Daily Review 01/05/2018

66 comments on “Daily Review 01/05/2018 ”

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1. mickysavage 1

   1 May 2018 at 5:42 pm

   Apologies everyone. Authors were all busy today and had no time for posts. Normal transmission will be resumed tomorrow.

   We are always on the lookout for guest posts. If you feel the urge drop us a line with a post.
   • Exkiwiforces 1.1

     1 May 2018 at 7:23 pm

     I will drop you a line either this week or next week about doing some posts? Was hoping to find some time during last couple of weeks between moving house, ANZAC Day at my bush block, the in-laws visiting, cleaning up the new house/ surrounds (about 10yrs worth of dry fuel) and cleaning up my bush block prior to ban of open fires before the start of the fire (dry) season.

     A couple of readers here and few more readers that I know who visit here, have been poking me to get involved on some Defence related issues, and the other 3 issues that are linked in with Defence.
     • mickysavage 1.1.1

       1 May 2018 at 9:40 pm

       Sounds good.
   • Incognito 1.2

     1 May 2018 at 8:38 pm

     Weka has got a Guest Post from me but it can wait.
2. AsleepWhileWalking 2

   1 May 2018 at 5:51 pm

   Whoa sinkhole

   First heard on RNZ but couldn’t find pic

   https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503438&objectid=12042984
   • Gabby 2.1

     1 May 2018 at 7:12 pm

     Whoa herdld. Not going there.
3. SPC 3

   1 May 2018 at 6:10 pm

   Israel takes the world back to 2002 so it can think again about the nuclear agreement with Iran (fake WMD “evidence”, let’s regime change in Iraq – 2002).

   There is no effort to fake evidence this time, just manipulate the record of history.

   Iran was looking at nuclear weapons development before 2003 but has only been acquiring knowledge since then (cue no one is surprised).

   However this is being presented as new information to justIfy American GOP/Trump sentiment (and timed for the embassy move to Jerusalem) to withdraw from an international agreement.

   http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43958205

   The nuclear deal halting nuclear power development by Iran was always based on preventing development towards (a suspected ambition) nuclear weapons capability – otherwse it would have been gross interference in a nations sovereignty.

   The White House and Israel are attempting to justify their intended exercise of unilateralism by prev enting this is new inforamtion and we never knew/suspected any of this – when it was the whole reason for sanctions and the subsequent nuclear agreement.

   Someone in Israel needs to remember the words about Petain (and later de Gaulle himself), old age is a shipwreck. The longer a fool remains in office the more likely this is to being exposed.
4. Anne 4

   1 May 2018 at 6:21 pm

   Re caption:

   Nothing’s changed in 300 years has it. Pompous pratts.

   TV male presenters when standing by their digital screens now adopt the same spreadeagled pose. Pompous pratts no.2. 😈
   • Gabby 4.1

     1 May 2018 at 7:43 pm

     Sajid Wonder Woman.
   • mikesh 4.2

     1 May 2018 at 9:47 pm

     I don’t think photography existed when chaps dressed like those in the bottom photo. It’s probably taken from a stage production.
     • joe90 4.2.1

       1 May 2018 at 9:54 pm

       Don’t Mention Macbeth – Blackadder
     • Sacha 4.2.2

       1 May 2018 at 9:55 pm

       Mrs Marbuckle’s Fantabulous Pantaloons.
     • Anne 4.2.3

       1 May 2018 at 10:03 pm

       Yes it was. But that’s an exaggerated version of how they did behave. Oh I see joe90 has linked.
5. AsleepWhileWalking 5

   1 May 2018 at 6:23 pm

   25 homeless families booted for tourists attending Art Deco festival

   https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018643007/homeless-families-evicted-from-motel-for-tourists
6. joe90 6

   1 May 2018 at 6:27 pm

   Tinder, huh? Might explain a few things.

   If you thought the Facebook data harvesting scandal was bad, you probably don’t live in Russia.

   For many Russians reading about the story, it was a case of “welcome to our world.”

