Open mike 01/05/2016

85 comments on “Open mike 01/05/2016 ”

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1. b waghorn 1

   1 May 2016 at 12:07 pm

   Lprent the only way I could access the standard was to come via the web cache.

   [lprent: I was replacing a increasingly noisy cooling system on the my main server last night. Noisy partly due to load from the ever increasing base load of readers and a hot climate change enhanced el nino summer. But also (as I discovered) partially to do with it starting to fail.

   While I was at it, I upgraded the case to one with more (and larger) fans, more space for large disk arrays for my own arrays and those of The Standard and shifted to larger and therefore slower fans to limit the impact in my 51 square meter apartment which the computer shares with my usually patient partner Lyn. Noise from a computer isn’t exactly conducive to continued patience and domestic harmony.

   The bits all arrived yesterday morning, so I set about it at 0100. Problem was that I found I was missing some crucial standard motherboard lugs that had been removed for the previous cooling system and appaear to have departed in the usual junk clear outs. So I changed cases anyway to move the drives and fans. Then I put in the old CPU cooler. Looks like I caught it just in time.

   The server had been running continuously for 85 days wen I shut it down. After the move the pump sounded like it was crumbling bearings on startup, and the CPU was shutting itself down immediately after startup.

   So this morning it was off to PBTech to by a new version of the same old motherboard, so I could grab the lugs and put them on the old motherboard. Since they opened at 0930, I didn’t get it up and running until 1130, and put it on the network at about 1200. ]
   • Naki man 1.1

     1 May 2016 at 12:12 pm

     I had the same problem
     • greywarshark 1.1.1

       1 May 2016 at 12:22 pm

       TS has been off all morning as far as I can tell. And catching webs – what do I know about that? I use a vacuum cleaner for that myself.

       What I do want to go on about is the cheek of Dept of Trade and Enterprise using Maori term explanation as a means of promotion. Te Reo is an important thing in itself and when one wants to know tikanga it should be given by a Maori site.

       I was looking up Nga Mihi and what do I get – a come-on from Trade and Enterprise. and find two sites under their aegis about it. Get out of Maori concerns you pushy obnoxious government department. I don’t want either money-oriented pakeha or Maori using Maori tikanga to advance and advertise themselves.
       • Chooky 1.1.1.1

         1 May 2016 at 1:06 pm

         ‘Daily Blog’ doesnt seem to be functioning properly either…
       • Sacha 1.1.1.2

         1 May 2016 at 8:34 pm

         Pakeha with a capital, please. We are an ethnicity like samoan or korean.
         • greywarshark 1.1.1.2.1

           1 May 2016 at 10:06 pm

           Ooh thanks Sacha. I wondered what tone your comment would be – had the feeling it would be negative.

           Try not to be so (lower-case) sensitive. You might get called tauiwi or something and imagine that is a big affront. These days with capitals for some things and lower case for others, which I don’t agree with but no-one asked me how I felt about the changes, I suggest you just truck along trying for a better New Zealand and stay staunch on that topic.
           • Sacha 1.1.1.2.1.1

             2 May 2016 at 12:03 pm

             If it’s an ethnicity, it has capitals. Tauiwi is a broader grouping like manuhiri so it doesn’t.
   • b waghorn 1.2

     1 May 2016 at 1:46 pm

     Going above and beyond as usual then,!
     Does pbtech sell lugs for a huntaway as the ones on mine appear not to be working.
     • greywarshark 1.2.1

       1 May 2016 at 1:54 pm

       Sounds like a real dog.
       • b waghorn 1.2.1.1

         1 May 2016 at 2:27 pm

         A real bitch
     • lprent 1.2.2

       1 May 2016 at 2:10 pm

       Having worked on farms for a while, I tend to find that huntaways that don’t work tend to have a short life expectancy. Doesn’t matter if they lug or not. Although a bad lugging is often operator error, usually due to incoherence.

