Posts by Alfie
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Now here's a thing. Just as Canadians are about to go to the polls, Lynton Crosby has withdrawn from the Conservative's campaign which seems to be foundering badly.
It seems that PM Stephen Harper decided to seek an endorsement from Toronto’s former mayor and general fuck-up Rob Ford. There's speculation that it was this ill-advised move which inspired Crosby to bail on Harper.
Meanwhile Textor is furiously trying to distance the company from what is looking increasingly like a failed right-wing campaign. And I guess C|T wouldn't want to have one of those on their CVs.
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Another prominent journalist departs. John Armstrong is stepping down from his Herald role because sadly, he has Parkinson's disease. His final column reflects on 30 years of political coverage.
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Sorry if this isn't the best thread for this, but "Misappropriating taxpayers’ money" seems appropriate.
It looks like Key's bring a cute panda to New Zealand tactic may not end well if this Fairfax story is correct. Wellington Zoo's chief executive has spoken with her counterpart in Sydney. Taronga Zoo's CEO confirmed they were "not pushing ahead with getting pandas because of the financial risk beyond the first 18 months."
They did their own feasibility study and talked to all the US zoos which hold giant pandas. In fact San Diego Zoo tried to give theirs back to China due to ever-increasing costs, but China refused to take them, she wrote.
"Taronga predicts [capital expense] of $23m plus ... and they predict they would be $2m per annum in the red for [operating expense] beyond 18 months."
Fifield wrote that even baby pandas did not give the US zoos the visitor boost they expected."
While Key might want to be remembered as the PM who bought a panda to NZ, the more likely legacy is the PM who saddled Wellington ratepayers with a whole pile of debt.
Hey... look over there! It's a snow leopard!
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Polity: TPP, eh?, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
Do we have an upper limit on how much a Govt can borrow on our behalf?
I think it's pretty much an open chequebook as far as the Key government in concerned. And for them it won't be a problem, as long as they can keep the figures hidden discreetly from public scrutiny.
Bryce Edwards' political roundup today is Labour's TPP disaster which pretty much sums up Labour's confused "yes I do but no I don't" public attitude towards TPP. Honestly, they seem determined to portray themselves as a bunch of headless chooks lately.
Edwards quotes this morning's South Times editorial called Labour's weird approach to TPP deal which ends...
It seems Labour has commitment issues.
Damn right!
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Pat Pilcher has a summary of how the TPP will affect copyright and in particular, how America's DMCA might be applied here.
The leaked chapter also includes a proposal of how internet service providers (ISPs) are to deal with copyright infringement and could require that New Zealand adopt laws similar to the much maligned DMCA (digital millennium copyright act).
Criticism of the DMCA appears to have been a consideration of the TPP negotiators who have also proposed penalties for wrongful takedown notices, as well as the verification of takedown notices by an independent body.
How to adopt US laws by proxy.
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Legal Beagle: Into the River/Interim Restrictions, in reply to izogi,
Family First is, predictibly, outraged.
Gee... Bob McCoskrie must sleep peacefully knowing that at least children are unable to access *gasp* the internet.
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Former Campbell reported Tristram Clayton has left TV3 along with entertainment editor Daniel Rutledge. The Herald reckons Kate Rodger may be the next to go...
... taking her global entertainment contacts with her and leaving TV3 with a gaping hole in its entertainment journalism.
I can't see that being a problem as so much of TV3's "news" already qualifies as entertainment these days. Roger's departure worries me less because honestly, I'm not watching news looking for entertainment, I don't like being shouted at and I already fast forward through her reports.
How low must morale be in the TV3 newsroom these days?
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Envirologue: 1080, "eco-terrorism" and agendas, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
... the likes of the one you have is the reason there are so many 3 legged possum limping around the bush.
I think gin or leg-hold traps are mainly to blame for leg-loss and can honestly say that not a single possum has escaped from my Timms trap. As soon as they stick their heads in the entrance a metal bar comes up and whacks them in the carotid artery. Occasionally smaller ones will get a forelimb as well as their head in the trap, but they're always dead by the time I find them.
Apart from one. He was well-caught but dragging the trap around the garden, so we shot him with a .22 rifle.
It's amazingly easy to trap possums using only half an apple as bait. I hate the things.
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Envirologue: 1080, "eco-terrorism" and agendas, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
Birds are poisoned too you know.
Not when they've all been wiped out by rats and stoats, which was sort of the point of my Fiordland story. Don't get me wrong -- I certainly wouldn't want to be anywhere near a 1080 drop and I'd love to see DoC being funded to provide more hunting and trapping.
We live in a bird-friendly area close to the Orokonui Ecosanctuary and often you can't hear yourself think for the cacophony of native birds. It's delightful. If only our backcountry areas still sounded so sweet.
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Envirologue: 1080, "eco-terrorism" and agendas, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
Other solutions can be the likes of the Trapinator...
I haven't seen that one before but anything which wipes out possums must be applauded. I can proudly say that my trusty little Timms trap has killed 58 possums to date. Yesssss!
There is also a little gas-powered trap on the market which attaches to trees, automatically drops the possum and resets after each kill. That sounds like a good idea but my neighbour has one and hasn't killed a single possum in four years.
While these types of devices are great for killing possums, stoats and rats present a different problem altogether, especially in remote locations.