Open Mike 19/03/2017

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 19th, 2017 - 84 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

84 comments on “Open Mike 19/03/2017”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. marty mars 1
    19 March 2017 at 7:39 am

    Another important testimony – tough reading for a sunday morning but not as tough as what these children endured

    But, as my brother Tipene said to me: “Our stories have to be told. How would people know what it’s like for a child to go through state-imposed trauma unless we all tell our story?”

    There are still thousands of kids in state care who don’t have a voice. And too many of them are Māori. According to the Children’s Commissioner, Māori make up 61 percent of all kids in state care and 71 percent of the total in youth justice residences.

    If that isn’t institutional racism, what is?

    http://e-tangata.co.nz/news/it-sticks-like-a-knife-in-my-guts

    • adam 1.1
      19 March 2017 at 3:31 pm

      What I love about the link the most marty mars, was the comments section below.

      Her writing was that good, it inspired such well thought out and written responses.

  2. Tui 2
    19 March 2017 at 8:23 am

    i’ve been doing some self-defence course as means of empowerment. one of the things we’re taught is to shout no! loudly and with force. it got me thinking about how as women and as nurturers and carers we’re oppressed by the patriarchy not to say no to anything, not even to our mokopuna, and how this contributes to the rape culture we women live in. how many times as women have we said yes to something like “can you do this?” or “can I have this?” when we should have said no? as a means of taking power back we as women must learn to say no!

    ~Tui

    • BM 2.1
      19 March 2017 at 8:33 am

      Are you a Maori woman?

      • Tui 2.1.1
        19 March 2017 at 9:21 am

        are you a white oppressive male?

        ~ Tui

        • james 2.1.1.1
          19 March 2017 at 9:50 am

          Do you think all white men are oppressive?

          • marty mars 2.1.1.1.1
            19 March 2017 at 10:01 am

            Pity a dim like you can’t let an interesting exchange play out because you’ve got some stupid and bogus point to talk about and by god YOU will talk, why not it’s YOUR right!!!

          • Tui 2.1.1.1.2
            19 March 2017 at 11:27 am

            no! i certainly do not think all white men are oppressive. but as a male you are born into the patriarchy and until you make a conscious decision to leave the patriarchy you are part of that oppressive system.

            • One Two 2.1.1.1.2.1
              19 March 2017 at 1:15 pm

              Thinking such as that ensures any and all genuine issues will continue…

              An unfortunate comment, and thought process!

              • Draco T Bastard …
                19 March 2017 at 6:17 pm

                What a load of bollocks.

                As the psychologists say, the first thing that people need to accept when they need to change is that there’s a problem. A male denying that they’re part of the patriarchy is denying that there’s a problem.

                • One Two …
                  19 March 2017 at 6:27 pm

                  On certain subject matter it appears you have critically thought through, and your comments are somewhat coherent…

                  This is not one them, neither is it for Tui, taking the written comments at face value

                  The bollocks you’re projecting is the apparant shallow level of thinking applied through yours, and Tuis comments…

                  • Draco T Bastard …
                    19 March 2017 at 8:43 pm

                    Five Tips to Accept a Mental Health Problem

                    “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery,” Dumbledore, the headmaster wizard once said in the Harry Potter series. With this quote, author J.K. Rowling tapped into a core truth in the acceptance of a mental health problem… acceptance is key to managing mental health challenges.

                    My research has found that acceptance is not a simple outcome that is either there or not there. Instead, acceptance is a dynamic process that involves several factors that develop over time. This process requires moving from a passive state of denial to an active position of agency.

                    So, yeah, it’s you who’s talking bollocks.

                    • One Two …
                      19 March 2017 at 11:22 pm

                      Not even using your own thoughts, Draco

                      Which is why you find yourself trapped in boxes, such as this one

                      Using your own mind, not the one defined for you by others…

                      Read Tuis comment which I responded to, and see if you can identify one key fault in it

                      There are a number of them, but see if you can identify one…

              • McFlock …
                19 March 2017 at 11:28 pm

                “Information is entangled in a symphony of belonging”

            • james 2.1.1.1.2.2
              19 March 2017 at 8:43 pm

              so oppressive by default until a conscious decision to leave?

              • McFlock …
                19 March 2017 at 10:38 pm

                From my perspective as a white middle-class male, that’s probably a fair comment.

                Not that every wmcm beats women or whatever, just that we each need to look at the daily assumptions we’ve been trained to make at home, at work, wherever. The shit we do without noticing.

                • One Two …
                  19 March 2017 at 11:29 pm

                  YOU need to look at the daily assumptions YOU’VE been trained to make…

                  The shit YOU do without noticing…

                  • McFlock …
                    19 March 2017 at 11:35 pm

                    That’s why I used the word “we”, a the plural first person pronoun.

                    By “we” I referred to a group of people that includes James, myself, YOU…

                    For example, the assumption that you have understanding that nobody else here comprehends in the slightest.

                    • One Two …
                      19 March 2017 at 11:45 pm

                      We’re each at different levels of understanding , McFlock
                      That we each continue to learn and evolve is important

                      But that’s only my opinion, based on my own understandings

                      How to learn and evolve is beyond the conscious thought of far too many…..IMO

                      But that’s not for me to concern over….

