The Daily Blog Open Mic – 29th August 2024

1. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/526490/fears-historic-collection-of-nz-rugby-images-could-vanish
   Fairfax – we sold our long term national newspapers to a mining magnate who carried out the business on our media then having sucked it dry, having sold TradeMe bought by Fairfax, off for profit and when down to bare bones offered a scarecrow lot for $1. This was finally bought up with USA in mind- so that world news page would be full of their botherations plus all the tragedies of the world fit to print – and also of ours, the more the merrier suits their purposes!

   But there was still something to utilise – an image gallery with our great and sentimental and historic moments of the past.

   Will we be sold off at some giant fire sale in the near future? Before we wash away or get blown up or split down the middle like an ice cream sundae only the black and red stuff won’t be cool chocolate and strawberry topping.

2. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/526513/meridian-energy-puts-planned-green-hydrogen-facility-on-standby
   and
   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/526491/petrol-cars-could-be-hit-with-road-user-charges-from-2027
   Tuk-tuks buzzing around – just a phone call away to your area’s favourite small enterprise firm – may be it’s time has come eh?

3. Winston Peters is calling for a coup against the democratically elected government of Venezuela because they oppose the genocide of the Palestinian people. The attempted coup leader, Machado, has asked ‘israel’ to attack Venezuela.
   https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/media-and-resources/joint-statement-on-venezuela-election
   https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-venezuelan-opposition-figure-asks-jewish-expats-to-return/

4. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/526523/whangarei-district-council-votes-against-scrapping-maori-ward
   …Whangārei District councillors have voted down a motion to abolish their Māori ward in a two-hour, often emotional debate marked by waiata and a celebratory haka from supporters gathered outside…
   Up to 200 people, including many Pākehā, gathered outside the council offices on Rust Avenue to show their support for the district’s two Māori ward councillors. Only about half could fit inside the chamber, with the rest forced to follow the meeting on screens in the foyer…

   Go for it Whangarei. Don’t get crushed by all the city-weary escapees from Auckland trying to set up in your city and run it as their fiefdom. And fund your new and continuing attraction, the Hundertwasser gallery and Maori art and craft showcase. You may have to drag out money from the well-off who don’t appreciate their own country’s achievements and would rather spend their money on the Gold Coast Oz or floating in a ‘leaky’ boat with other refugees from real life.

5. Here is a conundrum! I wonder how much media people in general earn?
   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/526439/what-do-new-zealand-s-influencers-really-earn

   Do people who can’t find a steady job become influencers to fill in, on poor incomes? And work at encouraging people to accept a reality and style that leads to low incomes and uncertainty such as they are experiencing? Worshipping from the outside what is seen on reality tv shows; hoping for the short moment of stardom themselves. Always the bridesmaid but never the bride? – but then they probably don’t believe in trying for a marriage with stability anyway – they wouldn’t have any role models to refer to. Would they?

   Would they be drawn to the thrills related to a visit to … Mama Hooch etc
   https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/08/24/christchurchs-mama-hooch-drink-spike-rapists-jailed/
   https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/12-05-2023/shock-and-disgust-christchurch-bars-respond-to-mama-hooch-case
   *******************
   Cheers NZ
   https://cheers.org.nz Whakamāoritia tēnei whārangi
   Cheers is a social change initiative to create a healthier, safer and more responsible drinking culture in New Zealand…
   *************************
   Our Drinking Culture – ActionPoint
   https://www.actionpoint.org.nz › … Whakamāoritia tēnei whārangi
   Alcohol harm in New Zealand. Although a large proportion of the harm from alcohol arises from heavy drinking, there is no safe level of alcohol use. Read…

   Then there is the idea of partying without alcohol, drugs, even cigs – though not perfect, but try limiting. Try be kind to your body and mind. Queen challenges in Innuendo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74m9WnVpJXo

6. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/what-you-need-to-know/526447/bird-flu-what-you-need-to-know-about-its-spread-overseas-and-the-risk-to-nz
   Aug.29/24 As cases of bird flu mount overseas, New Zealand officials are bolstering their plans in case the virus arrives on our shores.
   Hundreds of millions of birds have now been destroyed around the globe due to infection with highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza, mostly the H5 and H7 strains.
   In June, the first human case of H5N2 died in Mexico, and this month, pet cats have been confirmed infected in the United States.

   Overseas officials are ramping up testing amid fears of infected beef being eaten by humans, while experts here at home are vaccinating native manu against the deadly virus.
   Here’s what you need to know.
   Bird flu’s spread overseas
   Avian influenza has been recorded as far back as 1878, but the current outbreak of H5N1 began in 2020 in Europe. From there, the virus spread to the Middle East, Asia, parts of Africa and the Antarctic peninsula, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.

   H5 strains have since spread from birds to at least 26 species of mammals, according to Harvard Health Publishing. Among them are mice, bears, foxes, dolphins, otters, alpacas, goats and hedgehogs. In Denmark, millions of mink have been culled after the virus spread through fur farms, and tens of thousands of seals and sea lions have died throughout the Americas, the BBC reported.
   Cases of bird flu have been confirmed in goats, among other mammals. Photo: 123RF

   This month, the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association reported six domestic cats in the US state had been diagnosed with the virus. This is not the first time it has threatened pets – in 12 cats died of bird flu in Poland and nearly 40 in South Korea. Their deaths were traced back to raw pet food that contained infected chicken and duck.
   The BBC estimates at least half a billion farmed birds have been slaughtered due to the H5 strains of bird flu.

