Open mike 19/06/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 19th, 2019 - 98 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 …

98 comments on “Open mike 19/06/2019 ”

  1. johnm 1

    The Coming Show Trial of Julian Assange

    By Chris Hedges

    June 17, 2019 "Information Clearing House" – LONDON—On Friday morning I was in a small courtroom at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London. Julian Assange, held in Belmarsh Prison and dressed in a pale-blue prison shirt, appeared on a video screen directly in front of me. Assange, his gray hair and beard neatly trimmed, slipped on heavy, dark-frame glasses at the start of the proceedings. He listened intently as Ben Brandon, the prosecutor, seated at a narrow wooden table, listed the crimes he allegedly had committed and called for his extradition to the United States to face charges that could result in a sentence of 175 years. The charges include the release of unredacted classified material that posed a “grave” threat to “human intelligence sources” and “the largest compromises of confidential information in the history of the United States.” After the prosecutor’s presentation, Assange’s attorney, Mark Summers, seated at the same table, called the charges “an outrageous and full-frontal assault on journalistic rights.” http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51780.htm

    recuse. The verb recuse is used in legal situations and means to remove someone from a position of judicial authority, either a judge or a member of a jury, who is deemed unacceptable to judge, usually because of some bias.

  2. Robert Guyton 3

    Councillor pushes for climate change stance in Southland

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/113492908/councillor-pushes-for-climate-change-stance-in-southland

    The chairman is misleading the public.

    • mickysavage 3.1

      Go Robert Go! We expect a report …

      • Robert Guyton 3.1.1

        Will do, mickysavage; at this point, we're gathering public support for the meeting at which I'm moving a climate emergency; so far, we've got a strong response and commitments from a number of people to be there in the council chamber to support those councillors who have signalled they'll vote for the motion. As well, there are those who will petition the council prior to the vote, so there will be strong words spoken and plenty of good photo opportunities for the assembled media smiley

    • johnm 3.2

      Climate Change has now gone exponential. 2009 250 years from the baseline of 1750 we reached .85c above that line. From 2009 to 2019 we've increased the Global average temperature another 1.05c in just 10 years totalling 1.9c above 1750. We are in Mann's hockey stick curve upwards.

      JMO It's a bit late now declaring an emergency the damage is done and is irreparable; in fact nothing we do now can change this trajectory. Declaring what has been self evident for many years is empty rhetoric.

      • Robert Guyton 3.2.1

        And refusing to declare a climate emergency would be a denial of reality, johnm. The motion will be before the council; which way would you vote? Getting real is important; it may be "a bit late" but burying one's head in the sand leaves one very vulnerable to all sorts of dangers; at least we can all face the challenge with our eyes open and in agreement that there is in fact, an emergency.

        • WeTheBleeple 3.2.1.1

          The late Kurt Vonnegut said that: for a formulaic story that pleases the general public you must start on a high note to gain people's trust before the adversity strikes and then of course human resilience overcomes all obstacles and we all live happily ever after.

          Vonnegut was a genius. He didn't write formulaic rubbish he just proved how utterly predictable the bulk of today's storytelling is.

          Your Hubber bloke is trying to follow some pre-determined formula. "Following council protocol is more important than declaring a state of emergency". He'll never amount to a hill of beans in history, but will be popular with the keepers of the status quo. He knows about climate change, he's about to declare eternal sunshine… and you go and ruin it with your pesky facts!

          Haven't you read the narrative? We all live happily ever after, because science!

          Alternately, my new comedy set starts with homelessness, moves on to corruption and redeems itself with climate change. I shall be anonymous forever as we'll all die long before some future arts department gets to coo over what a rule breaker I have always been.

          Almost ready to kick ass and take names. Sounds like you are too. Good stuff!

          Stick with the dialogue, that's my advice if you want to be truly mediocre.

      • greywarshark 3.2.2

        You are still supporting Julian Assange johnm. We have to try for what we want, have to see if we can make a difference. So don't put people down for declaring a climate emergency on the one hand and want us to support your and Julian's case on the other; it is contradictory.

        I'm surprised at your tone. Don't be negative when people are trying to do something, if you do anything, show how it could be achieved faster and most effectively. Or jump ahead to a scenario and ponder about the best way to adapt and survive and what hard decisions may have to be made, what to keep and what to abandon, and when!

        • Kevin 3.2.2.1

          Wha?

          What has johnm's article about Assange got to do with him commenting on CC?

          • greywarshark 3.2.2.1.1

            If you followed the thread wherever it goes – I was commenting to this,

            JMO It's a bit late now declaring an emergency the damage is done and is irreparable; in fact nothing we do now can change this trajectory. Declaring what has been self evident for many years is empty rhetoric.

            And I explained my thinking, which apparently was too extensive for you, usually one or two lines. Widen up.

            You just need to search for the thread yourself – requires a bit of work sometimes. It's at 3.2. I am suggesting that we won't give up on his project to help Assange and he shouldn't give up on the project to try and protect ourselves and the earth from the worst of CC.

            • Kevin 3.2.2.1.1.1

              I read the thread fully the first time. So I say again what’s johnm’s comment on Assange got to do with CC?

    • Pat 3.3

      "Permafrost at outposts in the Canadian Arctic is thawing 70 years earlier than predicted, an expedition has discovered, in the latest sign that the global climate crisis is accelerating even faster than scientists had feared."

      https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/18/arctic-permafrost-canada-science-climate-crisis

      something the council may wish to consider

  3. WeTheBleeple 6

    Facebook planning crypto-currency system.

    Are those pesky tax-men querying your laundry business?

    Got some hush money you need to hide?

    Maybe you need to keep your war-catalyst terrorism a secret.

    Libra currency, it's not a fucking tampon.

    This ad was brought to you by the world's governments, who have acquiesced and stood aside once more to enable the rich and powerful to shit on your head. And besides, fuck you.

    • Peter Christchurh nz 6.1

      No, it's the future.

