Open mike 23/07/2019

94 comments on “Open mike 23/07/2019 ”

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1. Rapunzel 1

   23 July 2019 at 7:20 am

   Something that needs fixing in NZ it seems to me, possibly even more than the "voices" who spend hours venting about "freedom of speech" and "gun control" on line are the warped perceptions of some "everyday" NZers.

   It all reminds me of a similar campaign when a Maori emersion school was planned for Bethlehem, where I live, that opened in 2012, sadly to exactly the same sort of negative pre-judgement and quite along local campaign to stop it's construction.

   Emergency housing, much needed in Tauranga, has some locals still determined to be NIMBY's till the bitter end, possibly due to having nothing better to do. The attached link shows the news story where their "fears" and angst continue despite the story stating that conditions of conduct are applied to residents and are to be increased to sooth the "concerns" of, some – but not all – local residents.

   Sadly the scrutiny being placed on the residents of the emergency housing also sees some of them uncomfortable and wanting to leave, that would be fine if it was not due to the pitchfork mentality of some of those in the surrounding area and they had other better reasons and options to leave. Police have stated that there are no more events of any criminal nature or disturbance than there are elsewhere in the area.

   The fact is that since the local school here opened after long and concerted efforts by the "locals", who predicted a massive wave of crime and vandalism, the school has operated for the past seven years as a seamless part of the community with absolutely none of the mayhem predicted.

   The on-line screeching about "rights", probably by those who would be the first to abuse them, is bad enough but people taking petty fears and perceived problems into the community does nothing to better the lives of NZersor themselves.

   https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12250431

   https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12006558
   • Kay 1.1

     23 July 2019 at 12:21 pm

     Of course, it never registers with said NIMBYs that they themselves are only one major health or financial (or both) disaster away from needing emergency accommodation themselves…
     • OnceWasTim 1.1.1

       23 July 2019 at 3:49 pm

       Ae! Or when, if they're ever forced to 'cash up', they could be in serious shit. The banks, their employers no longer their friends. In some cases the ignominy of bankruptcy and the realisation their phallus ain't quite so grand as first thought.

       It's at that point they usually start screaming for MUMMY or gummint intervention.
   • Gabby 1.2

     23 July 2019 at 12:57 pm

     Sounds like an excellent place to build a prison, what with all that public spiritedness.
     • Rapunzel 1.2.1

       23 July 2019 at 3:42 pm

       I so wish that the local paper who are peddling this story were made to go back and interview all the naysayers of the school predicting mayhem pre-2012. The funny thing is I know some of them by name, 3rd-hand, their children were sort of pre-teen then and things have, I hear, not been particularly easy or straighforward with them "growing up", the very typical "people in glass houses" that you speak of.
2. Puckish Rogue 2

   23 July 2019 at 7:22 am

   Nothing quite like watching a prisoner almost bleed out to make you appreciate not having serious mental health issues

   I and, by extension, all correction officers don't get paid enough…mind you neither do EMTs either

   But how was everyone elses night 😉
   • gsays 2.1

     23 July 2019 at 8:39 am

     Hi PR, speaking of underpaid workers, just having a chat with my significant other after a shift at ED.

     One of the people she dealt with was a profoundly deaf man with mental health issues. After a family harm incident, he has been forbidden from entering a local town. While this town is where the alleged harm occurred, it is also where his only other support (parents) is.

     After two nights in the cells he is 'released', no money, transport, food or winter clothing. He was treated for an old injury and then went and sat outside the hospital in light cotton clothing. At 1am, he comes back in, shivering, hungry and depressed.

     Long story short, he sleeps on the floor of ED under a blanket until the mental health social worker can sort something out.

     The solutions are not cheap nor simple and I feel that things are getting more severe especially in the realm of mental ill-health.
     BTW, big ups to you and your colleagues for doing the job you do in what must be under more and more trying circumstances.
     • Puckish Rogue 2.1.1

       23 July 2019 at 2:44 pm

       National and Labour have both dropped the ball on this and should be ashamed of themselves over this

       It'd be…educational for an MP or two to spend sometime on the sharp end and actually see for themselves what a self harm incident looks like

       Bet that'd get things moving in a hurry 🙂
   • marty mars 2.2

     23 July 2019 at 9:01 am

     Yep some tough jobs out there looking after the most vulnerable. Good that prison guards feel stuff too as too easy to be desensitised and cruel.
   • Red Blooded One 2.3

     23 July 2019 at 9:36 am

     Hi PR. I fear you're right about salaries not covering the horrific jobs that need to be done, let's hope one day we achieve salaries befitting the work involved. In the mean time I hope they have meaningful assistance for staff confronting these issues and that you avail yourself of them. Rest up well before your next shift.
   • Psycho Milt 2.4

     23 July 2019 at 10:10 am

     My night was a very cushy number, thanks. However, my first thought on reading your comment wasn't "Oh we aren't paying prison guards enough," but "Why are we using prisons as storage facilities for people with serious mental health issues?"
     • Gabby 2.4.1

       23 July 2019 at 1:01 pm

       Because our management team gets paid more than enough, pretty much regardless of results.
     • Puckish Rogue 2.4.2

       23 July 2019 at 2:37 pm

       Why not both? 🙂

       My observation is it comes down to mostly because there's not enough spaces for the prisoners in wards so they get sent to corrections and, through the grapevine, sometimes they won't be taken because the prisoners are to violent
       • Psycho Milt 2.4.2.1

         23 July 2019 at 3:04 pm

         Why not both?

