October 2010

Peter “Rothmans” Dunne serves no useful purpose. He brings no other MPs into parliament, and having sucked the public teat since 1984 he needs to be moved on.

There is no way his joke of a party is getting 5% again so getting someone to beat him in Ohariu would end his political career, and if we had a decent speaker, mean he couldn’t travel the world on the tax payer in the company of his wife.

At the last election the vote was split. Dunne got about 12000. Charles Chauvel  (Charlie Shovel) got about 11000. Katrina “Lamb” Shanks got about 10000.

There are several options to get rid of Dunne. Chauvel will stand for Labour, and unless someone in National has a fit of common sense, the inept and amateur Katrina Shanks will run. If this happens, the best way of getting rid of Dunne will be to tactically vote for Chauvel.

Charlie Shovel has already been potentially mentioned as New Zealand’s first gay Prime Minister. He may get there, or he may not because he has a reputation for competing with the ever fragile Silent T for the reputation as the most arrogant Labour MP and he is a prize mincer whereas Grant Robertson is the blokes poof. That aside, he also has a reputation for working hard in the electorate, and this blogger understands he has made a positive impact.

Even without a tactical vote, the Dunne/ Shanks vote could will split and let Shovel win. He was only 1000 behind Dunne in 2008, and with three more years of hard work in the electorate proving he is relevant, Ohariu residents may just decide to pension off Dunne.

Dunne may try to do a deal with National to tank their candidate in Ohariu, but he cant really argue National need him to bring in other coalition partners, as he can’t poll enough to be noticed, and he simply wont bring anyone in. The other problem for National is that they can scarcely tank their candidate when she doesn’t do anything much anyway and the people that vote for her are probably doing it out of force of habit, or senility now winston doesn’t have a presence.

National could decide to get a competent candidate in Ohariu, someone with a large campaign team and plenty of money, but it is more likely remain with Shanks. Perhaps she could suddenly become competent, run a proper campaign and take the seat off Dunne, but somehow it seems doubtful the TAB would offer odds on this ever happening because it is so unlikely.

So Charles is a serious contender for the first Labour candidate given a Whale Oil endorsement

Peter Dunne has now managed to make it to my hit-list. An un-official list of useless MPs past their use-by date who are usually troughers as well.

He has come out all po-faced, no doubt with his cow-lick at high dudgeon, supporting useless Speaker Lockwood Smith and his re-imposition of un-conscionable secrecy of parliamentary spending.

United Party leader Peter Dunne said the Speaker had made the “right decision” and he would be abiding by the rules to keep his travel spending secret. As a long term member of parliament Dunne qualifies for a 90 per cent rebate.

“The rules are set and I think it’s important that people abide by them,” said Dunne.

Here’s a though, how about letting an independent body set the rules instead of the current system where the fox is in charge of the hen house.

Rodney Hide, to his credit,  has come out against the Speaker’s new rules, ironically after he was pilloried by the same Speaker releasing information in the first place. One would have to wonder if Speaker Smith was trying to hurt Act when he released the information in the first place.

John Key also has opposed Lockwood Smith’s sudden turn around, refreshingly calling for more transparency, as have the Greens. They are to be commended for their commitments to transparency.

However, Hide said yesterday there needed to be more openness about public spending.

“I don’t think they can put the genie back into the bottle. People have an expectation around transparency and accountability these days,” he said.

He was was joined by Greens Party co-leader Metiria Turei, who is calling for an independent review on MPs’ remuneration.

The Greens led the transparency process when they released their expense details last June, following a Herald on Sunday campaign to hold politicians accountable for their spending.

Turei said the existing system was “messy and incoherent”.

“The Speaker continues to refuse to have independent review of the system so we can clean it up,” said Turei. “The Speaker is responsible for that and he should lead on that.”

Personally I think that Lockwood Smith has planned a great big trip for Christmas for him and his long time secretary and didn’t want to be hung out to dry. One thing is for certain though, his bid to become a scum list MP is now almost certain to backfire with a lower than expected list ranking after going against Prime Minister John Key’s wishes.

