Open mike 10/11/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, November 10th, 2019 - 99 comments
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99 comments on “Open mike 10/11/2019 ”

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  1. joe90 1
    10 November 2019 at 9:24 am

    Class and grace.

    During a rally in Charlotte, N.C., this Friday, 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg drew thunderous applause after shutting down a heckler who interrupted her speech.

    “I think if you want to speak with me personally, maybe you can do it later,” Thunberg said before the crowd broke into cheers and chants of her name.

    The heckler, who can be heard off camera yelling an unintelligible screed, seemed to back off after Thunberg called her out.

    Watch the moment below. The relevant portion begins at about the 4:30 mark of the video:

    https://deadstate.org/greta-thunberg-fires-back-at-heckler-if-you-want-to-speak-to-me-personally-we-can-do-it-later/

    • One Two 1.1
      10 November 2019 at 1:38 pm

      Greta must have had an appendix provided as mandatory part of each stage managed talk she's involved in now.

      how to respond ad hoc off script.

      Greta is being used as a human shield. The adults and corporates behind her are clearly identifiable.

      While you’re providing recs to watch your hero in action. I'm sure you can also locate the vids where she clearly had no script and was unable to mount a coherent response to simple questions.

      Easy to locate Joe. I'm sure you know the vids I'm referring to.

      • Macro 1.1.1
        10 November 2019 at 2:01 pm

        🙄

      • marty mars 1.1.2
        10 November 2019 at 2:03 pm

        rubbish – Greta is a hero and you are just envious. She is very brave to stick to the science when her haters just want to attack her personally – weak little humans her enemies are

      • Andre 1.1.3
        10 November 2019 at 2:07 pm

        Gee One Two, for us readers that aren't following Thunberg as closely as you and you think joe90 are, how about providing actual links instead of vague insinuations?

        • Climaction 1.1.3.1
          10 November 2019 at 5:28 pm

          One two believes Greta thunburg is a personification of why you don’t vaccinate

          • Andre 1.1.3.1.1
            10 November 2019 at 5:57 pm

            That's just barely scratching the surface of one Two's interesting beliefs. Trust me.

            • Climaction 1.1.3.1.1.1
              10 November 2019 at 6:16 pm

              Facebooks most valuable customer 9/10 months this year

              • David Mac …
                10 November 2019 at 6:25 pm

                If you're looking for a weak person, look for someone that is slapping Greta.

                Those that want to strike the messenger have no reply for the message.

                She's a kid saying "Please take a close look at this."

                We should.

                • One Two …
                  10 November 2019 at 7:27 pm

                  More a case of progressive identity crisis IMO, David.

                  For those who are watching on, indeed cheering on while a child is used by adults and is backed by large corporate industry.

                  I would agree that those who aim disapproval at Greta, are pointing in the wrong direction.

                  Listening to an exploited kid on an issue as complex and important as this, witnessing as 'policy' is coerced out by staging of the message, is simply a reflection of how far gone we are.

              • One Two …
                10 November 2019 at 7:35 pm

                You should avoid speculating on what you reckon my beliefs are, Climaction.

                I don’t recognise your handle. Been commenting here long?

                • Climaction …
                  11 November 2019 at 9:08 am

                  Long enough….

                  to know how to use the search function.

                  something you could do with google to provide even a shred of evidence Greta is a lizard person

                  now boyan slant, there is a climate hero

    • Adrian Thornton 1.2
      10 November 2019 at 5:47 pm

      Great conversation had here on the elephant in the room…

      The Center Cannot Hold Off Climate Catastrophe

      https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-center-cannot-hold-off-climate-catastrophe/

  3. Ad 3
    10 November 2019 at 9:46 am

    In Seattle, the Amazon-backed candidate loses and the socialist wins.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/09/seattle-amazon-kshama-sawant-socialist-elections

    Go the underdog.