   Data harvesting is a booming and highly competitive business here, with a host of companies offering ways of “scraping” up details on your likes, shares and comments for commercial gain, with barely any regulatory or legislative control.

   There are now companies offering advertisers—and anyone else who can pay—the ability to target almost any group imaginable.

   […]

   One such firm is Moscow-based “Social Data Hub.” It proudly lists the Russian government as a client and boasts that it has a copy of the activity on every Russian social media network going back for the past seven years.

   But their online hoovering also includes all the traffic generated by Russian-based users of U.S. and other international online giants such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. The company also covers sites such as the Tinder dating app, and the Airbnb accommodation service. What this means in practice, for example, is that some swipes on Tinder profiles could actually have been made by bots.

   Codaru.com tried out the “parsing” capabilities of one of these companies, to find out just how much they know about Russians. And it’s surprisingly cheap. For one ruble (slightly more than one U.S. cent), you get a complete copy of someone’s online profile (including their name, home region, phone number and date of birth), with a minimum order of 1000 accounts.

   https://codastory.com/disinformation-crisis/information-war/why-facebook-data-harvesting-scandal-nothing-new-for-russians
7. Ed 7

   1 May 2018 at 6:58 pm

   A different perspective….

   The Syrian crisis is only in its beginning stages.

   The assault on Syrian military positions last night, apparently a US/Israeli operation, is evidence that the crisis continues to develop.

   There are four mutually reinforcing causes of the crisis:

   (1) Israel’s ability to use the US government to eliminate foes in the Middle East that are obstacles to Israel’s expansion. Israel has Syria and Iran targeted, because the two governments supply the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which has twice driven Israel out of Israel’s attempted occupation of southern Lebanon, whose water resources Israel covets.
   (2) The neoconservative ideology of US world hegemony, which fits well with Israel’s Middle East agenda, a fit made even stronger by the strong neoconservative alliance with Israel.
   (3) The US military/security complex’s need for justification for its massive budget and power.
   (4) The inability of the Russian government to understand the first three reasons.

   https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/04/30/syrian-cisis-escalates/
   • joe90 7.1

     1 May 2018 at 7:04 pm

     A different perspective….

     There’s another neo-liberal, pro-segregation apologist for slavery called Paul Craig Roberts?

     /
     • Ed 7.1.1

       1 May 2018 at 7:07 pm

       Shoot the messenger.
       Ignore the message.

       Your usual style.

       Another messenger for you to shoot down,
       Peter Hitchens.
       • joe90 7.1.1.1

         1 May 2018 at 7:09 pm

         So, neo-liberal, pro-segregation apologist[s] for slavery are okay if they tell you what you want to hear?.
         • Ed 7.1.1.1.1

           1 May 2018 at 7:12 pm

           Neo-liberalism is not okay and apologists for slavery are to be condemned.
           • joe90 7.1.1.1.1.1

             1 May 2018 at 7:21 pm

             In short, Ed thinks murderous thugs called Assad are good, murderous thugs not called Assad are bad, Chinese authoritarian thugs are bad, Russian authoritarian thugs are good, imperialism is bad, Russian imperialism is good, neo-liberal, pro-segregation apologist[s] for slavery are bad, neo-liberal, pro-segregation apologist[s] for slavery that Ed agrees with are good.

             Am I right?
             • Macro …

               1 May 2018 at 7:43 pm

               Wow! that Craig Paul Robert’s is a weirdo! Can see why Ed likes him.
               Here he is casting incredulity on the victims of the Parkland massacre:
               https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/04/07/parkland-obituaries/
               • joe90 …

                 1 May 2018 at 8:22 pm

                 Roberts’ writes for a right-wing Russian think tank that takes it’s name from Orthodox theology, κατέχον, he who resists the Antichrist.

