Thursday, November 27, 2008

Ancient Greek creature of the day: The Manticore



THE MANTIKHORAS (or Manticore) was a fabulous man-eating Persian monster with the body of a lion, the face of a man, and a spike-tipped arrow-shooting tail. The name "Manticore" was reputedly derived from a Persian word meaning "man-eater."

Roman encyclopedia C1st A.D
"In the country of Aethiopia is born the creature that he calls the Mantichora, which has a triple row of teeth meeting like the teeth of a comb, the face and ears of a human being, grey eyes, a blood-red colour, a lion’s body, inflicting stings with its tail in the manner of a scorpion, with a voice like the sound of a pan-pipe blended with a trumpet, of great speed, with a special appetite for human flesh. Juba states that in Aethiopia the Mantichora also mimics human speech."

Imagining the tenth dimension



Wow if someone said to my teenage self "in the future you are going to be enthusiastically blogging about quantum physics" I would assume they meant I'd be watching a Quantum Leap CD-Rom stoned while chopping down a futuristic tree. Life and technology can take you on such 'wild' tangents as the above film shows. (Shout-out to my bro Alkom for the new hobby).

Anyway this is a cool animation that is taken from the book 'Imagining the tenth dimension' by Rob Bryanton. Also the friendly narrator, I find Bryanton gives a nice intro into the complex subject of physics and dimensions that I learn to love more everyday.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Old Skool

Hell yes... on the reminising tip... enjoy

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Goodbye the Nanny State myth – hello the Daddy State reality




As we end 2008 I just want to give a shout out, a goodbye wave if you will to the myth of the Nanny State, that nonsense idea propagated by reactionary redneck talback hosts who conned many NZers into believing that the political correctness storm-troopers from the dykocracy Helengrad Nanny State were personally kicking down your door and ramming power saving lightbulbs and shower heads down your throats. Congrats to Crosby/Texter, you’ve all earned your Christmas bonus for the manipulation of that little myth, well done.

So goodbye to the myth of the Nanny State and hello to the reality of the hard right Daddy State, because while some mainstream commentators are telling us, “Oh this National Party are soooooo moderate, they cut a deal with the Maori Party when they didn’t even have to”, the reality is that this is one of the most far right governments elected by one of the lowest turns outs led by a Prime Minister who is the least experienced for 100 years (hands go under the poncho John, UNDER the poncho) and the deal with the Maori Party is merely moderate window dressing to gloss over the first 100 days of hard right Daddy State blitzkrieg legislation about to get pushed through while the dopey mainstream media are all on holiday in Fiji.

ACT’s 3 strikes and you’re locked up forever medieval law and order policy was costed by ACT at $1billion during the election but according to Rethinking Crime and Punishment costings it will be closer to $3.5billion-$5.5billion – are we honestly going to be putting $3.5billion into locking NZers up for the rest of their lives or should we be putting that $3.5billion into early intervention programs?

Look at the way nACTional are pushing through changes in bail and parole, by misusing the power of Urgency, no discussion, no debate on such a radical change to our bail and parole laws from “real or substantial risk” to any risk at all – you would need to go back to 1998 to see another example of a misuse of urgency and prior to that you need to go back to Rodger Douglas, who surprise surprise just happens to be back in parliament. If the debate is so clear cut why will nACTional hijack the power of urgency and misuse it to stifle and shut down any dissenting opinion on such a fundamental change, a change that will see our prison population balloon in size – oh and mACTional’s response to this is to import Dick Cheney’s corrupt private prison industry. Let’s be very clear, Private Prisons don’t care about the welfare or rehabilitation of prisoners, they care only for profit and they make their profit through longer and harsher sentences, and remember under nACTional these prisons will be gulags, forced prison labour where the prisoner gets paid 60cents a day and the company pockets the $12 per hour – they’re vested interests will pervert the prison system in NZ as horrifically as they have done so in America.

Add to this Daddy State blitzkrieg the dumping of the ETS because ACT form one of the few governments in the OECD who don’t believe global warming is man made and Rodney’s despicable TABOR ratchet noose legislation designed to strangle the throat of public spending every year, ask the good people of Colorado if they think it’s worked for them.

This is not moderate, this is not Barack-Obama-like ‘change’ and I’ll bet that if you ask anyone of the 80 000 NZers now predicted to be out of work within 2 years under nACTional’s work law that allows the boss to sack anyone they like for whatever reason they like within 90days, if you ask anyone of those 80 000 NZers what their concerns are, I’ll bet it won’t be power saving lightbulbs or showerheads.

How’s that change working out for you NZ? Does it feel like Obama yet?

The Christmas Resistance Movement



www.xmasresistance.org is a movement that discourages the empty consumerism that surrounds christmas.

