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Yeah it's pretty shocking alright. At least the Greens have had something to say about it. It's a shame most people can't get beyond Greens=smelly hippies etc otherwise they might get more support as they seem to be the most sensible party right now. Edit: also it's pretty awesome that I haven't seen anything about the arrests of the Megaupload operators in NZ on Stuff or The Herald. Had to read about it in the LA Times. Project M.A.M.I.L. fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Jan 20, 2012 |
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Jan 20, 2012 00:13
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exmachina posted:Uh... top of both of my RSS feeds right now... Now they are, hours ago they were not.
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Jan 20, 2012 00:30
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exmachina posted:Yeah both sites, but esp nzherald are loathe to post webpages before the print edition is out If it makes sense to them then who am I to question:) I just couldn't believe it when I read that they were arrested in Auckland and then when I checked Stuff and Herald, not a word was seen.
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Jan 20, 2012 00:45
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The Hamster Man posted:I know many people who snicker whenever they hear about the Greens. "Have you seen Nandor Tanczos?" is all they usually say. Ugh, fuckers. If it's not that it's "they hate farmers, blah blah have us live in caves blah blah" until your eyes glaze over because facts do not sway these people.
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Jan 20, 2012 00:47
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exmachina posted:Yeah but also the NZ arrests would have been 4-6am NZT right? So you would expect them to be a little slow, they just printed... I still would have expected them by maybe 10am NZT, which is around when I saw the first article about it. Too busy trying to drum up support for some dog bannings or something I guess.
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Jan 20, 2012 00:57
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Sounds like they're getting ready to fire the lot of them to go through with hiring contractors. 330 of them, poor buggers. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10779988
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Jan 20, 2012 02:32
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http://www.munz.org.nz/ports-of-auckland-dispute/ has a pretty good roundup, which was great for someone like me who didn't know much about this. Interesting to read the way the Port is managed, still technically owned by the city but not really. They're trying as hard as they can to privatise it, which is such bullshit. What sort of powers does a mayor have in that situation? I thought the mayor was supposed to be a good guy?
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Jan 20, 2012 02:46
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Trouble Man posted:I actually think the lowest point in New Zealand politics was when Key said that National would guarantee that everyone would get their pension at 65, and everyone under the age of 35 mentally added "except for you, you'll just pay for it", shrugged, and didn't let it change how they voted one jot. There were so many examples of people voting against their best interests, ugh the whole election 
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Jan 22, 2012 02:11
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Trouble Man posted:What I'm really looking forward to is being told in 20-odd years by Labour/National that we shouldn't need a pension, we've all had Kiwisaver, we've had plenty of warning, and everyone needs to tighten their belts. Wait until the politicians and their loyal media catch onto the US usage of the word 'entitlements', so they can start ramping up the envy of workers who have super/pensions etc by targeting them as the reason the economy is bad, fat govt. paycheques etc. It also sucks to see this port dispute bringing out the people who, when they see workers in another job getting a reasonable wage and standing up against being shat-on by their employers, do not say 'hey, I should fight for those kinds of rights too!' No, they instead try to take away from other people by saying they 'make too much money' or are 'lazy', trying to justify their own horrible hours and lack of pay. It's spiteful and it brings everyone else down to the bottom. I'm still excited about moving home to NZ, there are things I'll miss about the US but they aren't big in the scheme of things. In England I missed the sun, in California I miss the rain, in NZ at least I'll get lots of both (fingers crossed!)
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Jan 22, 2012 02:37
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Pigeon Shamus posted:*Closeup is poo poo* I'm sorry but if it isn't Sonny Bill Williams then it isn't worth hearing about 
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Jan 22, 2012 19:59
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http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6297648/Stalled-dog-laws-review-to-get-bite looks like it's time again to make it harder/more expensive for honest people to have a dog, while the people who raise bad dogs/dogs badly will do whatever they want anyway. Although the dog in the first part of the article was registered and everything anyway, lending credence to the thought that registration isn't everything and sometimes poo poo happens. Gah so frustrating.
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Jan 22, 2012 21:05
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miss_chaos posted:Yet another well thought out blog post on Red Alert with correct grammar and salient poin.... oh God, what a tool. At least some people are calling him out (politely) in the comments.
