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Open Mike 27/09/2026
25 comments on “Open Mike 27/09/2026”
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OTD in 1983 Stanislav Petrov decided an early warning system was mistaken and didn't report up the chain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov
Imagine the outcome had the responsibility been left to AI rather than Stanislav Petrov.
Petrov's role was to evaluate the incoming data. At first, the satellite reported that one missile had been launched — then another, and another. Soon, the system was "roaring," he recalled — five Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles had been launched, it reported.
Despite the electronic evidence, Petrov decided — and advised the others — that the satellite alert was a false alarm, a call that may have averted a nuclear holocaust. But he was relentlessly interrogated afterward, was never rewarded for his decision and today is a long-forgotten pensioner living in a town outside Moscow. He spoke openly about the incident, although the official account is still considered secret by authorities here.
[….]
"I had a funny feeling in my gut," Petrov said. "I didn't want to make a mistake. I made a decision, and that was it."
https://archive.li/flyXc
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/02/10/i-had-a-funny-feeling-in-my-gut/97fb4af6-2a54-4805-8ec0-115a13f33493/
Thankfully there were, (and IMO still are), people on both sides (ie actually, our World) who can think rationally
Your Link reminded me of an old film seen many years back
Which was based around another Man who saved the World
These, and others, all brave,rational people…not afraid to think things through. Many more needed…..
Style settings now – too much white space on this from PLA. Takes up too much room, intervenes in the flow of thought from relevant comments. Not easier to understand. Large clumps of data and opinion are hard to read for meaning and emphasis, need paragraphs, quotes, but this separation too much.
Petrov – a hero, those connected with hostile activities, and stepping up to wise counsel from their own experience are not always pleasing.to the PTB.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361038680/watch-hipkins-asked-whats-woman-vision-nz-candidate
I'm not voting for a candidate who proclaims they only got 5% in School Certificate. They used to give you 10% just for writing your name at the top of the sheet.
As to his not knowing the difference between men and women, if he helps Labour become the next government, he can use one of his 3 free doctors visits and find out there.
Destiny Church sure has some high expectations, if this is the calibre of their candidates!!
About getting high marks for performance, Peter Cook said when applying to be a miner they asked 'Who are you', and he got 75% for that. (He should have included going to NZ and becoming a politician.)
Hear about his experiences post-mining as he wishes he could have been a judge. IIRC he was disqualified after he gave a negative to the question 'Are your parents married'?
Here is a great image of some of UKs keenest wits from the old days. May need to turn up the sound, rather low. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed0UgcXZCh8
Used to be was Photoshopped…now AI. Aye. Truth Social? Ha.(And indeed a Mr Grimace…Bradbury)
Simon Wilson on his substack unpicks the anti Three Waters campaign described in Hagar's book. Hagar describes the cynical inflammation of racial tension to empower a party, National, that in previous decades had supported and expanded Treaty provisions. Nasty Williams in the TU is at the heart of it, working to sell the idea to National and ACT.
‘Starting in the early 2020s, Jordan Williams turned the TU, an outfit supposedly devoted to the classic neoliberal goals of small government and free markets, into a campaigning platform determined to sow racial division and outrage.’
As you can see, I'm upgrading.
Looks like I have a widget issue on the live site.
Fixed that. Looks like we are good to go
Like to new look, a lot easier to read on a phone cheers
Feedback: I access through my phone, and now have to scroll interminably, instead of seeing at-a-glance, as before. The " quote "option appears in much larger type, and with bigger line-spacing, increasing the scroll-to read ratio to multiple swipes to read a paragraph.
I hate scrollcrollcroll to unveil content. I am a skim reader, and I can no longer skim-read here, nor see multiple posts in one glance to catch my fancy. The loss of a tabular layout for Posts and Notices, to chose one oage from the last week at a glance, it also a big loss.
I appreciate very much your work on TS. For me, this formatting is a big step backwards in content accesibility. I'd encourage people to give useful feedback, yae or nae, to the changes.
Also, is there no longer an edit function?
But I do find the new edit box more readable, so errors are easier for me to see and fix before posting.
Shows up on mine. But it does seem to have dropped back to 5 minutes from 10. I'll look at that when I get more spare time.
Dropped the quote font-size down from 20px to same size as rest of the text. That should get rid of most of that.
If you use chrome on your phone (and probably other browsers have it as well) then hit the thress dots on the top right. Scroll down the menu and tick "Desktop Site". Then it will be pretty close to what you're after. Two columns of posts with excerpts if there aren’t any sticky posts
Running Modzilla/Firefox, android samsung phone.
Running as desktop has improved layout close to old! Ta. Edit back.
And thanks for quote change.
I wanna back Chippy, but somehow all the polls and people thought Labour would be better, even with the economy, and he’s completely failed to grab that momentum.
Is it like that behind him in Labour? How would we ever know?
He’s never promised exciting I guess, but as Jimmy Adams said to Mark Richardson, you can’t bat like Boycott all of the time.
There seems little likelihood of Labour surging to a great victory, but we still hope. It’s too late to guess what you stand for. This isn’t the time for appeasement. It’s about being clear about what you stand for and wanting that for the country.
Well, newsense you should have watched Hipkins' opening campaign speech – just finished, Best speech I have ever heard him make – straight from the hip, no notes, no holds barred. Just what we've been praying for.
I will leave it to others to unpack the promises made, but the one that received the loudest and longest cheering was the 10% reduction in student fees for all students current and future. Very smart move indeed.
Watched the press interview which also showed an energised leader. One question was how come he, Hipkins, is so fired up this time compared to 2023…….when he didn't seem so…..complete ignoring of the human toll on a govt that led this country through terror attacks, volcano eruptions, a once in 100 year global pandemic, manic violent demonstrations at parliament stirred up by far right agitators and a series of cyclonic weather events and flooding……..the media by in large have to take some ownership for all the dis and misinformation on Labours track record that is rife out there in the electorate……
2023:
Labour were exhausted. I recall Hipkins had Covid during the campaign period as well.
No-one should be in any doubt now, that Benedict Collins is a prick (I use the word deliberately) and an apologist for National.
He portrayed Hipkin's speech on the 6pm news, as one full of of anger and swearing "which will be music to National's ears". he said. Yes, Hipkins was angry about the lying crap (my wording) and made no attempt to hide it. He used the term "bullshit" to describe the tax lies and he did say the word 'bloody' at one stage. That was hardly a speech full of anger and swearing.
Yes and all the blue rinse dears in the rest homes are bound to be tut tutting…..and oh look there's that nice man Mr Key over there on the blue team……….
Labour, left, voters your country needs you NOW. If you are lily-livered, take some tonic alcoholic or tea, whatever fits, and vote! It's a bit like an approaching war-time so Kitchener posters and others from WW1 are not out of place in their entreaty – Your Country Needs You. https://www.iwm.org.uk/learning/resources/first-world-war-recruitment-posters
And then look at great young NZ and tech combining in this video up again named Te Tarakihi. A moving and heartening blend of voices circling NZAO moving from north to south. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2ToLsNGU4g