Open mike 15/07/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, July 15th, 2019 - 74 comments
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74 comments on “Open mike 15/07/2019 ”

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  1. johnm 1
    15 July 2019 at 7:17 am

    ‘We’re all acting like everything is normal … the house is on fire.’ — Adam McKay and Climate Mobilization have a plan to cancel the apocalypse and reverse climate change, starting with Congress declaring an emergency.

    • johnm 1.1
      15 July 2019 at 7:21 am

      "We're Talking About the Deaths of Billions of People, and the Collapse of Civilization"

      • marty mars 1.1.1
        15 July 2019 at 7:53 am

        I watched till he said he was happy it was sunday so he could give his doomsday sermon for the week… that was less than a minute in – what's the point john? why are you putting this up? do you want us to kill ourselves early in despair, is that your plan?

        • bewildered 1.1.1.1
          15 July 2019 at 10:07 am

          Yep I am not sure the harm Ed sees what he is doing to our kids with all this doomsday shite They are extreme predictions on massively complicated models and feedback loops No one doubts action is required but this crap from Ed is counterproductive and actually dangerous to mental wellbeing of our younger folk

          [I know there are similarities between Ed and johnm’s comments but unless you can prove they are one and the same commenter, you are just making up shit and stirring. Anyway, it is not for you to deal with sockpoppets on this site. On that note, please stick to one alias yourself – Incognito]

          • Pat 1.1.1.1.1
            15 July 2019 at 10:11 am

            How many kids do you think accidentally find themselves at 'The Standard' who then remain to scroll through the posts….and should that unlikely event occur it appears the kids have a better handle on what needs to be done than their elders in any case….shake the sand out of your eyes

            • beewee 1.1.1.1.1.1
              15 July 2019 at 10:54 am

              It’s just not the standard, it’s shoved down their throat in multiple mediums and platforms This doomsday stuff does not help, it sells as fear normally does but here I believe people now just turn off and just by pass as totally out of their control, knowing China India probably spews out carbon in an hour what we do in a year

              • Mark …
                15 July 2019 at 5:02 pm

                We all got to do our bit.

                The average Chinese spews out far less carbon than the average New Zealander.

                The West should reduce their consumption, and the non-Western world increase their consumption until there is parity.

                Coloured people round the world are sick of being exploited and fucked over and told to sacrifice their own development by privileged fuckwits such as yourself

          • Anne 1.1.1.1.2
            15 July 2019 at 10:28 am

            As an advocate for strong global measures to combat CC, I'm pretty much in agreement with bewildered. Ed's (latest alias johnm) propensity to shove the obvious down our throats on a daily basis comes across as an obsession that is not going to assist the cause one iota. All he does is turn people off, and this type of campaigning on a general scale serves to frighten the living daylights out of the more sensitive of our children.

            But obsessors never bother to think about what they might be doing to society's more vulnerable citizens.

            • greywarshark 1.1.1.1.2.1
              15 July 2019 at 10:41 am

              Don't talk about 'it' amongst adults – the children might be listening? We need to take our white gloves off that we wear when we want to gentrify the discussion about the future.

              Just limit yourself JohnM please. As martymars says, do you want us to kill ourselves in despair so you can stay on after us, pointing to the rising suicides as proving your point! We can all get a bit twisted as anything does under pressure, don't push it too far, it gets to the ghoulish. Limit your ghoulishness will you please.

              I hear that satellite photos of the Three Dams, a giant water project in China, shows they are bending and out of shape. The engineers say that it is dynamic and this can be expected, supposedly it is built strong to take the pressures. But everything and everybody has limits. Please don't breach our limits. If you want to put up doomy vids just give us the word that this is a serious vid about climate change, or about complex changes in our civilisation.

              https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3017927/no-problem-all-chinas-three-gorges-dam-warping-rumours-denied

              • johnm …
                15 July 2019 at 11:15 am

                Extinction Rebellion Aotearoa New Zealand

                Global Aims

                1. The Government must tell the truth about the ecological emergency, reverse inconsistent policies and work along side the media to communicate with citizens.

                2. The Government must enact legally binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels.

                3. The emergency mobilisation of the economy and society will be guided by robust democratic participation.

                Dare I refute? This is hardly ghoulishness but rather reality.