      Not even that, as in China for over a decade Weixin (WeChat) has been the payment system of choice for the vast bulk of the population. Its 'Red Bags' have essentially been crypto currency. Facebook is just somewhat belatedly catching up.

      Paper based currency is in terminal decline. Even eftpos cards, credit and debit cards are now in their final stages.

      • WeTheBleeple 6.1.1

        You only have to look at who's buying in to this shit to see the problem. But, having read your contributions, you never could see past playing your part in the nonsense narrative that all is well.

        Having facebook lead the charge reassures nobody but billionaires and idiots.

        • Peter Christchurch NZ 6.1.1.1

          I could say that having read YOUR contributions, you never could see past playing your part in the nonsense narrative that all is a conspiracy and the world is about to end. Whether you or I like it or not, crypto is the future. Communist Weixin and Capitalist Facebook. That should tell you that this is fact not opinion.

          As always with conspiracy theorists and doomsday merchants, you ignored my points that all this is old news in China. Far better to engage in personal abuse that rational argument eh WTB?

          What is it about some of the people on this site? Any opposing view is treated as some kind of evil that that challenges their world view and so must be destroyed. No wonder this site is fading fast.

          [lprent: Read the policy. It is a site for “robust debate”. Doesn’t mean that it has to be polite nor that people have to agree like sheeple.

          So long as people are willing to argue their own points and engage with others who disagree offering their one views, then I couldn’t give a pigs arse about people complaining that people are ignoring their points.

          I’m concerned about having debate – not some whining dipshit trying to frame the debate in their favour. Which is what I suspect you’re trying to do. ]

          • greywarshark 6.1.1.1.1

            Peter Chch

            Better for you not to visit here then because who wants to be involved with something going down the gurgler. Save your time and go to somewhere less passionate and demanding.

            Sometimes anxiety about the future and the intransigence of the complacent, the ignorant, and the 'passionless people' as we have been dubbed makes us seem a bit mad. Anyone who is actually alive and thinking is bound to get like that now and then. For your own sanity leave now!

            • Peter Christchurch NZ 6.1.1.1.1.1

              I would disagree. I understand your anxiety and frustration about things, but disagreement does not necessarily mean intransigence or ignorant. At the end of the day, we all see things differently, but I dare say we have more in common than not.

              • greywarshark

                'disagreement does not necessarily mean intransigence or ignorant.' True, not necessarily, but often. Then there is determined ignorance and closed ears. And there is little use discussing anything with them, because all you get is rejection, and refuting, and rationalisation, and artfully directed questions that reroute the argument, turn it around. It is bad faith for such people to continue as we try to find some common ground and reasonable approaches to problems beyond reason. Just putting sensible suggestions of the 20th century type, and expecting courtesy when there is urgency at this time will arouse irritation later, if not sooner.

                The object of coming here for most of us is to learn and test our own ideas and put them forward and we are interested in new ideas and don't call out others as useless, because they disagree strongly. Not at first. And the very keen and informed and involved and frustrated deserve some leeway.

                And finding out who knows what and how useful their ideas are and probably based on knowledge is good before dismissing them. Their expression of knowledge can be questioned to check if their opinions are based on good sources, or their reckons, or what their father always did, or what their religion tells them etc.

          • WeTheBleeple 6.1.1.1.2

            Hmm. Climate change is a conspiracy theory? Ice melt, sea rise, devastating storms wildfires droughts and floods are conspiracy theory?

            Rationally denying science. A real mans man aren't you.

            So bend over bitch, it's gonna get uncomfortable.

          • One Two 6.1.1.1.3

            Whether you or I like it or not, crypto is the future

            I'd be highly surprised if you could back that up with your own opinions, in a way which illustrates a level of knowledge you have on the subject…

            Could you elaborate on the technicalities?

        • greywarshark 6.1.1.2

          I'll go out and cause a riot if the government allows the banks to stop handling currency. People are contacting Kiwibank for giving up on cheques already. What a bloody disgrace. NZ entities should be retaining systems that are base ones and not dependent on overseas entities including Australia, and ones that require an energy source such as electricity or specially shaped batteries without which you have a dead and useless machine. Does anyone know how to run a cat's whisker radio these days?

      • SpaceMonkey 6.1.2

        To describe paper based currency as being in terminal decline isn't accurate. The data I look at shows cash use increasing, but looking like in line with population growth, so "static" might be a better descriptor.

        Neither is digital/crypto currency automatically the future. For online transactions, I would absolutely agree with you, but for day today in the physical world, not so much. Humanity is not heading for some techno nirvana. There will be a place for high-tech and digital currencies, but the future for the masses is more likely repurposed low-tech with some form of hard currency.

        • Kevin 6.1.2.1

          FIAT currency isn't worth the paper its printed on.

          The continual QE of the USA and ECB shows you can just print and print and print…

    • Brigid 6.2

      "And besides, fuck you."

      Hilarious!!

      Though I think you give them more credit than they deserve. I don't think they are aware of us enough to care, in offering advice on fucking oneself.

  4. Dennis Frank 7

    The PM chose to use a public relations specialist as her chief of staff. Tacit acknowledgement that party members haven't a clue how to organise a team and/or perform govt liaison, I suppose. Also sends the signal that she prefers neoliberal professionalism to Labour's tradition of class solidarity.

    "Thompson, who founded lobbying firm Thompson Lewis in 2016, was appointed interim chief of staff to the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, shortly after the formation of the government in late 2017 to help set up the new administration. Thompson’s appointment was short-term, to stand in for Mike Munro who was unwell at the time. After four months in the role — during which he had access to all Cabinet papers and was involved in the appointment of over 100 ministerial staff — Thompson returned to his firm to lobby the government on behalf of private clients."

    "Thompson, who worked as a senior communications adviser for SkyCity and Fonterra before founding his lobbying firm, has previously said that conflicts were properly managed during his tenure as chief of staff." https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/19-06-2019/nothing-to-declare-new-questions-in-lobbyist-turned-chief-of-staff-saga/

    Clearly the dude is a corporate comms pro. The Spinoff writer examines the conflict of interest issue. If media hound the dude, he should just say "Easy, you just set up chinese walls in your mind. No problem."

