Open mike 17/08/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 17th, 2015 - 133 comments
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133 comments on “Open mike 17/08/2015”

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    • Draco T Bastard 1.1
      17 August 2015 at 7:25 am

      Wearable technology – be it heart-rate monitors or skin response sensors – can give this underlying influence more visibility, says Coates. “You need to figure out whether you should be trading or whether you should go home. If you are trading, should you double up your position because you’re in the zone?”

      A technology enhanced financial crash coming to a world near you – soon.

      Really, it’s bad enough listening to these psychopaths already without getting them to do more of it faster.

    • Charles 1.2
      17 August 2015 at 10:31 am

      Bank of America used Humanyze’s technology within its call centers to find out what made employees most productive in terms of numbers of completed calls. Yet it found that the biggest predictor of productivity was how staff spoke to their colleagues. Those with the closest ties to others in their group were more productive and less likely to quit than those who worked alone. The bank added a 15-minute shared coffee break to daily routines: productivity increased by 10 per cent and staff turnover dropped by 70 per cent.

      Kinda screws the idea that high staff turnover (90 day trials and such like) or no tea breaks improve productivity. Business as sport. What horseshit. Someone having a heart attack or stroke would show up in their data as “highly productive”. I can’t believe we allow these fools to walk around freely and define our futures. I’d attach the “heartbeat” device to my cock and get a bonus every month. haw haw haw.

  2. Ffloyd 2
    17 August 2015 at 7:30 am

    Just read online by someone that his mother, who is in Greece has just heard monkey being interviewed by CNBC? about the tppa. Where is he and why the secrecy? Didn’t see him rushing onto the paddock to drink from the Bledisoe Cup before anyone else.8

    • b waghorn 2.1
      17 August 2015 at 7:50 am

      He was one TV one this morn will be on delay about 8:15 belittling protesters and saying labour did it to so snafu

  3. Paul 3
    17 August 2015 at 7:30 am

    The neo-liberal capitalist system is destroying the earth.

    “After seeing the impact of rare earth mining myself, it’s impossible to view the gadgets I use every day in the same way,” he writes. “As I watched Apple announce their smart watch recently, a thought crossed my mind: once we made watches with minerals mined from the Earth and treated them like precious heirlooms; now we use even rarer minerals and we’ll want to update them yearly. ”

    More here

    http://inhabitat.com/chinas-massive-toxic-lake-will-make-you-question-buying-another-electronic-device/

    • Draco T Bastard 3.1
      17 August 2015 at 7:38 am

      Trotter had an article on that up on The Daily Blog yesterday. I left a comment:

      Such destruction is not inescapable. Just need to require that the chemicals used are caught and reused.

      Of course, doing that does cost more and will mean that a lot less people will buy cellphones and thus there won’t be as much profit.

      That latter is actually the problem, the prime cause of the destruction caused by capitalism.

      • vto 3.1.1
        17 August 2015 at 9:11 am

        Yep, the problem with capitalism is that it does not take into account all the requirements of people and the planet.

        Capitalism has a very limited use. Unfortunately the trinkets that it has brought to many has blinded them into thinking that capitalism can be used for all sorts of things…. blinded by bling …..

        • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.1
          17 August 2015 at 10:03 am

          After reading history I’ve come to the conclusion that capitalism is what societies go into before they die. Like people get to old age and then die.

          Life of a person goes: Born, youth, middle age, old age, death.

          Life of a society goes: Communism, expansion, maintenance, capitalism, death.

          • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 3.1.1.1.1
            17 August 2015 at 11:23 am

            Got an example of a society that has followed this cycle?

            • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.1.1.1
              17 August 2015 at 11:33 am

              Pretty much all of them.

              • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …
                17 August 2015 at 12:11 pm

                Pick one at random. Show how what it started with was communism. Define “death” as you have used it in this context.

                • In Vino …
                  17 August 2015 at 7:18 pm

                  You forget that Communism has been tried only in poor countries with despotic traditions in government. Russia is still a relatively poor country, and Stalin has been called the most recent of its succession of great but very cruel Tsars.. (A miracle that it got to be a super-power.)

                  Name one heavily industrialised that has tried Socialism, let alone Communism. You cannot. So there was never an even contest between Capitalism and Communism in the first place.

                  Easy to set up silly demands, is it not?

                  • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …
                    17 August 2015 at 9:26 pm

                    Draco was quite specific. “Communism, expansion, maintenance, capitalism, death.” he said. Pretty much all societies have followed this course, he reckons. I’m just asking him to name one. Hardly unreasonable.

                    • In Vino …
                      17 August 2015 at 10:21 pm

                      I think that by communism, Draco was not conjuring up Stalin or Mao. He meant ‘primitive’ communities living without as yet notions of private property and profit-gouging..

                      The word Communism is a red rag to a bull for some people, who go viral over it without thinking about what the basic meaning actually is.

                      Your challenge is at loggerheads with what Draco intended.
                      Enough misfires for a while, I think.

          • tinfoilhat 3.1.1.1.2
            17 August 2015 at 12:48 pm

            I don’t think any of your previous history teachers would be very impressed DTB.

          • Stuart Munro 3.1.1.1.3
            17 August 2015 at 1:39 pm

            I suspect that consensus democracy is the early stage of societies – band cultures usually have one.

    • Ad 3.2
      17 August 2015 at 11:19 am

      You people will probably also enjoy this guy:

      http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/

      I got his book of images of large scale industrial impact when it first came out.
      IMHO he is better on some levels than Salgado, but with less of a human touch.

  4. marty mars 4
    17 August 2015 at 7:46 am

    morgan is on the money

    “To reduce the national flag to a brand has to be the most banal, vacuous attempt by Corporate NZ to take over our identity. It shows no respect for who we are, what our national identity is, it’s crass commercialisation, nothing more. He even has the gall to boast of the “billions” we’ll make if we Coca Colarise ourselves.”

    and

    “The Union Jack is a clever compilation of the crosses of three members, the Stars & Stripes tells how 50 states emerged from the original 13, while the Rainbow Nation acknowledges the plethora of tribes that built South Africa. Now compare those to the Canadian maple leaf – it’s very pretty and instantly recognisable much as many corporate logos are. But what an opportunity lost – there is no underlying story, no mention of where those folk came from, who they are, where they’re going. It’s nothing more than a brand.”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/71124585/the-new-zealand-flag-should-be-more-than-a-brand

    yes we could tell our story, I hope we do, the real story, but somehow I think we will waste this and sell out to a corporate logo – that will fit in with the sellout of this country by TPPA and the rest of the mangey pack of dogs key is running with.

