everyday.

Most of them are boring and predictable.

This one http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0411/S00192.htm was surely the funniest one I have read this year.
(Please note I have added italics and CAPITALS for comic effect)

NZ's Second-Longest Running Trade Dispute Resolved
Monday, 8 November 2004, 4:41 pm

Press Release: New Zealand Government
Media Statement
8 November 2004

Second-Longest Running Trade Dispute Resolved

New Zealand's second-longest running trade dispute has been successfully resolved, Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton said today.

Mr Sutton welcomed the public notification in the US Federal Register that New Zealand honeybee and honeybee SEMEN may be exported to the United States from 22 November.

"The decision by the United States to allow New Zealand access for both honey bees and honey bee SEMEN is good news. It allows our exporters access into a niche market of randy but unsatisfied US honeybees."

Shipments (how much bee semen can you fit in a whole ship?) will also be able to transit more easily through the United States to Canada.

Mr Sutton said the United States Department of Agriculture has heavily scrutinised the biosecurity implications of importing New Zealand bees and their bee paste and was satisfied our bees pose no threat.

"New Zealand first requested honey bee access to the US in 1978. Efforts by the Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, our Embassy in Washington and the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry have been vital to reach this successful outcome so our bees can now spread their seed far and wide."

There are still some process steps that need to be finalised before trade can commence, for example just how do you collect bee SEMEN in the first place? MAF is drafting the first version of export certificates for the export of bees to continental US and transit through Hawaii. MAF will then negotiate with the United States conditions for the export of honeybees.

Exports of New Zealand honeybees and honeybee SEMEN to the United States are expected to be valued at initially NZ$140,000 a year. Queen bee exports to Canada in 2003 were valued at NZ$1.09m.

ENDS

Far from me to laugh at an export earner. I just wonder what the mighty Untied States had to fear from our little bees’ business. And who knew there was so much money to be made from such a tiny export?

I like Irish whisky.

2004-11-08T01:09:00.000+13:00

Over time I have begun to find an ever-increasing joy in the consumption of Irish Whisky. I know little about whisky consumption so these observations are what I feel can only be described as an awakening.

At this early stage in my Irish whisky drinking journey I prefer Jameson whisky. A few years ago I went to the Jameson’s distillery in Dublin. The tour was as good as any other alcohol producers tour I have been on, I spent the time walking past mock distillers and smelling barley and thinking ‘There should be a straight-to-the-bar tour option’. I did learn that James Joyce was one to partake in the triple distilled tipple. Upon finally reaching the bar we were presented with an array of small glasses of Jameson whiskies. I gulped them down without too much thought.

Looking back it was a waste. Such a waste. That was about 4 years ago now and I would like to think I have grown up a little since then. I flatter myself with a self-knowledge that my tastes may just have grown more refined. Remembering that young lad out in the big wide world, I see something of a puppy suddenly getting to smell a world of new smells yet being too busy chasing a flying insect to take much notice. Looking back to the distillery and the swilling of that plonk, the only thought I could recall about the whisky is how it reminded me of chundering up after drinking a hip flask of Cougar whiskey (read electrical cable cleaner) in 6th form. There was no way that at that time of my life could I have enjoyed the delicate taste of a drink I have come to love. I believe it takes a good five years from the experience of yundering after consuming vast amounts of spirits during those formative teenage years, until the residual memory of the taste leaves the brain. Prior to this I believe the brain just says no to the taste of a spirit that was once responsible for bringing it close to shutdown. I managed to alienate my brain from most of the common stock of spirits and it is only just now allowing the poison slowly back into the system.

I think it trusts me more now.

Slowly the spirits came back. Firstly Bacardi then Gin, then the milky ones, then the ones with funny names like Ouzo. He is still not so sure about Rum and he hates it when zealous friends thrust that fowl devils urine Tequila into the blood stream. It is Whisky however that has made the strongest comeback. Disagreements with the brain and body have been left behind and a whole field of new experiences have opened up in front of me.

I feel this is an analogy for growing up.

