Open Mike 04/01/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 4th, 2018 - 99 comments
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99 comments on “Open Mike 04/01/2018 ”

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  1. Andre 1
    4 January 2018 at 6:14 am

    Russia and the PEEOTUS: follow the money trail. It goes back a long long way.

    https://www.vox.com/2017/7/18/15983910/donald-trump-russia-putin-fbi-collusion-fusion-gps

  2. cleangreen 2
    4 January 2018 at 7:43 am

    Many of those sounding the loudest alarm bells over Russian influence in U.S. politics were curiously silent when far greater concerns were raised about the Clintons.

    http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/03/03/peter-schweizer-trump-vs-clintons-russia-ties-guess-who-always-got-free-pass.html

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1
      4 January 2018 at 8:12 am

      “She did it too” isn’t going to get the serial rapist off the hook.

    • Andre 2.2
      4 January 2018 at 8:13 am

      Had Hillary become prez, no doubt the likes of Trey Gowdy and Chuck Grassley would have spent all their time with serial investigations of Hillary. Indeed, there are active Congressional investigations into Hillary going on right now.

      But she’s not prez, and it’s very unlikely she will ever be in a position of authority in the future. The person with decision-making power right now is by far the more important one to be interested in.

      That’s long before you even get to considering the merits of the cases against each person. But to address your citation, the opinions published by Schweizer and Fox News against Clinton over the uranium deal have already been thoroughly debunked.

      https://www.factcheck.org/2017/10/facts-uranium-one/

      • One Anonymous Bloke 2.2.1
        4 January 2018 at 8:15 am

        What, they denied it and have all the facts on their side?
        Lock her up! 🙄

        • Andre 2.2.1.1
          4 January 2018 at 8:52 am

          I don’t know why they bother trying to hokey up some reason that sounds plausible for locking her up. They should just be honest and say they want to lock her up coz it will make them feel good. Just because.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 2.2.1.1.1
            4 January 2018 at 8:55 am

            I think it more likely that they are gullible fuckwits who believe the last thing they were told.

          • reason 2.2.1.1.2
            4 January 2018 at 11:10 pm

            They should lock her up over Libya ….. or better yet make her go and live there with Obama .,…..

            They should enjoy the fruits of their creation …

  3. Ed 3
    4 January 2018 at 7:43 am

    Removing Te Mata Peak track ‘not a cheap thing to do’

    Well Craggy Range you should have consulted first.
    Pay up.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/347432/removing-te-mata-peak-track-not-a-cheap-thing-to-do

    The Hawke’s Bay tribe that sought to have a track on Te Mata Peak removed is disappointed the path is proving popular with locals.
    Ngāti Kahungunu Trust chair Ngahiwi Tomoana
    “ Just because it is popular does not make it right.”

    Wise words.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/347134/iwi-frustrated-as-locals-take-to-te-mata-peak-track

    • Ad 3.1
      4 January 2018 at 7:46 am

      Would have been a whole bunch better to dedicate a cycle lane on the existing road up to the peak. – which Council could have done as the road controlling authority without too much fuss.

      • Ed 3.1.1
        4 January 2018 at 7:49 am

        Was it arrogance or ignorance that meant Craggy Range did not consult with iwi?

        • Ad 3.1.1.1
          4 January 2018 at 7:57 am

          I’m not familiar enough with the landowner or the Council on iwi relationships (although it generally doesn’t stop me 😉 )

        • James 3.1.1.2
          4 January 2018 at 8:36 am

          There was and is no requirement to do so. It’s their land.

        • Grey Area 3.1.1.3
          4 January 2018 at 4:00 pm

          Don’t be too hard on Craggy Range. As a local I understand they did what they were told they had to do. I believe the Hastings District Council staff judged the application was non-notifiable and if the finger gets pointed at anyone it should be at them.

          After the initial blowback Craggy Range’s reponse was to say they would remove the track and remediate it (good luck with that).

          Since then a counter “keep the track” petition has soundly passed the initial “the desecration of Te Mata Peak must be removed” petition.

          Latest word is that there will be talks involving the local iwi organisation and possibly the track will stay. I hope it will.

          Yes the process was flawed. No it wasn’t Craggy Range’s fault. The initial reaction was knee-jerk. And hopefully we retain a community asset.