We need to go even further with transparency, opening the whole of Parliamentary Services up to the Official Information Act, particularly over expenditure. We won;t see any action though unless a public campaign is mounted because there are far too many vested interests who will spike any efforts for more transparency. Labour will oppose it because they largely run their party out of the leaders office, including advertising and polling, likewise National.

So far the Greens, even though they have their own rorts with housing and super-annunation are the only ones calling for more transparency.

Wendyl Nisen is full of turds when it comes to her claims of green-ness. I have already established that with her Toyota advertising campaign about her “very green” Toyota Prius.

But a quick look through her website finds even more glaring hypocrisy from the “Green Goddess”

Wendyl was on the radio just the other day blabbing on about her organic sunscreen solution. She said something along the lines of: “I know water and salt are chemicals but I don’t like using chemicals made in labs”.
Then she mentioned her recipe for sunscreen, which conveniently is on her “Green Goddess” website:

Sunscreen

One of the most chemically loaded substances we put on our bodies is sunscreen. A simple natural alternative is zinc oxide cream which you can get at your chemist and I advise using that on children under six months old. This recipe works well for me and I usually wear about a factor 20 sunscreen. I reapply after a couple of hours or after swimming and at the end of the day you are left with wonderfully moist skin and not that gunky feel you get from commercial sunscreens. Do be cautious with this and test it yourself as everyone’s skin differs:

75ml sesame oil

15gm beeswax

45gm coconut oil or cocoa butter

120ml water

2Tbsn zinc oxide (from chemist)

1 Tbsn wheat germ oil

1 tsp citric acid (from supermarket baking aisle)

20 drops lavender oil

That’s quite a nice little recipe, except for one thing. Zinc Oxide.

Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula ZnO. It usually appears as a white powder, nearly insoluble in water. The powder is widely used as an additive into numerous materials and products including plastics, ceramics, glass, cement, rubber (e.g., car tires), lubricants, paints, ointments, adhesives, sealants, pigments, foods (source of Zn nutrient), batteries, ferrites, fire retardants, first aid tapes, etc. ZnO is present in the Earth’s crust as the mineral zincite; however, most ZnO used commercially is produced synthetically.

I’ve bolded the pertinent parts, issues that make her claims of being organic and not a chemical produced in a lab seem rather hollow. Then again as is usul her statements just about her green-ness really are just hollow marketing gimmicks. Now let’s look at how Zinc Oxide is produced.

Again from Wikipedia, ther are three main processes that Zinc Oxide is produced. you know the Zinc Oxide that Wendyl Nissen likes to think isn’t made in a laboratory like other evil “nasty chemicals”.

For industrial use, ZnO is produced at levels of 105 tons per year[3] by three main processes:
Indirect (French) process
Metallic zinc is melted in a graphite crucible and vaporized at temperatures above 907 °C (typically around 1000 °C). Zinc vapor instantaneously reacts with the oxygen in the air to give ZnO, accompanied by a drop in its temperature and bright luminescence. Zinc oxide particles are transported into a cooling duct and collected in a bag house. This indirect method was popularized by LeClaire (France) in 1844 and therefore is commonly known as the French process. Its product normally consists of agglomerated zinc oxide particles with an average size of 0.1 to a few micrometers. By weight, most of the world’s zinc oxide is manufactured via French process. Major applications involve industries related to rubber, varistors, sunscreens, paints, healthcare, and poultry nutrients. Recent developments involve acicular nanostructures (rods, wires, tripods, tetrapods, plates) synthesized using a modified French process known as catalyst-free combust-oxidized mesh (CFCOM) process. Acicular nanostructures usually have micrometre-length nanorods with nanometric diameters (below 100 nm).

It would appear from that process that Zinc Oxide is a “chemical produced in a lab”. But wait it gets worse for Wendyl, who is looking more like a Green liar than a “Green Goddess”.

Direct (American) process

In the direct process, the starting material is various contaminated zinc composites, such as zinc ores or smelter by-products. It is reduced by heating with a carbon additive (e.g. anthracite) to produce zinc vapor, which is then oxidized as in the indirect process. Because of the lower purity of the source material, the final product is also of lower quality in the direct process as compared to the indirect one.

