Open mike 28/11/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 28th, 2015 - 56 comments
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56 comments on “Open mike 28/11/2015 ”

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  2. Morrissey 2
    28 November 2015 at 6:48 am

    Liars of Our Time
    No. 54: RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN

    “The greatest supporter of ISIL is the Assad regime.”

    —-ISIL’s greatest supporter Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey
    Al Jazeera News, Saturday 28 November 2015

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-25/meet-man-who-funds-isis-bilal-erdogan-son-turkeys-president

    More liars…
    No. 53 Richie McCaw: “The win over France in the quarter-final put some demons to bed.”
    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19112015/#comment-1098032
    No. 52 Michael Cheika: “I genuinely feel for Craig Joubert. It’s so unfair. No other referee has had this stuff put out there like that and he’s a very good referee.”

    Even more liars…
    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-20102015/#comment-1084864

  3. Whispering Kate 3
    28 November 2015 at 8:35 am

    Browsing online on the Herald, though God knows why I do, I see where a woman, Australian born, who has lived here since she was 4 years old, 38 years old now, has been diagnosed with terminal melanoma. She does not qualify for free treatment here and although 31 weeks pregnant, she has to return to Australia for her treatment and early birth of her baby.

    With all our disgust of how New Zealanders are treated over the ditch in not being able to receive help, even when they pay taxes to provide for such help, isn’t it a bit rich of us when we are doing the same thing to fellow neighbours from over the ditch who have lived here for many years. I understand that recent arrivals have to pay for their medical help but isn’t this going a bit too far for this woman who has lived here for years. What a nasty old world we live in.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11552650

    • RedLogix 3.1
      28 November 2015 at 1:48 pm

      Read this and be appalled:

      http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/28/a-phonecall-a-meeting-then-indefinite-detention-the-refugees-at-the-mercy-of-asio

      This is exactly the same secretive administrative regime that is detaining and deporting New Zealanders.

      The point so many people fail to understand, is that the rule changes Abbott passed early this year mean that:

      1. If you are deemed to have failed the new retrospective rules then arrest is mandatory.
      2. Indefinite detention is mandatory
      3. You do not have to be told why you have been detained or on what grounds
      4. There is NO legal appeal
      5. The Minister of Immigration has sole discretion

      The UN has condemned this regime, and there was real disquiet when Abbott rammed these changes through under the guise of ‘fighting terrorism’. It’s application to New Zealanders who have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism is obnoxious and wrong.

      Kind of like their cricket team now I come to think of it.

  5. Mike the Savage One 5
    28 November 2015 at 9:06 am

    Here is some interesting new OIA information that was released by MSD on 19 Nov. 2015 (see also questions/answers 18 and 19 re Mental Health Employment Service and Sole Parent Employment Service outcomes). As usual, the response has raised more questions than answers, and some info has been withheld (some without any reason), other info appears to have selectively been made available.

    A post on another blog covers all this:

    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2015/11/27/msds-selective-and-poor-responses-to-new-oia-requests-on-benefits-advisors-reports-mental-health-and-sole-parent-employment-services/

    An earlier post that also contained OIA data on MHES and SPES and much more:
    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/mental-health-and-sole-parent-employment-services-msd-withholds-o-i-a-information-that-may-prove-their-trials-a-failure/

    And here is a post showing how MSD and their Principal Advisor on Health selectively use statistical and other information, and misrepresent it to push their agendas:
    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/msd-and-dr-david-bratt-present-misleading-evidence-claiming-worklessness-causes-poor-health/

    PDFs with the new OIA response from MSD, and also with the sets of questions that were asked:
    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/msd-oia-rqst-dr-bratt-mhes-spes-waa-reports-winz-sundry-data-08-07-reply-anon-19-11-15.pdf

    High-lit version:
    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/msd-oia-rqst-dr-bratt-hd-panel-mhes-spes-waa-reports-reply-hi-lit-19-11-15.pdf

    Questions put to MSD:
    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/msd-o-i-a-request-to-c-e-of-m-s-d-base-benefit-break-down-anon-08-07-15.pdf

    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/msd-o-i-a-request-to-c-e-of-msd-bratt-hd-panel-reforms-anon-08-07-15.pdf

    Now why can our MSM not deliver any such information? Sorry, they do mostly seem to be under-resourced, unable to do a proper job, or are indifferent and rather spend time on discussing different flags and help the government stir up yet more fear about possible terror attacks in NZ. And lest we forget, there is always the weather, crime, lots of sports and celebrity news to report on. And who and what is “trending” on Twitt-err?