  4. Incognito 4
    10 November 2019 at 10:45 am

    Racist attitudes 'whitewashed' modern philosophy. What can be done to change it?

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-10/modern-philosophical-canon-has-always-been-pretty-whitewashed/11678314

    Food for thought contemplation.

  5. Sacha 5
    10 November 2019 at 10:46 am

    On Nat candidate Luxon's evangelical church: http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2019/11/chosen-to-rule-what-sort-of-christian.html

    It is, therefore, disingenuous (to say the least) for Luxon to present his evangelical convictions as having relevance only to himself and the congregation of the Upper Room Church to which he belongs. The very name of his faith community argues against this claim.

    The “Upper Room” mentioned in the gospels is the room to which Jesus and his disciples repaired on the night of his arrest. In biblical tradition, it is the location of Christ’s last supper. The Upper Room thus represents the ignition-point of the chain of events that led to Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. It was Christianity’s first church: Ground Zero, if you like, for Jesus’s universal mission. In the Messiah’s own words:

    Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

    Does that sound like a private matter? Was the Upper Room really nothing more than the venue for a catered meal for Jesus of Nazareth and a few close friends?

    • joe90 6.2
      10 November 2019 at 2:05 pm

      He's tRump sans the racism.

      https://twitter.com/federicca/status/1192593117708509190

      He opposes legalizing marijuana and criminal justice reform; used the "gateway drug" argument.

      He's against investing in tech education in public schools because -get this- "we invest in computers and then they're used for porn and to plagiarize homework" , verbatim.

      I could spend a whole thread just on this but there's more to cover.

      He's against minimum wage and regulation around income and aid for poor Americans who have to hold several jobs just to make ends meet

      Literally said "you can't train people to do tech jobs, they're just not wired that way" when asked about tech education to mitigate job loss because of AI advances

      He ranted for several minutes about younger generations wanting to retire (?) and how that makes things hard on the economy #okboomer

      at some point said "women all of a sudden have opportunities now" so there are 2 bread winners in every family…

      Sorry Mike, ALL OF A SUDDEN?

      And finally, he said "we need to go back to how things were done in Clinton days, when he'd get 3 democrats, 3 Republicans and take them golfing, then go lock themselves in a room, close the door, smoke cigars and make all the decisions" (all men implied)

      In conclusion, pls don't.

      https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1192593117708509190.html

  7. Anne 7
    10 November 2019 at 11:21 am

    I've been as critical of Barry Soper as much as anyone else here in the past, but this time he's right on the money over the Winston Peters over-payment saga:

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12283407

    I refer in particular to this segment:

    But in all of this sorry saga the issue wouldn't have arisen if the public service hadn't alerted the politicians under the no surprises convention.

    How a pension over payment to Winston Peters would have impacted on their portfolios a month out from an election, which is the reason for telling them, is ridiculous.

    Providing salacious information to his political opponents, at the height of the election campaign, was like loading a rifle and handing it to them to fire.

    • lprent 7.1
      10 November 2019 at 11:42 am

      That is my view as well. This was an overtly political act of attempted electoral sabotage. Most likely from within the National party or its staffers. It is unlikely to have been public service staff in MSD etc. They would have known full well that it was a criminal offense for them to expose this information.

      I suspect that it was also politically idiotic. It probably didn’t do much good in diminishing the NZ First vote, and we have seen remarkably similar tactics used before. It was very obvious what was going on.

      If anything, it probably helped the NZ First vote, as the only people who’d have been irate about it were already National voters.

      It made it pretty damn sure that the NZ First politicians had vivid memories of dealing with untrustworthy arseholes in 1998 and 2008 when it came to coalition talks. Even the NZF MPs who’d been leaning towards a National coalition would have been aghast at the level of political cynicism that it displayed. Who’d want to deal with a party with fuckwits like that in it.

    • weka 7.2
      10 November 2019 at 6:39 pm

      What's the point being made there? That the staffers shouldn't have told their CEs?

