Open Mike 02/09/2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:53 am, September 2nd, 2018 - 171 comments
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171 comments on “Open Mike 02/09/2018 ”

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  1. Ed 1
    2 September 2018 at 7:28 am

    This is terrible.
    Clearly the private insurance company model fails people and societies.
    Nationalise insurance.

    “Christchurch homeowners with unresolved insurance claims from the earthquakes have described feeling exhausted, frustrated and stuck as another anniversary looms.
    Eight years ago on Tuesday, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck near Darfield, starting the sequence that damaged so many homes in the region.
    On Saturday, about 60 people, many with unresolved claims and some fighting their way through the courts, gathered on Papanui Rd to draw attention to their on-going plight.
    …..Speaking at the protest, Empowered Christchurch secretary Seamus O’Cromtha referred to recent statistics showing a rise in suicides in the region and mentioned similar rallies in 2016 and 2017.
    “Here we are in 2018, is this going to go on for another 10 years? Are the suicide statistics in Canterbury going to go sky high?”
    “This has got to be a reflection of the misery and the despair that insurance companies and the Government have been putting people through for the last seven-and-a-half years.”

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/106754135/christchurch-protest-highlights-unresolved-insurance-claims-eight-years-on

    • James 1.1
      2 September 2018 at 7:49 am

      “Nationalise insurance”

      Nope. That’s a stupid idea.

      • tc 1.1.1
        2 September 2018 at 7:56 am

        Yes of course we need to re-nationalise it……not nationalise it as it’s another area the govt stood up a provider in waaay back, flogged it and look where we are now.

        Like banks they’re leeches on a small country like ours with a pissweak legislative framework holding them to account.

        • gsays 1.1.1.1
          2 September 2018 at 7:27 pm

          These ideologically bound Tories forget the state bailout and government guarantees given to AMI/IAG.
          It’s the same old same old- privatise profits, socialise risk.

          Why didnt the white white collar crims in AMI do gaol time for under insuring AMI’s exposure

      • KJT 1.1.2
        2 September 2018 at 8:01 am

        Like ACC, you mean?

        Cheaper, more effective and worked better than the private equivalent elsewhere.

        Until National fucked it, so they could try and privatise it, of course.

        • Infused 1.1.2.1
          2 September 2018 at 9:23 am

          Except it dosent

          • greywarshark 1.1.2.1.1
            2 September 2018 at 12:40 pm

            infused
            It certainly needs a dose of good people running ACC, not computer paradigms.

            • Draco T Bastard 1.1.2.1.1.1
              2 September 2018 at 5:21 pm

              Nope.

              You may have one good person in a position of power but who replaces them?

              Much better to have laws and computer algorithms. In fact, that’s pretty much why we have The Rule of Law rather than dictators.

              • greywarshark …
                2 September 2018 at 6:15 pm

                But who is devising those machines and programs, people who love machines not people? Or machines that are turned into virtual agencies by government and are learning-cumulative and then given charge of people’s lives. You are so trusting DTB that I don’t care for your easy assurances. You may remember when computers were first introduced and some huge difficulties arose because everyone believed any answer that came from them.

                I want to get through to the Vodafone network and it has given the message that it is under maintenance for the whole weekend. That is our future DTB. We will be locked out of services at the whim of a computer, because they will develop whims as they start to learn and build up memory banks and think out their own approved paradigms.

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  2 September 2018 at 7:58 pm

                  But who is devising those machines and programs

                  Researchers.

                  You are so trusting DTB that I don’t care for your easy assurances.

                  And yet you’re the one thinking that we should let benevolent dictators rule us.

                  I want to get through to the Vodafone network and it has given the message that it is under maintenance for the whole weekend. That is our future DTB. We will be locked out of services at the whim of a computer

                  That’s not the whim of the computer but of the profit motive. Vodafone obviously weren’t spending enough on maintenance and probably didn’t have enough infrastructure to support their customers.

                  because they will develop whims as they start to learn and build up memory banks and think out their own approved paradigms.

                  The Terminator isn’t actually real.

                  • greywarshark …
                    2 September 2018 at 8:58 pm

                    OK DTB. You get all your ideas from films apparently!

                    Vodafone becomes a dictator that doesn’t spend enough on maintenance. I have a landline still but fewer people have it. Especially on copper. I demand my right of freedom of choice and not loss of acceptable service.

                    Some in NZ still are not on cellphones. It is no answer to put a machine in charge to avoid companies’ profit gouging because machines will do an efficiency audit and decide that rural people aren’t worth the effort. Result same.

                    Tedtalk speaker on Radionz tonight says that in future networks will go down majorly. See No. 3 below.

                    Better start breeding carrier pigeons that can handle NZ weather. Go along to bird fancier days and shows and find out how to do it before all the bird fanciers die off. We don’t want to lose all our hard won developments and be back to running real marathons. By the way peruse Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, we have to learn from the Cretes. And others.

                    Networks – 2 September
                    From TED Radio Hour, 7:06 pm today

                    TOPIC :Networks
                    Networks surround and sustain us, in nature, in our bodies, in relationships, in the digital world. This hour, TED speakers explore how we rely on networks and how we have the power to shape them.
                    https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ted/audio/2018660254/networks-2-september

                    1 Suzanne Simard: How Do Trees Collaborate?
                    2 Wanis Kabbaj: Can We Improve Our Transportation Network Using…Biology?
                    4Robin Dunbar: Is There A Limit To How Many Friends We Can Have?

                    3 Avi Rubin: What Happens When Hackers Hijack Our Smart Devices?

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      3 September 2018 at 11:18 am

                      I have a landline still but fewer people have it. Especially on copper. I demand my right of freedom of choice and not loss of acceptable service.

                      You don’t have that right. Fact is that we can’t afford to maintain both copper and fibre. Chorus and the other infrastructure are pushing the removal of physical connections to the home as well because it costs more to maintain such a network than a wireless network.

                      It is no answer to put a machine in charge to avoid companies’ profit gouging because machines will do an efficiency audit and decide that rural people aren’t worth the effort.

                      It wasn’t machines which did that but the people managing Telecom after the sale to the private sector.

                      In other words, the profit drive and the bludging shareholders.

                      3 Avi Rubin: What Happens When Hackers Hijack Our Smart Devices?

                      You do understand that that’s already been happening right? And that it’s getting more and more difficult?

              • McFlock …
                2 September 2018 at 10:03 pm

                Laws and computer algorithms are developed and operated by people.

                ACC has lots of algorithms and legislative frameworks. The people who use those algorithms have been poorly led by other people, though.

          • KJT 1.1.2.1.2
            2 September 2018 at 3:51 pm

            Never lived in another country, without ACC, have you?

          • Draco T Bastard 1.1.2.1.3
            2 September 2018 at 5:19 pm

            Except it did before National fucked it over ready for privatisation by making it work the same way that private insurance did rather than the pay-go method of the original ACC.

            The fact is that private providers can’t actually compete with government services. That’s why they pull all these lies about how great the private sector is and lobby to make all government services provided by the private sector which, as we’ve found out at our expense, cost more while providing less.

      • cleangreen 1.1.3
        2 September 2018 at 11:09 pm

        No James you are wrong there.

        We need a Government Insurance company to lead the way then we will see the privateers Insurance companies will modify their inhuman methods.

        Also while living in Florida in the 1990’s one of the large insurance companies threatened to pull out of insuring Florida because the hurricanes were casing so much damage and the Federal Government told the insurer that if they stop insuring florida they will be kicked out of te US to and the insurance company modified their attitude.

        Labour needs to do this here to.

    • Stuart Munro 1.2
      2 September 2018 at 8:53 am

      Proper regulation would suffice – not under a round-heeled Czar like Brownlee of course.

      Meeting claims honestly and within a reasonable period must be part of an insurance company’s license to operate.

      The majority of companies involved in Christchurch behaved very badly indeed – with the full complicity of the treacherous and revolting Brownlee, a man whose financial affairs are long overdue for a forensic audit.

  2. James 2
    2 September 2018 at 7:51 am

    Stacey Kirk nails it this morning – on labour’s problems and credibility issues.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/106664691/stacey-kirk-labours-issues-come-back-to-one-word–credibility

    • KJT 2.1
      2 September 2018 at 8:02 am

      More propaganda from National’s party political broadcasters.

    • Ed 2.2
      2 September 2018 at 8:21 am

      Stacy Kirk is a propagandist for the establishment.
      A paid puppet for the permanent government.

      • Grantoc 2.2.1
        2 September 2018 at 1:10 pm

        Sounds like you’re describing yourself Ed – just ad the phrase “left wing” in front of “establishment” and change the name to “Ed”

      • cleangreen 2.2.2
        2 September 2018 at 11:13 pm

        100% Ed. you scored it right.

