Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

Nickelback visit Auckland, Wayne not there

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Grammy award-winning Canadian rock band Nickelback recently stopped in on New Zealand, for a one-off concert at Vector Arena in Auckland.

Unfortunately Wayne could not be there. Here's a message from Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger and guitarist Ryan Peake to Wayne...

* More stars disappointed that 'Wayne could not be here' here...

New World Scraps Plastic Bag Charge

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:17:00 +0000

Well done New World for deciding to axe its unpopular plastic bag levy for South Island customers. The supermarket chain has listened to its customers and dropped the controversial 5 cent per bag charge at its 40 South Island supermarkets. The decision follows a similar backtrack at its North Island stores last month.

The 5c levy was introduced by Foodstuffs in August, across all 3 of its supermarket brands (New World, Pak 'n Save, and Four Square). Rival supermarket operator, Progressive Enterprises, chose not to respond with a similar bag charge at its Countdown, Woolworths, and Foodtown supermarkets.

Foodstuffs says the New World policy resulted in a 65% reduction in plastic bag usage, but admits the backtrack is the result of a continued negative customer feedback. The company admits it did lose customers when bag charging was introduced, but claims this was balanced by gaining new customers.

"Individual customers objected saying they did not feel they should have to purchase plastic bags. Some were quite loud in their feedback. We have listened to that noise and stopped the levy."

Profits from the plastic bag sales were destined for "environmental charities", although Foodstuffs says similar donations will continue to be made by the company itself.

Interestingly Foodstuffs' plastic bag levy will continue at the company's Pak 'n Save and Four Square supermarkets, where apparently negative customer reaction has been less of an issue.

Maybe customers of the cut-price Pak 'n Save chain accepted the charge as part of the deal of getting cheaper groceries, but the same argument doesn't hold up for the small Four Square supermarkets.

As far as I know The Warehouse also still has its 10 cent bag levy in place (I have always tried to avoid the dodgy red sheds, long before this policy came in).

The bag charging policy as an incentive to reduce plastic bag usage is an interesting one. I note that overseas in the UK, and US Cities like San Francisco, stores offer customers a rebate of up to 10 cents for using their own bags.

Some people have suggested a return to the old brown paper bags, but research reveals paper bags actually generate 70% more air pollutants than plastic, and 50 times more water pollutants. It also takes 4 times as much energy to construct a paper bag, and uses 84 times as much energy to recycle.

The Green Party is again calling for the Government to legislate a mandatory levy on supermarket plastic bags, rather than leaving it up to individual companies and consumers to make their own decisions. Foodstuffs says it will continue to promote reusable supermarket bags as an option for customers.

* ODT - Foodstuffs drops charge for plastic bags

Rugby Schmugby, I want a refund!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:09:00 +0000

Well I'm back from my long overseas vacation, but with all the dramas here in NZ over the last week or so, I'm starting to wish I was still on holiday!

You better enjoy Rugby World Cup 2011... You're all going to be paying a helluva lot for the "privilege" of having the event come to New Zealand. The country is far less 'rugby mad' these days, but you wouldn't know it going by all the dramas over RWC TV rights, and the growing bills for the taxpayer.

Rugby World Cup 2011 organiser Martin Snedden admitted at the weekend that the event is expected to lose around $40 million. Apparently the NZ Government has kindly agreed to foot the bill for 2/3 of the RWC-2011 loss, with the NZ Rugby Union picking up the remaining third.

Nice, so taxpayers are up for a mandatory $26 million bill to pay for the event, as well as the additional public money being forked out for TV rights.

The Government today officially announced it's backing a joint bid by state broadcasters Maori Television and TVNZ, along with commercial rival TV3 for the free to air tv rights. The Ministry of Maori Development (Te Puni Kōkiri) will also give Maori Television additional funding towards "related services" for the RWC broadcasting project.

Apart from the serious question over why on earth the taxpayer should be subsidising the broadcast tv rights for a sports tournament (when those who actually want to see it can easily subscribe to Sky TV and see them all there!)... the thing that has baffled me the most is the political debate over Maori Television's bid.

The so-called mainstream media seem to have accepted the idea that the Maori Party is essentially the same organisation as Maori Television. Because the two groupings share the word "Maori", the Maori Party seem to believe Maori TV is their own personal tv station to play with?!

The Maori Television Service (MTS) is a fully state-funded broadcaster, which has managed to expand its initial brief and now broadcasts two tv channels, Maori Television and Te Reo. TVNZ is also a state-owned broadcaster, which decided it couldn't afford to bid for the free-to-air tv rights for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

It was therefore a bit far fetched to suggest that Maori Television *could* afford the rights, given its much smaller audience, lack of nationwide coverage, and slim advertising potential.

The only way Maori TV was going to be able to afford to snatch the rights from its state-owned older brother was by getting a much larger handout from the taxpayer. TV3 had also been in the bidding hunt, given it had rights to the previous RWC in 2007.

John Key says the financial details relating to how much public money will be invested in the "joint bid" by Maori TV, TVNZ, and TV3 will be revealed in due course (if the bid is accepted by the International Rugby Board).

The joint bid will see Maori Television broadcast all 40 World Cup games (16 live, 32 delayed). Maori TV will share the opening ceremony and opening game (All Blacks v Tonga) with TVNZ. The All Blacks v France pool game will be shared between Maori TV and TV3. Pay broadcaster Sky TV is planning to screen all the games live on its Sky Sport and Rugby Channels.

The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final will screen live on at least four NZ television channels (now that's real choice for New Zealand viewers?! That doesn't even happen with the Queen's Christmas message these days!)

And the Government spending of your hard-owned tax dollars doesn't end there... Tourism New Zealand is also spending money faster than you can say "Where's my tax cuts Mr Key?".

Their giant rugby ball building is heading to Tokyo this month, to coincide with the All Blacks vs Wallabies Bledisloe Cup test. The 25 metre-long, 17-metre wide 'blow-up ball' plays visitors a 10 minute 360 degree virtual tour of New Zealand.

The ball cost $3.5 million to build and was originally used during the 2007 RWC, costing $907,000 for a two week stay below the Eiffel Tower. An eight day stint beside Tower Bridge in 2008 cost $1.7 million.

Now the inflatable ball is about to sit beneath the Tokyo Tower for seven days, at a cost to taxpayers of almost $400,000 a day!! I don't consider that good value for money!?!

