Open mike 23/08/2022

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 23rd, 2022 - 156 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

156 comments on “Open mike 23/08/2022 ”

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  1. DB Brown 1
    23 August 2022 at 7:07 am

    Imagine folks who make pledges like this taking up places in local schools, councils, utilities, etc… because that's EXACTLY what they're doing in the USA right now. And our local mob are learning from them – fast.

    Beware the rise of Christo-Fascism.

    https://twitter.com/NickKnudsenUS/status/1547259907275075584

    • Jenny how to get there 1.1
      23 August 2022 at 7:48 am

      Coincidentally 2022 marks the one hundred year anniversary of Mussolini's March on Rome.

      Thank Goodness, that unlike Australia or Italy we don't have an unelected regent who could over rule our elected law makers and put the protesters in power.

      March on Rome

      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      The March on Rome (Italian: Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'etat in October 1922…

      ….When fascist demonstrators and Blackshirt paramilitaries entered Rome, Prime Minister Luigi Facta wished to declare a state of siege, but this was overruled by King Victor Emmanuel III. On the following day, 29 October 1922, the King appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister, thereby transferring political power to the fascists without armed conflict. [1][2]

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

      • Blazer 1.1.1
        23 August 2022 at 9:24 am

        As for over ruling elected lawmakers….the experts at that are the…C.I.A.

        Iran and Chile are two good case …studies.

      • DB Brown 1.2.1
        23 August 2022 at 10:16 am

        These mega-churches preaching prosperity gospel are 'godsends', campaign funds (divine missions and all that) and megaphones for right-wing politicians. Massive audiences. And they in turn provide judges, laws and tax free windfalls to appease the churches.

        It's corrupt AF really. Add the white supremacy in and it's plain evil.

        DeSantis seems to be the new most dangerous useful idiot. I'm sure it's you who pointed that out a while ago. His anti-woke law was just dog-whistling the church (that pledge in the OP specifically has a pledge against 'wokeness', f'n ridiculous Q-level crazy m'f'ers).

        Trump now seems entirely expendable to these good christian folks. Finding it hard to raise a tear.

    • Tony Veitch (not etc.) 1.3
      23 August 2022 at 8:14 am

      Jeepers, that sort of one-dimensional crap frightens the life out of me.

      For God's sake (I'm not being ironical) people, read candidate bios thoroughly and get out to vote – to make sure such demented half-wits don't get elected to any body in this country.

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.4
      23 August 2022 at 8:16 am

      The action is organised by a group associated with Destiny Church.

      Its leader Brian Tamaki is expected to announce that he is forming a new party he hopes will draw votes from a number of anti-government groups, including those which are against Covid-19 public health measures and vaccine mandates.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/473306/live-updates-anti-government-protest-marches-to-parliament

      Show me..the MONEY !

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.4.1
        23 August 2022 at 8:31 am

        Wellington mayor Andy Foster told Karyn Hay on Lately that police and council wanted to be prepared in case anything went wrong today, but he did not expect that would happen.

        "Brian Tamaki and the Destiny Church have said what they intend to do, and they usually stick to what they say they will do."

        https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/473306/live-updates-anti-government-protest-marches-to-parliament

        "Usually" ? ! Well, thats ALLgood. lol

      • Bearded Git 1.4.2
        23 August 2022 at 9:14 am

        One of my kids is on the train into Wellington and he says there are loads of Tamaki protestors going to the demo.

        • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.4.2.1
          23 August 2022 at 9:17 am

          Hi BG. If like you (I think)….your Kid will know…and how to stay Safe. Best !

          • Bearded Git 1.4.2.1.1
            23 August 2022 at 11:52 am

            He is 28….but thanks.

            • Shanreagh 1.4.2.1.1.1
              23 August 2022 at 12:41 pm

              There is a Mussolini look-alike demagogue raving on at the demo, waving arms etc……oh its Brian Tamaki in his life of Brian where he does imitations of hateful creatures of the past.

              smiley

              PS I did not go to the counter protest. Bad feeling still about what may happen.
              Watching the protest and there are two women who have gradually moved one of those big green plastic bollards away from where it joins the concrete. No doubt waiting for the sign to push it completely and storm onto the forecourt.

              • Barfly …
                23 August 2022 at 12:56 pm

                If it was in Auckland – I would be there for the counter protest as soon as I could get my boots on.angry

                • Shanreagh …
                  23 August 2022 at 1:02 pm

                  You're braver than I am then.

                  • PsyclingLeft.Always …
                    23 August 2022 at 1:14 pm

                    Shanreagh…I can tell, (I think) by your earlier comments..etc..you are Brave alright.And I remember you from earlier protest..helping with clean up etc. Good onya.

                    • Shanreagh …
                      23 August 2022 at 2:47 pm

                      Thank you. smiley

                      The cleaner-upperers had a limited amount of work as officials were not keen about sending volunteers onto the actual protest grounds from a health perspective for fear of glass, rubbish and general unmentionables, the pong during the protest was terrible.