        Big bussiness is trying to turn the screws.

    • mickysavage 2.3
      2 September 2018 at 8:26 am

      Wait until you read Heather Du Plessis Allan …

      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12116830

      Kirk has always been anti labour. Du Plessis Allan was but has had a significant change of mind lately.

      • Ed 2.3.1
        2 September 2018 at 8:50 am

        Don’t be too hopeful.
        A leopard can’t change its spots.

        It is more likely that Duplicity has been ordered by her handlers to write a government friendly article.

        Why?

        The clue is here….

        …….compare Labour’s changed attitude to business. Only a few months back Labour was all DGAF. It pulled the pin on a hand grenade and lobbed it at the oil and gas industry. No consultation, no warnings, nothing. Just poof, industry over.

        What a contrast to last week when the PM gathered business leaders for a kumbaya speech. She told business she would now be listening and announced a working group (yes, another one) to make that happen.

        The establishment has sent a message.

        Grovel up to business and we’ll call off the dogs.
        You are free to tinker, but leave the deep state’s power structure in place….

        Business has played this power game before.

        https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/07-06-2018/does-jacinda-ardern-face-a-helen-clark-style-winter-of-discontent/

        • marty mars 2.3.1.1
          2 September 2018 at 9:20 am

          Have to say that that is one of the best comments ive ever read of yours.

          I agree that this is a tactic from the right. Sadly some will fall for it.

        • Dennis Frank 2.3.1.2
          2 September 2018 at 10:50 am

          That history lesson from the Spinoff was well-articulated & I agree with Ed that we’re seeing a repeat effort. Give credit to the PM for creating a Business Council as an antidote, sensible precaution, but neoliberalism was going strong back then and now is going weak, so the parallel is over-stated.

          I read Stacey Kirk’s analysis in search of the partisan bias that Ed & others saw but didn’t find any – it was a fair appraisal. Heather’s was more interesting, nuanced, and I share Ed’s scepticism. Can’t see why she thinks Little’s summit was a debacle – surely we ought to reserve judgment. Too soon to jump to that conclusion. Policy & administrative decisions may be in the pipeline.

          I also disagree with her re the two under-performing ministers. I worked with her when she started in the TVNZ newsroom (mid-nineties), she had a natural enthusiastic style but never made any political comments about the stories we worked on together. She seems to have trended to the right since. I agree with Jacinda that sometimes people deserve a second chance. One can be a successful leader without being ruthless.

      • greywarshark 2.3.2
        2 September 2018 at 12:42 pm

        Bryce Edwards has a sensitive nose.

        This government has lost its new car smell
        https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/365088/this-government-has-lost-its-new-car-smell
        10:21 am on 28 August 2018
        by Bryce Edwards*
        Opinion – Jacinda Ardern’s leniency towards demoted MP Clare Curran leads to easy comparisons with the actions of the last government, writes Bryce Edwards.

    • Observer Tokoroa 2.4
      2 September 2018 at 9:30 am

      Lovely to see you again so soon James

      You been fooling around a bit I see. Sucking up to Stacey. She’s a Stuff up James.

      Couldn’t you possibly get somebody who has a brain and a pen that writes coherently ? You could then invite her out to lunch (if you can afford it).

      Regards to your weird nationals. Have you paid your debts to the music you stole? Got the mental chap hospitalised ? booked a trip with the unstable Leader of the Opposition ?

      Good lad.

    • Doogs 2.5
      2 September 2018 at 10:10 am

      OK James, here it is – credibility is basically perceptual in essence, as is this elusive and slippery thing called business confidence. They are ephemeral in all aspects except the real effect they have on people’s thinking. Few people are capable of standing aside from the perception of others to make a genuine assessment based on their own research and thinking. It’s so much easier to be a sheeple and follow whatever your tribal beliefs are. Whatever the media are driving also doesn’t help things. and we end up with self-fulfilling prophesies with serve only to cement the prevailing idea. Genuine thinking disappears down the gurgler and we end up with skewed views on what’s really happening.

    • Carolyn_Nth 2.6
      2 September 2018 at 12:00 pm

      Curiously, while Kirk (a known Nat cheerleader) is doing another hatchet job on the current government, bot the Guardian and Independent UK have glowing front page pieces on Ardern. (scroll down the front page of both websites)

      I do think the UK pieces are a bit over the top. I don’t think all NZ is over the moon about Ardern’s government. I have yet to see really strong legislation for alleviating (child) poverty, or for restructuring our welfare system (as claimed in the UK articles).

      However, I do think it’s interesting that NZ corporate media are not as enamoured by Ardern as some overseas news media.

      I also think it’s curious that both centrist/centre liberal UK papers have glowing articles about Ardern on the same day. But this is perhaps an indication of where Ardern’s government sits on the political spectrum: not radical left, but centre left/liberal. While Kirk is firmly to the right.

      I think Soper and HDPA are not keen on Bridges, and want another Nat leader. There’s some barbs against Ardern’s government buried towards the end of HDPA’s latest article.

      • Kat 2.6.1
        2 September 2018 at 4:52 pm

        All the parliamentary opposition including their sycophantic scribes in the media are not keen on Winston Peters. They see him as the bogey man, the enemy, the Judas that appointed a “girl” as PM. All for his own ego trip. They see Winston as the architect of something that is “not fair” and “simply undemocratic” in going with Labour and forming a coalition of the losers. That rankles them and they will not give up on the disparaging commentary until either the coalition is kicked out or Jacinda Ardern manages to pull lots of votes and establishes a clear lead in the polls for Labour over National.

        And yes Soper and co desperately want another Nat leader other than Bridges. One that will outshine the PM. But there just isn’t one lurking in the ranks at the moment. So that is why the Nat helicopter is on permanent standby ready to fly in the next great right hope.

      • Sanctuary 2.6.2
        3 September 2018 at 12:05 pm

        See this – https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/09/simon-bridges-says-he-s-arranged-for-abby-hartley-to-come-home.html

        This tells us much about the attitude of much of the NZ political right. They do not believe in democracy that doesn’t suit them and simply refuse to regard the current government as legitimate.

        How else do you explain a millionaire approaching the National party leader to arrange their piece of altruism, rather than simply calling the appropriate ministry? The donor clearly regards it as anathema to allow a good news story to not be politicised with an explicit rejection of the legitimate government in favour of a stunt designed to portray National as the legitimate government.

        The refusal of a large section of our deeply polarised electorate to accept that National lost the last election is what drives the bitterness of so much of the anti-government media rhetoric from the likes of Hoskings and Soper, and sense of vbeing cheated by usurpers that tainsts so much of what Kirk writes.

    • Grafton Gully 2.7
      2 September 2018 at 8:10 pm

      The Labour NZ First Greens Coalition is showing a reassuring stability and immediacy in addressing problems any reforming government would face in its first term. A refreshing change from the cynical and arrogant National led governments of the past.

  3. marty mars 3
    2 September 2018 at 7:54 am

    A read for the grown ups

    “How do any of us deal with finding out that someone we once admired is guilty of sexual abuse? Moana Maniapoto reflects on her conflicting emotions about “an undeniably talented and deeply flawed man”. ”

    https://e-tangata.co.nz/reflections/the-unforgiven/

    • James 3.1
      2 September 2018 at 7:57 am

      I think you can seperate a persons achievements and the person.

      Just because they achieved great things or did good – they can still be an asshole.

      • McFlock 3.1.1
        2 September 2018 at 10:27 pm

        That really depends on the individual case, imo.

        And it’s complicated.

        Were their good acts merely cover (or even an access route) for their crimes? Cosby or Saville being the community-caring star in public, and that reputation making them invulnerable for decades.

        Part of the thing about watching a movie or comedian is a little bit of disbelief that accompanies the suspension of disbelief. I enjoy action movies, but I don’t feel the same emotions watching actual combat footage. Cleese or Palin had a story from A Fish Called Wanda, where they had to show a dog that had been killed comedically – test audiences didn’t like the one that looked like an actual dog, but laughed at a less realistic version.

        So Louis CK jokes about jacking off in front of people who don’t like it – a bit to close to the truth these days. The movie The Usual Suspects was shut down for two days because the very bad man playing the nice guy playing the very bad man playing a very weak man sexually assaulted someone. I don’t know if I’ll watch that movie again – it just doesn’t appeal so much now.

        It’s complicated.

      • cleangreen 3.1.2
        2 September 2018 at 11:34 pm

        James we can all be both good and bad.

        Mum always said to me that there was god and bad in everyone.

