February 2009

Another day another whinge from the temporary leader of the opposition, What’s his name?

Oh that’s right, Phil Goff.

Anyway Phil Goff has finally revealed that post the election Labour would have cancelled their tax cuts.

Labour Leader Phil Goff today called on the National Government to rethink its 1 April tax cuts.

“John Key holds his Jobs Summit tomorrow and he has the opportunity to show New Zealanders that he is serious about keeping them in work and protecting them from the worst of the global economic crisis.

“He can do this by admitting that his tax cuts are not the best way to stimulate our faltering economy. Mr Key needs to make sure that his tax cuts are focused on those who need them the most.”

So there we have it folks, Labour finally admitting that it hates cutting taxes and thinks they are not the best way forward. At least Phil is now being honest even if he is wanting National to break its election promises.

So far Labour’s big economic plan to save us all from the doom they delivered to us is Cancelling taxcuts and their “Blue Chip” Superannuation scheme.

100 days has elapsed since the National led government was sworn in and in that 100 days their 27 action points and promises have also been completed.

My favourite is this one. The full list is here 100_Day_Plan_Completion.pdf (pdf, 88 Kb)

Talk about uncaring unions. Unite union has got workers of Synovate to go on a hunger strike in protest over their pay negotitations.

It isn’t like they are asking for much either, just a small increase of 36% which is way less than the 73% needed to bring them on a par with Australian workers for the same company.

But in a callous turn to rub salt into the aggrieved workers on the hungerstrike they have also organised a Sausage Sizzle at the picket.

Nice fellas those Unite union organisers.

Editorial : Cut tax and you must cut spending too – Our economics editor explained on Monday that New Zealand is going through two recessions, the first a domestic correction of house prices and private debt, the second a contraction of export markets in much larger economies that… [NZ Herald Politics]

There is one thing that the Kiwi public hate more than anything else it is politicians who break their promises. As the first 100 days of National concludes today and all of National’s promises have been met for the first 100 days we see the terrible example of the Herald editor calling for National to break their promises.

Of course they don’t use that terminology but in their calls for changes that they suggest there would be consiiderable broken promises.

I can imagine that if National did follow the Herald’s call then they would devote pages and pages about how untrustworthy National had been because they broke their promises.

Talk of freeze gets frosty reception – Speculation on the possible suspension of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund has shattered the political consensus that has taken years to develop – but not along clear lines. National’s three support partners have three different… [NZ Herald Politics]

Wild speculation masquerading as news is this article about susending contributions to the Cullen Fund. I hate to say it though but the Greens seem to have climbed down off of their hobby horse and seen sense. Labour though continues to implaccably insist that borrowing today to save for tomorrow is imperative.

No wonder most of them are ficken broken-arsed losers with thinking like that. I just bet half the Labour caucus had money borrowed from the mortgage in Blue Chip thinking it was an investment.

In fact from now on I will call Labour’s plan to borrow now in order to save for tomorrow their “Blue Chip” Plan for our future.

I saw the other day that Kordia had a big party to release their new radio service. They sent out heaps of fancy invites and touted it as the next best thing. The only problem with all this hype is that the system isn’t new and it’s bollocks to boot.

I have a real problem with proprietary systems and KorKor…god doesn’t that just sound like the call of a dying crow…..is no exception. It is exclusively Motorola equipment and it costs an absolute fortune when compared with other more open trunked Radio systems. Further it isn’t as though Trunked Radio is something new and fantastic, especially Tetra based trunked radio systems.

Kordia describes, rather wankily, KorKor on their website as;

“Superior quality, world-class features and usability, reliability, and unbeatable service.  That’s what you can expect from KorKor™ in the field. “

Unfortunately for them their bullshit cannot be matched with any sort of facts. In fact quite the contrary where there is actually ample evidence to suggest that Kordia has once again pillaged the tax-payer to implement a system that no-one needs and no-one wants. You see Tetra systems are the radio equivalent of CDMA compared to GSM in the cellular world. Few countries have it, handsets are expensive, and it doesn’t bloody work.

