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7:00 am, April 23rd, 2019 - 77 comments
Categories: open mike -
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Instead of obsessing about the already well off, perhaps this government should do what it said it was going to do and put a human face on today’s capitalism.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/04/community-groups-call-on-government-to-support-kiwibuy-low-income-home-ownership-schemes.html
Who knows, they might even accidentally build some communities.
Get into maximum debt right at the top or near top of the market? I get people are desperate for stable housing but this is not the answer.
Today’s viewing of RNZ, TV one + ‘Nubs hub’ showed no care for concerns about the looming climate change disaster that awaits us all.
Pathetic display of our own Dr ‘scrooge” Grant Robinson claiming “we cant do everything at once, – it will take at least three terms”.
He is an idiot as the sea is coming now to claim the coastal areas and will destroy all lives and properties well before his magic time of 9 years or more to change direction.
Shallow man that must be sacked for his reckless lack of urgency..
Grant Robertson is right. It will take decades to fully implement a new style economy that doesn’t damage the long term climate.
it means changing transport, agriculture and industrial production and energy generation. And both Labour and National have to buy into it.
It is not going to be all done (not even all the policy settings) in the next 18 months, which is all that is left of this term. Actually more like 12 months. There won’t be a huge bunch of new policy after the 2020 budget.
I note many on the Left are now crying out for radical change on climate policy to make up for the CGT decision. Basically the democratic equivalent of “let’s shoot all the landlords”. It rather ignores the fact that policies that are sustainable over decades need at least some form of consent from political opponents. Otherwise it all gets undone with a change of government.
Wayne, I agree with you on your comments re the implementation of sound climate change policy. It will take time. The "many" on the left you speak of are only a few, or are you just referring to those who comment on TS.
Wayne some of what you say is right but time is running out now and you can't stop the inevitable by saying "it will take 10 years as we don't have that time.
I have seen Florida weather change dramatically during the 1992-98 years and in Europe too , and now here on the North Island east coast so we can't let it happen when we have time to slow the change now.
If its money we can resort the the 'Reserve bank act' as a urgency need to print it now rather than later.
cleangreen,
We are staying with friends at Whangapoua. I have just had a swim and gathered mussels off the little island off the beach. As I was doing so I was thinking just what an age old experience this is. Climate change seemed a million miles away.
The sun and sea seemed to be just as I recalled it in my childhood in the 1960’s. And yes I do recall swimming at this time of the year. In fact for study for School C, I was sunbathing in the garden in October in Reporoa. Perhaps not the most efficient way of studying, but a fond memory nevertheless.
It certainly does not feel like the “climate emergency” that has seized the protestors in London.
Wayne, you know as well as I do that we live in a moderate marine environment that lessons the impact of Climate Change in the near future. In fact because we are surrounded by the moist and cooling influence of vast oceans we are likely to be one of the last countries (if not the last country) to feel the devastating effects of global warming. Indeed the first real signs are here, and I refer to the erosion of our coastline due to rising sea levels.
Just because we can't feel anything much – yet – does not mean it isn't happening. This is the over-riding problem with society… too many people seem incapable of comprehending anything until it starts to impact on them. And when it does, they yell and scream and blame the government of the day when it was their ignorance which prevented governments from taking action in the first place.
The signs are everywhere – I don't have to list them – and it can only gain momentum unless we stop bloody well emitting Co2 into the atmosphere at the crazy rate it is currently occurring.
But you know the above so please stop playing it down and set an example as an elder statesman. It is here and the future of all flora and fauna (which includes mankind) is hanging in the balance!
Anne, the one thing we could do right away is stop chucking crap into our waterways and the sea. Plastic and polystyrene used solely for throw-away convenience purposes should not be tolerated any longer. I would give Wayne some latitude regarding his comments on realistic time frames to implement serious and workable climate change policies. I would remind him though of the high levels of plastic particles in his mussels and other sea food in our waters that he may be ingesting.
