Restricting the alphabet

Wanganui or Fonganueee - to be or not to be?

After a long ago colonisation by a race of worldly experience with a rich language and a 26 letter alphabet, modern New Zealanders are being asked to adopt an oral language of 5 vowels and 10 consonants.

The exercise over a change in name for Wanganui and subsequent clamour that will ensue for other changes will give the bureaucracy that is the Geographic Board a reason justifying their existence. Like the activist stirrers promoting the cause.

A kneecapping would be better now for both New Zealand and the economy, IMHO.

I know which language which I will be sticking with.

Crusher gets it mostly right

It will allow a court to, in fact, order a car to be crushed for a recidivist offender.

A step in the right direction.

Only one thing not quite right. It does not allow for the boy racer crim to be crushed in the vehicle at the same time.

Pissing contest over stink

My stink is bigger than yours cries one side.

No, my stink has more awards. You are fudging the stats cries the other side.

An acquired smell to endure, some would say all stink like piss. As for taste...

Fonterra and Whitestone square off over who has the best blue stinky in Kiwiland.

AnitEarth Hour: Doing my bit

Just doin' ma bit to keep the lights burning brightly.

Am off to Palmy to the nights trots or whatever place the nags are running at. Leaving a stonking great carbon footprint getting there and back.

And I can only hope all the lights are on at full brilliance so I can see what nag I am investing in. And what amber liquids I am supping.

See ya tomorrow. You can smack the greenwash!

Hobsonville slum vetoed

No state houses will be built on the old Hobsonville airbase.

Our Prime Minister has torpedoed that. Great stuff.

The Westie locals didn't want another slum.

I wonder if someone has told the eco-dinosaur his pet social engineering project has been turned off?

Parochialism at the trough

It hasn't taken long. Those to be kneecapped at the Auckland trough are out in force.

• 
  

• Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey was concerned at the idea of a unitary authority with powers to rate and then allocate money to smaller councils.
• I find it difficult there is taxation without direct representation.
• We really do have to look at whether local councils should be able to rate and spend accordingly rather than having funding decisions made remotely.

• Manukau Mayor Len Brown, whose council proposed a three-city model, said the commission "is taking away the control of local councils to provide for local communities".
• We can only hope that the Government realises that these recommendations may not be in the best interest of the people who live in this region, and does not adopt them without sufficient input from local councils or reflect the diverse needs of our residents.

• Penny Webster, Mayor of the Rodney District in the north of Auckland, was unhappy at the plan to remove Orewa and Whangaparaoa from the Rodney local council area and making it part of the Waitemata urban area.
• Most of our people from there see themselves as part of the Hibiscus Coast or Rodney," she told NZPA. "They don't see themselves as Aucklanders.

• Papakura Mayor Calum Penrose said the plan would be "an absolute disaster" for his district, which would all but disappear.
• Under this model you would lose local connection and lose local democracy.
• This commission was orchestrated by the last government and I would hope this government would not tolerate this.

• 
  

Parochialism at it worst, giving more reason that the kneecapping can't come soon enough.

Awkland to become AUCKLAND

At last. A century overdue.

Orklund fiefdoms to end.

When is the razor gang to start work?

Ruined our good name???

More like exposed that all is not culturally well in this modern age.

numerous cases of newborn babies being abandoned at birth

common theme amongst the cases are the disregard for whether the baby lived or not

newborns in plastic bags

In most of the cases the babies end up dying before they were found

blame and berating the woman for her 'stupidity' and 'ignorance

trying to defend the pride of their families

CEO of the Ministry of Health has already reaffirmed that travelling at seven months term is not a good idea

trying to figure out where the woman comes from, her family and any other gossip worthy details

Those who processed the woman's papers are pointing fingers

people outraged at the incident, because it gives Samoa a bad name

"How embarrassing!!! How could she? What was she thinking? She thought she would get away with it?"

Come back and complain when you move from the Stone Age to the 21st century.

Emailing dole bludgers

WINZ is to get access (free? I think not) into Trade Me' list of jobs and provide a mini database so WINZ can email their bludgers about possible local jobs.

Jobseekers would also have a right to opt out of receiving the emails.

