Open mike 23/11/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, November 23rd, 2019 - 63 comments
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63 comments on “Open mike 23/11/2019 ”

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  1. Ad 1
    23 November 2019 at 8:20 am

    I found this relationship between climate change and colonialism a fresh angle:

    https://www.dw.com/en/amitav-ghosh-what-the-west-doesnt-get-about-the-climate-crisis/a-50823088

    • Jenny - How to Get there? 1.1
      23 November 2019 at 11:38 am

      Climate change is absolutely an aspect of empire," he says. "The British Empire was essentially built on fossil fuels: It was the British mastery of coal that gave it a huge military advantage over the rest of the world."

      That's also one reason why renewable energy is a threat to a system that the West has spent centuries building up and defending. "One thing you can be sure of," Ghosh says. "If renewables really were adopted at scale, it would completely shake up the global political order." He argues that oil and gas have to flow through maritime chokepoints controlled by the US, Australia, Britain and Canada, giving them a complete geopolitical advantage.

      Amitav Ghosh: What the West doesn't get about the climate crisis

      And it is no different here in this part of the world. When the Prime Minister of Tuvalu Enele Sopoaga and other Pacific leaders begged Australia to stop "opening coal mines" The deputy Prime Minister of Australia told them that if Pacific could survive climate change by picking Australia's fruit.

      https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/08/pacific-islanders-can-survive-climate-change-by-picking-aussie-fruit-deputy-pm-michael-mccormack-says.html

      • Dukeofurl 1.1.1
        23 November 2019 at 2:06 pm

        You and Amitav Gosh have the timelines wrong .

        The Coal powered Royal Navy only lasted from 1871- 1914, well after the main territorial grab had completed.

        Absolutely the Empire was built on Royal Navy powered by sail. The real reason was Britain was a maritime power long before the Industrial revolution. On a smaller scale in the Mediterranean, Venice a maritime power, had many colonies to support its trade.
        Trouble with people who dont know their history reading other stuff by people who dont know their history either.
        Free commentary is largely worthless

        • Jenny - How to Get there? 1.1.1.1
          23 November 2019 at 7:26 pm

          The imperialism and colonialism being referenced by Amitav Gosh is not the imperialism of 19th Century British Imperialism.

  2. Adrian Thornton 2
    23 November 2019 at 8:35 am

    Jeremy Corbyn launches Labour Party manifesto…aahhh the sweet sound of a real Labour party, committed to radical and transformative change…quite a contrast to the weak insipid centrist liberal pragmatic New Zealand Labour that inspires no one, and laughs in the face of transformative change…

    • KJT 2.1
      23 November 2019 at 8:48 am

      As our politicians generally copy the UK, a few years later, whether it works, post war Labours social welfare, or not, Thatcherism. There may be hope for us yet.

      • francesca 2.1.1
        23 November 2019 at 9:55 am

        I thought our welfare system preceded that of the UK when Michael Savage came to power in 1935.

        It was NZ who led the way and provided a model for those who came after

        • joe90 2.1.1.1
          23 November 2019 at 10:39 am

          Imperial Germany.

          Bismarck was motivated to introduce social insurance in Germany both in order to promote the well-being of workers in order to keep the German economy operating at maximum efficiency, and to stave-off calls for more radical socialist alternatives. Despite his impeccable right-wing credentials, Bismarck would be called a socialist for introducing these programs, as would President Roosevelt 70 years later. In his own speech to the Reichstag during the 1881 debates, Bismarck would reply: "Call it socialism or whatever you like. It is the same to me."

          The German system provided contributory retirement benefits and disability benefits as well. Participation was mandatory and contributions were taken from the employee, the employer and the government. Coupled with the workers' compensation program established in 1884 and the "sickness" insurance enacted the year before, this gave the Germans a comprehensive system of income security based on social insurance principles. (They would add unemployment insurance in 1927, making their system complete.)

          https://web.archive.org/web/20190928175734/https://www.ssa.gov/history/ottob.html

          • Adrian 2.1.1.1.1
            23 November 2019 at 12:35 pm

            I was under the impression that Bismarck needed to bring in social security because the usual suppliers of troops in those days were all broke and nobody would fight because under the serf like indentured for life system the insolvent Counts and Dukes who normally supplied the troops to Bismarck etc, also cared for the returning injured and widows and orphans as part of the deal.

