Open mike 12/01/2020

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 12th, 2020 - 43 comments
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43 comments on “Open mike 12/01/2020 ”

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    • OnceWasTim 1.1
      12 January 2020 at 10:13 am

      Let's now hope that the Australian electorate is waking up to the reality.

      AND the Koiwoi electorate is also waking up to the reality (that we've never been treated as "little brothers" should be since the 70s, and certainly not since we all drank the neo-liberal coolaid.

      – I notice the Australians are now referring to us as brothers rather than cuzzies (in the nature of all that "ANZAC" spirit and recent history – the Tampa et al)

      – You won't hear too much of Australian "queue jumpers" or "economic refugees" in the months to come. (Apparently they're 'special')

      -ScoMo will be downplaying his pentecostilism and exceptionalism (check out The Conversation piece)

      If it wasn't fact that Australian electorate has been subjected to a complete load of kaka from its political class; its first people who are casualities once again; and its wildlife – again, casualties I'd be inclined to just leave them all to it. They could serve as an example to the rest of the Whurl – along with Mr Bolsenaro

      Thank whatever Your Lord is I gave up an Okker passport years ago. Apparently I'm supposed to feel sympathy for what's going on. I'll try – but there'll be a pecking order to it. I can't honestly say ScoMo, or Dutton, or most of the bullshit artists on SkoiNewsStraya and their enterage of hangers-on – Richo et al included – are gunna figure high on the list

    • A 1.2
      12 January 2020 at 2:26 pm

      Does that mean they don't get the same level of ACC? (Im assuming the level of pay is lower due to fighter fighting and time off work, so that's 80% of an already reduced wage)

      I know they are still covered.

    • Ad 2.1
      12 January 2020 at 12:30 pm

      This coalition government ruled out taxing water mining from the start.

      • Sabine 2.1.1
        12 January 2020 at 1:17 pm

        can you elaborate?

        • Ad 2.1.1.1
          12 January 2020 at 1:25 pm

          Labour had proposed putting a tax on water mining in their 2017 manifesto; on October 25 2017 Ardern was clear that NZFirst had not wanted that to be in the coalition agreement, so it was ruled out.

          • Sabine 2.1.1.1.1
            12 January 2020 at 1:52 pm

            hm, so its ok for the chinese/or any other ocmpany to bottle the water – creating huge waste in plastic, so as long as we tax them?

            I agree with Winston then. We can't drink money and we should not give a way permits for very little money to overseas companies to bottle it – in plastic to boot – to export it.

            That would be missing the point totally, but it kind of would whitewash the fact that we are loosing a resource that we need to live, for a little tax gain.

            What was Winstons reason for refusing to along with this little scheme?

            • A 2.1.1.1.1.1
              12 January 2020 at 2:31 pm

              Oh please let it be because NZF thinks NO water should be exported. Overseas govts should ensure their own supply is properly managed/distributed instead of assuming they can.purchase from NZ.

              Nothing riles me more than the water issue.

              • Sabine …
                12 January 2020 at 3:22 pm

                what was Winston Peters reasoning? seriously? you could have stated it, after all you had no reason stating that he opposed taxing.

                And frankly he is rigth on that – irrespective of anyting. We should never have given the right to the water away in the first place. Certainly not for a hardboiled egg on white toast in the second place. And taxing a cent or two on a liter is not gonna make anything better, but it appears as doing something i get it.

                So i have no idea what his reasoning is/was you never linked to a comment of his that would allow us to know why. But yeah, me too, i am in the bucket of don't sell the water rights then you dont' have to tax water mining. Keep it in the Ground is what i say.

                • Graeme …
                  13 January 2020 at 8:28 am

                  From my recollection NZF opposed, not sure if that's the right word, a tax on bottled water exports because it would have pre-empted any solution to Treaty issues around water custodianship and would have created a precedent to usage charges or taxes on other water usage.

                  A huge writhing can of worms that's going to be a thorn in our side for a long time, on many, many levels.

                  In situations like this consent authorities should be required to effectively require a new consent application with a change of ownership or use. Sort of happens with most authorities now but can be easily staged to 'get it through'. Consents are granted to specific entities (persons or companies) for specific purposes, so there's conditions to be met on transfer or change, but if the effect is minor, and in most cases it would be nil, then there's little scrutiny.

                  • Sabine …
                    13 January 2020 at 8:37 am

                    that is what i assumed.

                    that by taxing the mining output they would condone the selling of rights to others while we sill have not yet fleshed out the rights under the treaty.

  3. Incognito 3
    12 January 2020 at 10:40 am

    Ross, stop testing and respond to your moderation, thanks.