    • Kevin 4.1
      17 August 2015 at 7:53 am

      “To reduce the national flag to a brand has to be the most banal, vacuous attempt by Corporate NZ to take over our identity. It shows no respect for who we are, what our national identity is, it’s crass commercialisation, nothing more. He even has the gall to boast of the “billions” we’ll make if we Coca Colarise ourselves.”

      I’m guessing he’s referring to the PM’s pushing of the silver fern and Morgan is right. The problem is, amongst others. the silver fern has become a logo.

      • BM 4.1.1
        17 August 2015 at 8:20 am

        Well, we’re not going to put the union jack on stuff are we?

        Maybe the Kiwi with the taiaha, but it’s a bit aggressive.

        The stars are a bit nondescript

        Which leaves the silver fern.

        • Kevin 4.1.1.1
          17 August 2015 at 8:25 am

          When I see the silver fern I think All Blacks and our Netball team. It’s become a logo and also has the disadvantage of being difficult to draw. At least the maple leaf has the advantage of being symmetrical.

          I quite like the stars but they need to be placed with careful consideration otherwise we end up with a third world country flag.

          The kiwi emblem I associate with our military.

        • Weepus beard 4.1.1.2
          17 August 2015 at 8:29 am

          You are repeating the line you are told to like a good lapdog. Some people just can’t think for themselves.

          • McFlock 4.1.1.2.1
            17 August 2015 at 11:05 am

            no, BM has honestly held that belief ever since he read the talking points for the day.

        • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.3
          17 August 2015 at 9:38 am

          I liked the one the other day – the one with the fish hook on it. I feel that it represents NZ well.

        • AB 4.1.1.4
          17 August 2015 at 1:38 pm

          “Well, we’re not going to put the union jack on stuff are we?”

          Well why did Key bring back British honours then? Do you not see the inconsistency? A bloke running the most cravenly sycophantic foreign policy in years pretending to strike a blow for our independent identity by changing the flag?
          Hypocritical twerp.

    • BM 4.2
      17 August 2015 at 7:56 am

      If Morgan wants to keep the flag, he better vote in the referendum.

      Key put out this vid on his face book page explaining his view on the flag, got to hand it to the man, he’s brilliant at getting people to see something his way.

      Already got 563,493 Views.

      • marty mars 4.2.1
        17 August 2015 at 8:05 am

        yep agreed – he is good at that and we are all the poorer because of it. Often substance is more important than appearances but many in this land are just too foolish to get it – key knows this and plays on it, takes advantage of it – a small town preacher with the gift of the glib and everynight the men (and women) come around and lay their money down…

        • infused 4.2.1.1
          17 August 2015 at 8:11 am

          The Left- Telling everyone they are stupid since ages ago.

          • marty mars 4.2.1.1.1
            17 August 2015 at 8:20 am

            foolish is not stupid but you are

          • vto 4.2.1.1.2
            17 August 2015 at 8:23 am

            No. Just pointing out the snake oil salesman.

            Have you never seen anyone taken advantage of by a snake oil merchant infused?

          • adam 4.2.1.1.3
            17 August 2015 at 10:12 am

            No infused, just keeping smug arrogant wankers like yourself in line.

          • Stuart Munro 4.2.1.1.4
            17 August 2015 at 12:59 pm

            We’re trying to help you infused – though as a dyed-in-the-wool righty you present pretty strong evidence for the ‘rightwing are chumps’ hypothesis.

            The Gnats tend instead to present evidence that the rightwing are crooks. Their rightwingery is secondary to their interest in stealing public property.

      • Weepus beard 4.2.2
        17 August 2015 at 8:24 am

        Morgan is simply exercising his right to an opinion, just like John Key is in his Facebook clip.

        Don’t tell me you advocate the silencing of voices like Morgan’s and others.

        • BM 4.2.2.1
          17 August 2015 at 8:30 am

          Not at all.

          Opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one.

          Morgan likes the current flag and wants to keep it, which is hardly surprising because he’s an old boy.

          Myself, I want the flag changed because its naff and unrepresentative of modern NZ.

          • Weepus beard 4.2.2.1.1
            17 August 2015 at 8:37 am

            Tell the truth BM. You want to change the flag to a fern because that’s what John Key has told you you want.

            So transparent.

          • marty mars 4.2.2.1.2
            17 August 2015 at 9:45 am

            “Morgan likes the current flag and wants to keep it”

            which is why he ran a competition for ideas on a new flag…

      • AsleepWhileWalking 4.2.3
        17 August 2015 at 8:31 am

        I doubt there are half a million people who care about the flag debate enough to watch. Clearly fake view count.

    • Charles 4.3
      17 August 2015 at 9:57 am

      “…Now compare those to the Canadian maple leaf – it’s very pretty and instantly recognisable much as many corporate logos are…”

      He thinks it’s about the manufacture of maple syrup? Ok so it’s stuff.co.nz opinion, and Gareth Morgan is either willfully misleading people, or doesn’t have Google, but the Canadian maple leaf has been associated with Canadian heraldry as a symbol of Canada for a hundred or so years before 1965, or whenever it was the red/white maple flag was installed.

      If he wants to argue that the silver fern isn’t traditionally a NZ heraldic symbol then he might have a point, but NZ doesn’t have much heraldic history yet – people create that with their flag/coat of arms-making. Anyone looking at the Canadian flag now knows what it represents because the Canadian people have presented their actions and attitudes under that banner. Is he saying they have no national identity, no standing? Is he either insulting, stupid or condescending? Sheesh. Why be so sloppy about it if it weren’t just a propagation of lies just because he doesn’t want a new flag. Any flag starts out relatively meaningless, as simply a symbol of ideals, aspirations or values. Meaning is applied to it by people’s memories after the fact.

    • b waghorn 4.4
      17 August 2015 at 3:30 pm

      This was in the comments on Morgans Facebook post today I would be interested to know if this guys onto something.??

