Open Mike 23/03/2018

87 comments on “Open Mike 23/03/2018 ”

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1. Sanctuary 1

   23 March 2018 at 6:15 am

   I have to say, I found Jacinda’s reported child related question to Obama quite touching.
   • patricia bremner 1.1

     23 March 2018 at 12:16 pm

     Her real values shining through.
2. Tony Veitch (not etc) 2

   23 March 2018 at 6:32 am

   One propaganda machine to rule them all!

   “Beijing rights activist Hu Jia said the station has been set up with the aim of exporting China’s ideology beyond its borders.”

   “The Voice of China is under the control of the Central Propaganda Department,” Hu said. “This is an important tactic on Xi Jinping’s part, and a huge weapon in his hands to change the world’s opinion of this dictator and his autocratic one-party rule.”

   “Xi has the self-confidence of a czar following the constitutional amendments, and now he wants to bravely lead the fight against mainstream values in the rest of the world,” he said.

   “He will use authoritarian power to make Chinese lies sound nice, and engage in ideological infiltration and indoctrination.”

   https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-propaganda-03212018140841.html

   Many on here have commented on Russia Today as a propaganda agent of the Russian Federation – yet we don’t get RT as a Freeview channel in this country.

   The same can’t be said about Chinese propaganda!
   • halfcrown 2.1

     23 March 2018 at 12:14 pm

     ” yet we don’t get RT as a Freeview channel in this country.”
     I am sure we used to be able to get it on Freevew

     Not surprised that we no longer can get this channel, Yes it is Putin’s propaganda outlet, you don’t need a degree to work that one out, but it did have some interesting programmes on it providing you looked at them with an opened mind.
     Max Kaiser was one good programme. Once again had to keep an open mind but he did have some very interesting guests like Steve Keen, who had a lot of economic alternatives to this Neo shit they appear to teach in universities.

     But hey the powers to be are “saving” us from making up our own minds and really why do we need RT when we have so many unbiased media outlets like Fox News The Daily Fail The Torygraph and our own very unbiased press like the Granny and reporters Hoskins, Gower, Gardner just to name a few.
     • alwyn 2.1.1

       23 March 2018 at 2:27 pm

       Here is the Wikipedia entry for Freeview.
       It lists a string of defunct channels but doesn’t include RT in the list.
       This article at least seems to think that RT was never on the service.
       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeview_(New_Zealand)#Defunct_channels
       It is conceivable it was visible at the very beginning. There seems to have been problems with lots of odd channels showing up.
       From 2007
       http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10481054
   • patricia bremner 2.2

     23 March 2018 at 12:18 pm

     I felt like that when i found “Friend” a Japanese magazine in our school library, many years ago.
3. AsleepWhileWalking 3

   23 March 2018 at 6:53 am

   Mary Holm is out of touch with low to middle income earners.

   https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018637268/is-home-ownership-the-only-way-to-go

   By saving what they would have otherwise spent on mortgage, rates, maintenance and insurance minus rent, Mary says renters might come out as well or better off than their home-buying friends, she says.

   The advantages of renting:
   Better savings diversification

   Less responsibility

   No need to do (or pay someone else to do) maintenance

   May be easier to live close to downtown

   Can move easily and cheaply

   Can use long-term savings for a business or other investment

   Where should we begin?
   • Carolyn_Nth 3.1

     23 March 2018 at 9:52 am

     That’s the way it should be. However, profiteers and price gougers have skewed the system.

     I have always been happy to rent. And would welcome changes to shift the balance of power away from landlords.

     I have a pretty good landlord at the moment. Rent rises are once a year and at the lower end of rises I’ve heard about. I live in a well maintained secure unit.

