The Daily Blog Open Mic – Sunday – 11th April 2021

1. It’s always interesting to look at actual data presented by CO2.earth in this society of consumerists, run by clowns, criminals and professional liars:

   Daily CO2
   Apr. 8, 2021 = 421.36 ppm
   Apr. 8, 2020 = 416.96 ppm

   Up 4.4 ppm on the anniversary

   March CO2
   Mar. 2021 = 417.64 ppm
   Mar. 2020 = 414.74 ppm

   Up 2.9 ppm year-on-year.

   There are seven more weeks of emissions far exceeding photosynthetic activity plus acidification of the oceans in the current cycle.

   I wonder whether the NZ government Climate Commission has commenced deleting (throwing in the rubbish bin) all the responses that challenge the absolute bullshit they churned out.

2. Oh, I say! Allow me to re-post here from yesterday’s fush and chup wrapper:
   OnceWasTim April 10, 2021 at 4:18 am
   And then there’s our public service FTA telecaster TVNZ overnight.
   Whatever you think of Monarchy and the constitutional arrangements that go with it and ‘lil ‘ole NuZull that punches above its weight
   What the fuck was TVNZ doing on the announcement of the death of Phil.
   Why they were running infomercials.

   TVNZ is not a public service broadcaster’s arsehole
   Let’s hope that when the likes of Trace and Trish (who can hardly be accused of being a raging left wing radical) remember this and how poorly we’ve been served.

   I suspect TVNZ will be rallying the best of the troops they’ve got (including JC Jesus Christ and one or two others), to feed us up somethinK in this space, going forward.

   Separating the person from the institution (that’s past its use by date), Old Phil wasn’t such a bad bloke and was a reformer.
   Condolences to Madge. I’m not sure what she (or Phil) did to deserve her offspring either

   Fuck off TVNZ. Too late. You should not just be merged with RNZ, but taken over by them with some very specific guidelines as to what your “mission” and “vision” and all the other buzz should be.

   • TVNZ is one of the last bastions of consume-till-you-can’t and ‘never mind the state of the planet when you can purchase a super fish catcher that delivers fish into into your hands and a bed with multiple electric motors to soothe away the aches and pains you developed sitting in a chair waiting for the fish-catcher to deliver fish’.

     But wait, there’s more….if you order now we’ll give you free a fat-free cooker so you can enjoy fish you’ve just caught without any of the worries of unhealthy cooking…

     But wait, there’s more! If you ring now we’ll give you a pair of pillows [made for under $10 but ] valued at $500!

     The higher-up members the TVNZ ‘team’ are having a glorious time bringing forward an uninhabitable planet devoid of most life and they zip here and there, trying out all the local delicacies, and taking selfies…..

     Self-promotion is a wonderful thing when you have nothing useful to say.

     • yep totally maate, totally.
       Public Service broadcasting is one area where the neoliberal-inspired fraud has been allowed to occur.,
       Asset stripping the commons in the name of “efficiency and effectiveness” to produce something that’s the complete opposite with an SOE propping up the worst of consumerism – mainly to support the salaries and baubles of a number of over-paid and under-achiever masters-of-the-Universe.
       There is no reason that this “team of 5 million” can’t have 3 radio networks (including one for those who’ve “grown up in the digital age”) and a 4th localised but network capability for iwi; and two ps television networks plus MTS, however it wants to operate. No reason that is, other than ideology and continued commitment to the cult.
       There’s no reason either why independent and diverse voices can’t be supported in the current environment by way of some assistance in providing ‘platforms’.
       The neolibs have cobbled together one of the most inefficient and defective muddles money can buy.
       In some ways, I’m reluctant to blame the likes of JA or even the f-f-f-f-Fa-aaaaaaFoi and others – they’ve grown up where it’s all Norman Normal. There is something that can be done now of course. It’ll be half-hearted of course because of a commitment to incrementalism
       And if Nothing.Must.Be.Done, I’m thinking Labour might be due for a bit of a shock before too long.
       Anyway – we’ll see, but I do note Miles and the boys and gals at CBB have been banging on about various viable options for well over a decade.
       As I come closer to running out of life, I’ve given up pushing shit uphill.
       I can’t even watch TVNZ’s Breakfast despite a few OK people running the show. It’s half bullshit advertising – even tho’ I DO LIKE my Dilmah tea.

     • BTW, the reason I reckon it’ll be a half-hearted possible improvement is because aside from the likes of Trish Dunleavy and one or two others, most have various vested interests in maintaining things as close to the status quo as possible.
       Thankfully tho’ that procrastinating rythym that goes by the name of Faafoi has probably realised his creds are on the line.
       Shame about immigration, exploitation and justice reform. They might just have to wait

3. Construction boom of 1960s led to mafia involvement and use of cheap materials to boost profits

   Italy’s crumbling infrastructure under scrutiny after bridge collapse
   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/17/italys-crumbling-infrastructure-under-scrutiny-after-bridge-collapse

   (With the CTV building we can also add, identity theft, not checking references and poor supervision as part of NZ’s problem).