      • Anne 7.2.1
        10 November 2019 at 7:31 pm

        No. That the MSD and SSC chiefs should not have told the two ministers. The pension over-payment to Winston Peters had no impact on their portfolio responsibilities so there was no requirement to tell them.

        The leak came from National within 24 hrs of Jacinda Ardern becoming the leader of the Labour Party. That was no coincidence.

        • weka 7.2.1.1
          10 November 2019 at 8:33 pm

          the timing aside, I can't tell what is reasonable re CEs telling the Ministers because I don't know how this compares to other situations.

          • Anne 7.2.1.1.1
            10 November 2019 at 9:21 pm

            Since there was no necessity for the CEOs to advise their ministers of an operational matter such as an over-payment to another parliamentarian then why did they tell the ministers? Doing it only a few weeks before a general election makes it worse.

            If on the other hand they had information which would impact on the ability of the ministers to carry out their portfolio responsibilities then it is incumbent on them to tell the ministers. The over-payment was not one of them.

            No matter how they dress it up, it had to be a politically motivated action on the part of the CEOs concerned.

            • Sacha 7.2.1.1.1.1
              10 November 2019 at 9:28 pm

              Or they did not trust their own agency's staff to avoid blabbing to the media, and their Minister to be blindsided by that. The subsequent inquiry showed that would not have been not a valid belief.

              Oh and I’d welcome the ‘no surprises’ policy being consigned to the rubbish bin of history. Toxic.

              • Anne …
                10 November 2019 at 10:16 pm

                So, they preferred someone from National leaking it rather than a public servant. Yes, it's possible.

                Oh what a tangled web…………………..

  8. A 8
    10 November 2019 at 12:36 pm

    How the heck am I still alive? Just luck I guess, and the fact the 2011 earthquake hit Christchurch instead of Wellington. I was in an office in the Terrace at the time.

    I wonder if that BNZ/State building (Aon) is affected…always had a dodgy feel going down there.

    • Molly 8.1
      10 November 2019 at 5:57 pm

      There was an anecdote from Tim Shadbolt many years ago, when he was talking about working on building sites in Auckland. IIRC, it went along the lines of:

      … when pouring the structural concrete into the forms around the rebar, sometimes it would take so long to get the mixed concrete to the upper floors it had started setting. Because they didn't use vibrating wands back then, it was only when they removed the forms that they realised that there were big voids in the pour. So, they packed the voids and plastered them over.

      From my recollection, he said that many multi-towered builds in Auckland at that time had problems with the concrete structure.

      This is from so long ago, I can't remember if I read it, but I have a feeling it was a radio interview.

  9. marty mars 9
    10 November 2019 at 12:54 pm

    Something very strange about this story – certainly got the anti 1080's energised – post after post after link on facecloth.

    Dog owners are being warned to keep their pets off Westport beaches after hundreds of rats washed up there yesterday.

    The Department of Conservation said they may be victims of a recent 1080 drop 140km away in the Lewis Pass National Reserve.

    …Doc Western South Island operations director Mark Davies said while it was possible the rats could have come from a recent 1080 drop, reports of dead fish and birds, along with the rats, were not consistent with the way 1080 was understood to work.

    https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/west-coast/warning-after-rats-wash-westport-beaches

    • Matiri 9.1
      10 November 2019 at 1:28 pm

      Very strange indeed as some of the rat carcasses look like pet rats rather than bush rats.

      • Graeme 9.1.1
        10 November 2019 at 1:36 pm

        Council poison operation at the dump? Escapee pet rat went out with the rubbish and set up and interbred with the locals….

        • weka 9.1.1.1
          10 November 2019 at 5:29 pm

          Don't think the offspring would stay white over generations though. I wondered if they'd lost their hair in the river.

          • joe90 9.1.1.1.1
            10 November 2019 at 5:39 pm

            Pretty much everything washes up bald if they've been in the tide long enough.

