Open Mike 01/01/2019

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, January 1st, 2019 - 59 comments
Categories: The Standard - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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

Step up to the mike …

59 comments on “Open Mike 01/01/2019 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Jenny - How to get there? 1
    1 January 2019 at 8:11 am

  2. greywarshark 2
    1 January 2019 at 10:05 am

    It would help us all to keep these wonderful words in our minds from now to the end of the year….and onwards to the end of time.

    Lyrics in English for “Ode to Joy”
    (“Ode An Die Freude”)
    Beethoven’s 9th Symphony

    O friends, no more these sounds!
    Let us sing more cheerful songs,
    more full of joy!

    Joy, bright spark of divinity,
    Daughter of Elysium,
    Fire-inspired we tread
    Thy sanctuary.

    Thy magic power re-unites
    All that custom has divided,
    All men become brothers
    Under the sway of thy gentle wings.

    Whoever has created
    An abiding friendship,
    Or has won
    A true and loving wife, [partner]
    All who can call at least one soul theirs,
    Join in our song of praise;
    But any who cannot must creep tearfully
    Away from our circle.

    All creatures drink of joy
    At nature’s breast.
    Just and unjust
    Alike taste of her gift;

    She gave us kisses and the fruit of the vine,
    A tried friend to the end.
    Even the worm can feel contentment,
    And the cherub stands before God!

    Gladly, like the heavenly bodies
    Which He set on their courses
    Through the splendor of the firmament;
    Thus, brothers, you should run your race,
    As a hero going to conquest.

    You millions, I embrace you.
    This kiss is for all the world!

    Brothers, above the starry canopy
    There must dwell a loving Father.

    Do you fall in worship, you millions?
    World, do you know your creator?

    Seek him in the heavens;
    Above the stars must He dwell.

    The Music – people bringing their musical skills together to create something beautiful. 23 minutes of singers and players, old and young, striving to do credit to Beethoven’s creation.

    My favourite – I have put it up before. A flash mob from Spain with a short version that is enjoyed by all, adults and children. This sort of flash mob could be a monthly happening in each NZ town. The community would go to the town square or central place, and see what was on this month and applaud, and start planning to do something as good next month.
    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87qT5BOl2XU

    About Ode to Joy and lyrics in German and English.
    https://www.thoughtco.com/beethovens-ode-to-joy-lyrics-history-724410

    • OnceWasTim 2.1
      1 January 2019 at 11:21 am

      “yeah/Nah” Unfortunately @ grey, as much as I admire the sentiment and the message, it probably comes about 10 years too late – the problem(s) go much deeper and are now far more entrenched

      • OnceWasTim 2.1.1
        1 January 2019 at 11:45 am

        Neoliberalism never was just an ideology or another “ism” or political agenda. It was always an ideology as well as a culture, and a religion, and a language, and an ‘ego’ – which is probably why many on the “Left” succumbed to it and still do.
        It’ll most likely take a disaster for it to be demolished.
        Call me a pessimist if you like @ grey.

        • greywarshark 2.1.1.1
          1 January 2019 at 1:11 pm

          OwT
          I looked through the Ode and have come up with a piece that says something to your very true summation. And perhaps also to the aftermath.

          I have friendly feelings for many people on this blog, and regard very few as fiends! It is a blessing to me to know something of, and talk with good strivers out there for a decent world that has a kindly thought about everything, without being lost in a haze of syrupy tat or PC taken to the authoritarian levels or rigid rules, or indeed also, a miasma of clever machinery.

          Whoever has created
          An abiding friendship,
          Or has won
          A true and loving wife, [partner, child, friend]
          All who can call at least one soul theirs,
          Join in our song of praise;
          But any who cannot must creep tearfully
          Away from our circle.

          • McFlock 2.1.1.1.1
            1 January 2019 at 3:29 pm

            heh

          • patricia bremner 2.1.1.1.2
            2 January 2019 at 7:24 am

            I have found the boundaries of my infirmity enlarged by the companions here.

            It is true some have fallen away over the year to be replaced by other voices, but this blog has wide ranging and thought provoking contributions and conversations held daily.

            Many authors have given us opportunities to “Air our general ignorance”, which we have readily done. Mickey, Iprent, Advantage. Many thanks.

