Open mike 09/01/2015

107 comments on “Open mike 09/01/2015 ”

• Comments are now closed

1. One Anonymous Bloke 1

   9 January 2015 at 8:16 am

   This is fairly old news: not this particular study, but the finding.

   Why wait for history? Class actions are underway right now.
   • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1

     9 January 2015 at 9:44 am

     Orphaned comment responding to the news of this study in Nature
2. phillip ure 2

   9 January 2015 at 8:29 am

   investor much loved by local right/corporate-folk..peter thiel..

   ..has invested big-time..in the ‘nascent pot-industry’ – in america…
3. weka 3

   9 January 2015 at 8:30 am

   Go seagulls

   http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/263296/seagulls-attack-drone-at-cricket
   • One Anonymous Bloke 3.1

     9 January 2015 at 8:34 am

     Birds 2, Drones 0 🙂
4. phillip ure 4

   9 January 2015 at 9:00 am

   bloody hell..!..tory does good..!..(it mustn’t be a day ending in a ‘y’..)

   ..cameron has refused to take part in election tv debates..

   ..unless the green party are also allowed to take part in those debates..
   • The Al1en 4.1

     9 January 2015 at 2:17 pm

     Nothing to do with good at all, just more tory self interest.
     His reasoning is because if the ukip take part they may take votes off the conservatives, the greens should be there to take votes off labour and the liberal democrats.

     http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30726499

     “The BBC’s Nick Robinson said the PM’s private view was “if we, the Conservatives, are to get hurt by the people to our right, UKIP, then Labour and the Liberal Democrats should get hurt by people to their left, the Green Party”.”
     • tracey 4.1.1

       9 January 2015 at 2:25 pm

       and an excuse to not debate at all…

       remember when key wanted to debate Cunliffe, and then didn’t?
       • The Al1en 4.1.1.1

         9 January 2015 at 2:33 pm

         That may very well be the definitive truth behind it all, Tracey.

         Ed should press to have the debate without cameron.
         • tracey 4.1.1.1.1

           9 January 2015 at 2:45 pm

           interesting quote from Cameron, so he is admitting it is, to him, all about hurting others…
           • The Al1en 4.1.1.1.1.1

             9 January 2015 at 2:52 pm

             Yes appears so doesn’t it?
             Reading the actual article instead of just the headline, it does seems “tory does good” is as far off the mark as it could possibly get.

             Definitely a reason to be wary of those ‘editor’s choice’ websites where they pick the news and put their own spin on things.
             I mean you just never know what you’re going to get, and certainly not balanced, insightful, honest opinion.
5. phillip ure 5

   9 January 2015 at 9:10 am

   things are now getting a bit weird..

   ..the classmates of the 18 yr old who handed himself into police..

   ..are now saying he was in class with them..

   ..at the time of the shootings..
6. Morrissey 6

   9 January 2015 at 9:18 am

   Something for all the public weepers and candle-bearers to think about

   For four years the French government has been paying for attacks vastly worse than yesterday’s to be carried out daily all over Syria. Yesterday, every mainstream journalist over here was thumping the table about ‘the absolute right to free speech’ — yet with all that brave commitment to bravely upheld freedoms, not one of them has dared or will dare to take the state-corporate teat out of their mouth long enough to flag up that criminal obscenity and expose it to serious investigation. ….

   Read more….
   http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1420723195.html
   • Colonial Rawshark 6.1

     9 January 2015 at 9:48 am

     It appears that France has between 5,000 and 10,000 troops currently engaged in anti-Islamist activity in northern and western Africa, including Mali. I presume that allied drone strikes against Al Qaeda in Yemen continue, and continue to cause civilian casualties as well.
     • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 6.1.1

       9 January 2015 at 10:29 am

       That’s right. It is retribution for France’s involvement in these conflicts. Which is why they killed cartoonists.

       Cartoonists.
       • greywarbler 6.1.1.1

         9 January 2015 at 1:55 pm

         GFOOOOOLB 5 1 1
         Cartoonists. Funny people. People making satire. People who are clever at making trenchant political points. They hit a nerve with some mean dudes with real grievances.