First the smell hits you. It pierces the nostrils. It tickles and burns the receptors at first, leaving you in no doubt of what you are going to drink and indicating what it is going to taste like. I my opinion, out of all things that we eat or drink it is the smell of whisky that most closely resembles its eventual taste. The smell pours down your nasal cavities like the liquid does in your throat. The whiff is enough to start warming you up. It smells warm, intense and inviting.
The drink itself needs to be drunk from glass, coffee mugs seem to make it taste like its been sitting in the sun all day. Glasses appear to lend it a crisper taste. Taking a sip is like letting experience itself sit in your mouth. My tongue lunges forward to capture the first drops, it forms a pool in the middle as a catchment area for the liquid. Once inside my mouth the whisky sets about exciting every tastebud it can traverse over. I roll the juice around, making full use of every drop. Whisky of course has an intense flavour. Its tastes warm, old, alcoholic, clean, rich, strong and full. I move it around slowly until it sits at the back of my mouth. I swallow and let the fluid drain over the top of the back of my tongue and down into my body. I can taste it as it goes down and then feel warm as it becomes a part of me. It makes me flush and smile and stains my breath. The taste in my mouth lasts a long time after swallowing. One could say that it lasts until the drink is finished as it lingers in the mouth until the next sip and so on until the glass (or bottle) is empty.

The taste is so complex, I am finding it hard to express but it feels as if there are layers to the taste. Firstly the heat and excitement, followed by an under current of smoothness and flavour and finishing up with a warm lingering memory. I realise that I haven’t used proper ‘taste’ words to describe it. I just don’t feel they would make sense. I feel like no one can tell you how to taste whisky. It’s too multifaceted and involved. I foresee that I will always enjoy the drink and am glad to have opened up yet another area of life to explore and take pleasure in. For me the equivalence of finding whisky and growing up is strong. I am finding it at a time where the world itself seems to be opening up. It seems exciting and new, yet I know that it has been around for a long time. It feels involved and complex, yet I know I can come to understand it. At this early stage I feel I am not so good at registering all the complexities and nuances, yet I realise my comprehension and knowledge will grow with greater experience.
I know there is much to be discovered.
I look forward to the discovery.

Its all about the he says, she says...

2004-11-06T17:40:00.000+13:00

This is what is going to happen about the John Tamihere affair (Its to hard to attach a gate to the end of Waipareira I guess)

Mud will keep flying, well actually the accusers will simply keep trying to smear the muck around.
The government will keep saying that it is under investigation and we should wait for the outcome of the inquiry.
Tamihere has fairly stepped down from cabinet responsibilities.
The investigation will report back on whether there were irregularities in his payment.

What is interesting is what may happen after that. I suspect it will clear JT of serious criminal irregularities. Focus will then shift to whether it was ethical to accept the payment. It was wrong to take the money and then not disclose it. He should have told the PM about it. However the payment was not a golden handshake, lets get that straight. Golden handshakes were reserved for the under performing public service bosses. John is simply not in the same categories as them and it seems he accepted the payment as part of his remuneration for turning the trust into a success. Questions will focus on whether he should have accepted the money. It seems as if he did so for family reasons and as the public comes to understand this I believe they will empathises with Tamihere. This means that his future will rest on the public’s response to his accepting the payment when he said that he wouldn’t. I suspect that the question will be asked and answered with the next general election. The right wing may not like it as they would rather a trial by media, but the public will be the ones to decide John’s fate. They will either forgive him for telling porkpies, believing that he probably needed the money for his families’ sake. Or they will take issue with his morals and vote him out of office.
I believe they will forgive this transgression, recognising the value in the man.

Examinations examined.

2004-11-04T13:48:00.000+13:00

“And your time startsssssssss nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnow.”

