Open mike 23/05/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 23rd, 2023 - 47 comments
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47 comments on “Open mike 23/05/2023 ”

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  1. weston 1
    23 May 2023 at 8:50 am

    Lots of talk of F16s in the latest escalation by Nato powers in the Ukraine war .The first question imo would have to be where are they gonna fly from ?Any airfield in ukraine is easily reached by russias missiles and if they flew from Poland or Romania those airfields would become legitimate targets for Russian missiles also creating a perfect hotbed for potentially disastrous global consequences .

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 1.1
      23 May 2023 at 12:02 pm

      To correct your misunderstanding of "escalation"

      It is not an escalation to provide Ukraine with a weapon that Russia is already using in its war against Ukrainians. It is merely a proportional response to an escalation that has already been made by Russia.

      • weston 1.1.1
        23 May 2023 at 8:09 pm

        Escalation etc

        The context of my comment reads latest escalation uncooked .

        When the civil war between eastern Russian speaking Ukrainians and western ultra nationalist Ukrainians first began sometime around 2014 American fingers were from what ive read already in the pie and beginning to escalate the conflict because a large part of US foreign policy is dedicated to fighting Russia to hurting Russia to weakening Russia its pretty much their raison d'etre .The long and the short of it is America /nato has armed funded and trained ukraines army since then and with the exception of some of Obamas time in office represents a more or less constant escalation of weaponry fanning the fire .the latest of which is f16s but before that it was long range missiles from the UK an before that tanks an before that himars .Escalation just means more people will die .Heard any of the members of the not so magnificent seven talking peace lately ?

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 1.2
      23 May 2023 at 12:05 pm

      "Any airfield in ukraine is easily reached by russias missiles"

      They failed to easily hit Kyiv in their recent most intense missile attack to date.

      "and if they flew from Poland or Romania those airfields would become legitimate targets"

      Russia probably knows better than to attack NATO. They are failing against Ukraine's much smaller military.

      " creating a perfect hotbed for potentially disastrous global consequences ."

      That already happened when Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014. Safest way out now is to defeat Russia in Ukraine ASAP.

      • weston 1.2.1
        23 May 2023 at 8:25 pm

        Failed to hit Kiev in their latest missile attack etc

        Well they took out a recently installed American patriot air defense system which wasnt too bad i thought ?

        They are failing against Ukraines much smaller military

        Well they managed to take Bakmut after nine months of pretty brutal fighting wouldnt call that ' failing " an that was despite the Zelenky regime pouring 10s of thousands of men into the "meatgrinder "to defend what they had repeatedly called " a town of little strategic importance "

  2. Joe90 2
    23 May 2023 at 9:38 am

    Clearly Belgorod separatists.

    /

    Troops entered Russia from Ukraine on Monday, hitting checkpoints on the border with tank fire and pushing eight kilometres past the frontier into three villages.

    Ukrainian military intelligence, the GUR, said that the Freedom of Russia Legion, a group of Ukraine-backed Russian partisans, were conducting an operation in the Belgorod region to create a “security strip” to protect Ukrainian civilians. It was being carried out exclusively by Russian citizens, a GUR spokesman told Suspilne, Ukraine’s public broadcaster.

    https://archive.li/RqclD (thetimes)

    • weston 2.1
      23 May 2023 at 10:29 am

      More likely a diversionary attack by Ukraine prior to its apparent upcoming offensive

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCLtgrAdnq8

      • RedLogix 2.1.1
        23 May 2023 at 11:49 am

        I think the term you are looking for is 'little green men'.

      • UncookedSelachimorpha 2.1.2
        23 May 2023 at 12:17 pm

        It forces a couple of bad choices on Russia.

        Either they move troops away from other parts of the front (exposing them to breakthroughs by Ukraine), or they watch increasing areas of Russia come under "rebel" control.

      • Stuart Munro 2.1.3
        23 May 2023 at 12:26 pm

        Ukraine has worked out it's going to need a demilitarized zone to border Russia, because Putin dare not surrender – he'd fall out a window.

    • tsmithfield 2.2
      23 May 2023 at 11:45 am

      Yeah. it makes things a bit spicy, doesn't it?