Oh dear, more laboratories….and smelters…and anthracite…you know coal, like what we dig out of the ground in vast mining operations. But wait…there is a third process…maybe that will be green?

Wet chemical process

Wet chemical processes start with purified zinc solutions, from which zinc carbonate or zinc hydroxide is precipitated. It is then filtered, washed, dried and calcined at temperatures ~800 °C.

Nope, in a laboratory again, using temperatures of ~800 °C. There isn’t really any green way to produce temperatures that high. there is a nother method for the production of Zinc Oxide but fromt he title you would have to assume that someone who abhors “chemicals made in labs” this would be an inappropriate source for her organic, chemical free sunscreen, but int he interests of complete-ness of the destruction of her green credentials I’ll still post the details. Again I will bold the non-green aspects of her preferred products.

Laboratory synthesis

A large number of ZnO production methods exist for producing ZnO for scientific studies and electronic applications. These methods can be classified by the resulting ZnO form (bulk, thin film, nanowire), temperature (“low”, that is close to room temperature or “high”, that is T ~ 1000 °C), process type (vapor deposition or growth from solution) and other parameters.

Large single crystals (many cubic centimeters) are usually grown by the gas transport (vapor-phase deposition), hydrothermal synthesis, or melt growth. However, because of high vapor pressure of ZnO, growth from the melt is problematic. Growth by gas transport is difficult to control, leaving the hydrothermal method as a preference. Thin films can be produced by chemical vapor deposition, metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy, electrodeposition, pulsed laser deposition, sputtering, sol-gel synthesis, spray pyrolysis, etc.

Ordinary white powdered zinc oxide may be produced in the laboratory by electrolyzing a solution of sodium bicarbonate with a zinc anode. Zinc hydroxide and hydrogen gas are produced. The zinc hydroxide upon heating decomposes to zinc oxide.

Two of the best applications Zinc Oxide that I discovered that really shoots down Wendyl’s claims of being a “Green Goddess” is how it is used in cigarette filters and in nuclear reactors. Once again the “Green Goddess” is actually promoting the use of a chemical that is used in industries that cause death and environmental devastation.

Being “Green”, Wendyl dear, is much, much more than having photos of yourself hugging chickens or touting un-green cars and just saying they are. You need to start living as you preach otherwise you are nothing but a cheap shyster hwking an image you don’t actually have. That make you a liar.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I have no problems with Zinc Oxide, how it is used or how it is produced, I just don’t care. What I care about is liberal elite tossers who are simply pretending to be green so they can write columns and get on radio and all at the same time they are hoodwinking people into thinking the products they tout are “green”.

The story was broken here first on Friday night, and it looks likes Jonathan Marshall has spent most of Saturday tracking down the details. For some reason the story isn’t online so here it is in all its glory.

Once again the boozy mayor has become an embarrassment for his appalling drinking habit. I warned him to seek help during the election campaign and he reacted with denial and vitriol. He even angrily attacked John Banks when he suggested Andrew Williams stop drinking.

No doubt he will explain all this away as being on important last minute council business, or like with the incident when he assaulted an ambulance officer after collapsing in a drunken stupor, it could well be the return of the “Chinese Lurgy”.

What Andrew Williams really needs to do is forget about standing for NZ First or some Michael Laws led party and sort out his anger and drinking problems.

The story leaves many unanswered questions though

• Why was back up required?
• Did Williams get aggressive?
• Did he pull the old “Do you know who I am” excuse?
• Did he demand the North Shore District Commander Les Patterson make it all go away?
• Why has no enforcement action been taken?
• Is this another case of celebrity “justice”?

Either way I feel vindicated that everything I have ever said about Andrew Williams has been true.

Scientists have discovered a gene that is linked to Left-wing behaviour.

True! They have….now that the gene has been discovered perhaps we will be able to find a cure.

Scientists have given mankind many blessings, but the discovery of the gene for Left-wing behaviour must be foremost among them. For now there is a diagnosis, there can be a cure. Just think of it – a quick screening of the unborn infant, a mild course of gene therapy, and hey presto! The disease can be eradicated within a generation.