2:30pm
Exam beings. Shit.
2:35pm
I have begun commenting on the first of 5 quotes we are supposed to attribute to 20th century French philosophers. I will soon run into problems in this exam because due to my highly focused study style I have only studied for 5 philosophers and only 3 of those 5 appear on this years exam. Shit
3:00pm
Worry? No, I am calm. Why? Because I am almost assured of getting an A- anyway.
3:30pm
I’ve now finished with the 3 people I have studied for, I think the answers are good. They have to be, as they may have to carry me.
4:00pm
Why didn’t you be extra careful and study a couple of extra philosophers as back up?
I reason being is the fact that I am treating this semester as a kind of test as to what is the core base amount of work I need to do to achieve the mark that I always get, an A-
In my first year I put in quite a lot of effort to studying and I gained A minuses. My second year I just did what I thought was enough to get by and got A minuses. This year I have taken on heaps of extra curricular activities, written essays the night before they are due, and began studying for exams the day before. I am on track for more A minuses. You may think this is a gift, I think it is a motivation killer. Why study harder if all I am going to get is less time to do other things and A minuses? This is ridiculous. I do not consider myself a highly intelligent person, I am surrounded by people who are more clever, funny, articulate and intelligent than me. I know some amazingly smart people who only get a couple of grade points higher than I do, and I know that they have to work damm harder to get those extra few percentage points.
4:30pm
I am going to be OK. French philosophy consists of a couple of key themes followed by 12 chapters of waffle. I remembered the key themes of Irigaray and Fanon, noted them down and then waffled cleverly for a number of paragraphs. This was of course good luck rather than good management. It is lucky that I am good at exams and I am good at studying. As my 4pm rant stated, I just don’t seem to have the motivation for doing more or less work as I will undoubtable get an A-. This means that I do just enough study to remember the key themes for the works. So little study time that I factored in this morning before the exam as proper planned study time. Not cramming, cramming suggests franticness. No this is all part of the plan for achieving the seemingly auto-achievable. My brain, gobbles up all the information it can in the knowledge it will simply vomit it all back up again in the afternoon. This has prepared me well, time and time again. I am now onto an essay, comparing Marx to Sassure. Easy, this exam is looking better.
5:00pm
One of the things I can’t understand though is the fact that I see people in the exam who I have never seen before. These people really piss me off. I cannot believe that so many people simply do nothing at all at university. Granted I don’t know what marks they are getting, they could be just like me getting A minuses yet not even having to turn up to class. However I would say that they are marginal students at best, the C’s get degrees people. Coming to the exam to receive that mediocre mark. Well, as yet another person leaves the exam (probably the tenth, after the first left just after 4pm!) I do not think that the long-suffering taxpayers funding 2/3rds of their degree are getting their monies worth. A- is the new benchmark at university in my book, anything under a B is a waste of time and resources. That money would be better spent on people who are at least giving their degree a good go, or helping other people into university. Not on people waffling through university to get a mediocre degree.
5:15pm
“There is 15 minutes to go you may not leave the room.” Several people have obviously rushed the endings to their essays, as there has been an exodus of people in the last 15 or so minutes. I can never understand rushing the last bit of your essay, surely its not that bad to take just that little bit longer, only 15 miniutes to go over and maybe add something else. Those people leaving are going to be stuck in traffic anyway. Whats the point? Don’t they want to do a little better? Or have they accurately attuned their sense for knowing when they have achieved mediocrity. I ALWAYS need to go to the loo at this point in the proceedings.
5:30pm
“And your times up” Says the invigilator. What kind of job title is invigilator?
I am disappointed with this exam. Firstly because they didn’t ask me about 2 of the philosophers I studied. Secondly because I will still probably achieve an A-, reinforcing my belief that the university marking system is too soft. And thirdly because I feel as if there are people at university that don’t deserve to be here and are wasting their time and the countries money. No I don’t think they are any better than me for simply putting in the base amount of work required, however I think that if they put in a base amount and can only just get by then that is a waste. I think I should have to try mush harder to get the marks I get.
But things are looking up, that’s one exam down and only two to go.

Media managers

2004-11-02T23:47:00.000+13:00

I've been watching the news on TV and reading the papers for a while now and would like to think I know something about how it works. In realty I of course I know as much as any other regular viewer I guess and so to the thousands upon thousands of you out there studiously completing degrees in media studies please skip over this post for I feel it will simply tell you something you may have learnt in your stage one paper, FTVMS101: How to watch the news.

I admire the way that competent media managers keep things in the news and therefore in the publics mind, thoughts, bus-chats, pub-wailings, dinner table conversations, and so on and so forth.

There are two categories of media managers that are the best at what they do. The first are the ones involved in the political process and the second are the ones involved with the Police.