     But even this landlord raises the rent yearly a bit above average income rises.
   • Tricledrown 3.2

     23 March 2018 at 10:38 am

     That housing is too expensive full stop.
     Housing investment for the home owner is tax free unless you are flipping in less than 2 years.
     On the average family income there is no money left over for investment.
   • halfcrown 3.3

     23 March 2018 at 11:48 am

     She’s been inoculated with the Neo Liberal Bullshit. They all say that the Neo’s want the peasantry brought to heel and know their place and renting is just one other control to achieve this.
   • savenz 3.4

     23 March 2018 at 1:30 pm

     There are more people coming in than houses being built. We have had the same rental system for decades and seemed to be fine with little shortages, now it’s dramatically changed because for the last decade and in particular the last few years, there are 70+ new residents pa, 180,000 work permits given out for new residents pa, and massive tourism. Then how easy it is for other nations to invest in ‘gold bricks’ in NZ and how everyone is expected to have multiple mansions around the world. (Look where that has got Queenstown).

     So you have raise taxes, have no rental fees etc etc but it will not change the fundamental problem.

     There are too many people for the amount of houses and the houses being built are generally beyond the reaches of those on NZ wages.

     So there is very little hope, unless the government fundamentally change immigration and neoliberalism because that is what is increasing the prices of things like building. We export logs, bring them back as wood, and end up paying more than other countries for building materials for examples even when we produce a lot of the raw products. We have plenty of skilled and unskilled local labour, but the way the industry has gone, has been to ignore those people because they don’t want to train them and instead get paid to provide a work permit or pay well below the going wage for industry AND be able to work people longer and harder which they have to put up with because they can’t change jobs.
     • cleangreen 3.4.1

       23 March 2018 at 8:51 pm

       Right there savenz,
       And there are more trucks bigger longer and heavier than ever now entering our rural dirt roads now and we see less repairs to them every week until some are going to become impassable soon.

       This lack of regional funding of our dirt roads will soon be stopping the farming communities in their tracks, so we are all being setup for a big fall.
       • solkta 3.4.1.1

         23 March 2018 at 9:00 pm

         I’m guessing you mean gravel roads.
4. adam 4

   23 March 2018 at 9:52 am

   Goodbye, fare thee well, and turn out the lights.

   https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/353180/cadbury-s-dunedin-factory-turns-out-final-sweets-today

   Now it’s all Aussie (until Singapore comes online) and palm oil.

   So I’m going to say you can’t call them Kiwi anymore.

   Look on the bright side – at least we still have Whittakers and Mayceys.
   • JohnSelway 4.1

     23 March 2018 at 10:35 am

     Cadbury chocolate is fucking shit anyway.
     • Tricledrown 4.1.1

       23 March 2018 at 10:42 am

       Pineapple lumps to you Asleep.
       Thank Warren Buffet.
       Next rationalization is Watties Heinz Cerebos Gregg’s .
       Same owners different vehicle.
       Monopolization of food production is allowed to happen no international regulation.
       • tc 4.1.1.1

         23 March 2018 at 10:54 am

         Cerebos’s was marked over 10 years ago in East Tamaki as EOL.
     • halfcrown 4.1.2

       23 March 2018 at 11:49 am

       +1
     • McFlock 4.1.3

       23 March 2018 at 12:47 pm

       I liked whittackers, but then someone said they weren’t labour-friendly (lowercase “L”).

       Donovan’s does some nice confectionary, dunno much about them and their practises though.

       Waiting for Ocho to make some round orange-coated chocolate balls. Chocolate with percentages is all well and good, but gimme some pineapple chumps, sniffies, Byzantine brilliantines, orange aucklanders, and other generic names for movie staples…
       • Bearded Git 4.1.3.1

         23 March 2018 at 1:08 pm

         Brilliant
       • weka 4.1.3.2

         23 March 2018 at 1:39 pm

         I thought Whittakers were meant to be one of the better ones ethically 🙁
         • McFlock 4.1.3.2.1

           23 March 2018 at 1:46 pm

           better than cadbury’s. I could be wrong about them, I have no actual evidence. Just a someone said.
           • weka 4.1.3.2.1.1

             23 March 2018 at 2:57 pm

             Thinking about it, it might only be some of the Whittakers range that is more ethical. Yep, better than Cadbury’s by some margin.
       • Tuppence Shrewsbury 4.1.3.3

         23 March 2018 at 3:05 pm

         You heard Whitaker’s weren’t? They’re still here and employing aren’t they? Some of their employees have been there 30 years and more. Low brow, even for you
         • McFlock 4.1.3.3.1

           23 March 2018 at 3:11 pm

           You know so much about ’em, what’s their unionisation rate? Are all their cocoa ethically sourced?