Re plastic waste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqrlEsPoyJk
I don;t know what my local Council does. If I don't know about what is happening now, should I worry about something that might not happen for 10 or 50 years? (I believe we need to take some actions quickly, but I don't know what those first steps should be – and I'm not prepared to say that our government (and yes it is three parties) is a failure because they haven't done it yet!)
Anne
Not really disagreeing with you, though I do question the rate of change. For instance in Wellington there are a whole bunch of markers on the streets saying where sea level would be in 2030. I think they put there in the early 2000’s. There is absolutely zero chance of the sea level reaching the levels. In fact it will be hardly any different from the levels when the markers were first placed.
One point that is unclear is whether there is a tipping point not far away from the present levels. And if it reached there are runaway effects that could result in huge effects within 50 or so years. The science on this is very unclear. So far only the extreme outlier models produce these effects. I know about the precautionary principle, but in my view the risks have to have a credible basis.
I personally want Jacinda to be bold (but not extreme) on environmental policy, especially on water quality, species preservation and biodiversity.
OK Wayne that's fair enough. And yes, I agree with your final paragraph.
However the situation in continental countries is far worse than in NZ and it is going to take extreme measures to remedy – if indeed they can now be remedied.
Wayne that is such a facile comment from you at 2121. I am surprised that you could put up such a one; it verges on climate denial attitudes. If we have good weather and can enjoy environmental pleasures of yesteryear that's lucky for us.
Can you try and keep up with the play, stay in the now at the same time as remembering the past which is so sweet. Keep that memory to fuel your present activities to limit climate change effects now, which may give us more time to make changes to cope with the destructive weather patterns that will change everything for everybody, including NZ. What are you doing towards that yourself?
There are manifold ways – I was today looking at a protest against our casual way of buying cheap clothes and chucking them. The person was raising money for a union in Bangladesh – they are helpful at agitating for better conditions for workers.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1904/S00110/damning-report-warns-environment-in-serious-trouble.htm
So we're actually quite entitled to have asset sales undone, given that they had no form of consent from political opponents.
May have to de-privatise the power companies and AirNZ to help the nation fix climate damage.
“It will take decades to fully implement a new style economy that doesn’t damage the long term climate.”
We do not have decades. Guess that makes the required changes ‘radical’. As is choosing to do nothing.
Sasha Wayne Mapp is obviously thinking climate change is not here.
Best talk to a post and we may get more sense here.
In respect to the main parties coming to a consensus I am curious as to how this happens.
Is it for the governing crowd to approach the opposition?
Is this left to minions or are the ministers the driving force?
Genuinely curious and am keen to know if there has been this sort of thing before.
I get the changes to gun laws were essentially unanimous but that was an exception.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1904/S00229/call-government-for-oecdwhoeu-standards-for-traffic-noise.htm
Politics
• Politics
Call Government for OECD/WHO/EU standards for traffic noise
Friday, 19 April 2019, 6:31 pm
Press Release: Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre
CEAC/ residents seek health/wellbeing protection by adopting OECD/WHO/EU urban traffic noise standards.
Confirmation from several reports both from NZTA/Transit-NZ acoustical consultants have since 2001 warned residents that heavy traffic levels coupled with raising busy roads over residential zones will “lift the noise level”. (See Traffic effects) : FHWA Website on Highway Traffic Noise below the end of this report.
This may affect most regions of NZ today with high truck freight movement through residential zones.
This issue was raised to Napier residents in a report as long ago as 2001 when a “flyover” ‘overbridge’ on HB Expressway was built over several Napier residential suburbs of Greenmeadows East, Tamatea, and Pirimai.
In the press release from ‘Transit NZ’ featured in the local paper ‘HB Today’ on Friday June 22nd 2001 an article appeared in the press under “Flyover will lift noise level; report.” The article showed the traffic levels then would increase but noise levels would stay; – quote; ‘within their guidelines’ apart from two small groups of houses in two residential areas of ‘Downing Avenue, and Hamlin Place’.
• Today in 2019 (18 years later).
• the rail has almost stopped moving freight
• so the truck traffic has massively increased and all traffic volumes have trebled
• This has caused many negative noise and pollution impacts to resident health and wellbeing causing complaints from all residential zones near the HB Expressway.