         You are safe, no worries for you Gormless.
       • Colonial Rawshark 6.1.1.2

         9 January 2015 at 3:32 pm

         This isn’t “retribution.” This is the bloodshed of empire migrating back towards the centre of empire.
       • Murray Rawshark 6.1.1.3

         9 January 2015 at 4:27 pm

         Why did Julius Streicher get hung? He was a newspaper editor.
   • weka 6.2

     9 January 2015 at 10:45 am

     Morrissey, ffs, quotes or italics so we know it’s not you speaking.
     • Morrissey 6.2.1

       14 January 2015 at 1:12 pm

       Sorry, weka. I thought it was quite clear that I had not written the piece. The headline, however, is mine.
       • weka 6.2.1.1

         14 January 2015 at 1:25 pm

         Hi Morrisey, the problem for me is that I start reading at the top thinking it is you talking, and then when I get to the bottom, I go, hang on, what? And then I have to stop and figure out what it is I’ve just read. We have techniques for attribution for good reasons, and one of them is comprehension 🙂 Quotations marks, blockquote, italics all work.
         • Morrissey 6.2.1.1.1

           14 January 2015 at 1:36 pm

           Thanks for that Weka. Will try harder from now on!
           • weka 6.2.1.1.1.1

             14 January 2015 at 3:59 pm

             I appreciate that Morrisey.
7. greywarbler 7

   9 January 2015 at 9:46 am

   Reading an 2003 Guinness World Records –
   Taxes
   In Denmark the highest rate of personal income tax is 63% with the basic rate starting at 44%. Get free health, free higher education.
   Electricity consumption –
   The USA 3,235.9 billion KW per hour in 1999 – nearly a quarter of the total net electricity consumption used by the entire world…
   Norway is the greatest consumer of electricity per capita – 29,956 kw/hr each in 1995. USA 12,663 kw/hr.
   High and Low Unemployment –
   In 1996 Bosnia-Herzegovina had 75% of labour force not in in paid employment. (The Bosnian War was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 6 April 1992 and 14 December 1995 Wikipedia.)
   Liechtenstein had lowest in 1997 with 97.3% of labour force working.
   Beer consumed –
   Czech Republic n 1998 average 160 litres pp. USA 89 litres pp.
   Coffee –
   Finland is tops 11.3 kg pp. USA 4.2 kg pp.
8. greywarbler 8

   9 January 2015 at 9:49 am

   Don’t understand the flow of comments. Mine should have come out last but instead has two from OAB under it, though mine was placed two minutes later.
   • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1

     9 January 2015 at 1:01 pm

     There was a comment I responded to that was then deleted – see the last thread on the page.
     • Draco T Bastard 8.1.1

       9 January 2015 at 1:53 pm

       Yep, that happens. Easy to tell as well with the affected comments having [ ] up in the top right hand corner where the normal comments have numbers.
9. karol 9

   9 January 2015 at 9:55 am

   I have long wanted to see a cinema and more focus on social and community life in New Lynn than on the commercial venues.

   So, on the one hand I am very pleased to see the beginning of the building of some cinemas there.

   However, it seems to be part of a very commercially and corporate focused development. The owners of Lynn Mall and the development just started are the Kiwi Income Property Trust. They also own Sylvia Park.

   At the end of last year the unitholders voted to coporatise the trust. They bought out the then owners, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. NBR reports:

   Kiwi Income Property Trust [NZX: KIP] unitholders have overwhelmingly voted in favour of corporatisation, completing a year-long transformation that saw the property trust taking management in house by buying out Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

   Does that mean it is now entirely NZ-owned, with profits etc remaining in NZ?

   It only invests in NZ property. The personnel do seem to be very strongly people of NZ origin and background. Mark Ford is the Chair of the Board and has interests in the whole ASIA-Pacific area.
10. KJS0net 10

    9 January 2015 at 10:07 am

    Money in politics is corruption plain and simple. For every $1 the top 200 corporations spend in campaign financing and lobbying at the federal level in the USA, they recieve $760 in benefits (destruction of labour laws, environment protection etc). They are spending billions and getting TRILLIONS in return.

    These corporations have a huge clout to control the senators and congresspeople atf the federal level. Citizens United must be overturned, money is not speech and corporations are not people!

    ttp://www.bestoftheleft.com/_888_the_continuing_march_toward_reform_money_in_politics

    NZ is not far behind either, who do you think John Key would take a phone call from: Sky City or Plumber Joe?
    • Draco T Bastard 10.1

      9 January 2015 at 1:59 pm

      Not far behind?

      Trucking lobby group Road Transport Forum gave nearly $100,000 in donations to political parties and candidates for last year’s election, saying it was to help get access to MPs to discuss their issues.

      The trucking lobby at least thinks that the purpose of donations is to get access to our public representatives.
      • Miracle Worker 10.1.1

        9 January 2015 at 4:35 pm

        I will never forget the breathless angry phone call I received from one very well known Wellington lawyer, threatening to sue me for publicising the fact that she had offered to get a group of Allan Hubbard’s investors an ‘audience’ with Simon Power for $5000. I never heard from her again after I forwarded her the email sent to me by one of said investors, quoting her directly, immediately after said investor walked out of a meeting with her. I guess the words “hollow victory” must have flashed across her mind after I dared her to…
    • Murray Rawshark 10.2

      9 January 2015 at 4:59 pm

      If it were Joe the Plumber, he’d have trouble deciding.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_the_Plumber
11. Sanctuary 11

    9 January 2015 at 10:09 am

    You know, thinking about it, amongst all the shock and outrage of the Paris attack it seems to me one of the central thrusts of the terrorists argument – that western commitment to democracy is self-serving and skin deep – has much more validity than Cameron, Obama, Hollande or any major newspaper editorial writer would care to admit. The litany of brutal dictatorships and military coups supported by our “freedom loving” western governments in the Middle East is a disgraceful taint on us all, as is piously going on about “freedom of expression” whilst shipping off the latest batch of precision guided munitions for Israel to use to keep the Palestinians leaderless and hopeless.