                      They encouraged us to clean up around the streets where we live so we did that.

                • PsyclingLeft.Always …
                  23 August 2022 at 1:11 pm

                  And me also ! Onya matey. Respect !

                • alwyn …
                  23 August 2022 at 2:26 pm

                  Were you a skinhead in your younger days?

                  Get people on the ground and then kick the s**t out of them? Why else would you need to get your boots on?

                  [Not funny to accuse another commenter of being violent towards others, now and/or in the past. Read the Policy about joking about violence and this includes tar & feathers and lynching. This is your warning – Incognito]

            • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.4.2.1.1.2
              23 August 2022 at 1:17 pm

              Myself have Kid that age. They still your Kid in that you care. Allgood : )

        • alwyn 1.4.2.2
          23 August 2022 at 11:00 am

          It is good to see that Brian's mates are doing their best to limit climate change by using public transport rather than cars.

          Lots of Labour MPs were turning up for the ceremonial lynching of their erstwhile colleague in taxis. None of this sharing vehicles with the hoi polloi for them.

          Well I saw two of them in separate taxis and I'll admit I am extrapolating. Probably off the same flight from Auckland of course.

          • Nic the NZer 1.4.2.2.1
            23 August 2022 at 11:11 am

            By ceremonial lynching your saying Dr Sharma will only be let out of the front door of parliament today?

            • alwyn 1.4.2.2.1.1
              23 August 2022 at 11:30 am

              Don't you think they will tar and feather him first?

              Then he can steal the quip from Abe Lincoln.

              “I feel like the man who was tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail. To the man who asked him how he liked it, he said: ‘If it wasn’t for the honor of the thing, I’d rather walk.’”

              • Nic the NZer …
                23 August 2022 at 12:08 pm

                If you were invited to go down in history like Abe Lyncoln (quipped), wouldn't you accept?

              • Nic the NZer …
                23 August 2022 at 12:44 pm

                Well thats a bugger for your furtive imagination. He's some how managed to wipe the tar and feathers off with a damp cloth before giving a press conference by now.

                Probably needs an indepent report into modern asphalt quality.

          • observer 1.4.2.2.2
            23 August 2022 at 12:14 pm

            the ceremonial lynching of their erstwhile colleague

            And there's the prize for the most ignorant, obnoxious analogy of the day.

          • Barfly 1.4.2.2.3
            23 August 2022 at 1:50 pm

            "Lots of Labour MPs were turning up for the ceremonial lynching of their erstwhile colleague in taxis."

            Heh if it was National….actually I dunno would the country have enough limousines for them?

            • alwyn 1.4.2.2.3.1
              23 August 2022 at 2:15 pm

              Just the one member of the National Caucus gets to use a limo.

              About 25 of the Labour MPs have a Limo on call at all times. Plus a free self drive car of course.

              Now what was your point again?

            • Robert Guyton 1.4.2.2.3.2
              23 August 2022 at 2:35 pm

              There aren't that many of them, Barfly – thank Gaia!

              • alwyn …
                23 August 2022 at 2:49 pm

                I suspect Gaia may be a fan of Limo's Robert.

                There was a case in Wellington over the weekend that seemed to illustrate that fact. A slip out in Eastbourne affected two vehicles owned by one family. Their Tesla was half buried and left immovable. Their Ford Ute (a Ranger by the look of it) was shunted out into the road but didn't seem to be nearly as badly damaged as the EV was.

                Perhaps Gaia likes big Utes rather than EVs?

                • Robert Guyton …
                  23 August 2022 at 2:56 pm

                  Your use of specific examples to prove a generality is …

                  …impressive, alwyn.

                  I'm sold.

    • roy cartland 1.5
      23 August 2022 at 9:29 am

      I remember Richard Dawkins warning of a "fascist Christian theocracy" in some of the wackier sectors of US society (The God Delusion). Even he didn't suppose it would become this serious and/or mainstream so soon.

      What do you call this horrifying new phenomenon? Aha: ChrISIS! (You read it here first!)

    • Francesca 1.6
      23 August 2022 at 10:07 am

      And they say Dugin's mad

    • Stephen D 1.7
      23 August 2022 at 10:17 am

      Via the Bulletin, interesting read from a Washingtom Post journalist about how to report in the current climate.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/08/21/margaret-sullivan-last-column-trump-2024-media/

      "So my prescription — and it’s only a start — is less live campaign coverage, more context and thoughtful framing, and more fearless straight talk from news leaders about what’s at stake and why politics coverage looks different. The latter could take many forms: editors’ notes on stories, columns written by news directors and posted prominently on websites, public appearances, and more."

      • alwyn 1.7.1
        23 August 2022 at 11:33 am

        That is about the way that Stuff operates these days. They don't inform us about what the candidates say or do. They tell us what they want to happen and why their favorites are the only ones that anyone could possibly vote for.