            • Incognito 1.1.1.1.2.2
              15 July 2019 at 11:11 am

              See my Moderation note @ 10:07 AM.

          • Incognito 1.1.1.1.3
            15 July 2019 at 11:10 am

            See my Moderation note @ 10:07 AM.

          • Muttonbird 1.1.1.1.4
            15 July 2019 at 11:20 am

            Yet not a word on the damage bible-bashing Israel Folau does to kids? All free speech, apparently.

          • mauī 1.1.1.1.5
            15 July 2019 at 7:44 pm

            Ed seems to be frequently on your mind…. probably jealous because you will never be as lovely or as wonderful as him….

        • johnm 1.1.1.2
          15 July 2019 at 10:29 am

          Exponential climate change and the 6th mass extinction happening now on the Planet is the biggest news story of all time! You're right awareness of the seriousness of the living world's plight does drive some to despair.

          • beewee 1.1.1.2.1
            15 July 2019 at 10:57 am

            Great if news is what you want Ed, but all you are doing is turning people off from giving a Fk as perceived outside of their control with your doomsday scenario

  2. CHCoff 2
    15 July 2019 at 7:33 am

    One of NZ's top three world cups, this cricket one just concluded.

    That final, was also double scoreboard draw!

    So i think it's fair to say that England won the match, & NZ won the game ( of cricket), shared spoils if you will.

    And abit of luck was not on our side during the game, yet the Black Caps still doubled drawed it on the scoring board.

    One of the Top class sporting rep. teams of NZ, and the game of cricket ( & for games of cricket we were in a class of our own for value given in this tournament as it turned out ).

    WOW

    There should be a double dvd of this NZ tournament, that was one of the legendary NZ sporting world cups ever; like the days of the game with the sneddon catch, and the six sixes etc

    • ankerawshark 2.1
      15 July 2019 at 10:07 am

      Unbelievable………………………..

      Don't want to appear a sore loser (I would have found it easier to take if NZ had of lost from the game scoring), but what silly rules . Surely we should have won because NZ got England all out and we batted till 50 with one over to spare.

      • Sanctuary 2.1.1
        15 July 2019 at 1:40 pm

        I was waiting for the train to work this morning when the Swanson service going the other way pulled up at the station, the Indian train manager opened the door and looked at me staring at my phone with a wild gleam in his eyes and so I said "it was a tie!" "A tie! A tie! OMG!" he cried, then he jumped back on the train and off they went, presumably so he could get his next score update at Mt.Albert……

      • Puckish Rogue 2.1.2
        15 July 2019 at 2:51 pm

        Yeah England are deserved winners but if you draw and you're only 8 down and the opposition is all out then that should be the deciding factor I'd have thought

        What a game though

  3. Sacha 3
    15 July 2019 at 7:47 am

    Ministry of Health tells disability support service provider organisations that contracted hourly prices will not be increased; tells public that services will still be provided. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/394361/disability-services-hit-by-rising-costs-and-funding-freeze

    • A 3.1
      15 July 2019 at 8:05 am

      Just a reminder to let the HRC know how badly disability rights are being screwed.

      https://www.hrc.co.nz/news/youre-invited-hui-disability-rights/

      You have the right to live with dignity

      • Rosemary McDonald 3.1.1
        15 July 2019 at 8:17 am

        Why oh why are these engagement events timetabled for evening sessions in the middle of bloody winter???

        A person might be inclined to think they don't really want to hear from those with disabilities…

        • Sacha 3.1.1.1
          15 July 2019 at 8:27 am

          Only in the evening for Auckland too. Not that attending will tell them anything they have not already heard, really. Or make the slightest difference.

          • Rosemary McDonald 3.1.1.1.1
            15 July 2019 at 8:51 am

            Do you think, Sacha, that not attending will tell them anything?

            The last one of these Peter and I rocked up to was actually a daytime event at one of the most accessible venues here in Hamilton. Well and good.

            However, the discussion (on the revision of the Disability Strategy) was highly proscribed and there were certain issues that simply never made it to the whiteboard at the front after the table talks. Topics like those with high and very high support needs having entitlement to funding for care, and MOH clients being able to choose who provides those funded supports…including resident family. After the furore over the Part4 amendment and the National/Maori/Act knife in the back you'd think, wouldn't you, we'd at least get a mention?

