Daily Report – Evening Report

“Roots” (2016): persistence of power… and the enduring spirit of resistance

Selwyn Manning — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 03:52:08 +0000

Review by Carolyn Skelton – Roots (2016) My first post on the 2016 TV miniseries, Roots, highlighted the brutality of silvery, and the ways the US slave masters aimed to erase the true identities and history of African chatel slaves in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. A theme of the miniseries is the importance of naming, and how the slaves maintain their true names and by telling and re-telling their family line and stories to each new generation. In episodes 3 and 4 we follow the life of Chicken George (Regé-Jean Page) the son by rape of Kunte Kinte’s (Malachi Kirby) daughter Kizzy (Anika Noni Rose), and an Irish slave owner, Tom Lea (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) in North Carolina. Tom came from a poor Irish American background, and considers he has been successful when his fighting cocks gain him enough money to buy a farm and slaves. He is never accepted by the wealthy, powerful and bigoted Anglo men in the area: they consider themselves Tom’s superior. Chicken George has a way with words, using an evangelical style of oratory to captivate white people as he successfully trains and manages Tom’s fighting roosters. Like Tom, the young George sees the acquisition of money as the best way to achieve freedom, and equality. George later reconsiders, and chastens Tom for his hollow belief in the soulless power of money. Money, and the evils associated with it, are another recurring theme in the series. After a lost cock fight, Tom Lea is bankrupted. This results in George being sold to an Englishman, and taken to England for over 20 years, leaving behind his wife Matilda (Erica Tazel) and several children. In the final episode of the series, it is a bewildering moment for Kinte’s descendants and the community of slaves, when they slowly come to realise that the Civil War has ended, General Lee has capitulated, and they are no longer slaves. Chicken George’s wife Matilda says, she won’t be dancing in celebration as she has lost so much: 3 children sold to distant slave owners, and her, now liberated husband, back in the US. [caption id="attachment_11049" align="alignleft" width="300"] Roots (2016): Chicken George, Matilda, Marcellus (Michael James Shaw), Kizzy. [Black Film website][/caption]George had to leave his family because vicious white men use loopholes in the law to brutally exert their power over black people, whether they are slaves or not. If George had stayed with his family he would have been tormented, re-enslaved, or killed. An older, wiser and reformed George joined the struggle to support and protect other black people. Towards the final episode, following the end of the US Civil War and the abolition of slavery, we see the liberated slaves take the first tentative steps to negotiating their their terms for selling their labour to their previous slave masters. Roots: the next generations This matches the history outlined in Steve Fraser’s 2015 book*. The abolition of slavery was replaced by what often was referred to as “wage slavery”, with a large number of young black men, and some poor white men, in the south of the US, working for little money in harsh, prison-like conditions. A high proportion of black such men ended up in prison. There they became cheap labour for the developing enterprises of the rapid industrialisation of the US, and the rise of capitalism (Fraser, pp. 50-3).

“And while young African American males languished in industrial and agricultural prison camps, black women (if they weren’t also working in prisons, sometimes as unpaid prostitutes), once the helpmates of their husbands on small family plots, found work instead as wage earners in canning and tobacco factories, as domestics, in mechanized laundries and textile mills, and in the fields.” (Fraser, p.53)

High unemployment was a frightening reality. The US’s early phases of industrialisation developed on the backs and bodies of the poor, a high proportion of them being black people.

“… 35,000 workers died each year in industrial accidents, many of them skilled mechanics.…

“The bones of thousands of workmen were encased in the concrete of dams and bridges…” (Fraser, pp. 56-57)

The history of the subordination, discrimination and bigotry endured by the majority of African Americans since the Civil War, shows how the legacy of the past impacts on the present and future. Some of this is shown in the 1979 TV series Roots: the next generations, available on youtube (see also imdb). [caption id="attachment_11047" align="alignleft" width="300"] “Roots: the next generations” (1979) – poster, youtube. Tom, top left.[/caption] In episode 2 of Roots: the next generations (1979), Chicken George and Matilda’s son Tom Harvey (Georg Stanford Brown) has been proud to be able to vote every election after the Civil War. Then, a new generation of white men conspire to prevent black people from voting with vote registration rules targeting African Americans. This includes the requirement to have paid poll tax, and to be literate. Tom fronts up the registration office, shows his poll tax records, and maintains his dignity in front of the sneering white men, while haltingly reading part of the Tennessee constitution he’s given. They then disqualify him from registering because he is unable to explain the meaning of the piece he has read. The legacy of African American slave history in the present In the past few weeks, some in the US have tried to use similar methods of targeting African Americans with rules to prevent them from registering to vote. (Se The Guardian 3 August 2016 and The New York Times 31 July 2016 ) Those kinds of actions, plus the statistics that show African Americans continue to be over-represented in the poorer sections of society, while also being victimised by the police and other institutions, shows how the legacy of brutalising slavery, still continues into the present, as does resistance to it in the #blacklivesmatter movement. (See, for instance, the post by The Political Scientist showing the persistence of poverty experienced by African Americans over generations.) Berklee Black Lives Matter perform a beautiful version on Nina Simone’s “Four Women”, bringing the past into the present, highlighting the continuing impact of slavery, and long-term oppression of black people into the 21^st century. The refrain in Nina Simone’s song is “What do they call me? My name is…”. At the end of Berklee Black Lives Matter’s version the reprise the refrain for 3 of the women by highlighting that the name is what “they call me”. The powerful diminish and hide the true identities, experiences and histories of slaves and their descendants in the way they name them. In covering the song, the Berklee women retell the history of this oppression and resistance to it. https://youtu.be/eDF3RLSI07s * Fraser, Steve, The Age of Acquiescence: The life and death of American resistance to organized wealth and power, New York, Boston, London, Little Brown and Company, 2015.]]>

“Roots” (2016): enslavement and the politics of naming

Selwyn Manning — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 04:07:13 +0000

Review by Carolyn Skelton. See also, Part Two: “Roots” (2016): persistence of power… and the enduring spirit of resistance Roots (2016, TV series) is disturbing but also compelling: a story of horrific brutality endured, and of the resistant warrior spirit, struggling for freedom. It tells of how the past impacts on present and future generations. It shows the best and worst of humanity, and points to the way both continue today. (Episodes 3 and 4 available on demand on TVNZ website for another week.) Alex Haley’s fictionalisation of his search for his African (become African-American) ancestry was first written as a novel (Roots: The making of an American family, 1976 ). It begins with the story of the enslavement of Kunte Kinte, taken from his Gambian home town of Juffure. The family saga was made into an acclaimed 1977 TV series (See PBS on “Miniseries: Roots Special” 2013) The accuracy of Haley’s family history is disputed, but the story and context seems pretty true to the social history of slavery and the continuing struggles of African Americans. Compared with the 1977 TV series, the 2016 version has been updated to include more accurate historical information. The new version characterises Juffure as “a busy commercial trade post” rather than a rural backwater. In 2016 Kunta Kinte is portrayed as a warrior, compared with the more childlike version of 1977. (Caitlin Gallagher on the differences) The 2016 TV series re-make begins with the story of Kunta Kinte (Malachi Kirby), born in Juffre and trafficked as a teenager to Virginia in the 1770s. The story begins in some of the earliest phases of globalisation that accompanied the shift from feudalism, through mercantile trading, to industrial capitalism. (See also Wikipedia on the 2016 version and imdb) The rise of the use of African slaves in the southern states of the US followed from use of Irish, Scottish, English and German people as well as Africans as indentured servants in early 17^th century colonial America. In the 17^th century there was a gradual shift from indentured servitude to the use of Africans as chattel slaves, whereby humans are owned as property and have no personal freedom or rights. (History of Slavery in America, Berkley University) The series shows the lives and struggles of Kinte and his descendants across several decades, until the end of the US Civil War and the abolition of slavery in the 1860s. The politics of naming, the importance of family, and of teaching each generation their family lineage, are recurring themes throughout the generations. So to is the recurring treachery, bigotry, misogynistic rape, inhumanity and brutality endured. It starkly portrays the exploitation and abuse carried out by the slave masters in order to acquire and maintain their wealth, status and power over others. And it shows the ways in which each new generation follows Kinte’s example with brave bids for freedom as well as resistance to enslavement in small and large ways: there are moments of success, but their oppression continues, and sometimes changes with other social and economic changes. (See the History website and the Civil War Trust website) The 2016 series adds the story of Kinte and his contemporaries participation in the American War of Independence in 1782, and his grandson Chicken George (Regé Jean-Page) in the US Civil War (1861-65). Both re-tellings show how the slaves were viciously betrayed by the armies they pledged to support in return for promises of freedom. The black men were cynically used as inadequately armed canon fodder. The family bonds, love, solidarity, support, and the selfless sacrifice to protect others among the community of slaves makes their lives durable. For the viewer this is both distressing and uplifting. Kinte and his descendants endeavour to make the best of the circumstances that enslave them. The first aim is to survive. Individuals make choices about when to fight, and when to be prepared to die to protect others. Those that colonise others as a means to maintain their power and status, do so in part by denying the impact of the legacies of the past on present and future lives. The aim of the slave managers is to make the slaves forget their past lives and heritage, by giving them a slave name, and constructing false, and demeaning traditions for them to follow. Kunte Kinte’s supreme act of resistance is to continue to say his name, “I am Kunte Kinte”, as the slave master viciously whips the skin off his back. Eventually, near death, Kinte chooses to live, and says his slave name, “Toby.” But, as The Fiddler (Forest Whitaker) tells him, Kinte will keep his true name, and the spirit it signifies, inside hm. It is necessary to know your name and lineage to know who you are (and what you can be). In part II I will say more about Roots (2016) and the impact of past oppressions on present and future lives. Nina Simone wrote and sang a powerful song, describing four women, whose lives have been constructed out of the legacy of slavery. Each woman is characterized by a slave naming, first as a lament, then, for the fourth woman, her name is sung with anger and bitter irony. https://youtu.be/4grGAYx9koA]]>