I wonder how many more WINZ drones will be employed to manage that brain stab. I would have thought that 'clients' who could receive emails might already be perusing Trade Me.

One can only hope that unchecking the option will also terminate any unemployment benefits forthwith.

Not even with your bargepole...

IE8 released.

Choices, choices, choices

Tararua District Council is holding a bye-election to replace a Northern Ward councillor who has worked out 12 months in that she can't handle the workload with other external commitments.

For those that do not know, Tararua is the bit between Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay. Commonly lumped in with Central/Southern HB, Wairarapa or even the Manawatu depending which part of the district you come from before the 1989 local body amalgamation. Yes, locals round these parts have bloody long memories.

Mount Bruce in the south to Norsewood in the north. From the hills in the west to the Pacific Ocean out east. Dannevirke, Woodville, Pahiatua and Eketahuna are the big towns. When you come through the Manawatu Gorge from Palmerston North, you enter Tararua. Total population is somewhere just under 20K. Agriculture/rural all the way.


On offer are 9 candidates, 4 female, 5 male. Normally that by itself would reduce my list to 5 candidates, but I'll give them a fair go.


Candidate 1. 'As there is currently only one woman councillor, I have put my name forward hoping to redress this'. I note that she does not carry almagamation 'baggage' being a relative newcomer.

Wants to push wimmin's affairs by the sound of that. A definite no for me.


Candidate 2. Ex Massey student, has sucked off another council teat for some time. A Healthy Lifestyle Co-ordinator whatever that is. Arts and sports are her forte. 'I could bring fresh and innovative ideas that would benefit the community'.

Sounds like a CV for a social engineer to me. Another no. Last thing I need is more Liarbourites infesting local councils plaguing me with 'innovative' socialist ideology.


Candidate 3. Been here a long time. Has run a local business and is active in the local community.

Possible.


Candidate 4. Kipper import in recent times. Has had extensive miltary, farming and business experience. Both locally and international. Lists the reasons why he is standing. All good things like keeping rates low and on top of RMA. Pushing new businesses and agriculture.

My kind of man.


Candidate 5. Been here a long time, active member of community. Wants more transparency and accountability from council. Don't we all? Just what did those buggers spend my rates on last year apart from paving the Dannevegas main drag with gold plated pavers? I notice the council has already dug up the 2 month old SH2 road sealing in numerous places.

Possible.


Candidate 6. Was at the recently closed Oringi meat works for almost 3 decades. Been here a long time, active member of community. Was the Prez of Unions at said works.

Union man, need I say any more after my recent post?


Candidate 7. More letters after her name than you can shake a stick at. A teacher of sorts and a founding member of the local Maori Party branch. Wants to 'Create Opportunities'. I note she attends Anzac parades. Whoop de doo.

A definite no to that. She won't be invited to take 'opportunities' with my rates.


Candidate 8. Strongly involved in iwi community. Has extensive directorship experience. Wants to see ratepayers get better value for money and protect the environment/water resource. I take that as charging rent for water like down at Lake Ellesmere on the mainland.

Probably more effective continuing the wide ranging directorships on various multiple organisations.


Candidate 9. Ex local returned. Usual wishy-washy platitudes for my vote. Nice pavers, but need to concentrate on basics. Damned right.

Possible.


So many offerings, many are defeated by their on paper presentation. There is only two of them I have actually ever clapped eyes on. None of them apart from a poorly presented piece of junk mail A4 have ever shown their face round these parts.

I've made my choice and posted it. Have you?

IRD yanking your chain

There is only one brain stab to this post at KB.


From a comment, more like

IRD - we’re here to help… ourselves

.

Bastard unions

Like civil unions, unions are an anachronism that should be outlawed.

Full of bastards, period.

WOBH has been examining bastards he has met in the course of employment over the years and notes his pathological hatred of all things union.

Like myself. My comment at his site below;

As an apprentice all those years ago I too witnessed the time serving mostly whinging Pom import union reps who knocked off at 5 to. 15 minutes to or more if they had to walk back from the other side of the factory. Also the vitriolic country-wide stoushes between unions and management when Kawerau / Kinlieth engineers wanted pneumatics that the sparkies said was their pitch due the electric interfaces. The sparkies won in our factory.