"You know holiday shopping is offensive and wasteful. You know Christmas "wish lists" and "gift exchanges" degrade the concept of giving. You know Christmas marketing is a scam, benefiting manufacturers, stores, and huge corporations, while driving individuals into debt. You know this annual consumer frenzy wreaks havoc on the environment, filling landfills with useless packaging and discarded gifts. We maintain the integrity of giving by giving spontaneously and from our hearts, rather than during a specified season

Monday, November 24, 2008

UK journo frightened by research and haka

This week UK "journalist" Frank Keating published this imperial mess of an article for the fucking top-selling GUARDIAN, not just for some random pamphlet drop in the burbs. Such well-researched gems such as "New Zealand's charmless eye-rolling, tongue-squirming dance has long passed its sell-by date" and "the haka has a history but it's an inauspicious one, nothing to be proud of" makes one think maybe the English media should get to know some of the countries and cultures it has had the pleasure to colonise. Someone needs to fax this guy a copy of the Treaty cos he obviously doesn't own a computer - not one with internet access anyway. He might have found out the haka spiritually and historically pre-dates fucking rugby. (Many Pakeha and non-Maori readers have also voiced their outrage online which is pretty awesome to see).

Here is a picture of the legendary 28th Maori Batallion performing the haka in Egypt in 1941.

Just casually serving the British empire in the second world war but hey, according to Keating the haka "does nobody any favours"

Mauri ora

Love is a load of crap



The shadow art of Tim Nobel and Sue Webster

Raving with Bird of Paradise



This is surreal rare footage of an African Bird of Paradise performing a mating dance to his beloved. Preferably to Underworlds Born Slippy - check out his fluoro smiley face. Don't know what the audio is about, some people like nature.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Friday, November 21, 2008

Disappearing Islands - by Jess Feast

This eight minute documentary follows Ursula Rakova has been forced to move from her island because of sea level rising.



Documentary maker, Jess Feast travelled to Bougainville, off the coast of Papua New Guinea and then further afield, to the Carteret Islands, with an incredible woman called Ursula Rakova. Ursula comes from the Carterets but she has now moved to Bougainville to try and arrange for the relocation of the 3000 islanders. They are being forced to leave their homes because of sea level rise. While there are other factors that may be affecting these islands (such as techtonic plate movement) it is likely this rising water is a result of climate change and we could be seeing a lot more of it.

The film is part of a series called 'Sisters on the Planet' - they tell the stories of women around the world who are affected by and taking action against climate change. The other stories are on this site:

http://www.oxfam.org.au/campaigns/climate-change/take-action/sisters-on-the-planet/video.php

Oxfam hope these films will act as a call to action. Along with the individual changes we're making to lower our impact on the planet, let's make sure our government is engaged not only in helping to reduce our carbon emissions and representing us on the international stage, but actively assisting our vulnerable Pacific neighbours to adapt to the changes that lie ahead.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Monday, November 17, 2008

Astral Projection

William Buhlman discussed the latest research on out-of-body experiences (OBEs). During these experiences a person moves into an astral realm-- a dimension of existence apart from the physical world. There are many benefits that can be gained during OBEs. You become an explorer who can ascertain direct knowledge about one's existence rather than just adhering to a belief system.

During sleep, people actual separate from their bodies, if only a few inches, Buhlman pointed out, adding that one purpose of sleep may be to recharge the body by accessing the etheric plane. He shared a technique for inducing OBEs: Get up after about 4 hours of sleep, and lie down on a couch instead of your bed. Then, repeat the affirmation "now I'm out of my body" and hold onto that thought.

Highly Recommend Coast to Coast Radio interview - part 1.


William Buhlman is one of America's leading experts on out-of-body experiences and astral projection. The author's thirty five years of extensive personal out-of-body explorations give him a unique and thought provoking insight into this subject. His first book, Adventures beyond the Body chronicles his personal journey of self-discovery through out-of-body travel, and provides the reader with the preparation and techniques that can be used for their own adventure.

The author brings a refreshing look to how we can use astral travel and out-of-body experiences to explore our spiritual identity and enhance our intellectual and physical lives. William is best known for his ability to teach people how to have profound spiritual adventures through the use of out-of-body experiences. In addition, he has developed an extensive series of audio programs that are designed to expand awareness and assist in the exploration of consciousness.

Where we at NZ?



With the global collapse of greedy corporate capitalism set to get much worse than previously predicted…

The Worst is not behind us
Beware, therefore, of those who tell you that we have reached a bottom for risky financial assets. The same optimists told you that we reached a bottom and the worst was behind us after the rescue of the creditors of Bear Stearns in March; after the announcement of the possible bailout of Fannie and Freddie in July; after the actual bailout of Fannie and Freddie in September; after the bailout of AIG; in mid-September; after the TARP legislation was presented; and after the latest G-7 and E.U. action.

In each case, the optimists argued that the latest crisis and rescue policy response was the cathartic event that signaled the bottom of the crisis and the recovery of markets. They were wrong literally at least six times in a row as the crisis--as I have consistently predicted over the last year--became worse and worse. So enough of the excessive optimism that has been proved wrong at least six times in the last eight months alone.

