Open mike 29/09/2019

70 comments on “Open mike 29/09/2019 ”

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1. Andre 1

   29 September 2019 at 8:57 am

   It's foolish to try to look to history for any kind of guide for the likely outcome of the current impeachment drama:

   So, what precedent do these impeachment cases provide? Johnson’s removal from office was possible but probably not justified (and thus ill-advised). Nixon’s was both possible and justified (and thus effective). And Clinton’s was neither possible nor justified (and thus farcical). Removing Trump from office over the Ukraine scandal would be different from all of these cases. Unlike in Clinton’s case, the constitutional argument for it looks increasingly powerful: We have fairly damning evidence from the White House itself of a direct conversation between Trump and the Ukrainian president about going after Biden. But unlike in Johnson’s and Nixon’s situations, removal is all but guaranteed never to happen—owing to the Republicans’ strong majority in the Senate and a disciplined tribalism of a ferocity that simply didn’t exist in the Nixon era.

   https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/28/trump-impeachment-nixon-clinton-johnson-228754
   • Ad 1.1

     29 September 2019 at 9:59 am

     I can't yet tell whether impeachment will on balance be negative for Trump's re-election, or will give him a surge of profile and Republican defence that will help him win.

     I totally get why Pelosi was so loathe to pull this trigger at all.

     I see the principal benefactor as Biden, marginally, because it takes the spotlight completely off Warren.
     • Andre 1.1.1

       29 September 2019 at 10:11 am

       It's gone beyond the point where realpolitik considerations matter anymore. The turd tornado has become so blatantly outrageous that impeachment proceedings have to begin if there's to be any chance of the rule of law and constitutional oaths continuing to mean anything.

       From Danielle McLaughlin via stuff:

       But she finally acted this week because the latest outrage was one outrage too many and to not begin an impeachment investigation would mean that actually, nothing matters anymore.

       Worse, to not act would mean that the impeachment remedy built into the US Constitution – as divisive and bloody as it may be – is as good as dead.

       It is not dead. And even if impeachment is political suicide for Democrats, they have done the right thing by holding power to account. And that is worth losing everything for.
       • Ad 1.1.1.1

         29 September 2019 at 10:18 am

         Surely it's still very likely that he will be impeached, but not be convicted by the Senate, and still run as the only Republican Presidential candidate.

         Nixon we re-elected.
         • Andre 1.1.1.1.1

           29 September 2019 at 10:40 am

           Well, yeah, I've got higher hopes of winning Powerball than seeing Benedict Donald removed from office via conviction in the senate. And the risk of his re-election remains terrifyingly high.

           But Nixon was re-elected before any formal impeachment proceedings began in the House. The resolutions calling for impeachment introduced in his first term never went anywhere, and the Watergate break-in didn't happen until June 1972 in the heat of the 1972 election campaign.
           • Ad 1.1.1.1.1.1

             29 September 2019 at 12:44 pm

             The point is Nixon won, with that kind of story breaking as you say in the heat of the campaign.

             And then a Republican took over from him.
             • Dukeofurl …

               29 September 2019 at 7:43 pm

               I think you are confused over Nixon. You mean Clinton who won after being impeached but not convicted in the Senate.

               Impeachment enquirys didnt start for Nixon till after his re-election. It was the break in ( Watergate Blg) before the election that was the trigger issue

               "early hours of 17 June 1972, five men attempted to break-in to the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex

               The election was Nov 1972 , which Nixon won in one of the biggest landslides in US presidential history. but the full details wernt availble till the next year
               • Ad …

                 29 September 2019 at 8:02 pm

                 I am aware of the sequencing, and was so before Andre's correction.

                 Every historic parallel has limited value.

                 But, like Trump, Nixon was a deeply maimed candidate who secured the White House for the Republicans.
         • Anne 1.1.1.1.2

           29 September 2019 at 10:59 am

           Nixon didn't last long after he was re-elected. As more evidence came in of his and his team's malfeasance he/they soon became a cropper. He resigned before they pushed him. I predict that is what will happen when it is Trump's turn.

           It will happen because he is a dangerous crook in every sense of the word. The problem is… when?

           Edit: I see Andre beat me to it. Will leave it here.
           • joe90 1.1.1.1.2.1

             29 September 2019 at 11:08 am

             I predict that is what will happen when it is Trump's turn.

             But if he resigns he loses the shield of the presidency that’s allowed him to dodge indictment on other matters.

             He probably wants to cut and run with the excuse that I’m too good for this shit, they don’t deserve me but he doesn’t want the legal woes that come with it.
           • Andre 1.1.1.1.2.2

             29 September 2019 at 11:10 am

             The Pumpkin Pinochet won't resign until he gets convinced his future includes a lot of orange jumpsuit unless he gets himself a pardon from President Pence. And that's a conversation that will end with "Don't forget to give us all our pardons before you resign, OK Daddy?".

