New media, participation

[cyberwarzone.com]

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Links received from Martin Legge

1/12/2016 12:11 p.m.

Cereal maker Kelloggs has announced that it will no longer advertise on Breitbart.com claiming that the conservative news site’s values are not the same as its own and it is not the only brand to pull its advertising.

### whaleoil.co.nz
Advertising is New Media’s Achilles heel
By SB on December 1, 2016 at 10:00am
Make no mistake New Media is going up against the establishment and it’s success with the public is tempered by its vulnerability to attacks on its advertising revenue. Breitbart News is the new News sheriff in town and is expanding rapidly but the establishment who preferred the old News sheriff still have a few bullets in their arsenal. If they can’t beat the new News by being better they will instead try to beat it by crippling it economically. It is a bit like the ageing Sheriff with arthritis trying to get rid of his rival not in a gun fight but by talking the local store into refusing to sell him any supplies for his ranch. He might be the better gunslinger but how long can he last without any supplies?
Advertising revenue is Whaleoil’s Achilles heel too, which is why we have introduced our new subscription model.
Read more

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24/11/2016 10:42 a.m.

Independent media are in the ascendance. Understand that. Recognise it. The impossible is happening. Fake news sites? Please. The major media are the biggest fakes the world has ever seen.

### activistpost.com [via zerohedge.com]
Major Media Crash: They Need a Scapegoat
By Jon Rappoport on November 20, 2016
They kept telling the American people Hillary Clinton was going to win the election; and in every way they could think of, they told the American people this was a good idea. Then, on election night, they, the media, crashed. The results came in. The media went into deep shock. As protests and riots then spread across America, the media neglected to mention a) they’d been bashing Trump because he said he might not accept the outcome of the vote, and b) here were large numbers of people on the Democrat side who weren’t accepting the outcome of the vote. A new campaign had to be launched. Suddenly, on cue, it was: Hillary Clinton lost because “fake news” about her had been spread around during the campaign. Fake news sites. That was the reason. These “fake sites” had to be punished. Somehow. They had to be defamed. Blocked. Censored. Here is an excerpt from a list of “fake news” sites suggested by one professor. The list is circulating widely on the Web: Project Veritas; Infowars; Breitbart; Coast To Coast AM; Natural News; Zero Hedge; The Daily Sheeple; Activist Post; 21st Century Wire. Free speech? Bill of Rights? Never heard of it.
Read more

█ The author of three explosive collections, The Matrix Revealed, Exit from the Matrix, and Power Outside the Matrix, Jon Rappoport was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world.

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Disconnected [mitpress.mit.edu]

“Fresh from a party, a teen posts a photo on Facebook of a friend drinking a beer. A college student repurposes an article from Wikipedia for a paper. A group of players in a multiplayer online game routinely cheat new players by selling them worthless virtual accessories for high prices. In Disconnected, Carrie James examines how young people and the adults in their lives think about these sorts of online dilemmas, describing ethical blind spots and disconnects. Drawing on extensive interviews with young people between the ages of 10 and 25, James describes the nature of their thinking about privacy, property, and participation online.”

█ Carrie James is a sociologist and Principal Investigator at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She was co-director (with Howard Gardner) of the Good Play Project, which collected the data that inform Disconnected.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

‘Visual pole-ution’ @Christchurch —says sexy muppet

Traffic lights going in at High and Tuam Sts [facebook.com]

1NEWS Video

RNZ Checkpoint with John Campbell
Thu, 13 Oct 2016
18 traffic lights fitted out at CHCH intersection Link
A single intersection in the Christchurch CBD has been fitted with 18 traffic lights – bafflying passersby.
Audio | Download: Ogg MP3 (duration 1′ 29″)

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“Christchurch wants to compete on an international scale well, we haven’t re-built the cathedral but this corner is all sorted.” –Sam Crofskey, C1 Espresso cafe owner

### NZ Herald Online 8:31 AM Thu, 13 Oct 2016
Traffic light madness in central Christchurch
Source: NZ Herald
Eighteen traffic light poles have been set up in one of Christchurch’s quietest intersections, and at least one local says it causes noise to his eyes. The intersection of High and Tuam Streets was traffic-light free before the earthquakes. But for the past 18 months, council contractors have been slowly and steadily erecting traffic light poles in the tightly condensed area.
C1 Espresso cafe owner Sam Crofskey’s business has been on the corner for the past 20 years and is yet to see one crash. The council shouldn’t be surprised that it would get hassled for creating such an eyesore, he said.
“They’ve been doing this one block for 18 months. And we all take the piss about how long this takes, but 18 months? The money that is getting poured into this kind of stuff, oh, I would do a better job [on council].” … “I guess they’re trying to build it for the future. Eighteen sets of traffic lights, and they all do different things: there’s one for people crossing, bicycles, vehicles and trams, so there’s no doubt that someone has thought it out but it might have been a bit early to jump the gun.”
Christchurch City Council could not provide the cost of the traffic poles, nor explain why 18 traffic signals were needed to control the intersection when contacted by Fairfax yesterday.
Read more