Professor Nouriel Roubini
Forbes columnist


…and with our own economy set for meltdown with 50 000 new unemployment fears rapidly becoming a reality with lay offs being announced daily now and a middle class property speculation that fuelled a credit card lifestyle showing signs of absolute collapse with a 6% drop in valuations predicted to hit a 30% drop in valuation…

House sales in record slump
House sales volumes fell by a record amount in the first half of 2008, a report by economic consultants Infometrics shows. Findings released today show property sales volumes slumped 44.3 percent compared to the same period in 2007, exceeding the previous record decline of 39.4 percent set in the second half of 1974.

…and what is our response to this in NZ? A hard right Daddy State mACTional coalition led by the Beige Obama change merchant with Maori Party moderate window dressing and a cabinet more akin to a gallery of rogues from the failures of the 90s privatization agenda cherry topped by a patsy Minister of Social Development who will soft face the deep cuts in social funding National and ACT intend to have her sell to the public. The release of what National and ACT intend to try and ram through Parliament gives us some unpleasant reading, as the very brilliant Gordon Campbell points out on Scoop

Like other Act policies, the Taxpayers Bill of Rights Bill has been borrowed lock, stock and barrel from a US model – namely, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act aka TABOR, which was passed into law in Colorado in 1992. The state of Colorado has since found TABOR to be highly controversial, and has passed special exemptions – amendment 23 in 1999 for instance, raised the spending levels on early childhood education - in order to get around the rigid spending cap that TABOR had imposed.

Unfortunately, the exemption granted to kindergarten / primary school education spending has been at the expense of other social needs, with higher education and transportation being especially hard hit.
TABOR and reality have been on a collision course ever since. In 2005, Colorado voted to give itself a five year holiday from TABOR altogether, to allow the state’s finances a chance to recover. Ironically, shortly after Coloradans voted to free themselves from TABOR, Rodney Hide introduced the same measures into Parliament in 2006, in the shape of a private members bill.

The preamble to Hide’s Bill explicitly noted its origins in Colorado, and acknowledged that the proposal had already failed by saying “Last year, Colorado voters allowed their politicians to breach the spending cap…” It is now being revived, and fast tracked by John Key.

In sum, New Zealand is about to adopt as an instrument of restraint on government spending, a measure known to have already caused havoc, division and shortfalls in public service provision in its state of origin. The detailed evidence of TABOR’s flaws is contained in this extensive Bell Policy Center Report

So how do the TABOR mechanisms actually work ? As in Colorado, the measures Hide has been proposing would limit the growth rate of the revenues that government can collect and spend, and allow them to be adjusted upwards only to compensate for inflation and population growth, and nothing else. Not wage increases, or a desire to improve services. If revenues exceed the prior year’s allocation, this is returned to taxpayers as a rebate.

Crucially, the measure has a rachet down effect on public services. During boom times, central and local governments are prevented from using the higher revenues to expand or to improve public services, or to save for a rainy day. Moreover, because revenues will fall during a recession, the year-to-year measurement will mean that the new base for determining spending growth will become the low revenue point created by the recession. Hence, the TABOR approach renders permanent any cuts to public services that are imposed during bad years.


How’s that change feeling now NZ? It’s just like Barack Obama eh, getting the feeling yet that NZers were conned into believing the change and moderation spin job yet? See the problem is we needed change in NZ, but certainly not the ‘change’ that mACTional will provide, the type of change we desperately need is the exact change that Professor Klaus Bosselmann the director of the NZ Centre for Environmental Law is talking about…

Putting steel into the fight to save Earth
Humans have overstepped the threshold of sustainability. In the mid-1980s, the capacity of the planet to sustain its human population had reached 100 per cent. The current population now has an ecological footprint equal to 1.25 planets.
If those people who live in the so-called Third World catch up with the lifestyle in the US or New Zealand, we need 4.5 planets.
We are facing one simple loss - our own disappearance from the planet, which itself will continue to live. We need to drastically reduce our ecological footprint.

Individual actions are of limited use. Making the changes requires regulatory and policy changes that strongly enforce footprint-reducing actions. In short, we need mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon.
Environmental law differs from the rest of law with its peculiar space and time dimensions. How to regulate human behaviour in the Here and Now to avoid disaster in the There and Then?

The problem is to reconcile two extreme positions. On the one hand, people living today have a right to pursue their prosperity and well-being, but in doing so they collectively threaten the environment.

On the other hand, the environment demands responsibilities from us now so it can be preserved for the future. To date, rights have trumped responsibilities.

This tragedy is caused by short-sighted economic rationality which has shaped both the capitalist and socialist worlds.
Media attention on issues like climate change and food prices has increased. But the links between ecology and economy are still made only in terms of costs.

Typically, the environment is presented as an economic cost factor, not as a challenge to the economy itself. Financial markets seem to operate in complete independence from the state of the environment.