             However, the threat of imprisonment for his shoats has faded with the inaction following the Mueller report, and the current crisis is around gross violations of his constitutional oath and obligations of office that require a political remedy, but don't appear to be directly criminally punishable. So that "when" isn't even on the horizon at the moment.
       • marty mars 1.1.1.2

         29 September 2019 at 10:23 am

         yep – the straw is a back breaker

         The Democrats, meanwhile, have been pilloried from start to finish: for not impeaching, for impeaching, for impeaching the wrong way or for the wrong reasons. But the truth is that we are in uncharted seas, and there is no easy way to remove a president. In hindsight, it is hard not to conclude that in biding her time Pelosi was waiting to reel Trump in.

         …Trump’s pattern of grandiosity, delusions of superiority, profound entitlement, desperate need for admiration, and bitter spite all but guaranteed the outcome: he wouldn’t be able to resist abusing his power, and didn’t. Trump loves to brag that he’s the most successful president in US history – but if he is actually convicted by the Senate and removed from office that will make him, officially, the least.

         https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/28/donald-trump-acts-above-law-fight-back
         • Anne 1.1.1.2.1

           29 September 2019 at 10:50 am

           In hindsight, it is hard not to conclude that in biding her time Pelosi was waiting to reel Trump in.

           That imo is precisely what she was doing.

           Even if the Senate choose to stymie the process, it will have served to alert the majority of American citizenry (excluding the Trump camp of course) to the extent of the awful corruption inside the White House and the president in particular. In other words it's a good way for the Dems to start their campaign for next year.
           • Poission 1.1.1.2.1.1

             29 September 2019 at 11:02 am

             Maybe it is the American way,but the Biden's do not pass the sniff test.

             "Biden was one of the most vocal champions of anticorruption efforts in the Obama administration. So when this same Biden takes his son with him to China aboard Air Force Two, and within days Hunter joins the board of an investment advisory firm with stakes in China, it does not matter what father and son discussed. Joe Biden has enabled this brand of practice, made it bipartisan orthodoxy. And the ethical standard in these cases—people’s basic understanding of right and wrong—becomes whatever federal law allows. Which is a lot. "

             https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/hunter-bidens-legal-socially-acceptable-corruption/598804/

             Would this be acceptable in NZ?

             What would we be saying if it was Max Key?

             What was said about Collins when she visited China on an official capacity,then undertook some unofficial meetings.
             • Andre …

               29 September 2019 at 11:41 am

               In a general sense, the fact that access to those holding high office is such a lucrative commodity freely sold is indeed unacceptably corrupt.

               However, the first point of difference between Drumpfelthinskin and Collins, and Hunter Biden and a Max Key hypothetical, is the former have their trotters directly on the levers of power while the latter do not. That's kinda the difference between a deep dive into the offal pit, a la Black Sheep, compared to just the whiff of dead rat in the wall cavity.

               Second, allegations against the Bidens have already been thoroughly investigated, and determined to be non-criminal, both for China and Ukraine. Again, that activity is indeed corrupt, but it was at the less smelly end of the scale that has long been routine in the corridors of power almost everywhere. Furthermore, it's useful to remind ourselves that Stable Genius Junior in particular is still busy leveraging daddy's position to advance Trump Organisation interests all around the world while daddy benefits directly from that activity. In contrast, it’s arguable that the pressure Joe Biden put on Ukraine was in fact detrimental to Hunter’s interests, not beneficial.

               https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/09/the-hunter-biden-timeline/
               • francesca …

                 29 September 2019 at 1:00 pm

                 " it’s arguable that the pressure Joe Biden put on Ukraine was in fact detrimental to Hunter’s interests, not beneficial"

                 .It certainly is arguable Andre.

                 Your sequence of events is at odds with what the prosecutor of the time recollects.

                 "In a newly sworn affidavit prepared for a European court, Shokin testified that when he was fired in March 2016, he was told the reason was that Biden was unhappy about the Burisma investigation. “The truth is that I was forced out because I was leading a wide-ranging corruption probe into Burisma Holdings, a natural gas firm active in Ukraine and Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was a member of the Board of Directors,” Shokin testified.

                 https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/463307-solomon-these-once-secret-memos-cast-doubt-on-joe-bidens-ukraine-story
                 • Andre …

                   29 September 2019 at 1:25 pm

                   No doubt this will get further investigated, and the accuracy or not of this report should help inform Dem primary voter choices starting February 3 next year.