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“It’s such a [visually] noisy thing to look at . . . it’s peak traffic management.” –Crofskey

### The Press Online (via Stuff) Last updated 14:13, 13 Oct 2016
‘Overkill’ central Christchurch intersection has 18 lights [+ Video]
By Jack Fletcher and Michael Hayward
A central Christchurch intersection will soon be controlled by 18 traffic light poles, with one local business owner reminded of the busy streets of Tokyo. The lights, at the corner of High and Tuam streets, will guide pedestrian, cycle, vehicle and tram traffic. They were yet to be installed, but locals and urban design experts have criticised the traffic management plans.
Other central city intersections visited on Wednesday have about nine lights.
Read more 

Oldman 5 hours ago:
How the hell will we know where to look?

Fredup 5 hours ago:
Well, it wasn’t City Care. All their bosses are away on holiday in their council $50,000 utes with the boat or caravan behind it.

CHL 5 hours ago:
Must have been designed by the same traffic engineers who built traffic islands and installed calming measures in a quiet residential street in South Dunedin so that fire trucks could not acccess the street and a perfectly good street was turned into a one way street and had a compulsory stop at one end. People with brains but absolutely no common sense.

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RNZ Published on Aug 21, 2016
Christchurch Dilemmas – City Centre – Portland Families
Episode 3 of Christchurch Dilemmas looks at the city centre. This video looks at the Pearl District of Portland – a previously run-down industrial area of the inner city, which has been transformed by putting families first. See all the videos and have your say at http://chchdilemmas.co.nz.

Christchurch Dilemmas is a new series coming soon from Frank Film, the creators of When a City Falls. Funded by NZ On Air and created with assistance from Radio New Zealand, the six-part series examines the major decisions facing Christchurch 5 years on from the earthquakes that devastated the city.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Pegging out, voting with calm ejection

Received from Gurglars
Tue, 7 Jun 2016 at 7:29 a.m.

Subject: How to get rid of the cat problem on the peninsula

Peg them to a clothesline near you!

### Stuff.co.nz Last updated 11:01, June 5 2016
Christchurch vet nurse keeps cats calm using pegs video
When Chrissy​ MacPherson clips a few pegs onto the back of a cat’s neck, most of her clients whip out their cameras in amazement. The Mobile Vet nurse has been pegging cats to calm them down for six years. She started using the method to ease the nerves of her furry clients.
Read more + Video [must watch]

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The J Koons Precedent

Caterwauling Cull from the Peninsula when overseas on the odd junket, slips into a Jeff Koons show, learning how to be tranquil and sedate, should the worst happen: being voted OUT in October. Preparedness for destructive old cats.

S N A P S

3D printers are programmed to make supersize clothes pegs for all reprobates at DCC.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Election Year. This post is offered in the public interest.

*Images: Cat on a Clothesline – by Jeff Koons
artattackapp.wordpress.com | napsugarzas.wordpress.com
[tweaked by whatifdunedin]

C O N S P I R A C Y & C O N T R O L

The wearing of signet rings (from Latin “signum” meaning sign) goes back to ancient Egypt …. although less common today, and very rarely actually used for their intended purpose as seals, signet rings are still worn, especially among the armigerous, in European and some other cultures. Because it is used to attest the authority of its bearer, the ring has also been seen as a symbol of his power, which is one explanation for its inclusion in the regalia of certain monarchies. Link

After the death of a Pope, the destruction of his signet ring is a prescribed act clearing the way for the sede vacante and subsequent election of a new Pope.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Election Year —this post is offered in the public interest.

*Image: religiopoliticaltalk.com – ConspiracyQuoteVoltaire 380-234

From the Parish of Little Wallop and other footnotes:
[no resemblance to Dunedin civic leadership]

White Lies Uploaded on Oct 14, 2011
Rowan Atkinson – God’s Mysterious Ways

Rowan Atkinson Live Published on Jan 24, 2014
Rowan Atkinson Live – Amazing Jesus

Rowan Atkinson Live Published on Jan 24, 2014
Rowan Atkinson Live – A day in the life of the invisible man

Rowan Atkinson Live Uploaded on Jul 29, 2010
Rowan Atkinson Live – The devil Toby welcomes you to hell

Shitload of planners @ Dunedin #conferencejunket

Official Image: NZPI Conference 2016 (12-15 April), Dunedin

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“Power attracts pathological people. It’s not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the pathological.” –Frank Herbert

One for us, and them:

From the archives at Bonner & Partners (USA):
It’s about something that affects us all in ever greater measure – the arrogance of central planners.