          • Andre 9.1.1.1.2
            10 November 2019 at 5:40 pm

            Yep, corpses in rivers often lose patches of hair. If those rat corpses truly come from over 100km up the Buller river, I'd be a little surprised there aren't reports of rat corpses lining the riverbanks all the way down. Corpses of other animals are a fairly common sight on riverbanks after floods.

          • Graeme 9.1.1.1.3
            10 November 2019 at 7:22 pm

            Modern landfill and waste management practices mean that most people don't get to observe the rats, cats and other wildlife at the dump any more. You get some interesting hybrid rats, occurrence sort of in line with popularity of pet rats at the time, and some pretty flash cats. They stow away in a rubbish bag or wheelie bin and away they go. The surviving cats usually make their way home but the rats become part of the local population. We're near a bridge between our dump and town and have a cat a month pass through.

            • weka 9.1.1.1.3.1
              10 November 2019 at 8:37 pm

              I see lots of dumped cats in odd places too (unbelievably people take cats out to the bush to dump them).

              Totally believe there are hybrid rats out there, but I think interbreeding won't yield pure white offspring.

              I saw a pure black rabbit in the wild the other day, which was pretty cool.

              • Graeme …
                10 November 2019 at 9:54 pm

                Hmmm, just learnt something. Pet, or fancy rats are usually Rattus norvegicus, which can be locally rare in NZ, generally Rattus Rattus is dominant, although there could be a population at the Westport dump. So, if a population became established, say at Westport dump after they stowed away in a household's rubbish, they would become self sustaining, rather than interbreed with the locals. Also from that link, "Rats are pets that are allowed in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series." Which would have given a recent surge in popularity. R. Rattus can be domesticated too but doesn't have white forms.

                Black rabbits are cool, there's a population near us that does the odd black one, and they don't seem to move far from their home.

    • Graeme 9.2
      10 November 2019 at 1:30 pm

      Sounds more like Brodifacoum than 1080 to have birds and fish associated. But wave action will sort flotsam by density, whether that's rocks, gold or dead things, so quite natural for all the dead things that got washed down the river in a fresh to get washed up on the same bit of beach.

      Probably went something like a rat poisoning operation up a nearby river, animals would seek water when they are dying and die within flood zone, a good rain after a good dry period, dead things get washed down river and up onto beach.

      BTW, brodifacoum is probably nastier than 1080 as it hangs around for a very long time, 3 year exclusion for game animal recovery .

      • marty mars 9.2.1
        10 November 2019 at 1:39 pm

        Surprised no one has owned up yet because it looks like a bit of a win against the rats – I suppose the tests will show which poison got them – your scenario makes sense to me.

        • Stuart Munro. 9.2.1.1
          10 November 2019 at 2:17 pm

          There's a line in the story that reeks of spin:

          reports of dead fish and birds, along with the rats, were not consistent with the way 1080 is understood to work

          They assume the rats are 1080 kills, but have to pretend it is not responsible for contemporaneous bird kills.

          • marty mars 9.2.1.1.1
            10 November 2019 at 2:23 pm

            I though the fish and birds fed on the rats and that killed them – toxicology tests will hopefully help clarify in this regard

            • Stuart Munro. 9.2.1.1.1.1
              10 November 2019 at 2:26 pm

              They may have, 1080 is quite broad spectrum – originally an insecticide after all.

          • Andre 9.2.1.1.2
            10 November 2019 at 2:31 pm

            Hmmm, they were found on North Beach, the Westport rubbish dump is right next to the lagoon that meets the sea at one end of North Beach, brodifacoum makes its victims very thirsty, 1080 doesn't. Brodifacoum is also very toxic to birds and fish, 1080 is less toxic to birds and fish than to mammals. I reckon Graeme's probably onto it with his comments above.