            So I would like more of the same. A special thank you to Advantage. Your articles on the science behind climate change were excellent and the references to research mind opening, and Mickey for expressing thoughts from a Labour point of view a highlight for me.

            Frank, your organised science based answers and statements always leads to further reading and thinking, likewise Swordfish for the polls and graphs.

            Some here have given freely from their experiences, and given a window to another situation Greywarshark Anne Marty Cinny ExKiwiforces Rosemary Barfly and those who responded about my hip many thanks.

            Those who pulled me back into line when I became too dogmatic and full of it veutoviper,
            lol lol Thank you one and all,
            I read you all, even the trolls on here, because they are our trolls with their prods pokes and puckish poetry . To those i’ve missed sorry . Happy New Year.

  3. greywarshark 3
    1 January 2019 at 10:24 am

    Are we just a bigger bug? Insects can do all the things we do. And more. Feel free to prove me wrong. We are good with complicated machines and systems.
    Which look as if they will kill us, or lead to the death of billions before long.
    So are we really clever, or just dexterous?

    Here’s a good story about leafcutter ants. Tiny things creating large intricate dwelling places. Apparently they had a behaviour that led to their own destruction. They laid their eggs in the crevices of worker ants heads. Can we clever beings work out how we are bringing our own destruction, our bodies, minds and way of life; or are we so complex that we can’t go to the heart of the matter because we have lost our hearts.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2095335/Underground-ant-city-Brazil-rivals-Great-Wall-China-labyrinth-highways.html
    The bug society: Scientists excavate underground ant city that ‘rivals the Great Wall of China’ with a labyrinth of highways

    • WeTheBleeple 3.1
      1 January 2019 at 11:46 am

      Were we to work industrially like ants, we could change the planet.

      Oh, wait…

      There are amoebas that farm bacteria. They take them with them and spread them around to populate then they selectively eat them. 😀

      Were those amoebas to develop a means of trade in bacteria, things could go haywire. Some amoebas might be relegated to guarding bacteria for other amoebas, while other amoebas could go hungry – but they’d soon get desperate, and war would be waged over the bacteria.

      Amoebas would go tribal centered around bacterial resources. Amoebas would go to die in endless war. Commemorative plaques would be made, songs and stories written.

      Weapons programs, chemical endeavors and taxes; these would all become necessity to security and supply. The bacteria fuel the industry, the industry protects the supply.

      Then industry utilises armies and scientists to begin to explore for new supplies and new production lines. Everything is up for grabs.

      They’re only amoebas, it’s a big planet, what could possibly go wrong.

  4. Sacha 4
    1 January 2019 at 11:13 am

    The Spinoff’s political predictions for the year, a very concise list by a range of contributors: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/01-01-2019/2019-in-politics-what-will-the-big-issues-be/

  5. joe90 5
    1 January 2019 at 11:36 am

    Bernie Bros, huh. Who woulda thunk it.

    Exclusive: More than 2 dozen women and men who worked on Bernie's 2016 campaign are seeking a meeting with Sanders + advisers to “discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment on the 2016 campaign" according to a copy of letter obtained by POLITICO. https://t.co/ytKjyGlaJh pic.twitter.com/XSv8fyZxi8— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) December 31, 2018

    https://twitter.com/AlxThomp/status/1079541518455750658

    https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/30/bernie-sanders-campaign-harassment-1077014

  6. veutoviper 6
    1 January 2019 at 12:07 pm

    Some of you may have read the discussion that has been going on this morning with Pete George under yesterday’s posting of “The Standard’s ten most commented on posts in 2018”.

    This comment by me started out as a response to PG’s reply to Psycho Milt here.
    https://thestandard.org.nz/the-standards-ten-most-commented-on-posts-in-2018/#comment-1566954

    Originally I was going to add it to the now unnumbered/no reply facility ones in the thread. Then I decided to start a new thread under the same post, but then thought it really did not relate to the topic of the post. So fell back to Open Mike as the best option.

    Back to PG’s response to Psycho Milt, Three things jumped out at me. Let’s deal with the shortest two first:

    “Winston Peters has been given an easy ride by journalists for a long time.”

    My immediate response? Hahahahahahahahaha A love-in between Winston Peters and the media??? You must be blind as well as tone deaf.

    “And percent or two off the Pasifika vote (presumably from Labour) could give National a chance in a two party race.

