Open mike 03/04/2022

Written By: notices and features - Date published: - 37 comments
Categories: open mike


Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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Step up to the mike …

37 comments on “Open mike 03/04/2022”

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  1. 1

    Thoughts on a Sunday morning:

    “Obviously, not everyone agrees that a Mass Extinction Event is under way. The ongoing, rampant denial is based on at least four factors: 1) contemporary people are generally ignorant about science; 2) these people are not particularly bright; 3) people lie to themselves and others to enhance their own comfort; and 4) vertebrate animals tend to receive more attention than other species in discussions about the ongoing loss of biodiversity.

    “We are in the midst of an insect apocalypse that has been widely reported for the last few years. Insects and other small, seemingly insignificant species are critically important for our continued wellbeing and survival. It is the smallest of organisms that pollinate plants, filter water, break down biomass into soil, and generally make our lives worth living. If you think tiny organisms don’t matter to your health and happiness, just try upsetting the balance of bacteria in your stomach. You can get back to me when you’re done sitting on a toilet.

    “We are in trouble. We are in real trouble. Earth has been in the midst of a Mass Extinction Event for at least 30 years.”

    From Guy McPherson – Nature Bats Last.

  2. 2

    Beautiful quote from a spokesperson in the PM's office to a reporter seeking to question about a misogynistic altered photo.

    "The Prime Minister’s office declined to comment when approached by Stuff. A spokesman added that it was the perpetrators of misogyny that should be questioned, not the victim."

    And questioned severely. The maximum penalty is a $200,000 fine for a company.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300556615/police-receive-complaint-about-doctored-photo-of-pm-used-to-promote-strip-club?

    1. 2.1

      There have been many women down the years who can attest to the accuracy of negative reactions mac1. Victims are left to feel they are in some way responsible for the harassment they have experienced.

      In my case it was obscene phone calls and hoaxes with sexual connotations. On one occasion my home was broken into and a lurid message scrawled on a bathroom cabinet door. It also included false claims about me to authoritative persons. The perpetrators (two of them as it turned out) were never approached by those to whom I reported the incidents including the police. I didn’t know their identities at the time but for certain reasons an investigation would have uncovered them quickly.

      It is wrong that this type of activity is not taken as seriously as other forms of criminal behaviour. It can have such an impact on a person's life as has been elsewhere described by the City Councillor, Sara Templeton.

    2. 2.2

      Disgusting mysogyny. But that is what I would expect of a business that objectifies women.

      Its brutal to see how women are the target of so much vitriol and hate

      1. 2.2.1

        Yes, Anker. Told a man I walk with about this issue. He had to have it explained to him why it was misogyny. Earlier, I listened to some anti-Māori story telling and got told that Māori would have used slaves to dig the eel canals by an American of otherwise great sensibility.

        I wonder why first the topic came up as we looked down on the site of the first Polynesian settlement in Aotearoa, and why people immediately the brought in the cruel side of Māori culture as they did today.

        Is it a way of justifying old colonial attitudes- "They did it, too"?

        Interestingly I diverted the discussion onto stories of how our pakeha ancestors got here and when, and why. They knew the stories of the ships, their names, where and when they landed, even why they came. And they were doubting stories of canoes bringing crops and growing materials that gave legitimacy to the Māori who were telling their stories to them.

        These were otherwise reasonable men, some conservatives, some Greenies but we have some way to go in our discourse as this discussion, held over coffee on a site that was a replica of a stone age Henge, showed.

        Three Waters, co-governance, Te Tiriti, will occupy some pretty ugly ground to be worked over…….

        Misogyny, racism, bigotry in all its form have a common roots in ignorance, fear and power-seeking greed.

        Look for the same causes in reactions to the new issues of our times- pandemics and global warming.

  3. 3

    Yes Tony, I am alarmed at the lack of flying insects. Bees have been notable by their absence.

    Cockroaches and ants still abound round our pongas, but there are few moths round lights at night.

    Spraying for years, mowing all grass, planting geometric spiky plants, doing away with cottage gardens and fruit trees, fences instead of hedges, the world of concrete and bitumen is damaging life.

  4. 4

    When will these lunatics be charged with conspiring to kidnap and murder their imagined enemies?

    Surely discussing and then compiling a list of those they intend to kidnap and murder is enough.

