Open mike 17/03/2022

64 comments on “Open mike 17/03/2022 ”

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1. pat 1

   17 March 2022 at 7:23 am

   “The upshot of all of this is we are seeing a highly inflationary negative supply shock, not a very deflationary negative net demand shock. Oops, because the central banks responded as if it was the latter,” Zollner​ said.

   https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/128077662/partys-over-says-anz-chief-economist-sharon-zollner

   Self criticism?
2. Pingao 2

   17 March 2022 at 8:05 am

   With the Safe Areas bill passing its 3rd reading, how do i find out who are the 12 MPs who voted against the bill are? Luxon has previously voted against it according to a newshub article from 12 March 2021. I will try to post the link. “How MPs voted on law change that would all safe zone around abortion clinics”.

   Apologies if someone has already commented on this subject.
   • Dennis Frank 2.1

     17 March 2022 at 8:13 am

     Nine dissenting votes came from National Party MPs, and three from Labour. The entire Act, Green and Māori parties voted in favour of the bill.

     Act Party leader David Seymour was originally against the amendment, and had tried to pass a provision prohibiting it in the law. But Seymour voted for the bill on Wednesday, following changes made in the select committee process.

     https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128080358/safe-areas-abortion-law-passes-with-large-majority-in-parliament
     • Pingao 2.1.1

       17 March 2022 at 8:36 am

       Thanks Dennis but who are those MPs? I like to keep tabs on conscience votes.
       • Dennis Frank 2.1.1.1

         17 March 2022 at 8:56 am

         I suggest you have a look at the website that reports parliament. In the old days the record was called Hansard. You get all the details of votes there.

         https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/
         • Pingao 2.1.1.1.1

           17 March 2022 at 9:00 am

           Thanks Dennis – that is what I was lokking for.

           Noes 12

           New Zealand Labour 3 (Kanongata'a-Suisuiki, Leavasa, Strange); New Zealand National 9 (Brown, Hipango, Lee, O'Connor, Penk, Pugh, Simmonds, Upston, Woodhouse).
   • Pingao 2.2

     17 March 2022 at 8:28 am

     https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/03/how-mps-voted-on-law-change-that-would-allow-safe-zones-around-abortion-clinics.html
3. Peter 3

   17 March 2022 at 8:15 am

   On Radio NZ this morning Gerry Brownlee wondered why we continue diplomatic relations with a country, Russia, which acts so aggressively attacking another country.

   They meanwhile keep putting out propoganda justifying their actions.

   Countries, people, believe propoganda or go along with narratives painted by it for their own reasons.

   Like NZ went along with the 'weapons of mass destruction' thing and the US attacking another country. I wonder back then if there were calls to cut off diplomatic relations with the USA.
   • Dennis Frank 3.1

     17 March 2022 at 8:32 am

     I heard him & he did make sense for a change – but he didn't address the function of diplomacy at all. He didn't even point out that Labour aren't using it!

     Mahuta ought to call the Russian ambassador in for a meeting, tell him that offensive propaganda doesn't work, and suggest a focus on resolving the discord that produced the war in the first place. If we engage with Russia constructively & signal a future in which peaceful coexistence prevails, we have potential to co-create a pathway to that future. Let's do this.
     • Peter 3.1.1

       17 March 2022 at 9:13 am

       "Tell him that offensive propaganda doesn't work?"

       It doesn't? How do you know?
       • Dennis Frank 3.1.1.1

         17 March 2022 at 9:22 am

         Offending people alienates them. Collaboration develops upon the opposite basis. Likewise the economy develops on a mutual-benefit basis. Focus on common ground (actual or potential) has to be the attitude one takes into diplomacy, if one wants to generate agreements via negotiation.
         • Peter 3.1.1.1.1

           17 March 2022 at 10:42 am

           You see offending people to alienate them as a useful manipulation strategy?
           • Dennis Frank 3.1.1.1.1.1

             17 March 2022 at 11:02 am

             There's a bunch of regular contributors to this site that appear to believe it is. I'm not necessarily one of them. However it is true that offending people to alienate them has been part of the traditional way of politics throughout history – probably because the users find it a useful technique.