       While culling dogs and operators does seem like the neat solution, I generally suggest that trying to water down the operators neat solution while working usually helps. Besides that helps with the hospital and ACC bills as well as they less liable to contribute to farmbike accidents.

       😈
       • b waghorn 1.2.2.1

         1 May 2016 at 2:24 pm

         There’s no bad dogs just bad training, and you’re right about acc , a mechanic told me once how a large number of bike repairs are due to fools chasing dogs on quads.
   • ianmac 1.3

     1 May 2016 at 2:15 pm

     Brilliant work there Lynne. The absence for a few hours shows how important the Standard is to us all.
     • Chooky 1.3.1

       1 May 2016 at 3:06 pm

       +100
   • dv 1.4

     1 May 2016 at 3:08 pm

     Thank you Lynn
2. ianmac 2

   1 May 2016 at 12:15 pm

   I think it has just now been reset b waghorn.
   A very good write up about Annette King in the Herald though it quickly slipped down the order of contents.
   “She’s a veteran politician who has achieved that rare thing: respect from both sides of the house. Nicholas Jones reports.”

   I have always been an admirer of Annette when in her early days as an MP she was often picked as a future PM. I guess Helen rose at a time when had she not, Annette could have.
   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11631541
   • Rodel 2.1

     1 May 2016 at 12:54 pm

     Annette King, like Helen Clark is very impressive and charismatic when you meet her face to face.
     • Chooky 2.1.1

       1 May 2016 at 1:10 pm

       ..yes I agree…both Helen Clark and Annette King are impressive and charismatic politicians because of their competency

       ….although Helen Clark’s intellect is very far ranging and she is more to the Left ,I think, than Annette King
3. adam 3

   1 May 2016 at 12:22 pm

   Think global, and be wigged out.
4. greywarshark 4

   1 May 2016 at 12:37 pm

   After looking at the shocking video that Adam has put up it would be helpful to your soul and also bring some pressure to bear on disgraceful vicious powerful groups to join Amnesty International. They have been intervening for decades in a small way to prise open the tight regimes that lock up or kill people around the world with success, so it’s not only a good thing to do, it very often helps.

   Auckland next AGM. Saturday 28 May

   Local Region:
   Auckland
   Location:
   Potters Park Events Centre – within the Auckland Deaf Society Building at 164 Balmoral Road, Balmoral, Auckland

   Event Start:
   28 May 2016
   Time:
   Please arrive between 09.15am and 09.40 – meeting begins precisiely at 09.45 and finish at 17:00
   Price:
   $20 students, $25 for all others
   Phone:
   0800 AMNESTY
   Email:
   annual.meeting@amnesty.org.nz

   https://www.amnesty.org.nz/
   https://twitter.com/amnesty?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International
   Amnesty International was founded in London in 1961, following the publication of the article “The Forgotten Prisoners” in The Observer 28 May 1961,[4] by the lawyer Peter Benenson. Amnesty draws attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international laws and standards. It works to mobilise public opinion to put pressure on governments that let abuse take place.
   edited
   • save NZ 4.1

     1 May 2016 at 2:27 pm

     +1 Speaking of human rights violations….

     http://www.salon.com/2016/04/30/they_deserved_to_be_tried_george_w_bush_dick_cheney_and_americas_overlooked_war_crime_partner/

     “They should all be tried: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and America’s overlooked war crimes
     What the CIA did to Abu Zubaydah was barbarous. That his torturers have gone unpunished is an American tragedy”

     “Zubaydah’s story is — or at least should be — the iconic tale of the illegal extremes to which the Bush administration and the CIA went in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. And yet former officials, from CIA head Michael Hayden to Vice President Dick Cheney to George W. Bush himself, have presented it as a glowing example of the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” to extract desperately needed information from the “evildoers” of that time.