   In the United States, nearly 200 dairy herds have been infected since March, when the virus jumped from wild birds to cows. The country’s Department of Agriculture will in September begin testing beef entering the food supply over concerns the virus could be infecting meat, according to Reuters….

   Birds and hens and eggs – a major source of food for us. Another blow to people who thought we had reached a balanced modern living system. But that was foolish of those people wasn’t it.

7. Various criminal politicians have sold off our communally owned assets and have wiped regulations that were wise and honest, so they can swear they have done nothing wrong, broken no laws in forcing, allowing conditions to slide. They are overpaid and it is time for an educated citizenry to elect a Council of Elders and university graduates in polity control to restore standards of probity in our national and local politics.

   The dabblers can go back to their private jobs; we don’t what front-men and women for background shadowy grasping amoral types, and do need hard-working people with nous, material experience, on limited-term low wages with final bonuses tied to satisfaction of the citizenry for reasonable outcomes. Will we attract people at that level, we will and they will be required to have lived in NZ for many years and been born here!

   This will become rarer than pots of gold under rainbows.
   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/526472/flatmates-battle-to-get-compensation-awarded-for-living-in-mouldy-home
   [Tenant] tried to raise her concerns with landlord Laura Mursell but says she was repeatedly brushed off.
   “When I asked if we could get the vent and the kitchen fixed, she asked if I wanted to move out because I sounded ungrateful,” ….

   [Tenant] and her flatmates have been blocked from their ex-landlord’s contact, with no compensation in sight. After six months the amount has built up to $4,824.
   The Ministry of Justice’s Tracey Baguley said the responsibility of recovering the money awarded at the tribunal lay with the person owed the debt.

   Community law legal expert Rupert O’Brien said the tenants had to do everything on their own.
   “They have to protect their interests and protect their rights and tendencies. Compliance is out there doing their best and they’re trying to deal with the worst cases, but they’re pretty limited in their resources and they don’t deal.
   “You have the right to a decent home and now they’ve not only got to take the tribunal case but now the enforcement as well,” he said.

   Renters United president Zac Thomas said vulnerable renters, such as young people, often faced a power imbalance with landlords.
   “You might get sick because of living in an unhealthy home. That might mean that you have to take time off work, which might put you behind in rent payments because you don’t have as much income, adding to stress and making you more sick,” he said.

   Can this apply:
   Various criminal politicians have sold off our communally owned assets and have wiped regulations that were wise and honest, so they can swear they have done nothing wrong, broken no laws in forcing, allowing conditions to slide. They are overpaid and it is time for an educated citizenry to elect a Council of Elders and university graduates in polity control to restore standards of probity in our national and local politics.

   The dabblers can go back to their private jobs; we don’t what front-men and women for background shadowy grasping amoral types, and do need hard-working people with nous, material experience, on limited-term low wages with final bonuses tied to satisfaction of the citizenry for reasonable outcomes. Will we attract people at that level, we will and they will be required to have lived in NZ for many years and been born here!

   This will become rarer than pots of gold under rainbows.
   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/526472/flatmates-battle-to-get-compensation-awarded-for-living-in-mouldy-home
   [Tenant] tried to raise her concerns with landlord Laura Mursell but says she was repeatedly brushed off.
   “When I asked if we could get the vent and the kitchen fixed, she asked if I wanted to move out because I sounded ungrateful,” ….

   [Tenant] and her flatmates have been blocked from their ex-landlord’s contact, with no compensation in sight. After six months the amount has built up to $4,824.
   The Ministry of Justice’s Tracey Baguley said the responsibility of recovering the money awarded at the tribunal lay with the person owed the debt.

   Community law legal expert Rupert O’Brien said the tenants had to do everything on their own.
   “They have to protect their interests and protect their rights and tendencies. Compliance is out there doing their best and they’re trying to deal with the worst cases, but they’re pretty limited in their resources and they don’t deal.
   “You have the right to a decent home and now they’ve not only got to take the tribunal case but now the enforcement as well,” he said.

   Renters United president Zac Thomas said vulnerable renters, such as young people, often faced a power imbalance with landlords.
   “You might get sick because of living in an unhealthy home. That might mean that you have to take time off work, which might put you behind in rent payments because you don’t have as much income, adding to stress and making you more sick,” he said.
   *******************
   https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2020/02/17/the-human-right-to-housing/
   All New Zealanders have the human right to adequate housing. It might be “the best kept secret” in the country, but this right has been endorsed by our governments for 70 years, and it’s one of the key pillars for Greater Auckland’s “20/20 Vision on Housing” series.

   An opinion piece by Paul Hunt of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) does a great job of setting the scene (first published in the NZ Herald Dec 2019, available here, the version below edited, hacked and slashed by me):
   The best kept secret in New Zealand – a decent home is your right

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