         Indeed, the two are not mutually exclusive – and they'd certainly have to pay me a lot of money to work in Corrections, for which they wouldn't get value for money because I'd almost certainly be hopeless at it (unless prisoners are easily swayed by people who use a lot of big words in convoluted sentences, but that feels somewhat unlikely).
   • bwaghorn 2.5

     23 July 2019 at 11:58 am

     Well you better hope national and in particular collins or mitchell never get near power or prisons will get stuffed fuller and staffed cheaper. Serco on steroids is where those nut jobs would take us.
     • Puckish Rogue 2.5.1

       23 July 2019 at 2:33 pm

       Its nothing to do with Serco and all to do with National gutting mental health, Labour continuing it and neither parties doing what needs to be done.

       Which is building more psychiatric wards so instead of winding up prisoners because there's no spaces for them anywhere else.

       Serco is a red herring or at the very least it's an issue can be looked at later
       • Rosemary McDonald 2.5.1.1

         23 July 2019 at 2:39 pm

         National gutting mental health, Labour continuing it and neither parties doing what needs to be done.

         SSDD
         • Puckish Rogue 2.5.1.1.1

           23 July 2019 at 2:50 pm

           Yup
       • millsy 2.5.1.2

         23 July 2019 at 6:18 pm

         This all goes back to deinstitutionalization back in the 1980's and 90's.
   • Kevin 2.6

     23 July 2019 at 2:41 pm

     You a Union member PR?
     • Puckish Rogue 2.6.1

       23 July 2019 at 2:45 pm

       Not sure what that has to do with it yes but yes I'm a member of CANZ
   • AB 2.7

     23 July 2019 at 3:07 pm

     "correction officers don't get paid enough"

     Probably so – and what you and the prisoner experienced sounds terrible. I would note though, that you are able to form the thought that "correction officers don't get paid enough" only because you have some underlying notion of 'value' that is not the same as the exchange (dollar) value that is obtained in the market. i.e. the money you get does not accurately represent the value of what you do. And this is true in general and in both directions – markets actually reward people rather perversely from the standpoint of the 'real' value they produce. We will make a lefty out of you yet PR.
     • Puckish Rogue 2.7.1

       23 July 2019 at 3:17 pm

       Well it's in the middle contract negotiations now so we better get a decent offer or we might start getting a bit bolshei 🙂
       • In Vino 2.7.1.1

         23 July 2019 at 4:57 pm

         Um – does that mean you are going to do a ballet dance for us, PR? Or did you mean bolshy? If that is why the smiley face is there, nice one, and please post the video.
         • Puckish Rogue 2.7.1.1.1

           23 July 2019 at 5:24 pm

           I do look good in tights…
           • In Vino 2.7.1.1.1.1

             23 July 2019 at 8:57 pm

             Looking forward then, old boy.

             Wait a minute – you think JC looks good, don't you?

             I think I might reserve judgement.
   • Patricia Bremner 2.8

     23 July 2019 at 10:05 pm

     "Bleed out" Yes terrifying. My husband is on blood thinners and tore a gash in his calf.

     The bleeding continued for 5 days of Dr and Hospital visits. Last night was our first with no bleeding and we slept with exhaustion.

     No Puckish Rogue, you are not paid enough!! And I had only one person to care for. Cheers!!.
3. Tiger Mountain 3

   23 July 2019 at 8:01 am

   re: Govt. Gun Registration plans, good idea, but keep an eye on the opponents perhaps.

   NZ gun lobby group COLFO (Council of Licensed Firearms Owners) has been making early noise about the Govt. plans. COLFO is a member of the World Forum for the Future of Sport Shooting, which in turn is linked to the NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) US, which is linked to The Firearms Industry Trade Association, US, and the NRA (National Rifle Association) US.

   The NSSF has a policy of not linking to third parties such as NRA but it is clear that there is a connection. One site I looked at offered discounted membership to NRA.

   So the NZ COLFO fronted by Nicole Mckee
   https://fss.nz/nicole-mckee/ is linked to the gun manufacturers and retailers
   https://www.nssf.org/manufacturers/
   • bwaghorn 3.1

     23 July 2019 at 12:00 pm

     When I recently renewed my license I was given the option to voluntarily register my rifles which I did . So it should be easy to know who to go find .
4. reason 4

   23 July 2019 at 8:08 am

   h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr17fMPT0Xg&t=2745s

   I learnt a lot of new things.When listening to the most comprehensive history of tRump I'd found on the web … delivered with mocking humor

   One was that Rump always stiffed small businesses and sub-contractors who worked for him …

   Starting right at the beginning, on his first construction site … he kept $100,000 due to already underpaid non-union polish workers … and he's done it to everyone since.