                   In the meantime, something to consider is: how reliable a source is John Solomon? From wikipedia:

                   John F. Solomon is an American journalist who is an investigative reporter, a media executive, and a conservative political commentator. He is an editorialist and executive vice president of digital video for The Hill. He was formerly employed as an executive and as editor-in-chief at The Washington Times. While he has won a number of prestigious awards for his investigative journalism, he has also been accused of magnifying small scandals and creating fake controversy.

                   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Solomon_(political_commentator)
                   • Francesca …

                     29 September 2019 at 2:10 pm

                     Forget about Solomon

                     Here we have the prosecutors affidavit

                     Nice try at deflection
                   • Andre …

                     29 September 2019 at 2:52 pm

                     An affidavit from someone widely reputed to be awesomely corrupt, with an obvious motive for vengeance on someone who played a role in getting him canned. And the affidavit is disputed by a senior Ukrainian who quit, allegedly in disgust because of the corruption.

                     https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-07/timeline-in-ukraine-probe-casts-doubt-on-giuliani-s-biden-claim

                     https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2019/may/07/viral-image/fact-checking-joe-biden-hunter-biden-and-ukraine/
                   • francesca …

                     29 September 2019 at 2:59 pm

                     keep on cherry picking. Andre knows which Ukrainian prosecutors are the good guys and which are the deeply corrupt.The good guys back up his favourite story.

                     When in fact Ukraine has been riddled with corruption, since for ever,and US administrations of both stripes have found lucrative pickings
                 • greywarshark …

                   29 September 2019 at 1:26 pm

                   Francesca and Andre You keeping track of this USA chain of corruption and insider advancement is invaluable.
                 • Andre …

                   29 September 2019 at 4:14 pm

                   More about John Solomon:

                   https://www.thedailybeast.com/leaked-memo-colleagues-unload-on-john-solomon-the-reporter-who-kicked-off-trumps-ukraine-conspiracy?ref=home
     • AB 1.1.2

       29 September 2019 at 4:59 pm

       The concern must be that impeachment proceedings against Trump maintain the focus on how loathesome he is as individual. This might persuade the electorate that merely getting rid of him and reverting to BAU is sufficient. If that's the case, an historic opportunity will be lost. That opportunity is not merely to implement clever technocratic regulation of capitalism (Warren), but to achieve a re-configuration and democratisation of economic power (Sanders). There is daylight between Sanders and Warren in this respect.
       • Andre 1.1.2.1

         29 September 2019 at 5:11 pm

         There is precedent for Dems thinking they have a historic opportunity to achieve re-configuration by electing a radical to put up against a personally loathsome and demonstrably criminal Repug president.

         That was George McGovern in 1972. How'd that turn out?
         • AB 1.1.2.1.1

           29 September 2019 at 6:11 pm

           I was a teenager when McGovern lost – and I remember the disappointment. The disappointment was compounded shortly after by the end of the Kirk/Rowling government and the ousting of Whitlam. The disappointment did not extinguish the hope.
       • Ad 1.1.2.2

         29 September 2019 at 5:18 pm

         Sanders will I think be the worst affected out of this.

         Warren is weakened but less than Sanders. She needed the cleaner and undisturbed media focus through all the primary challenges.

         But I'm not even sure Biden benefits. Maybe he gets more airtime, maybe this stabilizes him at this support level, as people just go for the guy to take Trump out.

         No other candidates matter.

         The killer is this:

         Trump's awesome survival skills over three years have raised the level of damage needed to be politically fatal to higher and higher and higher – so he may well survive impeachment just fine.
         • Poission 1.1.2.2.1

           29 September 2019 at 6:44 pm

           James Hansen says its time for Sanders to retire.

           "Sanders says as president he would impose a moratorium on nuclear plants as part of his $16.3 trillion climate-change plan. But critics of Sanders say he is ignoring science, so I reached out to James Hansen, the climate scientist whose testimony before the U.S. Senate in 1988 about greenhouse gases causing global warming put the issue on the map.

           “It’s time for Bernie Sanders to retire,” Hansen responded in an email. “He truly doesn’t get it. India and China have no prayer of phasing out coal without the help of nuclear power. We burned much of their share of the global carbon budget, and yet we refused to help them with modern nuclear power. Thousands of people PER DAY are dying in India from the pollution…. Not only is he killing people in India, he is screwing my grandchildren,” Hansen wrote. "

           https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-climate-scientist-to-bernie-sanders-youre-killing-people-in-india
   • mauī 1.2

     29 September 2019 at 10:38 am

     "….We have fairly damning evidence from the White House itself of a direct conversation between Trump and the Ukrainian president about going after Biden. "

     Anyone who has read the conversation transcript with some impartiality would know that it isn't about "going after Biden", but investigating Russiagate.
     • Andre 1.2.1

       29 September 2019 at 10:43 am

       The words you use appear to come from the English language, but you appear to ascribe completely different meanings to them.
2. greywarshark 2