    There is that FPP two horse race mentality coming through again …

    But the one that I (stupidly) decided to focus on was this one.

    “Ardern knows how to manipulate and use media to promote her PR – as did key.”

    Why did this get my goat?

    Because there was no mention of Bridges and his use of media to promote himself etc. Yet, just an hour or so before making that comment here, PG posted this comment on his own blog:

    https://yournz.org/2019/01/01/happy-new-year-kia-hari-te-tau-hou/#comment-336049

    The comment consists of a picture of Simon and Natalie Bridges together and smiling at an outdoor venue in Tauranga from Simon’s Twitter account with a comment – “Happy New Year! Natalie & I are at a family event in Tauranga with the kids. Hope you all have a good night!” 8:45 PM – Dec 31, 2018

    https://twitter.com/simonjbridges/status/1079644695582527489

    PG has then added a comment that “I would put one up from Jacinda Ardern but she doesn’t seem to have been on Twitter or Facebook – her Twitter account hasn’t been used since 30 October.”

    Do I detect a bit of snideness there? Over the last year, Ardern has not been a big poster on Twitter. But she has been a prolific Facebook poster with her last post with video of herself and two Ministers at the Auckland City Mission on Dec 21 attracting 614 comments. (No mention by PG of this or the hugh responses to her other regular FB videos and posts.)

    But lets look at Bridges and his use of media etc.

    He does post on Twitter regularly and his previous tweet immediately under the one PG posted above is one yesterday* with a full frontal/facial photo of himself holding their daughter with the comment “My little princess turns 1!” with a link to a NZ Women’s Weekly article on Jemima’s first birthday.

    https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/parenting/family/simon-bridges-daughter-jemima-turns-one-40100

    * https://twitter.com/simonjbridges/status/1079613204068675586

    This NZ Women’s Weekly article is a sickly sweet article about Jemima’s birthday in early December with pictures of her and the whole family celebrating with cake etc. but also with some PR messaging going on.

    For example (my bolds):

    “The thing with Simon is that he’s very attentive,” adds Natalie (36), who has her own PR business. “He’s away a lot, but when he’s home he’s really there. He plays with the kids, he reads them stories, he gives them his full attention. He’s an amazing dad to all of them.”Simon is definitely smitten with his wee girl.” …

    “Having Jemima was a beautiful finish to our family; we don’t have any plans to have any more children. It has changed all of us, having her. We all adore her and she is a real delight.” …

    “A future politician, perhaps? Simon is thrilled at the thought.
    “She’s got the skills,” he muses. “She knows how to play people – she knows the best way to get attention is smiles. She’s usually so happy and bubbly, but she’s not afraid.”

    Natalie reckons at least one, if not all three, of the Bridges children could end up following in their dad’s footsteps, and if Jemima continues to enjoy interacting with people from all walks of life, she might be the one to go after a seat in Parliament! And her mum doesn’t have an issue with that.

    “Despite what people may think, I think going into politics is a very noble thing,” says Natalie. “Most people go into it with a huge heart and very noble reasons. I would like it if one of our children decided to take that route. And they do have a great role model.”

    But is this a one off for Bridges and the NZ Women’s Weekly? Not at all, and that article includes links back to three previous NZWW on the Bridges this year – which I stupidly decided to read … Anything to avoid housework, dishes etc.

    What I found was that in 2018, NZWW has run at least five (5) articles on Bridges and his family, all blatantly using photos and discussions about the children. As well as yesterday’s one, there were articles dated:

    4 March 2018 – https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/parenting/parenting-news/national-party-leader-simon-bridges-introduces-his-newborn-daughter-36756

    14 March 2018 – https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/parenting/family/at-home-with-new-national-party-leader-simon-bridges-and-his-family-36832

    This one included detail of Natalie Bridges’ media/PR career as editor of fashion magazine ‘Simply You’, before setting up her own public-relations company Blink PR.

    2 Sept 2018 – https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/parenting/family/simon-bridges-admits-its-a-challenge-juggling-family-and-career-38909

    Header = ‘I don’t want to get out of politics one day and feel like I won the battle but lost the war.’ This was the same week as the unauthorised leak of his expenses and the ensuing furore around parliamentary enquiries –and Bridges said in the article that while his new gig has definitely thrown him some curve balls, the biggest challenge of his new normal is still juggling his family and his career.