The first one is self evident. Political media managers seem to need to do two things and that is break a story or make a story. Breaking a story is as easy as tipping off a TV3 jorno that John Tamahere may or may not have paid tax on a payout when he left the Waipareira trust and that Labour campaigned against so called 'Golden-handshakes' at the 1999 election (even though this is not a Golden-handshake in the manner in which the term was used at the time) Breaking the story seems to be easy when there is one to be broken, it is harder when the event 'broken' would not have done so if there was no media to create interest for the story. For instance, the JT affair is not a real story in that it would not exist if it were not for the media creating the interest in it. On the other hand a huge earthquake that wiped out Hamilton (it is coming, I can feel it) would be of interest to people even if there was no media. The former story is harder to break as it requires skill to make it of interest to people and the later is interesting simply because it is real and could happen to us. Political media managers seem to need to work quite hard to make political stories relevant to the public.

Police have it easier. People are always going to be interested in stories that involve the Police. I guess it comes from fear, but maybe it is simply interest in the community that we live in. They don't need to make stories in the sense that political operators do. They have a different job and that is to catch the crook. One of the ways in which Police do this is of course from public input, it is therefore vastly important to attempt to jog the publics mind and keep them thinking about a crime. The Police media managers are clever, they keep things in the news for ages. Take for instance the Korean woman who was killed recently, the story stayed in the media for a week or so. This was in part due to the Police drip feeding information out to the media and thus onto the public. Each night we got an update on the case first a picture of a missing woman, next night a picture of her house, then her car. Then they told us that her body was found a couple of days ago floating in the Waikato river. Then the next day there are shots of divers going into the water. Each new day contains a re-run of what has happened and each day the publics minds are jogged, aiding the police in their job. The same can be said for the Iraena Asher case, each day more information would come out. As the news items came out giving the public a little bit more each evening, the story of the night in question was built up piece by piece. It would seem the Police released just enough information to make a news bulletin, saving some for the next night to ensure the story stayed in the news. Even when it became apparent that the Police had made some kind of mistake with regard to the handling of the call, they continued to slowly release information about that. This insured the case stayed in the media for longer, increasing the chances of a closure of the case.

The key in both cases is of course drip feeding. Bits of the story come out at a time so that it stays in the media gaze and in the publics minds for the greatest amount of time. The challenge for media managers is to know what will make a story and how to extend the amount of time that story is given prominence. The Police to keep the events in question in the publics mind, thus increasing the likelihood someone may remember something. The politicians drip feed information for stories in order to extend the time they are able to bash other politicians in the media. Rodney Hide is great at this and dribbling out mud to sling at JT has given him more media exposure over the past two weeks than he has had in the last 6 months. The story around JT came out in the first day with the the question over his conduct when receiving a final payment - painted as a golden-handshake. The rest of the allegations surrounding the Waipareira trust are part of that drip feed of information and simply secondary to the main thrust of the issue. However it keeps the main issue in the publics mind, hopefully eroding confidence in him It seems we can only expect more if his blog (http://rodneyhide.com/Diary/index.php?p=529) is anything to go by:

"Sunday Star Times Political Editor Helen Bain reports the following on her former boss John Tamihere:

[T]he government must be bracing themselves every time they switch on a news bulletin or unfold a newspaper

And if rumors swirling around parliament solidify into fact, there will be more to come.

That's right. Strap yourselves in."

So dribble, dribble. And conversely the government media managers will try to put it out of the media by pointing out that there is a investigation underway to determine the status of the transactions. Its all very intriguing unless one simply sees it as a media managed beat up.

Howard endorses Bush

2004-11-02T22:17:00.000+13:00

I've read that John Howard has endorsed his good old buddy George Bush. See : http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/11/01/1099262792343.html

"last week said he hoped Mr Bush was re-elected because he had been a strong leader in the world fight against terrorism.
Labor said Mr Howard should not meddle in another country's politics, while former Clinton adviser Kurt Campbell said it was inappropriate for Mr Howard to publicly wish for Mr Bush's victory."

Indeed, imagine if Helen endorsed Kerry??? Crikey...

Alexander Downer justified meddling in another countries affairs by saying inevitable the federal government would show support for its American centre-right counterpart in the lead-up to the US elections.

Pah. Politicians should just stay out of the affairs of other people's elections. They just get burned.

