Open mike 04/12/2020

29 comments on “Open mike 04/12/2020 ”

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1. Andre 1

   4 December 2020 at 7:52 am

   Voter fraud in the US is a real thing, even if very rare. Thing is, these days it's almost always done by Repugs. Then when they get busted, their first wriggle is "only joking". When that doesn't work, the next is "I only did it to prove it can be done". Sadly, they never get the jail time they richly deserve for their deliberately illegal activity, even while someone that's ineligible makes a mistake and attempts to vote gets the book thrown at them.

   https://www.wsbtv.com/news/politics/florida-attorney-under-investigation-registering-vote-georgia-encouraging-others-do-same/L6LTC2AHBFDMXPOTZKVMO5ESJQ/

   Note that voter fraud is different to electoral fraud. Electoral fraud is routinely openly practiced on industrial scale mostly by Repugs, via such tools as voter roll purges, voter ID requirements, manipulating access to polling locations, gerrymandering.
2. Adrian Thornton 2

   4 December 2020 at 9:41 am

   So I wonder when the media storm will hit over this one…followed by relentless attacks on Starmer from the Liberal media lead by the Guardian who will go on and on and on about how he is making the Muslim community feel unsafe and for generally being an Islamophobic racist….haven't heard a pep from RNZ of course.

   Labour's Starmer urged to return donations from 'Islamophobic' businessman

   "Abrahams resumed his donations to the party last month after receiving a personal request from Starmer, whom the businessman has described as “somebody who was decent”.

   “Israel is a brand new hi-tech state with new inventions to benefit mankind,” he wrote. “Close neighbours chose terrorism and invented suicide bombers.”

   " In a tweet posted in 2013, Abrahams said: “Don’t think I know how to divide political Islam from moderates and fundamentalists. It is the very nature of the beast!”

   https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/labour-starmer-abrahams-islamophobic-donations-return
3. Adrian Thornton 3

   4 December 2020 at 10:03 am

   Biden better than Trump…well if he is, it ain't by much…

   Neera Tanden Is Biden’s Latest Middle Finger to the Left

   “Unless we take the oil from Libya, I have no interest in Libya,” Donald Trump

   “We have a giant deficit. They have a lot of oil,” Neera Tanden

   Joe Biden has picked Neera Tanden, a fierce critic of Bernie Sanders and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, to head the Office of Management and Budget. The move is just the latest sign that Biden will govern from the center-right, offering nothing to the Left.

   https://www.leftvoice.org/neera-tanden-is-bidens-latest-middle-finger-to-the-left

   Bomb Libya and take its oil: Biden budget chief pick Neera Tanden agreed with Trump

   https://thegrayzone.com/2020/11/30/trump-neera-tanden-libya-oil/

   Biden is Not an Ally For Progressives

   “On the issue of America’s endless wars, Biden’s potential cabinet appointments are particularly telling. Two of the names floated for Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State–Michèle Flournoy and Tony Blinken—founded a consulting firm dedicated to helping defense contractors “navigate the complex bureaucracy of winning Pentagon contracts.” This is particularly concerning because, as journalist Jonathan Guyer observes, there is no unifying “Biden doctrine” for foreign policy. In other words, Biden is likely to follow the directions of his cabinet and advisors, almost none of whom have discussed or disclosed their connections to the military-industrial complex that plagues American politics. ”

   http://uchicagogate.com/articles/2020/10/29/biden-not-ally-progressives/
4. tc 4

   4 December 2020 at 11:43 am

   Granny doing her job for national behind the paywall.

   Hoots on ardern and a piece on the last term probably piling more dirt onto NZF to keep the meme going.

   Quality journalism ?
5. Stuart Munro 5

   4 December 2020 at 2:03 pm

   It turns out there are kiwi workers out there after all – the whining for RSEs was premature. Admission interest from Kiwis overwhelming orchards | Otago Daily Times Online News (odt.co.nz)
   • Treetop 5.1

     4 December 2020 at 2:16 pm

     Nice to see that the system appears to be working.