            Peter and I were practically the only attendees who were not members of some government funded disability group.

            Peter refused point blank to attend the follow-up meeting, such was his feeling of total marginalisation. Because, what on earth would he have to contribute towards a discussion on living with a significant physical disability in New Zealand?

            • Sacha 3.1.1.1.1.1
              15 July 2019 at 8:56 am

              The focus of this one is on human rights rather than service delivery. They frankly don't need any more stories. Stay warm at home. And no, that choice will not tell them anything new either.

              • A …
                15 July 2019 at 10:57 am

                That's exactly what they want you to do. This hui is for a report that will go to the UN.

                • Sacha …
                  15 July 2019 at 11:04 am

                  Just like the previous reports to the UN Convention monitoring process, yes.

                • greywarshark …
                  15 July 2019 at 12:04 pm

                  Scoop report – http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1907/S00170/services-for-disabled-stretched-to-breaking-point.htm

                  “The refusal to increase funding that’s provided to the organisations which support some of the most vulnerable people in our society is a national disgrace,” said Dr Garth Bennie, chief executive of the New Zealand Disability Support Network.

                  “We estimate that this decision will widen the gap between annual funding and the real costs providers face from 12 percent to 15 percent. In dollar terms, this means the sector will now be at least $200 million short every year.

    • Rosemary McDonald 3.2
      15 July 2019 at 8:11 am

      Unable to cope with the tension of the cricket I had a quick shufti at some of the MOH DSS Client demographics…

      https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/demographic-information-on-clients-using-ministry-dss-september13-apr15-v2.pdf

      https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/demographic-report-clients-allocated-ministry-of-health-dss-september-2014-jun16_0.pdf

      https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/report-clients-allocated-dss-funding-jul17.pdf

      …because I'm pretty sure there's more going on than the Pay Equity thing.

      It would gladden my heart if the negotiations between the Contracted Providers and the Ministry were completely open and transparent.

      • A 3.2.1
        15 July 2019 at 10:58 am

        Yea, I find that hard to believe too

      • Sacha 3.2.2
        15 July 2019 at 11:11 am

        We have known for ages that the boomer bulge will lift demand for support services over the next 15 years or so.

        The MoH is expecting providers to use the increased funding from the govt's Budget to meet that extra volume of clients but not offering any increase in subsidies per client. Providers are threatening not to take on any more new clients. Guess who loses..

        • Rosemary McDonald 3.2.2.1
          15 July 2019 at 3:14 pm

          Somewhere in this murk is the difference between the Contracted Providers who are paid on a 'per hour per client basis' and those who are bulk funded. The bulk funding is, I believe, (not being evasive, the contracts process is 'confidential') the way to make a better 'operating surplus'. (One does not like to use the word 'profit' 'cause, like, that just wouldn't be nice.) And, for clarity, the Contracted Providers always have had the option of choosing not to take on clients. For whatever reason. Only this time they are being specific and saying 'pay us more or we won't provide the care'. Ho hum. Same old same old.

          Actually, I bet some of them are bricking it in case the Government does actually carry out its threat promise of a) paying family carers a decent wage and b) extending pay to partners and parents of under 18s because given the choice, and it being financially sustainable,(ie the income from caring makes it viable to not work outside the home) there just might be an exodus from provider care.

  6. Sacha 6
    15 July 2019 at 8:36 am

    Council managers put spoke in the rapid open street trials that Councillors promised Aucklanders: https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/114184537/plan-to-reclaim-aucklands-streets-from-cars-on-a-slow-slalom-course

    In November 2018, an almost euphoric meeting of the council's planning committee called for trials of "open streets" – closures of streets to traffic for public fun. "I don't want to see a report in a year, I'd like to look to March [2019]," chairman Chris Darby told the council's design champion Ludo Campbell-Reid.

    …

    But eight months on, Darby sounded a tad weary when Stuff asked him why there had been no sign of progress.

    "There's phenomenal public support for this, and clear political support, but the delivery of it is going on a slow slalom course," he said.