    11 Sept 2018 – https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/parenting/family/simon-bridges-on-how-politics-is-affecting-his-family-life-38939

    A more detailed follow-up to the one a week earlier which is worth a read for a little insight into how Bridges saw his first six months as Leader and his future in politics (at that time at least), for example:

    “I’m not in this as a time server,” he admits. “I’ll be surprised if I’m still in politics in my mid fifties – I’m 41 now.

    “Some people go into it for life and they’re there 30 years on − that won’t be me. It’s about making a contribution, significant service and hopefully before it’s too late, spending a lot of time with my family and maybe having another career again.”

    And as for Simon, he reckons he’s transformed too – and he doesn’t think the job is as hard as some previous opposition leaders have made it out to be.

    “It’s gone better than I thought it would, in a funny sort of way,” he muses.

    “I just thought it would be… looking at past opposition leaders, they made it look hard. I’ve basically only been in government. Actually, it’s been more uplifting than I thought it would be.”

    He continues, “I think I’ve grown as a person over the past six months. I’ve had to become a better listener and more inclusive, and in doing that better, I suppose a decision maker.”

    And, of course, it’s been about developing his own style of leadership after following in the footsteps of the likes of Bill English and Sir John Key. For Simon, it’s a combination of taking advice and listening to his gut.

    —————–

    Now, I have not done the same exercise for Jacinda Ardern and the number of articles on her in the New Zealand Women’s Weekly this year – nor will I be doing one today. [This is NOT how I intended to start 2019 .. ]

    I also note that there are two other recent articles on their website re two NZ women politicians – which I hasten to add I have not read:

    How Chlöe Swarbrick is planning to have an eco-friendly Christmas – https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/lifestyle/homes/chloee-swarbrick-eco-friendly-christmas-40048

    Julie Anne Genter’s sustainable approach to raising baby Joaquin –
    https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/parenting/parenting-news/julie-anne-genters-baby-joaquin-40126

    So where to from here?

    I really don’t know, nor am I sure that I care, but just a little bit of ammunition for the future to use when people claim that Ardern is the big PR manipulator of the media.

    Bridges does it too – and IMHO is much more blatant at exposing his family and their life in this way.

    • Andre 6.1
      1 January 2019 at 12:53 pm

      I’m having trouble imagining anything more beigely boring than a discussion where Pete George plays a prominent role. But hey, takes all sorts, so if others are interested …

      • lprent 6.1.1
        1 January 2019 at 1:09 pm

        I found it particularly interesting. In particular because of the inherent interest in the inherent misogyny of the attitudes displayed.

        I put the comment up as a starter post

        • veutoviper 6.1.1.1
          1 January 2019 at 1:19 pm

          I did send an email suggesting that it be scrubbed if it had not already been.

          [lprent: Just saw that. Actually you did a very good job of making sure that it didn’t violate any policy or general distaste by moderators. The section focused not on the members of the family but on the use of family as political PR (including the highlighted quotes about Natalie Bridges) – which is legitimate. It got auto-moderated because of the number of links. Got let through by someone else, then picked up by me as a starter post.

          I don’t think that any of the authors could written it better in terms of presenting a topic of current politics with more delicacy and focus on the political topic ]

          • greywarshark 6.1.1.1.1
            1 January 2019 at 1:47 pm

            VV
            What a thirst for facts VV. And so illuminating. The media bias, the build-up of a line on a personality that pleases. So many people out of the immediate political eye are influential and firmly entrenched in the aspirational Affluenza way of thinking which looks to the National Party to keep up their ‘glossy’ lifestyles, ie Maggie Barry and many/most of the woman editors of magazines.

            Someone really does need to part the velvet curtains and see the little figures operating the smoke machines as in the Wizard of Oz. Though his smoke was green. I think in our world it is definitely strikingly blue. We should be as determined to see through the hokeypokey like young Dorothy!

            A short look at the wizard of oz on google turned up this detail which might sound similar to the turmoil in the National Party to some.
            8. The Wizard of Oz – 1939 (99% on Rotten Tomatoes)
            The Wizard of Oz is one of the most beloved films of all time, but it’s relatively unknown how much turmoil occurred behind the scenes. The entire process involved a total of five directors and seventeen writers, because so many kept either quitting or being fired.