   Fletcher/Todd block at Stonefields, Auckland had defects: Six-year-old Altera Apartments under repair
   https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/fletchertodd-block-at-stonefields-auckland-had-defects-six-year-old-altera-apartments-under-repair/UUNJDTOXFQIM474TYWZMH7WE5Q/

   ‘Whacked’ with huge costs: $16.3m estimated to fix defective Auckland apartments
   https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/whacked-with-huge-costs-163m-estimated-to-fix-defective-auckland-apartments/IZPBJLVZDTFZU5ZQOEPIBP7BKY/

   Now the engineers and staff working at council are also a problem. What a fuck up.
   https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/113226624/new-engineer-spotted-alleged-defects-in-christchurch-highrise-from-the-street

   Concrete safety investigator ‘surprised nobody had been killed’
   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/402908/concrete-safety-investigator-surprised-nobody-had-been-killed

   Multi-storey building flaws ‘almost the norm’
   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/340396/multi-storey-building-flaws-almost-the-norm

   Apartment complex hit with $32.8m repair bill
   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/331505/apartment-complex-hit-with-32-point-8m-repair-bill

   Council unable to identify possible defective buildings in capital
   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/403417/council-unable-to-identify-possible-defective-buildings-in-capital

   Cash workers and suppliers where profit is more important than quality in all aspects, labour and materials, is surely a mistake?

   https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124715502/sacked-for-speaking-out-chinese-migrant-worker-fired-by-concrete-company

   Faulty concrete hits New Zealand flagship highway project
   https://www.newcivilengineer.com/archive/faulty-concrete-hits-new-zealand-flagship-highway-project-13-05-2015/?referrer=rss

   (This concrete company appears to have identified and reported their failure, how many concrete companies or inspectors do not notice or report the failures?)

4. Meanwhile on people’s normal lives, if anybody can help this lady help the little blue penguins on Waiheke Island who are about to be destroyed by The Marina Developers owed by Auckland Council? I put this in the hope that somebody from the Green movement, reading this post, can help her/the penguins.

   Reposted.

   “Can you help us? We are in crisis! This may be unbelievable but it is true. The Marina Developers have permission to destroy little blue penguin habitat.
   We have little blue penguins on Waiheke, and their burrows are going to be destroyed next week and they risk the loss not only of their homes but their lives.
   We need your suggestions, we don’t know what to do! WARNING! You may find this disturbing and it is unprecedented in NZ.
   On Wednesday morning I had a call from an ecologist with 4Sight Consulting (working for the Kennedy Point Marina Developers ) asking me if I could go to Kennedy Point the next day and pull out any penguins that are in their burrows when they demolish the breakwater/ rock wall. I was absolutely shocked and couldn’t believe it! We ended up having a heated discussion along the lines of me saying “what am I meant to do with these penguins! They are not injured or ill, they’ll have just been forcibly evicted from their homes! Her explaining that she thought I had a DOC permit to handle penguins so I could do this.. .. me: yes I have a DOC permit to rescue and rehabilitate penguins and yes I can handle them but it is not for the purpose of taking them because they are at home and in the way of you destroying their burrows! Cat: there have been 34 indications of penguins by the sniffer dog, we can’t see into the burrows so we won’t know if they are in there when we demolish the rock wall…. I can’t legally handle penguins so the penguins need you there… the conversation was repulsive and I stated I wanted nothing to do with the deliberate destruction of known existing penguin habitat and this was illegal under the Wildlife Act and was animal cruelty.
   Lots of phone calls and emails later and the work was not going ahead the next day. Phew! But I felt sick, I felt powerless against this huge wealthy organisation with a room of lawyers, social media practitioners, spin doctors and lots of time to spin and craft words to sugar coat and twist the truth.
   Myself and the volunteer team still had nine kereru to clean and feed, the pied shag, the ruru, the kōtare, the moiweka, the grey-faced petrel etc… it’s not a job you can defer, they need to be given medications, therapies, fed and cleaned etc.. it was an incredibly stressful morning shift with the volunteers who had overheard the call in absolute disbelief and distressingly angry.
   I felt like I had been dropped into a David and Goliath plot but it was the penguins I had to save.
   So today I received an email, it seems that Auckland Council have given their blessing and they will be destroying the section of the rock wall where there are two known active nests.
   As of next week the penguins are going to be evicted or if they are out they will return to no home as it will be demolished.
   With my limited time, resources, and experience of a situation where corporate might destroys the environment and threatens the lives of our taonga, I am at a disadvantage and have exhausted my options of what to do. The barge that will demolish the rock wall arrived tonight so they may even start sooner.
   Please put any and all suggestions and feedback below. We seriously need some inspiration as I’m so worried for these kororā/little blues. They already live in a refugee camp situation as their habitat on land has already been destroyed by the ferry terminal so they have resorted to the breakwater wall, which is like living in a tent on the beach, it gets flooded in king tides, it’s miserable in storms. Not ideal but it’s their home. Now where will they go?
   Can this really be legal in New Zealand? Can Auckland Council give resource consent that ignores the Wildlife Act and Animal Welfare Laws. Do these people really have the money and power to get away with this?
   If requested I can post the letters and emails in the comments. The video is simply to help you connect to the animals being submitted to unlawful actions. Sione, Heidi, Kikorangi and Te Morehu were recently released on the northern coastline. Watch the bit where Sione is yelling in her nesting box after getting a fright! Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.
   You can contact Karen on nbrwaiheke@gmail.com or 0204739464

