There are potholes in Tauranga. A lot of potholes, not perhaps enough to “fill the Albert hall”, but enough to lose a small dog in or break an axle. Worse yet no one can find the local MP “Big Sam” to see if he could give it a bash, I mean lend a hand.
Do spare a thought for the good folks of Tauranga, it is hard to pin this one on the tangata whenua, but I’m sure they’ll give it a go…
The ASB are gifting $150m of farm land next to the school to Mount Albert Grammar (MAGS). I’ve been to a couple of farm based functions there when the kids were little, it is a fabulous country facility in the middle of Tamaki Makaurau.
I don’t want to sound like one of those lefties that complain about every little thing not being equal, but this is a wealthy community as it is and I don’t see similar gifts going to low decile schools. Nice as it is for MAGS and their students - this is what inequality looks like!
Still it is a positive thing, well unless you read the sadly predictable comments:
The UK government are abandoning their plan to remove the highest tax rate which would have seen Millionaires receive tax cuts equivalent to the total salaries of multiple essential workers like nurses. No word from National whether they plan to abandon the same policy, which has been like napalm to the British economy, here their comment being “ssh don’t wake the media they’re having a nice little snooze”
The events of this week seem to have aged Liz Truss by about five years, she’s looking more like Thatcher by the day and will be 120 by the end of the year. Unfortunately she doesn’t look to be the sort that will be troubled by a mortal soul.
Unusually, someone with an actual understanding of the matter commented:
Meanwhile Andrew was having a cup half full moment, from the sound of it having followed the cup being emptied multiple times. He suggested a benefit of getting rid of the top tax rate was that it would discourage the wealthy from tax evasion!
Booking.com have added travel warnings for the West Bank. That seems kind of timely with the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) achieving their annual targets for dead Palestinians, the vast majority in the West Bank, by the first week of October this year!
They’ve rather spoiled things for future record attempts having focused so heavily on children under ten this year, but never fear they’ve the full weight of the US industrial war machine behind them - and records are made to be broken!
Do you reckon the companies named in the article, Airbnb, Booking.com and TripAdvisor, would have had an issue providing bookings to South Africa pre 1992 if they had been around during apartheid there? No, me either. How about “Nice little studio in Dachau, owner upstairs works at local camp but has some unusual views” - you can’t make that comparison Nick, they didn’t even have the internet in 1936!
Newstalk ZB are still running multiple articles about the “Mood of the Boardroom”, which I wrote about here. Apparently a bunch of wealthy, white, middle-aged guys on enormous packages would like a government more friendly to their interests, heck who wouldn’t. Not sure why they keep rehashing it, perhaps it was to encourage some intelligent discussion by their listeners, like Alan:
Pharmac are funding a new medication to fight lung cancer, it is the first medicine of this kind publicly funded here and will be available to all. There will never be enough money for Pharmac to deliver everything, but it is nice after many harrowing tales of individual circumstances and unfunded drugs to see news that will no doubt positively impact many lives - so yay! Or maybe not…
I reckon I could guess which party Paul supports, heck it sounds like the ACT manifesto. Don’t be a Paul, be a Susan!
I’ll leave you with Tim Downer who speculates that the viewers are responsible for the state of television, much as Paul above says they are for their lung cancer. I guess there is some responsibility for consuming a product we know is no good for us.
Much easier to blame the viewers rather than the producers, especially if you work for an organisation that produces the content this station is known for. Does the same logic make listeners responsible for the quality of information on Newstalk ZB?
And this brief review is without contributions from the four harbingers of the apocalypse - Hosking, Hawkesby, du Plessis-Allan, and Woodham.
Right what’s next? Slam my head in the car door, or on to the Herald? Both would have much the same effect on the IQ, although neither as damaging as Newstalk ZB.
Warning: This track may change your opinion of Oasis.
I am very impressed with your stamina, Nick - I don't have the stickability the listen to more than 15 seconds of their biased bilge. So, well done, you!
Also a great selection of comments - all from the less desirable 25% of the Bell curve that indicates people's concern for the well-being of others combined with the 'I'm not a racist but ...' ragtag of ratbags.
Cheers, and keep up the good work - you are helping to save my sanity! Marilyn
Absolutely excellent Nick. 🙏 thanks