Morena all, on my Huawei phone, I am having trouble replying to comments.
When I click on reply, the cursor starts in the 'Name (Required)' field, and my phone keyboard pops up.
My name and e-mail are autofilled and when I click on the 'Your comment' field, the keyboard on the phone disappears.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Same issue for me – I am posting this on a laptop, but when I originally tried to reply on my Samsung Note 9 using Chrome mobile, the Your Comment field could not be clicked into. Had the same issue on a Samsung Galaxy Tab A also using Chrome mobile.
Test reply on ancient cellphone.
I had no problems, as you can see @ 4.1.1 with an old Samsung and using Chrome. I even used the old way of commenting/replying without logging in.
Hamster needs feeding.
I remember the argument in the court of Jong Kee and friends for the incarceration of Kim Dotcom on piracy charges. He was to be held accountable for failing to take down content from his site when in breach of copyright. He was to be held responsible for what was on his website, full stop.
Why then is Mark Fuckerberg not held responsible for what is on his website? This evil robotic freak is still peddling the Christchurch murderer's video for new right wing recruits to learn from.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12224469
Isn't blaming Zuckerburg a bit like blaming Kalashnikov for the damage done by AK 47s?
Really it is the users of FB that deserve yr vitriol.
The enablers.
Facebook content is willingly provided free by participants.
Warner Bros did not upload their entire back catalogue onto Mega Upload. It was stolen.
Kim got rich selling someone else's stuff. Zuckerberg got rich selling his own stuff.
I agree with gsays, Facebook is just a tool, we’re operating the tools.
Dotcom's big prob is not pinched files on his website. Utube is awash with Disney. He has fallen foul of the federal laws introduced to collar organised crime groups, Gotti et al.
Dotcom romped all over his pirate competition because he offered financial rewards to those studious folk that uploaded lots of quality content and in doing so picked up the racketeering component of the charges he faces.
For obvious reasons, they are a set of laws that are not easily discounted by big dollar legal representation.
KDC pissed off the wrong guys and didn’t donate (enough?) to the right political friends at the time.
FB is more like a tool shop where the shopkeepers know way too much about the tool-time (online behaviour) of its customers and it is willing to ‘sell’ dangerous tools to deranged customers who don’t give a toss about other customers.
Bribed politicians couldn't of fixed Kim's woes. The handful of people that control the content he had on his site want his head on a plate. The racketeering component gives their case teeth, 4 dozen people that do bankroll political trajectories.
Yes, Facebook is not free. We don't get to see the invoice but we pay it anyway.
I agree with you re: They do have a degree of responsibilty for those using their tool. Just as Black and Decker are obliged to mount a sturdy guard over the blade.
Nobody reads Manuals nowadays but they are full of warnings, cautions, and T & Cs. Legal protection for the manufacturer against the consumer. Caveat Emptor.
Perhaps in the end the
bribesdonations would not have saved KDC but they might have avoided the Rambo-style raid on his home & family. Those moguls had even deeper pockets than he did. He was not squeaky clean, allegedly, but the stench coming from other quarters was almost unbearable …Muslim extremists attack Christians in Sri Lanka. I'm over the media calling them easter worshippers – what a stupid statement from stuff and the herald. Extreme right wing muslim hate groups killed people in pray – just like far right wing white nationalists did here less than a month ago.
https://theintercept.com/2019/04/22/when-christians-are-under-attack-muslims-and-the-left-need-to-defend-them/
A very good read adam, thank you. Mehdi Hasan is a brave man for writing that.
The media have a red button to push giving a list of pre-set headlines – probably about 10 that they can pull out and use for appropriate occasions. They have been tested by sociometric sampling checks so that each word carries a click-bait hook./sarc
Yes, I agree Adam, our media chuck petrol on the 'Us and them' fire.
"My Easter worshiping wife died whilst waiting for her usual whole grain bread to toast at the hotel's all inclusive full breakfast in the 2nd floor restaurant…To be honest I'm buggered if I know what specific church she might be connected to. She is a much loved Mum, wife, sister, aunty…what matters more than that?"