   He apparently gets mad when any of his managers … pay out the agreed upon price to contract workers… paying the quoted and accepted price… gives the don the shits..

   His method was / is to retain the last payment …and tell them to sue, … they would be told it would take years of expensive legal battling … and if they lost or pulled out, they would be bankrupted. by having to pay trumps expensive lawyers fees …

   It's a mugs game for Small businesses or individuals taking on a corporation with multi-million funds … rich bullies know litigation is a rich mans game.. and so rich wankers use this against the 'lesser' people that they effectively steal from.

   A recent comparable example in NZ …. was the Nact government telling Pike River families "they could sue" ,,, in response to pathetic compensation from the Nact Govt ,,, despite the Govts part in regulatory failure leading to the disaster ,,, and the Govt receiving millions in Insurance payouts for the mass killing 'accident'. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/west-coast/9399690/PM-avoiding-Pike-River-payout

   In a final grubby insult,, Nact trolls tried to smear / blame Andrew Little for the neo-lib, non-compliant, non-regulated, free-market death trap that was Pike River….a lie that shows total disregard for the safety of mine workers … as it seeks to hide the failures / lessons that need to be corrected.

   Its the sort of shameful thing Rump would say …. It got a brief airing here at TS ,,,, but I wonder how often this dog whistle got posted up in Kiwiblog or Whalestain ….

   Rump plays to an audience …. the NZ 'right' share an awful lot of the same things.
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW5Kvum9Sx4
   • Peter 4.1

     23 July 2019 at 8:53 am

     That's why so many see Trump as God and saw Key as God. Those two fine specimens had a grasp of the real world and are / were about showing what the real world is about, or should be about. The thing that should be the weirdest bit it is the Trump thing about 'draining the swamp' still being chanted by his cheerleaders. Like Shylock to Oliver and co., "Welcome after your trip out of the swamp my dears, to a mire of neck high shit."
5. Adrian Thornton 5

   23 July 2019 at 8:31 am

   You will know when we have a real Left wing transformative politician who is anywhere near the levers of power in New Zealand, because this is what happens when a real one shows up and threatens the power status quo….

   " The greatest fear of those holding the most power and wealth is that they will lose their exalted position in the world. They will resist any changes to the grossly unequal and unjust class structure that causes grievous damage to so many people; and to the planet itself. Even the threat of real change must be crushed. This, in a nutshell, underpins the astonishing and relentless campaign to stop Jeremy Corbyn, a moderate leftist, from ever becoming Prime Minister."

   The Campaign To Stop Corbyn – Smears, Racism And Censorship

   http://medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=910:the-campaign-to-stop-corbyn-smears-racism-censorship&catid=57:alerts-2019&Itemid=252
   • gsays 5.1

     23 July 2019 at 8:44 am

     Hi Adrian, as a local example; witness Metiria Turei in the last election.

     Our media, almost in concert, got stuck in and made sure 'that sort of voice' isn't heard in the corridors of power.
     • Adrian Thornton 5.1.1

       23 July 2019 at 9:08 am

       Yeah I would go along with that, although I would also have to say that the Greens PR department (if they indeed have one) should have all been fired immediately after that episode had exposed their complete ineptness.
       • reason 5.1.1.1

         23 July 2019 at 10:22 am

         +100 … how Metiria Turei was forced to resign … but double dipper english and his rich mans crime of greed was allowed to remain … was a disgrace …. mainly to our media but also the greens PR.

         Corbyn smears are also media enabled to a very large degree …. partly because we are kept in the dark about how bad Israel is … and what sort of other sneaky stuff is being done.

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

         Who knew that BDS has been falsely framed and ruled anti-semetic ?

         Israel – and now the German parliament – have claimed that the boycott is Nazi-like in its methods. “‘Don’t buy’ stickers of the BDS movement on Israeli products,Israel – and now the German parliament – have claimed that the boycott is Nazi-like in its methods. “‘Don’t buy’ stickers of the BDS movement on Israeli products, ” the non-binding German resolution stated, “remind one [sic] of inevitable associations with the Nazi call ‘Don’t buy from the Jews’,

         Or how about the links and admirers of right wing Apartheid Israel

         it has certainly facilitated the U.S. wars in the Middle East against its regional enemies and now it is nurturing the Islamophobic far right in the West hostile to the flood of displaced refugees fleeing them.

         Netanyahu has also courted Poland’s far-right prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, even as the latter has fuelled Holocaust revisionism with legislation to outlaw criticism of Poland for its involvement in the Nazi death camps. Millions of Jews were exterminated in such camps.

         He has been engaged in a similar bromance with Viktor Orban, the ultra-nationalist prime minister of Hungary, who barely veils his Jew-baiting and has eulogised Miklos Horthy, a Hungarian leader who collaborated with the Nazis.

         Israel is cultivating alliances with other ultra-nationalists – in and out of power – in the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Austria.

