Open Mike 17/02/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 17th, 2017 - 47 comments
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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 …

47 comments on “Open Mike 17/02/2017 ”

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  1. dv 1
    17 February 2017 at 8:07 am

    “This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine,” Trump declared on Thursday (Friday NZT)

    Trump administration, The rust belt of politics!!!!

    • Bearded Git 1.1
      17 February 2017 at 9:45 am

      @dv

      Yes I heard that comment and cracked up….the problem is on Planet Trump this is the reality. Scary.

    • rhinocrates 1.2
      17 February 2017 at 12:12 pm

      Reminds me of a line from Terry Pratchett: “He had a mind like a Swiss timepiece – every hour it went cuckoo.”

      • dv 1.2.1
        17 February 2017 at 2:12 pm

        LOL Nice.

      • North 1.2.2
        17 February 2017 at 7:33 pm

        CV, where are you baby ?

        Trump’s obssessive love-of-self has Putin chuckling I’ll bet. How’s the man-child gonna react when he realises he’s being played ? Made a big fuck of ? There’s the danger. “Sit down Putin !” Boom.

        The pearler…….”the highest electoral vote since Reagan…….No ? Obama and several others won more ?……Oh well……that’s what someone told me.”

        So John Key ! “I only play fabulous people”.

  2. Carolyn_nth 2
    17 February 2017 at 8:40 am

    Coalition for Better Broadcasting and Action Station, are holding workshops around the country about public broadcasting and the media.

    Website here.

    The panelists will travel the country holding collaborative workshops with the public and other media experts before compiling a report on the state of public broadcasting and media, with a short list of recommendations for how it can be improved, to present to the Government before Budget Day on May 25th. ​

    The Public Meetings:

    Wellington – this Sunday 19th Feb, 11am-2pm (sorry about the short notice), at Meow Café and Bar, Edward Street
    Dunedin – Sunday 26th Feb, 12.30-3.30pm, at Dunedin City Library, 4th floor, Moray Place
    Tauranga – Sunday 5th March, 11am-2pm, at Papamoa Community Centre
    Christchurch – Sunday 12th March, 11am-2pm, at XCHC Exchange, 376 Wilsons Rd, Waltham
    Nelson – Sunday 19th March, 11am-2pm, at NMIT, G104 Auditorium, 322 Hardy Street
    Auckland – Sunday 26th March, 1pm-4pm, at Mt Eden Normal Primary School Hall, cnr Valley and Sherbourne Roads

    Anyone who can’t attend a workshop, can make an online submission.

  3. Carolyn_nth 3
    17 February 2017 at 8:49 am

    My twitter feed is full of Trump’s latest press conference. It makes him sound stoned, rambling, and, off the planet.

    Would  love a link to an article about it.

    Edit Tweet from Alistair Thompson:

    Overall @realDonaldTrump’s presser was like the moment that your stressed boss at work decides, drunkenly, to hold a staff meeting. /18

    • weka 3.1
      17 February 2017 at 9:41 am

      Me too. Lots of commentary on twitter, I won’t watch the video myself, so am looking out for some good analysis of what just happened.

      There’s the whole he’s drugged thing. Plus a lot of commentary on his mental state. And the incoherence of his ramble, including him not appearing to realise that he’d been fed lies by his staff.

      Then there appears to be something about him wanting to screen questions before press conferences, is that right?

        • Carolyn_nth 3.1.1.1
          17 February 2017 at 11:41 am

          Thanks.

          Also, response on CNN:

          He lashed out personally against reporters, he resumed fighting over the outcome of the election and his loss in the popular vote, and continued steadfastly refusing to admit to facts that are beyond dispute. While it is true that many of his supporters still see the person who “tells it like it is” and isn’t afraid to punch back against his critics, this is not a way to conduct the presidency.

          The style that we saw on display at this news conference highlighted many parts of President Trump that are causing deep concern, certainly among Democrats, but also with some Republicans.

          And on Bloomberg:

          In a wild, combative press conference Thursday, President Donald Trump tried to erase doubts about his early days in the White House by returning to what got him there: being Donald Trump.

          Blunt and unscripted, the president lambasted the media as dishonest and unfair, blamed Democrats for the “mess” he inherited and bragged about the scope of his electoral victory.

          He was, by turns, menacing and jarringly playful, calling reporters by their first names — only to accuse them of not just spreading “fake news,” but a new, more sinister category of dishonesty, “very fake news.” He talked over a question about anti-Semitism and asked an African-American reporter to set up a meeting with black lawmakers.

    • Bearded Git 3.2
      17 February 2017 at 9:48 am

      Yes in the “sound bite” atmosphere of the election Trump could get away with things….now the people who voted for him can see who he really is.