    • The Chairman 7.1

      If the media smell blood and start to dig deeper and push this, it could cost Labour the next election. Perhaps they are biding their time, deciding to strike closer to the election?

      It doesn't look good for Jacinda and if she becomes to politically damaged from this, Labour won't stand a chance.

      • The Al1en 7.1.1

        Concerned as Mr Concern from Concerned land.

      • WeTheBleeple 7.1.2

        Oh blithering barnacles! Pray foretell the downfall of the mighty who doth sup at the cup of unrighteousness. Alas!

        Who will come to our rescue to enlighten our beer sodden minds?

        Hark, tis The Chairman! Spokesperson for the downtrodden.

        Hahaha, PR guy. At last, time to beat those fucking Herald Journalists black and blue.

      • ankerawshark 7.1.3

        Chairman, same old same old……..It doesn't look good for Jacinda… politically damaged………..lose the next election.

        Lol lol The Chairman…Seeing right through you

      • CHCoff 7.1.4

        The media won't be happy and behave until there's a track and trace Financial Transaction Tax, that's what it wants, it's obvious.

      • Stuart Munro. 7.1.5

        It doesn't seem to be the kind of problem that excites the public interest – the much more serious issues surrounding the appointment of Ian Fletcher barely dented the popularity of unremitting scoundrel John Key.

        • The Chairman 7.1.5.1

          Yes, that had little impact on Key. But this goes a little beyond that.

          As for public opinion, the media play a large role in influencing it. Therefore, it depends how they shape it and how hard they push it.

          Have you noticed that ACT is onto this. ACT may be used as the attack dog, keeping Nationals hands clean.

    • Muttonbird 7.2

      I didn't know rank and file members and activists were experts in recruitment appointments and political strategy. I can't believe all that grass roots knowledge was overlooked for a professional political operator…

  5. Dennis Frank 8

    Dark horse canters into fourth place in latest round of tory leadership balloting: "At the moment, Google Trends shows that Conservative leader hopeful Rory Stewart is more popular than Boris Johnson." https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c8z2ykqzgypt/rory-stewart

    Raab got eliminated. Too hard-line. Stewart "was widely expected to be one of the first to be eliminated. No longer. An unconventional campaign combined with a straight-talking, honest approach and a strong stance against a no-deal Brexit have seen him catapulted into the spotlight and sent bookies scrambling to slash the odds on him becoming Britain's next prime minister (he is now the second favourite)." https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rory-stewart-tory-leadership-background-iraq-brexit-deal-johnson-a8964091.html

    “In 2000, when he claims to have stopped working directly for the government, he walked 6,000 miles across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal and India – a journey that became the basis of three widely-acclaimed books. Stewart returned to the Middle East after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, becoming deputy governor of the Maysan province in southern Iraq.”

    “After a short stint teaching at Harvard University, in 2005 he helped establish the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, an NGO working in Afghanistan in the wake of the US-led invasion of the country. Brad Pitt was so interested in Stewart’s story at this point that he bought the rights to make a film about his life, although the Hollywood star reportedly lost interest when Stewart became a Tory MP”.

  6. Professor Longhair 9

    "…a straight-talking, honest approach…"

    Not a wise approach in Great Britain, the land of scoundrels.

  7. WeTheBleeple 10

    Dear Farmers

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/113562668/mountain-rain-runoff-turns-canterbury-lakes-green-and-brown

    Take a look at the first picture on this page. Note that the only green grass in the entire foreground surrounds the only trees in the entire foreground.

    Trees do not lower production. They raise it. Note the trees themselves might be used as off-season fodder.

    Things are only going to get worse, more droughts, more severe.

    Get planting if you want to save the farm.

  8. marty mars 11

    The naming and shaming of this white supremacist for breaking the law has been well paced I think. I hope this helps other sad men take a different path and find a better way to deal with their inadequacies and shortcomings. There is help out there I think – not sure what support groups for racists but that anti social behaviour and belief system is a manifestation of deeper issues imo and they CAN be worked on.

    Christchurch man Philip Neville Arps was jailed for 21 months on Tuesday in the Christchurch District Court on two charges of distributing the objectionable live-streamed video of the mosque murders.

    Arps admitted the day after the March 15 attack he sent away the video to have it modified with cross-hairs and a "kill count", and distributed the unmodified video to 30 associates.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/113588866/unrepentant-hardcore-white-supremacist-jailed-after-sharing-terror-video

    • greywarshark 11.1

      Attitudes to others and what is right and fair and moral!

      This morning about 8am I think it was a psychologist who said that the white supremacist followers are very set in their thinking and unlikely to change. And also that there are gangs of them in jails just like groups of Maori gang members. So there is a likely conflict there in the future.

      And if we don't have a death sentence, and the criminal should be contained and not let out to renew their shitty behaviour, and continue to harden their ideas in prison, it may be that a type of brain surgery is required – similar to the story of The Clockwork Orange? If behaviour gets really embedded in certain levels of society – what to do?

      11 year old girl not allowed to play in sporting contest for boys. She has been playing rugby in a mixed team but can’t for the competition. That is being questioned.
      But if equality is to be enforced across the board, girls will have to allow boys in their teams. What if the boys are bigger and better and replace the girls opportunities to play at a representative level? It is good to be allowed to be with your gender peers, to be able to mix and learn how to get on with your own gender. That should not be forgotten with the frequent desire to not be defined by gender.

      And from Australia:
      Looking at behaviour accepting women as equals – a reporter from Australia this morning was talking about a blast about women coming from a hardmouth union organiser who has threatened to withhold political contributions to a party if the unions are sanctioned.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018700280/labor-s-union-problem-and-missing-belgian-backpacker

      Australia correspondent Chris Niesche looks at how union leader John Setka is proving to be a real headache for newly-elected Labor leader Anthony Albanese.

