Open mike 17/12/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 17th, 2019 - 75 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

75 comments on “Open mike 17/12/2019 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. millsy 1
    17 December 2019 at 7:16 am

    National's bright idea for transport. Put the cities behind a paywall.

    • Sacha 1.1
      17 December 2019 at 7:26 am

      Keeps the poors out.

    • Sanctuary 1.2
      17 December 2019 at 7:52 am

      There is something to be said for congestion charging, but only after you give people decent PT alternatives. National appears to think congestion charging is all about giving privileged SUV drivers a longer run up to hit a cyclist.

      • Bearded Git 1.2.1
        17 December 2019 at 1:48 pm

        congestion charging has worked really well in London

        • greywarshark 1.2.1.1
          17 December 2019 at 2:22 pm

          Is that so or is it being ironic?

          • Bearded Git 1.2.1.1.1
            17 December 2019 at 5:18 pm

            I would have put (sarc) if it had been. But I get your point, while congestion charging HAS worked in reducing traffic in central London it is all a matter of degree.

            If it was up to me there would be much harsher congestion charges across all areas of all towns and cities while the revenue from this would be 100% channelled into dedicated cycle lanes (i.e. cycle lanes physically separated from vehicles not by a line on the road FFS.)

        • Molly 1.2.1.2
          17 December 2019 at 5:27 pm

          However, London has a comprehensive public transport system and it also has a higher density than any New Zealand city. You can walk to many different activities and services in London when you get off the bus or tube.

          If we are going to consider "successful "overseas strategies we also need to include in those considerations the fact that most New Zealand planning took as given the fact that people would be travelling by car, New Zealand cultural expectations is for private vehicles and private stand alone dwellings, and our public transport system is not yet comprehensive and accessible enough to provide a reasonable alternative.

    • Jimmy 1.3
      17 December 2019 at 12:30 pm

      National seem to be a bit desperate at the moment with policy suggestions like this. And Cyclists to be fined for not using bike lanes?

      You can smell Simon's desperation.

  2. Jenny How to get there 2
    17 December 2019 at 7:24 am

    COP25 climate summit ends in 'staggering failure of leadership'

    Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2227541-cop25-climate-summit-ends-in-staggering-failure-of-leadership/#ixzz68IMhiUlX

    The unending COP process is not a 'staggering failure of leadership' it is a staggering failure of the consensus model.

    Trying for consensus is not how change happens.

    New Zealand's ineffectual Zero Carbon bill which also tried for consensus is a case in point.

    While bureaucrats dicker attempting for consensus before the agree to act….

    Real leaders lead from the front by taking bold action and setting an example.

    Real leaders set the pace and by so doing challenge others to follow their lead.

    Winston Churchill was such a leader.

    Greta Thunberg is another.

    The failure of establishment leaders leaves figures like Greta Thunberg filling the vacuum

    We need a climate change Churchill or Thunberg in this country.

    Will that person (or persons) come from our political classes or be another outsider?

  3. A 3
    17 December 2019 at 8:16 am

    One of the key aspects of the case involves evidence of an estimated $1 Trillion scandal — yes, Trillion with a "T". In one of the largest "bait and switch" crimes of all time, telecoms have been collecting subsidies to pay for fiber to the home, and giving us 5G instead. The amount of illegal cross-subsidies has been estimated at $60 Billion per year for 15 or more years.

    And this is just part of what the legal case will expose and prosecute.

    Scott McCollough, the lead attorney, calls the case "a knife in the heart of the underlying economics that currently drive 5G."

    Leading up to this case, this same court has ruled against the FCC twice in just the past 4 months. The D.C. Circuit Court is considered the second most important judicial body in the United States, after the Supreme Court.

    – quoted from 5G Crisis Summit email

    https://takebackyourpower.net/irregulators-vs-fcc-interview/

    The federal case, IRREGULATORS vs FCC, will be heard in the D.C. Circuit Court on January 17, 2020. BOOM!