             As a manipulation strategy it depends on the motives of the user, right? So there's an ethical dimension to the context. When I use the technique it's for the enhancement of the common good. The target, irritated, becomes more likely to engage the issue on a deeper mental level. Ponder, reflect, and one often finds perception changing downstream in consequence…
             • Incognito …

               17 March 2022 at 11:19 am

               Provocation can be useful tool, but it is extremely difficult to wield it and get the desired/optimal result and it easily backfires. It takes loads of practice and experience and you have to know with whom you’re dealing. I use it, but only in specific circumstances with very clear purpose in mind. Another risk is that one gets a reputation as provocateur, manipulator, stirrer, or something similar and labelled & treated as such by default – it’s almost impossible to correct/shake such perception once it has hardened in the minds of others.
               • Dennis Frank …

                 17 March 2022 at 11:25 am

                 Indeed. Some folks seem to have an innate difficulty with reframing on others. The fact that emotional intelligence is more inherently missing online (due to biological basis in facial expressions & body language) is relevant to this difficulty too. I agree re usage with carefully managed parameters being an essential skill. You get boundary issues…
                 • Incognito …

                   17 March 2022 at 11:47 am

                   Yup, maybe I should do a Post one day on the inherent limitations of written debate and conversation. Plenty has been written about language perceptions of e-mail messages and how to improve effective communication from a mostly professional perspective (e.g. less is more). Then again, the written form has many unique advantages too.
4. Dennis Frank 4

   17 March 2022 at 8:26 am

   Kiwi spud invalidated as world record:

   An official weigh-in at a local farming store put Dug at 7.8 kilograms (17 pounds), equal to a couple of sacks of regular potatoes, or one small dog. The existing Guinness record will stand, a 2011 monster from Britain that weighed in at just under 5 kg.

   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/16/giant-new-zealand-potato-is-not-in-fact-a-potato-guinness-world-records-rules
   • Matiri 4.1

     17 March 2022 at 9:08 am

     Dug's owner is a real hoot!

     https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018834450/dna-testing-reveals-dug-is-not-a-spud
5. Molly 5

   17 March 2022 at 9:31 am

   A whole city explains on behalf of the UK's largest transgender parents advocacy and support organisation – and I still don't understand,

   (Or am laughing my head off, while simultaneously despairing. Take your pick.)

   https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/tag/neopronouns/

   Other kinds of pronouns

   Nounself pronouns are a type of pronoun featuring a noun which one relates to. For example, I use bee pronouns, which can be used in this way: “This is bee’s coat”.

   Emojiself pronouns are pronouns stemmed from an emoji, for example: “This is ’s coat”.

   Some people use no pronouns, instead using a person’s name where a pronoun would be: “This is Tom’s coat”.

   It is also important to note that if a person uses multiple pronouns that they expect these pronouns to be alternated in sentences. For example, I myself go by bee/it/they pronouns so when referring to me, one might say: “This is Rome, bee thinks it could have left its coat in the house so they are just going to go look for it, we should join bee.”

   So what have we learnt? That any person can use any pronouns, that neopronouns are valid and an established part of the English language, and that language itself is evolving all the time.

   What have I learnt? A sense of humour is vital when confronted by the ridiculous, And Rome is the gift that keeps on giving, when linking to their{?) definition of (?) gender – Maverique:

   https://lgbtqia.fandom.com/wiki/Maverique

   Maverique is an emerging term.

   Maverique is a term that has recently emerged. Although the term may be growing in usage, and is significant and well-sourced enough to warrant inclusion on this wiki, it may still be relatively unknown outside of the platform or community where it originated. The exact definition and name may not have stabilized, and may change significantly as more people identify with it.