      He'll also report on the latest in the search for missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez and the university chancellor charging the university for use of his home which he bought with a loan – from the university.

    • Jenny - How to Get there? 11.2

      Is Phillip Arps a white guy or a terrorist?

      Why hasn't Arps been charged under the Suppression Of Terrorism Act?

      It seems that you can only get charged as a terrorist if you kill 50 people or you are Tuhoi.

      Solitary confinement has been defined as cruel and inhumane treatment by the United Nations.

      Yet this is the expected future for the Christchurch shooter, for the rest of his life.

      Far better that he be given a cell mate of similar beliefs, so they can stroke each others egos, and whatever else they fancy. At no risk of spreading their divisive poison to the general prison population.

      Arps should be charged under section 13 of the Act:

      Section 13: participating in a terrorist group

      • Section 12 (recruiting members of a terrorist group) now simply required a designated terrorist entity (DTE)[30]
      • Section 13 (participating in a terrorist group) introduced a recklessness component alongside knowledge, as well as only requiring a DTE[31]

      The penalties within the act are severe, with most offences carrying either 14 years or life imprisonment. If Arps was convicted under the Suppression Of Terrorism Act, the Christchurch shooter could get the cell mate he deserves. (For at least half of his sentence.)

      It could be argued that Arps business which traded under white supremacist logos could fall under the definition of a DTE. Other, yet to be identified, white supremacist circles that Arps moved in could also be defined as DTEs.

      We need to give this scum a real message.

      If we really wanted to suppress white supremacist terrorism this would be the way to do it.

  9. greywarshark 12

    World university rankings just produced probably biased towards what employers might want. I wondered how many would require Humanities subjects, also problem solving, also knowledge of philosophy and its history. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/392381/most-new-zealand-universities-improve-in-global-league-table

    This link is about likely 10 top jobs in 2030. https://www.crimsoneducation.org/nz/blog/jobs-of-the-future
    By 2025, we’ll lose over five million jobs to automation. That means that future jobs will look vastly different by the time you graduate university. Future jobs will involve knowledge creation and innovation. Machines will be freeing you up to explore, experiment and find interesting solutions to complex problems, like pollution.

    Have a look at what engineering students at Northwestern University are doing. The Solar Car Team gets to design, build, and race cars, all while saving the environment!

    So it seems further imagination, ideas, mind things with a division from physical work and from each others actual bodies!

    Future Skills:
    1. Mental Elasticity and Complex Problem Solving:
    2. Critical Thinking
    3. Creativity
    4. People Skills
    5. STEM
    6. SMAC
    7. Interdisciplinary Knowledge

    Jobs for the Future:
    1. Trash Engineer
    2. Alternative Energy Consultant
    3. Earthquake Forecaster
    4. Medical Mentor
    5. Organ/Body Part Creator
    6. Memory Surgeon
    7. Personal Productivity Person
    8. Personal Internet of Things (IOT) Security Repair Person
    9. Flight Instructor
    10. Commercial Space Pilot

  10. marty mars 13

    Good news – not many to go

    Chevron and Norwegian oil giant Equinor have opted to abandon their joint exploration efforts off the east coast of the North Island.

    The two firms have applied to surrender three permits they were granted in December 2014. The acreage covers more than 25,000 square-kilometres of ocean – roughly a quarter of the country's active exploration portfolio – and stretches from south-east of Turakirae Head on the southern Wairarapa coast, north towards Hawke's Bay.

    Link here

  11. marty mars 14

    Not good – silly justin is going down for this and desperate times in southern India

    Canada has approved the Trans Mountain expansion project after a federal court sent it back for review last summer.

    The decision could pose a challenge for PM Justin Trudeau as he heads into an election season likely to be fought in part over climate issues.

    His federal Liberals took the rare step last year of buying the pipeline for C$4.5bn ($3.4bn; £2.6bn) to help ensure the project's survival.

    Environmentalists and some First Nations fiercely oppose Trans Mountain.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48641293

    and this one

    The southern Indian city of Chennai (formerly Madras) is in crisis after its four main water reservoirs ran completely dry.

    The acute water shortage has forced the city to scramble for urgent solutions, including drilling new boreholes.

    Residents have had to stand in line for hours to get water from government tanks, and restaurants have closed due to the lack of water.

    "Only rain can save Chennai from this situation," an official told BBC Tamil.

    The city, which, according to the 2011 census, is India's sixth largest, has been in the grip of a severe water shortage for weeks now.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-48672330

  12. Muttonbird 15

    Of course Jong Kee knew nothing of this as board member and chairman…

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/113599166/anzs-former-boss-david-hisco-clocked-up-nearly-450k-a-year-in-expenses

    Yeah, right.

    • greywarshark 15.1

      Aha not tends of thousands but an 'order of magnitude'.

      In 2010 the amount was high because of relocation expenses etc.

      In 2014 relocation was referred to again.

      Then – In 2017 and 2018, when relocation was no longer cited, expenses remained remarkable at over A$400,000 each year.

      Why not? There's plenty more where that came from. He was making a perfectly rational decision for a financial whore in the present and even past capitalist system. And whatever your bank does you will be bailed out as in 2008, (shortly before he visited our bounteous shores).

    • ianmac 15.2

      Perhaps the clever Sir John decided to just hint at "modest" spending to disguise the fact that Mr Hisco had an expense account of over $400,000 per year. And should Sir John as Chair be aware of this outrageous figure. Not really. It was some junior clerk's fault and Sir John is as everyone knows, above reproach. Right?

      • Muttonbird 15.2.1

        I think Surge On is doing some frantic arse covering in the face the upcoming and unprecedented scrutiny of the banking industry's excesses.

  13. greywarshark 16

    This woman is an example of a failed mental health system, and I wonder if we are becoming so callous that we will think along the same lines as when the Bedlam place was where people got shoved like a human zoo. We had progressed beyond casual ECT but who knows where these mindless, soul-less semi-people in charge will go on their path to rid themselves of these damned souls.