           I clearly said that’s what I’d heard, and the strongest words I used were “weren’t labour friendly”.

           If you think that’s low brow, you can suck my balls.
           • Ovid 4.1.3.3.1.1

             23 March 2018 at 4:09 pm

             The fairtrade beans are just in their dark Ghana and creamy milk blocks, but they are GM and Palm Oil free acros all products.

             E Tu represents people in the confectionery industry. They have no posts on their site for Whittakers, but quite a few for Cadbury.
             • McFlock …

               23 March 2018 at 4:26 pm

               fair call, I’ll go with that then.
   • Ad 4.2

     23 March 2018 at 1:41 pm

     Goodby to mass and bulk production, hello to the higher-quality, fair-trade, artisan chocolate factory. Also in Dunedin. Fully crowd-sourced from locals:

     https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/101329158/otago-chocolate-company-finds-new-factory-site-on-dunedins-waterfront

     Let a thousand flowers bloom.
   • cleangreen 4.3

     23 March 2018 at 8:53 pm

     Buy Whittakers always folks.
5. lprent 5

   23 March 2018 at 9:53 am

   Not sure why the system went down at 0652. I was already at work and there is nothing in the logs. Looked like the CPU had a temperature shutdown – but there is nothing in the logs, and it isn’t exactly summer at 0652 at this time of year even in Auckland.

   Also not sure why my phone isn’t alarming me when it can’t see the website.

   Bill had to send a message through to my phone (Thanks Bill).

   Heading back to work.
   • Carolyn_Nth 5.1

     23 March 2018 at 10:05 am

     Is it a windows computer?

     My windows 10 computer has frequently shut down without warning. I googled it and it seems to be something that happens with windows 8-10 – some say it started suddenly on their computers last year. Various fixes are recommended online – some too technical, and delving into code, for me.

     I unticked enabling quick start in power options – one of the suggestions. And that seemed to work til it ticked itself again.
     • Brigid 5.1.1

       23 March 2018 at 10:37 am

       I’d say the server hosting this site isn’t running Windows software.
     • lprent 5.1.2

       23 March 2018 at 12:23 pm

       Definitely not. Both servers run linux.

       However the particular computer that it normally runs on is getting pretty old. I suspect I need to have a look at the fans and cooling systems again. Or upgrade.

       It is a 8 core AMD FX9590 from 2013 which was when I brought it to assemble as a workstation box. It’s most distinguishing characteristic is that it runs up to 225W on the CPU – effectively it is factory overclocked.

       So it runs bloody hot and has a rather large stock water cooler with some large very silent but high volume fans on the radiator. This throws heat out of the back.

       Even so when the conversation gets warm on the site, you can keep a coffee pretty warm by placing it on the top of case above the radiator. And in winter, your conversation provides my apartment’s heating.

       Not so good in summer when we need open windows to prevent the apartment and the computer from cooking us or itself.

       The backup server was meant to be the new server last year but wound up as being my workstation.

       It is a Ryzen 7 1700 8 core (with 8 virtuals). Way more computing power, but a different design that only runs at 65W. It barely gets warm. I don’t even run it with a water cooler.

       However neither the Linux kernel and ASUS motherboard firmware was really ready for it on release. It spent the first 5 months rebooting too frequently (ie about as much as a normal windows computer). It is pretty stable now – which I define as I have to think about actually manually rebooting it every few months..