            The role of the Tin Man originally belonged to Buddy Ebsen, but the aluminum powder they used to coat his body made him incredibly sick. After being rushed to the hospital, he was quietly replaced by Jack Haley, who was made-up in aluminum paste instead. The makeup used for the Wicked Witch was not so practical either… during one “hot” take where she was to disappear in a puff of smoke, she was temporarily lit on fire.
            http://www.collegehumor.com/post/7054565/10-amazing-movies-with-the-most-nightmarish-behind-the-scenes

        • Andre 6.1.1.2
          1 January 2019 at 3:36 pm

          Well I’ll be damned. You’re right, it is interesting, vv has done an outstanding deconstruction of what was going on in that thread. I gotta confess, I saw PG mentioned a few too many times in the first few paragraphs and just switched off.

        • veutoviper 6.1.1.3
          1 January 2019 at 5:26 pm

          I was not quite sure what you meant by this comment when I first read it, then saw it up as a post … went out and came back to your comment below and was blown away.

          Thank you, lprent. I really value your comments. And yes, tomorrow is another day. LOL.

          I am having a bit of a giggle as it is really easy to see from the comments to date, who has read it in full – and who has not. LOL

    • Andre 6.2
      1 January 2019 at 3:39 pm

      Veutoviper, apologies for my earlier snark. Now that I’ve read the whole thing, rather than giving up after the first few PG mentions, that’s an excellent dissection of what’s going on.

    • Anne 6.3
      1 January 2019 at 4:43 pm

      Thanks for the link thru to Julie Anne Genter and her beautiful little baby, Joaquin. Looks like he might be the spitting image of his Mum. 🙂

      • veutoviper 6.3.1
        1 January 2019 at 5:13 pm

        LOL – i still haven’t looked at it, or the Chloe one!

        By the time I had finished with “the Bridges”. I was way over NZ WW.

        Am still reeling (in a nice way) from Iprent’s bolded remarks above – and Andre’s #2 and #3 – and having it put up as a post, when I had emailed to can it.

        Always interesting to see reactions, because it is very easy to see who has read it – and who has not….. LOL

  7. Kat 7
    1 January 2019 at 12:59 pm

    “Arise Sir Tim Shadbolt”……….. proving that in the very depths of the “establishment” there lurks a sense of humour.

  8. Ed 8
    1 January 2019 at 2:33 pm

    Happy New Year everyone.

  9. Robert Guyton 9
    1 January 2019 at 6:06 pm

    Greta Thunberg

    Recently I’ve been invited to speak in places like Panama, New York, San Francisco, Abu Dhabi, Vancouver, British Virgin Islands…
    But sadly our remaining carbon budget won’t allow any such travels.
    Adult generations in countries like mine have used up our resources.

    https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1079336285595148288

  10. joe90 10
    1 January 2019 at 6:09 pm

    UltimaThule flyby webcast.

  11. Ed 11
    1 January 2019 at 6:39 pm

    My wish list for 2019

    1.A world that works cooperatively to mitigate against the worst impacts of climate catastrophe. Actions taken by students, activists and children to force governments to change.

    2. The end of capitalism. Or at least the death of its most virulent form, the neoliberal cult. More gilet jeune and other protests to bring the system down.

    3. More people in New Zealand abandoning eating food sourced from the industrial animal killing conplex.

    • greywarshark 11.1
      1 January 2019 at 7:22 pm

      That’s not a good start for 2019 Ed. There is a post for this. Why didn’t you use it. Going off in your own line again.

      • Ed 11.1.1
        1 January 2019 at 7:34 pm

        Thought this was Open Mike?
        Thought the what do we want in 2019 Post was about elections?

        • fender 11.1.1.1
          1 January 2019 at 11:16 pm

          The post grey is talking about is for local body elections, so his telling off was unwarranted. Unfortunately he sometimes thinks he’s the comment policeman, telling others what they should and shouldn’t say. However he is a good bloke beneath the headmaster persona. 😀

  12. Ed 12
    1 January 2019 at 8:28 pm

    New Zealand’s Debt has ballooned out to $ 529 billion.

    “The grand total of $528.7 billion is up 7.3 per cent from a year ago.
    The latest Reserve Bank figures (for the year to April 30) show household debt has topped $250b, driven by rising property prices and an increase in consumer borrowing.
    That’s an increase of more than 60 per cent in 10 years.
    For New Zealand households, the ratio of debt to income has now reached a record – 168 per cent, well above the pre-financial crisis peak of 159 per cent.”