Governments compartmentalise the environment. There is a Ministry for the Environment but Treasury determines public policy. There are environmental policies but politicians are eager to point out they won't harm the economy. There are environmental laws, but isolated from commercial laws.

Partially protecting the environment in competition with economic objectives is ecological nonsense. Imagine a child protection law that says: "Do not beat your child too often and too much." Environmental law does just that: "Do not pollute the environment too often and too much."

The flawed thinking behind such environmentalism is the assumption that the environmental crisis can be solved within the current economic, political and legal system without challenging underlying values.


And those underlying values of unsustainable growth at any cost is exactly what mACTional will promote as a way out of the economic position those exact same values have led us into, National’s agenda is not ‘moderate’ and their ‘change’ will be deeply detrimental, but then again NZers might already have known all of this if the mainstream media had actually done it’s job and evaluated what National Party policy might actually do if implemented rather than focusing on the crucifixion of Winston Peters for something the Electoral Commission, Serious Fraud Office and the Police eventually cleared him on.

A hard rain is gonna fall and when the Daddy State starts taking effect, I can bet no one will be jumping up and down about Nanny State lightbulbs or shower heads in a years time.

Steven Joyce – the Hollow Brain


The guy hasn’t even been an MP and now he is a Cabinet Minister????? It seems if you attempt to warp democratic principle your reward can be a high party place ranking on the National list, let’s remind ourselves what we know about the hollow brain from the hollow men….

In the week of the 16-20 May 2005, Steven Joyce had a formal meeting with the exclusive brethren who were organizing their despicable advertising campaign and Joyce met quietly with other pro-National lobby organizations telling them the two crucial messages were “change”. Change was the main theme the Exclusive Brethren ended up using, remember National weren’t officially having these meetings with the Brethren and Joyce was the hollow brain behind this.

Joyce also saw the draft pamphlets and advertisements from the Exclusive Brethren before they went out, remember National initially pretended they knew nothing about the Exclusive Brethren.

When confronted with allegations that this was a stitch up job, Joyce’s ‘response’ was that Stephen Win (the contact person on the EB pamphlets and advertising) wasn’t a National Party guy and it certainly wasn’t a National-funded campaign – that of course is a twisting of the facts after meeting with the EB and providing input and viewing all material about to be released by the EB, we can see how hollow Joyce’s response really was.

In 2005 Joyce wrote to electoral campaign committees saying that “in this election National is planning to go close to its legal limit for Party Vote campaign expenditure (meaning $2,240,000), That has not happened previously”. Interestingly when the donation declarations were delivered to the Electoral Commission not one name from National’s largest financial backers were declared after their donations had been washed through the National Party launderette, the ‘Waitemata Trust’ so that their political influence through financial donations remained invisible. Interesting side note isn’t it, Winston was crucified in the media for something the Electoral Commission, the Serious Fraud Office and the Police cleared him on, has National’s funding ever been given that level of scrutiny?

Steven Joyce was credited in the last election by National Svengali Peter Keenan for keeping on Crosby/Texter, the Australian spin Doctors who were so good this election at spinning the ‘change’ and ‘moderation’ con job.

The Hollow Brain went to Australia to meet with Crosby/Texter and on October 19th 2004 prepared the con job they would use to try and spin the election on, it is incredible how much of that con job was so similar to the con job the Hollow Brain used to win this election, let’s go through them…

1: Stop us going down the path to rampant political correctness.
2: Put an end to the grievance industry.
3: Make our community safer by locking away violent criminals.
4: Ensure your hard-earned tax dollars are spent on Education and Health and not wasted on Labour’s pet projects and bureaucracy.
5: Put in place economic policies that will lift all our incomes closer to those of Australians.
6: Tighten up Welfare and ensure that everyone that can work does work.


Note, none of this is policy, just focus meeting tested bigotry.

Interesting to note that when Joyce was challenged on whether or not Crosby/Texter was giving National advice in 2005, Joyce said there was ‘some’ advice but National had no plans of bringing them to NZ, which was a clear twisting of the truth because Joyce had been to see them in 2004, when challenged again Joyce fudged the issue and pretended to not know the depth of any Crosby/Texter relationship and advised Don Brash to claim he only met them in passing.

NZ has been conned into believing National are change and moderate.

Paula Bennett – the perfect patsy


From DPB to the top table for Bennett
Twenty years ago, Paula Bennett was a teenage Maori solo mum trying to get off the DPB by waitressing at a truck stop and washing dishes at a retirement home. Yesterday, Prime Minister-elect John Key chose her as his Minister of Social Development and Employment - giving her control of welfare policy and a massive $20 billion budget. The 39-year-old National Party MP was surprised when Mr Key rang her on Sunday with the proposal - a meteoric rise for the second-term MP. She admits she may even have squealed.