                    • McFlock …
                      19 March 2017 at 11:53 pm

                      Okey dokey, I’ll just throw this out there on the off chance then:

                      If it doesn’t concern you, then don’t tell us that we haven’t “critically thought through” something, or that something is obviously beyond our perception.

                      Instead, try telling us why your understanding of the issue differs from ours, and how you reached it. Explicitly, with a gradual progression of logical argument.

                    • One Two …
                      20 March 2017 at 12:02 am

                      That was in response to Draco, who jumped in on my comment to Tui

                      ‘It doesn’t concern me’….except where someone jumps in on a response I make to another handle…in actuality it didn’t concern Draco…it concerned Tui

                      Regardless, it is not my concern to guide the thoughts of others…but I do pass comment at times….

                    • McFlock …
                      20 March 2017 at 12:13 am

                      It’s not a private forum. Anyone can join a conversation, there’s no ownership.

                      DTB will pass comment, I’ll pass comment, you’ll pass comment.

                      But simply saying that someone lacks understanding or conceptual sophistication doesn’t develop the conversation. Saying why you think they’re on the wrong track, that leaves a space for someone to agree, or to bring the conversation forward by saying in turn why they disagree with you.

          • North 2.1.1.1.3
            19 March 2017 at 7:51 pm

            Poor ‘boy’ James @ 2.1.1.1…….just can’t resist the right-wing reflex to pour shit on a subject of significance outside the right-wing tunnel. Sad (bad) Trump man-child ? Well yeah…….stupid and unattractive……. just like the The Fake Prez.

          • mauī 2.1.1.1.4
            19 March 2017 at 9:14 pm

            Fucking hell what a display this thread is from the righties. Brash’s Hobsons pledge meets Bob Jones. Heh

            • Antoine 2.1.1.1.4.1
              20 March 2017 at 3:03 am

              I think they are honestly baffled by Tui’s original comment ‘as nurturers and carers we’re oppressed by the patriarchy not to say no to anything, not even to our mokopuna’. I suspect it does not match with their own life experience – them not having oppressed anyone recently or seen anyone being oppressed by the patriarchy – or even being entirely clear what the patriarchy _is_.

              This has rather derailed the discussion of Tui’s perfectly reasonable point that women should be more assertive and ‘learn to say no!’

              Hope that helps

              A.

              • McFlock …
                20 March 2017 at 4:22 pm

                I suspect it does not match with their own life experience – them not having noticed that they oppressed anyone recently or noticed anyone being oppressed by their peers

                Just tweaking it for a different perspective 🙂

                Do fish always notice water, or understand its nature, I wonder?

                • Antoine …
                  20 March 2017 at 11:07 pm

                  You could be right and they could be unconscious oppressors, or you could be wrong and they could just be decent people, I don’t know, I haven’t met them in RL

        • weka 2.1.1.2
          19 March 2017 at 10:20 am

          Heh.

    • Antoine 2.2
      19 March 2017 at 11:52 am

      It’s a fine thing to be able to say ‘No!’ when the occasion calls for it 🙂

      A.

      • Tui 2.2.1
        19 March 2017 at 12:47 pm

        just out of chance i happened to click on stephanie’s link on the right and (i hope she doesn’t mind me quoting her) found this bit:

        “That’s another challenge, doing small things every day to stand up for ourselves and for all the women around us.”

        i feel that fits perfectly what i’ve been trying to say here. we as women must learn to stand up for ourselves even in small ways so that when it comes to it when can stand up for ourselves in big ways too!

        ~ Tui

    • Wensleydale 2.3
      19 March 2017 at 6:41 pm

      Women say no to me all the time. It’s a deeply pedestrian occurrence.

  3. Robert Guyton 3
    19 March 2017 at 8:36 am

    Are you a Spanish Inquisitor?

  4. Carolyn_nth 4
    19 March 2017 at 8:37 am

    CIA flights to NZ helped break the 1951 waterfront strike.

    The US provided four Curtiss C-46 Commando planes and crew to fly cargo between Paraparaumu Airport near Wellington to Woodbourne in Blenheim on the South Island.

    It was chartered to ensure that goods could still be shipped around New Zealand during the waterfront dispute of 1951. The pay dispute was the largest industrial confrontation in New Zealand history bringing the nation’s ports to a standstill and, at its peak, taking 22,000 workers off the job from February to July 1951.

    Left-leaning political commentator Chris Trotter said the secret Kiwi mission was a revelation.

    “It is an important historical detail because it shows how real the ideological battle was and it shows that a lot of the fears on the left have some real basis in fact.

    “There was always a suspicion that the US was manipulating events from behind fronts. This detail reinforces all the worse fears of the people involved in the dispute.”
    …
    A 1949 CIA document declassified in 2013 shows the US mission may have been motivated by Communist fears. The report claimed that the main Communist influence in New Zealand came from trade unions.

    “Communists or Communist sympathisers in key union posts were strongest in the Waterside Workers Union,” the report states.

    The New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union was forced to break into smaller unions for each port after the dispute ended in June.

    Historian Dick Scott’s 1952 book about the dispute, 151 Days, noted the flights and claimed they were part of US support for the New Zealand Government during the confrontation. The flights were reported in local media at the time, but Kiwis would not have been aware that the airline was secretly owned by the CIA.