…I just made that up but sheeesh, it must be time we got a sense of…our Mums and brothers, each other, are more important than our spiritual pursuits. You and me should be the reason for our spiritual pursuits.
Well, the wingnuts are outraged over HRC and Obama referring to the victims as easter worshippers.
Any other has beens who pushed neo-liberalism down our throat you wanna defend joe 90? I'm sure you must have missed some hack…
Fuck, I dunno. Maybe they reckon the US could do with less "Christians under attack" tiki-torchers.
I genuinely don't know.
On the one hand you're completely correct – these people weren't murdered because of their love for easter eggs.
On the other hand, fucko mcbangbang hoped for lots more of this: "Christians" vs Muslims, then "Muslims" vs Christians, back and forth until one group of "nutbars" exterminates everyone else, Christian and Muslim alike.
Depressing as fuck.
Did you read the link, he struggles with it too.
My opinion is we call them all ultra conservatives, whoes take on their respective religious text is fundamentally flawed.
Seriously, who from the socially responsible commenters on this site are going Green next year?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/04/how-a-kiwibuy-scheme-could-work.html
As I said earlier, it looks like Labour are obsessed with pandering to the wealthy after the Kiwibuild criteria locking out families under $120K and the weak backdown from a CGT.
I won't be voting Green for their work on CC but I will be for their work in representing working people.
There's some interesting commentary on the current political situation in Ukraine
https://warontherocks.com/2019/04/russia-isnt-the-only-threat-to-ukrainian-democracy-the-impact-of-far-right-nationalist-revolutionaries/
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/22/ukra-a22.html
Mr Brunson has a bob each way.
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Ukraines-neo-Nazi-revolutionaries-might-be-part-of-a-Russian-plot-572704
It's almost like he's got something to hide.
https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/1120396420496920577
What happened between 10 am and 2pm with The Standard today? I hope GCSB? isn't hacking us or something.
I commented freely on an iPhone 5 with iOS 10.3.3.
Sometimes old tech is good tech.
Great. I'll stick to you to explain things.
Something weird was going on. I didn't post today but a couple of times took a look to see if anything interesting was happening. Both times the browser (firefox) arrived at the web location, but the Standard presented me with a totally blank page.
I did wait a wee while to see if there was a text-lag, but nothing showed up. Wondered if maybe the server was having a zen day, or something. I'm not oriental enough to meditate on a blank page for longer than about 15 seconds, too impatient.
Yes, it was down for me too for a big chunk of the day. Never mind, I got some chores done.
More on the realities of recycling – not the guilt free image you were hoping.
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/national-sword/
I agree A. Offshore people labouring with our garbage for $1 a day is fast being phased out. January before last China stopped accepting previously empty returning containers chokka with empty Coke bottles. Malaysian officials have declared 'No more'.
We're learned to be so studious with our recycling and in many locations, it's being bulldozed into landfill with everything else.
I think our Green Party should be acting now. Before journalists start with their "Hey folk of provincial town X, you know your recycling, here it is at the blade of the bulldozer with your general waste." stories
Make turning PET bottles into pellets a viable business. Make turning old paper/board into new cardboard worthwhile.
A friend of mine in Brisbane worked at a recycling transfer station, she stood beside a conveyor belt and plucked clear PET bottles from the passing array for 40 hours a week. Her crew had injected a degree of intrigue into their mindless task by indulging in the promotions that soft drink companies often run 'Collect all the Broncos and send the labels in', find the Schweppes label with the X etc.
They found a worthwhile profitable way to have fun with a mindless grind of a job….robots should be doing that, and unscrewing the caps.
Andrea has a large collection of what was hip in 1999 with beverage branding cast into it. Booze stuff too. Her crew shared the booty. Today it's interesting and worth not much.
Neat legacy, worth not much today but could feather her Grandaughter's nest.
Robots should be doing that – common from disconnected people on a higher plane. And can be countered by paraphrasing that remark from a minister about the unremitting advance of Nazidom on the good people both German and Jewish – first they came for one group, then for another, they werenss't my people so I didn't think about it too much, then they came for me.
