Open mike 21/01/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 21st, 2016 - 51 comments
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51 comments on “Open mike 21/01/2016”

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  1. North 1
    21 January 2016 at 7:41 am

    If things are as bad for the residential landlord class as claims Andrew King, chief executive of the New Zealand Property Investors Federation – in Auckland $250 plus down EVERY week of the year – one wonders that anyone risks their financial future by becoming one.

    I mean these are meant to be canny lads and lasses right into the Brighter Future a la their idol Mr Gauche. Altruism usually takes the back burner when doom is in the offing so there’s obviously an upside which King is fully aware of but dishonestly withholds.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11575770

    Will someone who knows ‘stuff’ comment here please. Maybe many already have given King’s bleat is dated 18/1/16.

    • Gangnam Style 1.1
      21 January 2016 at 9:06 am

      +1. Greed & dishonesty.

    • Sabine 1.2
      21 January 2016 at 10:08 am

      the property is not bought as a rental. It is bought as a speculation object, and in the mean time is rented. It does actually not matter if it covers the mortgage or not.

      And why should rent cover mortgage, considering that the ‘rental’ will bring in money of many many decades.

      One of the houses that sold in my street was rented to one lady and her kids for over 20 years. She never managed to save enough to buy a house (min wage, no extra income, etc) she did make enough to spend over 300.000 $ in rent during the time she lived there. In that time nothing was done to the interior, which is the reason the house in the end sold for 200.000 $ less than the next house which was build at the same time and got renovated before sales. $ 690.000 unrenovated – build in the 1980 vs 890.000 renovated – build at the same time.
      So if you consider that maybe the houses/land in westie land would have been about 100.000 initially, one could say that the property owner (well the son who inherited it) made a good profit on it. Did the rent initially cover the mortgage, probably not. Did the rent cover the mortgage and then some in the end. Yes it did

      • North 1.2.1
        21 January 2016 at 11:39 am

        So Andrew King, chief executive of the New Zealand Property Investors Federation IS dishonest. And possessed by a nasty sense of entitlement. Thought as much.

        King wouldn’t also be an ACToid, or would he ? This is why I ask – from the article – King, (complainingly) – “Insulation in rental properties is to be compulsory……” – wait for it – “……. whether the tenant wants it or not.”

        Ah……that fine old piece of ACToid delusion……”choice”. It’s way preferable to avoidance of ill health, any fool can see that. Besides…..all their tenants tell them so. http://www.ehinz.ac.nz/indicators/indoor-environment/health-conditions-related-to-cold-and-damp-houses/

        • Sabine 1.2.1.1
          21 January 2016 at 11:56 am

          It is not that he is dishonest, he is just very flexible with the truth.

          If I buy a rental today as an investment, and want to hold on to it throughout my retirment an maybe leave it in the family then clearly it is a ‘rental’. If i buy a rental today with the intention to rent it until the market has provided enough incentive to sell it, then it is an object of speculation, which is what we are currently seeing.

          the rental object will be in my family for 30 – 50 – 150 years maybe (consider that in europe many of the old houses are still in the hands of the same families, have been modified to accommodate more people, renovated, upgraded etc). Now initially the rent will not cover monthly or weekly mortgage payment, but at some stage the mortgage is paid and the rent becomes income and gain.

          Consider also that lets say a mortgage of $ 600 per week might be the honest price for a property. But would $ 750 be an honest rental price for the same property? (and yes i added $ 150 to cover costs of admin, rates, n leaky roof)? Depends, what stage is the house in? How old is the carpet, fixings n trimmings?
          So you see the mortgage of 600 is fine, after all one gets a property n stuff – an investment that even might be worth double or triple in the future, but the maximum rent for the same property due to its state might only be worth $ 360, and voila the rent does not cover the mortgage.
          So at best the good man is paid to be a misleading shill and won’t somebody please think of the poor and misunderstood property owners and their staff in the the property industry.

