Open mike 30/05/2013

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1. Morrissey 1

   30 May 2013 at 6:21 am

   Here is the News
   30 May, 2023

   In ever-mounting horror, I listened last night (Wed 29.5.13) to the 9 o’clock news on Radio NZ National. After noting that another U.S. drone strike has killed seven people in the North Waziristan tribal region, the newsreader, Chris Whitta, drily intoned: “Such strikes are widely seen in Pakistan as a breach of the country’s sovereignty.”

   Let’s (to quote Jeremy Kyle) flip things around….

   It’s Tuesday, 30th of May, 2023. From his air-conditioned offices in Moscow, dashing young Russian hero Sergeant Yuri (“Ivan”) Rebrov (17 years old) guides another remote-controlled drone somewhere in the hills of West Virginia, carefully manoeuvres it over a hillbilly wedding party, then skillfully unleashes two smart bombs into the midst of the proceedings, killing 47 hillbillies and wounding dozens more.

   The strike is totally justified because Sgt Rebrov’s commanders had received intelligence from a reputable source that at least one member of the notorious 82nd Airborne Division was attending the festivities. While it now looks as if there were in fact no soldiers actually present, and the intelligence was faulty, it should be noted that there was a preponderance of U.S. flags flying in the vicinity, which marks this area as a hotbed of Christian extremism.

   Such strikes are widely seen in the United States as a breach of the country’s sovereignty. U.S. President Jenna Bush has filed another complaint to the Russian authorities, and reiterated her claim that such strikes serve only to inflame the situation in the southern states.

   Overnight, meanwhile, Russian soldiers killed a carload of eight “rednecks”, including a mother and six children, when the driver failed to stop at a checkpoint in Atlanta. Witnesses say the driver could not understand the soldiers shouting out orders to stop as they were shouting in Russian.

   President Putin has expressed his regret at the deaths, but insists that such operations in the Hillbilly Regions are necessary to keep the world safe for democracy and freedom.

   Russian Foreign Minister Gerard Depardieu repeated his assurance that the last Russian troops will leave the country by the end of the 21st century.
   • ianmac 1.1

     30 May 2013 at 8:36 am

     It is a source of wonder that drone bombing is apparently acceptable to the USA population. Or maybe the general population is not really informed. Like the towns near WW11 concentration camps. They didn’t want to know.
     • Morrissey 1.1.1

       30 May 2013 at 8:47 am

       It is a source of wonder that drone bombing is apparently acceptable to the USA population.

       It’s not. Polling shows that U.S. citizens are as appalled by drone strikes as the people in every other country. Not that the views of U.S. citizens are a concern for Washington.

       Or maybe the general population is not really informed. Like the towns near WW11 concentration camps. They didn’t want to know.

       They’re informed, and they don’t support these strikes. The problem is that they feel powerless to do anything to stop it. There are not enough Americans like these….
       http://www.democracynow.org/2013/2/8/codepink_repeatedly_disrupts_brennan_hearing_calling
       http://www.democracynow.org/2013/5/24/medea_benjamin_v_president_obama_codepink
2. mickysavage 2

   30 May 2013 at 6:27 am

   Peters went out on a limb yesterday and accused Peter Dunne of leaking the Kitteridge report into the GCSB. Dunne denies this. Then Paddy Gower tweets this:

   “11 Ministers get GCSB report. Dunne only one interviewed by leak inquiry. Peters finds out – so who leaked the leak inquiry?”

   It will be interesting to find out if this information was leaked and why. Is this further evidence of National’s internal factional battles?
   • Boadicea 2.1

     30 May 2013 at 7:27 am

     Winston accused Dunne of leaking in a Committee meeting.
     Dunne denies it, but at the same times says one of his staff had access.
     Key says “I take Mr Dunne at his word”.
     Key last used those words in the Aaron Gilmore affair.

     Key asks Winston to repeat outside the protection of the House. Winston should do so and call Dunne’s and Key’s bluff. Winston would gets loads of glorious exposure.
     We would have loads of entertainment.
   • David H 2.2

     30 May 2013 at 8:22 am

     Oh no Pete George has been able to get into Dunny’s office.
     • mickysavage 2.2.1

       30 May 2013 at 9:10 am

       What was Pete George doing on the day the report was leaked?