    • Mike the Savage One 5.1
      29 November 2015 at 2:32 am

      So most on “the left” do not seem to give much of a shit about this kind of info, but rather follow with obsession whatever MSM report, so they can then hit out at them? FFS if that is the state of affairs in this crap country, I have NO more hope for it!!!

  7. Sabine 7
    28 November 2015 at 9:31 am

    Brazil and the mining ‘tragedy’ no one really wants to speak about.

    http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16803&LangID=E

    Quote: The expert noted that the Doce River, one of Brazil’s great water sheds, “is now considered by scientists to be dead and the toxic sludge is slowly working its way downstream towards the Abrolhos National Marine Park where it threatens protected forest and habitat. Sadly the mud has already entered the sea at Regencia beach a sanctuary for endangered turtles and a rich source of nutrients that the local fishing community relies upon.”

    We are killing this planet one river at a time….and nothing will be done about it, lest we hinder progress and growth and export n shite.

  8. ianmac 8
    28 November 2015 at 9:46 am

    Hey! This sounds very brave, very exciting and innovative. Great leadership!
    “An Auckland high school is skipping NCEA Level 1 to reduce assessment stress for its students, giving the teenagers an extra year before facing exams.

    Hobsonville Point Secondary School says the first year of the NCEA qualification is unnecessary as it doesn’t lead to anywhere except further schooling……
    The school, which opened last year, said it made the decision to switch to a two-year NCEA Level 2 programme after reviewing a national report on student wellbeing which found schools were over-assessing children, leading to anxiety, depression and eating disorders.

    “Why would we do that to them?” said principal Maurie Abraham. “We found the kids weren’t enjoying learning, and were instead ticking boxes. Our approach changes the focus to deep learning, rather than chasing credits.”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11552492

    • lurgee 8.1
      28 November 2015 at 10:12 am

      This is an interesting step. But the gap between Level 1 NCEA and Level 2 is huge. A lot will not be able to cope with it. Those are the ones who need Level 1 – it shows basic literacy, numeracy and general understanding of subjects studied. That’s may be all some students are capable of, but that capacity should be acknowledged.

      Of more concern is the hothousing and credit farming that is becoming endemic in schools. This is not a problem with NCEA as such (scaling exams so 50% passed and 50% failed was just as bad) but is a result of the pressure on schools to improve on results. The Ministry target for NCEA Level 1 is 85% pass rate (Which makes it pretty meaningless as a qualification). In a lot of cases, this can only be achieved by hothousing and downright cheating at an institutional level, because 85% of students are not capable of passing NCEA Level 1, at least not over the course of a single year.

      But no school wants to be identified as a failing school, because then Bright Flight happens – the capable students are sent to other schools and the cycle is confirmed.

    • The Fairy Godmother 8.2
      28 November 2015 at 10:28 am

      I wish we could move away from this continual cycle of assessment. A useful analogy is that weighing the pig all the time does not increase its weight. Have just observed my youngest child’s NCEA level one year. Start school in February. Practice exams in September, more revision then NCEA exams November to December. She is currently on holiday until the start of next year. So effectively only seven months when they learn new stuff. Just imagine what they could learn and discover if it wasn’t for all these pesky assessments.

      • galeandra 8.2.1
        28 November 2015 at 11:22 am

        Not to mention that huge slabs of the so-called ‘curricula’ consist of doing assigned work for internal assessment anyway and chunks of the week to week programme are reserved for this. For a bright or more widely interested students things can be pretty tedious.