        • McFlock 1.2.1.2
          21 January 2016 at 12:14 pm

          Shoot, what’s the world coming to when you can’t even trust a real estate agent’s spin doctor? 👿

    • DH 1.3
      21 January 2016 at 11:37 am

      It’s not hard to pull apart his argument.

      IMO the big lie is the sly insinuation they paid latest price for their properties, they always talk about the costs of a house bought at the current price. In truth they largely charge today’s rents for yesterday’s houses, their own costs are much less than they infer.

      He’s sure got some chutzpah. Whining about his business not being allowed to claim depreciation while he pays no tax on his property’s massive appreciation. Life is so unfair isn’t it, poor guy.

      • Herodotus 1.3.1
        21 January 2016 at 4:31 pm

        His whine about depreciation is easily fixed … Allow depreciation BUT then tax all capital gains, and the depreciation that was claimed on sale will be recovered so it is only a timing matter. Sure the property owner gets some small tax relief but pays this back, and the govt books benefit from all capital gains achieved.
        I wish Andrew King was correct in saying “Andrew King: Rental prices in NZ are actually quite reasonable” If they were and kiwis were paid a reasonable wage then there would be no necessity for an Accommodation Supplement. As in 2011 we were paying out $1.2b, take this away then the rental market has $1.2b less to spend on accommodation and rentals should fall. Unfortunately the world does not operate under “market driven basis”, 🙁
        http://www.interest.co.nz/property/60426/govt-reviewing-accommodation-supplement-rent-subsidy-housing-minister-heatley-says

  2. Chooky 2
    21 January 2016 at 8:38 am

    This is interesting on Hillary Clinton’s adviser Sidney Blumenthal and France’s real reasons for supporting the invasion of Libya.

    https://www.rt.com/shows/keiser-report/329404-episode-max-keiser-864/

    “In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss what the price of sardines teaches us about disintermediation. They also discuss the strange email from Sidney Blumenthal to Hillary Clinton about the real reason for France’s invasion of Libya. In the second half, Max continues his interview with Reggie Middleton about Pathogenic Finance: The autonomous, anti-fragile, trustless paradigm shift transforming banking, brokerage, securities and insurance.

    • Jones 2.1
      21 January 2016 at 1:45 pm

      That segment on Pathogenic Finance with Reggie Middleton is brilliant . That’s a game changer that would do to the financial sector what peer-to-peer file sharing did to the music and film industries. I can see the full force of Wall Street pushing back on that idea.

  3. Tautoko Mangō Mata 3
    21 January 2016 at 8:44 am

    With the proposed signing of the TPP looming, there seems to be more people interested in e accessing information about it. I recommend the following link
    https://tpplegal.wordpress.com

    As well as expert analysis on 3 papers, there are excellent articles in the commentary section.

    • weka 3.1
      21 January 2016 at 9:33 am

      Thanks for those links and the Tiriti one in the other thread.

    • marty mars 3.2
      21 January 2016 at 12:30 pm

      Kia ora TMM

      This is another on Māori and TPP – you may already have put it up

      Expert paper on TPPA & Treaty of Waitangi: government fails to meet obligations to Maori

      The third in a series of expert peer reviewed papers on the implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement for Aotearoa New Zealand was posted on the tpplegal website today.

      The paper was co-authored by Carwyn Jones, a senior lecturer in law from Victoria University, and Andrew Erueti, Associate Professor Claire Charters and Professor Jane Kelsey from the University of Auckland law faculty. The peer reviewer was lawyer Moana Jackson from Ngati Porou and Ngati Kahungunu.

      ‘Maori have long-standing concerns about law and policy relating to issues such as traditional knowledge, biodiversity and environmental management’, says Carwyn Jones, who wrote that section of the paper. ‘The TPPA will hamper the ability of future governments to develop Treaty of Waitangi-consistent law and policy in these areas.’