Live Stream: TPPA Don’t Sign public meeting at the Auckland Town Hall

Selwyn Manning — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 03:34:41 +0000

TPPA Don’t Sign public meeting at the Auckland Town Hall. The first of the “TPPA: Don’t Sign” public meetings is on Tuesday night at 7pm in Auckland Town Hall. Washington-based expert analyst Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen Global Trade Watch, will explain about the realities of TPPA politics in a US presidential election year, and the likelihood that the agreement will not get to a vote in 2016, after which it becomes hostage to a new administration.

University of Auckland law professor Jane Kelsey will discuss recent assessments of the impacts of the TPPA for New Zealand based on the series of peer reviewed expert papers that have now been released.*

The second half of the meeting will be a political panel of parliamentary representatives:

Grant Robertson, Economic Spokesperson, Labour Party

Metiria Turei, Co-leader, NZ Greens

Marama Fox, Co-leader, Maori Party

Fletcher Tabuteau, Trade Spokesperson, NZ First

Barry Coates from Its Our Future will talk about Auckland based activities in the lead-up to the proposed signing of the agreement on 4 February.

The meeting will be live streamed on The Daily Blog.

The other meetings are at:

Wellington, Wednesday 27 January, 7pm, St Andrews on the Terrace

Christchurch, Thursday 28 January, 7pm, Cardboard Cathedral

Dunedin, Friday 29 January, 7pm, Burns Hall (next to First Church), Moray Place

The “TPPA: Don’t Sign” speaking tour is co-sponsored by ItsOurFuture, ActionStation, New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and First Union.

*The expert papers on the Regulatory Process, Investment, Economics, Environment and Treaty of Waitangi can be accessed on tpplegal.wordpress.com.

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Fear & the ‘fool’: “The Great American Scream”

Selwyn Manning — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 02:48:39 +0000

A local play critiquing US-influenced media – Analysis by Carolyn Skelton. The Great American Scream, recently at Te Pou Theatre (the new Auckland home for Māori theatre in New Lynn) was thoroughly engaging. I had a lingering impact with some scenes etched in my memory. The play exposes fault lines in US-influenced media that began early in the 20^th century, gradually evolving into the current local and international crisis in mainstream news media. This play is a period piece with a contemporary resonance. Written by Albert Belz (Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pōkai), it is set on the night that a US radio station broadcast “War of the Worlds”, directed and narrated by Orson Welles. The broadcast was on Halloween night, October 30, in 1938. At the time there were (over-exaggerated) claims that there had been mass panic by large numbers of people. Some people had apparently missed the announcements during Welles’ broadcast, stating that the murderous alien invasion was part of a fictional drama. [Full broadcast on youtube] Belz’s play uses this media event as the centre-piece of his play. It is set in the household of a family, living not far from the site of the (fictional) Martian invasion. The family hear parts of the broadcast, and believe the invasion to be real. As we entered the auditorium, we see the stage is set up as a 1930s living room. It is described well by Tamati Patuwai in his review:

It feels very much like the audience is inside the room and at times claustrophobically so. Reminiscent of the lush Broadway style stage typical of American theatrical standards, …

The radio is always on the set, and is the centre-piece of the performance, along with periodic playing of radio broadcasts. Reading the programme while I waited, with the swing and big band music popular in the 1930s filling the auditorium, the scene is also set for me with this whakaaro from the play’s author:

“The Great American Scream is this writer’s reaction to modern ‘journalism’ and global pack-mentality’; as a witness daily in modern broadcasting and print on issues such as immigration, ISIS and the Ebola Virus.

It is my reaction to fear-mongering in a capitalist society where journalism is driven purely for profit, where the only narrative in global reportage is one of fear designed to increase sales and advertising margins; where ultimately the world is made a little bit ‘stupider’ every day.”

The play begins with expectations that the eldest daughter in the family will receive a marriage proposal at the evening’s Halloween dance. The family becomes transfixed by the snippets they hear of Orson Welles’ reports of the Martian invasion. In their responses to the anticipated end of life as they know it at the hands of the frightening aliens, the family spill some of their secrets: thwarted desires as they attempt to live up to the dominant values of their times. In the process, they make some small steps forwards on gender and racial issues. The play’s critique is delivered with a light touch. The characters remain likeable and sympathetic, even as they are fooled by the radio drama. The families’ panic includes a hilarious nod to the US’s love of guns and to private militias, as the characters scrambles to protect their home territory. The Martians are not the only outsiders that play on the families’ fears. First there’s the intrusion into their domestic space of the sounds from the black man (Ezra) hammering on their roof. In the course of the play Ezra’s demeanour changes from cowed submission, to walking tall, with confidence. 2 vagabonds, Slim and Lennie, are another disruptive intrusion into the domestic scene. When they knock on the door, asking for work, the mother politely directs them to the neighbouring farm. When they ask for food, she unhelpfully invites them to church. They, especially Lennie, perform a role similar to that of one kind of Shakespearean fool: commoners or poor people, often comic, socially disruptive characters who provide a critique of society and those with power. Later Slim and Lennie walk into the empty living room. They ask, what will happen if we have nothing left to lose? And Lennie asks, what will happen if they no longer have anything to fear? They note that they never go to the kinds of dances that the family attends. Dancing together to the radio music, they create a shared fantasy of dancing with a beautiful woman, until a quizzical Ezra interrupts them. In the chaos of the night, the vagabonds gain control: a feared and disturbing presence as they speak of carrying out a misogynistic form of revenge. The social order is restored after Slim and Lennie are scared into submission by a simple Halloween trick. The tramps remain potential figures of disruption and fear – like the homeless, beneficiaries, and unemployed today, so often unfairly demonised by our media. The last word of the play comes from the voice of Orson Welles, at the end of the “War of the Worlds’” broadcast:

“… and remember, please, for the next day or so, the terribly lesson you learned tonight: That grinning glowing globular invader, of your living room, is an inhabitant of the pumpkin patch, and if your doorbell rings and nobody’s there – that was no Martian. It’s Halloween.”

https://youtu.be/JzvCpBFXHnU The NZ news media today Last week on Radio New Zealand National’s Panel, Dita di Boni spoke about the recent axing of journalists from mainstream NZ media. She said that it’s partly political. In keeping with Belz’s views above, di Boni was critical of marketing people interfering in the news room and exerting too much power. http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/panel/panel-20150921-1653-top_journalists_for_the_chopping_block-048.mp3 In the 21st century, in a reversal of the fictional War of the Worlds’ simulated news story, news media borrow from fictional, fear-inspiring dramas in their pursuit of profit and audiences. The “grinning glowing globular invader” in today’s living spaces, is the corporate-dominated news media, focused more on infotainment than informing the public of important Featured image from sott.net

The Great American Scream credits: Albert Belz – writer/Kaituhi Tainui Tukiwhaho – Director/Kaitohu Ascia Maybury – set designer Cast : Johnny Givins – GrandPapa Mike Drew – Slim Ayse Tezel – Mother Jatinder Singh – Ezra Briar Collard – Rosie (daughter) Ben Van Lier – Mr Crompton Josh Harriman – Lennie Francis Mountjoy – Father Abigail O’Flynn – Kate (younger daughter) Reon Gell – George (young son).

