Open mike 05/05/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 5th, 2019 - 113 comments
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For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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113 comments on “Open mike 05/05/2019 ”

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  1. WeTheBleeple 1
    5 May 2019 at 7:18 am

    Damien Grant coming across as a patronising dipshit. Claims Greta Thunberg is too young to understand science. This autistic girl doesn't know – lol! I reckon she knows more science than Damien ever will.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/112369771/for-the-sake-of-the-planet-lets-not-put-teen-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-on-a-pedestal

    This gem: "We're not immune down here in Godzone. One of our leading climate experts is well known scientist Lucy Lawless, who was reduced by global warming to wearing not much more than a metal breast plate and leather skirt."

    He thinks it will distract from the real issue… which I believe is climate change.

    That;s right, women and children are a mere distraction to this twat. Men should be doing the mens work.

    What a prick.

    Just looked at his other article titles. What a completely vile prick.

  2. CHCoff 2
    5 May 2019 at 7:48 am

    Rumpty Dumpty

    In contrast, the Liberal Democrats, who lost heavily in 2015, were buoyant, with deputy leader Jo Swinson predicting three-figure gains.
    “Out and about across the country, the mood has been positive. If we can get into the triple figures of gains that would be a really, really good night,” she said.

    https://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/national/17615360.tories-heading-for-a-really-tough-night-in-local-council-polls/

    " The party with the biggest surge was the centrist, pro-EU Liberal Democrats, which gained almost 700 council seats to more than double its total. "

    https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190504/p2g/00m/0in/024000c

    https://www.dw.com/uk/%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D1%96-%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8-%D0%B2%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8-%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B7%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE-1300-%D0%BC%D1%96%D1%81%D1%86%D1%8C-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%BC%D1%96%D1%81%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%85-%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%85/a-48599712

    May and Corbyn say big losses mean voters want them to deliver Brexit deal together

    https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/uk/may-and-corbyn-say-big-losses-mean-voters-want-them-to-deliver-brexit-deal-together-1.3880444

    • Andre 2.1
      5 May 2019 at 8:47 am

      All the commentary seems to be about the gains and losses. None of it seems to be about what the actual results are. Let's look at them:

      Cons 3210

      Labour 1887

      Lib Dems 1157

      Greens 208

      UKIP 30

      Other 1008

      Despite all the breathless hype about how many seats the Cons have lost, it looks to me like they've still got a near stranglehold on UK local politics. Or do numbers somehow work differently in the UK?

      • The Al1en 2.1.1
        5 May 2019 at 9:23 am

        calculating how Thursday's vote would translate across Britain, the projection of the national vote share puts Labour and the Conservatives both on 28%. Lib dems on 19% and others on 25%

        And Baldrick's had enough of Corbyn's labour.

        "Sir Tony Robinson quits Labour over Brexit and leadership"

        “I’ve left the Labour Party after nearly 45 years of service at Branch, Constituency and NEC levels,partly because of it’s continued duplicity on Brexit, partly because of it’s antisemitism, but also because its leadership is complete shit.”

        https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48152475

      • CHCoff 2.1.2
        5 May 2019 at 11:06 am

        Regards those numbers alone Andre

        As a broad guage they would show more are against the Cons as for, as far as proportionality of outcomed seats go, which is probably of itself again for the Cons, of even greater reflection of against than for in proportion of votes. Again as a guess, of what would be very traditional voting patterns, & 4 + decades of strident neo-liberalism form of free marketisms, showing perhaps a significant fracturing in the foundation of establishment.

        Then there is the current circumstances, which also seem to have alot of incontinuity in various ways. Too many more own goals and things could start to really unravel perhaps – i don’t know.

      • Drowsy M. Kram 2.1.3
        5 May 2019 at 12:31 pm

        Looking at (the number of) councils controlled [excluding Residents’ Association (2) and Independents (2)]:

        93 Tory councils (-44)
        60 Labour councils (-6)
        18 Lib Dem councils (+10)
        73 councils with no overall control (+37).

        Before these elections, Tory-controlled councils outnumbered Labour-controlled councils by more than 2-to-1, and Tories controlled ~55% of all councils. They now control ~38% of all councils, so the Tory 'stranglehold' on UK local politics is not what it was.