     Zubaydah was an early experiment in post-9/11 CIA practices and here’s the remarkable thing (though it has yet to become part of the mainstream media accounts of his case): it was all a big lie. Zubaydah wasn’t involved with al-Qaeda; he was the ringleader of nothing; he never took part in planning for the 9/11 attacks. He was brutally mistreated and, in another kind of world, would be exhibit one in the war crimes trials of America’s top leaders and its major intelligence agency.”
5. Macro 5

   1 May 2016 at 1:03 pm

   Welcome to the future; India bans daytime cooking as early heatwave already claims 300 lives.
   • Poission 5.1

     1 May 2016 at 1:07 pm

     In perspective 300 deaths over a month. is around a magnitude less then those that die from snakebite.

     http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Snake-bite-fatalities-are-under-reported-in-India/articleshow/11000299.cms
     • Macro 5.1.1

       1 May 2016 at 1:19 pm

       bullshit!

       “Any exceedence of 35 °C for extended periods should induce hyperthermia in humans and other mammals, as dissipation of metabolic heat becomes impossible. While this never happens now, it would begin to occur with global-mean warming of about 7 °C, calling the habitability of some regions into question. With 11-12 °C warming, such regions would spread to encompass the majority of the human population as currently distributed. Eventual warmings of 12 °C are possible from fossil fuel burning.”

       http://www.pnas.org/content/107/21/9552.full.pdf
       • Poission 5.1.1.1

         1 May 2016 at 1:22 pm

         That was not the problem proposed it is the number,ie the elephant in the room.

         http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/asian_elephants/areas/issues/elephant_human_conflict/
         • Macro 5.1.1.1.1

           4 May 2016 at 4:39 pm

           And from Australia last month

           RESPOND: a whole of government response is required, including all levels of government across all states and regions. This response should include:

           a. The acknowledgement of heatwaves as a hazard

           b. The real time release of impact data and forecasts by government agencies during and immediately following a heatwave, including data on the correlation between heatwaves and mortality/morbidity

           c. Development and implementation of a scaled response to heatwaves, similar to the scaled bushfire response

           d. Improved understanding of the impacts of heatwaves on human health, the environment, infrastructure and the economy, now and into the future

           e. The assessment of current and future response capacity to heatwaves

           my bold
           • Macro 5.1.1.1.1.1

             5 May 2016 at 11:51 am

             Further – just released study reported by Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
             Climate change could make parts of the Middle East and North Africa uninhabitable by mid-century
             I don’t think that has anything to do with snakes.
             Stop concentrating on the counter examples and see the problem for what it is.
       • ianmac 5.1.1.2

         1 May 2016 at 2:18 pm

         And the humidity at high temps is the killer.
     • greywarshark 5.1.2

       1 May 2016 at 1:56 pm

       How f.cking dismissive Poission. We can do without you too.
   • Sabine 5.2

     1 May 2016 at 3:03 pm

     Quote from Marco link : At least 300 people have died of heat-related illness this month, including 110 in the state of Orissa, 137 in Telangana and another 45 in Andhra Pradesh where temperatures since the start of April have been hovering around 44C.

     That’s about 4-5C hotter than normal for April, according to state meteorological official YK Reddy. He predicted the situation would only get worse in May, traditionally the hottest month in India.” Quote end.

     yes, right, let’s talk about snake bites.

     seriously can the National Party Groupies get any less creative?
   • Chooky 5.3

     1 May 2016 at 4:08 pm

     On the subject of weather:

     Weather ( drought , global warming) implications for corporate farming , mono-cropping and Monsanto bio-engineering genetic modification elimination of biodiversity?

     This article in New Scientist is interesting ( but you have to subscribe or buy a copy for the full article…sorry):

     ‘Rain makers: How high-flying bacteria could control the clouds’

     https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030690-400-rain-makers-how-highflying-bacteria-could-control-the-clouds/

     ” Microbes in the clouds seem able to hijack the weather for their own good, summoning drizzle and downpours. Can we use them to control where rain falls?”

