Daily Review 03/07/2017

Written By: notices and features - Date published: - 99 comments
Categories: Daily review

Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

99 comments on “Daily Review 03/07/2017”

Comment numbers have changed to permanent references. Older quoted numbers may no longer identify the same comment.

    2. 1.2

      It wasn’t which is why it was reported. It helps distract from the undermining of society that the capitalists and their government are engaging in.

    3. 1.3

      Voters like politicians who can emote with conviction and truth.
      And do policy.

      No other party has anything close to her for that combination.

  3. 3

    Over half of Kiwis think politics and the economy are rigged against them

    64% think the economy is rigged
    And six in ten (64 per cent) of Kiwis agree that the economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful.

    Thing is, they’re right. The economy is rigged to benefit only the rich. That’s why the poor are getting poorer and all the benefits of our developing economy are going to the rich.

    And then there’s this interesting lie:

    45% don’t mind the way we are going
    Fully 45 per cent of Kiwis disagree with the phrase “the country is in decline”. Just 25 per cent agree with it and 30 per cent are neutral.

    45% may disagree with the statement “the country is in decline” but that is not the same as agreeing with the way we’re going.

    1. 3.1

      How is the economy rigged?

      NZ is one of the easiest countries to go into business for yourself, I think these idiots are confusing buying a house and the money required to get on the property ladder with the general economy.

      Fuck, people are stupid.

            1. 3.1.1.1.1.1

              You’re a perfect example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect:

              In the field of psychology, the Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias wherein persons of low ability suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly assessing their cognitive ability as greater than it is. The cognitive bias of illusory superiority derives from the metacognitive inability of low-ability persons to recognize their own ineptitude.

              You’re too stupid to recognise your ignorance.

            1. 3.1.1.1.2.1

              I’m an arrogant bastard and always tell the truth. Did you not get that from my fairly explicit name?

            2. 3.1.1.1.2.2

              DtB has been commenting here for many, many years. I’ve read possibly thousands of comments, and participated in hundreds of exchanges with Draco. While we have different opinions and outlooks, I do not recall a SINGLE instance of abuse, acrimony or intellectual dishonesty.

              And I know what my IQ is. I happily estimate DtB is a good 10 pts higher than me. So yes if Draco states genius levels of IQ, I accept that as a statement of simple fact.

              And if others feel threatened by that, it would have been smarter not to have made it so obvious.

              1. 3.1.1.1.2.2.1

                I second that…

                DTB is able to cut through the chaff and get to the nitty gritty using as few words as possible. There are few people here or anywhere else who have that ability. It is something to envy and admire at the same time.

      2. 3.1.2

        The economy is rigged so that only the rich can do anything. If anyone else wants to do anything they have to go through the rich and they’ll demand their pound of flesh to make them richer while ensuring that the person who does the work remains poor.

        And it may be easy to go into business for yourself but for the majority of people that won’t work. They won’t have the resources to do anything for starters nor for getting the necessary word out that they’re open for business and then the competition, especially from Big Business, will destroy their business and they’ll lose everything.

        All those builders out there are specifically prevented from working together and yet any business is allowed to own any other business which results in The Four Companies that own the 147 companies that own [nearly] everything.

        Now, if you’re going to keep saying that that’s not rigged then you’re delusional.

        1. 3.1.2.1

          What load of bullshit you’ve got no idea.
          Come on fella engage that genius level IQ and put it to use, a man of your intellectual horsepower should have no issue getting together a few mill at least.

                1. 3.1.2.1.1.1.1.1

                  Yep always every one else’s fault eh Draco, you just sit back and keep pontificating that Marx is answer even though you deny this with a few tweaks , I am happy that you been a student for ever and Secure in your belief that your perceived business failures was every one else fault as people failed to see your genius keeps you grounded

                  2. 3.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.2

                    I didn’t say that it was everyone else’s fault – I said it was the fault of the system that prevents people having access to the resources that they need to be innovative and it does that so that a few people can be rich and powerful.

                    And the research that’s coming out now actually shows that and shows that it can only get worse.

                    1. 3.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.2.1

                      It’s called marketing you dopey fuck.

                      If you ain’t got the coin to develop your idea you pitch it and sell the concept to the people that do.

                      Genius my arse.

                    2. 3.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.2.2

                      Genius my arse.