   Maverique is a non-binary gender identity, that is defined by autonomy and conviction about one's inner sense of self. It is not related to or derived from manhood or womanhood, but also is not neutrois or agender.

   Flag

   The maverique flag was designed by Vesper H. on June 16, 2014. The color meanings are as follows:

   • Yellow: Independent from other genders. Yellow was chosen because it is a primary color, which means that it cannot be obtained from combining other colors, similar to how maverique is not derivative of other genders.
   • White: Autonomy and independence, especially from the gender binary
   • Orange: Inner conviction in regard to one's gender
   • Dennis Frank 5.1

     17 March 2022 at 9:39 am

     Cool, an impressive selection of neothoughts!
     • Molly 5.1.1

       17 March 2022 at 12:07 pm

       First song that came on in the car seems appropriate. (Apparently the most hated Clash song. I like it, }

       I'm all lost in the supermarket
       I can no longer shop happily
       I came in here for that special offer
       A guaranteed personality

       I wasn't born so much as I fell out
       Nobody seemed to notice me

       https://youtu.be/hZw23sWlyG0
   • Francesca 5.2

     17 March 2022 at 10:05 am

     Do they have non binary wards in hospitals now?

     I mean how do you decide where to put patients?
     Will we have bee wards?
     Maybe the Beehive was future proofing.Too daft for words
     • Sabine 5.2.1

       17 March 2022 at 10:27 am

       You might want to read this,

       and yes, its the daily fail, but fwiw, they actually write about this and they also don't put it behind a paywall.

       But women, transwomen, non binary people are chucked together in 'mixed' wards now cause 'single sex' wards would be not inclusive to men. Never mind the women and girls that get assaulted.

       https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10064607/NHS-policy-documents-compare-patients-want-stay-single-sex-wards-racists-says-nurse.html

       the guardian

       https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/30/mixed-sexed-wards-endanger-and-humiliate-women

       again the daily fail

       https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9854261/Convicts-born-male-identify-female-placed-women-wards.html

       etc etc etc etc etc etc
       • Molly 5.2.1.1

         17 March 2022 at 10:39 am

         Yes. Papers and news media I would previously not read are often the only ones reporting.

         Free press, and free speech? Hah!
       • Shanreagh 5.2.1.2

         17 March 2022 at 11:51 am

         …….and it wouldn't be complete without a yuk anecdote.

         Was very ill after bowel blockage/perforation and was first in room next to nurses, then in room of four……3 women and one elderly man. Man always informed us that he was going to the loo for a piXX or shXT. Generally walked round with everything askew. Asked to have my curtains drawn around me as last thing I wanted when hooked up and in pain was hearing and seeing a person like that.

         Other nurses were always flinging the curtains back. One night at 11.30pm I texted my sister in Southland who rang security at the hospital here in Wellington who evicted all the man's visitors. After a couple of days of this and lack of sleep through his uncouth and long stay visitors I got to need a single room again.

         I am not sure why they cannot have a room with females in it and one with males in it……or why they had a room with 3 women captive in their beds needing help to mobilise to get to the loo or were still at the stage where we were hooked up, and one mobilising uncouth male. Why not four people in same boat male or female? Seemed to have taken no care and anything goes.
         • Molly 5.2.1.2.1

           17 March 2022 at 12:26 pm

           Spent the night in Middlemore's Children's Hospital with my young (10) son, who was booked in for an early morning orthopaedic surgery. Was in a ward with a lovely young man, who was being visited by extended family, who we spoke to in the early afternoon.'

           The visitors kept coming and increased, and while trying to settle my son down, became louder and louder. After a while, visitors left and new ones arrived. After 9pm I spoke to the family, the grandfather of the boy next to us, had also been at Middlemore and had passed away. We were seeing the traipse of visitors moving between the two patients. Having some sympathy for the family, I just returned to trying to read/bore my son to sleep. But the (loud) conversations continued until 11.00pm, primarily talking about death and body preparations. At which time, I spoke to the ward staff, who suggested I have empathy for the family. I said, I do, but could they not relocate the boy into one of the empty four rooms I could see on the ward? They said No. I then suggested they go and clear out the room so my son could get to sleep, because I didn't think that it was my place to do so, and I might unwittingly cause offense.

