Open mike 19/01/2021

Written By: notices and features - Date published: - 45 comments
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45 comments on “Open mike 19/01/2021”

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  1. 1

    Three years after helping to get rid of this upstart African democratic leader, the United States was instrumental in putting away Nelson Mandela for 28 years. The horror of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Chile, Grenada, Panama, Iraq (to name just a selection) were still to come….

    60 years on, Patrice Lumumba’s assassination stands as a gruesome reminder of post-colonial brutality
    by Peter Bolton Jan. 17, 2021 "Information Clearing House" –

    Exactly 60 years ago today, Congolese national liberation leader Patrice Lumumba was assassinated. Those responsible were most likely troops of a rival government acting on behalf of the Congo’s former colonial master, which had retained a presence in the Central African country. But there’s more to the assassination than initially meets the eye. There has been a gradual accumulation of credible evidence that the world’s post-WWII colonial superpower, the United States, along with its sidekick the UK, played a hand in the events leading to Lumumba’s assassination.

    The episode remains a bleak reminder of how the West continued to have a brutal role in the Global South, even after its former colonies gained independence. And this kind of self-interested meddling still continues to this very day.

    The Congo’s first democratic leader, elected then killed

    Lumumba was the Congo’s first democratically elected leader following the country’s independence from Belgium in 1960. He became prime minister after his party, the Congolese National Movement (MCN in its French initials), won the first democratic elections in its history. But though Lumumba was an immensely popular figure at home, he had already earned powerful enemies on the international stage.

    His decision to make contact with the Soviet Union certainly raised eyebrows. But it was his firmly stated desire to use the Congo’s resource wealth for the benefit of the country’s own people that attracted the most ire. And as an African nationalist and outspoken proponent of anti-colonialism, he was seen as a potential threat to Western interests throughout the continent. When Congo’s former colonial master Belgium, which still had troops in the country, backed a rival, pro-Western secessionist government, Lumumba was quickly arrested.

    Shortly after, on 17 January 1961, Lumumba was assassinated by a “firing squad under Belgian command”. The circumstances surrounding his death remained mysterious for decades. Belgium long denied involvement in his assassination, but eventually issued an official apology for its role in 2002.

    Evidence pointing to involvement of the United States

    Subsequent revelations indicate that parties other than Belgium were involved in Lumumba’s killing. In fact, there’s evidence that the US shares partial responsibility for the events leading up to his death. …

    Read more…

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/56203.htm

      1. 4.1.1

        Charge pay-per-view and that $2bill will be there in no time.

        As a bonus, just check everyone that turns up and in no time they'll have a who's who of the kookosphere.

      1. 4.3.1

        Let's see, $2billion divided by over 30,000 lies during his term, that works out to about $66 grand each. Bargain!

  5. 5

    Great to see up to 2000 seasonal workers flying in this week, with a $22.10 minimum, ready for harvest peak. All with 14 day quarantine.

    Looking forward to more shortages pressuring wages.

    1. 5.1

      And 6000 more residents have joined the unemployed since Xmas,

      As they will have little to harvest in the SI due to the inclement weather,I would suggest they are to be located in the high unemployment hinterlands of the NI.

      1. 5.1.1

        Currently Bay of Plenty Kiwifruit will be in high demand (already has been), then there's all the grape nets from Otago to Northland, then there's all kinds of harvests through to Autumn, then there's pruning of all tree crops into winter.

        There's no shortage of stuff to do out there.

    2. 5.2

      Yes – a triumph for insincerity. This is the low-wage unskilled economy that the Rogergnomes actually wanted. A brighter future for the parasitic classes, and no future for the workers at all. And with Covid risk thrown in as a mystery bonus! Yippee!

      1. 5.2.1

        I think we are just about where Roger douglas designed us to be.

        workers sleeping in their cars..etc etc…on and on it goes..

        nz has well and truly moved from a country famed for its' egalitarian values..(with/from a big L labour party..

        and has become a nation of haves and have-nots..

        reaching peak-neoliberalism..

        with the haves..and their government..the small l labour party..seemingly not giving a flying fuck about this..

        hard to see how fings will change..

        Roger douglas was effective in his neoliberal revolution..

        2. 5.2.1.2

          I think we are just about where Roger douglas designed us to be.

          workers sleeping in their cars..etc etc…on and on it goes..

          What utter tripe & bollocks!

          1. 5.2.1.2.1

            the comfortable labour cognoscenti here..such as yourself…may not be aware of this..

            but it is happening out there..

            and 3+ decades of the reaganomics he installed has brought us to to this..

            what is incorrect about that..?

            1. 5.2.1.2.1.1

              I see you’re into stupid bumper stickers with your “comfortable labour cognoscenti”. Here’s a quiz for you: two of the words don’t apply to me at all and the third word is debateable. Knock yourself out!

              When/where/how did Douglas design workers sleeping in their cars? If he really did design this, intentionally, willingly, and knowingly, you must provide one of those linky-thingies that you’re so good with.

          2. 5.2.1.2.2

            When someone claims the mantle of expertise, as the Rogergnomes did, they license the presumption that the outcome is exactly what they actually intended.

