Open mike 20/05/2022

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 20th, 2022 - 47 comments
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47 comments on “Open mike 20/05/2022 ”

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  1. Blazer 1
    20 May 2022 at 8:09 am

    The perfect faux pas for another poor excuse for a U.S President.

  2. aj 2
    20 May 2022 at 8:14 am

    Man has something on his mind. Bush was one of the many US Presidents who committed War Crimes but never held to account. We only talk of War Criminals when they're not linked to US or NATO Imperialism.

    He tried to shake this truth off – "…anyway…" which is shades of Greg Norman:

    'We've all made mistakes,' says golf great Greg Norman of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder, where Norman is applying USA foreign policy to his own business dealings. "America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests"

    https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1527092111195226114?cxt=HHwWhIC-seWLqbEqAAAA

    • AB 2.1
      20 May 2022 at 8:36 am

      Tsk Tsk aj.

      Introducing historical context or comparison is not allowed. You must condemn Russia – which is absolutely deserved – but do so in a completely ahistorical manner without any such context or comparison. Anything else is actually supporting the Russians. If you want to participate in an already degraded debate – you must degrade yourself first.

      • aj 2.1.1
        20 May 2022 at 9:04 am

        yes I am not one of those who are afraid of looking for a more broad and accurate perspective. You cannot analyse political events in an isolated vacuum, although there is a very deep desire in many people to do so.

    • Subliminal 2.2
      20 May 2022 at 10:25 am

      Thats the problem with "narrative management". So many lies that you cant keep them straight in your head anymore. And then the truth just pops right out!

    • Stuart Munro 2.3
      20 May 2022 at 5:29 pm

      One of those rare occasions when it is possible to agree with George Bush.

  3. pat 3
    20 May 2022 at 8:34 am

    Those hoping for Gov assistance for roof top solar best redirect their energies….

    "Speaking to Newsroom prior to the Budget, Woods said the Government didn't see a role for general subsidies for solar energy.

    "The payback period on solar means that actually the time for actual government subsidies for those may actually be over," she said.

    "Where we are doing some work and doing some investment is where we can get double duty out of them. We've been doing a trial on public housing with the realisation that a third of someone's power bill is actually water heating."

    Woods said the main cost of solar was labour and, if a battery was involved, the battery. But hot water cylinders can act as a battery, storing energy that is generated by solar during the day.

    "We've also had some funding to try and address energy poverty with Māori housing. Most of that hasn't been on individual houses. Some of it's like community arrays. It's getting more to that distributed and decentralised model where you have community generation. We're being quite targeted with our incentives for this."

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/hidden-climate-extras-in-budget-2022

    • Incognito 3.1
      20 May 2022 at 5:51 pm

      We’ve been doing a trial on public housing with the realisation that a third of someone’s power bill is actually water heating.

      Never ever suggest small shower heads!

    • Belladonna 3.2
      20 May 2022 at 6:07 pm

      But hot water cylinders can act as a battery, storing energy that is generated by solar during the day.

      Anyone who's had the shower run cold will realize the fallacy in that argument.

      Passive solar still requires a connected power option – for days when there is no sun… And means that the generating capacity to supply *all* homes (including the solar-powered ones) needs to be present – or you'll have brown outs.

      Electricity companies charge these infrequent users a hefty premium – so I doubt they'd make a lot of savings.

      I'd prefer to require that all EV owners have to have solar power for their vehicles. Since according to Minister Woods it's so cheap – certainly, anyone who can afford 20K+ for a car, can afford the solar panels to power it.

  4. Visubversa 4
    20 May 2022 at 9:00 am

    Someone posted The Times original article here a few days ago. Like everything else, there is more than one side to the story.

    https://www.city-journal.org/new-study-casts-doubt-on-gender-affirming-therapy?fbclid=IwAR1ETUMkk3sW-QZ4imM1lTZlZTwl4GNO98UGqLG9tF2kyGvqA-ctaD4-WD0

    "Pediatric gender transition illustrates the agonizing downsides of symptoms-based psychiatry. Medical practitioners are now giving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries to teenage girls with no history of gender-related distress simply because they present with symptoms similar to the ones observed in the preteen boys in the original Dutch studies of the 1990s. The fact that the girls begin presenting around puberty (whereas most of the boys desist around then), and that they arrive at gender clinics often after prolonged social isolation and exposure to social media, are crucial contextual points. They might suggest that “gender dysphoria” in the case of girls is a result of social contagion—and thus a temporary phase."

    Abigail Shrier said just this in her book "Irreversible Damage".

