Expecting To Fly

The NZ Labour Party never loses elections to the Nats. They lose it to the Enrolled Non Vote. Nat voters always vote. Old people, conservative in their dotage, always vote. The more left-leaning voters, the poor, the students, either don't enrol or don't turn up at the polling booths unless they are prodded. Labour's challenge this year is not to lose to apathy.

Losing badly in 2011 would make the chances of winning in 2014 that much harder to bridge. With Goff at the helm, 2011 will be a bloody shipwreck for Labour, unrestrained support from his front bench not withstanding. The chances of getting new blood in will be near impossible. As it is, I can see several Labour electorates at risk of falling to the Nats this election, Rimutaka being one that springs readily to mind.

The big question of course is who then if not Goff? It's way too soon for the serious contenders to make their move, therefore some stunt clown is required. Up until today, I had thought that only David Parker had the remotest chance of cauterising Labour's likely love lost. Then David Farrar mentions Trevor Mallard.

After the initial Yeah Right, it sank in. Tick on name recognition (I fear David Parker would be confused in the public mind with Otautahi mayor Bob Parker). Tick on activist recognition (I met Trevor Mallard at a regional conference in Lower Hutt a few years ago. I harangued him on energy policy). Tick on Waitakere Man. The Rugby World Cup used to be his baby.

Trevor Mallard started the Red Alert blog, which has provided a better communication tool between Labour's parliamentary wing and the outside world than any other media platform at the party's disposal. He is prepared to take chances. Speaking of which, being Leader of the Opposition might stop him from going on quite so many lunatic bike races. Consider it harm minimisation all around.

Five gyres not one

It seems that there's not one (North Pacific) gyre, not two (North Atlantic) gyres, but five, five gyres of plastic soup poisoning its way through the food chain. Here's what the average teenage mutant injured turtles are eating:

The environmental desk is now on self-medication leave.

The Deconstruction of Falling Stars

If Phil Goff's appearance on Q&A was a leadership acid test before the Labour caucus crucible, Goff failed terribly. The whole show is worth watching, complete with an interview with former Labor leader Kevin Rudd, who seems nice but nebulous.

While the video is painful, the interview transcript reminds me of the part in Terry Gilliam's Brazil where the secretary is dictating a torture session. Selected highlights:

MR GOFF No, no, that’s…
MR GOFF No, no, no, look…
MR GOFF No, no, no, no…
MR GOFF No, no, no, these are assertions…

Sir Don McKinnon was in fine form. He made an apt point on the Sleepless in Hataitai debacle which Patrick Gower picks up on:

"You gotta catch it on the full. Never let it bounce."

My personal highlight was Jon Johannson chastising Darren Hughes on behalf of Victoria University for the hubris of ignoring the Public Policy ethics they attempted to instill in him (and others) as par for the course.

Criminal World

I have heard it repeated in many differing political circles; you can't enter politics without a bit of life experience to guide you. Political life does not reward naïveté. And so old uni lecture chum Darren Hughes, an otherwise decent bloke, goes down.

I would feel slightly more compassion for Hughes if he hadn't released his whiny "innocent until proven guilty" resignation letter. Right at this moment, there's an otherwise decent bloke appearing on numerous charges relating to flowers in Auckland District Court. I have an otherwise decent blokess up on charges in Waitakere Court after police conducted an illegal search of her vehicle in the Auckland Domain.

Meantime in Rotorua, another otherwise decent bloke is facing charges after surrendering peacefully to police at Raggamuffin. Rotorua area commander Inspector Bruce Horne is on record saying:

"No arrests were made inside the venue, but 16 were made at the gates or immediate environs."

Yet here I am looking at charge sheet with Detective Mahara Alcock from Rotorua CIB's name on it that plainly sez in the Circumstances bit on the Caption Summary:

The defendant in this matter MCLEOD was seated on the grass banks opposite the grandstand at the concert.

Clearly, at least one cop is lying. But I digress. I'm not directly blaming Darren Hughes for these injustices. That would be unfair. Let's look at his voting record in parliament instead.

Labour voted with National in favour of the Criminal Proceeds Bill, which greatly expanded who the Crown could sue on balance of probabilities and claim any citizen's assets. Innocence until proven guilty does not apply. Neither does the the principle of double jeopardy, which encourages the Crown to try the same crime twice, once in criminal then in civil court.