     …”The skies are alive with microbes that could be hijacking the weather”

     [plant pathologist]”Sands’s proposal that drizzle and downpours are summoned by microbes living in the clouds didn’t go down well with atmospheric scientists…”

     [ French National Institute for Ag Research]…”Morris now suspects that a series of wheat rust epidemics may have played a part in creating the Dust Bowl conditions that plagued the North American prairies in the 1930s.”…
6. Chooky 6

   1 May 2016 at 1:05 pm

   ‘New McCarthyism: Is London’s ‘anti-Semitic’ scandal a move against Jeremy Corbyn?’

   https://www.rt.com/op-edge/341478-new-mccarthyism-corbyn-antisemitism/

   …”It is precisely this international solidarity that Israel and its supporters fear most, for it confronts the assertion that Israel stands as a beacon of civilization and progress whose existence is under threat. This is false. The only people whose existence is under threat when it comes to this question is the Palestinians. In this regard, Israel’s Jewish character is not the issue, its apartheid character is. And a world in which apartheid is allowed to exist is not a world worth living in.

   Finally, on Ken Livingstone specifically, we are talking about a politician who has spent his entire life raising his voice against and fighting racism. In fact, it would be impossible to identify a politician in the UK who has done more to stand up for the rights of minorities. It is a record that has earned him the enmity of a significant section of the political class and right wing media establishment. To see him labeled anti-Semitic is an absolute travesty of justice, as is his resulting suspension from the Labour Party he has served so loyally and with great distinction over four decades.”
   • One Two 6.1

     1 May 2016 at 2:14 pm

     Big lies remain fiercely defended

     They won’t be contained much longer
   • save NZ 6.2

     1 May 2016 at 2:42 pm

     Good link Chooky. Also liked this extract…

     “This is why, despite the very real existence of anti-Semitism and the obligation to confront it whenever it arises, the heart of the matter driving this issue in this context is not anti-Semitism but apartheid – namely, the system of apartheid that underpins Israel and its subjugation of the Palestinian people and their human rights and right to self-determination. By way of a reminder we are talking about the illegal military occupation of the West Bank, the existence and expansion of illegal Jewish settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the ongoing siege of Gaza; the latter involving the collective punishment of its 1.6 million inhabitants, along with periodic military assaults and the slaughter of men, women, and children.

     Any one of the aforementioned would result in an uproar of condemnation from the so-called international community, with calls for sanctions and political isolation to be applied. The fact that there are multiple grounds for Israel to be so condemned and yet it is not and, moreover, receives unparalleled political, geopolitical, and economic support from Western governments, constitutes a lamentable case of hypocrisy and double standards.”
   • Bearded Git 6.3

     1 May 2016 at 6:43 pm

     Agreed x1000 Chooky. I’ve been listening to BBC Radio 4 reporting of this the last couple of days and it is clear the BBC is part of the “get-Corbyn-out-by-any-means” brigade. The so-called anti-semite position of Corbyn and allies (actually fair-deal for Palestinians position) is being used as an excuse.

     The give-away is all the people protesting that the issue is not about the Labour Party leadership; oh no, never.
   • Psycho Milt 6.4

     5 May 2016 at 12:06 pm

     “Is London’s ‘anti-Semitic’ scandal a move against Jeremy Corbyn?”

     In short – yes. There’s no other explanation that isn’t bullshit.
7. Macro 7

   1 May 2016 at 1:10 pm

   Overlooked in all the other rorts – McCully stuffs it up again In Tokelau.
   Have we ever had a more corrupt and incompetent government?
   • Incognito 7.1

     1 May 2016 at 1:33 pm

     Murky McCully will never come clean; it’s not in his nature.
     • lprent 7.1.1

       1 May 2016 at 2:13 pm

       Talking about weasels screwing things up, has everyone seen this?

       http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/29/476154494/weasel-shuts-down-world-s-most-powerful-particle-collider

       It seems like an extreme way to cull weasel populations
       • Chooky 7.1.1.1

         1 May 2016 at 2:58 pm

         yes I saw that and laughed…bloody weasels..probably thought it was a rabbit burrow
       • Incognito 7.1.1.2

         1 May 2016 at 3:15 pm

         Yes, I’d seen that one. I’d be more concerned about flying insects and creepy crawlies: Why ‘Crazy Ants’ Swarm Inside Electronics.
   • Sabine 7.2

     1 May 2016 at 2:14 pm

     Quote from your link

     Quote: “Murray McCully awarded the contract to build the Mataliki to a company in Bangladesh, overlooking a bid for it to be built in New Zealand by local boat builders.” Quote End.