    • Anne 4.1
      19 March 2017 at 9:15 am

      The CIA were here in force in the 1970s too. The election of the Kirk government would have been the motivating factor. Ya know, that terrible Commie Labour crowd wot wanted to stop the French from letting off nuclear bombs in their own backyard.

      I noted in the article the reference to the “strange lights over Kaikoura in 1978”. That showed them up for a bunch of stupid ignoramuses. Those lights were a natural phenomena which occur over water in intense anticyclonic conditions. An inversion will form several hundred feet in the atmosphere trapping particles – including ‘light’ particles. There was a fleet of foreign fishing vessels in the area at the time and the lights from those boats was being reflected off the top of the inversion layer… making it look like flying saucer-like objects were bobbing about in the air.

      • mikesh 4.1.1
        19 March 2017 at 7:21 pm

        I have always suspected that million dollars spent by the Exclusive Brethren at the time of the 2005 election, on a pamphlet demonizing Labour and the Greens, came from overseas. I have no evidence of course that this was the case but I just don’t see the “apolitical” Brethren spending their own money on such an enterprise.

    • millsy 4.2
      19 March 2017 at 9:34 am

      This is old news, I read about it in the book written about the lockout back in the 1950’s. In the same book, the author also details Chinese assistance as well, that is from the Republic of China, lead by Chaing Kai-Shek, based in Taiwan.

  6. Draco T Bastard 6
    19 March 2017 at 11:00 am

    Sydney Harbour Bridge celebrates 85th birthday with release of archival footage and worker interviews

    “There was guilt; either stop on the job or go back on the dole,” labourer Pat Crawley said at the time

    Interesting piece of history.

  7. Carolyn_nth 7
    19 March 2017 at 12:05 pm

    Nicky Hager is releasing a new book on 21st March 5pm.

    Felix Geiringer tweeted:

    Nicky says new book isn’t a sequel to #DirtyPolitics & isn’t related to the election. No other details have been revealed. #HagerBookLaunch

    …
    Nicky says the new book is “gripping and important”. It is an open invitation. Come on Tusday and bring friends and family. #HagerBookLaunch

    • Cinny 7.1
      19 March 2017 at 2:37 pm

      Thrilled to hear this news. Rock on Tuesday 😀

      • Carolyn_nth 7.1.1
        19 March 2017 at 2:56 pm

        I suspect tax havens or tax avoidance.

        • Cinny 7.1.1.1
          19 March 2017 at 4:12 pm

          Was thinking the same Carolyn.

          Interestingly enough Key exits Parliament the following day.

          And the troll attack on Hagar via Stuff is fierce. Considering the news has just been announced in the last few hours. I suspect some people will be freaking out.

          Nicky Hagar, the only New Zealand member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Big up’s to you Sir.

          • Carolyn_nth 7.1.1.1.1
            19 March 2017 at 4:20 pm

            Some of the commenters claim Hager is only announcing his book but not the topic for publicity. But, I recall that he did that with Dirty Politics so no-one could slap an injunction on the book before it is released.

            Tracey Watkins seems clearly thinks the topic of the book has something to do with John Key.

            The comments under the article are mixed – supporters and detractors of Hager.

            • ianmac 7.1.1.1.1.1
              19 March 2017 at 4:50 pm

              Isn’t Key giving his final address on Wednesday 22 March?
              Coincidence that Nicky’s book is publishing the day before 21 March?
              Surely unconnected!

            • Anne 7.1.1.1.1.2
              19 March 2017 at 6:57 pm

              I do recall Hager saying – not long after the release of Dirty Politics -something to the effect his next investigation was going to be about the police. He said several police officers – or maybe former officers – had approached him with some interesting material. Something like that.

              If it proves to be correct then I’m picking the Kim Dotcom case will be one of the stories highlighted and that would definitely include John Key.

          • Wensleydale 7.1.1.1.2
            19 March 2017 at 8:41 pm

            Hager’s definitely getting a hiding in the comments section. I suspect the Young Nats are at a bit of a loose end today, and they’ve all converged like buzzards on a rotting beef carcass. Some of the comments are spectacularly ignorant, and quite obviously prejudiced. Hager could provide them with a fresh corpse, a bloody knife and CCTV footage of the actual crime, and they’d still bleat, “It’s a conspiracy! It’s all a communist conspiracy!” Truly, there are none so blind as those who will not see.

    • millsy 7.2
      20 March 2017 at 12:02 am

      A stab in the dark, but I am picking that it could be about health, welfare and state housing.

      • Cinny 7.2.1
        20 March 2017 at 7:58 am

        I had another thought, maybe it’s about the media?
        ONE MORE SLEEP.
        I hope it has a handy dandy index like his last book. Gosh I’m excited.

  8. joe90 8
    19 March 2017 at 12:14 pm

    A couple or three centuries slaughtering Muslims and subjugating Indonesia and now they cry wolf.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/netherlands-geert-wilders-islam-election-empire/519648/?

    • Red Hand 8.1
      19 March 2017 at 6:43 pm

      The battle of Poitiers, Ottoman Habsburg wars, Anglofrench domination of Egypt and the middle east. Dutch supremacy in the east indies, Mahdist war, Mesopotamian campaign. When will they learn ?