      “”Hey, don’t mean to to freak y’all out (actually, yes I do!) but there’s a lot more to this NZ flag change malarkey than most people realise…

      I was open to changing the current NZ flag, but I also didn’t understand (like most people) the LEGAL significance of doing so…

      Why not change the flag?

      Here’s why not – its called ‘Due Authority’

      DUE AUTHORITY in a nation like NZ is represented on the NZ flag by the Union Jack and signifies that we are a constitutional monarchy.

      A change of flag means not only that we have taken a major step to removing the DUE AUTHORITY of the crown. It also means we take away the very power which enforces both the 1981 Bill of Rights Act (the closest thing NZ has to an entrenched Constitution) and the founding plank upon which the Treaty of Waitangi has meaning.

      It does not matter if you’re pro or anti monarchy but if you take away the DUE AUTHORITY of law (which includes our flag) you then open the gates of hell, or to be precise the means in which John Key can legally sign the TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement). Currently if the matter was taken to court it would undoubtedly end up at the Supreme Court.

      The Privy Council is our former chief court and unlike the new US-styled NZ supreme Court, has its legal interpretation interpreted by Judges that are picked by the Law Lords of the Common Wealth.
      In the new system those Judges are picked by parliament – uh oh.

      At the moment it is likely that a legal challenge could be mounted against the TPPA, even if John does sign it, even with the Supreme Court Change, in that it breaches the 1981 Bill of Rights and the Crowns obligation to Iwi as set out in the Treaty of Waitangi.

      However, if the DUE AUTHORITY of the State can be removed then the TPPA can not only be signed but it then means that once signed the DUE AUTHORITY of the TPPA would supersede the power of any NZ laws already in place. Such as the 1981 Bill of Rights etc.””

      Please feel free to copy & paste or share… A lot of people don’t seek education but will take it when offered!

      • McFlock 4.4.1
        17 August 2015 at 3:49 pm

        Given that we only got the flag in 1902, it looks like bollocks to me.

        It reminds me of the militia-types in the US who get in a tizz because the flag in the courtroom has gold trim.

        • b waghorn 4.4.1.1
          17 August 2015 at 7:01 pm

          Yes just goggled “due authority” and it came up with a couple of fringe looking sites one called misty mountain , basically saying the same as the above, someone causing mischief and leading a few astray .

          • McFlock 4.4.1.1.1
            17 August 2015 at 7:23 pm

            Dunno about causing mischief, at least intentionally.

            It’s the standard internet drill: too much overthinking, not enough understanding.

  5. les 5
    17 August 2015 at 8:05 am

    ‘Just on half the country’s directors aren’t happy about their pay as workload piles up and more face the axe for poor performance.

    Directors Institute chief executive Simon Arcus said while there had been a “moderate” 4 per cent increase in the past year, workloads had almost doubled, reflecting an environment where boards are facing more scrutiny and regulation than ever before.

    Survey data shows only 50.6 per cent are satisfied with their remuneration. Median fees for private listed companies were $78,570, up 22 per cent over the past four years.’

    G,Bradley…NZH…..

    doesn’t your heart just bleed for these…unfortunates!

    • infused 5.1
      17 August 2015 at 8:13 am

      Just shows you don’t have a clue.

      As one of these people, your work week is pretty much 80 hours every week. You fuck up and it’s the end of your career. Same with ceos.

      • Weepus beard 5.1.1
        17 August 2015 at 8:27 am

        Jaysus. You work 80 hours/week and still find the time to clog the internet bitching and moaning about the Labour Party.

        • McFlock 5.1.1.1
          17 August 2015 at 11:26 am

          Depending on whom infused works for, the two aren’t completely exclusive 🙂

          The other option is that the effort infused puts in to their “work” is as half-arsed as the effort they put into their thoughts here.

          Poor infused, working 80 hours a week to barely achieve what others do in 40…

      • les 5.1.2
        17 August 2015 at 8:29 am

        you are the one without a clue….there are many professional directors who warm seats on many boards.80hrs a week…what crap…as for fucking up…lets take a look at a few recent cases…Shipley/Mainzeal…now Genesis chair,Withers /Feltex,now at MRP….so you really are quite ignorant ,illinformed or delusional.

      • Draco T Bastard 5.1.3
        17 August 2015 at 9:46 am

        Really? So why is it that so many bank CEOs, directors and other sundries are still in control of our economies after they crashed it?

      • half crown 5.1.4
        17 August 2015 at 10:50 am

        “………… your work week is pretty much 80 hours every week. You fuck up and it’s the end of your career. Same with ceos.”

        Oh diddums my hearts bleeds for them,

        That will be the day I have seen fuck ups by so called “managers” where the remaining staff has to clean up the shit afterwards and nine times out of ten they walk away with a big golden handshake, later to emerge in a top position in another organisation.,

        Try running your own business as a small operator see how many hours you then work, or doing two jobs to make ends meet on very low money.
        Of course if it is too much for them, they can always find a job with a zero hour contract.

        • Gangnam Style 5.1.4.1
          17 August 2015 at 3:15 pm

          Yeah man, all sympathy to you, I only work about 50 hours a week, in a physically demanding job, must be hard sittin’ on your arse for 80s hours a week!@

      • tc 5.1.5
        17 August 2015 at 11:07 am

        Sorry to hear infused but it sounds like you’re not in the ‘Club’ if you work 80+hrs and get shafted.

        btw it’s not a club you get asked to join, you’re born into it or you can aspire to it but never be part of it.

        Hotchin thought he was in the club like Muir, Watson etc are but he gets to hold the can in public like a good south akl boy while others skate away from the hanover/elders collapse.

      • DH 5.1.6
        17 August 2015 at 2:06 pm

        “As one of these people, your work week is pretty much 80 hours every week. ”

        Umm….. directors wouldn’t even do 8hrs per week. It’s not a full time job.

      • Colonial Viper 5.1.7
        17 August 2015 at 2:32 pm

        As one of these people, your work week is pretty much 80 hours every week. You fuck up and it’s the end of your career. Same with ceos.

        LOL who ya kidding

    • Ad 5.2
      17 August 2015 at 11:21 am

      We need progressives to be on Boards.
      And they will have to train and qualify with experience for it, like everyone else.