  4. Adrian Thornton 4
    17 December 2019 at 8:21 am

    IG report exposes FBI, Congressional, and media deceit in Russia probe…

    " A new report from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz confirms that the FBI relied on the Steele dossier – a DNC-funded work of fiction – during the Trump-Russia probe. The FBI used Steele's work to obtain surveillance warrants but concealed his errors and other critical information from the FISA court. Matt Taibbi joins Aaron Maté to discuss how Horowitz's investigation exposes not just the FBI's deceit, but also that of the prominent media and political figures who enabled it. "

    • Billy 4.1
      17 December 2019 at 8:23 am

      Matt Taibbi and Aaron Maté know who funded it all, too. Do you? They are funding plenty here, too.

      Can we please get rid of them now, well in advance of the next election?

    • Stuart Munro. 4.2
      17 December 2019 at 11:35 am

      There is abundant evidence of Russian interfeŕence favouring Trump in sources as careful as the Mueller report. Likely similar evidence exists in the report the Conservatives suppressed just prior to the UK election.

      Putin wants epicly corrupt ineffectual western leaders incapable of contesting his geopolitical ambitions. In Trump & Boris he has them. As Bridges adopts their full playbook it becomes increasingly likely that Kremlin assets like Fancybear will be deployed in his favour too.

      • Billy 4.2.1
        17 December 2019 at 2:34 pm

        Who is Fancybear?

        A Russian agent?

        Do people really think there are KGB stalking the country

        • Billy 4.2.1.1
          17 December 2019 at 2:46 pm

          Vlad: "Come in, Fancybear, Stuart Munro has made nother comment on Internet. Better we call Putin."

          • Stuart Munro. 4.2.1.1.1
            17 December 2019 at 5:06 pm

            If you don't know who Fancybear are you are not informed enough to discuss Russia.

            The same might be said of those mistaking Putin the genocidal espiocrat for a conventional western politician.

            • Billy 4.2.1.1.1.1
              17 December 2019 at 5:09 pm

              The source is Crowdstrike. lol

              I’m waiting for hacky bear no.3 because there were 3 BEARS and I am a child having been sucked in by laughable propaganda bolstered by DNC or IC adjacent thinktanks/contractors

          • Stuart Munro. 4.2.1.1.2
            17 December 2019 at 5:20 pm

            Have you anything to offer besides your unsubstantiated prejudices?

            Because creeping totalitarianism of the kind Putin spreads is something most on the Left don't want. Apart from Putin's menkurts of course.

      • Brigid 4.2.2
        17 December 2019 at 3:40 pm

        "There is abundant evidence of Russian interfeŕence favouring Trump"

        Actually, no, there's not.

        • Billy 4.2.2.1
          17 December 2019 at 3:46 pm

          That's right, Brigid. And those funding Russiagate are the same lot funding some interesting political frameworks in NZ.

        • Stuart Munro. 4.2.2.2
          17 December 2019 at 5:08 pm

          The interesting thing about Putin's dupes is how ferociously they defend their ignorance.

          Read the Mueller report- lots and lots of evidence. Confessions even.

          • Billy 4.2.2.2.1
            17 December 2019 at 5:15 pm

            I read it as he typed it from my underground lair near Moscow

            • Stuart Munro. 4.2.2.2.1.1
              17 December 2019 at 5:25 pm

              You think you're so funny – being the apologist for the man who killed half of all living Chechens.

              But Putin's useful idiots are as dangerous to western democracies as global warming.

              • Billy …
                17 December 2019 at 6:50 pm

                I'm not a Putin apologist. Certainly, the Chechen war was not my fault. At least, I don’t remember it that way. I’ll bring it up when I next catch up with the ‘tin man (our joke nickname for him) on World of Warcraft

                • Stuart Munro. …
                  17 December 2019 at 9:30 pm

                  i'm not a Putin apologist

                  While you run his disinformatsia on Russiagate yes you are.

