Daily review 23/06/2020

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, June 23rd, 2020 - 47 comments
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Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

47 comments on “Daily review 23/06/2020 ”

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  1. Ian 1
    23 June 2020 at 6:47 pm

    Listening to the talkback today ,as I often do and JT reckons The government has signed a deal with Fletchers to buy the land they were going to build 486 houses on at Ikimito . The prime minister says no deal has been signed. Who is lying ?

    • observer 1.1
      23 June 2020 at 6:54 pm

      Why would the PM say "no deal has been signed" if it has been? Some lies are very easy to prove – by a piece of paper with a date, for example.

      Of course there may be progress towards a possible deal, but "Who is lying?" is a pretty silly way to frame it.

    • Sacha 1.2
      23 June 2020 at 7:11 pm

      Ihumātao.

    • anker 1.3
      23 June 2020 at 9:10 pm

      Don't be a dick Ian.

      A. I wouldn't trust John T with much at all.

      B. If a confidentiality clause has been signed then the PM will be unable to say a deal has been done.

      Think you are here to troll and develop National Meme that Jacinda is a liar, asserted by Judith Collins.

      Of course most of us remember Judith's infamous visit to Orivida that she claimed was a 5 minute stop on the way to the airport. Turned out it was a huge detour and included a meal out with a border official. Very helpful for her husband at the time.

      I wish Willie Jackson had of asked Judith what exactly was the lie Jacinda told re the Covid crisis……..

      National is in grave danger of having their dirty tactics, eg the homeless man back fire on them

      • Patricia Bremner 1.3.1
        24 June 2020 at 3:12 pm

        +100% Jacinda said she and the Caucus were trying to find a way forward in a difficult situation.
        JT would like to throw a spanner in the works.

  2. aj 2
    23 June 2020 at 6:54 pm

    You won't find many facts on talk back radio. Not recommended unless your BS detection system is 100% functioning.

  3. observer 3
    23 June 2020 at 7:06 pm

    Megan Woods wants the truth.

    Michael Woodhouse needs to front up.

    Everyone should read the letter included in that Stuff link. People can sit on the sidelines and say any old crap, without considering the consequences. But there are real consequences. Look at the resources wasted on following up this story, all because a National MP thought it would be a good lark to score a point.

    The people working on the front line have enough to do, dealing with testing, quarantine etc. Diverting them to a wild goose chase verges on the criminal. In a different context it would lead to a charge of wasting police time.

    If it happened, we have the right to know. If it didn't, we have the right to an apology.

    • ianmac 3.1
      23 June 2020 at 7:24 pm

      It is odd that the Media is so keen to spot any little Government mis-step yet lets Woodhouse get away with lies. A very unpleasant little man is Woodhouse.

    • Cinny 3.2
      23 June 2020 at 7:28 pm

      woodhouse playing games for his own political gain and worries about anyone else along the way, there's a word for that…. selfish.

      Megan was excellent in Q time today. Good work Megan re the letter, well done stuff for publishing it.

      • I Feel Love 3.2.1
        23 June 2020 at 8:07 pm

        I wonder if his source is going to be from a "gentleman".

        • aj 3.2.1.1
          23 June 2020 at 8:46 pm

          She invites his 'contact' to get in touch with the MoH. This completely exposes Woodhouse, because unless he does so, the claim holds no water at all and Woodhouse's credibility (and I use that word carefully) goes to zero along with that of his contact. Both of them are shown to have no interest in the management of this pandemic. And Woodhouse should therefore resign.

          • aj 3.2.1.1.1
            23 June 2020 at 9:13 pm

            And even if it's all true, and they present a homeless man with selfies of helping himself to the mini bar, it's still an epic fail for witholding information and tying up resources. Right now Woodhouse has just lost whatever credibility he had, either outcome.

          • Muttonbird 3.2.1.1.2
            24 June 2020 at 8:01 am

            It appears the contact is inside the MoH already. Woodhouse standing by his claim yesterday he said the source was someone inside the MoH.

            If that person wants to claim whistleblower status, they should, as they will be protected.

