Daily review 19/07/2023

27 comments on “Daily review 19/07/2023 ”

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1. Muttonbird 1

   19 July 2023 at 6:10 pm

   The coverage of the Lauren Dickson trial is obscene.

   Lauren afraid of harming her children, texts reveal

   Text conversations have revealed Lauren's frustrations with her children and, at times, she would talk about harming them.

   Lauren was in a Whatsapp group called "The Good Mums".

   Messages to her friend, who was also a mother, were read to the court on Wednesday.

   "She makes me so angry that I am afraid one day I will smack her too hard," Lauren wrote.

   "I give hidings but it doesn't always help… I didn't actually lose my temper which was a victory," the friend replied.

   "Do not be ashamed. It is quite normal but stop before you kill her. You are welcome to share frustrations with me I will not judge," Lauren wrote back.

   White South African people talking about beating their kids is given a free pass. We all know what the reaction would be if they were brown.Not literal? Newsflash, numbnuts. It certainly was literal it's just that you are too stupid fundamentalist Christian to realise it, even in hindsight!

   https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/07/lauren-dickason-murder-trial-mother-cried-for-two-months-after-losing-first-child-in-premature-birth-court-hears.html

   She's going to get off because the the narrative in NZ by the media and in general is that only brown people are capable of evil and the jury will be affected by the sick sanitising of her horrific, premeditated actions, because she is white.
   • tWiggle 1.1

     19 July 2023 at 6:41 pm

     She won't be 'getting off', merely determining where her sentence is in a mental health facility or in a prison. The trial is about a guilty by insanity plea, including infanticide due to postpartum depression, not about whether she is innocent.
   • weston 1.2

     19 July 2023 at 6:42 pm

     As far as i can see the only body talking about ' evil ' is you MB an you an i both know mental disfunction doesnt care whether you brown or white or inbetween i agree the trial is "obscene "but we've all seen public interest in the salicious details enacted many times before .Anytime kids get murdered or abused people get indignant unfortunately for whatever reason theres been a slew of dead kids that have come from " brown " families and your prob correct if it had been " brown " kids that got cable ties put round their necks there wouldve been hell to pay .Doubt this woman will "get off " though.
     • Muttonbird 1.2.1

       19 July 2023 at 7:38 pm

       The colonialist right wing in NZ regularly paint Maori and PI as evil with respect to child harm. You just reenforced that by claiming, "unfortunately for whatever reason theres been a slew of dead kids that have come from brown families".

       But this case is different. The media and rump NZ view murder with cable tie by a white hand a lesser offence than murder by fist by a brown hand.

       No mitigation because of "mental disfunction" (your words) is ever afforded brown families for similar crimes.

       What makes the Dickson killings even worse is that they are from a privileged background who could access jobs, cash, IVF, maids and nannies, gated communities, and travel to foreign countries when black people became to intolerable.

       It is revolting.
       • tWiggle 1.2.1.1

         19 July 2023 at 8:34 pm

         The difference is not our judicial system and its charges. It may be dissected in the media, but the trial is in the NZ courts. Fair enough if you complain about bias in media coverage, but not for justice outcomes.

         The main advantage in the justice system is not a white/brown dichotomy, but a rich/poor dichotomy. If she or her family can afford a high-quality lawyer, then she will likely have a better legal outcome than someone, brown or white, without fancy counsel

         Three weeks in NZ is not enough to acclimate to cultural and legal differences in mores around child discipline, whether S. African white or strct religious PI. Some leeway must be given for that. Postpartum depression is a real thing, and no doubt is why infanticide is on the table.

         Dads do this all the time, take out their innocent families when they personally can't face life, then forget to top themselves. I have no additional outrage just because she was a mother rather than a father. The question is a technical one around the particular flavour of a possible insanity defence.
       • Anker 1.2.1.2

         20 July 2023 at 10:51 am

         Its not possible to know how many Maori or Pacifica people are found not guilty by reason of insanity.

         Although the perpetrator was Indian there was a recent case of the young man who fatality stabbed his parents in Auckland being found not guilty by reason of insanity.

         It is important that we discover whether this woman was experiencing a mental health problem at the time of these childrens murder that accounts for her actions.

         To put it bluntly, is she mad or bad? Anybody who is trial for murder (including of children) can plead not guilty by reason of insanity. It is up to the court having heard all the evidence to determine her sentence. She undoubtedly was suffering from depression (had medication for this). But was she so out of touch with reality that she cannot be held responsible for her actions?

         She will go to a secure forensic facility if she is found NGBROI. She will be held there in an indefinite sentence till the Minister of Justice (I think) deems can be released.
   • Nic the NZer 1.3

     19 July 2023 at 8:37 pm

     Have you considered hosting one of these specialized for the NZ context? You'd probably find it theraputic.
2. tWiggle 2

   19 July 2023 at 6:35 pm

   Fight Against Conspiracy Theories Aotearoa encourage people to make submissions (by July 31) to public consultation on the Department of Internal Affairs Safer Online Services and Media Services. The trick is to manage safety across platforms, holding them to account.