        Frankly I would much rather hear from the candidates themselves.

        • Robert Guyton 1.7.1.1
          23 August 2022 at 2:45 pm

          There's a website that displays all candidate profiles with their thoughts and declarations, alwyn – go there!

  2. Anker 2
    23 August 2022 at 8:20 am

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/300668179/kiwi-singer-margaret-urlich-57-dies-after-battle-with-cancer

    so incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Margaret Urlich. Too young.

    she was an incredible talent.

    third talented women we have lost (with associations with Australia) in the last couple of weeks.

    my sincere condolences to her friends and family

  3. Adrian Thornton 3
    23 August 2022 at 8:48 am

    For those of you out there following the constant and seemingly unending stream of Liberal hypocrisy…here is a good one that needs to be remembered during the upcoming Brazilian elections…

    So as we all know, Glenn Greenwald is persona non grata in the fine minded circles of MSM liberal press and its like minded public readers/listeners….thinking RNZ/The Guardian/Washington Post etc here…and variously described on this very site by regular commentors as “Putin’s puppet, Right Wing, Carlson lap dog” etc etc…

    Yet, Greenwald, who I might add does not describe himself as ‘Left Wing’, has without a shadow of a doubt, done more tangible good for the actual Left Wing /Antiwar movement than any Liberal rag has over the past half a decade or more.

    Just his incredibly brave reporting in an extremely hostile environment on the outrageous illegal imprisonment of Lula da Silva alone, leading directly to his release, therefore Luls’s ability to run in the upcoming Brazilian elections (which Lula is leading) is by itself more important and more effecting to Left Wing politics, possibly (if Lula is elected) the fight against climate change than anything the entire Liberal press has managed to achieve over the past couple of years combined…yet Liberals and the Liberal press will still hate on him…which actually says more about Liberals and their politics than it does about Glenn Greenwalds.

    Lula holds lead as Brazil’s election campaign officially begins

    Lula: no need to fell a single tree to boost Brazil farm output

  4. joe90 4
    23 August 2022 at 8:57 am

    The character behind the Christo-Fascist conservative mob that stacked the US Supreme Court persuaded a donor to give him the proceeds of a US$1.6 billion corporate sale. Tax free.

    A US$1.6 billion slush fund to outspend the opposition for years to come.

    .

    WASHINGTON — A new conservative nonprofit group scored a $1.6 billion windfall last year via a little-known donor — an extraordinary sum that could give Republicans and their causes a huge financial boost ahead of the midterms, and for years to come.

    The source of the money was Barre Seid, an electronics manufacturing mogul, and the donation is among the largest — if not the largest — single contributions ever made to a politically focused nonprofit. The beneficiary is a new political group controlled by Leonard A. Leo, an activist who has used his connections to Republican donors and politicians to help engineer the conservative dominance of the Supreme Court and to finance battles over abortion rights, voting rules and climate change policy.

    https://archive.ph/bu92B (nyt)

    • Adrian Thornton 4.1
      23 August 2022 at 10:12 am

      And yet it is Biden/Democratic Party strategy to actually fund and boost some of those same ultra Far Right Republicans over more moderate Republican candidates, some who are even pro choice….

      Democrats have been boosting ultra-right candidates. It could backfire.

      Democrats spend millions on Republican primaries

      "John Gibbs, who defended a notorious anti-Semitic troll banned by Twitter, got over $400,000 in ad dollars. Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who compared gun control to policies under Nazi Germany and shared an image saying Roe v. Wade was “so much” worse than the Holocaust, got more than $800,000. Maryland state Del. Dan Cox, who has associated with QAnon conspiracy theorists, got $1.2 million. And Illinois state Sen. Darren Bailey, who pushed to evict Chicago from the state, got $35 million.

      National Democrats, party-aligned nonprofits, and some of their candidates have together spent millions to elevate the most extreme positions of far-right candidates in races in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Colorado, and Maryland, and it’s a strategy that’s divided party operatives. The total investment this cycle was over $44 million as of last quarter, according to an Open Secrets analysis."

    • Muttonbird 4.2
      23 August 2022 at 4:58 pm

      Reminds me of the Wright family funding of Plunkett’s The Platform here in NZ.

  5. Blazer 5
    23 August 2022 at 9:46 am

    What's new ….pussycat!-just hope no one decides to identify…as..a mouse…could be..issues.

    Furries Australia: Year 8 Melbourne private school girl identifies as a cat | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

    • Sabine 5.1
      23 August 2022 at 9:58 am

      If you have to affirm as otherwise you might be breaking the law, why not. Just don't forget to put out a litter box, some catnip, a few treats and a small serving of raw meat. After all Cats are carnivores, and also allocate lots of free time for grooming, education is i guess secondary for the cats and all the other kids.