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DIY, learning & fun: computing with Ubuntu

Selwyn Manning — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 03:18:29 +0000

Tech Investigation by Carolyn Skelton. I have been enjoying my exploration of the Ubuntu version of the Linux Operating System (OS). It’s an active form of computing that requires a little more effort than using Microsoft’s Windows. Microsoft and the devices that use its systems, are very good at providing what looks like a wide range of choice, between the latest newest shiny things. But, in practice, the choices are limited. And increasingly, as with Windows 10, they aim for planned obsolescence, encouraging dependency on their OS. The result is we keep having to pay them more money to keep up-to-date, or to get add-ons. In my last post I argued for more teaching of computer coding in primary schools. Coding teaches a deeper understanding and transferable skills. Basically, a lot of current teaching is getting children excited about using the latest shiny things, without learning many new, or deep-seated skills: ones that could be easily transferred to new IT developments. Newer is not always better, as learned by young people who have ever had the pleasure of making their own toys and equipment (like trolleys) or who have learned to maintain and repair their old cars, motorbikes, or bicycles. There were new Ubuntu terms to use, such as “Dash” the name for the dashboard at the top of the launch bar on the left. I can search for folders, files and software from there. Further down the launch bar is the “Software Center” where I can search for some software to install from Ubuntu or its partners. All this can be done through mouse movements and clicks. A lot of the software available is free, but some cost money. A little bit of self-help is far more satisfying than being totally at the mercy of Microsoft. In the process I have learned things about the current state of computing software, and a few basic security rules. Now I want to learn more.

Setting up Ubuntu on a reconditioned laptop I got a start with using Ubuntu with an Intel Compute Stick, pre-loaded with Ubuntu. I enjoyed using it, but found it inadequate. I was (unnecessarily as it turned out) nervous about adding Ubuntu to a computer. I found a local computing business that advertised they would load Linux distros (versions of its OS) onto computers for $120.00. I was tempted, but chose to do it myself. I was told that many people buy a second-hand (off-lease), reconditioned computers, and load a Linux distro OS onto it . It is recommended that buyers of such computers go for A Grade ones with a limited warranty period, and from a reputable company. These are the ones most likely to have been well-looked after. I looked through some lists of laptop models that are known to work well with various Linux distros. I chose one with a reasonable amount of disc space on the hard drive, and that was available at an Auckland store. It cost just under $500.00 with a 3 month warranty. Loading Ubuntu as the second OS turned out to be pretty easy. I followed online instructions to load Ubuntu onto my reconditioned laptop. Things didn’t happen exactly as described. I did not attempt the suggestion to create a partition between Windows and the space to be used for Ubuntu. First I downloaded an an ISO file onto a DVD. The instructions said to then reboot the computer with the disc in the laptop. I tried rebooting several files but…. nothing. I had stupidly failed to tick the verify box, which would have resulted in a check to see if the iso file had downloaded properly. So I went to the DVD and clicked on the downloaded file … and THEN, suddenly things started to happen and I was away! Files began being extracted to my laptop, and then a pop up box invited me to reboot – I clicked on the “Boot” option. When the laptop restarted, a trial version of the Ubuntu desktop loaded. If I had stayed with that, it would have required to reboot in future from the disc. I was already committed to loading Ubuntu, so I clicked on the “Install” folder, sitting enticingly at the top of the desktop. Then I was taken through the set up process. As I did not have any files on my Windows OS that I wanted to keep, I followed a recommendation on Ask Ubuntu to use a slider. I slid the slider so that more of the hard disc space was for Ubuntu than Windows. The Ubuntu OS was then set up. Each time I log on, the rolling text stops with Ubuntu highlighted at the top. If I hit “Enter” or just wait, Ubuntu loads. If I arrow down to Windows OS _1 and click on that, Ubuntu boots up from Windows. If I arrow down to Windows_2, the Windows OS opens. All pretty easy. After my earlier post on difficulties with playing videos on, Ubuntu, Tim O’Brien tweeted me a very useful link to 10 things that can be done to tweak or improve Ubuntu 14.04. David H recommended using the html5 option for youtube videos. [caption id="attachment_7324" align="alignleft" width="300"] Image from linuxpitstop.com[/caption] I was nervous about typing in commands – it looked pretty scary. My first attempt was in response to TV One and TV3 videos ondemand not playing. It was recommended to install hal – which sounded to me like entering an alternative 2001 Space Odyssey universe. To do this I need to open a terminal. This can be done through searching for it on the dash. I prefer typing cntrl+Alt+T. That brings up a little box. When it prints my logon ID and stops, it is waiting for me to type in a command. If I have typed it correctly, when I hit enter text/code starts printing down the box. If there are no more commands for me to add, I type “Exit” and the box closes. Featured image from Canonical

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New Zealand Report: Reserve Bank Forces Interest Rates Down + Papakura Geyser Blasts Into Life

Selwyn Manning — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 21:30:30 +0000

FiveAA Australia’s breakfast show hosts Dave Penberthy, Mark Aiston, and Jane Reilly.[/caption] New Zealand Report: Selwyn Manning delivers his New Zealand Report bulletin to FiveAA.com.au’s breakfast team Dave Penberthy, Mark Aiston, and Jane Reilly. This week they discuss how the Reserve Bank of NZ has forced interest rates and the currency down + Rotorua’s Papakura Geyser blasts into life – Recorded live on 11/09/15. ITEM ONE: (ref. EveningReport.nz) While Australia’s Labor Force figures pushed up your dollar yesterday, New Zealand’s dollar fell sharply after the NZ Reserve Bank forced interest rates down. And while economists see our two currencies as joined at the hip, the Kiwi is sinking faster against the US – giving some extra returns to cash-strapped farmers and perhaps an affordable holiday destination for Australians. Last night the Bank of New Zealand was offering NZ$107.05 for AU$100.00 – (which isn’t too bad considering how much you dish out for one US dollar). It has been a tight-rope walk for the Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler. By forcing interest rates down, it risks overcooking an already hot Auckland residential housing market. But the risks associated with doing nothing, and permitting the NZ Dollar to remain overvalued, would likely drive thousands of dairy farmers into insolvency, and the country into recession. Yesterday Wheeler said: “Domestically, the economy is adjusting to the sharp decline in export prices, and the consequent fall in the exchange rate. Activity has also slowed due to the plateauing of construction activity in Canterbury, and a weakening in business and consumer confidence.” So the Reserve Bank, rather than the Finance Minister, is returning New Zealand to an export-led environment, making it less dependent on domestic consumption… which raises the question: was it wise for the National-led Government to hike up GST to 15%? I can see government cuts to social spending on the horizon. ITEM TWO: (ref. NZHerald) And if you think New Zealand isn’t hot enough for a holiday, check this out. After 35 years of being considered dormant, Rotorua’s Papakura Geyser blasted into life this week. The geyser was once a grand tourist attraction, but around 1979 it began to fizzle out, relegating itself to a mere boiling mud pool. No longer… Staff at the Te Puia Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley in Rotorua say ole Papakura has awoken and is now shooting steam and boiling water up to 4 metres high. Actually, before heading to Rotorua, it might pay to check your insurance policy… Only last week an unknown sleeping geyser woke up and blasted a huge hole out of the side of a road. In a brilliant quote of stating the obvious, Volcano specialist Brad Scott said: “It is early days in our scientific investigation of these developments, but the geyser has clearly entered phase two of its recovery.”

New Zealand Report broadcasts live weekly on FiveAA.com.au and webcasts on EveningReport.nz LiveNews.co.nz and ForeignAffairs.co.nz.

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Carolyn S: Back to the source – From Windows to Linux

Selwyn Manning — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 05:50:04 +0000

Looking for alternatives to Microsoft’s Windows OS Last week, I wrote about how my brief acquaintance with Windows 10 operating system (OS) triggered concerns that my dependence on Microsoft was leading me to places I didn’t agree with: too much corporate dominance and control over my most private digital activities and concerns with the way users were being unwittingly delivered to advertisers, marketers, and other profiteering corporates. Apple Macs My first response was to start looking at buying a Mac laptop, which use Apple’s own OS. I cruised some local shops, and was getting close to making a selection. But I also have some reservations about Apple: it’s poor record of employment conditions in China,and it’s approach as a competitive, corporate, with intensive marketing strategies, though somewhat less aggressively monopolistic than Microsoft. Between these 2 corporations they have been a bit of a duopoly dominating computing operating systems. Open Source and Free Software Movements Then I started to think about Linux. At that stage my knowledge of it was limited. I have the time and motivation. Windows is like the ready-made-meals option: very convenient and easy to use without a lot of effort. However, the small print on the package contains lots of potential unhealthy contents, masking the actual contents with e-numbers. The alternative to ready-made, highly processed foods, is to make an effort to shop regularly at fruit and veges shops, or farmers markets. And it’s maybe a small step towards something like the digital equivalent of growing your own veges – and some control over the OSes people are using. I associated Linux with the Open Source movement, which I associated with collaborative, non-profit-seeking development of computing software. In the 1980s, and 1990s, I was hopeful that the collaborative ethos was going to maintain a strong presence in computing and its development. Many had an ethos of contributing to the social good taking priority over competition and personal gain. However, I could already see that commercial interests were gathering, exploring ways to make money out of people’s voluntary efforts. And I was aware of the gathering momentum in popular culture towards individualism and profit-seeking. There has been some tension between the Free Software and Open Source movements. Open Source focuses on the practical benefits, with better systems being developed through collaborative efforts. The Free Software movement focuses more on a “freedom” ethos, with the “free” being more like “free speech” than “free beer”.

