Posts by Sacha
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And in unrelated news, McCully anounces he'll jolly well build something on Queens wharf whether Auckland's elected representatives want it or not. Take that.
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surely market forces would drive something a lot better into the mix, or at least take txts down to a 'fair' cost. But no, I didn't factor in that the profits from this extortionate service would make it extremely attractive to the very small pool of massive scale providers, and thus the service would become a standard and everyone would have it, and even be thankful for it.
You also didn't factor in Telecom's success at lobbying limp-wristed Ministers who might have regulated their cosy monopoly/duopoly a decade earlier. Mobile termination rates, anyone?
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Credit cards are not the problem - only the ethics of the monkeys holding them
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Fun, you say? (ta, geekzone)
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I just resent having to play along with all this business-speak as if it's some sort of important or coherent philosophy rather than a particularly propagandist part of what is, at heart, a giant global pyramid scheme.
Agree
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Matthew Hooten tells RNZ (streaming 5mins, MP3 1.9MB) that Heatley resigned because he realised he wasn't up to riding out the pressure. Mind you, Hooten also believes the rules are too strict. Here's today's DomPost story he refers to.
But documents issued yesterday show Mr Heatley was warned on several occasions about providing all the paperwork needed.
In July and September, Mr Heatley was told by a Ministerial Services manager: "Due to the scrutiny that credit cards attract we would like to remind you that all records are open to review and should comply with the five expenditure principles ... of the Ministerial Office handbook."
The principles include that spending is for official ministerial purposes only, they are properly documented, able to withstand audit scrutiny and comply with department delegations. They must also be "reasonable for the circumstances and able to withstand taxpayers' scrutiny".
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Who said profit was all bad, anyway?
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It seemed as good as any other explanation I've read about this.
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remarkable prescience
Given Heatley's dodgy relationship with the distinction between public and private spending had been in the news since last year - and that Key's office released the figures to the DominionPost - I'm sure the situation was hardly a surprise. Though Key's scramble back from Chch suggests the timing of Heatley's departure was.
I'm not suggesting they carefully manipulated things to conicide with a particular day's news. They didn't need to, given how journos have become increasingly fixated on the 'game' of politics rather than the content.
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nobody else is talking about any of these subjects, right?
Not on the 6pm tv bulletins last night, no.