          • Ed 3.1.1.3.1
            4 January 2018 at 4:04 pm

            That’s why I asked was it ignorance.
            New Zealandees should be aware of Maori values.

    • James 3.2
      4 January 2018 at 8:36 am

      Pay up why?

      It’s on private land. And they obtained resource consent:

      “The Hastings District Council approved resource consent for the track in October, pointing out that the track would not include any cuts with overall vertical extent more than 1m, and adding that all cuts would be battered back and regrassed.

      The council also pointed out that no trees or significant vegetation would be removed, and there were no known archaeological sites. Nor did the area of work contain a District Plan-mapped waahi tapu site.”

      [if you are going to cut and paste, please link to your source. – weka]

      • mauī 3.2.1
        4 January 2018 at 10:12 am

        The resource consent checklist must have missed:

        Does your work involve vandalising (or hey let’s just say.. any modification) of the most significant regional landmark that is extremely important to local Maori and for local tourism?

        • Ed 3.2.1.1
          4 January 2018 at 10:20 am

          James has no concern for Maori values.
          I wouldn’t waste your time with him.
          Like Trump, he continues to hit new lows.

          • james 3.2.1.1.1
            4 January 2018 at 10:50 am

            I love the way you project.

            The owners did everything right. Its their land. They sought and obtained permission.

            But little the green eyed monster comes out looking for them to “pay up” – based on, well nothing as per usual.

            • Draco T Bastard 3.2.1.1.1.1
              4 January 2018 at 10:55 am

              The owners did everything right. Its their land.

              No they didn’t (They should have consulted iwi) and no it’s not (it’s lease-simple and not ownership).

            • mauī 3.2.1.1.1.2
              4 January 2018 at 11:13 am

              “The owners did everything right.”

              Like offend local iwi? Deface the local landmark? Upset many locals? Cause a national controversy?

              If it was their land and could do what they liked then why would they need resource consent?

              • Ed …
                4 January 2018 at 11:24 am

                As I’ve said Maori don’t count in James’s world.
                Nor do women. ( see Rhythm and Vines thread)
                Nor do animals.

                Only James counts in James’s world.
                He is an Ayn Rand devotee.

                • james …
                  4 January 2018 at 1:07 pm

                  This may come as a shock in your tiny mind – but just because you say something it does not make it so.

                  Thats a 7 on the Ed scale this morning.

                • cleangreen …
                  4 January 2018 at 3:37 pm

                  Right there Ed,

                  Doesn’t care about climate change, or future of our rail, community public environmental health, we have seen either Ed.

              • james …
                4 January 2018 at 1:04 pm

                and many locals are very happy with it – seems very popular.

      • Molly 3.2.2
        4 January 2018 at 11:32 am

        There are multiple failings in a system created haphazardly to deal with connections of local iwi to land.

        Case in point. Auckland Council has inherited the existing waahi tapu sites all former district councils. Our local one, Franklin District Council, had no comprehensive list of sites. Local iwi were given a short window of opportunity – but no resources – to submit new sites before the amalgamation.

        Given the vast area of land that had been confiscated, this burden fell to a few to try and cover the historical aspects of land that had been out of iwi ownership for many years.

        I attended a resource consent hearing regarding a local landmark that was taken from local iwi in the 1860s, and has since been subdivided a few times. We were not there in the capacity of local tangata whenua, but did have with us an archived map of the site that showed the land in question was part of a Native Reserve, including urupa. While interest from the panel was shown, the fact that this had not been recorded on the waahi tapu register meant that this consideration was not going to be taken into account.

        The original tribe and iwi had scattered and their history – over a century later after their land – is thus removed.

        Neighbouring local iwi are burdened with the task of uncovering evidence such as these archives, and even those are not considered evidence enough.

        You have a confidence in the system working, but it does not do so. Honest consultation with iwi – whether or not it is required – is at least a step in acknowledging those systematic failures in a genuine way.

      • weka 3.2.3
        4 January 2018 at 12:30 pm

        moderation note for you to attend to.

  4. Ed 4
    4 January 2018 at 7:52 am

    There is an economic storm coming in 2018.
    Here are some of the first drops.

    ‘The most notable change was in Auckland, where for the first time since February 2011 it was now a “buyer’s market”, realestate.co.nz spokeswoman Vanessa Taylor said.’