  4. Andre 4
    17 February 2017 at 10:33 am

    Interesting thoughts on who might be quietly consolidating a power base behind the distracting headless chookery of the rest of Trump’s team. Mad Dog Mattis. On one hand, it would be a huge improvement if the person pulling the strings also had some grasp of reality, on the other hand the idea of a quiet behind the scenes takeover by military people is fukn scary.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/general-mattis-makes-his-power-play_us_58a5e47be4b0fa149f9ac2bd?iqiu06ury0pq77gb9&

  5. adam 5
    17 February 2017 at 10:48 am

    I’ve stopped reading TDB, and you know what – I feel better.

    It’s hard to filter out all that misogyny day in and day out. It’s painful enough when it happens here, and to the blokes who attack the female authors here, I’m over it.

    I’m sick of having to listen to you spew your two year old inner voice, mommy does not love me, hate fest at any female who has an opinion.

    Women are the backbone of the left, the intellectual, spiritual and organisation core. If you don’t like it, what the hell are you doing here? Seriously can’t you see that half the population are working themselves to death to make a better future?

    More importantly, how the hell are we going to get to a world were people matter, when you cut off, or cut down half the people who matter? Apart from being intellectually dishonest, it’s just stupidly counter productive.

    • AsleepWhileWalking 5.1
      17 February 2017 at 11:06 am

      I went away. Went back this morning and found some useful stuff. Going away again. Sadly this is now the pattern. It started out really promising.

    • Barfly 5.2
      17 February 2017 at 11:39 am

      You seem to me to be full of hate for men and somewhat deluded making extreme absolute comments, perhaps you should get some counseling.

      • adam 5.2.1
        17 February 2017 at 11:51 am

        Barfly you seem unhinged, how about you see a psychologist? See how that works?

        • Barfly 5.2.1.1
          17 February 2017 at 1:54 pm

          ” Seriously can’t you see that half the population are working themselves to death to make a better future? ”

          So all women are being worked to death ?

          “Women are the backbone of the left, the intellectual, spiritual and organisation core. If you don’t like it, what the hell are you doing here?”

          So men aren’t involved?

          “I’m sick of having to listen to you spew your two year old inner voice, mommy does not love me, hate fest at any female who has an opinion. ”

          I m tired of the hate directed at any man who disagrees with a woman from clowns like you.

      • greywarshark 5.2.2
        17 February 2017 at 3:15 pm

        EXtreme comment Barfly:
        ‘hate’ for men
        making ‘extreme absolute’ comments
        You are complaining of others approach, yet doing that yourself.

        It is wasting comment space carrying on discussions at this level. Perhaps there should be a level where, if satisfaction against the hyperbole is wanted, people delve into Shakespearian vulgarities and quips. Then it would be funny to read, and in humour there would be some point to it.

        • adam 5.2.2.1
          17 February 2017 at 5:14 pm

          “Intelligence resembles insanity only to the stupid.”
          ― Harry Harrison, The Technicolor Time Machine

          Not Shakespeare I know, just a minor quibble.

          That said I think Old Harry knew Trump was coming.

          “Liberation by destruction was on the way! We would free them even if we had to kill them all to do it!”
          ― Harry Harrison, A Stainless Steel Trio

          • greywarshark 5.2.2.1.1
            17 February 2017 at 8:35 pm

            Found a really good one from The Stainless Steel Rat’s Revenge
            “#5): ‘It is amazing the things people will believe if you catch them early enough.’

            Couldnt find much from Shakespeare in my book of cynical quotations but
            this quite good:
            Voltaire wrote it in Candide in 1759.
            ‘When he who hears doesn’t understand him who speaks, and when he who speaks doesn’t know what he himself means – that is philosophy.”

          • greywarshark 5.2.2.1.2
            17 February 2017 at 8:44 pm

            I didn’t realise that Harry Harrison said that about liberation by destruction.
            I thought it came from some defence (attack) force person.

            • weka 5.2.2.1.2.1
              18 February 2017 at 10:49 am

              Post is all set for tomorrow 🙂 I ended up changing it a bit, but hope it gets the gist across. See you there 🙂

    • Brutus Iscariot 5.3
      17 February 2017 at 11:41 am

      Disagree with a male – OK
      Disagree with a female – attacking females

      Again that paternalistic overlay, which ironically runs contrary to any points about true equality. Everyone should be able to withstand scrutiny, even aggressive scrutiny of their ideas, without playing the identity card.