      Apparently, the seperatists have found weapons biolabs and satan worshipping Nazi death squads lol.

      Perhaps Ukraine should be sending in a "peace keeping force" to keep civilians safe. Or, perhaps Ukraine could hold a "referendum" and legislate that Belgorod is now part of Ukraine.

      On a more serious note, nuclear weapons are stored quite close to there, which could make it interesting if some of those fall into the seperatists hands.

      In terms of the counter-offensive, this attack will force the Russians to move some of their resources to protect that part of the border, which will weaken other areas.

      So, quite a smart move, although I am sure the Ukrainians had nothing to do with it (wink).

      • RedLogix 2.2.1
        23 May 2023 at 12:15 pm

        Yes – it will either prove to be a brave folly, or it could be one of those small events that triggers massive consequences.

        • tsmithfield 2.2.1.1
          23 May 2023 at 12:20 pm

          I think the best strategy is for this separtarist group to conduct raids like this every now and then. They shouldn't be trying to set up long-term defensive positions or such because that would just be suicide.

          But, if there is an ongoing threat of incursion there, the Russians will have to devote resources to that area in order to defend it. That will necessarilly mean weakening somewhere else. Which will be good for the counter-offensive when it starts proper.

    • arkie 2.3
      23 May 2023 at 1:24 pm

      Here is a thread of footage of the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Liberty of Russia Legion operating in Belgorod.

      https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1660713972239048704

      The Russian Volunteer Corp is a far-right militia made up of Russian citizens based in Ukraine.

      https://twitter.com/PopularFront_/status/1660742399205810176

      • francesca 2.3.1
        23 May 2023 at 2:38 pm

        Russian volunteer corps?based in Ukraine

        Lol nice people

        They've certainly chosen the right side

        Founded by a Russian neonazi who moved to a more likeminded home in Ukraine

        Wikipedia is your friend

        • tsmithfield 2.3.1.1
          23 May 2023 at 3:00 pm

          Fransesca, here is a good article for you on neo-nazis in Russia and how Putin has tried to utilise these groups for his own ends. So, Putin seemed quite comfortable with Neo-Nazis at home. So, it is a bit weird that he was so worried about them in Ukraine that he felt the need to invade the place.

          • Francesca 2.3.1.1.1
            23 May 2023 at 3:39 pm

            Yeah they tend to migrate to Ukraine

            Azov international outreach welcomes them

            • UncookedSelachimorpha 2.3.1.1.1.1
              23 May 2023 at 4:53 pm

              Russia: We are sending our Nazis to Ukraine!

              Ukraine: Thanks, you can have them back now.

  3. tWiggle 3
    23 May 2023 at 10:22 am

    An independent militia unit with tanks?

    • Adrian 3.1
      23 May 2023 at 11:28 am

      I'll bet that border zone is a festering mess of competing rivalries. Even around Moscow itself there are all sorts of independent outfits from Wagner to Rosneft according to numerous news reports too many to list.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 3.2
      23 May 2023 at 12:10 pm

      You could buy those tanks in any local military surplus store

      [Putin famously said he didn't know who the troops were and that they could have bought military equipment in any military store – when talking about the attacks on Eastern Ukraine in 2014, where supposed pro-Russian "rebels" were rocking around in late model Russian tanks etc]

    • Sanctuary 3.3
      23 May 2023 at 12:11 pm

      The Ukrainian sauchenfreude on Twitter is a thing of beauty.

    • tWiggle 3.4
      23 May 2023 at 5:58 pm

      Ah, I see from later posts the fighting there is being supported by Ukranian artillary, which rather undermines the idea of a separate militia action unsanctioned by Ukraine, which was in the earliest news I read.

  4. Ngungukai 4
    23 May 2023 at 11:51 am

    Baldrick Bully Luxton.

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

  5. Sanctuary 5
    23 May 2023 at 12:24 pm

    Noam Chomsky is apparently urging Putin to cede Belgorod to the newly created People's Republic of Natoland in order to secure peace.

    • RedLogix 5.1
      23 May 2023 at 12:38 pm

      Apparently they've already conducted a referendum in this new People's Republic – and 102% of the voters want to become Australians.