  9. Poission 9
    19 March 2017 at 4:50 pm

    UK sends 800 troops to Estonia

    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39311670

    Sir Michael insisted it was a “defensive deployment” and was not “designed to provoke or escalate”.

    He added that Nato wanted to “deter any possible Russian aggression”

    Indeed the Rifles at the double would allay any aggression.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMBliu6CKsM

    .

  10. marty mars 10
    19 March 2017 at 5:48 pm

    Classic gnat speak – a 5 fold increase does not equal a “big buy up”

    Government figures which show foreigners bought five times as much precious New Zealand land last year are not an accurate guide to foreign ownership, Land Information Minister Mark Mitchell says.

    Mitchell rejected any claims that there was “a big buy-up of New Zealand land” today and ruled out calls for a detailed register which showed every foreign purchase, not just the sensitive or large purchases approved by the Overseas Investment Office (OIO).

    The OIO said 466,000 hectares of land was sold to offshore buyers in 2016 – five times more than the previous year.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11821313

    Really a register seems like a good idea to me – but the gnats would be scared of what it would show I think.

    • Carolyn_nth 10.1
      19 March 2017 at 6:09 pm

      Agree.

      I watched Q&A today. the panel afterwards proclaimed that Mitchell is a holding minister, a newby keeping control until the election.

      The panel discussion was very frustrating. Robert Reid questioned the whole notion of private ownership of land. Jaimie Whyte disdainfully dismissed any notion of “collective ownership” of land, saying it had never worked where it had been tried. I’d like to know the evidence, because Māori relationship to land pre-European.

      Whyte was saying it didn’t matter whether a foreigner of an NZ owned the land, and to have a go at foreign land ownership had no basis – said it was just Xenophobic. But no-one pointed out how it was very wealthy people buying big tracts of NZ land, putting it well out of the reach of most Kiwis’ bank balances.

      • mikesh 10.1.1
        19 March 2017 at 7:29 pm

        We probably need to have some form of private ownership of land, but it should be realized, I think, that ultimately the and belongs to all of us collectively and that such ownership should be subject to such conditions as we democratically decide.

      • Chris 10.1.2
        20 March 2017 at 11:30 pm

        I tore my hair out watching it. Like you say, nobody talked about the downstream effects of wealthy people from bigger countries that operate on way bigger scales than NZ coming here to buy huge amounts of pristine and sought after land that NZers can’t afford. Nobody talked about how that then pushes the prices up of all similar land and sets the ball rolling until no New Zealander can afford to do a fucking thing.

        The people on the programme talked about access to the land, walking tracks etc. Mitchell had a sweet ride. Poor old Robert Reid should’ve been talking about NZer’s access to buy that sort of land. Whyte got away with reducing the argument to foreigners versus NZers – and he seemed credible! But the real point wasn’t made, which isn’t about foreigners, but about the prices foreigners can afford, and the effect that has on NZers’ potential to purchase. We see the same thing in residential property with Auckland fucking “investors” lower down the food chain buying in the regions – the effect is the same, which is a massive reduction on NZer’s ability to buy property – and it’s spreading throughout the provinces like a fucking virus.

        The logical extension is that fewer and fewer NZers own the land, tenants in our own country, or how ever you want to describe it. History tells us that situations like that never end well. Counties that restrict foreign land ownership do so for a reason.

    • Draco T Bastard 10.2
      19 March 2017 at 6:49 pm

      We need to ban offshore ownership ASAP. This is what this data shows.

      We’re clearly becoming tenants in our own land.

  11. Morrissey 11
    19 March 2017 at 6:34 pm

    When African-American oratory was more than pursed lips,
    pregnant pauses, pious platitudes and horrible method acting

    http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/03/18/when-african-american-oratory-consisted-of-more-than-pursed-lips-pregnant-pauses-and-pious-platitudes/

  12. adam 12
    19 March 2017 at 8:48 pm

    I see the loser, and corporate lap dog still can’t accept reality. The delusional comments in this link are as always, deleterious.

    This is what happens when all liberal elites know is the language of suffering, without actually living it.

    I’m so glad she lost. Not happy who won, but really glad this out of touch corporate lackey lost.

    https://twitter.com/i/moments/843295090424524800

  13. joe90 13
    19 March 2017 at 9:56 pm

    The fuckers who won are intent on burning down the house with women, children, the poor, the elderly, POC, LGBT folk, immigrants, non xtians and the ill locked inside and you’re so glad she lost.

    And then you salve your conscience with a trite not happy who won.

    //

    • Sabine 13.1
      19 March 2017 at 10:04 pm

      but russia, ukraine, emails, syria and shit.

      sorry Joe90, but there are sadly many that rather burn the house down in which they and their families live then vote for the lesser evil and maybe buy some time.

      • adam 13.1.1
        20 March 2017 at 2:51 am

        Don’t put words in my mouth Sabine, I don’t do it to you.

        My stance is simple, h.r.c is a corporate poodle, and economically a regressive liberal.

        Buy time for what, exactly? Every time the democrat corporate’s get in, it gets worse for everyone. And yet you too seem to be under some illusion that some miraculous will happen.