     This is what pisses me off the most, what the fuck? This is NZ Taxpayers money going leaving NZ, creating no jobs here, funding absolutly nothing, but a company in Bangladesh.
     And than it goes wrong. And the money is lost, shit was produced, and the Taxpayer gets to shell out for replacement and the likes.

     Go ahead and tell me that National does it fucking better.
   • save NZ 7.3

     1 May 2016 at 2:50 pm

     Shocking. Thanks for the link. More wasted ‘aid’. What a joke this government is!

     National would never award to NZ boat builders, that would create jobs and produce a quality product in NZ. Better to go with the cheapest even if it does not work at all, is over budget and does not arrive on time.

     Idiots!!!
     • Draco T Bastard 7.3.1

       1 May 2016 at 4:00 pm

       +1
   • Draco T Bastard 7.4

     1 May 2016 at 3:52 pm

     “Murray McCully awarded the contract to build the Mataliki to a company in Bangladesh, overlooking a bid for it to be built in New Zealand by local boat builders. This is typical of an increasingly arrogant and out-of-touch Government who should back Kiwi businesses.

     “So far the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been very reluctant to release details, despite the amount of taxpayer money used, and is refusing to release documents under the official information Act.

     IMO, the government should always buy NZ made unless whatever is needed can’t be produced in NZ in which case the government needs to make it possible to produce in NZ.

     This government has probably been the most secretive that we’ve had for some time. And the more we hear of the rorts and fraud that this government carries out the more it becomes obvious why they manipulate the OIA.
8. joe90 8

   1 May 2016 at 1:28 pm

   I’m no fan of our Penny but there’s something very unsettling about Slater, or one of his minions, stalking her and posting images of her property.
   • save NZ 8.1

     1 May 2016 at 2:37 pm

     @ Joe90

     I hope she lays a police complaint. Stalking anyone, especially mayoral candidates should be investigated.
   • greywarshark 8.2

     1 May 2016 at 3:35 pm

     One wonders where the spawn of privilege will stop.
     • joe90 8.2.1

       1 May 2016 at 3:47 pm

       Closing comments on the article suggests the slobbering oaf may have realised he’s over cooked things.
       • Rodel 8.2.1.1

         1 May 2016 at 10:09 pm

         Slater? Does he still exist? Shame that.I don’t wish anyone any harm but his existence is a blight on a decent race of people. i.e – us Kiwis.
9. adam 9

   1 May 2016 at 1:31 pm

   Seeing as it May day – including a wonderful piece on Lucy Parsons – one of my hero’s.
10. Paul 10

    1 May 2016 at 2:35 pm

    Brilliant talk.
    Brilliant book. ‘How Did We Get into This Mess?’

    ‘ George Monbiot is one of the most vocal, and eloquent, critics of the current consensus. How Did We Get into this Mess?, based on his powerful journalism, assesses the state we are now in: the devastation of the natural world, the crisis of inequality, the corporate takeover of nature, our obsessions with growth and profit and the decline of the political debate over what to do.