        Then said Son,’ look for the good not the bad’

    • chris73 3.2
      2 September 2018 at 9:58 am

      Thats a really well written article

    • Dennis Frank 3.3
      2 September 2018 at 11:02 am

      Indeed excellent & good to see that these insights are being shared. Healing comes after the dark side is acknowledged – we hope. But with some offenders still in denial (Bill Cosby) possibly unto their death, it remains difficult to get to the healing process. That Jekyll & Hyde two persons in one body thing is real difficult to manage, both for perpetrator & community. We just have to keep moving the process forward.

      • greywarshark 3.3.1
        2 September 2018 at 11:46 am

        marty mars
        I am sorry to see that shitty comment from James next to your good comment. It deserves a better response next to it.. It should be lauded by others who are real sensitive human beings.

        It is important to my mind, to consider this situation of flaws in leaders and politicians’ lives. For instance, I can never see why unfaithfulness or sexual liaisons should automatically make people unsuitable to do their jobs and have to give up their positions. It should depend on the seriousness on a list of criteria, not automatic biffo.

        Some people I remember, such as Jimmy Carter, ex-President USA, was so aiming at purity that he admitted something like – he had lusted in his mind about some woman other than his wife. But think on popular people with good public notoriety such as Bill Cosby and Rolf Harris. What a shock, and people cannot accept that there was a darker secret side of them.

        The linked article is an example of kind, practical thought about how we can integrate these people and their flawed personalities into our thinking so that the secretive behaviour is realised, truncated and stopped much earlier.

        I was impressed by this part:
        I asked Dr Erihana Ryan, a psychiatrist, about it. “For many of his victims, it will create rage, and that will translate into self-loathing,” she told me.
        “A community must be able to integrate these truths, to support and allow the achievements, without forgetting that our admiration does not negate the reality of less acceptable behaviours.”

        The big question is, how do any of us deal with this?
        My mate Jason speaks of a kaumātua who tried to use the story of Tāne Mahuta and Hine-titama to rationalise his abuse of young people. The old man justified his actions as being consistent with tikanga. (Another friend who works with ex-prisoners says she’s heard that line more than she’s had hot dinners.)

        Horrified at the lack of remorse, Jason said the old man’s peers stripped him of his speaking rights. He was seen as kahupō: “spiritually blind and already dead.” A persona non grata. Now, Jason says, the man shuffles around on the margins of his hapū, still ignored.

        The word kahupō is mentioned in a 2004 report based on a conceptual framework developed by Tamati Kruger and others to address the issue of whānau violence.
        https://e-tangata.co.nz/reflections/the-unforgiven/

      • cleangreen 3.3.2
        2 September 2018 at 11:36 pm

        Dennis;

        100% right there.

        Keep the Government honest and llive up to their promises.

  4. James 4
    2 September 2018 at 7:55 am

    The irony of Helen Clarke commenting on voilence against women when one of the labour ministers is being investigated for assisting a woman.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/09/government-needs-to-recognise-violence-against-women-as-a-national-crisis-helen-clark.html

    Mind you when indecent assault against a woman is down played as a bum pinch by Andrew little you get the feeling they don’t take assault against a woman too seriously.

    • Cinny 4.1
      2 September 2018 at 8:02 am

      OMG are you serious james….. geez, you are hard out baiting this morning.

      We’ve the highest rate of family violence rate in the developed world, it’s going to take more than a year to sort that out. Violence against women and children, sexual violence, gender related violence.

      In the meantime, how did it get so bad? What happened or rather didn’t happen in the last decade?

      Aunty will shine in her new role, lucky NZ, thrilled to hear she was taking it on.

      Lolz love that 10min edit window, morning James 🙂

    • dukeofurl 4.2
      2 September 2018 at 8:30 am

      What would you call hair pulling James?
      Thats an assault too!

      • James 4.2.1
        2 September 2018 at 9:07 am

        Compare and contrast the outrage of the left.

        • dukeofurl 4.2.1.1
          2 September 2018 at 9:24 am

          Was the person who assaulted the waitress ‘stood down’ ?

        • Observer Tokoroa 4.2.1.2
          2 September 2018 at 9:43 am

          James !

          We have had suspicions that you are Anal focused – night and day. It appears everyone in National is.

          But for Simon’s sake why do you blurt it out in public Lad ? Arsehole my Word.

          We of the Standard Blog – have Standards. We do not like you talking about your dirty filthy Bum – or anybody elses – especially any arsehole from the ranks of National.

          Now – go and wash your hands. Or I will send you up to Paula! She can cover up most things – at a price.

        • veutoviper 4.2.1.3
          2 September 2018 at 12:51 pm

          No, the hair pulling was “assisting a woman” as per you comment above, James. LOL.

          That big wooden spoon of yours is getting good exercise lately! None so blind etc etc

    • Robert Guyton 4.3
      2 September 2018 at 8:31 am

      Are you thinking of the pony-tail pulling incidents, James?
      (You should be).
      *edit: beaten to the punch by the duke!

      • Ed 4.3.1
        2 September 2018 at 8:55 am

        What a creepy prevert Key is.
        And James thinks he is a great guy.

        • James 4.3.1.1
          2 September 2018 at 9:08 am

          I do.

          • dukeofurl 4.3.1.1.1
            2 September 2018 at 9:42 am

            What about the video of Key fondling the ponytail of a 12 yr old girl?

            Was that not creepy enough for you?

            And heres another hair fondling image , a much younger girl
            https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/67981595/minister-for-women-standing-by-prime-minister-after-ponytail-incident

            ( The intense fixation in Keys eyes is significant)

            • Ed 4.3.1.1.1.1
              2 September 2018 at 9:43 am

              Clearly not.

            • mary_a 4.3.1.1.1.2
              2 September 2018 at 1:15 pm

              dukeofurl (4.3.1.1.1) … Can’t remember seeing this pic of the hair fondler before.

              Yes, the disturbing focused eyes of Key touching the girl’s hair tell the sordid story alright! Perversion!

              • greywarshark …
                2 September 2018 at 3:47 pm

                Here is a recent harassment piece from stuff.
                https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/106750352/kiwirail-sacks-worker-for-sexually-harassing-a-woman-colleague-7-years-ago

                Note the poster showing the attractive female providing services, showing plenty of cleavage. Her youhg lush full lips. Yum say the eyes of the men she is attending.

                The trouble is that women went through a fashion stage that ended about three years ago where they wore deeply cut tops. It was de rigeur to have your boobs displayed. Now compare this with the way men are dressed for office work. They are in clothes that cover the body and for display, dress up their shirt with a coloured tie.

                In the past, the 1960-70s they went through a display fashion with shirts undone to the belt and chains with pendants worn over their hairy chests. The display look now means shaved chest and biceps but not for office work, now it is a buttoned up look. The latest that I notice are young men in good quality shirts, mid coloured, worn creased, not ironed. But many young women display flesh as a default reaction. In winter they must appear glamorous for television appearances with bare shoulders.

                I think women would be considered as being more honest if they dressed for the place and the weather.

          • Ankerrawshark 4.3.1.1.2
            2 September 2018 at 11:42 am

            Well James you are entitled to still think key is a great guy, rom him inflicting unwanted physical touch on a woman in a far less powerful position than him. I can understand many men don’t get what that’s like for a woman. As for Meka, I stated categorically it’s not good and that she has let people down (although in fairness we should wait for in the investigation. As for Helen Clark speaking up about domestic violence, it would make no sense for her to keep quiet on the basis of what Meka has allegedly done (by the way I would be very surprised if she isn’t found to be guilty). We can’t take responsibility for others actions, but we have a responsibility to speak up about them.

            Violence, bullying, sexual harassment are things that we should unite against. I would never defend anyone in labour or any other party for this sort of behavior.

          • Robert Guyton 4.3.1.1.3
            2 September 2018 at 4:46 pm

            Sounds like something you’d say at the altar, James.

        • Stuart Munro 4.3.1.2
          2 September 2018 at 3:22 pm

          I doubt James thinks at all.

          But he’ll say Key’s a great guy – this is how he promotes his political views – corruption and non-performance being values close to that howling void, which, in RWNJ, occupies the space where the heart resides in ordinary mammals.

    • miravox 4.4
      2 September 2018 at 9:42 am

      I’m not seeing where the irony is James. And last time I looked, violence against women belongs to neither the left or right.

      Do you think it’s an unimportant issue, worthy of a bit of a laugh?

    • Visubversa 4.6
      2 September 2018 at 10:50 am

      No “e” at the end of Clark. Shows your inability to reasearch even the simplest detail.

    • cleangreen 4.7
      2 September 2018 at 11:39 pm

      James on 4;

      was that as bad as; – ‘the pony-tail- gate’ PM affair?

  5. Cinny 5
    2 September 2018 at 8:20 am

    Excellent episode of The Listening Post this week.