    On a Tuesday afternoon last month, around two dozen people joined a Zoom meeting to decide whether to sentence the New Zealand Government to death.

    This group, calling itself a “grand jury”, was led by Australian woman Sandra Crack, who has claimed to be the “chief sheriff” of Australia.

    A day earlier, the group had ruled that the Government was no longer legitimate, and agreed that all laws passed since 1987 were fraudulent and thus void. Now, they would be the arbiters of justice in New Zealand.

    […]

    For more than five hours, the group discussed the supposed crimes that had been committed. Among those on the Zoom call were John Ansell, the former National party ad-man, and Jamie Mansfield – who uses the pseudonym Jae Ratana – who was involved in setting up the occupation at Parliament.

    […]

    One by one, the jury voted to adopt the death penalty for these crimes.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300555020/the-selfproclaimed-sheriffs-who-want-to-arrest-the-authorities

    https://number8haywire.substack.com/p/sheriffs?s=r

    2. 4.2

      When will these lunatics be charged with conspiring

      So, conspiracies are real? What makes this a conspiracy?

      I imagine that police would require evidence before any charges could be laid.

      1. 4.2.1

        Publicise a conspiracy to import a banned substance and find out whether or not the popo require evidence before any charges could be laid.

      2. 4.2.2

        Who let the monkeys out this morning?

        Have you even read the link in joe90’s comment or did you simply fail to switch on your brain and register the words and message? 15 March was less than 3 weeks ago and you’ve already conveniently wiped it from your memory, it seems. Has it occurred to you that you might be an enabler?

          1. 4.2.2.1.1

            Pretty legal, innocent until proven guilty, nothing to see here …

            You are an enabler and you cannot even use ignorance as an excuse.

            Unless you’re the Police Officer in charge, of course …

      3. 4.2.3

        So, conspiracies are real?

        many are

        What makes this a conspiracy?

        Assuming the zoom meeting is reported accurately, the agreement of several people (zoom participants) to damage another (the people they "judged") via an unlawful act (the legal validity of their "summonses" and "executions"to be determined by an actual court, of course).

        Might be that the same people talking about the zoom meeting have a recording of that zoom meeting, in which case the evidence of the conspiracy will be the recording of the conspiracy.

        Happy to help.

    3. 4.3

      Good point joe – this crowd has been around in various forms for decades, but as the globalisation unravels and the level of threat and anxiety builds they will gain adherents. Expect more of this.

      There is of course a lesson in this for all of us. The moment you are thinking that your cause is so important that it justifies chaos, murder, or even war in order to achieve it's ends – then you have stepped over the boundary.

        1. 4.4.1.1

          Beats the hell out of me that there are so many people who can look at Ardern, Baker, Bloomfield, Wiles etc and think "These obvious bad-faith actors are lying to me" but see egregious proven grifters like the organisers of camp Covid and think "These people are clearly trustworthy fellow citizens, I should give them some money."

    5. 4.5

      Having spotted this story to , it all seemed to read like a McPhail & Gadsby satire…all it needed was a ex-mayor in a rusty stepside truck who sold speed on the side. Unfortunately this is the reality of conspiracy nutters cyber fucked on Qanon & the like

    2. 5.2

      I was going to use these links about textile waste in reply to the Tuesday of this week's episode, and I guess its links to slow fashion

      https://littleyellowbird.com/

      (and see their end of life cotton recycling)

      https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/12-05-2021/theres-a-global-avalanche-of-used-clothing-and-nz-needs-to-do-more-to-save-it-from-landfill

      https://www.textilereuse.com/

      Then the wateretc consumed in making any textile

      Waste water from textile industry

      The environmental problems created by textile industry wastewater are due to increased oxygen demand, high color, and large amount of suspended solids. Wastewater of textile unit contains many pollutants, like inorganic compounds, dye waste, color residues, catalytic chemicals, and cleaning solvents (USEPA 1997).

      A critical review of textile wastewater options

      https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-55423-5_6#:~:text=The%20environmental%20problems%20created%20by,cleaning%20solvents%20(USEPA%201997).

      This article looks at the release of microplastic particles into our waste water every time we wash a piece of synthetic clothing

      https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-43023-x

      I am getting the bag concept from the Yellow bird spread around the people I work with making quilts.

