Open Mike 25/01/2019

110 comments on “Open Mike 25/01/2019 ”

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1. amirite 1

   25 January 2019 at 7:21 am

   The widely known secret is out https://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=12195642&ref=twitter
   • AB 1.1

     25 January 2019 at 8:15 am

     Ugly and vulgar. But not surprising if you regard National Party people as essentially high-income ferals.
     And probably not incitement to self-harm either. Best left to the voters of Invercargill to pass judgement.
2. Kevin 2

   25 January 2019 at 7:35 am

   Out in the open now, the JLR saga continues:

   https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/110154722/sarah-dowie-named-as-national-mp-investigated-over-text-to-jamilee-ross
   • Sacha 2.1

     25 January 2019 at 11:48 am

     See dedicated post about that: https://thestandard.org.nz/herald-names-dowie-as-the-sender-of-that-text-to-jami-lee-ross/
3. Hooch 3

   25 January 2019 at 8:27 am

   Looks like Mitchell is being lined up for the new leader of national. Been in the news a lot the last few days and on the AM show just now they’re talking down bridges and saying how much of a leader Mitchell is in contrast.

   On a side note. Had the displeasure of tuning into what is now called magic talk, the old radio live, to discover it is now wall to wall right wing douche bags. Kicking off the morning with Garner and co we move to Peter Williams then bloody Sean plunket back from the dead in the afternoon.
   • Rapunzel 3.1

     25 January 2019 at 9:04 am

     Williams is applaing talk about a goat in sheep’s clothing but I suspected that would be the case. OK I was curious to see if what I thought was right, turned out to be even more right than even I thought would be the case and yes I will tune for a bit in shortly to see just what today’s opening lecture will be about.
   • Sacha 3.2

     25 January 2019 at 11:45 am

     Is Peter Williams a rightie as well? Never heard him opining in previous roles, so hard to tell.
     • Hooch 3.2.1

       25 January 2019 at 11:48 am

       I’d never heard him but it only took about 30 mins to realise. Conversation about wages in Australia being higher which he couldn’t reconcile and how teachers shouldn’t be paid more.

       Nearly forgot, he opened the show slagging off Ardern for being at Davos and not in nz or some crap.
       • Sacha 3.2.1.1

         25 January 2019 at 11:52 am

         Interesting. thanks.
   • rata 3.3

     25 January 2019 at 1:20 pm

     Have not listened to radio talk hate since ’85.
     But seriously Garner, Williams Plunket right wing?
     To me they all come across as apolitical as it’s possible to be.
     Pete would be always listening to the cricket or the rugby.
     Duncan is the fat token part Maori shirt hanging out
     wondering how come every one in here is white.
     Shaun was a typical meat and potatoes Radio NZ lunch time reporter.
     If that’s the right wing these days things are looking up.
     A jobs a job whether your a body guard for the PM, writing Simon’s
     question time material or designing the greens next photo opp.
     Right wing work pays. The left pay sh#t.
     So Dunc’s Pete and Shaun go where there’s a cheque.
     Can’t blame them.
     • Bearded Git 3.3.1

       25 January 2019 at 2:01 pm

       You are kidding? Pay more attention in future….at times they are popularists but they are ALWAYS right-wing
4. Ad 4

   25 January 2019 at 8:29 am

   Looks like no rain for north island at least until February 3rd week.

   Buckle in everyone.

   metvuw takes you out 10 days but you can see further in the South Pacific images.
   • Gabby 4.1

     25 January 2019 at 8:36 am

     Have you not had enough rain to be getting on with addy? Need a bigger tank?
5. Morrissey 5

   25 January 2019 at 9:20 am

   GERMAN TROOPS RETURN
   EXTENT OF HELP TO FRANCO INDICATED
   The Ellesmere Guardian, Friday 28 July 1939

   Adolf Hitler disclosed on June 6 in an address to 18,000 German fighters back from Spain that General Francisco Franco had asked him for help in the first month of the Spanish civil war and “I decided to aid him,” states the Christian Science Monitor.

   The number of Germans killed in the Spanish conflict was given for the first time when some 350 members of the Hitler Youth Organisation marched out beside the tribune from which Herr Hitler spoke, bearing a shield with the names of dead wreathed in gold. There were approximately 350 names.

   A parade of the veterans before Reichsfuhrer Hitler and his aide, Field Marshal Hermann Goering, was the first concrete indication of the extent of German help to the Spanish Nationalist cause.

   The Fuhrer scathingly denounced anti-Franco campaigns in Britain and France, declaring that “for years French and English newspapers disseminated the lie that Germany and Italy intended to conquer Spain and to rob her of her colonies.”

   Reviewing the history of the Spanish civil war, he praised General Franco as a “genial marshal who arose to lead his fatherland out of destruction into a greater future.” Herr Hitler began his disclosure of General Franco’s call for help in July, 1936, when the Spanish civil war opened, with the statement that “in the summer of 1936,, Spain seemed to have been lost. . . . The international powers then appeared to be determined to lay Europe in ruins.” Two Classes in Legion The Condor Legion, as the Spanish force is known, was divided into two classes. In one were between 4700 and 5000 men who had just returned to Germany and in the other about 10,000 men who had served and returned previously to the Fatherland. In addition there were about 3000 sailors in the parade. A crowd of about 100,000 filled the tribunes and streets in the vicinity of the reviewing stands as the veterans swung past with flowers in their behfs and wearing overseas caps.

   A delegation of 150 Spanish officers accompanied the last force of airmen and technicians to return to Germany. The capital fluttered with flags and the day was a school holiday.

   The German public still was learning details of the Legionnaires’ service. The Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung reported that important moves of the war were based on German strategy. The newspaper said a German World War veteran, MajorGeneral Hugo Sperrle, mapped the campaigns against Bilbao and Santander.

   https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ellesmere-guardian/1939/7/28/2
   • greywarshark 5.1

     25 January 2019 at 10:49 am

     I drag my mind back from JLR and Dowie, Ayn Rand and the Tea Party and now can’t get context for the Germans and Spain. More info please. And while I am asking, did you see that chart about climate change and places not livable on the planet that was on the blog a few days ago? If you did could you give me link?
     In hope thanks.
6. Kevin 6

   25 January 2019 at 10:18 am

   Why people with extreme wealth should never be allowed near the reins of power.

   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/24/wilbur-ross-government-shutdown-federal-workers-food-banks

   If its that easy, he can lend the money at zero percent interest.
   • joe90 6.1

     25 January 2019 at 3:58 pm

     This clowns thinks federal workers live in Mayberry.

     https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1088563091166674944

     edit:

     and these fuckers live in lala land

     https://twitter.com/girlsreallyrule/status/1088513436529688582
     • McFlock 6.1.1

       25 January 2019 at 4:12 pm

       yeah, I’m sure if any of dolt45’s tenants are govt employees, he’ll give them a pass on rent until the shutdown ends, too.
     • Macro 6.1.2

       25 January 2019 at 5:28 pm

       Yep; and this was sent to tRump by Nathan Catura, who heads the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association

       Many of our members conduct complex investigations including tracking terrorists, identifying foreign actors, and protecting elected officials, including you and your family. As the shutdown continues they are being put in both a fiscally and personally compromising position that is antithetical to the way our nation should be treating those that protect us.