    Turns out the national enquirer (yes ‘that’ dodgy rag) has had a big spend up on trump stories, preferring to bury them rather than publish. Fascinating media manipulation.

    Also examines the Mueller investigation.

    https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2018/09/catch-kill-trump-media-allies-hasten-downfall-180901070424259.html

    Here’s the youtube link if you prefer to watch via that platform.

  6. Ed 6
    2 September 2018 at 8:36 am

    Putting a smile on your faces.

  7. Ed 7
    2 September 2018 at 8:41 am

    This is George Galloway’s weekly radio show in the UK.
    It is well worth listening to.
    His opening monologue remembers WW2 and fighting fascism.

  8. Ed 8
    2 September 2018 at 9:06 am

    5 timely reminders that the media think you are an idiot…

    #4. Jeremy Corbyn hates the Jews

    Jeremy Corbyn is soft – maybe, arguably – too soft for the job that history has violently hoisted on to his shoulders, but soft none the less. He rides his bike to work, wears cardigans, is a vegetarian. He has campaigned for peace and against war his entire life. He was arrested for protesting apartheid whilst Margaret Thatcher was calling Nelson Mandela a terrorist, he spoke out against Pinochet while the General was a darling on both sides of the Atlantic.

    He has won two international peace prizes.

    The idea that, during a public career dedicated to the socialist ideals of decency and fairness, he was secretly thinking “Bloody jews!” the whole time is completely absurd. Insultingly absurd, and there is not a single piece of evidence to suggest otherwise. There is nothing more to be said on the matter.

    https://off-guardian.org/2018/08/27/5-timely-reminders-that-the-media-think-you-are-an-idiot/

    • Morrissey 8.1
      2 September 2018 at 9:52 am

      There are certainly idiots who believe everything they read. But nearly all of this lying campaign against Corbyn stems from nothing more than a desire to smear him. They can’t out him as a homosexual, and he obviously hasn’t consorted with Russian prostitutes, so they’re resorting to the most ridiculous allegation of all. There is more evidence that Corbyn detonated the Twin Towers on 9/11 than there is that he is anti-Semitic.

      That complete lack of evidence won’t stop the insinuations, however. The hatred for and fear of Corbyn—i.e., the hatred for and fear of democracy—is as rabid down here as it is in the Blairite rump of the Labour Party. There’s one ex-National Party minister, for instance, who regularly posts on this mostly excellent site, who is on record saying he “doesn’t know” if Corbyn is anti-Semitic.

      • tc 8.1.1
        2 September 2018 at 12:18 pm

        Yes the ‘throw enough shit and some is bound to stick ‘ MO in tandem with ‘keep repeating the spin’ when caught spinning deploy msm acolytes.

        Pretty sound move given the average punters uptake of reality via the msm outlets.

        • Morrissey 8.1.1.1
          2 September 2018 at 12:26 pm

          Wayne got away with it in National Party caucus meetings. On this forum, and others, his behaviour is regarded with contempt.

          • Dennis Frank 8.1.1.1.1
            2 September 2018 at 12:54 pm

            On what basis did you attend National Party caucus meetings? What, you didn’t? Trying to bullshit readers here? No intelligent person would regard a moderate Nat with contempt. Get real.

            • Morrissey 8.1.1.1.1.1
              2 September 2018 at 1:11 pm

              He’s a moderate? How so?

              Do you think it’s “moderate” behaviour to repeat brutal, baseless smears against someone?

            • marty mars 8.1.1.1.1.2
              2 September 2018 at 1:16 pm

              Moderate gnat is an oxymoron imo – the moderate bit is hiding stuff to make the opinions palatable to citizen x who will thus vote for them.

            • Dennis Frank 8.1.1.1.1.3
              2 September 2018 at 2:00 pm

              I speak as someone who has been a lifelong opponent of the National Party, as the result of being a fast learner born to National-voting parents.

              Nobody is beyond redemption. Keep demonising the opposition, you’ll get trumpism in Aotearoa. Is that what you really want?? I doubt it.

              Smears aren’t helpful. Often due to seeing only one side of an issue or person, or getting the wrong idea due to subjective bias. Using smears to polarise fails to enhance political culture. We ought to be developing common ground. Only way to survive, given the serious shit imminent!

              • Morrissey …
                2 September 2018 at 7:00 pm

                Nobody is beyond redemption.

                Mostly that is the case, Dennis. However, there are some people that are, I fear, beyond redemption: Colonel Oliver North has not improved one whit since he oozed onto the world stage thirty-five years ago. Bill O’Reilly seems to actually be getting worse. Here in NZ, I don’t hold out much hope of ever hearing an honest word from Dr Michael Bassett, who once claimed on Jim Mora’s program, with as much evidence as Dame Hodge has against Jeremy Corbyn, i.e. no evidence, that Nicky Hager was a Holocaust-denier,

                But, yes, people can—even the worst of us—change for the better, even redeem themselves. The notorious Karl Rove has managed to achieve something of a rehabilitation in the public’s esteem, as has his boss George W. Bush. Tony Blair, for all his faults, seems to be genuinely troubled by the death and destruction he wrought while in office.

                I have no doubt that once Wayne shrugs off the habit of being always “on message”, i.e. being prepared to lie at the drop of a hat, he will be a sober and valuable commentator. Perhaps one of these days he will be as honest as George W. Bush. But at the moment he is happy to go on smearing a decent man without a skerrick of evidence to support his vicious claims.

                Keep demonising the opposition, you’ll get trumpism in Aotearoa. Is that what you really want?? I doubt it.

                I’m not “demonizing” an aggressive liar by pointing out his lies. You are, I think, confusing a cynical politician with an ordinary punter who might be bamboozled by the mass of disinformation being pumped out on this matter. The only demonizing going on here is by the malicious Dame Hodge and the desperate, discredited rump of the Blairite faction that is trying to destabilize what is now, under Jeremy Corbyn, the most popular mass participation party in Europe.

                Smears aren’t helpful.

                Why are you addressing that admonition to me? Surely you should be talking to Wayne, that casual and conscience-free proponent of the smear.

                We ought to be developing common ground.

                How do you establish common ground with someone who is prepared to tell the most vicious lie imaginable?

                • Dennis Frank …
                  2 September 2018 at 7:21 pm

                  Okay thanks for your careful, considered response. Re smear, I wasn’t directing the comment at you. I’m unaware of the reason for your gripe with Wayne, was just making a general point. The thing about any criticism is that sometimes others misinterpret it – so best to give folks the benefit of the doubt I reckon.

                  • Morrissey …
                    2 September 2018 at 7:31 pm

                    Thanks for that Dennis. Yes, I’m always ready to forgive anyone, and I’ll willingly extend the benefit of the doubt to anyone. I’m not into playing hardball—unlike a lot of politicians and political operatives here and overseas.

                • Incognito …
                  2 September 2018 at 7:32 pm

                  How do you establish common ground with someone who is prepared to tell the most vicious lie imaginable?

                  You start by leaving your personal bias at the door, as much as you can and are willing to do …

                  • Morrissey …
                    2 September 2018 at 7:37 pm

                    It’s biased to point out that someone has told a lie? If you were going to talk about science with a “skeptic”—e.g. an ex-president of Federated Farmers—would you leave your “personal bias” about the world being global, not flat, at the door? You’d be willing and able to do that?

                    • Incognito …
                      2 September 2018 at 8:21 pm

                      Well, you asked an important question and I gave you an answer. And now you’re asking me to confirm/repeat it!?

                      At 7.31 pm you wrote:

                      Yes, I’m always ready to forgive anyone, and I’ll willingly extend the benefit of the doubt to anyone. I’m not into playing hardball

                      From that I take it that you are willing and able to leave your biases at the door.

                      For the record, I believe there always is (a) common ground and, in fact, much more than we think. The problem is that we tend to focus on (our) differences and take these out of context and out of proportion (i.e. we make them much larger than they really are and project these to all sorts of issues/situations). So, we have to go into this ‘hostile territory’ of examining our own biases and reflexive behaviours and then build a bridge to the ‘enemy’ who’s having to de same. Obviously, it doesn’t take much to scare them off/away and this is what others (…) know all too well …

                    • Morrissey …
                      3 September 2018 at 6:41 am

                      You seem to accept that the likes of Wayne, a hardened and seasoned politician, is arguing in good faith. He is not. He is willfully and callously recycling the most extravagant and brutal slander it is possible to make.

                      I am indeed willing to find common ground with anyone who is genuine and respectful. Wayne displays neither of those qualities. He made a career out of lying and denying and “forgetting” on behalf of the military, and is now employing those dubious skills in the service of the most bizarre campaign of character assassination since the byzantine—and discredited—rape charges manufactured against Julian Assange.