   • I used to see the penguins pretty regularly making their way from Ostend area to Park Point. If they could create a starter home somewhere on that final headland, inside Matarahui Bay or on the rocks facing east nearby, they might shift there “by themselves”. The area they patrol for food is fairly wide. There appears to be regular fish habitat for them to hunt in the bay directly behind the Islands opposite where the car ferry comes in, in Te Whau Bay, so something there might work, and a lot more action as you go towards Te Hurihi Bay area. The Te Hurihi side has better protection from storms than the Ostend side. If their home is removed, they still have to eat, and then if the adults are poking around after eating they might find a shelter you leave them. It’s not ideal, but the alternative is just leave them to it, which also might not be as bad as we think it is – they know penguin business after all. Shame if the little ones can’t make it, but that’s why people get into conservation as opposed to drilling into the seabead for man vanity. It’s a shitty situation, and I’m totally against that development. It’s the dumbest, most pointless thing ever, exposed to prevailing winds of up to gale force.

     • You would have thought that the little blue penguins would be part of the consideration of the environment consent, but the environment court has been honed over decades to be for the developers interests and against the public and society. It is procedural and anti democratic and the financial process to challenge anything is well beyond the means of most members of the public. Even if someone challenges and wins, the applicants then put in another consent (often even bigger!) and wait for any challengers to run out of money and give up, because the process is long, expensive and not fair.

       Meanwhile great to see Auckland Council and private interests make more access for the rich and potentially more sea vessels and individuals making a fortune taking drugs and contraband around the world! Sarcasm!

       The Pacific is in danger of becoming a semi-narco region
       https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/penguin-habitat-on-waiheke-island-could-be-destroyed-for-marina-plans/LN7JOMVQ6TBBWFZOS4LZ2ZRPXA/

       Why bother paying a fortune to all the spies in NZ supposedly protecting NZ, when any Tom, Dick, and Harry can sail into NZ (or out) and it’s so common that regular yachties are asked in Auckland if they can sail to places like Thailand to pick up drugs (and who knows what else, people trafficking, cigarettes, guns, covid refugees) etc

       Note traffickers recruit local people to do the actual transactions, so they don’t get caught.

       Sea is a good alternative now that flight and crates are hard with Covid.

       There is a bonanza of yachts being sold in NZ!

5. It would be so delicious if Bridges took over NZFirst

6. “No one has changed the social welfare landscape as our government has” the Prime Minister declared on TVNZ Q + A this morning. She clarified this position by stating with pride that implementing winter energy payments and tinkering around the edges has “lifted benefit levels almost up to those recommended by WEAG”. The PM also said we shouldn’t increase social development spending only to have the levels decreased at a later date (presumably by a future government with alternative views).

   The current government is setting a low bar if it is comparing itself to past administrations. It is incoherent if the staple bureaucracy of this government, expert advisory groups, can now not be trusted. It is propagandist if following next to no recommendations is the same as following all recommendations. It is being manipulative if it is scaremongering about hypothetical threats from future governments. It is incompetent if backtracking, contradicting, grandstanding, dithering and inertia can be deemed valid policy.

   From being the gold standard in social development, to doing barely anything on social development, to making excuses for not being able to do anything on social development, this was another PR master class.

   • Another word to add to the trash:

     Transformational

     Kiwi Build

     Kindness

     Poverty

     Inequality

     And now “watch this space” and there’s still more to do.”

     Carmel Sepulino just got thrown under the bus. How delicious.

     If the Prime Minister has already stated that benefits are relative to the weag report then what the fuck is caramel on about???

     Have some continuity, get your some smarter friends ffs

7. FFS. Just because I’m vaccinated doesn’t mean I can’t transmit the virus later. Everyone has to take the fucken vaccine

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