            • Stuart Munro. 9.2.1.1.2.1
              10 November 2019 at 2:43 pm

              Could well be true – but it's more a matter of what's in use nearby than relative toxicity. The pellets used to kill a possum of up to 4kg will always suffice to kill a kea of up to 1kg. Stuff provisionally attributes the kill to 1080, though carcasses are being collected for testing – we shall find out eventually.

          • McFlock 9.2.1.1.3
            10 November 2019 at 5:22 pm

            They assumed nothing. "may have".

            Basically, they go "there are all these dead rats. Poison would be likely, as predators eat the rats. We did a poison drop a hundred miles away, it might be that, but other factors which I have not seen directly are inconsistent with our poison drop."

  10. marty mars 10
    10 November 2019 at 1:01 pm

    This is so stupid imo – keeping good relations? wtf?

    Miro had decided not to release incriminating footage of the cat in the interest of keeping good relations with its owners.

    ok what has this cat done

    The lone tabby has been caught on camera by volunteers of the Mainland Island Restoration Organisation (Miro) raiding banded dotterel nests for the second consecutive breeding season at an Eastbourne colony – the species' only breeding site inside Wellington Harbour.

    The cat has decimated seven nests so far this season by eating eggs and killing chicks.

    It is the same cat that last year destroyed all the Eastbourne colony's nests, said Miro committee member Parker Jones.

    …Banded dotterels carry the same nationally vulnerable conservation status as the great spotted kiwi and whio, or blue duck, but miss out when it comes to conservation funding, Jones said.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/117263362/lone-tabby-on-its-way-to-wiping-out-second-generation-of-dotterels

    • McFlock 10.1
      10 November 2019 at 5:27 pm

      Between hedgehogs and cats, sounds like the dotteral area needs a guard with a BB gun.

      Who has authority to do pest control on that area?

      • weka 10.1.1
        10 November 2019 at 5:32 pm

        Pretty sure it's against the law to shoot domestic cats.

          • arkie 10.1.1.1.1
            10 November 2019 at 5:40 pm

            Also a cat isn't counted as property in the same way a dog is, largely because you don't have to register them.

            • joe90 10.1.1.1.1.1
              10 November 2019 at 5:45 pm

              A neighbouring bird fancier killed damned nearly every cat in the street. And as they were on his property he did so legally, too.

              • arkie …
                10 November 2019 at 5:57 pm

                I remember an old fella in CHCH that would kill any cat seen in his tiny veggie garden, and he wasn't shy about announcing it.

            • weka 10.1.1.1.1.2
              10 November 2019 at 7:02 pm

              This suggests there are still legal issues with killing someone else's cat,

              That said, a person who harms another’s companion animal could still face both criminal and civil liability.
              Oddly, knowingly threatening to kill or injure an animal carries a maximum penalty of 3 years’ imprisonment under s307 of the Crimes Act 1961 whereas actually killing an animal carries a maximum penalty of 3 months’ imprisonment or a fine not exceeding $2000 under s11 of the Summary Offences Act 1981 (under which the animal would likely be considered ‘property’). However, in any event, harming another person’s animal may attract criminal liability under s269(2)(b) of the Crimes Act 1961, which prohibits “intentionally or recklessly and without claim of right destroying or damaging any property with intent to […] cause loss to any other person.” This section carries a maximum penalty of 7 years’ imprisonment.

              http://nzala.org/when-your-animal-is-harmed/

          • weka 10.1.1.1.2
            10 November 2019 at 6:56 pm

            That doesn't say it's legal to kill someone else's cat.

        • McFlock 10.1.1.2
          10 November 2019 at 5:50 pm

          I know dogs are specifically alowed to be shot under the dog control act. At the very least, there would be a defense of property excuse for cats.

          Or announce a poison drop in the nesting area – even if there's no poison, that'll make the owners control their moggy.

          Normally I'm not too worried about cats, but this is an endangered species.