        • jpwood 2.1.3.1
          5 May 2019 at 6:13 pm

          And of course not all council's are equal. The Conservatives do well in the large number of rural TA's with low population.

      • lurgee 2.1.4
        6 May 2019 at 6:29 am

        Despite all the breathless hype about how many seats the Cons have lost, it looks to me like they've still got a near stranglehold on UK local politics. Or do numbers somehow work differently in the UK?

        Numbers don't but keep in mind that only a selection of council seats are being voted on. There is a vote every year, with seats in different areas up for grabs.

        The seats being contested this year were in areas where the Conservatives are traditionally strong.

        Also, the huge swings you see in local body elections mean the picture changes rapidly. I'm pretty sure a few years back the Lib Dems were bragging about being 'the party of local government.' Now they are just a fringe group which is viewed as a safe protest vote.

  3. cleangreen 3
    5 May 2019 at 8:48 am

    CHCoff. Yes I read that to, so the voter doesn't like 'diddy-dallying around' for sure.

    So perhaps our NZ Labour coalition needs to take stock now here in NZ for their upcoming election next year.smiley

  4. James 4
    5 May 2019 at 9:22 am

    Hope those on here who shoot had a good start to game season.

    Stay safe and have fun.

    Tasty duck for dinner.

    • cleangreen 4.1
      5 May 2019 at 9:32 am

      Oh dear James did you get the cranberry sauce for it?

    • WeTheBleeple 4.2
      5 May 2019 at 9:45 am

      Yeah my Bro will be out there. Stay safe for sure.

      He loves a feed of duck goes and buys it off season. I think his wife merely endures it. cheeky

      • Andre 4.2.1
        5 May 2019 at 11:38 am

        If I ever fell off a ladder and hit my head really hard and developed a hankering for duck, I'd just wander up the road and grab one from the traffic-hazard horde of them outside the crazy duck lady's place.

        • One Two 4.2.1.1
          5 May 2019 at 11:45 am

          Why is she "crazy duck lady" ?

          • Andre 4.2.1.1.1
            5 May 2019 at 11:53 am

            Well, there was the time I was going down the hill well below the speed limit with a lot of my attention on the dude trying to back a trailer into a driveway further up the road, and she suddenly marches out into the middle of the lane from behind a bush to shake a road-kill duck at me. It was too close to stop for her, even if I hadn't had a moderately heavy trailer on, I had to swerve around her. Just as well nobody was coming the other way.

            • Ad 4.2.1.1.1.1
              5 May 2019 at 11:58 am

              They're worse than the village chickens.

              • Andre …
                5 May 2019 at 12:02 pm

                Yeah, at least the chickens just settle down and roost after dark. But the ducks will do a last-second suicide run right in front of you. Or even indulge in a session of duck gang-rape round and round in the middle of the road.

                • Ad …
                  5 May 2019 at 1:52 pm

                  There's still time to get to the community weeding on that Paturoa Road trail this afternoon.

    • mauī 4.3
      5 May 2019 at 1:08 pm

      Yes, we have had our first of the season too. A most enjoyable dinner feast which carried on till supper where we sucked the marrow out of the bones. My kids loved cracking the wishbone this morning as well. Wifey will boil what's left of the pathetic carcass after lunch, and then it will be buried to fertilise our new apple tree. We've advised our youngest to visit that spot for his morning tinkle for an added nutrient boost.

      Poor old Jimmy was our oldest cock and basically good for nothing in the end so it was almost a celebration last night seeing him go. Cock a hoop we were!

    • adam the dim 4.4
      5 May 2019 at 4:33 pm

      Is it because ducks have bigger dicks than the hunters, that they have to have a season?

  5. dv 5
    5 May 2019 at 9:51 am

    I note that The herald has an article about the mosque killer, with his name in the headline.

    How very sensitive!!! At least you have to pay to read it.

  6. Ankerrawshark 6
    5 May 2019 at 10:24 am

    So pissed off with the herald re naming the white supremicist murderer. Strengthens my resolve not to give them money. Actually the only thing that has really tempted me has been Steve braunias secret diary, which I love. I have started reading a few articles then paywall notification comes up. So I click off and actually it’s a good feeling. Like I ve avoided some harmful drug. Sad to loose Braunias, but will go to utube and watch other comedy

    • James 6.1
      5 May 2019 at 10:30 am

      Newsroom name him as well and give really good reasons for it – they will name him right they the trial.