    When you look at these extremist Islamic beliefs they don’t just spring from nowhere, they grow in fertile soil. These two guys they are hunting might be Islamic terrorists, but they are also Frenchmen who are the products of a near total economic and cultural alienation of a large section of the Moslem migrant population in France. When that migrant population has a validating religion for radicalisation, the result is inevtitable.

    The best form of integration and de-radicalisation is a decent job, a pension fund, hope for you and your kids future, and the prospect of a cheap holiday in the sun. Then no one will have the time or inclination to listen to radicalists, what with picking up the kids, doing the grocery run and tea, shisha and watching the football on TV with your mates. Radical Islam then fades into the background, because it has no audience amongst people who have a stake in the country they live in.

    That combination of a validating religion, economic and cultural alienation, and a strong argument are the three things that together creates the toxic environment from which these sorts of internal terrorists spring. Take away any one, and these sorts of terrorists would vanish. Of course, Western governments have no intention to do anything about the actual causes of internal terror, so they’ll do what all unjust regimes do, like Israel does – crack down harder.
    • karol 11.1

      9 January 2015 at 10:13 am

      I agree with most of your comment,

      but this is two-edged:

      The best form of integration and de-radicalisation is a decent job, a pension fund, hope for you and your kids future, and the prospect of a cheap holiday in the sun. Then no one will have the time or inclination to listen to radicalists, what with picking up the kids, doing the grocery run and tea, shisha and watching the football on TV with your mates.

      And for women?

      That prescription is the buy-in encouraged for the majority so they don’t get too critical of the government and the powerful elites.
      • phillip ure 11.1.1

        9 January 2015 at 10:24 am

        “..And for women?..”

        i think women are also allowed to ‘watch football’..

        “..That prescription is the buy-in encouraged for the majority so they don’t get too critical of the government and the powerful elites…”

        no..i disagree..i think that ‘prescription’ is the basic promise that should be made to all citizens..

        ..fill the bellies first – then/as well as criticise..

        (the downside of not doing that was demonstrated by the last labour govt..

        ..nine yrs of ‘free-speech’-pieties from clark/labour..

        ..all the while ignoring the real day to day plight of the poorest..

        ..those who don’t have the time/energy to ‘criticise the elites’..

        ..because the scrabble of that day to day existence..

        ..is more than enough for them to be getting on with..)
        • The Al1en 11.1.1.1

          9 January 2015 at 2:20 pm

          “..And for women?..”
          “i think women are also allowed to ‘watch football’..”

          http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/british-iranian-women-sentenced-year-prison-watching-volleyball-match-1250801929

          “British-Iranian woman sentenced to year in jail for watching volleyball”
          “Iran banned women from volleyball games in 2012, extending a long-standing ban on football matches. The Iranian government argues that women need protection from the lewd behaviour of male fans.”
          • Colonial Rawshark 11.1.1.1.1

            9 January 2015 at 3:39 pm

            Again, it’s leading democratic activism against the Iranian government which the powers that be over there have a problem with; the specific sport is really peripheral to the matter.
            • The Al1en 11.1.1.1.1.1

              9 January 2015 at 3:42 pm

              The woman getting arrested might be about activism and state control of dissent, but the football ban has nothing to do with it, as is clearly stated in the article and quote .
      • Sanctuary 11.1.2

        9 January 2015 at 11:09 am

        “…That prescription is the buy-in encouraged for the majority so they don’t get too critical of the government and the powerful elites….”

        This normally called a contented, well governed society where both sides are fulfilling their end of the social contract.
        • karol 11.1.2.1

          9 January 2015 at 11:42 am

          It looks pretty much like bread and circuses to me. Enough to live on plus a little more for some cheap entertainment/R&R.

          Nothing there about encouraging democratic debate and critique, or about valuing democratic, equal and active participation from all sections of society, for it’s own sake.
          • Sanctuary 11.1.2.1.1

            9 January 2015 at 12:12 pm

            “… Enough to live on plus a little more for some cheap entertainment/R&R…”

            Sounds like paradise to me! Any government that could provide that for everyone would be hailed as the greatest of all time.