                 He fits right in with the menagerie of racists, anti-Semites, Islamaphobes, far right xtians and assorted loons.

                 http://katehon.com/article/conversation-race

                 http://katehon.com/person/paul-craig-roberts
             • Ed …

               1 May 2018 at 8:30 pm

               Whatever, joe.
               Sorry your hatred of Russia makes it impossible for you to discuss this subject rationally.
               • joe90 …

                 1 May 2018 at 8:36 pm

                 Yeah, my hatred for neo-liberal, pro-segregation apologist[s] for slavery, racists, anti-Semites, Islamaphobes, far right xtians and assorted loons and their patron is the problem.

                 /
                 • Ed …

                   1 May 2018 at 8:38 pm

                   You have commented before that you do not like Russia,
                   Please do not divert.
                 • mauī …

                   1 May 2018 at 9:46 pm

                   Best stick to Vice or Politico Joe they’re more your style, where you can get an endless stream of anti-trump material.

                   Leave Roberts for those of us who want to find out what’s really going on in the world.
                   • joe90 …

                     1 May 2018 at 10:17 pm

                     Oh that’s right, you’re a big fan the of sexual predator, alleged rapist, and probable child abuser currently occupying the big house, because her emails.
                   • joe90 …

                     1 May 2018 at 10:36 pm

                     btw, these links to Vice or Politico, cite?.
             • One Two …

               1 May 2018 at 9:27 pm

               Yes Joes, you’re wrong…

               You’ve openly explained the source of your ‘Russophobia’…so you’ve disqualified yourself…

               No need to put such a bare faced false dichotomy onto Ed…
               • Barfly …

                 1 May 2018 at 9:40 pm

                 +1
     • Ed 7.1.2

       1 May 2018 at 7:11 pm

       And another messenger who must be wrong.
       Peter Ford, the previous British ambassador of Syria.

       Fmr. Ambassador Peter Ford tells the truth about the hoax of the chemical attack in Douma, Syria to BBC listeners and Chris Parry is lost for words.
     • Ed 7.1.3

       1 May 2018 at 8:31 pm

       Craig Murray?
       Peter Ford?
       Robert Fisk?
       George Galloway?
       Peter Hitchens?

       Quite a long list….
   • Gabby 7.2

     1 May 2018 at 7:18 pm

     What happened to Lebanon’s Christian community eddy?
     • Ed 7.2.1

       1 May 2018 at 8:31 pm

       Do you know the answer to that?
   • Ed 7.3

     1 May 2018 at 8:35 pm

     My perspective is different.
     The argument I feel the most compelling is that the war on Syria is all about money and pipelines.

     And that is why Iran is now under the gun.

     Iran drops the dollar. Others tried and were bombed. ‘It’s all about the banking,’

     https://www.rt.com/news/425497-iran-drops-dollar-war/
     • SPC 7.3.1

       1 May 2018 at 9:54 pm

       Not exactly.

       The military capability of the USA is premised on its access to cheap debt (reserve currency status), otherwise it would be unaffordable. All empires are mammon AND fortresses – imperial coin is central.

       The socialist (anathema to the capitalist corporate global market order) nation, and in particular ones with large scale commodity/oil production (enabling self-sufficiency), is a centre of resistance to an imperial order.

       But Moslem identity resistance to Judeo-Christian power would be enough of itself to cause conflict and if the imperial power depends on the coin, so why sustain it rather than undermine it?

       So what came first, the socialism or the Moslem identity, or the resistance to the means of their capitalist Judeo-Christian rival asserting imperial power over them?
       • Ed 7.3.1.1

         1 May 2018 at 10:01 pm

         Some interesting points.
         Thank you.
     • Stuart Munro 7.3.2

       1 May 2018 at 11:01 pm

       “My perspective is different.”

       Your “perspective” is cut and pasted from RT.
       • Ed 7.3.2.1

         2 May 2018 at 7:01 am

         My perspective on the issue of money and/or pipelines being the cause of war in Iraq, Libya and Syria came from elsewhere.
         But I am not arrogant enough to think my ideas are original.
         Are you?
8. Pat 8

   1 May 2018 at 7:02 pm

   “There’s a recurring theme throughout these scientists’ findings in Antarctica: What we do now will determine how quickly Pine Island and Thwaites collapse. A fast transition away from fossil fuels in the next few decades could be enough to put off rapid sea-level rise for centuries. That’s a decision worth countless trillions of dollars and millions of lives.