          • weka 10.1.1.2.1
            10 November 2019 at 6:54 pm

            There was another case reported recently with endangered sea birds (not sure if same species). The kills were mainly from feral cats in an area where there were also house cats. The story was that they were having trouble killing the feral cats because of the house cats. This is not a hugely difficult problem to solve (eg have shooting nights twice a month that the community knows in advance is happening). So before we get to the locking cats up thing, maybe we should look at the range of solutions available and what is appropriate to each situation.

            Locking cats up is pretty difficult for many people. I couldn't do it with mine. Think the number of people that have kids and an indoor/outdoor life where doors and windows are left open routinely. Not only is it cruel to lock up cats that are used to being outside, it's a really big ask to expect people to change their lives that much.

            It seems reasonable to establish cat free areas over time, using natural attrition to achieve that, where there is a high need. But that one cat isn't responsible for that species being endangered and there's a fair amount of hypocrisy in NZ over this issue, where cats are seen as an easy target but we still want to keep on with our habitat destroying ways and not put money into predator fencing or paying people to do ground control.

            • McFlock 10.1.1.2.1.1
              10 November 2019 at 7:45 pm

              So we let it wipe out the colony because muffy is an outdoor cat?

              • weka …
                10 November 2019 at 8:28 pm

                no, get better strategies than reactionary 'lock up your cats'.

                • weka …
                  10 November 2019 at 8:30 pm

                  or actually more like, get better strategies rather than hand wringing about cats. The other case is a clear example of the problem being humans. Probably this one too. Generic locking up the cats is the lazy arse approach.

                  • McFlock …
                    11 November 2019 at 12:06 pm

                    Except in this case a particular cat is the main threat. So what are the "better strategies" in this specific case?

                    • weka …
                      11 November 2019 at 12:23 pm

                      Strategy would depend on that particular situation and none of us here know what that is. eg what is the owner like? What's the relationship between the owner and the conservationists?

                      What's the distance between the house and the nesting site? Is the nesting site amenable to a predator fence?

                      Lots of things to take into account.

                      The better strategies comment was to point to the problem of knee-jerk 'lock the cats up'. If that one cat gets locked up and nothing else changes what happens to the birds when a feral cat or other wild predator turns up?

                    • McFlock …
                      11 November 2019 at 1:43 pm

                      well, the feral ones can be shot.

                    • weka []
                      11 November 2019 at 1:50 pm

                      is that happening? As I said elsewhere in the thread, in the other recent situation about beach nesting birds, they weren’t controlling the feral cats because of the house cats. That’s not a hard situation to fix, so why aren’t we? I think the whole anti-cat thing is a problem and we should instead be looking at how cat owners and conservationists can work together in the context of better planning. Also mentioned was the hypocrisy. NZ loves to love its birds, but we are still actually quite bad at land management for that.

                    • McFlock …
                      11 November 2019 at 3:13 pm

                      Given that they're filming the nest, another option would be to watch the cat kill a chick and charge the owners with killing a protected species because of their negligence. That'll filter out the domestic cats really quickly.

                    • weka []
                      11 November 2019 at 5:44 pm

                      I’m sensing a fair degree of cat antipathy (or apathy) rather than a strong commitment to good conservation design. One problem with this approach is that it will lessen support for conservation among cat owners (who are legion and passionate) and we already have too much vegan, anti-predator control culture on the rise as it is.

                    • McFlock …
                      11 November 2019 at 6:48 pm

                      I'm a fan of systemic, nuanced approaches at a broad level.

                      But this is a specific colony that might not exist in a couple of years due in no small part to specific, identified, individual animals with known owners.

                      To me, this discussion is like a kid in ED with a grossly infected cut. Sure, we can and should look at preventing injuries and providing equitable access to primary healthcare. That might be very useful and could help many children in the future. But right now this kid needs debriding, cleaning and antibiotics as soon as possible (barring any contraindications).

