Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Going Underground

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  • Mark Easterbrook,

    Also, charming "entertainments" at the same site..."

    Wow. That does more to show where they stand than the sum of their Press Releases, Centre Digests and Columns combined.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 265 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic,

    Also, charming "entertainments" at the same site...

    Godwin's Law #3: Reductio ad bin Ladenum.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Ethan Tucker,

    The Herald today has two relevant stories: Aussie banks' rates higher in NZ and Lack of transparency 'fuelling distrust of banks'. There's even a Your Views. But, as we'll note in the show, there's much more stroppiness on customers' behalf in the Australian media.

    It will be interesting to hear the panel's views on whether Australian bank ownership has resulted in a trans-Tasman divide in service standards and profit margins, i.e. is the NZ market is being flogged?

    And as previous posts have pointed out, you have to wonder how critical TV news bulletins can afford to be when whole segments of their programmes are sponsored by the banks themselves.

    On a personal note, I'd like to think my loyal service as a primary school banking monitor in the late 1970s will be rewarded eventually. Can you put a good word in?

    Wellington • Since Apr 2008 • 119 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Cam Pitches on the Campaign for Better Transport blog said yesterday:

    It is worth repeating that the difference between the full tunnel option and the next best partly above ground option is small in the context of the size of the project - $200m. This has to be the tunnel or nothing.

    Jesus... am I the only person who gets the shits at lobbyists (and that's what Cam is) who talk about hundreds of millions of dollars like its petty cash? Russell, you're quite right that there's no Warehouse option here, but I just cringe at how tone-deaf these people are.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • dc_red,

    @ Leg Break

    If a drunk driver crashes into a random lamppost above ground, killing passengers not wearing seatbelts, can that be called the Princess Diana syndrome??

    I’d have thought the tunnel aspect was a sideshow.

    The lesson I took from it was to avoid Mercedes sedans. Oh, and Paris.

    Oil Patch, Alberta • Since Nov 2006 • 706 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    Also, charming "entertainments" at the same site...

    Godwin's Law #3: Reductio ad bin Ladenum.

    Rolfenui!

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    And would Owen McShane say what he'd usually say if it cut through Remuera or Epsom?

    Oh, probably. You have to understand that Owen issues his fatwas against selfish suburbanites and their families from the Centre for Resource Management Studies HQ in Kaiwaka, Northland.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    The lesson I took from it was to avoid Mercedes sedans. Oh, and Paris.

    Also:
    - when coked off your head, make sure the guy driving isn't as munted as you are

    - unflattering photographs rarely kill anyone

    - in a republic, at least you get to elect the lunatics

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Easterbrook,

    The lesson I took from it was to avoid Mercedes sedans. Oh, and Paris.

    I learned to never, no matter what, divorce the Prince of Wales.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 265 posts Report Reply

  • LegBreak,

    CR;

    Paris has a bit of a history of being a place where people go die.

    Di, Picasso, Jim Morrison, Yassar Arafat, a Concord full of German tourists....

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1162 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic,

    Oh, probably. You have to understand that Owen issues his fatwas against selfish suburbanites and their families from the Centre for Resource Management Studies HQ in Kaiwaka, Northland.

    In other words, equal opportunity of being Prossered?

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    When it got cold during the little ice age the Europeans invented knitting and the Polynesians had the good sense to stop sailing towards New Zealand.

    If I beat this guy to death with a history textbook, I have the full support of all here, right?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    You have to understand that Owen issues his fatwas against selfish suburbanites and their families from the Centre for Resource Management Studies HQ in Kaiwaka, Northland.

    So in other words it's "Sucks for you, I got rich and bought a lifestyle block, now keep public spending and taxes as low as possible or I'll cut you"?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Hadyn Green,

    Furthermore, this motorway network will exist and be in use for hundreds of years. Surely the specifications of such a major piece of infrastructure should not be determined by the wishes of households whose average stay is measured in years.

    My brain, she explodes with teh stupid

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2090 posts Report Reply

  • Hadyn Green,

    Also re: Daily Show and Colbert Report

    If it is Sky TV's doing, then a great big steaming bag of expletives will be left on Sky's doorstep.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2090 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    Paris has a bit of a history of being a place where people go die.

    So, a bit like Waikenae, but faster and with better architecture.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • LegBreak,

    And a couple of tunnels, although don’t tell Owen McS that.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1162 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Paris has a bit of a history of being a place where people go die.

    So, a bit like Waikenae, but faster and with better architecture.

    Before he too misty eyed about Paris, might be worth thinking about how much of it was due to people like Georges-Eugène Haussmann who, not to put too fine a point on it, didn't give a flying fuck at a brioche about people who objected to having their homes totalled in pursuit of his grand design...

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Keith Ng,

    I hope someone pointed out to him that YOU CAN'T WALK ON THE MOTORWAY IN NEW ZEALAND! Whether it's above or below ground.

    With tunnels, there's a special section dedicated to walkers and cyclists. It's called "above".

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 543 posts Report Reply

  • Keith Ng,

    Oh, probably. You have to understand that Owen issues his fatwas against selfish suburbanites and their families from the Centre for Resource Management Studies HQ in Kaiwaka, Northland.

    Actually, his more fantastic arguments are:

    1) All this thought is given to the air quality in the community - what about the air quality for the commuters, who have to be stuck in a tunnel full of *CARS*!

    2) All this thought is given to the community's enjoyment of green spaces. What about the drivers' rights to enjoy them, too? (Via looking out their window when they're driving, cos driving through green spaces is sweet.)

    I kid you not.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 543 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    Before getting too misty eyed about Paris, might be worth thinking about how much of it was due to people like Georges-Eugène Haussmann who, not to put too fine a point on it, didn't give a flying fuck at a brioche about people who objected to having their homes totalled in pursuit of his grand design...

    Ah yes, Haussmannisation. Got to love streets designed with cannonballs in mind.

    And Keith: well played!

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    much of it was due to people like Georges-Eugène Haussmann

    I'm with Baudelaire in preferring the pre-Haussmannised Paris (or in my case, the remnants of it). The Champs Elysee is actually rather boring compared to the mazes of old alleys in places like the Marais, and considering that the rather overscaled grand boulevards are still vastly more attractive than any motorway, the difference between an environment designed purely to move vehicles and a city that works at a human scale is enormous.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Ya know, Haussmann looked awfully like John Banks.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Gareth Ward,

    So claustrophobics have a greater transport policy weighting than agoraphobics huh? "Open roads are generally frightening places to even drive through – shades of JFK spring too readily to mind."

    The Herald today has two relevant stories: Aussie banks' rates higher in NZ

    That article really should have been entitled: Aussie banks' rates higher in NZ with explainable causes.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Mar 2007 • 1727 posts Report Reply

  • Gareth Ward,

    Oh, also: I notice that Daily Show episodes are freely available on iTunes. Are they blocked as well?

    Auckland, NZ • Since Mar 2007 • 1727 posts Report Reply

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