         The conclusion drawn by Jewish communities abroad is that their well being – even their safety – is now a much lower priority than bolstering Israel’s diplomatic influence.

         And our media never comments on things like what has been written in UN reports about Israel … a country Wayne mapp said shared our NZ values … he can count me out …of his values

         UN: In the best traditions of fascism, this policy and these racist practices are designed to terrorize the Arab population so that they either give up or simply leave the occupied territories for ever. In our 1988 report, we cited numerous statements by Israeli officials which bore out this assessment.

         Israel is violating international and humanitarian law throughout the occupied Arab territories more and more systematically. Its barbarous racist policies have caused the Security Council to adopt many resolutions on the subject, including resolutions 605 (1987), 607 (1988) and 608 (1988). The policy of terror adopted by Israel in the occupied Arab territories is exemplified by, among other things, beatings designed to break detainees' bones, the use of toxic gas, toughening of the iron fist policy, demolition of homes, destruction of villages, banishment, administrative detention, house arrest, detention of children, minors and the elderly, curfews, sealing off of camps, suppression of the freedoms of opinion, expression and assembly, and news blackouts. This policy has exceeded all bounds since the general uprising began throughout the occupied Arab territories, including the Golan: some residents have even been buried alive and children massacred.

         In the detention camps, detainees are constantly subjected to the most barbarous torture: long interrogations late into the night, beatings until they become unconscious, hot and cold showers, being forced to crawl on their knees or to stand for long periods with their arms up, having lighted cigarettes applied to the most sensitive parts of their bodies, electric shocks, being deprived of food and having blood samples taken weekly, the aim being to so weaken detainees that they have been reduced to invalids,

         ,,,,,,,,,its almost like Sadam The Butcher of Baghdad ,,, didn't die …

         he's alive and running iron fist israel
   • Bruce 5.2

     23 July 2019 at 9:00 am

     I think the massive effort to stymie drug law reform is another example of this, the powerful see it as a threat because they may lose some control to the new generation. And of course they are above the law so it has no impact on their day to day recreational activities.
     • Adrian Thornton 5.2.1

       23 July 2019 at 9:20 am

       Chomsky says….no but seriously he always had a pretty good take on drugs/drug control/class war etc…although not sure his lottery analogy here works that well anymore, maybe times have changed a bit since them?

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp8gNT1wzX4
6. Robert Guyton 6

   23 July 2019 at 8:35 am

   Read what our brave Oraka/Aparima runagna have done!

   https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/114210124/southland-kaumtua-draws-says-no-more-to-dairy-farming-in-southland

   (mention of our council's bad decision not to declare a climate emergency in there too)
   • marty mars 6.1

     23 July 2019 at 9:06 am

     Good bloke and leadership – hope this is followed up and supported.
     • Robert Guyton 6.1.1

       23 July 2019 at 9:36 am

       It has been by me. Tomorrow's council meeting will be very interesting. The formal discussion, however, has been shunted into the "public excluded" chamber, as so often is the case.
       • One Two 6.1.1.1

         23 July 2019 at 1:08 pm

         Hi Robert,

         Are you able to speak about the closed door sessions, or are councillors barred from doing so?
         • Robert Guyton 6.1.1.1.1

           23 July 2019 at 1:47 pm

           Great advocate for transparency, me; are we banned? Well, there are consequences if one does, but if the information should be in the public arena…

           it's the age-old argument; there are different ways to hide information; what goes on tour, stays on tour, etc. but there's also the Hager Effect. It depends. The runaka has been asked for the position paper they sent to us, but have declined to provide it to the media. I'd like to talk with them first. I reckon it's in the public arena now, having been reported upon by the media.
           • One Two 6.1.1.1.1.1

             23 July 2019 at 5:33 pm

             Thanks Robert.

             Censorship takes many forms, each and every one of them are insidious and contribute to further decline and degradation.

             Leads to, playing the system … out of necessity…

             Cheers Robert.
   • mauī 6.2

     23 July 2019 at 11:06 am

     he felt a responsibility to "not pass on a legacy of degradation to the next generation."

     Why is this man not thinking about the money, private interests, or the slapdash development of Southland. Heresy!
7. reason 7

   23 July 2019 at 9:24 am

   Outrageous propaganda …

   The RAF carried out some 216 airstrikes in and around the city ( Raqqa ) during the offensive, but the Ministry of Defence has denied that any civilians were harmed as a result.

   And they get worse in defending their lies …

   “Rather than focusing on the devastating impacts of this joint bombing operation, the MoD has sought to undermine the credibility of Amnesty when we’ve published evidence detailing coalition airstrikes that killed civilians,

   Our SAS and Key / mapp look like baby step fibbers with only two villages we know they've lied about…. The Big boys tell Huge ones …..

   In the entire air campaign against Isis in both Syria and Iraq, the UK has conceded responsibility for just one civilian casualty,… despite more than 1,700 RAF air strikes.