          • Wayne 8.1.1.1.2
            2 September 2018 at 4:24 pm

            Morrissey,
            A significant number of Labour MP’s think Corbyn is not doing nearly enough to deal with antisemitism among members of the Labour Party. And are less than happy about the level of interaction he has had with extremists.
            All your insults are not enough to rebuff that. Though that seems to be the standard approach for defenders of Corbyn.

            • Dennis Frank 8.1.1.1.2.1
              2 September 2018 at 5:08 pm

              Looks like the problem is being caused by people deliberately misrepresenting disapproval of zionism as anti-semitism. “Sir, Being anti-Zionist and being against the Israeli government does not make one antisemitic. All my four Jewish grandparents escaped from the murderous antisemitic pogroms in Russia and arrived in London in the early 1900s. My mother was a young Zionist leader and went to work in a kibbutz in the early 1930s. She returned disillusioned and was for ever a fierce opponent of Zionism. In the 1950s I remember that the majority of my parents’ large extended family and circle of Jewish friends were vehemently opposed to Zionism and had nothing but contempt for British Zionists and their cheerleaders.” [letter to the editor, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/corbyn-and-the-charge-of-antisemitism-zfbmlhf87 ]

            • Draco T Bastard 8.1.1.1.2.2
              2 September 2018 at 5:14 pm

              A significant number of Labour MP’s think Corbyn is not doing nearly enough to deal with antisemitism among members of the Labour Party.

              You’re assuming that there’s actually a problem with anti-Israeli sentiment in the UK Labour Party of which I haven’t actually seen any evidence. Only the deluded BS of the RWNJs as they try to malign the UK Labour Party.

              Just more Dirty Politics.

              • Dennis Frank …
                2 September 2018 at 5:23 pm

                Looks like a perception thing eh? Some Labour MPs seeing others as antisemitic when the others support Palestine. Typical binary framing.

                “Frank Field, who has represented Birkenhead since 1979, said he was resigning the Labour whip after 39 years over what he described as the current perception of Labour as a “racist party”. MPs said the resignation – the third by a Labour MP in less than two months – could trigger a “full-scale existential crisis of the Labour Party“, amid reports of a potential parliamentary breakaway by MPs furious at the party leadership’s handling of antisemitism. In an explosive letter to Labour’s chief whip, Nick Brown, Mr Field said Britain had fought the Second World War to “banish” the type of views expressed by Mr Corbyn, and suggested the Labour leader had been antisemitic in the past.” [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/frank-field-resigns-labour-whip-jeremy-corbyn-antisemitism-racism-row-a8515036.html]

            • Morrissey 8.1.1.1.2.3
              2 September 2018 at 7:10 pm

              All your insults are not enough to rebuff that.

              The self-pity in that comment is repellent. Nobody has insulted you. I pointed out that you had recycled a blatant lie and that you have not resiled from it yet.

              Though that seems to be the standard approach for defenders of Corbyn.

              Sorry? Could you explain how having a laugh at Dame Hodge’s insane fantasies is insulting her? Nobody had a go at her appearance or her accent or the way she dresses. She’s made herself a figure of ridicule and opprobrium around the world, and has joined the pantheon of ridiculous liars along with Colin Powell, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush—and Wayne Mapp.

              • Ed …
                2 September 2018 at 7:21 pm

                And Frank Field….

                • Dennis Frank …
                  2 September 2018 at 7:41 pm

                  Wow, what a speech!! Galloway deserves an award for this performance – creating a political context in the mind of the listener in which not a single word seems out of place, and every point is a hammer blow onto a nail in the political coffin of Frank Field! Truly remarkable.

                  • Stunned mullet …
                    2 September 2018 at 7:44 pm

                    Here’s another remarkable performance by galloway.

                    • Morrissey …
                      2 September 2018 at 7:54 pm

                      Shameful.

                      But he’s never ordered or voted for the mass destruction of a nation, unlike many of his critics.

                    • Dennis Frank …
                      2 September 2018 at 8:27 pm

                      Thanks. 😆 What a performer! Guess it comes from being hybrid Scottish/Irish? Got this from his wiki too: “Galloway commented in his speech at an event in Trafalgar Square on 3 January 2009: “Today, the Palestinian people in Gaza are the new Warsaw Ghetto, and those who are murdering them are the equivalent of those who murdered the Jews in Warsaw in 1943”.[171]

                      “Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian thought “the effect of repeating, again and again, that Israel is a Nazi state” was, potentially, an incitement to attack Jews because the comparison with Nazis as “the embodiment of evil” implies that “the only appropriate response is hate”.[172] Sigrid Rausing in the New Statesman wrote: “The claim of moral equivalence is dangerous, not because it exaggerates the horror of Gaza (the reality of that bombardment was probably worse than we can really imagine), but because it minimises the horror of the Holocaust.”[171]

                      First, the current crisis has been building for at least nine years, we can see from this evidence. Second, moral equivalence as a rationale seems weak due to disparities of scale and type of crime. Third, calling Israel a Nazi state is obviously inaccurate – even if it does seem to be exhibiting a similar methodology at times. He’s self-identified as a supporter of the Palestinians for forty years.

                  • Ed …
                    2 September 2018 at 7:56 pm

                    Galloway is worth following.

            • Ed 8.1.1.1.2.4
              2 September 2018 at 7:16 pm

              Yes a significant number of the parliamentary Labour Party still are attached to the careerist compromise that Blair set up.
              They do not represent the membership of the Labour Party.
              You need to read more widely before repeating what you have seen in the UK corporate media.

              Here is a take your blinkered worldview will not have heard before.

              Starts at 3:10

            • cleangreen 8.1.1.1.2.5
              2 September 2018 at 11:47 pm

              Wayne mapp; – when did you become the fairy godmother?

              You say Morrisey throws insults????????

              You are the gold standard in that corner sunshine.

              Talk about ‘pot calling the kettle black;’ – – whew.

  9. joe90 9
    2 September 2018 at 10:12 am

    Next up, Cayman Islands banks freeze accounts of customers suspected of not being citizens of the Cayman Islands.

    His case isn’t unique. In recent months, Bank of America has been accused of freezing or threatening to freeze customers’ accounts after asking about their legal status in the U.S.. In July, the Washington Post reported that multiple customers had been locked out of their accounts after Bank of America questioned whether the account holders were U.S. citizens or dual citizens.

    https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article217567300.html#storylink=cpy

  12. Morrissey 12
    2 September 2018 at 12:11 pm

    Glenn Greenwald. Worth watching.

    It’s hard for me to express to people who don’t live in the United States and who don’t follow United States political debate on a daily basis just how utterly insane and deranged Americans have become about Russia….”

    (This quote begins at the 20:25 mark)

    • Dennis Frank 12.1
      2 September 2018 at 12:49 pm

      It was good to see Greenwald exposing how inane the leftist trend towards censorship in recent times actually is, in the unlikely event of governments and other authorities acceding to their delusional thought processes. Any implementation of such censorship is likely to have the opposite consequence to that desired by that group of leftists. As G explained, it is almost certain to be used by the powerful to target the very groups those leftists support.

    • Dennis Frank 12.2
      2 September 2018 at 1:06 pm

      G: “propaganda is about convincing citizens that your side is the moral one and the other side is the immoral one”.

      This is a fundamental element of political psychology. Morality aligns people on the basis of tribalism or nationality. It is a primary driver of identity politics. Thus fake news and traditional media-owner censorship: promote atrocities committed by the other side, ignore or spin exactly the same when committed by your side.

    • Dennis Frank 12.3
      2 September 2018 at 3:13 pm

      I liked his parody of the leftist msm establishment in the USA: `Trump is a moron, Putin is a global mastermind using Trump as puppet` then asking why would a global mastermind use a moron as puppet rather than a clever player? And democrats refusing to take responsibility for their defeat by a `game-show host’.

      • Andre 12.3.1
        2 September 2018 at 6:26 pm

        I kinda gave up on Greenwald when he started going all ‘deep state is out to get Trump’. It looks to me like his woldview is so tainted by hatred of ‘the establishment’ and the msm that his assessments in those areas aren’t particularly useful anymore. That quote about ‘Trump is a moron, Putin is a global mastermind …” is a really gross misrepresentation of what’s being said outside of that small convergence point on the circle of derp where the moonbat far left meet the far RWNJs.