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11969056

    • Zorb6 4.1
      4 January 2018 at 8:24 am

      Just ‘conditioning’ ,because sellers expectations are too high.Propert ponzi is the real bitcoin.

      • Ed 4.1.1
        4 January 2018 at 8:34 am

        Crash coming this year.

        • James 4.1.1.1
          4 January 2018 at 8:37 am

          That will be good for labour. In government for a year and then allowing a housing crash to happen.

          Lots of unhappy voters come next election time.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1.1.1.1
            4 January 2018 at 8:54 am

            I don’t think the electorate are all as stupid as you.

            • james 4.1.1.1.1.1
              4 January 2018 at 10:51 am

              Oh Im sure that the many many many homeowners will be ecstatic that Labour oversaw their house values and equity slashed.

              Thats bound to be a vote winner.

              Its not being stupid – its that it impacts people and their lives for the worse – might be good for people who are envious, but in the real world it will cost votes.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                4 January 2018 at 10:58 am

                In the real world it’s a Ponzi Scheme that National engineered to make a few people richer and everybody else worse off.

                • cleangreen …
                  4 January 2018 at 3:46 pm

                  Yes Draco,

                  Tory tactics again there we see with the usual ‘property price slump scare’ from them again eh?

                  Our home price has ‘slumped after all those increased trucks National Party have ‘encouraged’ to carry freight through our residential communities ruining our health & wellbeing as property values have slumped now.

                  Because who wants 24/7 hour truck noise vibration & pollution in their lives as living near these horrible “truck roads now”?

              • One Anonymous Bloke …
                4 January 2018 at 12:25 pm

                Whereas normal political analysis has the electorate perfectly capable of realising that it takes more than one term to repair the things the National Party does.

                So while I sympathise somewhat with your need to believe you’re going be returned to government at the next election, in the end, derision wins.

              • Sabine …
                4 January 2018 at 3:51 pm

                why is it Labours fault when people buy things on credit they actually can’t afford, especially if you were to have another global financial crisis like we had in 2007/8?

                Oh because Phil – Housing Allowance Fraud – English would said so?

                Question: Leading up to the overheating of the market, what has National done to prevent the market from crashing in the future during their reign of power?

              • You_Fool …
                4 January 2018 at 8:32 pm

                What about all the people who would then be able to buy a house (or upgrade to a more suitable one)? Surely the 10-15% of people who lose out big (because they weren’t smart enough to catch on to the trend early enough) will be overshadowed by the 50-60% who then benefit?

                Or do you think everyone has 5 houses, a boat and 5 luxury cars all based on the increasing value of their home they brought in 1960?

                • james …
                  4 January 2018 at 10:40 pm

                  50-60% wont benefit – because when the values drop too much they will either hold on to them – or rent them out to cover the cost.

          • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.1.2
            4 January 2018 at 10:57 am

            If it happens then it was a crash engineered by National.

          • Pete 4.1.1.1.3
            4 January 2018 at 11:03 am

            They won’t let a housing crash happen in Auckland. They’ll buy every house coming on the market for HousingNZ which would see the demand (and so prices) stay high.

            So before that happens James, what should they do to prevent a housing crash in Auckland? What should they do not have it a “buyers market” or are those things mutually exclusive?

            • Antoine 4.1.1.1.3.1
              4 January 2018 at 11:38 am

              > They won’t let a housing crash happen in Auckland. They’ll buy every house coming on the market for HousingNZ which would see the demand (and so prices) stay high.

              TBH that sounds like a long shot.

              A.

        • Ed 4.1.1.2
          4 January 2018 at 11:32 am

          The crash is a global crash.

        • red-blooded 4.1.1.3
          4 January 2018 at 11:42 am

          Hey guys, before we all get too excited, let’s think this through… We all know that a huge problem in recent times has been rising house prices (esp in Auckland). If there was a drop in prices that would actually be a good thing for buyers, especially those who are struggling to cover the extremely inflated costs. (And, btw, buyers vote, too, as do parents and others who care about people trying to buy.)