       😀
3. Morrissey 3

   30 May 2013 at 7:02 am

   The “Ouch” file
   No. 1: ratesarerevolting

   Monday, May 27, 2013….

   http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27052013/#comment-639510

   A series dedicated to public slapdowns of the hapless, the horrible and the hypocritical.
4. Te Reo Putake 4

   30 May 2013 at 7:53 am

   Just in case folk missed the release of the latest Roy Morgan poll, here ’tis:

   http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/new-zealand-voting-intention-may29-201305290604

   Roy reckons “If a National Election were held now the latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows an Opposition Labour/ Greens Coalition would win.”

   Bugger the (other) polls. As always, the RM is actually reflecting the intentions of Kiwi voters. Which could be why a normally National voting farmer offered to put up Labour signange on his fences next election when we were sharing a beer last night. The tide is turning.
   • ak 4.1

     30 May 2013 at 8:17 am

     Ae Te Reo, the food in schools bizzo coming on top of gay marriage and frozen chinese mutton has thrown a discombobulating wee crescent into cosy redneck territory; their expensive gold-plated tongue has let his mincing poof-loving rangi-feeding slip show and worse – both the books and the polls are heading south…..tough times down on the farm factory as the frosts of progression nibble at that brighter bigot future.
     • Te Reo Putake 4.1.1

       30 May 2013 at 8:46 am

       The frozen meat did come up in conversation, he reckoned it was a sign of the overall incompetence of this government and the lack of farmers amongst the the caucus ranks. I’d pick him as a bit of a Muldoonist, keen on intervention in the economy. The major gripe was that his carpenter son has to work in Oz to earn a decent living. Should be in Chch, but doesn’t want to be ripped off apparently.
       • vto 4.1.1.1

         30 May 2013 at 8:56 am

         Why would his son get ripped off? Any trade can earn higher than ever in Christchurch at the moment. If a young tradie cannot “earn a decent living” in this environment then, yep, better they go to oz as they won’t be much use here.
         • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1.1

           30 May 2013 at 9:10 am

           You try to negotiate with one of the official insurance repair contractors, I suspect they don’t leave much on the table for a young independent tradie, esp in terms of conditions, housing provided etc
           • vto 4.1.1.1.1.1

             30 May 2013 at 9:20 am

             We have some involvement in this area. Hourly rates for labourers up to $30/hour. Qualified builders and carpenters 35, 45 and up to 65 / hour. Almost as much as drainlayers who charge / earn even more. Sure, insurance work negotiation is a tough job but it aint all there is going on.

             But then, there are stories of people still earning the typically smaller rates. Main contractor charging the lad out at $45 and paying him $22/hr.

             This is the way it goes, but the opportunity is here for sure.

             btw, what is a typical government-contracted consultant in Wellington charged at?
             • KJT …

               30 May 2013 at 9:55 am

               Fletchers were offering $35 to $45 an hour for a qualified builder.

               Many people do not seem to understand is that the builder does not get anywhere near the $35 to $45, in the hand, after expenses.

               Working as a subcontractor, supplying their own tools and travel etc.
               Not to mention having to pay the crazy accommodation prices in Christchurch.

               I was making more than that in Auckland 6 years ago!

               And, unlike Fletchers, the client was paying for all my materials, travel and accommodation.

               In Queensland the hammerhands get almost as much, as wages.

               We are going to have another “leaky building” crises in Christchurch in a few years as a consequence, of the insurance companies and Fletchers, only paying enough to get cowboys.
               • Te Reo Putake …

                 30 May 2013 at 10:05 am

                 Thanks for laying that out KJT. Further to it, as Fletchers have been granted monopoly control of the project, they set the rates at an artificially low level to maximise their profits. Add in to that the exorbitant cost of rent in the Chch area, it is simply not economically sensible to turn down work in Oz. If workers are going to travel, they will travel to where the best return is. That’s how the market works.
               • Draco T Bastard …

                 30 May 2013 at 10:32 am

                 Yep, every time my nephew has looked at going to Christchurch the sums always show he’ll be worse off.

                 Christchurch isn’t being rebuilt because, quite simply, they’re not paying enough and there’s absolutely no way that the insurance companies can actually afford to pay enough even with re-insurance.
                 • vto …

                   30 May 2013 at 10:43 am

                   Don’t know if it is that simple. Personally know of many such workers who are happy to be finally paid something better. But they live here so no rent / relocation etc problems.

