Posts by Marc C
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Cycling in Auckland seems to be condemned to special, sometimes "off the main track" routes, and even within fences, or along fences, separating cyclists from roads and streets. I used to cycle here, but I gave up years ago, given the ruthless drivers of cars, trucks and buses, that though was while using the road, as there was NO alternative.
What I observe now is as I mentioned above, cyclists are kept well away from other traffic, on separate routes, while roads, streets and motorways for cars, trucks and else have PRIORITY in planning.
Cycling in NZ is still, and I fear will remain to be so, a second rate or third rate of "transport", not treated that favourably at all. In Europe I saw cycle lanes along many roads, streets and lanes, all over the place, with no fences left or right, just a green strip of grass, or a small kerb side, to separate from the rest of traffic. There cyclists get more respect, most car drivers tend to be courteous and give way, here it is quite a different story.
Cycling in Auckland should be robustly promoted and facilitated, same as public transport by bus and train, and it is time to bring about a real change of attitude. I want to cycle along Dominion Road, Sandringham Road, St Luke's Road, and ALL major roads safely, and be treated equal to car drivers and the rest. Stop this marginalisation of healthy, alternative transport like cycling, which is physical activity most here need, and which will be very affordable, compared to expensive, imported cars and the petrol and diesel we overly depend on.
The present cheap fuel will not last, it is actually counter productive, it encourages the petrol headed people to keep driving and pumping gases into the air, to provide for even hotter years to come, to break the record of 2014.
Bring it on, we NEED cycling, cyclists and everywhere, discourage the driving of individual motor vehicles and be courageous, embrace the environment and your own future physical health.
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Hard News: The Sky is the limit, in reply to Russell Brown,
Indeed, this post is yet another very good summary for yet another huge screw up by this government. And yes, the bad news get released just when most are too busy filling the malls, tidying up their desks and workplaces before going on leave, and are partying to forget another stressful year.
The news are full of items about retail sales turnover, stressed out parents trying to cope with their kids during the holidays, warnings about not speeding and drink driving, the weather we can expect and of course the usual crime reports, and sports. So who will bother spending much thought on this.
After the holiday, Key will come back "replenished", having done a few courses of golf with Obama, FBI and NSA leaders, and Hollywood studio managers. He will have done another teflon help yourself personal management and media course, and will smile from ear to ear, and the nation will think, hey, what a nice man, so successful, and in with all those "great ones" from overseas, we will be assured another year of the "brighter future".
So it will go for another year, Andrew Little will end his media honeymoon, and the knives will be out, to kill him off, in time before the next general election.
All is well in Aotearoa NZ, the system is "working", working that is for the mafia like elite, the ones doing well, the ones pulling the strings, the ones stitching up "deals" between government and private enterprise. Next will be much of Housing NZ's stock, ready to go, to developers, to cut to pieces, and to "develop" into high rises, and to only offer 5 % of dwellings to those on or below the median incomes. That is how it is done, sell the dirt from under your bums, and get rich, while pulling the carpet from under the feet of your nation's less fortunate, never mind, they can dig their own graves, while John Smilin Assassin Key will retire in his mansion on Hawaii, with golden door knobs, and 24/7 air condition and security at the gate.
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What an eventful week and an eventful day. We have had the above mentioned report, based only on evidence that was accessible and available, while much has been deleted and destroyed, and John Key and his rotten Office have only been marginally exposed, and we had a report on Judith Collins' activities, which was also based on a very narrow scope for an investigation, letting her off the hook, while much was not even properly looked at.
Slater and Key continued texting, and the PM has been found out lying left right and centre, and he does not know where to start, to cover up his lies.
This afternoon Slater was on Radio Live, and he spouted off his usual BS, all based on nothing but his imaginations or fabrications, but he did all to defend Key. It seems rather obvious that Slater, the blogger aka "wannabe journalist", who knows where all the political sceletons are hidden, wants to keep Key, or at least National with perhaps another leader in Office. But luckily he is so toxic, he has unintentionally been participating in the dismantling of the false image and aura of "honesty" and "integrity" of the PM.
It has become known now also, Key deletes ALL his text messages, I wonder why? The reason is clear, to not be found out.
Let us hope that Key will get more entangled in his web of lies and manipulations, and will be exposed more fully over the next weeks. It is time to go, Mr Key, time is up, LIAR!
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With regret, I have to agree with Russell on his initial assessment. This is NOT a good or new start, it is a great worry. I listened to Andrew Little and Kathryn Ryan on Nine to Noon this morning, and the interview showed what Little is missing and lacking. He is not very charismatic for a start, so that will be a challenge. Upon a question he made a bizarre comment. Saying Labour need to find out what is going on at the work-places. I could not believe it, and asked myself, what the hell has he and have Labour been doing the last few years, to ask such a stupid question?.
There is endless ambiguity, lack of direction, no clarity and so forth, and just having the affiliated unions get Little across, that is not good enough a vote for a new leader. He will be another intermediate or transitional leader, that is for sure, and Labour face even greater challenges now, not just lack of unity.