  4. Sacha 4
    12 January 2020 at 11:17 am

    Confused letter-writer to the Harold whose grandparents owned a few houses in the central suburbs says we should not talk about class thank you very much: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12299658

    In last weekend's Herald on Sunday, in the article written by Catherine Masters, OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan states: "Ponsonby and Grey Lynn had gone from down-at-heel working class and bohemian suburbs to … ".

    I really do take offence at that statement, as I was brought up in Norfolk St, Ponsonby, in a house exactly like those shown in the article's photograph. Our house, owned by my grandparents, was a well-kept and tidy property with a lovely garden and mown lawns. Both my parents were teachers with my mother being the infant mistress at an Auckland school. The neighbours all had nice properties and far from being "down-at-heel", all had jobs of various kinds. My Auntie Jean, who was a registered nurse, lived in the next street in a house also owned by my grandparents.

    Class distinction has never had any place in Aotearoa, and I really wish that all media personnel would remove the words "working class", "middle class", etc, from their vocabulary.
    James Cameron, Howick

  5. adam 5
    12 January 2020 at 12:18 pm

    When is the line crossed? When they eat babies live on air seems to be the new standard. I don't need someone from the 'defence' industry to tell me killing and trump are cool.

    https://theintercept.com/2020/01/06/iran-suleimani-tv-pundits-weapons-industry/

    • aom 5.1
      12 January 2020 at 1:43 pm

      Thank you for the link adam. One interesting quote was that of the former head honcho (or is it headcase) of Homeland Security who said “General Suleimani was a lawful military objective and the president, under his constitutional authority as commander in chief, had ample domestic legal authority to take him out without an additional congressional authorization.” In saying that, how would he regard the concept of the murder of the Commander-in-Chief of the US military being a 'lawful military objective' for assassination while in an foreign country on a peace mission.

      • Sabine 5.1.1
        12 January 2020 at 1:54 pm

        ahhh, when the Constitution is being called unconstitutional by the right cause its inconvenient that they lost the Congress to the Democrats and according to that unconstitutional Constitution the power to declare war lays with Congress.

        Darn those founding fathers, did they not know that the orange menace is a locust send from God.

  6. aom 6
    12 January 2020 at 12:43 pm

    It's a bit steep to be involved in political activities then expect there to be no consequences: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/407134/uk-ambassador-to-iran-arrested-in-tehran-protest. Johnson should make take a moral stance and recall the ambassador immediately!

  7. Ad 7
    12 January 2020 at 1:40 pm

    Slack's column is precisely about Australia and telling them what to do.

    He starts with an illustration from Australian media for Australian viewers about Australia.

    He then complains about Australian bush fires affecting our air colour.

    He then complains about Australian media ownership.

    He then has a general rant with the same accuracy as Rolf Harris with a roller trying to re-do the Sistene Chapel.

    His article cites no policy or activist response to climate change in New Zealand.

    He's just having an abstract rant, with no quality in it and will change no one's minds at all.

    Your post builds on top of that, and has added no facts, no policy framework, no examples, and complains that things should go faster.

    Well top work on that Weka for advancing nothing.

    Anyone would think we hadn't spent the last year as a government generating one of the most comprehensive responses to climate change in the world. Do something useful and engage on that. It's fresh legislation and framework, and in fact there's still secondary bits undergoing Parliamentary scrutiny right now.

    As for whining about the business owning class being the only people who think about money as an organizing principle in their lives, that's just weak thinking.

    [as far as I can tell you’re the one doing the whining mate. If you can’t engage constructively with my writing, or make an attempt to understand what I am saying (rather than reacting to your perception), or if you just want to shit on things, then stay out of commenting under this post – weka]

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

    • Anne 7.1
      12 January 2020 at 6:55 pm

      You, Ad obviously have no comprehension of David Slack's particularly clever style of writing. He's brilliant the way he can meld humour, truth and an ability to sheath home reality without being too bombastic about it.

      Your interpretation of his words only highlights your lack of ability to appreciate the work of others. What's your problem? Are you jealous?

  8. joe90 8
    12 January 2020 at 2:33 pm

    Sobering documentary The Black Man’s Land Trilogy from the early 1970s.

    Mau Mau,

    Kenyatta

  9. Jenny How to get there 9
    12 January 2020 at 4:47 pm

    [Deleted]

    [I let this one comment through so that I can respond to your comments that ended in Trash in order to get closure on this sorry saga.

    I asked you to respond to the Moderation note, not to simply say that you had seen it. The point is that you show you understand and accept the instructional note. You have not done this, so far, and this is keeping you in Moderation. You cannot litigate your way out of Moderation and spamming the Trash folder is a sure way of staying in Moderation.