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Jan 23, 2012 07:17
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ClubmanGT posted:New Zealand consumers are being ripped off. God yeah, but how do we get people to do anything about it? We are somewhat stuck paying what people ask, unless you can get it online. I've been buying books online (unless I can get them second-hand) for years because the prices are ridiculous. There's very little justification for the mark-ups on a lot of things, other than 'because we can and because people will pay it.' I don't know who is responsible, whether it's retailers in NZ or the suppliers who sell stock to the retailers, but it's a bit much for some things. I'm looking forward to moving back so I can try to get some political action going. If you get enough people together to either boycott or kick-up a fuss in such a way that reputations and bottom-lines are hurt, results can be had. Most people you talk to will agree that prices are too high/laws are too dumb/rates are too much/roads are poo poo/whatever but never do anything more than grumble about it. The media is partly responsible but yeah, Kiwis do seem rather apathetic.
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Feb 10, 2012 09:15
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ClubmanGT posted:Re: local activism - an idea I've toyed with is something showing how much iPods/TV s/books/whatever cost here compared to a cost on Amazon or at Australian retailers or whatever. Kind of like an index that shows just how much more consumer goods cost here to show people where we're up and where we're down. I don't have the know -how but it would be a really effective way to draw attention to how much more we pay for stuff here. About a week ago there was an article in the paper about beer and how much cheaper NZ beer is anywhere else other than NZ. We probably pay higher taxes on them and yeah our staff wages are higher (especially compared to the good ole' USA) but it just doesn't seem right that we are priced out of the goods made in our own country. (I'm more just grumbling now than anything) Books are a weird one, there should almost be an international index for them and their prices. It seems like there are weird politics with booksellers and publishers which affect who gets what when, and now with online sellers in the mix it makes it even more difficult to figure out. I had no idea about the lease agreements being really long and how it could be making retailers put up the prices, it makes sense though the outcome of raising the prices doesn't actually help. It's like they'll get trapped into a cycle of always having to make a target and the less they sell the higher they charge so the less they sell so... There was a fuss a little while ago about book prices in Canada. When the Canadian dollar was on par/more than the US dollar, did the book prices change accordingly? Hell no! But I don't think anything came of it, books in Canada stayed a few dollars more expensive than in the US and probably some Canadian equivalent of Sonny Bill had a boxing match and everyone forgot.
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Feb 10, 2012 18:02
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ClubmanGT posted:I would say it's no coincidence that the prices of books and movie tickets in this country rising dramatically has anything to do with Hoyts, Borders and Whitcoulls all having the same owner. Which, incidentally, also used to own Tegel, until they sold it to the equity group that owned Colorado until it got run into the ground and closed.  It's like we're too small to operate under a normal business model as we get too many monopolies.
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Feb 10, 2012 18:04
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Nice^^^Vagabundo http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10785474 Winston had something to say about it, I can never figure him out. I think he just likes stirring but good on him for it.