           About 11.30pm they reluctantly did so. Allowing four adults to stay in the room overnight.

           The only reason I can see for not providing this family with a separate room was sheer laziness. The constant visitors etc. continued for the next two days, and after waiting several hours after the surgeon's approval to go home, we gave up, and I checked my son out at 3.30pm so he could catch up on sleep and start recovery.

           Mixing sexes in this already sub-standard service, is asking for trouble.
           • Shanreagh 5.2.1.2.1.1

             17 March 2022 at 4:44 pm

             I agree. The service I had first and then when I slightly relapsed and had to have a single room again was exemplary. It was just the few days after I was moved from the initial surgery room and then being in this horrible shared room that was so ghastly.

             When I was up and walking like crazy to get my strength back one of the initial nurses followed me down to a big lounge and said she agreed with me, that getting security to evict the visitors was a good thing (they were helpless to do it), he was a difficult patient/person but he needed help as his uncared for diabetes & lung condition had meant he was in danger of losing his leg. Sad but you do get to choose whether you are crude and rude to those around you and he chose to be crude and rude. She said 'some of us try to keep him away from rooms with woman patients but his condition sometimes means that he needs to be close to the nurses station' & mentioned the hospital policy of male/female wards…….say no more. .
         • Sabine 5.2.1.2.2

           17 March 2022 at 2:18 pm

           Because according to some that man is a woman and not only that, but he is the only woman with rights to dignity and safety in that room.
       • Molly 5.2.1.3

         17 March 2022 at 1:09 pm

         Archived link to Telegraph article, published 15 March 2022, following the review of the mixed sex wards policy:

         "Fears over ‘flawed’ NHS single-sex wards review carried out by ‘trans advocate"

         https://archive.ph/hAzF4

         The NHS review into single-sex wards is being carried out by a "trans advocate" who has said that rules that allow patients to self-identify their gender will not be changed, The Telegraph can reveal.

         Dr Michael Brady, the national adviser for LGBT health at NHS England, has written to campaign groups telling them that there is “no plan to reduce existing rights of trans people”. Controversial charities Stonewall and Mermaids had contributed “very helpfully” to the process, Dr Brady told the Trans NHS Staff Network in emails seen by The Telegraph.

         The review was ordered by Sajid Javid after a Telegraph investigation revealed that some policies issued by NHS trusts said that male sex offenders who self-identify as women could be placed on female-only wards.

         It has been warned that trusts are following NHS England guidance on eliminating mixed-sex wards which states that patients should be accommodated according to their presentation and “the way they dress, and the name and pronouns they currently use”.

         Despite the review of this guidance being ordered amid concern for the impact on women, Dr Brady said in emails that the “commitment from the team leading on the review is supporting the maintenance/strengthening of trans rights in the update”.

         No impact, they said.
   • Sabine 5.3

     17 March 2022 at 10:08 am

     i am trying to post an image, but i can't size it correctly. It was a bit of a laugh.

     you can find all the genders here…pick multiples if multiples apply First item on this post linked below.

     https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/glinners-twitter-9e9?s=r

     As is this one here with Ireland, can't decide on a gender, tick men women other what ever and we randomly assign something to you…..never mind the 'requirement to truthfully fill out this census' lol

     https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/ireland-careens-into-the-unknown?s=r

     At the launch of Census 2022 The Taoiseach said “it will be fascinating to see what Census 2022 tells us about our country

     all of us will be fascinated…..all of us

     and this is just such a good read on the Maya Forstater Case again currently being held, this time its her past employer being taken to task. No need for Twitter, this app here is even better as they are just the full thread.

     https://threadreaderapp.com/user/tribunaltweets
     • Molly 5.3.1

       17 March 2022 at 10:35 am

       My daughter and I had a quiet laugh over that list when having our morning coffee.