            • Dukeofurl 2.1.1.1.1.1
              23 November 2019 at 1:58 pm

              Counts and Dukes were largely irrelevant by then, the Prussian military machine largely ran the Imperial army and navy

              the various stages were

              Health Insurance Bill of 1883

              Accident Insurance Bill of 1884

              Old Age and Disability Insurance Bill of 1889 ( age 70)

              Workers Protection Act of 1891

              Children's Protection Act of 1903

        • KJT 2.1.1.2
          23 November 2019 at 2:13 pm

          Actually about the same time in the USA, NZ and UK, if you look at the timelines.

          As a reaction to the depression. Which didn’t really end until the massive State spending for WW2.

          Elements were, of course, introduced at different times.

          • Dukeofurl 2.1.1.2.1
            23 November 2019 at 2:23 pm

            1898 . NZ Old age pension for 65 and over ( ahead of germany which was 70 till about 1913)

    • Sacha 2.2
      23 November 2019 at 8:51 am

      They shall sweep to sure victory! Oh, wait…

    • Buster12 2.3
      23 November 2019 at 9:58 am

      When your chances of winning are practically zero, may as well go all out.

      https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10350705/jeremy-corbyn-zero-chance-winning/

      • Adrian Thornton 2.3.1
        23 November 2019 at 11:23 am

        Are you seriously giving us a Sun link to prove a point about Corbyn..holy crap that is priceless.,.thanks for that, needed a bit of a chuckle.

      • Grafton Gully 2.3.2
        23 November 2019 at 12:15 pm

        He sounded good to me, definitely "all out" for government that supports people getting a fair chance in life, not just a privileged few. A Labour win looks far from zero.

        independent.co.uk/voices/boris-johnson-general-election-odds-prediction-win-forecast-trump-a9177856.html

      • Bg 2.3.3
        23 November 2019 at 6:52 pm

        BritBuild here we come!!!

      • Gabby 2.3.4
        23 November 2019 at 9:19 pm

        Well it's The Spun Buttster, they would say that.

    • Adrian 2.4
      23 November 2019 at 12:38 pm

      It would be great if it came to pass but he would need to get the Lib-Dems to go along with it, so good luck with that.

  3. Jenny - How to Get there? 3
    23 November 2019 at 11:17 am

    It is for uploading videos like this shot with head cams that give irrefutable proof of the Assad regime's war crimes that the White Helmets are marked for death by the regime and their Western quislings.



    • Adrian Thornton 3.1
      23 November 2019 at 11:28 am

      I am no defender of Assad, however the propaganda works both ways in that conflict (all conflicts)…

      'A whistleblower from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is accusing top officials of tampering with evidence collected at the scene of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma in April 2018.'

      Syria scandal: New whistleblower claims chemical weapons watchdog OPCW suppressed Douma evidence

        • francesca 3.1.1.1
          23 November 2019 at 5:05 pm

          Also interesting that Raed Saleh, the head of the White Helmets disputes the ubiquitous description of Le Mesurier as founder and trainer of the White Helmets.

          Le Mesurier's name is almost always followed by "founder and trainer of the White Helmets" and "ex British Army officer"Even his Wikipedia entry says this , and Le Mesurier never disputed it.

          "James was neither our founder nor our trainer. He was the CEO of Mayday, which supported the White Helmets."

          Saleh also says that he always "knew that le Mesurier was an ex British intelligence officer"

          https://www.haberler.com/raed-al-saleh-the-chairman-of-white-helmets-james-12632931-haberi/

          • Dukeofurl 3.1.1.1.1
            24 November 2019 at 9:27 am

            "the source of Le Mesurier's stress was him not being able to pay back a large amount of financial aid he had received."