Priming Ralston

2004-11-02T22:16:00.000+13:00

Bill Ralston is on National radio. Holmes wont be on the show tonight but he signaled some kind of tearful last day blar blar blar.Holmes show looks to be revamped. He said it will take emphasis of one personality *phew* and will have a better news focus. Goodbye Holmes the home builder... I hope they focus on interesting news topics.Clark is suggesting Eric Young as the front man...
Ralston is saying he left because TVNZ wanted annual contracts and Holmes wanted extend terms. I think Ralston wanted him out and finally found a way. Interesting thought as Holmes must have been an advertising magnet. Ralston is saying all TVNZ presenters are moving onto 12 month contracts - obviously to keep them on their toes.

Priming Holmes

2004-11-02T22:15:00.000+13:00

I just heard that Paul Holmes is leaving TVNZ and is going to Prime. I understood that Prime was looking to beef up its local content but this is an interesting development. I wonder if it will have the desired effect of dragging viewers over. Personally I quite liked Prime when it was odd docos and funny English shows but oh well, guess that's why I'm not a TV programmer.
Who will do Homles now?
Bovver boy John Campbell making a jump?
Susan Wood stepping up?
Mike Hosking????????

Continuing intrigue

2004-11-02T22:14:00.000+13:00

In addition to earlier post the Economist has endorsed Kerry and early exit polls on early voters have Kerry ahead (as was predicted) It does seem as if Kerry has the momentum in these last days.

The world watches and waits.

2004-11-02T19:28:00.000+13:00

Of course the most interesting new item this week (possibly the next six) is the US election.

Rather than adding to the galaxy worth of comment on the issues I want to have a quick look at the polling a couple of days out.

The election prediction website http://www.electoral-vote.com has Kerry now ahead in terms of electoral college votes. Kerry 283 and Bush 246 However the lead is built on very marginal seats, you get a more interesting scenario when looking at trends and marginals.

I enjoy playing around with the LA times' electoral vote predictor (available from http://www.latimes.com)
It has Bush with 179 safe and Kerry with 153, leaving 206 as 'marginal' up for grabs!
Of course marginal is a marginal word to use here. If one cares to make a few predictions and colour the less than marginal ones they deem as marginal (i.e outside the margin of error) the result looks ever more interesting. Marginal are: New Mexico, Hawaii, Nevada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, New Jersey and of course Florida.

Now for predictions.
NM will stay Democrat, 2 point lead and D last 3 elections.
Hawaii, Democrat. Has been solidly D. for ages, but polls are tied there. Strong Unionised workforce that if it can be moblised will get out the vote for Kerry.
Minnesota - Democrat. Blue for at least last 4 elections and Kerry has a 5% lead.
Wisconsin - Democrat. 8% lead in polls. Democrat for the last 3 decades.
Iowa - Democrat. Some scary polls but Kerry in the lead now. Also has been democrat for decades.
Nevada - Republican. Went Bush in last election (Blue for Clinton) Polls have it tied, but I think it will go red.
Michigan - Demo. Hurt by Bush's economic management. Went Blue in 92, 96 and 00 - But polls are very close this time...
Pennsylvania - Demo, State went blue last 3 elections.
New Jersey - Demo. Kerry with 8% lead. Democrat in last 3 elections. Gore won 56.1% verse 40.3% last time. A late surge for Kerry putting him back 8% head after tied polling.

I think almost these picks are on for the Democrats to pick up. Some of them are really marginal and I think a high turnout as the pundits are picking will swing them to the donkeys.

This optimistic but possible scenario would result in Kerry with 257 and Bush with 227

That leaves 4 states deciding the election.
Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio and Florida. Bush needs to win 2 of the 3 (ex NH) and Kerry needs to win either Iowa + 1 or simply one of the others (ex NH)

New Hampshire - I think it will go Republican. Trend is back with Kerry though and now the state is tied. Only 4 electorate votes so is not so important.

Iowa was the second most marginal at the last election with only a few thousand separating the winner Gore over Bush. It has gone democrat at the last 4 elections, but this time the polls are just too close to call.

Ohio - I think it will go to Bush. Latest polls have him 5% ahead. Went Bush last election. This is one of the so called 'bellwethers' and is so important with 20 electoral college votes. One to watch.