   'FACT Aotearoa supports regulation to mitigate the harm of misinformation and the spread of calls to violence which persist in online spaces. We believe that a process of public engagement with the public and civil society, and discussion with platforms, backed by robust enforcement, can provide safety without stifling legitimate discussion. Indeed, without the thinly disguised threats of harm that currently abound, public debate will include more voices and allow more perspectives.

   'We urge supporters of free speech for all to submit in support of local regulation and reduce the control currently in the hands of the platform. We don’t believe the owners are sufficiently aware of or committed to our local needs and concerns.'

   Someone here asked the other day who funded the anti-government protest in 2022. Here is an RNZ interview with FACT on the money-trail.

   https://factaotearoa.nz/voices-for-freedom-rnzs-tim-brown-follows-the-money/
   • roblogic 2.1

     20 July 2023 at 2:36 am

     NEW ZEALAND’S PRESS FR**DOM AND FREE INTERNET IS UNDER THREAT

     Don’t let a faceless regulator dictate what you’re allowed to say online. Fill out our easy to use submission tool and protect your right to free speech.

     FSU (freespeechsubmission.com)

     Media regulation plan – a censor's greatest dream | Stuff.co.nz
3. Dennis Frank 3

   19 July 2023 at 6:42 pm

   Tova O’Brien is joining Stuff Digital in the new role of Chief Political Correspondent. Until March this year O’Brien was the host of Today FM’s breakfast show, Tova before MediaWorks abruptly shut the station in March.

   In that role, she also travelled to Ukraine for an exclusive interview with the Ukrainian President, producing prime-time television documentary Tova Meets Zelensky. For this, she was recognised for the second consecutive year at the Voyager Media Awards 2023, winning ‘Broadcast Reporter of the Year (News)’, and was part of the team that won Best News Story – Team Coverage at the 2023 Radio Awards for coverage of the war in Ukraine.

   https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300930744/awardwinning-journalist-and-broadcaster-tova-obrien-joins-stuff-digital?cid=app-iPhone

   She made commentators here angry often when working for TV3, so it remains to be seen if she will be as critical of the right as of the left. Seemed accurate to me as a centrist, so I expect her to still be dispassionate & unbiased…
   • Muttonbird 3.1

     19 July 2023 at 7:30 pm

     Centrism is the very worst of politics.
     • Dennis Frank 3.1.1

       19 July 2023 at 8:12 pm

       Depends who does it. I do agree the banality potential escalates alarmingly at times when centrists default into it. Best thing to do is categorise those doing that as sheeple. However you ought to be realistic and face the fact that non-aligned voters now have close to parity in Aotearoa with the left and right. Take the average of recent polls to verify that three-way roughly equal split.

       The cool thing about it is that our electorate has made itself into a triad (mental system of three essential elements). So the collective idiocies of the left & right tribes can no longer prevail unless they sucker enough centrists into voting for them.

       The Labour leader currently seems plucky, forthright, sincere. Could get folks to forgive him his mistakes on that basis, huh? I don't have too much of a problem with aspirational leftism, just the inadequate conversion into practical implementation. I could be just as fair to rightists if they weren't so addicted to Neanderthal stances.
4. Dennis Frank 4

   19 July 2023 at 6:57 pm

   A new option has emerged for rural poor folk: https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-drink/300927252/kiwis-are-throwing-possum-on-the-barbie-in-a-cost-of-living-crisis-but-is-it-a-good-idea

   Northland man Owen Robertson, who served the family a Matariki feast of possum butter ‘chicken’ for just a few cents per head, said possums were an untapped food source in the country, while meat prices had increased by 12% in a year. “I’d rather eat possum than meat from the supermarket, because of cost, but also because it’s way tastier than processed food,” said Robertson, who hunts his own possum.

   Users need to be up to speed on risk management:

   NZ Food Safety deputy-director general Vincent Arbuckle said there were safety risks in any hunted animal, including possums. “These can include bacterial contamination from external wounds on the animal or puncturing the gut while field dressing. There is also the risk of chemical contamination if the animal has eaten poison bait.”

   While it’s legal to hunt wild game such as possum for personal consumption, New Zealand Food Safety advised people to follow guidelines for hunters.

   Chief scientist for the New Zealand Food Safety Science Research Centre, Phil Bremer, said hunted meat was riskier to eat because it's not regulated in the same way as meat bought from a butcher or supermarket. “If you hunt, it's your responsibility to make sure the meat from the game animal is safe to eat.” Cooking the meat to an internal temperature greater than 72C for at least two minutes would kill the bacteria, but caution should be taken when handling raw meat, he said. “It is not wise to eat road kill as bacteria can rapidly increase in numbers in dead animals and produce toxins which are not destroyed even if the meat is well cooked.”