        Most Democrats are trying hard to talk about other stuff, such as healthcare. But it’s the cable news that jump on Russia stuff, helped along by Adolf Twitler going “WITCH HUNT” every other day and his enablers in the likes of Faux News claiming (falsely) that Dems are obsessed with Russia.

        https://www.thedailybeast.com/dems-give-up-on-trying-to-get-cable-news-to-care-about-anything-but-russia

        • Morrissey 12.3.1.1
          2 September 2018 at 7:18 pm

          You have chosen to render Greenwald as some sort of cartoonish figure. His views are nothing like as simplistic and reflexive as you claim. Anyone who bothers to read or listen to Greenwald will reach a different conclusion to you. I suspect you haven’t “given up” on him; I suspect you have neither read nor listened to him much at all. And citing the Democratic Party organ The Daily Beast as some sort of authority enhances your credibility not one iota.

          Most Democrats are trying hard to talk about other stuff, such as healthcare.

          Really? So how come all they ever do is talk about Russia?

  13. Ed 13
    2 September 2018 at 12:34 pm

    Sharon Murdoch nails it.

    “Shane Jones attacks Australian-owned banks,, who are making mega-profits, for closing branches in provincial towns.”

    https://mobile.twitter.com/domesticanimal/status/1035996527716487168/photo/1

  14. Morrissey 14
    2 September 2018 at 12:35 pm

    Brilliant comedian; somewhat nervous audience.

  15. greywarshark 15
    2 September 2018 at 12:37 pm

    There are places in parts of the world where NZrs are remembered and cherished. On is Le Quesnoy du Nord. We should keep our contacts with them and enjoy warm relationships, perhaps have sister city with them. They would like help in keeping facilities in good order. We should make special efforts to keep our relationships with European countries open and reciprocal if the UK is going to withdraw from the EU which relationship will be filled to make them more an arm of the USA, and perhaps try and resume their patronisation of their old colonies.

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/365479/memorial-site-for-nz-liberation-of-french-town-seeks-funding
    https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/5761-rangimarie-a-new-zealand-garden-for-peace-in-le-quesnoy-france

    The garden is being designed by Xanthe White and the theme of peace will be expressed through the Māori concept of rangimārie.

    Rangimārie is the space of calm within which people can walk with their tūpuna (ancestors).

    Xanthe White said the design had been scaled back due to a lack of money, even though the design was fairly modest.
    “We did just not have enough money to create the garden we originally planned with gravel paths, edging and seats.”
    Ms White said seats are a must and funding is needed for them.

    • Exkiwiforces 15.1
      2 September 2018 at 4:13 pm

      You might find that Le Quesnoy du Nord has a sister city relationship with Cambridge as some of the major players (incl a minor part my NZ grandfathers side the Beaurepaires) help liberate Le Quesnoy and the 4th NZ Brigade aka NZ Rifle Brigade came from Cambridge.

      My distant cousin from the Beaurepaire side of the family was conscripted into NZEF even though was he employed on the family dairy farm which should’ve restricted him from being called as all the other workers from the farm had left for the war. 74852 Rflm Louis Beaurepaire was mortally wounded near the railway station as the Rifle Brigade had to envelop Le Quesnoy before the Coup de main could be attempted.

      The sad thing is Louis died of his wounds at the four corners aid station which is now known as four corners cemetery which is about 4-5 miles south of Le Quesnoy and the NZ Division was pulled out of line for rest after the liberation of Le Quesnoy until the occupation of the Rhineland.

      I’ve visited the cemetery every time I’m in the UK/ Europe weather it by myself or a with a relative from the Beaurepaire side and we somehow seem to time when there’re locals about (middle age to elder or school age kids) coming to say thank you especially when I’m in formal day/ afternoon dress NZ Scots tie, blazer, gongs and headdress.

      The problem with the Fench, some degree with the British and other countries in Europe their governments have forgot about the sacrifices NZ has made in both world wars unless it’s ANZAC Day or Remembrance Day etc as most NZ battles sites are the rural parts of Europe. Their governments also know that the Kiwi worker and Farmers etc are the most efficient in the world and don’t rely on subsidies etc unlike their industries, farmers etc and it comes to imports of NZ goods these industries will pull the stops out restrict NZ imports especially France. The USA Farm lobbyists are just as equally bad as the French to a point that they make up all sorts of false news, but Canadian one’s don’t go that far.

      What I would to see with Commonwealth especially when UK pulls the pin on the EU is turn the Commonwealth into a common market based on human rights, fair trade, the rule of law, aid, government/ civil service and education development. I note this something that Bryan Gould has mentioned in his blog site and I believe this was one Big Nom’s idea during his time as PM. With some sort of Security/ Defence Treaty down the track IRT training, resource protection etc similar to the Mutual Defence Aid that the NZDF does in the South Pacific atm.

      • greywarshark 15.1.1
        2 September 2018 at 5:56 pm

        Exkiwiforces
        You are a man with principles and vision of a possible future based on the idea that we have principles that the government and leaders believe stand for something. Unfortunately Britain and the USA have raised a propaganda curtain over their countries, and they can mount a performance of worth but look hard at what they actually do most of the time and you know there is no substance to it. What we have now is not what my birth father, buried in France with his crew, would have regarded as a decent society. He would have expected us to be achieving what was possible with application of smart thinking. Instead that vision has been deliberately smashed by those al;ready advantaged seeking to advance themselves by degrading the lower strata and limiting their opportunities to improve their conditions.

        Our people fought and died; their time was not thrown away, useless. If we had not gone, if we had not strived, we would have been worse off. But post WW2 we have constantly declined in what we had and was possible, with keen and concerned minds across the sectors trying to bring sense and intelligence to policy.

        I should say that I would understand if you didn’t wish to use your time reading further. It is a litany, not of lies but of woes and loss of confidence. I have a pessimistic vision of the future with the only rosy thing about it being the knowledge that there are good, true, thinking people in NZ and the world trying their best to find ways to limit the harm that is happening now and coming.

        But their words and advice and examples float by many who are stuck in late 20th century dreams that were out of date at that time. I am resigned to the way things are, but will keep on working for better things for now, short term and long term for the years I have left.

        However our politicians in opposition are not interested in the good of the country and try to deter government from spending time and effort facing future needs and finding solutions. They carry their enthusiastic supporters similar to that of a rugby or netball team with simple outcomes to aim for.

        Their supporters don’t want to seriously think about the harm some people are coping with now, and how this is an example of how bad we have become as a country. They just want to keep their money for themselves, buy or build houses for solid investment, have overseas trips, get out on their bikes, update their cars, keep fit, and eat healthy, save the environment because that affects them, etc. To them their concern is all about Me and my family’s wellbeing and some planning to ensure that for the future, but no continual thought for other people’s present and future.

        Now it is a case of deciding what principles we want to apply in NZ to present citizens and limiting the rush from overseas, as fairly as possible. And then form policies on how far we will go standing staunch for us, and when we will give a little, at the same time getting something of value for ourselves.
        We must not trust anybody completely; but also not dismiss many people and things if they don’t fit into our tight little schemes. Loosen those and work out how to include people as resources taking, but giving to society as well.

        We have to think harder and straighter than ever before, loosen up on some laws and expectations, keep to reasonable standards, be excellent only where we have to be, make our own judgments and decide what we want to comply with and meet of the standards overseas, such as the OECD. Keep President Putin’s approach in mind as a basis for ours. He is always looking at his opponents or member states with a judgmental eye, and we have to do the same. We must stop cringing and take hold of our skills and invest in our country and not just sell everything for a fast buck seeming to think it might disappear.

        We are what we are, some good and some parts needing improvement, and if we get together work out a good scheme and strive in our different ways we can keep it so. It is people that count and we can’t rely on western nations to live up to their own BS. Looked at objectively it can be seen they don’t care about people and have slipped low in the standards of respect for people which were our democratic base. They have now gone back to laissez faire and they will just suck us dry if we let them, and we could become like an abandoned plantation that has been destroyed by greed, corruption and neglect.

        • Exkiwiforces 15.1.1.1
          3 September 2018 at 3:39 pm

          Thank you for those kind words and reminds me to pull my finger and finish off essay on Climate Change effects and The NZDF for submission to The Standard blog. Which has turned into a bit of a beast atm.

      • Gabby 15.1.2
        2 September 2018 at 6:09 pm

        I never tyre of your Beaurepaire stories exy.

        • Exkiwiforces 15.1.2.1
          3 September 2018 at 3:35 pm

          Well, there is very distant French relative from the Beaurepaire side a Col L Beaurepaire who return back to the Colours during French Revolution and his marched Regiment (Infantry Battalion) from end of France to Verdun. Where he and his Regiment took on 30 odd thousand Pussians of King Frederick the Great Army and he held them off with great Elan until he was mysterious killed by either the Prussians or the citizens elect council as they want to surrender, where Old Beaurepaire didn’t want to as per his orders which were to defend, delay, deny the Pussian Army advance from crossing the river at Verdun as long as possible IOT allow the main French Army to arrive and defeat the Pussians at Verdun. Unfortunately Col Beaurepaire was killed and all French resistance collapsed at Verdun. But he frought an excellent defensive battle that by the time the Pussians got a place called Namy about 50km West of Verdun I think they were already a spent force when they encountered the main French Army from Paris.