    While his diagnosis of the problems in front of us is clear-sighted and reasonable, he also develops solutions to challenge the politics of fear. How do we stand up to the powerful when they seem to have all the weapons? What can we do to prepare our children for an uncertain future? Controversial, clear but always rigorously argued, How Did We Get into this Mess? makes a persuasive case for change in our everyday lives, our politics and economics, the ways we treat each other and the natural world.’
11. save NZ 11

    1 May 2016 at 2:35 pm

    scary stuff…

    You don’t know if that’s beef: The animals mixed into your meat might shock — and disgust — you
    Meat substitution scandals are becoming more common: When researchers test meats, they often find unexpected things

    http://www.salon.com/2016/04/30/you_dont_know_if_thats_beef_the_animals_mixed_into_your_meat_might_shock_and_disgust_you/
    • b waghorn 11.1

      1 May 2016 at 3:05 pm

      I bought meat patties in Scotland into he 90s , it had 50% pork 20% beef 20% chicken and 10% other meat!!! It paid not to think to hard while we chowed down.
      • weka 11.1.1

        1 May 2016 at 3:17 pm

        cats and lemmings?
        • b waghorn 11.1.1.1

          1 May 2016 at 6:56 pm

          Tasted like road kill
          • McFlock 11.1.1.1.1

            1 May 2016 at 7:07 pm

            Sure that’s not tahr? 🙂
            • gsays 11.1.1.1.1.1

              1 May 2016 at 7:35 pm

              excellent! mc flock.
    • weka 11.2

      1 May 2016 at 3:18 pm

      Another good reason to relocalise our food supply. Shorten the supply chain and the quality of food improves.
    • McFlock 11.3

      1 May 2016 at 4:05 pm

      It didn’t particularly bother me, but that pork in the collagen being labelled “Halal” is outright fraud.

      Every so often I seem to cook some cheap cuts that seem to provide their own braising water, and that sucks, but I have a mate who shifted to the US a few years ago and she was completely unimpressed by their supermarket bacon – practically wetter than a dishcloth.

      I’m a bit of an omnivore though – mildly curious as to what rat would taste like. But then maybe the old joke that everything tastes like chicken is because “chicken” has a little bit of everything…
    • joe90 11.4

      1 May 2016 at 4:35 pm

      Remember kids, when in Otago/Southland don’t eat the meat…

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_meat_adulteration_scandal#Compass_Group
      • Andre 11.4.1

        1 May 2016 at 4:53 pm

        If beef eaters acquired a taste for horse (and kangaroo) instead of beef, methane emissions from livestock farming would drop significantly.

        So you could look at it as Compass trying to do their bit on the sly to counter global warming. Or not.
        • alwyn 11.4.1.1

          1 May 2016 at 5:51 pm

          If you ate Kangaroo instead of beef you would never go back to cattle.
          Kangaroo is a wonderful meat. It is tender and has low fat and is very easy to cook.
          When I lived in Australia we used to eat it in preference to any other of the red meats. Unfortunately the supermarkets stopped selling it. Customers were apparently complaining about them selling poor little Skippy.
          I hadn’t realised that you got less methane emissions from horses than cattle though. Is the difference significant?
          I might try horse next time I am in France. There are butchers who sell only viande de cheval.
          • Andre 11.4.1.1.1

            1 May 2016 at 6:16 pm

            As far as I can put together from the various sources, it seems that horses (and roos) emit about 1/3 the methane per day per kg bodyweight. It’s because they’re not ruminants. So from a global warming perspective, a cow out in the paddock is very roughly about the same as an average car, a horse is about a motorbike. I don’t know if that crude first approximation comparison needs to be significantly adjusted for differences in growth rates, feed requirements, carcass yields etc.

            Pigs and chickens are also much better at converting their feed into bodyweight/protein with much lower emissions than cattle. Sheep and deer are a little bit better than cattle, but since sheep and deer are also ruminants there’s not much in it.
            • b waghorn 11.4.1.1.1.1

              1 May 2016 at 7:02 pm

              http://sharingshed.farmersweekly.co.nz/index.php?/blog/2/entry-220-get-off-the-grass-­-if-it’s-gm/
              There is a possible solution to cut farm emissions .
              • Andre …

                1 May 2016 at 7:25 pm

                Better start building your barricades now. They’ll be coming for you with torches and pitchforks for daring to suggest using that kind of satanical corporate overlord technology…
12. greywarshark 12