                  • Billy …
                    17 December 2019 at 9:34 pm

                    Если бы не мистер Стюарт Монро, остров Стюарт был бы в наших руках!

  5. greywarshark 5
    17 December 2019 at 9:31 am

    This seems sound thinking from Chris Trotter musing on how left wing parties get elected in a capitalist state.

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/12/17/the-trick-of-winning-power-under-capitalism/

    …A democratic-socialist leader possessed of a sophisticated strategic sense would understand that election manifestos are best restricted to promoting policies that the electorate actually wants – not policies his (or her) comrades believe the electorate should want. Let the drift of events – economically and socially – propel the party in directions which the capitalists may not like, but which they no longer feel able to redirect. Most importantly, identify the one reform most likely to undermine the institutions upon which their opponents’ rely most heavily for protection. Implement it early, fast, and without compromise.,,,

    Also:

    …What I am suggesting, however, is that if you are a Labour leader who genuinely subscribes to the principles of democratic-socialism, then it would probably help a lot to keep your true ideological colours under wraps. Tactically, at least, it would make more sense for the powers-that-be to see you as a reasonable moderate – not a scary radical. Impress the electorate with your economic wisdom; demonstrate your deep understanding of, and sympathy for, the hopes and aspirations of your core working-class supporters. Speak with pride and passion about the contribution their party has made to the nation’s history. Whatever you do, don’t refuse to sing God Save The Queen. It would also probably help if you refrained from meeting with representatives of terrorist organisations – especially those hostile to the State of Israel!…

    • Dennis Frank 5.1
      17 December 2019 at 4:19 pm

      He sometimes gets it right, but this essay seems a squib. The only valid point was re promoting policies that the electorate actually wants – not policies his (or her) comrades believe the electorate should want.

      I made that point too, think it was here earlier today (without knowing about his) – synchronicity. Notice that he doesn't mention Brexit. Analysing an election result without reference to the reason for the election is just dumb.

      All that stuff around deducing general principles that apply to left parties elsewhere in the future can't be drawn from this election. His rationale would only be reasonable if it had been a normal election. The notion that anyone would read or even think about what Labour's policies are is laughable. Labour seems to have spent a lot of time ignoring the zeitgeist, muddying the waters, fussing over irrelevancies, etc. The leader is responsible for some of that, if he thought voters would be interested in his notion of "real change" as per Labour's campaign slogan.

  6. A 6
    17 December 2019 at 9:54 am

    OMG this story needs more coverage for the good of all women athletes. Video outlines system designed by men that destroys female bodies.

    Side note: Nike has crap shoes that are too narrow anyway.

    https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000006788354/nike-running-mary-cain.html

  7. adam 7
    17 December 2019 at 11:26 am

    Smears are business as usual from liberals



  8. greywarshark 8
    17 December 2019 at 1:00 pm

    Some like it hot!

    https://www.sbs.com.au/news/ex-fire-chiefs-vow-to-go-it-alone-if-pm-refuses-to-attend-proposed-bushfire-summit

    Governments can't, won't leave their comfortable bolt-holes and citizens have to look to their own energies. In Australia, there are still fires:

    Emergency Leaders for Climate Action – a coalition that's now grown to include 29 former emergency services bosses – is calling for a national summit to fill the "leadership vacuum" left by the Morrison government.

    Former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins says the group is prepared to act if the federal government doesn't.

    "I hope the prime minister will suddenly show some national leadership and say 'Yes, I get it and I can see it and we'll get people together to deal with the crisis'," he told AAP.

    "But I don't see any suggestion that's going to happen. They really are missing in action."

    “So we’ll go it alone. We’ll arrange a national summit that will look at building standards, fuel management practices, response capability and national coordination arrangements.

    https://www.sbs.com.au/news/more-properties-expected-to-be-lost-to-nsw-mega-blaze-amid-soaring-temperatures
    .