      • greywarshark 15.1.3
        2 September 2018 at 9:10 pm

        More on Le Quesnoy and the exact name. And an image of their wall which we didn’t try to demolish.
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Le_Quesnoy_(1918)

        • Exkiwiforces 15.1.3.1
          3 September 2018 at 3:54 pm

          I was at the 90th Anniversary of the liberation of Le Quesnoy, where they held an Symposium on the battle of Le Quesnoy and the resulting liberation of the village. The question was asked where bloody hell did the Kiwis find or build the ladder in the first place? Let alone trying to drag the bloody thing across the battlefield and rise it against the rampant to scale the wall? Where the ladder was raise is very small spot and a very exposed area with no cover or protection from German fire or observation.

          It was an excellent feat of arms to pull it off by all concerned including the OMR lads who were the NZ DIv CAV changing a break neck speed to towards the German gun line and into the Germans rear area IOT to prevent a German counter attack.

  16. greywarshark 16
    2 September 2018 at 12:38 pm

    Interesting stuff on RadioNZ.

    Tech fantasy
    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/365458/do-we-need-another-planet-to-colonise

    Each law is not able to consider every human possibility, especially now in the Period of Disruption.
    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/365480/man-deported-for-not-telling-immigration-about-sperm-donation

  17. Morrissey 17
    2 September 2018 at 1:13 pm

    Watch Hillary Clinton trying hard to show empathy.

    The hilarity/horror/pathos begins at the 10:00 mark….

  18. Ad 18
    2 September 2018 at 1:36 pm

    This one goes out to all the Tolkein nerds, Childish Gambino fans, and anyone who did Prof Wystan Curnow’s modern poetry classes to Stage 3:

    Stephen Colbert reinterprets Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino via the Silmarillion:

  19. joe90 19
    2 September 2018 at 2:04 pm

    Fascinating piece on indigenous people asserting their rights to manage their resources, and who has access to them during seasonal harvests.

    https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/of-roe-rights-and-reconciliation/

    • Dennis Frank 19.1
      2 September 2018 at 2:25 pm

      Thanks for that. Quite an exemplary demonstration of how indigenous tribes are using due process to regain access to traditional fisheries! And an eye-opener that the Supreme Court verdict was ignored by the government.

      Brilliant report too, from this man: “Ian Gill is a journalist and author who has published extensively about natural resource politics and economics, with a particular interest in Indigenous rights. Australian-born, he worked in newspapers and television in Australia, Canada, and France before founding Ecotrust Canada in 1994. Ian led Ecotrust in Canada, the United States, and Australia before returning to journalism full time. He is adviser to the CEO of The Discourse and a regular contributor to The Tyee.”

  20. ianmac 20
    2 September 2018 at 2:50 pm

    Brian Easton has some interesting facts.

    Australia has had 6 changes of PM since 1996. So have we in NZ.

    I like this bit:
    “…Where there was instability was in the Opposition. National had four leaders in its nine years of opposition; Labour had six leaders. (Now you know why Bridges is a bit anxious. The main activity in the Opposition caucus seems to be plotting.) …”

    https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/political-turmoil-when-the-economy-sours

  21. Macro 21
    2 September 2018 at 4:50 pm

    Different stokes for different folks….
    Message for POTUS
    You don’t Buy RESPECT – You EARN it.

  22. joe90 22
    2 September 2018 at 6:03 pm

    But of course, nothing will shut the whingers and naysayers up.

    Was Warren on the agenda because, as her critics say, she had decided to self-identify as a Native American woman and Harvard saw a chance to diversify the law faculty? Did she have an unearned edge in a hugely competitive process? Or did she get there based on her own skill, hard work, and sacrifice?

    The question, which has hung over Warren’s public life, has an answer.

    In the most exhaustive review undertaken of Elizabeth Warren’s professional history, the Globe found clear evidence, in documents and interviews, that her claim to Native American ethnicity was never considered by the Harvard Law faculty, which voted resoundingly to hire her, or by those who hired her to four prior positions at other law schools. At every step of her remarkable rise in the legal profession, the people responsible for hiring her saw her as a white woman.

    https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/09/01/did-claiming-native-american-heritage-actually-help-elizabeth-warren-get-ahead-but-complicated/wUZZcrKKEOUv5Spnb7IO0K/story.html?s_campaign=bostonglobe%3Asocialflow%3Atwitter

  23. eco maori 23
    3 September 2018 at 8:03 am

    Good morning The Am Show we will see if the billionaire or his crew will held acountable for here action’s .
    Untill we see tangata whenua speaking Te reo in cafes and shops out in public that will be a sign the Te reo is reviving .That is not happening now so of course I back compulsory Te reo . Te reo is the back bone of the culture and our tipuna did a lot of mahi to protect our tangata whenua culture. As I look around Papatuanuku I see a lot of indigenous culture’s that look like they have lost large parts of there culture we won’t let that happen in Aotearoa. Maori culture gives Aotearoa that unique flavour that the rest of Papatuanuku is interested in especial other indigenous cultures that admire the strong presents and revival of Aotearoa’s tangata whenua culture.
    Get rid of those gambling machines we have had a lot of common people that have a gambling problem the money that goes to charity’s is pittance less than 10% compared to the gross amount 2.2 billion dollars stright into the wealthy pocket this is a good cause .
    We have a culture of spend spend when I was young there were know money machines or EFTPO’s or poke machines so to counter these new technology the mokopunas need compulsory Kiwi saver to protect there future make a option to opted out but one has to prove that they have the money for retirement or we are going to end up with thousands of broke retired people and that wont be good at all in the next decades.
    Ka kite ano

  24. eco maori 24
    3 September 2018 at 8:25 am

    The Am Show
    How hard will it be to retool our paper making machines ie toilet paper to make paper bag’s this would be a logical answer paper bags instead of exporting our log’s cheap we could ad value in Aotearoa. ka kite ano P.S I have the run out of bin liners problem to the thing about a shopping bag is it could be blown stright out to sea from many of our citys 5 minutes after been brought

  25. eco maori 25
    3 September 2018 at 10:58 am

    Eco Maori has many time’s complained about the neo liberal capitalist they win cheat lie and steal do anything to hod wink te tangata to win there vote /election .
    They have been using the sharp edge of the internet sword against the common people national was m8 with peter thiel is fact this is still a big threat to our democratic process now and it will be a threat till we find laws to stop this behavour of using our data against us.
    I seen a story that Cambridge analytical unethical company had shut down typical way people use company’s to get out of the———- my answer to that was that they would just start up a company and use the soft ware to carry on business as usual using massive computing power to find the voters who will swing right and target them with false fact in video’s social media mailers radio and the media please keep these people in check as this is a real threat to te mokomunas future .
    My concerns have been proven correct I watch a show that enlightened me even more of this phenomenon it’s The Code series 1 /3 Predicting the future this a good watch and it made me even more alarmed .Everyone is collecting all the data they can even if it is encrypted because one day AI will break those codes thats why I say Aotearoa is in a good position to have our own data bases and sell these services to the Papatuanuku.
    Back to my main point Data is the biggest currency now and in Aotearoa we have to have systems in place so that people who have axcess to OUR main goverment data has to identified so we no who and why they are axcessing our data as this could be used in a unethical way to damage people’s live’s. I have a link below Ka kite ano.
    https://thenextweb.com/politics/2018/06/15/trumps-getting-the-cambridge-analytica-band-back-together/

  26. eco maori 26
    3 September 2018 at 1:08 pm

    As soon as I see word would could in a story I start questioning the story this one is stating that the wild fish stock could improve with good management and if we mitigate climate change.
    The problem is we cannot trust our wealthy people whom are out for a power grab ie money men as I call them .
    Aotearoa fishing and wild fish stock are great compared to the rest of Papatuanuku
    but it aint nothing like it was when I was a lad that was when the quoter managment system first came in so if the system was working correctly there should be more fish in our waters now than there actually is now .The fishermen wanted to set a limit on horse power as the main type of fishing is trawling and horse power catches fish with trawling so setting a cap on horse power in the1990 would have conserved our fish .
    But the money men advising the government at the time did not want that simple effective solution to our problem as they could not milk it like the quoter management system we have at the minute . IE the traded commodity would have been buying the retiring fisherman’s horse power rights out to get into the industry know loophole’s to hack the system . To get the quoter management system passed the fishermen they bribed them with more fish quoter why because the fishermen got a good lawyer Fairbrother and put a injunction on the crown . So what Eco maori is saying is keep up the fight to preserve the wild fish stocks for the mokopunas future and be wary of the money men’s manipulating storys trying to lul people into thinking everythink’s going to be fine & that the momey men have the conservation of Papatuanuku’s & her beautiful at heart .YEA RIGHT Ka kite ano Link is below