      • greywarshark 5.2.1
        17 August 2015 at 2:41 pm

        Thinking about what we need to be able to manage our world better. It seems that we are at a crucial point in time. We have had two big wars that have taken us near to the highest point of modern day barbarism, have improved on that with acceptance of torture in fact and spirit, and introduced depleted uranium and agent orange. Our destructiveness and drift from afraid or vengeful human beings to callous, murderous behaviour regarded as a norm is frightening.

        I think some persistent group has to introduce and carry over the years, a Day of Examination of our Souls where we meet and look at all the things that we humans have done in the past year, and find a way how we can collectively and individually do something about that for the next year. That would include approaching others, talking about how we can do something personally and collectively.

        This would be a day for a person’s serious thinking, and not in churches. This is something that needs to come from the heart of people themselves – not diddling around from religions with incense and ritual and asking for forgiveness from the Great Spirit. It’s too late for that. It has happened and we have not been able to stop it. So we need to think, and gather strength from each other, and act on positive ideas put forward.

        (About religion, every year the churches go out and intone the same stuff on Anzac Day. They should include something different each year – a reading of some anti-war poetry, some personal anecdote from a returned service survivor. But hey why fix something while its working smoothly. Stick with the status quo. It gives people confidence.)

        I have the horrible feeling that we have reached the high point in our human time on earth and passed it. But it would be good to be wrong. There are so many wonderful people, lots of ordinary people with good traits, and some very cold, pathological people that we need to look out for and corral. If we look at our politicians and aspirational money and power people who are driven by profit to put life at risk, they are very visible. Less visible are the fellow travellers in our midst, and the weaknesses in our own hearts and minds.

        While we can all criticise others, all of us need to have a strong understanding of ourselves that involves our strengths and our humbling faults. Also, then a workable ideal for how things should be, ready for when the old diseased system breaks down. Dreamers then are not much use, the people who know human weaknesses and how to avoid, manage and survive them in the kindest and fairest ways are the stalwarts, along with those with practical skills plus community spirit.

      • McFlock 5.2.2
        17 August 2015 at 3:29 pm

        Personally I think the main thing we need is diversity: political, cultural, gender, sexual identity… as much as possible of everything.

        Not as a pc platitude, the simple fact is that diversity inhibits groupthink. I was involved in the governance of a reasonable-sized organisation, and one of the most valuable roles was filled by a guy whose job seemed to largely consist of “nope: not possible/legal to do that”. So we’d work our way around the issues until we had a more robust way of actually doing what we wanted. But too many people like that guy would have restricted the variety of ideas we came up with, and we would have been stuck in that narrow “can’t do that” focus, even if the impulse had occurred to us. Different backgrounds mean different skillsets and different ideas.

        Don’t get me wrong, I still think lots of people who disagree with me are dicks, but even dicks have a constructive role to play sometimes 🙂

  6. AsleepWhileWalking 6
    17 August 2015 at 8:32 am

    The damage of inflating one asset class using low cost credit
    http://www.mybudget360.com/the-average-net-worth-by-age-real-estate-boost-housing-net-worth/

    • greywarshark 6.1
      17 August 2015 at 10:48 am

      Interesting that National would support leverage and buying businesses with the intention of stripping its assets and scraping it down to bones to get the money to pay back the lender for the purchase price. Yet they make ACC have money in hand for prophesied costs of the present injured and damaged far into the future. One law for the cowboys and another for the poorer Indians.

  7. Weepus beard 7
    17 August 2015 at 8:34 am

    Key yet again rides the coat tails of the ABs win over the weekend, engineering himself closer to McCaw’s “brand” with a second knighthood offer and by saying he’d make a good prime minister.

    Disgraceful highjacking of the National team.

    • tc 7.1
      17 August 2015 at 10:55 am

      Key is becoming a parody of himself with these displays and nice to see the true intent of knighthoods being put out there by Te kaihokohoko

  8. Kevin 8
    17 August 2015 at 8:47 am

    Why National keeps winning.

    Note: Opinion.

    Because they’ve figured out you don’t have to make everyone happy, you only have to make the majority happy.

    http://parenethical.com/phil140win11/tag/greatest-happiness-principle/

    It’s called utilitarianism. The problem with it is that the worst off end up being even worse off because the government doesn’t have to be concerned about them.

    From the link:

    “The Greatest Happiness principle in general is good, but it has many flaws as any ethical systems does. Due to our inability to perfectly predict the future according to our actions (assuming he future is capable of being altered with our actions), the results we desire are capable of, and often do, fall short of what was intended. If unforeseen parameters caused all of our actions to backfire, even though we were attempting to act in accordance with Utilitarianism, we would all be considered immoral as our results only caused pain. If this happened to everyone in the entire world, then no man could be considered moral. The Greatest Happiness principle also allows for us to cause pain to others as long as a majority of the people become happier. We could essentially just steal resources from smaller foreign countries and drive them to poverty as long as more people benefit than lose. Things such as slavery, bullying, rape, racism, and murder could be justified under Utilitarianism as long as the majority prefers it. Murderers could justify their action by simply killing all of those who opposed them. Once their numbers became the majority, murdering became justifiable as moral. Lastly, the Greatest Happiness principle eliminates the usage of the laws provided by our government. As long as the person’s actions increase general utility, then it does not matter how many laws are broken in the process. We could all go speeding down roads and ignoring traffic signals/signs to our full enjoyment despite there being speed limits as long as few people cared and most people would be having a blast.”

    Question is what strategies do you use against a utilitarian government?

    • Draco T Bastard 8.1
      17 August 2015 at 9:47 am

      National aren’t making the majority happy – they’re only making the rich happy by helping them fuck everybody else over.

    • Weepus beard 8.2
      17 August 2015 at 11:01 am

      Yep. He has spilt society and set us against one another.

      An example this morning was when he trivialised the TPPA protests and compartmentalised the protesters into a box of people who don’t vote for him.

  9. Morrissey 9
    17 August 2015 at 10:10 am

    Paul Henry embarrassed by young caller this morning;
    His mood was not improved by the raucous laughter at his expense.
    Paul Henry, TV3, Monday 17 August 2015, 8:10 a.m.