            1. 5.2.1.2.2.1

              A presumption is just that and it’s a crap one too, in this case. PU has been asked and told to lift his game here, and I don’t know how many times. It seems his time will be up soon. That’s not a presumption, but a prediction with a fairly high probability of being correct.

    1. 7.1

      Mark Reason gives his, ah, opinions as to why the Australians deserve to lose.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/123990111/mark-reason-australias-cricket-loses-honour-in-shameful-short-bowling-assault-on-india

      Simon Wilde, Sunday Times cricket correspondent, in today's Press opinion piece, 'Aussies must be told to stop', also criticises their long term behaviour.

      I enjoyed their defeat by a courageous, battered and superior team- ethically, sportingly, and in morale superior.

      Bowled them out and then scored more runs in the fourth innings than any team to win in this 'Gabbatorial' contest.

  9. 9

    I have heard a certain amount of fwitery in recent days from National MP's and their mouth pieces about the governments plan for a covid vaccination rollout. I have read a few letters in the NZ Herald commenting on such. A couple of hours on google would easily educate such people on a few facts.

    The likes in England, the US, India, Indonesia, Argentina and Israel are rolling out their vaccination programs amidst lock downs, waves of covid sweeping through their populations and health systems stretched to the limits. NZ meanwhile is over 100 days since our last covid lockdown.

    The are presently 8 vaccines approved for use in various countries or authorised for emergency use in various countries, emergency use meaning they are not yet full tested and approved, but show signs promising enough to permit emergency usage.

    Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna from the US, AstraZenica the UK, Sputnik from Russia, Bharat Biotech India, Sinovac and Sinopharm and Cansino all from China. The Cansino vaccine is only being used for the Chinese military that I know. Sinopharm has 2 vaccine variants, unsure which one is in use. A 9th candidiate, EpiVacCorona has been approved in Russia but is not used outside the country.

    Speculation and doubt exist about the efficacy of several of the vaccines, notably AstraZenica and Sinovac with different test trials yielding different rates of effectiveness. Some questions also exist about a lack of data for the Sputnik, Bharat and Sinopharm vaccines.

    Pfizer has recently announced a slow down in delivery of vaccines as it reconfigures it's manufacturing plant(s). Israel, which is leading the world in vaccination rates, is reported to have paid a premium to Pfizer to be at the front of the queue.

    Some obvious questions for the likes of National MPs and their community mouth pieces – which vaccines would they like NZ to immediately purchase? What price do they want to pay? What plan do they have to accelerate NZ to the front of the vaccine purshasing queue?

    I would be surprised if they had any coherent answer. In fact any answer beyond some general moans, hyperbole and alarmist statements.

  10. 10

    Hey Georgecom …

    All sound perfectly sensible (sounding) research of the topic … that is; a response to Covid-19 vaccination OK?

    But! hang on, in a NZ political! sense you are missing the point.

    Which is …

    Chippie … along with Ardern and others (not! Robbo incidently) are bald faced liars. The issue is Chippies halo has slipped. He is a liar plain and simple.

    "Chris Hipkins is following the pattern of behaviour set by his colleagues. If a sensible suggestion is made by an Opposition party he rejects it out of hand. If an early timetable for vaccinations is mooted Mr Hipkins embarks on an evasive and misleading explanation with all the hallmarks of a dodging of the issue. His halo has slipped at a time when plain speaking is demanded for serious matters of public health.

    Footnote: Just saying: As a rare visitor to The Standard, I find the blog very useful for seeing both sides of the issues raised. Kiwiblog gets more of my time but it's hard right nutters sometimes bomb the topics.

    2. 10.2

      not sure where you are trying to take the matter Larry, I will simply restate my points as per above.

      Which vaccines does the National Party, and it's supporters who mouth the same platitudes, suggest NZ purchase. As things stand we have our names down for Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Jansen and Novavax. As you will know from doing some basic google searches, Pfizer are in demand all round the world and presently slowing down delivery of promised vaccines, the exact effectiveness of Astra Zeneca is still under review, in fact recently some Aussie scientists have called for a delay in using that vaccine, Jansen and Novavax are still in Phase 3 trials and not yet approved. The only other 'western vaccine' from Moderna has until recently only been used in North America and is just starting to find it's way into Europe.

      How much does the National Party think we should pay? Do they want us to pay over the odds to try and get some vaccine now? Do they expect we should do a deal like Israel recently did with Pfizer. They need to come clean on what they would do.

      Finally, what is their exact plan to promote NZ to the front of the queue. Making glib statements in the media isn't a plan. They should outline what they would do. In absence of such you have to conclude that they have no idea whatsoever.

      1. 10.2.1

        and I did think to myself that we have not heard from Shane Reti on the issue? Just Collins that I can remember. Being a health matter he seems the logical person. Reti would probably have a much greater understanding of the present vaccine situation than Collins.

        I did muse whether this might be the ongoing case of National MP's letting Collins make dumb comments and dig her own grave, Reti keeping his powder dry for a tilt at the leadership. Just idle speculation.

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