       It's still concerning how close the reality is to satire.

       Ireland has lost the plot.

       The tribunal tweets spell out plainly both the silencing and the fallacy.
     • Puckish Rogue 5.3.2

       17 March 2022 at 2:32 pm

       He created some of the greatest comedy ever seen on TV, probably wouldn't be allowed now
       • Molly 5.3.2.1

         17 March 2022 at 2:55 pm

         He has been de-platformed, and is currently fighting to stay involved in a Father Ted musical production.

         In short, you're right, he's not.
   • Belladonna 5.4

     17 March 2022 at 1:38 pm

     Particularly amusing as virtually all bees are female (only the drones are male).
6. Anker 6

   17 March 2022 at 10:07 am

   • I don’t believe I have a gender, but if I had to tick one, it would definitely be ffs, especially when reading Mollys update on pronouns etc.

   And people thought the stuff the protesters at parliament were shouting was batshit crazy……
7. Anne 7

   17 March 2022 at 10:48 am

   I saw this headline this morning and it stuck in my craw:

   https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300542780/covid19-less-than-half-of-pregnant-people-in-auckland-dhb-are-boosted

   No, it wasn't the fact that so many pregnant women have not had a booster despite them having an unborn babe to protect as well as themselves. Although that is bad enough.

   Its because they have been referred to as "people". They are women. WOMEN! So effing well say so. This pc garbage where difference, whatever it may be, must be hidden behind some heavy beige curtain has gone too far.

   Who are these beige people who are responsible for this nonsensical crap?
   • Shanreagh 7.1

     17 March 2022 at 11:30 am

     But, but, but didn't you know about the womb transplants…..several pre implantation and a couple where they just took the whole thing holus bolus and transplanted it into a 'person'.

     You didn't?

     No, neither did I.

     \sarc.
   • Molly 7.2

     17 March 2022 at 12:31 pm

     Come on in Anne, the water's fine….

     https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9908667/Jessica-Alves-travels-Brazil-transgender-woman-womb-transplant.html
   • Grafton Gully 7.3

     17 March 2022 at 4:46 pm

     That the ADHB National Women's Health "provides high-quality health services for women" shows the ADHB acknowledges women among it's clientele.

     https://www.nationalwomenshealth.adhb.govt.nz
     • Molly 7.3.1

       17 March 2022 at 5:08 pm

       That will be under increasing pressure to change:

       "Not all pregnant people are women, or mothers"

       https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/pregnancy/300250546/not-all-pregnant-people-are-women-or-mothers:

       "Otago Polytechnic to lead research project on trans and non-binary-inclusive maternity care":

       https://www.op.ac.nz/about-us/news-and-events/item/8834

       MoH is halfway there:

       https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/life-stages/maternity-services/updates-work-maternity-services-sector

       eg. "March 2022

       Advisory to lead maternity care (LMC) midwives about funding for care of COVID-19 positive women/people"

       Another instance of conflating biological sex with gender identity.
   • Stuart Munro 7.4

     17 March 2022 at 5:11 pm

     The same folk who are responsible for putting alleged in front of anything that might be criminal.

     Someone with a knife stuck in them has been stabbed. It may have been accidental, or self-inflicted, or the work of some other person – but the stabbing is factual, not an allegation.
     • Molly 7.4.1

       17 March 2022 at 6:00 pm

       Yes, that's annoying and happens often.
8. Anker 8

   17 March 2022 at 10:52 am

   • Yes it’s always important when reading this stuff to consider whether or not it could be satire…..and it’s good to laugh at it.

