Open Mike 09/06/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 9th, 2017 - 38 comments
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38 comments on “Open Mike 09/06/2017 ”

  1. Ad 1

    I find it confounding that a British we tion, meeting of the European Central Bank, and US Presidential meltdown appear to have no effect on sharemarkets or bond rates or risk anywhere.

    This sluggish world economy with oil flute and no pay rises anywhere is ripe for more political revolt and revival.

    • ianmac 1.1

      …that a British we tion, …” Huh Ad?

    • greywarshark 1.2

      I’m trying to think of what that ‘we tion’ could mean as a Freudian slip. It could be that the British event is not so important as an election but as a sorting out of a new political direction with Labour being carried aloft on the shoulders of the crowd. As I said yesterday it’s in line with a theme of Jeremy the Chartist. not just in mo-tion but we-tion.

      There are more things going on in our unconscious Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy! Thanks for the thoughts Shakespeare.

    • AsleepWhileWalking 1.3

      All markets are manipulated at this point in time.

      There are a number of alternative financial media commentators who cover this including Peak Prosperity, Mike Maloney, Jeff Nielson, GATA, etc etc.

  2. Molly 2

    This story about a four-year old boy, hit me hard this morning. Thinking about the isolation of the family that resulting in him being alone for two weeks before his death.

    I’ve seen parents struggle to find connections with others in social situations if their child is on the Autism spectrum, and it can be very isolating and lonely for them. I don’t know if that played a part, but the story is one of isolation regardless. And the cost paid.

    • AsleepWhileWalking 2.1

      Thanks for sharing. I can’t imagine the terror he would have experienced (worse because of the need for consistency).

    • saveNZ 2.2

      Very sad story.

    • so, so sad – made me weep

    • greywarshark 2.4

      Well we must work on keeping our compassion and not letting it weep and seep away in sentimentality. There are lots of kidlets out there in war zones etc. and are we acting enough to help them, and give their carers some hope. And the NZ mothers battling on trying to do a good job in difficult circumstances, and getting a virtual kick from the government. That is fucking hypocritical of them when they are so judgmental, but they aren’t really engaged with people, are they, so we must try harder, all of us.

      This dead child was saved as a baby but left with huge defects and utterly dependent on an unwell mother, who wouldn’t have had a great childhood either. It reminds me of similar story from a decade ago, a mother found dead who had HIV, and her starved baby beside her.

      We need to work together to give children and their parent/s, both the love of our society and the measures to give their child a good upbringing, and if the mother hadn’t had one of those, then the mentoring to help her be all she could be.

      • marty mars 2.4.1

        judgmental is NEVER accurate

        • greywarshark 2.4.1.1

          Yes well tell the gummint that. And all the trim self seeking complacent good living successfully waged wrapped up in themselves supporters of the ‘I am superior’ group.

  3. james 3

    ETNZ did a fantastic job getting the boat back on the water this morning after the big crash a couple of days ago.

    Impressive job by the shore team.

    The next round will be hard, but it looks like ETNZ is the on form team at the moment.

  4. esoteric pineapples 4

    A superb interview with author and journalist Max Blumenthal on the recent terrorist attacks in Iran and relations between Gulf countries and Qatar.

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1

      Was a good interview about the context of the ME politics and the attacks upon it.

  5. greywarshark 5

    Auckland to Hamilton rail passenger service. This could be a planned boost to the economy to carry on from the unplanned Christchurch earthquake. After all earthquakes are so uncertain and never know when to stop as in Kaikoura, and tend to show up the deficiencies inherent in our gerry-built system. So why not indulge in a bit of nation-building, go on gummint we know you want to.

    https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2017/06/09/hamilton-rail-holding-pattern/

    The idea of a rail service between Auckland and Hamilton was last looked at in 2011. On Tuesday, the Council’s Planning Committee agreed to take a high-level look at the issue again – although they also noted that that it was considered a low priority for the council,

    High-level look – low priority. Sounds like a see-saw or whirligig ride at a fair. Settle down chaps and chapesses who are in charge of things, set some priorities look to the present and future needs which are staring right back at you, take advantage of still low interest rates and invest, invest, invest (in infrastructure and, squeak, could you think about people too while you are at it?)

  6. Armada 6

    Corbyn might become the UK PM or come very close. He has shafted May and turne English politics on its head.

    It will be interesting to see how the “cautious” elements in the NZ Labour Party react to this. It will upset Grant Robertson’s positioning as the replacement to Andrew Little.

    Wait for Robertson to claim to be a socialist!

  7. greywarshark 8

    This is an example of an aggressive USA man annoyed at not getting everything he wants at an airport. He maintains a barrage of abuse at everyone who attempts to reason with him. Is this a normal occasional event, or will there be a rise as the jerks follow the Donald’s lead. It’s all about entitlement and could be a useful clip to play when thinking of the attitudes that underlay male domestic violence.

    http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15336662.Watch__Appalling_footage_of_aggressive_man_reducing_female_
    Ryanair_worker_to_tears/?ref=mrb&lp=10

  8. JC 9

    The United Nations has asked the New Zealand government to fully investigate a controversial 2010 SAS raid in Afghanistan.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/332647/un-asks-nz-to-investigate-2010-afghan-raids

    The Committee Against Torture released a list of questions for New Zealand to report on prior to its examination by the Committee in Geneva, which will likely take place in 2019. Question 27 related to the Afghan raids:

    “Please indicate what measures the State party has put in place to ensure that all allegations relating to ‘Operation Burnham’ will be fully investigated and addressed.”