                      You should check out the Kruger-Dunning effect:

                      The Kruger-Dunning effect is a cognitive bias wherein persons of low ability suffer from plausible deniability, mistakenly assessing the cognitive ability of others as less than it is. The cognitive bias of plausible deniability derives from the metacognitive inability of low-ability persons to recognize the superiority of others. Without the awareness of metacognition, low-ability people cannot objectively evaluate the actual competence of others who are superior.

                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect 😉

                    3. 3.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.2.3

                      If you ain’t got the coin to develop your idea you pitch it and sell the concept to the people that do.

                      Just proving my point:

                      The economy is rigged so that only the rich can do anything. If anyone else wants to do anything they have to go through the rich and they’ll demand their pound of flesh to make them richer while ensuring that the person who does the work remains poor.

                      You really are stupid BM.

          2. 3.1.2.1.2

            Interesting how the RWs operate in tandem. Like a bunch of fruit flies with a sweaty bit of fruit. I’m trying vinegar detergent and fruit. Seems to work with those peskies – don’t know about on the blog.

              1. 3.1.2.1.2.1.1

                Do you mean we get caught up in trying to straighten politics as in the saying ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we stoop to deceive’?
                Or something along those lines.

                1. 3.1.2.1.2.1.1.1

                  Entanglement is a phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of RWs or RWNJs interact in ways such that the mental state and online behaviour of each RW or RWNJ cannot be described independently of the others, even when the RWs or RWNJs are separated by a large distance—instead, a mental state and online behaviour must be described for the collective of all RWs or RWNJs as a whole.

                  Many Lefties have come across this and indeed some have called it “spooky” as it appears to violate some laws of cause & effect.

                  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement 😉

        2. 3.1.2.2

          100% Draco. One of the top rated comments on the Stuff article:

          Real Estate agents openly bragging about flogging former Kiwi homes to chinese “investors” while homeless Kiwis dream of renting a not-too-leaky garage to exist in, housing quadruples in price in 10 years while Kiwi wages barely increase at all, and the Government responds by pushing through new housing that ONLY foreigners will be able to afford, but Kiwis might just be permitted to rent from them…

          RIGGED

      3. 3.1.3

        “NZ is one of the easiest countries to go into business for yourself,”

        What does that have to do with it? For many people that aren’t going into business for themselves, things are grim. Not being able to afford rent is a result of how the economy is being managed, and lots of other people are doing very well out of that. You don’t care, many people do.

        1. 3.1.3.1

          Nothing gets handed to you on a plate weka.

          There’s a lot of avenues people in NZ can pursue if they want to make a success out of life.

          Sure, you may not succeed but there are no barriers to getting in the game and giving it a go.

          1. 3.1.3.1.1

            Sure, but by your own admission not everyone can succeed at this. There are reasons for this beyond personal failings. In other words, stand on the backs of others and do well that way. Which is exactly what the original comment was about. The people whose backs are being stood on have had enough and are starting to point out the flaws in the system.

            1. 3.1.3.1.1.1

              Whose backs are getting stood on? what do you mean?

              You work for someone you get paid for that work, do people expect more than that? is that not enough?

              1. 3.1.3.1.1.1.1

                of course it’s not enough when you don’t get paid enough to live on. There’s only so many hours in the day BM, and money doesn’t grow on trees. Most people understand the fundamental laws of physics.

                1. 3.1.3.1.1.1.1.1

                  People get paid what they’re worth.

                  You have no skills you get fuck all, you get skills you get paid more.

                  That’s how it’s always worked, the only thing that’s changed is people’s expectations.

                  People that want a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget are always going to be disappointed.

                  1. 3.1.3.1.1.1.1.1.1

                    People get paid what they’re worth.

                    No they don’t.

                    If the people doing the work were paid what they were worth then there’d be no profits for the bludging shareholders.

                    That’s simple maths that even an idiot like you should be able to understand.

                    3. 3.1.3.1.1.1.1.1.1.3

                      Most employees are a cog in the machine easily replaced.

                      the shareholders are even more easily replaced. In fact, we don’t need them at all – the business would still go on without them.

                      Whereas, we do need the workers without whom the business would grind to a stop.

                  2. 3.1.3.1.1.1.1.1.2

                    “People get paid what they’re worth.

                    You have no skills you get fuck all”

                    This doesn’t really explain all those unskilled managers sitting in offices around the country.

              2. 3.1.3.1.1.1.2

                “You work for someone you get paid for that work, do people expect more than that? is that not enough?”
                Not even close, BM. Your world view is desiccated and crimped. Real people know that work should be lively, not lifeless. Your view is the very problem we describe here, day in, day out, but you can’t see it for looking. Pointing the way for you is as rewarding as p*ssing into the wind.