                   As for reasons for not being rebuilt, they are many and varied. One of the main reasons is that costs have been forced dramatically up due to all the insurance and public money flooding in for infrastructure and repairs & rebuilds of insured homes. This of course is distorting everything else which does not have that public / insurance money behind it. Hence very little private rebuild going on – the numbers don’t stack up.
                   • Draco T Bastard …

                     30 May 2013 at 11:00 am

                     Nothing’s ever that simple but some times the glaringly obvious is a large part of the problem and by saying but it’s not that simple is, IMO, diverting from the need to address that large part.
                   • vto …

                     30 May 2013 at 11:04 am

                     True. Oh well, we have been lumped with the mechanism of the free market to deal with all of this so we shall see what happens….. (oh, except of course for those in the central city who have full blown central government heavy handed intervention to help them through – nice for some. Hypocrites.)
                 • millsy …

                   30 May 2013 at 10:51 am

                   When the Ministry of Works was abolished in 1988, and its SOE successor was sold off in 1996, there were repeated warnings to the effect that this will all come back and bite us when a natural disaster comes along.

                   Well guess what. Its coming back to bite us.
                   • Draco T Bastard …

                     30 May 2013 at 11:02 am

                     Yep, the MoW could have moved thousands of people in to help out. Instead we’re leaving it to the “market” (Rained over by King Gerry) and our people are suffering unnecessarily.
   • ianmac 4.2

     30 May 2013 at 5:08 pm

     Te Reo Putake. Thanks for the link. Our MP Colin King lauded the Fairfax-Isos Poll in the Marlborough Express today so I have sent a letter to the editor asking Colin to respond to the Morgan Poll the summary of which I have supplied. Poor old Colin will have to ask someone how to respond.
5. phillip ure 5

   30 May 2013 at 9:45 am

   i’ve tried most..and here are the two drugs i recommend…

   http://whoar.co.nz/2013/how-ecstasy-can-take-you-on-the-healing-path-even-for-a-former-nun-comment-ed-after-decades-of-field-experiments-i-give-my-drug-recommendations/

   (excerpt..)

   “..(ed:..having during a chequered drug-life/history..taken/tried most mind-altering substances..

   (at the nadir..demanding heroin laced with cocaine as a heart-starter every morning..and thru the ensuing day/night..)

   ..and having been clean of those two for a long time..(now i only use cannabis..)

   ..there are only two of all those drugs/substances i would give a serious thumbs-up to..”

   phillip ure..
   • joe90 5.1

     30 May 2013 at 1:10 pm

     http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/22/fda-approves-first-study-on-ecstasy-assisted-therapy-for-social-anxiety-in-autistic-adults/
6. Morrissey 6

   30 May 2013 at 10:41 am

   Carry On Dame Ann Leslie!
   Nine to Noon, Radio NZ National, Thursday 30 May 2013

   Last week we were subjected to ten minutes of blithering nastiness from the former Thatcher underling Matthew Parris. This week, the producers at Radio NZ National went to another in the seemingly inexhaustible supply of smug old gits that it uses as its “U.K. correspondent”: this time it was Dame Ann Leslie who was rostered on.

   Dame Ann took up where Parris had left off last week, i.e., she tried to say the killings last week were the work of demented thugs, and had no rationale whatsover. Here are a few snatches of her uninterrupted and unexamined monologue: “These Islamist deluded youths… these Islamist fanatics… they want to force their views on us whether we want to accept them or not… I was heartened by those three young women….incredibly courageous….”

   Eventually, Lynn Freeman had had enough of this, and moved la Grande Dame away from the panegyrics….

   LYNN FREEMAN: So you’re not seeing any backlash, Dame Ann?
   DAME ANN LESLIE: Oh, of course! There always is! A bunch of THUGS called the English Defence League. But we are really quite stoic. There hasn’t been a huge amount of backlash.

   LYNN FREEMAN: For your second topic, you wanted to say something about Syria.
   DAME ANN LESLIE: You know, Stalin said a single death is a tragedy, but a thousand deaths is a statistic. Every day we hear that seventy people have been killed in Syria. But I don’t think we should be getting involved there. I don’t agree with William Hague. He’s very bright, but he suffers from poor judgement. If we arm the rebels, there will only be more killing, and WE will get blamed, of course.

   LYNN FREEMAN: And your third topic is quite different.
   DAME ANN LESLIE: Yes, I want to talk about the return of the garden gnomes to the Chelsea Flower Show…

   Appalled, I flicked off the following email to the show….

   Dame Ann Leslie deliberately ignored Iraq and Afghanistan: why?

   Dear Lynn,
   Dame Ann Leslie quoted Stalin then blithely went on to say that “every day, we hear about seventy people killed in Syria.”