   “The range of outcomes,” Bassis says, “is really going to depend on choices that people make.”

   https://grist.org/article/antarctica-doomsday-glaciers-could-flood-coastal-cities/

   Thanks to cleangreen
9. Ed 9

   1 May 2018 at 7:06 pm

   Craig Murray is a rare beacon of light in an ever dimming world. Dissent is being shut down. So here is one of the few independent voices in an increasingly closed minded world.

   Where They Tell You Not to Look

   At the very beginning of the of the Skripal incident, the security services blocked by D(SMA) notice any media mention of Pablo Miller and told the media not to look at Orbis and the Steele dossier on Trump, acting immediately to get out their message via trusties in the BBC and Guardian. Gordon Corera, “BBC Security Correspondent”, did not name the source who told him to say this, but helpfully illustrated his tweet with a nice picture of MI6 Headquarters

   MI6’s most important media conduit (after Frank Gardner) is Luke Harding of the Guardian…..

   Read the whole article here.
   It will blow your mind.

   https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/04/where-they-tell-you-not-to-look/

   And on the matter of the infamous establishment shill Mr Harding.

   The Real News Network’s (TRNN) Aaron Maté politely and professionally dismantles shameless Guardian reporter and author Luke Harding.

   A chance to see a propagandist shown up for whom he is.
10. Muttonbird 10

    1 May 2018 at 8:37 pm

    Genter’s expression when Davidson sings a waiata for the royal baby!!!

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/05/green-co-leader-sings-m-ori-waiata-for-royal-baby-louis-in-parliament/_jcr_content/par/video/image.dynimg.360.q75.jpg/v1525148989610/marama-davidson-PARLTV.jpg
    • Rosemary McDonald 10.1

      1 May 2018 at 9:50 pm

      Absolutely top of the government’s to do list….ensuring that the new royal sprog feels loved and wanted down here under southern skies.
      • joe90 10.1.1

        1 May 2018 at 10:39 pm

        Yes, a Māori women should never convey the joy of the arrival of another human.

        /
        • Rosemary McDonald 10.1.1.1

          2 May 2018 at 9:39 am

          Yes, and you’d think a Maori woman MP would put the bulk of her energies into ensuring Maori mothers here in New Zealand are not having to live with their children in cars, rather than buttsnorkling the privileged.

          http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/04/auckland-phd-student-has-to-sleep-in-van-with-kids.html

          If that’s her thing, serenading the babes of royalty in a far off land, then Ms. Davidson is welcome to do that in her own time and in her own space. In the House…she’s at work.

          IMHO
11. joe90 11

    1 May 2018 at 8:39 pm

    Sorry kids, you’re on your own.

    In a closed-door meeting with heads of Jewish organizations in New York on March 27th, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) gave harsh criticism of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), according to an Israeli foreign ministry cable sent by a diplomat from the Israeli consulate in New York, as well three sources — Israeli and American — who were briefed about the meeting.

    The bottom line of the crown prince’s criticism: Palestinian leadership needs to finally take the proposals it gets from the U.S. or stop complaining.

    According to my sources, the Saudi Crown Prince told the Jewish leaders:

    “In the last several decades the Palestinian leadership has missed one opportunity after the other and rejected all the peace proposals it was given. It is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining.”

    — MBS

    MBS also made two other points on the Palestinian issue during the meeting:

    He made clear the Palestinian issue was not a top priority for the Saudi government or Saudi public opinion. MBS said Saudi Arabia “has much more urgent and important issues to deal with” like confronting Iran’s influence in the region.

