Archive for June, 2008

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  Half of all tomatoes contain endosulfan. ERMA happy with this - by frog

  
  
  
  The Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA New Zealand) has just released its assessment of endosulfan and recommended its continued use in New Zealand. Wikipedia says of endosulfan: Endosulfan is one of the more toxic pesticides on the market today, responsible for many fatal pesticide poisoning incidents around the world.[17] Endosulfan is also a xenoestrogen—a synthetic [...] read more
  June 30, 2008 9:56 pm - 8 Comments
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  The Greens’ not so secret Australian political operatives - by frog

  
  
  
  Russell Brown over at Public Address seems to be obliquely fingering the Greens for using a political operative in 2002 in the same vein as Crosby Textor: Political strategy is a cynical business by its nature. Labour’s people were not appealing to higher ideals when they ran the “slippery” campaign against Key this year. Even [...] read more
  June 30, 2008 4:54 pm - 23 Comments
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  NZ’s big diplomatic threat – Twenty20 cricket - by frog

  
  
  
  Keith is calling for a New Zealand to support a boycott of Zimbabwean cricket, including the upcoming World Twenty20 cup next year. We’ve got to use every bit of leverage we have against the Mugabe regime. I am appealing to New Zealand Cricket to stand squarely behind the England and Wales Board in this matter [...] read more
  June 30, 2008 3:09 pm - 6 Comments
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  Get your policies here, John - by frog

  
  
  
  Brian Rudman adds this morning to the growing media meme that it is time National let voters know what it they are actually going to be voting for.  He uses the example of the electrification of Auckland rail to build his argument.  National’s transport spokesperson, Maurice Williamson has spent a lot of time declaring his [...] read more
  June 30, 2008 10:35 am - 31 Comments
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  Key keeps bad company - by frog

  
  
  
  My grandmother, who, believe it or not, would be 108 this year, always said that you could judge the character of a person by the company (s)he keeps. She always made an exception for politicians, because they would inevitably end up associating with the odd scoundrel by dint of being in politics. But she did [...] read more
  June 29, 2008 4:17 pm - 50 Comments
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  South Auckland – the real issues - by frog

  
  
  
  It’s worth picking a few quotes out of Sue Bradford’s speech on crime in South Auckland to Parliament earlier this week: The law and order parties in this House were given a tremendous bonus a couple of weeks ago when the sequence of four tragic murders in South Auckland sparked a ferocious law and order [...] read more
  June 28, 2008 10:29 pm - 73 Comments
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  Herald DigiPoll - by frog

  
  
  
  Another poll. But nothing new to see here, unless perhaps you’re in the Prime Minister’s office and you didn’t believe what you saw the first dozen or so times. National with a whopping big lead, Labour limping along in a distant second, knowing that National is unlikely to remain comfortably above 50% but even if/when [...] read more
  June 28, 2008 9:21 pm - 26 Comments
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  A food pricing inquiry - by frog

  
  
  
  Sue Kedgley set off a bit of a flurry with her parliamentary line of questions yesterday calling for a pricing inquiry into supermarkets and a possible supermarket code of conduct: Sue Kedgley: Does she agree with Consumer New Zealand that with a concentrated market dominated by a very small number of players, consumers need better [...] read more
  June 27, 2008 10:57 pm - 20 Comments
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  Oil breaks new records. Again. Is it a demand bubble? - by frog

  
  
  
  Oil touched a new high over night, but that wasn’t very exciting. What is interesting is the cacophony of voices trying to explain it. So, what will be the price of oil ten years from now? Any takers? A Bloomberg article a couple of weeks ago was full of explanations for the rise, from the [...] read more
  June 27, 2008 9:10 am - 58 Comments
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  Rural public transport - by frog

  
  