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Feb 14, 2012 01:43
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Dead Alice posted:Stephen Fry today compared our lovely internet to having lovely roads; we wouldn't accept crap roads so we shouldn't accept crap internet. I just thought he was making a joke, like "you wouldn't accept crap roads (except you do.") Tongue in cheek like:)
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Feb 21, 2012 20:09
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It's great when you see articles about infectious disease rates getting higher and higher in the last decades, being run at the same time as articles about health-service cuts, and yet no journalism about the relationship between the two. It's even better when John Key says he's concerned about the first issue, and then goes and does the second. I'm still so pissed about the election, goddamn NZ
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Feb 22, 2012 21:43
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nzspambot posted:I'm still interested on how an Appendicitis is "infectious diseases" but anyway. Hah yeah saw that, I think I was getting so mad about the overall article that I forgot to follow-up with an email:)
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Feb 22, 2012 22:04
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nzspambot posted:Yes I agree it is not a great look but I guess we need to look at why these are the top. However the thing I'd also argue that you can't just blame the MOH/The Government for this. It's true one can't blame the current government for this, but one can blame the political philosophy that caused it and which is currently being represented by the National party. Also one can get pissed at the actions of the current government in response to infection rates/figures which are somewhat contrary to what is needed. E.Grammar Project M.A.M.I.L. fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Feb 23, 2012 |
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Feb 23, 2012 00:12
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A bigger council-bill makes the 'hippies' look worse? E. After reading Stuff this morning and seeing the major headline, I wrote to the editor with some suggestions for future Sonny Bill Williams articles: 'Sonny Bill Williams likes coffee with "milk but no sugar"' 'Sonny "ill" Williams in emergency-room dash' 'Sonny Bill toilet-roll shocker! "I roll it under, not over"' 'SBW goes "to bed at night, and gets up in the morning"' Pretty weak but it's the best I could do. I know I won't get a reply from him but it makes me feel a bit better:) Project M.A.M.I.L. fucked around with this message at 18:52 on Feb 25, 2012 |
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Feb 25, 2012 18:29
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Two Finger posted:What was the major headline? Something like 'SBW "King hit" with promoter' and there was a cheesy composite image of his face and Don King's face, hahah how clever. It's Clint Brown levels of pun genius right there. I've emailed them before about their headlines, notice they use the word 'slammed' a lot? Teachers slam pay cut, police slam claims, newspaper slams reports etc. I got a reply that they try to keep a look out for it but what can you do? 
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Feb 26, 2012 08:24
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miss_chaos posted:In case anyone cares, the reason there are quotation marks in the headlines is because those words are usually pulled from quotes within the story, or used by the newspaper to indicate it is reporting the comments of someone else - not an editorial line. FWIW. As to the editing remark, the implication was that they check to make sure things like 'slammed' aren't used too much, but it happens and is not a big deal. I can't find the actual email. I get the feeling they don't care too much, they didn't reply to my request that they use 'Afghan' instead of 'Afghani" to describe the people of Afghanistan. The actual point of the last one was how blatant the distracting 'bread and circus' type articles about SBW and his ilk are, and that not only are they awfully written but they do nothing to lift awareness of actual national issues (which of course may be their intent.)
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Feb 26, 2012 19:13
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miss_chaos posted:Great to see Labour is getting on the front foot early with a huge issue that is facing the nation, and more importantly Labour's last firm demographic of voters: the Foreign Affairs restructure. Yes, this will definitely drive up Labour's vote in the heartland where it is most needed. And just when they were getting traction on the Government's slippery asset sales footing, they oscillate wildly into another niche issue that the people they need to be convincing don't actually care about. Won't someone think of the Warsaw embassy?! It's super-frustrating, and you're exactly right. If people are made aware of how health cuts and public service then maybe they'll start doing something about it. Same with the fracking issue, the problem being that not many people are even aware of fracking and its effects and Labour is too busy talking about other stuff.
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Feb 26, 2012 19:19
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A new bunch of strikes and lockouts going on this week. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6482943/Thousands-set-for-week-of-industrial-action Interesting to see that the Port of Auckland claims that the action so far has cost $1 billion in lost trade. I wonder how much it would have cost if they had just listened to their workers and not been absolute cocks...
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Feb 26, 2012 19:47
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BeanTaco posted:The best thing NZ could do to further its image internationally is to burn the london embassy to the ground. That was one of the first things my cousin showed me when I stayed with him in London, drat it's ghastly.
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Feb 27, 2012 04:28
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Love him or hate him, Hone Harawira is the only one I see quoted in the strike articles, going on the air criticising the government and employers. loving John 'close the wage gap with Australia' Key.
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Mar 1, 2012 18:51
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I love it when the first line of an article uses a pejorative to describe the subject, thus setting a certain tone for the rest of the article http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6534323/Public-servants-plan-to-bite-back-against-cuts Stuff could be so much better if it didn't try that kind of folksy bullshit. Or maybe it's just me?
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Mar 6, 2012 19:10
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Not to mention the writers for NZ newspapers generally write terribly, and almost always inject their own personal feelings and opinions into stories where it's not appropriate at all. There was a good post on the Auckland Transport Blog where it was super-obvious how the writer of a Herald article felt about urban-density, and the editor was idiotic enough to let it run.