    I hope this woman gets treatment, whatever has happened to her it looks as if she needs to be permanently in care. I hope that Labour's keen emotionally-driven, idelogues haven't given away all the places where that could happen and so she has to be in 'the community' where they can make her care SEP.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/392391/woman-jailed-for-abuse-of-mother

  14. Observer Tokoroa 17

    Apologies if I am off topic …

    But can someone tell me why all Americans are so like Donald Trump ? War mongers. Wealth Hogs. Racists. Low IQers. Always threatening everybody – everywhere. Deniers and Destroyers. Nuclear nutters. Loud Mouths.

    I wake up in the night thinking Americans all wear the same underwear and lingerie. Frightening. Fixated. Wondering if yet another American Wonder Air plane has hit the tarmac upside down… careless.

    It is so much easier to get along with Europeans than with Americans. And although the English are cantankerous on a daily basis, they really only attempt to become Eccentric. In fact, they desire Eccentricity above everything else. They even sleep with their little doggies and rottweilers. They believe in Boris Johnson. Boro is Eccentricty Universal. Absobloodylutely Dicky.

    I wish the Prime President Donald Trump well in his pursuit of Stupidity. I hope he gets voted in forever. For he is the spongy backbone of the American Horror Oddessy.

    Like all of America he believes only in his wretched little self. Yuck

    As for me, I would rather live with Peasants – and with Alice. There is no Alice like Alice.

    • I feel love 17.1

      Saying all Americans are like Trump is like saying all NZrs were like Key when he was PM. There are pleasant Americans, crappy Americans, wise Americans, stupid Americans, just like us really, doing their best or worse, I'm weary of generalisations.

    • WeTheBleeple 17.2

      I'm quite fond of this particular Merkin

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZXYpdqFovw

    • James 17.3

      you consider Obama “like Donald Trump ? War mongers. Wealth Hogs. Racists. Low IQers. Always threatening everybody – everywhere. Deniers and Destroyers. Nuclear nutters. Loud Mouths”

      You are showing yourself up as a racist and ignorant individual who needs to get out more and meet some people.

      Perhaps a holiday across the US would do you the world of good.

      • WeTheBleeple 17.3.1

        Anti-american sentiment is very high right now thanks to their clown in charge. OT's blowing off steam and saying what a lot of people might be thinking. Context is good aka there are good american people the majority did not vote Trump.

        Five minutes viewing of a Trump rally would send most sane people into a genocidal rage. Obviously not a good option, but the thing is if you keep walking over everyone you are gonna get your ass handed to you real bad when the worm turns.

        Schoolyard 101.

        Travel is not good for the soul unless you actually have a soul. Didn't do 'our' terrorist any good did it.

        Blowing off steam and getting feedback is good for the troubled mind. Getting it out rather than being a festering little fuckwad.

        • higherstandard 17.3.1.1

          'Blowing off steam and getting feedback is good for the troubled mind. Getting it out rather than being a festering little fuckwad.'

          Remarkable how many commenters here can both blow off steam and be a festering little fuckwad at the same time.

    • AB 17.4

      Well OT, that is a bit OTT.

      I am particularly fond of one long dead 'Murican – Walt Whitman, who wrote this in his 'Specimen Days' (Section 100) about the Civil War. No war-monger here:

      "somewhere they crawl’d to die, alone, in bushes, low gullies, or on the sides of hills—(there, in secluded spots, their skeletons, bleach’d bones, tufts of hair, buttons, fragments of clothing, are occasionally found yet)—our young men once so handsome and so joyous, taken from us—the son from the mother, the husband from the wife, the dear friend from the dear friend"

  15. WeTheBleeple 18

    Just a query – is tvnz site down for others, or is it me and my cookie bashing screwed up again…

    Edit – it’s back up, it was me methinks. DOH!

  16. Observer Tokoroa 19

    Hi – You who feels Love

    I am glad you have found an exception to the monolithic American. I have too.

    Belinda and Bill Gates are amazing Americans. Truly outstanding.

    Most Americans don’t even know that they are on a Planet.
    They do nothing for each other. Nothing for Planet Earth either. Hopeless.

    Regards

    • Professor Longhair 19.1

      Some damned fool from Tokoroa bloviates thusly: "Belinda and Bill Gates are amazing Americans. Truly outstanding."

      What on EARTH are they smoking down that way? And, no, I don't want some of it.

      • Jimmy 19.1.1

        I think OT has had too much Tokoroa Gold and all his posts recently have been OTT…lol I think he is trying make us truly look like the looney left!

        • I feel love 19.1.1.1

          Us on the looney left are a rich tapestry Jimmy, some drink, some smoke, some are even like me and practice teetotalism! Yet none of us are perfect, especially in this day in age of cyber stalking and keyboard warriorism, live and let live huh?

          • WeTheBleeple 19.1.1.1.1

            I haven't had any decent bush weed for years. Send some of that good forest flora up to Aucks!

            Back in the day, Te Puke Thunder would have made most of today's 'elite strains' look like the rubbish they are. I hope some of the Te Arawa folk kept that strain running it will make mighty good medicine.

            Kakariki is also worth it's weight. One to watch out for if the law changes.

            Oops, was we hating on potheads? Nah, just Jimmy thinks it's an insult while he sucks back some more booze.

            Obama, Gates, Clooney, Jobs, Sagan, Marley, Hendrix – what a bunch of pothead losers!

    • Brigid 19.2

      "Belinda and Bill Gates are amazing Americans."

      Balderdash. The Gates are wealthy because they paid the code monkeys poorly who created Windoze and ripped off those who bought the product. As well Gates, when he could get away with it, stole from other OS producers.

      And having created such immense wealth by not fair means but foul, he magnanimously doles it out to those he judges worthy.

      IMHO Windoze has always been a pig of an operating system and I'm proud to say I have not contributed one cent to the Gates empire.

  17. greywarshark 20

    Malcolm Evans a great cartoonist with his enearing farming couple that goes by the name of Edna.

    He was affected by free speech limitation and we have all noticed the surveillance and hostility about this subject.