   Fisk: Almost as distressing as this palpably ridiculous figure was that the BBC reported this on 7 March as a straightforward news story,……….

   statistics of this kind are not just unbelievable, incredible and insulting to anyone who reads or studies them. They are obviously miraculous, nonsensical, irresponsible, preposterous, bizarre, weird, out-of-this-world, dreamlike and – for anyone who has covered wars for the past four decades – totally untrue.

   Yet the British Ministry of Defence got away with it.

   Which brings me to Idlib … and the problem of radicalized overseas fighters ,,,, I doubt our media will inform us of this problem…. Where the brits and co send killers ,,, but do not want them back.

   British Isis fighters should be hunted down and killed, says defence secretary

   ‘A dead terrorist can’t cause any harm to Britain,’ says Gavin Williamson, arguing jihadists should not be allowed back into UK

   More than 800 UK citizens are thought to have gone to fight for Isis in Iraq and Syria

   France, too, is working to eradicate its jihadis overseas.,,,

   “And the French — well, I think their position is clear. They want all their guys killed here so they don’t have to bring them back and deal with them at home.”

   Personally I think a lot could be de-radicalized as many were tricked into a) the warped twisted cult version of isis / al nusras Muslim preaching … and b) their 'good war' .

   And there is the ongoing injustice in our blind eye to our criminals ….behind and involved in their crimes.

   In 2003, Australian-British journalist John Pilger conducted research and concluded, “More than 100,000 Islamic militants were trained in Pakistan between 1986 and 1992, in camps overseen by the CIA and MI6, with the SAS training future al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in bomb-making and other black arts. Their leaders were trained at a CIA camp in Virginia.”

   That Western interference in Afghanistan actually precedes the Soviet invasion by several months is rarely acknowledged.

   it is worth tracing the motives and methods employed by foreign powers to further their own ends in that territory, as these have been repeated and modified in Iraq and Syria.

   Idlib is a small ugly problem …. compared to what the west cooked up … and Libyans now face with their NATO destroyed society

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcDEc7gDYGk
   • francesca 7.1

     23 July 2019 at 10:33 am

     I suspect that similar strategies have been used with the Uyghur Muslims in China. Thetre are several Sunni sects living in China, but the Uyghurs tend to be the most inclined to violent jihad and separatism.

     The Turkestan Islamic Party(Xinjiang) is designated a terrorist organisation by the EU, the UK, Turkey, the US , Russia and others.

     They've shown up in Idlib, Syria where the fear is they'll return to China as hardened fighters.They have a fearsome reputation for cruelty and barbarity.

     Radical Uyghurs have also been involved in terrorist acts against other Muslim minorities within China, notably the Hui muslims who are the most numerous in China

     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkistan_Islamic_Party

     https://www.greanvillepost.com/2019/04/19/a-holy-war-against-china-beijing-and-the-turkic-uyghur-threat/

     There's more to all this recent internment camp hullaballoo than first meets the eye …as always
     • millsy 7.1.1

       23 July 2019 at 6:15 pm

       It needs to be also remembered that the Chinese also were the first ones that trained and funded the Afghan Mujahideen before the CIA started it. Using training camps in Xinjiang. A little blowback maybe?
       • reason 7.1.1.1

         23 July 2019 at 7:35 pm

         I know the Chinese backed Pol Pot … long with the usa.

         But training Afghan Mujahideen is a new one … the training camps were located in Pakistan… and before the cia sponsored operation cyclone and the destruction of Afghanistan kicked of in 1979 the country was at peace.

         Operation Cyclone was one of the longest and most expensive CIA operations of all time.

         From 1979 to 1989 and thereafter, the CIA armed and financed the mujahideen in Afghanistan in support of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. This funding began before the USSR’s military intervention and continued throughout the entire period.

         it was part of the Hippy trail … and safe up until 1979 …and been rooted ever since.

         But in the late 1970s came the end of the road for the overlanders. 1979 was the year Russia invaded Afghanistan,

         https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/03/11/road-trip-to-afghanistan-snapshots-from-the-lost-hippie-trail/

         https://dangerousminds.net/comments/on_the_hippie_trail_through_afghanistan_to_india_1967-1979

         Its also why I felt very sad for the Afghan man who was among the first killed by the christchurch racist terror killer …. Afghanistan has been preyed upon and been in a constant state of destruction ….. since 1979.

         Apparently approx 20 Afghans a day are still being killed … in 2019

         We backed the bad buggers over there … and let good ones die here.

         Our Govts are still doing it

         I'm beyond words at the shame of it all …

         https://twitter.com/i/status/1110170205748187136
     • reason 7.1.2

       23 July 2019 at 6:56 pm

       Cheers for the very interesting Link francesca …. I'd read of 40,000 plus numbers of foreign fighters … So with only 800 odd english, and similar numbers from france, germany, europe … there were some big recruiting countries missing.

