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Open mike 04/07/2025

Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, July 4th, 2025 - 20 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:


Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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Step up to the mike …

20 comments on “Open mike 04/07/2025 ”

  1. weka 1
    4 July 2025 at 10:24 am

    better late than never.

    Reply
  2. Muttonbird 2
    4 July 2025 at 10:45 am

    Intellectual property theft, knockoff, fake merchandise, in reverse.

    Colonialism and western privilege writ large. It's ok for powerful western societies and organisations to steal heritage from indigenous peoples and developing countries because, well, they just can.

    Dr Kapoor said the deeper issue lies in taking away economic opportunities and recognition from artisans who have perfected and preserved their craft over generations.

    "These skilled makers rely on their designs for their livelihood," she said.

    "When global brands replicate their work without offering monetary compensation or partnerships, it undermines their sustainability and growth."

    Not so happy when entrepreneurs do the same to them though.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/lifestyle/style/prada-accused-of-copying-indian-fashion-with-new-usd1200-sandals

    Reply
  3. Stephen D 3
    4 July 2025 at 11:29 am

    As good an explanation of the growth of Trumpism and fascism that I have seen.

    https://substack.com/home/post/p-167049100?r=aax0&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=audio-player

    Some of it feels relevant to us.

    Reply
    • ianmac 3.1
      4 July 2025 at 2:04 pm

      Thanks Stephen. Agreed. I think the Trump Cult methods are adopted by Seymour and Peters. Attack the dissenters. Offer a solution even if there is no problem to solve.

      Reply
  4. PsyclingLeft.Always 4
    4 July 2025 at 12:03 pm

    Queenstown vampire landlord finally served some justice..

    Queenstown landlord with 22 migrant tenants in unlawful five-bedroom home fined over $100k

    TCIT National Manager, Brett Wilson, said Truong was an experienced landlord who would have been well aware of his obligations and responsibilities under the Act.

    "Many of the tenants were overseas workers on working holiday visas who had little knowledge of their rights as tenants in New Zealand. They were also working in a location with a shortage of rental accommodation which made them vulnerable to a landlord who was knowingly operating outside of the Residential Tenancies Act."

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/565857/queenstown-landlord-with-22-migrant-tenants-in-unlawful-five-bedroom-home-fined-over-100k

    Tip o' the hat to Local Crux did major investigative work on this !

    https://cruxnz.substack.com/p/crux-slumlord-investigation-producesl

    Reply
    • Graeme 4.1
      4 July 2025 at 1:33 pm

      Saddly this us nothing new in Queenstown. Working Holiday, visa or not, overcrowding / oversharing accomodation is sort of the way the place has rolled pretty much forever.
      Often it’s quite exploitative and doesn’t end well, as in this case, and one like this will come up every year or so.
      It also happens co-operatively when flats / houses just get a bit full and actually work quite well. I’ve seen some ski houses with higher densities and few problems. When they go to shit is when the operator / organiser is, or turns into a prick, which looks to be the case with this one.
      The only regulator we have on our population is the availability of accommodation, so that accommodation will fill to the max density that people arriving will accept. Building more unfortunately just allows more repeats of the same.
      How we solve this I have no idea, short of regulating who can live here, and that won’t work for obvious reasons. People are always going to want to come and live here, and if that attraction didn’t exist we wouldn’t have Whakatipu

      Reply
    • Graeme 4.2
      4 July 2025 at 1:35 pm

      Saddly this is nothing new in Queenstown. Working Holiday, visa or not, overcrowding / oversharing accomodation is sort of the way the place has rolled pretty much forever.
      Often it’s quite exploitative and doesn’t end well, as in this case, and one like this will come up every year or so.
      It also happens co-operatively when flats / houses just get a bit full but actually work quite well. I’ve seen some ski houses with higher densities and few problems. When they go to shit is when the operator / organiser is, or turns into, a prick, which looks to be the case with this one .
      The only regulator we have on our population is the availability of accommodation, so that accommodation will fill to the max density that people arriving will accept. Building more unfortunately just allows more repeats of the same.
      How we solve this I have no idea, short of regulating who can live here, and that won’t work for obvious reasons. People are always going to want to come and live here, and if that attraction didn’t exist we wouldn’t have Whakatipu

      Reply
      • PsyclingLeft.Always 4.2.1
        4 July 2025 at 2:02 pm

        Saddly this is nothing new in Queenstown.

        You didnt have to tell me twice? : )

        And you have maybe forgotten/not seen..how many times I have raised these issues?

        My links were to highlight James..Truong and his ilk. The creep had many previous ( in other places too) .

        IMO, Why were the warnings..not actioned much earlier? Where was QLDC enforcement ?The POS was gouging maybe $30 K a month from some of his victims. !