    • greywarshark 6.2
      5 May 2019 at 9:05 pm

      Radionz did a piece on Media Report this morning about the NZ Herald paywall. Some things that I noticed. Their spokesperson says they intend to have a wide range of opinions. That having Hosking on one side, and Simon Wilson on the same subject with a different view is regarded as good journalism. When questioned – 'Isn't that merely columnists arguing with each other' or something similar; apparently that's okay.

      Another thing we should all take in, the NZ Herald is not an “organ of record”. It is not the job of newspapers/media today to be an “organ of record”. (So those who call it fish'n'chips wrap are right on).

      https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018693163/tapping-the-readers-for-revenue

  7. One Two 7
    5 May 2019 at 11:42 am

    How the FDA manipulates the media

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been arm-twisting journalists into relinquishing their reportorial independence, our investigation reveals. Other institutions are following suit:

    “It has been brought to our attention that there has already been a break in the embargo…. Third-party outreach of any kind was and is not permitted for this announcement. Everyone who participated agreed to this,” she wrote.

    “Moving forward, we will no longer consider embargoed briefings for news media if reporters are not willing to abide by the terms an embargo…. We take this matter very seriously, and as a consequence any individuals who violated the embargo will be excluded from future embargoed briefings with the agency.”

    Violate the rules, even in spirit, and you'll be left out in the cold with the rest.

  8. cleangreen 8
    5 May 2019 at 11:47 am

    URGENT We are this morning getting scammers trying to get us to link to a phony xtra email account to upgrade our outlook mail server, and the email address comes from a account on a gmail server jmkattah1 at gmail.com so why did tis scammer think we would fall for a scammer using another server other than the xtra email server?

    Beware folks dont’ fall for this sealing of our date for them to profit from. at a phony account named support at xtra.co.nz

    [lprent: removed email addresses ]

  9. Ad 9
    5 May 2019 at 11:55 am

    I'm looking forward to Trump, Bolton and Pompeo explaining the purpose of U.S. foreign policy in South America.

    Venezuela is looking like another win for Russia and a straight loss for the United States. Putin sees the crisis in Venezuela as another opportunity just as Syria was: it can portray itself as a force to be reckoned with, a force capable of keeping U.S. power in check.

    Russia is in this decade consistently confronting the U.S., wherever it can be done, at a reasonable cost. It's grounded in Putin's idea of a new world in which the U.S. doesn't have the freedom to overthrow regimes anymore, because Russia is there to stop it. Russia has strong and deep roots to defend in Venezuela both commercially and militarily.

    Undermining Washington's stated agenda in Venezuela is also a great moment to retaliate for the 2014 revolution in Ukraine. That brought a U.S.-aligned government to power right next to Russia. Now Russia gets to return the favour. Although Venezuela is not as close, it's still filled to the brim with accessible oil.

    I have zero sympathy with President Trump's foreign policy, because it is incoherent, without purpose, and not in our interests. But I also have no sympathy for Putin either, and these games bear a remarkable similarity to those I grew up with in the 1970s.

    Come on Bolton and Pompeo, tell us all what you wanted again when you took the job.

    • RedLogix 9.1
      5 May 2019 at 12:21 pm

      I have zero sympathy with President Trump's foreign policy, because it is incoherent, without purpose, and not in our interests. But I also have no sympathy for Putin either, and these games bear a remarkable similarity to those I grew up with in the 1970s.

      Absolutely. As every year passes the need to escape these hegemony games becomes more desperate. It's easy and lazy to play outrage games, anyone can point fingers and screech. Much harder to step back and ask yourself the question 'what is the path forward?'

      We are right on the brink, authoritarian regimes gaining dominance, new generation military technologies upsetting the old balance of power, and a complete loss of both moral authority and credibility in the west. Not to mention climate change, environmental breakdown, trade wars and unstable mass migrations. These are all global problems that can only be solved by action at a global scale, with a global mandate.

      We are at the end of the second major phase of globalisation, the first ended with WW1&2, the second might easily be an order of magnitude or more worse. We are at the point where the nations of the earth have to consider the catastrophic consequences of failing to act in the universal interests of all humanity.

