Open mike 12/03/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 12th, 2021 - 40 comments
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40 comments on “Open mike 12/03/2021 ”

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  1. Morrissey 1
    12 March 2021 at 6:57 am

    Has anyone here heard a mention of this on Radio New Zealand?

    Alena Douhan, the UN special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, published her preliminary report on February 12 on the impact of US and European sanctions on Venezuela.

    The report laid bare how a years-long campaign of economic warfare has asphyxiated Venezuela’s economy, crushing the government’s ability to provide basic services both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    “The [Venezuelan] government’s revenue was reported to shrink by 99%, with the country currently living on 1% of its pre-sanctions income,” Douhan found, impeding “the ability of Venezuela to respond to the Covid-19 emergency.”

    Douhan thus urged

    the governments of the United Kingdom, Portugal and the United States and corresponding banks to unfreeze assets of the Venezuela Central Bank to purchase medicine, vaccines, food, medical and other equipment.

    The campaign to overthrow the Venezuelan government, Douhan added, “violates the principle of sovereign equality of states and constitutes an intervention in domestic affairs of Venezuela that also affects its regional relations.”

    Douhan’s report follows a Center for Economy and Policy Research (CEPR) paper that estimated that sanctions were responsible for over 40,000 deaths in Venezuela in 2017–18 (FAIR.org, 6/14/19). Though sanctions were not the only factor driving economic hardship, CEPR found that they

    exacerbated Venezuela’s economic crisis and made it nearly impossible to stabilize the economy, contributing further to excess deaths. All of these impacts disproportionately harmed the poorest and most vulnerable Venezuelans.

    Like the CEPR study, Douhan’s report has been categorically ignored across establishment media.

    Read more….

    https://fair.org/home/un-rebuke-of-us-sanctions-on-venezuela-met-with-stunning-silence/

    • Sabine 1.1
      12 March 2021 at 8:41 am

      we don't care about poverty and poverty related illnesses and death in this country. Why should we worry about that in some foreign country. And we here don't even have the excuse of 'sanctions', we are quite happy to do so little of help to our poor that we have '

      generational poverty' starting with babies being dumbed right after birth into emergency housing. And that was yesterdays news, no pun intended.

      Stunning silence is the one thing poor people get in spades from the ruling class. Silence, and every now and then a kind and gentle handout to appease the beautiful minds of the do nothing much classes that rule us.

    • Bearded Git 1.2
      12 March 2021 at 10:03 am

      Morrissey you don't understand. The 11 minutes of overseas news on Midday Report has to be entirely taken up with news from the USA, the royal family or with a surfing dog in Holland. There is simply no room for the kind of hard news you are craving.

      I heard the head of RNZ interviewed last year and he said that in his opinion it was news from the USA that listeners wanted. Sad but true.

      The shame here is how bad/biased the Guardian’s reporting on Venezuela has become-this is a paper that used to report the facts from Latin America fearlessly.

      • RP Mcmurphy 1.2.1
        12 March 2021 at 10:23 am

        some people are just looking for yet another empty meaningless infantile distraction to occupy their lives for 10 seconds

      • greywarshark 1.2.2
        12 March 2021 at 5:37 pm

        There is no reason why RadioNZ should consider that public whims should come before general information being advised that all the public in a global political situation need to know about. The public of NZ is being let down by an airhead type that thinks in terms of private media and competitive ratings. Has this benighted system of neolib brought this on us? Does he have to show he is 'appealing' to all NZs? Some of us are into being properly informed, not being drowned in hyperbole, celebrity culture and the current outrage.

    • Bearded Git 1.3
      12 March 2021 at 10:15 am

      Decent docos that address real overseas issues can be found on the ABC here:

      https://www.abc.net.au/foreign/?fbclid=IwAR2laMpG-z12hUyXVlAVjSh-fJb5fuIFMeL0yspC2TDZ2QJJtifldqY_5a4

      TVNZ is too busy making money to get involved in this kind of thing.

    • KJT 1.4
      12 March 2021 at 10:18 am

      83, though I'm probably out of date. US overthrows or attempted regime change. Many of which were democratic Governments.

      United States involvement in regime change – Wikipedia

      Since before the Vietnam war bombing white people has been out of fashion. Bombing and/or starving brown people into accepting US puppet rulers is fine, however.