      • weka 5.3.1
        17 February 2017 at 11:55 am

        That’s not in any way what adam said. If you have some examples feel free to post them but otherwise it looks like what he said just went way over your head and all you could do was try and project your own stuff about IP onto is comment, inaccurately.

      • adam 5.3.2
        17 February 2017 at 12:03 pm

        Brutus Iscariot you will notice I have no problem with robust debate, my point was not that and I’m sorry you missed it. And why should equality be a male version of it, as you suggest in your response?

        My point is misogyny, and I’ve notice you have put your hand up. That has little to do with identity politics, and more to do with men acting like little princes, smug, self absorbed and women haters – seeing as misogyny provably needs explaining as you went for the identity card rather than enter debate in a robust manner.

        Any more cliches you want to throw out there Brutus Iscariot? Any more tired droning words of unthinking male privileged you want to defend?

        • Brutus Iscariot 5.3.2.1
          17 February 2017 at 12:26 pm

          Comment was based on the below from your post:

          “blokes who attack the female authors here”
          “hate fest at any female who has an opinion.”
          “cut down”

          I’ve seen plenty of debate (varying degrees of combativeness and civility) regarding posts from both female and male authors, but i’ve seen no gender slurs on either site. Correct me if i’m wrong. Happy to hear your definition of misogyny too.

          [lprent: There have been some quite obnoxious ones in the past. These days, I tend to treat it is opportunity to dish out significiant bans and exile perpetrators to the misogynist hell holes of Kiwiblog and Bomber’s realm. I feel that this OTT moderating has improved the whining about this site there, while giving some much more rational discussion here. ]

          • weka 5.3.2.1.1
            17 February 2017 at 1:34 pm

            It’s not about gender slurs (TS doesn’t tolerate that generally), although there is one case I can think of that wasn’t great.

            It’s about how women here get treated, and how the culture doesn’t support feminists. There is a reason that there are no feminist authors here writing about feminism. If you want to understand what is going on I suggest you start talking to the feminists here and learn what the issues are. Bringing in your own ideology around identity politics is unlikely to help with that. It’s also way off track to present this as women not being willing to have their ideas scrutinised, and that comment alone suggests you are really pretty ignorant about what is going on.

    • weka 5.4
      17 February 2017 at 11:58 am

      Did you see this adam? http://werewolf.co.nz/2017/02/anne-russell-on-the-misogyny-at-the-daily-blog/

      I mostly avoid the place too, but pop over when something good raises its head, or when some shit is going down.

      • adam 5.4.1
        17 February 2017 at 12:07 pm

        Yes Anne Russell wrote a great piece.

        I love the feeds on the side bar on this site, followed Stephanie’s piece to the werewolf post.

      • Carolyn_nth 5.4.2
        17 February 2017 at 2:06 pm

        Some very good points made in that article, including:

        . But despite their claims to representing authentic leftism, men like the TDB bloggers, union bros and party hacks have ignored the teachings of communism founder Friedrich Engels, who wrote in 1884 that: “The first class opposition that appears in history coincides with the development of the antagonism between man and woman in monogamous marriage, and the first class oppression coincides with that of the female sex by the male.”

        The working class organised before women, because industrial capitalism provided the context: workers brought together in city factories, realising their shared exploitation, and having the networks to unionise and organise.

        Meanwhile, most women were isolated within the home, or marginalised within the work force.

        And this:

        TDB generally makes a lot of noise about reaching out to the common worker, but somehow women workers and rape victims never count as disaffected non-voters who might have any sway in election results. In the 21st century, how are we to successfully fight fascism when many men who claim to be our comrades are, when it comes to gender, barely distinguishable from Trump? By sidelining women, these men are dividing the Left and setting us up for failure and irrelevance.

        Yep, I know quite a few women who don’t see (mainstream) politics as something they can relate to.

  6. johnm 6
    17 February 2017 at 11:37 am

    The Trump Presidency: RIP

    The words that doomed Trump when he declared war before he had his army assembled:

    “There is nothing the political establishment will not do, and no lie they will not tell, to hold on to their prestige and power at your expense. The Washington establishment, and the financial and media corporations that fund it, exists for only one reason: to protect and enrich itself. This is a crossroads in the history of our civilization that will determine whether or not We The People reclaim control over our government. The political establishment that is trying everything to stop us, is the same group responsible for our disastrous trade deals, massive illegal immigration, and economic and foreign policies that have bled this country dry.

    “The political establishment has brought about the destruction of our factories and our jobs, as they flee to Mexico, China and other countries throughout the world. It’s a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth, and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations and political entities.”

    From the very beginning I warned that Trump lacked the experience and the knowledge to pick a government that would stand by him and serve his agenda. Trump has now fired the one person on whom he could have counted. The most obvious conclusion is that Trump is dead meat.