We all squealed mate, for the record I like Paula Bennett, I think she’s a really decent sort and her heart is very much in the right place which is why what mACTional are going to make her do will be so much more sickening, Paula has been picked as the patsy, Key is about to ram through his and ACT’s hard right manifesto and there will be the attempt to privatize social services and the face of this privatization via stealth is going to be Paula, someone who wouldn’t willingly ever screw over a fellow NZer but will be forced to implement a privatized social services system that will not be in the interests of NZ. My prediction is that by the end of this term we will see that spark of optimism in Paula’s eyes completely dead as the rich right wing finance boys make the solo mum beneficiary do all their dirty work. Of everyone in that cabinet, I feel most for what they will make her do, if you are going to assassinate social policy, it's always good to have a friendly faced patsy with zero experience in managing $20 billion.

NZ has been conned into believing National are change and moderate.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Painting a Picture

Aniboom Animation

National under fire for plan to review climate scheme


National under fire for plan to review climate scheme
Environmental groups are horrified at a "radical" turn in the National government's climate-change policy just a week after the election. Under a confidence-and-supply agreement with ACT, the emissions trading scheme (ETS) will be put on hold during a review and a thermal-power generation ban will be lifted. The Auckland-based national group Environmental Defence Society yesterday expressed disappointment at the agreement, saying it would take the new government on an unexpectedly radical course. Society chairman Gary Taylor said the "cave-in" shook his confidence in Prime Minister-elect John Key's new coalition. "I was expecting centrist, progressive, Blue-Green environment settings from this new government and instead we've got this great lurch to the Right," he said. "ACT has some very extreme views, not only on the ETS but on the Resource Management Act, which is up for review, I see." New Zealand seemed unable to find a popular political response to climate change, after coalition deals sunk a planned carbon tax and, at least, delayed an emissions trading scheme.
Greenpeace warned that National and ACT could risk a trade backlash by lowering New Zealand's environmental standards and procrastinating over climate change. "Encouraging fossil-fuel power stations, further delaying the ETS and gutting the Resource Management Act are all great incentives for the world's middle-class to shop elsewhere," Greenpeace senior climate campaigner Simon Boxer said. Environment and Conservation Organisations spokeswoman Cath Wallace said the agreement was a backward step that could threaten the environment. "We can't continue stealing from the future by polluting the only planet we have," she said.


We are now waking up to the fact that National’s claim of ‘moderation’ is just as hollow as their claim of ‘change’ with this massive environmental leap backwards. ACT are a climate change denial political party whose leader has claimed C02 is a misunderstood nutrient, which comes across as kinda Simpsons-esk, “Hi I’m Troy Maclure – C02, Environmentalists call it pollution, ACT calls it liberty” – Rodney has also claimed that a 2 degree rise in temperatures would be wonderful for NZ and we really have little to fear – all of this is inane and shows that ACT, a political party with original aspirations for 10% electoral support has changed strategy to be a 4% party plus electorate and as such can make their message as niche as they like, hence the climate denial bullshit and the sensible sentencing death penalty fantasist crap. Putting ACT in charge of global warming legislation is like putting George Bush in charge of the UN.

This is moderate huh folks? How’s that change feeling NZ?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Pepepe and the Reactable

This is Pepepe a mexican electronic geekcore boy genius who I met when I was at the Barcelona Red Bull Music Academy this September. He is demonstrating how to use the Reactable, a mind-blowing piece of technology using sound waves and signals all set up via a futuristic electronic table with blocks.... um.... just watch it, it truly has to be seen to be believed and my homeboy Pepe proved he was the man for the job.



www.myspace.com/pepepepepepepepepe

The cost of vengeance


Three Strikes Proposal Would Cost Billions
Three Strikes Proposal Would Cost $3.5 - $5.5 billion
ACT's proposal to sentence offenders to 25 years after a third violent offence, is unaffordable, said Kim Workman, Director, Rethinking Crime and Punishment. "It would cost between $3.5 - $4.5 billion"

"During the election campaign, ACT spokeperson David Garrett said they would spend up to $1 billion to implement the policy. In fact, it would cost between $3 - $4 billion to implement, and a further ongoing cost of $56 - 75 million annual operational costs.

The Department of Corrections have 15,000 offenders with three or more convictions for violence, currently on their books. At least half of those are not currently in prison. Over a very short space of time, we would
end up with between 7,000 and 10,000 more offenders serving a prison sentence.

The National Party has promised to build one more prison for 572 prisoners at a cost of $314m, plus annual operating costs of $43m. On that basis, the increase in prison beds to accommodate the three strikes offenders, would cost between $3.8 and $5.5 billion. with annual operating costs between $52 and $75 million. That would be in addition to any increases arising from National's own policies. Even if they housed prisoners in containers, it is still not a viable proposition.


So the actual cost of implementing ACTs medieval law and order policy of three strikes and you’re fucked is not going to be a Billion dollars, it is in fact going to be anywhere between $3.5-$5.5 Billion – ummmmm, hands up what $3.5 - $5.5 Billion could do in our early intervention budgets, and keep those hands up who thinks we can afford that in a down turning economy? Is the nACTional plan to boost emplyment by making half the country prison guards and the other half prisoners?