      ‘It is extremely disappointing that the Government would enter into such an agreement without securing effective protection for Maori, which the “Treaty of Waitangi Exception” fails to do.’

      ‘All New Zealanders ought to be concerned that the TPPA is moving us further and further away from effective recognition of rights guaranteed under the Treaty of Waitangi, putting another obstacle in the way of reconciliation and the resolution of grievances.’

      http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1601/S00106/expert-paper-on-tppa-treaty-of-waitangi.htm

    • alwyn 4.1
      21 January 2016 at 9:48 am

      Do you know if anything happened in Japan regarding the last story?
      I notice that it is dated 4 September 2015 and that all the comments are from about four months ago.

  5. Gangnam Style 5
    21 January 2016 at 9:09 am

    Might be of interest to some people here, a sexual harassment shitstorm unravelling in the american indie music world, http://jezebel.com/how-women-on-twitter-brought-down-a-music-publicist-acc-1753964374

    • weka 5.1
      21 January 2016 at 9:45 am

      That is a very interesting write up, thanks. It’s a good example of why non-rapist men need to step up and end rape culture. Women are doing what they can, and some men, but if the only way that that situation with the publicist could be dealt with was via twitter there is something very wrong (not that that’s news). I’m very glad that those women used twitter in this way, and I’m disgusted that they had to and that the people in the culture they live and work within are all pretty much ignoring and/or supporting rape culture.

      • Descendant Of Sssmith 5.1.1
        21 January 2016 at 5:28 pm

        And in standing up be prepared for paying the same price that women do who speak up – or who turn down such advances.

        Threats of dismissal, overlooked for promotion, spoken about behind your back, and so on and so on.

        Having been through this quite a few times it’s an interesting experience to be sure.

        Wouldn’t never not do it though.

        Living with yourself is in my view much much better than living with the abusers.

  6. greywarshark 6
    21 January 2016 at 10:04 am

    I liked this from Chris Trotters Bowalley Road article.
    http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/not-by-bread-and-butter-alone-making.html

    …authentic human identity is only available to those who insist on being something more than the means to someone else’s end. Who we are now, and what we may yet become: both conditions drive us forward….

    • Once was Tim 6.1
      21 January 2016 at 11:05 am

      Very profound and true. I often wonder why people become super competitive – that is, to the extent that they just HAVE to be better/outdo the next man/woman. we’re constantly told that should be what drives us.
      I used to wonder about that amongst musicians (guitarists for example who strove and claim to be better than say Clapton, rather than simply trying to improve themselves; or dealing room wideboys competing to outdo their colleagues). That seems to be simply an exercise in stroking ones own ego.
      We’re constantly told the competitive spirit and ambition = good. I’ve seen some pretty devastated people with those attributes when a bit of shit hits the fan – as in they totally can’t cope and spend their days beating themselves up.
      I guess we might be in for quite a few people jumping out of Wall Street windows in the not too distant

      • greywarshark 6.1.1
        21 January 2016 at 1:05 pm

        Competition in the right place can be a good spur. I wouldn’t mind at all if NZ pollies aimed to keep us up with the other countries with innovative, future thinking measures say about the environment, or to bring recidivism from crims down etc.
        Not aim for the top, just achievable ashperashuns. But no. Lazy Maysie and Co. are off on holiday.

        • Rosemary McDonald 6.1.1.1
          21 January 2016 at 5:10 pm

          Love it! 100%.

        • Once was Tim 6.1.1.2
          21 January 2016 at 6:21 pm

          yep, however I’m not sure they need to ‘compete’ necessarily, but just like the 4th Estate ….. they just need to do their fucking jobs and act with a bit of principle and a few ethics.

      • Jones 6.1.2
        21 January 2016 at 1:30 pm

        “…we might be in for quite a few people jumping out of Wall Street windows…”

        They’ve been doing that for a while now…

        http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/01/bankers-suicide-conspiracy/

    • Draco T Bastard 6.2
      21 January 2016 at 9:37 pm

      Narrowing, managing, controlling: isn’t that the story of the last thirty years?