    2019!! FFS

  9. the truth and nothing but the truth

    People openly wept as the apology was read out by Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson.

    He apologised for the wrongful arrests and imprisonment of Parihaka men and their leaders Te Whiti o rongomai and Tohu Kakahi.

    Mr Finlayson also apologised for the rape and molestation of the women and girls who were left behind when the men where imprisoned in the South Island.

    He said it was a shameful part of New Zealand’s history which both Maori and pakeha found hard talking about, for different reasons.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/332613/tears-as-crown-apologises-for-parihaka-atrocities

    kia ora

  10. esoteric pineapples 11

    This video featuring Sam Mahon, an artist and author living in Waikari in north Canterbury is both a very funny satire and very clever piece of art. Warning: does involve a painting of a naked John Key

    • greywarshark 11.1

      When I couldn’t get through to the site esoteric p I thought you had caused it to overload!

      That is the cleverest thing I have ever seen. Goodbye John we have plenty more oiks where you came from.

      But this art work may yet be eclipsed by one for Nick Smith which the artist will feel really exercised about as he values highly pure water and we have just heard this morning that there is a virulent strain of an already unpleasant water carried bug Ecoli. Of course it is wrong to blame Smith for what is the unfortunate buildup of minute amounts of matter added to water from thousands of farmers and more alleviation work is needed from these funders of the National Party.

      This new one is here, can cause a sure percentage of deaths, and up to now has shown up say 200 times a year. It is likely to affect the children of farmers, the workers of farmers, and perhaps the farmers themselves who actually farm and don’t just open gates electronically from their computers.

      And if the farmers care about the land, and the wonderful family life that the good toilers of the land enjoy, they will do something about this, and perform a personal lobotomy because it seems that is what is needed to change their minds.

      And of course the other gold mine that our ardent diggers are pursuing, our tourists with which we wish to wallpaper our country so that they hide our pollution and we have somebodies to blame it on, freedom campers anyone, will stop coming altogether when we have some really nasty plague break out. Talk about spoiling the well! Our disgraceful approach to the pollution of our country and our waterways and our way of life that we thought was established for good, literally, proceeds apace.

    • greywarshark 11.2

      lprent
      I thought you might like an admiring and ironic laugh – admiring at the artistry of Mark I mean. No-one else is noticing, too busy mulling over that wonderful result in Britain – just what r0b ordered. He may feel like a laugh too.

      [lprent: Thanks. For the benefit of others. ]

  11. greywarshark 12

    When settlers in NZ and presumably in australia, pushed the local indigenous people from their land they were following bad practices that had been used in Britain for decades or longer.

    The enclosures in rural England in the British Agricultural Revolution started much earlier, during the Tudor period. Similar developments in Scotland have lately been called the Lowland Clearances by historians such as Tom Devine.[6]

    But in the Highlands, the impact on a Goidelic (Scottish Gaelic)-speaking semi-feudal culture, which had included the fulfilment of obligations of a chief to his clan, led to vocal campaigning against the actions. There has been a lingering bitterness among the descendants of those forced to emigrate or to remain in crofting townships on very small areas of poor farming land.
    Changes in clan leadership

    From the late 16th century, laws required clan leaders to appear in Edinburgh regularly to provide bonds for the conduct of anyone in their territory. This created a tendency among chiefs[citation needed] to identify as landlords, rather than leaders of men.

    The lesser clan-gentry increasingly took up droving, taking cattle along the old unpaved drove roads to sell in the Lowlands. This brought wealth and land ownership within the clan, though the Highlands continued to be overpopulated and poor.[citation needed] The landowners considered the crofters to be virtually free labour, and forced them to work long hours in activities such as harvesting and processing of kelp, an activity that reached its peak in the West Highlands between 1750 and 1815.[7]

    Calling Maori to the main towns to prove legal ownership of their ancestral lands was one of the ways of the settlers to harrass those who wouldn’t sell. And ownership had to be proved and the chief had to appear in Court though the
    hearing dates might be changed forcing a long stay in town which cost money which wasn’t part of Maori dealing. What a lot of devious stuff went on. Thank goodness for Labour and setting up the Waitangi Tribunal which would have been in the hard basket for National Party. Any hard work without a quick payoff is difficult for them.

    • greywarshark 12.1

      I haven’t put italics in for the Highland clearings piece above, problem tiredness, I think. So sorry. I got interested in what happened in detail with the clearances and it is horrifying.

      It’s an example of how far powerful and unprincipled people will go, especially when they can contract the dirty work out to others who can see that no-one will put up a hand to stop them, and no-one cares about decent, fair human behaviour. Is already happening here, people sleeping on streets, in cars.
      Who’d have thunk we would sink so low. Just look at history, we haven’t changed.

  12. lprent 13

    During the rushing around looking at this morning’s shutdown (kernel issues) and this evening (a slightly cooked recently reinstalled disk controller causing kernel issues), jetpack got disabled.

    That is what on the desktop version of the site brings the ‘also’ posts to a post, the buttons to tell people about the post on twitter and facebook, and most importantly makes youtube video appear in comments….. This is purely so that our right wing friends can decide if the lack of foreskin increases or diminishes their love of the John Key (and his dick) – see above. It did make me laugh. especially the interviewer who was hilarious.

    Back on again.