so 50,000 is stunning.

Yep, ARE YA STUNNED YET GERRY BROWNLEE? :)

The Auckland March Against Mining is HUGE.

Did you spot the image of marchers along Q St right outside the Surf shop. I thought BIllabong across the front was a great protest all in itself :)
So pleased Auckland has come out to tell this Government where to…

Latest reports put the number at 50,000. Woah. Awesome. Wish I was there.

Live twitter and photo stream here – Don't Undermine New Zealand

Live video here – Qik.com

Today Energy and Resources Minister Resources Gerry Brownlee said ministers had agreed that in "the interests of fairness" the submission period should be extended while the Government completed the…

I was at the Mining/No Mining debate in town this evening – much raucous heckling and fun being had by all – except perhaps…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W57ZrtGfnL0

I bumped into a friend of mine today and had a most interesting conversation. She and I are very much not on the same page when it comes to voting preferences, and have had a few conversations in the past which have been somewhat…

Set off against that gamble, we have non-controversial conservation values. The government is not further investigating the potential of Kahurangi and Aspiring National Parks, which will remain untouched in Schedule 4. These, I deduce, were considered too iconic. And yet, Fiordland is still…

And going about it all in this government's usual ultra-undemocratic way. Bananarama territory alright.

I can see a Cochabamba-esque shitfight in the making...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTKn17uZRAE

Oh – and me and my banner made the paper. Tee hee.

Well done.

Does seem to me that the photographer picked a particularly cute section of the crowd :).

There is a flying picket National Party MPs offices today, weds march 31st , a sign-on to a letter of protest will also be delivered to those offices .
Flying pickets will go from office to office,
in this order
11am Gerry Brownlee's…

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/3/spin_the_bottle_expose_raises_alarming

Oh and also make sure farmers and irrigators get what they want without any of that nuisance of the…

I believe the exact words to Darth Margaret Bazelys by a member of Ecan was:

“I'm a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic…

-have made views known via RFB, and will make a written submission re – naturally opposing- mining…

We had a great demo – lots of chanting, awesome speeches (especially Metiria Turei – and Phil Goff wasn't bad either) – plus some very cool folks from F&B, Greenpeace, Coromandel Watch and others.

At least 500 people…

It's being organised by 2precious2mine,

Thanks webweaver for that heads up. Wont make Wellington ( being in Auckland) but have forwarded my submission opposing mining. Best of luck today. Loud and Proud!!

The dream is over
work will set you free...

Don't dream it, dig it!

MINE KAMP
The Brownlee Shirts
are coming!

Life is sweet in the
Sugarbag years...

I told my daughter that I was going to protest, and what it was about.

Her only question was 'Will you get arrested?" to which I replied, "I hope not."

If anyone's interested – there's a big demo planned at Parliament tomorrow (Tuesday) 12.30-1.30pm to protest against National's mining plans.

It's being organised by 2precious2mine, which is an umbrella group representing all the groups campaigning against mining in National Parks – Coromandel Watchdog, Environment…

The missus has had an interesting idea about trying to start some sort of letter writing campaign from overseas

Dear Gerry,
We were going to come to New Zealand for our Holidays but in light of recent events have decided that the Rhondda Valley would offer a more scenic experience.…

...being used as a metonym for the NZ government.

A metronym, surely.

"Metronym"?
– Literal rhythm of the city perhaps?

Older men seem more into digging shit up. Of Nat voters, 31% say it's put them off and 18% enough to not vote for them if an election were held…

A spokesman for Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said the Government would not enter a "tete-a-tete between geologists".

So one day it's only about the Geologists Survey, next, it's not worth discussing with Geologists? WTF!

The Stewart Island figure was "misleading" because it was "wildly optimistic" and had not been backed by exploration, he said. "The numbers they're throwing around, the value of the mineral wealth in Stewart Island and Great Barrier Island – it's basically just made up,"…

I appears that we don't have the brightest wildlife either.
Douglas Adams on the Kakapo

Or watch the man :) (probably want to click on over to youtube & watch/listen to this there)
[paste'n'pray]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZG8HBuDjgc&feature=player_embedded

Maybe we should organise an "insurance" system where "patients" pick the Docs rather than the Docs pick the patients?

I think in our system it's more the Docs pick the Docs isn't it ?

Glenn: that's almost 100% reversed from the truth. In fact the NHS in Britain was inspired by such societies, eg the Tredegar Medical Aid Society.

