Walk the Wellington Inner City Bypass

After years of wrangling and the Greens threatening to pull support from the government on the issue, the Wellington inner city bypass is nearly completed.
^
It’s a modest road, mostly involving a new 2-lane one way street to complete a one way system of existing roads across Te Aro, linking the end of the motorway with the road network near the Basin Reserve. It shifts one of Wellington’s main corridors one block south of the city, removing one set of traffic lights. It is a far cry from the 4-lane cut and cover tunnel motorway once planned (which would have been far better). This road only costs about $40 million, and if you had listened to Sue Kedgley and the Greens, you’d think that Wellington has been blighted by destruction across the heart of Te Aro. In fact, a lot of government owned buildings (bought over many years as they came up for sale) that were run down have been moved and are being restored, and others without heritage classifications have been demolished. The bypass will cut traffic on Ghuznee Street dramatically, and reduce congestion on Taranaki Street, as well as providing a more efficient route across town.
^
Transit is giving people the chance to walk the new section of road on the 16th and 17th of December, so give it a go. Don't worry if you can't, almost all of the route has a footpath and cycle track along it. The northbound/westbound section will be open from December 28, with the completion of the project expected a few months later when the Ghuznee Street offramp is closed and southbound/eastbound traffic diverted permanently to Vivian Street.
^
If you take the walk, think about the hysteria and exaggeration spread by the Greens about this road. It is apparently "destroying a community", and Sue Kedgeley constantly lies about it being a "motorway extension", when it is hardly that. However, once it is opened I will post more thoroughly about how much distortion and nonsense surrounded this project - a currency that the Greens unfortunately trade in too frequently. It would be nice if they once admitted they are wrong.

^

Meanwhile, Transit has an excellent site about the project which should answer most of your questions.

Blogosphere to be placed on a fairer level

In response to widespread community concern about the untrammelled and biased perspectives presented in New Zealand political blogs, the Minister of Information Technology, Daffid Cantlift announced that all blogs would be subject to a licensing regime and be subject to regulation by the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
^
“It is unfair and discriminatory for blogs to exist that can promote neo-Nazi, fundamentalist Christian, neo-liberal and other points of view without giving balanced space and time to alternatives” said Cantlift at his press conference today.
^
“We will be giving notice than all blogs produced and published in New Zealand will have to apply for a blogcasting licence, which will be at modest cost, putting the blog under the BSA’s jurisdiction”. Cantlift noted that while industry self regulation was an option, “the widespread hatred, lies and distortion from the right wing blogosphere was cancerous and corrosive to our democracy”, the licensing regime would ensure that blogs could not express an opinion without giving a tolerant alternative point of view. “Clearly this will not apply to informative blogs” said Cantlift, although he refused to respond to enquiries about whether he knew of such blogs he did say “blogs simply publicising what is government policy and the implications of the great problems of our day, such as climate change, would be free to continue to do their good work. These are in stark contrast to those using insulting, even blasphemous language”.
^
When asked what blogs were clearly causing concern, Cantlift said it was inappropriate to single any one out, so he simply listed the following:

Kiwiblog
Sir Humphrey’s
Whale Oil Beef Hooked
Oswald Bastable’s rantings
Not PC
The Free Speech blog
Gman
New Zeal
Blair Mulholland
Cactus Kate
Insolent Prick
Silent Running
Pacific Empire
Julian Pistorius
Tomahawk Kid
BZP
Elliot Who
Southern Gent
Writeups
Crusader Rabbit
Andrew Falloon
Lindsay Mitchell
Mikeenz
^
he continued but pointed out that clearly there were too many subversive blogs. When asked about how so many were hosted offshore Cantlift replied "if Iran can do it, we can. We're not America, why should we follow America?".
^
Leader of the Supposition, Hone Quayside said that the Notional Party would “carefully consider” the proposal as it was a “real issue for all New Zealanders who simply are fairness loving kiwis”. Quayside said “it is important to be a constructive Supposition and to not oppose what is clearly the democratically elected government of the country – that would be treason. After all, there are sound arguments for restricting criticism of political parties which perform a vital function”. Quayside said Notional would support the legislation going to select committee, and said the government can rely on Notional support, as it was important that incorrect political lines were not allowed to “willy nilly” pollute New Zealand media. He said there needs to be some thought given as to how to accommodate the Maaori Party’s call for all blogs to be bilingual, saying that while not opposed “in principle”, there may need to be “language training and workshops” for licensed bloggers to make it easier for them to meet their Treaty of Waitangi obligations. The Maaori Party spokestalisman agreed with anything that would bring the blogosphere under local control.