  2. Tiger Mountain 2
    12 March 2021 at 9:00 am

    Citizen Thiel again…a funder for Clearview AI, involved with NZ Police facial recognition software.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-police-trialled-facial-recognition-tech-without-clearance/M6SAWXF4VK4EEZWQHMXU2XTIUI/

    Peter Thiel and his Palantir company have provided assistance for NZ Defence, NZSIS, and GCSB going back to 2012.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/billionaire-peter-thiels-secret-kiwi-spy-links-revealed/QPTG57ETG37EZM6RW72CGBYQK4/

    A fine upstanding representative of US Imperialism in Aotearoa. He may be intrigued why he gets such a free pass in this country.

    • Sabine 2.1
      12 March 2021 at 9:45 am

      Why would he be intrigued? NZ ruling class and enforcer class obviously like his product and he will sell to whom ever wants it.

      Maybe the citizenry of NZ should be intrigued why the government is spending all this money of facial recognition and other surveillance method instead of spending the money on healthcare, mental healthcare, hosuing -general, housing – emergency, housing – family friendly, and maybe fix a roof on school or three.

      But Peter Thiel is certainly not intrigued by selling his product.

      • Bruce 2.1.1
        12 March 2021 at 10:39 am

        I had the same thoughts myself, going to the local WINZ office, 3 security staff on the door to an office of vacant desks and a long queue before the single receptionist.

      • Foreign waka 2.1.2
        12 March 2021 at 10:46 am

        Yeah, nah… why would the wider population care? We are being told on a daily basis to be lucky to live here in this fine place of healthcare, welfare and housing crisis. Look at other countries, they are far worse off we are told. Do we actually know this? Who cares, in a country where the press is dancing to the tune of the piper and actual reporting on real events is sparse and has to be "researched", people just go into introvert. Can't be bothered. This is how absolute rule can be facilitated. Just fatigue everybody with ever more horror stories.

      • Tiger Mountain 2.1.3
        12 March 2021 at 1:05 pm

        well Sabine, I tend not to write novella length posts, so will offer that Thiel trousered around 30 million via a buy back option, after investing just 7 million in the NZVIF.
        “The partnering of Thiel's Valar Ventures and the Government-owned New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) was launched by Minister Steven Joyce nine months after Thiel took his oath of citizenship at the New Zealand consulate in Santa Monica.” –NZ Herald 4.2.17

        He got citizenship by dubious means, was a supporter of Trump and various internet billionaires, plus he does business with the NZ State Forces including Security and Police–quite a roll of dishonour in my view–but apart from the occasional media piece he remains seemingly under most people’s radar–he gets away with it…so far.

    • Anne 2.2
      12 March 2021 at 10:11 am

      • Newly-disclosed links between Peter Thiel's Palantir Technologies and New Zealand intelligence agencies played no part in him being awarded of citizenship, the Government says.

      …

      • Officials recommended then-Minister Nathan Guy approve the application, despite Thiel's neither living in New Zealand nor intending to do so, arguing his entrepreneurial skill and philanthropic deeds meant his case was exceptional.

      • Guy, who said after news Thiel's citizenship broke "I don't recall this specific application", this week refused an interview about the case.

      • A spokesman for Guy said the Minister had since reviewed the application file and now said he was unaware of links between Palantir and New Zealand intelligence agencies at the time he approved the application.

      Oh yeah. His company Palantir Technologies played no role in Thiel being awarded citizenship. We all know that. 🙄

      • Anne 2.2.1
        12 March 2021 at 10:26 am

        Add to the above:

        Was his active support of the Trump regime one of those "philanthropic deeds"?

  3. Chris 3
    12 March 2021 at 10:05 am

    Just another example of NZ's racist underbelly? Or is the underbelly so large it’s who we are?

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/te-reo-maori/124504772/complaint-about-stuffs-use-of-kia-ora-aotearoa-thrown-out-by-media-council

    • KJT 3.1
      12 March 2021 at 10:24 am

      I don't think so. Just a very loud minority.

      I suggested they answer the complaints in Maori.

      • Chris 3.1.1
        12 March 2021 at 10:31 am

        I hope that's not overly optimistic. The impression you get from any provincial town in NZ – and there's a lot of them – is that the prevailing view isn't far away from the complainant's.

        • KJT 3.1.1.1
          12 March 2021 at 10:48 am

          I suspect that if the majority were racist, treaty settlements and Maori language in schools, wouldn't have got very far.

          • Chris 3.1.1.1.1
            12 March 2021 at 11:11 am

            Maybe, but those things aren't necessarily driven by the prevailing view of the population. The iwi/kiwi nonsense almost delivered Don Brash as PM in 2005, for example.

            • mac1 3.1.1.1.1.1
              12 March 2021 at 3:23 pm

              Wee Kaikoura's council two years ago voted to have a Māori ward but a call for a referendum ended in a 86% vote against. It is reported that a large committed campaign by Hobson's Choice aka Brash and iwi/kiwi fifteen years later, persuaded the locals, whereas the local councillors were themselves counselled not to be involved in the debate as it might be seen as influencing the vote (ref p 4 The Marlborough Express Friday March 12).