Rob Hosking sums up another strike against Hughes:

So let’s get this straight: at a time of rising concern about binge drinking among our youth, Mr Hughes, a senior Labour MP with responsibility for the vital education portfolio, is out binge drinking with a bunch of 18 year olds.

The ruddy hypocrisy, the "I'm tired and emotional, you're a binge drinker" platitude that only comes from the ivory tower of power or academia. The increasingly red complexion of Hughes Minor foretold of one supernova or another. Hughes should be grateful it was just a stroke and not an aneurysm.

Lastly, there's the charge of drug snobbery. Hughes might like to be young and drunk, but he was no liberal in the medical marijuana vote. In fact, the whole list bears repeating:

Noes:

• The entire National Party, who bloc-voted against it
• Jim Anderton (Progressive Coalition, Wigram)
• Rick Barker (Labour, List)
• Ashraf Choudhary (Labour, List)
• Clayton Cosgrove (Labour, Waimakariri)
• Clare Curran (Labour, Dunedin South)
• Lianne Dalziel (Labour, Christchurch East)
• Kelvin Davis (Labour, List)
• Peter Dunne (United Future, Ohariu)
• Te-Ururoa Flavell (Maori Party, Waiariki)
• Phil Goff (Labour, Mt Roskill)
• George Hawkins (Labour, Manurewa)
• Parekura Horomia (Labour, Ikaroa-Rawhiti)
• Darren Hughes (Labour, Otaki)
• Raymond Huo (Labour, List)
• Rahui Katene (Maori Party, Te Tai Tonga)
• Luamanuvao Winnie Laban (Labour, Mana)
• Nanaia Mahuta (Labour, Hauraki-Waikato)
• Trevor Mallard (Labour, Hutt South)
• Stuart Nash (Labour, List)
• Damien O'Connor (Labour, List)
• David Parker (Labour, List)
• Mita Ririnui (Labour, List)
• Ross Robertson (Labour, Manukau East)
• Pita Sharples (Maori Party, Tamaki Makaurau)
• Su'a William Sio (Labour, Mangere)
• Tariana Turia (Maori Party, Te Tai Hauauru)

Ayes:

• Jacinda Ardern (Labour, List)
• Carol Beaumont (Labour, List)
• John Boscawen (ACT, List)
• Sue Bradford (Greens, List)
• Brendon Burns (Labour, Christchurch Central)
• Steve Chadwick (Labour, List)
• Charles Chauvel (Labour, List)
• David Cunliffe (Labour, New Lynn)
• Catherine Delahunty (Greens, List)
• Ruth Dyson (Labour, Port Hills)
• Darien Fenton (Labour, List)
• Jeanette Fitzsimons (Greens, List)
• David Garrett (ACT, List)
• Kenedy Graham (Greens, List)
• Kevin Hague (Greens, List)
• Hone Harawira (Maori Party, Te Tai Tokerau)
• Rodney Hide (ACT, Epsom)
• Chris Hipkins (Labour, Rimutaka)
• Pete Hodgson (Labour, Dunedin North)
• Sue Kedgley (Greens, List)
• Annette King (Labour, Rongotai)
• Iain Lees-Galloway (Labour, Palmerston North)
• Keith Locke (Greens, List)
• Sue Moroney (Labour, List)
• Moana Mackey (Labour, List)
• Russel Norman (Greens, List)
• Lynne Pillay (Labour, List)
• Rajen Prasad (Labour, List)
• Grant Robertson (Labour, List)
• Heather Roy (ACT, List)
• Carmel Sepuloni (Labour, List)
• Maryann Street (Labour, List)
• Metiria Turei (Greens, List)
• Phil Twyford (Labour, List)

In spite of these grudges, I have two pieces of advice for Darren Hughes. Firstly, good on Brendhan Lovegrove declaring himself two months dry on 7 Days. That takes balls. Secondly, marijuana has long been known as a cure for alcoholism. Less dangerous for all concerned. Harm minimisation, eh.

Rowling Goff

Looks like David Parker will lead Labour into the election:

Labour insiders have told Scoop that Hughes offered Goff his resignation weeks ago, after confiding in his leader that he was under Police investigation. The fact that Goff didn't accept it then has caused stress amongst Labour caucus members.

Scoop has also learnt that indeed a cabal representing a group within caucus is counting numbers against Goff.

Maryan Street and Ruth Dyson are representing a cabal that is seeking support for David Parker to replace Goff. And rumours that Helen Clark and her strong-arm strategist Heather Simpson have been consulted appear to have some substance.