              3. 3.1.3.1.1.1.3

                The people who aren’t doing the work are getting infinitely more than the people doing the work.

                You are, of course, here supporting that bludging and the failed system that not only allows it but encourages it.

                1. 3.1.3.1.1.1.3.1

                  +1 NZ is one of the worst countries in terms of getting ahead.

                  Govt releases probe into fuel prices pic.twitter.com/M7taBqQ69u— Kim Baker Wilson (@kimbakerwilson) July 3, 2017

                  Food fuel and housing all too expensive, rorts abound. Failure of govt to regulate skewed markets. Kiwis ripped off #changethegovt https://t.co/pAISTxiCxz— ɥɔsǝdɐd qoɹ (@ropata) July 3, 2017

                  Precisely. Bank charges, utilities like internet/power/mobile, building materials, GST on rates, the list of ticket clipping rorts goes on.— Tat Loo (@Tat_Loo) July 3, 2017

          2. 3.1.3.1.2

            Sure, you may not succeed but there are no barriers to getting in the game and giving it a go.

            Yes there are barriers. Lots of them.

            1. 3.1.3.1.2.1

              One of those barriers is often that they or their parents lost moey or resources the last time they “gave it a go”, lost, and now righties blame them for “poor choices”.

              It’s cruel to encourage people to take gambles with their careers and then judge them for losing on those gambles.

    2. 3.2

      Yep, it’s going to be interesting to see if New Zealand’s underbelly shows itself this election.

    3. 3.3

      507 adults in the sample.
      No statistical difference in responses between generations.
      Not convincing.

  5. 5

    Tip No. !0.

    Vote for a Labour/Green bloc government that will put a 5c-10c cost on supermarket bags in supermarkets that, according to the UK experience, will reduce plastic bag use by 80%.

    Income from the plastic bag levy can be directed to any number of charities-cleaning up the beaches and oceans around NZ would be a good start.

    2. 5.2

      Plastic bags are useful, they make great bin liners.
      Just design them to biodegrade after six months.

      2. 5.2.2

        I agree with that.

        Why aren’t single-use (or, in BM’s case, double-use) plastic bags or even plastic wrap regulated to be biodegradable? Give it a requirement to be broken down inside a year or two. If the cost is onerous shops will charge for it themselves or switch to paper, and a major source of environmental plastic is eliminated.

        This counts for other items, too – unless there’s a reason for it to last longer than five years, make it mandatorily biodegradable. That’ll sort plastic bottles, “disposable” nappies, ice cream cartons, frozen goods packaging… we’re making stuff that lasts hundreds of years in order to wrap something we’ll eat in a few weeks, and meanwhile we include irreparable planned obsolescence into larger items that consumers would prefer lasted for decades. Go figure.

        Fuck, I sound like a goddamned hippie. Steak tonight, methinks 🙂

            1. 5.2.2.2.1.1

              afaik it’s not very straight forward. Biodegradable and degradable are different things, and biodegradable doesn’t mean it will break down in a compost or on a beach or in the ocean. Some ‘biodegradable’ plastics need special industrial incinerators. They’re a problem for the current recyclers because you can’t recycle them with other plastics. So if you don’t have the industrial incinerator they have to go in the landfill.

              As with recycling shopping bags and glass and much else in NZ, we’re not big enough to make it financially viable under the capitalist system so it gets sent off shore and is often dealt with badly there. In the case of bioplastics I expect most are currently being send to the dump where they won’t biodegrade.

              Things like takeaway containers, that’s possible to make from things like cornstarch, but it’s still a different product than plastic e.g. it will go soggy over time, you can’t use it for liquids etc. But most things currently made from plastic aren’t that easy to make from compostable bioplastic.

              This is another good example of why industrially-based lifestyles are a problem. We need to stop using so much shit, and make what we do use reusable.

              1. 5.2.2.2.1.1.1

                It’s not inventing faster-than-light drive. We know pretty well how to synthesise polymer chains and how they will behave. If the current biodegrade temperature is too high, I suspect that it’s for want of development investment rather than technical difficulty – why search for a substitute for something or already negligible cost?

                Even without polymers we can go back to glass, cardboard or tin. At least glass and tin sink, rather than acting as fish and turtle lures.

                1. 5.2.2.2.1.1.1.1

                  yes, I’m just pointing out that the whole we can get plastic to disappear thing isn’t as straight forward as we might think. I’m happy to go back to other less problematic materials but there are still limits to growth. Even with optimal recycling of metals and glass there is wastage. Better to reduce and reuse as much as possible.