      In the meantime in NZ. You don't like the sex that was 'assigned' to the fruit of the birthing bodies womb? Go legally change the 'assigned sex' to what ever you seem fit.

      https://www.justice.govt.nz/family/change-the-sexgender-on-a-birth-certificate/

      • Blazer 5.1.1
        23 August 2022 at 10:14 am

        The question that has stumped scores of academics='what is a woman',has been answered by Martina Navratilova='an adult,human,female'.

        wink

        • Sabine 5.1.1.1
          23 August 2022 at 10:21 am

          this has got nothing to do with anything.

          This is about adults assigning shit to children, changing legally their sex marker on official documentation and so on.

          Scenario. A child called John in a crowded place gets lost. The police to start a search for John. Now John is dressed in blue jean, t-shirt and has short black hair and 6 years old. As per their birth certificate they are a boy.

          Now John did not actually get lost but got abducted. John in now somewhere locked up in a house with some adults. Police comes knocking on the door, asks have you seen John? And the person answering the door states, no boys here, just a girl, Jane. Jane is dressed in blue jean, t-shirt and has short black hair and would be considered a girl if examined by a doctor. The cops leave. Jane is later found in a small woods. The copper who asked the people is devastated because they did not knew that John was a trans identified girl, and thus had no chance to correctly identifying Jane as the lost child John.

  6. Ad 6
    23 August 2022 at 10:01 am

    Hard to figure how much more perfect a storm Europe could face:

    – War, worst in 80 years

    – Drought, worst in 1,000 years

    – Heatwave, worst in 500 years

    – Energy shortage

    One dare not utter the phrase 'karmic colonial revenge' since it all lands on the backs of the poor and of animals.

    And it looks like we are in for the third El Nino in a row.

    • In Vino 6.1
      23 August 2022 at 10:12 am

      La Niña, I think.

    • Sabine 6.2
      23 August 2022 at 10:16 am

      But but the economy must grow, and surely if you buy an E-car you can feel all non colonial and exempt from the karmic colonial revenge'.

      I do like the hungerstones in the Rivers of Europe. You know what they show? that these levels have been reached before, and people survived and continued on. Also they are good forewarning to those that care about omens and signs in order to prepare.

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

      • Robert Guyton 6.2.1
        23 August 2022 at 10:48 am

        You like the hungerstones?

        Gruesome.

        • PsyclingLeft.Always 6.2.1.1
          23 August 2022 at 10:58 am

          At least it wasnt the Hunger Games?

        • Sabine 6.2.1.2
          23 August 2022 at 11:14 am

          I grew up with these hungerstones and have seen some of the inscriptions myself whilst a child in the 70 during a big drought in 1974, and later. And you know what, all the rivers have them, they all come with warnings and if you live in a society where the old has value you can find also the 'must do' instructions.

          From below
          https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/19/hunger-stones-wrecks-and-bones-europe-drought-brings-past-to-surface

          While they are the marker of hunger and strive, they are also a time capsule to let us know that human kind has been there and survived.

          And above all i like the fact that history ryhmes and the current and future generation will also learn to survive and adapt and ad its own verses. The young ones mostly will live, the old will wither away and die, and such is nature. So yes, Robert, i take great comfort in that knowledge. Its the sound of nature.

          • Stuart Munro 6.2.1.2.1
            23 August 2022 at 12:33 pm

            The hunger stones, and perhaps the Nilometer represent the guidance of previous generations, urging caution so that we may not have to endure unprepared the calamities of our time.

            NZ rivers could use a few hunger stones, though of course you'd never see them for the slime, and our elected representatives would ignore them in favour of whatever implausible explanation big dairy invents. Dairy donates – rivers do not.

          • Drowsy M. Kram 6.2.1.2.2
            23 August 2022 at 1:41 pm

            'Survive' framing is bang on – (some) humans will survive. Remarkable really that such a clever and (on the face of it) successful species could foul spaceship Earth in the geological blink of an eye.

            https://www.clubofrome.org/publication/the-limits-to-growth/

            Even those political leaders who accept that 'we' are causing the looming catastrophe will neccessarily adopt an increasingly survivalist focus as reality bites. Hunger stone 'alarms' will not change behaviour – BAU ho!

            https://www.overshootday.org/

            And finally… burn, baby, burn
            Stuart Kirk, global head of responsible investing at HSBC Asset Management, told a Financial Times event: “Who cares if Miami is six metres under water in 100 years?”

            Nothing much, too late.

            The night we lost the war on climate change
            The real problem, he [President Carter] told America about its unrestrained fuel consumption, was “our failure to plan for the future, or to take energy conservation seriously.”
            …
            “Some of these efforts will also require dedication, perhaps even some sacrifice from you,” Carter told Americans in February 1977 about efficient use of resources. He stressed “cooperation and mutual effort.”

            https://www.lemonde.fr/en/climate-change/

            • Sabine 6.2.1.2.2.1
              23 August 2022 at 2:12 pm

              'some' humans have always survived, hence why we are here to actually have conversations about these things.

