Open mike 08/07/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, July 8th, 2015 - 49 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

openmikeOpen mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

49 comments on “Open mike 08/07/2015 ”

  • Comments are now closed

    • Paul 1.1
      8 July 2015 at 7:23 am

      Absolutely no acknowledgement of John Campbell’s role in getting this to happen.

      • North 1.1.1
        8 July 2015 at 7:46 am

        You’re right Paul. The only ‘John’ is ‘RugbyJohn’……..that ‘essence of manliness’ most times too chicken to take the field on Morning Report.

        Oh how I hope there’s a moment when John Campbell is introduced to the crowd at the game. Imagine the sour wince/smile upon the face of ‘RugbyJohn’.

      • JanM 1.1.2
        8 July 2015 at 8:27 am

        There is on Stuff, though

        • ianmac 1.1.2.1
          8 July 2015 at 9:33 am

          And John got a chunk on Morning Report today. I think he is commentating the match at 6pm Prime tonight.

      • Molly 1.1.3
        8 July 2015 at 11:26 am

        Good video on stuff.co.nz:

        “This is why we play sport I reckon.To unite people, make people happy. When we came up, and we were doing the AB’s to Samoa campaign, we went to a cafe downtown – we set up a caravan outside – and a woman, she looked down the camera and said “It’s not just about the money All Blacks…”.

        Now, of course, it IS about the money, because we have to pay these players, and the NZRU doesn’t make a huge profit and all that kind of stuff. But just from time to time, actually, she’s right. Just from time to time, we play the game in a place like this, because it’s the right thing to do, and that’s what we are doing and it’s bloody magic. It’s not actually about the game and who gets to attend it, it’s about the presence. It’s about the right thing.

        There are two great principles in sport, one is respect – you respect your opponents. And the other is the home and away principle. Imagine if the English football team said we are never going to play in France or Italy, we’re only ever going to play… y’know, Wembley. People would think they were insane. And so, the home and away principle says: You gotta come here. And if when you get here it’s actually not perfect, and if when you get here, you’d like to play in front of 30,000 people and you are playing in front of 8(000). It doesn’t change the fact that you have still got to come here.

        You know. It’s just about doing the right thing.”

  2. Morrissey 2
    8 July 2015 at 8:20 am

    “We invaded Iraq and what did we expect? Go on, say it.”
    Blair’s bombs
    by JOHN PILGER, 25 July 2005

    The senseless repercussions of interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine demand that we renew our anger at our leaders. Our troops must come home. We owe it to all those who died in London on 7 July.

    In all the coverage of the bombing of London, a truth has struggled to be heard. With honourable exceptions, it has been said guardedly, apologetically. Occasionally, a member of the public has broken the silence, as an east Londoner did when he walked in front of a CNN camera crew and reporter in mid-platitude. “Iraq!” he said. “We invaded Iraq and what did we expect? Go on, say it.”

    Alex Salmond tried to say it on Today on Radio 4. He was told he was speaking “in poor taste . . . before the bodies are even buried”. George Galloway was lectured on Newsnight (BBC2) that he was being “crass”. The inimitable Ken Livingstone contradicted his previous statement, which was that the invasion of Iraq would come home to London. With the exception of Galloway, not one so-called anti-war MP spoke out in clear, unequivocal English. The warmongers were allowed to fix the boundaries of public debate; one of the more idiotic, in the Guardian, called Blair “the world’s leading statesman”.

    And yet, like the man who interrupted CNN, people understand and know why, just as the majority of Britons oppose the war and believe Blair is a liar. This frightens the political elite. At a large media party I attended, many of the important guests uttered “Iraq” and “Blair” as a kind of catharsis for that which they dared not say professionally and publicly.

    The bombs of 7 July were Blair’s bombs.

    Blair brought home to this country his and George W Bush’s illegal, unprovoked and blood-soaked adventure in the Middle East. Were it not for his epic irresponsibility, the Londoners who died in the Tube and on the No 30 bus almost certainly would be alive today. ….