As a mate just asked me, "Who's David Parker?" He's not Goff, for starters. Call him Bill Rowling for all I care, but Phil Goff just screwed up his last leadership decision.

Female Role Models

All Yesterday's Tomorrows

 

Because franky Labour looks like it needs all the help it can get. It would be nice to think this election will be a somewhat even fight, but I don't think so somehow.

Nicked from The Standard. There's a blank canvas still there for audience participation.

Michael Laws shops at Warehouse Stationary for his A4

Oh that's much better than my effort. HT Bryce Edwards' excellent NZPD.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Chris Trotter has gone all biblical over Otautahi, reflecting on untamed lions and Moses. I haven't the heart to lay into the absurdities in his comments section, so here goes here:

The Bible, like CS Lewis, is fiction. Sure, bits of the OTT might have been based on historical fact, but that book has had more editors than the Sunday Star Times and has lost whatever historical accuracy along the way.

Christ Trotter usefully wheels out Charlton Heston as Moses parting the seas, as if Hollywood was the best place to receive religious training.

Scientists have since thoughtfully pointed out that the miracle of the parted seas could quite easily occur with the right freakish winds:



Moses might have been a meteorologist or just had a supportive editor. I mean how much scrolling would it have taken to change "And lo! A rare warm easterly with countervailing winds over those shallows might make it easy to cross safely" to "And lo! God has given us an exit strategy!"

As for inheriting things from the Bible; my mate inherited a gun but I don't expect him to live his life by it.

I get ideas from burning bushes every day, but you don't see me making a big fuss about it and declaring myself a conduit of god.

And finally, what will future children think of  Narnia when lions are extinct as dodos?

Michael Laws releases eau de toilette

Talk show host, Sunday Star Times columnist and former mayor of Whanganui Michael Laws released an eau de toilette at a press conference earlier today. The new fragrance, Tunc, is being marketed to the urbane red-neck, featuring a refreshing blend of oreagris (eel urine) and white wine vinegar with an afternote of reflux that really lingers.

"I know what people want to smell. They want to smell me. They want to smell like me," said Michael Laws at the press conference, held at Captain Wang's Hall of Mirrors conference centre in Whanganui. "Tunc also is 110 proof, meaning it can not only be used as a perfume, but also for drinking as well," said Laws.

Tunc will be available at all good $2 Shops.

Extreme Supermoon

Tomorrow will be the closest the moon has been to earth for 18 years. The last time we had a supermoon nothing major happened, so all this Ken Ring panic crap is rubbish. All the same, supermoon being so close to St Patrick's Day, I'd be extra wary of any drunks this weekend.

The half life of us

From the guy who brought you the Otautahi Quake Map comes Japan Quake Map:

Ta, Paul Nicholls! Another nice graphic dizrythmia of the recent tectonic acupunctures. I wonder what they sound like? Where's Aphex Twin when you need him?

The poor don't have these problems

The poor little stress-puppets of plutocracy:

One respondent, the heir to an enormous fortune, says that what matters most to him is his Christianity, and that his greatest aspiration is “to love the Lord, my family, and my friends.” He also reports that he wouldn’t feel financially secure until he had $1 billion in the bank.

More News From Nowhere

One of the essential roles of public broadcasting is to accumulate the local yarns, news and contemporary culture for future reference. So many stories slip through public grasp into oblivion, like tears in rain. The past is fading fast. For example, lessons learned by lives like Palmy Co-op founder Gordon Brown or NZ's first gonzo ambassador Joe Walding, are already gone and precious few artifacts of their existence will endure.

So when the interweb comes along, digital platform, etc. etc., you'd think you might rejoice that the Very Large Online Library has finally arrived. Putting aside the copyright trolls, there are few hurdles to spreading the public record far and wide. The present can be preserved. Then why does TVNZ not provide an index for its fabled TVNZ ondemand programs?

I'll give you a f'rinstance. While some might find The Court Report a cure for insomnia, its content carries more import than the casual channel surfer might be aware of. The issues discussed continue to be of import weeks or years after their recording, yet it is treated as fish-wrapping paper by disappearing off the site within a month. Down the memory hole they go.

The TVNZ YouTube site is loaded more towards tabloid crap than documentaries and current affairs (Close Up is neither of these things). Media 7 has taken the effort to 'Tube it right from the start, but there is no YouTube record to fall back on for TCR.