    We.
    Should.
    Be.
    Worried.

    When the crash comes, it’s going to be very ugly.

    http://robinwestenra.blogspot.com/2018/12/new-zealands-ballooning-debt-reaches.html?m=1

    • halfcrown 12.1
      2 January 2019 at 11:06 am

      Yeah, and don’t forget that crook Douglas aided by the likes of Prebble, followed on by that vile female Richardson continued by the fucking Spiv conned NZ by telling us that they had to sell NZ infrastructure to their spiv mates at bargain basement prices to pay off the major debt we had.

      I wonder what they are going to do now that we are an asset poor country with no or very little public asset’s left to sell.
      As someone put on FaceBook can’t remember who “ The trouble with Thatcherism is, you run out of other peoples assets.”

  13. CHCOff 13
    1 January 2019 at 9:33 pm

    Has changing the road rules along with the record immigration rates, been much of a factor or a factor at all, in the roads increasingly becoming death traps or is it just a bit of a bad luck patch?

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/109688732/road-toll-increases-to-the-worst-it-has-been-in-10-years

  14. eco maori 14
    2 January 2019 at 10:40 am

    I see many organization doing this influencing peoples thoughts brain washing them with all forms of media they say when you get enough people to beleve in a LIE it becomes the truth. We have alot of people on the Papatunuku stage rubbing this human flaw in the intelegint people FACES. I see govement agenceys using this the neo captlist will use anything to keep there power they have stolen from the people with there decite . I have seen it used to suppress native minority cultures they only publish all the negitive story about these cultures and even invent these story or get ACTOR to stage these negtive stories they have fulse studys published to help in there suppression I can see these easy as. This is the Phenomenon that has been used to suppressed the facts on Human Caused Global Warming .Hence it taken 40 years for the fact’s to get out there to the world that when we burn carbon we are burning our mokopunas futures. Some people can see past all the BULLSHIT to the truth most don’t thanks to this 21 century communication device those of us that can see the truth can get the facts out to the people .

    Advertising and academia are controlling our thoughts. Didn’t you know? By abetting the ad industry, universities are leading us into temptation, when they should be enlightening us .
    To what extent do we decide? We tell ourselves we choose our own life course, but is this ever true? If you or I had lived 500 years ago, our worldview, and the decisions we made as a result, would have been utterly different. Our minds are shaped by our social environment, in particular the belief systems projected by those in power: monarchs, aristocrats and theologians then; corporations, billionaires and the media today.
    Humans, the supremely social mammals, are ethical and intellectual sponges. We unconsciously absorb, for good or ill, the influences that surround us. Indeed, the very notion that we might form our own minds is a received idea that would have been quite alien to most people five centuries ago. This is not to suggest we have no capacity for independent thought. But to exercise it, we must – consciously and with great effort – swim against the social current that sweeps us along, mostly without our knowledge.Surely, though, even if we are broadly shaped by the social environment, we control the small decisions we make? Sometimes. Perhaps. But here, too, we are subject to constant influence, some of which we see, much of which we don’t. And there is one major industry that seeks to decide on our behalf. Its techniques get more sophisticated every year, drawing on the latest findings in neuroscience and psychology. It is called advertising.
    Every month, new books on the subject are published with titles like The Persuasion Code: How Neuromarketing Can Help You Persuade Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime. While many are doubtless overhyped, they describe a discipline that is rapidly closing in on our minds, making independent thought ever harder. More sophisticated advertising meshes with digital technologies designed to eliminate agency.
    Earlier this year, the child psychologist Richard Freed explained how new psychological research has been used to develop social media, computer games and phones with genuinely addictive qualities. He quoted a technologist who boasts, with apparent justification: “We have the ability to twiddle some knobs in a machine learning dashboard we build, and around the world hundreds of thousands of people are going to quietly change their behaviour in ways that, unbeknownst to them, feel second-nature but are really by design.The purpose of this brain hacking is to create more effective platforms for advertising. But the effort is wasted if we retain our ability to resist it. Facebook, according to a leaked report, carried out research – shared with an advertiser – to determine when teenagers using its network feel insecure, worthless or stressed. These appear to be the optimum moments for hitting them with a micro-targeted promotion. Facebook denied that it offered “tools to target people based on their emotional state Ka kite ano Links below

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/31/advertising-academia-controlling-thoughts-universities

  16. eco maori 16
    2 January 2019 at 10:46 am

    When I became a father I was blind when I became a Grandfather I began to SEE.