It is time for a totally new left of centre social democratic party, also inclusive of socialist ideals. Labour will be mince meat for Nats and Key, I fear.
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Russian security, I do not want to know how they dealt to Chechens, who make up large numbers of "fighters" in Syria and Iraq, strangely:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RD9fi0naJZSAI&v=ax6BPJvYTZE
One of the reasons of ISIS' success is the failure and crimes committed by the Russians in Chechnia, in Afghanistan, and also the US thereabouts. They have created their own worst enemies, and now, they expect people to let them off the hook and get paid for fixing the crap they left behind.
Thank you, bastards!
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This is the kind of online stuff that Finlayson and Key will consider to get you close to the “sympathiser” ranks, if you dare watching it, for whatever purpose. It is there, it is worrying, and not palatable, but is it “illegal”, or so?
While posting this, I WARN all, to carefully weigh up whether to watch it or not, and especially those that may look for “excitement” and any excuse for “revolution” based on such radicalism. I do NOT agree with ISIS and what they stand for, I post this for a WARNING, as it should send serious messages of concern to ALL.
This is a movement out to dominate, conquer and impose their system no matter what, it is close to "religiously" manipulated kind of fascism.
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Hard News: The Boom Crash, in reply to Sacha,
This is going to be hammered out in more detail next year, I understand, when zoning and so may be part of the hearings for the AUP. That is where residents, property owners, community groups, Council and developers will have input, and afterwards it will become clearer, what changes may yet take place, and where intensification will actually take place. Council already made amendments after looking at earlier feedback, which were taken into consideration for the notified plan from September last year.
I suspect that the Rural Urban Boundary and present zoning proposals are in part causes for some high level speculation, and land banking. Properties in some areas planned for apartment and terraced housing will have values go up, as the land section prices are likely to increase, because building many apartments will offer good returns, even for a high price paid.
That may be behind some media stories about old dumps being bought in some parts of Auckland for over a million or even millions of dollars. The buyers, likely developers, may be more after the scarce land, and have no intention of using the structures on it, as they will be pulled down and replaced with multilevel housing, offering secure, good returns.
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Hard News: The Boom Crash, in reply to Sacha,
The extra million bit is based on a high projection by Statistics NZ, which is not a projection used by CCO Watercare and others for future growth. It seems from the Auckland Plan, which is the plan the Unitary Plan has to comply with (besides of the RMA and so), that it was decided by the mayor and council by 2010 to grow the population at a higher rate, and to enable this. We may actually perhaps rather only have 700 to 800 thousand population increase, based on the medium projection that Watercare here used for their future planning.
And it all also depends on what central government will decide to do in future years, in regards to regional development, to perhaps encourage economic activity and development in other centres, and in changed immigration policy.
Clearly, this boils down to a degree of choice, what Aucklanders may decide for in future. Last local government elections, I think barely half of entitled voters in Auckland bothered to vote at all. Many do not even know what the Auckland Plan and Unitary Plan contain in detail, so once the implementations start, there may be a reaction not all that receptive.
But in any case, there are areas that deserve more built up residential construction, and where it will be welcome and not so negatively impact. The Unitary Plan does not cover transport and such infrastructure planning, as that is dealt with separately, but without infrastructure and coordination, things can go very wrong. Look at the past in the CBD, the blocks of horror, the leaky building disaster and no wonder many are worried.
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Hard News: The Boom Crash, in reply to Jim Cathcart,
Of course, that is the idea of creating credit, to generate economic activity that pays for itself as it goes, with interest to repay and serve the created “money”, associated costs and profits. This bears risks that can be managed, but it also applies pressures for the borrowers and investors using credit to perform and deliver.
What some economists do still not seem to accept or understand is, that resources are limited and finite, and that growth cannot continue as an endless upwards spiral. Changing conditions and environments force changes of economic direction, and we also have some choices, what kind of growth in what kind of form we want. The unresolved problem with New Zealand is, that most want to adhere to lifestyles and so called middle class living standards, that the kind of economic activity we have will not be able to sustain. Actually many can only “afford” their homes and so, by borrowing up to their eyeballs, and then spending their lives working to pay it off, at higher interest as in most developed countries, where less credit fueled housing and consumption may be the norm.
It is indeed time to change the housing market, to create and provide affordable rental and owned homes, so that more investment goes into other activities, that produce stuff that earns a better, more secure living for the future. The state can play a major role in this, also able to afford lower credit interest rates, and in state housing take advantage of large buying power, to obtain cheaper building materials. Most may in future be renters of privately owned rental properties (nest-eggs for some), but they will likely pay high rents, to pay off the homes that private investors built for them, also using credit that will eventually be repayable at higher interest.
Under the present government, like many others before, I cannot see this change of direction happening.
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Hard News: Garbage in, garbage out, in reply to Kumara Republic,
You are definitely onto something there, I fear!