            What was that all about , the western intell agencies that funded his dutch Stitching Mayday Rescue find out he had diverted money ?

        • Brigid 3.1.1.2
          23 November 2019 at 6:20 pm

          I would have thought a busted aorta was a natural consequence of his body hitting a solid structure at a velocity of 9.8m/s. I bet his other organs were similarly squished.

      • Brigid 3.1.2
        23 November 2019 at 8:11 pm

        But it's not for us to defend Assad or otherwise. It is the sole and undoubted right of Syrians alone.

        In 2014 they voted most expressly for Assad as President. The next elections are in 2021 and if they vote for him again, that remains to be seen. While there were only 3 nominees in 2014, its expected there will be many more in 2021.

    • Brigid 3.2
      23 November 2019 at 7:52 pm

      That's hilarious. Head cam you say. So why wasn't the wearer helping to extract the 'injured child'

      I wouldn't let those morons anywhere near my child.

      All it refutes is good acting. If Richard Chamberlain was offered a role I'd say even he would have turned it down.

      The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, founded in 1942, the only first response organisation in Syria was admitted to the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1946.

      They do not carry cameras while carrying out their duty.

    • greywarshark 3.3
      24 November 2019 at 11:18 am

      I've put a comment in How to Get There that relates to refugees and wars and the devastation and cruelty that grand schemes from above with no count of human suffering, impose on hapless people.

  5. A 5
    23 November 2019 at 1:06 pm

    Just saw this…maybe someone posted but I missed it. JA's just darling x

    • Dukeofurl 5.1
      23 November 2019 at 2:12 pm

      Key: $10k Letterman payment 'not new'

      "Mr Key said someone at Tourism New Zealand thought of trying to get him on the show when Letterman made a comment about loving New Zealand. They put together a tape and sent it to the show.

      That was how these things worked, he said.This is showbiz and there's a whole lot of people who work through that, but in the end, New Zealanders have to ask themselves, `did they get value for money?"

      But its different when Key and his PR people do it …. well 5min worth anyway.

  6. Fireblade 6
    23 November 2019 at 3:10 pm

    The National Party Foundation and Dodgy Donations.

    Newshub Reports:

    Jami-Lee Ross said NZ First's foundation was modelled on the National Party's and operates in largely the same way, and there's little the Electoral Commission can do.

    Ross said political party foundations exist only as a way of obscuring donors' identities and should be abolished.

    Ross also claims National MPs face 'repercussions' if they miss fundraising target. "If you did not fundraise your $30,000 or $20,000, you weren't allowed to go to selection. Every MP was also expected to ensure there were donations going into the National Foundation".

    National Party president and chair of the National Foundation board Peter Goodfellow told Newshub Nation "It is correct that our local party electorate committees are set and supported to achieve KPIs before proceeding to a candidate selection," said Goodfellow. The party acknowledged targets do exist.

    Newshub contacted Simon Bridges' office, which declined to comment.

    Ironically when he was a National MP in Government, the job of securing donations that could slip through the cracks often fell to Ross, as he wasn't a minister and therefore not subject to the Official Information Act. He said he was a "product of the National Party" but has changed his views.

    The Serious Fraud Office is still investigating National Party donations.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/11/jami-lee-ross-claims-national-mps-face-repercussions-if-they-miss-fundraising-targets.html

    • Paddington 6.1
      23 November 2019 at 10:05 pm

      It seems obvious that those leaking the dirt on NZF are disgruntled ex NZF MP's/staffers etc. Jamie-Lee Ross is in the same boat. I'll happily wait for the results of independent investigations, because I don't trust any of them.

  8. joe90 8
    23 November 2019 at 7:35 pm

    Nope, not a fake cow taking the piss. .

    A lawyer for an indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani tells CNN that his client is willing to tell Congress about meetings the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee had in Vienna last year with a former Ukrainian prosecutor to discuss digging up dirt on Joe Biden.