    Having first worked for The New Zealand Herald in the 1970s, when he succeeded Sir Gordon Minhinnick, Evans was again its cartoonist for six years from 1997 till 2003 when those opposed to his anti-Zionist cartoons, which the Herald had judged to be "fair comment", put pressure on the paper and, following Evans' subsequent refusal to stop drawing cartoon comments on the Israeli treatment of Palestinians, he was subsequently dismissed.[1][2]

    During his time at the New Zealand Herald he was twice judged New Zealand Cartoonist of the Year, a title he held at the time of his firing, along with that of President of the NZCIA – the New Zealand Cartoonists and Illustrators Association. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Evans_(cartoonist)

  18. greywarshark 21

    The wealthy and foreigners attempting to take over our commons, our enjoyment of our own land.

    I read of someone near Queenstown who has got permission for a helicopter pad near his house. He applied for it and got permission on the basis that it was for him on an occasional basis, but he is a frequent user and has others calling on him. So there is that noise coming through into their originally placid home and very hard to do anything about it.

    Now there is an application to have an exclusive air space for using for drones near Kerikeri.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503402&objectid=12241392

    Northland pilots baulk at private airspace request 18/6/2019

  19. greywarshark 22

    Chris Trotter on the dreadful carry on employed by Oranga Tamariki, a name that implies it is in tune with Maori and te reo. By a very well-organised filming by Newsroom's Melanie Reid, of a dirty secret that this agency and District Health Boards are conniving with, we can see that a scandal is being perpetrated against vulnerable families.

    There is a problem of family violence in NZ. But grabbing children and taking them away from families is, literally, kidnapping. The kindness of strangers it is supposed to be. But the children are traumatised by it and the families are beaten down by their helplessness and the lack of respect for them and their rights. When they are in chaos yes there is no choice. But when families need support and are willing to work co-operatively with life skill coaches, that would be the way to go and would bring the wanted results. (Try the Celia Lashlie approach FGS.)

    https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2019/06/ripped-away-from-their-parents.html

    ...Reid estimates that the “uplift” of Maori children from their biological parents by child welfare social workers – often assisted by the Police – is occurring at least three times a week. The removal of these children, who range in age from just a few days to 14 years, is authorised by Family Court orders which, astonishingly, permit the use of “reasonable force” to separate parents from their children. That this regularly involves burly police officers carrying distraught and screaming children from their family home is a fact which Oranga Tamariki is very keen to keep from the public.

    …This is the enormous virtue of Reid’s and Newsroom’s investigative journalism. It digs below the superficial stereotypes that allow so many of us to dismiss the anguish of “these people” as the inevitable outcome of their irresponsible lifestyles. That they are brown and say “yous”, instead of “you”, only makes it easier for middle-class Pakeha to ignore their pain. Oranga Tamariki, the Family Court, the DHBs and the Police have made it possible for those Kiwis who have made their peace with race-based social injustice to go about their lives without the slightest awareness of the tragedies unfolding, every night, in suburbs they will never visit.

    Reid and Newsroom are, of course, already feeling the lash of official displeasure. Oranga Tamariki are attempting to force edits in Reid’s video. The Hawkes Bay DHB has chastised one of its board members for daring to speak out against the incident recorded by Reid and her camera-operator. The Minister for Children, Tracey Martin, is unapologetic: the uplifts, she says, will continue. The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, is conflicted. Reid’s footage depicts a world a long, long way from the “politics of kindness”.

    • Brigid 22.1

      It isn't just the "“uplift” of Maori children from their biological parents", it's that in this particular case these horrible bitches representing Oranga Tamariki lied to and attempted to manipulate the mother when they had been told that the warrant was rendered temporarily invalid by the mother's lawyer's action in applying to the court to have the proceedings halted.

      These horrible creatures went to her hospital room at night and sat there waiting for her to become too exhausted to continue holding on the the baby. They then intended to steal the baby from her. At the same time the hospital had refused entry to her family and the midwives who were caring for her. The whole fiasco was unbelievably disgusting.

  20. Jenny - How to Get there? 23

    Fascism in the US

    When will the cattle cars start running?*

    Hitler found that he could not remove 6 million 'undesirable aliens' by conventional means.

    The current 25 million undesirable aliens in the US, represent a much bigger logistical problem.

    It may not happen straight away, but if Trump goes ahead with his plan to deport "millions" of "criminal aliens"….

    There simply isn't enough secure buses trains and planes in the whole country to move that many people.

    And if you can't lock them in, what's to stop people just simply getting off?

    Especially if they and their families face being dumped on the other side of the Mexican border with no jobs, no food, no water.

    If nothing else this will create a huge humanitarian crisis for the Mexican government.

    If Trump carries through with his plan…

    Expect massive transit/detention camps.

    Expect riots., expect repression, expect talk of final solutions.

    Never forget that Trump has declared a nation wide state of emergency which gives him and his executive wide unchecked powers.

    Trump: Mass arrests, removals of 'millions of illegal aliens' to begin next week

    US President Donald Trump said in a tweet Monday night that US immigration agents are planning to make mass arrests starting "next week," an apparent reference to a plan in preparation for months that aims to round up thousands of migrant parents and children in a blitz operation across major US cities.

    "Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States," Trump wrote….

    ,,,,In 2018, Trump and other senior officials threatened the mayor of Oakland, California, with criminal prosecution for alerting city residents that immigration raids were in the works….

    ….."The Oakland mayor's decision to publicise her suspicions about ICE operations further increased that risk for my officers and alerted criminal aliens – making clear that this reckless decision was based on her political agenda with the very federal laws that ICE is sworn to uphold," then-ICE deputy director Thomas Homan said at the time…..

    ……In April, acting ICE director Ronald Vitiello and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen were ousted after they hesitated to go forward with the plan, expressing concerns about its preparation, effectiveness and the risk of public outrage from images of migrant children being taken into custody or separated from their families.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/donald-trumps-america/113621152/trump-mass-arrests-removals-of-millions-of-illegal-aliens-to-begin-next-week

    And so it goes.

