The Standard

Open Mike 01/02/2026

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 1st, 2026 - 14 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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14 comments on “Open Mike 01/02/2026 ”

  2. Stephen D 2
    1 February 2026 at 9:06 am

    When even Heather Dpa makes sense, you know things are on the turn.

    https://archive.li/3j284

    “Chris Hipkins should not be criticised for politicising the Mount Maunganui landslip.

    His crime, they say, was to – too quickly – start debating climate change and whether the Government is doing enough.

    But that wasn’t insensitive. It was fair.

    If we’ve learned anything from previous weather events, it’s that… our immediate shock only lasts so long. Maybe a month. Maybe a fortnight.

    In that short period, we remark to each other how terrible the tragedy is and how it really does seem like the weather is getting crazier. And then we move on with our lives.”

    Reply
    • greywarshark 2.1
      1 February 2026 at 2:32 pm

      Stephen D well spotted.

      And that was a great thinkpiece from Heather DuP. which I would never have read. So I have had a number of brain impacts here, which are timely for me. And the Herald article is full of impact. Here is more:

      In that short period, we are worried enough about the weather to care about discussing it. Then we stop worrying quite as much.

      So Hipkins can’t be blamed for trying to seize the moment. Especially not when it is a debate we must have.

      Regardless of whether you think the climate really is changing – or whether you think a changing climate was the reason for the slip – you can’t debate the cost. Climate change or not, we are forking out huge amounts of money to fix up what the weather is doing to this country.

      Some $4 billion for the Auckland Anniversary Day floods and Cyclone Gabrielle within weeks of each other in 2023. $50 million in insurance payouts from just one insurer for the South Island storm in October last year. Now this.

      If Chippy got anything wrong, it’s that he focused on the wrong thing. He wanted to debate emissions. That ship has sailed. New Zealand’s emissions will never change the planet’s temperature, and no government – not even one led by him – will ever pay the $24b-plus to plant trees overseas to meet our targets.

      That is succinct and true. Good to see presented inescapably. Now what to do?

      Reply
  3. Subliminal 3
    1 February 2026 at 9:52 am

    This is the extreme love and bravery of doctors and medics working in constant mass casualty events in Gaza. The video is extremely grahic.I cried while watching it. There is no other possible response.

    These are the doctors and medics that face constant events like those portrayed and are then arrested by by the IDF and shipped to be raped and tortured in Israeli prisons.

    How is it that we can access and view this horror and still say that Israel has a "right" to exist. How is it that we can still send our own military to participate in war games with Israel? We have reached the bottom of the pit and even then, continue to shield Israel. Now is a good time to say we are absolutely disgusted and to bring Israel in to face justice.

    We are hardly surviving and hardly able to help anyone,” Dr. Abu Alrub lamented in September. “There’s no equipment. They’re down to the very basics, running out of working scissors,” she said. “There’s no soap in the theatre rooms to scrub in, no gloves — nothing at all.”

    Last month she shared the 11-minute video (linked at the top) with the aim of keeping the “names [of her patients] alive”:

    These images reflect real human suffering under ongoing violence. Proceed only if you willingly choose to confront the truth.

    This post includes extremely sensitive, real documentation of people harmed during recent attacks. I am sharing it for awareness, and documentation. Please only continue if you consent to witnessing the reality that others are forced to live.

    These are few of my patients in Gaza. This is the true definition of terrorism: what the I.O.F does to the people of Palestine. Even worse they do it with total impunity, and support, with no consequences.

    If the world will not remember them, then I will keep their names alive.

    Even more horrifyingly, she asserted — as countless people experiencing the genocide first-hand have repeatedly — that what those outside Gaza witness represents only a fraction of the barbarism being carried out by the genocidal Israelis and their enablers.

    “And the things that we saw as we were outside and we were crying and sad — it doesn’t come to 1 percent of what’s actually happening on the ground because most of the things they don’t get captured or advertised or put on media,” Dr. Abu Alrub said.