^

Reliable government supporter Peter Don’t said he was “appalled at the standards” of blog debate as his party was rarely mentioned, and there was insufficient attention given to how critically important it was for families to get Transmission Gully built as soon as possible. He said “in principle he opposes much of what the government proposes” but that “he gives them confidence and supply because it is “common sense” to support the largest party in Parliament that he was once a member of.

^

Tree Party spokesfrog said “people shouldn’t be mean online and if you can’t ban mean blogs, they should be regulated for the safety of the public, because they were not organic and many people used Telecom, which we know uses the hairs of poor children to build what was once its network”. The Trees would support the legislation, as long as it took account of the Maaori Party’s bicultural concerns.

^

Minister of Foreign Affairs Winsome Baubles could not be reached for comment as he was sleeping on a plane. His spokesman was overheard saying the Right Hon. Baubles recognised his status required him to work hard for New Zealand and he was pursuing opportunities for exporting gold to elite markets. This was later clarified as actually meaning "working hard to earn Gold Elite status with Air New Zealand Airpoints".

^

Minister for Labour (Party) Jim Il Sung said that blogs that said anything good about drugs should be banned, and mentioned BZP in the first instance.

^

* Cantliffe pointed out to journalists that there was no need to constantly misspell his name just because the "a" was pronounced with a "u", not least by half of his colleagues behind his back.

^

UPDATE - Capitalist Writer has also been listed as cancerous and corrosive, as well as being divisive, selfish and unfair.

Bits and pieces

Well in traditional English winter style I am crook - hopefully I will be fine for flying back to NZ in a week's time! So just a few pieces of comment about what is going on:

^

1. Energy strategy. Well it isn't my one, could be a lot worse, but is populated by a few oddities like David Parker's comment on electric cars. Crusader Rabbit is right on this as is Kane Bunce. Let me place a bet on whoever wants to take it up - I will bet £100 (yes £ not $NZ) that there will be no more than one kerbside power point for electric cars in New Zealand (that one will be a demonstration), and that there will not be 100 electric cars in New Zealand (trolley buses don't count!). I have an alternative energy strategy:

^

- Remove all restrictions on energy lines companies entering in the generation market;

- Privatise the three generating SOEs with a combination of sale and distribution of shares;

- Reform the RMA to respect private property right as a first step towards full replacement of planning law with private property rights;

- Scrap EECA.

^

The price of electricity rising makes it profitable to invest in more supply, and more likely people will invest in energy efficiency measures, removing the RMA restrictions will make it easier to build supply.

^

2. Party pill regulation

^

Why don't they just fuck off? Seriously. Stop protecting people from their own idiocy, it enables them to breed and produce more idiots. Has cannabis prohibition increased or reduced its availability among young people? As Cactus Kate says, Jim Anderton is conflicted on this - his own conservative stance is due to family tragedy. Sorry Jim, lots of people ENJOY party pills harmlessly, like people enjoy drinking and enjoy being promiscuous and enjoy eating high fat sugary meals - You are NOT the nation's dad. Stop being such a bloody catholic killjoy wanting to stop people having fun you don't understand or participate in. Some fun is risky and dangerous to those who choose to enjoy it - but it is a damned sight safer than being an authoritarian politician. Why do New Zealanders so enjoy telling others what to do?

^

3. Telecom's property rights handed over to competitors

^

Frankly Don Brash's final shame is voting for this atrocious pandering to the lobbying of Telecom's competitors over Telecom's owners. Instead of buying Telecom themselves or investing in competing infrastructure, they got the government to make Telecom give it to them at a price they were willing to pay. The Alliance's telecommunications policy of 1999 has effectively been implemented, with support from the National Party. Under Brash, the Nats were going to at least consider a cost/benefit analysis of this proposal (it's not freedom, but at least economics might have given an objective assessment of its merits and risks), but that seemed to evaporate. David Farrar's sad betrayal of most of his principles on pragmatic grounds is notable, but what is not so transparent is the gigantic transfer of wealth from Telecom shareholders, from superannuation and insurance funds, to mums and dads - to the likes of big companies like Telstra. In Parliament only ACT stood up for private property rights, and the Maori Party showed themselves to be craven pork barrel driven racists wanting a slice of the Telecom pie - like little Hugo Chavez's ready to steal whatever isn't there's. One of the left's bitterest little feuds has been won - showing how little backbone most of the "right" in Parliament really has. I've written enough on this many times over, but what grates is how little opposition we really have. Glad you voted National now?