    Assange needs to be cared about and for:

    https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-torture-must-stop-doctors-urge-australia-to-bring-julian-assange-back-home

    Diagnostic radiology specialist Stephen Frost said it was beyond belief doctors had to urge the Australian and UK governments to give treatment to a torture victim.

    "The torture must stop now, and Mr Assange must be provided with immediate access to the health care which he so obviously needs before it is too late," Dr Frost said.

    Australian doctor and former Democrats NSW state politician Arthur Chesterfield-Evans said it was "chilling" to see Mr Assange's medical care being obstructed.

    • McFlock 8.1
      17 December 2019 at 2:29 pm

      Belmarsh has a medical wing. How is his medical care being obstructed? The article doesn't say.

      • greywarshark 8.1.1
        17 December 2019 at 2:57 pm

        I am using it as a prod for me to take more interest and haven't found out more. It sounds as if he is needing more intensive care. I think medics are afraid that he will break down and want him away from UK control and where he will be within cooee in Oz.

        • McFlock 8.1.1.1
          17 December 2019 at 3:14 pm

          I think it's a beat-up, and that he's being treated the same as any other prisoner with his security rating.

          None of the medics have examined him. Nobody has described what medical care he is being denied. I believe it's just another lie from his supporters.

          • aom 8.1.1.1.1
            17 December 2019 at 4:28 pm

            So you think it's a beat-up – big deal. Who do you expect gives a flying fig about what you think, especially when you demonstrably base your conclusions on unfounded suppositions.

            • McFlock 8.1.1.1.1.1
              17 December 2019 at 4:38 pm

              Actually I base it on the fact that one of his lawyers said he was being investigated for "sex by surprise", another of his lawyers misrepresented the nature of red notices, on the fact that many of his supporters constantly minimise what he was accused of in 2010, and many other demonstrable lies from the assange camp over the years.

              And your response itself indicates that you care about what I say, so hugs, I guess…

              • Billy …
                17 December 2019 at 5:17 pm

                Nice one. I am sure you would have made excuses for the State destruction, torture and murder of dissidents in the GDR too

                • McFlock …
                  17 December 2019 at 5:35 pm

                  Oh, that's the other thing about the assange crowd that makes me think they're probably making up his imminent demise: they love to wank on about saying their critics support totalitarianism rather than just addressing the criticism. thanks for reminding me.

              • aom …
                17 December 2019 at 8:43 pm

                Ooooh – feels like an unwanted indecent groping from an inhuman monster!

                • McFlock …
                  17 December 2019 at 9:02 pm

                  The quality and expertise of your impeccable links, coupled with the eloquent and heartfelt words that brought me to tears, have completely persuaded me about the accuracy and basic humanity of your noble cause.

                  /sarc

          • Stuart Munro. 8.1.1.1.2
            17 December 2019 at 5:12 pm

            I expect it is a response to his excessive time in solitary, the effects of which are reasonably well documented.

            • McFlock 8.1.1.1.2.1
              17 December 2019 at 5:21 pm

              excessive time in solitary

              No more than any other high security prisoner. And he went to the medical wing when he needed treatment. So what medical care is he being denied?

              • weka …
                17 December 2019 at 6:22 pm

                I tend to agree with you generally on this McFlock (in the absence of actual evidence to the contrary, and the conspiracy needed to treat him worse than other prisoners). But it's also true that he went to prison after seven years restricted to one building. That's going to have taken its toll.

                • McFlock …
                  17 December 2019 at 6:28 pm

                  And in prison he gets the medical care required for that self-inflicted injury, whatever it might be.

                  • weka …
                    17 December 2019 at 6:38 pm

                    Probably not going to be adequate, but I agree it's likely to be in line with other prisoners of his security grade.

              • Stuart Munro. …
                17 December 2019 at 6:27 pm

                Britain is signatory to agreements limiting solitary confinement for health reasons. Security does not excuse them from these responsibilities, and the length of Assange's incarceration is likely to compound the effects.