From BB’s Diary:
Bill Bonner, Chairman – April 13, 2016

WHY ALL CENTRAL PLANNING IS DOOMED TO FAIL

We’re still thinking about how so many smart people came to believe things that aren’t true.

They believe they can manipulate the future and make it better. Not just for themselves… but also for everyone else.

Where did such a silly idea come from?

After the Renaissance, Aristotelian logic came to dominate Western thought. It was essentially a forerunner of positivism – which is supposedly based on objective conditions and scientific reasoning.

“Give me the facts,” says the positivist, confidently.

“Let me apply my rational brain to them. I will come up with a solution!”

BEYOND THE HERALD’S CRY

This is fine, if you are building the Eiffel Tower or organising the next church supper.

But positivism falls apart when it is applied to schemes that go beyond the reach of the “herald’s cry”.

That’s what Aristotle said: Only a small community would work. Because only in a small community would all the people share more or less the same information and interests.

In a large community, you can’t know things in the same direct, personal way. You have no idea who made your sausage or what they put in it. You have to rely on “facts” that are no longer verifiable by direct observation or personal acquaintance.

So it’s hard for people to work together in the same way.

In a large community, central planners’ “facts” are nothing more than statistical mush, wishful thinking, and theoretical claptrap – like WMD, GDP, the unemployment rate, and the Übermensch.

Large-scale planning fails because the facts upon which it is built are always unreliable and often completely bogus.

It fails also because people don’t really want it.

HIDDEN AGENDA

In a small community, the planners and the people they are planning for are close enough to share the same goals.

But in a large community, the planners are a small minority.

And in a large community, the planners usually have their own agenda… often a hidden one.

They call for stricter law enforcement… while getting campaign contributions from the prison industry. They seek a cure for cancer… and depend on the pharmaceutical industry for job offers. They promote a united Europe… and hope to be its head man.

Large-scale planning provides almost countless opportunities for corruption. But it’s not the dirty dealing that dooms it. It is that the planners don’t know (or care) what people really want… and don’t have the means or the information necessary to achieve it anyway.

Comics: The Oatmeal

15.11.12 http://theoatmeal.com/comics/making_things

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oatmeal
Twitter: Follow Matthew Inman @Oatmeal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theoatmeal

### SmartPlanet.com 14 Oct 2012
Q&A: The Oatmeal’s Matthew Inman talks crowdfunding, creativity
By Molly Petrilla
Creator of the popular humour website The Oatmeal, Matthew Inman recently turned his talents toward philanthropic crowdfunding, raising $1.37 million for a new Nikola Tesla Museum. Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
… with thanks to another of my nearby inspirations :)

Delta purchases | Vandervis OAG complaint accepted

Read latest comments at this thread

### ODT Online Mon, 12 Nov 2012
Councillor lodges Delta purchase complaint
By Simon Hartley
A complaint has been lodged with the Office of the Auditor-General by Dunedin city councillor Lee Vandervis over Central Otago subdivision purchases which soured and left the council millions of dollars out of pocket.

DCC infrastructure company Delta bought part of a subdivision in Luggate in July 2008, and another at Jacks Point, near Queenstown, in May 2009, but their value has subsequently been written down by millions of dollars.

In mid-October, the DCC announced a $9 million write-down of Delta investments, including the subdivisions, which contributed to the Dunedin City Holdings Ltd (DCHL) group of companies’ booking a $5 million loss for the year to June.
Cr Vandervis claims pre-purchase details of the Jacks Point and Luggate subdivision acquisitions, plus details of City Forests’ mothballed wood-processing plant at Milburn, are being withheld from him.
Cr Vandervis contacted the Otago Daily Times yesterday, saying the Office of the Auditor-General had accepted his complaint and it had been passed on to its investigation unit, but he was yet to hear if the OAG would launch a full investigation.
Read more

A copy of the formal complaint was forwarded to What if? Dunedin on Thursday, 8 November 2012.