   But given the clout the gender activists have it is scary.
9. Sanctuary 9

   17 March 2022 at 1:03 pm

   Another Russian general killed (and Maj Gen Oleg Mityaev has a particularly unsavory reputation from Syria so let's no cry for him). Scores of other senior officers (colonels and majors) are also confirmed dead. If Ukrainian claims are correct (and they've got form for bumping off senior Russian officers – see Nikolai Vatutin) then fully 20% of all Russian general officers present in the Ukraine have been killed in 20 days.

   There is only two reasons officers this senior get killed in large numbers. Either they are making a last stand or, as I suspect in this case, they are at the front trying to exhort and motivate their army by sheer force of will and are getting picked off by the defenders because their army is hopeless and they are get quickly identified and targeted in insecure locations.

   I have a growing suspicion the Russians are are in trouble and if the Ukrainians can counter-attack they might find themselves with a lot of willing prisoners.

   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60767664
   • Barfly 9.1

     17 March 2022 at 1:55 pm

     Insecure communications by Russia and every western spying asset providing information to the Ukraine may also be factors.
     • Sanctuary 9.1.1

       17 March 2022 at 2:45 pm

       These freaking things are potentially going to change everything, potentially the biggest revolution in warfare in 100 years.

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5TTaNpQuWI
       • Ad 9.1.1.1

         17 March 2022 at 3:42 pm

         What are "loitering munitions"?
         • Dennis Frank 9.1.1.1.1

           17 March 2022 at 3:51 pm

           A loitering munition (also known as a suicide drone or kamikaze drone is a weapon system category in which the munition loiters (waits passively) around the target area for some time and attacks only once a target is located.

           https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loitering_munition
         • Sanctuary 9.1.1.1.2

           17 March 2022 at 3:52 pm

           They can hang about, potentially for hours, waiting for a target.

           Imagine a completely AI, pre-programmed 2kg flying fragmentation grenade that cost less than $200 smashing on to you after waiting for an hour for you (or someone else with a human shape and heat signature or simply moves) to step outside of your dugout and you’ve got the future. Oh and if you jump into your tank to hide the big brother one will swoop down and blow the whole vehicle to smithereens as well.

           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq1ud7CBOaU
         • Sanctuary 9.1.1.1.3

           17 March 2022 at 4:07 pm

           It isn't science fiction unfortunately….
       • Dennis Frank 9.1.1.2

         17 March 2022 at 3:56 pm

         The wee one is just like a grenade. The big one does tank take-outs:

         The larger Switchblade 600 loitering munition weighs 50 lb (23 kg) but is man-portable and can be set up in 10 minutes. It is designed to fly out to 40 km (25 mi) in 20 minutes, then loiter for another 20 minutes (giving it an 80 km (50 mi) total range) and attack at a 115 mph (185 km/h) dash speed, carrying an anti-armor warhead designed to neutralize armored vehicles.

         A touchscreen tablet-based fire control system can manually or autonomously control the munition, and it is secured through onboard encrypted data links and Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module GPS with a patented wave-off capability.

         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AeroVironment_Switchblade
       • Blade 9.1.1.3

         17 March 2022 at 9:39 pm

         God bless American hardware. But why not go the whole hog and release Area 51 tech on the Ruskies?
10. Puckish Rogue 10

    17 March 2022 at 1:40 pm

    The UN has ended the war in Ukraine!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xiPNo3NAl4
11. Tony Veitch (not etc.) 11

    17 March 2022 at 2:11 pm

    Just watching QT in parliament – Thursday always a quiet day.

    But why . . . why does Nicola Willis remind me of Ruth Richardson?
    • Puckish Rogue 11.1

      17 March 2022 at 2:34 pm

      Because you have unrealised sexual feelings towards Richardson and now you're transposing them on Willis?
      • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 11.1.1

        17 March 2022 at 3:06 pm

        God forbid I have 'unrealised sexual feelings' towards anyone (with the possible exception of Audrey Hepburn!)