                Suggesting that Assange is a security risk is most probably an institutional convenience – surrendering himself to rendition and torture is not required of him no matter how politically convenient it may have been for Britain.

                • McFlock …
                  17 December 2019 at 6:31 pm

                  Show me how Assange's treatment differs significantly from that of other prisoners, or how the treatment of maximum security prisoners in England violates these agreements.

                  • weka …
                    17 December 2019 at 6:44 pm

                    Otoh, I just read the wiki piece on the UN's non-medical assessment of Assange. Ignoring all the commentary of people who haven't spend time with him, it seems not unreasonable that Assange may be on the harsher end of normal treatment while in prison.

                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange#Imprisonment_in_the_United_Kingdom

                    • McFlock …
                      17 December 2019 at 6:58 pm

                      He seems to be classified as category A, the highest security level. Which would figure given the nature of the charges and the effort he used to avoid the other investigation.

                      But good luck getting specifics on his conditions out of the google results.

                    • weka []
                      18 December 2019 at 1:21 am

                      I thought the value of the visit from the UN was that it was a first person account from someone who’d been in the actual room with Assange.

                    • McFlock …
                      18 December 2019 at 3:31 pm

                      Except he also makes clear Assange's observed condition was the result of his decision to abscond from bail.

                      And the only difference the UN guy suggests in how Assange is being treated compared to other prisoners is that, shock horror, Assange got a prison sentence for going through the entire british legal system and then skipping bail for years, costing the UK millions of pounds in the process. Frankly, I would expect someone who did that to get more of a penalty than someone who missed a court date and was picked up a couple of weeks later.

                    • weka []
                      18 December 2019 at 5:22 pm

                      that was an interesting read. I started off thinking, oh they’ve got about about his mistreatment and by the end it just seemed like another round of polemic.

                      I had thought the assessment was for his time in prison. I guess if it’s including the seven years in Ecuador, then the issue of coercion becomes relevant, which just takes us back to a really complex set of dynamics, events and circumstances that no-one can seem to agree on.

                      Re skipping bail, UN dude’s summation of that seemed to be ignoring the likelihood that Assange would attempt to evade the court if charges were brought against him. I would have thought that alone would warrant refusing bail.

                      The stuff about the judges was weird though.

  9. soddenleaf 9
    17 December 2019 at 3:22 pm

    UK. What's the chance the new rump of Tories, one termers, decide to break away from the Conservative party and form a new center right party? Keep Boris honest.

  10. OnceWasTim 10
    17 December 2019 at 3:39 pm

    An interesting take from Peter Harcher:

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/118255194/rightwing-populists-look-poised-to-keep-winning

    Over-ambitious blokes and their self-entitled fragile puffed up egos. Could be some truth to it.

    Trump, Johnson, Putin, Bolsenaro, ScoMo, Netanyahu, Duterte, Xi, Modi ………. they've got a lot in common

  11. Phil 11
    17 December 2019 at 3:57 pm

    Interesting news from the corporate world today. SFO has filed criminal charges against CBL Insurance and the FMA have issued civil proceedings.

    https://sfo.govt.nz/sfo-files-charges-in-relation-to-cbl-insurance

    https://www.fma.govt.nz/news-and-resources/media-releases/civil-proceedings-against-cbl/

  12. McFlock 12
    17 December 2019 at 6:35 pm

    [edit – comment replying to got deleted]

  13. greywarshark 13
    17 December 2019 at 10:04 pm

    In October the readings for Whakaari were 1, then they went up to 2. What was the procedure then?

    Likelihood of eruption over time by expert judgement

    Likelihood of eruption over time by expert judgement

    What readings were there between 2 December when it went to level 2 and 9 December when it erupted? When it got to level 2 it should have been read every day at least? When it erupted it immediately wen up to 3.

    https://www.geonet.org.nz/news/60xDrUB7wRZPZXyBa8xYwE
    The time periods used for the expert judgements vary depending on the level of activity at the volcano – when activity increases, we do expert judgements more often and for a shorter time window to reflect the changing situation.
    .