That darn cat…
https://twitter.com/evilbmcats/status/1115036377656115200
There's quite a difference in opinion between activist Dems and regular Joe Dems on who they want and who they definitely don't want. Polling the regulars consistently has Sanders and Biden at the top, but the list of who the activists would be happy with currently goes Harris, Booker, Warren, Buttigieg, Sanders and Biden don't appear until #7 and 8.
As for who's not wanted, Gabbard is waaay out in front, followed by Sanders, Biden then Delaney. Going up from the bottom of the noooooo list is Harris, Booker, Castro, Warren.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/we-asked-democratic-activists-who-theyre-backing-and-who-theyd-hate-to-see-win/
The NZ Labour Party
Earth Quakes, Climate Change, Obscene Pollution (of all kinds, but especially water), Obsessive Trucking, Forest Fires, Quality Housing, Fair Pay, Reduction of Wealth via the well Funded.
These are the Major Tasks of Governments here in new Zealand and in other strong Nations, worldwide.
Unfortunately, the previous Government in NZ built no infrastructure, sold off housing, and allowed monstrously excessive payments to Landlords. The Previous Government Voted for Greed – and for nothing else. It allowed massive immigration. Shoved up every Cost it could!
It will be the current Government's task to disallow Greed in New Zealand. I believe it will receive a strong mandate to return Money and Property to civilised achievable distributions.
The skills of New Zealanders, especially the young persons will deplore John Key's casting them off as useless. He had 9 years to get them highly skilled. But he scuttled off to Hawaii. Billy English also called the young Useless. He will pay dearly for that.
New Zealand under this Government will be a place of Quality! of Hard Work. of Accomplishment. National is not Viable
I don't know if NZ First is viable. I doubt the Greens know what their is all about, for they are not trained in skills. They are trained in endless words. But who knows.
Perhaps NZ First and the Greens can turn themselves around and realise that Parliament is about WORK – not about sham nonsense.
Lets Do it. We must Do it – We are Labour.
OT. Labour seem timid to me. They seem to be forever offering a servant's hand to the wealthy lords for fear of annoying them.
I have to hand it to the Greens. While you are right they untrained, they do have unshakable principles.
Labour is lacking in unshakable principles right now.
People went to the British Museum 2018 to look at the BP Scythian exhibition of a culture around 900-200 BC with artifacts that have come from Siberia.
Their was also a clever protest at the way that BP was fouling parts of the far north where they have oil interests. Creative intervention in the British Museum against BP's Russian oil spills
About the Scythians (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-vrk8R1tuI
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE9KBPk-jXI
Peter Jackson goes full Penny Bright, bless her.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/112200571/peter-jackson-to-council-open-your-books
Anyone get the feeling Peter Jackson thinks he owns this peninsular?
He’ll be staking a claim to the adjacent seabed next.
A bit late for Plunket to be coming to the aid of the Prime Minister after attacking her in the same manner as Hopkins for months previous.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/04/sean-plunket-blasts-katie-hopkins-over-jacinda-ardern-tweet.html
Fuck off, Sean. You are Hopkins.
New SATA card is in place and (finally!) performing well. I have been stressing it this evening. Had some problems installing the card because I'd been running the system in UEFI compatibility mode and needed to switch that off before the SATA cards HII system could express itself from the bowels of the UEFI system. Please ignore that sentence if it sounded like acronym city. Unfortunately I can't afford the essay time to explain what it means. Opps – yes I can -there is a wikipedia overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface
The blank pages that some got today were a separate problem caused by the javascript minify in w3 total cache.
It is a bit of a pity that I've had a cold over the last few days. Winter caught up with me as soon as I managed a few days at home.
Bummer. Sorry to hear about your cold.
Ta for the explanation.
I had been trying to make a few comments and put in a few links regarding leadership, but had been having some trouble. Luckily learning from bad experience, I had pasted and copied them before pushing the 'Submit Comment' icon. And so they weren't lost. Maybe I could stick them down here, and someone might notice them.