       And bingo … there were a large number of them

       there are an estimated 5000-18,000 Uyghurs fighting as Islamic Jihadists in Syria, and reportedly being groomed to return to China to wage Jihad against the government in the region which is the heart of China’s oil and gas pipeline networks

       Thanks for the interesting read and missing information … that you would almost think our media censors …

       A “Holy War” Against China

       “The policy of guiding the evolution of Islam and of helping them against our adversaries worked marvelously well in Afghanistan against the Russians. The same doctrines can still be used to destabilize what remains of Russian power, and especially to counter the Chinese influence in Central Asia.”1

       —Graham E. Fuller, 1999, key CIA architect of US Islam strategy
8. Robert Guyton 8

   23 July 2019 at 9:53 am

   Greenpeace activists are climbing Wellington's tallest building to attempt to reach the OMV Austrian oil giant's HQ to deliver a "go home, you are not welcome here" message.

   You can watch the live action here and sign their petition at the same time:

   [https://www.e-activist.com/ea-action/enclick?ea.url.id=3868846&ea.campaigner.email=l90SPJxQ20Cbb8aNHp7glXkPNSv3SSNb&ea.campaigner.id=HeGs%2FfM2IGMUHgIT5m4sfA==]
   • francesca 8.1

     23 July 2019 at 10:39 am

     Thanks Robert

     Loving it !
   • Patricia Bremner 8.2

     23 July 2019 at 10:13 pm

     Brilliant Robert Have signed!!
9. bwaghorn 9

   23 July 2019 at 12:17 pm

   https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/114435232/government-extends-tax-break-for-oil-rigs-despite-promise-not-to-subsidise-fossil-fuel-industry

   Before people get their knickers in to much of a twist read the lk ast sentence!
10. McFlock 10

    23 July 2019 at 12:47 pm

    Probably been posted before, but should be posted regularly as a reminder that we've been here before:

    Short US WW2 clip about fascist rhetoric.
    • ianmac 10.1

      23 July 2019 at 1:09 pm

      Divide and conquer. Bastards1
    • mac1 10.2

      23 July 2019 at 1:32 pm

      "Somebody's going to get something out of it, and it isn't going to be you."

      The last line of the video. Thanks, McFlock. A great litmus test. Even if I do something good altruistically, that's true- apart from the feeling of virtue which of course being a Lefty, I get much joy from signalling.

      Parp!
    • Psycho Milt 10.3

      23 July 2019 at 3:37 pm

      Somebody's going to get something out of it, and it isn't going to be you.

      That would have made a far more accurate Trump 2016 campaign slogan than "Make America Great Again," but I guess accuracy wasn't the point.
      • In Vino 10.3.1

        23 July 2019 at 8:59 pm

        10 points PM
11. joe90 11

    23 July 2019 at 1:30 pm

    tRump indulges in his nuclear fantasies, again.

    https://twitter.com/AtomicAnalyst/status/1153353619527405574

    The Pentagon believes using nuclear weapons could “create conditions for decisive results and the restoration of strategic stability”, according to a new nuclear doctrine adopted by the US joint chiefs of staff last week.

    The document, entitled Nuclear Operations, was published on 11 June, and was the first such doctrine paper for 14 years. Arms control experts say it marks a shift in US military thinking towards the idea of fighting and winning a nuclear war – which they believe is a highly dangerous mindset.

    “Using nuclear weapons could create conditions for decisive results and the restoration of strategic stability,” the joint chiefs’ document says. “Specifically, the use of a nuclear weapon will fundamentally change the scope of a battle and create conditions that affect how commanders will prevail in conflict.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/19/nuclear-weapons-pentagon-us-military-doctrine
    • McFlock 11.1

      23 July 2019 at 1:45 pm

      Seems to be one of these eternal things that some sectors of US military really want to use nukes. ISTR GWB regime was trying a "nuclear bunker buster" and/or some sort of mini-nuke that would be bigger than the MOAB but not so large as to be diplomatically reckless if it's used.

      Constantly trying to have a continuum of nuke use, rather than armageddon or nothing.

      Bismarck etc probably told themselves the same thing in the decades before WW1: that it wouldn't all blow up in their faces.
      • Gabby 11.1.1

        23 July 2019 at 4:18 pm

        Bismark would've run a mile in the opposite direction of WWI.
        • McFlock 11.1.1.1

          23 July 2019 at 4:35 pm

          Fair point, yeah I fucked that one up lol. Wilhelm II is the chappy.

          Bismarck called it (although he did start the network of alliances that ended up in W2 flailing about and tangling the net).

          But the wider point stands, I think – I believe many of the diplomats thought they could advance their interests with complex alliances, believing that their main opponents would blink in the face of a europe-wide (kinda global) conflagration.
          • SHG 11.1.1.1.1

            23 July 2019 at 6:35 pm

            WTF, for a generation the only thing holding Europe together peacefully was Bismarck.
            • McFlock 11.1.1.1.1.1

              24 July 2019 at 2:03 pm

              Or was he just lining up the fall?

              He unified a confederation of smaller states into a great power in the middle of Europe, with few if any buffer states between that and other great powers. He then initiated a series of alliances and diplomatic moves based on indirectly achieving strategic goals, turning the entire thing into a game of 3d chess with little margin for error.