    Will the American people stand for this?

    *or Modern Equivalent

    • Jenny - How to Get there? 23.1

      …And let's not forget the massive war that Trump is planning against Iran, based on trumped up charges of limpet mines on oil tankers, that the Japanese tanker owners said, just didn't happen.

  21. Eco maori 24

    Kia ora The Am Show.

    World Refugee day 70 million refugees on Papatuanuku.

    Gary is starting a electric plane phenomenon in Christchurch very cool we need more people like him chasing clean renewable energy.

    The Americas Cup is a great event that will promote the positive things about Aotearoa to the big punters of the Papatuanuku.

    I tau toko Wahine playing sports with Tane .

    7 years since Fyfe resigned from Air New Zealand time flys .

    Poverty =Family Violence enough said.

    The tourists levy was needed to build the infrastructure to cater for our tourists needs sustainably and respectfully.

    Ka kite ano

  22. Eco maori 25

    Whanau you see most countrys don't get there water from tawhirimate most countries get their water from Glaciers melting in their high lands Monga mountains Glaciers melting. With Global warming these people are going to have no Glaciers to provide water this is just one phenomenon of Global warming that is going to displace Billions of people and create Water Wars we have to act fast to avoid this crisis.

    Himalayan glacier melting doubled since 2000, spy satellites show

    Ice losses indicate ‘devastating’ future for region and 1 billion people who depend on it for water

    The melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since the turn of the century, with more than a quarter of all ice lost over the last four decades, scientists have revealed. The accelerating losses indicate a “devastating” future for the region, upon which a billion people depend for regular water

    The scientists combined declassified US spy satellite images from the mid-1970s with modern satellite data to create the first detailed, four-decade record of ice along the 2,000km (1,200-mile) mountain chain.

    The analysis shows that 8bn tonnes of ice are being lost every year and not replaced by snow, with the lower level glaciers shrinking in height by 5 meters annually. The study shows that only global heating caused by human activities can explain the heavy melting. In previous work, local weather and the impact of air pollution had complicated the picture.

    Joshua Maurer, from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth observatory, who led the new research, said: “This is the clearest picture yet of how fast Himalayan glaciers are melting since 1975, and why. Ka kite ano link below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/19/himalayan-glacier-melting-doubled-since-2000-scientists-reveal

  23. Eco maori 26

    Some Eco Maori music for the minute.

    https://youtu.be/amGI5T0JGDc

  24. Eco maori 27

    Eco Maori backs Wahine equality when I first put some serious thoughts into the 2 genders I came to the conclusion that Wahine are more intelligent than men.

    I figured out that over the centuries Wahine have had to use there witty intellect to survive were as men had brute force to win hence Wahine became more intelligent. As for the humane side of Wahine that comes naturally to the ones that give us life.

    I also back equality for Wahine why because men are making a MESS of Papatuanuku Wahine always have to clean up after men make big messes.

    Men have always played critical roles in the women’s movement. From John Stuart Mill to Fredrick Douglass, male allies have long supported the struggle for gender equality. And today there are plenty of men who are proud feminists – just ask Andy Murray, who hired and championed a female coach, Amélie Mauresmo; or Ryan Gosling, who has become something of a feminist icon. But there is still a long way to go, and we’ll only get there by drawing more men into the conversation.

    Despite all the progress made, men still dominate positions of power. And, as a string of recent harassment scandals has shown, the behaviour of some men has had profound effects on women’s careers, their success and their lives. The good news, as we mark International Women’s Day, is that many men are acknowledging the importance of playing their part to make gender equality a reality.

    Scotland unveils plans to become world leader in gender equality

    A new study by Ipsos Mori, in collaboration with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London (of which I am the chair) and International Women’s Day, has found that while a third of British men think they are being expected to do too much to support women’s equality, far more – half – do not. In fact, three in five men in Britain agree that gender equality won’t be achieved unless they also take action to support women’s rights ka kite ano link below.

    https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/08/gender-equality-not-womens-issue-good-men-too

  25. Eco maori 28

    Kia ora Newshub.

    I agree with our government not paying market prices for the gun buy back scheme once you buy something its starts devaluing.

    Some people don't no how to treat animals that fool stabbing that poor miniature horse 40 times.

    The elderly lady was lucky that those young men were able to save her from drowning in the lake in Christchurch that she crashed into.

    Its cool making it easier to vote having polling booth In shopping centers and super markets and you can register and vote on the same day a positive move.

    Its not on the way Saudi crown prince had that reporter killed we need to protect our reporters of the Papatuanuku.

    Ka kite ano

  26. Eco Maori 29

    That Marae at Auckland MIT is awsome it been open for 20 years.

    The sandfly muppets are stuffing with my internet I watch the news on my computa and some how my ph data all ways runs out when I just read a few news sites and post posts WTF intimadation games dont work on Eco Maori I see there actors and there games coming from a mile away

  27. Eco maori 30

    Kia Ora The Am Show.

    That's one reason why I like to use the fist bump instead of shaking hands its limits catching viruses is that what happened to Duncan and Amanda.

    Sir Bob Harvey is a Aotearoa treasure good on you for supporting the tangata sleeping under the bridge very fine cause .The home less need work I say the old PEP scheme needs to come back a van picks workers up takes them to mahi and drops them off. If they can do that For Periotic probation why not do that for the homeless even council's could do this instead of getting the authority's to chase them away.

    I think it's good to find out the jender of your child before being born you can plan for the pepi . My first was a girl my first mokopuna is a girl to .

    The students Strikes gets the message to the Papatuanuku the tide is turning on Human Caused Climate Change its very hard to get the TRUTH out through the oil barons money that is suppressing the TRUTH about climate change.

    Ryan it's politics the gun buy back thing who ever was in power when the Christchurch disaster happened would have dune the same .

    The cast of That 70,s Show are cool.

    Of course you are going to have some national supporters gun owners shouting that they are being hard dune buy.