      You tube on washing synthetics

      Belladonna's idea of mending is right on point. If we celebrate the mending our clothes can go a bit/lot further.

      There are groups setting up mending times/place eg Sustainability Trust

      Freecycle can help recycle textiles

      Trademe has a lively fabric sales section

      I was asked to demonstrate how to turn a man's shirt collar the other day.

      Timebank here in Welly often has requests for mending.

      But the big textile users with waste are the curtain makers. They want to recycle, at least the ones I was in contact with but the amounts are huge and much bigger than a couple of individuals can do.

      https://sustaintrust.org.nz/our-recycling-programmes

      I did a huge assessment of 44 bags of textiles including old clothes and after while, when I was recycling them I started cutting off the 'Made in NZ' labels with the idea of doing a little research on who they were and what happened to them.

      waste textiles used to be used in flooring underlay, cushions would be stuffed with painstakingly cut up cotton or wools scraps. Nowdays this work is looked on as almost slave labour. The alternative is to buy a ragging machine, mega bucks.

      https://www.onlineclothingstudy.com/2020/08/textile-recycling-mechanical-recycling.html

      https://recyclinginternational.com/technology/textile-recycling-pioneers-weave-their-magic/28471/

      One type of shredder…..we need to be able to sell/use the product.

      Other countries are looking at it.

      https://fashiontakesaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/FTA-A-Feasibility-Study-of-Textile-Recycling-in-Canada-EN-June-17-2021.pdf

      Fast fashion grrrrr

      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-44968561

      Basically it needs a push to make it 'sexy' to deal with textile waste at a high level.

      Local Govt could be driving this a much more except they feel they have to make a buck all the time.

      PS Old cotton curtains can be used as a weed suppressant. I peg (with windbreak pegs) them out over paper and cardboard after planting shrubs.

  6. 6

    Whats really on peoples minds.

    https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1508079380614066180

    Consumer confidence correlates well with voting opinion,which in NZ is the lowest since 2008.The effects will arise in the Local elections as Both mayors and Councillors become unemployed.

    Adding costs on a weak ideological basis ie that does not improve efficiency (productivity) is both wasteful and unsustainable in a regime of Peak Money.

    https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/consumer-confidence

    https://theconversation.com/cost-of-living-crisis-historical-evidence-suggests-voters-could-quickly-turn-against-tories-176633

  8. 8

    Tankies, Putin humpers?

    https://twitter.com/five15design/status/1510403906790387712

    Zachistka

    Zachistka (Russian: зачистка, lit. clearing operation) is an unofficial Russian military term for "building (room-to-room) clearing operations" (battle drill) featuring armed patrols and house-to-house searches. The term is mostly associated with, but not exclusive to, the "insurgency phase" of the Second Chechen War following the reinstatement of Russian peacekeeping operations in Chechnya. Several zachistka operations became notorious for their accused or confirmed human rights violations by Russian forces, including ethnic cleansing and pillaging, and the term zachistka is used in English exclusively to refer to these violations, particularly in Chechnya.[1]

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

    #Bucha

  9. 9

    Housing investors and Tax breaks,seems to be a ubiquitous recipe for housing inflation.

    Why did landlords buy so many more houses in 2021? There are a lot of reasons, including the rise of short-term rentals which has taken thousands of houses out of the Phoenix housing supply and put them into the Phoenix lodging supply.

    One national, long-term, systemic cause is that real estate investors get huge tax breaks that live-in owners don't get. Landlords naturally buy a lot more houses because of those tax breaks.

    Those government incentives also make real estate booms (and busts) a lot larger than they would be if the government didn’t, essentially, pay landlords to buy single-family houses.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwake/2022/04/01/the-real-reason-house-prices-are-skyrocketing-what-the-real-estate-industry-wont-tell-you/?sh=23c3bd335da4

    1. 9.1

      That describes the incentives and symptoms rather than the cause (raison d'etre)….for that we can identify credit expansion.

      1. 9.1.1

        The credit expansion also needed to go somewhere (equities being well overpriced) so Fundmanagers like Blackrock started investing in residential housing (they also had an in on where companies would expand production sites early)

        1. 9.1.1.1

          Where the borrowing comes from is not important, rather the trajectory.

          None of it would be accepted unless by design, and the functioning of the system depends on it….everything else is incidental.

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