BUPA was more what I had in mind rather than the NHS itself.

But yes, I guess I was thinking of more recent local history…

I know that Southern Cross in NZ was not such a lovely worker-led thing, but the 1930s are recent history as far as mutual aid…

In the case of medical insurance the "co-ops" have tended to be instigated by members of the medical profession to effectively create a private market for their services in the face of otherwise becoming public servants in the public health system.

That postdates what Stephen was talking about by some…

For-profit insurance is a fairly recent invention and even now, some co-operatives are still going strong.

Fonterra?
Yes, you make many valid points. But I was thinking of the 'for-profit' insurance sector, which seems like another form of wholly corruptible usury.

Seems I'm not alone in seeing Insurance [[http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/islamic-scholars-are-correct-insurance-is/|in this…

the case of medical insurance the "co-ops" have tended to be instigated by members of the medical profession

Maybe we should organise an "insurance" system where "patients" pick the Docs rather than the Docs…

Co-operative self-help organisations are one of the classic examples socialists and anarchists use to illustrate how voluntary organisations of workers can create powerful, useful systems without the need for capitalist institutions.

Well that's one rose-tinted way of looking at it. In the case of medical insurance the "co-ops" have tended…

Whenever the concept of Insurance originated, it is fairly clear to me that probably on the first day, if not the first few minutes, someone thought; 'Shit, we're gonna get filthy rich out of scaring people half to death. Where's that surgeon friend of mine. He'll want to invest.'

Actually…

You've been reading Roger Douglas' book of speeches again!

Whenever the concept of Insurance originated, it is fairly clear to me that probably on the first day, if not the first few minutes, someone thought; 'Shit, we're gonna get filthy rich out of scaring people half to death. Where's that…

What staggers me about the insurance business is that it is utterly utterly one of the most pefect socialist inventions ever.

You've been reading Roger Douglas' book of speeches again!

Labour MP David Shearer decries the poverty of vision.

Maybe Mr Shearer would like to STFU given the way his party strangled science funding and channelled what little money we put into research into end stage development using other peoples discoveries instead of discovering new things for ourselves. Labour's handling…

But back to the second part of the post re Obamahealth.

What staggers me about the insurance business is that it is utterly utterly one of the most pefect socialist inventions ever. What is it? A group of people pooling a fee…

There has been NO substantial investment in working writers (my field, tho' I am a pictorial artist also) – despite the loud noises made by the Clark governments (hey! I'm a Labour…

if I can hide underneath it, it's not a postcard

Heh.

No doubt Brownlee is sincere in his belief that mining is an ideal way to improve the country's economic wellbeing. Wrong, but genuine.

Labour MP David Shearer decries the poverty of vision.

Sadly, it’s more clutching at straws, trying…

New Zealand. 'We're in here.'

Thats not going to have all that big of an effect on our 'brand' ...

New Zealand 100% Puree
we chewed it up and spat it out...
(Puerile?)
or
New Zealand – it's the pits!
or
New Zealand – the dream is over
(now the nightmare begins...)

his official portrait (small size for humble families) that hung above my Nanna's pin-cushion
I doubt we'll ever have another leader whose photo graces most homes

The John Key Pin Cushion might be a goer...

Maybe he's an advocate of really, really large postcards?

I believe I heard him on Morning Report today, dismissing the criticism about his misleading example by saying "well, now we're just arguing over what's a postcard".

To which all I can say is: if I can hide underneath it, it's…

Eden Park is bigger than a rugby field

Perhaps as much as 8-10x bigger, including all grounds. Certainly nowhere near 121x bigger (and that's being generous – I'm sure most people would hear the phase "size of Eden Park" as describing the playing field).

"I think TVNZ may have used the size of the rugby field – I said Eden Park," Mr Brownlee told Radio New Zealand.

He doesn't think well on his feet does he?

Eden Park is bigger than a rugby field (since it contains one), so the equivalent mining area will…

Today he [GB] said text in a Government document on the mining proposals saying the area which would be mined equated to a postcard on Eden Park was a general comparison.

He was responding to a mathematician telling TVNZ the…

ah, homeopathic remedies are wonderfully uniquely totally batshit reliable at not producing any effect (aside from the placebo) at all

My friend sent me this on How to summarise the evidence as to how Homeopathy works

Let's assume the National ministers are honest and have the best interests of New Zealand as a whole as their prime motivator.