   They also quote a Bay of Plenty chap who said it's "the family’s favourite meat, even the tail. We leave the skin on for a delicious crackling with fennel.”
5. Muttonbird 5

   19 July 2023 at 8:30 pm

   [deleted due to lack of link]

   Can someone please tell me what a wonderful mother looks like? One that does not kill three children.

   White South African evangelists should not be allowed to get away with this shit.
   • Kat 5.1

     19 July 2023 at 8:47 pm

     Calm down Titi, this mother has not got away with anything….if her face reflects her disposition then the grim reaper of body, mind and soul has already collected………
   • weka 5.2

     19 July 2023 at 9:28 pm

     feel free to repost once you include the link.
     • Muttonbird 5.2.1

       20 July 2023 at 9:21 am

       It's the Newshub home page. The headline on the front page usually differs from the article headline but is the first thing readers see. This headline is important because it is a way for news organisations to influence readers and get them to click on stories.

       In this case the subeditor has taken testimony from the husband claiming Laura Dickenson was, "a wonderful mother", and used it for a specific purpose. Public opinion and juries can be influenced by this.

       He's another example, Newshub again I believe, who are in my opinion one of the worst offenders:

       https://twitter.com/KyleDChurch/status/1681481224500699142
       • weka 5.2.1.1

         20 July 2023 at 1:00 pm

         Please explain why you haven’t provided a link.
         • Muttonbird 5.2.1.1.1

           20 July 2023 at 1:17 pm

           It's the Newshub home page, which I have linked above.

           The point I was making is about the headline, not the article, but rolling coverage of the trial means the headline has now changed, as expected. So, I posted a screen shot of the headline and not a link to the homepage knowing the headline would only be up for a certain length of time. I felt posting a link to the homepage would be confusing.
           • weka 5.2.1.1.1.1

             20 July 2023 at 2:35 pm

             Mod hat on: next time, post the screen shot and a link to the article the headline is about (yes, you will have to find it and copy and paste the link). If I have to waste my time on this again I will just dump the whole comment in Trash.
             • Muttonbird …

               20 July 2023 at 2:56 pm

               Fine.

               I’ve explained my reasoning on this very thoroughly, and linked to the page where the headline was. The link to the actual article is here but is not the point of my comment @5, the headline was.
               • weka …

                 20 July 2023 at 5:45 pm

                 your link to the FP is useless and you already know why. If you don't care about why we require links here, fine, but expect to be moderated regardless. It's very simple to post a link, so it's up to you.
   • joe90 5.3

     19 July 2023 at 9:31 pm

     At the time SA newspapers speculated that her mental health issues were minimised because they would've precluded the family's immigration.

     https://www.iol.co.za/news/world/sa-sisters-strangled-with-cable-ties-as-report-says-mom-may-have-been-off-her-meds-d0b8d558-b763-4d6c-9ac7-dd56b5f77149
     • tWiggle 5.3.1

       19 July 2023 at 11:43 pm

       Thanks J90, that was a helpful backgrounder.
6. SPC 6

   19 July 2023 at 9:26 pm

   The UK's rate of inflation dropped to 7.9% in the year to June, according to the Office for National Statistics

   The UK inflation is the lowest in a year. At 7.95%. Their peak was 11.1% (they measure by the month).

   https://www.bbc.com/news/live/business-66231510

   Our level is also the lowest for a year. At 6.05%, Our peak was 7.2% in June 2022.

   For the quarter 1.1% and thus tracking to be c4% in 2024.
   • SPC 6.1

     19 July 2023 at 10:24 pm

     It seems National is claiming a lower rate than 6% pa for Oz.

     FACT CHECK

     For Oz it was 7.0% in the March quarter. It rose at 5.6% in the month of May 2023, the on-going rate down to 6.8% for the year to that point.

     https://www.forbes.com/advisor/au/personal-finance/inflation-rate-australia/

     The rates in Canada and USA are now lower – similar 7% peaks as us (lower than the UK and Oz), but have declined more quickly. Probably because of the rising rents here, the GIB board factory lack and the impact of the floods.

     The Oz inflation rate year over year is unlikely to be under 6% (looked but cannot find the June quarter figure – it comes out 26 July).
7. SPC 7

   19 July 2023 at 9:41 pm

   Missing hardly used diplomat. Near new condition. Rumoured to be shy and retiring from the world stage.

   https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/125B6/production/_130309157_fbcb99060e213f16224bfbe9839518a458369ef6.jpg.webp

   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-66125055

   Also missing, once again to a new time dimension?

   https://images.getvendo.com/woo-staging/image/upload/f_auto/q_auto/c_limit,w_auto/v1678697076/oscars_2023_feel_good_moments_618ee5e73a.jpg?_a=BATCr5ZS0

   The Civilian in Babylon near a beehive reports that the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs might be exploring flattery to older females as preparation for his next visit to Paris France.

   (Xi might be jealous).

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