       Twenty-first century law enforcement requires research, analysis and technology. These critical investigative support elements are not working during the shutdown, this compares to half of a team taking a field for a game. The targets of our investigations now have an advantage of being better informed and better resourced than our members. This is an extremely dangerous situation that threatens the lives of our members and all Americans.
     • Andre 6.1.3

       25 January 2019 at 5:53 pm

       Wilbur Ross explains it.
7. Morrissey 7

   25 January 2019 at 10:23 am

   Hapless father of a Venezuelan traitor froths out vicious nonsense.
   He was reinforcing the lies of Mike Pompeo, who was on just before him.

   On Al Jazeera, I’ve just heard the father of one of the right wing rebels in Venezuela aver that the government of Bolivia is “not democratic.”

   That is the sort of crazed and fantastic “thinking” that fuels these violent insurrectionists.

   The interviewer did not react to his nonsense, or contest his stupid lie in any way. Hardly surprising, considering that Al jazeera is an organ of the U.S.-aligned Qatar dictatorship.
   • Adrian Thornton 7.1

     25 January 2019 at 11:12 am

     Here is a pretty good interview between Max Blumenthal and Steve Ellner on Venezuela…part 2 of 2

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PLjGODW8tA

     Moderate Rebels episode 34 (part 2/2): Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton continue speaking with scholar Steve Ellner about the economic war on Venezuela and the devastating impact of US sanctions. While the Trump administration pushes for a coup against President Nicolas Maduro, Ellner addresses the falsehoods of “leftist” opposition to Chavismo, the geopolitics of the Pink Tide and the role of China and Russia, and the sabotage of the BRICS system.
   • Gosman 7.2

     25 January 2019 at 11:20 am

     Much better to rely on RT eh Morrissey as that is beholden to no country 😉

     LOL!
     • OnceWasTim 7.2.1

       26 January 2019 at 3:39 pm

       No @ Goz. Much better to get a broad spectrum drench across as many media outlets as possible rather than sign up to just those that suit your ideology or religion.
       I wonder why you’re still here at times. That dick of yours must be must be needing a bit of the blue pill by now in order for it to remain so hard and big with all the setbacks you’ve suffered and that you know are about to happen.
       Surely there’s something more productive you could be doing? Maybe setting up a support network for Sarah, or perhaps another Paula re-imaging project? Or an oil change and degrease for Soimon?

       Edit: I forgot the LOL!
8. greywarshark 8

   25 January 2019 at 10:25 am

   Ayn Rand – RW trendsetter extraordinaire.

   One of her books, a selection of published articles, describes her attitudes which had a chilling effect on civilised and caring society.
   The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism is a 1964 collection of essays by Ayn Rand and Nathaniel Branden. Most of the essays originally appeared in The Objectivist Newsletter. The book covers ethical issues from the perspective of Rand’s Objectivist philosophy. Some of its themes include the identification and validation of egoism as a rational code of ethics, the destructiveness of altruism, and the nature of a proper government.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virtue_of_Selfishness

   Ayn Rand 1905-1982 came to USA from Russia in 1926.
   She and the Russian people had been through hard times and she despaired no doubt.
   Brest-Litovsk Treaty: 3 March 1918
   Russia ends its participation in the First World War. Bolshevik Russia loses one-third of the old empire’s population, one-third of its railway network, half its industry, three-quarters of its supplies of iron ore, nine-tenths of its coal resources and much of its food supplies….
   1921
   By the beginning of 1921 the rouble has lost 96% of its pre-war value; industrial production has fallen to 10% of its 1913 level. The population of Petrograd has fallen from 2.5 million in 1917 to 600,000 in 1920.
   https://www.bl.uk/russian-revolution/articles/timeline-of-the-russian-revolution
   In 1921 there was a famine that killed an estimated 5 million people.
   1924
   The Soviet Constitution came into effect, and in following years the Soviet Socialist Republic was active amassing land under its control.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_history
   1926
   Ayn Rand arrives in the USA.
   About – http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/60120/index1.html
   “No one helped me,” Rand would later write, “nor did I think it was anyone’s duty to help me.” In fact, her family and American friends helped her quite a lot. She moved in with, and borrowed money from, relatives in Chicago, one of whom owned a theater where she watched hundreds of movies for free. Eventually she moved to Hollywood, ran into Cecil B. DeMille in a parking lot, and somehow, despite her broken English, got a job reading scripts.

   1926 “Hollywood: American Movie City” pamphlet published in Moscow and Leningrad
   Departs Leningrad (January 17)
   Sails from Le Havre, France, for America on the De Grasse
   (February 10)
   Arrives in Manhattan (February 19)
   Resides in Chicago with relatives (February–August)
   Arrives in Hollywood (September 3)
   Hired as movie extra by Cecil B. DeMille (September)
   Meets Frank O’Connor on set of The King of Kings (September)
   http://aynrandlexicon.com/about-ayn-rand/timeline.html

   She came up with theory of Objectivism.
   
   Objectivism’s central tenets are that reality exists independently of consciousness, * that human beings have direct contact with reality through sense perception (see Direct and indirect realism),
   * that one can attain objective knowledge from perception through the process of concept formation and inductive logic,
   * that the proper moral purpose of one’s life is the pursuit of one’s own happiness (see Rational egoism),
   * that the only social system consistent with this morality is one that displays full respect for individual rights embodied in laissez-faire capitalism, and
   * that the role of art in human life is to transform humans’ metaphysical ideas by selective reproduction of reality into a physical form—a work of art—that one can comprehend and to which one can respond emotionally.

   Academic philosophers have mostly ignored or rejected Rand’s philosophy.[6] Nonetheless, Objectivism has been a significant influence among right-libertarians and American conservatives. The Objectivist movement, which Rand founded, attempts to spread her ideas to the public and in academic settings.[8]
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_(Ayn_Rand)

   These are Ayn Rand’s followers in piece from the New York Times.
   Tea Party
   • Adrian Thornton 8.1

     25 January 2019 at 10:54 am

     You would be surprised at how many young people come into our bookshop asking for Rand, mainly Atlas Shrugged, that i why I made a ‘Friends don’t let friends red Ayn Rand’ sticker on our counter…still sell it to them if they insist though…guess you just can’t help some people.

     Here is one of my all time favorite clips, Rand disciple Alan Greenspan admitting that their twisted ideology was wrong, and that he actually has no idea what humans think, or what makes them do what they do,..therein lays the very core fault of liberalism
     • Herodotus 8.1.1

       25 January 2019 at 11:10 am

       For someone that few are aware of her influence. Rand does how a powerful legacy, and I would suggest if you are unaware of her, to make an effort to become conversant with her and who her followers are. ( Many from silicon valley)
       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ooKsv_SX4Y
       https://archive.org/details/AynRandASenseOfLife
       
       • Descendant Of Smith 8.1.1.1

         25 January 2019 at 9:52 pm

         In Adam Curtis’s excellent and entertaining three part documentary series “All watched over by machines of loving grace” he covers off some of Rand’s ideas:

         videos/80799353
     • greywarshark 8.1.2

       25 January 2019 at 11:38 am

       Thanks Adrian. I think the core of the problem is setting up ideologies with arrogant presumptions of primacy and no concept or understanding about human drives and personal conflictions. This, coupled with false concepts of what purpose is good to live for; leads to materialism which ultimately limits or kills the human spirit as a plant will die if not receiving its genetically-shaped needs.
       • soddenleaf 8.1.2.1