  17. eco maori 17
    2 January 2019 at 1:43 pm

    Everyone has to make changes to our lifestyles to combat climate change or the PLANET is going to change our grandchildren lives for the worst. Food will be more expensive that will be a good thing we will all have gardens in the back yards citys will grow there own vegies farmers will get a better slice of the pie these are just a few ways we have to change
    The Next Climate Frontier: Predicting a Complex Domino Effect
    Motivated by events like Hurricane Harvey, researchers are trying to determine how climate change interacts with agriculture, energy, transportation and other human systems When Hurricane Harvey’s record-busting rains drenched Texas in August 2017, they triggered a cascade of chaos. Widespread flooding turned roads into rivers, impeding evacuations and access to emergency services. Stormwater swept up pathogens from wastewater treatment plants and toxins from Superfund sites, posing health threats. Phone and internet services failed in some areas, and 300,000 people in Texas lost power. Harvey also temporarily shut down a quarter of U.S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, raising gas prices.Such scenarios—climatic events causing impacts that can themselves trigger still more chains of effects, like intersecting rows of toppling dominoes—are a key focus of the fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA), released by the U.S. federal government at the end of November. For the first time, the 300 government, academic and nonprofit experts who contribute to the report devoted an entire chapter to the under-studied but critical interaction between climate change and what are called complex systems The report emphasizes that scientists need to look not only at how global warming is changing natural systems but also how those changes will set off their own ripple effects through other areas—for example, how the increasing threat of drought harms agriculture, which in turn affects the economy and food availability. “Reality is complex. In a changing climate, nothing is being affected all by itself,” says Katharine Mach, a senior research scientist at Stanford University and one of the NCA authors. The complexity of these cascading effects means they can often be hard—or even impossible—to understand or predict in a meaningful way. But that is exactly what scientists are now trying to figure out how to do. ka kite ano links

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-next-climate-frontier-predicting-a-complex-domino-effect/

  18. Eco Maori 18
    2 January 2019 at 5:13 pm

    I tau toko Meka Whaitiri regaining Jacinda trust and getting her Minsteral jobs back I know what its is like being discrimanated against’s the media and the trolls jumped all over that story just like the trolls are jumping up and down on this story trolls go hide under your parents bed
    Former minister Meka Whaitiri says she is hoping for a comeback in 2019 and is looking to earn back Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s confidence.The aspirations when you come into this place and into government is to be a minister. It is an absolute privilege to be a Minister of the Crown and I make no bones that I do hope that there is an opportunity for me to return and I am doing my best to regain the confidence of the prime minister, one step at a time,” she told Māori TV’s Te Kāea.
    “It’s been hard lessons, she has expectations of me and I am meeting those expectations by doing things that are showing that the concerns that she had in removing my ministerial warrant is being addressed.”
    Whaitri has been undergoing training to manage staff ka kite ano links below

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/109700825/meka-whaitiri-plots-comeback-in-2019

  19. Eco maori 19
    2 January 2019 at 6:42 pm

    Kia ora Newshub The dreams feasible in Tauranga has a lot of Reggae bands ka pai.
    I have my opinion on that apartment block explosion in Russia. ?????????
    I would not like to be traveling on the roads at the minute Alexandra we plan our travel,s so we travel when the traffic is low.
    Escooter,s need some laws to prevent any accidents happening the big Tec companies pushing them are arrogant and just want money and are loving the media exposure good or bad.
    Tom I have been watching the Nasa New Horizons space craft that has taken 13 years to get to Ultima Thule to get data to study and find out more about earth history.
    Kenwood camera that can scan people while they are walking is awesome that will minimize threats . Good on the young fella Ben Hawke for getting into forecasting the weather in Dunedin. What happened to the theory of using data of people’s cell phones to help predict the weather. Ka pai to Mojo coffee cafe’s breaking in the market in America Chicago city .ka kite ano

  20. eco maori 20
    3 January 2019 at 11:27 am

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.

  21. Eco maori 21
    4 January 2019 at 5:14 pm

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9XaS93WMRQQ

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.