    Regardless of all his criticism of the Palestinian leadership, MBS also made clear that in order for Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to normalize relations with Israel there will have to be significant progress on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

    https://www.axios.com/saudi-crown-prince-tells-jewish-leaders-palestinians-should-take-what-they-are-offered-or-stop-complaining-1525025098-e7f0faf8-4f3f-442c-8478-6737ddb5a553.html
    • Ad 11.1

      1 May 2018 at 8:56 pm

      Been that way since 1970 when Arafat convinced the Arab League to recognize him as a separate leader from Jordan’s King Hussein, and for the Palestinians to go it alone with Jordan renouncing what used to be its territory:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_State_of_Palestine#Rift_between_Jordan_and_Palestinian_leadership_(1970)

      The King of Jordan wasn’t amused but had no choice.

      Saudi Arabia has a whole bunch more in common with Israel than they do with Palestine, namely: Iran.

      Same with Egypt and Israel. Nothing focuses the mind like a US$15 billion gas deal:

      https://www.ft.com/content/724ea59c-1599-11e8-9e9c-25c814761640

      The Arab League still protests about whole bunches of stuff, but it’s long since become a mere release-valve:

      https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180402-arab-league-to-hold-emergency-meeting-on-palestine/
      • SPC 11.1.1

        1 May 2018 at 9:12 pm

        The West Bank was never recognised as territory of Jordan.
        • Ad 11.1.1.1

          1 May 2018 at 9:37 pm

          Jordan disagrees with you, having fought several wars on the point.
          • SPC 11.1.1.1.1

            1 May 2018 at 9:55 pm

            Just not the UN, in international law.

            No one else recognised the WB as part of Jordan..oh wait the UK (the nation of the White Paper perfidity) and Pakistan did (probably because they wanted Kashmir).

            Is this your way of recognising Israel’s unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem? A nation can define its own territory after military conquest – same opine on Crimea?
      • McFlock 11.1.2

        1 May 2018 at 10:43 pm

        Came close with Rabin, until he was shot.
    • SPC 11.2

      1 May 2018 at 9:10 pm

      Maybe the whole point of the regime change in Baghdad was to create a Sunni Shia divide internally and then export this across the region (deposing left wing socialist/Baath Party regimes to do so).

      Then

      1. bond Sunni regime autocrats to confronting Iran (and its support for the Damascus regime) and take the eye off Palestine as more and more WB land is occupied.
      2. committ the USA to the struggle with Iran rather than a just Israeli-Palestinian peace.

      A new cold war, whereby the West supports undemocratic “Sunni” regimes (during the struggle with Teheran/Damascus/Moscow) and they do not make much of an issue about Israel’s actions and US support for them.
    • Cinny 11.3

      1 May 2018 at 9:56 pm

      The crown prince…. kushners buddy lololz

      Joe90, check this out… all bibi needs to do next is appoint himself as defence minister… freaking scary.

      “The Israeli parliament has voted in favour of granting Israel’s prime minister the power to declare war, solely with the approval of the defence minister.

      The vote on Monday amended a law which previously required the whole cabinet to vote on such a move, transferring that authority to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman, his defence chief.”

      https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/05/knesset-power-pm-declare-war-single-vote-backing-180501073134283.html
      • Exkiwiforces 11.3.1

        1 May 2018 at 11:33 pm

        Very interesting in deed and we really don’t need another two religious crackpots to be added as there is a enough of them already within MER two start a major war without these two jokers.

        I think it’s time old Jandals withdraws the NZDF out of the MER before these two Muppets get a itchy tigger finger and start throwing around a few cans of instant sunshine to brighten up the place.
        • joe90 11.3.1.1

          1 May 2018 at 11:45 pm

          Where are all the multi-megaton nuclear accidents when you need them.

          A Saudi Arabian man who renounced Islam and made disparaging remarks about the prophet Muhammad has been sentenced to death.

          Authorities became aware of Ahmad Al-Shamri in 2014 after he uploaded a series of videos reflecting his views on social media. He was subsequently arrested on charges of atheism and blasphemy, faced trial and was sentenced to death in February 2015.

          https://www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-arabia-execute-apos-atheist-124114852.html
          • Exkiwiforces 11.3.1.1.1

            1 May 2018 at 11:59 pm

            It one of the reasons why I have a love hate relationship with MER and this case of this poor individual is one of them. Between my travels of SEA and Sandpit, I’ll take the sandpit any day but SEA is a lot safer to visit with the other half.