        I’m under no illusions with the corruption, and failings of the USA political system. Most of my friends are under no illusions either. What we worried about is that weak spine liberals are walking us all to slavery.

        I like freedom, and I like the democracy. These are things you have to fight for. Not give away incrementally, whilst waiting for some miracle day.

        If you think h.r.c and her cohort actually give to cents about you, then you’r well off with the fairies.

        I will never vote for a lesser evil. Because evil is evil.

        • Sabine 13.1.1.1
          20 March 2017 at 10:43 am

          i don’t put word in your mouth.

          I just stated what i have observed. In order to not vote for the lesser evil – which by the way – some seem happier to vote for the evil that will burn down the house, or vote for some feel good pusher that will end up helping the evil to burn down the house.

          at the end of the day, the house is burned down and everyone ends up homeless with third degree burns. Win Win. NO?

          but some will manage to keep their purity intact, and will be able to tell their kids, I wuz pure.

          As for H.R.C, she would not gut Planned Parenthood, she would not take away school lunches, she would not increase the defense budget by 54 billion, she would not cut the endowments of the arts, she would not cut job programmes in the Appalachian region, she would not cut Meals on Wheels. Just for a starter.
          She would also not hang up on the PM of OZ, be a rude fuck towards a female head of State blah blah blah.

          Do you think that D. T, cares about you? Really? i have some beautiful healthcare to sell to you, Its called Trumpcare. It will cover you beautifully – in medical bills.

          And btw, democracy means nothing if you are not being able to control your fertility, means nothing if you are not worth common decency because of the colour of your skin, means nothing when everyday you wonder if you should eat or your children.
          Freedom? Yeah, i like my freedom from pregnancy, from 20 children born, from having to marry a man i might not like just to have security, freedom from not going to the doctor cause no money, freedom to be skinny cause no money for food, freedom from heating costs cause no money. Yeah, we all loves us some freedom.
          Maybe if people would actually vote in their self interest instead voting against the evil women having sex, having to many babies they can’t afford, or abort the babies they don’t want to have, or voting against the migrant worker who takes the jobs that non of the white blokes wants to do, maybe then they would vote for their interest, but they don’t. so sorry mate, i have no use for you and your high ideals for purity and bullshit, if you can only have your revolution by throwing women, children, disabled, old, poc, and others under the bus, your revolution ain’t worth shit.

          • adam 13.1.1.1.1
            20 March 2017 at 12:37 pm

            Where have i said ” russia, ukraine, emails, syria and shit.” so you can’t say you just say “I just stated what i have observed.” because I have never said those things.

            What makes you think h.r.c. would not have done the cuts incrementally? If you do, then you are seriously kidding yourself.

            I draw a line in the sand, and you shout purist. I’m not calling for a revolution, I’m saying this chipping away at out rights incrementally is evil. And anyone who supports that, is just as evil.

            Did you miss I called out a corporate lackey, a hawk, and a conservative, and you rush to defend them. Are you left or is it just all for show?

            As for women’s control of their bodies, damn right women should control there bodies. But how is that going to happen when state after state, and the whole Federal government went to the republicans. It’s not about trump, it never has been. If you think supporting the same corrupt people to get back a few rights, whilst they take away others is the answer, then sorry for you.

    • adam 13.2
      20 March 2017 at 2:36 am

      joe90, your in lala land if you think h.r.c was going to be any better. The murder rate of transgender women was the worst ever last year. And has been on the rise since 2009.

      As for people of colour, well same shit just different package, at least with this fool we know he is a racist. Not just another supporter of white privileged.

      As for you faux angst – what are you doing to help?

      Anything??

      But h.r.c and the democrat’s will save us, grow up. You lost because you did not listen to the likes of me, and well you deserved too.

      • greywarshark 13.2.1
        20 March 2017 at 11:49 am

        I wish you would all stop attacking each other quite sharply because the USA is in such a shit state. Trying to work out what is going to happen next and look for any possible good side is a reasonable line of discussion. But falling out over the pile of steaming dog poo that is USA politics, that is no way to help with our problems which will take all our attention to try and alleviate and ameliorate. We can’t solve our problems, but we have to think smart how we can soften the crash landing. FGS leave the USA to themselves, we can’t help them and have to try to limit the wash from their cruise liner.

        I remember about one city there that contracted out the disposal of rubbish, which was barged to some poor country I think in Africa and dumped there. We have to worry what their externalities to us are, so think of us, concentrate your minds instead of all this crap flying.

        We have big problems and not much money. They have bigger problems and create money up to trillions. It’s David and Goliath. David was a clever little fellow and skilled at attack and defence. Let’s be clever like him, he concentrated and learned and perfected his skills which were important for survival.

        • adam 13.2.1.1
          20 March 2017 at 12:23 pm

          Well we can help them greywarshark, and I do. Even sending emails to your friends and taking the time to listen to their stresses is somthing. Helping them organise, and offering advise on what does not work, also is great.

          Leaving aside the fact you missed that the USA is the only Empire in town, turning you back on people, is like turning back boat loads of Jew from Germany in 1939.

          I’m saying we should stop trusting the untrustworthy, and get out of this fiction that the liberal elites give a damn about working and middle class people.