    You are a prolific commenter and reply under many posts to many comments. Obviously, because you were in Moderation, they all ended in Trash.

    I have been trying several times to get your attention yet somehow (????), you seem to have missed all or simply ignored them. If you had read them, you would have seen my reasoning and explanation, to and for you, and what you need to do to regain your commenting privilege on this site.

    As to your comments in general, I view you as a rigid commenter who thinks she’s always right and refuses to listen, be it to other commenters or Moderators. You don’t seem to pay much attention to replies and you don’t even realise that your comments don’t get through – otherwise, why do it? In short, you often seem disconnected and disengaged from the wider TS community.

    I couldn’t care less whether you comment here or not but in all fairness, it is not up to me to ‘curate’ the commentary here, and I want to give you a fair chance to be able to continue commenting here. Whether you appreciate that is a moot point for me; I don’t expect any thanks – being a Moderator is a thankless task most of the times 🙁

    So, here is your chance to sort things out in your favour or blow it.

    Your move – Incognito]

    • Incognito 9.1
      12 January 2020 at 5:24 pm

      See my Moderation note @ 4:47 PM.

    • Jenny How to get there 9.2
      12 January 2020 at 5:25 pm

      [Deleted]

      [WTF!?

      This is another example of one of your replies, this one to yourself again, that has absolutely no bearing to the comment you are replying to, not to the original content that I deleted (I’ve kept a copy) nor to the Moderation with which I replaced it.

      What on Earth do you think you are doing??

      The only thing you need to do right now is to respond to your Moderation – Incognito]

  10. adam 10
    12 January 2020 at 6:14 pm

    "They later called for more backup as the house was larger than your average state-house drug lab. I got the impression that they'd never had to raid a middle-class suburban house like mine before."

    What is wrong with herald – oh that right it's a mouthpiece for idiots.

    Big ups to the NZ police targeting people who actually have a track record of mass shooting.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12299600

  11. Barfly 11
    12 January 2020 at 9:48 pm

    Advice asked for

    A middle aged man and a teenage woman begging for money outside Countdown Mount Eden "our van and all our possessions have been stolen" heartrending ..except that 6 months ago it was the same people with the same sign that i gave money to..now i survive on a benefit but i was "touched" by their "plight" now i find myself so fucking angry with them because they are scammers…I am not snow white..but because these people happily take money from those who struggle…i am fukkin ropeable….how do i let this go…they will be there again lying to and conning all and sundry…I don't know what to do…please help.

    • I feel love 11.1
      12 January 2020 at 10:03 pm

      Sorry you feel like that Barfly, that's quite understandable. All I can suggest is just ignore them, live and let live etc.

    • mac1 11.2
      12 January 2020 at 10:13 pm

      I understand your anger. In Venice I saw a twisted man sitting on a little cushion soliciting donations. He was heartbreakingly malformed. Earlier I saw a young woman with a baby outside the Domo. Both looked very sad with their condition.

      Later I saw the young woman walking through the crowd to resume her station, The baby was a doll. When she sat down she resumed her sadness.

      The twisted man I saw later again in a calle walking normally down the way counting the notes of the cash he had been given by the gullible. On his back was the little cushion which had been made into a seat that could be worn as a backpack.

      In Paris later again I saw a man dragging his body along the West bank of the Seine. I immediately assumed he was another scammer ……… until I saw a stall owner go across to him and throw him some offering. Then I presumed the stall owner was wise enough in Parisian street life to know who the scammers were.

      I was happy to donate to that beggar.

      On reflection Christ said that we should give to all who solicit.

      I have looked it up on Google and found the following. Thanks, Barfly, for your challenge.

      "Christ tells us simply: “Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42)

      He tells us to lend and to expect nothing in return. He does not say “give to everyone who you judge to be worthy” or “give to everyone who really needs it and will spend the money well” but simply “give to everyone who begs from you”. If we only lend to get the good feeling of knowing that we’ve helped somebody, are we not being like the hypocrites who give alms to get the praises of men. Even if we only do it to get praise from our own conscience, that’s a form of hypocrisy. Give to all who beg from you, because our Lord says so.

      At the same time, talk to these people, show them kindness, often that’s what’s needed more than money. As some posters have already said, some people can make a lot of money by begging, but throwing money at them does not in itself validate them as people, human contact is often much more important.

