Open mike 04/04/2021
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- Treasury warns deeper recession worsening Budget deficit
The gift that keeps giving: David Seymour has now opened a split in the coalition over the future of National’s promise to build a new medical school. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / TheKakaKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...5 hours ago - Weekly Roundup 22-November-2024
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Record Numbers: The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, which began at the tip of the North, and the tail of the South, on 11 November, culminated outside Parliament on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, in one of the largest demonstrations in New Zealand’s political history.ACCORDING TO TE ARA, the Ministry of Culture ...6 hours ago - The Rush To Blame “The Activists”
Activists are such easy scapegoats. The right and center have been conditioned for decades to roll their eyes at all protests. The left are easily aggravated over students leading movements they see as belonging to grownups, who have more important concerns like the economy and whether the trains come on ...6 hours ago - Cutting Through An Inundation of Dipshit Racists
Hi,Watching New Zealand from afar offers a strange perspective. It can be a good thing — distance from Aotearoa helped keep me sane while I reported on abuse at New Zealand’s biggest megachurch over the course of a year. It helps fuel my silly podcast. But it can also be ...7 hours ago - This is bad news
The speech yesterday by Treasury’s Chief Economic Advisor warning that the books are in worse shape than forecasted looks like it’s part of a softening-up process for either more cuts or a longer wait to get back into surplus. The speech was a highly unusual public preview of Treasury’s Half-Yearly ...8 hours ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2024
Open access notables Projected increase in the frequency of extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons, Lopez et al., Science Advances: Future changes to the year-to-year swings between active and inactive North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) seasons have received little attention, yet may have great societal implications in areas prone to hurricane ...17 hours ago - Chicken Kiev
Chatting in the supermarket this morning, I found I needed to lunge for the chicken drumsticks.Coping mechanisms: who hasn’t felt a greater need for them lately?When it all gets too much, I turn to demonstrating handy butchery hacks.It wasn’t that she’d said anything wrong, our friend, not at all. We ...21 hours ago - The year is 2024 and it’s 1984
This is written in response to the highly significant open letter from a group of economists that was today addressed to Christopher Luxon. The year is 2024, and it’s 1984. The country is reeling from a record Olympic medal gold haul, while the globe grapples with the choice of the ...22 hours ago - The IPCA has failed
Back in 2022, RNZ took an in-depth look at the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority and its handling of killings by police. These are the most serious test of oversight, and you would expect the police's use of lethal force to receive the most severe scrutiny. But despite the police regularly ...1 day ago - Thursday 21 November 2024
The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrived at Parliament on Tuesday – the size is being debated but estimates range from 42,000 to 100,000. The Prime Minister is defending not attending due to some of the organisers being affiliated with Te Pāti Māori. The national gang patch ban came into force ...1 day ago - ‘These budget cuts are counter-productive and make no sense’
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Nicola Willis’ budget cuts are under fire from economists for having no clear rationale and worsening the recession. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 21: The news at ...1 day ago
- The end of policing by consent
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- The Treaty Principles Bill: A Who’s Who
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- 27% of kids going hungry, up from 21% in a year
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- Young Maori take over
Neither Wellington nor Parliament has ever seen anything like it before. The Police said there were more than 40,000 but however many there were, yesterday’s Hikoi to Parliament was a monumental event. It was almost three times the Foreshore and Seabed martch of 2004 and many,many times bigger than ...2 days ago
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Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...3 days ago
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On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...7 days ago
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Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...1 week ago
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The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...1 week ago
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Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...1 week ago - Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights
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The Treaty Principles Bill is set to have its First Reading in the House today, as the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti continues. More than 40 KCs have written to the Prime Minister and Attorney-General outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill, while an academic and ...1 week ago
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Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
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...1 week ago
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Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
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- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
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He has a point. Why shouldn't ACC pay the same for over 65s? It’s a clearly discrimination on the basis of age and it’s not like their ACC levy is lower to compensate.
And while we are all about change, completely unrelated to the article below all ACC lump sum payments should be tied to inflation. A 10% impairment in the 1980s was $10,000, which is the same $ amount today. That's money ACC takes for profit that should be paid out.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124579078/working-over65s-dont-get-full-benefit-of-acc-levies-says-campaigner
As is the pension, yes.
Happy Easter, may you all find lots of eggs.