    Informative from Stuff 31/10/2019 BROOK SABIN
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/117046859/rising-so2-gas-output-volcanic-tremor-at-white-island-could-suggest-eruptive-activity-more-likely

    The level of the White Island crater lake – shown here in a picture from earlier this year – has been rising since early-August. '

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/405711/whakaari-white-island-fishing-and-tour-operators-struggling-with-rahui
    (Anyone who knows anything about Maori custom, and shopkeepers in Whakatane should, will know that a Rahui is placed on areas that have had tragic events happen there. It’s no use beefing about it. It’s how long for.)

  14. Eco maori 14
    18 December 2019 at 8:25 am

    Kia Ora Breakfast

    My dogs named Tai.

    Mana Wahine.

    I have developed some good skills to sort out the players.?????????.

    Ka kite Ano

  15. Eco maori 15
    18 December 2019 at 11:04 am

    Humanity is closely linked to our biodiversity of the world’s we need to conserve and protect our world creatures. Scientists studys show we came from our biological world. Hence Tangata Whenua o Aotearoa Culture they are all our relatives and should be treated as such.

    The age of extinction

    Flightless bird provides 'spark of hope' amid environmental crisis

    Ten species with improved numbers in IUCN red list unveiled amid call for more biodiversity focus at COP25

    The Guam rail, a flightless bird typically about 30cm long, usually dull brown in colour and adorned with black and white stripes, has become a rare success story in the recent history of conservation.

    Previously extinct in the wild, the bird has been saved by captive breeding programmes and on Tuesday its status was updated on the IUCN red list of threatened species to critically endangered, along with nine others whose numbers have recently improved

    Tuesday also showed 73 species declines despite conservation efforts, and the list now numbers 112,432 species around the world, of which more than 30,000 are on the brink of extinction.

    The IUCN update came as governments from more than 190 nations met in Madrid for two weeks of talks aimed at pushing global action on greenhouse gas emissions. Progress at the talks has been slow, despite public pressure, and campaigners have been frustrated that key issues such as the biodiversity crisis have received little official attention.

    “The tightly woven links between climate and biodiversity must be recognised at COP25 and there is good reason for this: the impact that a changing climate will have on the ability of ecosystems to support plant and animal life, and the challenges that biodiversity already face in a warming world are both vast,” said Gareth Redmond-King, the head of climate change at WWF UK.

    Quick guide

    The age of extinction

    Show

    Ecosystems are already under unprecedented pressure from human impacts, including habitat loss from encroachment by urbanisation and farming, pollution, hunting, overfishing and invasive species. But the accelerating climate crisis is pushing nature to breaking point around the world, wiping out vital ecosystems, putting unbearable pressure on species and leading some experts to declare a sixth mass extinction

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/10/previously-extinct-guam-rail-saved-in-rare-conservation-success-aoe

  16. Eco maori 16
    18 December 2019 at 6:26 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    That's good charges drop on Rua kenana.

    Mike some people don't get it with discrimination.

    Ka kite Ano

  17. Eco maori 17
    18 December 2019 at 6:52 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    I have a sore face with Te Rua kenana Bill passing through Parliament today and apologies given to restore his Mana Wairua his mokopuna will be happy.

    Australia is treating tangata whenua o Aotearoa very badly who move to their whenua they treat Tangata Whenua O Australia very badly.????.

    I think it's a under arm bowl having all the alcohol and gambling outfits group closed to Maori and Pacific comunitys.

    Ka pai to Ngapuhi opening a toi art centre. Te Tairawhiti has a Mana Toi centre in Turangi.

    Ka kite Ano

  18. Eco maori 18
    19 December 2019 at 8:38 am

    Kia Ora Breakfast.