         25 January 2019 at 4:12 pm

         Lots of people, majorities even, brought into the idea that successful wealthy people were a better bet to back than also rans. And so backed parties that offered lower taxes for the wealthy, to free them to grow GDP. As many knew even then in the ups, this wasn’t a good idea yet they did not see the decades of cheap high density fuel flowing out of Arabia. It really did not matter if the wealthy help grow GDP, it ws going to anyway. As more drank the neolib cool aid, a new breed of economic parasite emerge, the pseudo libertarians who were highly capable of remonstrating the flaws of govt, and private collectivisation by unionists, but not the threats to liberties from private capital, and corporatism. it was not that they had no upstanding of what drives humans, its that many were just sheep, and others were all too aware the way to get rich was to protect existing wealth. Now as energy, resource and compliance costs rise the neolib position is hopelessly out of touch, requiring a mass delusion the gfc exposed as a ponsi scheme, and growing realities that its fabled market had fail to address, resource depletion, earth size limits to humanity existance, pollution…

         if only it were some mean mindedness, or greed. Greed wasn’t the problem, just as you say the human drive, played upon to herd the conservative masses and crush dissenting voices. far too much conservatism, coupled and backed by wealthy patrons.
9. phillip ure 9

   25 January 2019 at 10:32 am

   i don’t do this very often – but this is almost a public service announcement:

   http://www.whoar.co.nz/2019/hep-c-drug-to-help-thousands-op-ed-my-hepatitis-story/
   • greywarshark 9.1

     25 January 2019 at 10:56 am

     Thanks for that phillip u.
     As I read the link and think, it seems that these people who break their drug habit are heroes. I salute them. And the good news that this link from whoar brings brightens the day for all just knowing that new treatments that work are available and that researchers have worked so carefully and well to bring this about, and the clinics that help ‘the afflicted’ to manage through and hopefully rise above.
     • phillip ure 9.1.1

       25 January 2019 at 1:02 pm

       chts…
   • Stunned Mullet 9.2

     25 January 2019 at 12:52 pm

     Good advice Phil, thanks for that.
     • phillip ure 9.2.1

       25 January 2019 at 1:03 pm

       chrs…
   • McFlock 9.3

     25 January 2019 at 1:27 pm

     Good for you. Really good news.

     The other point to remember in general is to go generic where possible – not just on the expensive drugs, but also the day to day meds one might have. Always cheaper – especially if you shop around different pharmacies.
     • phillip ure 9.3.1

       25 January 2019 at 4:05 pm

       chrs..yeah..that makes sense – re the generics..
   • patricia bremner 9.4

     25 January 2019 at 7:40 pm

     Well done indeed Phillip. An informative post. Go well in good health.
10. One Two 10

    25 January 2019 at 10:58 am

    Bees, Birds and Mankind –
    Destroying Nature by ‘Electrosmog

    The relationship between life and the physical parameters of earth’s surface and atmosphere have been known for many decades. Those responsible therefore had the opportunity long ago to question to what extent the excesses of technically created electrical and magnetic fields might have the potential to destroy nature’s housekeeping

    “Today, unprecedented exposure levels and intensities of magnetic, electric, and electromagnetic fields from numerous wireless technologies interfere with the natural information system and functioning of humans, animals, and plants. The consequences of this development, which have already been predicted by critics for many decades, cannot be ignored anymore. Bees and other insects vanish; birds avoid certain places and become disorientated at others. Humans suffer from functional impairments and diseases. And insofar as the latter are hereditary, they will be passed on to next generations as pre-existing defects”
    

    About the Author

    The main research areas of Dr. rer. nat. Ulrich Warnke, an internationally renowned bioscientist at Saarland University, include biomedicine, environmental medicine, and biophysics. For decades his research interest centered especially on the effects of electromagnetic fields
    • greywarshark 10.1

      25 January 2019 at 11:58 am

      Golly gosh and WTF. Every day we get hit by some new thing to take in about harm we have or are causing. probably I’m adding to the problem just typing this. Is this hell on earth or what? Those of us who have hope for a future that isn’t cold-hearted, brutal but has room for the human spirit and helpful ingenuity had better stick together, and support and put their various minds together to improve or mitigate or diminish problems. Perhaps somebody every day can think of something that needs attention, and something that can be done to help.

      For me today. Question. Flowers for bees, let clover lawns flower. What is the best thing for bees getting water on these dry hot days? Does a margarine tub lid holding water with its wideish raised edge so the bees could stand close to the water and drink, weighted with a stone, in the open but shaded somehow sound like a good and practical idea to bees’ requirements?
      • patricia bremner 10.1.1

        25 January 2019 at 8:12 pm

        My take on things as well, Greywarshark. It is easy to be overwhelmed, so I always ask What can I do/ my family do about that? Sometimes it is not much, but I’m a believer in many small things can grow to make a difference. So I say be a lot less greedy. Look harder at needs… are they really disguised wants.? Reuse and/or give stuff to other people who need it. Plant blue flowers bees love them. Bees need something to land on in water, like a piece of untreated pine floating in a bucket of water. or a stone in a saucer of water. Turn off any gadget not being used at the socket. We only use the microwave if someone is sick in the house. We do not own a smart ‘phone, as a wee tablet does everything else, and the ordinary cellphone suffices. Perhaps we could have a thread on ways to simplify our lives to preserve more of the planet. I try one thing each week. My recent one is “No more plastic pegs” Cheers
        • greywarshark 10.1.1.1

          25 January 2019 at 8:53 pm

          Thread for simplify. Have we had that yet Robert?
11. Gosman 11

    25 January 2019 at 11:50 am

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/01/phil-twyford-grant-robertson-out-of-sync-on-kiwibuild-10-year-target.html

    Is “recalibrating ” the new word for “ditching”?

    LOL!
    • Poission 11.1

      25 January 2019 at 12:19 pm

      The demand parameters have been adjusted,so clearly pricing expectations of KB do also.

      https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/international-migration-uses-new-official-measure
    • Gabby 11.2

      25 January 2019 at 1:14 pm

      They’ve decided to import flatpacks and requisition land gozzer. Hoping the developers don’t have strokes.
      • Gosman 11.2.1

        25 January 2019 at 1:20 pm

        That would at least be them doing something. I don’t think that is what they will be doing though is it?
    • shadrach 11.3

      25 January 2019 at 3:17 pm

      No. ‘Re-calibrating’ is the new word for what is happening to Twyford in the Labour Party Caucus.
      • Gosman 11.3.1

        25 January 2019 at 3:34 pm

        I have got to state that it was a massive serve that he got from Robertson over Kiwibuild.
        • shadrach 11.3.1.1

          25 January 2019 at 9:36 pm

          And that’s in public! Imagine the ‘conversation’ they’ll be having in Caucus.
    • patricia bremner 11.4

      25 January 2019 at 9:11 pm

      Help you Gossy LOL LOL
      Means evaluate and adjust…… Where did you get ditching? ROFL
      Notice they interviewed Robertson when was on the other side of the world and landed on one small point. Keep trying.
12. greywarshark 12

    25 January 2019 at 12:06 pm

    Children’s inside recreational learning. It has occurred to me that children’s tv is full of cartoons that all have the same simple look, exagerrated size, highly coloured, big eyes, based on moral tales. And it is said that looking at a story in pictures on a screen limits the imagination, the critical faculties.

    Then there is the predilection of princesses for girls. It isn’t just a feminist thing to be a bit anti that, it seems that there is a class thing, so that girls are rushing to be in gauzy skirts with satin shiny tops, or they are fairies for a long time. Okay but not all the time.

    Dora the Explorer is also good, she gets round and does stuff. But the tv often is produced to sell a product. Kids need to have more adventurous, fun stories with images that aren’t glamorous like Drora. But she is stylised in the art work, and is a product that royalties boost prices for. Then looking at Disney and its business out of mass-produced toys and images and profit, and Barbie dolls which present the early stages of what can grow into anorexia and the constant dissatisfaction with self appearance stress. Too commercial – what instead. At preent I’m buying old Sesame Street books or Fraggle or Wombles. Also there are some great NZ books.