    The attorney, Joseph A. Bondy, represents Lev Parnas, the recently indicted Soviet-born American who worked with Giuliani to push claims of Democratic corruption in Ukraine. Bondy said that Parnas was told directly by the former Ukrainian official that he met last year in Vienna with Rep. Devin Nunes.

    "Mr. Parnas learned from former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin that Nunes had met with Shokin in Vienna last December," said Bondy.

    https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/22/politics/nunes-vienna-trip-ukrainian-prosecutor-biden/index.html

  9. Sacha 9
    23 November 2019 at 7:41 pm

    Locals convinced they know best: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/117643714/mt-albert-tree-removal-date-for-hui-announced

    "The occupation will continue until we are assured the trees are safe."

  10. Ad 10
    23 November 2019 at 9:56 pm

    Just in case anyone missed Stephen Colbert in the Central Otago mountains, bungy jumping, revealing in the hospitality of Air New Zealand and otherwise praising us to the gills, here he is:

  11. Eco maori 11
    25 November 2019 at 10:01 am

    You can not listen to the naysayers climate change deniers who put down green energy any chance they manufacture.

    The World can be powered by clean green energy.

    Solar farms can keep UK’s lights on even at night

    Trial shows panels can smooth voltage fluctuations in the National Grid

    Solar farms could soon play a vital role in the energy system 24 hours a day, after a breakthrough trial proved they can even help balance the grid at night. National Grid used a solar farm in East Sussex to help smooth overnight voltage fluctuations for the first time earlier this month, proving solar farms don’t need sunshine to help keep the lights on.

    The breakthrough could mean that UK solar farms will soon help stabilise the energy grid at night, which could save £400m on grid upgrades or building new power plants. “Inverters” at the solar farm are usually used in the process of converting solar energy to electric current. But at night, when the grid is often less stable, the same equipment can adapt grid electricity to a healthier voltage.

    On blustery nights with plenty of wind power but little demand, the solar farm could help prevent the energy grid’s voltage from rising too high. It could also prevent the voltage from falling too low during still nights in winter when demand is often high.

    Lightsource BP will carry out a second trial next month, and it hopes to strike its first commercial deal to help balance the electricity grid with National Grid next year.

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/24/solar-farms-keep-uk-lights-on-at-night

  12. Eco maori 12
    25 November 2019 at 10:40 am

    I back Aquaculture especially if it revitalise and protects our endangered wild fish's.

    $14m bid to make Westport 'whitebait capital of world' gets backing

    The man who pioneered whitebait farming in New Zealand is backing claims that Westport has the potential to be the whitebait capital of the world.

    The industry is in its infancy right now but in years to come I predict it'll be as big as mussel-farming in NZ, he said.

    Over eight years he and his team found ways to breed all five of New Zealand's native whitebait species, including the endangered giant kōkopu.

    They were so successful that they were able to start commercial production in 2014. The Warkworth fish farm now employs 12 staff and produces two tonnes of Manaaki Whitebait a year.

    "Westport would be the perfect location for a farmed whitebait set-up. You need access to clean freshwater and seawater for the tanks as well as land to build on because it's an entirely closed operation. Westport has all that in abundance.

    "It takes millions of investment dollars and time to build up your breeding stock. You can't take the adult fish from the wild because they're protected; you have to breed them up from bait and wait a couple of years till they can breed themselves

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/404037/14m-bid-to-make-westport-whitebait-capital-of-world-gets-backing

  13. Eco maori 13
    25 November 2019 at 12:20 pm

    As some people will know I won't debate my views of Our reality I just put them on this site. I new that there a many positive outcomes to planting billions of trees. So let's plant billions of trees in the correct places put a lot of planning into how the tree are going to effect the local environment and economic effects.

    On tree planting, we should take a leaf out of Ethiopia’s book

    Tree planting is suddenly the zeitgeist. Tabloid newspapers, utility companies and oil corporations are pledging to plant trees by the million, in some cases before Christmas. Even the Brexit party is on to it. The Woodland Trust has launched its “big climate fightback”. This Thursday, on Channel 5, Chris Packham and John Humphrys host Plant a Tree to Save the World.