                  1. 5.2.2.2.1.1.1.1.1

                    I’m happy to go back to other less problematic materials but there are still limits to growth.

                    I tend to be more in favour of the less problematic materials and full recycling for most places we use plastics.

                    Plastic bags need to be biodegradable and compost-able simply because recycling them, ATM, is technically difficult.

                    1. 5.2.2.2.1.1.1.2.1.1

                      😛

                      I suppose it’s an interesting question: When does the invention take place? When the theory is postulated or when someone builds a practical working model from the theory?

    3. 5.3

      I’ll vote for that BG

      What ever happened to the old school thick, matt, brown paper bags? They were the best, strong enough to line the bin if needed, usefully enough to line a cake tin or use with an iron to get wax off the carpet.

      Mum would wash out the plastic bread and frozen vege bags and reuse them and the glad wrap too, thanks Mum 😀 you’ve always been a stellar example. Times have changed, sad how reliant humanity has become on oil.

      Hmmmm…

      Hemp paper bags… bi product… of what we should be growing, bast fibres… perfect application for use. Massive untapped potential just waiting for action in order to solve many problems. Change of government please, legalise it.

      1. 5.3.1

        We use only “old school thick, matt, brown paper bags” at our environment centre in Riverton, Cinny. Plastic’s a thing of the past in progressive centres like ours.

        1. 5.3.1.1

          Coolies, the Riverton Enviro Centre is on to it 😀

          Those paper bags are so great, I remember being a preschooler and we would make masks out of them at playcentre, cut out some eye holes and get out the crayons, no suffocation issues either lolololz.

      2. 5.3.2

        Kleensaks 😉

        Interesting that we used to have the ability to process rubbish that wasn’t wet. I’m trying to remember how we did that. Pre-recycling, so tin cans were washed and squashed but presumably not sopping wet. All vegetables scraps went in the compost.

    4. 5.4

      If they’re bad enough to attract a levy, they’re bad enough to be banned. A levy is just cynical revenue raising.

      1. 5.4.1

        That’s too hard and will never fly Gabby. Maybe later, when we have got 80% not using the bags and the habit is disappearing, we can move towards a total ban.

        Paso a paso…..

  6. 6

    From Checkpoint:

    Why is Palantir in New Zealand?

    It seems Palantir has an office in each of the Five Eyes major cities – Washington, London, Toronto, Canberra and Wellington. According to a senior Palantir staffer:

    Palantir is all about classified work driving good decisions based on ultra fast analysis from around the world. [I paraphrase slightly]

    I might be prepared to accept that if it wasn’t for the fact it’s founder is a supporter of… and a member of… the inner cabinet of a mentally deranged US President and he is also on record as stating that women should never have been given the vote.

      1. 7.1.1

        Rarely, these days. This one’s been visiting over the past three weeks and is sometimes seen feeding on trout; lying on it’s back, feasting large, according to the retired sailor living in a house that overlooks the estuary, he watches every morning over his coffee. Dolphin visits used to be relatively common-place, but are rare now also; what’s happening? Are wild creatures becoming disenchanted with us humans and our insensitive ways? Hell yes! The last family of dolphins to visit the river and estuary here; a pod of Hectors, were harassed by goons on jet-skiis. I despair. Briefly. I side with the dolphins; the goons (us) must change, or all is lost. In any case, this guy’s here now and seems to be happy. There’s a historical account of otters in the river here, but to me, it’s just been a case of mistaken identity. This guy’s behaviour was very otterish.

        1. 7.1.1.1

          Lord, don’t get me started on jet skis (bring on Peak Oil I say).

          Your estuary has dairy farms in the catchment I assume. Maybe the sea creatures don’t like the vibe now.

    1. 9.1

      “The hours of work or the time of work, [immigrants] aren’t questioning, whereas the New Zealand residents don’t want to start at three in the morning, or don’t want to finish at 12 at night.”

      New Zealanders have an expectation of a certain level of employee rights, Immigrants, having experienced little in their own country, don’t.

      Why should anyone, immigrant or not, be paid the minimum wage for having to work such unsociable hours?

      Besides, I really doubt the claim that it’s only immigrants who apply for these jobs. Employers prefer them for the very reason stated above.

    1. 10.1

      Abbott is doing to Turnbull what Rudd did to Gillard except tony gets to use murdochs soapboxes to make it nice and public.

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