        But perhaps its the steely-eyed stare and the finger-nails-on-blackboard voice which seems so similar?
    • AB 11.2

      17 March 2022 at 2:59 pm

      Perhaps because of the way Willis implied that managing the economy of a sovereign nation with its own currency was like a managing a household budget? She said that women commonly do the latter – and it was therefore good to have a female finance spokesperson.

      As false equivalences go, it's a very serviceable one. It makes a good dose of austerity aimed at the lower orders seem like unavoidable common sense that can be delivered with implacable certainty. When that certainty becomes transcendent and quasi-religious, we are definitely in Ruth Richardson territory.
      • Ad 11.2.1

        17 March 2022 at 3:42 pm

        Thatcher popularised that simile a wee while ago.
12. Puckish Rogue 12

    17 March 2022 at 2:17 pm

    Ok so I don't normally do posts like this but here goes.

    I prefer movies and pop culture to anything else (yes that includes Jude and cricket) so I'm posting a link to anyone that wants to help fund awesome content.

    https://80sscifidoc.com/?omnisendContactID=611cc6d61971973e6d1dab1c&utm_campaign=campaign%3A+ISOT+Digital+URL+Campaign+March+2022+-+FINAL+10%2F03+-+10343+%286229bd45c28857001eefa6d6%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=omnisend

    I watched In Search Of Darkness (about 80s horror) and it was good, really good. You can tell its a labour of love for these guys and that they're really into it and this (80s sci-fi) is looking even better

    If you like that kind of thing
    • Molly 12.1

      17 March 2022 at 2:51 pm

      Will pass on link to young man who is currently living in our granny flat. As he is immunocompromised and ill, he is really isolated from his age group,. I'm thepoor substitute- we talk and trade links.

      One of them was Flight of the Navigatot Special FX

      https://youtu.be/tyixMpuGEL8

      It was good. I'm sure he'll be interested.
13. aj 13

    17 March 2022 at 3:44 pm

    Yesterday was the 55th anniversary of the My Lai massacre in the Vietnam War, an event that has been acknowledged was only the tip of an iceberg of war crimes.

    https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/vietnam/vietnam_mylai.cfm

    The one shining light was the humanity and bravery of Hugh Thompson and his helicopter crew, a man who was shunned in the aftermath but deserved the highest praise for his stance. If we think of Chelsea Manning, Assange, and Snowden, Thompson stands in their company.

    Some people publicly stated that they felt Thompson was the only soldier at My Lai who should be punished (for turning his weapons on fellow American troops) and wanted to see him court-martialed for his actions at My Lai.

    https://special-ops.org/hugh-thompson-the-forgotten-hero-of-my-lai/

    You won't read of this anniversary in the media anywhere. This was a turning point in my belief in the myth of the USA. Carpet bombing, chemical warfare, and a pointless cause.

    Dylan nailed it in Blind Willie McTell. Six words in this verse define so much of American history, and nothing's changed.

    Well, God is in heaven

    And we all want what's his

    But power and greed and corruptible seed

    Seem to be all that there is

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uf5gi3E_rQ
14. weka 14

    17 March 2022 at 4:20 pm

    quite

    https://twitter.com/coccinellanovem/status/1504139352791822338?s=21
15. McFlock 15

    17 March 2022 at 4:41 pm

    I recall observing under George W with his nuclear penetrator, and today with some comments about "small" nukes, that there is a recurring tendency to regard nukes as just really big bombs, maybe with some lingering cancer effects over future decades if the bomb is "dirty".

    It's possibly pertinent to point out that they're not just a big bomb. Most people suffering traumatic injuries from a bomb tend to die relatively quickly, or survive.

    Sure, nukes kill lots of people quickly. But they also kill lots of people really slowly and inexorably over weeks or months. Lingering, painful deaths, by the thousand.
    • Barfly 15.1

      17 March 2022 at 5:23 pm

      Yeah – you want to be in the immediate BOOM kill zone not in the BBQ and die much later zone

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