      • mary_a 3.2.2
        24 June 2020 at 2:31 pm

        Cinny (3.2) .. Megan Woods is certainly proving her worth in her new role. She's really good.

        Don't be surprised if Woodhouse comes out next with the invisible man seen sneaking in to a hotel on the back of CV19 isolation, for a two week free stay or something just as ridiculous! Information supplied of course by his usual "reliable", but confidential source, who seems to be very busy. Or are there several "reliable" sources working on MW's behalf?

    • Rapunzel 3.3
      23 June 2020 at 7:49 pm

      This seems pretty comprehensive and also as you mention shows the resources that look to have had to be wasted on a pointless & reckless witch hunt https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12342340

  4. Dennis Frank 4
    23 June 2020 at 7:08 pm

    Heatwave in Siberia: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/22/weather/siberia-arctic-100-degrees-climate-change-trnd/index.html

    "Temperatures in the small Siberian town of Verkhoyansk hit 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday… Verkhoyansk sits on the Yana River in the Arctic Circle and, during the winter, is considered one of the world's coldest towns — in 1892, temperatures dropped to -90 degrees Fahrenheit."

  5. Herodotus 5
    23 June 2020 at 7:53 pm

    appears the fishing industry is not only the domain of NZ1st

    Thank you labour, and this follows yet another delay for cameras on boats, something I understand National when in govt passed.
    Greens watch out for duplicity from Labour when it comes to the environment.
    https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/121913878/lost-at-sea-labour-and-greens-split-over-campbell-island-sanctuary

  6. Rosemary McDonald 6
    23 June 2020 at 8:37 pm

    Perhaps someone can help me out here?

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018751900/boy-with-disability-living-in-garage-as-family-waits-on-housing-nz-for-home

    Seems that MSD has no fewer than twenty grades of priority for housing…and this woman living with her two disabled children in a fucking un-insulated garage only triggered Grade A12.

    This was boosted to A16 after Checkpoint got involved.

    So…what qualifies a family for grade of A20?

    5 disabled kids in a shoebox on side of road?

    Savage it is….savage.

    SSDD

    • I Feel Love 6.1
      23 June 2020 at 9:48 pm

      It absolutely sux Rosemary, what a shame we have an ineffective opposition who give even less a shit than Labour.

    • weka 6.2
      23 June 2020 at 10:36 pm

      She is on the housing waiting list; but Maria told RNZ's Checkpoint Work and Income has so far directed her to several unsuitable properties, including motel units with stairs and no disabled access for her son.

      Fucksake. WINZ apologised, but I want to know what they're changing about their system so this doesn't happen again.

      And why not put them in a hotel in the meantime? Buying up some motels right now and retrofitting them would probably be sensible too.

      "Also a target has been set for the new homes that we are building as part of the public housing building programme of 15 percent of homes that have universal design principles which essentially means they'll be accessible for people with disabilities."

      Why only 15%?

      • OnceWasTim 6.2.1
        24 June 2020 at 8:03 am

        "Fucksake. WINZ apologised, but I want to know what they're changing about their system so this doesn't happen again."

        And therein lays the problem. You can never change the system – only ever add some bell or whistle to the existing framework.

        Unless of course you go for a restructure based on some PWC or similar report which MUST always take the top down generic managerialist's approach and which must NEVER listen to people at the coalface or its "consumers", or indeed anyone in academia who've been monitoring those failing systems for bloody years. And if you do, you must ALWAYS pretend you have and pay them lip service

        CYFS/OT…….. MBIE/INZ/LI…….. Wellington's Amazing new bus network…… etc. etc.

      • Rosemary McDonald 6.2.2
        24 June 2020 at 8:42 am

        Why only 15%?

        Very good question. Surely if the 'system' (wrong, somehow, to use that word for an entity that at best is confused) catered for those with the highest need when building social housing the needs of all would be automatically met.

        These days, building for wheelchair access is so much easier than it was over twenty years ago when Peter and I last engaged with builders on access issues.

        Costs are not higher…so why the fuck not just make all social housing accessible?