            The vast majority of people just want a decent secure job on reasonable money a nice partner and something to look forward to, economic security in their old age and freedom from the fear of financial ruin from illness or injury.

            They might add the rule of law and public order to that list if pressed. All that other stuff they are happy to trust to the leadership elites – who, after all, are delivering if everyone feels secure with a decent job on reasonable money and has something to look forward to within a lawful and ordered society.

            Democracy and socialism are not ends unto themselves; They are just the best mechanisms to achieve the above.
            • karol 11.1.2.1.1.1

              9 January 2015 at 12:14 pm

              That’s a prescription for the whittling away of democracy and reversion to autocratic rule.

              Edit: and that democracy goes any checks against the elites using their power to increase inequalities, injustices, and the assurance that all will be provided for.
              • Colonial Rawshark …

                9 January 2015 at 3:42 pm

                The Chinese Govt depends on being able to provide an improving economy and betterment of living standards for their citizens as the hallmark of their legitimacy and protection of the status quo elite.

                And yes, western style “democracy” is certainly not a priority for them.
          • Draco T Bastard 11.1.2.1.2

            9 January 2015 at 2:05 pm

            Nothing there about encouraging democratic debate and critique, or about valuing democratic, equal and active participation from all sections of society, for it’s own sake.

            I got the impression that Sanctuary in his original comment was pretty much saying: Keep the rabble contented and too busy to interfere.
            • greywarbler 11.1.2.1.2.1

              9 January 2015 at 2:52 pm

              I don’t think it so awful to want a reasonable life with all the things noted and some extra for personal fun. It would be great, and each bit of effort put in, would get extra outcome and improvement if one wanted more.

              But as karol says – we also need to stay sharp and stick to the knitting of ensuring a fair society and one that doesn’t just feel entitled to whatever one wants, but is thinking all the way and putting their bit in to see that they and others get and keep their democracy. Along with the good times and the sustainability and thoughtful and pragmatic organisation of the country.

              Trouble is complacency sets in, there isn’t commitment to each other – the state will look after others – and when that gets abandoned, the attitude of being fair and good to each other has to be rekindled again. The unions got demanding instead of getting together with the businesses, understanding the opportunities and working with them. The workers too trusting without real power with their own side, business or the government. Big business and upper class interests subverted their way into the left and we thought that it was natural social mobility. We are all lawyers now. We had alack of understanding of needs and responsibilities to keep hold of our country and our wellbeing. We lost the plot, because we allowed ourselves to get lazy and leave the democratic task to others with more determination who then took us to a different destination than expected.
              edited
              • Colonial Rawshark …

                9 January 2015 at 3:54 pm

                When unions were getting millions flowing into the coffers they should have been busy innovating new organisational and business structures in order to give workers a chance to leave the bosses and capitalist financiers behind, instead they stagnated, over-reached and ending up unable to combat the last 20 years of neoliberal upending.

                A bit late now unfortunately.
                • Ron …

                  9 January 2015 at 8:58 pm

                  Never too late if we can elect a government that at least cares for its people. One of the things I would like a left wing party to do is to bring in democracy in private businesses by having unions represented at board level. All companies that employ more than say 100 (just picking a number here) staff should be required to be unionized and have union representation at board level. At the same time unions should be brought into 21st century to make sure they are run efficiently with proper rules designed to serve their members. Unions should be audited yearly and members should sign off on all major decisions.

                  A bit late now unfortunately.
                • Ron …

                  9 January 2015 at 8:58 pm

                  Never too late if we can elect a government that at least cares for its people. One of the things I would like a left wing party to do is to bring in democracy in private businesses by having unions represented at board level. All companies that employ more than say 100 (just picking a number here) staff should be required to be unionized and have union representation at board level. At the same time unions should be brought into 21st century to make sure they are run efficiently with proper rules designed to serve their members. Unions should be audited yearly and members should sign off on all major decisions.

                  A bit late now unfortunately.
              • Draco T Bastard …

                9 January 2015 at 5:40 pm

                I don’t think it so awful to want a reasonable life with all the things noted and some extra for personal fun.

                There’s a difference between working hard and being kept to busy to participate in the politics of the country through low wages and no human rights left.
                • Ad …

                  9 January 2015 at 9:58 pm

                  The point though is that democracy itself is less and useful here.

                  Local government is weak and getting weaker.
                  Voter turnout continue to decline rapidly.

                  Central government owns less and less of the society and the economy, and has wilfully fewer levers to operate even if a change of government wanted to.
                  Voter turnout is declining overall.

                  In New Zealand, there are a set of social welfare contracts that both sides of the house agree on and are unlikely to end:
                  – Public Superannuation
                  – Savings initiatives
                  – ACC and other public insurance like EQC
                  – Unemployment and sickness benefits
                  – Public sector health system
                  – Public sector primary, secondary and tertiary education system

                  By and large that stuff is holding here where in many OECD post-GFC economies those things have been cut way down or are just gone.