    • Andre 9.2
      5 May 2019 at 12:25 pm

      It could be as simple as an electoral survival strategy for Dolt45 2020. Foreign wars almost always cause American voters to rally around the sitting president.

      The world can only hope the US electorate has learned from the debacle of fabricated reasons for the Iraq war and subsequent disaster.

      • joe90 9.2.1
        5 May 2019 at 12:39 pm

        Or tRump parroting the last person he spoke to.

        WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump contradicted his own top advisers Friday by suggesting Russian President Vladimir Putin was not meddling in Venezuela.

        "He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he’d like to see something positive happen," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. "I feel the same way."

        His remarks came just days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Russia of propping up the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is in the midst of a political showdown with opposition leader Juan Guaido. The Trump administration has pushed hard to oust Maduro in favor of Guaido, calling Guaido the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

        https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/05/03/donald-trump-putin-not-meddling-venezuela-contradicts-pompeo-bolton/1090693001/

        • Andre 9.2.1.1
          5 May 2019 at 1:29 pm

          Well, yeah, in a lot of ways it might be better if Pootee really is pulling the strings on this one. It might save the Venezuelan people the agony of a proxy war that Bolton and Pompeo would probably happily unleash on them.

          • Macro 9.2.1.1.1
            5 May 2019 at 2:00 pm

            I'm convinced that the chump hasn't a clue what he is doing. He will parrot the last thing he heard, and that is the current position on what ever until his next utterance. I gather he spends most of his "executive" time (which is considerable ) either watching faux news and tweeting, or trying to think up slur nick names for democrats. As for foreign policy…. whatever is good for Donald, has to be good for America (ie if there isn't a buck in it for Donald – then he is not interested) – and that's about it .

      • Ad 9.2.2
        5 May 2019 at 1:40 pm

        I get mild waves of dark hope when I see President Trump's consistently low polling with the economy going absolutely gangbusters. I know that this economy-v-popularity shearing-away has been occurring under Obama as well.

        Most mainstream media are deeply skeptical of Trump as well, which accentuates the trend.

        So I'm far less sure that this Commander In Chief would get a big poll bump from an invasion or war (even though I still have a reflexive Avengers-style impulse for Someone To Fix It).

        • Andre 9.2.2.1
          5 May 2019 at 2:02 pm

          I'm kinda hopeful the US public wouldn't get sucked in by fabricated justification for war in Venezuela. There hasn't been anywhere near the decades of demonisation there was towards Iraq, nor a recent deep national trauma to leverage off of. On the other hand, Bolton and Pompeo may just think they could swing it.

          As far as media skepticism goes, it doesn't go anywhere near far enough. It needs to start right at the headline, because that's the only part of a story many people read. Usually the headline repeats the Liar-in-Chief's latest bs and doesn't get to the facts until deeper in the story. That's helping perpetuate the sea of misinformation we're getting drowned in. Instead the headline needs to start something like "Trump falsely claims …" or "Trump lies about …"

          https://thinkprogress.org/donald-trump-headlines-lies-media-matters-study-a279ff0fcca2/

        • Macro 9.2.2.2
          5 May 2019 at 3:15 pm

          There is a growing resistance movement in the US following the 2016 election and it hasn't gone away. It is being led by women who realise that under this current administration many of their rights are being whittled away. Abortion is one such topic, but their are many more including health. I saw a recent in depth analysis of the 2018 mid terms* where there was a huge increase in voter turn out over previous mid terms, and leading that turn out were women. Black women in particular almost solidly voted democrat. Even amongst married women there was a swing to Democrat over Repugnant – indicating that many married women were no longer voting in deference to their husbands. There are now numerous online communities dedicated to encouraging increased activism towards more progressive policies called The Action Alliance:

          here is a list:

          https://talk.whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/t/the-action-alliance-resources-for-the-resistance/4513

          * I'm sorry I can no longer find the link but if and when I do I'll post it.

          • Macro 9.2.2.2.1
            5 May 2019 at 3:49 pm

            As an example – here is just some of the action:

            WASHINGTON — Former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards is starting a new women’s political action group, partnering with Planned Parenthood and other advocacy organizations to continue the legacy she began during her time there.