Dockyard maties in later employment had the black arts of unionism down pat. Nothing like the leverage of a frigate about to come out of refit to raise the bargaining power of those mongrels.

Those early days put me off union bastards for life with a venomous hatred of any union rep to this day. And worse still, my old man, God rest his soul, was an out and out card carrying wharfie. Don't get me started on those lazy pricks. Heard of 'rain money'? Look it up sometime. Used to be good fodder for a 'discussion' though.

Why is John Key sucking up to unions?

Egotists: A post to peruse

For all those trying to fill big shoes and those with deflated egos see your rating for your efforts (or lack of) last month. Scrubone has been busy again.

Neat little icons he has now. An awful lot of god-botherers and bullshit artists in the list.

Is that it???

No doubt, a figure plucked from an open orifice so as not to frighten the horses.

A blunt razor scratching the surface.

Why not 30% or larger?

Or termination, period.

Labor goes walkabout

Industries like solar thermal and geo-thermal will power our future and power job creation.

Incumbent ALP at their conference has promised the world to make Queensland 'the solar state of Oz'. Also stakes their chances on creating a 'Green Army' of 100,000 new jobs whilst doing an ex-NZ copycat 2000 Km long walk. Never mind, Kevin was there to help.

I'd say too much time in that sun on walkabout. Mind you, Queensland politics has always been about the biggest bribe. And dirt.

The Bligh government asks where is all the money coming from?" he said.

"We simply say where has all the money gone?"

In his speech, federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull accused the Bligh government of delivering a terrible trifecta of higher unemployment, higher debt and more strikes.

"They're so incompetent they couldn't sell fresh fish to starving seals."

The other side patently has a more realistic handle on the economy.

Local governance and footballers

Most Aucklanders don't believe they get value for money from their rates. Most suspect the local body structure of several warring city states is clumsy, inefficient and prevents effective regional infrastructural development.

The ARC's claim to be the answer that they are skilled regional managers is met with one word.

Beckham.

Ralston nails the sorry state of politics in Orklund, suggesting the few out-of-towners likely to be upset are matters immaterial.

Darwin awards required

A overpaid bench warmer issues a warning.

Should have signed off a couple of Darwins. Much cheaper.

Complaints and warnings

As an established political party receives singular attention for commonplace practice, possibly because it irks some socialist teacher/local, can I look forward to similar complaints and warnings for other political entities conducting their legitimate business?

I thought not.

As Mr Plod suggests, no crime. Some will complain about anything that confronts their world-view.

Not racist, stabbing OK

So screams the headlines.

A witch hunt has been conducted and parents / community fears supposedly allayed.

Nothing about a teacher being near fatally stabbed in the course of his duties. More about the restrained kid who did the damage. Once again the perp is centre-stage. And I did note the local MP was lurking.

Nothing racial found, therefore workplace stabbings are OK.

What a sad indictment on today's society.

Daddy working his magic

Daddy, Dearest continues to try to get his daughter out of the brown stuff. On a technicality, nonetheless, no doubt with the best legals money can buy. The brown stuff is flowing because she had been allegedly playing with the white stuff.

She won't listen to Daddy, just she obviously likes a bit of bad.

Time wasting headlines

Been busy, busy, busy last few days. Blogging light. Actually working for living. Don't worry, that silliness will stop before week's end.

Get really annoyed with headlines like this below.

A vicious, filthy thug without conscience

And when I get there, it's about some drug peddler shagging his way round Oz.

Nothing about the fiscal fool at all.

What a waste of my time.

Oral Animation

KG over at Crusader Rabbit has a message for all those who voted National. The picture says it all as the fiscal fool is offered plum jobs.

What was ordered on Nov 8th was NActional.



What is now apparent is that a bunch of 'me too' cocksuckers are at the helm.

ps
'Oral Animation' is an apt anagram.

"We are not being tribal about this."

The fiscal fool that has plundered this country's vaults for the next decade because of his fanatical ideology is to be tipped for a plum SOE job.

You have to be bloody joking, John Key! Political suicide. Like myself, I daresay there would be more than a few that would like to go absolutely tribal on this matter.