       But I have gotten used to its speed when building code.

       I’m not going back to a AMD Piledriver. And since I have to get a new motherboard, memory and cooling system so I can upgrade TS’s server, then something like a AMD Threadripper 1960X could do some severe improvements in my compilation speeds….

       But that may have to wait for a while. My partner is trying to build her own business (on one of my older discards from 2011 🙂 and her even older mac laptop). So I’m paying the mortgages and living costs while she gets it off the ground. Upgrading my already over powered workstation is low on the priority list.

       I suppose I could consider Intel again – but they are always frigging overpriced and because of their builtin obsolescence policies with form factors for their sockets, too expensive to maintain.

       Basically The Standard has been running since 2014 on my old development systems. Good thing that I’m an active programmer eh?
       • Carolyn_Nth 5.1.2.1

         23 March 2018 at 12:28 pm

         Thanks for the explanation. So does it require some increase in donations for an upgrade?
       • JohnSelway 5.1.2.2

         23 March 2018 at 12:46 pm

         Oh, are you a programmer?

         😉
     • patricia bremner 5.1.3

       23 March 2018 at 12:24 pm

       We will probably learn that is when people lose their bitcoin… or something similar.
       I am always suspicious. Paranoia!!
     • cleangreen 5.1.4

       23 March 2018 at 8:57 pm

       My windows 10 shut my 8 month old computer down and next time we tried to start it we had no windows 10 operating system any more; – so we had to buy a new program and get Microsoft to reload all my stuff we lost.
       • Carolyn_Nth 5.1.4.1

         23 March 2018 at 9:17 pm

         Dear gods. I still trust my macbook more than the windows laptop – and my second hand ubuntu one.

         Edit: it’s interesting that so many windows 8 and 10 pcs started shutting down without warning around the same time. And microsoft seems to blame everything else but it’s OS.
         • KJT 5.1.4.1.1

           23 March 2018 at 10:58 pm

           I’ve had no issues at all, apart from some people sitting in front of the screen, with windows seven, eight and ten.
           Keep up with updates and windows defender seems to do the trick.
           And don’t let any geeks near them. They always want to fix something that isn’t broke.
           As my network engineer cousin says. 90% of computer problems can be fixed by a restart. 9% by changing he person on the keyboard. 1% is caused by trying to make software work, in a way it is not designed to do.
         • ropata 5.1.4.1.2

           24 March 2018 at 12:06 am

           microsoft seems to have lost interest in the consumer OS space. mass market windows PCs are going the way of the dinosaurs
           • KJT 5.1.4.1.2.1

             27 March 2018 at 7:00 pm

             Only in geek land.
             • ropata …

               27 March 2018 at 10:14 pm

               you seem like an expert. 🙄
               http://www.zdnet.com/article/todays-most-popular-operating-systems/
6. Carolyn_Nth 6

   23 March 2018 at 10:02 am

   So, further down the rabbit hole we go. This post by Liam O’Hare” SCL – A very british coup.

   SCL group (Strategic Communication Laboratories) is very intertwined with UK Tories and aristocrats. It’s the parent company for Cambridge Analytica.

   SCL is another political propaganda enterprise, focusing on manipulation of people’s views by targeting emotions (like Cambridge Analytica and Crosby Textor). It has some security clearance which gives it access to confidential documents. It has done work for the UK MOD.

   (SCL Group) – an organisation with its roots deeply embedded within the British political, military and royal establishment.

   Indeed, as the Observer article which broke the scandal said “For all intents and purposes, SCL/Cambridge Analytica are one and the same.”
   …
   In 2005, SCL went public with a glitzy exhibit at the DSEI conference, the UK’s largest showcase for military technology.

   It’s ‘hard sell’ was a demonstration of how the UK government could use a sophisticated media campaign of mass deception to fool the British people into the thinking an accident at a chemical plant had occurred and threatened central London. Genuinely.