              • greywarshark …
                12 March 2021 at 5:42 pm

                The cows around most provincial towns have learned more in past decades than the human population Chris.

                The impression you get from any provincial town in NZ – and there's a lot of them – is that the prevailing view isn't far away from the complainant's.

              • Chris …
                15 March 2021 at 9:51 am

                Brash and his mates have been very busy. Their aim is to keep half-baked ideas of 'fairness' and 'equality' sounding good and believed by the majority. Extremely dangerous because what they say seems so reasonable to the average person.

  5. Treetop 5
    12 March 2021 at 11:27 am

    Could a caption contest be held for what Andre posted on Open Mike yesterday Andre@11.

    I need some light hearted relief due to a couple of news items in the last 2 days which I am livid and sickened about. The government are not fully acknowledging that they need to take immediate action due to the harm being caused. Homeless mothers/fathers of newborns who require additional support and ACC not covering PTSD due to a non physical injury of the highest magnitude.

  6. Anker 6
    12 March 2021 at 12:00 pm

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/mar/09/piers-morgan-storms-off-set-of-good-morning-britain-in-meghan-row-alex-beresford

    How come Alex Beresford only reads the weather on UK Breakfast??????

    This is the sort of television we need. Someone who confronts people like Morgan and our own version of it Hosking. These men are allowed to get away with this crap day in day out and they go unchallenged. Then when someone (Alex) stands up to them in a very restrained but intelligent way. they can't take the heat, so they leave the kitchen. What baby behaviour.

    There is another great clip of Beresford talking about how what Meghan relayed was very personal to him as someone in a work setting actually asked him if he was concerned about what colour cocoa his baby might be…………….

    For those of you who just dismiss this stuff with Megan Harry and the royal family as unimportant, not a real issue, thing again. The Interview, will be a significant turning point.

    • Treetop 6.1
      12 March 2021 at 12:52 pm

      There is the family side of it which only the family can sort out. Then there is the men in grey suits or institution which the family also need to sort out.

      I do think Harry and Meghan have a lot to offer with their outspokeness on how they view the situation. What the institution does has a direct affect on all of the royals working or not.

  7. Jimmy 7
    12 March 2021 at 2:13 pm

    This article is good for a chuckle from England.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/woman-feels-discriminated-over-lack-of-meat-free-meals-at-kfc/VPTBUZG7LOTWYDKRYKNPXJNZ6U/

    And then they ended up having fish & chips!! This is classic.

    • mauī 7.1
      12 March 2021 at 8:56 pm

      Meat is murder.

    • McFlock 7.2
      12 March 2021 at 10:00 pm

      I read the article. Hang on, what? The problem was that KFC were selling vegan burgers in other restaurants, but this person walked into one that wasn't?

      KFC genuinely sells vegan food?

      That feels… dirty. I mean, bless 'em for thinking outside the box, but it still feels wrong…

  8. greywarshark 8
    12 March 2021 at 6:05 pm

    All around the country business leaders are talking up expensive projects apparently based on projections from last century. Someone needs to rein in these magnificent beasts (mostly stallions). The country is built on a firm foundation of borrowed money on over-priced assets, and hapless dairy cows with the population being milked for its water, and NZ will be the ass holding the shovel when things go wrong at the same time and we get the cascade effect.

    From Wellington: http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=134770

    The mystery of $75m for the airport March 11, 2021

    'In the Infratil annual report for 2020, the company reported that the WIAL airport masterplan requires an investment of $1 billion over the next decade; and also reported that prior to the covid-19 lockdown:

    ” Aeronautical prices for the FY20-24 years were determined following constructive consultation with the airlines, overseen by the Commerce Commission. The substantial investment forecast was not a sticking point as, at that time, all parties appreciated the necessity” [Annual report page 43]'

    and, while we are in the air: http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=134739
    Poll shows 85% of residents oppose closure of Kāpiti Airport March 10, 2021

    Thinking hats on:
    * 82.3% agree or strongly agree the Kāpiti Coast Airport is vital for Civil Defence in case of a major earthquake in the Wellington region,
    * 80.7% agree Kāpiti Coast Airport is a vital lifeline for medical emergencies.

    “Our community is in a David vs Goliath battle – we’re up against international finance and interests, and property developers who appear more interested in profits than people, and seem bent on cutting up our community’s airport for personal profit. Kāpiti does not want to lose its Airport; collectively, we all agree it’s an important asset, any way you look at it.