      • galeandra 8.2.2
        28 November 2015 at 11:22 am

        Not to mention that huge slabs of the so-called ‘curricula’ consist of doing assigned work for internal assessment anyway and chunks of the week to week programme are reserved for this. For bright or more widely interested students things can be pretty tedious.

      • greywarshark 8.2.3
        28 November 2015 at 2:19 pm

        Another analogy. A watched pot doesn’t boil! Give the kids a break. Strange that our pollies and advisors seem to be leaning towards Chinese rote learning after our style had been lauded for years.

        • The Fairy Godmother 8.2.3.1
          28 November 2015 at 3:24 pm

          It fits the new political agenda. Our previous style involved thinking and creativity. This is probably a bit inconvenient now and tick boxes are far better training for people who will live in a bureaucratic fascist state.

        • The Fairy Godmother 8.2.3.2
          28 November 2015 at 3:24 pm

          It fits the new political agenda. Our previous style involved thinking and creativity. This is probably a bit inconvenient now and tick boxes are far better training for people who will live in a bureaucratic fascist state.

  9. Bearded Git 9
    28 November 2015 at 10:29 am

    The Nats and there friends at the Herald are spinning the line that there are only minor changes to the RMA proposed. See here:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11552680

    This is NOT true. Let me repeat; NOT true.

    The changes proposed to S.95A of the Act mean that NO residential subdivision and/or development will be able to be publicly notified regardless of adverse effects. This means that the checks and balances of public submission and the ability to appeal to the Environment Court will be removed completely from ALL residential subdivisions and developments.

    The result will be that in places such as Queenstown or Wanaka visually intrusive residential developments promoted by well-resourced developers will inevitably gain consent from (specially chosen, often poorly trained) commissioners without any public input. This is a disaster for NZ’s landscapes in the making.

    Why on earth have the Maori Party signed up to this?

    S.95A should be kept as it it is. In its current form it does not hold back residential development. The Nats are simply using this as an excuse to change it.

    One can only hope that Dunne and the Maori Party realise the the disastrous effects of this change before it is too late.

    The change also flies in the face of a central tenet of the RMA-public involvement.

    • ianmac 9.1
      28 November 2015 at 12:11 pm

      The Maori Party have only promised support up to Select Committee stage. They presumably have not the manpower to examine the implications and hope that a wider view will help illuminate.

    • greywarshark 9.2
      28 November 2015 at 12:45 pm

      There seems to be a wish to fast track things behind tis RMA overturning. This is in my opinion, one of the main factors that influenced the Christchurch City Council building management section to be so careless with the controls and demands on the building that went down in the earthquake. The hegemony at that time was the same careless, feckless one presently coming from government.

      We should take this gummint before the Trade Practices tribunal or whatever decides that the public has been sold a sick pup and left with an article that is not fit for purpose. I want an intelligent government that acts carefully and effectively not a bunch of buccaneer cowboys knocking down fences meant to offer protection from danger and reliable stability.

    • ianmac 10.1
      28 November 2015 at 12:13 pm

      Yeah indeed North. Wonder if that level of support was Government funded? Should be.
      Edit:Mr Backhouse and trust founder Scott Gilmour worked for more than two years to raise money for the Whangarei programme, which costs about $1000 per student per year.

      The men had joined forces with the Ngatahi Education Initiative ….”

  11. greywarshark 11
    28 November 2015 at 11:35 am

    This morning on RADIONZ Kim Hill interviewed Nick Tyler, a very interesting and knowledgable searcher for practical application of good ideas. The sort of person that gives my heart oxygen! His interview would have something in it for everyone who comes here and like heartening news, positive and factual and helpful stuff that will aid us for coping even improving our situation.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201780651
    05 Nick Tyler: rethinking urban movement
    Nick Tyler is Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering at University College London, and investigates the ways in which people interact with their immediate environments. He set up the Accessibility Research Group within the Centre for Transport Studies, with a team of researchers investigating many aspects of accessibility and public transport.

    Professor Tyler is also the Director of the UCL CRUCIBLE Centre, which conducts interdisciplinary research on lifelong health and wellbeing. He visited New Zealand as a guest of the University of Auckland, New Zealand Transport Agency, Greater Wellington Regional Council and Wellington City Council, for public meetings and talks.

    • Rosemary McDonald 11.1
      28 November 2015 at 2:36 pm

      I was peripherally listening to that.

      Much of what he was saying was very good…but the bit about making bus shelters into something that sounded like entertainment zones threw me.( As Kim pointed out…everyone has devices!) And the one meter square of grass needed to supply the urban dwellers with the required amount of aerial gut biota was a bit woowooish!

      I would have though grass verges and urban green spaces would have provided enough bug populated turf.

      I’ll listen again later…

      • greywarshark 11.1.1
        28 November 2015 at 3:25 pm

        Rosemary
        These are generalised ideas and particularly aimed at sterile spaces, not like our green and pleasant neighbourhoods?

  12. joe90 12
    28 November 2015 at 12:45 pm

    Promoters of anti-choice terrorist propaganda are culpable.

    .
    Michael Skolnik Verified account
    ‏@MichaelSkolnik

    Suspect in #PlannedParenthood shooting is a white male in his 40’s.
    (via police scanner)

    https://twitter.com/MichaelSkolnik/status/670326090699796480

    Lisa ‏@notmuchelse 9m9 minutes ago

    Daleiden and his buddy Troy Newman knew exactly what they were doing w/ their dishonest propaganda videos. Newman’s done it before!
    3 retweets 2 likes

    Lisa
    ‏@notmuchelse

    Troy Newman spent years demonizing Dr. Tiller, until he was murdered. Then he joined up w/ Daleiden for these videos.

    https://twitter.com/notmuchelse/status/670382764286349312


    Alexandra
    ‏@aliemalie

    A clinic needs bulletproof vests. Let that sink in. “Clinic has a… supply of bulletproof vests.” #ColoradoSprings http://nyti.ms/1InJgGU

    https://twitter.com/aliemalie/status/670362047834558468

    • greywarshark 12.1
      28 November 2015 at 1:58 pm

      The USA seems to be quite a violent, lawless place. And of course they assassinate their leaders from time to time. On top of that they have a religious fundamentalist group that thinks nothing of preventing people having human rights and freedom.

      It is not surprising that we hear so much bad stuff about the USA. Any place where people feel they have to have a gun to protect themselves against lurking dangers, (mostly their family or neighbours), must be a country not yet civilised, or one on the way down.

      • Tautuhi 12.1.1
        28 November 2015 at 3:16 pm

        Rumour had it, it was the CIA that nailed JFK Kennedy?

        • greywarshark 12.1.1.1
          28 November 2015 at 3:23 pm

          Oh I love these theories. I hardly have to watch films for intriguing plots and scenarios now. And with the emerging stories that leak out from the past – ones about killing Castro come to mind, they can’t be dismissed as drivel.

    • millsy 12.2
      29 November 2015 at 12:31 am

      These guys want a blanket ban on abortion, and are prepared to kill in order to acheive that goal.

  13. greywarshark 13
    28 November 2015 at 1:52 pm

    I’ve put this up once and it seems to have vanished. I think it is interesting so here goes again.
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201780648
    On antiobiotics which the news about has lately been negative. They are becoming ineffective because they have been used profligately as prophylactics and because they seem to promote growth by the food industry. Now some boffin is sounding hopeful about fighting the little bacteria b..gers.

    This from RADIONZ. http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201780533
    Last year the World Health Organisation warned that the world was heading towards a “…post-antibiotic era”.
    Meanwhile, a study published in The Lancet last week described the discovery in China of a bug resistant to the polymyxins, the last class of fully effective antibiotics. More worryingly, this resistance can pass between bacteria, raising the prospect that polymyxin-resistant bugs could spread worldwide over the next few years.