                  It’s not as some suggest that we are merely disempowered, cynical, or helpless. It’s because most believe there is now too little to protest about. By and large people like things the way they are between the implied compact National and Labour formed together for now nearly 30 years.

                  There is simply less need for democracy.
    • Tracey 11.2

      9 January 2015 at 12:37 pm

      http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2015/01/killed-boko-haram-raids-20151818215251155.html

      villages and villagers destroyed by Boko Haram… not on front page of the MSM though.
      • phillip ure 11.2.1

        9 January 2015 at 2:50 pm

        it’s on whoar tho’..been there since early morn…
        • tracey 11.2.1.1

          9 January 2015 at 3:20 pm

          like I said, not on front page of MSM, black folks in Africa, innit?
          • phillip ure 11.2.1.1.1

            9 January 2015 at 4:17 pm

            i got it from there..the guardian had it front page..

            ..(but the guardian is a quality rag..)

            ..but yr ‘black folks in africa’ comment is relevant..

            ..and yes..our media is full of knee-jerk/nuance-free reactions from the likes of tom scott..
      • Murray Rawshark 11.2.2

        9 January 2015 at 5:09 pm

        Charlie Hebdo could scribble off something insulting the victims, like they did with the Boko Harum sex slaves.

        Where the hell did Boko Harum spring from? Are there any good sources?
        • Bill 11.2.2.1

          9 January 2015 at 7:16 pm

          Southend-on-Sea. Apparently
          • Murray Rawshark 11.2.2.1.1

            9 January 2015 at 9:14 pm

            Procol Harum had no need to capture sex slaves.
        • Bill 11.2.2.2

          9 January 2015 at 7:24 pm

          Or maybe this is more what you might be looking for?

          Boko Haram’s story begins with a preacher named Mohammed Marwa, born in 1927…

          I’ve no idea how good (ie, reliable) a source ‘The National Interest’ is, but here’s the link to the above.

          http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-origins-boko-haram-10609
    • Miracle Worker 11.3

      9 January 2015 at 4:50 pm

      Or it could simply be a case of zionist bankers being unable to get their heads around the fact that the so-called “axis of evil” countries targeted by the west for sponsoring terror also happened to be the only countries left on the planet with central reserve banks not owned and/or controlled by them.

      Plus the fact that, ironically, the leaders of those countries stuck to the Islamic principle of not charging their people interest on money (with the exception of North Korea, which has to do with communism and not a biblical ideology about finance).

      Good reasons to take them out, if I were a zionist money lender hell bent on world domination.

      Islamic extremism was always a smokescreen to justify the invasions in the first place, and it still is.

      If I were a betting man, I would lay money on the probability that Mossad and the CIA have a big investment in keeping it all going, something which will have become much easier for them to do now that they have stirred up enough hatred for it to have taken on a life of it’s own.

      The “war on terror” is a scam.

      Always was, always will be.

      Easy to get away with too, due to the profound lack of critical thinking ability among the vast majority of people in the west, who have no idea of the degree to which they are being manipulated and played.
      • Stephanie Rodgers 11.3.1

        9 January 2015 at 5:52 pm

        I really don’t think this conversation needed shitty anti-Semitist conspiracy theories added.
        • Miracle Worker 11.3.1.1

          9 January 2015 at 6:09 pm

          Oh look, it’s the thought police disguised as Wonder Woman, font of all wisdom, with all the answers, here to protect and save the world from those who don’t share her opinions about everything.

          Trembling in my little booties, I am, at the thought of your disapproval Stephanie.

          Zionism is not a race, it is an ideology, luvvie.

          YOU are the one who made it a racial issue with your take on it.

          I imagine in your next breath, you will be quoting the fact that Richard Nixon coined the term “conspiracy theory”, but in a different context of course, one that suits your own biases, prejudices and beliefs.

          If you are going to moralise with me, be careful of the platform from which you do it, because if it is fluid, I WILL find the weaknesses in your arguments and use them against you.

          Two people can play your game, after all.

          My advice, however, would be to put your racquet down now and walk off the court.
          • phillip ure 11.3.1.1.1

            9 January 2015 at 6:19 pm

            up/full of himself..?..much..?

            i think he needs an ego-management ‘intervention’..

            ..and someone should take his ‘zionist-bankers’ dolls off him…
          • McFlock 11.3.1.1.2

            9 January 2015 at 6:22 pm

            #dontbeadickhead
            • Miracle Worker 11.3.1.1.2.1

              9 January 2015 at 6:41 pm

              How about you clowns prove me wrong instead of resorting to your usual knee jerk ad hominem attacks?

              Have you done the research?

              I think not.