The Court Report is already run on a spaghetti string. Is TVNZ so out of whack that they can have middle management and marketing gurus out the wazoo but they can't hire a librarian or two to archive this stuff and index it for the intelligent stuff too? Not a priority, is it? Just the fluff then?

Jeez, stoners get hassles for short term memory loss. I guess it's OK if we do it collectively, eh.

Otautahi Rising

No Right Turn points to the fine print behind the Government's Christchurch Relief Fund:

Its trust deed (offline, as far as I can tell) lists its purposes as:

The specific objects of the Trust are: (a) the relief of poverty; and
(b) the advancement of education; and
(c) the advancement of religion; and
(d) the advancement of any other purposes beneficial to the community; and
(e) the advancement of any other purposes that are charitable under the law of New Zealand.

Accordingly, I have removed the government appeal widget off my blog's sidebar. I was naively working on the assumption that the government fund would be some secular humanitarian aid, and not be sponsoring Christian dogmas. It is bad enough that the earthquake has left the conundrum of whether the state will help pay for church repairs, but damned if the government should be picking religious winners on the back of the devastation of Christchurch with people's charity without telling them.

But that's this National government's modus operandi, isn't it, sucking up to the churches? Wasn't it faith-based PEDA who almost snuck off with uncontested budget funds last year? Wasn't it the City on a Hill Christian Church charitable trust in Kawerau that received 334 thousand dollars to do, among a few things, knit and repair second hand clothes? I've also heard rumours that if any state sell-off in state housing were to occur, the Salvation Army wouldn't mind taking them off their hands.

Until this government and organised religion part ways and there's a return to comparatively independent state secularism, I'll also be boycotting the name Christchurch. From now on, it's Otautahi.

99 Luft Ballons

Tom Scott points to the perils of nuclear power. Simple enough valid criticism with hindsight and a 9.0 earthquake. Some perspective is in order. Keep that 9.0 earthquake in mind when reading what I wrote quite some time before the fact:

In the early 90's, I worked across the road from Paula Bennett's old job in Wairakei. The BP station there, the busiest in the country, sits next to the geothermal park. Wairakei is ten kilometres north of Taupo, which sits on the northern tip of Lake Taupo, the biggest caldera this side of Krakatoa. South of that, there's the three cones of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. One's a casual smoker and one's a regular.

If a big earthquake hit this part of the volcanic plateau, seven shades of Michael Bay could easily occur. Wairakei would quite simply disappear, increasing the size of the existing Craters of the Moon attraction considerably. That in turn could stir up one of the three cones or even the stogie of Taupo.

I neglected to mention explicitly in that post the huge tanks of BP's LPG, petrol and diesel sitting right next to the geothermal plant. So stick a 9er up that and see what happens.

The fact remains is how does one light up Tokyo etc. then? David Farrar points to coal mining's corpses on Facebook, 50,000 in the last decade. Clearly, coal's cost benefit has a long long way to go before sanity prevails. I reckon coal should be cached now for more useful things in the future such as artificial diamonds or nanotubes. Burning coal right now seems to be the same as burning Euros or printing US dollars; wasteful and futile.

Tidal, solar and wind power have a long way to go as well before they are anywhere cost beneficial enough for prime time.

Now I'm as paranoid as anyone who was a teenager in the Eighties about nuclear meltdowns. I saw The Day After, same as Charlie Brooker. I knew what a 1 megaton bomb dropped on Palmy would look like in terms of likely blast zone and fallout cloud. I even starred in a play in high school called Nuclear Gameshow Olympics (I played Kampuchea), so don't talk to me about the hazards of nukes.

I still reckon there might be something worth looking at in thorium.

Pale Blue Dot

HT Bad Astronomy.

Isaac Asimov said something along similar lines. I can't find the exact quote at the moment, but it went something like "Saying your part of the world is on fire and it is not our concern is like being in a dinghy on the ocean and saying to one's fellow seafarers that the leak at their end of the boat is not their problem."

In other news, the Galapagos hotel favoured by Gareth Morgan has been destroyed by the Sendai Tsunami.

UPDATE: The hotel has been upgraded from "destroyed" to "not totalled."

Tenpenchii

S*T*A*S*H*

If you thought M*A*S*H* ran for ages, the war on drugs continues at triple the running length with no end in sight. Over 36 years and we're no closer to a ceasefire from the state than we were in Muldoon's day. The police continue to wield the Misuse of Drugs Act as a tool of oppression and collateral damage.