   Board members include an array of Lords, Tory donors, ex-British army officers and defense contractors.
   …
   We finally have the most concrete evidence yet of shadowy actors using dirty tricks in order to rig elections. But these characters aren’t operating from Moscow intelligence bunkers.

   Instead, they are British, Eton educated, headquartered in the city of London and have close ties to Her Majesty’s government.
   • Anne 6.1

     23 March 2018 at 10:19 am

     Posted this late yesterday on Daily Review:

     The NZ Defence Service has been told it has to release the details of it’s contractual arrangements with Palantir, the intelligence gathering data base company owned by none other than our very own ‘citizen’, Peter Thiel. Should be interesting in light of what we have learned about Cambridge Analytica.

     http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12014265

     This month the firm [Palantir] won a billion-dollar contract to provide software to the United States Army, and the company has in recent years sought to expand its client base beyond the western military and spy community to include police forces, immigration enforcement agencies and Wall Street.

     These data base companies – whether they’re based in Britain or the US – are all related and doing much the same thing. At least that is the way it appears on the surface.
     • Tracey 6.1.1

       23 March 2018 at 11:10 am

       Great decision. Note it is another of the long delayed processes which might have seen info released prior to or during the election..
7. Siobhan 7

   23 March 2018 at 11:06 am

   France: Mass protests against Macron’s economic policies
   Protesters march across the country to protest against government plans to change labour law, scrap social benefits.

   As usual even the Daily Mail is keeping me better informed on World events than RNZ and the msm…for those who don’t want to go there, i’ve included Al Jazeera’s coverage..

   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5530905/French-public-sector-rail-workers-strike-test-Macron.html

   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/france-mass-protests-macron-economic-policies-180322203829332.html

   Instead of endless coverage of Trumps Tweets, imagine a news service that covered the people making a stand??
   • tracey 7.1

     23 March 2018 at 11:14 am

     It seems lots of I Reckons is what passes for media in NZ now
     • Draco T Bastard 7.1.1

       23 March 2018 at 11:31 pm

       +111

       Facts are inconvenient in NZ for the political class right about now.
   • Bill 7.2

     23 March 2018 at 11:51 am

     But…but…but..not another poster child – a saviour no less if I remember the French Presidential campaign coverage correctly – turning out to be just another fucking liberal bastard? Surely not!
     • tracey 7.2.1

       23 March 2018 at 12:09 pm

       And there were a few dissenters to the labelling him of some kind of breath of fresh new air
       • adam 7.2.1.1

         23 March 2018 at 12:43 pm

         New air same as the old air(really old), punishing the middle class and working people. Because they are just not rich enough.

         Same liberal bastards want to drag us into a war with Russia.

         The rich have enough of our blood!
         • McFlock 7.2.1.1.1

           23 March 2018 at 12:54 pm

           Still better than Le Pen.
           • Bill 7.2.1.1.1.1

             23 March 2018 at 2:09 pm

             Le Pen would have the most powerless President France has had. And please, let’s not forget how the liberal media, in turn, denigrated and ignored the threat to their preferred poster boy coming from the left while simultaneously playing up ye olde fascist canard to get people to herd in the centre.
           • adam 7.2.1.1.1.2

             23 March 2018 at 3:47 pm

             Oh look take this pile of crap, becasue it’s better than that pile of crap.

             But make sure you don’t complain about having to take that pile of crap, becasue we will pull out the other pile of crap if you do.
           • McFlock 7.2.1.1.1.3

             23 March 2018 at 3:59 pm

             It can’t be healthy, being so fucking sour all the time.
             • adam …

               23 March 2018 at 7:23 pm

               I’m guessing the argument got through then, if all you got is an ad-hominem.

               I like my politics to have a bit more morality/body/do actual good not just nice words – to it, than the other guy is a little less evil than that guy. Because that road just leads to more evil guys and you end up with pig skewers and trump. (the pig skewers and trump are probably interchangeable at this point) I think the last what 35 years have proven that if you vote that way all your getting is worse and a little more worse. The last 2 PM’s anyone.