        Labour and National parties….hating on disabled people with equal enthusiasm since forever.

        Seriously Jacinda and your campaign team…you do know that people with disability make up one quarter of the population?

        And those disabled people all have families of voting age?

        • weka 6.2.2.1
          24 June 2020 at 5:55 pm

          I would have thought between wheelchair users, elderly, people with pushchairs, that putting ramps in new builds would have made sense. Passive and active solar too. These things should be standard by now. We've made other things mandatory, why not this?

          Imagine how Middle NZ would feel if when they went to move house they could only choose from 15% of rentals or home buys and that 15% was determined by the government.

    • gsays 6.3
      24 June 2020 at 7:18 am

      I was heartbroken hearing this woman's plight on Checkpoint last night.

      Sleeping across a bed with two children, blankets piled high on the bed, having to turn a 40kg child during the night.

      Not that I want anyone crucified, an apology for the 'short-comings' of MSD doesn't suffice.

      • Rosemary McDonald 6.3.1
        24 June 2020 at 8:45 am

        I was heartbroken

        Me too. And absolutely fucking incandescent .

        Crucifixion?

        Too fucking good for them.

  7. lprent 7
    23 June 2020 at 8:46 pm

    In case anyone was wondering what the outage was..

    BIOS update. Amongst other things it reduced the damn fan noise – which has been irritating me today. Water cooler goes on again this weekend to reduce it further.

    This is in response to coming into an election, php 7.4.x getting faster by making my CPU run hotter, and a background increase in bots that I can't dissuade from reading the site in vast numbers.

    Plus of course you lot…

    (bah humbug !)

    • adam 7.1
      23 June 2020 at 9:52 pm

      If it bugs you before the weekend, please throw on the water cooler.

      We all adults, we can all take some time off so you don't have to suffer.

    • Incognito 7.2
      23 June 2020 at 10:09 pm

      Oh dear, I hate bots but there is nothing worse than Right Wing Nut Bots.

      Is a “water cooler” just a fancy version of a wetback?

  8. anker 8
    23 June 2020 at 9:16 pm

    I think Woodhouse is being exposed as a liar. First there was the kiss and cuddle lie (the MOH confirmed five minute contact, touching women's back. NOT a kiss and cuddle).

    Now homeless man.

    I think Nats plan is to whip up hysteria around the border. Mark my words it will backfire.

    Great letter from Megan asking him to stump up with the info.

    • ScottGN 8.1
      23 June 2020 at 9:52 pm

      Given that we know that outdoors it’s very unlikely transmission of the virus will occur without actual physical contact he had to throw in the “kiss and cuddle” bit, otherwise he didn’t have much of a story. It’s looking more and more certain the 2 sisters did in fact manage to get all the way to Wellington without infecting anyone. Which is not to excuse the failings of the health system to actually implement the required protocols.

  9. greywarshark 9
    23 June 2020 at 9:50 pm

    Drinking water it is recommended we drink actual water, to over 1 litre a day. I certainly try to control my incipient gout.

    Forest and Bird has voiced serious anxiety, the most advanced sort, about water quality in NZ. And that is not the first time that the public have said that this is serious.

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/06/22/drinking-water-at-risk-as-high-pollution-levels-revealed-forest-and-bird/

    Ashburton’s Tinwald treatment plants recorded a nitrate-nitrogen level of 7.01 mg/l, well above the increased risk levels for colorectal, colon, and rectal cancer, and above the Ministry of Health level of 5.65 mg/l that prompts ongoing monitoring of the supply. Numerous other supplies across the wider Ashburton district recorded similar levels.

    Forest & Bird says the results are a wakeup call for the government, which last month decided not to put a Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen limit of 1.0 mg/l (similar to nitrate-nitrogen) in the new freshwater reforms, ignoring the advice of its Science and Technical Advisory Group, as well as submissions from the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine (that called for a level “consider

    Flint, Michigan USA had been the canary down the coal mine for bad water and bad, careless administration. Since their 2014 debacle we have had the 2016 Havelock North disgraceful water quality collapse and the sickness that followed.