   29 September 2019 at 12:27 pm

   This media heading sounds interesting. I haven't read it yet but even the heading is a thought that should get out and continue to exercise people's minds. (Saw it on TDB).

   https://asiapacificreport.nz/2019/09/22/ethics-needed-in-computing-and-tech-to-stop-robber-barons-says-lecturer/
3. Sacha 3

   29 September 2019 at 12:31 pm

   Beautifully photographed article on the post-quake Chch red zone returning to nature: https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2019/09/christchurch-red-zone-to-green/
4. greywarshark 4

   29 September 2019 at 12:39 pm

   Edit
   Meanwhile Brexit…

   Lately: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-49863544 Boris Johnson no-confidence vote could be next week, says SNP MP Stewart Hosie

   Mr Hosie said there was growing concern that Mr Johnson may find a way of circumventing the so-called “Benn Bill” which requires him to seek an extension to the UK’s departure date if no deal has been agreed.

   The aim of a no-confidence vote would be to install an interim prime minister who would secure a short Brexit delay and then call a general election.

   “We have to do that because there is now no confidence that the prime minister will obey the law and seek the extension that Parliament voted for only a few weeks ago,” he told the Today programme.
   “If we are serious about the extension that is the only game in town.”
   (Though the Lib Dems still demur from Corbyn – too divisive FGS.)

   Manipulation! A sort on mansplaining politics to the vulnerable?
   https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/28/boris-johnson-invoke-civil-emergency-powers-brexit-deal
   Johnson ‘whipping up riot fears to avoid Brexit extension’
   Labour claims that PM is aiming to invoke emergency powers using the Civil Contingencies Act

   Old news on Brexit from 24 September – but has a flow chart that pins down options and gives facts about process.
   Brexit: What happens now? https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46393399
   • joe90 4.1

     29 September 2019 at 12:47 pm

     Boris, tRump and Netanyahu are all under the gun.

     Not a good week for wannabe right wing strongmen.

     https://twitter.com/cnni/status/1177754061308866560

     https://twitter.com/TimesofIsrael/status/1176691807796621312
     • Dukeofurl 4.1.1

       29 September 2019 at 7:37 pm

       London Police watchdog ?

       Boris ( amyor of London at the time) nor his friend are police and the work involved was something around 'promoting London'

       As well the GLA who did the recommending is a 25 person Assembly with a labour majority. The real strings are pulled by Londons Executive Mayor Sadiq Khan, also from Labour.

       A bit of a non event dont you think?
5. greywarshark 5

   29 September 2019 at 1:14 pm

   In neolib capitalism, when the poor that its systems and (lack of) principles create, they get hated for their discomfort and its outlets of violence and decadence and depression. So the political system doubles-down on the discomforts which increase to unsatisfactory levels for the ones who have and want to keep, so they move out to better climes. In this example of Indianapolis, USA, the people who have – are whites, and those without – are blacks. Which is common I would think; a colour barrier seems to arise. It's time to put effort into helping blacks and enabling all the good things about them to flourish in a background of security, regular work and wages, and to have a lifestyle that can be enjoyed with home, food, medical help, friends, community. What was held up as being the outcome of the modern world.

   https://www.unz.com/sbpdl/rearranging-deck-chairs-on-titanic/

   It’s perhaps America’s largest city with a “Republican” mayor.

   Only 20 years ago, the city was nearly 80 percent white.
   Only 10 years ago, the city was 67.5 percent white.
   Today, it’s roughly 56 percent white.

   The reason is simple: the quality of life in Indianapolis regresses to the mean of the majority racial group living in neighborhood, community, zip code… and Indianapolis is quickly regressing to the black mean, with whites fleeing the crime, depreciating property values, failing schools, and higher taxes (because blacks = poverty, someone has to pay for all the entitlement programs) that the black community contributes to the city.

   That is an example of the real ‘mean’ of modern political
   systems.
   • Molly 5.1

     29 September 2019 at 1:40 pm

     Very disturbing link and comments, grey. Along with the article, the whole site seems a bit sketchy.

     What was the point you were trying to make? I got sidetracked after reading the article, which I don't think was your intention.
   • joe90 5.2

     29 September 2019 at 1:47 pm

     Racist AF Unz article written by a rabid white supremacist who hasn't got the balls to uses his real name.

     Really?
   • solkta 5.3

     29 September 2019 at 2:05 pm

     How do you even find yourself on such a site? Very icky.
   • Dukeofurl 5.4

     30 September 2019 at 10:18 am

     US "cities' arent what you think they area

     The Metropolitan area is 1.5 mill people, while within the central core municipality is 860,000

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

     Its a common mistake in US and Europe to think the central city council covers the whole urban area. Its more like Auckland was before the first round of amalgamations in 1988 with lots of smaller councils surrounding the 'city'

     Los Angeles 'City' is only a large portion of the LA urban area and so on through out the US
6. Sacha 6

   29 September 2019 at 1:26 pm

   Why is this trash in the sidebar?