The Messiah being played on RNZ Concert at the moment! A highlight that makes Easter worth looking forward to.
Good stereo sound, too. Thank heavens the barbarians did not succeed in pushing Concert FM back onto mono, lo-fi AM.
I was given a 400g egg and I am very happy with it. The problem is once I break into it I may over indulge.
The ridiculous Gwyneth Paltrow
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9430371/Gwyneth-Paltrow-slammed-horrifying-SPF-application-Vogue-video.html
To be fair, there seems to be so many cowboys in this field is any SPF any good.
Loose clothing and a broad brimmed hat would seem to be more effective
I take it it is a slow news day in Aussie.
And the bingo at the Northcote RSA is off for the holiday.
Here is one that is bound to get the juices flowing for some of our local Putin antagonists (but in all likely hood secret admirers)…..
Vladimir Putin is voted Russia's SEXIEST man: Survey of 2,000 Russians finds president is country's most good looking male
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9432607/Vladimir-Putin-voted-Russias-SEXIEST-man-survey-2-000-Russians.html
and Prince William is the sexiest bold man, oh yeah baby….
Can't say there one royal alive today that I know of, that would term sexy..can't get the thought of all that royal inbreeding out of my mind I guess…sort of ruins the mood
The body partially disrobed as a visual strategy for self-branding is the theme of this article. During Fascism, photography, in synergy with the communications industry ante-literam, was an essential part of the construction of the cult of the leader that transformed the figure of Mussolini into an icon. Mussolini’s partial nudity is considered here as a powerful political tool. The Duce, in anticipation of our celebrities today, did not hesitate to undress and display his torso in what Valerie Sperling calls ‘iconic public-relations stunts’ that were both exhibitionistic and voyeuristic (Sperling 2014, 21).
Figured out what you're a fan of yet?
A comment such as this is generally on par with having a cheap and lazy go at one of the Kardashians or Gwyneth Paltrow, of all goopy people. In this case, however, it is more like an attempt to target and wind up a select group of other commenters who cannot and will not resist taking the bait. In other words, you have no interest in debating but only in continuing a shit fight. Please suggest how this site should respond to that. I have my own ideas but I’d like to consult the relevant parties [plural] first …
How should you respond etc Incognito ?Keeping your sense of humour would be a good start imo since thats obviously the spirit in which the comment was offered .
Yes, fair comment. OTOH, see whether you can keep your sense of humour after a site search on “Putin” and you have viewed the numerous and endless shit fights here. There’s a handful of commenters who seem to enjoy slagging each other as soon as one mentions something about Putin (or Assange, for that matter). In addition, it spills over to other commenters who like to join the fray from time to time. I don’t think that is funny or positive for this site.
obviously, your honour
Well here I was on a sunny Easter Sunday afternoon, just having a little bit of fun with the new revelation, that it turns out that a bunch of TS commenters are in very very close geo political alignment with the UK conservative party, which, after all the often quite tense exchanges (shit fights) with them on this left leaning forum over the year on that very subject, I find hilarious, not to mention, also an extremely damning illumination of where they actually stand politically… but as I was saying, here I am having a little fun with that, until of course I get you following me about, critiquing my comments as usual, which is wearing real thin, especially as I often read things you write that I find stupid and annoying as well, but you don’t see me jumping all over you all the time, because I respect your right to say what you want here, within reason, as it is mine.
Maybe if you don’t like my style of commenting then don’t read my comments, I am sure if I step out of line as far as the rules go, someone will make you or other moderators aware of that soon enough…..until then, please leave me alone.
I think most people who have watched us post here over a good few years, will know your attempts at baiting, using a false narrative constructed on our behalf, to make out we're not left of centre and tories in drag is a stretch too far, even for someone prattle prone like you.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-03-04-2021/#comment-1786566
[link fixed]
“It really has become quite apparent to me over the previous few days, that you, Mcflock, Joe90, Al1en and a couple of others on TS are in fact, in your geopolitical beliefs (the ones you express on TS anyway) for want of a better description, are some sort of postmodern (liberal) imperialists. It was always obvious that you guys had some pretty seriously flawed world views, but when I saw recently, exactly how closely nearly all your geopolitical standpoints matched with the UK Conservative parties own positions”
Thornton, I see you. Arms outstretched to their limit, forever reaching for that which is just beyond your taking, all the while unable to see what is right in front of your face.