Can you please explain (showing some proof) how mining will benefit New Zealand?

The reason for asking you to do that is because thus far the…

Craig, no offence and all, but: if you were an auto-commenting perl script, you couldn't be more predictable in these threads.

Mad props for the delightful use of the passive-aggressive voice there, but do you have any substantive argument with what I've actually said instead of the Kiwibog-grade "shut the…

Mining for rare earth metals on Stewart Island is on the Government's to-do list. Mr Brownlee quotes rare earths as worth up to $300-$500 per kilo. Only the two rarest (Europium and Terbium) of the fourteen are worth anything like as…

couldn't be more predictable

right wing government

his official portrait (small size for humble families) that hung above my Nanna's pin-cushion

I doubt we'll ever have another leader whose photo graces most homes

Maurice Williamson with tits

Gah! The image! It burns!

Cheese and crackers, Bart. And now we've passed into the second stage of WhaleOily Kiwiboggery: Those who disagree with me are not only stupid and evil, you're corrupt whores whose only interest in in lining your own pockets. What next: John…

We are talking about our nearly-dead lake, known more widely as "Ellesmere" I take it? We've been trying for literally bloody decades to organise good sea-ingress, and and stopping phosphate & other nasties'…

stuff breathed into my infant ear about Mickey Savage

Got to earn a burial spot like this

Hope you're right by Sunday

The agriculture thing isnt done & dealt quite yet, but come south – we can try the wee buggers straight outa their shells!

Er, if we get south to Bluff-

Sofie, webweaver,self right in your corner: it's just none of this is a surprise?

Oh darlin',I have no surprise ma fren, I mentioned exact same shit 2 years ago on a David Slack post and sent my apology to Craig then, but hey, my distrust is confirmed and sometimes after…

when I landed in Auckland in 1997

i knew there must have been some unrevealed explanation for why i left in 1997...now i know the truth!
my homeopathic remedies unconsciously told me to flee...tiso was on his way.

SNAP! Left in 1997, came back in 2000, left again in 2008.…

*There is already a campaign to ressurect the Fiordland road-

BenWilson, the Nat beast just doesnt really change, even though you think/hope so.

my homeopathic remedies unconsciously told me to flee...tiso was on his way.

Crikey. Am I that toxic?

when I landed in Auckland in 1997

i knew there must have been some unrevealed explanation for why i left in 1997...now i know the truth!
my homeopathic remedies unconsciously told me to flee...tiso was on his way.

Redeems herself a bit by suggesting a sovereign fund like Norway…

I think they've succeeded in restoring NZ to the state it was in when I landed in Auckland in 1997.

Re-privatising of the rail network commencing in 3...2...1...

Within a year he had defected from National. A fool and a puppet he may have been, but I think at some level he was genuinely dismayed by what his party turned out to be really planning to do.

I think that may be a bit rosy.

Peters is an…

Congratulations, fuckers.

"There is no research currently available which accurately quantifies the size of the behavioural response from these changes in policies. This prevents estimates, with the degree of accuracy required, from being made of the number of people who will move from…

back-of-the-envelope finger-in-the-wind calculations bear no resemblance to reality

Damn good work at Te Standard.

$18 billion: the estimated value of the minerals in the areas of Schedule 4 land the government wants to open up. That’s three years of current mining production, hardly enough to make a significant impact on…

Deborah has put this rather well I think.

Seconded.

"The dream is over". What an utterly horrid, contemptible person the Minister is.

"Kick in the pants" is not much better.

I…

from everything I've read about the back-of-the-envelope finger-in-the-wind calculations, they bear no resemblance to reality.

Don't panic, the politicans will just end up as directors of finance companies. Nothing to worry about at all. :-(

I'm also quite taken (but not in a good way) by the Minister for I Used To Be A Beneficiary But Now I'm Not And You Losers Can All Just GET FUCKED.

Hey, don't piss around — just go the Brian Edwards route and call the fat Westie skank a…

Apologies BTW for all the swearing today. I'm just a bit cross about everything...

then either the honourable members are really very stupid

I wouldn't underestimate that possibility. If nothing else, this cabinet really does come across more and more as a barely competent bunch.

Minister for Motorways

We don't have a Transport Minister, we only have a Vogon. Prostetnic Vogon Joyce.

completely gobsmacked by the "Conservation" minister's little rant.