   What a shameful day, where ignorant children disrespected their elders, cheered on by fools

   What a shameful day in our history, where mainly children and young people “protested” about something they have no understanding of and that is mostly nothing but a hoax of proportions never seen before in human history.
   • Andre 6.1

     29 September 2019 at 1:41 pm

     Googling "www.averagekiwi.com" brings up a load of old results that appear leftie from the snippets displayed by google, but none of the actual posts appear cached by google. Just a few index pages are cached. Can't be arsed teaching myself one of the internet archiving services to check further on that.

     It appears that a few months ago all the old stuff was wiped and these new climate denier trolling posts started coming. Maybe Hosking hijacked the site?
   • joe90 6.2

     29 September 2019 at 1:50 pm

     Whois inquiry tells me the author is a cowardly fuck hiding behind a proxy.
7. joe90 7

   29 September 2019 at 3:03 pm

   Mr Blair knew.

   https://twitter.com/Jackasaurus3/status/1178028600848576512
8. joe90 8

   29 September 2019 at 4:42 pm

   Oh, it's just Nige being Nige.

   Had Corbyn had said it, the media knives would’ve been out pdq.

   /

   Police said they have been "looking into" comments made by Nigel Farage at a Brexit Party rally in Newport last week.

   The Brexit Party leader said "we'll take the knife" to "the overpaid pen pushers in Whitehall".

   Gwent Police said "following a thorough assessment" the comments do not constitute a criminal offence.

   We have received a number of comments and concerns from members of the public regarding a video that is circulating on social media. We can confirm this video relates to a visit by Nigel Farage to The Neon in Newport as part of a Brexit Party rally on the evening of 21st September. We are aware of the heightened tensions that exist regarding use of language, and take all allegations and concerns from members of the public very seriously. However, following a thorough assessment, it is our view that the comments in the video, do not constitute a criminal offence. As such, Gwent Police will not be taking any further action.

   – Assistant Chief Constable Rhiannon Kirk

   Brexit Party leader made these comments at a rally last Saturday:

   When the president of the port of Calais and the boss of the port of Dover tell you they're 100% ready for Brexit in whatever form it comes I suggest we listen to them and not the overpaid pen pushers in Whitehall who are not doing a neutral job and once Brexit's done we'll take the knife to them. I've had enough of all of it.

   – Nigel Farage

   https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2019-09-28/police-looking-into-nigel-farage-s-take-the-knife-to-them-comments-at-newport-brexit-party-rally/
9. NZJester 9

   29 September 2019 at 5:23 pm

   I saw a link on MSN to a news hub story item with the headline that claimed “Brides would take on Trump”. Clicked on the title changed to
   “Bridges says he would have raised climate change with Trump”.

   Unlike Jacinda Ardern, Simon Bridges says he would have raised climate change with Donald Trump – even though he doesn't think it's an emergency.

   Bridges would not have had a moment to raise anything with Trump as it would be hard for him to talk while he is licking Trump’s shoes to shine them.

   The whole story rings so hollow as he dismisses climate change in one sentence but makes out he would talk tough about it to Trump in another. The only person mentioned in the story that has less of a grip on reality than Bridges is Trump.

   https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/bridges-says-he-would-have-raised-climate-change-with-trump/ar-AAHZzs1?li=BBqdg4K
   • solkta 9.1

     29 September 2019 at 5:28 pm

     He doesn't say what he would have said. Probably just "climate change" and offer the guy a high five.
     • Anne 9.1.1

       29 September 2019 at 5:53 pm

       He would have said to Trump… I agree with you.This Climate Change thing is all a hoax. We need to stick together on this one because they'll ruin the oil and coal industries and that's where our votes come from.
   • Anne 9.2

     29 September 2019 at 6:01 pm

     From the link:

     "When she had the chance to raise it with the most important figure in the world, the leader of the free world, the President of the United States – she didn't."

     The leader of the free world? God Almighty. I knew Bridges was dumb but that's beyond the pale. Especially after the revelations of the past couple of weeks! If he represents National's finest then heaven help us if they gain the treasury benches again.
     • Incognito 9.2.1

       29 September 2019 at 8:51 pm

       When she had the chance to raise it with the most important figures in the world, the leaders of the free world, the members of the United Nations – she did.