For the free software movement, free software is an ethical imperative, essential respect for the users’ freedom. By contrast, the philosophy of open source considers issues in terms of how to make software “better”—in a practical sense only. […]
For the free software movement, however, non-free software is a social problem, and the solution is to stop using it and move to free software.

However, Open Source advocates say the “Free Software” term is ambiguous, and that Open Source stresses the “availability of source code”, as argued here. The debates are laid out on Oxford Privacy, the source of the accompanying featured image.

Linux OS

Linux began with an ethos of providing a free operating system and software. In more recent times, it has become more of a paid enterprise, with the majority of people who work on it being paid. It is also used in many current applications, such as automated systems in people’s homes: Since I wrote my Windows 10 piece I have started investigating the possibility of using a Linux OS in order to wean myself off my Microsoft dependency. There are several version of the OS, each being developed by a team. They are called “distributions” or “distros”. Ubuntu I chose to go with the Ubuntu system, because it is the most well known, and it is claimed that it is a good distro for beginners. I was a bit nervous about doing this, so bought some hardware for this purpose, rather than risk downloading Ubuntu onto my laptop that currently runs Windows 7. Ubuntu seems quite familiar to this long time Windows user, while also having many unfamiliar features. There have been some frustrations and wrong turns, as happens when learning something new, and it has required some effort and time on my part. I still have much to learn, but feel the effort I will be rewarded with more control over the computing devices I use, and less dependent on the intrusive and manipulative market ethos of Microsoft. This article has been drafted on LibreOffice Writer, the default system on Ubuntu, and I have used the OS for some of the research. My next piece will be about my journey into Ubuntu.]]>

In the horse’s mouth: Windows 10

Selwyn Manning — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 05:12:19 +0000

Concerns for my Microsoft dependence My name is Carolyn, and I’m a long time Windows OS (Operating System) user. Recently I began to see how it might be impacting negatively on my, and maybe all our lives. I upgraded to Windows 10, used it for a couple of weeks, then began to have second thoughts. I reverted back to Windows 7 as offered in the first month after the upgrade. All seems well on the most visible surface of the new OS, but it is the less visible operations that require more investigation. My biggest concerns are with the ways Windows 10 may violate users’ privacy, and/or delivers users up to Microsoft’s other money-making services, and to other marketers. In this Microsoft seem to be taking a step beyond such incursions by others into social media, especially on Facebook, and delivering them to the most private spaces where we live. My worries are that, not being a tech-head, and having gone along with the ongoing developments of operating systems, I now have very little control over what Microsoft is doing with the systems I use for my most personal data. It is also a major step along the way to the commercialisation of computing and the internet, once seen as a revolutionary open source system that would promote grassroots, citizen democracy: a free, sharing, gift economy. Windows 10, as a (possibly desperate) move by Microsoft to protect and expand its market monopoly/dominance, in the face of increasing competition. It just seems to be a step too far for me. Windows 10: the pros and cons Generally Windows 10 has been getting good reviews as regards its usability, and the capabilities it offers. A few reviewers recommend that Windows 7 users stay with it. However, many also say 10 is a better option than Windows 8, which is considered to have been a pretty mediocre system: it took on a lot of features of touch screen mobile devices, but when used for a device focused on the keyboard and mouse, it seems a bit chaotic and confusing. For instance Woody Leonhard at infoworld says:

Windows 10 is what Windows 8 should have been, but it has too many rough edges to attract Windows 7 users. Continuous upgrades could change that as early as this fall.

He does not seem to have concerns about Windows 10 and privacy issues, praising the security features, which

… proudly offers a bundle of new features, including improved security, a new browser, and the voice-activated intelligent assistant Cortana. You might even call Windows 10 the most revolutionary version of Windows ever, mainly because it will be continually upgraded as part of Microsoft’s “Windows as a service” effort.

In the gift horse’s mouth: enticement to revenue-generating capabilities “Windows as a service” makes the OS free to non-business users, in order to shift the costs to businesses (they will have to pay for it), and to accessing add-on services such as games and apps. Search capabilities also aim to encourage the generation of revenue. Gregg Keiser explains:

Microsoft’s strategy is to go low on consumer Windows licenses, hoping that that will boost device sales, which will in turn add to the pool of potential customers for advertising, services and apps. In other words, what Microsoft gives up in selling each Windows license it figures to make up in volume elsewhere.

Leonhard is glowing about most of the new features in Windows 10, although he also does point out some flaws. His claim for increased security does seem to relate to a built in anti-virus and to security breaches by those outside of Microsoft’s sphere of influence:

This includes “… multifactor security techniques tied to accounts where you simply log in once and do nearly anything.

It also aims to make private data secure when using public networks, and more. Windows 10 and privacy Online there are arguments for and against Microsoft on privacy. The pro-Microsoft arguments tend to say that there are similar features in earlier Windows OS’s, and that the 10 version is just a continuation of that. They also argue for such features being necessary, and against them being a bad invasion of privacy. WheezyJoe outlines some of the privacy concerns, with a link to an article on Verge article on the privacy policy for Windows 10. WheezyJoe argues that Verge’s piece takes a “Microsoft-friendly” approach. There is also a link to the Windows’ privacy policy: Alex Hern writes in the Guardian, on 1 August:

Hundreds of commenters on sites such as Hacker News and Reddit have criticised default settings that send personal information to Microsoft, use bandwidth to upload data to other computers running the operating system, share Wi-Fi passwords with online friends and remove the ability to opt out of security updates.

Windows 10 includes embedded personalised adverts, gives the user a unique advertising ID, which is linked to the users’ email address. The latter is linked to other services.

Using that information, Microsoft is able to personalise ads to the user, during both web surfing and, for newer apps downloaded from the Windows Store, app usage.

For instance, Windows 10 turns Microsoft’s previously in-built Solitaire card game into an app that has unskippable ads. Some articles provide advice on how to switch of the 12 or 13 features that could enable privacy breaches: However, others claim the OS will continue to send data to Microsoft even after the data-sharing features have been turned off. Beyond privacy to loss of control, & spying potential This leads to suggestions of Windows 10 (possibly inadvertently) enabling spying on users – invoking the likes of the NSA/5 Eyes keystroke digital spying capabilities. Since I have reverted back to Windows 7, every time I logon, I get a pup op message saying Microsoft recommends that I upgrade to Windows 10, or that my Windows 10 Upgrade is waiting for me. Such a desperate hard sell just makes me feel resistant. Leonhard also points out that people like me, who have had second thoughts about Windows 10, will be locked from further upgrades for Windows 7 – he gives a step by step guide as to how to disable the lock. It puts me in mind of Doctor Who’s Cybermen and their refrain, ‘You must be upgraded” – to the free system, promising a higher level of humanity; but where people will become an integral part of the machine, and lose their humanity and freewill. The alternative to being upgraded, is being deleted [see Merovee on WordPress, site of the feature image]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQs3gVobcfg In the next part I will look at some of the alternatives to Microsoft. Also: Check out this thought provoking article: 8 Ways Technology Is Improving Your Health.]]>

Special Investigation: TPP, Pharmac & Big Pharma: acne drug IV

Selwyn Manning — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 03:00:53 +0000

Investigation by Carolyn Skelton. Negative side effects of isotretinoin In my research of the acne last resort drug, isotretinoin, I came across a couple of issues related to the impact of Big Pharma, Pharmac, and potential impacts of the TPP. I began my investigation of the last resort acne drug isotretinoin, because of evidence of the devastating impact it has had on the lives of some young people. A significant number of women in the US gave birth to deformed babies after using the medicine, in the early days of its use before side effects became obvious. There have also been ongoing allegations, accompanied by personal testimonies of isotretinoin users and people close to them. These include young people, like Olly and Jessie who experienced depression and committed suicide after taking isotretinoin. Other Posts in this Investigative Series:

Costs of medicines to rise under TPP? In researching isotretinoin I have come across issues related to patent laws, and the ability of Pharmac to make it possible for many important drugs to be affordable for most Kiwis. John Key has admitted that the cost of some medicines in NZ will rise under the TPP, but he and Tim Groser are trying to play down the extent of this. See John Key’s reply to question from Andrew little in Question Time yesterday; and the Transcript of Tim Groser on TV3’s The Nation last weekend TPP, drug regulation, drug trials & profit motive They also claim that the TPP will not stop Pharmac from being able to regulate use of medicines. However, with rising costs, and the potential for pharmaceutical multinational companies to contest Pharmac decisions, there are causes for concern about the extent that Pharmac will be able to regulate the use of prescription drugs. The importance on strong regulation of the acne drug was the focus of part III of my series on isotretinoin. Many people in the US unnecessarily suffered adverse side effects of isotretinoin, because Roche Pharmaceuticals rushed to market this drug (brand name Accutane) as a magical cure for acne in order to maximise profits. In the early days of prescribing isotertinoin in the US, many women using it gave birth to children with awful defects. This was covered in part II of my series. Further campaigning is still continuing against the over-use of the drug which can potentially cause depression, psychiatric disturbances, suicidal thoughts, sexual dysfunction and more. It is also relevant that another other drug developed by Roche to combat flu (Tamiflu), was bought up big in many countries. It has turned out not to be the wonder drug as marketed by Roche. Today’s UK Independent article refers to this as an example of the way research evidence is suppressed by drug developers: A campaigning organisation Alltrials is now calling for the results of all drug trials to be made public. They argue that drug companies and academic researchers tend to suppress evidence of adverse reactions to trialed medicines. This week they highlighted news articles about an investors’ group calling for more information about the activities of pharmaceutical companies they invest in: This suppression of research evidence is contrary to the claims of Big Pharma wanting more transparency around Pharmac decisions. See Gordon Campbell on this and other issues with respect to the TPP and Pharmac here; and here. TPP & potential for drug multinationals to dispute NZ decisions More information from Pharmac could make it easier for multinational drug companies to challenge decisions of national agencies like Pharmac. Tim Groser has tried to damp down claims that this will happen with Investor State Dispute Settlements under TPP, as argued here in the Guardian: Key and Groser claim it is no different from other trade deals with China and South Korea in enabling corporates to sue decisions by the likes of Pharmac, and that it hasn’t yet happened. However, these countries are not crucial ones for developing new drugs. The big pharmaceutical corporates are largely based in the US, and to a lesser extent in Europe. And it is these companies that will get more power under the TPP. While Big Pharma can do research that produces some very useful medicines, the good they do can be undermined by the profit motive. National pharmaceutical agencies like Pharmac, need to be able to operate objectively, in the interest of potential drug users, without being pressured by corporate entities. TPP, Pharmac, generics & patent laws The government updated NZ’s Patent Law in 2013, but it looks like the TPP will conflict with some aspects of it requiring the Act to be amended, as suggested by Jack Redfern and Gareth Dixon in August 2014. This possibility is reinforced by John Key’s statement today that the costs of medicines will rise under the TPP, when previously he had denied this would be the case. Curiously, the government did not make changes to the patent law as requested by NZ-based affiliates of multinational pharmaceutical companies (including Roche that initially developed the acne drug) in their 2009 submission to the proposed changes to the 1953 Patent Act. This was, with respect to extensions of patent periods, to Pharmac’s single supplier, price-referencing approach, and to its tendency to wait out patent periods til they can access cheaper generics. The drug companies’ claim was that Pharmac’s processes were undermining the price of drugs internationally, driving down the profits such companies would get. The multinational affiliates claim in their submission, that there are not big financial profits in developing new drugs. Interestingly, they are critical of Pharmac prioritising protection of the public against the potential social costs of patents, at the expense of “property rights” [of patent owners]. They claim the latter should be the main focus of patent laws After Roche’s patent for isotretinoin lapsed, and its marketing of it became suspect, US agencies were less inclined to buy their brand of the drug Accutane. This is where a small NZ pharmaceutical company Douglas Pharmaceuticals, benefited from their generic version of the drug. They became Pharmac’s supplier for the medicine and then were able to sell it in the US. By the time this happened, Pharmac and other medical agencies, concerned with users’ safety, were well aware of the potential side effects, issuing strong warnings. Pharmac is about to move away from Douglas Pharmaceuticals as supplier of istoretinoin. An international corporate that specialises in producing generic medicines, will be Pharmac’s chosen supplier as from later this year. The reason probably is because this company’s NZ branch, Mylan (NZ) can supply the drug (brand name Isotane) more cheaply. Mylan’s CEO has come out against the TPP Itsourfuture reports:

The [TPP leaked] draft would make linkage mandatory, as it is in the US, allowing drug companies to fend off generics by claiming patent infringements, the website reported. It cited Heather Bresch, chief executive of generic drug maker Mylan, as saying mandatory patent linkage would amount to “a recipe for indefinite evergreening of pharmaceutical monopolies.”

See also here. [caption id="attachment_5819" align="alignleft" width="300"] Heather Bresch. Photographer Jeff Swensen for The New York Times[/caption] The New York Times reports,

Bresch has said that “ the current deal was a way for the brand-name drug industry to “maximize its monopolies.”

However, this still means that, under TPP, overseas-based companies like Mylan could challenge NZ authorities and laws (eg to make the patent period longer here), while NZ companies like Douglas Pharmaceuticals could not.

A week of action in NZ against the TPP is planned for August 8-14..

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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for July 28, 2015

Selwyn Manning — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 04:42:33 +0000

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 5 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Tuesday 28th July.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Top stories in the current news cycle include more leaked documents that show the funding of District Health Boards could be in for a shakeup with Health Minister Jonathan Coleman signalling the Government is looking at changes to DHB funding, figures showing three times as many mortgages are being approved for property investors than for first home buyers and the controversy over Mt Eden remand prison has deepened again today after two people were arrested in raids targeting the criminal activity.

Note: As well as providing a precis of leading broadcast bulletins each day, our NewsRoom_Monitor service does a daily paper round with succinct ‘news picks’ from the main metropolitan papers emailed by 9am each morning. If you’re interested in a free trial please email monitor@newsroom.co.nz

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Government drive to lift regulatory quality; Electricity market more competitive than ever; Meeting with US Secretary of State; New initiative to improve overseas driver safety

ACT Party: National colonises Labour’s policy manifesto; Funnelling immigrants into the regions may be good politics, but it’s poor policy

Greens: Sick New Zealanders will pay under John Key’s TPPA

Labour: Meth ring under Serco’s nose; Ministers failing women and their own targets; Dismantling Pharmac’s power a betrayal of NZ

New Zealand First: Waikato hospital dependent on foreign qualified doctors; Labour and National Party Leaders should just give up and Join New Zealand First; Fears of massive foreign farm buy-up; Parliamentary walk out

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first startingproduction in August 2014. We are currently building an archive of these at: http://newsroomplus.com/resources/resourceful-links/

AMBASSADORS SOUGHT TO KEEP KAURI STANDING: The Waitākere Ranges Local Board is seeking ambassadors to help prevent the spread of kauri dieback disease. For more information on kauri dieback visit:http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/environmentwaste/biosecurity/Pages/kauridieback.aspx

LIFE EXPECTANCY INCREASES: Life expectancy at birth has increased in all regions since 2005–07, with Hawke’s Bay increasing the most, Statistics New Zealand said today. Click here for more:http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/health/life_expectanc/SubnationalPeriodLifeTables_HOTP12-14.aspx

MINISTERS FAILING WOMEN: New figures showing just five Ministers have met the Government’s own reduced targets for appointing women to state sector boards is evidence National is failing Kiwi women, Labour’s Women’s Affairs spokesperson Sue Moroney says. View the Ministry for Women’s 2015 Gender Stocktake here:http://women.govt.nz/documents/2014-gender-stocktake-state-sector-boards-and-committees-2015

TRAVEL TAX OPPOSED: The Government must rethink its new Travel Tax because it is bad policy which will harm New Zealand’s economy, a coalition of tourism, travel and aviation organisations says. To read the CATT submission, visit www.tianz.org.nz/main/policy-issues/

VISITING DRIVER SAFETY TRAINING: A new online training module focusing on safe driving in New Zealand provides offshore travel sellers with the information they need to prepare people for a Kiwi self-drive holiday. The module is available at http://www.drivesafe.org.nz

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Tuesday 28th July 2015.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest. –]]>

Keith Rankin on Money, Greed and Growth

Keith Rankin — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 03:30:22 +0000

Analysis by Keith Rankin – This article was also published on Scoop.co.nz.

In response to my Money, Flow and Debt (Daily Blog and Evening Report, 25 July 2015) one reader responded to my comments about money hoarding and compensatory debt thus:

“Keith – the [river-causeway] metaphor did not help my understanding unfortunately – which is pretty basic already. So please explain simply. I assume greed is the motive behind the $ hoarders – how do you change that? The few wealthy people I have met, can’t help themselves – they have to continue increasing their wealth well past providing for their needs – it is like an obsession that I can’t get my head around. And this greed is behind the banks that are only too pleased there are hoarders (being hoarders themselves personally). So they have a system where they can create money out of nothing (book entry debt), but don’t create the interest required – which of course eventually creates winners and losers – and of course the hoarders are in like wolves to increase their hoard from the losers = increasing obscene inequality. Oh well, say the banks, lets create some additional money (out of thin air) to help the losers pay back their loans and interest (still not creating enough for the additional interest) ie so economic growth can continue – but the only people who believe in continued economic growth on a finite planet are madmen – and economists. So what is at the end of your causeway?”

These are pertinent questions, and I think my answer did them justice.’