               And note I said guys, because that all it ever is – le pen was just more male macho politics as well.

               Bridge had a good point about this post – nothing has really changed even though the law changed for the last 30 odd years.

               https://libcom.org/blog/series-interviews-working-class-women-west-london-part-4-19032018
               • McFlock …

                 23 March 2018 at 9:01 pm

                 Oh bullshit.

                 Someone here nailed it by recalling the expression “the perfect is the enemy of the good”. In a democracy, those who are relentlessly negative about policy (except for their preferred candidate) leave the election open to nobody except demagogues. Not even Bernie could switch off the hate some supporters have for the ideologically nearest-but-one candidates.

                 So yeah, Macron is better than a fucking nazi. And maybe if the left vote weren’t always so fractured by idealogues, France would have someone better than Macron. If Hamon and Mélenchon hadn’t split each other’s vote in the first round, you’d have to find something else to bitch about.
                 • adam …

                   24 March 2018 at 10:50 am

                   Your doing that make up an argument from what I said, so you can knock it down again. You do that a lot.

                   I’m not arguing for perfect, never have, nor did I go with negatives except to prove your argument is exactly that, negative. Your argument is a negative argument, which continues to have negative consequences.

                   How the hell did we get to nazi’s running for office in the first place, sure wasn’t via socialist policies. 35 years of hard liberalism, anyone.

                   That said, the left isn’t so fractured in France, see protests.
                   • McFlock …

                     24 March 2018 at 4:27 pm

                     Nazis always run for office. Why are they becoming more popular?

                     Every time a bunch of lefties run for office, the ones who are less popular throw more shit at the others than the tories do. Every time the right wing run for office, they get past their differences and vote as their favoured candidate or group directs. Epsom, anyone?

                     The more ‘neoliberalism’ fails, the more extreme people want the change to be. If you knew next to fuckall about an issue other than something was seriously fucked up, would you choose:

                     option A (extreme but you have reservations),
                     option B) business as usuall but they look clean and responsible, or
                     option C) a random selection from indistinguishable but apparently extreme alternatives that all bitterly hate each other and are constantly throwing shit?

                     Because that’s what most voters are faced with when trying to figure out what party would make life better for them. So, yeah, keep being a bile-spitting depressive all you want, but unless you actually do something constructive you’re just part of the problem.
     • Ad 7.2.2

       23 March 2018 at 1:43 pm

       Just lower your standards Bill. 🙂
8. tracey 8

   23 March 2018 at 11:13 am

   I see HootOn is writing for the Herald.

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12018308

   No disclaimer no description of him as formerly working for the Nat Party etc…

   Ordinary folk reading might think he is impartial.
   • veutoviper 8.1

     23 March 2018 at 1:18 pm

     AFAIK he hasn’t done work for National for years and has been criticisng Joyce since 2014, and Key for the last two to three years. Word has it that his firm, Exceltium has done more work for ACT over that period.
     Eg
     https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/101989860/joyce-complains-to-nbr-about-critical-piece-by-nowaxed-columnist

     https://nz.linkedin.com/in/matthewhooton

     https://nz.linkedin.com/in/brookevanvelden
     And look who was here at No 3 for ACT in 2017 – http://act.org.nz/act-unveils-party-list/

     Ben Thomas seems to be Exceltium’s National man these days.
     http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11917012
     https://thespinoff.co.nz/author/ben-thomas/
     https://nz.linkedin.com/in/ben-thomas-1325a9b5
     • veutoviper 8.1.1

       23 March 2018 at 1:38 pm

       Oops I was editing the above and checking something elsewhere and it went up uncorrected.