^

4. Brash's valedictory speech

As Not PC has said, Brash was never a good politician - not one the National Party and it simpering appeasers could stomach. The National Party that occasionally trots out freedom, but really believes that the future lies in statism and out doing Labour with statism. National which can never stand up for capitalism, free enterprise, celebrate success, decry envy politics and believe in principles - even when it nearly won an election. Not PC once again has said much of what I agree with, and no, Brash wont be joining ACT to become an MP again, but never has a National leader instilled such hatred and fear among the left. John Key warms them, in a way no National leader ever should. Remember Muldoon, for all of his vile statism and bigotry, never ever conceded that Labour had a point - he dismissed them as buffoons, and won three times in a row (please don't waste time with the tired FPP Labour got more votes argument, he won). Brash had none of the statism and bigotry of Muldoon, despite attempts by some advisors to taint him with the latter for some votes - but he made his opponents quiver. He also had some in the media out for his guts (such as TV3's Alliance voting/Green sympathising John Campbell) because of his popularity. It will be another generation before National gets a similar leader again, I suspect such a person is probably only in high school now, whoever she is.

Drink “a descent scent of a Korean soil floats in a mouth”

Not PC’s excellent beer o’clock posts collectively are quite a mini-wiki of different beers you can choose, but you haven’t had alcohol until you’ve drunk north Korean liquor.
^
Alexei Sayle’s “song” “Didn’t you kill my brother” was number one for weeks in 1985 and included the line “I like North Korean sherry”. Now it is good stuff, and I am sure it keeps army boots polished, but if you want a really good review of North Korean liquor try this.
^
My favourite is “Pulrosul. Adder liquor. Contains actual snake. Alcohol 60%. "Tastes a bit fishy for its high alcohol concentration. Some find it unpleasant” as it was on sale at a North Korean trade exhibition in Wellington a few years ago for $100, which is extortion. However I understand they sold out, as students found them “cool”.
^
Sacha Baron Cohen could probably do a film about North Korean peculiarities, except the North Korean secret police do abduct and assassinate. The authoritarian Kazakh regime was risky enough to poke fun at methinks. However it is far more appropriate to simply watch the 1984 movies, there is only so much laughing one can do when 100,000 men, women and children are starving working 18 hour days 7 days a week in gulags.

Ahmadinejad hosts holocaust denial conference

What a prick, so blinded by his hatred of Israel, that he is prepared to ignore the mountains of historical evidence, the testimony of those who were there, those who found the concentration camps. The Holocaust was perhaps the most orchestrated, deliberate, coldly calculated systematic slaughter of a people ever undertaken in world history. There have been brutal genocides, and brutal regimes, but the rounding up, transporting, concentrating and executing Jews en masse as deliberate state policy is difficult to parallel. To question it is like questioning whether a nuclear weapon went off at Hiroshima, whether Pearl Harbour was bombed or whether there were political prisoners in the Warsaw Pact. Ahmadinejad is a buffoon, I just think he is stupid and crazy, but a stupid crazy man pursuing nuclear weapons. His regime is despicable and evil, spreading nonsense from hate filled fools.

^

His conference includes the likes of David Duke, former KKK Imperial Wizard and onetime Lousiana State Representative. David Duke has endorsed a black homeland for African Americans to all be moved to, and blames Israel for 9/11 and founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People. Nice, I wonder if Persians count in his world? They do if they can kill Jews I guess.

^

Another bizarre figure going to Ahmadinejad's sick joke conference is Michele Renouf. Australia's most disgraceful ex. beauty contestant (though what did it take to win Miss Newcastle 1968), married briefly to Sir Frank Renouf (who divorced her when he discovered she lied about her heritage, and she got nothing from the divorce). Michele Renouf is anti-semitic, a friend of David Irving. Stupid evil bitch.

^

Besides it being a sideshow, it is telling that Ahmadinejad thinks it is appropriate to hold a conference like this. The Iranian Foreign Minister is quoted as saying " the aim is neither to "confirm nor deny" but to "create an opportunity for thinkers who cannot express their views freely in Europe" about the Jewish experience under Nazi occupation". The thinkers are discredited bigots. Although I disagree with laws restricting the free speech of hate filled charlatans like David Irving, the idea that Iran believes in free speech is without credibility. It is one of the most censorship driven governments in the world. Ahmadinejad's call for freedom is hypocrisy par excellence. His government censors Youtube of all things.

^

The Daily Telegraph comment that "What should surely be occurring to any responsible observer of this appalling conference, which has gathered together notoriously anti-Semitic figures from all over the world, is that Iran under its present leadership is a dangerously hateful and malevolent force whose intentions in the Middle East can never be other than malign and destabilising." is quite true.

^

Imagine if apartheid era South Africa held a conference on eugenics and racial superiority. This is the same. It should provoke protests, burning of Iranian flags and official condemnations from the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Iranian Ambassador.

^

Shouldn't it?

^

and a bullet to the head of Ahmadinejad wouldn't go amiss either. If you met any holocaust survivors you would understand why.