     Not sure which supermarket but it was not Pak'n Save. On an ad $7 for a kg of apricots; that is steep.
   • McFlock 5.2

     4 December 2020 at 3:22 pm

     So, basically, the cliff notes seem to be that NZ horticulturists haven't had to do the basics of employment recruitment and management for so long that they've forgotten how – and they think it's someone else's fault.
   • UncookedSelachimorpha 5.3

     4 December 2020 at 8:45 pm

     Meanwhile, the growers claim they aren't interested in cheap foreign labour and are doing everything they can for NZ workers – such as paying at least the minimum wage!!

     https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/432153/fruit-growers-doing-their-best-to-hire-suitable-nz-workers

     Meeting the legal minimum – which isn't enough to even live on. What crap. Don’t let this – or any industry – import third-world pay and conditions into NZ ever again.
6. Treetop 6

   4 December 2020 at 5:37 pm

   It is quiet on Open Mike today.
   • greywarshark 6.1

     4 December 2020 at 5:44 pm

     News of today.

     https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/432126/nz-first-foundation-defendants-lose-right-to-name-suppression But we still can't have the name of the murderer of Grace Millane.

     Seems to me it is handy to have that withheld as a precedent for a time in future when one of the sleazy wealthy families' sons or daughters goes feral. Oh but we are just following precedent in withholding the name., perhaps. Our judges aren't all probity and truth – I read that some avoided speaking to Judge Peter Mahon after he was so open with his distaste of the presented evidence slant re Erebus.
7. greywarshark 7

   4 December 2020 at 5:45 pm

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/432119/funds-being-raised-to-defend-pilot-who-led-the-charge-in-whakaari-rescue

   Some might like to back this guy for good behaviour in a crisis; show the government and knuckle-dragging agencies how things should be done.
   • Treetop 7.1

     4 December 2020 at 7:59 pm

     I heard this on morning report.

     Lives were saved and there was a plan in place for such a rescue. No recognition for taking a calculated risk.
   • McFlock 7.2

     4 December 2020 at 8:50 pm

     From the link:

     The charges related to events before the eruption and had nothing to do with the rescue and recovery afterwards.

     Maybe he deserves a medal, and maybe he also deserves prosecution.
     • greywarshark 7.2.1

       4 December 2020 at 10:40 pm

       Maybe Worksafe are trying to make up for being dilatory before by being super scrupulous now. Too late closing the doors after the horse has bolted if that is the case.

       Anything he did wrong before and which they had not proceeded with at the time is too late to exercise their minds now, and his sterling work should be accepted thankfully and go to mitigate against anything else.
       • McFlock 7.2.1.1

         4 December 2020 at 11:20 pm

         Well, mitigation is up to the judge if a guitly verdict is reached.

         But also from the link:

         'It worries me that if people like him and Volcanic Air are found to be having an inadequate safety plan. The rest of the industry has got some major problems if that is the case."

         This is why these prosecutions happen. So everyone else makes sure their own stable doors are bolted, and double-checks.

         Calling it an "act of god", like the guy in your link, is just another manifestation of the "accidents happen, nobody's fault" mentality that ends up being lethal.
     • RedLogix 7.2.2

       4 December 2020 at 10:51 pm

       I'm pretty conflicted on this one; the Royal Commission made it plain that the Pike River management failed egregiously, fell well short of industry standards and was playing a desperate poker game to ship coal by a deadline. At every specific count a prosecution was well justified.

       White Island feels different; a whole industry had developed locally on the basis that it was safe to go to the island. Many different people had bought into the groupthink on this. Yet when I lived in the BOP at Kawerau during the 80's the accepted wisdom I recall was the exact opposite, the island was off limits.

       So what changed? Why did the island suddenly become 'safe' when evidently it was not? Who was pushing this idea, and why?

       Prosecutions will satiate the desire for accountability, but I doubt will ever answer this core question. Indeed they may well just serve to distract from it.
       • McFlock 7.2.2.1

         4 December 2020 at 11:28 pm

         1 Timothy 6:10 might be a starting point.
       • Ad 7.2.2.2

         5 December 2020 at 6:14 am

         Agree. Those charged made bank for years on that risk. Groupthink is right. You can see that in the rahui being lifted over the island within days, even though there were multiple dead and still dying, and the risks of operating on the island were unchanged: local iwi like the money just as much as any other local.