    Paul Henry is a shameless National Party partisan as well as being John Key’s chief cheerleader. He is a control freak, who demands total obedience from his underlings. Neither his newsreader Hillary Barry nor his dim sports guy Jim Kayes has the ability or the gumption to challenge most of the offensive or ignorant things Henry regularly unloads. Occasionally, as we shall see, they will register their disapproval by falling silent or, as happened with the following phone call from a young viewer, join in with the subversive laughter of the technicians and producers. Henry is all too aware when his authority is undermined like this, and he takes it out on Jim Kayes above all.

    But first, let’s see how a simple phone call derailed him this morning….

    PAUL HENRY: We have Zakaiah from Pahiatua on the phone. How old are you, Zakaiah?

    ZAKARAIAH: I’m eleven.

    PAUL HENRY: All right, Zakaiah, do you think Richie McCaw would make a good prime minister?

    ZAKARAIAH: Yeah, better than John Key!

    EVERYONE IN THE STUDIO EXCEPT HENRY: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

    ….Awkward silence…..

    PAUL HENRY: [grinning awkwardly, like a raccoon eating shit off a wire brush] Oooohhhh.

    ZAKARAIAH: And he doesn’t need to change the flag.

    …..Awkward silence…..

    PAUL HENRY: Well I agree with you there, Zakaiah! But not the bit about John Key; I think he’s doing a good job.

    …..Awkward silence…..

    A little later, Henry reads out the nominations for the New Zealander of the Year award, with his slaves obediently providing the sound effects…

    HENRY: Most of them are shite. Professor Jane Kelsey.
    HILLARY BARRY: Urggghhh!
    HENRY: Nicky Hager.
    JIM KAYES: Groan.
    HILLARY BARRY: Urrrggghh!
    HENRY: Helen Kelly.

    ……Silence. Even these two slaves know that it’s not permissible to slag off the very ill Helen Kelly, even if she is one of those despised creatures, a union activist.

    HENRY: Tim Finn.
    JIM KAYES: Why have they nominated Tim Finn and not Neil?
    HENRY: [suddenly irritated] Oh I don’t know! I’m not up with the minutiae of these things. But the thing is, most of these people are shite. If
    Richie was nominated, they would fall off the list. I’m going to nominate Richie McCaw for New Zealander of the Year.

    ….Awkward pause…..

    JIM KAYES: Have you got a man crush on Richie McCaw?

    ….Awkward pause….

    PAUL HENRY: [speaking evenly and slowly, with an angry edge to his voice] No, I haven’t. But I notice that most of the women removed their wedding rings when he came into the studio. Hillary did.
    HILLARY BARRY: My husband’s watching this….

    • Weepus beard 10.1
      17 August 2015 at 11:53 am

      Excellent piece but Winston had better be prepared for his column to be discontinued for criticising the government.

    • b waghorn 10.2
      17 August 2015 at 12:50 pm

      Voters in rural nz are ripe for the plucking and Winston knows it.
      In today’s farmers weekly there is three new listing, short notice auctions ,if kiwi farmers see a flood of land ownership go off shore look out national.

      • save NZ 10.2.1
        17 August 2015 at 1:05 pm

        It’s already happening. Not just Asian investors either – the whole world knows our country is ripe for the plucking..

        In the US farms are generally only owned by big companies – they control everything – farming are monocultures and collect they collect the subsidies.

        NZ are not selling the milk in these free trade deals they are selling the farms.

        We are giving free access to buy us up, not trade with us.

    • lprent 10.3
      17 August 2015 at 1:25 pm

      Does read like it…

  11. Pat 11
    17 August 2015 at 11:42 am

    A question for any who may know and who listen to Nine to Noon on RNZ.
    Why is Mike Williams unwilling or unable to dispute the propaganda espoused by Matthew Hooton re TPP , particularly noticeable these past 2 weeks. It was left to Kathryn Ryan to bring some semblance of balance and rationale to the topic today…Mr Williams may as well have been absent.

    • Morrissey 11.1
      17 August 2015 at 12:05 pm

      Believe it or not, Williams was there, actually: he backed up Kathryn Ryan by saying “Exactly!” in an emphatic tone of voice after she firmly contradicted one of Hooton’s rants.

      At one other point, he actually had the guts to say: “I think Matt’s also been somewhat unfair to Professor Jane Kelsey.”

      Otherwise it was a typical Mike Williams performance, including: “I’ve got a lot of time for Tim Groser” and (pathetically) “As Matt put it so eloquently…”

      • rhinocrates 11.1.1
        17 August 2015 at 2:21 pm

        I’d have a lot of time for Groser too, to make sure the garlic, stakes, silver and holy water had taken effect. A pity Williams didn’t mean it that way though. “Useless” doesn’t begin to describe him, and I haven’t the energy to finish.

  12. Morrissey 12
    17 August 2015 at 11:50 am

    If he lived in Syria, Grant Smithies would be praising President Assad’s taste in music
    Morning Report, Radio NZ National, 7:56 a.m., Monday 17 August 2015

    adulation n., excessive devotion to someone; servile flattery

    SUSIE FERGUSON: President Obama’s Spotify account includes the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Coldplay—Guyon’s favorite band!—and Al Green. To discuss this, welcome to music critic Grant Smithies. Well, what do you reckon about the President’s taste in music?

    GRANT SMITHIES: I reckon I’d go around to his place for a beer! It sounds like it’s a genuine list, and not one made up to impress the electorate, unlike, say, Gordon Brown, who proclaimed his “deep love” for the Arctic Monkeys a few years ago. It’s a pretty interesting selection, although I am concerned about the presence of Coldplay on the list. But to be fair, he’s had things to do. He’s been busy!

    SUSIE FERGUSON: Ha ha ha ha ha!

    GRANT SMITHIES: I wonder what sort of list George W. Bush would have made. Probably from the cheesiest end of the country spectrum, plus some triumphalist rock tunes. It would be the stuff of nightmares!

    SUSIE FERGUSON: Ha ha ha ha ha!