          There is a real disconnect from that reality, and this site is awash with penny dime liberals who wouldn’t know social democracy if it hit them in the face, let alone have the ability to embrace a world where they actually have to work with, and get on with, working people.

          • greywarshark 13.2.1.1.1
            20 March 2017 at 1:06 pm

            Your antennae are fluttering in the tempest and you can’t sniff out the smell of pork and puha in that situation. Good on you for trying but look out while you are looking overseas and far or near, someone will be removing your own opportunities.

            Your telling them you are caring and wanting to help working people, will produce a response that they would be working people if they could find a job and at present the best work they can find is robbing you. I think you have to tighten up your protest portfolio. Charity begins at home in your case.

            • adam 13.2.1.1.1.1
              20 March 2017 at 4:16 pm

              What dribble greywarshark.

              Picking apart your incoherent rant, you need to stop what ever drugs you are on, and work on you communication skills.

              • greywarshark …
                20 March 2017 at 8:40 pm

                That’s funny it really mirrors what I was saying to you. Seems you have got the message.

  14. Sabine 14
    19 March 2017 at 10:12 pm

    an interesting write up on the Mercer Family.
    You know the people that own Breitbart Media, Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway

    http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/mercers/

  15. lprent 15
    20 March 2017 at 12:17 am

    Removed a failing SSD from The Standard’s raid. Smart was reporting a failure on the available reserved space. That is really odd because it indicates a wear pattern.

    It isn’t old, the other drives on that array contain much older versions of the same general range of Intel SSDs. It has only done about 5300 hours !

    Added two more 120GB drives into the array. Odd. I will look at it in the morning.


    smartctl 6.5 2016-01-24 r4214 [x86_64-linux-4.4.0-62-generic] (local build)
    Copyright (C) 2002-16, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

    === START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
    Model Family: Intel 53x and Pro 2500 Series SSDs
    Device Model: INTEL SSDSC2BW120A4
    Serial Number: CVDA506303KB1207GN
    LU WWN Device Id: 5 5cd2e4 04bf46805
    Firmware Version: DC32
    User Capacity: 120,034,123,776 bytes [120 GB]
    Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical
    Rotation Rate: Solid State Device
    Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
    ATA Version is: ACS-2 (minor revision not indicated)
    SATA Version is: SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
    Local Time is: Mon Mar 20 00:13:48 2017 NZDT
    SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
    SMART support is: Enabled

    === START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
    SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: FAILED!
    Drive failure expected in less than 24 hours. SAVE ALL DATA.
    See vendor-specific Attribute list for failed Attributes.

    General SMART Values:
    Offline data collection status: (0x05) Offline data collection activity
    was aborted by an interrupting command from host.
    Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
    Self-test execution status: ( 33) The self-test routine was interrupted
    by the host with a hard or soft reset.
    Total time to complete Offline
    data collection: ( 2930) seconds.
    Offline data collection
    capabilities: (0x7f) SMART execute Offline immediate.
    Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
    Abort Offline collection upon new
    command.
    Offline surface scan supported.
    Self-test supported.
    Conveyance Self-test supported.
    Selective Self-test supported.
    SMART capabilities: (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
    power-saving mode.
    Supports SMART auto save timer.
    Error logging capability: (0x01) Error logging supported.
    General Purpose Logging supported.
    Short self-test routine
    recommended polling time: ( 1) minutes.
    Extended self-test routine
    recommended polling time: ( 48) minutes.
    Conveyance self-test routine
    recommended polling time: ( 2) minutes.
    SCT capabilities: (0x0025) SCT Status supported.
    SCT Data Table supported.

    SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 10
    Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
    ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
    5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
    9 Power_On_Hours_and_Msec 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 5299h+15m+40.160s
    12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 97
    170 Available_Reservd_Space 0x0033 001 001 010 Pre-fail Always FAILING_NOW 0
    171 Program_Fail_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
    172 Erase_Fail_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
    174 Unexpect_Power_Loss_Ct 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 23
    183 SATA_Downshift_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 8
    184 End-to-End_Error 0x0033 100 100 090 Pre-fail Always - 0
    187 Uncorrectable_Error_Cnt 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
    190 Airflow_Temperature_Cel 0x0032 033 053 000 Old_age Always - 33 (Min/Max 18/53)
    192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 23
    199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
    225 Host_Writes_32MiB 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 881157
    226 Workld_Media_Wear_Indic 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 65535
    227 Workld_Host_Reads_Perc 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 9
    228 Workload_Minutes 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 65535
    232 Available_Reservd_Space 0x0033 001 001 010 Pre-fail Always FAILING_NOW 0
    233 Media_Wearout_Indicator 0x0032 065 065 000 Old_age Always - 0
    241 Host_Writes_32MiB 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 881157
    242 Host_Reads_32MiB 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 85017
    249 NAND_Writes_1GiB 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 204692

    SMART Error Log not supported

    SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
    Num Test_Description Status Remaining LifeTime(hours) LBA_of_first_error
    # 1 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5058 -
    # 2 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5058 -
    # 3 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5058 -
    # 4 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5052 -
    # 5 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5052 -
    # 6 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5052 -
    # 7 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5052 -
    # 8 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5052 -
    # 9 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5052 -
    #10 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5052 -
    #11 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5051 -
    #12 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5051 -
    #13 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5051 -
    #14 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 5051 -
    #15 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 4977 -
    #16 Extended offline Completed without error 00% 4783 -
    #17 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 4733 -
    #18 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 4733 -
    #19 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 4732 -
    #20 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 4515 -
    #21 Offline Interrupted (host reset) 10% 4514 -

    SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 0
    Note: revision number not 1 implies that no selective self-test has ever been run
    SPAN MIN_LBA MAX_LBA CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1 0 0 Not_testing
    2 0 0 Not_testing
    3 0 0 Not_testing
    4 0 0 Not_testing
    5 0 0 Not_testing
    Selective self-test flags (0x0):
    After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
    If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

    • Antoine 15.1
      20 March 2017 at 4:15 am

      Sounds expensive?