    Flint has had an awful time, as shown on this timeline with details to accompany each date of the continuing problem. https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/04/us/flint-water-crisis-fast-facts/index.html

    The switch to a new water source occurs in April 2014. In October 2014 – The General Motors plant in Flint stops using the city's water due to concerns about high levels of chlorine corroding engine parts. The company strikes a deal with a neighboring township to purchase water from Lake Huron in lieu of using water from the Flint River. The switch is anticipated to cost the city $400,000.

    But still the residents get poor water for drinking, of a lesser quality than is used for machines. January 2, 2015 – The city warns residents the water contains byproducts of disinfectants that may cause health issues including an increased risk for cancer over time. The water is deemed safe for the general population, but the elderly and parents of young children are cautioned to consult with their doctors.

    January 12, 2015 – The DWSD offers to reconnect the city with Lake Huron water, waiving a $4 million fee to restore service. City officials decline, citing concerns water rates could go up more than $12 million each year, even with the reconnection fee waiver.

    In October 2014 there is a bad report from the state authority to the Governor of Michigan Rick Snyder about the water which is followed by flushing the system and increasing the chlorine. In February 2015 the Governor sees a report that refers to "hiccups" in the system, and fudges the bad quality and health effects. $2 million is granted to deal to the problems….But one sick resident's water was tested. Testing revealed that her water had 104 parts per billion (ppb) of lead, nearly seven times greater than the EPA limit of 15 ppb.

    June 5, 2015 – A group of clergymen and activists files a lawsuit against the city, charging that the river water is a health risk. The city attorney later says the lawsuit is baseless. The case is dismissed in September.

    November 13, 2015 – Residents file a federal class action lawsuit claiming 14 state and city officials, including Snyder, knowingly exposed Flint residents to toxic water. ..

    January 14, 2016 – Snyder writes President Barack Obama to request the declaration of an expedited major disaster in Flint, estimating it will cost $55 million to install lead-free pipes throughout the city.

    January 16, 2016 – The president declines to declare a disaster in Flint. Instead, he authorizes $5 million in aid, declaring a state of emergency in the city. The state of emergency allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to step in…

    June 22, 2016 – Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette files civil lawsuits against two companies for their alleged role in the Flint water crisis. Veolia North America is charged with negligence, fraud and public nuisance. Lockwood, Andrews & Newman (LAN) is charged with negligence and public nuisance. …

    October 18, 2016 – The ACLU of Michigan files a class action lawsuit against school districts in Flint for exposing students to tainted water and inadequately testing children for learning disabilities that may have been caused by ingesting lead…

    February 17, 2017 – The Michigan Civil Rights Commission issues a report: "The Flint Water Crisis: Systemic Racism Through the Lens of Flint." According to the 129-page report, "deeply embedded institutional, systemic and historical racism" indirectly contributed to the ill-fated decision to tap the Flint River for drinking water as a cost-saving measure.

    March 17, 2017 – The EPA announces that it has awarded $100 million to Flint for drinking water infrastructure upgrades…

    October 5, 2018 – Flint Community Schools announces that new ultraviolet water filtration systems for water fountains are being installed at schools throughout the city. Billionaire Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation funded the project with a $480,350 donation to the district.

    Michigan took over Flint's finances in 2011 and endeavoured to cut costs. General Motors was no longer employing as it used to causing a massive rise in unemployment and loss of earnings. The people were virtually abandoned to bean counters.

    (When you get to 2019 you will notice that Governor Rick Snyder is dealt to. He is offered a Harvard senior research fellowship! But sadly had to turn it down after controversy.)

    We will be abandoned in NZ after the big boys have had their way with us. We have to be feisty little buggers and deal to those vicious, complacent, wealthy men and women. They convince themselves that they are the people who matter, they want to live like kings because they deserve it, and shape the country to lead advantages to their door because we don't deserve it. And as can be seen, the necessities of life like clean water can be denied in cities in developed countries, just as mines can pollute rivers where jungle groups and agricultural societies have lived for thousands of years and succeeded to make lives with meaning and worth.

    I've put this up on TDB and thought it would be of interest here.