    The problem I have with the roadside drug tests is the crown has made many mistakes Teina Porter so bad mistakes????? can be made and people can be imprisoned who are innocent with out any thing wrong being proven.

    Crown agents never admit liability hence pike river.

    I say drug testing party pills to analyse is the content is needed some of our youth could be eating bad crap that could stuff them up.

    Climate change Global warming is our reality.

    That's is what we should be celebrating love happiness and harmony.

    The weather has been a year of extreme hottest records most rain most things our Scientists have been telling us for the last 30 years is now reality.

    Ka kite Ano

  19. Eco maori 19
    19 December 2019 at 10:59 am

    It's excellent that Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa Culture is recognised as excellent morel values that needs to be respected. I have seen this change over the last few years Ka pai. This phenomenon will please our Tipuna.

    Iwi gaining back authority across the country, one disaster at a time.

    Remember

    when, not very long ago, we could easily ignore Māori perspectives and practices? We can't any more.

    It's becoming very difficult to exclude the use of tikanga Māori and te reo Māori at any event or in everyday life in Aotearoa. It's being used more every day, everywhere, by everyone, incrementally changing our Kiwi way of life

    It's becoming very difficult to exclude the use of tikanga Māori and te reo Māori at any event or in everyday life in Aotearoa. It's being used more every day, everywhere, by everyone, incrementally changing our Kiwi way of life.

    It's becoming our new normal whether we like it or not

    A former colleague once said my use of tikanga in the workplace was "PC bull….". His anger was a reaction to fear that he felt because I challenged his worldview by insisting he consider my cultural beliefs.

    That was 15 years ago. I'm sure he's changed his thinking now, as many of us have.

    Western scientists have been telling the world we need to use indigenous knowledge to help resolve the man-made ecological and climate crisis threatening our planet. It's a neon sign of change because mātauranga Māori is being recognised as having equal status to science.

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/opinion/118266516/iwi-gaining-back-authority-across-the-country-one-disaster-at-a-time

  20. Eco maori 20
    19 December 2019 at 12:21 pm

    Whanau we can not keep over spending at Christmas then next minute the stuff ends up in the environment killing our wildlife. We should be putting the putea aside to build a Maunga for our Mokopuna to have a better future.

    How to have a joyful Christmas without hurting the environment

    For several years our friend Diana has had rules for Christmas giving.

    We have humoured her and complied because they make a lot of sense in a world that is struggling to survive under a mountain of consumer goods.

    Many families and individuals have enough stuff in their lives. It's tricky avoiding adding to this mountain with just more stuff, while still showing you care. I'm not saying don't buy gifts, or that we shouldn't enjoy the process of finding and giving the right present. I love giving and receiving gifts.

    I simply want to re-examine the way I buy, what I buy, and why.

    According to Diana's rules, gifts should be one of the following: second-hand, re-gifted (something you have received but no longer need or want), edible, home-made or experiential.

    Finding second-hand gifts is surprisingly easy.

    My final, and hottest tip to help make a perfect Christmas is to focus on family, friends and love. As a parent, I want to make the most of the holidays and give my children excellent memories. Remember, Christmas is not a competition.

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/118222817/how-to-have-a-joyful-christmas-without-hurting-the-environment

  21. Eco maori 21
    19 December 2019 at 6:28 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    That's the way the people have to let the pollies know that Global Warming is now our reality.

    The conditions of the chicken on that chicken farm is crap.

    We never liked those bouncy nets for Te pepi.

    Ka kite Ano

  22. Eco maori 22
    19 December 2019 at 6:48 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    That's is awesome the Tauranga council following through with giving the Whenua back to Omataua Tauranga Iwi Trust.

    Ka pai to have Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa on the new Health Board in the North land District that will help improve the bad stats of Maori health.

    2019 will be a year to remember in Aotearoa and over Te Moana.&nbsp
    Awsome to Cut above teaching Maori and others cultures the Barbara trade there is good putea in cutting hair Mana Wahine ;

    Ka kite Ano