    In July, Ethiopia began a huge nationwide strategy in which 350m trees were planted in one day (at current rates in England and Wales, this would take us 140 years). In 2017, 1.5 million Indian volunteers planted 66m trees in 12 hours in Madhya Pradesh. The government in New Zealand launched a plan to plant a billion trees by 2027 (including 83m this year). In Pakistan, the programme to plant a billion trees to combat the effects of climate change was completed ahead of schedule in 2017. Their new target is 10bn trees.

    Trees give life. It’s hard to overstate their benefit. They are fundamental to our rural and urban landscapes, our lives and the future of this planet. Trees reduce soil degradation on farms, provide vital habitat for wildlife, supply us with food, heat and medicine, safeguard water quality, give shade, build biodiversity and create spaces to walk lightly and breathe deeply in our cities. Trees diminish flood risk, improve air quality by absorbing pollution and yield a renewable resource in the form of timber. Most importantly, in the climate emergency, trees sequester carbon. They absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, storing it in their trunks, branches and roots, before releasing oxygen back into the air. Trees mitigate climate change and tree planting is now recognised as one of the best ways to tackle this global crisis.

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/24/with-the-earth-in-peril-planting-a-tree-is-an-act-of-faith

  14. Eco maori 14
    25 November 2019 at 2:43 pm

    The Sumatran rhino is now officially extinct in Malaysia, with the death of the last known specimen.

    The 25-year-old female named Iman died on Saturday on the island of Borneo, officials say. She had cancer.

    Malaysia's last male Sumatran rhino died in May this year.

    The Sumatran rhino once roamed across Asia, but has now almost disappeared from the wild, with fewer than 100 animals believed to exist. The species is now critically endangered

    No more than 100 Sumatran rhinos remain in the wild (some estimates put the number as low as 30), scattered on the islands of Sumatra, Indonesia

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50531208

  15. Eco maori 15
    25 November 2019 at 3:00 pm

    O no no no the system looks perfect through my rose tinted glasses.

    YEA RIGHT.

    Emma Espiner: Entitled little pricks

    Newsroom columnist and medical student Emma Espiner hopes a rort at the University of Otago over a final-year overseas elective won't end up punishing all aspiring young doctors.

    You could see the train wreck coming from a mile away. I was in Nelson for work, having just finished my 5th year exams. It was a sunny morning and I glanced at the news before walking out the door. The headline read “University of Otago investigating claims med students faked work placement records.”

    Then there’s the real me – a mum of a six-year-old, a grown-up with a mortgage and unpaid debt from the first time I went to university more than ten years ago, two part-time jobs and regular fights with my husband about how to correctly pack the dishwasher.

    The medical student in me wants to defend us. #notallmedstudents! I want to explain how the final year student grant really works – it’s not there to pay for the overseas elective! Most of us actually attend our elective placements!

    A small number of people really f…ed up. Whether it was common practice or not, bribing your way out of attending your elective by paying someone to falsely sign off your placement is an open and shut case of bad judgment

    Doctors have gone on the record to say they did those things too when they were medical students. Someone’s parents talked to RNZ arguing that their child was being scapegoated for a practice that’s been going on forever

    I remember talking to investigative journalist Kirsty Johnston at The Herald after she wrote her piece last year titled ‘Want to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer? Don't grow up poor.’ Her investigation highlighted the astonishingly low rates of entry to ‘elite’ university courses by students from low-decile schools.

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/11/25/917741/emma-espiner-entitled-little-pricks

  16. Eco maori 16
    25 November 2019 at 6:27 pm

    Kia Ora 1 News.

    I could see that City was loaded with PEE problems.

    Desperate.

    I think some people think they know what the pulse is in public opinion but a lot of water has flowed under the bridge in the last few years.