You know, once of the things I thought when the proposal was announced was "Oh that's right, we do have a conservation minister!" It's easy to think that we just have a Minister for Mining, a Minister for Motorways and a whole…

In which case, what's in it for them?

It's certainly wise to scrutinise any potential for direct financial gain, but really, it's not required as a justification. Even if "they" aren't making a single gold coin out of it, Their Sort of People are, and that's what matters. To hell…

I just watched the Parliament debate thingy online and was completely gobsmacked by the "Conservation" minister's little rant. Oh my God, if she's in charge of conservation then our natural environment is well and truly fucked. In a supreme moment of irony she began by blaming…

@KevinHague: Key just said he could rule out open pit mining

Yet they can be so easily recycled as landfills.

Robyn Malcolm. What she says

"The National Government's draconian plans for our National Parks seem like something from another age..."

She's wrong sadly. There is nothing anachronistic about greed. Every age has had people who were willing to sacrifice other people and the environment for their own benefit.

What I…

No stupid policies ever get past a good suburban Auckland focus group...

Though it has to be said that "suburban Auckland" is itself a pretty stupid policy.

Robyn Malcolm. What she says

The four letter word which rhymes with Pit ( 2. a. An excavation for the removal of mineral deposits; a mine. b. The shaft of a mine) confirms the puns intention .....

Of course, anyone who doesn't agree with you must be stupid, if not out right EVIL.

Hey, just because you think someone is stupid or evil, doesn't mean that it's necessarily because they disagree with you.

And before you snap back, I should note that the aversion therapy thing goes both ways; blind adherance to some mythical left wing idea is just as bad as blind adherance to a money trader.

So's playing Six Degrees of Condescending D-Bag because you don't happen to approve of the…

When it does start to stick we'll see him as one of the most effluent prime ministers this country has ever produced.

I'm not sure if that pun was intentional.

I tend to think this is a political gesture that doesn't change the (already harsh) reality very much. Bennett's claim that the measures will "break the cycle of welfare dependency" was difficult to credit.

I too was underwhelmed by the changes, though I guess that's a good thing. I didn't…

We have Labor .................. who are bad and rotten.

And we have the natianals ......................... who are plain evil.

Politics in New Zealand works on the principle of " its our turn now", the two main partys know that…

it is time for the country to find itself a more sustainable brand, and soon."
Humiliating, and its the truth :(

instant win-win solution:
subterranean brothels!
advertised internationally as:
"Come dig New Zealand
have sex with a miner"

that should get them in...
(note…

I'd rather have a government that didn't propose stupid initiatives in the first place.

Of course. My reason for not voting for them. I'm just saying that I feel that there's something different about a National that floats stupid balloons than one that just forges ahead with what's written on…

In February, the government revealed it was considering opening some of the country’s pristine public land up for mining—an activity to which the dwarves in “The Hobbit” are much given, but which is not popular with more elvish sensibilities.

Any brownie points someone might win for being a "maverick" are immediately lost when Pappa Key gives his blessing

They are with me and you, but maybe not for people who aren't already inclined to distrust National. Then they only thing they can say against Kaye personally is "She didn't…

Does National really expect to get away with mining conservation land by putting up Gt Barrier as a distraction? One really really stupid idea to cover up the just…

Interesting idea... :-)
I actually still have those presentations...

in which the quarry becomes the hunter!
I like it... ;- )

Wonder if Garrett will be singing that as he opens Beverly Four Mile.

More like the theme to the Beverly Hillbillies,
he likes the bubbling crude....

I've just finished…

Looks like I'm going to have to expand the Fantasy Island file into its own cabinet...

Nah, National just obviously hasn't mastered the "all focus groups all the time" strategy. No stupid policies ever get past a good suburban Auckland focus group...

Andre; I know Nikki fairly well, and while in my experience you're never going to grow old waiting for her opinion on any subject but she doesn't sneak up behind anyone with a sandbag either. Nor is she prone to random fits of hysterical venting.

Perhaps that's the case, but…

That, more than anything, will shake things up and loosen his Pavlovian attachment to Key.

Well, I guess I don't need my Kiwibog aversion therapy this week. Getting all the off-putting condescending patronage of total strangers I need.

Thanks for the tip that kiwiblog might be used in wingnut aversion…

me and my old-fashioned "topic" ideas

Stay up to date Russell, topics are soooo February

I'd rather have a government that didn't propose stupid initiatives in the first place.