Tourism New Zealand say the promotion's aimed at boosting the country's image and brand in the lucrative Japanese market. At a cost of $2.7 million, someone must be expecting one helluva lot of visitors over those six days the exhibit is open to the public. (Although the oval-shaped building can hold just 220 people at any one time).

* Stuff - World Cup losses expected around $40 million

* Stuff - Rugby ball's Tokyo visit costs $400,000 a day

* No Minister - When Bullshit Reigns Supreme

* Liberty Scott - Taxpayer and TV rights

[ Right now I'm listening to:
^ Backstreet Boys - Straight Through My Heart (RedOne)
^ Miley Cyrus - Party in the U.S.A. (Dr Luke) ]

"Edgy" Baby T-shirts Slammed as Offensive

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:53:00 +0000

Angry PC parents have forced Aussie clothing retailer Cotton On to pull a controversial line of baby clothes from the shelves in Australia and New Zealand.

The T-shirts featured "edgy" slogans for babies which many parents found offensive, including "I'm a tits man", "I'm living proof my mum is easy", "The condom broke", "I'm bringing sexy back", "Mummy likes it on top", and "They shake me".

Popular online parenting blog Mamamia sparked the initial email and Twitter campaign against the company, after readers took offence to the new Cotton On Kids range.

The company was chastised by one reader... "What the hell are you people thinking and how dare you try to turn children into the sickest kind of human billboards to advertise your smart arse and grossly insensitive slogans?".

Family and children lobby groups called on parents to boycott the company, including Family First New Zealand and the National Council of Women.

In a statement, Cotton On said the company was "unaware until recently that the slogans were being viewed as offensive and that they could progressively cause this extent of angst amongst consumers and social groups alike".

"Although these products are intentionally edgy and irreverent, and the succession of this range was driven by demand, the recent attention implies that the slogans in question have crossed the line. The Cotton On Group ... extends an apology to those who have been affected by the slogans."

Cotton On Kids says it will "continue to service a market that demands confident and edgy clothing that pushes boundaries" but that the company will "review the ongoing slogans range to ensure no reference is made to categories pertaining to sexually explicit behaviour, child abuse, drugs and profanity."

The National Council for Women NZ claims the current system of self-regulation allowed retailers to push the boundaries of what was considered socially acceptable, and were only forced to act responsible when cornered by public pressure.

I reckon Aussie and Kiwi parents are just disappointed it's taken this long to get something other than clothing with pink flowers and blue trucks for their kids. Popular US online t-shirt retailer T-Shirt Hell has been doing a hilarious range of "vaguely offensive" babies t-shirts for years!...

* Stuff - Offensive T-shirts to be removed
* HeraldSun - Mums outraged over saucy messages on infant clothes

[ Right now I'm listening to:
^ Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
^ Cobra Starship - Good Girls Go Bad [feat. Leighton Meester] ]

Credit Cards popular for Paying Monthly Bills

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:38:00 +0000

A survey released this week found over a quarter of New Zealanders are planning to use their credit cards to pay some of their upcoming bills.

The "Consumer credit expectations" online survey conducted by Dun and Bradstreet found that 28% of respondents intended to use credit to pay bills they can't afford over the next quarter.

20% of those surveyed are also planning to apply for some form of credit over the next few months, with 7% looking to increase the limit on their credit card/s. Younger people seem to be be easily attracted to easy credit, with over a third happy to use credit for things they couldn't afford.

Unfortunately good financial literacy isn't taught at most schools, which probably explains the startling 55% of those aged 18-34 say they're couldn't afford to live on savings for even one month if they lost their jobs.

However the survey did also find that debit cards are now in higher demand than credit cards. It also revealed that the majority of people planning to make a major purchase in the next few months are intending to fund it through existing savings.

Credit cards are very handy things, provided you're disciplined when using them. I put as many of my bills and purchases as possible on my credit card, both for convenience and to increase the balance of my Air NZ Airpoints account.

These benefits also include taking advantage of the credit card's interest free period, provided you pay off the balance in full. Banks would obviously prefer you didn't do this, as failing to pay your full balance kicks in those hefty interest charges of around 20%.

If you are using your credit card as a rolling credit facility with a permanent balance, you should look for one of the low interest/no fees cards banks are now offering. Otherwise you should look for the bank and card offering the best rewards programme or package that suits you.

This Australian site reviews and compares the different credit card deals and programmes on offer in Australia. Here in New Zealand, a good place to start is Consumer magazine, which regularly monitors credit cards and reward programmes.

Gold (and Platinum) cards are often a good choice for frequent travellers. They do have higher annual fees, but usually offer free travel insurance which makes up for the difference in cost. Many also offer reward points linked to airline frequent flyer programmes, based on your monthly spend.

* NZ Herald: Savings would last month for many

UK Government's Global Warming Propaganda

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:59:00 +0000

Despite soaring deficits, the UK Government is spending up on an alarmist propaganda campaign to promote the false religion of global warming.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change is issuing a brochure, which will be distributed through public libraries across the United Kingdom.

The big budget advertising campaign is being launched to coincide with a statement by Prime Minister Gordon Brown on "the UK's role in climate change". Brown is expected to commit the UK to ambitious emissions cuts at the UN's big climate meeting in Copenhagen in December.

The Government will try and hand out 20,000 brochures from each public library, with the Energy and Climate Change Secretary insisting "it is essential we engage the British public in what we are trying to sign up to and what we are discussing in the coming months".

The EU (which the UK will be negotiating as part of) has set a target of a 20% cut in "greenhouse gas emissions" by 2020, but the UK Government is keen to push the target to over 30%.

The scaremongering pamphlet claims that "the UK faces summer heat-related deaths, sea level rises and food shortages by the end of the century as a result of global warming."

But it says British workers can avoid "catastrophic floods and droughts caused by climate change" by walking to work, hanging clothes out to dry rather than using a tumble dryer, taking showers rather than baths, and putting less water in the kettle. Haha!

A physics professor and proud warmist from Cambridge University, David Mackay, goes further. He says small acts by citizens can help, including becoming a vegetarian, flying less often, joining a car club, and supporting renewables like wind farms".

The British Labour Government is also spending money on a new website, "Act on Copenhagen", which will apparently give faithful global warming followers "more tips about how to save carbon". There will also be a CO2 Calculator, which the Government reckons will "enable people to work out how much carbon they use in their daily lives". Whatever.

