Archive for August, 2008

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  An emissions trading subsidy for fishing? - by frog

  
  
  
  The Hive noted on Friday that: The revised [Emissions Trading Scheme] contains an enormous new subsidy for the fishing industry. This was, surprise, surprise negotiated by NZ First… Fish subsidies are the direct cause of over fishing. We are opposed to any subsidisation of this industry. The original ETS has no subsidy going to the [...] read more
  August 31, 2008 4:19 pm - 7 Comments
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  Canadians may beat us to the polls - by frog

  
  
  
  Despite four planned and payed for by-elections scheduled for September 8th, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is tipped to call a snap election this week as his minority government struggles to get any work done. This would infuriate the Greens, who have a realistic chance of picking up one of the seats in the by-elections next [...] read more
  August 30, 2008 2:13 pm - 4 Comments
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  Russel and Spanky from RDU talk Tug-o-War - by frog

  
  
  
  There’s a nice little interview here on Scoop where the RDU’s Spanky talks to Russel about the polls, MMP, ‘Sustainability’ Labour, open source and free software and the need for tug of war at the 2012 London Olympics. Photo credit: Here be Dragons read more
  August 30, 2008 8:36 am - 6 Comments
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  Cycle safety - by frog

  
  
  
  Without knowing anything more about the circumstances than what has been reported, it was pretty disturbing to hear multi sport’s Coast to Coast star Steve Gurney was involved in a car accident while cycling in Christchurch. However, it’s a good reminder that there is only one day left to sign the Cycle Advocacy Network’s 9-Point [...] read more
  August 30, 2008 7:36 am - 13 Comments
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  Secret money - by frog

  
  
  
  “Well, that was an informative political investigation into the corrosive power of secret trusts and large private donations to politicians,” she said brightly. “Who’s next?” read more
  August 29, 2008 7:28 pm - 22 Comments
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  Can you out-spend the oil industry? - by frog

  
  
  
  Al Gore’s at it again. After his call for America to go 100% renewable in 10 years, his organisation “We Can Solve It” is running a TV ad in the US demanding clean energy. But because even his big-bucks buddies can’t compete with $850 million a year spent by oil and coal companies on advertising, [...] read more
  August 29, 2008 1:55 pm - 20 Comments
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  What if? - by frog

  
  
  
  I wonder if the Prime Minister is looking back at the quiet issue-focused way the Greens have gone about getting their policy implemented over the last 3 years and is now ruing the choices she made putting together her governing arrangements back in 2005 with Winston Peters’ NZ First Party and Peter Dunne’s Untied Future [...] read more
  August 29, 2008 7:59 am - 34 Comments
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  Plastic bag silliness - by frog

  
  
  
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  August 28, 2008 4:07 pm - 5 Comments
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  Protecting food safety - by frog

  
  
  
  Mother Jones has an icky story about imported Chinese food in the USA involving contamination, salmonella, bateria and pesticides. At one [poultry] plant, inspectors had found paint from the ceiling “on the table used for edible product,” while workers at another facility wiped down meat-handling areas with dirty cloths. Parts of a third factory, designated [...] read more
  August 28, 2008 3:57 pm - 5 Comments
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  We’ll have to find something else to watch next month - by frog

  
  
  
  It’s getting to be half week old news now. But, just to show the Greens are not into stopping all sporting tours, here’s the Green spokesperson on sports, Keith calling for more cricket. Go Keith. “Pulling out [of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan] now would badly dent New Zealand’s good reputation in Pakistan, and cannot [...] read more
  August 28, 2008 3:35 pm - 10 Comments
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  ‘Bzzt, bang’ or ‘bang, bzzt’? - by frog

  
  
  
  While I’m on the topic, there were calls for an arms race in this morning’s Dominion Post: Police Association president Greg O’Connor said police welcomed Tasers but were concerned they could be issued at the cost of firearms. “That can’t happen,” he said. “They must be ‘as well as’, not `instead of’.” Why?  So that [...] read more
  August 28, 2008 10:10 am - 64 Comments
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  Tasers - by frog

  
  
  
  The debate in Parliament yesterday around the use of tasers seemed entirely to be game playing by a government that, up until now had been unwilling to politically debate the issues around tasers – claiming it was an operation matter for police, not a political one for MPs. Nonetheless, it is an important issue, and [...] read more
  August 28, 2008 9:58 am - 41 Comments
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  The Waterview Connection - by frog

  
  
  
  You know, Parliament’s question time was interesting yesterday.  Well, not so much all the Winston Peters stuff.  The funniest bit of that exchange was Dail Jones trying to claim that Owen Glenn’s damning letter might be a forgery. The stuff I found interesting though was the discussion on the Waterview Connection. Russel began by asking [...] read more
  August 28, 2008 9:04 am - 28 Comments
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  A week of g.blog - by frog

  
  
  
  Xavier Goldie couldn’t quite believe Brian Lochore said what he did this week: Apparently, not only did Lochore leave his babies (not children, but three week old babies) outside in the mud while he was boozing, but he actually attempts to justify the fact that he assaulted other people’s children. WTF? Meanwhile, also on s [...] read more
  August 28, 2008 6:27 am - No Comments
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  Rugby legend strikes out on s59 - by Sue Bradford

  
  
  
  Today’s Herald reports former All Black coach Sir Brian Lochore as saying, ‘Yes, I smacked my children, but I’ve never hit them.  Yes, I smacked other peoples’ children, but I never hit them.’ In making these comments to a Parents Inc breakfast attended by more than 1000 fathers, Sir Brian is repeating the common fallacy [...] read more
  August 27, 2008 7:17 pm - 279 Comments
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  $1 billion of warm homes - by frog

  
  
  
  The have been the usual voices in favour and against the Greens’ decision to back the Emissions Trading Scheme, and I’ll talk more about that later. But I also just saw a media release coming from a different angle from the Director of the University of Otago Wellington’s He Kainga Oranga/Housing and Health Research Programme [...] read more
  August 27, 2008 4:30 pm - 47 Comments
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  Time to pledge to end shark finning - by frog

  
  
  
  You may remember I wrote recently about how shark finning (cutting off the high-priced fins of sharks and dumping the rest of the body at sea) is contributing to the decline of shark species worldwide.  While the practice is illegal in many countries, it is still permitted in New Zealand. Forest & Bird is asking [...] read more
  August 27, 2008 10:43 am - 9 Comments
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  Animal magnetism - by frog

  
  
  
  I just came across this science blog from Seed magazine on the tendency of sheep and cows to face the same way when grazing. In a new paper, Sabine Begali from the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany spied on aligned herds of cows and deer using satellite images from Google Earth. The images revealed a [...] read more
  August 27, 2008 9:39 am - 15 Comments
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  Jamie and the chicken - by frog

  
  
  
  As promised last night. See also here. read more
  August 27, 2008 8:42 am - 12 Comments
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  4 ways to smack - by frog

  
  
  
  John Caldwell has taken the seemingly unusual step of reading the child discipline laws in the Crimes Act before rushing to comment on the section 59 amendment petition and referendum. Thus his commentary in The Press yesterday morning [off line] is enlightening.  It seems we do not currently have an anti-smacking law but a law [...] read more
  August 27, 2008 6:46 am - 36 Comments