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Mar 7, 2012 19:26
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Lemonus posted:New Zealand must have plenty of investigative journalism, we are the least corrupt country in the world
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Mar 7, 2012 23:02
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Vagabundo posted:Dropped 5 places to be exact, right out of the top 10. Good work NZ.
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Mar 7, 2012 23:48
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Two Finger posted:I think Stuff's hit a new low in journalism... look at this loving headline. Stuff is getting worse, and the editor never acknowledges emails about things like that. No interest in decent journalism at all.
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Mar 25, 2012 01:16
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I'm still shocked that he got elected again, he's such a loving cock and I thought everyone knew it. Gonna be so sweet if he goes.
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May 1, 2012 05:23
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BROS SUN PRAISER posted:Which John are we talking about right now? Touché
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May 1, 2012 08:12
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Yeah it's so awesome how they act like they are confused as to why anyone would leave to go work in Australia, and then turn around and do poo poo like this. I know that it's actually their ideology and they are just pretending not to know what would happen next, but so maddening to see. And most NZers will agree because 'those loving lazy student bums.'
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May 3, 2012 07:28
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miss_chaos posted:Getting out of my "graveyard of dreams" small town Which town are you from?
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May 3, 2012 16:20
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miss_chaos posted:A remote small town in the South Island where one's options as a female are teen pregnancy, being a farmer's wife or getting the gently caress out. And where university graduates are often still given the side eye. My entire family were union factory workers and I didn't want that life. There's nothing wrong with that life, but when we got an internet connection I realised the world was bigger. Sounds a bit like the far north. I was lucky enough to get an apprenticeship, get a trade, and go and see the world. Staying in whatever small town is fine, if that's what you really are sure you want, but I hate it when people tell me they never want to travel, or do different things, or eat different foods, and just stay there and never have to think about anything. Unfortunately most small kiwi towns are full of those people and it's depressing as gently caress. Does the Government do any sort of loan-repayment assistance where if you sign a contract (if you are lucky enough to get a job after uni) for a certain period of time you can get some sort of lump sum to go towards the loan?
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May 4, 2012 00:38
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miss_chaos posted:Voluntary bonding for doctors, nurses and midwives where your student loan is paid off in exchange for service in regional towns. I know a lot of young med graduates who are doing this - they go back to their hometowns for a few years. It's a good policy and sorely needed. That sounds pretty good, one of our friends in California does something similar.
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May 4, 2012 01:43
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Pigeon Shamus posted:I like how JK's statements about gay marriage are so incredibly half-hearted. "I don't oppose it." "I'll vote for it at first reading." "Let's have the debate." It's like he's doing the absolute bare minimum to appear tolerant while trying not to alienate the bigoted conservatives that vote for him (read: I am not saying all people who vote for JK are bigoted conservatives, just that there are bigoted conservatives who vote for him, probably because they'd like to have a beer with him). It's so weak. It's because he's terrible and only in politics to make money for himself and other rich people. It's also annoying (but rather clever) that the gay marriage discussion is obscuring the sneaky laour law changes, and any discussion around the trans-pacific trade deal.
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May 14, 2012 02:24
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miss_chaos posted:I'm not sure pointing out misogynistic comments against women is "white knighting" and it disappoints me that doing this - as a woman myself who found the comments offensive - is put down to "just defending National and it's getting tiring", I'm sure I don't need to explain in detail why calling a women in power a "braindead oval office" from a position of male privilege is sexist, even if the post author was just trying to use it as a poorly chosen trump card and wasn't intentionally saying it from a sexist point of view. I have to agree with you, and there's another reason that name calling is somewhat weak. If all you can do, instead of rebutting and reasoning, is call names, then you've lost the argument. It reduces the opposition to something thats easy to demonise and ignore, rather than another human being. When you demonise and dehumanise your opponents it can lead to all sorts of bad things. John Key might be Hitler and Stephen Joyce may well be the biggest loving tool in the world but I try my best not to think of them like that and to reduce them to 'bad people that I hate,' however hard that can be. Probably didn't explain that quite right but oh well!
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May 19, 2012 02:52
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