       FIFY, Mr Bridges. And while we’re on the topic of raising difficult issues with leaders of superpowers, did you raise issues of climate change or human rights during your recent trip to China? Oh, you didn’t, did you? In fact, you buttered them up. Your words sound hollow, Mr Bridges.
       • Andre 9.2.1.1

         29 September 2019 at 9:00 pm

         To be fair to China, they're doing a shitload more on tackling climate change than we are. So no matter how you look at it, Slimon really doesn't have an incentive to raise that as a topic with China.
         • Incognito 9.2.1.1.1

           29 September 2019 at 9:02 pm

           Okidoki.
         • Dukeofurl 9.2.1.1.2

           30 September 2019 at 10:10 am

           "To be fair to China, they're doing a shitload more on tackling climate change than we are."

           Really ? We have our electricity system at 80% renewables , while China is building how many new coal power stations per month

           I think you will find that you are seriously misinformed

           https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2019/03/28/china-new-coal-plants-2030-climate/

           https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-china-coal/china-plans-226-gw-of-new-coal-power-projects-environmental-groups-idUSKBN1W40HS
           • Andre 9.2.1.1.2.1

             30 September 2019 at 12:12 pm

             Our renewables capacity is a happy accident of past history and geography. That we're not at more than 98% is utterly shameful given our abundant untapped resources. What are we doing now to reduce our GHG emissions? Dead fukn nothing.

             Meanwhile, what's China doing? They are doing almost half of the worldwide installation of new renewable energy. Massive production and supply of photovoltaic panels (country with the largest installed capacity). Huge additions of wind power (country with the largest installed capacity). Electrification of their transport fleet (they're over 50% of the world market for electric vehicles, and some cities have converted their entire bus fleets to electric). R&D on zero-GHG nuclear power.

             China's electricity consumption per capita is about 4000 kWhr pa, much of which goes to producing stuff consumed by other nations, including New Zealand. Over a quarter of that was renewably generated, including nukes nearly a third of that was zero-GHG. On an annual per-capita basis call it 1200 kWhr zero-GHG and 2800 kWhr fossil. New Zealand's per capita annual consumption is about 9000kWhr, 80% zero-GHG, of which only a relatively small part is exported (from Tiwai point). So we're at about 1800 kWhr per capita fossil generated.

             Considering the where, when, and how the development history of New Zealand and China compare, I reckon we in New Zealand should be fukn ashamed of where we are, and China can at least hold their head up. Even if it's with a bright red blush about their continuing to add new fossil capacity.
10. gsays 10

    29 September 2019 at 7:28 pm

    I decided to email Ian McKelvie, the local Mat MP. I asked about the reasoning behind the defiance of the speakers ruling.

    He responded that it was about free speech and democracy.

    I have replied that the actions reek of desperation and hypocrisy.
    • Dukeofurl 10.1

      29 September 2019 at 7:32 pm

      Did you tell him that it was Bridges and Brownlee , while they were in charge of house business in 2017 who prevented any reform of the Standing Orders over use of edited tv scenes of MPs in the house ?
      • gsays 10.1.1

        30 September 2019 at 12:22 am

        I haven't yet. I am fairly confident he already knows.
        • Rapunzel 10.1.1.1

          30 September 2019 at 7:32 am

          If you email him again can you point out that it bears no resemblance to "free speech and democracy" it is the opposite and has every thing to do with deception &/or promoting ridicule. Ridicule & deception in many ways are the basis of the bullying behaviours which NZ is and should be trying to combat & stop, National Party morality & ethics come from the bottom of the food chain not the top.
          • gsays 10.1.1.1.1

            30 September 2019 at 9:12 am

            Hi Rapunzel, here is what i did write:

            "

            Thank you for your response.

            The free speech angle is kind of a moot point as according to standing orders it is forbidden to use footage from parliament.

            I also see the upholding of democracy as a defence laughable, considering the sacking of Ecan occured without a murmur about democracy.

            I understand being in opposition is frustrating and hard, but this action reeks of desperation and hypocracy.

            Once again, thank-you for responding."

            If I get a further response, I can explore your angles.

            What I would hope would happen is all of y'all were to email their local Nat.

            It isn't me sending an effective email that works, it is all of us sending an email/phoning/writing/visiting these MPs, and letting them know what we think that works.
            • Sacha 10.1.1.1.1.1

              30 September 2019 at 1:27 pm

              If your local Nat MP has influence over their party's communication decisions, yes. I suspect that might be a handful.
              • Rapunzel …

                30 September 2019 at 1:31 pm

                Problem No 1 Bridges is the local "Nat" MP – I moved to the Maori roll to make my vote more productive.
            • Rapunzel 10.1.1.1.1.2

              30 September 2019 at 1:32 pm

              I am looking to do just that I already took something that is pending re Magic Radio and will re misleading headlines, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
11. joe90 11

    29 September 2019 at 7:36 pm

    Bernie's still looking after his NRA mates.