* Telegragh.co.uk - Government pamphlet urges people to walk to work to stop climate change

Meanwhile New Zealand broadcaster TV3 seems to have been doing its bit to promote the great climate change fraud. Nightline news presenter Samantha Hayes has been with Greenpeace in the Cook Islands, filing a series of reports on the supposed effects there of Climate Change.

To my ear, the reports happily promoted the mainstream-media party line of the mythological great global warming disaster that we're unfortunately all too used to being lectured on by the warmists.

However, one of the news stories prompted New Zealand blogger Hot Topic to fire off an angry rant, slamming TV3 because the news report apparently included the small phrase “while the science is far from settled…”, as a token form of balance.

In the arrogant mind of 'Hot Topic', apparently even 7 little words of "balance" should not be allowed, in case any member of the public dares question the religious order of global warming. Gobsmacked I was! Srsly ;-)

I know lefties/warmists are usually pretty arrogant in their approach to life, but it did surprise me that one would have such a grumpy rant about a series of stories that blatantly pushed their own wacky theories for 95% of the time!?

* Global Warming - Lies, facts, myths, and truths

* TBR.CC - I did warn you of this in Air Con...

* Order Ian Wishart's new book "Air Con: The Seriously Inconvenient Truth About Global Warming" here

Faster Firefox 3.5 released, but beware of bugs

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:16:00 +0000

The final release of Mozilla's Firefox 3.5 web browser should be available to download tomorrow morning, six months after the original release date of the upgrade.

The suffix was upgraded from 3.1 to 3.5, because Mozilla decided the number of new features and performance improvement made the browser more of a "major upgrade", rather than an incremental upgrade with bug fixes.

The main selling point of Firefox 3.5 (codenamed Shiretoko) is that the browser should be much faster, especially when running JavaScript (which will speed up the likes of Facebook, Gmail, and Digg).

The speed boost is mainly due to Mozilla's new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, with claims some scripts run up to twice as fast on 3.5 compared to Firefox 3.0.

The browser is Mozilla's attempt to grab back the momentum in the browser wars, with increased competition from Google's Chrome, Apple's Safari, Opera, and of course Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Around 800,000 users have been running the beta versions of the improved browser, as developers worked to get rid of niggly bugs.

New features include a new Private Browsing Mode, an enhanced address bar called the 'Awesome Bar' (which offers auto-complete suggestions as you're typing), and an improved system restore tool to recover from browser crashes.

Firefox 3.5 also boasts dynamic colour profiles for more accurate image representation, Geo-location, a redesigned Downloads feature, multi-touch support, and in-browser video rendering (ie. video playback without patented plugins).

Windows, Mac, and Linux users can download the Firefox 3.5 web browser from Mozilla's official website. Current users should click on 'Check for Updates' (under the Help tab).

** UPDATE 4/7 ** It looks like Firefox fans and new users might be better holding off upgrading to version 3.5 of the open source web browser, which seems to have been rushed out to squeak inside the planned "Quarter 2" delivery date.

The biggest complaint is a massive increase in initial loading time (startup), which has increased to a very poor 20-50 seconds for many users. There are at least 55 published bugs for the new Firefox 3.5 browser, including crashes caused by the faster TraceMonkey JavaScript engine.

A mini bug-fix release Firefox 3.5.1 is due out by the end of July, but is expected to fix only a handful of the most serious bugs. A date for a more complete 3.5.2 has not been confirmed.

(My personal experience is that the new Firefox 3.5 browser was definitely speedier in operations, but the startup and crashing issues have forced me to downgrade to the previous 3.0.11 release until these problems are sorted out).

* The Channel Wire: Buggy Mozilla Firefox 3.5 A Rush Job?

Hanging out for a Coaster Rush

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:42:00 +0000

It's been almost two years since my last trip to one of the great American theme parks, and am currently working out how to fit in a return journey when I'm on vacation in the US this September.

The Six Flags Great Adventure park in Jackson, New Jersey has recently finished transforming its 'Medusa' roller coaster into an enhanced ride called 'Bizarro'.
(The name comes from the DC Comics character Bizarro, a Superman-like creature from a parallel Earth, whose powers are the opposites of Superman).

The 3,985-foot long ride still features the same floorless steel eight-car trains as Medusa, giving riders the "sensation of flying as their feet dangle above the track".

The basic coaster is the same, with 7 inversions, a 114-foot vertical loop, a 96-foot dive loop, cobra roll, and a great zero-G "heartline" roll.

However the makeover adds new high-tech special effects, including pyrotechnic blasts of fire, fog and water effects, accompanied by a carefully-timed on-board audio soundtrack.

Check out an awesome video clip of the new Bizarro ride at Six Flags Great Adventure... with some POV shots giving a great taster of what you can expect!...

* UltimateRollerCoaster.com - Bizarro Transformation Debuts At Six Flags Great Adventure

Universal Mobile Phone Charger on the way

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:18:00 +0000

While I'm a big supporter of open competition in the marketplace, I'm happy to see the world's major mobile phone companies have agreed to adopt a universal charger from next year.

When you're packing in a hurry for a quick business job or a weekend trip away, it's easy to forget the all-important cellphone charger cable. Borrowing a power charger means finding another phone user with the same brand and from a similar model.

Things should become easier from next year, with Nokia, Samsung, LG Electronics, Sony Ericsson, Apple, Motorola, RiM, and NEC all signing up to the agreement, which will ensure their data-enabled phones and chargers work together.

These 8 major cell phone manufacturers account for 80%+ of the market, with plans for the universal charger to connect via the Micro-USB interface.

The agreement technically applies to the EU region, but it's expected phones and chargers will also be standardised internationally.

Consumer rights groups are calling for companies to broaden the universal power adapter plans to also include the likes of digital cameras, PDAs, and mp3 players.

* NZ Herald: Mobile phone giants agree on universal charger

[ Right now I'm listening to:
^ Linkin Park - New Divide
^ Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana ]

Pacific Blue latest to cut NZ flights

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:36:00 +0000

While Aussie budget airline Jetstar has had a "horror start" to its New Zealand operations, its arrival will put added pressure on the incumbent local carriers.

Jetstar has already re-jigged its schedules, after finding its original turnarounds were a little too tight, leaving passengers on the tarmac and creating flight delays. The airline replaces the old full-service flights provided by Qantas, servicing Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown.