  
  I was a bit surprised that my rather flippant comments about the relationship between cyclists and cars drew criticism yesterday that I secretly wanted to ban all cars and didn’t care about rural people.  I would have thought people living in rural areas have the most interest in townies like me saving petrol, kyoto carbon [...] read more
  June 27, 2008 8:06 am - 21 Comments
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  Haere ra e hoa - by frog

  
  
  
  Nandor is off today.  Here’s the transcript of his valedictory speech and the first half on video. The Dominion Post used his last day to begin a new era of reporting on him that did not focus solely on his dreadlocks and drug policies, noting a legacy that included: Negotiating the creation of an independent [...] read more
  June 26, 2008 8:58 pm - 18 Comments
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  Goodness and light - by frog

  
  
  
  New blog on the block, good, is, well, good.  Today it quickly jumped to clarify that, despite the best efforts of climate change deniers and some politicians, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority will not be banning any lightbulbs.  It’s dawn raids on households that still using incandescent lightbulbs have been deferred indefinitely.  If you [...] read more
  June 26, 2008 4:11 pm - 22 Comments
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  Alicia Silverstone’s vegan dogs have stopped farting - by frog

  
  
  
  After this news I really think there is nowhere else for the debate on the environmental impact of eating meat to go: Actress Alicia Silverstone has found just the right recipe and claims her dogs are much better off because of it — especially when it comes to flatulence. She told UK TV talk show [...] read more
  June 26, 2008 2:15 pm - 3 Comments
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  Goodbye Charlie Pedersen - by frog

  
  
  
  The Wellington ‘beltway’ will be a quieter place without Charlie Pedersen who leaves Federated Farmers presidency to be replaced by Southland sheep and beef farmer, Don Nicolson. In his parting shot yesterday Charlie gave a rambunctious speech, mostly focused on attacking the Resource Management Act. But some of what he says is right there on [...] read more
  June 26, 2008 11:20 am - 18 Comments
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  One-page history of the Iraq War - by frog

  
  
  
  Alas a blog pointed to this fantastic little piece of history from Joel Pett (via Bors Blog – click on the image for a larger version) read more
  June 26, 2008 9:37 am - 15 Comments
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  No longer alone - by frog

  
  
  
  My trusty bike and I got pulled over by the cops yesterday evening.  It was part of a friendly check to make sure cyclists all had the enough lights and reflective gear to be seen in the gloaming.  I passed the test thankfully. But isn’t it nice that there are now enough cyclists on the [...] read more
  June 26, 2008 9:36 am - 17 Comments
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  Blogs I like today - by frog

  
  
  
  A few worthwhile reads from other blogs: Anna McM at the Hand Mirror continues a fascinating discussion on the value, or otherwise, of rugby. You’ll also want to read as background the Hand Mirror’s earlier pieces on the casual way our rugby media has brushed aside accusations of rape against the English rugby team as [...] read more
  June 25, 2008 10:58 pm - 7 Comments
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  Parliament’s compost controversy - by frog

  
  
  
  It’s hard to comprehend just out frustrated, possibly even outraged, environmentally leaning ministers like Jim Anderton, Trevor Mallard and Clayton Cosgrove must be feeling after they learnt that their months of separating out the compost from their parliamentary waste in beehive offices has all been for naught.  As Jeanette revealed today: Ministers, presumably including the [...] read more
  June 25, 2008 4:48 pm - 10 Comments
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  The real thing - by frog

  
  
  
  Turns out when you’re talking about Diet Coke the real thing in question is Sodium Benzoate (it travels on its shiny label on plastic bottles under the pseudonym 211). Last year British research linked sodium benozoate to cell damage: “These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the [...] read more
  June 25, 2008 3:33 pm - 34 Comments
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  End peak stupidity - by frog

  
  
  
  I just spotted this epistle in among the Christchurch Press letters this morning: Now that the mainstream has acknowledged peak oil is upon us, hopefully that will also bring on the end of peak stupidity. Much of what we do is really stupid if you think about it in terms of how it may impact [...] read more
  June 25, 2008 3:25 pm - 91 Comments