   If she had any integrity, she would have used the more relevant examples of Iraq and Afghanistan; relevant because Britain is directly involved in the massive death tolls in both of those nations. The situation in both Iraq and Afghanistan, it should be noted, is far worse than in Syria.

   But Dame Ann ignored that.

   Shame on her, and shame on your producers for continually going to such partisan, right wing commentators.

   Yours in concern at the standards in public radio,

   Morrissey Breen
   Northcote Point

   Keep listening, fellas! There might be another Standardista (namely, moi) breaking onto the National Radio radar! Lynn might just read out my correspondence on air! You never know….
7. Draco T Bastard 7

   30 May 2013 at 10:56 am

   A good article by Chris Trotter on feeding the kids:

   As still happens in Finland today, the school-children of Red Vienna were given both breakfast and lunch, free of charge, by the city authorities. For the benefit of Hone Harawira and the Mana Party, that was ALL the children of Red Vienna – not just those who hailed from the 1920s Austrian equivalent of Deciles 1-4.

   I must confess to being utterly astounded by Mana’s decision to limit the provision of breakfasts and lunches to the “children of the poor”. Was there no one in its ranks who could see how stigmatising such a policy was bound to be? Surely, if an education to the level of his or her full potential is every citizen’s right, and if effective learning is impossible if a child is hungry, then feeding kids when they’re at school is the community’s – not the parents – responsibility?

   Nails it.
   • emergency mike 7.1

     30 May 2013 at 12:41 pm

     It’s not rocket science is it?

     It’s about making sure every kid in every public school gets some decent food, (I’m not convinced that weetbix and milk alone qualifies), regardless of their parents’ income level. It’s making damn sure that no kid has to try to learn at school on an empty stomach without stigmatizing kids as ‘poor’.

     Bullshit about ‘why would we give free lunches to kids with rich parents’ or ‘won’t the parents just spend more money on pokies’ misses the point – it’s about the kids not the fricken parents.

     I’m in South Korea. Everyday at 12, all the pupils and teachers sit down together and eat a full, hot, nutritious, and often delicious lunch. This happens in every public school of all levels in this country of 50 million. Everyone gets at least one decent meal a day. There’s sure as shit no special corner for the poor kids.

     I’ve been explaining to people here that the NZ government is finally going to give school kids a slab of dried wheat biscuit and a splash of milk to the poor kids. They’re shocked, “why don’t you just feed them well?” BTW, the tax rate here: 7%

     Did I mention that it’s about the kids?
     • Tigger 7.1.1

       30 May 2013 at 12:53 pm

       +1. Feed them all.
     • Draco T Bastard 7.1.2

       30 May 2013 at 1:01 pm

       all the pupils and teachers sit down together and eat a full, hot, nutritious, and often delicious lunch.

       To be honest, I actually think that bit of socialisation is as important as feeding the kids.
     • Winston Smith 7.1.3

       30 May 2013 at 2:10 pm

       Did you reply with shock that 2/3rds of south korean power is generated by nuclear power?

       Personally I think breakfast and lunch should be provided for in schools, using jaime oliver guidelines and to pay for this it’d be a simple matter of deducting a subsidised amount from each and every person that gets any sort of payment for looking after/raising kids (WFF, DPB etc etc)
       • emergency mike 7.1.3.1

         30 May 2013 at 2:25 pm

         Is there a point somewhere in that random brainfart?

         If you’re asking in your own dickish way “How u gonna pay 4 it?” then I note that a decent food in schools programme wouldn’t make much of a dent in the $2b tax cuts that Key has given to the well off. http://thestandard.org.nz/priorities-4/
         • Colonial Viper 7.1.3.1.1

           30 May 2013 at 3:04 pm

           Winston thinks that nuclear powered breakfasts are why South Korea does it better for the children.
       • Draco T Bastard 7.1.3.2

         30 May 2013 at 3:36 pm

         Did you reply with shock that 2/3rds of south korean power is generated by nuclear power?

         If the South Koreans want to be stupid, that’s up to them. Of course, their present response to our failure to our children is shock at our stupidity.

         Personally I think breakfast and lunch should be provided for in schools, using jaime oliver guidelines and to pay for this it’d be a simple matter of deducting a subsidised amount from each and every person that gets any sort of payment for looking after/raising kids (WFF, DPB etc etc)

         That’s because you’re a stupid and vindictive arsehole. You want to make it complicated, expensive and, on top of that stupidity, you also want to punish people for being poor. All for no reason.
       • Morrissey 7.1.3.3

         30 May 2013 at 3:46 pm

         “Winston Smith”, you are a moron.