    • Molly 4.1
      20 May 2022 at 9:52 am

      Helena Lacroiz, a detransitioner, just testified at an Ohio Senate hearing – House Bill 454.

      Rainbow support group perspective: https://equalityohio.org/legislation/the-safe-act/.

      Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (GCCAN) – submission – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JXD3A7DgZJ8FHwbbLT3GFhYso-6Q8144gXtSvXEOdOM/edit

      For those who still cannot conceive of iatrogenic harm because, medicine, a recent article from the BMJ might he worth a read:

      The illusion of evidence based medicine

      The advent of evidence based medicine was a paradigm shift intended to provide a solid scientific foundation for medicine. The validity of this new paradigm, however, depends on reliable data from clinical trials, most of which are conducted by the pharmaceutical industry and reported in the names of senior academics. The release into the public domain of previously confidential pharmaceutical industry documents has given the medical community valuable insight into the degree to which industry sponsored clinical trials are misrepresented. Until this problem is corrected, evidence based medicine will remain an illusion.

      Twitter thread on Helen's testimony below, If I come across video link, will post.

      https://twitter.com/heterodorx/status/1527340643730673669

      • Anker 4.1.1
        20 May 2022 at 11:13 am

        Thanks Molly and Vis.

        It is scary how compromised care for in particular young women is compromised in the domain of "trans medical care".

        Medicine should be free of politicisation, and aim to be science evidenced based.

        • Molly 4.1.1.1
          20 May 2022 at 1:02 pm

          Australia, in the same position politically and terms of limited public discussion as NZ on this topic, has made some progress recently due to women's sports and continued effort.

          Dr Dylan Wilson, Australian paediatrician, has recently published an open letter online critiquing the care offered to minors:

          https://drdylanwilson.substack.com/p/an-open-letter-to-australias-doctors?utm_source=%2Fprofile%2F91102876-dr-dylan-wilson&utm_medium=reader2&s=r

          …And here lies my first problem with paediatric gender endocrinologists. They do the exact opposite of all other endocrinologists. The whole point of endocrinology is to treat disease caused by hormone levels being pathologically elevated or depressed. The whole point of endocrinology is to put hormone levels back into the normal range. This is true of every endocrine disease – diabetes, thyroid disease, adrenal insufficiency and so on.

          But not when it comes to treating gender diverse children. When a child enters the clinic of a paediatric gender endocrinologist for their first injection of a puberty blocker, they have zero endocrine disease. That child’s hormone levels are all exactly where they should be. Their gonadotropins are normal, their sex hormones are normal for the stage of puberty. They have no disease.

          Yet when they leave, the paediatric gender endocrinologist has induced abnormal hormone levels. In that child, a doctor has deliberately suppressed normal hormone levels to treat, not endocrine disease, but that child’s mental distress…

      • Molly 4.1.2
        21 May 2022 at 12:32 pm

        Video of presentation here:

        https://youtu.be/P58fW6Lb7Wo

  5. Macro 5
    20 May 2022 at 9:04 am

    So Nicola says that this is a "budget of plans to make plans". National would do it much better – they would have no plans at all!

    • mac1 5.1
      20 May 2022 at 9:38 am

      Is this what politics has descended to- the most 'gotcha sound bite'?

      "Backwards, bandaid" National. "Brian Drain" ACT- this even before the Budget was made public.

      Noting that all these silly attempts begin with 'b'. I offer the "battlers' budget" though my second would be 'bottomfeeders' budget' since I note that a major criticism is that it makes us all- sob, gasp- state beneficiaries.

      • pat 5.1.1
        20 May 2022 at 9:42 am

        Luxon has awarded the Budget a 'B'….I think Labour will be pleased with that rating.

      • Anne 5.1.2
        20 May 2022 at 9:53 am

        Actually mac1, the govt. parties ought to use the label "bottom feeders " at every opportunity. Rub it in big time. Since some 80% of us have at one time or another been a beneficiary of the government's beneficence I'm sure most would be less than delighted to to likened to such, so the more they are reminded the better. 🙂

        • mac1 5.1.2.1
          20 May 2022 at 1:55 pm

          Yes, Anne. It's a very revealing comment and one that goes to the heart of Luxton's beliefs. The language we use especially when under pressure or in unguarded moments- "Don't you know who I am", or "They've got small hands" come to mind – are signals of social beliefs and attitudes. "Bottom-feeders" belongs there as an indicator of his core.

          Similarly, the cry that this makes social beneficiaries of millions of New Zealanders is at its core based on a belief that being a beneficiary is a bad thing.

          Whereas, as you say, 80% of us are beneficiaries at some time. I'd say more than that if receiving free or subsidised services from the state are included in all their beneficial splendour.

  6. joe90 6
    20 May 2022 at 9:34 am

    TFW your only mate views you as a legitimate target.

    /

    — The emails landed on March 23 in the inboxes of scientists and engineers at several of Russia’s military research and development institutes, purportedly sent by Russia’s Ministry of Health. They carried a subject line that offered seemingly tantalizing information about a “list of persons under U.S. sanctions for invading Ukraine.”

    But the emails were actually sent by state-sponsored hackers in China seeking to entice their Russian targets to download and open a document with malware, according to a new report to be released Thursday by the Israeli-American cybersecurity firm Check Point.

    […]

    The Chinese campaign targeted Russian institutes that research airborne satellite communications, radar and electronic warfare, Check Point said in its report. The institutes belong to Rostec Corporation, the Russian military conglomerate that is one of the largest and most powerful entities in Russia’s defense establishment.

    https://archive.ph/tp3AP (nyt)

  7. roy cartland 7
    20 May 2022 at 9:42 am

    This name rang a bell:

    Wayne Eaglesome has more than 250 convictions and 40 aliases.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/128646732/sorry-prolific-conman-speaks-for-the-first-and-final-time

    And one of the aliases is Wayne Eagleson, like the guy from Dirty Politics.

    Just a coincidence of course.

  8. weston 8
    20 May 2022 at 10:17 am

    Russia will be conducting its own version of war crimes tribunals and not just for the period of the invasion but for the entire eight year period of this conflict .

    In this case Graham Phillips takes a drive around the outskirts of Mariupol cataloguing the shot up wrecks of cars destroyed by ukrainian forces trying to prevent civilians fleeing the war zone in early march .See at around the 2.20 mark .



    Ukrainian forces using civilians as human shields seems fairly solidly substantiated for anyone prepared to look and both GP and Patrick lancaster have many videos going back many years detailing this abuse .Other on the ground commentators include 'Texas ' Bentley and Fergie Chambers .Heres a Grey Zone interview of those guys :



  10. pat 10
    20 May 2022 at 10:35 am

    Sheep, cows, trees….and EVs

    "One of the big challenges right now is that New Zealand’s urban population does not understand how agri-food systems, from consumers right back to inputs on the farm, are what underpins the New Zealand economy. It is not just about what happens on the farm, but what happens along a value chain leading back from consumers through marketers, processors and farmers to the suppliers of fam inputs.

    As I have said many times, New Zealand has an export-led economy. Without exports we have no money for imports. More than 80 percent of merchandise exports come from primary industries, with no obvious alternatives."

    https://www.interest.co.nz/rural-news/115954/lamb-prices-are-high-industry-remains-buffeted-big-crosswinds

    • Poission 10.1
      20 May 2022 at 11:22 am

      Trade figures just in,we had a merchandise surplus led by large increases in Dairy and meat ( demand pricing and low nz$)

      https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/overseas-merchandise-trade-april-2022

    • Robert Guyton 10.2
      20 May 2022 at 11:32 am

      Would urban New Zealanders benefit from seeing what happens "on farm", or would the suffer from the realisation?

      Many urbanites might be appalled, as they were by footage from pig and chicken farms and the treatment of bobby calves by some of our farmers. Perhaps urban New Zealanders might call for a complete overhaul of farming if they "understood" agrifood systems.

      Those Tegal chickens sure are unfortunate birds!

      • Visubversa 10.2.1
        20 May 2022 at 12:00 pm

        In a previous existence I had access to the details of the Court cases brought under the RMA, These included the cases brought for breaches of Resource Consents for various discharges. It was very interesting to see the cases brought for repeat offenses by farming companies in relation to various effluent disposal breaches. There was often a sorry history of previous warnings, previous Court appearances, previous fines etc. They frequently had been let off with warnings etc several times before any real action was taken. In the meantime – thousands of litres of cowshit etc was allowed to flow into waterways.

        • Robert Guyton 10.2.1.1
          20 May 2022 at 12:46 pm

          Yes, Visubversa. Institutions protecting their own. Embedded "agents" influencing decisions and policy. A significant challenge.

      • weston 10.2.2
        20 May 2022 at 1:21 pm

        "Would nzders benefit etc Maybe Robert but thanks to the very many laws mores and conventions that exist to camouflage and sanitise reality ; we're never gonna have to .I found it very darkly humorous that recent horror scenes on a factory farm coming to light whereby pictures of chickens deformed by the speed of their growth and unable to walk properly resulted in the decision by the factory owners to extend the period of time by two wks !!! so 8 weeks rather than 6 !! Job done everyones happy !Raising a bird for the table in that amount of time is imo more like necromancy than "farming' .

  11. tsmithfield 11
    20 May 2022 at 1:44 pm

    How is it that what appear to be reasonably modern hospital buildings are now being deemed an earthquake risk?

    Surely hospitals should be designed as the safest possible buildings to endure an earthquake. Especially since the hospitals would be needed to treat people injured in earthquakes.

    Some things just leave me shaking my head in disbelief.

    • SPC 11.1
      20 May 2022 at 1:50 pm

      Both the Wellington and Hutt Hospital buildings have survived many earthquakes without any damage and would survive many more.

      • tsmithfield 11.1.1
        20 May 2022 at 3:58 pm

        Do you think the boffins are being overly cautious then?

        They may have in mind a force 8+ right on the fault line underneath Wellington. But I am not sure much would stand up to that without damage.

        In hindsight, there are probably a few places we wouldn't have built cities if we had been aware of all the geological risks: Wellington on a major fault line, Auckland on a volcanic field etc.

        • SPC 11.1.1.1
          20 May 2022 at 4:51 pm

          I'd not do anything that undermined health services delivery. Thus would not be in any rush – but simply plan for the medium to long term.

          We have waiting lists now and that should be the first priority.

        • Belladonna 11.1.1.2
          20 May 2022 at 6:17 pm

          TBH the whole of NZ is a disaster waiting to happen. Both with the dangers that we know about, and the ones waiting to ambush us (Christchurch).

          If we waited to be 'sure' we'd never build anything.

          I do think that the engineers are being overly cautious (they know it's their reputation on the line if anything goes wrong, so are at the highly cautious end of the spectrum).

          However, more importantly, there is no real plan to deal with any of these 'down-ticked' buildings in a timely and cost-effective way. Look at the Wellington Central Library, for example…..

          Mind-you, it does reinforce my belief that 'architect-designed' is a euphemism for 'doesn't work for the occupants and is a risky investment'. [though I usually think of water-tightness as the risk, rather than earthquake strengthening]

  12. SPC 12
    20 May 2022 at 1:53 pm

    Old age is a censorshipwreck. First Putin, and now Jinping, suffering the strongman for life curse – being exposed as the false prophet of their nation's destiny.

    https://newsfactsnetwork.com/2022/05/19/chinas-internet-censors-try-a-new-trick-revealing-users-locations/

  13. Patricia Bremner 13
    20 May 2022 at 3:42 pm

    Be safe in this storm. We lost our carport roof. All curled back like a tin can. It was flapping wildly held by two bolts.

    We took a 'photo, emailed our claim to our insurance. It took a while to get permission to get it taken down so there would be no damage to the house or passing people or cars.

    The trusty Fire Guys came and had it down flattened and stacked with weights.

    The assessor is coming Monday. Lol, we would have been pretty tired by then, with the roof flapping onto our bedroom roof, squealing rattling and banging.

    PS N's face was a picture when the person on the phone asked if he could get on the roof, and I thought he was incredibly polite, "I am 80 and arthritic, and the storm is still raging". Our Policy says "Take photos and do nothing else without permission.'

    Thinking of all affected in Levin Cambridge and here.

    • Belladonna 13.1
      20 May 2022 at 6:54 pm

      Glad you're OK Patricia.
      Thinking of family and friends in that region. Hoping for a safe night for everyone.

  14. weston 14
    20 May 2022 at 5:59 pm

    Alexander Mercouris gives a daily update on the ukraine situation and imo at least gives a very fair and frank appraisal of the facts and fallicies which are typically very fluid in a conflict situation such as this one .Today he covers the Azovstal surrenders , the donbass front line , fracture lines developing in the ukr military command ,Erdogan's objections to Finland and Sweden joining Nato and numerous other nuances .If you are of the mind of joe90 and think that a persons past must forever determine the validity of anything he might say in the future then dont watch this video .Likewise if you you prefer to be lied to by BBC and other MSM or like your own flavor of sugar coated fairytales dont watch this !!



    • aj 14.1
      20 May 2022 at 9:02 pm

      Than you for the warning. I've read somewhere that Mercouris shat in his nappies, sometimes told lies to escape blame for annoying his siblings, failed to follow school rules to the letter as a teenager, and a host of other misdemeanors while growing up.

      I will put these character weaknesses to one side and see what the man has to say, although I much prefer my sources of information to be completely faultless and to have led perfect and completely unblemished lives.

      • joe90 14.1.1
        20 May 2022 at 10:47 pm

        Bit sad though when your sources of truth turn out to be thoroughly disreputable sacks of shit.