In the UK a similar system was implemented for the Emergency services and as reviewed in a damning report that blamed deaths on the failure of this radio system that KorKor is based upon.

There is even a website specifically to watch and warn about Tetra-based systems. I expect Kordia will be featuring on their pages in short order.

There are numerous articles about the failure of Tetra based systems, particularly in the UK.

Ever bought a new car, only to find…? (description of the UK system comparing it to buying a new car)

Scottish Police Federation reservations about Airwave

Emergency services face network delays 17 November 2004

Edinburgh: £2.9bn police radio system ‘faulty’

Questions remain over the future of Airwave 30 June 2004

Mail on Sunday, 20 June 2004: £2bn police radio ‘out of date already’

The Times, 17 June 2004: ‘£2.9bn police radio link ineffective’

Computing Magazine, 17 June 2004: ‘Concerns grow over Airwave emergency services radio’

Computing Magazine, 16 June 2004: ‘Concerns grow over police radio system’

Computer Weekly, 27 April 2004: The Met future-proofs with Tetra handsets (ie, they buy handsets that the network cannot provide for!)

And there’s more, when you’ve read this page

Got all that…..the UK spent over £2.9bn on a radio system that doesn’t work and in 2004 was listed as out of date already. Quite a different picture from what Kordia paints isn’t it?

In the Netherlands a similar system was introduced and is yet to be fully operational. The C2000 Tetra Network is in the area of Amsterdam is in a strict pilot phase. Due to multipath interferences, software instability, hieratic black-out on the network varying from 40 minutes to 8 hours, the TETRA radios are not used in nominal mode. The old legacy system is remaining the primary radio network.

It was reported that Police Officers refused to use the radio because of health concerns. The emergency services (Fire Brigades and Ambulances did some trials but are not using it for mission critical operations).

Motorola recently extended the roll-out of some more base stations, but the all network does not yet cover the Netherlands. Motorola offered to implement a new software release but the Dutch Government refused to pay.

This all sounds positively wonderful for Kordia doesn’t it. The red ink will continue to flow in their books but the board won’t care they have the long suffering taxpayer to pick up the bill.

I think it is time that the Minister responsible cast a wary eye acros the activities and predatory practises of Kordia and started to hold the board and senior management to account.

Mr Blog David Farrar has got all pissy because Trevor Mallard commented on his blog and copped a flogging for the privilege.

1. David Farrar (1086) Vote: 7 3 Says:
   February 25th, 2009 at 5:14 pm

   Guys if an MP fronts here, please be civil and not just go off topic with old stuff.

   And for what it is worth I agree National MPs should be on as often as they are invited.

This is where DPF and I part company, on civility towards MPs, especially Labour MPs, especially Trevor Mallard. He deserves all the flogging that he gets and it wasn’t as if his comment wasn’t looking to be provocative either.

What David has displayed here is behaviour that if left unchecked results in excessive toadying and fawning over usually less than average, dim-witted, trough snufflers who are full of their own self importance. MPs are not special, they are not “someone” and generally they haven’t achieved a great deal in life other than convince a bare majority in their electorate that they deserve a chance. List MPs are even worse. Labour MPs are especially endowed with an entitlement syndrome thinking, wrongly, that the world and the the taxpayer owes them a living. In the current Labour caucus there isnt one single MP who has excelled at anything outside of a publically funded trough snuffling existance. I dare someone to name even one who is recognised as contributing outside of the public sector, just one.

I will treat an MP with civility and respect when they have earned it and Trevor Mallard most definately is not in this category.

David stop being a homo and start earning your VRWC membership or it will be taken away.

An uptight little c**t going by the name of John White just sent me an email. It is quite amusing and I publish it below in its entireity so we can all have a chuckle.

Clearly he is a failed teacher or perhaps a redundant MSM hack who has little recognition in his myopic little world and is hung up on pendantry especially with grammar, spelling and punctuation. This is the true sign of an arse and his email is an example of an arse bubble.