“‘Greed’ is a term that means different things to different people. It is two of the seven deadly sins; ‘avarice’ and ‘gluttony’. Gluttony, or conspicuous consumption, is probably not relevant here. Indeed, by not spending their money, people may be averting this particular sin, thinking that their ‘frugality’ (actually miserliness) is virtuous. Google this: ’15 Celebs Who Lead Frugal Lives’. Avarice (refer dictionary.com) on the other hand is an ambiguous term that includes both the “insatiable greed for riches” and the “miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth”. In the distant historical context of the seven sins, avarice was probably understood as miserliness. In a capitalist context it probably also means something like ‘upward social mobility’. Thus the early merchant and industrial capitalists were trying to buy their way into the landed gentry.

“For some, their money mountains are a result of miserly greed. For others, the mountains of money are simply a measure of success in doing what they do best; with the market rewarding them through a kind of ‘winner takes all’ formula. However, even for these, the accumulation of money/success tends to be intoxicating, and they find it difficult to let go of the money, either through genuine investment (which is a form of spending) or through philanthropy. Further, even many in this second group of rich tend to resist paying taxes. The mere possession of lots of money can corrupt otherwise good people.

“The matter of interest, as in your comment, is something of a red herring. It’s simply a price, normally paid by borrowers to lenders (plus a markup for financial intermediaries such as banks), but which (when negative) can be paid by lenders to borrowers. When unspent money is abundant and bankable borrowers are scarce, then, in a free market, deposit interest rates should be negative.

“Money is created ‘out of thin air’. That’s the nature of money; it’s a technology, not a commodity. But it’s created in a context, not out of caprice. Money that’s withdrawn from circulation no longer functions as money. So the financial system – through private or public initiatives, or a mix of both – must create new money to compensate for the money withdrawn from circulation. Note that I said “banks can, with lesser or greater difficulty [emphasis added here], offset the dampening effect of the money hoarders”. We see that, when financial crises are imminent, when the accumulated unspent hoards become too great, then banks (often through other financial institutions) must adopt predatory lending practices in order to perform this money-cycling function.

“On the question of economic growth, I intimated that there is a green solution. The essential idea is that we do not need to maximise output in normal times, though productivity growth should always be seen as a good thing. The system of income distribution needs to work in a way that allows ordinary people to choose to work less (rather than to earn more) as an option for an improved living standard. The solution here is through the recognition of public equity as the basis for a publicly-sourced income stream that complements private earnings. Once public equity is recognised and supported, economic growth ceases to be the only way to reduce inequality.

“My causeway need have no end this millennium, so long as we adopt sustainable income distribution practices. My fear is that, by the year 2100, we will have entered a new dark age, following a rapid Malthusian collapse. My optimism however, is that the people (especially the young people) in places like Greece and Spain and Detroit may be getting to grips with the issues – including the well-heralded internet issues of the ‘free economy’ (as in ‘free services’ rather than ‘free-markets’) – and are creating parallel social technologies that substitute in part for the monetary system we have come to know but not understand.”

—

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Hot Topic: A tale of two hemispheres

Selwyn Manning — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 00:25:03 +0000

Hot-Topic.co.nz Headline: A tale of two hemispheres At the end of June, Professor Jim Renwick of Victoria University gave his inaugural lecture. As you might expect of a climate scientist, it concerns what we know about the climate system and where we’re heading. He pulls no punches. Jim has been kind enough to put together a text version of the lecture for Hot Topic: it follows. You can watch the full lecture, with accompanying slides, on the video embedded at the end of the post. We live in a golden age of earth observation. With a few clicks of a mouse on a web browser, any of us can see the state of the global ocean surface, the current condition of the Greenland ice sheet, how much rain is falling in the tropics today, and on and on. Plus, the International Space Station (ISS), and a series of satellites such as MODIS give us wonderful images of our home planet. The climate science community can tell, with unprecedented coverage and timeliness, just what is going on in the climate system. It is a great time to be a climate researcher, but also a worrying time, in both cases because we can see exactly what is changing. One thing the ISS pictures emphasise is just how thin the atmosphere is, a thin blue layer between the solid earth and the blackness of space. Not only is this life-supporting envelope very thin, some of the key gases in the atmosphere are there in only trace amounts, so we can change the properties of the atmosphere easily, by targeting the right gases. The discovery of the ozone hole 30 years ago brought this home with a bang. And we’ve found that build-up of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere can have a profound effect on the climate system, right down to the bottom of the oceans. Carbon dioxide is important because it’s a crucial control on the surface temperature of the earth. It is very good at absorbing heat (infrared radiation) welling up from the earth, then re-radiating both up and down, in the process warming the earth’s surface. The effect is very like a blanket put on a bed – what’s under the blanket warms up. More CO₂ is like putting another blanket on the bed and less is like taking away a blanket. No CO₂ and the earth freezes – temperatures like we had in the South Island in late June would be the norm everywhere, all the time. While there are several other “greenhouse gases”, carbon dioxide is the most important since it stays in the atmosphere so long, hundreds to thousands of years. Since direct atmospheric measurements began in the late 1950s, CO₂ concentrations have gone from 315 ppm to about 400ppm (0.04%) now. Concentrations of CO₂ are rising steadily, but the numbers hardly sound “dangerous”. But one thing to realise is that many natural changes take place over thousands to millions years. So instead of human time scale of the last 60 years, we must look on the planetary time scale… Luckily, ice cores store bubbles of ancient air that can tell us what CO₂ concentrations were, far back in time. If we join the ice core record up with the observations from Hawaii, we get a very different picture – and now it does look alarming! CO₂ in the atmosphere has increased blindingly fast, by planetary standards. We have really put a lot of it up there in a handful of decades. For many thousands of years before the present, back to the beginnings of agriculture and modern civilisation, CO₂ concentrations have been fairly steady, between 260 and 280ppm. Suddenly (in geological terms) they are 40% higher at around 400ppm. So, how far back do we have to go to find the last time CO₂ was this high? The answer is about 3 million years. We are making changes in decades that left to its own devices, the earth system might take hundreds of thousands of years to effect. Back then, in the “mid-Pliocene warm period”, temperatures were around 2-3°C higher than present, but sea levels were around 20m higher. That much sea level rise takes time, but it will happen again if we allow CO₂ levels to stay up there. How do we know about what was in the atmosphere 3 million years ago? From the chemistry of rocks – no ice core goes back far enough so we must look at the chemical composition of the rocks laid down then, as they carry the fingerprint of the chemical composition of the atmosphere. That is, we can read it in the earth itself. The flip side of this is that sediments being formed today will tell the story of today’s big CO₂ spike. In other words, our actions today are being written into the crust of the earth and will be visible for millions of years to come, if there are any able to read it. But what about what happens in our lifetimes, what’s happening now? The geological record is no help there – we must just experience it as we go. Global mean temperatures are going up, just what we’d expect from increased carbon dioxide levels. Things are simple at that level: more CO₂ = higher temperatures. But climates vary strongly around the world, and so does climate change, as a result of geography, latitude, land mass size and so on. For example, surface temperatures are changing at wildly different rates in different places. Over the last 60 years or so, the global average warming has been around 0.6°C. The Arctic has seen much more and the southern oceans and Antarctica much less. This brings up the issue of “Polar amplification”, the observation from the geological and paleoclimate record that both poles always warm or cool about twice as much as the global average. This is visible for the cooling at the last glacial maximum, and for the warming during the mid-Pliocene warm period. We know from the past that this always happens, but we are now learning that the two poles do not respond at the same rate. The Arctic, with its thin layer of sea ice and snow, can warm quickly. The Antarctic, with its massive ice sheets and turbulent circumpolar ocean, warms only very slowly, over centuries. Where this difference between the hemispheres is really visible is in sea ice. In the Arctic, sea ice is disappearing at a rapid rate, while it is increasing (slowly) around the Antarctic, especially over the last 5-10 years. How can Antarctic sea ice extent be increasing, in a warming world? The number one reason is geography. The Northern Hemisphere features ocean at the pole and lots of land in the middle latitudes. At the pole, there is only a thin cover of sea ice, a few metres thick. The Southern Hemisphere is almost the exact opposite, a big continent over the pole and almost no land in the middle latitudes. At the pole, vast ice sheets have built up, thousands of metres thick. Following from that, the winds in both hemispheres are quite different in form too. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winds are strong over the oceans but not so much over land, and over the Arctic, the winds are very light on average. So the Arctic Ocean is mostly quiescent, with weak currents and little vertical mixing. Any extra sunlight absorbed when Arctic sea ice melts stays in the upper ocean, warming the surface quickly and promoting more melting. In the Southern Hemisphere, the westerlies are very strong and unimpeded over the southern oceans, the most turbulent region of ocean in the world. Here, water is mixed down several hundred metres, so the heating from absorbed sunlight gets drawn down to depth quickly, leaving the surface temperature mostly unchanged while waters warm at depth. So that “ice albedo feedback” works less well for the sea ice over the southern oceans. The Antarctic sea ice grows out around the edge of a continent, over very turbulent waters, with strong winds and storms above. It seems almost miraculous that it manages to grow to such an extent, so regularly every year. The westerlies, their strength and position, are very important for determining how the sea ice grows. And those westerlies have been strengthening and contracting farther south over the last few decades. The strength of the westerly winds and the turbulent storm tracks that accompany the strongest winds, are controlled by the north-south temperature gradient, the difference in temperature between the tropics and the poles. A bigger difference means stronger winds. How that is changing is a key to understanding what’s going on with Southern Hemisphere winds, and with the sea ice. There are several things that affect the north-south gradient…

The ozone hole (surprisingly!) – removing ozone from the atmosphere over Antarctica cools the polar region (since ozone absorbs sunlight), so increases the north-south gradient.
CO₂ (GHG) increase – away from the earth’s surface, greenhouse warming increases temperatures faster in the tropics than at high latitudes, so also increases the gradient.
El Niño/La Niña (ENSO) – an El Niño event warms the tropics and increases the north-south gradient, while a La Niña does the opposite, for a few months. Crucially though, the ENSO cycle puts kinks in the westerly flow, making it more southwesterly in some places and more northwesterly in others.