    1 May 2016 at 3:01 pm

    A quick quip from quirky Terry Pratchett

    I think perhaps the most important problem is that we are trying to understand the fundamental workings of the universe via a language devised for telling one another where the best fruit is. Terry Pratchett
    Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/terry_pratchett.html
13. Draco T Bastard 13

    1 May 2016 at 3:14 pm

    A Better Bus Network for Auckland: The case for urgent attention to the city’s bus issues

    Executive Summary

    Auckland’s bus network has failed to deliver at a high quality during the increase in passenger numbers in March of 2016. Major changes are required to restore the confidence of Aucklanders in the bus network and ensure its reliability.

    Over 1000 responses were received from bus users on the issues they experienced using the bus network from a combination of convenience and snowball sampling over the course of March.

    With public transport accounting for 27 per cent of journeys into the area in 2013, it’s empirical that the issues of buses turning up late, the overcrowding of buses, buses not turning up and extremely long waits for buses, be addressed as soon as possible by Auckland Transport.

    This is a problem that can be solved if Auckland Transport accepts the recommendations made by this policy briefing to add double decker buses for peak trips, extends the peak frequency time for increased bus services, increases the all day frequency of buses and increasing the speed and investment into new bus lanes.

    I’d like to point out that I think that Auckland Transport is actually doing quite well considering the fundamental under-funding of public transport over the last 50+ years because of both central and local governments insistence on more bloody cars.
14. ianmac 14

    1 May 2016 at 4:19 pm

    This could reshape the destiny of Iraq and maybe the end of the US “democracy” let alone NZ involvement in the training.
    “Protesters stormed Iraq’s Parliament in a dramatic culmination of months of demonstrations, casting uncertainty over the tenure of the country’s leader and the foundations of the political system laid in place after the 2003 US-led invasion.”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11631747

    and,”If Iraq PM Abadi fails to survive chaos, fears for US Isis plan
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11631777
15. joe90 15

    1 May 2016 at 6:05 pm

    A rather Christ like Christian has passed.

    The peacemaking legacy of Daniel Berrigan, S.J.

    Daniel Berrigan, the Jesuit priest and acclaimed poet who for decades famously challenged U.S. Catholics to reject war and nuclear weapons, died on April 30 at the Murray-Weigel Jesuit Community in the Bronx, New York. He was 94. He was a Jesuit for 76 years and a priest for 63 years.

    http://americamagazine.org/issue/poet-and-prophet
    • Colonial Viper 15.1

      1 May 2016 at 6:26 pm

      sorry to hear this.
      • joe90 15.1.1

        1 May 2016 at 6:41 pm

        satyagraha and ahimsa, no matter the ism

        What are you most grateful for as you look back over your long life?” I asked Daniel Berrigan, S.J., who is 88. We were sitting last December in his light-filled living room at the Jesuit residence in Manhattan where he has lived since 1975. He answered immediately: “My Jesuit vocation.” Any regrets? I asked. “I could have done sooner the things I did, like Catonsville,” he replied.

        http://americamagazine.org/issue/702/article/looking-back-gratitude
    • adam 15.2

      1 May 2016 at 7:07 pm

      He will be missed. Really quite a sad day now.

      If you want to know a little of what he did, this is a good start.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plowshares_Movement
      • joe90 15.2.1

        1 May 2016 at 7:19 pm
        • adam 15.2.1.1

          1 May 2016 at 7:26 pm
16. ScottGN 16

    1 May 2016 at 6:49 pm

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11631811

    “Trade officials, in their “NZ Inc India Strategy”, once hoped New Zealand would ship $2 billion of goods to India by 2015.

    Instead, the value of goods exported to India annually has fallen since 2011, from $900 million to $637 million last year.”