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Fairfax | DScene publishes Cr Vandervis’ questions (page 3):

Mayor sees red over Vandervis questions (ODT, 30.10.12)

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Related Posts:
31.10.12 Dunedin City Council – all reports posted, belatedly!
30.10.12 DCHL ‘run by a bunch of fools’ -agreed
26.10.12 No cloud has lifted off DCC, the sins are too great and numerous
26.10.12 DCHL: New directors for Aurora, Delta, City Forests
26.10.12 DCHL borrowed $23 million to bail DCC
17.10.12 The only thing up…. (for sale)
17.10.12 DCC on DCHL, subsidiaries and DCTL
12.10.12 DCHL, subsidiaries and DCTL
28.9.12 The End of The Golden Weather?
11.9.12 Delta Utility Services Ltd
30.8.12 DCC seen by Fairfax Business Bureau deputy editor Tim Hunter
24.8.12 Dunedin’s 3 waters, no CCO
16.8.12 Dunedin water assets
29.3.12 Dunedin City Council company sponsors Highlanders
7.3.12 DScene: Call for full inquiry into stadium project
20.12.11 Delta and the GOBs #DCHL #DCC
18.11.11 Delta rebrand
29.7.11 WE ALL SAID IT #DunedinCityCouncil #SHAME
9.2.11 DCC and DCHL, was there ever any doubt?
26.8.09 DScene: Delta, STS, DCC larks
9.7.09 Delta dawn what’s that flower…

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCHL: New directors for Aurora, Delta, City Forests

Dunedin City Council
Media Release

New Directors for Dunedin City Holdings Company Boards

This item was published on 26 Oct 2012.

Appointment of New Directors to the Board of Aurora Energy Limited and Delta Utility Services Limited

The Board of Dunedin City Holdings Limited is very pleased to announce that Dr Ian Parton and Mr Dave Frow have been appointed as new Directors of Aurora Energy Limited (“Aurora”) and Delta Utility Services Limited (“Delta”). Both of the new Directors come to the Company with distinguished careers as engineers and extensive governance backgrounds.

Effective from 1 November 2012, the directors will join Mr Ray Polson and Mr Stuart McLauchlan on the two boards which will comprise four members in the meantime.

Dr Parton is a Distinguished Fellow and Past President of the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand. Dr Parton was for fifteen years Managing Director of Meritec Group Limited (formerly Worley Group Limited) and more recently was Transition Chief Executive of Watercare Services Limited managing the integration process with respect to amalgamation of the wholesale and retail water companies which resulted from the “Super City” initiative in Auckland. Dr Parton is a Director of Auckland Transport Limited and Skellerup Holdings Limited and is also Pro-Chancellor of the University of Auckland.

Mr Frow’s background since coming to New Zealand from South Africa in 1979 has largely been in the electricity industry. He worked with the Ministry of Energy for nine years before joining Electricity Corporation of New Zealand where he became Chief Executive in 1992 through until 1999. Subsequently Mr Frow has served on the Boards of Waste Management Limited and Unison Networks Limited. He was a member of the Telecom Independent Oversight Group through to December 2011 and is currently a Director of ETEL Limited and Holmes Fire & Safety Limited both of which companies are involved in the electricity industry. Mr Frow is a Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand.

Dunedin City Holdings Limited is very pleased to have obtained the services of these two Directors who will bring to the Boards of Aurora and Delta vast experience in the areas in which each of these companies operate.

Appointment of New Directors to the Board of City Forests Limited

Following agreement from the Dunedin City Council, Dunedin City Holdings Limited is pleased to announce the names of two new directors for the board of City Forests Limited. The appointments are to be effective from 1 November 2012.

The two new directors, both from Dunedin, are Mr John Gallaher and Mr Tony Allison. They will join Mr Ross Liddell and Mr Mike Coburn on the board which will comprise four members.

Mr John Gallaher is a senior investment professional with Forsyth Barr Limited who began his commercial career with roles in banking, finance corporate management and marketing 35 years ago. John is Chairman of TracPlus Global Limited, Daestra Holdings Limited, United Way NZ Limited, Tui Motu Foundation Inc. and the Upstart Investment Committee and he has several other directorships.

Mr Tony Allison is currently the CEO of Night ‘N Day Foodstores Limited that in the last few days ranked very highly in the Deloitte Fast 50 List. Prior to that he was the Chief Operating Officer and a director of Calder Stewart Industries Limited where he gained experience of forestry operations. Tony is also currently a director of AA Cleaners (Otago) Limited, St Clair Beach Resort, Southern Team Co 2008 Limited and the Southern Steel Netball Team.

Both these two Dunedin directors have excellent corporate governance understanding and collectively they will bring to the board experience of governance and the forestry industry relevant to the business of City Forests Limited.

Contact Denham Shale, Chairman, DCHL on 021 375 112.

DCC Link

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr