Open mike 20/04/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 20th, 2015 - 93 comments
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93 comments on “Open mike 20/04/2015 ”

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  1. mickysavage 1
    20 April 2015 at 8:50 am

    Radiolive has tweeted “A prominent New Zealander’s due back in court today on 12 charges of indecent assault – the case is subject to heavy suppression orders”

  2. Anne 2
    20 April 2015 at 8:51 am

    Will the subject of the suppression order be re-visited at today’s hearing?

  3. Tinfoilhat 3
    20 April 2015 at 9:01 am

    Well I suppose it had to happen one day.

    I’m in agreement with Judith Collins !

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11434890

    • Hateatea 3.1
      20 April 2015 at 9:27 am

      I am waiting for the sky to fall on my head as I too agree with her and I never thought I would say that! My only quibble is that more wasn’t made of the cross party unity amongst female mp’s on this issue. We could do with much more of that.

      • Reality 3.1.1
        20 April 2015 at 10:50 am

        Sweetie Pie Judith! Though let’s remember her catty remark last year about Metiria Turei’s ugly” jacket. Now she wants to defend all females from comments about appearance.

        • Hateatea 3.1.1.1
          20 April 2015 at 11:52 am

          Oh, I don’t for a moment think she has reformed but at least she had a moment of sisterhood. Tomorrow, or even today, it will be the Crusher we know and dislike. 😉

        • Tracey 3.1.1.2
          20 April 2015 at 4:08 pm

          She is building a constituency but for what. THAT is the question, imo.

    • Kevin 3.2
      20 April 2015 at 9:42 am

      And so it starts. The ‘nice’ Judith Collins takes that first step to leading the National Party. The photo, the hands, the slightly messy hair, more casually dressed than usual. It’s all about winning hearts and minds.

      • Anne 3.2.1
        20 April 2015 at 9:51 am

        Yes. The hearts and minds of the Tory ‘ladies’ she hopes will cheer-lead for her at the upcoming Nat. leadership contest.

        Paula won’t be happy.

    • Clemgeopin 3.3
      20 April 2015 at 2:46 pm

      I am keen to read what Judith Collins ( or any of you ) will have to say about the following comment in the news today:

      “Chess grandmaster Nigel Short has angered female players by claiming they are not “hard-wired” for the game.

      When Nigel Short, one of UK’s greatest ever chess players, challenged Garry Kasparov for the world title in 1993 the pair met as bitter rivals.

      But it appears the British grandmaster has finally found common ground with his Russian opponent – they both believe women are not suited to the game.

      Short, who lost to Kasparov in the championships, has claimed men and women should just accept they are “hard-wired very differently”.

      Speaking in the magazine New in Chess about the lack of women playing the game, Short said the sexes were just different.”

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/67879887/grandmaster-nigel-short-girls-dont-have-the-brains-to-play-chess

      • Alethios 3.3.1
        20 April 2015 at 5:38 pm

        It’s an interesting one with chess to be sure. Very difficult to tease out the effects of inate ability vs cultural expectations and so forth. However, the broad brush strokes are very clear.

        Take a look at the current top 100 rankings:
        http://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?list=men
        http://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?list=women

        Only one woman currently makes it onto the ‘mens’ list. Yifan Hou at #59. Meanwhile, the only woman to ever seriously compete at the highest levels (and qualify for a World Championship for example) is Judit Polgar – who along with her two sisters Susan and Sofia were essentially part of an educational experiment by their father who trained them at home from a very young age. Even so, the highest Judit ever made it on the overall rankings was 8th.

        More on Judit Polgar here, if you’re interested:
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judit_Polg%C3%A1r

        The stuff article, and the global reactions to Short’s statements are highly sensationalised. The media’s play has been to fan the flames of controversy by making it seem Short is sexist, whereas his position would likely best be summarized by this quote:

        “One is not better than the other, we just have different skills. It would be wonderful to see more girls playing chess, and at a higher level, but rather than fretting about inequality, perhaps we should just gracefully accept it as a fact.”

        We have no issue differentiating between the masculine and feminine on the physical plane. Pointing out a physically strong woman is no argument against the fact that men are typically stronger and are genetically predispossed to be so. Somehow when discussing the field of chess, where the general trends are almost as stark, it’s sexist to point out that men seem to have an advantage.

        I feel the issue boils down to our society’s perception of intelligence as falling on a linear spectrum. I’m ‘more intellegent’ than him, and she’s ‘more intelligent’ than me. This is heavily reinforced throughout our childhood by our education system (and exam scoring in particular). Chess has been heavily associated with intelligence for yonks (even to the extent which intellegence is improved in games like ‘The Sims’ by playing Chess). So the by pointing out that, generally speaking, men seem better suited to chess than women, there is also perception of a sexist implication that men are more ‘intelligent’ (whatever it is that means). Intelligence is of course much broader than analytical ability, but we’re still labouring under that narrow view in many ways.

        By devolving into an argument about sexism, we cut ourselves off from examining what’s really happening, and the insights that we can have about our own thought patterns and those of the opposite gender simply by sitting down and playing a game of chess with them.

        • Ron 3.3.1.1
          20 April 2015 at 5:54 pm

          Women can be just as good as men just let them have an I-phone that they can use in the Toilet. Worked for guys

        • Clemgeopin 3.3.1.2
          20 April 2015 at 8:53 pm

          @Alethios : Thanks for your detailed response.

          I was impressed by Judit Polgar. Thank you for the link. Just goes to show that women can be as good as men.

          I think the real question is not so much about their intelligence, but more about the mystery of why so few women take up the great sport of Chess as a serious endeavour, challenge or hobby.

          Here is some info about Judit from your link:

          ‘Judit Polgár (born 23 July 1976) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. She is the strongest female chess player in history.[1] In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, at the time the youngest to have done so, breaking the record previously held by former World Champion Bobby Fischer. She is the only woman to qualify for a World Championship tournament, having done so in 2005. She is the first, and to date, only woman to have surpassed the 2700 Elo rating barrier, reaching a career peak rating of 2735 and peak world ranking of #8, both achieved in 2005. She was the number 1 rated woman in the world from 1989 (when she was 12 years old) up until the March 2015 rating list, when she was overtaken by Chinese player Hou Yifan.

          She has won or shared first in the chess tournaments of Hastings 1993, Madrid 1994, León 1996, U.S. Open 1998, Hoogeveen 1999, Siegman 1999, Japfa 2000, and the Najdorf Memorial 2000.

          Polgár is the only woman to have won a game from a reigning world number one player, and has defeated eleven current or former world champions in either rapid or classical chess: Magnus Carlsen, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Spassky, Vasily Smyslov, Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Ruslan Ponomariov, Alexander Khalifman, and Rustam Kasimdzhanov.‘ Wow! That IS impressive!

          • Alethios 3.3.1.2.1
            20 April 2015 at 9:47 pm

            Polgar certainly is amazing and testament to the fact that men and women share the same potential. Though I would say the fact that she remained the #1 rated woman for so long is a testament to quite how unusual she is. If you take a look here:
            http://ratings.fide.com/top_files.phtml?id=700070
            You can see that Polgar retained the #1 spot until March 2015 despite playing very little chess since late 2011. Infact, if you scroll down a little, you can see that she stopped playing large numbers of games soon after breaking into the overall top 10 in 2003. It’s taken 12 years since that point for another woman to surpass her on the list.

            As for why fewer women play chess, I think on one level the answer is fairly straightforward: fewer women are interested in playing chess. Just as fewer women are interested in mathematics and other endevours requiring that ‘churning analytical frame of mind’ if you will. It’s a frame of mind that is especially well honed and enjoyed amongst individuals in the autism spectrum (such as myself), due to having less focus on other perspectives. Males fall within the autism spectrum 4.3x more often than females, and this is part of the reason there are far more males in these fields, even as the women within the fields may be just as capable.

            Of course, one also cannot understate the impact of the expectations we continue to place upon young girls continues to play a part in the paths they decide to take in life (young boys too, who are much more likely to be sheparded in that direction if they show promise).

            Lastly, there’s a much more nebulous idea that I’ll put forward anyhow. Males seem much more hardwired for the instinct to compete with one another – the urge to dominate other males and all that. This acts both as a tremendously powerful motivator, and method of improvement. After all, word ‘compete’ comes from the latin ‘competere’ which means ‘together strive’. I feel, though am happy to be corrected on this, that typically women require a different motivational force in order to channel the total concentration required day after day, year after year in order to reach the top.

            Judit Polgar shows that men and women have the same potential in chess, but ultimately it’s just far less likely to be unlocked with women, for a wide variety of factors.

          • Alethios 3.3.1.2.2
            20 April 2015 at 9:58 pm

            Typed out a big reply that unfortunately didn’t end up being posted when I clicked submit, so I’ve lost it!

            My basic position was that the likes of Judit Polgar show that men and women have the same potential when it comes to chess. However, a variety of factors make that potential less likely to be unlocked:

            -There’s the link between chess/maths/analytical logical frame of mind and autism – which is 4.3x more prevalent in males than females.
            -There’s the ever present weight of expectation on our young boys (who are encouraged when they show aptitude in these areas) and young girls (who typically are not).
            -There’s the male instinct towards competing with other males for dominance, which, when channeled towards chess is an intensely powerful motivator, and tool for improvement in a field where virtually the only way to improve is to play people better than you over and over and hence lose again and again. One feels males are typically more bloody minded about overcoming those who have beaten them without losing motivation and moving on to something else. Females are just as capable of taking the requisite pounding, but probably typically require different motivation, hence making the required comittment to chess to reach the top statistically less likely.

            • Clemgeopin 3.3.1.2.2.1
              20 April 2015 at 11:13 pm

              @Alethios:

              Actually BOTH your long excellent replies are showing up!

              Thanks for your detailed response. It was a pleasure to read, learn and agree with your points. Top marks! Looking forward to see more of your views on various topics. Cheers!

              • Alethios …
                21 April 2015 at 3:36 pm

                Cheers 🙂

                I actually have a little blog in which I talk about a range of topics if you’re interested:
                http://www.alethios.net

                Will do my best to post here more often however. Have been reading TS since circa 2009, so it’s probably about time.

      • Hateatea 3.3.2
        20 April 2015 at 5:47 pm

        Speaking purely for myself, I don’t think that women cannot play chess and play it well should that be their thing, rather that, there are other things in life attracting their attention.

        People are either drawn to chess or not. I am in the not category. However, it doesn’t surprise me to hear that some chess players are misogynists. Perhaps the two men concerned have discovered that the women of the world aren’t all that interested in Grand Masters of Chess and them in particular and putting all women down because some of us haven’t been suitably worshipful!

        • Colonial Rawshark 3.3.2.1
          20 April 2015 at 11:32 pm

          However, it doesn’t surprise me to hear that some chess players are misogynists. Perhaps the two men concerned have discovered that the women of the world aren’t all that interested in Grand Masters of Chess and them in particular and putting all women down because some of us haven’t been suitably worshipful!

          I guess the “misogynist” word is quite fashionable to throw around nowadays. Has it replaced the sharing and discussion of insights into the differences between men and women? And your assumption of heteronormative desires is both blatant and disgusting.

        • Alethios 3.3.2.2
          21 April 2015 at 3:44 pm

          I don’t think there’s any need for that CR. As I pointed out earlier, a quick skim read of the article, without knowing the context, would lead to the conclusion that he and other top players are misogynistic.

          I’m more inclined to blame The Telegraph for writing such sensationalised rubbish, and Stuff for reprinting it than Hateatea. Though perhaps a degree of admonishment for leaping to conclusions is appropriate.

          • Hateatea 3.3.2.2.1
            21 April 2015 at 3:57 pm

            I may have leapt to a conclusion that was unjustified but I also had some personal experience of highly competitive chess players and gamers to base my comment on. If I have done these two individuals an injustice I freely apologise.

  4. Charles 4
    20 April 2015 at 9:04 am

    Not satisfied with their attempts to annouce their racism towards anyone remotely “asian looking” with the “Fresh off the Boat” series, TV2 have a new show to cover all the angles: “Black-ish”.
    This follows closely on the heels of a new word they like to blurt out in news reports…

    “… police seen shooting A BLACK MAN after he runs away from…”

    It’s like they almost jizz themselves with relief. I would like to offer a new name for all news reports, reality TV, gardening shows, soaps, cartoons, infomercials… anything else on TV, really.

    “WHITE-ISH”

    (because who can tell them apart? Oh they’re Taiwanese? From here to there they look Cambodian…)

  6. DH 6
    20 April 2015 at 9:57 am

    This is the inevitable result of allowing Auckland’s housing inflation to run rampant;

    “Aucklanders taking advantage of capital gain on properties and settling in cheaper regions.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/residential-property/news/article.cfm?c_id=76&objectid=11435225

    And for those who think this is a good thing… think again.

    • Sans Cle 6.1
      20 April 2015 at 12:52 pm

      This is the same principle that enables rich overseas investors buy up property here. The relative prices of land in Auckland compared to other cities they can invest in.

  7. Wonderpup 7
    20 April 2015 at 10:03 am

    A dodgy US businessman now has most of the priceless NZ newspaper archives, and his business has gone bung. the best thing would be for the government to fund scanning and making all of these open access (with a CC-BY licence) so we can share, research and profit from them.

    Fairfax obviously had no clue about the value of these objects, and are obviously not competent to deal with them.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11432690

  8. marty mars 8
    20 April 2015 at 12:57 pm

    Good article by Hone

    “But today, as he unveils a memorial to the mindless destruction of a century ago, Tony Abbott is quietly drawing a veil across the genocide being committed by his own government in Western Australia through the enforced closure of remote Aboriginal communities…

    …When John Howard introduced the hated Northern Territory Intervention Plan back in 2007, he earned the universal animosity of Indigenous people the world over as “a racist bastard imposing racist policies on a people who are not in a position to fight back”

    Tony Abbott’s backing of Western Australia’s Closure of Remote Communities in 2015 is exactly the same, and deserves exactly the same response – “Tony Abbott is a racist bastard imposing racist policies on a people who are not in a position to fight back”

    White Australian governments happily dumped Aboriginals into the outback, out of sight and out of mind – until they realised that they had inadvertently given them rights to millions of acres of land beneath which sat vast deposits of billion dollar minerals and oils.

    http://mananews.co.nz/wp/?p=4541

    We will fight back and help our brothers and sisters over the ditch – they are not forgotten!!!

    • Jilly Bee 8.1
      20 April 2015 at 1:39 pm

      I am always totally amazed and saddened by the total lack of Aboriginals on the streets of the three cities I have mainly visited, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Once, several years ago when in Melbourne I saw a small group outside the Anglican Cathedral – they were totally out of their minds, bodies and whatever else due to what they had been partaking of – it certainly wasn’t to my thinking, alcohol. They cut a sad sight and were quite agitated. People simply walked around and totally ignored them. On another occasion when staying on the outskirts of Darwin – my partner and I walked to a local shopping centre to purchase something for tea and came across a group by a bus stop. They too were high on something and were crawling around on all fours, probably because they couldn’t stand up. As we walked past, we said ‘Hi’ to them. They looked at us as if we were aliens – probably waiting for us to verbally abuse them! They were totally gobsmacked and said ‘Hello’ back to us before we continued on our way. We were travelling on the Ghan the next day and had a stopover in Alice Springs, where there were several groups plying their wares to us touristy types. I purchased a small painting from one group which sits on a sideboard in our lounge.

      • Once was+Tim 8.1.1
        20 April 2015 at 4:41 pm

        @ Jilly Bee: As am I. However having once been an Australian (at a time when one didn’t even need a passport to go there, I was heartened by the increase in numbers I saw in Sydney and Melbourne.
        In the late 60’s the only contact I had was babysitting kids during the school holidays when they were ‘treated’ to a holiday in the big smoke by a Swedish Professor from Monash Uni.
        Other than that, “Bloody Aboes’ were confined to living it rough in the park and totally absent from the streets.
        Recently in Sydney, then Redneckville QLD, it was interesting to see certain racial mixes (Oz Aboriginee/Philipino kids, amongst other things). And I have relatives that are Oz Aboriginee/NZ Maori mix- and they are stunningly beautiful.
        Over the past 50 years, there has been a real ‘browning’ of the citizenry – which can only bee a good thing – except for the fact that there’s still a core that do there best to fight against it.
        I had a ceremonial ‘burning’ of my Australian passport in the late 70s.

  9. Draco T Bastard 9
    20 April 2015 at 1:03 pm

    Start here:

    WASHINGTON — As world leaders converge here for their semiannual trek to the capital of what is still the world’s most powerful economy, concern is rising in many quarters that the United States is retreating from global economic leadership just when it is needed most.

    The spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have filled Washington with motorcades and traffic jams and loaded the schedules of President Obama and Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew. But they have also highlighted what some in Washington and around the world see as a United States government so bitterly divided that it is on the verge of ceding the global economic stage it built at the end of World War II and has largely directed ever since.

    The US’s drive to enrich the already rich over the last 40 years is destroying the economy and our society with it.

  10. Once was+Tim 10
    20 April 2015 at 1:37 pm

    Have I missed something due to my habit of having ‘technology free days’ (whilst I analyse my portfolio and interact with human beings directly?) …….. Anyone know what has happened to Phil Ure?
    The options are endless really
    – he’s in a pot induced coma
    – he got the dog to do the steering on his 50cc moto-sickle whilst on a trek to protest
    – he outraged TS people so much he has been banned for weeks or permanently

    If its the latter, I haven’t seen him pop up on the alternative hard left-wing kinsprissy thereist sites like TDB.
    Hopefully he’s OK – I just happened to notice the absence lately

    • Jilly Bee 10.1
      20 April 2015 at 1:40 pm

      He’s taken to Twitter. I haven’t bothered to follow up on his blog – I find his style a difficult read.

      • Once was+Tim 10.1.1
        20 April 2015 at 2:11 pm

        Twitter….. mmmmm….. a medium better suited to him I think. Oh well then …. Goodbye Phil Ure. Twitter – the name says it all as far as it affects me

      • alwyn 10.1.2
        20 April 2015 at 5:17 pm

        Isn’t twitter limited to 140 characters, or is that some other site?
        Phil wouldn’t get more than two words in at that rate, by the time he put in all the padding characters he seemed to use.

        • Jilly Bee 10.1.2.1
          20 April 2015 at 7:52 pm

          He has a quick comment and points to his whoar blog – which I haven’t looked at to date. Takes up much less than 140 characters – hope it works for him.

  11. Draco T Bastard 11
    20 April 2015 at 2:17 pm

    Another economic headache from housing crisis – Robertson

    National’s housing crisis is causing even further damage with the second consecutive quarter of deflation a genuine concern the Reserve Bank can do little about, as it focusses on Auckland house prices, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson.

    Interesting because the last time I looked two consecutive quarters of decreasing GDP were a recession. A decrease in GDP would normally be concomitant with a period of deflation so we can assume the only reason why we’re not in a technical recession is because of house price inflation.

    I suppose that the next thing we”l hear from the RWNJs is that our ‘rock star economy’ is twerking – otherwise known as rock bottom.

    “If businesses struggle to sell overseas and their products prices are dropping at home, the economy will get into real trouble.

    When are these imbeciles going to realise that we can’t actually export ourselves to wealth?

    Take our milk exports. Due to our success there other countries have been increasing production. This is especially true in the US but China and Europe have been doing so as well. That means that there will be no demand for our milk products. Even if we get a FTA with the US we aren’t going to be exporting agricultural products there.

    This will happen to everything we make and to every country. It is this reality that capitalism fails to take into account.

    • alwyn 11.1
      20 April 2015 at 5:23 pm

      Your definition of a recession is correct.
      However a decline in GDP is not the same thing as a decline in prices.
      GDP is currently increasing quite happily, even though the price level may be declining.

      • Draco T Bastard 11.1.1
        20 April 2015 at 5:41 pm

        However a decline in GDP is not the same thing as a decline in prices.

        And I didn’t say that they were did I? Now go read what I actually said because the implication is that we have increasing GDP while the economy looks to be in a recessionary state.

  12. Morrissey 12
    20 April 2015 at 2:34 pm

    Liars of Our Time
    
No. 49: JAY CARNEY

    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    “He is not a human rights activist. He is not a dissident.”

    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    —White House press secretary JAY CARNEY pushes the Obama regime line on the subject of dissident Edward Snowden, July 17, 2013
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC9wE2OLZUk

    Liar No. 48 Jim Mora: “Fantastic! I’ll have a listen to the full version [of Tony Doe’s new song] after The Panel.”
    http://thestandard.org.nz/ope-mike-08022015/#comment-978969

    Liar No.47 Simon Mercep: “Coming up in a few minutes, The Panel. …. Whoever they are, quality broadcasting will ensue.”
    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-18022015/#comment-970927

    Liar No. 46 Julia Gillard: “I have got a lot of respect for people who whistle-blow, ummm….”
http://thestandard.org.nz/ope-mike-08022015/#comment-965394

    Liar No. 45 Zara Potts: “Sir Bob Geldof has assembled the best of modern musicians for this year’s record, including Ed Sheeran and One Direction.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11112014/#comment-924196

    More liars HERE….
    
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09102014/#comment-907232

  13. rawshark-yeshe 13
    20 April 2015 at 2:48 pm

    Beware Aucklanders who care about the harbour .. ignoring Council again …

    Fletcher Cranes on Bledisloe Wharf this morning with huts for workers:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11435529

  14. fisiani 14
    20 April 2015 at 2:59 pm

    Inflation now just 0.1%. That’s right 0.1%. Prices in general are not rising. Sell your overpriced Auckland house and buy four houses. Buy in Masterton, Otaki, Aotea and Churton Park. Be a landlord.

    • freedom 14.1
      20 April 2015 at 3:16 pm

      The Minister of Finance’s Budget figures are out by a full decimal place (in only one year) and you are celebrating ?

      Please do not drive or operate heavy machinery of any sort and I implore you to seek medical assistance immediately.

    • fisiani 14.2
      20 April 2015 at 3:23 pm

      Don’t be a landlord. Sell your million dollar house in Auckland and buy somewhere else in NZ and have $500,000 in the bank.

      • Tracey 14.2.1
        20 April 2015 at 4:12 pm

        Funny, that is almost word for word what Matthew Hooton said on N2N today, until he lost it that is, and went on an emotionally based rant about Hager. He must be in quite a dilemma. In order to hysterically deride Hager he had to provide a great defence for Key and his lying government.

        Funny to see a PR guy falling lock and stock barrel for his own person “hot button” and making himself seem foolish.

        • Anne 14.2.1.1
          20 April 2015 at 8:11 pm

          That was very “entertaining”. Kathryn Ryan desperately trying to shut him up and Mike Williams unable to get a word in. KR resorted in the end to pointing out “there’s no difference between Nicky Hager and right-wing PR commentators like yourself” which caused him to pause long enough for KR to sign the show off and kill his mike. Just as well otherwise he’d still be there ranting…

    • Draco T Bastard 14.3
      20 April 2015 at 3:43 pm

      Did you note the press release mentioned up a bit that said that we actually have deflation?

      • b waghorn 14.3.1
        20 April 2015 at 4:02 pm

        Log prices falling .milk prices falling, dollar staying up which will slow tourism the future s not to bright if people put on there glasses and see through the sun shining out of keys arse .
        Although more trees, less cows and jets in the air might not be a bad thing.

  15. Colonial Rawshark 15
    20 April 2015 at 3:00 pm

    FBI forensics specialists gave consistently incorrect testimony to juries pre-2000

    Including in the trials of 32 people sentenced to death.

    Of 28 examiners with the FBI Laboratory’s microscopic hair comparison unit, 26 overstated forensic matches in ways that favored prosecutors in more than 95 percent of the 268 trials reviewed so far, according to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the Innocence Project, which are assisting the government with the country’s largest post-conviction review of questioned forensic evidence.

    The cases include those of 32 defendants sentenced to death. Of those, 14 have been executed or died in prison

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-19/american-justice-fbi-lab-overstated-95-forensic-hair-matches-including-32-death-sent

    • McFlock 15.1
      20 April 2015 at 3:15 pm

      One of the drawbacks of an adversarial judicial system with prosecutors and judges who are elected or look forward to political careers.

      The one that’s really dodgy is actually fingerprint analysis. Pretends to be scientific and often uses the magic of computers, but still needs a proper series of evaluations even after 100 years.

      • Draco T Bastard 15.1.1
        20 April 2015 at 3:42 pm

        The one that’s really dodgy is actually fingerprint analysis.

        The same can be said of forensic ballistics:

        As with fingerprints, not enough research has been done to quantify the probability of error in ballistics matching. So it’s impossible to say with certainty that the marks made on bullets as they are fired are truly unique to an individual gun.

        And I’m pretty sure that with modern manufacturing being ever more precise and thus less difference between the same parts on different guns it’s getting even more difficult to say if a bullet came from one gun or another.

  16. fisiani 16
    20 April 2015 at 3:31 pm

    Just listened to Mike Williams and Matthew Hooton. Williams is not winning hearts and minds for Labour and Hooton as always came up triumphant.

    • felix 16.1
      20 April 2015 at 3:40 pm

      Yep, and Hooton also said the govt are arrogant and out of touch.

    • Tracey 16.2
      20 April 2015 at 4:18 pm

      “Hooton as always came up triumphant.”

      until he lost it that is, and went on an emotionally based rant about Hager. He must be in quite a dilemma. In order to hysterically deride Hager he had to provide a great defence for Key and his lying government. he couldn’t be stopped he wound himself up more and more and even Kathryn Ryan almost laughed at him.

      Funny to see a PR guy falling lock and stock barrel for his own person “hot button” and making himself seem foolish.

      The funniest thing was him attacking Hager as not being a journalist, attacked the media for reporting things he ethically thought they shouldn’t, and attacked the media for deliberately framing things in a particular way. He was frothing so much he lost perspective and couldn’t see the irony of what he was saying, given his job and role.

      i am always fascinated that he is described as PR company owner and right wing commentator but not former Nat Party strategist. Him not correcting it is almost, what’s the word? Unethial 😉

      You say you didnt hear it until about 3pm and yet you parroted almost his exact words at 14.2

      • ianmac 16.2.1
        20 April 2015 at 4:25 pm

        Matthew seemed to have lost his alcohol persona today. Wonder why?

        • Tracey 16.2.1.1
          20 April 2015 at 5:16 pm

          Matthew’s archilles heel is Hager. Hager exposed him as a duplicitous, lacking ethics, self serving person in Hollowmen. He seems to hate him with a passion (which we heard today). Reason goes out the window and ranting take sover, and the volume rises.

          extreme
          “furthest from the centre or a given point.”

          right wing

          ” the rightist division of a group”

          activist

          “Someone who’s actively involved in a protest or a political or social cause can be called an activist.”

          So, Hoots ranted about Hager being an extreme left wing activist, yet his views on complete lack of government intervention and having worked for the Nats make him an extremist in that party and by being ACT extreme right in NZ, make him, by the definition, an extreme right wing activist.

          The BIGGEST difference is that Hager publishes his views, Hoots works clandestinely, for pay, to achieve his ends, until flushed out by Hager

    • Rodel 16.3
      20 April 2015 at 9:24 pm

      Fis … “triumphant”?You really are running out of bait. I’d like to say nice try but even I wouldn’t bite at that-that was weak even for you mate.

  17. b waghorn 17
    20 April 2015 at 4:11 pm

    http://agrihq.co.nz/article/falling-forests-miss-gas-level-targets?p=7

    “Groser also said NZ was on target to meet its Kyoto Protocol commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 5% below 1990 levels by 2020.

    However, gross emissions in 2013 were 21.3% higher than 1990 and net emissions were 42.4% higher.”

    Grosser must be amazing if he’s going to cut emmisions 27% in 5 years,still if the nats have turned us into a failed economy by then we might get close.

  18. ianmac 18
    20 April 2015 at 4:23 pm

    Crikey. An important read:
    An Andrew Geddis post on the rights we give up in the case for war in “Lest We Forget.” Freedom of Speech. Rights to disagree. Conscription. And of course a different perspective on the standard belief that all those brave boys went off willingly to fight and die in WW1. (From the sidebar on TS thanks.)
    http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/lest-we-forget

    • Draco T Bastard 18.1
      20 April 2015 at 6:05 pm

      And this from Trotter:

      Amidst all the commemorations, and all the tearful invocations of the 18,000 young men who did not “grow old, as we grow old”, it is as well to remember that it is not in the monarchical tradition to ask the King’s (or the Queen’s) subjects if they want to – let alone whether they should! – go to war. It remains a matter for the “Executive” exclusively.
      This is as true today, as a much smaller force of New Zealand soldiers prepares to depart for the Middle East, as it was in 1914 when thousands of volunteers embarked for their fateful rendezvous with terror, disfigurement and death on the sheer slopes of Gallipoli.

      And after that first bout of enthusiasm for war there wasn’t that many volunteers either.

    • Scintilla 18.2
      20 April 2015 at 8:41 pm

      ianmac, I discovered a book stashed away in a forgotten spot by my father, after his death. It was an anti-war treatise written in the 1920s, with many horrific photos of WW1 death pits, gallows victims in Austria (they hung conchies, had 11,000 gallows it said), of soldiers whose faces had been blown apart but still alive, terrible stuff. I was quite young when I found this, maybe 9 or 10, and I couldn’t read the words because they were mostly not in English. Later I identified them as German but with French, Dutch and English translations. Dad did not go to war (WW2), health reasons apparently, but I still wonder why he had that book and where it came from.

      Just had a look at it – by Ernst Friedrich, called Krieg dem kriege! War against war. Plainly anti-capitalist – possibly underground press as it would be regarded as utter treason, especially in the light of that Andrew Geddis article on how legal freedoms were curtailed in WW1. Found a link to pictures, it’s been republished.
      war against war

  19. saveNZ 19
    20 April 2015 at 4:26 pm

    It pretty clear the Auckland Council are a bunch of idiotic muppets, they don’t even bother selling off our assets, they just give them away!

    All run through the council resource consents department – no matter how bad the development the answer if always YES, just give us FEEs and we will grant ANYTHING.

    Ring a ding, Auckland council CEO and councillors – your resource consents department is out of control and your Ports of Auckland are out of Control!

    Are you too lazy to do anything? The ports of Auckland board are giving you, and the rest of Auckland, and Maori and indeed the country the finger.

    The harbour is public ownership.

    STOP STEALING OUR HARBOUR

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11435607

  20. marty mars 20
    20 April 2015 at 4:40 pm

    Good letter

    “An Open Letter to Wicked Campers from Women’s Refuge

    Dear Wicked Campers,
    Women’s Refuge supports 20,000 women and children affected by domestic violence every year. On behalf of our volunteers and workers and the women and children who use our services we respectfully ask you to reconsider the wording you have on your vans. The hateful slogans and ‘jokes’ we have seen denigrate and humiliate human beings, normalising violence towards women and inflicting on-going harm to victims. Misogyny masquerading as humour is still misogyny! We are concerned for instance that you consider a ‘joke’ about drowning your wife to be amusing? This is just one of many objectionable slogans and images that we see plastered across your campers as they travel the roads of this country. We ask you, in this open letter, to take a different tack in future – perhaps even to think about peaceful and respectful slogans. Please rethink the slogans on your vehicles and think about adding something to society rather than taking it away. As a suggestion, how about ‘wicked campers apologises for dangerous slogans, forgive us.’
    Dr Ang Jury
    Chief Executive”

    • weka 20.1
      20 April 2015 at 9:53 pm

      Good. It’s about time some campaigning was done on this. I’ve seen a few things on Twitter but it needs a major push.

      • vto 20.1.1
        20 April 2015 at 10:16 pm

        I agree completely. In our various necks of the woods we see heaps of these and yep, the slogans and “jokes” are sickening often, rude and bigoted nearly always, and cringeworthy 100%. It doesn’t pay to be with someone more sensitive when one of these turds drives so close that you cant help but read them

        Full ups to Womens Refuge

  21. Philip Ferguson 21
    20 April 2015 at 4:49 pm

    Any folks here who are in Dunedin and have an interest in Irish/working class/left history might be interested in a couple of talks I’m giving on campus about the 1916 Rebellion in Ireland and its aftermath.

    The talks are at 5pm, tomorrow (Tuesday), April 21 and 5pm, the following Tuesday (April 28) and are in Room 4, upstairs in the Clubs and Societies building at 84 Albany Street.

    In the first talk I’ll be looking at the lead-up to the Rising, in particular the arrival in Irish society of the working class as an organised industrial/political force with the formation especially of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, founded by James Larkin and later led by James Connolly, the development of its newspaper (the widely-read Irish Worker, edited by Sean O’Casey) and of the workers’ militia (the Irish Citizen Army, led by Connolly, Michael Mallin and Countess Markievicz; the formation of the first republican paramilitary organisation, Na Fianna Eireann, founded by Countess Markievicz; the revitalisation of the Irish Republican Brotherhood by young militants like Sean MacDiarmada and the return of the veteran Tom Clarke; the formation of a republican women’s movement (Inghinidhe na hEireann), founded by Maud Gonne; and the Irishwomen’s Suffrage League.

    I’ll look at the 1913 Dublin Lockout and the Home Rule Crisis and the different responses within Irish nationalism to World War 1.

    Bigi linn (all welcome).

    For poster, see: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/15/dunedin-talks-on-the-1916-rebellion-in-ireland/

    Phil

  22. Philip Ferguson 22
    20 April 2015 at 5:00 pm

    If there’s much interest in these talks, I’ll look at organising the showing of two very famous documentaries, among the first feature-length documentaries ever made: Mise Eire (I am Ireland) and Saoirse (Freedom).

    Mise Eire was made in 1959 and features a lot of newsreel footage from the late 1800s up to the immediate after of the 1916 Rising.

    Saoirse was made in 1961 and takes the story through the reorganisation of the independence movement in 1917, its sweeping victory in Ireland in the Westminster election of 1918, the establishment of an independent Irish parliament in January 1919, the declaration of independence and the war with the British state as the British ruling class refused to recognise the will of the Irish people and attempted to suppress Dail Eireann.

    Phil

  23. Clemgeopin 23
    20 April 2015 at 5:29 pm

    Don’t forget to watch Campbell Live today, 7 pm, TV3.

    Some of the topics are : (from Twitter)

    * See where your money from Lunchbox Day has gone!
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CC_9VOFUEAASMnR.jpg:large

    * Imagine being told you’d have to boil your drinking water for the next decade. Tonight, the invention that may save the town with no water.

    * Poll: Should Martin Crowe receive a knighthood? http://bit.ly/1F4U8uY
    You can vote now at the link above or you can wait and vote during the show.

    • Clemgeopin 23.1
      20 April 2015 at 6:30 pm

      Also, (from ad during news)
      * How to solve water purifying problem
      * What happened to the donations to Vanuatu for the Pam cyclone

    • Jilly Bee 23.2
      20 April 2015 at 10:15 pm

      I usually take part in the Campbell Live votes via text messages. I didn’t partake in the vote on whether Martin Crowe should receive a knighthood, simply because I don’t agree with titular honours, though I firmly feel that Martin should be honoured in some way for his wonderful contribution to N Z cricket. Order of N Z would be OK with me.

      • Clemgeopin 23.2.1
        20 April 2015 at 11:04 pm

        72% said YES, 29% said No.

        I understand and agree with your view, but I voted YES because that seemed the most appropriate answer for the two choices given.

        The government has given these titles to a large number of shady characters and crooks over the years! I bet Key is looking forward to get one too asap!

        Martin Crowe is certainly not one of those types!

        • Clemgeopin 23.2.1.1
          20 April 2015 at 11:08 pm

          @ iprent :

          Attention iprent: I have noticed that in the last few days, when I try to click on ‘reply’ from my email feed, I am unable to do so, because I get this message:

          Gone

          The requested resource
          /open-mike-20042015/
          is no longer available on this server and there is no forwarding address. Please remove all references to this resource.

        • Tracey 23.2.1.2
          21 April 2015 at 10:21 am

          I am not sure what his contribution outside his job has been? Many many people are outstanding in their chosen professions, for far less remuneration than our sportspeople. So over and above that? I am sorry he is dying, but writing about his experience also ought not qualify for the highest of honours. IMO.

  24. saveNZ 24
    20 April 2015 at 5:34 pm

    Ports of Auckland has been ordered to pay $40,000 for deliberately breaking the law by employing contractors during industrial action at the port.

    The Employment Relations Authority ruled that Ports of Auckland Ltd (POAL) broke the law in February and March when they employed an engineer from overseas at a cost of $10,000 a week to do the work of striking Maritime Union members.

    It also illegally used local contractors to carry out engineering work.

    At the time union members were on strike and locked out in their battle to stop management contracting out their jobs.

    In a decision released yesterday, authority member Anna Fitzgibbon said the port had made “calculated decisions” to break the law.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10853815

    Ding a ling, sound familiar with stealing our harbour?

  25. halfcrown 25
    20 April 2015 at 6:34 pm

    The ANZAC Bullshit continues with everybody trying to out do others with exhibits. Southland has got the prize so far as shown on TV1 news tonight. A genuine exhibit of a Gallipoli dunny c/w with feces in it
    I am sure the poor guys who were there would not like their personal habits dysentery or otherwise exhibited.
    That is bloody disgusting and an insult to the guys who fought there.