          • greywarshark 10.1.1.2.2
            10 November 2019 at 7:41 pm

            Cats used to be classed as wild animals, unable to be trained. Whereas dogs are trainable and there is onus then on the owner to train and control them, apart from being able to be shot if found on anyone's farm.

            • McFlock 10.1.1.2.2.1
              10 November 2019 at 7:49 pm

              interesting

            • Sacha 10.1.1.2.2.2
              10 November 2019 at 9:14 pm

              It takes a while for cats to train their humans.

              • McFlock …
                11 November 2019 at 12:09 pm

                lolna. Had to feed a friend's cat last weekend. There was some food outside for it on the washing machine, but it was looking like it couldn't get up that high so I found a low table and shifted his food and water to that.

                Apparently he was just being lazy and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. I was vary quick to be trained 🙂

  11. Andre 11
    10 November 2019 at 1:53 pm

    More things to make you go hmmmm. Bannon, Stone, Wikileaks and probably Trump lies under oath to Mueller …

    https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/11/steve-bannon-says-trump-team-saw-roger-stone-as-access-point-to-assange/

  12. joe90 12
    10 November 2019 at 1:53 pm

    Home?

    These things will find their way to the KSA.

    U.S.-Turkish relations have plunged to a new nadir. In the past month, a senior Republican senator has suggested suspending Turkey’s membership in the NATO alliance, while the secretary of state implied a readiness to use military force against America’s wayward ally. In these circumstances, U.S. nuclear weapons have no business in Turkey. It is time to bring them home.

    https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/its-time-get-us-nukes-out-turkey-92081

  13. joe90 13
    10 November 2019 at 3:25 pm

    Nope, not a cutesy video of a beluga playing fetch.

    It's probably former captive Hvaldimir, who's thought to have escaped a Russian military program.

    Hvaldimir is alone, malnourished, injured, and roams the seas looking for food and attention from people.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hvaldimir

    • marty mars 13.1
      10 November 2019 at 3:41 pm

      sums it up –

      whale playing fetch = fake news

      whale escaped from military facility = true news

      dirty humans

  14. marty mars 14
    10 November 2019 at 5:02 pm

    shit's getting real

    A towering Baby Trump protest balloon was knifed and deflated by someone unhappy with its appearance during Donald Trump’s Saturday trip to Alabama, organisers said.

    …The orange, diaper-clad, cellphone-clutching caricature of the president is often taken to Trump appearances as a way to protest against him.

    …Robert Kennedy, a volunteer “baby sitter” who brought the balloon to Tuscaloosa, said the balloon immediately began to sag after it was cut.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/10/baby-trump-balloon-stabbed-and-deflated-at-alabama-protest

  15. xanthe 15
    10 November 2019 at 6:37 pm

    https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/8/28/17789510/bike-cycling-netherlands-dutch-infrastructure

    This is a really good read about how they make cycling work in the netherlands (and they don't wear helmets !)

  16. Eco maori 16
    12 November 2019 at 8:25 am

    Kia Ora 1 News.

    We need all the money we can spear to mitigate Global Warming. Wasting money on moving the Port of Auckland up North is dumb. They should go with the most economic choices move more fright to Tauranga and more up North and keep the Auckland port going I think is the best model

    '' I "" if you don't Wai Te tipu tipu they won't grow up to their best potential.

    Our honest Scientists have been predicting that Reality for the last 20 years it good that the Australian authorities are planning ahead and evacuating Te tangata

    Yes Te Mama great contributions to our society need to be recognised and honoured.

    The toxic people are the ones harassing Eco Maori.

    Ka kite Ano

  17. Eco maori 17
    12 November 2019 at 1:42 pm

    We have to change the way we behave and minimise our carbon usage immediately the sooner we start the less disruptive it will be to the way we live. The longer we take to act the more drastic targets we will have to set in reducing our carbon footprint.

    Cutting the speed of ships has huge benefits for humans, nature and the climate, according to a new report.