          As it happens, your report of a “buyers’ market” is actually just based on a slight increase in stock and longer time on the market – prices are still up 2.7% in Auckland, with many sellers seemingly having waited for new council valuations before putting their properties on the market. Read past the headline…🙄

          Hardly an economic meltdown! And we have to accept that if we want a more equitable, accessible housing market, some people are going to see their houses drop in value. That may be a problem for those people, especially if they’ve been using their property as a proxy superannuation plan, but it’s not armageddon. Plus, the government is trying to be careful about this stuff. Increasing the stock of reasonably priced housing will slow down growth in value, but the market won’t tank because of it.

        • Herodotus 4.1.1.4
          4 January 2018 at 3:46 pm

          The symptoms have been present for 12-18 months, Horncastle Homes closing up
          https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/rodney-times/97089754/horncastle-homes-wraps-up-after-40-years
          I have had to implement the winding up of 3 builders for failure to pay debts for building supplies, and there are many others that are on limited supplies as they are on agreements to reduce debt.
          Building material inflation well above CPI and pay rate increases. This building inflation excludes land
          http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11789263
          http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=11683028
          The timing of when this happens has alot to do with what economic conditions from the recent past.

          • Ed 4.1.1.4.1
            4 January 2018 at 4:08 pm

            Very interesting.
            I have a sense the banks are doing everything they can to reduce their exposure to bad debt before the oncoming storm.

  5. Ed 5
    4 January 2018 at 8:18 am

    ‘Iran – Early U.S. Support For Rioters Hints At A Larger Plan

    In Iran – Regime Change Agents Hijack Economic Protests we looked at the developing U.S.-Israeli operation to instigate a revolt in Iran. What follows are a few more background points and a view on the developments since. A color revolution or revolt in Iran have only little chances of success. But even as the fail they can be used as pretext for additional sanctions and other anti-Iranian measures. The current incidents are thus only one part of a much larger plan.

    The “western” democracies are used to distinguish political parties as left or right with fixed combinations of economic and cultural policies. The “left” is seen as preferring a social economy that benefits the larger population and as cultural liberal or progressive. The right is seen as cultural conservative with a preference for a free market economy that favors the richer segments of a nation.

    The political camps in Iran are different.

    The simplified version: The conservatives, or “principalists”, are cultural conservative but favor economic programs that benefit the poor. Their support base are the rural people as well as the poorer segments of the city dwellers. The last Iranian president near to them was Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. One of his major policies was the implementation of cash payments to the needy as replacement of general and expensive subsidies on oil products and foodstuff. The current Iranian president Hassan Rouhani is a member of the “reformist” camp. His support base are the merchants and the richer parts of the society. He is culturally (relative) progressive but his economic polices are neoliberal. The new budget he introduced for the next year cuts back on the subsidies for the poor Ahmedinejad had introduced. It will increase prices for fuel and basic food stuff up to 30-40%.

    The protests on December 28 and 29 were about these and other economic issues. Such protests have regularly occurred in Iran throughout the decades. But the current ones were soon hijacked by small groups which chanted slogans against the Iranian system and against the strong Iranian engagement in Syria and Palestine. These are not majority positions of the 80 million inhabitants of Iran:

    According to the poll, 67.9% say Iran should increase backing for anti-IS groups, up from 59.8% a year ago. Meanwhile, a majority of 64.9% backs the deployment of Iranian military personnel to Syria to help the regime of Bashar al-Assad, up slightly from 62.7% a year ago.
    The small groups that hijacked the protests against Rouhani’s economic polices were heavily promoted by the usual suspects of U.S. influence operations. Avaaz, the RAND cooperation, Human Rights Watch and others immediately jumped onto the bandwagon…..

    Read more here.

    http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/12/iran-early-us-support-for-rioters-hints-at-a-larger-plan.html

    • One Anonymous Bloke 5.1
      4 January 2018 at 8:52 am

      Is that a whole cut ‘n’ paste job from the linked article with no original content from you, and no formatting for clarity? Again?

      Fucking rude.

  6. James 6
    4 January 2018 at 8:42 am

    Cannot remember the selfish posters name on here who happily states to driving on the wrong side of the road in a major gorge “in case a rock falls”.