    • greywarshark 15.2
      20 March 2017 at 11:36 am

      Oh dear. Perhaps you have been eating your salted peanuts over the hard drive!
      Sounds like Smart is on the job though. Advising 24 hours ahead of stop.

  • Comments are now closed

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Older posts

  • National out of touch over immigration
    National’s abrupt backflip on their recently-announced changes to immigration shows they never understood the problem and just came up with a confused knee jerk response, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little. “Regional communities and businesses were quite right to ...
    Labour
    6 hours ago

  • English out of touch on homelessness
    Bill English’s comments that he doesn’t know why people are complaining about the blowout in the number of homeless families the government is putting up in motels just shows how tired and out of touch National is after nine years, ...
    Labour
    9 hours ago

  • All Kiwis to have same standard of cancer care
    Labour is promising that all New Zealanders will have access to the same level of cancer care no matter where they live in the country, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little.   “As someone who has survived cancer I ...
    Labour
    1 day ago

  • Infrastructure announcement too long coming
    “What took you so long?” is Labour’s response to the Government’s announcement of a new infrastructure investment vehicle. Labour’s Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford says Labour announced its policy in 2015 to debt-finance infrastructure and service that debt with targeted ...
    Labour
    1 day ago

  • Time for a breather on immigration
    National has no idea how to house the record number of people entering New Zealand, let alone cope with the pressure on health, education, and transport from this record population growth, says Labour’s Immigration spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway. ...
    Labour
    3 days ago

  • Labour to invest $4 billion in education
    Labour’s Education Manifesto will bring positive change across the education sector and is backed by a massive investment, says Labour’s Education Spokesperson Chris Hipkins.  “Labour’s plan will see an extra $4 billion invested over the next four years. It’s organised ...
    Labour
    3 days ago

  • National’s shame: worst homelessness in the OECD
    National’s legacy is a housing crisis that has given New Zealand the worst homeless rate in the developed world, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. ...
    Labour
    3 days ago

  • Labour taking action on school donations
    Labour will end so-called voluntary school donations for the majority of parents across the country under its $4 billion plan to revitalise the education sector, says Labour Leader Andrew Little. “Labour has always been committed to a world-class free education ...
    Labour
    3 days ago

  • Labour to work with Queenstown to build more houses
    Labour will work with Queenstown-Lakes District Council, iwi, and the Community Housing Trust to build the modern, affordable housing Queenstown desperately needs, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little. ...
    Labour
    4 days ago

  • Nats blow the Budget on motels after bowling state houses
    National is spending $140,000 a day putting homeless families in motels, the legacy of nine years of selling off and knocking down state houses, says Labour Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. ...
    Labour
    4 days ago

  • New revelations in Joanne Harrison report
    The State Services Commission’s report into the treatment of whistle-blowers by Joanne Harrison has revealed new accusations against the convicted fraudster, says Labour MP Sue Moroney.  “The report found that four staff inside the Ministry of Transport who had raised ...
    Labour
    4 days ago

  • Snafu at Princess Margaret
    Jonathan Coleman has to stop the stalling over a new building for mental health services in Christchurch to replace the quake damaged Princess Margaret Hospital, says Labour’s Health spokesperson David Clark. “The Government must accept that Christchurch is still recovering ...
    Labour
    5 days ago

  • Labour’s fiscal plan to build a fairer New Zealand
    Labour will re-build our housing, health and education while responsibly managing New Zealand’s finances, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little.  “Under Labour’s Fiscal Plan we will deliver big investments in the services we all need and care about, invest ...
    Labour
    5 days ago

  • Nats show they’re the tax dodgers’ best friends
    The government is taking the knife to IRD at a time when we need a highly skilled department to ensure that multinationals and speculators don’t get away with dodging tax, says Labour’s Revenue spokesperson Michael Wood. ...
    Labour
    5 days ago

  • Labour secures the future for NZ Super
    A Labour Government will secure the future for New Zealand Superannuation so we can continue to provide superannuation to those retiring at age 65, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little. “One of the first things a Labour-led Government will ...
    Labour
    6 days ago

  • Multinationals must pay fair share of tax
    A Labour Government will crack down on multinational companies that are dodging paying their fair share of tax, says Labour Leader Andrew Little. “New Zealanders are missing out by hundreds of millions according to the IRD because multinational companies can ...
    Labour
    6 days ago