Enjoy your bank holiday Monday.
If I don’t read your comments then the shit fights here don’t exist? That’s very Zen.
Do you suggest this to everyone who reads and/or comments here? To all the silent readers of this site who have to scroll past your lengthy and many shit battles? You don’t think these might be slightly off-putting?
Winding up others is neither fun nor Zen.
So, I’m afraid I can’t oblige your request to leave you alone as long as you keep having these shit fights. I’m not doing this because I enjoy annoying you; I do it because I think the site needs these shit fights like a hole in the brain and because my pleading has not made any difference.
Luckily, Moderators have a few tools available, thanks to Lprent, and I intend to use them as wisely and effectively as I can to try lift the quality of discourse on this site. I’m not going to die on this hill but I will make an effort to improve things here. Whether you’re on board or fight back is entirely up to you; it is nothing personal to me.
Never forget.
https://twitter.com/katyn1940/status/1378243422419554306
An appropriate place to leave this link to the hauntingly beautiful Nocturne No 20 by the famous Polish composer, Chopin.
This was the last piece of music played on Warsaw Radio during the destruction of Warsaw. It was not heard from again until after WW2 was over.
The German Officer protected "The Pianist" and many other Jewish people until the war was over. He ended up in a Siberian Labour Camp courtesy of the Bolsheviks where he died of sickness and starvation.
Latest as RadioNZ trumdles in the tumbril towards the guillotine – a high-class act that we should hole onto to not pollute with television and semi- commercialism.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018790008/public-media-plan-moves-forward-behind-closed-doors\
The government’s plan moved a step forward this week when seven media people were appointed to oversee and scrutinise a business case which the Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister Kris Faafoi wants on his desk by mid-year.
He plans to take it to Cabinet for approval before the end of the year and last Wednesday Faafoi confirmed he wants a new outlet up and running by 2023.
The Strong Public Media Business Case Governance Group is chaired by former NZ First party deputy leader Tracey Martin, who pledged to speed up the process.
“People are frustrated that it has taken this long and the minister is as frustrated as everybody else,” she told reporters.
Tracey Martin is frustrated that government should be frustrated in its desire to run over our heads with a bulldozer. I have not caught Tracey Martin saying anything of note – have you? Seems just another functionary for the efficiency gang of neolib stripping us of all the features of civilisation that we hold dear.
One of NZ's best long-serving journalists has some observations: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018790029/simon-collins-a-lifetime-in-journalism
The image of Collins receiving a citation needed them to be shuttled around somewhat. A bit to the right and Collins would have been right under the wide goldish light, rather like a halo which it seems that he deserves.
He is a lovely man.
Thanks for that information, although I think RNZ has been dumbed down dramatically over the past decade, it is still of some use and could even be hopefully revived again one day if we ever get a genuine progressive left wing govt (probably not in my life time), but that would never happen if it is 'semi- commercialized', which would of course quickly lead to it's complete commercialization.
Fucking Labour..what a compete disappointment, even when my hopes were set so very low to start with.
@ Grafton Gully,
I strongly believe in live and learn.
If you wish, you can write a genuine apology and explain what was wrong with your comment.
Let me know, and I’ll lift your ban so that you can submit it through the Pre-Mod filter.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/439807/resources-stretched-as-fire-crews-battle-blazes-across-south-island
Three properties are being evacuated near the South Canterbury town of Fairlie, as fire crews battle a forestry plantation blaze.
As Foreign owners grow forestry for carbon offsets etc. are we going to be providing cheap fire fighting services for their plantations? We may achieve lower net emissions, but at a continuing cost to us. What fire prevention plans are there, and what officious regulatory body is going to make sure that they are carried out properly and timely too? I think we have to get back to the officious type with everything, all this working with business starts to get wet round the edges – a bit soggy.
When government owned there used to be fire watching towers. I guess now there could be drones checking, but those drones are going to be disliked and distrusted now on principle, because they are up there and it is so easy to spy, and it is nice to feel part of the world and look at the birds without those little machines buzzing overhead.
ECan. Good luck with that..
The guys fighting this fire since this morning are the voluntary firefighters. You won't find much cheaper.
Yes, they have an outdated sense of what's important; 20th century standards for men and women doing the hard yards while often the executives float round like butterflies, and sting like bees and call it efficiency.