Nope. No luck.
Must be a problem at my end.
Nope, failed again
It seems any comment containing a link is rejected, resulting in this error message:
Will try again. Maybe just the link alone, without comment.
https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/flight-shame-europe-sweden-a4120231.html
Well that worked.
So including links cannot be the problem.
Here is another link about leadership that I had been trying to comment on.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/17/bernie-sanders-raises-bar-even-further-climate-vow-ban-fracking-all-new-fossil-fuel?fbclid=IwAR3WpP7HJDztCOfCRxhKMZRipy73xyarsSQKQE1hRxrE7pf4kRWeUw53xA8
Kia ora The AM Show.
He looks just like his Dad.
I am backing Cortez to win the American elections.
As for brexit Eric its a big MUPPETS SHOW a distraction from the reality climate change is the biggest issue for our future tamariki .
Those survival suites are good the only time I used one was a exercise I did see a Great Shark thrashing around eating a seal tho a couple of times .
It would be good to have the story of the NZ Wars taught in all NZ schools Phil served the league club for years Ka pai Some people just don't no how to love and care for animals that America lady throwing those poor puppies into a Rubbish dum star Ka kite ano
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/ktvTqknDobU
It's a crying shame to see all the plastic waste poisoning our Oceans and wild life its time to value our decendints future and do the correct things to leave them a better future than we HAVE.
Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans costs society billions of dollars every year in damaged and lost resources, research has found.
Fisheries, aquaculture, recreational activities and global wellbeing are all negatively affected by plastic pollution, with an estimated 1-5% decline in the benefit humans derive from oceans. The resulting cost in such benefits, known as marine ecosystem value, is up to $2.5tn (£1.9tn) a year, according to a study published this week in Marine Pollution Bulletin.
Plastic waste is also believed to cost up to $33,000 per ton in reduced environmental value, the study found. An estimated 8m tons of plastic pollution enter the world’s oceans every year. Ka kite ano P.S we need to love a respect our Tangaroa Seas our Tawhirirmate Environment links below
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/apr/04/marine-plastic-pollution-costs-the-world-up-to-25bn-a-year-researchers-find
https://youtu.be/1qT-rOXB6NI
I see they found some old recordings of the Master Proffet Bob Marley in Britain from the 70s
https://youtu.be/meKhfr_CjQ0
His music rings so true to ECO. Maori link below Ka kite ano .
https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2019/apr/23/bob-marley-live-recordings-rescued-from-damp-hotel-basement
Boris Johnson's sister is part of a new anti-Brexit party Change UK. But one of the guys who had started it stood down quickly – an unfortunate tweet in 2017 sid he supported leaving EU because 70% of the pickpockets in the tube were Roumanian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/23/change-uk-independent-group-launches-european-election-campaign-brexit
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/23/labour-says-theresa-may-unwilling-to-offer-key-brexit-concessions
Labour are caught in Theresa May's knot. Trying to have a meeting with her determined to deliver Brexit somehow, if they raise points of order about anything they will be accused of dragging their heels or delaying tactics. What school did she go to I wonder? They turn out a determined little body with a programmed mind that always thinks along Conservative lines. Could there be a school that teaches just that way for the uppers? Or perhaps they all do at the 'public school' level.
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute
https://youtu.be/h87cbH7Iogc
Whanau I went into Vags for 5 minutes and I seen 15 actor trying to play ECO Maori YEA RIGHT
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/34Na4j8AVgA
Kia ora Newshub
I have been trying to get the TV guide TV 3 video going that’s all the sandflys can do .
Its the correction of the house market in Auckland the house are expensive there.
There you go Milisa a fuel tax does get people into buses and trains Ka pai to the Auckland Council for voting the tax in.
Its a waste of time now having all the checks and audits on the Pike River mine scandle but its too late now the main evedince has been lost.
Its cool that some people are cleaning up cemeteries we must learn to respect our tipuna .
Climate change is having a bad effect on Alot of the beautiful creatures in the Polar regions this is just the start of animals being displaced by climate change andmmoving into suburba.
Ka kite ano