    For the benefit of people like Grant Smithies, THIS is the stuff of nightmares…..
    http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/24/-sp-us-drone-strikes-kill-1147

  13. greywarshark 13
    17 August 2015 at 11:53 am

    Listening to Guyon and Susie on Radionz early, I have noticed the odd banter being dropped in which makes me shudder. I am particularly sensitive to this as I have grown to hate the crap on television between partner-faces presenting there. Although there are things that I criticise about RadioNZ, I treasure them, and I also tell them so from time to time. They do a good job, and anyone who wants a reliable, truthful, well run public radio station, must listen to it and give feedback about it and its coverage, support it and ensure that it continues. We don’t want it killed by a thousand poison arrows, weak acid weakening its structure, and termites cutting through its supports!
    It already is not being maintained properly as it has a decreasing budget. We don’t want government doing a HousingNZ on our radio, and the whole government house-of-cards decline policy.

    I don’t want to hear on Radio details of what goes through presenters’ minds being broadcast to try connecting with the tiny minds in the youthful community. I fear RadioNZ being dumbed down to satisfy the butterfly minds of the masses and the ‘superior but limited’ interests of our chattering classes. I remember Guy and Sus bantering about fave James Bonds. This morning it was whether Cold Play was good. STFU. For sure, keep a bit of lightness in from the news or some recent event in NZ that deserves comment.

    I can see the extent of the attacks which RadioNZ suffers from the eternal carping of the RW barbarians firing shots in all directions. I found an example in the July 2008 Listener item from Bill Ralston’s Life. I can’t give you a link because the Listener doesn’t put up content it just lists the headings of items.

    His thoughts:’We are currently being served an insipid menu of stewed apple and bananas, admirably suited to the rest home RNZ National has become.” “I am convinced these days RNZ National is broadcasting almost solely to itself and the few dozen people who control its funding.”
    Ralston flicks off RNZ to Auckland Maori Mai FM, a hip-hop station. “Aside from developing a taste for the new R&B, I have no idea why I’ve done so except for the fact the hosts sound as if they still live, breathe and have fun.
    Actually, it does not matter if commercial radio is good or bad: you can simply change stations. It doesn’t cost you a cent. If public radio is bad, it costs you well north of $25 million a year, whether you listen or not.
    The dreadfully smug, hand-wringing liberal contortions of RNZ could originate only from its home in Wellington…” and he has a go at politically-correct politicians. “RNZ National is the voice of Helen Clark’s [NZ]: smug, self-righteous and desperately dull.”

    Strange that, to me, the same comments apply directly to his own output. He and his opinion are irrelevant to a well-functioning society. I feel his spite though, and his complaints about cost to the taxpayer echo those used to get rid of our national television service. A mother was used as a bellwether, complaining that her son needed his tv for other purposes than watching programmes, but being registered as owner, had to pay $60? for the privilege. So of course we had to get rid of taxpayer direct charging from the rest of us, despite many of us not getting much value from our general taxes.

    There was a good comment by Russell Brown on Ralston’s diatribe even touching on his liberal tribe. Brown makes the point that there was at one time a tendency to resist change and need for more youth input, but that no longer applied.
    http://publicaddress.net/hardnews/radio-times/

    • Chooky 13.1
      17 August 2015 at 12:12 pm

      +100… I agree Greywarshark….’Morning Report’ is increasingly nauseating ‘entertainment’ infotainment advertorials for the John Key Nactional Party

      …I find Espiner’s ‘interviews’ with John Key ( invitation to spin and slime on and on… ) to be servile ( an interview lie down PR opportunity for John Key) …and Espiner’s questioning of Professor Jane Kelsey to be personal attacking, repetitive and shallow…only she added depth to the non-interview

      At least Kathryn Ryan tackled Matthew Hooton’s spin and attacks on Jane Kelsey…rather than discussing the substantive issues at hand ….of the downside of the TPPA…and the extent of New Zealanders opposition to it…with its disadvantages to New Zealand re IT industry , copyright, medicines, sovereignty etc…

      • maui 13.1.1
        17 August 2015 at 5:25 pm

        Mora in the afternoons is freakin bad too. Either deliberately nieve, plain stupid or weak, probably all of those, he will not hold anyone to account the best he’s got is a forced cold flanelling, something Key probably got from his mother when he was under the age of 10. He says things like, but they wouldn’t sign the TPPA if they knew it was going to be bad would they?

    • In Vino 13.2
      17 August 2015 at 8:08 pm

      Great post, greywarshark.

      It is to my mind criminal that the marketing industry now rules our media because they fund it, and that even affects State-Owned Enterprises like TVNZ, whose current CEO is a guy from the marketing industry, not from broadcasting.
      So we now have, as you say, the team of two announcers introducing their personal views onto what should be impartially-presented news, where one person is quite enough.
      To make it worse, we now have regular advertising on Radio NZ. After each news-on-the-hour, RNZ advertise their own programmes, with increasingly commercial techniques.
      God in heaven – I take refuge in the National Programme to get away from the vile commercial cacklemush of ads on commercial radio. And what do I find? Radio NZ National is now mimicking its inferiors. (Actually, it should still be called National Radio.)

      Somebody needs to throw the money-changers out of the temple again – the best thing Christ ever supposedly did.
      Are they making RNZ so close to commercial so that nobody will miss it when they finally sell it off?

      • greywarshark 13.2.1
        18 August 2015 at 11:44 am

        @In Vino
        Your opinions are what I feel. I am not absolutist about presentation, it doesn’t have to be totally dry, but I fear that the boffins at the top are hell-bent on matching targets rather than adopting a balanced viewpoint to change of presentation and introducing some ‘lighter’ news. Where is the line in the sand I wonder? And of course such lines can be washed away.

        I fear that they want to dilute the hard NZ news, with world news from a narrow base, and exaggerating the importance of hard news from overseas, ie interviews with officials in the USA about their latest disaster or outrage which then gets repeated in short form every news hour during the day. That fits the mindset of politicians following ‘overseas’ practices when considering new policies, which implies worldwide, but is limited to the 5-Eyes countries only., being the dominant comet USA, trailing in its tail – UK, Canada, Australia and ….panting along, NZ.

        I fear too they wish to bring magazine-type weekend listening into the Kim Hill/Wallace Chapman slot with art, leisure, food and wine, style, with middle class women and men dominating. They represent those on household incomes higher than most, and can consider such pleasant things and fob off concerns that should have time for serious discussion in these slots.