Perhaps we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. But even if science falls short of an outright cure, it should still be possible to ameliorate the symptoms. The gene does not automatically make the carrier a Lefty; rather, it triggers the adolescent brain’s reward mechanism in the presence of novel experiences and viewpoints. The treatment is simple: lock teenage sufferers in a drab room, furnished with the works of Hayek and Friedman. True, their social skills will be somewhat stunted. But the benefits will last a lifetime.

There are some who say that politics has gotten nastier over the years. In the US in particular there are claims that with all the attack ads politics is very nasty. The same is said about Australia.

Here in New Zealand we practice politics in a somewhat polite manner, with the exception of the false and often nasty attacks that Labour uses.

The key rule for attack ads is for them to be honest, brutally honest. Trevor mallard forgets this when he mounts his attacks on opponents, often totally fact free.

But has politics gotten nastier?

Perhaps not.

Welcome to the first of what will be an occasional series on many things motoring from guest blogger Car Shark, it will not feature anything to do with motorsport as I find that about as interesting as watching paint dry, it will however offer tips and guidance for those looking at negotiating the minefield that is the motor trade in NZ.

Buying a used car.

Buying a used car is not often an enjoyable experience, many of you will be placing your trust in somebody you do not know and in an industry that is quite rightly looked upon with deep suspicion, however, do not dismay, what follows will help you avoid the pit falls and prove that not every dealer is out to rip you off.

To ensure that you get the best possible deal there are a few golden rules that you should never break;

1. Never be tempted by a “minimum trade” promotion.

Minimum trade deals or promotions are never what they seem, while the dealer may well be offering what appears on the surface to be a far better deal for your trade in you will almost certainly be paying more for your new car than you would at any other dealer. Minimum trade deals are usually tied in with finance promotions, if the dealer is not charging you more for the car you are buying you can be sure he is charging an excessively high interest rate.
Minimum trade deals are a rip off, avoid them at all costs.

2. Always try and deal with a Franchise dealer.

As a rule you are always better dealing with a Franchised car dealer, Franchised dealers have a lot more on the line than most independent dealers, try and find one that has been in business for some length of time.
Most manufactures insist on high standards of from their franchised dealers, they have a strong interest in customer satisfaction and repeat business.

3. Do your research.

The internet is a wonderful tool, it saves you time, shoe leather and fuel, once you have decided on the make and model of the used car you want then use the net to find it, as mentioned previously try and find a car you like from a franchised dealer or dealers, narrow it down to three or four examples.

4. Always buy a New Zealand new car in preference to a Japanese import

Forget all the rubbish you will hear from salespeople and dealers, a good clean NZ new used car is always going to be a far better buy than a Japanese (Or Singaporean) import.
Most will have some service history, you can track (via motorweb or carjam) their recorded odometer readings, you can also find out the cars ownership history.

5. If you have even the slightest doubt about a car you are looking at then walk away from it.

Never be afraid to admit that your mechanical knowledge is not great, when you do find a car that you like and before you sign anything have it checked out by a mechanic you trust or the AA.

6. Do not commit to anything.

Once you have found the three or four examples you are interested in then visit the dealer or dealers, make sure you test drive the cars, thoroughly check their overall condition, check when they last had a service, ask if the car has a service history.

If you are happy with the car ask the dealer if he is negotiable on the price, do not ask what his best deal is at the moment as this could end up boxing you into a corner.

If the dealer is any good he will take this as a classic “buying signal” and gently start to try and close the deal, at this stage you should not commit to anything, simply say that you are interested in the car but you want to think about it, also mention that you have other cars you want to consider.

Under no circumstances should you tell him where the other cars are or who the dealers are, that is none of his business.

At this stage of the process many buyers often start to feel the pressure come on, the salesperson will want to know what it is that you need to think about (remember he is trained to overcome objections and will have a sales manager lurking around to ensure you do not leave without buying a car)

Be firm with the salesperson or dealer, tell him that you are interested but you want to think about it for a while, take at least 24 hours to decide, many people buy a car on impulse only to end up regretting their purchase for the next three or four years.