Meanwhile, Pacific Blue is cutting back its domestic capacity by around 13% from August 1, with planes being redeployed to new trans-tasman routes from Hamilton, Dunedin, and Queenstown.

The cuts follow similar capacity cutbacks by Air New Zealand, in response to a drop in passengers.

The national carrier flew almost 10% fewer passengers last month compared to May last year. Air NZ is aiming to keep load factors and profitability up by capacity cuts, with further reviews of its regional airlines currently underway.

Pacific Blue is axing its single daily service between Dunedin and Christchurch (return), but replacing it with a new direct Dunedin-Auckland service.

This jet service (Boeing 737-800) will probably have wider appeal especially for southern business travellers, with the majority of Air NZ flights in and out of Dunedin Airport on the unpopular ATR turboprops, which means inconvenient stopovers enroute in Christchurch or Wellington.

However there will also be a drop in the number of services between Auckland and Wellington (cut from 27 to 19 a week), and Wellington-Christchurch (cut from 19 to 12 flights a week). Pacific Blue will also drop some trans-tasman flights from Christchurch and Auckland from September.

* NZ Herald: Pacific Blue cuts back

Dunedin Students Don't Like Buses

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:13:00 +0000

The Greenies are always banging on about public transport, and how motorists should be taxed more to subsidise bus and train services. Student activists are often at the forefront of this noise, calling for public transport services to service the campus area.

However in Dunedin, attempts by the Otago Regional Council to run a regular "city loop" bus service - linking the North Dunedin campus area with the central city and South Dunedin - have failed miserably.

It may have sounded like a good idea on paper, given the regular calls for student bus links in Dunedin. Around a year and a half ago, the ORC agreed to trial a 'campus circuit' service, linking Otago University and Otago Polytechnic with the halls of residence, and aimed at helping "address parking problems in the city".

However the service failed to catch on, being described by Cr Michael Deaker last July as "a crashing failure" after attracting an average of 2 passengers per trip.

A second attempt with a revised North/South 'city loop' service offered a larger route, taking in the Edgar Centre sports centre and the South Dunedin shopping centre.

Known as the 'Shop and Hop' service, it proved even less popular, attracting (at its peak) an average of just one passenger per trip!

That's an expensive bus service for ratepayers to be subsidising! The cost over the 17 months was just over $400,000, funded by the Otago Regional Council and the NZ Transport Agency.

Councillor Deaker said the message the Regional Council had to take from the failure of both services was "students do not use buses", except for those coming in from outlying suburbs.

* ODT - 'City loop' bus route abandoned

Run in vain for new 'Google Phone'

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:29:00 +0000

Vodafone ran a one-day-only "treasure hunt" today across New Zealand, giving away 20 of the new HTC Magic phones. The company ran "missions" in the main centres at various times of the day.

Contestants had to sign up for TXT updates to receive clues for the mission/s in their area, as to the whereabouts of each phone. (The winners also got flights and accommodation for 2 in Auckland, plus tickets to the 'Black & White Magic' party).

Down south in Dunedin there was just a single 'HTC Magic with Google' phone up for grabs, and we had to wait until 4pm for our chance. The clue was "This landmark is the first of its kind in southern hemisphere", but unfortunately my quick run down to Dunedin's Chinese Garden wasn't quick enough, and the phone was already gone when I got there. Gutted.

The HTC Magic is the first official smartphone here to be powered by Google's Android operating system. Known as the HTC myTouch 3G in the United States, it's the first of what is expected to be a wide range of Android-powered cellphones coming from the major mobile phone manufacturers.

The smartphones are Google's answer to Apple's popular iPhone, and are tightly tied to Google services like Gmail, Search, Maps, and YouTube.

The HTC Magic features similar touchscreen features as the iPhone, along with an onscreen keyboard with predictive text. Unfortunately it doesn't offer Apple's clever pinch and multi-touch features.

But unlike Apple's iPhone (even the new iPhone 3GS), this one does operate on Vodafone NZ's "extended 3G" 900MHz band as well as 2100MHz. (The iPhone is still next-to-useless in the lower South Island, as Vodafone's genuine 3G service is basically non-existant outside of central Dunedin, Invercargill, and Queenstown).

The grey version of the HTC Magic is pretty ugly, looking more like a garage door opener or a heat pump remote than a modern smartphone. However the black version looks a lot classier.

The phone isn't cheap tho... Vodafone has set the rather ambitious launch price of $1099 for the phone on its own, or $319-$619 on a long-term contract (depending on the size of your monthly plan).

I think I'll have to wait a little longer to get myself a proper smartphone. I'm currently using Nokia's cumbersome N95 phone, but was keeping an eye out for Apple's revised iPhone 3GS.

Unfortunately, the specs have revealed it's mostly-useless in the lower South Island on Vodafone, I may have to hold out for the 2010 revision of the iPhone and hope that does the trick (either that or switch to Telecom's XT network... not sure whether I can swallow that pill!)

Nude Rugby moves off the beach in Dunedin

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:51:00 +0000

For a second year in a row, the All Blacks have lost their only Dunedin rugby test of the year, going down 27-20 to their World Cup nemesis France. (The All Blacks were beaten 30-28 by the Springboks in a crucial tri-nations rugby clash at Carisbrook in 2008).

But the Bottom Bus Nude Blacks managed to retain some pride for New Zealand earlier in the day, beating newcomers Le Coqs 15-5 in the 2009 Nude Rugby International.

The result continues the winning streak for the Nude Blacks, who now claim all 6 naked rugby test victories (5 on sand, 1 on grass).

The Nude Blacks team stretching before the big game

The event is organised by local touring company Bottom Bus and Headfirst Travel, and has become a popular curtain-raiser to rugby test match games in Dunedin. Veteran Nude Blacks captain Dave Bourke returned for his sixth game, along with a few other players from last year's beach match.

The 6th Annual Bottom Bus Nude Rugby International moved away from its traditional location at St Kilda beach, to a ground at Logan Park opposite the new multi-purpose roofed stadium site, which is being built beside Dunedin's waterfront.

Pre-match warmups at Logan Park ground

Originally started as a game between local rugby buffs and naked backpackers, the event has had to rely on willing students in recent years, with international backpackers proving wary stripping off in the sometimes chilly south.

The naked players take on the names and positions of team members in the All Blacks and French rugby teams (leading some overseas media to report last year that the actual All Blacks team had stripped off for the beach rugby game before the Springboks test).