    The effort of the American people to bring government back under their control via Trump has been defeated by the deep state.

    http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2017/02/16/trump-presidency-rip/

  7. ropata 7
    17 February 2017 at 11:38 am

    @adam seems to me that Bomber is deeply concerned with the class struggle over all other concerns.

  8. Draco T Bastard 8
    17 February 2017 at 12:06 pm

    When Machines Create Intellectual Property, Who Owns What?

    The concept of machines that can think and create in ways that are indistinguishable from humans has been the stuff of science fiction for decades. Now, following major advances in artificial intelligence (AI), intellectual property created by machines without human input is fast becoming a reality. The development thus begs the question among legal scholars, legislative bodies, and judiciary branches of governments worldwide of who owns the intellectual property that humans did not create.

    An interesting question. Should IP created by machine be patentable by a human?
    I think not. This is another example of ownership causing social problems.

    I actually heard that the gun port opening on the F22 Raptor was designed by a machine many years ago with the patent held by a human. IIRC, The design process used was evolutionary programming which is the same as that used by Theo Jansen to get his walkers to walk.

    Unfortunately, the rest of that article is behind a paywall.

  9. joe90 9
    17 February 2017 at 2:09 pm

    The human infestation spreads.

    The U.S. House of Representatives overturned a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that stopped a set of appalling and unsporting predator control methods on national wildlife refuges in Alaska. These egregious practices include shooting or trapping wolves while at their dens with cubs, using airplanes to scout for grizzly bears to shoot, trapping bears with cruel steel-jawed leghold traps and wire snares and luring grizzly bears with food to get a point blank kill. Republicans, with only a few dissents, provided the votes for the measure, which passed by a vote of 225 to 193.

    […]

    These are federally managed lands, and with today’s vote, the House undid a rule years in the works that was launched by professional wildlife scientists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The practices in question are disallowed in almost every state, yet the House is seeking to revive their use in national wildlife refuges – the one category of federal lands specifically created to protect wildlife and promote the diversity of species.

    http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2017/02/AK-wildlife-refuge-protections-overturned-021617.html?credit=tw_post021617

  10. greywarshark 10
    17 February 2017 at 3:22 pm

    Gareth Morgan is having a public meeting soon so worth going along to. Let’s have some more ideas coming along hot out of the oven.

    He referred to thinking of having an upper house. Why not something new, a lower house,with interested and informed citizens offering to join with a CV of their views and background, and their vision for the future. If accepted there should be enough with integrity to form a quorum and then a debate over one or two days to bring forward a viewpoint, leading to a policy, and a series of expected outcomes. There could be costings done and achievable targets to show viability, no stupid utopias but improvement of worth, and then similar check every 6 months, and an overall appraisal by a disinterested but knowledgable two individuals.

    A bit like The Standard when it is working effectively.

  11. adam 11
    17 February 2017 at 5:03 pm

    Well this has made my day. Big Up’s to the Koori Mail for having such a wonderful impact.

    http://eveningreport.nz/2017/02/17/press-council-welcomes-first-indigenous-member-koori-mail/

    http://koorimail.com/

  12. greywarshark 12
    17 February 2017 at 8:08 pm

    Did video kill the radio star? Not if we can help radio.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs

    Coalition for Better Broadcasting
    Just a quick invite to makeourmediabetter.org.nz
    CBB and ActionStation
    This is an invite to the People’s Commission on Public Broadcasting and Media.

    We’ve teamed up with ActionStation and selected a panel of six Kiwis who care about media and broadcasting, to travel New Zealand for the next six Sundays, taking submissions from the public.
    Please come along and tell the panel what’s wrong with broadcasting and media? What’s right with broadcasting and media? And what needs to be done?

    The Public Meetings:
    Wellington – this Sunday 19th Feb, 11am-2pm (sorry about the short notice), at Meow Café and Bar, Edward Street

    Dunedin – Sunday 26th Feb, 12.30-3.30pm, at Dunedin City Library, 4th floor, Moray Placet

    Tauranga – Sunday 5th March, 11am-2pm, at Papamoa Community Centre
    Christchurch – Sunday 12th March, 11am-2pm, at XCHC Exchange, 376 Wilsons Rd, Waltham
    Nelson – Sunday 19th March, 11am-2pm, at NMIT, G104 Auditorium, 322 Hardy Street
    Auckland – Sunday 26th March, 1pm-4pm, at Mt Eden Normal Primary School Hall, cnr Valley and Sherbourne Roads

    If you can’t make a meeting, there’s a website for submissions too – http://www.makeourmediabetter.org.nz