    Any thoughts for different themed toys; Enid Blyton produced the Five and Seven books with adventures for 8 years up I would think. Kids seem coddled in the themes for books etc. Life has to be pretty for princesses!
    • bwaghorn 12.1

      25 January 2019 at 5:06 pm

      Netflix is the answer a better quality no ads I can see at a glance what has been watched
13. ianmac 13

    25 January 2019 at 12:30 pm

    “Corin Dann Possible Replacement For Guyon Espiner!”

    Hope not. He is not sharp enough.
    • Gabby 13.1

      25 January 2019 at 1:18 pm

      Can he snigger? Is his reo pai?
14. Morrissey 14

    25 January 2019 at 2:57 pm

    Namsog ran wild on The Standard yesterday;
    Shame on you if you were dumb enough to encourage him.

    Yesterday a thread on this site, entitled Venezuela Coup, was hijacked by a hyperactive right wing zealot who contributed more than one third of the 251 comments. That happens sometimes, of course: trolls—witless, unlettered trolls like the one creating such havoc yesterday—are a fact of life on the Internet.

    Many people were appalled by the troll and vigorously refuted his nonsense. As one would expect, a few people—notably a former Cabinet minister notorious for his bumbling and his collusion with military coverups—supported the troll’s mad behaviour. But what I, and no doubt many others, found dispiriting was the alacrity with which the troll’s wild rhetoric and straight out lies were endorsed and amplified by a small number of self-described “liberals” and “leftists.” They sided defiantly and bloodymindedly with the troll, and by the end of the day they were abusing anyone who disagreed with them as “moonbats”, quoting (with approval) discredited liars such as the utterly repugnant British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, and absurdly insisting that the elected President of Venezuela was a “stalinist.”

    This ridiculous spectacle, of “liberals” first indulging and then parroting wholesale a nasty right wing troll, has been seen before…..

    https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/12/mr-browns-boys-part-2-of-3-dec-31-2013.html
    • Gosman 14.1

      25 January 2019 at 3:15 pm

      LOL !

      You think Maduro’s election was legitimate.

      That is hilarious.

      What about the National Assembly election in 2015? Was that legitimate?
      • Morrissey 14.1.1

        25 January 2019 at 3:16 pm

        You’re clueless. Go away.
        • Gosman 14.1.1.1

          25 January 2019 at 3:19 pm

          No, I’m all good thanks. I’ll continue to point out all the flaws behind the Socialist regime in the failed state that is Venezuela.
      • Draco T Bastard 14.1.2

        25 January 2019 at 4:26 pm

        You think Maduro’s election was legitimate.

        Got proof that it wasn’t?

        All I’ve seen is a lot of people saying that it wasn’t democratic but none of them offer any proof.
        • Dennis Frank 14.1.2.1

          25 January 2019 at 4:45 pm

          Yeah, I posted it here yesterday. Just to summarise: when the 2015 election produced a defeat for Maduro, he got their electoral commission to declare some of the winners invalid, thus reducing the opposition victory to a narrow defeat.

          Then he had their supreme court declare the National Assembly invalid, and created a Constituent Assembly to replace it. It’s what stalinists do. The Bolsheviks set up the original model back in 2018 after their coup.

          Then he ran the fake election, which the opposition refused to participate in. Why would they? They already knew the electoral commission was corrupt. He’s ahead of Mugabe on the practice of stalinism, but still has a year to go until he gets inflation up over Mugabe’s 11 million per cent bar. Will he last long enough to defeat Mugabe as top stalinist of the new millennium? Got to give the guy credit, he’s a real tryer, but he’ll only make it if he sends the death squads out soon.
          • soddenleaf 14.1.2.1.1

            25 January 2019 at 4:51 pm

            Legimate for Venezuela is who has the military backing them.
            • Dennis Frank 14.1.2.1.1.1

              25 January 2019 at 5:03 pm

              Might is right? So if Muldoon had actually been the fascist he pretended to be, and used the army & police to close down our democracy, you would have supported that? Nah, reckon you’re just being provocative. 🙄
              • soddenleaf …

                25 January 2019 at 5:07 pm

                Muldoon headed militrary coup? really, do go on.
                • Dennis Frank …

                  25 January 2019 at 5:31 pm

                  When you’ve answered my questions. Too hard?
            • ropata 14.1.2.1.1.2

              25 January 2019 at 7:06 pm

              Sadly true, I hope they select a better class of benevolent dictator next time
              • Morrissey …

                25 January 2019 at 8:40 pm

                ropata, you appear not to have a fucking clue. That flippant comment was simply disgusting in its contempt for the fate of Venezuela, its political system, its independence, and its people. Why are you posting?
            • soddenleaf 14.1.2.1.1.3

              29 January 2019 at 10:04 am

              S.American countries militray have nothing better to do historically than play politics, only an ignoranmus could consider the same happening here.
      • soddenleaf 14.1.3

        25 January 2019 at 4:44 pm

        lol. The loyal revolutionary legislator wouldn’t back el presidenta so he retired them. And we’re supposed to choose a side, lol.
    • Bazza64 14.2

      25 January 2019 at 3:38 pm

      Gosman makes this site a lot more interesting, happy to read all points of view. Think it would be boring if everyone agreed, you need robust debate. Otherwise it would be like Whaleoil where all the commenters agree.
      • McFlock 14.2.1

        25 January 2019 at 4:18 pm

        At least gos can follow and form an argument. I’d still check it if he said grass was green or the sky was blue.
        • greywarshark 14.2.1.1

          25 January 2019 at 9:30 pm

          Did anyone notice that mangos come from gosman? Who would have thunk it? And that is equivalent in importance to many things he has said, to be fair, not all.
          • McFlock 14.2.1.1.1

            25 January 2019 at 10:04 pm

            I don’t get the reference…
            • greywarshark 14.2.1.1.1.1

              26 January 2019 at 6:11 pm

              There isn’t any really except that mangos can go off, and one can go off Gosman. And possibly two or more could agree on that.
    • Dennis Frank 14.3

      25 January 2019 at 4:30 pm

      Dunno why you’re so keen to keep supporting the stalinist! I provided all the historical evidence for you yesterday that proves his election invalid. Are you so averse to reality that you didn’t want to read it?? Or did you just not understand it?

      There’s an in-depth discussion on Al Jazeera that may help elucidate the situation: https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2019/01/political-crisis-venezuela-solved-190124185450918.html

      They don’t just discuss the politics, they explore the origin and possible solution pathway as well. Try to engage with an open mind, huh?
      • Morrissey 14.3.1

        25 January 2019 at 8:06 pm

        There you go with the “stalinist” gibe again. Doubling down on it makes it not one whit more accurate.
        • Dennis Frank 14.3.1.1

          25 January 2019 at 8:17 pm

          Only to someone unfamiliar with the history of stalinism. Are putting your hand up for that? No point commenting on something you haven’t investigated, right?
          • Morrissey 14.3.1.1.1

            25 January 2019 at 8:33 pm

            If you knew anything about Stalin, anything about political terror and propaganda, you would realize which side of this ideological struggle is closer to the way Stalin, and Franco, and Salazar, and Pinochet, and other democracy-hating authoritarians—you spent yesterday supporting their ideological and political heirs— thought and acted.