         And White Island was far more damaging for us as a country than Pike River due to the international tourism profile. The luck that we didn't have live footage on Youtube of tourists dying covered in ash is massive. Instead we had egregious spin stories of our tireless health workers and gradual recovery stories.
         • Treetop 7.2.2.2.1

           5 December 2020 at 8:23 am

           A privately owned Island which is run as a tourist destination.

           A gap of who was in charge to not allow people on Whakaari when there was a risk.

           Who is culpable for allowing people on the Island when there was increased activity?
           • Ad 7.2.2.2.1.1

             5 December 2020 at 8:25 am

             That would be set out in the charges that Worksafe has delivered.
8. greywarshark 8

   4 December 2020 at 5:48 pm

   Question Time in Parliament. An explanation for the uninitiated *is that enough i's?).

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/the-house/audio/2018775571/the-new-maths-of-question-time
9. greywarshark 9

   4 December 2020 at 5:51 pm

   Pests'R'Us. There is a new website unveiled. I saw a very busy looking ant thing about 4mm long – may be able to identify the blighter. Looking at the info on ants around the world can make you cringe I warn you.

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/432068/one-stop-information-shop-on-new-zealand-pests-it-has-been-a-huge-undertaking
   • Treetop 9.1

     4 December 2020 at 7:27 pm

     It is interesting how some insects can infest a home and costly.

     About 150 ants greeted me this morning on the kitchen bench and in a cupboard.
     • greywarshark 9.1.1

       4 December 2020 at 10:38 pm

       There is a home remedy of cornflour as a little barrier edge around what you are trying to protect. Supposed to be good.

       They are amazing. Some wishbones from chickens had been hung over a photoframe to dry off and left. A while later the photo was noticed to be overrun with ants all through it, over under. The frame was not near the window I am told. There must have been a super-scout out.
       • Treetop 9.1.1.1

         5 December 2020 at 7:13 am

         Yes a few ants out 2 days earlier and I usually squash them all. Ants are hard to get to when between the back of the cupboard and the wall.
10. greywarshark 10

    4 December 2020 at 5:59 pm

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018775798/auckland-port-delays-see-big-freight-ship-diverted-to-northport

    Auckland Port speaker on Radionz tonight talking up how costly it is to handle freight at Northport and bring it South reckons it would be 10 times the approx $120 to handle a container in Auckland. He didn't comment the long waiting time that AwkPort is causing shipping having to wait in the 'stream'. They are just too big for their boots which they have filled – sounds to me.

    Go Northport with rail, will be viable and spread the load for the top of NZ. Northport, Auckland and Tauranga, which has road access problems I think.

    And Gisborne wants a small, effective working port too, largely for logs. Hopefully they can build up food exports etc there.
    • Ad 10.1

      5 December 2020 at 6:21 am

      Rail north of Auckland is getting just a basic upgrade but no train will even get near 70kms an hour even when it's done, and still construction of an actual rail link as distinct from designation has no capital attached at all.

      Don't worry about it for another decade at least.

      SH1 on the other hand is being redesigned all the way to Marsden Point, is already nearly fully rebuilt through to Warkworth.
    • Ad 10.2

      5 December 2020 at 6:57 am

      There's a 12 minute video in this link with interviews with Goff and Ardern and most other relevant players on the thinking about shifting Ports of Auckland so far, after all the studies which NZFirst required as part of the coalition agreement:

      https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2020/12/04/weekly-roundup-04-dec-20/

      With NZFirst gone the impetus for shifting the port has evaporated.
11. Treetop 11

    4 December 2020 at 7:19 pm

    Is it just me who is noticing this?

    Aljazeera TV has been showing how Biden is going to manage Covid 19. Biden is not the president yet and he is being responsible. Trump would be pissed off.

    Is Biden visible because of Covid 19 or is this usual for the president elect?

    Biden has wasted no time in appointing people to government positions. Nice to see a statesman instead of a hot head.

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