7. Negotiating the deal.

Once you have decided on the car you want (assuming that you have checked it out thoroughly) then the fun begins.

It is vital that you understand how the sales process works, the dealer or salesperson will obviously want to get as much as he can for the car, while price is a consideration it does not pay to get hung up about it, you are far better to pay a couple of hundred more for a good clean example than buy from the dealer who offers you the biggest discount, it also pays to keep as much of your powder dry as you can.

However, remind the dealer that you did ask if he was negotiable and assuming that he is then an offer that includes a 10% discount is a good place to start, look for a $1500 discount on a $15000 car, a $1200 discount on a $12000 car and so on.

When you do make the offer you must say nothing more, the golden rule here is that the first person to talk loses, no doubt there will be some back and forth negotiation, this is normal and as I said do not get too hung up on this as it is better to pay a little more for a good example, and anyway, you have not finished with him yet.

Given that you are looking at buying a used car you may have a list of minor faults that you want the dealer to repair, do not disclose this list until you have settled on an agreed price.

I would suggest saying something like “OK, before I sign anything there are a couple of minor faults that I need repaired”  remember by law he has to issue the car with a new WOF (or sell the car with a WOF no older than 28 days)

At the very least your list should include having the car fully serviced at the dealers cost, if the car is fitted with a cambelt then make sure you find out when that needs to be changed, if a new cambelt is due then ensure that the dealer covers the cost of this (including tensioners and possibly the water pump)

Check the registration, make sure there is at least six months left to run, and while it may seem silly to point out, ask for, and ensure you get, a full tank of fuel.

Once you have agreed a deal with the salesperson they will want a deposit from you, make sure that any deposit you hand over is minimal and refundable.

8. The paperwork.

In many dealerships you will now be handed over to what they call a Business, or Finance and Insurance, manager, these people have one role and that is to sell you Finance and Insurance.
They will place pressure on you to buy an extended warranty, to take finance and to take payment protection insurance.

Before you purchase an extended warranty you should remember that you are protected by two very powerful pieces of consumer legislation, the consumer guarantees act and the fair trading act, in most cases an extended warranty is a waste of money, the dealers legal obligations will cover most repairs that are needed.

Should you need to take finance then remember that the rate is always negotiable, a dealer will buy his money at a wholesale rate of between 8% and 12% depending on the volume of business he puts through, the dealer makes his money on the difference he pays for his wholesale rate and what he can get away with charging the customer, you should not be afraid to ask what the rate is and to negotiate that rate, if you are paying more than 13% then you are paying too much.

The finance deal will also include a booking fee, this is typically around the $250 to $450 range, the dealer will tell you that this is a cost imposed by the finance company, while he is not technically lying  he is also not telling the entire truth. The dealer splits the booking fee with the finance company a booking fee of $400 will usually be spilt 50/50, do not be afraid to tell the dealer that you are not going to pay the full amount.

The dealer will also try and sell you payment protection insurance, as a rule payment protection insurance is not worth the paper it is printed on, if you do want to protect your payments then there are far cheaper options available.

Payment protection insurance is seen as pure cream by the car dealers, on a three year finance agreement the payment protection premium may well be between $2500 – $4000, half of this premium is the dealers profit.

It is worth saying again, if you must take payment protection insurance then do not buy it from the dealer, check out a range of policies and you will find that you save yourself a small fortune.

Ensure that the dealer lists all the items you want repaired on the sales agreement, check carefully to ensure that nothing has been omitted, at this stage you can sign a conditional sales agreement but under no circumstances should you sign the finance contract, do not do this until you are ready to take delivery of your new vehicle.

Never take the car from the dealer at this point, he may well pressure you to take delivery on the promise of getting it back off you next week to repair any minor faults, I cannot stress this enough, do not take delivery of any car that is not 100% to your satisfaction , even more so if the vehicle is financed.

9. The delivery.

Even though you will be excited at the prospect of picking up your new car you must still be wary, before you take delivery check to see that any faults the dealer agreed to repair have been done, if the only way to check is to drive the car again then do so, take the salesperson with you.

The dealer should be able to provide you with any invoices for mechanical work done on the car as part of the sales agreement, if he cannot or will not then remember that it is not too late to walk away from the deal.