            Richards is cofounding the group, called Supermajority, with Alicia Garza, a cofounder of Black Lives Matter, and Ai-jen Poo, the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. They will officially launch the new organization Monday morning.

            The plan for Supermajority is to partner their organizations, among others, to teach 2 million women how to be political activists. The group will emphasize the intersection of issues affecting different racial and socioeconomic groups in the US, Richards and Poo told BuzzFeed News Saturday. In collaboration with its separate education division, Supermajority will train women on how to participate in politics and activism in their communities, both online and on the ground.

            One of the main goals of the group is to create a “women’s New Deal for gender equality,” the cofounders said, an agenda that their members can push candidates and legislators to adopt. The group will also focus heavily on mobilizing voters during the 2020 primary and general elections, Richards said, but she added that it was too early to say whether the group would endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary for president.

            https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emaoconnor/cecile-richards-alicia-garza-supermajority-activist-group

            • Macro 9.2.2.2.1.1
              5 May 2019 at 3:56 pm

              And from She The People

              Eight Democratic presidential candidates faced the same basic question today in Houston: Why should women of color vote for them?

              The first-ever She The People Presidential Forum — organized by and centered on questions from women of color — served as a repeated reminder of the key role that minority women play in Democratic politics.

              "Women of color voters in this country are 20 million strong. Our votes matter," Democratic operative Leah Daughtry warned the candidates. "You put us last on your list; we put you last on our list."

              "Remember: We're a powerful voting block," She The People founder Aimee Allison said at the beginning of the event.

              "Our hope is to advance a national conversation to help voters distinguish which candidates stand with and stand for women of color in our communities. And let me tell you something: The candidate that does that best and most consistently will win the nomination and the White House in 2020."

              The questions put forward to California Sen. Kamala Harris, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and others made it clear that many women of color may not be won over by campaigns tailoring their message toward moderate and independent white voters in swing states. Topics included abortion rights, gentrification, voter suppression, transgender rights, racial disparities in criminal sentencing and police shootings of unarmed black men, among others.

              New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker repeated his pledge to choose a woman as a running mate, should he become the Democratic nominee.

              https://www.npr.org/2019/04/24/716861455/democratic-candidates-pressed-on-priorities-by-women-of-color

    • Wayne 9.3
      5 May 2019 at 1:25 pm

      The Maduro regime will not survive. It may not go now, but it will fall over within a year or two.

      Venezuela is not going to become another Cuba. Within a reasonably foreseeable time the standard rules of democratic politics will prevail. And a more normal market economy will be re-established.

      So if you view this as a East/West contest, then the East will soon lose. Russia will be unable to seriously support the Maduro regime. As soon as a significant part of the armed forces decides to step back, then its all over for Maduro. Probably some sort of negotiated departure for key regime figures.

      So Russia needs to be careful. If it wants a reasonable level of future influence in South America, they won't fully back Maduro. They may see him as too much of a lost cause.

      • Ad 9.3.1
        5 May 2019 at 1:48 pm

        I view it primarily as a ruined country brought on by a resource curse paired with populist socialism, who have chosen wrong and narrow international partners.

        The closest to a reasonable transition out of militarily managed chaos I've seen in my lifetime is South Africa. And even that is no triumph. There are other small successes, but nothing of this size.

        Since 1952, those wars with direct United States military or heavy CIA involvement tend to leave the locals far, far worse off: Vietnam, Nicaragua, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, etc.

        It's getting very close to elements of the Iranian 1979 revolution, because the Russian oligarchy will be asking: will the Rosneft oil contracts survive Maduro?

        • KJT 9.3.1.1
          5 May 2019 at 2:03 pm

          A ruined country bought on by deliberate US economic warfare, destabilisation and sanctions.

          The most competent Government, which Maduro's probably isn't, would struggle with the weight of economic power the USA has bought against them.

          However, if incompetence was the grounds for toppling an elected Government, the USA, would be first in line. For both incompetence and corruption.

      • KJT 9.3.2
        5 May 2019 at 1:57 pm

        "standard rules of democratic politics will prevail".

        The standard rules for South America, don't you mean?

        Where a democratically elected, mildly socialist Government, (the amount the Chavistas used for income redistribution, was about the same as those well known communists, the NZ National party) is violently replaced by US backed, Fascist Dictators?