         [lprent: Usual question – why? Without it there is no point in making the comment for anyone else reading the comment regardless how much better it makes you feel. Eventually my fingers will get tired of making this observation and I will find a way to give them a long well-earned rest…. And I’m sure you are aware of how I would do that. ]
         • Morrissey 7.1.3.3.1

           30 May 2013 at 6:55 pm

           I withdraw and apologize.

           In fact, I have brought along a little gift for our friend by way of expiation.

           Winston, my friend, this is for you….
           http://www.hawaii.edu/cowielab/rat.jpg
     • dumrse 7.1.4

       30 May 2013 at 9:02 pm

       What you did mention was “…50 million…”. A significant tax base don’t you think, maybe, just maybe that’s why they can also get away with a 7% tax rate. In fact with 50 million they can probably wash down their school lunches with some of the best champers. So, where did we go wrong in NZ. I’m picking the clue is in the numbers. Comparing apples with bricks is not rocket science is it?
       • Colonial Viper 7.1.4.1

         30 May 2013 at 9:11 pm

         You’re a right wing ignoramus, aren’t you.

         The South Korean Government gave massive financial and institutional backing to the industrial Chaebol of the nation.

         They did this with large government contracts, trade barriers and tariffs, and active subsidies. Their objective was not to create a ‘free market’, it was to create a massive technological and industrial capability.

         The South Korean Govt also used massive amounts of financial and material assistance from the USA in order to build up it’s military industries.
         • dumrse 7.1.4.1.1

           30 May 2013 at 9:17 pm

           The bigger the tax base the bigger the govt handouts. You only need look across the ditch to see what the bigger tax base can give you.
           • Draco T Bastard 7.1.4.1.1.1

             30 May 2013 at 10:43 pm

             Money is nothing. If we used our resources here appropriately we’d be far better off. Instead we hand them over to the rich and then wonder why we’re getting poorer.
             • kiwicommie …

               31 May 2013 at 4:00 am

               As I understand it most of the money is all shipped offshore to Australian banks, very little remains in New Zealand. Corporate greed is what runs New Zealand, and it isn’t even New Zealanders that own said corporations.
8. BLiP 8

   30 May 2013 at 5:13 pm

   ‘

   As Bradley Manning’s trial moves closer, the judge over-seeing the millitary court, Col. Denise Lind, has ruled that vast swathes of the prosecution’s case be held in secret. Wikileaks, the Associated Press, under the auspices of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Center for Constitutional Rights attached to the Reporters Committee are seeking greater transperancy.

   At stake is the possibility that a precent may be set which would severly hamper the reporting of inconvenient truths. The Committee to Protect Jounalists says:

   . . . The possibility that portions of the Manning trial will take place in secret is all the more troubling because the trial will touch on issues of grave concern to U.S. journalists–in particular, whether the act of releasing classified documents to the public violates the 1917 Espionage Act and is tantamount to “aiding the enemy,” a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Espionage Act, under which civilians but not (so far) journalists have been prosecuted, makes it a crime to “communicate” information, but the word “publish” was deliberately omitted from the statute by Congress, according to the legislative history . . .

   Meanwhile, New York civil rights lawyer, Chase Madar as written a fascinating biography of Bradley Manning – The Passion of Bradley Manning. Madar calls from Bradley Manning to be given the Presidential Medal of Freedom and goes on to suggest that this story marks a significant turning point in the history of dissent in the US.

   Bradley Manning’s trial begins on Monday.
   • Colonial Viper 8.1

     30 May 2013 at 9:15 pm

     Wow. Every day the USA and the F-USSR become more and more similar.
   • joe90 8.2

     31 May 2013 at 12:20 am

     And this murderous piece of shit will most likely be shown the wet bus ticket.

     http://gawker.com/us-army-sergeant-to-plead-guilty-to-slaughtering-16-afg-510380090
     • Colonial Viper 8.2.1

       31 May 2013 at 12:31 am

       If the article is to be believed, that US soldier was mentally broken by the war and just as much a victim. Nevertheless, let’s remember that Afghan tribes people hate the Americans not because the US keep randomly killing civilians, but because the villagers “hate freedom”.
       • Murray Olsen 8.2.1.1

         31 May 2013 at 12:07 pm

         They do. If they valued freedom, they’d be born in the US and A.

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