            I take it you will never have the hide to ever criticise anything the Trump regime does in the future?
            • Dennis Frank 14.3.1.1.1.1

              25 January 2019 at 8:50 pm

              I wouldn’t be that sceptical if I were you. I’ve criticised his position on climate change here. I’m apprehensive about the potential of a fundamentalist takeover if he is impeached, and said so here. My view of that regime is both open-minded and cautious – I believe its anti-establishment stance is essential. I see the negative potentials, but tend to judge politicians on what they actually do (not the hot air that emanates).

              Incidentally, you didn’t answer my questions (14.3). I know you’re able to be fair-minded when you feel like it! You’ve proven that. My use of stalinism has a somewhat different technical dimension than that outlined on its wiki, which is merely devoted to the historical form and ideology. My focus is the political psychology, the mind-set, the methodology of implementation, the techniques, the behavioural patterns that manifest all those.

              Yes, the left & right meet at the opposite side of the circle in totalitarianism. In that, the end justifies the means, ethics and morality vanish. State power and personal enrichment are all that matters.
              • Morrissey …

                25 January 2019 at 9:14 pm

                Very good Dennis! Sorry I have to leave for Napier. See you on Sunday!
                • Dennis Frank …

                  25 January 2019 at 9:18 pm

                  Cool, have a safe trip! 😊
      • Brigid 14.3.2

        25 January 2019 at 10:07 pm

        Dennis, you refer to a discussion on Al Jazeera, then advise engaging with an open mind.

        Do you understand that this is a contradiction?
        • Dennis Frank 14.3.2.1

          26 January 2019 at 12:34 pm

          No. Appraising complex political situations without bias is always sensible. If you don’t agree, why not explain why bias is essential from your perspective?
    • Sacha 14.4

      26 January 2019 at 1:07 am

      “This ridiculous spectacle, of “liberals” first indulging and then parroting wholesale a nasty right wing troll, has been seen before…..”

      Living in an imagined past again, Breen. What a sad little man.
      • The Al1en 14.4.1

        26 January 2019 at 1:21 am

        Did you pause in embarrassment before posting?
        Or suffer an uncomfortable snigger?

        You’ll find out when the stenographer third rate posts a link to your message in 2026 and says “gotcha”

        😆
        • Sacha 14.4.1.1

          26 January 2019 at 12:50 pm

          An unemployed sockpuppet from doozycunter sports will be right along to editorialise thus.
15. mosa 15

    25 January 2019 at 3:19 pm

    NO ! I meant Clark’s fish was this big !

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screen-Shot-2019-01-22-at-7.53.53-AM-768×389.png
    • veutoviper 15.1

      25 January 2019 at 4:33 pm

      LOLOL – Clarke throws one that size back!
16. Dennis Frank 16

    25 January 2019 at 3:53 pm

    Looks like the coalition isn’t operating as smoothly as they want us to believe:

    “NZ First is slowing progress on the Government’s proposed climate change legislation, leading to a missed deadline for an announcement. A source close to the situation told Stuff the party has been more intransigent on the issue than the National Party, which Climate Change Minister James Shaw is working with separately to make sure his Zero Carbon Act gets some level of bipartisan support.” https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/110159557/nz-first-slows-climate-change-law

    “An announcement on the policy was planned for before the end of 2018, but no announcement or draft bill has been forthcoming, despite the Ministry for the Environment planning to have the bill in Select Committee by February, according to its website.”

    “However, the parties are confident agreement can be reached and a law introduced in the first half of 2019.” Well, could be just one or two sticking points emerged from the draft. Let’s hope. Public service design probably produced a draft that would be effective in reaching agreed goals, but NZF realised they will be in three-way competition for the neanderthal vote, so had to slam on the handbrake.

    “The key holdups have involved the powers of the Climate Change Commission and the ambition of the law itself, in particular its targets. NZ First MPs were not keen to see a non-political Climate Change Commission given Reserve Bank-like powers to independently set carbon budgets.”

    “The party’s MPs were also worried that New Zealand agribusiness would be unfairly disadvantaged with a law that was world-leading – rather than simply good enough to meet international obligations.”
    • McFlock 16.1

      25 January 2019 at 4:15 pm

      These disagreements happen in a coalition. Basically, if you want to make the climate change commission stronger, don’t vote NZ1 next election.
      • ropata 16.1.1

        25 January 2019 at 6:59 pm

        I think NZ1 is *really* gone this time. Winston going into coalition with Lab/Grn was the moral thing to do, but he burned his conservative supporters. Then this UN migration pact, TPPA, and no cap on the mass immigration ponzi scheme. A lot of NZ1 voters feel betrayed.

        You can see the bitterness in people’s replies to his social media statements

        I should have known this but if Winston blocks CC legislation it will remove all doubt that he is just another opportunistic POS
        • McFlock 16.1.1.1

          25 January 2019 at 9:50 pm

          Thing is, Winston is usually very good at reading the mood of the nation, and his supporters. His support is old school conservative, with some social democratic leanings.

          Now, it may be that his party organisation decided to make a pretty meaningless concession on immigration in order to stonewall a bit harder on AGW. Maybe they should have gone the other way. Either way would piss people off, the question is whether they can make it up in other ways, or p;lacate the pissed off people with other policies.

          If they’d gone with national, they’d be pissing off their electorate in the other direction. So really, the only goal is to go “this is what we wanted, if you want more of that achieved then we need more votes”.
    • soddenleaf 16.2

      25 January 2019 at 4:17 pm

      what? you think the coalition was going to be smooth… …The national party from the get go started that line. Nobody expects it to be smooth, even when National ruled alone, they tripped up. The coalition has more toys to trip over,and yet more opportunity to come across as competent. Nothing like the transport minister evading chch airport security…
      • soddenleaf 16.2.1

        25 January 2019 at 4:20 pm

        oh jolly, pretty legal that use of mm theme song. it’s because they were unified the problems were so hilariously dipsie.
    • CHCOff 16.3

      25 January 2019 at 8:36 pm

      A source close to the situation told Stuff the party has been more intransigent on the issue than the National Party, which Climate Change Minister James Shaw is working with separately to make sure his Zero Carbon Act gets some level of bipartisan support.”

      Would be grossly irresponsible to become a world leading model for new ways of 1st world impoverishment, National & the Greens.

      I am guessing NZ1st has solidarity where it counts – the govt’s well being budget approach.

      Effective environmentalism is that of Zero Impoverishment, & looking at better methodologies of statistical gauges is how such environmental transitions can be successful holistically.

      Not the National Green Zero Carbon Act stuff, which incidentally is a betrayal of not one, but both sets of supporting electorate blocks!!
17. McFlock 17

    25 January 2019 at 4:17 pm

    edit: was supposed to be a reply so deleted.

    Um – nice-ish day, innit?
18. Eco Maori 18

    26 January 2019 at 12:35 pm

    Eco Maori tau toko’s this young Mana Wahine Greta she traveled 40 hour’s by train to get to Davos and stayed in a tent in freezing conditions to keep her visit’s carbon foot print low as possable that’s commitement. In her speach she points out that everyone there was part of the cause of global warming . There are 2 that Eco Maori will call out send a wero.
    ‘Our house is on fire’: Greta Thunberg, 16, urges leaders to act on climate
    Greta Thunberg
    Swedish school strike activist demands economists tackle runaway global warming. Read her Davos speech here.
    According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), we are less than 12 years away from not being able to undo our mistakes. In that time, unprecedented changes in all aspects of society need to have taken place, including a reduction of our CO2 emissions by at least 50%.
    And please note that those numbers do not include the aspect of equity, which is absolutely necessary to make the Paris agreement work on a global scale. Nor does it include tipping points or feedback loops like the extremely powerful methane gas released from the thawing Arctic permafrost.