      Listen both National and Labour while they tell us that we can’t do what’s needed to make our society better. It’s all about keeping us in a very narrow mindset of profit for the rich.

      We have, over the last thirty years, allowed ourselves to be straight-jacketed into being what the oligarchs want us to be.

  7. RedLogix 7
    21 January 2016 at 10:30 am

    For the political tragics:

    “Labour thought that because the Conservatives did not win 2010, when they had Gordon Brown as their leader and the economy was in the toilet, the Tories would be unable to win [in 2015] and all they had to do was sit on the horse and hang on,” says Crosby. “They never said sorry for their mishaps, they never really did an honest review of their policies, they never had a story about the future for the British people. They just did not do the work. They were intellectually lazy and thought themselves intellectually superior.”

    http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jan/20/lynton-crosby-and-dead-cat-won-election-conservatives-labour-intellectually-lazy

    • McFlock 7.1
      21 January 2016 at 12:23 pm

      lol
      Tory whose campaign strategy revolves around “brevity, relentlessness, focus on and leverage of public preconceptions” suggests that Labour should have done more policy debating and public confessionals. Cheers for the advice, Lynton…

  8. Pat 8
    21 January 2016 at 10:36 am

    something we are likely to hear more about this year…particularly now JC has a platform back…a brief overview of the real recovery

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/125997072/Article%20North%20%20South%20Nov%202015.pdf

  9. Michael 9
    21 January 2016 at 10:49 am

    Bernie at the 4th Democratic debate.

  10. North 10
    21 January 2016 at 11:06 am

    Assuming O’Sullivan’s correct about the SkyCity venue ……. would say it all really. And tacky tacky tacky ! Let’s pray the sounds won’t be down to New Camelot Max.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11577333

    • Sabine 10.1
      21 January 2016 at 12:27 pm

      we live in intersting times.

      I was told by a friend that the signing in AKL is only for the press. The official signing with dignitaries n such could be at a more formal site. Signing of the TPPa at Waitangi anyone? lol….interesting times.

  11. amirite 11
    21 January 2016 at 11:20 am

    A report by the Sustainability Council shows that under the TPPA, the Investors will be able to sue governments especially in matters relating to the environment.

    http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/confirmed-investors-can-sue-govt-under-tppa/

    #FlushTheTPPA

  12. Muttonbird 12
    21 January 2016 at 11:22 am

    Weldon has canned 3 News. Oh dear.

    • Whispering Kate 12.1
      21 January 2016 at 11:48 am

      Explain please.

    • ianmac 12.2
      21 January 2016 at 11:52 am

      Oh but better and bigger Muttonbird. Now TV3 Newshub at 6pm.
      “The service will provide the latest news and in-depth analysis, with a dedicated, state-of-the-art app and website and TV and radio news bulletins across MediaWorks’ channels – as well as fuelling news content across other programmes such asPaul Henry.”
      So a reverse of Checkpoint on RNZ – or something?

      • greywarshark 12.2.1
        21 January 2016 at 3:51 pm

        TV3 News flash to our great Newshub media team –
        Let’s all join hands and play American Whispers along the chain (not Chinese now they are our friends) which will ensure stories go across all Mediawork channels. Sometimes we’ll start the story at one end and it will finish up with Paul Henry, and sometimes the other way round.

        We will add to our reports spice, verve, topicality, tons of amusing opinion, and plenty of room for surmise and prophetic announcements. All participants will bear their own slander legal fees, and compulsory insurance should be entered into pronto

        So before anything too controversial or about serial litigants, check with the legal team.
        /sarc edited

        • Once was Tim 12.2.1.1
          21 January 2016 at 6:53 pm

          dontcha just lerv the lingo – there goes the Mark of a total bullshit artist. A Key player in the new media vironmint (going forwid)

          Ekshully, there’s been a series on the National Geographic Channel (such as that travesty to the name is – it’s founders are busy rolling in their graves) looking at the 80’s, then the 90’s,and now the 00’s.
          It’d be interesting to look back on this decade from the future – it won’t be pretty.
          Mark and Joolie (all kitted out with stetson). It’ll look something like the Class of 87.