        • Psycho Milt 9.3.2.1
          5 May 2019 at 3:42 pm

          Pretty much. Whenever any on the right use the terms democracy, freedom or liberty with reference to a Latin American country, they mean right-wing authoritarian nationalism, and not the relatively mild dose the US is suffering from either.

  10. Cinny 10
    5 May 2019 at 12:33 pm

    Crikey, there's a very interesting discussion on radio live between Jenny Marcroft and jlr.

    Apparently paula is flat out actively campaigning for leadership behind the scenes…..but she'd never admit it….

    Here's the link discussion to finish at 1pm. They do an hour of politics with different guests every Sunday from noon.

    https://www.magic.co.nz/home.player.talk.html

  11. Andre 11
    5 May 2019 at 1:07 pm

    How viruses can become our friends: too much of our research and development has gone towards straight chemical answers to biological problems. But we're starting to see more efforts towards subtler responses, such as helping our own immune systems fight problems with immunotherapy drugs like Keytruda to fight cancer. Then there's also the largely unexplored world of using tailored viruses to fight bacterial infections. The growing problem of antibiotic resistance may be a useful kickstart to opening up that field.

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-my-husband-became-a-poster-child-of-the-post-antibiotic-superbug-era?ref=home

    When we're facing a widespread problem caused by an introduced micro-organism, I reckon there's a good chance we'll find fighting it with a tailored or even engineered virus may be the most effective response. Kauri dieback strikes me as an example close to home outside of human medicine.

  12. Andre 12
    5 May 2019 at 1:19 pm

    Agent Drumpfov doesn't even feel the need to hide it anymore. Nowadays he's openly spending hours on the phone with Pootee, with no record anywhere of what was said.

    https://thinkprogress.org/trump-boasts-about-his-great-relationship-with-putin-after-their-latest-private-chat-d271937cfb8b/

    • RedLogix 12.1
      5 May 2019 at 1:39 pm

      Better they talk than the alternatives …

      • Andre 12.1.1
        5 May 2019 at 3:16 pm

        Well, it would be if we had any reason at all to think the nepotistic narcissist placed any value whatsoever on anything other than his direct personal interest.

    • RedLogix 12.2
      5 May 2019 at 1:39 pm

      Better they talk than the alternatives …

    • joe90 12.3
      5 May 2019 at 3:10 pm

      Well, someone had to brief the Russian president about the Mueller Report.

      • adam 12.3.1
        5 May 2019 at 4:59 pm

        M:R, how that working out for ya?

        • McFlock 12.3.1.1
          5 May 2019 at 5:04 pm

          better than initially "not summarised"

        • Grant 12.3.1.2
          5 May 2019 at 5:28 pm

          Madam I’m Adam. Exemplar of the Christian virtues. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity."

        • joe90 12.3.1.3
          6 May 2019 at 11:35 am

          tRump's desperation in wanting to prevent Mueller and McGahn from testifying is a pretty good indication of how it's working out.

          • adam 12.3.1.3.1
            6 May 2019 at 7:45 pm

            I'm not the one who ignored the biggest transfer of wealth in history.

            I just did not buy into a crazy loony conspiracy theory about Russia.

  14. greywarshark 14
    5 May 2019 at 6:29 pm

    Why I think we have to keep practicality and kindness in our thinking.

    left-hand palm wrote a post in 2010.

    http://lefthandpalm.blogspot.com/2010/02/most-depressing-story-i-have-ever-read.html

    The most depressing story I have ever read.

    This was part of it, after it referred to some more modern and equally sobering cases.

    Michael Hammond and his sister, Ann, whose ages were given as 7 and 11, were reportedly hanged at King's Lynn on Wednesday, 28 September 1708 for theft. The local press did not, however, consider the executions of two children newsworthy. (3)

    One of these grisly little footnotes of British barbarity that shows that our 12 year old tearaway is not without antecedents; and that, for all that they might satisfy those with a taste for the mortification of young flesh and the trauma of young minds, harsh penalties do not, infact, deter people who are desperate enough.

  15. Morrissey 15
    5 May 2019 at 8:46 pm

    The New York Times fails to do its job, yet again.

    https://twitter.com/Joannahausmann/status/1112800714252865536