    Teenage activist takes School Strikes 4 Climate Action to Davos
    Read more

    At places like Davos, people like to tell success stories. But their financial success has come with an unthinkable price tag. And on climate change, we have to acknowledge we have failed. All political movements in their present form have done so, and the media has failed to create broad public awareness.
    But Homo sapiens have not yet failed.
    Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands. But unless we recognise the overall failures of our current systems, we most probably don’t stand a chance.
    We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the time to speak clearly.
    Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that Homo sapiens have ever faced. The main solution, however, is so simple that even a small child can understand it. We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gases.
    Either we do that or we don’t.
    You say nothing in life is black or white. But that is a lie. A very dangerous lie. Either we prevent 1.5C of warming or we don’t. Either we avoid setting off that irreversible chain reaction beyond human control or we don’t.
    We must change almost everything in our current societies. The bigger your carbon footprint, the bigger your moral duty. The bigger your platform, the bigger your responsibility.
    Adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.
    I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is. Ka kite ano links below

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/25/our-house-is-on-fire-greta-thunberg16-urges-leaders-to-act-on-climate
19. Eco Maori 19

    26 January 2019 at 2:04 pm

    How does one group of Our Aotearoa society get to decide there Own M8 charges not considering the impact it does to Wahine wanting to become a lawyer O thats correct they want the law society to be a white man domanated organiation. I say that our unjustice system needs BIG changes most uncorrupted society YEA RIGHT they are just better at covering the lieing cheating ass,s
    Law Society decision ‘woefully inadequate’
    The Law Society has fined and censured an unnamed former partner in a law firm who admitted to sexually harassing two employees.
    It’s the first standards committee decision publicly released since the Russell McVeagh revelations of last year, and the findings have disappointed those advocating for more accountability in the legal profession. Sasha Borissenko reports
    A former partner has been fined $12,500 and ordered to pay costs of $2,500 for sexually harassing two employees at an unnamed law firm for what has been described as ‘unsatisfactory conduct’ in a Standards Committee decision, released yesterday.
    Zoë Lawton, who started a blog for sexual violence victims to document their stories anonymously, said the standards committee had to decide whether the partner’s conduct amounted to the statutory definition of unsatisfactory conduct or misconduct, the latter being more serious.
    “To decide this they appear to have asked themselves: would lawyers of good standing simply find the conduct unacceptable or would they find it disgraceful or dishonourable.”
    The Committee decided that lawyers of good standing would merely find this unacceptable, not disgraceful or dishonourable, she said.
    “I have serious concerns about this decision because on the face of it, what he did could amount to indecent assault under the Crimes Act which carries a maximum term of 7 years in prison.
    “What he did is clearly disgraceful or dishonourable and it begs the worrying question, what more dreadful things does a lawyer have to do to meet the Standards Committee’s misconduct
    Ollivier told Newsroom the Committee considered and decided against ordering that the identity of the lawyer be published.
    “[The Committee] ordered publication of the facts to educate the legal profession and to provide guidance to lawyers in relation to their own conduct and also the conduct of others that they may witness and which they may be required to report.”
    Lawton said the decision doesn’t give any justification for the suppression. The Committee had full discretion, and has repeatedly named lawyers for other types of unsatisfactory conduct in the past. 
    “This is not good enough – when judges suppress the names of offenders in criminal courts they provide reasons so the Standards Committee should do the same.”
    Partners at firms who sexually harass staff and subsequently resign or are forced out often then become sole barristers and employ their own staff, she said.
    Ka kite ano links below

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/01/22/410252/law-society-decision-woefully-inadequate
20. Eco Maori 20

    26 January 2019 at 3:53 pm

    Our Australian Tangata whenua/ people of the land Cosin need to be treated with the RESPECT they deserve they are a great culture with a great history being suppressed by the goverment. Times Are Changing fast there culture has a lot incommon with maori culture for one we respect mother nature before the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
    Massive crowds have gathered in cities across the country as ‘invasion day’ rallies kick off.
    Swarms of people have people have filled Hyde Park in Sydney this morning, carrying flags and signs to protest Australia Day and what it represents.
    Hundreds of people have also filled the streets of Melbourne, chanting, “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land”.
    About 600 people started their day at the Melbourne invasion day dawn service, acknowledging and mourning the frontier wars and Aboriginal massacres.
    The service at Kings Domain — where the bodies of 38 Victorian first nations people are buried — included speeches, a minute’s silence, a smoking and ochre ceremony and the reading out of known massacre sites across the state.
    At Sydney’s protest, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement this week of a multimillion-dollar project to “rediscover” Captain James Cook “went down like a lead balloon”.
    Mr Morrison announced $6.7 million in funding for a replica of Captain Cook’s
    famous ship the Endeavour to circumnavigate Australia over 14 months, stopping at 39 locations along the coast.
    He was crucified on social media over the controversial project, which many slammed as a waste of money.
    People have commented how invasion day protests are dwarfing Australia Day celebrations, indicating it is time to change the date.
    It’s a divisive issue that comes up every year, with The Project host Waleed Aly this week throwing up new suggestions.
    This January 26 marks 231 years since the First Fleet landed in Port Jackson.
    But for a growing community of Australians the day has become a symbol of inequity and institutionalised harm.
    Invasion day activists contest that Australia Day enforces a false narrative of an Australia that began on this day, and forgets a preceding history.
    Ka kite ano links below .

    https://www.news.com.au/national/massive-crowds-protest-at-invasion-day-rallies-across-australia/news-story/aa73dc94f88b4ccb84f0694728ec68ef
21. Eco Maori 21

    26 January 2019 at 6:44 pm

    Kia ora Newshub That iron ora mine tailing dam burst is a shocking desaster that could have been avoided with good policing I wonder if its owners are Foreigners. It’s a good move having 17 years old being seen by the youth courts I say one doesn’t grow up till 25 especially if they don’t have good gidence at home no mother father grandparents after all the youth are OUR future. Condolences to the Spanish whano child who lost his life down that boar hole Let’s hope the world get it sorted out and Venezuela I seen a video spinning about why the poor countrys are poor and the rich are rich it was a load of bull I know that the rich country’s are mostly western control countries and the poor country’s are poor because the Western countries have exploited them hence Venezuela problems.
    Its cool that the Black Ferns 7 team have a few good games at home some good matches to watch. The All Blacks 7 are good good to Ka kite ano
22. Eco Maori 22