       Re Ben Thomas – was amending this to read

       Ben Thomas * seemed to be Exceltium’s National man for a while but then wrote these Herald articles immediately before the 2017 election:

       http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11917012

       http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11921023

       http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11923730

       * https://thespinoff.co.nz/author/ben-thomas/ and https://nz.linkedin.com/in/ben-thomas-1325a9b5

       Back to Hooton, perhaps he has taken over Ben Thomas’ slot at the Herald. Who knows/cares?
       Always like Peter Aranyi’s takes on Hooton, eg this from last Sept:
       http://www.thepaepae.com/about-matthew-hootons-declared-loyalties/37847/
   • weka 8.2

     23 March 2018 at 3:06 pm

     “Ordinary folk reading might think he is impartial.”

     Especially as it not bylined as an opinion piece. His second sentence is blatant RW spin,

     “Those of us who still believe in mainstream economics have Shane Jones to thank for again highlighting the lunacy of a government minister owning 51.9 per cent of Air New Zealand.

     See, Shane Jones is part of the terrible loony left who want to destroy the economy. Which is classic Hooton. Undermine the target, mindfuck the Overton Window, mess with the left, and that’s all in the first nine words.

     He really is very good at his job, but it’s not journalism.
9. Ovid 9

   23 March 2018 at 11:44 am

   It’s incredibly heartening to see the Prime Minister write about energy transition planning. I’ve been interested in the transition towns movement for a while and I think it’s a great step for this sort of thing to be on a national policy level.
   • tracey 9.1

     23 March 2018 at 12:08 pm

     Thanks for the transition towns link
10. ianmac 10

    23 March 2018 at 11:50 am

    “Donald Trump has ousted his national security advisor HR McMaster..”
    Oh boy. Next…
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/102531434
    • Ovid 10.1

      23 March 2018 at 12:02 pm

      And has taken on John Bolton. Interesting how Trump’s fans were thinking he would be such a departure from US foreign policy and now he’s taking on the most severe hawk from the GWB administration.
      • tracey 10.1.1

        23 March 2018 at 12:07 pm

        Having campaigned on getting career people out he has soon realised their value. Running a country is not the same as running a business
      • joe90 10.1.2

        23 March 2018 at 1:18 pm

        Yeah, but he promised..

        /

        CNN: Source: As they negotiated, Bolton promised Trump he "wouldn't start any wars"— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) March 22, 2018
        • Exkiwiforces 10.1.2.1

          23 March 2018 at 3:39 pm

          Yeah right said the Tui ad.
11. savenz 11

    23 March 2018 at 2:08 pm

    Apparently Natz are claiming that “Gas exports would reduce global emissions’ this is based on gas is better than coal.

    Natz logic seem to ignore that solar and renewable energy is going to reduce global emissions even more than gas and coal.

    But I guess you write what people pay you to write if you are a Nat and thinking or even researching does not even come into it.
    • weka 11.1

      23 March 2018 at 2:55 pm

      Greedy and fucking stupid.
12. savenz 12

    23 March 2018 at 2:12 pm

    Goodbye whales…

    A new Greenpeace investigation has exposed the environmental risks of the fast-growing krill industry in one of the most pristine parts of the Antarctic Ocean.

    The krill fishing industry removes a vital species from the Antarctic food web – tiny shrimp-like krill – eaten by blue whales, penguins, seals and other wildlife.

    http://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/en/press/Licensed-to-krill-Greenpeace-report-exposes-Antarctic-fishing-industry/
13. eco maori 13

    23 March 2018 at 2:46 pm

    We Thestandard site shut down for a couple of hours apologies about my earlier comments it seems strange that there is not actual explanation why. Because the sandflys have been blocking me in the past I checked it at 5pm and I could get to the site come 8.30am no go. PS ECO MAORI does not mind admitting when he is wrong. I trust no one Kia kaha Ka kite ano
    • JohnSelway 13.1

      23 March 2018 at 2:53 pm

      LPrent commented on it above:
      https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-23-03-2018/#comment-1464758
14. Jilly Bee 14

    23 March 2018 at 2:51 pm

    Very interesting comparing the general wailing and gnashing of molars in Granny by Mike Hosking and Matthew Hooton and then whoosh – a wee gem by ex Nat MP for Whanganui, Chester Borrows headed ‘Politicians bailed Air N Z out – the airline can’t now complain about Shane Jones’. It’s worth a read. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12018271
15. Pete 15

    23 March 2018 at 3:25 pm

    Nice dig by Garner in the Dominion at Hosking. (About the Obama dinner.)