The French Le Coqs team being interviewed by a Sky TV crew

Last year's game managed to attract one American female player, but this weekend's game was a decidedly blokey and Dunedin affair.

A few female backpackers did help assist the french bread-waving Le Coqs with their body painting (and French moustaches), and while a few gals were keen before the game to come on as late replacements, the large crowd of spectators at the Logan Park rugby ground seemed to scare them off.

The Nude Blacks face off against Le Coqs in the naked haka

Ball placement is all-important in a naked lineout ;-)

The French challengers encountered more resistance than
their national rivals did against the All Blacks on Saturday night

(More info and photos here: 6th Annual Nude Rugby International (Part 2))

.

6th Annual Nude Rugby International (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:43:00 +0000

The move to the grass ground at Logan Park (beside University Oval) proved popular, with a large crowd of visiting and local spectators turning out to see the uniquely Dunedin nude game.

American tourists were surprised at the public event, and the lack of a police presence. One told us, "This is hilarious! You wouldn't see this in the States!"

(Unfortunately one 'real' police officer did spoil things right at the end, confiscating naked PC Plod's police helmet, and telling him off for impersonating a police officer. Must have been a quiet day at the office...)

This headlock is apparently acceptable under the rules of naked rugby ;-)

Players show their annoyance at a 'Clothed Streaker'
who interrupted the 6th Bottom Bus Nude Rugby International

PC Plod arresting the Clothed Streaker

Local rugby mascot 'The Highlander' referees the nude match,
as a travelling backpacker captures a few kiwi memories

Posing for post-match photos with fans (including a few 'Nuns')

The two teams sign the wall at the construction site of the new
Otago Stadium, being built opposite the Logan Park ground

(Also see: Nude Rugby moves off the beach in Dunedin)

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Who will bring the Goals to Newcastle?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:42:00 +0000

I'm off to meet my bank manager next week, to see if he'll lend me the £100 million I need to buy the Newcastle United football club.

NUFC owner Mike Ashley has put the club up for sale, after its recent relegation out of the Premier League and down to the Coca-Cola Championship.

The unfortunate relegation came despite Newcastle United hauling themselves clear of the relegation zone earlier in the season, and despite the late arrival of former star Alan Shearer as manager.

English "billionaire" Mike Ashley (actually just a £700 millionaire), made his money in sports retailing, and bought Newcastle United in 2007 for around £135 million. He has invested heavily since then on players and resources (with little return), and is now asking £100m for the Magpies.

Sales of season tickets have dried up at the club, as the Toon Army wait to see who will own and manage their beloved club next season.

That won't impress Ashley, who is still paying out around £200,000 a day for his expensive and under-performing players, including Alan Smith, Kevin Nolan, Jonas Gutierrez, and Joey Barton.

Alan Shearer is keen to continue as manager, to help return Newcastle United to the Premier League. In April, the former club captain took a break from his tv role (as a presenter on Match of the Day) to become NUFC's interim manager.

However Shearer's return to Tyneside will depend on who owns the club. Four parties are understood to be seriously interested, including an American consortium, a group of Middle East investors, a consortium led by former Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd, and a Singapore-based group.

It's understood if Ashley doesn't manage to sell the club in time, he will ask either assistant manager Chris Hughton or former West Ham boss Alan Curbishley to lead the club next season.

The Great Facebook Name Grab

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:38:00 +0000

Facebook's servers will come under heavy pressure this weekend, as the social networking website rolls out "personalised domain names" for its 200 million members.

While online rivals like MySpace and Twitter allow users to use their names or nicknames as part of their page address (eg. http://www.myspace.com/myname), Facebook currently allocates users a random number as part of their hard-to-remember profile web address...
(eg. www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=123456789").
That all changes this weekend, when current Facebook members will be able to register their own usernames, creating simple-to-remember profile addresses, which they can give out to friends and contacts.

Facebook says the users names will be handed out on a "first-come, first-serve basis", so members will be racing to score their first option (dave127 just doesn't sound that catchy ;-)

This is the Facebook page where users will be able to select their user names, once the gates open this weekend. (You'll need to log in to Facebook, where you'll see a countdown clock until Saturday... New Zealand users should prepare to hit the web at 4pm on Saturday 13th June).
Facebook says the sites plans to offer "even more ways to use your Facebook user name in the future", but only existing members (those signed up before the official announcement) will be able to get first dibs under the new system, before it is opened up to new members from June 28.

Facebook will still enforce its rule that members must use their real names on the site (some with unusual names have been banned previously, because FB suspected them to be fake)... but almost anything goes for the new user name url (certain "curse" and "hate" words are banned).

Unlike Twitter, Facebook members will not be able to change their username once selected (preventing people trying to sell popular FB names on the likes of eBay or Trademe).

People of the web... Set your clocks!

NZ Treasury Urges Further Tax Cuts

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:21:00 +0000

While John Key's National Party has decided that spawning supporters and axing the oft-promised tax cuts makes good political sense, Treasury is calling on the Government to reconsider future tax cuts.

Treasury Secretary Dr John Whitehead says despite the large deficits forecast over the next decade, the New Zealand Government needs to make cuts to both personal and company taxes a "key priority", to revive growth and make the country more competitive.

Dr Whitehead says high personal income taxes are bad for the country's growth and productivity, encouraging skilled workers to move overseas. He also cites evidence that productivity is being restrained by high business tax rates, and warns that New Zealand tax rates shouldn't get too far out of line with other OECD economies.

Australia is currently reviewing its tax system, which could lead to further company tax cuts there, putting additional pressure on New Zealand companies.

Bill English's first budget, delivered last Thursday, forecast Government deficits to increase from nearly $3 billion this year, to $9.6 billion in 2012.

The Government recently established a Tax Working Group to consider the medium-term direction of New Zealand's tax system.

The group brings together experts from the private and academic sectors, along with officials from Treasure and the Inland Revenue. Treasury is believed to favour consumption taxes (like GST), and revisiting a capital gains tax.

* NBR: More tax cuts still needed says Treasury

National Swallowing the Climate Change Lies

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:04:00 +0000

The National-led Government was careful to try and hide one major piece of mindless spending in last week's budget... setting aside over half a billion dollars for the false religion of "climate change"!!

That $550 million pot would have almost paid for the so-called "unaffordable" tax cuts for the next two years!