    Malisa you are correct not having the guns out there stop the wrong people stealing them stop the guns getting in the wrong hands.

    The Queenstown winter festival is on today that will be cool there is plenty of snow for the event.

    Allbirds Tim Brown enviomently friendly made shoes is awesome you're successful business will make other manufacturers take note and copy that's good. Congratulations on you winning the Kia awards. Christeen you and your national m8 slashed the money to the poor people and gave tax cuts to the rich you made a big mess of CYPS you are part of the problem poverty = family Violence the data is around Papatuanuku to prove my words Ka kite ano

  28. Eco maori 32

    https://youtu.be/rWxdIMdkrKM

    Do you want this lying muppets puppets to be in charge of Air Newzealand big no from Eco Maori

  29. Eco maori 33

    Here shonky is denying how many children are in poverty because of his ways.

    https://youtu.be/95v4jYzKrtw

  30. Eco maori 34

    Eco Maori thanks these people for doing things that are going to protect our decendince futures Ka pai.

    Major global investor drops US firms deemed climate crisis laggards

    Legal and General Investment Management cuts companies including ExxonMobil

    An ethical investment operation by the UK’s largest asset manager has dumped shares in a string of US companies it has deemed climate crisis laggards, including oil giant ExxonMobil and insurer Metlife.

    Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) said it had cut five companies – ExxonMobil, Metlife, Spam maker Hormel Foods, US retailer Kroger and Korean Electric Power Corporation – from its umbrella of ethical investment funds worth a total of £5bn.

    LGIM added the climate laggards to a list which already includes China Construction Bank, carmaker Subaru, Japan Post Holdings, Canadian retailer Loblaw, US food and service conglomerate Sysco Corporation and Russian oil giant Rosneft, which is part-owned by BP.

    The asset manager monitors companies across six major sectors: oil and gas; mining; electric utilities; carmakers; food retailers; and finance.

    Meryam Omi, head of responsible investment at LGIM, said investor engagement with companies can be “a powerful tool” if there are “consequences”. L&G retains shareholdings in the blacklisted companies at other funds in its £1tn investment empire and will now use those shares to vote against board appointments at the named and shamed businesses

    Ka kite ano link below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/21/us-climate-crisis-legal-and-general-investment-management

  31. Eco maori 35

    Some Eco Maori music for the minute.

    https://youtu.be/vqnwqsJYyiU

  32. Eco maori 36

    Some people trick them selves into believing that everything just fine well read this and see the TRUTH Whanau now let's keep our nose clean and stay out of trouble.

    Last year, the government set up an advisory group, Te Uepū Hāpai i te Ora, to advise it on what reforms should be made to our criminal justice system. In the wake of the release of its first report, He Waka Roimata (A Valley of Tears), Dale Husband talked to Chester Borrows, the former cop and National Party MP who leads the group

    Well, I was absolutely staunchly Labour, right through until I went to Pātea, where I was the local cop, and I saw what happened there with the change in government policy. The truth is that Labour (which was my party) swapped sides with National. This was in the middle of Rogernomics.

    We had PEP schemes operating and we had people fully engaged with their community. Then Richard Prebble decided it was too expensive to keep doing that, and that it was much cheaper just to pay the dole. So that’s what he did.

    The fact, though, is that colonisation is an ongoing process. You take away a group’s economic base, educate them in a foreign language, relegate them into housing that isn’t certain. Is it any surprise that, a few generations down the track, this indigenous population has been corralled into low-decile, vulnerable communities, where they have the smallest voice in our democracy?

    Take Pātea, for instance. Eighty percent of that town was on government support. They were the people who were vulnerable to centralisation, or work being moved offshore. And they find themselves unemployed, almost in a cyclic way.

    It’s no wonder that they get into a cycle where they fail in education, they fail in health, and they fail in employment because their jobs keep moving. And they keep finding themselves in court

    There’s another factor in the failure of the justice system — and that’s the collaboration of other government agencies. If we look back into the 1970s, for instance, the state took one in 100 Pākehā kids and put them into state care. But they took 14 in 100 Māori kids and put them into state care.

    This is what we mean when we talk about ongoing colonisation. It was those government policies that affect outcomes for Māori today. And indigenous people around the world in colonised countries have the same statistics.

    Are we talking about decisions being made by well-meaning but misguided people? Or are we talking about really racist attitudes?

    I think some of it is well-meaning and paternalistic stuff. But it’s racism nevertheless. So it doesn’t matter whether it’s malicious or accidental or just ignorant racism. It’s still racism. And the outcome is just the same Ka kite ano link below.

    https://e-tangata.co.nz/korero/chester-borrows-the-blue-leftie/

  33. Eco maori 37

    Kia ora Newshub.

    Eqc under national made a mess of the Christchurch earthquake repairs.

    No comment on Iran.

    I feel sorry for the couple in Nelson who are fighting judy and the council .

    I have all ready giving my opinion of shonky in my post above.

    The dog and owner race in Queens town looks like good fun.

    Lloyd it looks hot in Britain no comment on the political seen everyone knows my opinion.

    It think it's good that the Wahine can smear there own mear that will increase the up take of cervical cancer screening.

    Ka kite ano

  34. Eco maori 38

    Kia ora te ao Maori news.

    5000 tamariki in state care 4500 are Maori that's sad I do agree some tamariki need to be uplifted but it should be about the pepi first .

    The youth department unit will be good for the youth people teaching them how to respect each other and themselves ka pai.

    Te Aroa I think it's is needed a barge and a port to export all logs from Te taiwhiti it will create jobs and save carbon emissions being burned. The cost to freight logs to Gisborne port takes all.the PROFITS out of forestry harvesting.

    Ka pai to Rangitaki Marae for building kau matua flats and other whare around the Marae.

    Cool 13 kapa haka groups are going to preform a our Nations Museum Te Papa in Wellington.

    Its is awesome getting our kau matua out and getting exercise and best for them to socialize our society seems to forget about our kau matua they need lots of aroha and care or they will just sit at whare . We are all getting older.

    Ka kite ano

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