    Read more….

    http://johnpilger.com/articles/blairs-bombs

    • Rosie 2.1
      8 July 2015 at 3:21 pm

      One thing that stayed in mind after the July bombings in London in 2005 (my niece was on her way to the tube at the time of the bombing) were the words of an Australian victim, responding to the presence of John Howard at her bedside in hospital.

      He was visiting her for what looked like a photo op and providing her with shallow soothing, sentimental words. Unimpressed by his faux concern she said to him “You’re the reason I’m here. If we hadn’t sent to troops to Iraq none of this would have happened”. Words to that effect.

      It was a brief moment of truth, with a good deal of bitterness attached.

  3. Morepork 3
    8 July 2015 at 9:01 am

    Soon to be the only game in town?…

    • Bill 3.1
      8 July 2015 at 4:31 pm

      Thanks for that link. Hadn’t heard of Peter Wadhams before today. Seems to me that each and every scientist is saying the same thing – we’re screwed.

      Speaks volumes when a Professor involved in hands on study, when asked about what can be done, is reduced to placing faith in developing a technology to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

      Having said that, I don’t think he quite grasped the question around ‘suspending our economy’ insofar as he seemed to think that industrial agriculture is the economy rather than a result of economic arrangements being driven by profit (ie, growth) and the question was about about removing deleterious economic incentives.

      Anyway. Thanks for the link. Was interesting.

  4. David H 4
    8 July 2015 at 9:37 am

    Nice to see that our Agriculture is safe from imported pest’s. Oh wait….

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/278220/black-widow-spiders-found-in-grapes

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1
      8 July 2015 at 2:00 pm

      The correct response would have been for the government to ban agricultural importations from Mexico.

      • Rosie 4.1.1
        8 July 2015 at 2:55 pm

        As an aside, I’ve never understood why we need to import table grapes when we produce so many grapes, albeit for production of wine. Surely vintners could plant of a couple of hectares of table grapes alongside wine grape varieties.

        Form a cooperative and get your table grapes to the market. NZ grown, reduce food miles, growers get a little extra profit, everyone wins.

        • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.1
          8 July 2015 at 3:03 pm

          All part of the delusion of the market and our financial system that indicates that it’s cheaper to import from half a world away that which were more than capable of producing ourselves. It isn’t of course as doing so comes with the added costs of transportation.

          Our economy left reality a long time ago.

          • Rosie 4.1.1.1.1
            8 July 2015 at 3:32 pm

            And how are we ever going to prepare for future food shortages related to climate change when we are so falsely dependent on foreign produce?

            It’s high time we got realistic about the future and planned for securing our food by reintroducing crops we once used to grow.

            Have just been reminded of a conversation I once had with a Dalmatian friend. New immigrants would always plant table grapes on their newly established vineyards in West Ak and use this produce for their own consumption and to sell to the market.
            The old ways, such as this should have never been abandoned.

  5. Jepenseque 5
    8 July 2015 at 10:31 am

    Good news we are likely to hit the surplus target after all!

    The gloom here may be misplaced 😊

    http://thestandard.org.nz/the-magical-disappearing-surplus/

    Seriously it was always a close run thing with two large and volatile numbers, but good none the less.

    Cheers

  6. Chooky 6
    8 July 2015 at 11:11 am

    For an insight into foster care by a social worker who has been through it….and his recommendations for caring for the most disadvantaged children in society…also a critique of where this government is not doing well enough… I cant recommend this highly enough

    …another brilliant interview by Kathryn Ryan

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201761566/foster-child,-state-ward-turned-social-worker

  7. The Chairman 7
    8 July 2015 at 11:49 am

    Smart road

    Alternating speed-limits (as low as 40kmh on the open road) to be used to avert congestion.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/70037218/Wellington-motorway-to-get-multiple-speed-cameras

    Thoughts?