That leaves Florida. Kerry now has the lead in the average polls by only 2% High early voting turnouts could help the challenger. State of course went to Bush at the last election (pah) Lets hope the lawyers in the state make sure that its honest. I'd say that the Democrats are seriously pissed at the last election and will be making a huge effort to get people out on the day in Florida. There are too many factors to call this state, but my gut says it will go to the Republicans. This will give Bush back the white house.
Who knows though, if it does swing to Kerry. He is in the top job. Florida is Key for both of them.
If Iowa and the other super marginal go to Kerry it wont be enough. But put it this way, if Kerry wins Florida he could lose 16 electoral votes and still win the election New Mexico(5), Iowa(7), New Hampshire(4) and Hawaii(4) and win the election.
This is the polling summary from electoral-vote.com:
The lead has changed in five states, and all five changes favor Kerry. As a result, Kerry has now passed Bush in the electoral college. If today's results are the final results Wednesday morning, John Kerry will be elected as the 44th President of the United States, with 283 votes in the electoral college to George Bush's 246. But don't count on it. Many of Kerry's leads are razor thin. Counting only the strong + weak states, Bush leads 229 to 196, with 113 electoral votes in the tossup category Kerry's leads in the tossup states mean little to nothing. The turnout Tuesday will determine who wins.

Arrgh. With this post I set out to teach myself who I think will win but I just don't know. Head is saying Bush, rest is saying Kerry. Its soooo close though, as I hope to have shown you.

Join me in Shadows (where we are screening the election) on Wednesday from midday onwards for a beer and an interesting afternoon.

Birthday

2004-11-02T13:23:00.000+13:00

Yesterday being the last day of October was none other than New Zealand's own Hobbit lookalike Peter Jackson's 43rd birthday. So happy birthday big fella.
If we met at a posh Hollywood party, Peter Jackson and me would have something to talk about as we both went to Kapiti College Secondary School.

K.C REPREZENT!! - Ahem.

Blogging and the herd.

2004-11-02T10:45:00.000+13:00

As I said in my first post I go on internet fads, and that blogging is one of those fads. Firstly as a avid reader and now as one putting finger to button. I don't know about this though, I am not one for following fads or herds. It feels as if there is a surge of new bloggers coming online of which I am one. You only need to go look at the many new bloggers archives - some of them stretch all the way back to October 2004.
I am one of these and I feel uncomfortable. As I said I don't like being in the herd. I like to think my clothing proves this. Most of the clothing I wear can be traced back to secondary school days. Craccum gave me runner up best dressed prize this year due to my favorite blue woolen - live under a cardboard box favorite old jumper I wear all the time. I don't care for worldy fashions as they are too fad-dy. I dress to cover and not to impress - sorry ladies. Anyway I digress...

I was at a 'do' this afternoon. It was put on by Russell Brown and was called publicaddress live. It was really good and had peformances by Lady 6, Ed Cake and members of the Brunettes. I saw lots of people I know and I won a bag of coffee. There were lots of thoughtfully dressed people there - you know the artist/intellectual/musician op-shop buyers, before buying from an op shop was fad-dy. I believe the key to buying from an op-shop is to purchase clothes that you may once have owned, not ones that you buy simply because you probably have never worn something like that before. Anyway I digress again...
Members of publicaddress answered questions from both blog readers and the crowd about their blogs, their reasons for blogging, why they blog - etc.
I asked whether they felt like they were preaching to the converted with their blogs and if so was that really a great use of time, or do they feel they are reaching out to a wider audience.

I think this is key for bloggers and to a further extent websites and the internet in general. Whilst there is an explosion of voices and information on the internet, viewers are able to specifically target their viewings to simply what interests them or their ideological persuasion. As you can see in with the type of comments that accompany American blogs, people read what they want to read and that's about it. The bigger blogs there are simply mouthpieces, there is no debate. This hasn't happened in NZ as I feel that the amount of people writing blogs has not reached a sufficient level for people who are interested in reading other peoples thoughts to simply stick to the blogs that they relate to. Hence you have people jumping from publicaddress to just left to David Farrar to no right turn to nzpundit to dog biting men to fighting talk and on and on. I would say that there is not yet a critical mass of the general NZ internet public interested in what random people have to say, the same type of people are writing the blogs as the people reading them. There is room for growth.

That is the challenge.

One has to find a niche I guess, to interest those people who may be visiting blogs for their first time and might just adorn you with a coveted bookmark. Sigh, maybe one day...