  13. ianmac 13
    21 January 2016 at 1:52 pm

    Euthanasia.
    Interesting discussion on Pundit. Especially the refuting by Andrew Geddis, of misleading stats used by the writer Matthew Jansen.
    http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/assisted-suicide-is-not-a-progressive-issue

    And a sad article by Hugh Thorpe and his dilemma over his wife Rhona’s dementia in relation to the case for euthanasia.
    http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/euthanasia-my-personal-opinion

  15. CR 15
    21 January 2016 at 4:16 pm

    Have a look – all of the world’s money markets in one visualisation, it’s staggering:

    http://money.visualcapitalist.com/all-of-the-worlds-money-and-markets-in-one-visualization/

    To help us comprehend the massive numbers (billions, trillions, quadrillions), this 5-minute video ‘How much is a trillion dollars’ is useful:

    http://www.peakprosperity.com/video/85844/playlist/92161/crash-course-chapter-12-how-much-trillion

    • Once was Tim 15.1
      21 January 2016 at 7:21 pm

      stick a match to it CV – better to do it now than later. It’s all paper anyway…..and total crapola. There are better uses for paper – like things more meaningful to societies.
      why put people through constructs (such as ‘austerity’) when in the end the inevitable will happen?
      I ‘spose its because it makes money (as opposed to ‘currency’).
      Roll on the crash I say – the sooner the better!

  16. Rosemary McDonald 16
    21 January 2016 at 5:08 pm

    Dizzy times ahead for bottled ‘100% Pure NZ’ water.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/76117504/hawkes-bay-companys-first-shipment-of-drinking-water-rejected-by-china

    China doesn’t like too much nitrite in it’s water…can’t think why.

    “”To class water as ‘spring or artesian’ for the New Zealand market the maximum level of the naturally occurring nitrite is 0.2mg/L while the Chinese maximum level is 0.005mg/L. Unfortunately the levels of nitrite were higher than the Chinese standard hence the product was returned,” she said.

    Roderick Brodie, University of Auckland marketing professor, said the Chinese requirements were stringent.

    But he said the concern was that a rejection on the basis of nitrite could be read as being linked to excessive use of fertiliser.

    “The Hawke’s Bay bottling company needs to come out with a very strong press release to counter this, so that we don’t have anyone saying we’re not a clean and green country.”

    He said Fertiliser might not have anything to do with it, but that was the risk that was run.”

    Picky beggars those Chinese…what’s a bit of nitrite between friends?

  17. Katipo 17
    21 January 2016 at 8:52 pm

    “Less than one per cent of the wealth created since 2000 has gone to the poorest 50 per cent of the world’s population, new research has revealed.”

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/rich-have-only-got-richer-since-2000-davos-a6823281.html

  18. cogito 18
    21 January 2016 at 10:07 pm

    “‘Dumping ground’ fears over paying state house applicants to leave Auckland”
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/76099297/dumping-ground-fears-over-paying-state-house-applicants-to-leave-auckland

    So this is what effing Bennett has spent her holiday cooking up. Regional centres have enough on their plates without having to deal with her relocated Aucklanders.

  19. joe90 19
    22 January 2016 at 12:15 am

    Pricks are still at it.

    .
    Brianna Wu
    ‏@Spacekatgal

    The morning, my college reached out to me. Gamergate has been impersonating me attempting to get copies of my college transcripts to release

    Brianna Wu ‏@Spacekatgal Jan 19

    It’s been a harassment shit show like this for several weeks. As @JessicaValenti said, Gamergate didn’t end, we just forgot about it.

    https://twitter.com/Spacekatgal/status/689552337417965569

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