The ruse was uncovered by former ACT Party MP Muriel Newman at the NZ Centre for Political Research and kindly alerted by Not PC.

Newman says most of this $550 million has been earmarked for buying carbon credits for businesses, to help get the Emissions Trading Scheme going.

She says despite the illusion of an ETS review, National's true intentions were revealed in the budget...

Those who believed that the Government was genuinely awaiting the outcome of an “independent” Select Committee review will be disappointed to see that the die is already cast.

And consumers worried about the added cost of an emissions trading scheme will be especially concerned to find out that the half a billion dollar cost is only the beginning of what will be an enormously unproductive drain on our already fragile economy.

ACT's 2008 Confidence and Supply agreement with National noted the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme would be delayed until a review by a special select committee was completed...

National agrees to a review by a special select committee of Parliament of the current Emissions Trading Scheme legislation and any amendments or alternatives to it, including carbon taxes, in the light of current economic circumstances and steps now being undertaken by similar nations.

National further agrees to pass forthwith an amendment to the ETS legislation delaying its implementation, repealing the thermal generation ban and making any other necessary interim adjustments until the select committee review is completed.

However a delay to the ETS legislation did not take place, with the existing ETS continuing in the meantime. The select committee's review was due to be completed by March of this year, with "any subsequent amendments to the NZ ETS" to be passed by September 2009.

One of the terms of reference was to “examine the relative merits of an emissions trading scheme or a tax on carbon or energy as a New Zealand response to climate change”.

On May 13th, committee chairperson Peter Dunne (yes, seriously) advised they had completed hearing submissions on the review of the Emissions Trading Scheme (278 submissions, including 102 oral submissions).

Dunne said the committee will "now move into a period of consideration", followed by "our written report and any recommendations to the Government that we may wish to make".

Muriel Newman says National [and ACT] seem to have abandoned their promoted vision of growing the New Zealand economy, and catching up to Australia by 2025...

National appears to have become somewhat captured by the bureaucracy to the point where they are satisfied with tinkering with their predecessor’s socialist spending promises rather than implementing real, badly needed reform.

I do find the lack of spine shown by Rodney Hide and ACT in extracting any genuine policy gains from National somewhat surprising and very disappointing.

NZ First and the slimline United Future drove hard bargains with Labour in the last administration. Winston extracted genuine gains for his party, like an increase in the minimum wage, an increase in superannuation, and free public transport for the oldies.

Even Peter Dunne with his very small handful of MPs managed to get a Family Commission, and was able to make all charity donations tax-deductible.

And now even the opposition Green Party has managed a couple of scores out of Bill English's first budget... $50 million on a cycleway, and a crazy $323 million per year for pink batts and heat pumps.

Surely National's own "support partners", ACT and the Maori Party - should have been the first cabs off the rank for any new initiatives??

* Great Global Warming: News and Truth about Global Warming
* An Honest Climate Debate: Exposing the truth about the Man-Made Climate Change theory

Let Them Eat Pink Batts!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Thu, 28 May 2009 06:41:00 +0000

The National Party has rudely turned its back on supporters, with the decision to cancel its two remaining rounds of (admittedly pretty weak) tax cuts.

The Government is using the "global economic crisis" to justify its decision, but still seems to have found $1 billion to subsidise homeowners who haven't already fitted their own home insulation.

This is part of National's idea of cosying up with the Greens, while ignoring the policies of National's own support partners ACT and the Maori Party. A shocking betrayal... and no matter how you try to spin it, the Watermelon Greens will never fully support a centre-right Government.

And after apparently going through the budgets of Government departments "line by line", they have only managed to come up with a meagre $500 million in savings per year, for the next four years. Pssh. Bring back Aunty Ruth!!!

The bottomless pit of Health again gets a big spending boost - up another $3 billion over four years. Education gets an extra $1.68 billion, while Justice gets $950 million (mainly for more Police, and room for 1000 more prisoners). "Think Big" theories are back, with $7.5 in infrastructure spending planned over the next 5 years.

As Not PC points out, National has now committed to Labour Party policies that it once campaigned against strongly in opposition. Bill English has been too weak to touch Labour's socialist 'Working for Families' programme, which condemns everyday working families (including those on above-average incomes) to Welfare dependency.

Expenditure on Social welfare is forecast to go from an already-awful $17.8 billion in 2008 to $22 billion in 2011, and a shocking $23.5 billion in 2013.

No changes either for expensive socialist luxuries like Interest-free student loans, Universal Superannuation from age 65, and State Housing.

Shame too on ACT for not "keeping National honest" as they promised in last year's election campaign. Not only was Cullen's 39% tax not "gone by Christmas when there is a National led government with ACT putting a bit of courage into them", but now the meagre National Party version of "tax cuts" have also been dumped.

In fact, with increases in ACC levies cancelling out most of last month's tax cuts for most people, ACT has not made even an inch of progress towards the party's policy of 12.5% personal tax up to $20,000, and 15% personal tax over $20,000, along with 15% company tax, and 10% GST.

To be fair, ACT MP Sir Roger Douglas has labelled English's first budget as a disappointment. He points out the current Government deficit is a third of what it was when he took over the reigns in 1984.

Douglas says it took that Labour Party just 3 years to get the books back in black. National's plans will take 11 years to get back into surplus. He also notes the relatively low cost for National to deliver on its key election promise...

"... Delivering the tax cuts would have cost [just] $1 billion, requiring the Government to cut only 1.5% of waste.

Yet National's spending is projected to exceed $65 billion over the 2009/10 financial year - against a backdrop where Government spending is $18 billion dollars higher in real terms than it was nine years ago."

However on the whole, ACT, the Maori Party, and United Dunne are largely supporting National's plans to break its election promise on tax cuts, while refusing to break any of John Key's silly "me too" promises made in the heat of the campaign.

Southern rural blogger Homepaddock is admittedly "to the left" of me, but I agree that households and business would be in a much stronger position, had we not had nine years of over taxing and over spending, and if Michael Cullen hadn't spent the lot last year.

The Government is refusing to take a serious knife to Government expenditure, and instead mortgaging future generations by borrowing billions of dollars. It is time for courage to stand up against the billions of dollars in wasteful spending added by Hillin Cluck and Michael Cullen over their 9 years in charge.