What's a pacifist to do in a war zone? Render aid.

 The Compassion Tour 2011 team launches in front of NeuBus

The Compassion Tour kicked off Friday morning. It is on the way to Timaru in support of Peter Davy, a cancer survivor who is facing unjust imprisonment as well as losing the support for his partner who has advanced Multiple Sclerosis. Peter is determined to go on hunger strike if he is imprisoned. It's the only tool he has left, the tool of the political dissident.

Peter Davy is due to be sentenced at Timaru Court House next week. Dakta Green and a team of volunteers from The Daktory are on their way down to gather people for a candlelight vigil outside Timaru Courthouse next Tuesday 15th, the night before Peter is sentenced on Wednesday 16th.

It would be remiss to avoid Christchurch in its time of need as well. Everyone at The Daktory was speechless the night of the earthquake. Hillary Barry's staunch and professional marathon frontage on TV3 sunk into us all. Searching for a way for us in Auckland to help those in Christchurch, I contacted a mate working in the Civil Defence Beehive Bunker:

Me: We have a bus and a bunch of volunteers keen to help with ChCh in any way. You looking for any help?
Them: LOL thanks we'll keep it in mind. Shall I tell the boss that a bunch of stoners wants to help?
Me: Paula Rebstock would approve. Welfare to Work indeed!
Them: Offers of help: emergency.management@dia.govt.nz

There was no way I was contacting the Department of Infernal Affairs. I have an axe to grind with them. And I'm sure no offence was meant by the "bunch of stoners" jibe as well, but this is the same dreary stereotype that really pisses me off (Andrew Sullivan shares this sentiment). We are not all Cheech and Chong idiots incapable of action or organisation. We are a social club stitched right through the fabric of NZ society, as valid as Ratana, Black Seeds and Bro Town.

After many joint conferences in smoke-filled clubrooms, we decided to do what was in our power to provide for the people of Christchurch; medicine and humanitarian supplies.

Assorted survival supplies have been donated by our hundreds of Daktory members including cash, blankets, cans, baby supplies, water, chemical toilets and gas stoves. These will be handed over to the Christchurch Mayoral Fund.

The Compassion Tour will also be helping salve the psychic injuries and chronic medical conditions of the Christchurch residents who can't or won't leave their quake ravaged city. The team will be handing out donated medicinal cannabis supplies at Switched On Gardener Linwood on Monday. Here's a few photos of the Daktory members preparing the rescue kits:

Daktory Working Bee for Christchurch Earthquake Relief

What shall we do with a half-Deaf Aspie? Put him on the scales!

420 Nurse sez "Help is on the way, Christchurch!"

We wish the Compassion Tour all the best on their trip, and the very best of outcomes for Peter Davy and Christchurch.

Son of ACTA is a complete bastard

The copyright provisions in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement are becoming clearer, and it's no thanks to Trade Minister Tim Groser nor Prime Minister John Key. Slashdot points to Techdirt with the nitty gritty:

Some key points:

• It would require that countries participating ban parallel import for any copyright holder who wants it. That is, if a copyright holder says no, countries would have to block your ability to purchase legal and authorized products in one country and import them into another. This is the so-called "grey market" which should be perfectly legal, but which many companies would like to block so they can price things much higher in some countries.
• It would require criminal enforcement for certain cases of circumventing DRM even when there's no copyright infringement, going beyond existing treaties even when there's no copyright infringement. There are some exceptions, but rather than allow countries to determine their own exceptions, it defines the exceptions and actually says countries cannot go beyond those.
• It would impose liability on ISPs for dealing with infringing works that goes well beyond the DMCA. Yes, Hollywood may finally be able to force ISPs to act as their personal business model cops -- something they've been unable to do in the US.
• Along those lines, there would be "legal incentives" for ISPs to go above and beyond that in helping copyright holders.
• Forget privacy. ISPs would be required to identify users on request, going well beyond existing law.
• Expand what is considered patentable, going in the opposite direction of what's needed. Most troubling, it would allow patents on inventions even if the inventions do "not result in the enhancement of the known efficacy of that product." This seems to go against the very purpose of patent law, but the USTR has already shown it couldn't care much less than actually obeying the Constitutional underpinnings of patents or copyright law.
• Continues the troubling and problematic idea that patents must be assumed valid, even if they were only briefly reviewed.
• A requirement to forbid third party opposition of patent applications. This is particularly ridiculous. Allowing third parties to oppose patent applications (as is allowed with trademarks) would certainly help prevent some really bad patent applications from getting through. How can the USTR justify not allowing such a basic concept of letting third parties point out bad patents before they're approved. Especially when you combine this with the "presumption of validity" in patents once granted, it looks like the USTR is trying to increase the rubber stamping of patent approvals.