    So FTA or not that’s another fail then Mr Key?
    • Draco T Bastard 16.1

      1 May 2016 at 8:46 pm

      India is busy building it’s economy and working not to be dependent upon trade. Their politicians seem to understand that if it’s produced in their own country then they can afford it and that they thus don’t need foreign exchange.
      • Paul 16.1.1

        1 May 2016 at 9:03 pm

        Meanwhile the media feeds the populace these distractions….

        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11631851
        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11631482

        Go back to bed New Zealand, your government is in control.
        Go back to bed New Zealand, your government is in control.
        Go back to bed New Zealand, your government is in control.
        Go back to bed New Zealand, your government is in control.
        Go back to bed New Zealand, your government is in control.
17. Pat 17

    1 May 2016 at 8:03 pm

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/79176677/no-performance-targets-for-fletcher-eqr-until-2015

    and….

    “Fletcher did not guarantee that any accredited contractor was capable, the agreement said, which effectively waived the firm of any liability for substandard work.”

    Great work if you can get it.
    • joe90 17.1

      1 May 2016 at 9:13 pm

      Over beers a bloke told me had he known how badly things would turn out he would never have agreed to the Fletcher fix, He’s in the trade himself and was initially quite keen to take the cash and do the work himself but under duress, harassed, he reckoned, he felt he had no option but to accept their proposal.

      Crony capitalism at it’s best.
      • Pat 17.1.1

        1 May 2016 at 9:24 pm

        you can guarantee the cash offer would have been insufficient in any case
18. Herodotus 18

    1 May 2016 at 9:07 pm

    Something to ponder
    If our PM on a salary of $452,500
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11408306
    Would pay PAYE of $140,245
    https://brc1.ird.govt.nz/web-determinations/screen/Tax+on+Annual+Income+Calculator/en-GB/summary?user=guest
    Yet if he donated all to registered charities he would be refunded at a rate of 33.33% or $150,818 ie a net tax refund of $10,517 so our pm also is someone who pays no income tax. 🤑 Based on this premise
    http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/04/almost_half_of_britons_pay_no_income_tax.html
19. Tautoko Mangō Mata 19

    1 May 2016 at 9:35 pm

    An argument used to promote TPP by the former Trade Minister, Tim Groser and being trotted out regularly is that “without agreements such as the TPP, New Zealand would be shut out of markets and become the Greece of the South Pacific.”
    DEAN BAKER from the Center for Economic and Policy Research addresses this same argument in relation to the US.

    This may be an effective sales pitch for these deals, but it has nothing to do with reality.

    The United States already had plenty of trade before NAFTA, CAFTA and the other trade deals, just as it already has a huge amount of trade with the TPP countries.

    These deals are about putting in place a set of rules that favor some groups and disadvantage others. A major part of NAFTA was the investment chapter that puts in place safeguards to ensure that Mexico’s government will not confiscate U.S. factories or restrict their ability to take profits out of Mexico.

    This made it easier for companies like General Motors to set up assembly plants in Mexico. This was good news for General Motors’ efforts to boost profits. It was not good news for U.S. autoworkers who lost jobs.
    ……
    In short, when we debate the merits of the TPP and other trade deals, we are not arguing about trade. We are arguing over specific rules that are intended to favor some interest groups at the expense of others. Making trade the issue is a deliberate distraction.

    http://www.goupstate.com/article/20160501/OPINION/160509997/-1/661415jyb.com?Title=Point-America-had-trade-before-these-pacts&tc=ar
    • Pat 19.1

      1 May 2016 at 9:46 pm

      +1…..
      “Making trade the issue is a deliberate distraction.”…..aint that the truth
20. Robert Glennie 20

    2 May 2016 at 3:04 pm

    I am hearing on The Daily Blog that an American warship may visit in November.

    Does that mean they have finally come clean on which ships are nuclear and which are not, or has National undermined the nuclear legislation by stealth?

    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/04/29/to-the-barricades-kiwis-key-is-letting-a-filthy-us-war-ship-into-our-waters-rage-and-prepare-to-fight-now/

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