    "There's a bit of clay and concrete in upper levels of management. They have a more conservative view that is a bit out of sync."

  7. A 7
    15 July 2019 at 8:57 am

    The stats in this video will disabuse you of the notion that NZ has a housing shortage – although we do indeed have exploitative landlords. It compares the Ireland housing crisis and the lead up to it with NZ.

    *Please* watch before you encourage your loved ones to "get on the property ladder or God forbid assist low income earners into their first home.

  9. vto 9
    15 July 2019 at 11:08 am

    I've got it.

    The key to ensuring wages keep pace with inflation, and in particular housing cost (which is left out of inflation figures for some strange reason …… )..

    .. is to link the minimum wage with house price inflation.

    If housing costs rise 10% in one year then the minimum wage also rises 10%

    5% then 5%.. and so on.

    Done.

    Why wouldn't this be done? Inflation is used to set all sorts of other things, so how about minimum wage too? It would ensure a greater equity in terms of the country's wealth and income spread.

    How could anyone possibly object?

    And all wage and salary earners would certainly be in support.

    • greywarshark 9.1
      15 July 2019 at 11:44 am

      Tax – if not CGT what then. This discusses where our tax comes from and where it might change.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/114218104/will-the-government-increase-the-personal-tax-rate

      Some protagonists will profess that corporates are clearly avoiding paying tax and the answer is to focus there. However the simple reality is that domestic corporate profits (real not created) are just not growing faster than other sources of revenue, our corporate tax base is relatively shallow and the corporate tax rate is already well above the OECD average. Taxing the corporate tax base more is therefore unlikely. And it is even less likely that there would be an increase in GST.

      The facts, unfortunately, don't make for great reading for the contributors of personal income tax, particularly those at the top end. Rather than a broad and resilient revenue base, we are critically reliant on personal income tax revenues from a small percentage of the population who are likely to be the easiest target if more tax revenue is sought to be gathered; similar to when the previous Labour Government raised the top rate from 33 per cent to 39 per cent.

      Illustrating this using projected 2020 figures, 12 per cent of the population pay 48 per cent of all personal taxation. The top 3 per cent of the population pay 24 per cent. Flipping it around, 48 per cent of the population only contribute 8 per cent of all personal taxation. And these metrics are more pronounced when initiatives like Working for Families are factored in.

      I wonder if the minimum wage rate was raised a little every six months, what that extra money in the system would do. Businesses might be stretched a little, but then extra spending would result in extra turnover for all. The tax base from the lower income would rise, and there would be increased GST. So the multiplier effect would kick in. Then each six months there would be another small rise. Some businesses would go down but if the stats were good for the flow of businesses in and out of the economy at the micro-to-small level showed a greater failure level, then it could be stopped for say a year to stabilise. But we are down too low with wages, there is too much hardship, we need to pull the economy up by its bootstraps, austerity is anorexia to us now, not just cutting the fat. We have gone to the extreme as we so often do in NZ.

    • Sabine 9.2
      15 July 2019 at 3:10 pm

      so you are saying that businesses that employ people are responsible for the inconsiderate and based on nothing much other then greed rent increases simply because our selected do nothings in government (current coalition and the no mates party ) cant put forward a proposal to control rents from rent increases.

      Care to explain this to business owners? Really, please now that you got it, please explain also where the businesses will take that '10% or 5%' wage increase…..and also care how they would do that if rent can be increased every 6 month.

      Cause after all you got it.

  10. Incognito 10
    15 July 2019 at 11:41 am

    Liam Hehir defending Golriz Ghahraman’s alleged anti-semitic and racist comment.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/114239302/green-mp-golriz-ghahraman-guilty-of-clumsiness-not-racism

    • McFlock 10.1
      15 July 2019 at 1:12 pm

      Basically, she fucked up by using the word "Palestinian". Which would be like saying that Stonehenge was built by the English: right location, wrong Millenium.

      Wouldn't call that "racist" so much as "political", but these things can have a fuzzy line.