    • McFlock 7.1
      8 July 2015 at 1:29 pm

      I’m a bit hazy conceptually about how it speeds up travel time (intuitively, I wonder at the difference between not moving in a bottleneck and going slower to avoid the bottleneck forming – surely it’s the same time spent? Unless the slower speeds give people more time and incentive to plan alternate routes and use an earlier off-ramp, rather than coming to the bottleneck and being trapped in the jam?), but in general I’m cool with it.

      30% of drivers might get a ticket, but 99% of them would only get a ticket once, is my bet.

      • The Chairman 7.1.1
        8 July 2015 at 1:51 pm

        It’s explained in the video.

        The continuous flow allows more traffic through in the same time.

        It not only averts the time stuck waiting, but also the time taken for traffic to get back up to speed.

        • McFlock 7.1.1.1
          8 July 2015 at 2:33 pm

          yeah nah – I mean what factors actually make it work, rather than a contrived analogy of grains. Bottlenecks don’t stop traffic dead at the point, like the grains jamming in the funnel.

          I suppose elasticity might come into it (ie accumulated reaction time from each driver seeing the car in front has moved forwards 3 feet and moving forwards to compensate, but would that really affect the individual A…Z time?), and alternate route planning. It’s just not meshed in me noggin yet 🙂

          • The Chairman 7.1.1.1.1
            8 July 2015 at 3:41 pm

            They (bottlenecks) do tend to stop traffic dead at the point as many motorists fail to merge like a zip.

            As for tickets, the continually alternating speed-limits will no doubt add to confusion resulting in catching motorists out more than once.

            • McFlock 7.1.1.1.1.1
              8 July 2015 at 4:26 pm

              zip – maybe. I’ll add it to my bogglin’.

              Two issues relate to the tickets and changing speeds: the first is whether the speed signage is visible enough (and whether more visual cues need to be introduced at speed change areas – paint schemes, that sort of thing), and the second is whether people will simply get into the habit of obeying the law – maybe a transitional period of warning letters before tickets are issued when the motorway goes “smart”.

              • Bill …
                8 July 2015 at 4:39 pm

                Hmm. On a motorway, one driver touches their brakes for a second. Within a few minutes and five miles back from where they touched their brakes, everything has come to a standstill and there’s a tailback of some miles. That happens quite frequently and has been studied. It results from a cascade of reaction time and ‘stuff’.

                So surely, introducing a system that has motorists routinely hitting their brakes to slow down merely increases the likelihood of ‘gridlock’ on the open road, no?

                • McFlock …
                  8 July 2015 at 4:52 pm

                  My half-arsed ruminating seems to think that spreading the speed alterations over a longer distance and lessening their extent might reduce their delaying effect. But on the flipside in a queue you can often see fifteen cars ahead start to move and then get ready to crawl forward.

                  I’m beginning to suspect that the main benefit would be to give people more of a chance to move onto the B routes by offering a selection of off-ramps before hitting the queue by surprise.

                  Still, a fun system to ponder while me does the day job 🙂

  8. McGrath 8
    8 July 2015 at 1:40 pm

    Good economic news today. It seems the budget surplus is back on track.
    http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/70056835/budget-roars-back-into-surplus

    • Paul 8.1
      8 July 2015 at 1:42 pm

      So only 100 million in debt.
      Great financial stewardship by Bill and John.

      • McGrath 8.1.1
        8 July 2015 at 1:56 pm

        Balanced books should be welcomed by all political parties.

        What is concerning is how inaccurate Treasury has been. Regardless of what party in in power, you need Treasury to be accurate.

        • Draco T Bastard 8.1.1.1
          8 July 2015 at 2:18 pm

          We have a system that prevents balanced books due to the use of interest by the banks on money that they create ex nihilo. Also, balanced books would prevent financial/economic growth.

          What it really comes down to is that the private sector should be running balanced books (It’s not, its debt is rising faster than the governments) but the government should be running a deficit of money that it creates ex nihilo and loans out at 0% interest. That deficit would then be representative of the growth in the economy.