    “Some of the more miserable or perhaps unhappier grumps among us confused this for boring. They should stay at home and read car manuals next time or a book about themselves.”

    Hosking’s column showed him to be an unhappy grump who found the visitor boring.
16. eco maori 16

    23 March 2018 at 6:55 pm

    Newshub just helping son-in-law fix a trough. The Chief Highlanders will be a good Game. Mike you would have had a good time last night Ka pai. I’m on the farm and have to try and get a TV off the Mokopunas to watch the new lol. So I missed most of your new Ka kite ano
17. eco maori 17

    23 March 2018 at 7:23 pm

    The project the sandflys have got anxiety now they no I ain’t no pushover.
    The Pink and White terraces was a beautiful sight what a shame to have lossed them. That Westpack bank ad looks like another attack on brown people dont you think from ECO MAORI view Ka kite ano
    • eco maori 17.1

      23 March 2018 at 9:18 pm

      To the sandflys feel the THUNDER

      https://youtu.be/fKopy74weus
18. eco maori 18

    24 March 2018 at 9:34 am

    Iv been getting the run around by my bank since my idiot nabour sandflys started his personal vendetta against me they won’t give me life insurance they stop my truck insurance payments I had no problem with this till the idiot stepped up his harresment. I wonder what their intentions are there is malic in his intentions in my view and some people know that they have malicious intentions against me and they still assist them?????? So I will get my Utu for there treatment of ECO MAORI. Ana to kai PS And they no I’m a good person
    • eco maori 18.1

      24 March 2018 at 9:46 am

      Disregard the statement of Utu I’m just upset at the bank for mucking me around on a service that is needed in this day and age insurance Ka kite ano
      • eco maori 18.1.1

        24 March 2018 at 5:22 pm

        Ausome sounds on the radio this afternoon enough said some people mite have thought I thought that those 2 Super Rugby team that I would like to see play each other was on this weekend. I know we’re OUR Rugby team are playing I am a Kiwi after all. I Back the League as well ECO MAORI does not chose side enough said Kia kaha players Ka kite ano I have my favourite but the kumara never say how sweet it is
        • eco maori 18.1.1.1

          24 March 2018 at 6:40 pm

          Newshub it was good having Obama here more Good publicity for Aotearoa one thing I noticed was he was not to comfortable around shonky I would not be comfortable around shonky ether. Global warming is hear and now we have to CHANGE OUR culture and start living in a sustainable way. I seen some other person who now knows ECO MAORI is not a pushover now. Kia kaha Ka kite ano P.S Some other people are paying back their backers with good publicity for Aotearoa to ka pai
19. eco maori 19

    24 March 2018 at 9:47 pm

    There you go Judges bulling in my view they are bullying people to do as they are told so that they don’t question there rulings or judgements. When counsel sees bull___going down they don’t question it I say here’s the link.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/102562165/chief-justice-dame-sian-elias-rebukes-judges-after-revelations-of-widespread-bullying
    • eco maori 19.1

      24 March 2018 at 10:32 pm

      Many thanks to Jacinda for letting everyone know her intention of a transition to a carbon neutral economy and OUR Coalition Government for backing her.

      We’re planning for fossil fuel transition

      OPINION: Accused of delivering confusion for businesses over oil and gas, Jacinda Ardern says her vision is clear.
      https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/102498682/jacinda-ardern-i-lived-through-fast-economic-change-in-the-80s-we-wont-repeat-that-with-our-move-to-cleaner-energy-future
      Kia kaha Ka kite ano

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