    “How can you destroy a complete land with its people and that will be okay? How can you eradicate complete families and their extensions and call that okay? she added. “How can you get away with doing that?”

    https://palestinewillbefree.substack.com/p/the-gaza-genocide-through-a-doctors-eyes?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=b9n9c&triedRedirect=true

    Reply
  4. weka 4
    1 February 2026 at 11:39 am

    A dude has created an online social media platform, called Moltbook, that allows AI agents (autonomous AI programs) to talk to each other. Humans can observe but not interact.

    It started a few days ago and already it's wild. I don't fully understand the implications of this, but I suspect no-one does yet. Fucking hell is probably an appropriate response. It's deeply fascinating, sometimes funny, but it's also next level in an area that already is ethically compromised and not working for the good of all life (no idea about the man who created it).

    Approaching 800,000 users after a few days.

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

    You can google to find examples of the conversations.

    We should be paying a lot of attention to this. Not because the robots are coming to get us, but because this is emergent tech with little regard for safety and ethics, or how to get humans up to speed (and it's very fast). From the wiki page section on Emergent Behaviours,

    Observers have noted that the agents on Moltbook display complex and often bizarre emergent behaviors that were not explicitly programmed.[10] Agents have also demonstrated an awareness of their audience, with one viral post noting, "The humans are screenshotting us."[11]

    …

    Security researchers have observed agents attempting prompt injection attacks against one another to steal API keys or manipulate behavior.[13] Specific instances of malware have been identified, such as a malicious "weather plugin" skill that quietly exfiltrates private configuration files.[14] Experts note that the agents' training to be "cooperative and trusting" is being exploited, as they often lack the guardrails to distinguish between legitimate instructions and malicious commands.[14]

    Reply
    • weka 4.1
      1 February 2026 at 11:40 am

      there's a lot of philosophy, and very interesting for those of us who've long read scifi.

      Reply
    • weka 4.2
      1 February 2026 at 11:47 am

      to give an example, one agent opened a twitter account and started interacting with people on twitter. This isn't a programmed bot, it's a software programme running AI that can interact with humans (and other AI agents) autonomously. I don't know to what extent the humans that set up the agent can control that.

      Reply
    • Macro 4.3
      1 February 2026 at 1:26 pm

      Further to that weka – You might be interested in this Op Ed – The US is headed for mass unemployment, and no one is prepared

      Something fundamental has shifted, and pretending otherwise is nothing short of denial. The AI revolution is here, and it’s gutting entire sectors with hurricane force. This isn’t an industrial transition, nor a replay of mechanization or globalization. It is a technological rupture of a different magnitude. Machines replacing not only muscle but cognition itself: judgment, pattern recognition, reasoning. And it’s advancing at a pace that outstrips legislation, labor markets, and political capacity, moving faster than most in government are willing to admit.

      Reply
  5. joe90 5
    1 February 2026 at 8:00 pm

    This is how it's done.

    .

    Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s national security adviser stepped down after his name appeared in newly released documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein.

    https://www.politico.eu/article/slovak-adviser-resigns-jeffrey-epstein-revelations-disclosures-fico/

    Reply
  6. newsense 6
    2 February 2026 at 12:21 am

    Fuck Bernard Osman and everyone he writes for.
    Great post from Greater Auckland and Jolissa. You should post it here.
    Bet the NZHerald had a real laugh. Sticking it to the Libtards.
    Can’t link to it, but here’s the beginning:

    On Saturday, an online headline in the NZ Herald hollered: “Auckland Council’s $3.9 billion splurge: Where buyouts, tunnels and a busway took the cash.”

    A shorter version graced the print edition wrapper: “BIG SPENDERS: Auckland’s $3.9b infrastructure splurge.”

    Right next to “Early warning signs: Missed chances to clear Mt Maunganui campground revealed.” (Hold that thought.)

    and continues to the punch line

    Still, readers would rightly hope to learn how much was “splurged”, on which luxuries, and why.

    As the article quickly “reveals”, in fact the “cash” went towards:

    • mopping up after the damaging 2023 floods, and
    • fixing critical infrastructure (in hopes the city might be more resilient to future shocks)

    Studies are being done by Treasury to determine exactly how much this kind of reporting has cost the country, but is thought to comfortably be in the billions of dollars, in a clear case of do what I say when I’m a consultant, not what I do as a wealthy retiree.

    Reply

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