Putting it all together, it adds up to the non-uniform pattern of sea ice change we have seen in the last 40 years: increases over the Ross Sea (south of New Zealand) and over the Weddell Sea in the far South Atlantic, where the winds have trended more southerly (colder), and decreases near the Antarctic Peninsula, where the winds have trended northerly (warmer). Other factors in the overall sea ice trend include the melting of ice from the Antarctic ice sheets, putting easily-frozen fresh water into the southern oceans, and changes in ocean surface waves that have affected the break-up and merging of ice floes. Meanwhile, back in the Arctic, we have a fairly quiescent situation with the sea ice melting away at an accelerating rate, as the ocean surface soaks up sunlight. The differences in what’s happening with sea ice at both poles has a lot to do with the detail of geography, winds, the nature of the ocean circulation, and even El Niño and the ozone hole. What we are seeing from year to year are intermediate steps along the way to that generally warmer world, with less ice all round and “polar amplification” at both ends of the earth. We will get there, if we wait long enough. So what’s in store for the future? The last IPCC report demonstrated clearly that the amount of global warming we experience depends a lot on how much more CO₂ we emit. The two extreme scenarios considered by IPCC were the low-carbon future of scenario “RCP2.6” and the high-carbon future of scenario “RCP8.5”. I call these the blue future and the red future, from the colours used in the IPCC report. Under the blue future, emissions are projected to go to zero by around 2060, then become negative after that (CO₂ removal, using technologies we haven’t quite invented yet). That scenario stops the warming before we get to 2°C change, and is the only one considered in the IPCC report to do so. The red future is “business as usual”, just keep burning the coal and oil like we have the last few years. That results in global change beyond anything seen for probably 50 million years. This is the “crocodiles swimming at the North Pole” scenario. So, what about that blue future…? The one all the governments signed up to in Copenhagen a few years ago? There is a clear illustration of the situation in the Ministry for the Environment’s “Discussion Document” issued in May as part of the brief and poorly-publicised public consultation round on what our future national emissions targets should be. That document shows that we have a limited budget of CO₂ we can emit, since the stuff stays in the atmosphere so long and just builds up. To have a good chance (67%) of staying under 2°C of warming, we have a limit of 2900 Gigatons (2.9 trillion tons) of CO₂. The bad news is that we have already used two thirds of the budget, and at current rates it will be all spent within 20 years. So some really significant action is needed if we are serious about reining in climate change. We have all heard of the 2°C limit, the “safety guardrail” that we don’t want to cross. Yet 2°C is nothing magical, no guarantee of safety. Already we have had nearly 1°C of warming and we know already that floods and heat-waves are more likely than they were 50 years ago. Still, keeping under 2°C of warming may stop the big ice sheets from melting too much and would avoid the really extreme changes that are possible. Whatever happens with the total warming, things are bound to play out differently around the globe. For instance, we can look at how long it would take to get to 2°C warming in different places, assuming “middle of the road” emissions. A paper in 2011 by Manoj Joshi and co-authors did just that, and found that much of the Arctic will have passed 2°C of warming within the next 10 years. Going by the huge increase in wild fires in Alaska in recent years, the Arctic may have already over-achieved. Farther south the changes are slower, and over New Zealand and the southern oceans, we’ll have to wait until late in the century. Most of the climate change issues for us will come sooner from what happens to our neighbours and trading partners. There are economic, social, and moral issues associated with climate change impacts in other countries that will put pressure on New Zealand, well before the climate turns nasty here. More importantly than temperature change, rainfall patterns are shifting. It is becoming drier in the subtropics and wetter nearer the poles (and on the Equator). At the latitudes of Australia and northern New Zealand, we are likely to see a lot of drying over coming decades. In the Northern Hemisphere, a very worrying sign is the drying out of the Mediterranean region, from North Africa to the Middle East to southern Europe. This is already a place with lots of issues – political unrest, terrorism, war, economic crises, huge flows of refugees… beyond its direct effects, climate change is an aggravator of all these things. Organisations like the World Economic Forum and the World Bank, even the Pentagon, recognise this and list climate change as an immediate threat to social order worldwide And let’s not forget sea level rise – another big worry, largely because it is so inexorable, and so much of the global population lives close to sea level. Once perturbed, the ocean circulation and the big ice sheets take a long time to respond, so we are in for a long period of sea level rise regardless of the emissions future. Going back to the blue and red futures, the models show sea level rising steadily through this century and beyond under both scenarios. Even on the zero-carbon track, we are set for at least 1m of further sea level rise, over centuries. And as the geological record says, we will see 8, 10, even up to 20m or more if we carry on as we are going now. So, what are the consequences, the impacts? Key ones that concern me are:

Drought – recent droughts and heat waves in North America and Russia have led to partial crop failures and price spikes for corn, wheat and other staples. Future droughts have obvious impacts on food security and water availability for large fractions of the global community.
Flood – as we have seen three times in New Zealand in the past two months. Warmer air holds more water, and the near-one degree of warming so far globally has put about 5% more water vapour in the air compared to the 1950s. So it’s fair to say that some of the rain that fell on Dunedin, Kāpiti and Whanganui was there as a result of the warming we have already had. Further warming just means more moisture and an ever-greater chance of heavy rain.
Coastal inundation – higher sea levels, even small-sounding amounts like 30cm or so, lead to dramatic increases in the chance of inundation events when there are big swells and strong winds.
Health issues – as the globe becomes more “tropical”, tropical pests and diseases can spread farther. Malaria, dengue fever and other diseases are broadening their range right now. The same goes for plant and animal pests. And the health dangers of heat waves are only too apparent, as we have seen in India and Pakistan lately.
Fire – the incidence of wild fires, and the length of the fire season, is increasing almost everywhere. Siberia and Alaska are now experiencing major forest fires regularly, events that were almost unknown 30 or 40 years ago.

This is what we face. In fact, this is what we are starting to experience already. So how do we get on top of it? Can we get on top of it? Yes! There are many technologies and ideas on the shelf that we can use right now. Renewable energy is an obvious one (go China!). For all their coal-fired power stations, China is leading the world on solar panels and wind power installation and technology. New Zealand can ride on the coat-tails of the Chinese and go to 100% renewable energy – despite a high base, we can go a lot further here. And if we wished, New Zealand could be a world leader on renewable technology – are we content with being a “fast follower”? Same story with electric vehicles (go Tesla!). The transport sector a big one in New Zealand and transport emissions have grown rapidly in the last two decades. We love our cars – which is fine, if they aren’t burning fossil carbon. Let’s see moves to bring electric vehicles in to the country in much greater numbers, while at the same boosting public transport and making the most of renewable power sources. That could cut our emissions significantly in just a few years. In the agriculture sector, continued intensification of dairy farming is exactly the wrong direction to be going. It is just not sustainable, especially in dry regions like Canterbury, in terms of water quality, water availability, and greenhouse gas emissions. A much better approach in the short term would be intensified afforestation, which would at least buy us some time to do the research on ruminant emissions. The solutions that already exist can work in New Zealand and can be applied world-wide. We need all of the above, and we need to find new and better approaches every day. As put so eloquently by the Pope just last month, there are moral dimensions, questions of equity, of love for one another, that must take centre stage. Narrow economic considerations must be secondary, as no known economic modelling framework can cope with the true realities of climate change. What is lacking across the board is political will. Governments set the scene for a country’s economic and social activity. All countries, including New Zealand, need to tackle climate change head-on through legislation, through incentivisation of desirable investments and behaviours, through economic instruments that encourage research and innovation in the sectors that we need to boost. The recent ruling by the Dutch courts that their government is harming the population if they do not adopt stringent emissions reductions (25% reduction in 5 years) is exactly right. Governments the world over are indeed putting their citizens more at risk every day by not dealing effectively with climate change. Where is the sense of urgency? Sure there are many worries and concerns in the world, but unmitigated climate change exacerbates almost all our short-term concerns, and ultimately trumps everything. Do we really want to put billions of lives at risk through hunger, thirst, disease, dislocation and conflict, in order to appease the corporate sector and win the next election?