How's that change you voted for NZ?

Day 5 of Living under the Daddy State with the Beige Obama and nACTional in the land of the wrong white crowd-inclusive window dressing by Maori Party

>
It’s Day 5 of living under the Daddy State and the NZ Herald have finally stopped putting John Key on the Front Page, yesterday it was a shot of him holding a kitten on the steps of Parliament, apparently afterwards he ate the kitten to the applause of the editorial staff. He’s in a hurry off to APEC and having the Government sworn in before the final count is actually announced may seem rude but any chance to swap Prime Ministerial business cards for John with the real Obama might snap him out of the ‘stoned-blank-child-in-the-candy-shop’ look he seems to have adopted since winning the election on Saturday night. The spin however to start softening the public up for the right wing reforms has begun I note, yesterday Rodger Kerr from the Business Round Table, a man well know for his genuine concern for healthcare to the poor and certainly not the private health industry was explaining why inefficiency in our healthcare made him sad and his solution – stunningly enough – was more private health industry, not because he’s on the Business Roundtable with his mates from the private health industry mind you, but because he cares about you and me. Today in the Herald we are being spun that beneficiaries on sickness benefits with depression should be kicked off the benefit after 2 months because it’s hurting them more then helping them, I’m waiting for the seminar where we get to harvest the organs directly from the poor as a way to help create incentives for beneficiaries who stay 3 months on the benefit.

The spin to soften you up for the hardline changes that nACTional are intending to implement won’t really prepare you for the changes though, as NZ looks to 6.1% Unemployment and a new law allowing bosses to end your employment after 90 days with no questions asked doesn't start to sound like the change that the real Obama was talking about. NZers who rushed enthusiastically to give the least experienced Prime Minister NZ has had for 100 years total power with one of the lowest voter turn outs in 100 years to elect one of the most rabid right wing party’s into a coalition in everything but name with ACT may now be suffering buyers remorse as they watch ACT, a party bloated to significance by death penalty fantasists and global warming deniers, start to pass medieval law and order policy that makes the Spanish Inquisition look like the Greens after a smoke.

You have to hand it to the Beige Obama’s hollow brain though, Steven Joyce. The man so central to Don Brash’s racist bid last election sure knows how to play the game. Hit Winston repeatedly in the months leading up to the election with a public crucifixion via the media that eventuated in Winston being cleared by the Electoral Commission, the Serious Fraud Office and the Police – has any political party been so scrutinized? Certainly not National or their Waitemata Trust, although in an ironically hypocritical twist ACT were caught out be the Electoral Commission and the complaint that Rodney’s Yellow Jacket was an election hoarding and as such needed a signature that Hide used as further proof that the Nanny State were suffocating democracy with the EFA turned out to be a complete fabrication after the complainant being outed as an ACT activist. Joyce has skillfully calculated that NZ will be frightened by the changes and needs moderately inclusive window dressing, with 6.1% unemployment, manipulating the Maori Party will come in handy when the policies sharply come into effect, any time John needs to jump to the Right for Law and Order policy or changes to the ETS, he cuddles Rodney, when he wants to pass something that ACT consider disgusting like the abolition of slavery for example, John will cuddle Pita and Tariana. With the likelihood that National will try and claim that we don’t need a Royal Commission as was suggested and will in fact try and push for a direct and ill funded educational referendum on MMP to distract and drain the Left for the 2011 campaign, the hollow brain has shown himself to be a 'multidimensional' strategist of the connect 4 variety.

Unemployment at 6.1% and house prices having dipped 6% in value over the last year when they are predicted to lose 30% of value, times are going to become very tough and I am interested to see if NZ will enjoy the change they voted for, and remember as shocking as the changes in the first 100 days will be, remember this is ‘National lite’, you don’t get to see the rich creamy full bodied National Right until 2011, so as bad as the pinch feels now, it ain’t nothing to the full Daddy State next election.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Dr. Ronald Chevalier - The Art of Inspiring Oneself



"To inspire myself, I turn to myself"

Hell is round the corner

A marriage of dishonest convenience


Maori close to reaching deal with National
National is just days from sealing a historic deal with the Maori Party which is likely to see two ministerial posts taken by the smaller party in John Key's incoming Government. During an 80-minute meeting at Parliament yesterday, the two parties reached a draft agreement that the Maori Party's five MPs will now rapidly take around the country for approval at a series of hui. After the meeting, Maori Party co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples seemed optimistic and indicated they would be pushing the message that the deal should go ahead. It is understood Mrs Turia and Dr Sharples could take ministerial posts outside the Cabinet if an agreement is sealed - with one of them potentially even becoming Maori Affairs Minister.