    27 January 2019 at 8:57 am

    I say Ma has good Ideas for his housing developements alot of space for trees and parks for the tamariki to go and play for everyone to enjoy our beautiful enviroment this design is all so good for our bee,s and insects birds good for our enviroment good for US.
    Meet Charles Ma, the 28-year-old land developer behind a $1 billion Auckland housing project
    Land developer Charles Ma, an Auckland-born Kiwi of Chinese descent, through his company Made Group is developing a 2700 section housing project in the Auckland suburb of Drury, 40 kilometres south of the central city.
    The civil engineer and business graduate started working on Auranga five years ago with the goal of creating a community that puts people at its centre and creates “a more fulfilling life” for residents
    Ma says he wants Auranga to be unlike any other community in New Zealand. A place where residents are less reliant on cars and have greater access to shared green spaces.
    “I think it will become perhaps one of the blueprints that will be used for future communities,” Ma says.
    Ma, describes himself as “a classic Aucklander”. He was born and raised in Auckland and was a student at the prestigious school, Auckland Grammar, before attending the University of Auckland. He’s now listed on the university’s 40 under 40 list, outlining its most promising and successful alumni.
    The Manukau resident went on to study in Britain and the United States, including Stanford, Harvard, London Business School and soon Oxford
    On returning to New Zealand Ma started working in the property development division of private equity firm Lily Investment Group where within a few years he was promoted to a director role.
    He attributes this to his “dying curiosity” and being bilingual. Being the son of Chinese migrants Ma also speaks Mandarin, Cantonese.
    Ma is no stranger to property development.
    But Ma has already moved onto bigger and better things.
    “Auranga: You could say 20 or 30 things about it that are quite interesting but to me at its core, I want to connect people into place again, towards a more purposeful way of living.
    “This is not my first development but this will be my flagship development.”
    But I took my time to research around the world to find out what I can do differently. It’s taken a bit longer but I trust it will produce a better outcome.”
    Perhaps Auranga’s most defining feature is its abundance of parks and open green spaces.
    “We mandated every development in our community to have a park edge road.”
    A “park edge road” means housing is only built on one side of main roads leaving the remaining side accessible to the public.
    This is an inefficient way to plan a housing development because its prime land that’s not being used for housing.
    But Ma believes that not building homes on the prime real estate sites, like the coast, and leaving it accessible to the public, will create more value in the long run.
    Ma says he wanted to move away from traditional subdivision planning, which focused on maximising return on investment by designing layouts in the most cost effective way.
    “Most subdivisions, they are grids. I know because I designed them.”
    With Auranga he wanted residents and the wider public to engage with the coast. He did not want to privatise it so a select few could enjoy it.
    The US-based mentor says when she first met Ma she saw he had “the magic, the drive and the ambition” seen in great world leaders.
    “I was instantly struck by his energy,” Verresen says.
    “And like many successful entrepreneurs, Charles figured out how to do things his way.”
    One of Ma’s first principles is to ask “why not?”, she says.
    “This allows him to move fast and create what has not existed before. Which is why at such a young age he leads a successful real estate development group that he created from scratch.”
    She says Ma wants to help people find to a sense of belonging in the world.
    “Charles fundamentally cares and is passionate about every single person feeling like they belong. Because in his experience when you belong you can thrive.
    “So he is starting with homes and townships that are specifically designed to create more belonging.” Ka kite ano links below.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/110155428/meet-charles-ma-the-28yearold-land-developer-behind-a-1-billion-auckland-housing-project
23. Eco Maori 23

    27 January 2019 at 9:24 am

    Kia ora R&R I wai needs to be treated like it is our tipuna & given the respect and value that it deserves the giver of life and all the good properties and uses that it has.
    Mike yes we need to take back the guidance of how water is used and treated from the business first over the distruction of the wai and the creatures that she holds and put the enviroments first. After all we can not live without wai she can live on with out us also the old saying its pays not to shit in ones back yard.
    Thats a good move by the Lakes Councils to find $40 million to get farms around lakes to stop farming but thats just the price of 3 to 5 farms the councils and goverments needs to grow some——– and make farming around all waterways organic as its the Urea and not really the cow urine that is poisining our water.
    And all farming practices become Organic ka kite ano P.S Bottling water and selling it has to stop no matter were it ends up plastic waste is my main consern
24. Eco Maori 24

    27 January 2019 at 10:26 am

    Eco Maori says drop sugar out of our diets and the goverments should turn it into green fuel as its is not needed in our diets it is a bad substance that should be taxed hard I also advise to have porridge for breakfast with no or the tip of a teaspoon of sugar it is a super food gluten free it good for weight loss reduces blood sugar levels reduced heart disease and its does not cost much to buy.

    Three years ago, I stopped eating sugar. My plan was to have a sugar-free month, just to see if it made a difference. I had done similar experiments before – a month without caffeine, or alcohol, or reading news online. Aside from chocolate, I wasn’t a big eater of sugar, I thought, so I didn’t expect to notice any change. But I did.
    Giving up sugar set me free. And so, what began as an experiment has become my new life. I have changed in ways that I had not thought possible.
    I used to get “hangry” – that grumpy, urgent craving that demands prompt attention. To stave it off, I carried bags of almonds or dried fruit. Back when I ate sugar, I couldn’t go running in the morning – if I tried, I would get dizzy, and anyway, my legs felt as if they were made of stone. I would have slumps in the afternoon – my head would get foggy – so if I was working from home, I would take a nap. I had mood swings, joy alternating with despair. I had assumed that all of these things were simply part of life, of how I was, a frustrating aspect of my makeup. And now all of them are gone.
    My decision to stop sugar was taken on a whim. Back then, aside from its role in tooth decay, I knew little about its possible effects on health. But when I discovered how much better I felt without it, I became curious – and began to read.
    To a chemist, sugar refers to a class of molecules made of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen; some of these serve particular biological roles. Lactose, for example, is found in milk; deoxyribose gives the “D” to DNA. But in daily life, the main sugars one meets are glucose, fructose and sucrose – which is a marriage of the other two. That is, each molecule of sucrose is one glucose linked to one fructose. Interestingly, the two simple sugars have the same chemical formula – 6 atoms of carbon, 12 of hydrogen, 6 of oxygen – but different chemical structures. The human tongue detects this: fructose tastes sweeter.Glucose is synonymous with blood sugar, since it is transported in the blood and delivered to cells to fuel their energetic needs. But you can also find it, along with fructose, in fruits and vegetables. Sucrose is extracted from sugar cane or beets, and is usually encountered as the white crystals of table sugar. When most people speak of “sugar”, they mean sucrose. High-fructose corn syrup, the most common sweetener of non-diet soft-drinks, is a mixture of glucose and fructose. So is honey– though honey is a complex concoction that contains many other compounds.
    The history of sugar is full of darkness. The European appetite for sweetness drove the slave trade; according to one estimate, in the Americas, two-thirds of enslaved Africans worked on sugar cane plantations. Sugar is also implicated in lung cancer. How? Because the tobacco in blended cigarettes has typically been soaked in sugar syrups; this makes the smoke easier to take into the lungs.
    The grim harvest does not stop there. A growing number of doctors blame sugar consumption for a long list of medical woes. These include diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, gout, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, many cancers, and perhaps even Alzheimer’s. Some researchers have even linked the eating of sugar in childhood to the development of myopia, arguing that the spikes in insulin secretion caused by sugar consumption interfere with the normal development of the eyes. In short: the recent medical literature about sugar makes alarming reading.
    Such connections are, of course, disputed. But as an evolutionary biologist, as well as someone who has felt the immediate benefits of a sugar-free lifestyle, I find the claims persuasive. For most of human history, after all, milk, honey and fruits have been the main sources of sweetness. When cane sugar first made its way to Europe around 1,000 years ago, it was treated as a spice, a medicine and a preservative.
    In 1700, the average sugar consumption in the United Kingdom was around two kilograms per person per year. Today, the figure is 10 times that amount. Over the past 300 years, sugars have thus gone from an occasional luxury to a substantial component of the average western diet. The present sugar glut is an anomaly in human experience. We have changed the world to suit our appetites; but our bodies cannot accommodate the change.medical literature about sugar makes alarming reading.
    Such connections are, of course, disputed. But as an evolutionary biologist, as well as someone who has felt the immediate benefits of a sugar-free lifestyle, I find the claims persuasive. For most of human history, after all, milk, honey and fruits have been the main sources of sweetness. When cane sugar first made its way to Europe around 1,000 years ago, it was treated as a spice, a medicine and a preservative.
    In 1700, the average sugar consumption in the United Kingdom was around two kilograms per person per year. Today, the figure is 10 times that amount. Over the past 300 years, sugars have thus gone from an occasional luxury to a substantial component of the average western diet. The present sugar glut is an anomaly in human experience. We have changed the world to suit our appetites; but our bodies cannot accommodate the change.
    Ka kite ano links below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/26/my-life-without-sugar
25. Eco Maori 25