Ensure you have a copy of all the sales and finance documentation, make sure that the figures are correct, take five minutes and check that everything you wanted has been done and that no surprises are hidden in the finance agreement.

Once you are happy that everything is in order then and only then should you take final delivery.

The Car Shark is a twenty five year veteran of the NZ motor trade, he has worked in many dealerships and has extensive experience. The Car Shark has held every position in the retail trade from Car Cleaner to Dealer Principal.

The Car Shark has no allegiance to any one brand of car or any one manufacturer, he will always remain fiercely independent and is not afraid to spill the beans on the inside workings of the retail Motor trade in New Zealand.

The repeaters at the NZ Herald announced this morning the following;

Right wing blog Whale Oil backed a limit of 50mg, or 0.05g, per 100ml of blood, saying the current limit is allowing drunk people onto the roads.

This is factually incorrect.

The blogger known as Blondie made those comments in HER post on Whale Oil Beef Hooked.

For the record and for clarification I do not support the NZ Herald campaign for two drinks max. I think it is actually a lame, populist campaign that is not backed by any empirical evidence to support their stance. I don’t believe that lowering the limit will remove drunks from the road. People who drive drunk simply don’t care what the limit is, usually being far above the limit int he first place.. Lowering the limit as the Herald suggests will simply give Police mroe revenue gathering powers and criminalise people who are perfectly ok to drive.

While Blondie may get trolleyed on two drinks, for me at 100 kgs, two drinks, no matter what beverage is hardly going to have any effect on me making the Herald campaign farcical….unless they clarify it to “Two Drinks Max, especially if you are a hot blonde”, or maybe “Two Drinks Max for people with bodies like half sucked throaties”

Cactus Kate has made her stance clear. For the record Cactus Kate doesn’t drink and drive, she drinks and drinks and then lets the cab driver drive, paying him handsomely in the process.

I am also quite sure that the Herald has been more than a little disingenuous with how they repeated David Farrar’s stance as well.

I don’t support their stupid campaign. It would be nice if the repeaters could read by-lines.

Yesterday I destroyed the presumptuousness of Wendyl Nissen’s “Green Goddess” tag. Today I will go further and suggest that perhaps she should be driving a Hummer instead of a Toyota Prius if she is serious about claiming her car is “green” and she doesn’t like “nasty chemicals”.

and then there is this Australian view of the “green” Prius.

When will car manufacturers start advertising and sponsoring more muscular cars and commentators, having them drive manly cars/trucks?

I bet my audience slays Wendyl’s any day of the week. So if you want to look like a goober, lose money, and yet feel “good” about being “Green” then follow the banal touting of Wendyl Nissen.

Oh and about those nasty chemicals she won’t have in her garage?  She forgot to mention the 45 litres of petrol sitting in the fuel tank.

The material safety data sheet for unleaded gasoline shows at least fifteen hazardous chemicals occurring in various amounts, including benzene (up to 5% by volume), toluene (up to 35% by volume), naphthalene (up to 1% by volume), trimethylbenzene (up to 7% by volume), Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) (up to 18% by volume, in some states) and about ten others.

The ExxonMobil MSDS for unleaded petrol in New Zealand shows the following “nasty chemicals” that most demonstrably are in Wendyl Nissen’s garage when she parks her “very green” Toyota Prius there.

Nasty Chemicals in Wendyl Nissen's garage

It seems that Toyota and Glitrap City toyota along with Wendyl Nissen are prepared to willfully lie, and lie utterly about the fact that there are “nasty chemicals” in the Green Goddess’s garage.

kamo

1. (verb) to wink.

Modern usage:

1. back in the olden days, maori rangatira took 40 kamo while Goldie painted them
2. nowadays, Maori everywhere have 40 kamo while the taxpayer pays for them
3. nothing else to do but take 40 kamo when you are locked up bro

Goldie painted Forty Winks 40 Kamo in 1939, four years after he was sponsored by the Governor General Lord Bledisloe to send three paintings to the Royal Academy, London.

Now Dame Kiri te Kanawa is going to flog it off for heaps, bro.