  6. joe90 6
    23 May 2023 at 12:39 pm

    So Poots' propagandist Vladimir Solovyov is a fucking hypocrite, too.

    Vladimir Solovyov is one of Russia’s top-tier propagandists, omnipresent on the airwaves of the state media and twice decorated by Russian President Vladimir Putin for his service to the Kremlin. He often derides the West as “satanic,” and refers to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war.” Scarcely a broadcast goes by without Solovyov calling for nuclear strikes against the United States and its allies.

    As it turns out, the 59-year-old TV host might be hiding an explosive secret himself.

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/vladimir-solovyov-accused-of-hiding-secret-family-with-us-citizen-svetlana-abrosimova

  7. Shanreagh 7
    23 May 2023 at 1:29 pm

    Isn't this the biggest load of crock?

    The bonds for those who have been displaced from the Loafer's Lodge are being held for some nebulous and unconnected reasons, in my view. The survivors are wanting/waiting to move into new homes and those who are should have their bonds refunded asap or transferred.Bonds transferral shoul should be at the wish of the owners of the bonds, ie the tenants. Surely using a list of the tenants the LL could check with the Bond Centre to see the names and amounts. Surely the backups of the computer activity is held off site or in the cloud and could be accessed even if the primary system is not aviable. Obviously this presupposes backups and lodgement of the bonds.

    Access to the belongings is a different situation and needs to wait until the police have finshed thier investigation and the building made safe for access by people to get belongings.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/wellington/300886286/loafers-lodge-fire-survivors-still-waiting-for-bond-refunds

  8. arkie 8
    23 May 2023 at 1:34 pm

    350Aotearoa have a petition to ask the government to announce a pathway that will achieve a just, equitable, and safe energy future:

    Aotearoa was once known for our clean electricity grid, but the truth is that, in recent years, it has only been getting dirtier. Instead of investing in wind, solar and geothermal energy, our country’s energy mafia – the big 5 gentailers – are firing up more coal, gas and diesel. It doesn’t have to be this way. With the right leadership, our homes and industries could be powered on 100% homegrown renewable energy.

    Sign here: https://act.350.org/sign/demand-homegrown-energy-for-aotearoa/

    • weka 8.1
      23 May 2023 at 2:42 pm

      I really wish some of the NGOs would start talking about passive tech and how we can lower demand (or at least steady state it). Because it's unlikely we can transition to renewables without that conversation.

      • arkie 8.1.1
        23 May 2023 at 2:55 pm

        Agreed, however, we already know the disingenuous arguments that are used against anyone calling for power down. We must acknowledge that consumer capitalism got us here and alternatives modes of production must be sought out if we are to make our post-carbon transition equitable and swift.

        • weka 8.1.1.1
          23 May 2023 at 7:27 pm

          what happens when people realise it won't work though. Or that us all having EVs means wind farms everywhere.

          I think concepts like passive solar design are a bridge, it reassures people they can still have good lives.

          • arkie 8.1.1.1.1
            23 May 2023 at 8:00 pm

            Sadly as a society we have associated 'progress' and new or novel ideas, and this has so far prevented us from collectively looking to the past for solutions.

            This article for instance highlights the need for us to take care of the soil for it to nourish life, and the practices which do just that have histories far older than the current extractive mode we live in:

            Sometimes to go forward, you must go back.

            A new study from Colorado State University's Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and and the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology found that regenerative practices—including integrating crop and livestock systems—were successful as long-term carbon storage solutions.

            …

            "It shows that there's a lot that we don't understand about specific mechanisms of carbon formation and that more research needs to be done into the combination of these different practices and their viability," he said.

            From there, targeted interventions at a regional scale would be possible to further research why a specific combination of cover crops works better than another, or why a specific timing or variety garners improved results.

            "This paper shows that regenerative integration and regenerative principles definitely work," Cotrufo said. "Optimizing them for context is where we need to work next."

            https://phys.org/news/2023-05-key-future-soil-carbon-solutions.html

  9. Incognito 9
    23 May 2023 at 1:46 pm

    Tristan Harris [a technology ethicist and the cofounder of the Center for Humane Technology] talks about the challenge of online misinformation, ways to govern artificial intelligence, and a vision of technology that strengthens democracy.

    https://issues.org/tristan-harris-humane-technology-misinformation-ai-democracy/

    It is medium-long but with very clear language and ideas articulated well, aimed at a general audience.