    So far, so gloomy…but is antibiotic resistance a problem that we can solve?
    Bacteria have been around for billions of years, and in that time they’ve worked out how to fight off and kill other bugs muscling in on their turf.

    They do this using a bacteriocin, a toxic protein that can target a specific species of bacteria; think sniper fire as opposed to the hand grenade approach employed today with broad spectrum antibiotics.

    Professor Richard James of the University of Nottingham and other teams around the world are hoping that these bacteriocins will help us win the war against infection.

    [lprent: Some of your comments have been going into autospam. Haven’t looked to see why yet. ]

  14. greywarshark 14
    28 November 2015 at 2:16 pm

    lprent
    Running my mouse over parts of the TS page bring up a warning that –
    ‘Firefox has prevented the outdated plugin “Adobe Flash” from running on thestandard.org.nz.

    And this is without my presenting anything. Then it happened when I was testing to see what brought up the message and ran the mouse down the comments list on the right.

    I had tried to put up a comment with two links to audio on Radionz but it wouldn’t accept them on the two times that I tried. While I have been refreshing to see where the comment has gone, I have had that message about taking up too much time and been locked out.

    I’m not sure what’s going on.

    • greywarshark 14.1
      28 November 2015 at 3:31 pm

      lprent
      Further to before – I see that I had some options to get rid of the blocker – Allow now and allow and remember, so I have pressed the remember one. It has gone. Don’t know any more but hope that’s it.

      • greywarshark 14.1.1
        28 November 2015 at 3:43 pm

        Still having trouble. I am trying to put up a summary from RADIONZ plus their audio for one of their features. It has gone up in the cloud but not come down again.
        Need some heavenly guidance. Had four or five goes now in total.

    • BM 14.2
      28 November 2015 at 3:34 pm

      Just use chrome, firefox is a dog.

  15. Pat 15
    28 November 2015 at 2:30 pm

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/david-cameron-letter-cuts-oxfordshire

    insert National Party Ministers name of your choice and this would be here

    • Gabby 15.1
      28 November 2015 at 7:50 pm

      You have to wonder whether the man is just completely oblivious to the effects of his government on ordinary people, or if he is taking the piss monumentally.

  16. Tautuhi 16
    28 November 2015 at 3:18 pm

    National have pricked the Auckland real estate bubble with the 1st October changes!

  17. greywarshark 17
    28 November 2015 at 3:38 pm

    Antibiotics:
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201780648
    On antiobiotics which the news about has lately been negative. They are becoming ineffective because they have been used profligately as prophylactics and because they seem to promote growth by the food industry. Now some boffin is sounding hopeful about fighting the little bacteria b..gers.

    This from RADIONZ. http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201780533
    Last year the World Health Organisation warned that the world was heading towards a “…post-antibiotic era”.
    Meanwhile, a study published in The Lancet last week described the discovery in China of a bug resistant to the polymyxins, the last class of fully effective antibiotics. More worryingly, this resistance can pass between bacteria, raising the prospect that polymyxin-resistant bugs could spread worldwide over the next few years.

    So far, so gloomy…but is antibiotic resistance a problem that we can solve?
    Bacteria have been around for billions of years, and in that time they’ve worked out how to fight off and kill other bugs muscling in on their turf.

    They do this using a bacteriocin, a toxic protein that can target a specific species of bacteria; think sniper fire as opposed to the hand grenade approach employed today with broad spectrum antibiotics.

    Professor Richard James of the University of Nottingham and other teams around the world are hoping that these bacteriocins will help us win the war against infection.

  18. infused 18
    28 November 2015 at 8:02 pm

    This is really good:

    • Pat 19.1
      28 November 2015 at 8:46 pm

      one must not mention such things as the whole system runs on confidence….a confidence trick as it were

  20. Mike the Savage One 20
    29 November 2015 at 2:55 am

    Jihad and more in Syria, and what is behind it:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sPY0X8SrLo

    Most keep dreaming and getting no real info, that is the west.