        Reply
        • Graeme 4.2.1.1
          4 July 2025 at 3:16 pm

          We effectively have no Government service administration in Whakatipu, a bit of delivery, but the decision making is elsewhere. We exist so that Invercargill or Dunedin can have a bigger office and more services, oh and the management go to a higher pay bracket.
          So getting traction with a Govt agency takes perserverance, and generally involves a days travel, or more. And don’t get me started on traversing the Health system from here. If you’re likely to need major health intervention, just don’t move here, you’ll wish you hadn’t.
          Long term, hopefully we’ll get enough population that Central Otago can be a separate administrative region and services are administered more locally, that’s going to be a 30 year fight until there's 150,000 people in Central, but could come sooner.
          As for Truong, $115,000 will trigger Proceeds of Crime action and he’ll be taken out of action for a while and be surrendering a lot more than the Court order.

          Reply
          • PsyclingLeft.Always 4.2.1.1.1
            5 July 2025 at 9:40 am

            We effectively have no Government service administration in Whakatipu, a bit of delivery, but the decision making is elsewhere.

            Graeme, I get that. And could well agree with it, and all.

            And as I said earlier I have also previously raised the issues of Queenstown's upper and lower classes. Almost Victorian in some ways…..

            However, I did put in my reply to you : "Where was QLDC enforcement ?" IMO seemed to be…missing. I did search…

            However I found this. Seems QLDC were active.Victim blaming? You could think that.

            QLDC u-turn imposes $400 fines on Queenstown's working homeless

            Multiple Queenstown workers sleeping in their vehicles are being issued with $400 freedom camping fines, despite previous statements from the Queenstown Lakes District Council that the homeless would not be targets of enforcement officers.

            https://crux.org.nz/crux-news/qldc-u-turn-imposes-400-fines-on-queenstowns-working-homeless/

            Reply
  5. bwaghorn 5
    4 July 2025 at 12:23 pm

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360746152/david-seymour-criticises-rawiri-waititi-insane-views-about-african-leader-ibrahim-traore

    Oh god I feel so low but seymour might be on to something, I'm picking Waititis, mouth could single handedly hand the next election to the COCks

    Reply
    • gsays 5.1
      5 July 2025 at 10:30 am

      Far more concerning is Seymour studying at the feet of Dr Tom Flanagan. One who denied the Residential Schools atrocities in Canada. He also argues Canada joining UNDRIP would give indigenous peoples too much power. Sound familiar?

      https://southerncross.news/atlas-network-suppressed-indigenous-rights-in-canada/

      In case you haven't seen this, it's worth 3/4s of an hour of yr time. Mihingarangi Forbes and team shine a light on what Seymour would rather not be illuminated.

      Even the last 5 or 6 minutes is worth a peek if you want to see the rare sight of Seymour flustered.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLOjiiC3P1Y

      I'll take the occasional brain fart from Waititi mentioning a remote African leader, Seymour is far far worse.

      Reply
      • Phillip ure 5.1.1
        5 July 2025 at 11:33 am

        Thank you for that…

        That is one stonking piece of journalism from MS. Forbes ..

        It's essential viewing for anyone with the slightest interest in politics . .

        You will never look the same way at Seymour again..

        He is laid bare ..

        Reply
  6. The Chairman 6
    4 July 2025 at 4:30 pm

    When is a pay rise not a pay rise?

    When it is less than the rate of inflation

    In May, registered nurses were offered a pay increase of 1 percent in 2025 and 1 percent in 2026. This week's latest offer included a "higher 2025 pay increase of 2 percent

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/565902/nurses-union-dismisses-latest-pay-offer-as-massive-backward-step

    Reply
  7. joe90 7
    4 July 2025 at 7:19 pm

    tRump's got his very own Sturmabteilung.

    None of those laws and military codes that explicitly prohibit the deployment of federal armed services to enforce domestic policy for this mob.

    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

    ‪@aoc.bsky.social‬

    I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE. This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion – making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined. It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.

    https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:p7gxyfr5vii5ntpwo7f6dhe2/post/3lt3fvohzjc2q?

    edit:

    guess those those laws and military codes don’t really matter

    On Thursday, U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) — which oversees U.S. military operations in North America – announced that it would be deploying approximately 200 U.S. Marines to Florida and other states to assist with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Multiple military veterans are now sounding the alarm.

    https://www.alternet.org/trump-marines-florida/?

    Reply
  8. Sean C 8
    4 July 2025 at 8:06 pm

    So, does anyone care Rocket Lab supplies Israel with weapons to kill more Gazaian people? Collins, today, admitted that Rocket Lab is part of the BlackSky programme that helps to target missiles into Gaza, carrying on the geneocide there. NZ now has a weapons industry. I see it is not in MSM. Rakon is another not mentioned in MSM. Does anyone care in this country?

    Reply
    • BK 8.1
      5 July 2025 at 8:23 am

      Why would that not be something New Zealander's get to have a say on? mind blowing! Thanks Sean I did not know that either

      Reply
  9. Phillip ure 9
    4 July 2025 at 8:14 pm

    I didn't know that…thank you..noted…

    They may as well be pulling the fucken triggers…

    ..the bastards…!

    ..making us part of this genocide…these war crimes ..

    How fucken dare they..!

    Reply

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