          As I say, we see money backwards to how we should and everything you say here is representative of that community inversion.

    • SHG 8.2
      8 July 2015 at 2:58 pm

      But… but… ONE OF THE BIGGEST POLITICAL DECEPTIONS IN A LIFETIME!!1

      ahahahaha this is gold

      • McGrath 8.2.1
        8 July 2015 at 3:31 pm

        I imagine that Andrew Little will be keeping a low profile today…

        • te reo putake 8.2.1.1
          8 July 2015 at 3:37 pm

          Your imagination is letting you down again, pal. Little’s in Samoa, giving out free rugby balls and shoring up the South Auckland vote.

          • McGrath 8.2.1.1.1
            8 July 2015 at 5:28 pm

            Make sense given the Rugby. I see JK is doing the same. Mind you, JK cannot cover himself in glory given he wrote off the importance of balancing the books.

            • lprent 8.2.1.1.1.1
              8 July 2015 at 8:42 pm

              But does Key have the balls for it? Or is he a ball less wonder?

              It appears that SHG is the gormless wonder. So completely unable to articulate even in a link what he finds to be “gold”…

              Oh well we will ignore his decent into the weed driven contemplation of the glory that is his bald ball sack…

              BTW: FFS SHG – explain what you mean, otherwise these may wind up as being your icon from the past unto the future..

  9. Colonial Viper 9
    8 July 2015 at 2:48 pm

    Western breast screening programmes based on faulty, over-optimistic original research

    Leading cancer epidemiologists have gone back to the original trials carried out in Sweden in the 1960s and 1970s, which provided the evidence on which the UK and other screening programmes were based. Those trials found that screening could prevent 20-25% of breast cancer deaths. In a paper in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the experts say the methodology of the study was wrong and that figure is far too high. They believe that any reduction of deaths is probably less than 10%.

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jul/08/breast-screening-does-not-reduce-cancer-deaths-international-study-warns

  10. Kiwiri 10
    8 July 2015 at 3:00 pm

    Stockmarket friends across the Tasman are saying that we are in for a bumpy ride and the global markets may well be entering into some difficult times for a period … this is much earlier than the usual Sep/Oct ‘Fall’ or drop off for the northern hemisphere. China may well be the trigger this time round. If things go the way for Greece now, they might be able to get a favourable deal under circumstances just before things start to look bleak in the major economies.

  11. Ovid 11
    8 July 2015 at 3:00 pm

    More than a third of companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen have ceased trading. It’s looking pretty bad over there.

    This may trigger the burst of the bubble in Auckland, depending on how many property owners are living in mainland China. This may be a point where they try to realise the capital gain they have made.

    • Weepus beard 11.1
      8 July 2015 at 4:18 pm

      I hope so.

      I hope the correction happening in China will lead to a correction in Auckland residential housing.

      New Zealand houses for New Zealanders, please.

  12. Chooky 12
    8 July 2015 at 4:17 pm

    At last the real truth about having an oil company come knocking at your door…ain’t going to be a picnic if you sign an agreement:

    ‘Oil drilling ‘nightmare’ drives out rural couple’ by SONITA CHANDAR

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/69580448/Oil-drilling-nightmare-drives-out-rural-couple

    “A Taranaki farming couple are warning others not to fall into the same trap they did when an oil company came knocking.

    David Morrison and Sarah Roberts said they were so severely affected by the effects of oil drilling work by TAG Oil next to their land they have now left the family farm near Stratford…

    • Jenny Kirk 12.1
      8 July 2015 at 5:14 pm

      I think this might also apply to gold mining exploration permits – certainly the (new) permit the (new) company Evolution, which has taken over the former De Grey Mining permit in the Puhipuhi region (Northland) appears to have not just minor impact assessment / exploration allowed, but also further exploration on it, plus an extended area to explore. This is something all those opposed to any more mining need to watch out for.