Something like not being given an option for sunrise or sunset, but taken out and shot forthwith.

Gotta have one of these!

Still trying to master Rubik's?

Get yourself a Pentaminx Dodecahedral puzzle to test your sanity.

The ultimate present for the precocious know-it-all rugrats in your life. Guaranteed to quieten them down for longer than a sugar fix rush.

The picture? A ratings booster.

Both available at Geeks are Sexy.

Simon Power replies on s92

At least he has had the decency to reply to my email.

Dear Sir/Madam,

The Minister of Commerce, Hon Simon Power, asked me to thank you for your email regarding section 92A of the Copyright Act 1994. Your concerns have been noted.

Section 92A allows for termination of accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances. A purpose of this provision is to provide an effective means for dealing with behaviour which clearly infringes copyright, recognising that this behaviour can be costly for New Zealand’s creative industries. This is especially important given recent technological developments which now make it easier for online copyright infringement to occur. This amendment is not intended to deprive law-abiding businesses or private users of access to the internet.

Some have interpreted this legislation to assume guilt upon accusation of copyright infringement. There are concerns that this could lead to the termination of an alleged infringer’s internet account without evidence or opportunity for a user to provide a defence. In order to clarify the operation of section 92A, a voluntary code of practice (the Code) is being developed by internet service providers (ISPs) in consultation with the public and copyright holders.

In brief, the Code will likely outline that in accordance with section 92A, a user will receive fair warning regarding an alleged infringement. The user will then have the opportunity to refute any or all of the alleged infringements. As a backstop, section 92A only allows for account termination in appropriate circumstances. It is unlikely that termination will be appropriate where an alleged infringement has been disputed.

Section 92A has been delayed from coming into force by one month until 27 March 2009. The purpose of this delay is to allow ISPs and rights-holders time to complete the joint development of the Code. If a voluntary code is developed and the new section is implemented, both will be reviewed within six months to see how they are working.

It is important that the Copyright Act achieves an appropriate balance between the interests of copyright creators, owners and users.

Thank you for taking the time to raise this with the Minister.

Yours sincerely,

David Lilly

Private Secretary – Commerce

I remain unconvinced that this is nothing but another part of the Kiwi Stasi. It appears that although bloggers like me and others have had their say, no notice is being taken and the same law will be activated forthwith at the end of the month.

Why the exact termination process is not defined in law, but some external, open to mis-interpretation, guidelines of no legal standing is beyond me. Guidelines are liable to changed or dispensed with, dependent on circumstance to suit whoever is power on the day. A fish-and-chip clause if I ever saw one.

Such vagueness of law left to voluntary guidelines is in the same realm of our number one cultural atrocity at law. That of the 'Waitangi principles'. Written into anything and everything that needs a palm greased.

Make no mistake, a different set of palms are being greased here. Mainly ones in california in the entertainment industry.

If you stand accused, you are guilty, without any formal proceedings.

What a load of bollocks!

The Great Kiwi Firewall

The right to use the internet is a vital one,
but libraries can provide it.

So that was their grand scheme under s92a. To have all Internet access onsite at a local library. Taxes for access collected at logon. The Great Kiwi Firewall.

Just how did this Liarbour trougher expect me to be able to peruse subversive material such as No Minister and other VRWC blogs. MWT will jump at the next ratings release as his traffic is severely curtailed. I can just imagine some failed school marm at the local library giving my browsing the once over. No pr0n Barnsley Bill ever again.

Must be part of that FTA we signed last year with those human rights abusers who think they own Tibet. Don't they have a pro-active firewall in place to limit subversives?

HT Crusader Rabbit

Normal service resumes at MWT

Lee has seen fit to resume normal service.

A wake up call for us lurkers not being active commenters.

And for the ladies who can't stop smiling, I guess the 'future Mrs Monkey' is being replaced.

Suspicious?

Scene to yet come. Slightly modified defence as used in a recent high-profile case. Nothing to see here...

'He walked into the TV, yer Honour.'

I suppose we will see Corrections will be placing a large order for 50" plasma screens, quoting Elf'n'safety, sometime soon.