The Libertarianz Party is contesting the Mt Albert by-election, and its candidate Julian Pistorius is reminding voters of the broken promises on Tax. The Libertarianz have proposed an alternative budget, based on their "Don't-Spend-So-Goddamned-Much Plan", promoted during last year's election campaign.

Basically this simple plan requires the Government to stop wasting people's hard-earned cash on inefficient programmes and stupid Government departments, which would leave enough money to be able to abolish GST and make the first $50,000 of all incomes tax-free. Sounds like a plan.

* Not PC - The English Budget: "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

* Kiwiblog - The 2009 Budget

* ACT - Budget Never Fails To Disappoint (Sir Roger Douglas)

* NZ Herald - Budget 2009: Main points in brief

* Stuff - Budget '09: Tax cuts gone

[ Right now I'm listening to:
^ Kris Allen - No Boundaries (Good tune, seriously crap lyrics!)
^ Glee cast - Don't Stop Believin' ]

Lay off the 'P' John Key

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:13:00 +0000

National Party PM John Key is revealing himself to be almost as much a fan of the "nanny state" as his predecessors in the Labour Party.

Key has today proposed banning the use of Pseudoephedrine in the making of cold and flu tablets sold in New Zealand.

John Key has asked his new chief science adviser Prof Peter Gluckman to investigate whether pseudoephedrine can be eliminated from all cold and flu tablets available in New Zealand.

He says he understands a number of states in USA have banned the ingredient (actually only Oregon, where it is still available through prescription).

Mike Sabin, a misinformed (or deliberately-biased) campaigner for the anti-drugs lobby, claims there are other effective medicines for treating cold and flu symptoms.

He claims there are "many viable viable alternatives, well over a dozen, that can replace pseudoephedrine, if you like, in cold and flu medications... So in actual fact, there is no need for pseudoephedrine any longer."

This is not true. The "dozen or so" that Sabin mentions are the "PE"-tagged products manufactured under brands like Codral, Sudafed, and Lemsip. These products replace Pseudoephedrine with the ingredient Phenylephrine (hydrochloride, which can't be used in the manufacture of "P" or methamphetamines).

However, despite what the expensive TV ads from the likes of Codral try to spin, the new formulations marketed with Phenylephrine are definitely not as effective as the original tablets/remedies.

The chief executive of the NZ Pharmacy Guild, Annabel Young, backs this up. She says the alternatives to pseudoephedrine (ie. PE) were not nearly as effective in dealing with cold symptoms. (NZ's own Consumer Institute had similar findings after testing the PE products when they first came on the market a few years ago).

In the United States, there has been growing calls against the blanket substitution of Phenylephrine for Pseudoephedrine. Many pharmacists argue that oral Phenylephrine is innefective as an oral decongestant, particularly at the 10mg dose normally used.

At least two studies found Phenylephrine formulations were no more effective as a decongestant than a Placebo. A somewhat more positive study by GlaxoSmithKline's own researchers did find it was more effective than a placebo (although still not as effective as a nasal decongestant as Pseudoephedrine).

Making the drug prescription-only has been suggested by Labour leader Phil Goff. This is almost as bad, as people who just have the regular standard winter cold would have to spend an hour or so at the doctors (with many also paying a healthy Doctor's fee), just to get access to a simple cold remedy.

The monkeys have already taken away the "good stuff"... ie. the genuine full strength 12-hour versions of Codral and Sudafed, which gave decongestant relief for a full work day. These were "modified release tablets" which released the pseudoephedrine slowly over a 12 hour period. Don't let them condemn us to relief-free-colds for life!!

* NZ Herald - PM moves to ban P-makers' vital cold and flu pills

* 3 News - Pharmacists argue over-the-counter sales not to blame for P

* Bio-Medicine.org - FDA Mulls Effectiveness of OTC Cold Remedies

* PubMedCentral.com - Substitution of phenylephrine for pseudoephedrine as a nasal decongestant. An illogical way to control methamphetamine abuse

* Not PC - Can’t we just ban stupidity from office?

[ Right now I'm listening to:
^ 3OH!3 - Don't Trust Me
^ Katy Perry - Waking Up In Vegas ]

Beatles' Karaoke Crowd a Viral Hit in ad-land

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:55:00 +0000

British mobile phone company T-Mobile have followed up last year's train station dance stunt with a massed Karaoke singalong in London's Trafalgar Square.

Last January the cellphone operator borrowed a trick from flashmob veterans Improv Everywhere, organising 350 dancers to break into a mass dance routine at London's Liverpool Street train station. The stunt was part of a television campaign for T-Mobile, aimed at promoting its "Life's For Sharing" slogan.

For the latest flash mob-style stunt, 13,500 people (including tv personalities and pop star Pink) gathered in Trafalgar Square, and with Singstar-looking microphones, joined together to sing The Beatles' hit song, Hey Jude.

An impressive 2,000 Shure wireless mics were apparently handed out around the crowd, with the singing mixed down from 162 channels (including two just for Pink herself).

Like many large group musical attempts, the timing gets a little off, with those towards the back dragging the chain a split second behind the music coming from the screen at the front ;-)

TV host Vernon Kay also led the multi-cultural, multi-generational crowd in renditions of Hit Me Baby One More Time and Is This The Way To Amarillo?, while Pink encouraged the thousands of singers to join her in singing her hit song So What.

Event production company Partizan set up 20 video cameras around Trafalgar Square, with the open air performance being edited down to a two minute advertisement for T-Mobile.

Check out the clip below to see the song and some behind-the-scenes footage...

Our Fast Food... It Is A-Changin'

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Mon, 18 May 2009 07:13:00 +0000

Despite the endless propaganda from the greenies and health fanatics, New Zealanders continue to be big fans of fast food. Last year kiwis spent more than $1 billion on fast food, with sales increasing further this year as wallets become tighter.

In the first three months of this year, New Zealanders ate through $300 million in fast food takeaways... that works out to $70 per person! ;-) That spend is up $6 million on the first quarter of 2008, with fast food sales jumping $10.5 million in March to $105.6 million.

Chicken and Pizzas are the biggest sellers, with fish and chips, hamburgers, and ethnic takeaways making up the next biggest block.

At burger chain McDonalds, sales are up about 7% this year, while KFC has seen a 4.1% increase in sales, while Pizza Hut taking were down by 6.4%.

Nutritionists are not impressed by kiwis' love affair with what they see as bad fast food. "Community nutrition advisor" Janne Pasco says people need foods packed with nutrients to ward off disease, and this is particularly important during hard times...