  10. arkie 10
    23 May 2023 at 2:19 pm

    The Human Rights Commission is hitting out at the Government saying New Zealand has let profit become more important than providing a decent home.

    …

    The Human Rights Commission says housing is "critical to wellbeing" and is calling for an independent accountability body to hold governments on track for "this fundamental human right".

    "The tragic fire at Loafers Lodge highlighted just how many people are harmed by the housing crisis," says Te Amokapua Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt.

    "We let our values deteriorate when it comes to housing. We let profit be more important than the human right to a decent home.

    "Many have had no option but to live in unsafe and precarious conditions as a result."

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/05/loafers-lodge-blaze-human-rights-commission-slams-government-says-tenants-denied-human-rights-by-housing-crisis.html

    Housing is a human right. We need a government that believes that. Party vote Green or Te Pāti Māori.

    • SPC 10.1
      23 May 2023 at 5:38 pm

      The Accessory Dwelling Unit – ADU's emerging as an answer to America's housing problems.

      “The ability to be able to remove barriers and support the creation of ADUs has been a very important strategy in our ability to expand the supply of housing,” said Lourdes Castro Ramírez, California’s secretary of Business, Consumer Services and Housing. “I’ve been very pleased to see how communities have embraced this approach, and I think that folks have been able to recognize the social, economic and community benefits of ADUs.”

      The numbers tell the tale: More than 23,000 ADU permits were issued in California last year, compared with fewer than 5,000 in 2017 — which was around when ADU permitting began to take off thanks to legislative and regulatory changes in the state. The state now requires faster permit approval by localities, and establishes that cities must allow ADUs of at least 850 square feet — though many are much bigger. A number of other bills are being debated in Sacramento, including one by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D) that would allow property owners to sell their ADUs separately from their main houses.

      Los Angeles dwarfed other cities last year in ADU permitting, issuing 7,160 in 2022, compared with 662 in San Diego, the city with the next-highest total of ADUs. By comparison, just 1,387 permits were issued in L.A. last year for single-family homes. The number of ADU permits issued in L.A. was second only to the 13,400 permits issued for multiunit structures.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/21/adu-granny-flat-california-housing-crisis/?utm

      Something similar here – would be legislation to allow for easier on site or factory built small build granny flats, and in an emergency such location for mobile small homes or camper vans.

      • Belladonna 10.1.1
        23 May 2023 at 6:37 pm

        One of the major issues is the huge variation in the 'rules' from local Councils across NZ. Some allow a certain number of minor dwellings, others only allow caravans or sleepouts (so no toilet facilities), others seem to have a blanket ban on everything.

        People are routinely being mousetrapped by being sold cabins, tiny-houses, etc – which aren't permitted in the area they want to locate them.

        The fees that Councils charge for permitting this – can be astronomical. A neighbour is putting a minor dwelling (studio flat, with bathroom) on his back section (Auckland inner-city suburb). Council fees have been over $30K, and required reports (geotech assessments, building plans, etc.) are another $20K or so – then they have to build it (with the huge increase in building costs). Going to cost well north of $100K by the time it's finished. And it's taken around 2.5 years to get to the middle of the build. Which is another cost in itself.

        • SPC 10.1.1.1
          24 May 2023 at 3:33 pm

          We agree.

          Another matter we need the Greens get Labour to block the Labour-National deal on city wide three storey builds. The three storey builds should be limjted to areas where there is infrastructure (transport and other) to cope. Not doing this is going to have consequences.

          Sorting out granny flat small new builds and related consents makes the more focused urban development plan viable in terms of scale of new supply.

  11. Liberty Belle 11
    23 May 2023 at 9:25 pm

    Has Arena Williams been held accountable for her porky about her dad?

    Labour MP Arena Williams fact-checked by Twitter community note over post about scrapping of prescription fee | Newshub

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

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