    27 January 2019 at 11:22 am

    Mana Wahine kia kaha we need to Focus on the grandchildrens future and climate change is the BIGGEST threat to all OUR Future,s
    House Democrats Plan to Tackle Climate—with or without the GOP
    Rep. Kathy Castor, head of the revamped House climate committee, says the panel will be working on a policy road map for global warming
    Climate change is back on the table in Congress—at least in the House of Representatives, where Democrats took control earlier this month. As part of an effort to focus more on combating global warming, Democrats have revived a special House committee on climate that Republicans had previously eliminated.
    But the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (pdf) already faces big obstacles. The Trump administration has rolled back numerous environmental initiatives, even declaring it is pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement. The Republican-controlled Senate has placed little emphasis on tackling warming. Democrats are arguing over the committee’s focus; some even question the need for such a panel. The committee also lacks legislative authority (meaning it cannot move bills) and cannot issue subpoenas that would compel people to testify.
    Climate change is back on the table in Congress—at least in the House of Representatives, where Democrats took control earlier this month. As part of an effort to focus more on combating global warming, Democrats have revived a special House committee on climate that Republicans had previously eliminated.
    But the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (pdf) already faces big obstacles. The Trump administration has rolled back numerous environmental initiatives, even declaring it is pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement. The Republican-controlled Senate has placed little emphasis on tackling warming. Democrats are arguing over the committee’s focus; some even question the need for such a panel. The committee also lacks legislative authority (meaning it cannot move bills) and cannot issue subpoenas that would compel people to testify.
    The select committee will press all of the [permanent Congressional standing committees] to take action immediately—to address the impacts of climate and to press for bold action on reducing greenhouse gases. So we’re kind of the quarterback for a number of these committees, and will press to accomplish what we currently can. That’s with the understanding that the GOP controls the Senate and Pres. Trump and his administration are moving in the wrong direction—and there isn’t much sign of them reconsidering their position.
    So we will do what we can now, and then set the table for bolder action when we have a friendlier U.S. Senate and a new president. But we simply can’t wait. The cost of inaction is growing, and it’s more dire than ever before Ka kite ano links below

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/house-democrats-plan-to-tackle-climate-mdash-with-or-without-the-gop/
26. Eco Maori 26

    27 January 2019 at 11:49 am

    Kia ora R&R Time,s are ka pai now that OUR Te Reo is getting the honor and respect that it deserves and tangata whenua O Aoteoroa culture,s are getting honor and respest also Kia kaha.
    Eco Maori has a sore face because of this great phenomenon that is sweaping around the motu and Papatuanuku at the minute.
    And yes social media has a big role to play in that phenomen and the future of Te Reo and Tangata whenua O Aotearoa Culture,s
    Its ka pai that the people of Te Wai Pounamu have seen the value of Te Reo when I was down there 25 years ago it did not look good for the mana of tangata whenua back then another reason to give me a sore face.
    Yes confident,s is a big + in anyones wairua Eco Maori trys to install that in all peoples as Aotearoa is made up of a lot of cultures and we all need to respect everyone white asian brown no matter whom they are. Ka kite ano Kia kaha P.S The powers that be suppresed Te reo and our old kau papa they have alot of maori nolage and prophecies hidden in there vaults
27. Eco Maori 27

    27 January 2019 at 12:22 pm

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute
    
28. Eco Maori 28

    27 January 2019 at 12:46 pm

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute the sandflys are sending actors to play games on my wife at work the dirty low down cheats.
    
29. Eco Maori 29

    27 January 2019 at 1:26 pm

    A video from Eco Maori
    
30. Eco Maori 30

    27 January 2019 at 4:11 pm

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
    
31. Eco Maori 31

    27 January 2019 at 4:45 pm

    Kia kaha to all the Environment protesters young & elderly some care about what we are going to leave our grandchildren We will make logical changes because we have to no if on buts it a priority to spot burning coal /carbon.
    Warming world gets older, wiser, richer activists hot under the collar
    A growing number of older protesters are standing up and fighting for the environment
    When Audrey Cooke first spoke to her family about her retirement plans, they had one condition: “Don’t get arrested.”
    The 72-year-old retired Melbourne schoolteacher’s husband died of pancreatic cancer nine years ago. She has two young grandchildren. And she is now a full-time climate activist.
    “I’ll do it until I drop,” she says. “I’m in a hurry. We are facing an existential threat and this is more important than anything for me.”
    Cooke is one of a growing number of older protesters using their retirement to help the climate movement. Her tiny 1.5 metre (4ft 11in) frame has become familiar at protest marches and demonstrations. In 2017 she did get arrested after spending seven hours locked to a fence at the Adani Carmichael mine site.
    “You can call me an accidental activist. I’m very new to it,” she says.
    “I have always been an environmentalist. The environment is paramount to me but in my younger days I was busy with my family and my career
    There’s no point going on a holiday,” Cooke says. “I know that if we don’t do something then we won’t have a sustainable planet.”
    Unprecedented amounts of time, money and motivation
    Miriam Robinson, 58, is the spokeswoman for the Grey Power Climate Protectors. She says one of the group’s first aims is to encourage grandparents to attend the next school strike on 15 March.

    “Many kids couldn’t attend [last time] because their parents work,” Robinson says. “Grandparents bringing their grandkids to the … strike will be a powerful moral statement that all ages are concerned about the effects of climate change.

    “Heatwaves can be deadly for the elderly and infants. Older people will change their vote for their own sake but also [for] their kids and grandkids.”

    Native title holders back Greens’ call for royal commission into Murray-Darling
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    A former Greens leader, Bob Brown, says older Australians look at the world “with mixed feelings of amazed horror”.
    “They come equipped with unprecedented amounts of time, money and motivation. This is a cauldron of untapped civil action from vote-changing to direct protest, and climate change is the major target.
    “The money-driven absurdity of Adani is on a collision course with thousands of environment-alarmed older Australians who are prepared to give up time, money and comfort to help save the planet.”
    Brown plans to lead a convoy of vehicles – appealing to grey nomads – from Tasmania to Bowen in Queensland later this year.
    ka kite ano links below P.S Thanks to the elderly for there backing the climate change fight

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/27/warming-world-gets-older-wiser-richer-activists-hot-under-the-collar
32. Eco Maori 32

    27 January 2019 at 6:35 pm

    Kia ora Newshub I it doesn’t take long for the heat to dry the farm whenua out and 30 degrees is hot be careful with ahi fire people. That is a shocking shameful amount of people missing in that dam collapse in Brazil let’s hope that won’t happen again the wealthy people ripping the country off I say and bending the rules.
    Stone he has a shity history.
    I did some research into how our Australian cousins were treated and its shame full they only got right the be treated as equals in 1967.Some of te tipuna went to Australia and were appalled by the way the whites treated the native that gave Maori a reason not to trust the settlers here.
    Totara was used for fence post and carvings were ECO Maori comes from a highly valued timber Ka pai Shane I’m sure you will find a valuable use of it you don’t need to treat the timber and its easy to carve compared to other timbers.
    Judge Aitken is a good person who knows what she’s talking about from her own experience Ka pai
    That’s true commitment from Brian Karl with his reasurch and monatering penguin at adelie Antarctica 30 years ECO MAORI thanks you for the hard work you have done for the penguin. Ka kite ano P.S?????????????

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