  • ACT’s approach to children backward and ill informed
    Act’s new deputy leader’s claim that Labour’s support for families could “extend the misery of child poverty and even child abuse” is ill informed and offensive, says Labour’s Deputy Leader Jacinda Ardern. ...
    Labour
    1 week ago

  • Canterbury hatchet job a disgrace
    The Government’s glib acceptance of advice that the Canterbury District Health Board doesn’t need more money is a hatchet job and a disgrace, says Labour’s Health Spokesperson David Clark. “To claim that the DHB was using tactics to leverage more ...
    Labour
    1 week ago

  • Quality for Kiwi kids at ECE
    After more than a decade of rapid growth in the number of children participating in Early Childhood Education (ECE), it’s time to take stock and map out a clear plan for the future, says Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins. ...
    Labour
    1 week ago

  • Labour to boost ECE quality
    Labour will ensure kids get the best start in life by boosting funding for Early Childhood Centres to employ 100 per cent qualified and registered teachers, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little. ...
    Labour
    1 week ago

  • Labour will stump up a million dollars for Maniototo Hospital
    A Labour led Government will make a million dollars available to rebuild the Maniototo Base hospital in Ranfurly, says the Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little.  “This will be a much needed boost for a long overdue rebuild that has ...
    Labour
    2 weeks ago

  • No vision for the West Coast
    The West Coast welcomes any Government investment in our region but the lack of any real alternative vision for the West Coast’s economy is disappointing, says Damien O’Connor Labour’s West Coast-Tasman MP.  “The establishment of a Mining Research Unit will ...
    Labour
    2 weeks ago

  • National’s youth work scheme too little too late
    After nine years, National’s belated attempt to provide work opportunities for unemployed youth should be seen for what it is, a half-hearted, election gimmick from a party that’s ignored the problem till now, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little. ...
    Labour
    2 weeks ago

  • Kiwis won’t fall for Joyce’s spin
    Steven Joyce’s embarrassingly obvious spin on Labour’s Families Package won’t fool anyone, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson. ...
    Labour
    2 weeks ago

  • Labour prioritises families and public services
    Labour’s Families Package delivers a bigger income boost to more than 70 per cent of families with children than Budget 2017. By not spending $1.5 billion a year on tax cuts, Labour is able to do more for lower and ...
    Labour
    2 weeks ago

  • Kiwis can’t sleep in your ghost houses, Nick
    The Government’s housing infrastructure announcement is another Nick Smith special – over-promising with no detail on delivery, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. ...
    Labour
    2 weeks ago

  • Labour helps older New Zealanders and low income families with winter heating bills
    Labour will further boost its commitment to warm, healthy housing with a Winter Energy Payment for superannuitants and people receiving main benefits, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little. “Everyone deserves a warm, healthy home to live in. But that’s ...
    Labour
    2 weeks ago

  • National must rule out retrospective override for Ruataniwha
    National must categorically rule out using retrospective legislation to override the Supreme Court’s decision that the land swap of conservation land flooded by the proposed Ruataniwha Dam was illegal, says Labour’s Shadow Attorney General David Parker. “Having not got their ...
    Labour
    2 weeks ago

  • Flavell’s failure a win for Māori landowners
    The Māori Development Minister’s admission that his unpopular Ture Whenua Māori Bill won’t pass into law prior to the election is a victory for Māori landowners, but only a change of government will keep the Bill gone for good, says ...
    Labour
    2 weeks ago

  • Stats confirm growing housing shortfall
    National’s failure to fix the housing shortage has been starkly illustrated by new statistics, says Labour Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. ...
    Labour
    3 weeks ago

  • Systemic abuse of kids in state care
    After admitting there was systemic abuse of children in State care the Government must do the right thing and launch an independent inquiry, says Labour’s Deputy Leader Jacinda Ardern. ...
    Labour
    3 weeks ago

  • Migrant worker exploitation needs sharper focus
    The astonishing number of employers found guilty of exploiting migrants shows that migrant exploitation is a serious problem in New Zealand, says Labour Workplace Relations and Safety spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway. “A total of 53 companies have been banned from recruiting ...
    Labour
    3 weeks ago

  • Minister faces questions over dam debacle
    Today’s Supreme Court ruling dismissing an appeal to allow a land swap for the controversial Ruataniwha Dam is a victory for our conservation estate and Hawke’s Bay ratepayers, but leaves the Conservation Minister with serious questions to answer, says Ikaroa-Rāwhiti ...
    Labour
    3 weeks ago

  • Too little too late on Wellington housing
    The announcement today on social housing in Wellington by the National Government is a pitiful and cynical election ploy, says Labour’s Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson. “In 2012 Housing New Zealand emptied out the Gordon Wilson Flats, taking 130 places ...
    Labour
    3 weeks ago

  • Foreign trusts wilt in the sunlight, but more transparency needed
    The fact that the numbers of foreign trusts registered in New Zealand has plummeted after the Government’s belated and reluctant imposition of a new reporting regime, in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal, shows the need for a transparent, ...
    Labour
    3 weeks ago

  • Speech by Grant Robertson: The Future of Work and Labour’s Economic Vision
    At the election in September voters will face a choice between a government led by Andrew Little with a fresh approach to give every New Zealander a fair share in prosperity or the continuation of a tired government, out of ...
    Labour
    3 weeks ago

Older posts

Older posts