    • Morrissey 10.2
      15 July 2019 at 1:50 pm

      She came under an attempt at an attack in late 2017. The attacker was hopeless and incompetent, however, and didn’t have his heart in it….

      https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2017/12/duncan-vyshinsky-garners-laughable.html

    • Puckish Rogue 10.3
      15 July 2019 at 2:53 pm

      Oh please, shes a smart women she knew exactly what she was saying

      • Incognito 10.3.1
        15 July 2019 at 3:12 pm

        Even JC makes mistakes and she’s a smart woman too by some accounts.

        • Puckish Rogue 10.3.1.1
          15 July 2019 at 3:18 pm

          GG certainly makes a lot of mistakes but this wasn't one of them (and Judes never made a mistake…except maybe having to much humility and being too much of a team player)

      • reason 10.3.2
        16 July 2019 at 1:06 pm

        The whole smear that puckish is backing seems like the playbook of dirty zionist tricks as exposed by this documentary …….. which Israel and the usa tried to block from ever being shown

        3 mins 50 secs …. so the Israeli Govt leverages Jewish organisations …. you discredit the messenger

        Fancy joining in such trash Puckish …. but then, how very judith of you

  11. Sam 11
    15 July 2019 at 2:19 pm

    Well. Y'know, I think it's more important to realize that what actually occurred is slightly different to what people think the problem is with economics. This is not a particular group, it's not even a group that has become overly wedded to a particular speed limit or what ever. This is a group or groups simply willing to do the biding of power on a coin operated bases, Y'know insert your 50cents into the little toy plane and sit in it for 30 seconds, rinse and repeat. This isn't a question for old economic thinking vs new economic thinking, it's a question for applicable economics vs actual insight.

    [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.]

  12. ianmac 12
    15 July 2019 at 3:03 pm

    Cricket. Maybe the English had been awarded one run too many.

    In arguably the key moment in England's run-chase, Stokes inadvertently sent a throw from deep midwicket skimming to the third man boundary, after diving for his crease in a bid to complete his second run….

    However, a leading cricket expert – espncricinfo.com's Andrew Miller – claims England were awarded one run too many.

    According to Law 19.8, pertaining to "Overthrow or wilful act of fielder", it would appear that England's second on-field run should not have counted, making it a total of five runs for the incident, not six….

    The law states: "If the boundary results from an overthrow or from the wilful act of a fielder, the runs scored shall be any runs for penalties awarded to either side, and the allowance for the boundary, and the runs completed by the batsmen, together with the run in progress if they had already crossed at the instant of the throw or act."

    A review of the footage of the incident shows clearly that, at the moment the ball was released by the New Zealand fielder, Martin Guptill, Stokes and his partner, Adil Rashid, had not yet crossed for their second run.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12249636

  13. Jess NZ 13
    15 July 2019 at 4:37 pm

    Hey, seen this? Seems nontrivial!

    'Victoria Kirichuk, whose family moved to New Zealand from Ukraine in 2002, says she was approached and offered three times her constable's salary in exchange for confidential police information.

    After rejecting the offer and laying a complaint with police, she says she and her family became victims of a prolonged harassment campaign by associates of the person who made the recruitment attempt. She eventually lost her job after nine years with the police. '

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114247530/the-officer-pushed-out-of-police

  14. Gabby 14
    15 July 2019 at 5:43 pm

    Sounds like someone has bought himself some friends in high places. I'm sure the police will find no evidence of anything untoward when they rigorously investigate themselves.

  15. greywarshark 15
    15 July 2019 at 6:33 pm

    Rigor now there is a word of interest that sparks the memory of Peter Cook. He made it work for his humourous discourse on why he would rather have been a judge than a miner.

    https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.humor/gxxI6uxNLrU

    They're very rigorous, the judging exams. In fact, you get people coming out of them saying:

    "My God, what a rigorous exam."

    So, I decided to become a miner instead.

    The mining exams aren't very rigorous.

    In fact, there's a complete lack of rigor involved in the mining exams.

    They only ask you one question. They say: " Who are you?"

    And I got 75% on that.

    Perhaps our police rising up the promotional ladder have those sort of exams.

    • joe90 15.1
      15 July 2019 at 10:20 pm

      Any mention of Cook and I think of the drunken goings on in Derek and Clive get the horn.

  16. mosa 16
    15 July 2019 at 9:52 pm

    '' Love Trump one day , hate him the next. ''