              Sure, he was a chess master and kept things at a nice stalemate to keep the game going, but he was succeeded by lesser diplomats.
    • marty mars 11.2

      23 July 2019 at 2:21 pm

      this is the end, my only friend, the end…

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIrvSJwwJUE
    • joe90 11.3

      23 July 2019 at 2:23 pm

      Ignorant liar inserts himself into one of the most volatile conflicts on the planet.

      https://twitter.com/nktpnd/status/1153370404418981888

      https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/1153371327371173895
    • Kevin 11.4

      23 July 2019 at 2:43 pm

      The Red Button Boner. Such an aphrodisiac.
12. SHG 12

    23 July 2019 at 1:52 pm

    "Why are we using prisons as storage facilities for people with serious mental health issues?"

    Because those people are overwhelmingly men. See: homeless people. Almost all men. See: suicide deaths. Almost all men.

    Solutions to the problems faced by men aren't sexy right now.
13. Robert Guyton 13

    23 July 2019 at 1:53 pm

    Live feed, still watching

    https://youtu.be/mAdC0z7AsRQ
14. Ed1 14

    23 July 2019 at 3:16 pm

    I have often wondered about the "benefits" of our privatised electricity industry, where the use of theoretical "capital values" that may well be vastly inflated over anything paid to the original owners of the system, are used to justify companies taking turns at increasing prices ahead of inflation. Now attention is being paid to water:

    https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2018/04/drop-secret-water-war-europe-180402084125467.html

    Could a future New Zealand government or councils sell off water reticulation and treatment, or stormwater and sewage systems to private companies?
    • Gabby 14.1

      23 July 2019 at 4:24 pm

      Given half a chance. (and a seat on the board)
15. Fireblade 15

    23 July 2019 at 3:40 pm

    Simon's a bumbling idiot. Show me the money for your ghost roads Simon!

    https://vimeo.com/349583503
    • mac1 15.1

      23 July 2019 at 3:55 pm

      Ardern said that National's ghost roads, planned for but not funded, had been costed at $12 billion. Bridges was critical of levying fuel taxes for funding roads and for these ghost roads not being built. Ardern pointed out the hypocrisy of this.
    • Gabby 15.2

      23 July 2019 at 4:25 pm

      What's the fellow from The Badge doing behind Slick?
      • Andre 15.2.1

        23 July 2019 at 4:30 pm

        He's wondering if really really has to get himself a troll-doll toupee to properly look the part and get on the front bench.
16. alwyn 16

    23 July 2019 at 3:45 pm

    I wonder whether we will ever hear anything about Kiwibuild again?

    In January the then figurehead, Twyford, told us there would be a reset "in a few weeks".

    That then slipped and he promised it would be out in April. That then slipped back to June. The in June he promised that the reset details would be announced in early July.

    Then he got dumped and Woods became the Conductor of the Housing Minister Quintet. She has been no more successful in keeping things in tune and now it has slipped until "late August".

    Are we ever going to hear another word out of what has been the greatest stuff-up by a Government that I have ever seen? Probably not I suspect. The CoL are desperately hoping that it will all be forgotten.

    A wedding to look forward to. That might distract the public attention. Look a squirrel!

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12251969
    • Andre 16.1

      23 July 2019 at 4:22 pm

      "… ever hear anything about Kiwibuild again? "

      We will. Oh yes we will. From you.
      • alwyn 16.1.1

        23 July 2019 at 4:50 pm

        
17. Rosemary McDonald 17

    23 July 2019 at 3:53 pm

    So, Julie Anne Genter participates in the Grand Announcement of the Coalition's intention to honour their promise to repeal the Part 4A amendment to the Public Health and Disability Act and to end the continued discrimination against family members provide the supports a MOH DSS client has been assessed as needing….

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12247412

    ….then quits the role and hands it over to Jenny Salesa. ( I wondered why she was in the frame.)

    I'd link to something but this was an email from the office saying my correspondence to JAG (about the continued discrimination against family carers heralded by the announcement is simply not acceptable) has been passed to Salesa's office.

    Oh dear.
    • alwyn 17.1

      23 July 2019 at 4:20 pm

      I think you may be a great deal better off.

      Genter never gave any real appearance of any interest in being an Associate Health Minister. She seems to really be only interested in spending the NZTA budget on anything except better roads.

      I think that Salesa will actually take some interest in your topic.
18. Robert Guyton 18

    23 July 2019 at 5:20 pm

    Evict OMV

    The third and latest banner from Greenpeace on Wellington's tallest building; 2 storeys from the OMV HQ. Very brave people indeed; watch live!

    https://youtu.be/mAdC0z7AsRQ
    • greywarshark 18.1

      23 July 2019 at 5:57 pm

      OMG
      • Rosemary McDonald 18.1.1

        23 July 2019 at 9:41 pm

        OMG Indeed.

        I did watch for a while….but found myself in a literal cold sweat.

        BTW..what on earth are those folks inside the building doing at 3:50:30 ?
19. joe90 19

    23 July 2019 at 6:06 pm

    That Boris is a bit of a dag.