Anyway, the team on show at the publicaddress 'bloggers do' have just that. A niche, and the public are listening - something like 27000 emails out per week, and untold numbers viewing the site directly, or something like that. This is of course a triumph for the publicaddress team and good on them. However I wonder is the general public actually interested in the rest of the dial up speed blogs out there? (or clogs, a new word I learnt today) Who knows, guess time will tell. I do look forward to seeing other 'important blogs' emerging over time and feel there is room on New Zealand's internet for that to happen. Guess that whilst I am able to say that I am looking forward to NZ blogging becoming more important (if indeed that is an eventuality) then in some respects creating a blog in the knowledge that there is more to come means that it must still be early in the piece. Therefore I shouldn't worry that I am simply following a fad in setting one up at this early stage.

And now to find a niche...

"Trick or treat!"

2004-11-01T13:06:00.000+13:00

"Trick or treat!" I hear excitedly when I opened the front door tonight. I wondered, is this group of children going to be any different........

Now I am not one of those rabid fundamentalists who thinks there is actually a verse in the bible forbidding kids from dressing up like Freddy Kruger. Neither am I one to turn my nose up at a relatively new custom simply because it immigrated from the United States to NZ in its present form. Hell I am 24, I was one of the first generation to receive the Halloween custom, thrust upon us by the mighty cultural imperialist Satan. However I differ from the little blighters that stomped up to my door this evening in a couple of key areas.

Firstly, when I was young Halloween afternoon consisted of spending the afternoon cutting holes in an old sheet or applying mascara for the first time to make myself look like a dead GI Joe. Kids these days simply drag Mum to the nearest warehouse for a pre-packaged witches outfit or worse a spiderman outfit. This shows up the difference between myself being an innocent and fun loving - lolly chasing 80's child, and today's 00's pre-packaged candy consumer. Kids these days turn up on the doorstep looking like they have come from a movie set and I despise them. I mean they aren't even scared of urban ledgends like the one about the kids that died because some crazy old lady put cyanide in their chocolate. No, their scared parents checked the validity of the story on http://www.snopes.com

Its just not the same.

Secondly and more importantly there is the simple matter of the traditional Halloween proposition that is struck after the child knocks on the door and I open it.

Kids - Knock, knock.
Me - (opening door) "Yes, can I help you. Oh look a Styrofoam witches mask with non-toxic/caustic, biodegradable fake blood and a spiderman on Halloween - ha."
Kids - (smiling) "Trick or Treat!"
Me - "Trick!"
Kids = Puzzled.

This is the fundamental problem with kids and Halloween today. There is no plan B. There is only treat, never any trick. It is fundamental when undertaking a Halloween lolly grab to have a trick to play if some old shite doesn't live up to their end of the bargain. But for too long I guess kids just got the pay without having to hiff waterballons or eggs at their next door neighbors. When I was young, me and my gang use to get people to turn around and close their eyes, then tell the homeowner we were going to blow up there house, then light some fireworks and get them to turn back around before the "rainbow dragon" exploded safely in the front lawn - putting a smile on their faces and extra treats in our loot bag as reward for our ingenious trick. No such luck with the little kiddies now days.

Me - "You know, Trick! As in trick or treat??!?!?
Kids - (Shurgs shoulders)
Kid's mother - (looks on impatiently)
Me - "I steadfastly refuse to give you something unless you pull a trick on me, you know in my day we use to have to................"
Kids - "Ummmmm"
Me - "You don't have a trick do you? Look I cant give you anything - I am sorry, please come back when you know the meaning of Halloween. And tell your friends about me."
Kids - (doesn't really know what to do) "Uhh, Okkkay."
Kid's mother - (Shoots me a look, then takes child by the hand along to the next unsuspecting household)

Me - I feel bad at first for this exchange, but then steel in my resolve. I know I am right about this one and the youth today need to learn.

Me - Its now 5 hours after the exchange. I went outside to hopefully see ribbons of toletpaper and a smattering of chicken eggs adorning my house as retribution for my earlier position.

Nothing.

What is wrong with the youth of today?

Justice is Veiled

2004-10-29T16:20:00.000+13:00

I've been interested in the Burkha testimony case ever since I frist heard of it.