    Its sad that the Koala Bears become famous because of bushfires

    Some people got their nickers in a twist because of one of my post today.

    Ka kite Ano

  17. Eco maori 17
    25 November 2019 at 6:49 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Intelligent people can see the blue strings.

    Those anti meat groups are being played like puppets by the carbon barons its there distraction like cow farts to divert the attention from there carbon polluting the World that's one part of Sun Tzu tack ticks

    Ka kite Ano

  18. Eco maori 18
    26 November 2019 at 8:28 am

    Kia Ora Breakfast

    You guys are going to get laughed out of Aotearoa with you rhetoric anti meat. The Amazon way of farming has nothing to do with Aotearoa majority humane way of farming meat we just have to minimise water usage and carbon a bit of fine tuning lower our carbon footprint in the way we farm.

    That's awesome rainfall in Australia putting out some of the Bush fires.

    The UN report on record breaking greenhouse gases the reason it has taken 30 years to get this topic to mainstream minds is the carbon barons have been using the art of distraction magician use that tack tick and others to fool you.

    Ka kite Ano

  19. Eco maori 19
    26 November 2019 at 10:34 am

    This is positive we have to focus on cutting carbon out of our economy's.

    Global use of coal-fired electricity set for biggest fall this year

    Four decades of near-uninterrupted growth stoked global climate crisis

    The world’s use of coal-fired electricity is on track for its biggest annual fall on record this year after more than four decades of near-uninterrupted growth that has stoked the global climate crisis.

    Data shows that coal-fired electricity is expected to fall by 3% in 2019, or more than the combined coal generation in Germany, Spain and the UK last year and could help stall the world’s rising carbon emissions this year

    The steepest global slump on record is likely to emerge in 2019 as India’s reliance on coal power falls for the first time in at least three decades this year, and China’s coal power demand plateaus.

    Both developing nations are using less coal-fired electricity due to slowing economic growth in Asia as well as the rise of cleaner energy alternatives. There is also expected to be unprecedented coal declines across the EU and the US as developed economies turn to clean forms of energy.

    In almost 40 years the world’s annual coal generation has fallen only twice before: in 2009, in the wake of the global financial crisis, and in 2015, following a slowdown in China’s coal plants amid rising levels of deadly air pollution

    The US – which is backing out of the Paris agreement – has made the deepest cuts to coal power of any developed country this year by shutting coal plants down in favour of gas power and renewable energy. By the end of August the US had reduced coal by almost 14% over the year compared with the same months in 2018.

    The EU reported a record slump in coal-fired electricity use in the first half of the year of almost a fifth compared with the same months last year. This trend is expected to accelerate over the second half of the year to average a 23% fall over 2019 as a whole. The EU is using less coal power in favour of gas-fired electricity – which can have roughly half the carbon footprint of coal – and renewable energy is increasingly more cost effective than coal

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/nov/25/global-use-of-coal-fired-electricity-set-for-biggest-fall-this-year

  20. Eco maori 20
    26 November 2019 at 12:21 pm

    Whats the sis doing wasting tax payers money and time following a broke ass Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa around every minute of the day

    Ka kite Ano

  21. Eco maori 21
    26 November 2019 at 6:26 pm

    Kia Ora 1 News.

    That's is good for small contractors getting laws to protect them. Most companies get contractors to limit their liability and expenses.

    Yes I think that is the goal we should aim for halfing our carbon emissions in the next 10 years.

    Awsome taking that person to court because he was spreading Kauri Dieback to Tane Mahuta and his mokopuna.

    Ka kite Ano

  22. Eco maori 22
    26 November 2019 at 6:53 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    Condolences to the people who losted their Tane to the system in Tauranga

    Desperate its his m8 that control some of them nurture them.

    That's a great move a railway hub in Palmerston especially with global warming and the Manawatu gorge being closed Aotearoa need to spend A billion dollars on rail to make railway electric and get the old lines fixed.

    Ka pai to the Wahine with her Christmas waiata Mana Wahine.

    Ka kite Ano