              But hey, if you want to stick with your ad hominem bullsh*t instead, I’m up for it.

              I mean……keep smoking pot Phillip, because you are the best possible advertisement for not legalising it I have seen yet.

              With any luck you will end up in the right place (for you).

              “Heeeelp, heeelp, the paranoids are after meeee!”.

              Get some help, put us all out of your misery, you are a disgrace.
              • phillip ure …

                9 January 2015 at 6:44 pm

                um..!..aren’t you the one with the ‘paranoid-fantasies’..?

                ..(c.f..’zionist-bankers’..?..)

                ..(now yr getting quite funny..!..keep it up..!

                ..i’m chuckling..chuck..)
                • phillip ure …

                  9 January 2015 at 6:54 pm

                  and i wd be as keen to discuss yr ‘zionist-bankers’ brain-bubbles..

                  ..with you…

                  ..as i wd be to discuss chem-trails with col craig..

                  ..or immigration with winston peters..
                  • Miracle Worker …

                    9 January 2015 at 7:04 pm

                    Or birth control…..given that you are an extremely compelling advertisement for it…
                    • phillip ure …

                      9 January 2015 at 7:09 pm

                      u have no idea what a handsome/friendly man i am..

                      ..people want to clone me..!

                      ..(btw..u do know u r losing this little exchange..eh..?

                      ..and in quite an epic way..)

                      ..watcha got for us next..?

                      ..(and yes..u.r still being ‘funny’..)
              • McFlock …

                9 January 2015 at 9:44 pm

                Prove you wrong? How about you make an explict assertion rather than hiding behind innuendo that follows in a very long tradition, protocols and all.

                Then at least you’ll be able to moan about somebody dropping a Godwin, and diversify your range of dickheadedness.
                • The Murphey …

                  9 January 2015 at 10:43 pm

                  Q. Does it make a difference what or who could be behind the chaos on this planet that our species and uncountable others are being consistently terminated on ?

                  Q. How are the finance related industries not designed to funnel all/any natural and man-made resources upwards to a select group ?

                  Q. How are the military/war industrial complex and related ‘intelligence’ industries not self perpetuating ?

                  That there are powerful groups fighting for control is self evident the same as it has always been and the tactics hardly evolved from what they ever were. Technology has moved on which is accelerating and amplifying the negative effects and on current path looks set to alter ‘life’ significantly for the worse

                  That the rest of us are the collateral is abundantly clear and it makes no difference what you or I want to believe or pontificate over because its happening regardless
                  • Colonial Rawshark …

                    9 January 2015 at 10:51 pm

                    Technology has moved on which is accelerating and amplifying the negative effects and on current path looks set to alter ‘life’ significantly for the worse

                    Correct. In general, science, technology, engineering and academia now serve corporate interests and the power elite.
                    • The Murphey …

                      9 January 2015 at 11:10 pm

                      Q. Will the ‘science’ save us ?

                      A. No
                    • Colonial Rawshark …

                      10 January 2015 at 12:14 am

                      Science, engineering and technology are, on balance, accelerating the destruction of our civilisation.
                    • TheContrarian …

                      10 January 2015 at 12:35 am

                      What a pile of fucking horseshit.

                      I’m referring to your last two comments CV/CR/Tat – what ever your name today
                    • Colonial Rawshark …

                      10 January 2015 at 12:50 am

                      These tenets are certainly contrary to the civil religion of scientific and technological progress that you believe in, but when you examine the advanced and rapid destruction of our environment, economies and resource base, that is exactly what is happening.
                    • TheContrarian …

                      10 January 2015 at 12:53 am

                      Yeah technological advancements sucks.
                    • Colonial Rawshark …

                      10 January 2015 at 12:59 am

                      You support the civil religion of lasting scientific and technological advancement but cannot see that they are primarily now merely instruments of more consumption, more extraction and human greed?
                    • TheContrarian …

                      10 January 2015 at 1:05 am

                      I already told you – fuck that ‘sciencey’ shit
                    • McFlock …

                      10 January 2015 at 1:19 am

                      lol
                      CV’s just a shill for Big Chiropracty. 🙂
                    • Colonial Rawshark …

                      10 January 2015 at 1:26 am

                      Ha! 😛
                  • McFlock …

                    9 January 2015 at 10:58 pm

                    Q: what has any of that crap got to do with “zionist money lenders”?
          • Ad 11.3.1.1.3

            9 January 2015 at 10:05 pm

            What are the names of the banks or their partners that are the ‘Zionist bankers’?
            • Colonial Rawshark 11.3.1.1.3.1

              9 January 2015 at 10:54 pm

              Well, its the anonymity of the corporate state. Even the large investment banks are only vehicles for their ends.
              • Ad …

                9 January 2015 at 11:12 pm

                I am looking for MiracleWorker to define his term, since he put it out there.
                He should be prepared to defend his assertion.