    A 20% reduction would cut greenhouse gases but also curb pollutants that damage human health such as black carbon and nitrogen oxides.

    This speed limit would cut underwater noise by 66% and reduce the chances of whale collisions by 78%.

    UN negotiators will meet in London this week to consider proposals to curb maritime speeds.

    Ships, of all sorts and sizes, transport around 80% of the world's goods by volume. However they are also responsible for a significant portion of global greenhouse emissions thanks to the burning of fuel.

    Shipping generates roughly 3% of the global total of warming gases – that's roughly the same quantity as emitted by Germany.

    While shipping wasn't covered by the Paris climate agreement, last year the industry agreed to cut emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/science-environment-50348321

  18. Eco maori 18
    12 November 2019 at 3:41 pm

    While I was farming I noticed to that in summer the grass growth was fast in the shade. I posted a story thee other day that makes a good case to have solar panels mounted 7 foot high on wooden poles and wooden frames it great logic

    Renewable Energy Gives Farmers Another Reason To Love It

    As if the case for renewable energy needs any more making, along comes a new study showing that wind and solar power are good for the water table and they could help farmers survive periods of drought, too. That’s especially big news for California. The state has suffered through a series of droughts, leading to unsustainable use of its underground water resources by farmers and other users. But wait, there’s a weird hydropower angle in there, too Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://cleantechnica.com/2019/11/11/renewable-energy-gives-farmers-another-reason-to-love-it/amp/

  19. Eco maori 19
    12 November 2019 at 6:29 pm

    Kia Ora 1 News.

    Hopefully the School reform will improve the education for all tamariki but especially the lower classes.

    All the big construction projects should that are planned should help businesses confidence in Aotearoa.

    Ka kite Ano

  20. Eco maori 20
    12 November 2019 at 6:51 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News

    The Whakatane Council is just flickering the buck they are the ones who made a mess of the election process.

    I agree with Te Wahine Maori Mana is being down trodden and that has a negative effect on people I see it everywhere in Aotearoa times are changing for the better Ma Te Wa.

    Its great to see people getting confidence to help other people less fortunate than them.

    I think that the chances to our schools will help lift all tangata whenua tamariki and Pacific tamariki climb higher up their ladders of life.

    Good call my Tamariki used to paddle in Horouta waka aka club I think that they deserve some recognition they have been cleaning up for years now.

    Ka kite Ano

  21. Eco maori 21
    12 November 2019 at 6:58 pm

    I say our native bat's needs to be saved we have to save there habitants and invest in their protection in Waikato they are our Taonga build those whare for them to.

    Ka kite Ano

  22. Eco maori 22
    13 November 2019 at 8:35 am

    Kia Ora Breakfast.

    The Kiwi hatching are cute Aotearoa was the whenua of the Titi.

    All the new infrastructure spends needs to have goals of lowering our carbon footprint.

    The new laws of the miscarriage of justices being sent back to the courts by a commission is great it will save innocent tangata being locked up.

    All our tamariki need to feel and be safe at school.

    Insurances are sold to Te tangata with the myths that the many paying premium spreads the risk for the cost of a desaster on the shoulder of the many but reality is they cheery pick the risk. They put profits before Te tangata wellbeing.

    Ka kite Ano

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  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
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  • One Night Only!
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  • What did Melissa Lee do?
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  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
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  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
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  • Stronger oversight for our most vulnerable children
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  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
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  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
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  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
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  • Pharmac Chair appointed
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    4 days ago

  • Taking action on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
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  • Diplomacy needed more than ever
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  • Anzac Commemorative Address, Buttes New British Cemetery Belgium
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  • Release of North Island Severe Weather Event Inquiry
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  • Patterson reopens world’s largest wool scouring facility
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  • Speech to the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective Summit, 18 April 2024
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  • New diplomatic appointments
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  • Humanitarian support for Ethiopia and Somalia
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