Looks like I'm going to have to expand the Fantasy Island file into its own cabinet...

Personally I'll be a lot more impressed by both of them if they do actually manage to turn this stupid, stupid initiative around, than if they fail to.

I'd rather have a government that didn't propose stupid initiatives in the first place.

Key's office decided that an a posteriori comment that he knew about it beforehand was the only way to stop him from looking weak.

Andre; I know Nikki fairly well, and while in my experience you're never going to grow old waiting for her opinion on any subject but she…

Does Minister Brownlee have shares in the Blue Sky Company?

Wonder if Garrett will be singing that as he opens Beverly Four Mile.

he knew about it beforehand was the only way to stop him from looking weak.

Ok not weak, but a "you don't fuck with the wongs" attitude."How dare she speak without asking me first." sorta thing.

Intentionally or not, it's a great ploy.

Not that I am a conspiracist, another thought to show how clever you are as the PM, could be to mention that you knew all along that one of your Mps was going to voice their opinion on behalf of her electorate,(winning the…

Intentionally or not, it's a great ploy.

Or to be enitrely cynical in quite another direction, perhaps Key has developed a touch of the Obamas and decided not to go the traditional route of trying to muzzle Kaye and Banks (good luck with that if you're ever inclined to try,…

Conspiracists may ...expect John Key to make great play of a reprieve for the Barrier while the heavy machinery rolls in somewhere else. I'm not sure it's that well thought-out.

Intentionally or not, it's a great ploy. The Barrier seems to stick out – probably because it's an island sanctuary…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic2eEcnwghU&feature=player_embedded

Priceless.

As was the White House press sec's response.

That, more than anything, will shake things up and loosen his Pavlovian attachment to Key.

Well, I guess I don't need my Kiwibog aversion therapy this week. Getting all the off-putting condescending patronage of total strangers I need.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcjsvH3cCig

I actually still have those presentations, the person who took over the job put them on discs so that I could have a portfolio to show to NZ employers. Very thoughtful man.

Question: if mixing sulfuric acid with potassium ferrocyanide can create dangerous gas. what happens when we eat lots of table salt on roasted peanuts, drink beer then burp; do we burp up hydrogen cyanide gas?

Not in NZ, Steven: our table salt contains only anticaking agent 551, otherwise known as…

They are now busily…

etc etc...

Any foreign mining operation here will never make significant profits, because – surprise, surprise – it's not in their interest, tax-wise, to do so.

Yeah, it is good.
Here is the website
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
which has some other good clips on it

EDIT: I have used these clips with Year 9 and 10 students – they have prompted fantastic class…

If the Treasury were to fill old bottles with banknotes, bury them at suitable depths in disused coalmines which are then filled up to the surface with town rubbish, and leave it to private enterprise on…

do we burp up hydrogen cyanide gas?

Nah,
C02. but what would I know, ask an expert.

The phrase "just making it up" comes to mind.

Well, if Kevin doesn't know the difference between open pit and extractive mines perhaps he should STFU. Might think one lesson to be taken from the health care debate is that no matter how passionate you are about an issue reality…

Another question: why is Mt Aspiring national park being spared? I don't know the area, but I expect it has different fowner and flowner...

Probably has no gold.Plus one has to be tuff to climb it :)

Natural means nothing in the context of health IMO. Of course in terms of marketing that's a whole other story.

I reckon this is on topic.
Even if it isn't it's still good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM

I think that's part of the reason young people like the one Hilary describes upthread exist; because he's so willing to basically say whatever sounds good, they just assume that it must be a) true and b) said with forethought.

The same could be said of 'older people' with entrenched…

and today John and Paula have announced a new open season on dole bludgers. I've only heard a few details but it sounds like another battle field for any with liberal tendencies.

I tend to think this is a political gesture that doesn't change the (already harsh) reality very much.…

Sweet as, Bart. The chance to discuss chemistry doesn't come along very often at PA, so I jumped at it!

You're all just mocking me and my old-fashioned "topic" ideas, aren't you?

The phrase "just making it up" comes to mind.

I think that's part of the reason young people like the one Hilary describes upthread exist; because he's so willing to basically say whatever sounds good, they just assume that it must be a) true and b) said with forethought.

add to the consultation on "natural" health products

Um that would be an horrendous threadjack and I kind of think the subject of the thread is too important. One way of summarizing my thoughts is to point out that the hideously painful death of mother and child during birth is…