Whilst I agree there is a very interesting debate to be had about religous rights and freedom and how they impact on our society, in this case I am more concerned with the ability of the lady involved to give proper evidence if the court requires her to remove her veiled (I posted these comments on DPF's blog but didnt really get a proper response to the charge that the evidence she will give will be compromised)

It has been said that one cannot judge the quality of evidence giving by this person because we cannot see her face and thus judge her expressions, reactions and body language. Whilst I accept you cannot do these things I wonder what the implications for her evidence would be if we for her to remove the veil.
I'd argue that the quality of evidence that she could give would be terrible. At best she would look nervous, at worst she would be fidgety, blushing, looking around nervously and frightened. I believe that this situation is worse and that her evidence is compromised by making her take the veil off.
I have a few questions for the "If she don’t like it then tuff" crowd.

- Can a blind lawyer or juror assess the testimony of someone in court without seeing his or her body language?

- Imagine your in a country of nudists, yet they let immigrants keep their clothes on in public. However you are required to go to court one day where you are forced to take off all your clothes in front of people to give evidence, what would your state of being be? Would you feel comfortable? Able to interact properly with the lawyer and present a calm face to the jurors? Or would you feel embarrassed to the point of harming the quality of evidence that you were able to give.

- What kind of country do we want? A NZ where we respect peoples different cultural practices, or a Middle Eastern type country where we force people to dress themselves how we see fit.

Happy Tree Friends

2004-10-28T22:11:00.000+13:00

Golly it has been half a month since I last posted something.
I guess that is because I last posted during the death throws of a final essay.
I am now in the birth period of my exam study and so am again looking for ways to put off studying...

I do intend to post more and more and more, this ball is taking a little while to get rolling.

For now since it is Halloween you may be interested in the happy tree friends special available here: http://www.happytreefriends.com
If you don't know about happy tree friends, think itchy on PCPs and scratchy on acid.

I'll sing you there refreshingly interesting theme music.

Bur blar blur ner ner nea neah, bur blar blur ner ner nea neah.
Bur blar blur ner ner nea neah, bur blar blur ner ner nea nea near........
Nur.......nur.....nur........ nur nur nah neh nurrrr.
La la la la la la, la la la la la la.
La la la la la la, la la la la la la.
Nur nur nur nur nur nur neh, nur nur nur nur nur nur neh.
Nur nur nur nur nur nur neh, nur nur nur nur nur nur nar neh
Nur......nur......nur........nur nur nah neh nurrr.
(repeat)

Infectious, irritating, interesting, stimulating and better than Juice.

Study time.

Birthday

2004-10-13T12:18:00.000+13:00

It was my birthday yesterday. My new blog was a present to myself to you.
I am 24 and one day now.
That is mid twenties in anyone's language.

In the beginning

2004-10-13T01:20:00.000+13:00

I go on internet fads.
From email, to newsgroups, to national news sources, to http://www.happytreefriends.com to international news sources, to blogs.
It was just a matter of time until I set up my own I guess. Reading blogs seemed kind of addictive. Kind of getting an inside into what other people are thinking, getting to read stuff from people that interest you or who test you or who inform you.
I like the internet, it lets me choose what I want to look at and listen to - reading peoples blogs lets you read things from people you choose to listen to rather than the cacophony of the real world and it is addictive.
I don't know why I set up my own blog...
Maybe so I can do something instead of writing essays, maybe to learn something off the people who read and reply, maybe to add something to the general discussion I see and hear going on around me, maybe people will read my thoughts.

I don't know about it all though. Once I write things here they are no longer mine. My thoughts become your consumption. I have no control over them. Many other bloggers have been smug with the news that the incredibly hard to read Derrida has come into existential oneness after his death. But he, along with many of the other French philosophers did have a point that words on a page are no longer mine, I cannot control them yet they signify me.
The writer is removed from the text, it flows out into the world to be read and interpreted as it will. This is scary and at the same time thrilling I guess.
Blogs are somewhat different and I wonder what the good philosopher would have thought.

My words
My thoughts
Given to you for your consumption
Taken away from me
(This is of course standard)
Yet you can comment on my thoughts
And I can comment on your comments
And someone else may join in
And so on and so forth.

Its a form of writing conversation that doesn't fit models found before and I think thats why its addictive...

Anyway enjoy my thoughts.