Only a lickspittle, felchtard of the highest order would be upset with a little name calling, but then with an ordinary and non-descript name such as John White I am not surprised by his fuckwitted-ness.

He obviously has no knowledge of me and my associates along with, i might add, a few of my commenters. Long time readers and people who know me personally know when I post on Cameron Brewer I am posting about a long time friend and we are taking the piss out of each other. It is called having fun.

Now I know that socialists and fuckwits don’t believe in having fun and that all endeavours must be serious, obtuse and thoughtful. I however subscribe to another world view and that is to have fun, especially at others expense, and to have fun in every endeavour.

This blog is fun, the moment it stops being fun, and that may well be a long time away given the propensity of fools like John White and boxing promoters, not to mention mad mayors from the North Shore to keep me entertained, I will stop blogging.

So after that little discourse on numpty twat anal retentive felchers I now give you his email.

from: John White <johnwhitesaddress@hotmail.com>
to: Whaleoil
date: Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 7:54 PM
subject: Monitoring the web

Dear Cameron “Whale Oil” Slater,

You’re not very intelligent, are you? Of course, this was already evident from your loose grasp on basic grammar, your nutty political opinions and your inability to criticise anyone without resorting to childish name-calling, but your recent blog about the media monitoring company Chong Newztel provides further proof that squirrels live in your head.

Do you realise that mentioning people’s names specifically so they’ll get charged for copies of your blog will probably result in Chong ceasing to monitor your little website? Do you realise that this means that MPs and other people in positions of power will no longer know what bile you spew onto the internet? And do you realise, Cameron, that this means any illusion of influence you had as a voice for a small, ignorant, bigoted sector of society is now as diminished as that thing you call a brain?

Let me know if this email is too grownup for you to understand.

John White

PS. Reproducing an email clearly marked “off the record” is not smart or clever. It’s just low. For the record, this email is most certainly on the record, and were you to fail to publish it, I would take it as another sign of your cowardice.

I’m pleased to see that my local councillor and the Manukau City council have buried another dopey idea from the handwringers and wastrels.

Unfortunately my sources tell me that that the North City Council led by the mad mayor, the Cock from Campbells Bay, Andrew Williams may well be participating in this dopey idea.

A community banking proposal has the thumbs down from Manukau City Council’s Accountability and Performance Committee.

Manukau City Council had been approached to be part of a consortium of local authorities, lead by Porirua City Council, to participate in researching a community banking initiative in collaboration with Kiwibank as a possible partner.

At its meeting last night, the committee decided that it would decline to participate further in the initiative.

Committee chairman Jami Lee Ross says Manukau is already well-served with banking facilities.

The other day I blogged about the media watch service offered by Chongs (no I don’t have a free account from them but would appreciate it if they gave me one) and ran a little test.

I received this “private” correspondence a short while ago. Note how he has changed his surname to increase his chances of beating out Nick Clelland-Stokes in the media whoring stakes. Though I think he would have been better going for a triple banger surname as double bangers are wee bit passe these days. Something like Cameron Brewer-Newmarket-Fashion Capital.

from: Cameron Brewer-Newmarket Business Association
to: Cam Slater <camslater@gmail.com>
date: Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 3:39 PM
subject:off the record.

Dear Whaleoil,

Just an off the record note. Chong’s mediawatch has just sent me alert saying you’ve been talking about me. I’d really appreciate it in the future if you don’t mention me by name or ‘Newmarket’ because it does cost me each time you do so.

Perhaps if you wanted to talk about me you could say something like “that cool guy who’s doing great things for the country’s Fashion Capital.”

None of those words are key word searches so I wouldn’t be charged. I’m only on trial with Chongs and what’s more I have got a review coming up with my chairman where I have to justify my discretionary spend – lunches, tickets to gala dinners when I told people I was invited, and of course media watch services. I’m just conscious of the recession and want to show some leadership. Appreciate it mate.

Cheers – that cool guy from the fashion capital.

PS: My mother doesn’t tend to read the clippings, but dad likes getting them.

Cameron Brewer-Newmarket Business Association

 

General Manager

Newmarket Business Association