    Bernie Sanders believes in gun registration for AR-15 rifles, but he will not call for their ban or removal like some other Democratic party candidates for president.

    https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/bernie-sanders-against-banning-removing-191200466.html?
    • Dukeofurl 11.1

      29 September 2019 at 7:54 pm

      Hes got to think about the rural voters in Vermont who elect him.

      Some states have assault weapons bans after Federal one expired in 2004.

      Unlike what most think the Supreme court has only ruled on removing restrictions for hand guns stored in the home

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

      Scalia , as he did many times, forgets about his 'original intent of the founders' doctrine and switches to a modern evolving constitution
12. Eco maori 12

    30 September 2019 at 10:45 am

    Great mahi Michael I agree we have to stop the central control of our needs more like Central control of our hip pockets. We must catch our own rain water per household grow some of our own vegetables compost our own bio waste there is a system that use organic waste ie the toilet waste water goes in a you get 2 hours a day of low cost gas and fertiliser for your garden you get the bio digester and the toilet for $1050 that is a good buy I'm getting one soon Just Google it and you will find it. Use solar and wind to power our house the best wind turbine for the DIY person is the new vertical turbine as they don't need much wind to run + in urban setting the wind is disturbed ie its can hit the turbine at different angles at the same time that type of wind stalls the traditional turbine but the new vertical turbine will work better in those conditions.

    Sustainability expert Michael Mobbs: I’m leaving the city to prep for the apocalypse.

    The 69-year-old former environmental attorney who, in 1996, transformed his two-storey 19th century Sydney terrace into one of the most global’s first inner-city self-sufficient houses, is promoting his well-known hobby venture and shifting to a faraway coastal location to arrange for what he predicts can be coming near near societal cave in brought on by way of local weather exchange.

    This is, he says, a complete breakdown throughout the subsequent 3 to 5 years.

    Promoting his four-bedroom, off-grid Chippendale assets that he bought in 1978 for $23,500 and is now valued at $2.2m is proving tougher than he concept. He’s had it in the marketplace since March, however desires to promote it to any person who gained’t convert the again backyard right into a automotive house, who desires to care for the Saturday morning space excursions that experience attracted some 30,000 eco-curious guests, and who will respect the house’s distinctive perks: two resident Australorp chooks named Pesky and Blanche d’Alpuget; not up to $300 a 12 months in water and effort expenses for a circle of relatives of 4 and a leafy side road blooming with safe to eat verge gardens.

    The home additionally has a water, sewerage and electrical energy device totally disconnected from the mains: it’s powered by way of sun panels and a battery garage device; blank ingesting water falls at the roof and is then filtered for garage in an underground tank; and an aerated waste remedy device recycles all gray and blackwater, making sure no uncooked sewage has left the premises in 23 years.

    Mobbs is in no large hurry to promote – he’s but to obtain that an important plot of coastal land for his bolthole-to-be. Then again he does have a brand new domicile within the works this is due for of completion in December – a prefabricated, bushfire-proof, absolutely sustainable house built with recycled fabrics that he’s developing in partnership with Melbourne-based modular housing consultantsFairweather Houses and Lismore-based renewables corporate 24 Hour Sun Energy. Mobbs’ new house would be the prototype the trio use to take at the mainstream development marketplace, appearing that sustainable may also be each “gorgeous and sublime” and “less expensive than industry as standard”

    “I wish to break out from the key towns as a result of I believe they’ll turn out to be unsafe. You have a look at what occurs in puts that get cyclones or tornadoes; when the meals runs out and it’s laborious to get energy and water, civil unrest occurs in about two or 3 days,” he says.

    “Other people die with out meals and water in per week, and if there are a large number of other people demise or liable to demise, their behaviour will turn out to be uncontrollable

    All the way through that 12 months Mobbs additionally took a four,352km teach go back and forth from Perth to Sydney, a adventure he describes as “simply 4 days of demise nation-state”. “I travelled thru Western Australia around the Nullarbor, thru South Australia, down thru Damaged Hill – the entire of the rustic is deserted and demise,” he says.

    That the mighty, flood-prone Lachlan River of his formative years has now been projected by way of WaterNSW to run dry by way of March 2020 given no vital rain or govt intervention, fills Mobbs with a grave worry

    Michael Mobbs along with his house’s inverter, which manages inputs from the sun panels and batteries. : Jessica Hromas/The Father or mother

    When NSW premier Bob Carr opened Mobbs’ sustainable space on nine December 1996, he declared Sydney’s first self-sufficient house “a imaginative and prescient of the longer term”.

    Certainly, ultimately depend, greater than 20% of Australian houses had been fitted with sun panels; this 12 months’s nationwide Sustainable Area Day noticed 252 houses open their doorways to the general public; and NSW now has a development sustainability index (Basix) that regulates the power and water potency of recent dwellings.