              The 'hunger stones' are a reminder of those that came before us and what they endured. And in the best case they are a reminder that we are not so much different from them, and that it can happen to us too. And yes, why should we not start carving dates and warnings into our river stones for future generations? Maybe our elders were less selfish then we were.

              • Drowsy M. Kram …
                23 August 2022 at 3:56 pm

                Maybe our elders were less selfish then we were.

                More resilient (had to be) – this iteration of civilisation is now too bloated (albeit beautiful in parts) and fragile to survive what it has wrought, imho.

                We cannot adapt our way out of climate crisis, warns leading scientist

                Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy in the US and professor at Texas Tech University, said the world was heading for dangers unseen in the 10,000 years of human civilisation, and efforts to make the world more resilient were needed but by themselves could not soften the impact enough.

                “People do not understand the magnitude of what is going on,” she said. “This will be greater than anything we have ever seen in the past. This will be unprecedented. Every living thing will be affected.”

                The messages that survived civilisation's collapse

                What's our message – BAU; keep calm and carry on? Better than nothing?

    • Poission 6.3
      23 August 2022 at 10:19 am

      Third La Nina.

      In 1976 with the third La Nina in the UK there was a significant heatwave (persistent) long drought,followed by a wet and cold winter .

      A large scale economic crisis was under way,with high inflation,high energy costs,strikes,uncollected rubbish and unburied bodies and a significant wealth destruction due to high debt and interest rates.

      Callaghan had to go with bended knee to the receivers (aka IMF) Citicorp is forecasting 18.6% inflation for the UK suggesting little has changed.

      The deep cold event in the SH is statistically significant in July,with effects from the Hunga-Tonga volcano underway,and starting to show in the NH.

      https://twitter.com/SimonLeeWx/status/1561832321380130820?cxt=HHwWiICxqZWO36wrAAAA

      • Ad 6.3.1
        23 August 2022 at 10:27 am

        Nice Tweet but not much sign of cooling here.

        3rd season in a row of no Ruapehu snow.

        Ohakune is just stuffed.

        • Poission 6.3.1.1
          23 August 2022 at 10:36 am

          Its 10hpa ie Stratosphere where cooler temperatures reduce vertical dissipation and effect weather patterns in the troposphere (amplify the sign).

          • aj 6.3.1.1.1
            23 August 2022 at 2:02 pm

            Cooler at 10hpa a consequence of warming troposphere apparently, not the other way around. Can't find link.

        • Sabine 6.3.1.2
          23 August 2022 at 11:15 am

          Let them pivot to something else then ski tourism, which btw is not good for the environment.

    • Cricklewood 6.4
      23 August 2022 at 10:49 am

      Wenn du mich siehst, dann weine (“If you see me, then weep”), links to the guardian

      Pretty amazing historical records of low water emerging worst in 500ish years now.

  7. tsmithfield 7
    23 August 2022 at 10:25 am

    I think it is a given that Labour will expel Sharma from the caucus.

    But, if Sharma's objective is to inflict as much damage on Labour as possible as it seems to be, should he resign to force a bi-election?

    As I understand it, it is a seat that Labour is likely to lose, and would also keep the issues bubbling away. Thus, he could potentially cause Labour the embarrassment of losing a seat, and would probably keep on getting media attention commenting on the issues. Especially if he choses to run again as an independent.

    • Ad 7.1
      23 August 2022 at 10:32 am

      Labour has 65 MPs currently.

      They won't enforce the Party Hopping Act.
      They’ll just allow him onto the bench as an Independent. Unloved by all, career ruined.

      Labour could afford a dozen to join Sharma and function happily.

      Just a year to go though.

      • tsmithfield 7.1.1
        23 August 2022 at 10:39 am

        Yes, I don't expect that Labour will try and force the issue. But as I understand it, Sharma could choose to resign himself. In that case, I don't think there would be any option but to hold a by-election, so long as it is more than six months from the end of the government term.

        https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/about-elections/what-is-a-by-election/

        His career as an MP is sure wrecked. But he obviously has other strings to his bow. So, won’t be a huge loss for him.

        • Bearded Git 7.1.1.1
          23 August 2022 at 11:56 am

          What and leave a well paid cushy job that will continue for the next 16 months?

          Given that Sharma has shown that it is all about him and his interests, not a chance.

          • tsmithfield 7.1.1.1.1
            23 August 2022 at 12:20 pm

            He is a medical doctor. I expect he could probably earn a lot more away from parliament than by staying in it. So, he could easily decide to resign out of spite.

          • Jimmy 7.1.1.1.2
            23 August 2022 at 1:57 pm

            Sharma is one of the few Labour MP's that would almost certainly earn more out of politics.

            • Ad 7.1.1.1.2.1
              23 August 2022 at 2:22 pm

              He's about to find out.

              • tsmithfield …
                23 August 2022 at 2:57 pm

                Looking at this type of situation without a political slant on it, I think the cause for this type of situation relates to why they decided to give up a good, high paying career to go into politics where they probably earn less.

                To do that, someone would need to have high ideals and a belief they could make a difference. Perhaps the brutality of politics, and how little they are able to actually contribute is a shock to people with that outlook, and the are just unable to cope with the environment.

                • Ad …
                  23 August 2022 at 4:40 pm

                  That is so incredibly sweet of you.

                  The Greens have musterers rather than whips, yetwhen it came to performance management their own rules said you could knife your best player without blinking an eye, so they did.

                  It was just three months ago that Ardern finally did a reshuffle after the removal of Wall, Fa'afoi and a few others. Clearly it was too little too late for a few.

                  Everyone finds a way to make their own peace with $170,000 a year.

                  When Clair Szabo was making the calls to all her MPs in April and May they all had a good idea of who was still up for the fight for a seat, who could just go to the list, who was retiring, it wasn't hard to see trouble.

                  The loud water-gurgling sucking noise from the polls is going to pull down the drain about 25% of Labour's MPs and they all know it. So the scramble for the list and the safest of seats has begun in earnest.

                • solkta …
                  24 August 2022 at 7:18 am

                  Who says that he had any expectation of getting into Parliament? Hamilton West was a National seat for four terms before this one. Sharma contested it in 2017 also and lost by 7731 votes. Sue Moroney ran for the second time in 2014 and lost by 5784 votes. Sharma may have wanted to just fly the Labour flag and perhaps raise his own profile.

            • Robert Guyton 7.1.1.1.2.2
              23 August 2022 at 2:48 pm

              But he'd have to earn it.

  8. Peter 8
    23 August 2022 at 11:11 am

    The Wellington weather has let us down again. I was hoping for storms plus.

    • Bearded Git 8.1
      23 August 2022 at 11:57 am

      Sod all people (Stuff says 1000) attending anyway Peter.smiley

      • Robert Guyton 8.1.1
        23 August 2022 at 2:48 pm

        Those Tamaki was able to press to attend.

      • Sabine 8.1.2
        23 August 2022 at 3:35 pm

        Yep, that is now upgraded to 2000+ as the pictures tell different tales.

        • Robert Guyton 8.1.2.1
          23 August 2022 at 3:42 pm

          A nation-wide protest, calling all supporters from Reinga to Bluff, peopled mainly by adherents to a cult, could only muster 2 000?

          pffffffftttt!

          • Sabine 8.1.2.1.1
            23 August 2022 at 3:45 pm

            its better then 1000

            🙂

            • Robert Guyton 8.1.2.1.1.1
              23 August 2022 at 3:53 pm

              Twice the number – good turnout for the launch of a doomed-from-the-start political party.

              Confusing though, for Brian's minions, who will be scouring the voting papers for the Eftpostel's name.

            • Robert Guyton 8.1.2.1.1.2
              23 August 2022 at 4:37 pm

              From the protest; bull-horn wielding "whip":

              "When I say***, you say***

              (Crowd – ***)

              When I say ^^^, you say ^^^

              (Crowd – ^^^)

              When I say $$$, you say $$$

              (Crowd – $$$)

              When I say ###, you say ###

              (Crowd ###)

              And they have the temerity to call us "sheep" 🙂

          • pat 8.1.2.1.2
            23 August 2022 at 8:02 pm

            It was only 3 trucks from Buff if I recall correctly Robert.

            • Robert Guyton 8.1.2.1.2.1
              23 August 2022 at 8:22 pm

              And they stopped when they got to Invercargill (or Gore) I believe 🙂

              Powerful message.

              • pat …
                23 August 2022 at 8:32 pm

                And yet it led to a 3 week occupation of Parliament grounds (not to mention other sites)…I would have thought that your previous incorrect dismissal of such action may have caused pause for thought….apparently not.

                • Robert Guyton …
                  23 August 2022 at 8:48 pm

                  I dismiss such cobbled-together attempts to damage democracy, out of hand. This time around, the convoy (from this end of the country) was a crock.

                  • swordfish …
                    23 August 2022 at 10:00 pm

                    .

                    The Tamaki Religious Cult … the Green Upper-Middle Pakeha Woke Cult … the Maori ethno-nationalist Cult … none care too much for liberal democracy, majority sentiment or fundamental human rights.

                    Each grounded in a remarkably crude & distorted worldview … all 3 valorize & sacralize an elect group … all 3 guaranteed to viciously scapegoat & make swathes of innocent people suffer.

  9. Jenny how to get there 9
    23 August 2022 at 11:13 am

    Russia finds their Horst Wessel

    Alexander Dugin issues a statement that only the defeat of Ukraine will avenge his daughter's assassination.

    Russia Calls for Revenge Over Car Bomb Attack on Darya Dugina

    Alexander Dugin’s message, urging Russia to achieve a complete victory to avenge his daughter’s death, was broadcast by Russian state television.

    • Francesca 9.1
      23 August 2022 at 1:50 pm

      Dugin is hardly the influential mastermind our news attempts to convey In Russia he's a total has been, kicked out of Moscow University because he's too radical.This act of terrorism that killed his daughter will no doubt rally Russians behind him though .For a time.

      He has never met Putin and has never held a public position of any stature, the west loves him because he is Russia's version of Alex Jones

      By 2017, Dugin was openly critical of the president — in an interview that year, he derided Putin for holding an incoherent worldview: “I think that even he doesn’t understand what he’s saying because now he’s a liberal, now a conservative; now he’s for sovereignty, now for globalism, and now against globalism.” As of 2022, Dugin has no personal or professional links to the Kremlin. “Those who think that I stand on the periphery of power are correct.” Dugin stated a few years ago. “I have no influence. I don’t know anybody, have never seen anyone, I just write my books, and am a Russian thinker, nothing more. I write books, somebody reads them.”

      https://unherd.com/thepost/alexander-dugin-was-never-putins-brain/

      • Stuart Munro 9.1.1
        23 August 2022 at 2:20 pm

        Well, other writers consider his influence appreciable, including Dugin himself.

        And, Putin made Foundations of Geopolitics required reading for the Academy of the General Staff of the Russian military. The book has been compared to Mein Kampf.

        The assertion that the two have never met is speculation – the writer simply does not know.

      • Jenny how to get there 9.1.2
        23 August 2022 at 4:11 pm

        Francesca

        23 August 2022 at 1:50 pm

        Dugin is hardly the influential mastermind our news attempts to convey In Russia he's a total has been….

        What are you trying to imply here Francesca?

        That because Dugin is a total has been, he best serves Russia as a dead martyr?

        Even better if his daughter is martyred, so Dugin can remain a living martyr with a platform to push pro-war, extreme Russian Nationalism and imperialism?

        ….Mr. Dugin has been one of the most visible proponents of the idea of an imperial Russia at the helm of a “Eurasian” civilization locked in an existential conflict in the West.

        A leading advocate for the conquest of Ukraine, he recently has urged the Kremlin to escalate its assault.

        Ms. Dugina espoused many of her father’s views, appearing regularly on state television to promote the idea of an imperialist and aggressive Russia. Although she was not well known in Russia beyond ultranationalist and imperialist circles, she also played a role in building ties between Russia and Europe’s far right….

        https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/22/world/europe/dugin-daughter-bombing.html

      • gsays 9.1.3
        23 August 2022 at 6:09 pm

        I listened to a clip of this 'philosopher' pontificating on truth.

        Truth being one of the fundamentals of philosophy it was an underwhelming and immature angle he came from. He basically said truth is reliant on someone believing something. He came across more as a political propagandist than a philosopher.

        FWIW the definition of truth that works for me is 'that which does not change'.

    • joe90 9.2
      23 August 2022 at 2:01 pm

      Solved. Although I did expect the assassin/s to be discovered in a safe house decorated with framed portraits of Zelenskyy, wearing Saint Javelin T-shirts and in possession of explosives and a 1975 map of Moscow.

      But tbf, she did bring her cat.

      https://twitter.com/Flash43191300/status/1561725272587640832

      • Jenny how to get there 9.2.1
        23 August 2022 at 10:48 pm

        To avoid suspicion Natalia Volk and her accomplice posed as a mother and daughter. In reality Natalia Vovk is a highly trained assassin skilled in bomb making and her accomplice is a midget disguised as a 12 year old girl.

        Only an idiot would believe a mother would bring her 12 year old daughter along on a dangerous hit job.

        The FSB have released a description of a tall brunette who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lara Croft accompanied by a 12 year old girl. The FSB have advised the public that the pair not to approached as they are both considered to be armed and dangerous highly trained top secret Western assassins. (The dermal filler in the older woman's lips prove her guilt as an agent of the decadent West).

        Unfortunately the highly distinctive pair were able to slip past our vigilant border guards into Estonia. All is not lost, undercover FSB agents in Estonia armed with novichok tipped umbrellas have been alerted to be on the look out for the pair.

        • Jenny how to get there 9.2.1.1
          23 August 2022 at 11:09 pm

          Alternatively:

          The National Republican Army (Национальная Республиканская Армия) is an alleged underground partisan group of Russians inside Russia working towards the violent overthrow of the Putin regime.

          Ilya Ponomarev, a former member of Russia’s Duma who was expelled for anti-Kremlin activities, has identified the group as being behind the assassination of Russian propagandist Darya Dugina in August 2022, and “many other partisan actions carried out on the territory of Russia in recent months” [1].

          The purported NRA manifesto states: We declare President Putin a usurper of power and a war criminal who amended the Constitution, unleashed a fratricidal war between the Slavic peoples and sent Russian soldiers to certain and senseless death. Poverty and coffins for some, palaces for others – the essence of his policy.

          We believe that disenfranchised people have the right to rebel against tyrants. Putin will be deposed and destroyed by us!…

          Take your pick.

  10. observer 10
    23 August 2022 at 12:01 pm

    Sharma expelled. Gives press conference afterwards (will be up on various media soon), and at one point sort-of apologises. Remarkably, he claims that when he wrote his original piece for the Herald, he expected the PM to do his bidding the next day, and was surprised when that didn't happen. Clueless.

    When pressed to give the worst examples of him being bullied, he again tells the story of the America's Cup event when he was kept waiting, and a reporter suggests that might be "disrespectful" but hardly "bullying". Again – that was the worst he could come up with.

  11. observer 11
    23 August 2022 at 12:35 pm

    The People's Court is in session.

    Gotta love their total lack of self-awareness. In the Ardern "dictatorship", the limp-wristed liberal courts allow basic rights like the accused having lawyers, innocent until proven guilty, habeas corpus, etc.

    But not the freedom-lovers …

    “The 'people’s court' is about to commence,” the speakers at Parliament declare. Chants of 'guilty' can be heard from the crowd. (NZME live updates)

  12. Incognito 12
    23 August 2022 at 1:39 pm

    MiB are in town; where’s my Neuralyzer when I need it?

    • DB Brown 13.1
      23 August 2022 at 6:38 pm

      This issue has a lot of the locals absolutely furious – and feeling helpless against the Tories uncaring callousness. Mentioned class action lawsuits to a couple of SNP and scot celeb profiles searching for answers… I hope the idea caught on.

      Tourism operators on the entire English coastline, parents, and environmentalists should all band together and SLAM the bastards for every penny they're worth.

    • pat 13.2
      23 August 2022 at 7:22 pm

      Regardless of the party, without the expertise, public acceptance and resource allocation the same problems exist….get rid of the politics and start talking pragmatics,

      • roblogic 13.2.1
        23 August 2022 at 11:04 pm

        Politics and getting the message right are 100% necessary, before a sod gets turned. Practicalities such as money and planning depend on it

    • JO 13.3
      23 August 2022 at 7:56 pm

      yes A great, upsetting, unsurprising article, dense with shocking detail.

      Here's another about two men who set out to solve the crimes on the Windrush River and embarrassed the big water companies mightily, not that they cared to admit it – it's long, dense with fascinating detail and human action, reads like a very good thriller.

      A tide of effluent, broken laws and ruthless cuts is devastating the nations’ waterways. An academic and a detective have dredged up the truth of how it was allowed to happen – but will anything be done?

      Hammond, a retired professor specialising in machine learning, arrived here two decades ago, and delighted in the variety of wildlife he could see in his garden: voles, otters, deer, foxes, badgers, grass snakes, lizards, swans and ducks, as well as chub, barbel and grayling swimming among the long fronds of the water-crowfoot as it swayed over the gravel beds. Kingfishers perched in the willows. It was only in 2013, when he gained a new neighbour – a keen angler and retired detective superintendent called Ashley Smith – that he realised something was wrong with his Cotswolds paradise.

      https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/04/sewage-sleuths-river-pollution-slow-dirty-death-of-welsh-and-english-rivers

  14. Roy Cartland 14
    23 August 2022 at 3:54 pm

    I thought works leaders were admonished for partying? Like the Finnish PM?

    Different for the Aussies? How? Why?

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/23/australian-prime-minister-anthony-albanese-skols-a-beer-at-gang-of-youths-concert

    • Stephen D 14.1
      23 August 2022 at 5:50 pm

      He’s male, she’s female. Misogyny at its best.

      • roblogic 14.1.1
        23 August 2022 at 11:11 pm

        The Aussies shat on their best PM in my memory, Julia Gillard

        The FARCwits at Parliament have a big chip on their shoulder about JA

        Women have only had full human rights in the western world for 50 years or so, it may be an historical anomaly given the sordid history of our species

  15. newsense 15
    23 August 2022 at 10:09 pm

    Ahh the Herald- remember the Woodstock in Wellington?

    Their link describing the protest goes all Republicans remembering Jan 6 crossed with the Rainbow Connection. Or maybe the Uffindell dorm. In the business section for some odd reason. Perhaps down to the people funding it on the qt.

    It’s not only that the next election is guna be for democracy as we know it, but also it is guna be so cringey.

    Headline:

    Dreamers, schemers and believers: The original riotous Wellington convoy protests

    leadin thingy:

    What a riot: Some were wild and young and free, others were old and angry and crazy.

    Link to whatever is there. Premium like. Headline unchanged for now.

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