I interviewed Dr Pita Sharples on Alt Tv as to why Pakeha should vote for the Maori Party, his response was that what was best for Maori was best for all NZers, but I wonder how many Pakeha or Maori voters for that matter, will see how giving bosses the ability to sack you for no reason after 90 days in an environment with 6.1% unemployment is going to be beneficial to anyone. What the Maori Party risks is a NZ First esk evaporation of the Maori seats if they allow themselves to be used as window dressing for the beige Obama’s inclusive moderate state, window dressing Key is going to desperately require when the 100 days of Daddy Sate blitzkrieg kicks off it’s legislative ceremony with the sacrifice of a Wise man from Botany Downs (it’s taken the right wing 9 years to find one). In each Maori Electorate the Labour Party Vote was unequivocal so those electorate majorities are not unassailable for Labour as the results of Policies start to bite disproportionatly, as they always do, on Maori, and who do the Maori Party think the nACTional Party are building all those prison labour privatized ‘correctional facilities’ for? It won’t be the kids from the suburbs who will be targeted with harsh ‘3 strikes and you’re fucked’ medieval law and order policy will it Dr Sharples?

Don't get me wrong, I believe that if the Maori Party were kingmakers the teaming up of National and Maori could have really created some amazing things, but this isn't a National Party, it's nACTional, ACT have already given full support to National, John Key can simply go to ACT whenever the Maori Party complain, they have no power and if the only reason to dance with the devil is to build a relationship, look at where that relationship is going, a referendum to ditch our representative form of government to a system that favours the elite and mass privatisation of our assets in 2011, remember National are just enactioning National lite this term, what relationship are you talking about here Dr Sharples?

In the book, The Hollow Men, National Party Svengali and now societal bridge builder, Matthew Hooten (rumour is the night after National won, Matthew dreamed in color for the first time in 9 years), told Brash in an email to manipulate a sympathy for Maori so as to gain power, Brash didn't listen to Matt’s advice and instead went for Maori bashing, it looks like Matt has won the argument and nACTional will use the Maori Party to create the illusion of moderation to help disguise NZers backlash gag on the National lite daddy state so as to implement the full bodied version in 2011, and that above all else is the highlight as to why this Maori/National relationship is so dishonest.

Dinosaurs prove that communication is the key

Click to see large





Um this blew my mind!


Thanks to www.dorkinglab.com/drinks-after-work

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Jafa Mafia Soundsystem.

Hey all, well I'm done with Politics for now - apparently its full of double standards etc -
Anyway, on a much lighter note here's something for the viewers at home. This is my crew and we play Dancehall... check us out making complete drunken fools of ourselves here LOL! Call it a cultural exchange of sorts....

You can find Jafa Mafia by searching facebook/myspace/hisplace/herplace/allday
Next gig @ The Turnaround end of the month...

myspace.com/jafamafia

facebook.com/pages/Jafa-Mafia

Mauri Ora!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Day 1 of living under the Daddy State



















A National-ACT coalition? Are you kidding me? Who would’ve thought there were so many angry white people in NZ? I can not believe so many of my fellow citizens were conned with the ‘change’ mantra, compare Key’s shadow cabinet with Brash’s shadow cabinet and the only ‘change’ is that Don Brash and Katherine Rich aren’t in it, that’s not change, it’s the same shit sandwich wrapped up in a glossy new wrapper and making comparisons with the Obama campaign is farcical, National are about to marry ACT, a party bloated into significance with public flogging fantasists and climate change deniers that’s the diametric opposite of the change Obama believes in. I’ve read National’s policies, that’s not hard because most are a flimsy few pages, their broadcasting policy is 332 words long, that’s not a policy, it’s a text message, and there are enough loopholes in them all that National could privatize the NZ continental shelf and it would still technically be within policy. People who voted Labour last time and National this time are going to be shocked by what ‘change’ means under National and ACT, we’ve gone from the namby pamby Nanny state to the hardline Daddy State and I don’t think those NZers are going to like the Daddy State very much.

All we have to wait for now is that magical Treasury White paper to float down from on high screaming that the Economic Crises demands immediate action and the wholesale adoption of free market economic policy as social policy, the only brake is if John Key is really a moderate and instead turns to the Maori Party as a coalition partner instead of ACT and United, if John Key isn’t the moderate he has pretended to be then the Maori Party are out with only a Token role and no real influence over policy and that leaves the Stormtroopers of Privatisation to do as they wish.

Friday, November 7, 2008

2008 Election Predictions


What a glorious weather day for democracy, how was that sun? What an exciting election, congrats to every citizen who took the time to exercise our most precious right and expressed their political will by voting. Whatever the result our high participation rate is something we can universally share deep pride in.

POINTS OF INTEREST:

Will Peter Dunne keep his seat?

Women will determine this election, last time their vote was the deciding factor in keeping Labour in power.

Did the sudden influx of fresh Maori Party activists into key seats have an impact?