        Yesterday I gave Bill Ralston’s deriding take on the RadioNZ, in 2008. I suggest that now he would come up with a similar cant, except with different targets. No changes would appease his wonky viewpoint. And aligning with him are people like Hosking, whose very expression in today’s post displays a mixture of derisive attitudes.

        Personally, I do know about presentation of content from long interest in consuming it, and some efforts at presentation of facts and discussion of ideas, so when I like something on radio or not, it isn’t some random whim.

    • John Shears 14.1
      17 August 2015 at 12:30 pm

      Heard that but IMO Kathryn needs to be a lot tougher on Hooton he is constantly interrupting and boring us with his right wing rubbish.
      Mike also should crunch Hooton more often.
      Take a leaf out of WC Fields book.
      “Never give a sucker a second break”

      • greywarshark 14.1.1
        17 August 2015 at 2:01 pm

        The object I think is to draw out the right and left approach without dissecting it or boning it for the fillets! It is interesting as stats for employment are interesting – they remain committed to a method, and the differences then show up as attention grabbing and indicative.

    • freedom 14.2
      17 August 2015 at 1:23 pm

      & right at the end, when discussing the flag, Hooton checks his cards
      and plays a ‘do this or the terrorists win!’

      “The only issue against the black flag of course is ISIS.
      The funny thing is are we going to allow ISIS because it happens to have a black flag, determine that we shouldn’t?”
      *Dubya & Cheney wipe away a tear*

    • Charles 16.1
      17 August 2015 at 2:50 pm

      “The point is that Mike Hosking is extremely influential because of his involvement with Newstalk ZB, TVNZ and the Herald.”

      Shaw said the whole media industry was going through a period of “huge turmoil” and the result was a move away from reporting towards editorialising.

      “Mike is symptomatic of a broader trend.”

      Psychobabble theory says people see the world as containing more of their self-affirming beliefs than it actually does. Shaw has an interest in people being scared by various things, so he’s the opposite of the phenomena, but do people really adjust their lives to suit a Hosking/Herald/radio opinion? I regularly test the absurdity of my opinions by opening my mouth, and no one else holds my views, but what Shaw claims is that a large number – we’re talking millions – slavishly adhere to Hoskings implied commands. None them have preferences, or can choose anything of their own accord. It isn’t a very convincing claim. I’d expect people to be driving off bridges or walking in circles for hours at the supermarket if they were that lost for what to think or do. Hosking is an expression of the environment he works in, and co-incidentally, people would like to own his car. Not sure that is the same as them arriving at the conclusion that thinking like Mike Hosking will get them a Maserati. They could just steal his one, for instance, or go all hopelessly surly and scratch it, out of spite.

    • McFlock 16.2
      17 August 2015 at 3:55 pm

      No, no there isn’t.

      If you want to make that assertion, there might be. What with the seating plan in the House, party votes, and suchlike.

      But then you’re just shitting yourself because the opposition parties are fighting the government rather than each other.

      • Puckish Rogue 16.2.1
        17 August 2015 at 4:24 pm

        Far too early in the election cycle to be worried about anything

        • b waghorn 16.2.1.1
          17 August 2015 at 7:09 pm

          I bet keys thinking about leaving again now things ain’t going so good .
          I just had a vision of you and hoskings hugging his leg and pleading for him not to leave yous behind as he jets off to foreign shores for good.

    • maui 16.3
      17 August 2015 at 5:13 pm

      This is good, now we can openly talk about media bias. Maybe we can see if any parts of the corporate sellout media don’t show a National bias.

  17. Draco T Bastard 17
    17 August 2015 at 2:34 pm

    So, you remember when the Problem Gambling Foundation lost it’s government contract and all the RWNJs, including Peter Dunne, said it was all done above board? Yeah, about that:

    So, to summarise, the High Court has just told us that the PGF lost its government contract after being very vocally critical of government policy through a process that;

    1. Changed the ground-rules as to how the contracts would be awarded after organisations had bid for them;
    2. So wrongly assessed the PGF’s application that the apparent result couldn’t be trusted; and
    3. Used people to assess who should get the contract who were at least apparently biased in favour of some applicants over others.

    Totally corrupt in other words.

  18. esoteric pineapples 18
    17 August 2015 at 3:40 pm

    Federated Farmers complaining about proposed water quality standards in Southland –
    http://www.fedfarm.org.nz/publications/media-releases/article.asp?id=2461#.VdFW_bKqpHw

  19. esoteric pineapples 19
    17 August 2015 at 3:47 pm

    This one is so ironic, it is actually quite funny. I recommend checking out Federated Farmer’s Facebook page to keep abreast of its latest musings.

    Federated Farmers wants government to fast track dairy irrigation projects to help communities hit by the falling price of milk – http://www.fedfarm.org.nz/publications/media-releases/article.asp?id=2455#.VdFYw7KqpHx

  20. Draco T Bastard 20
    17 August 2015 at 4:26 pm

    CrestClean calls for Cleaning Industry Training Standards

    “We believe a CITS would lift the standards of the cleaning industry leading to greater economic productivity, but equally important, provide a sea change in the attitudes and behaviours of cleaners as training provides them with greater skills and opportunities,” Grant says.

    So, I wonder how many RWNJs are going to continue to claim that cleaners don’t have any skills or don’t take any risks.

    • maui 20.1
      17 August 2015 at 5:09 pm

      I can’t stand this certification and having industry standards for literally everything. If you are a good cleaner then you can obviously clean well. Why should a piece of paper represent how good you are at the said skill. Say in IT, I could have all the experience in the world and not be certified, while someone could have zero experience but be certified and be looked at as the better candidate because they’re done a two day training course or something. There’s a whole lot of bullshit going around in our business world.

      • Draco T Bastard 20.1.1
        17 August 2015 at 5:40 pm

        While I agree with you to a large extent my point was that the RWNJS always come out with the idea that cleaners and other under paid people don’t have any skills so a professional body saying that we need to recognise the skill set should put paid to that.

  21. Draco T Bastard 21
    17 August 2015 at 4:30 pm

    China’s yuan move could reignite Asian currency wars

    China’s policy shift to support exporters and stem the deepest economic slowdown since 1990 heightens the risk of competitive currency devaluations as global demand wanes.