    Thiught of them this morning when I read this

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/100316172/driver-caught-on-camera-in-coromandel-on-wrong-side-of-road

  7. eco maori 7
    4 January 2018 at 8:57 am

    Eco likes Prince Philip he has been around for a while and he knows the big picture I know he is laughing at the charade that is going on in OUR WORLD.Many thanks to the Prince.
    Ka pai

    • james 9.1
      4 January 2018 at 1:12 pm

      LOL – you quote the Daily star.

      that’s hilarious. But then again – its more reliable that some of the other links he proves.

      and just to help you with your comprehension – the first link is somebody else requesting it – The royal family have nothing to do with it at all.

    • greywarshark 9.2
      4 January 2018 at 5:36 pm

      Ed
      Sour cream goes with baked potatoes and chives nicely.

  10. Ed 10
    4 January 2018 at 1:30 pm

    This is what you get after 35 years of neoliberalism.
    Selfish people.
    ME people, not WE people.
    People who don’t care about society.
    People who don’t care about Maori values.

    ‘A request from local iwi for visitors to stay away from Auckland’s Waitākere Ranges to stop the spread of kauri dieback appears to be falling on deaf ears.
    Hundreds of people are continuing to walk in the ranges, despite Te Kawerau-ā-Maki placing a rāhui over them to try and stop visitors flocking there in the summer months.
    At least 500 people are estimated to be walking the popular Kitekite Falls track near Piha every day.’

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/347455/they-re-just-making-their-job-more-difficult-and-more-expensive

    • Ed 10.1
      4 January 2018 at 1:33 pm

      Often these people claim to care about their families – but even then they show by their actions they don’t care about their children and grandchildren, as they refuse to make any sacrifices to their lifestyles to mitigate climate change.

      In extreme case, they deny climate change.

    • James 10.2
      4 January 2018 at 4:08 pm

      “Selfish people.
      ME people, not WE people.
      People who don’t care about society.
      People who don’t care about Maori values.”

      That’s the perception I have of you. Nice to see you come out and admit it.

  11. Ed 11
    4 January 2018 at 3:45 pm

    NZ Is a country being destroyed by the food industry.
    The solution is the way we are dealing with big tobacco.
    This article shows how we can deal with this disgraceful and disgusting industry and its pimps like Katherine Rich.
    Ban advertising
    Tax unhealthy food for its externalities
    Limit its sale points

    ‘Dan Parker, who was a successful advertising executive earning his living promoting Coca Cola and McDonalds, told the Guardian in his first interview that the food industry is behaving like Big Tobacco. “I think what the food industry does now will define where it lands. If it behaves like tobacco it will end up being treated like tobacco. And I think it is behaving like tobacco,” said the former industry insider.

    “There are an awful lot of people not very interested in seeing the size of the packaged food industry drop by those kind of figures. The amount of money involved is billions of pounds.” That includes the food industry, the supermarkets, the exchequer and also the media. “Parts are almost entirely propped up by advertising for those unhealthy products. Early Saturday night TV, for example, would struggle without pizzas and fishfingers.”‘

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/02/former-advertising-executive-reveals-big-foods-junk-food-pushing-tactics

    • James 11.1
      4 January 2018 at 3:56 pm

      “NZ Is a country being destroyed by the food industry”

      You have anything to back that up? No thought not.

      And no – the daily star or vegan news blogs are not reputable links.

    • Grey Area 11.2
      4 January 2018 at 4:07 pm

      You’re doing well hitting the mental ignore button Ed, keep it up. I just wish more would do the same. He brings a sour note to The Standard.

      • Ed 11.2.1
        4 January 2018 at 4:10 pm

        4 days.
        And it’s great just scrolling past 😎
        How is your chocolate fast going?

        • Grey Area 11.2.1.1
          4 January 2018 at 4:46 pm

          No chocolate fast for me. You must be confusing me with another poster.

          I am enjoying a James-free fast though. So far I feel so cleansed. And being a BM-free zone helps as well.

          Speaking of cleansing after much humid foreboding the forecast rain had arrived. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. I have a saying about HB weather – it is normally better than predicted and very rarely worse.

          • greywarshark 11.2.1.1.1
            4 January 2018 at 5:34 pm

            Grey for short but not for long. We both get Grey but I am greywarshark. And the chocolate fast is biting me the more that I’m not biting. This is a good test on my eating habits. It won’t last but each New Year it might be a good move.

            And good to limit the James-mosquito. The whining is annoying and subverts the blog.