"It is sad that when faced with an economic recession, people are seeing takeaways as representing good value for money particularly when for the same price, and not much extra time and effort, a family of four could have three tasty yet much more nutritious meals."

In the United States, KFC is trying to improve its image after years of bad press for being "an unhealthy fast food option". In an effort to appeal to calorie counters, KFC has introduced the new "Kentucky Grilled Chicken".

The new grilled chicken has fewer calories, fewer grams of fat, and less sodium that the Original Recipe fried chicken. To retain the famous KFC flavour, the chicken pieces are marinated and seasoned with the secret herbs & spices, before being slow-roasted/grilled. Sounds yummy!

To help spread the word, KFC launched a "Free Meal" coupon deal through the Oprah Winfrey Show. The free meal included 2 pieces of the new Grilled Chicken, 2 individual sides (like coleslaw and potato & gravy), plus a "biscuit" (what kiwis would call a plain scone).

Unfortunately for KFC, the offer proved too popular, leading to shortages in many stores, as well as mini riots from angry customers. The company has since offered an apology, and a raincheck offer for anyone who missed out...

I also like the "bowl" range of meals that KFC has in America and some overseas outlets. Crispy chicken is mixed with mashed potatos and sweet corn, covered in gravy, and topped with cheese. (The US version also features a rice option).

KFC introduced a bowl meal very briefly here in New Zealand last year (including Popcorn chicken in the mix), but unfortunately their "limited time only" offer lasted all of about 3 weeks, and the delicious meals haven't been seen since. Shame on you KFC!

Meanwhile, Pizza Hutt is trying to regain market share and increase profits by expanding its range to include oven-baked Pasta. Restaurant Brands holds the local rights to the brand, but has struggled to make money from its Pizza arm, due to higher cheese and flour prices, along with a tough Pizza price war with competitors like Dominos.

The tv commercials currently being playing in New Zealand to promote the new baked pasta range show a Pizza Hut restaurant being blown up, and replaced with a "Pasta Hut" outlet.

The adverts aren't all for show... Yum! Brands - which owns the international company - did test the Pasta Hut brand overseas by converting some outlets to the new name, before reverting to the original Pizza Hut name after 3 months "due to popular demand".

Australian customers were also asked to vote for their preferred name, with the original brand name winning out, although a few stores are co-branded.

Pasta meals have already been introduced successfully in the US, UK, Canada and Australia Pizza Hut restaurants. Pizza Hut NZ is launching the Tuscani Pasta range here in two varieties, meatball napolitana and creamy chicken & mushroom.

* Stuff: We're pigging out on fast food

Labour Party is full of Immature Dorks

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:03:00 +0000

The Labour Party is still struggling to come to terms with the fact that it is no longer running the country, after New Zealand voters rejected its diet of mandatory social engineering and excessive spending to create dependency on the state.

Labour still cannot understand that wasteful spending from "the public purse" which it promotes is really just stealing money from regular hard working New Zealanders!

Parliament was yesterday debating the bills to set up the new Auckland Super City council, but frustrated by the fact that another group of political parties have been handed control of the country, Labour MPs began a series of immature stalling tactics.

Labour has already forced votes on almost 1,000 (One Thousand!) "largely trivial amendments" to a Parliamentary bill setting up a transitional authority and creating the Auckland Council.

The filibuster strategy meant last night's debate continued until 1am this morning, with MPs and staff forced to return to Parliament today at 9am, with a Monday sitting also possible.

Tubby Mallard said his party had already invented around 7,000 amendments, and told reporters that "new ones could be written faster than votes could be held".

While genuine amendments aimed at improving bills proposed by a ruling Government are to be encouraged, Labour's amendments were just petty and aimed at time wasting.

Elderly Labour numpty George Hawkins has been given the boring task of moving most of the amendments, and says he hopes he can drag the debate out all day. Opponents also decided to cast votes for every amendment in Maori, which then had to be translated into English, slowing the process further.

A crazy 6 hours was spent voting on date changes in the bills, while 48 amendments suggested alternative names for the new Auckland Council, including "The Funsized Council", "Everyone Belongs Council", or "Auckland Katchafire Council". Really mature Labour.

The loopy Greens joined in the playground tactics, with an amendment to try and force the council to only buy cars with small engines.

The stalling tactics even angered Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia (who is opposed to the legislation, largely because it doesn't include separatist Maori-only seats).

Turia stormed out of the debating chamber "in anger yesterday" for the first time ever, saying Labour had gone too far with its stalling tactics, saying it was a "frace", and Labour was simply wasting taxpayers' money and the valuable time of all MPs.

* NZ Herald: Turia exits Parliament in disgust over Labour attempts to stall Super City law
* No Minister: WasteMasters Exposed
* Newstalk ZB: "Melissa Lee Memorial Council" mooted
* Guide2.co.nz: Labour Holds Off Passage Of Bill For The Day

Free Speeding Pass with Police Camera Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Gee) — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:08:00 +0000

The new Aussie-supplied mobile speed cameras introduced by the NZ Police this year are crap-ass, and have been wrongly issuing tickets for twice the true speed of large vehicles. FAIL!

Police have waived over 130 tickets from the new cameras because of proven or suspected cases of inaccurate readings. 43 of the new digital cameras were rolled out across the country in January, at a cost of $4 million, replacing 31 old film cameras.

However, Police have admitted the cameras were initially set incorrectly, resulting in false high readings. The problem seems mainly to affect high-sided trucks and buses, with the cameras' radar beams being "deflected from the sides of large vehicles to nearby metal objects and back, doubling the recorded speed".

Until the problem is sorted out, Police have stopped issuing speeding infringements for large vehicles, giving them a temporary free pass to choose their own speed limits!! As it should be :-)

Officials won't reveal how much money they've lost in speed camera revenue while the problem is sorted out, and refused to admit whether any tickets issued for regular vehicles had also been waived.

$36 million was collected in speeding fines last year, and it is claimed the expansion of the speed camera programme is aimed at lowering the road toll.
A total of 536,995 speed camera tickets were issued in the 15 months to April 15 2009.

* Stuff: Cameras record incorrect speeds

[ Right now I'm listening to:
^ Waldo's People - Lose Control (Finland Eurovision 2009)
^ Sakis Rouvas- This Is Our Night (Greece Eurovision 2009) ]