Will Maori give the balance of power within the Maori Party to Hawarira and Sharples against Tariana by party voting Labour?

Will Mike Williams mobility plan on election day redeem his H-Fee public relations fiasco, and if not is his last resort organizing mass Labour Party activists to mount charges at every single Maori Party Hui to hijack votes?

Will the 60 000 overseas votes have any impact?

Tragically the Greens tonight could win the battle but lose the war by having it’s best election result ever only to find a National-ACT anti-environment government.

Will Phil Goffs BBQ get a work out this Christmas regardless of the result?

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Think before you vote tomorrow

West Side!


This is a great radio documentary by Roxy Wickerman. This October the Auckland City council hip hop summit focused on Avondale youth in Auckland - the featured 'ambassador' and facilitator in the doco is our very own Hayley J hosting the event here at the Avondale Community Centre.



Also featuring the MC workshop skills of our own Flowsion, this doco is another example of how educating kids in a fun way and within a framework they can relate to has positive outcomes. Crazy huh.

FINAL MORGAN POLL!

Folks, it is going down to the wire!

NATIONAL: 42%
LABOUR: 34.5%
GREENS: 10%
NZ FIRST: 4.5%
ACT: 4%
MAORI PARTY: 2.5%
UNITED FUTURE: 1%
PROGRESSIVES: -

Roy Morgan Research Poll

Space Surfer

This is my new video for drum and bass duo State of Mind

"Space Surfer"


Director/Cinematography/Camera/Editor
Aleks Sakowski

Dancers
Cat Gwynne (Choreographer)
Anya Packham
Shara Gavina
Alexa Wilson
Mike Holland

Back Benches



Every week cult-host Wallace Chapman speaks to political figures, groups and commentators, filmed at the historic Back Benches pub opposite the Beehive in Wellington. This week on the cusp of our own b-grade election and the night that Obama was elected US president, the show had a bloggers special (we're the future don't you know LOL). Anyway in a cunning twist both me and Bomber are on the panel of four (yussss) and I'm not sure if they put us on the left side on purpose (ho-ho-ho watch me get into parliamentary humour).

So bask in my mellow montone, listen to Bombers comedic burns and props to our fellow Mental Detoxers who help keep blogging, the site and alternative media in NZ alive. Click here to stream the show

Mauri ora.

America has a new president

Monday, November 3, 2008

Palin Prank Call...


Quebec comedy duo, posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy, have successfully prank called Sarah Palin.
Pretty good...


Sunday, November 2, 2008

Critical writings from an O.G



Kia Ora koutou....

I was just doing some online research into Gang culture in New Zealand, partly for my own interests and partly as research for a song I'm working on - then I stumbled across a man by the name of Dennis Oreilly and his blog "Nga Kupu Aroha/Words of Love" ....

I would have to say that this has been the most comprehensive and honest article I have read in any media source with regards to New Zealand gang culture and politics. Oreilly offers us incites that no other mainstream journalist can - being able to be granted access into elusive world of New Zealand gangs. Now I know some of you are thinking "gangs shmangs...blah blah blah" and yes I agree that on the surface it can be a very one dimensional topic. But we are always only limited by the validity and type of information we are fed. Oreilly is still an existing member of the Black Power and works as a community leader and inter gang mediator tirelessly trying steer people away from the trappings of gang life. Not many people can say they have the mana or fortitude to do this type of work but if you read his posts you can see that he is coming from a genuine place.

Of course you don't get a patch from the Black Power by making cups of tea at the clubhouse for the bros and I can tell by the level of respect Oreilly has amongst his peers that he would have been a force to be reckoned with in his prime. He as been able to survive the turmoil long enough to have a sense of foresight and is now using his past to save the futures of others.

One touching article from Oreilly's many is about his trip to Hastings after the killing of baby Jhia Te Tua in what was believed to be gang rivalry between the Black Power and Mongrel Mobb. Oreilly gives a detailed account about meeting the parties involved including the distraught and tearful father of Jhia. Oreilly was also responsible for working with the police in making sure no retaliation attacks were carried out between the gangs. This is the stuff I wanted to know when turning on the 6 o'clock news! He writes with the honesty of and sincerity of a favourite uncle, not bullshitting you or trying too hard to convince you otherwise.

Even if you find it hard to accept that a founding and existing member of one of New Zealand's biggest gangs can make any difference at all or that he actually cares then take the time to read the many articles on the site. You may find that there are people in our communities that have been through the worst and are committed to helping others not make the same mistakes. I myself have family involved in gangs and I know that nothing is what it seems. Whanau is whanau and sometimes the so called "worst" of society are also fathers, uncles, rugby coaches and friends. We all need people like this in our lives regardless of what uniform they wear.

So here's to you Dennis. Ka mihi atu kia koe mo to aroha, me to kaupapa tuturu e pa ana ki te whakapaingia i a tatou tamariki hoki





Link: http://www.nzedge.com/features/ar-denis.html



Mauri ora!