    In the ones 20 years Mobbs has had vital wins towards the state, together with Sydney Water, which for years after he’d disconnected his house from the sewage and water mains persisted to ship him expenses (when he didn’t pay up, he says, they threatened to disconnect him). “[Eventually] they got here spherical and did a smoke check. And their faces fell,” he says, grinning.

    However Mobbs remains to be locked in an ideological fight with Sydney Water, which he sees as prioritising desalination vegetation over house rainwater tanks and wastewater recycling methods. The dwindling H2O ranges in his personal underground garage device is a day by day reminder of town’s water lack of confidence – lately he’s needed to more and more depend on his neighbour’s lawn hose to most sensible up his tank. The newest worst-case situation projection from WaterNSW is that Warragamba Dam – Sydney’s number one water provide – will forestall flowing by way of January 2022.

    “I’ve finished my best possible right here and it hasn’t been sufficient,” Mobbs says of his Sydney ecohome. “I see what I’ve finished as a failure. Now not a sad failure – I imply it’s modified issues corresponding to development laws … This space has introduced extra exchange than political argument has. I’ve given up political strategising. The political procedure is simply too sluggish for the issues we are facing. I’m hoping if we will be able to do a just right process with this [prefabricated sustainable home] venture, we will be able to succeed in exchange

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://theworldbreakingnews.com/sustainability-expert-michael-mobbs-im-leaving-the-city-to-prep-for-the-apocalypse/
13. Eco maori 13

    30 September 2019 at 2:23 pm

    Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.

    https://youtu.be/5Yj4j_lZMBo
14. Eco maori 14

    30 September 2019 at 6:27 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    If the big banks are making billions then they should provide their services in our rural communities.

    Spacex is doing amazing things kia pai I see Tesla is filing new patent for their new battery tech to Kia Kaha.

    I wonder why all the state employees strives.

    Ka kite Ano
15. Eco maori 15

    30 September 2019 at 6:49 pm

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    That' fog cannon is a great way to stop idiots harming bottles shop staff.

    Ngāti Rangi Iwi using A ap to help the tangata connect with their Iwi is great way to use social media. Our tipuna in couraged tangata to use the Westen now technology.

    The story of Tupaia whom was with Cook when he first came to Aotearoa Its very interesting that the story of Cook and Tupaia landing in Aotearoa has two different stories from each side of the Awa. The Tupaia story shows that Pacific tangata had great navigation skills in those days. Its really awesome that natives from around Te Papatuanuku are joining the strike for our future climate. Kai kaha Whanau Climate change will affect us more than the wealth

    Ka kite Ano.
16. Eco maori 16

    1 October 2019 at 8:33 am

    Kia Ora The Am Show.

    Australian is not being fair on the issue with imagination they are just creaming it they put up BULLSHIT ban on our apples.

    The Climate Change Strikes are going to change our society to a clean and green society Our government plans on mitergateing climate change will flow through the Behive easier because of the strikes people are changing the way they live to lower their carbon foot print. I agree if one already knows the answer there's NO NEED to ask the questions.

    Papatuanuku day for our Kau matua '' I'' Whanau we must care and look after and RESPECT our Kau matua.

    Sam the ANZ is hogging all the profits from Aotearoa and not providing service in the regions Whanau time to do the switch. I switched banks years ago.

    The new tourist charge is needed so Aotearoa can provide excellent services to our guests ka pai

    There you go that is why I won't be going to Australia they don't no how to respect other cultures they treat their Great ancient indigenous tangata very badly.

    Yes I agree we need to provide tau toko for the deported tangata from Australia's Aussie Mulcom I have a Fishermen associate from back in the day named Aussie. And other Fisher people from Ausse I have some knowledge on the culture there.

    Six60 new Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa version of one of there songs is cool.

    Top less Women people would only want to see the younger people with out their tops on swimming big know let's have some respect for all women.

    We have a rule no toy guns for Te pepi

    I agree people go into the hinaki society change so fast now days and they don't know how to cope with the changes they end up sliding back into doing trouble again they need more support when they get out of jail put the Ambulance at the top of the moanga not the bottom it will achieve a better outcome for the people and our society.

    I agree with Azias there is a place and time for top less women nood camps not in public domains . I can see this though creating heaps of problems in our society.

    Ka kite Ano
17. Eco maori 17

    1 October 2019 at 3:07 pm

    Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.

    https://youtu.be/SKprXO-f2pM
18. Ad 18

    20 October 2019 at 2:28 pm

    A New Zealand director has a crack at Thomas Piketty's work in "Capital in the 21st Century":

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reyy9ASpMSc

    Not telling us anything new, but certainly telling it afresh.

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