    /

    https://twitter.com/uk_domain_names/status/1138754140895682560

    2002 (in Telegraph newspaper column): “It is said that the Queen has come
    to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular
    cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies.” “They say [Tony Blair] is
    shortly off to the Congo. No doubt the AK47s will fall silent, and the pangas
    will stop their hacking of human flesh, and the tribal warriors will all break
    out in watermelon smiles to see the big white chief touch down in his big
    white British taxpayer-funded bird.” [NOTE: he eventually apologised for
    the comments in 2008.]

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XzAujyzN9JxpUl9rN7EIIX0AlgaXL8rE/view
    • millsy 19.1

      23 July 2019 at 6:20 pm

      The buffoon or the empty suit.
20. Morrissey 20

    23 July 2019 at 7:44 pm

    Eight out of ten refugees trying to get into the U.S. are from Honduras. Why?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSUlUF0JoLo
21. Eco maori 21

    24 July 2019 at 6:27 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    I would like amnesty international to check out my human rights being breached by the sandflys.

    simon just got marmalade on his chin

    I say that a complete overhaul of the resources management act is needed.

    I think it's stupid people trying to change a person's personality by gay conversion therapy brain washing leave them alone muppets

    Its cool to see 79 % of KIWIs have conserns about climate change that Show KIWIs have a above average IQ awesome.

    Eco Maori is doing his bit to save our mokopuna environment. We cook mostly on a fire renewable firewood and some gas to heat water a composting TOILET system and today a small solar power system watching Te News on telly. Its good not having a noisy generator going

    Ka kite ano
22. Eco maori 22

    24 July 2019 at 6:48 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Condolences to Mrs Biddles whanau its sad but te whanau will be able to gather for her tangi

    Its good to see the protesters in Auckland protesting about their sacred whenua are behaving peacefully ka pai.

    I agree the resources management act is a great hindrance for tangata whenua building on our own whenua. One has to have heaps of putea of be a great administrator to get a whare built on tangata whenua Whenua hence the numbers of Maori owned whare has dropped sharply since the installation of the resources management act.

    Ka kite ano
23. Eco maori 23

    25 July 2019 at 8:32 am

    Kia Ora The Am Show.

    We will see if boris has the skills not to make a big

    It must be quite hard for the people leaving Glory vale to adjust to a new life having to do everything themselves and learn the way our society works.

    I do agree with the Wahine about the berkini incident at the pools that the attendants did unconsciously target Wahine this happens all the time in our society .Wahine need to be given more respect in our society EQUALITY is needed.

    It is very hard to save a deposit for a whare in Aotearoa all the help our rangitahi can get to save for a house deposit is cool .

    Ka kite ano
24. Eco maori 24

    25 July 2019 at 3:37 pm

    Some Eco Maori music for the minute.

    https://youtu.be/94dBVPpymac
25. Eco maori 25

    25 July 2019 at 6:33 pm

    Kia ora Newshub.

    Lloyd how long before it turns to a big mess.

    A lot of people are scared of natural gas in Aotearoa at the minute.

    Those Republican are just protecting their own ass.

    With the Wellington bus service if it ain't broke don't try and fix it they made a big mess of the bus service in Wellington to try and save money.???????

    The cost of living in Aotearoa has gone to the Matariki before shonky got in power Aotearoa food prices were cheaper than Australia Britain Canada America not now shonky rolled out the Golden carpet for his wealthy businesses M8. The rent in our last house went up 4 times in 2 and 1/2 years the sandflys were trying to get me out of that house for all of that time in the end they got to the landlord who lied and said it was sold muppets.

    Ka kite ano
26. Eco maori 26

    25 July 2019 at 6:51 pm

    Kia ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Tangata whenua have Sailing in there iwi sailing waka is the same. Eco Maori has a love of Tangaroa from my years of fishing around Aotearoa.

    People who disrespect tangata whenua O Aotearoa artifacts do so with out knowing the consequences.

    Ka kite ano P.S my ###### just wiped out my post

    Its good to see more Maori prison officers being hired by our government.
27. Eco maori 27

    26 July 2019 at 8:29 am

    Kia ora The Am Show.

    Climate change Turning a negative into A positive

    That is a great way to look at climate change treat climate change as a positive phenomenon to transform our society's into a entrepreneurial enviomently friendly society that cares about other people's wellbeing no matter who they are . Eco Maori does that all the time it works to turning a negative into a positive.

    I strongly agree with that Carly Aotearoa has to OWN Our boozing culture we need to teach te Rangatahi that Alcohol is a substance that should be taken with caution but you have some people who promote.

    Its cool that everyone knows how little Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa has been compensated by the Crown.

    Yes Simon Pound the baby boomers are stuck in their pasts reality that was manipulated by the few. they made them believe that alcohol is good and weed is bad. It's was all about the money they could harvest from the people.

    Peter Ma te wa.

    Ka kite ano Don’t worry Simon Eco Maori can see the Oil Barons money sloshing around the Shows studio paying for their words
28. Eco maori 28

    26 July 2019 at 12:44 pm

    Some Eco Maori music for the minute.

    https://youtu.be/h4DFXUndvbw

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