                If however your definition of ‘Zionist Bankers’ is merely some bank associated to the ‘corporate state’, then you can include all of the Saudi banks, most of the Gulf State banks, all of the Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean statist banks, Pakinstani state banks, and all those Chinese banks still operated by the state.

                ‘Zionist bankers’ usually refers however to those older European-based family banks of the 19th century, who had explicitly Jewish origins.

                MiracleWorker went out of his way to assert the term ‘Zionist bankers’ against criticism. He should defend it by naming who and which banks he defines them as.
                • Colonial Rawshark …

                  10 January 2015 at 12:11 am

                  then you can include all of the Saudi banks, most of the Gulf State banks, all of the Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean statist banks, Pakinstani state banks, and all those Chinese banks still operated by the state.

                  There is a strict hierarchy in the banking system. Most Indonesian, Saudi, Russian, Australian, Chinese, etc retail banks are in the bottom rungs, have no systemic importance and are disposable.
                  • Ad …

                    10 January 2015 at 6:55 am

                    Disposable to whom?
                    • Colonial Rawshark …

                      10 January 2015 at 10:12 am

                      To the higher levels of the banking hierarchy.
                • The Murphey …

                  10 January 2015 at 1:33 am

                  Q. Why do you believe the term ‘Zionist Banker’ to be associated with “older European-based family banks of the 19th Century who had explicitly Jewish origins”?

                  Q. Which century did ‘modern banking’ allegedly initiate and which ‘family’ names would you be referring specifically ?

                  Q. Could it be possible to ‘control modern global banking’ if that industry was allegedly founded and controlled by so few select family groups who allegedly formed the ‘central banking system’ still in effect around so much of the world today ?

                  Q. Do you understand what the BIS is and the role it performs in ‘global central banking ?

                  Q. Are you seeking to perform a ‘Stephanie Rogers’ 10.3.1 ?
                  • Ad …

                    10 January 2015 at 6:54 am

                    Why don’t you simply define ‘Zionist banker’ in the first place?

                    Or are you incapable of actual argument?
                    • The Murphey …

                      10 January 2015 at 10:00 am

                      Q. Why don’t you answer the questions before transferring wildly back in my direction ?

                      Q. Or is transference as much as you are capable of ?
                    • Ad …

                      10 January 2015 at 10:08 am

                      Go back to 10.3
                      I am awaiting an answer to the original term put to Miracle Worker.

                      That’s the core answer. Then we can get to yours.
                    • Colonial Rawshark …

                      10 January 2015 at 10:19 am

                      In practical terms the infrastructure in question is mainly represented by the BIS, the global reserve banking system, and the Primary Dealers. The IMF and World Bank, credit ratings agencies, as well as the major transactions processing systems (SWIFT, MasterCard/VISA) are also major components.

                      But as I said, this is a system of anonymous corporate totalitarianism. The “Zionist bankers” as a meme are nowhere, yet everywhere and to me are probably an echo from Judeo-Christian (and western banking) history. Even if a whole bunch of the “Jamie Dimons” and “Lloyd Blankfeins” of the world were to suddenly convert to solitary monasticism, the system of anonymous corporate totalitarianism would continue without a hitch.

                      Today the semi-religious and highly socialist cabal of the 0.0001%’ers (the 7,000 to 8,000 richest people in the world) probably come closest.
                    • The Murphey …

                      10 January 2015 at 10:22 am

                      Q. Why don’t you save yourself the impatience induced frustration and give the perspective which you already have loaded in hope of the response you desire from Miracle Worker ?
12. aerobubble 12

    9 January 2015 at 12:34 pm

    Looking to a simple connector, went in three stpre in and around the base in hamiltion, none sold it. I have a tablet with a usb micro socket and a data usb doggle. I know the product exists, searched for it online, costs five dollars, could even cannibalize some cables and old competer for the parts to make one up. But no, i want a cheap connector you’d expet to find in shops.
    Along the way i found a connevtor selling a kmart for five dollars, yey the very same product was twenty in dick smith.
    Now I get it, consumers are plebs who are to be extorted, but dont nobody know that for want of a connector, the business was slowed up, the business that fail to grow faster enough, tht did not grow the nz ecomony.
    I see this crap a lot in retail, shorting, and it explains alot why the nz economy falls behind. Its too easy to go cheap here. leaky retail, leaky hoes, leak elites.
    • Colonial Rawshark 12.1

      9 January 2015 at 8:15 pm

      It’s like living in a K-Mart Country.
13. The Other Mike 13

    9 January 2015 at 2:33 pm

    This might help explain attitudes here and elsewhere, as well as USA… via http://www.crooksandliars.com

    Snip
    “A new Pew Poll has given us some more conclusive evidence that the very wealthy in this country have no clue what goes on in most of America households and are completely influenced by fictitious right wing talking points. It’s a very sad statement to see made visible since many of the very wealthy are fairly well educated.