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/29/fish-populations-could-rise-even-with-extreme-climate-change-study-shows

  27. eco maori 27
    3 September 2018 at 4:52 pm

    Some one is making a power grab If these 5 eye’s get a hold of all data that’s encrypted
    That will cause OUR internet industry’s to come to a halt why because no Papatuanuku company is going to invest in Aotearoa tec industry’s and this industry has the capability to become our biggest export earner with the lowest carbon footprint 8 billion .Are we prepared to sell OUR mokopunas future out just to keep trump happy NO WAY.
    ka kite ano . P.S It show you that this was my fate to become a decipher for the common tangata

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/106775413/internet-society-fears-five-eyes-could-be-about-to-undermine-the-net

  28. eco maori 28
    3 September 2018 at 5:38 pm

    This person is full of it he has a bulge in his hip pocket from the sensible sentencing trust poverty is the main cause of crime .
    Yes gangs are a big problem for the system and yes alot of the same surnames appear it the system.
    That is what happens when te whenua is stolen and the Rangatira’s could not provide prosperity for te tangata . Then the crown decides to import labour they were not happy that they got most of the whenua they wanted us to disappear. So not all crimes are of the highest category 3 many maori are locked and they have not been convected of a crime we are locked up on a minor crime that if the person had no tan they would be let off that’s a fact TROLL ana to kai ka kite ano link below. P.S It’s the system that has to provide for tangata because the system stole that role from te Rangatira of te tangata.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/106515616/its-not-the-justice-system-thats-broken-its-the-people

  29. eco maori 29
    3 September 2018 at 6:46 pm

    Good evening Newshub our Prime Minister is doing her job and one does not put there child at risk they are playing it safe with there baby that’s cool.
    There you go the health system has been starved of funding . Those cat scan’s that helped that person with cancer to be diagnose & treated quicker with some new health tec but one knows that all the wrong’s that have been dished up to the government systems can not be undone in one term of new government .
    Those people who live on tornado ally and in the Pacific Islands need to go back to nature and built round house’s that is a design that resist the wind Papatuanuku does not have straight lines she has been perfecting her design’s for billion’s of years,
    Many thanks to all those companys & Wellington council for paying the living wage .
    Ka kite ano P.S Ingrid I can feel the chill from that bad weather and so can some others after the moves I made to day

  30. eco maori 30
    3 September 2018 at 7:22 pm

    The Crowd Goes Wild Mulls & Wairangi the chilly weather will make it a bit uncomfortable for Argentina Rugby test team .
    I had a mullet and did not know it my kids had informed me Brodie .
    Yea thats a mean Haka for Simon guy’s ka pai I was in the back row to shy for the school Haka at Ngata college .
    Even tho Bolt was a bit unfit the crowd was huge at that football game .
    Ka kite ano P.S you should have chrome cast and cast the videos stright to the screen from your phone

  31. eco maori 31
    3 September 2018 at 8:09 pm

    Because the Independent Police Conduct Authority cheated Eco Maori out of my justice when they falsely said they interviewed me and investigated my complaint 2 years ago .
    Well I lost all my mana with my children because of this they are not listening to my advice so any thing that goes wrong with my children I will be eventually be holding the NZ Police accountable for there wrong’s to my whano ka kite ano P.S they hacked my email and deleted my email correspondence to the IPCA I wonder why because they stuffed up and that’s what they have been doing right from the start stuffing up and cheating & spinning lies to cover there ASSES. I know one fact Eco Maori has more honorer than these muppet’s

  32. eco maori 32
    4 September 2018 at 6:45 am

    Good morning Newshub nigel farage that’s the muppet that caused britexit and then baled out. They used cambridge analytical to hack democracy and now he is down here spreading lies about the fact’s on human caused climate change he can—-back to were he can from and give trump’s money back because your lies won’t work on Kiwis .
    Winston has his own agenda that is not all about what’s best for the all tangata he is trying to pump up NZF partys polling. If Winston had the long term interested of our Pacific Island cousins at heart he would be trying to set up trade industry’s IE growing fruit and vegtables for Aotearoa and Australia off season so they can give there tangata jobs not just give aid that is used as leverage to get them to vote on there policys.
    IE Jacinda had to be at that meeting to make sure Winston does not push policys that are not what they agreed on it’s not like he has not left Labour in the dark about his real intention’s on new law’s. ????? Why was the meeting the meeting held in Naru????.
    Was it so that Jacinda could not attend I trust no one.
    We know who likes Bluffing all the time no trump.
    The elephants being killed in Bostwana is a crime against Papatuanuku wild life .
    Yes when one becomes a parent it changes the way one see’s the hole Papatunuku .
    Duncan the only one that is full of trickery is you .
    Ka kite ano

  33. eco maori 33
    4 September 2018 at 7:52 am

    The Am Show Everyone in Aotearoa deserves to have a living wage everyone deserves to shear fairly in the bountiful resources that our country has to give us this will just be a correction to get back to were wages were 30 years ago I no it was much easier to live on the lower wage bracket just 10 years ago 30 years ago not many worked on weekend’s and were living a happy life the living wage will lower crime and poverty .
    There you go everyone who comes to Aotearoa fall’s in love with our clear sky’s and good people the price of house’s would have kept rising rapidly if the government did not ban foreign buyer’s I.E the holiday home for the ultra wealthy all maori would have ended under the bridge like native Hawaii’s are at the minuet .
    The hottest run in Britain’s weather and nigel farage is down here broad casting his climate change denial lies ——off.
    With the methane in our live stock all they have to do is change the bacteria in the animals gut so the bacteria produce’s different gases not all herbivores animals produce methane I support our farmers why because if the family farm’s go the big multi national company’s will move in and do what ever they want . They will use lawyers and lobbyist to do that I.E strip the assets and when its stuffed they bale with there profits
    There you go the Auckland Mayor has put straight about the increased rates for Airbnb.
    Airbnb’s people’s rates won’t go up in Auckland if you lease out one room or less than 29 day’s at a time you will be exempt from the xtra rate’s charges .
    Ka kite ano

  34. eco moari 34
    4 September 2018 at 11:26 am

    I saw a story on the hearld site that said Face book and its other aps have crashed.
    Next minuet I can not find the story on any nz sites ????????????? here’s a Ausse link to the story ka kite ano .

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6128095/Facebook-Instagram-Users-world-left-frustrated-apps-crash.html P.S I assume that this won’t be good for there shear prices . Conclusion who sold a heap of shears yesterday . Ka kite ano
    P.S follow te putea

  35. eco moari 35
    4 September 2018 at 2:09 pm

    This is why I discourage te tangata from getting DNA test that have been flogged on TV ads lately .
    Why because they will sell that data to the highest bidder who could be a health insurer
    what better way to run a insurance scheme with this data they will be able to exclude anyone who actually need health insurance and keep all the tangata that don’t have bad genes in there DNA money for jam . You see your DNA will be used against you and your whano if you have the same surname as someone who has taken the test well they will link that up and know health insurance people have been ripped off for century’s this is the way of Papatuanuku at the minuet .link is below ka kite ano

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/09/03/220728/dna-testing-pitfalls-bombshells-and-mysteries-solved P.S If you need to test your DNA pay a bit more and make sure the data is protected and used for your own gain

  36. eco moari 36
    4 September 2018 at 6:49 pm

    Good evening Newshub Its all about timing for my input on Narau enough said .
    Yes we need to plant more trees if it is planed correctly the production from our Farm’s need not drop IE plant in strips around waterway’s and steep land which will hold h20 in the ground and increase production on the un-planted land this is working with Papatuanuku and not against her.
    There you go these Maori leader have to know that they have all of Maoris mana on the line so they have to know if they cheat they are not only damaging there reputation but all te tangata whenua mana gets tared .Looks like someone was counting there chickens.
    Those Victoria university students need to protest about being cheated out of the future prosperity this is one way to get the bar lowered .
    With Global warming they mite have to have enclosed air conditioned tennis courts
    Federer look’s like he had heat stroke .
    Ka kite ano

  37. eco moari 37
    4 September 2018 at 7:22 pm

    Good evening The Crowd Goes Wild James & Mulls That was a big upset at the tennis .
    Sore face Wairangi that cuddle look a bit shady lol yes my finger’s are crossed for the Game of League.
    The Rugby will be great as well couch the other code is going great .
    James that’s were you been supporting te mokopunas of Tonga League players I see the tan lines ka pai
    Aron loving his new job in France they take there Kai seriously there like maori do .
    Ka kite ano