Can a government be accused of treason, I wonder? I mean, it is increasingly clear that the Nats are making it all up as they go along. John Key is still a long way from understanding what he can and can't blurt to the nation, as well as what he can and can't promise on our behalf to the US corporate raiders.

You've got to have serious doubts on the TPP when Gordon Campbell and Eric Crampton are in agreement. So sez Bernard Hickey, Jane Kelsey and me too. If the Nats sign on to this, they'll have a bigger Blackout protest on his hands than last time.

UPDATE: Here is the link I was thinking of during this post. Technically Alex Tarrant, but Bernard Hickey is complicit.

Gagging John Key

Can someone please tell the Prime Minister to shut the fuck up speculating on:

a) the future official cash rate.

Ta, DPF.

b) 10,000 houses destroyed in the Christchurch Earthquake.

Ta, interest.co.nz and Civil Defence.

Carry on.

Adios Magnificent 7

The writing is on the wall for TVNZ 6 and 7, with funding set to end in June next year. I usually find Bomber's polemic bulimic, but he's not half wrong with this post on the subject. NBR sez TVNZ6 will become a youth oriented station:

And TVNZ7 will replace Back Benches, Media7, Court Report and other local shows with preschool programming.

And now, here's the Montana Public Broadcasting Service with the documentary Clearing the Smoke; The Science of Cannabis:

Watch the full episode. See more MontanaPBS Presents.

Wanna-be suicide bomber uncovers terrorist cell made up entirely of government agent provocateurs

Just so the NZ blogosphere, the CIA, the GCSB, NZSIS, Julian Assange and interested others are all on the same page, I've been doing a bit of reading on Non Violent Direct Action (NVDA) lately. It's no secret really. Arts & Letters Daily featured a bit about it the other day, pointing to Foreign Policy's Revolution U. The Beeb covered Gene Sharp and his pragmatic manifesto on peaceful revolution. For the more attention deficit political activists, there's even a 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action menu to choose from.

I also tripped over this intriguing documentary on civilian assaults, kettling and police overkill during last year's G20 meeting in Toronto. Here's a still taken during a student overnight sit-in:

Spot the guy who spent too much time playing Doom as a teenager

Guns are tapu in my house and buggered if any sod, government or otherwise, says otherwise. I hope the NZ Police learned their lesson in the Springbok Tour of '81. Because if they ever pulled this shit in this country, there'd be hell to pay.

Then again, last time I checked the local police were paying off aggravated robbers to testify against flower sellers, confiscating the land and homes of home growers, and imprisoning gardeners, so there's more than one way to subvert the will of the people if you're wearing black and blue.

Bladerunner Babies

If the prospect of a four part movie trilogy based on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged doesn't put the willies up you (the third part might be "a Les Miserables kind of a musical"), consider a Bladerunner prequel:

There is as yet no indication that the director would be involved with any revisiting of the movie, though the film's would-be producers said it would be "wonderful". At the moment Mr Scott is busy with Prometheus, a prequel to his Alien, which spawned one of the most successful franchises of all time.

I think I'll give the inevitable Bladerunner Predator JarJar Binks crossover a miss.

The Devil You Know

Glad to see I'm not the only one in shock, dismay and general consternation that National MP for Rangitikei Simon Power is retiring after one term in government. I went to school with Simon Power, playing King of the Castle round at his parent's house on occasion. It seems he was on good terms with Duncan Garner and Patrick Gower, who both gave heart-felt posts on Power's exit. The end of this frank interview gave an indication on the why of it:

"What matters in politics is ideas... Too often we're consumed with what one individual does or doesn't do or doesn't say. But the battle of ideas I think is a really important part of the idealism of participating in politics. And I've always said I've wanted to leave before the idealism dried up."

He will be missed. His replacement probably wears pearls. This could get very interesting very quickly.

Oh, and good on the NZ Bloggers' Union providing comic relief over the Otautahi earthquake. From each according to their talents, to each according to their needs.