    Most of America’s richest think poor people have it easy in this country. The center surveyed a nationally representative group of people this past fall, and found that the majority of the country’s most financially secure citizens (54 percent at the very top, and 57 percent just below) believe the “poor have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return.” America’s least financially secure, meanwhile, vehemently disagree — nearly 70 percent say the poor have hard lives because the benefits “don’t go far enough.” /Snip

    WaPo article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/08/most-of-americas-rich-think-the-poor-have-it-easy/
    Pew: http://www.people-press.org/2015/01/08/the-politics-of-financial-insecurity-a-democratic-tilt-undercut-by-low-participation/#political-values-and-partisan-choices
14. Anne 14

    9 January 2015 at 8:00 pm

    For any farmers who may be reading TS 🙂 this prognosis weather chart suggests we may get a welcome run of wet weather probably towards the end of next week.

    http://www.metservice.com/maps-radar/rain-forecast/rain-forecast-5-day

    The departing high and the attraction of a deepening low in the South Tasman should encourage this cyclone to move southward through the Tasman Sea. That would have big potential for a countrywide drenching of rain. Fingers crossed.

    (use arrow to drag yellow circle to end of horizontal line)
    • Colonial Rawshark 14.1

      9 January 2015 at 8:13 pm

      Good to see you keeping an eye on the charts, Anne 😉
      • Anne 14.1.1

        9 January 2015 at 9:17 pm

        Old habits die hard.
    • weka 14.2

      9 January 2015 at 10:19 pm

      Looks like light rain to me (except for the West Coast).

      http://www.metvuw.com/forecast/forecast.php?type=rain&region=nzsi&noofdays=7
      • Ad 14.2.1

        10 January 2015 at 12:07 am

        Pretty unstable subtropical spillovers in the systems approaching over the 8 days.
        Betcha only Fiordland gauges more than an inch.
        And nothing of note for the North Island where most dairy and intensive horticulture is based.
    • joe90 14.3

      9 January 2015 at 10:41 pm

      Scarier in colour.

      http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/imagemain.php?&basin=austeast&prod=irn&sat=gms

      http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/#
    • Ad 14.4

      10 January 2015 at 12:10 am

      the metvuw 8-day is more pessimistic.

      we get neither the deepening post-Tasmania low, nor the decayed subtropical in the north.
      • Anne 14.4.1

        10 January 2015 at 3:14 pm

        Well it isn’t in decay because it hasn’t even developed yet, but the sub tropical convergence zone has broadened and seems to have stepped up in thunderstorm activity in recent days. I suspect the upper air jet streams are well placed to feed more turbulence into the lower air masses too. But you’re right, there is no guarantee any of it is coming our way. Queensland may cop it instead. It will depend on the movement of the large high we have sitting over us at the moment.
15. The Al1en 15

    9 January 2015 at 9:38 pm

    Bigoted russians enact even more bigoted laws.

    “Russia has listed transsexual and transgender people among those who will no longer qualify for driving licences.

    Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included as “mental disorders” now barring people from driving.”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30735673
    • adam 15.1

      10 January 2015 at 1:05 am

      Yeap there abject fear of anything but hetrosexuality, is just getting odd. Mind you what is the Russian males prefered sexual position? From memory it’s the one where the female partner gets no pleasure, and they don’t have to look at them.
16. miravox 16

    10 January 2015 at 12:02 am

    In the interest of transparency the EU is publishing texts of the proposed TTIP. The move

    is an example of how the Commission is putting into practice its commitment made last November to inject more transparency into the TTIP negotiations. The Commission then undertook to:

    – make public more TTIP EU negotiating texts that the Commission shares with Member States and the European Parliament;
    – provide access to the EU’s TTIP negotiating texts to all Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), not just a select few, by extending access to EU restricted documents in a ‘reading room’ to those MEPs who had no access to such restricted documents so far;
    – classify fewer TTIP negotiating documents as ‘EU restricted’, thus making them more easily accessible to MEPs outside the reading room;
    publish and update on a regular basis a public list of TTIP documents shared with the European Parliament and the Council.
    – publish information about who meets its political leaders and senior officials.
    The 12 position papers already published cover financial services, public procurement, regulatory coherence, technical barriers to trade, food safety and animal and plant health, chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, vehicles, sustainable development, and energy and raw materials.

    … We will make the whole text of the agreement public once negotiations have been concluded – well in advance of its signature and ratification.

    Makes a lie of the arguments against publishing the texts of the TPPA, I reckon.

• Comments are now closed

• Log in
• Donate
• Contribute post

• Articles RSS