Posts by Bart Janssen
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I guess it shows that despite all the negative publicity there are some very good people and programmes within WINZ. It's such a pity that our current govt views them as a simple drain on the tax dollar when they really do help people find productive worthwhile jobs and careers.
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Hard News: "Orderly transition" in #Egypt, in reply to Simon Grigg,
Firstly these are urban dwellers, thus tend not to be the rural poor.
I only spent a couple of days in Cairo and it seemed to me that our definition of urban doesn't match Cairo. Most of the people in Cairo are very poor by our standards. I don't really think there is much to pick between the urban poor of Cairo (20 million plus) and the rural poor.
Sure the urban rich are different.
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Hard News: "Orderly transition" in #Egypt, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
Have you *tried* keying text on an iPhone with an AK47 in the other hand?
I'm pretty sure my nieces could and get a high score at the same time.
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followed by the entire mobile phone network.
Now that is serious shit. Everyone seemed to have a mobile and use it constantly.
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So why did the regime block Twitter, Facebook and then any connection to the rest of the internet?
Because they can. But that doesn't mean twitter and facebook are major players in the protest. Yes those media are being used but I seriously doubt they are the major routes of information flow within Egypt. When they shut down the mobile phone network then I'll pay attention.
It seems pretty clear that Facebook groups in particular played a significant role in the initial momentum of the protests.
There are 20 million plus in Cairo. How many of the facebook group were in Egypt?
Sure both twitter and facebook are being used especially in getting information outside Egypt and perhaps between cities within Egypt. But there are many other ways of moving information around that don't require computer access that are much more useful to the population. It plays a role but I just don't believe it plays as big a role as us media junkies might perceive here. From what I saw as a tourist a couple of years ago mobile phones seem like a much more powerful organising tool since everyone has one (or more), and no I don't mean smart phones.
But whatever, it really isn't significant compared to the reality of revolution. It isn't twitter or facebook causing or even enabling revolution, it's the reality that people are unhappy enough to be willing to die on the streets.
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These are the times that our PM is an embarassment
As opposed to the times when he isn't. These are the times when you appreciate that our previous PM had some significant experience on the international stage.
But all that is a sideshow to the concept of 80 million people having a change of government, most of them poor, half of them with little education. Will they know how this change is going to occur and what it will mean for them. While it may be fun to mock someone about his derision of twitter and facebook one thing to remember is that most Egyptians have no access to facebook or twitter. It is their revolution and from here it may look like facebook and twitter play a role but in Egypt I doubt it. It may be our portal to the events but not theirs.
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Hard News: Because it's about time we…, in reply to BenWilson,
Mitsy Starion
Daihatsu make a Sirion which can't ever read as anything other than Sirloin .. which makes me think of BBQ
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Hard News: Because it's about time we…, in reply to Kumara Republic,
Starbuck’s down-under foray is the Edsel Espresso
Not quite the right reference. Edsel was a failure of marketing, the car itself was OK.
Whereas in Oz and NZ SB fails because the product is not as good as the competition. That's different from the US where SB is better than most of the competition.
That's why attributing failure to kiwis being snobs is laughable. A snob is someone who buys a more expensive or lower quality product because of name or marketing. What kiwi coffee drinkers demonstrate is that no amount of marketing will make them buy SB coffee - instead they buy a better higher quality product that most times is cheaper ... pretty much the exact opposite of a snob.
Call me a coffee geek for sure but not a snob.
I've talked about my experiences with US coffee in previous threads including the dire state that is Utah - but recently I found a cafe in Napier that sold what it called a Bongo. Halfway between a machiatto and a latte (actually about a third of the way). Anyone know of an Auckland place that has that size?
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But Starbucks is run by white men in nice suits and they have wonderful accountants so the reason they failed in NZ must be our fault not theirs.
Good grief.
I do have milk in my coffee which only means that I require two skills from the barista. That said when a caffeine headache (usually accompanied by grumpiness) is impending even starbucks will do the job.
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Hugs Emma, anytime you need one I'll send it ... and one on the way now because I need to hug you - even if only virtually.
Thank you for sharing your sadness.