      Having worked with the homeless, the reason many of them can’t get out of the cycle is that they don’t know what to do. Many of them have been raised in institutions and spent a long time in prison or juvenile hall. When they get out, they spend their time in soup kitchens and hostels, so when they do get an apartment to themselves, they don’t know what to do with it. That’s why many of them go back to the streets, it’s what they know and it’s where their friends are. The help we can give by talking, sharing the gospel, maybe getting to know where the labour exchanges and hostels and charity shelters are in our town so we can direct them to someone who can help, is worth far more than a few coins thrown into a hat."

      https://forums.catholic.com/t/beggars-on-the-street/76490/5

      For what it's worth…………

  12. Jenny How to get there 12
    12 January 2020 at 10:57 pm

    ‘

    It would be the mark of a real leader if Scott Morrison called a press conference to officially distance himself and his government from the dangerous misinformation that is being spread on the net about the cause of these fires.

    Only he can kill these false accusations and lies targeting environmentalists as the cause of these fires.

    Disinformation and lies are spreading faster than Australia's bushfires

    Christopher Knaus, The Guardian, Sat 11 Jan 2020

    ….Two pieces of disinformation stand out from the rest: that an “arson emergency”, rather than climate change, is behind the bushfires, and that “greenies” are preventing firefighters from reducing fuel loads in the Australian bush.

    Disinformation has spread across social media, finding its way into major news outlets, the mouths of government MPs, and across the globe to Donald Trump Jr and prominent right-wing conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones….

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/12/disinformation-and-lies-are-spreading-faster-than-australias-bushfires

    It is way past time that the Prime Minister of Australia went on the air to put the record straight.

  13. Eco maori 13
    13 January 2020 at 6:27 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    That's is cool Moreki yellow eyed penguins being taken into a sanctuary to raise them safely.

    More storms raging in America it show how strong Tawhirimate is with warmer temperatures.

    Ka kite Ano

  14. Eco maori 14
    13 January 2020 at 6:50 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    That's was lucky Te pepi didn't get hurt in the bus crash in Tamiki Makaru.

    Waka ama 2020 look Awsome at lake Karapiro heaps of tangata and tamariki to Ka pai.

    Ka kite Ano.

  15. Eco 15
    13 January 2020 at 10:19 pm

    Here is our world's reality the 00.1 % are cheating the 99.9 % and making out they are honest.

    https://youtu.be/np_ylvc8Zj8

  16. Eco maori 16
    15 January 2020 at 6:26 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    That's awesome Pharmac funding more breast cancer drugs.

    Wow a fire in a diesel bus in Wellington all Aotearoa buses need to be changed to electric buses ASAP.

    People usually have a middlife crisis when there nest emptied.???.

    Ka kite Ano

  17. Eco maori 17
    15 January 2020 at 6:56 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Ka pai to the Peace Wahine.

    That is cool disabled tamariki funfess the tamariki would have had a great time in Tamiki Makaru.

    Ka kite Ano

  18. Eco maori 18
    16 January 2020 at 3:03 pm

    This is a good thing a CEO of a trillion dollar investment fund is smelling the reality of the investor climate change global warming is all OUR Reality. I could literally smell our climate burning last week.

    Climate change to drive 'massive' investment shift

    Concerns about climate change will drive a "fundamental reshaping of finance", one of the world's biggest money managers has said.

    Larry Fink, who runs BlackRock, said the shift will happen "sooner than most anticipate".

    His company has announced "sustainable" versions of its traditional investment options to meet demand from clients.

    It has also said it would push firms to disclose more about a range of issues, including climate commitments.

    While markets have been slow to reflect the worries about climate change, Mr Fink said the corporate world is now catching up.

    "Awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance," he wrote in an annual letter to chief executives.

    "In the near future – and sooner than most anticipate – there will be a significant reallocation of capital."

    In a letter to clients, BlackRock – which manages nearly $7tn in assets – said it was taking a number of steps to respond to the investment risks linked to climate change.

    In addition to the sustainable funds, it said its investors would be able to screen their portfolios for certain sectors.

    Mr Fink's letter puts a spotlight on a growing trend among investors who worry about the industries they are funding.

    Investments in some "sustainable" funds jumped to $20bn in 2019, nearly four times the previous year's record, according to data from Morningstar.

    In the US, assets managed with sustainable investing strategies now represent more than a quarter of all investment assets under professional management

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/business-51111727

  19. Eco maori 19
    16 January 2020 at 6:30 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    Discrimination means that question is yes Andrew.

    That's sad a Albatross crook most likely plastic poised . Recycling is not the main way to solve our plastic waste problem making huge effort to eliminate the use of plastic packaging is needed.

    New treatment of type 2 diabetes is great its a big problem for Māori and Pacific tangata.

    Cool medical manuka honey used to treat animals caught in the Bush fires.

    Ka kite Ano

  20. Eco maori 20
    16 January 2020 at 6:55 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    That's is cool Rangitane Iwi wildlife reserve we need more reserves around Aotearoa.

    That's farming working with the environment not against her.

    Wakarma is going great.

    Ka kite Ano