            Australia and the NZ should pull it troops out of the MER and let them unleash the dogs on MER with a winner take all. As we have more important things do in our own region than pop up these lunatics.

            There is a few villages within the MER missing their village idiots ATM.
12. Ad 12

    1 May 2018 at 9:05 pm

    Great to see Cardinal Pell facing trial for historic sex crimes.

    Gutsy New South Wales Commissioner of Police for going for him.

    In hell Pell will be put to death by small boys with rocks.

    As a liberal practicing Catholic myself, I never understood why Pope Francis made this guy his chief economic advisor.

    Now, in my darker moments, I think Pope Francis hired Pell as a leader of the hard core conservative Cardinals. So Francis put him up to one of the key jobs, ostensibly buying support with them, but know that he had a sex-crime storm looming. The conservatives now get to see their key player hang at high noon.

    At least, as Pope, that’s what I would have done, were i in a machievellian mood.

    Either way Pope loses a major opponent.
    • joe90 12.1

      1 May 2018 at 9:15 pm

      Lapidation by small boys does sound rather apt.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stoning_of_Saint_Stephen#/media/File:Rembrandt-Lapidation-Saint-%C3%89tienne-MBA-Lyon.jpg
13. Ed 13

    1 May 2018 at 9:42 pm

    Why do we allow foreigners to take our resources?
    We are fools.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/bay-of-plenty/103504559/resource-consent-for-chinese-water-bottling-giant-begins-in-whakatane
    • Ed 13.1

      1 May 2018 at 9:44 pm

      We are fools..

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/95670283/chinese-company-seeks-consent-to-draw-580-million-litres-of-pristine-spring-water-to-bottle-and-export
      • SPC 13.1.1

        1 May 2018 at 10:09 pm

        Should nitrate leech into underground acquifers (say Canterbury), one hopes there is still a large reserve of such (and thus affordable) water available to supply to vulnerable regions locally.
      • James 13.1.2

        1 May 2018 at 10:51 pm

        Speak for yourself.
14. Cinny 14

    1 May 2018 at 9:46 pm

    Excellent feature on Clarke in the Telegraph, it’s been reprinted in full on the herald. Fantastic PR for NZ, good buzz.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/fatherhood/meet-new-zealands-first-bloke-man-wholl-become-stay-at-home/?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1525122889
    • mac1 14.1

      1 May 2018 at 11:31 pm

      And good for him. I was the stay-at-home dad with our two though I called myself ‘him indoors’. Great chance to get close to the children, and allowed Mrs Mac1 to follow her career, and increased the earning power, too.

      PlayCentre, school committees, Saturday morning sport, school fairs, nappies, house cleaning, gardening, 10 washes of clothes a week, shopping, pets, after school dancing, sport- loved it all.

      And in the afternoon, ten minutes of utter joy to watch Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot men or The Wombles et al, with the kids.

      And 6000 meals, 2000 jars and bottles of fruit, jam, chutneys, sauces, and home brew, too, bread-making, though not many scones, baking.

      Enjoy your time, Clarke. I did.
15. joe90 15

    1 May 2018 at 11:40 pm

    The author was killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul on Sunday. He wrote this a couple of years ago.

    But there is no more hope. Life seems to be even more difficult than under the Taliban because of the insecurity. I don’t dare to take my children for a walk. I have five and they spend their time cooped up inside the house. Every morning as I go to the office and every evening when I return home, all I think of are cars that can be booby-trapped, or of suicide bombers coming out of a crowd. I can’t take the risk. So we don’t go out. I remember all too well my friend and colleague Sardar, who was killed with his wife, a daughter and a son while on an outing at a hotel, with only his small son somehow surviving the attack.

    I have never felt life to have so little prospects and I don’t see a way out. It’s a time of anxiety.

    https://correspondent.afp.com/when-hope-gone

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