    See, this is why you don’t have FTAs that lock you into trading with a country that acts like this.

  22. Draco T Bastard 22
    17 August 2015 at 4:55 pm

    So, RadiolLive had this poll, right, where people voted four their preferred flags, right?

    This person combined them. (Warning for possible damage to sight and mind.)

  23. Morrissey 23
    17 August 2015 at 5:17 pm

    Prof. Al Gillespie: “To a degree we have to trust the government.”
    Why did Jim Mora ask this fellow to talk about the TPPA?
    The Panel, Radio NZ National, Monday 17 August 2015
    Jim Mora, Joe Bennett, Susan Guthrie, Noelle McCarthy

    Jim Mora’s producers try to impart the appearance of credibility to this light chat show by going to a regular stable of academics, to get their thoughts on various issues. This can be a useful and enlightening exercise, but all too often it is neither, as anyone unfortunate enough to have listened to such academic guests as Tim Dare, Robert Patman, Jacqueline Rowarth, or Michael Bassett will testify.

    Today’s big topic was the undemocratic and highly secretive TPPA talks that our government is engaged in. The token academic chosen to comment on it was Professor Al Gillespie from Waikato University. Long time Mora-sufferers will be familiar with Prof. Gillespie, who seems to have earned a doctorate in How To Say Nothing Meaningful. Unlike the formidably intelligent and forthright Jane Kelsey, Professor Gillespie is all wide-eyed optimism: “I think they will learn from this ,” he states in a tone of high seriousness, “and negotiations will not be as secretive in the future.”

    A few minutes later he advises, again in the most scholarly manner he can muster: “To a degree we have to trust the government.”

    Why did their producers go to this mealy-mouthed drip, instead of asking someone who actually knows something about the issue?

    At 4:42 p.m. the host made what was quite possibly the most cynical and ignorant statement of the year so far—even on this dog of a programme. After Susan Guthrie, in her “Soapbox” contribution, had expressed her delight at the popularity of Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders, he posed the following question, in the loftiest tone he could muster….

    JIM MORA: It’s one thing to say Jeremy Corbyn’s lovely and pure, but it’s another thing to make him Prime Minister, isn’t it?

    – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

    On the few occasions there HAVE been decent and rigorous academics on the programme, they are likely to be subjected to ridicule by “comedians” like Gary McCormick….

    Open mike 11/03/2011

  24. Byrnz 24
    17 August 2015 at 5:40 pm

    ‘Had enough of Mike Hosking?’ – seventy percent voted to say, yes, he is clearly politically biased.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/71189005/had-enough-of-mike-hosking

    For what it was worth, I registered my vote along with others who felt the same way.

  25. NZSage 25
    17 August 2015 at 6:34 pm

    Can anyone provide me a link to a UK based blog similar to The Standard? By similar I mean left leaning with a level of intelligent debate?

    I’m keen to see how the Corbyn debate is going.

    • Morrissey 25.1
      17 August 2015 at 7:02 pm

      Go immediately to this site….

      http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/

      If it doesn’t restore your faith in humanity, you would be one of the more than one thousand dolts—give or take a few comedians with a very dark sense of irony—-who clicked on the “He’s an outstanding journalist” option in the Hosking poll over on Stuff.

  26. Blue Horsehoe 26
    17 August 2015 at 7:03 pm

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/08/14/fda-approves-oxycontin-kids/31711929/

    Expanding the oversupply of powerful opiate based drugs to children now

    Whatever could possibly go wrong….

    http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/overdose.html

    Perhaps the expectation is by expanding the market, the number of opiate over-dose deaths may fall

    • joe90 26.1
      17 August 2015 at 7:12 pm

      Expanding the oversupply of powerful opiate based drugs to children now

      Whatever could possibly go wrong….

      You’re right, pain relief is for adults only, children should suffer….

      //

      • Blue Horsehoe 26.1.1
        17 August 2015 at 7:21 pm

        Perhaps you left the sarcasm tag off, or perhaps you are just a bit thick

        Nothing to note about the powerful painkillers already available to all and sundry

        How about the >16,000 opiate over-doses every year in the USA alone

        I wonder how many orders of magnitude it is for lives ruined / impacted through the addictions and suffering caused by these drugs

        Oh, but the pain Joe, think of all the pain that has been prevented by the drugs…./sarc

        • joe90 26.1.1.1
          17 August 2015 at 7:32 pm

          How about the >16,000 opiate over-doses every year in the USA alone

          Yes, people, and particularly children, should suffer with dignity and die in agony because drugs ….

          //

          • northshoredoc 26.1.1.1.1
            17 August 2015 at 8:24 pm

            @joe90 DNFTT

          • Blue Horseshoe 26.1.1.1.2
            17 August 2015 at 9:51 pm

            Jesus Christ you actually are an idiot

            Apologies, I thought you were joking

            @northshoredic

            Having been called out by Bill a few days back it seems you dont learn

            I appreciate you have a career of endorsing protocols which are collapsing around you, that’s not an easy thing to deal with.

            Either make a comment about the links and comments or take a fucken hike

  27. half crown 27
    17 August 2015 at 7:13 pm

    I see the Fucking Spiv and his pack of crooks are now clamping down on items bought overseas on the internet, and these items are going to be subject to GST. Excellent, first class, as it will “level” the playing field for the struggling retailers. The Fucking Spiv said it will “collect” the millions that is not being paid in GST. When do you think we can expect a similiar “clamp down” on the millions of tax not paid by his spiv mates through tax avoidance and tax evasion

  28. joe90 28
    17 August 2015 at 7:15 pm

    America.

    julia cravenVerified account
    ‏@CurlyCrayy

    Very bad call by NYT. Horrid, actually.

    https://twitter.com/CurlyCrayy/status/633077080037687296

  29. Michael Nolan 29
    17 August 2015 at 8:43 pm

    Storm clouds are gathering

    “Doomsday clock for global market crash strikes one minute to midnight as central banks lose control

    China currency devaluation signals endgame leaving equity markets free to collapse under the weight of impossible expectations”

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/11805523/Doomsday-clock-for-global-market-crash-strikes-one-minute-to-midnight-as-central-banks-lose-control.html

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