As a global community, we have squandered the last 25 years. The Paris meeting in December (COP21) is a critical opportunity to really get good things happening on a global scale, and on the home front. Greenpeace’s protest at Parliament in June was spot-on – what we really need is climate action, now!

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Internet Romantics at increasing risk of death penalty in Asia Pacific – Lawyers Network

Selwyn Manning — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 06:00:38 +0000

Source: Asia Pacific Lawyers Network. “Evidence is mounting of increasing numbers of internet romantics and international travellers risking their lives after being deceived, coerced and ultimately exploited by sophisticated international drug cartels,” New Zealand death penalty defence barrister, Craig Tuck said today. “The cartels willingly sacrifice, for profit, drug carriers (often referred to as ‘mules’) in countries where execution is a potential sentence for those caught transporting,” he said. “The ‘mules’ or disposable people – are essentially treated as a renewable resource in the drug supply chain, where they are quickly and easily replaced – if caught and executed as part of the so called ‘war on drugs’,” Mr Tuck said. Mr Tuck is part of MULE, a new group of lawyers, internet scam victims, cybercrime and media specialists working to track down and expose scams that are resulting in an increasing number of people facing execution in the Asia Pacific. Mr Tuck is directly involved in three death penalty cases in Indonesia and China, and advising on several others, which he says appear to be the tip of a vast and emerging iceberg, where new and frightening drug supply chain exploitation is occurring. “Drug scams can embroil all manner of deception. Often they involve a suggested rendezvous with an internet lover, but not before sourcing ‘documents’, clothing or equipment in a secondary country, enroute, for the loved one. This is when drugs are often secreted into the exploited person’s possessions,” Mr Tuck said. One of Mr Tuck’s most recent clients, New Zealander, Antony De Malmanche, recently received a 15-year prison term for trafficking 1.7kg of crystal methamphetamine into Bali. His defence team argued that he was a victim of human trafficking and provided detailed information about the drug cartel that exploited him at trial. “Mr De Malmanche, who has a mental health history, was looking for love on the internet when “Jessy Smith” began grooming him with 450 pages of online exchanges. Mr De Malmanche was then offered an expenses paid trip to meet her and detoured to Guangzhou, China, where he was asked to carry a bag for her, before flying on to Bali where the drugs were found concealed in his luggage,” Mr Tuck said. “Jessy Smith has never been caught and now appears in a number of other scams that are getting global attention,” he said. Australian jockey, Anthony Bannister, is on death row in China for possession of the drug ‘ice’ found inside his luggage. He is thought to be a victim of an elaborate scam involving documents needed to divorce a Filipino woman; he had met and married in Japan. Mr Bannister is said to suffer from a low IQ.

And Australian grandmother Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto is another suspected romance scam victim now facing execution by hanging in Malaysia after being found with 50 grams of methamphetamines in a bag she says was handed to her at Shanghai airport. Mrs Pinto Exposto said she believed the luggage contained retirement documents for her US soldier internet paramour and willingly passed the baggage through a detector despite no custom officer requesting her to do so. The United States military is warning that soldiers’ identities are increasingly being stolen as part of such online romance scams,” he said. New Zealander, Sharon Armstrong, who is now a part of MULE, was also caught by the internet romance ruse and spent two and a half years in an Argentinian prison for trafficking what she thought were legal documents needed by her internet lover, but that turned out to be 5kg of cocaine. She is now speaking about her own experience and is determined to expose the scams and scammers. Mr Tuck said these were just some of many cases showing similar hallmarks and which all pointed to a sophisticated network of drug trafficking aimed at vulnerable travellers who were able to be exploited. “Across the planet we are seeing patterns of drug cartel behaviour resulting in ‘mules’, who are essentially the bottom of the cartel food chain, being shot, hung and beheaded – then replaced by new recruits. We have found many of these drug cartels originate in Africa and are functioning largely out of Guangzhou, China, where drug precursor chemicals are readily obtainable and where international transport links make trade in drugs easier,” he said. “The most efficient way for these cartels to move drugs around is with unsuspecting human ‘mules’, who are often distracted, or blinded, by a range of needs that are identified and exploited by the cartels – including the need for love and companionship. These people are generally groomed over a long period of time, online, where access to information is readily obtainable through social media sites such as Facebook. Many say these drug mules should have known better, but few realise how easy it is to fall prey to these criminal gangs and the deft touch with which the drugs are planted – it is almost an art form when you hear how the drugs get secreted in a person’s luggage,” Mr Tuck said. “The casualties don’t end with the lives of those carrying the drugs; families are being served life sentences. They have little access to information on arrest, minimal legal or diplomatic assistance from governments; and a lifetime of pain following loss after death penalties, or harsh prison terms, are imposed,” he said. “We have formed the international organisation MULE to assist by increasing access to support and information, evidence gathering and communication, and most importantly, experienced and competent lawyers familiar with working across jurisdictions and in highly sensitive political and cultural environments,” Mr Tuck said.

For more on Sharon Armstrong’s personal story, see: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/ondemand/marae/05-07- 2015/series-2015-episode-19

To learn more about Lindsay Sandiford’s case and how you can help her, see: http://tinyurl.com/pxstemo

Those with information about similar scams, such as those described above or those requiring more information about the work of MULE, contact: Asia Pacific Lawyers Network public affairs manager, Mandy Wyer, +61 418 270 656.

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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for July 27, 2015

Selwyn Manning — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 05:37:55 +0000

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 9 links for the day from Monday 27th July.

Top stories in the current news cycle include concerns over a leaked document that reportedly shows the Government plans an overhaul to the governance of District Health Boards, responses to the weekend’s announcement of government reforms to entice migrants to live in the regions and the commencement of Maori Language Week.

NewsRoom_Monitor: As well as providing a precis of news bulletins from RNZ and the opening news on both TV channels each day, our NewsRoom_Monitor services does a daily paper round with succinct ‘news picks’ from the main metropolitan papers emailed by 9am each morning. You can sign up to trial just this part of NewsRoom at http://newsroomplus.com/free-trial/

POLITICS PULSE

NewsRoom will publish its regular snapshot of the Prime Minister’s post-Cabinet Press Conference tomorrow.

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Reappointments to Education Payroll Limited Board; Agency sought to help reduce cyberbullying; Apprentices served well by Code of Practice; Minister celebrates 40th Māori Language Week; Inspection of Waikato DHB’s mental health service; Improved access to up-to-date cancer info; celebrating 150 years since Wellington became the capital; Successful negotiations to liberalise tariffs on IT products to benefit NZ exporters; Food Safety Minister to travel to Vietnam; Improving spread of skills, investment across NZ, Minister seeks assurance following arrest; Judge Armstrong Appointed To Māori Land Court; New classrooms confirmed to meet Auckland growth

Labour: Government’s plans to take a scalpel to democratically elected health boards considered deceitful; Key is trading away New Zealand land and homes; Bank puts the squeeze on mid Canterbury farmers; Spin lines show a department in chaos; Ladder removal gets tenants fired up and endangers lives; Labour will fix broken health and safety bill; Nats miss another opportunity to fix housing crisis

Greens: MPs should back Te Reo in schools; Privatising environmental decisions will cost the environment and the public

New Zealand First: Health and safety reforms – a Pandora’s box for New Zealanders; Australian diver killed by shark highlights Stewart Island fears

NZ National Party: PM reiterates commitment to open New Zealand

ACT Party: Council must keep its hands off our AECT dividends

Maori Party: Getting behind Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

SNIPPETS OF THE DAY

Immigration changes welcomed: The change to the Immigration points system for provincial New Zealand is good news for hospitality, says Bruce Robertson, Hospitality New Zealand Chief Executive.

NZCTU: 10 Pike Rivers since Key’s “broken” promise – widow: A family held a silent vigil with 291 crosses as the Prime Minister gave his key-note speech in Auckland at the National Party annual conference at Skycity.

Volunteers’ fears safely relieved by Health and Safety amendments: Volunteering New Zealand is pleased that many volunteers’ fears that their roles and responsibilities would be increasingly complicated by the Health and Safety Reform Bill will today be relieved following the release of the revised report from the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee.

LINKS OF THE DAY

AGRI COMMODITIES MONTHLY: The return of beneficial dry weather in the US reverted some of the June and early July price gains in grains. Read Agricultural Market report here:https://www.rabobank.com/downloads/research/Agri_Commodities_Monthly_July_2015.pdf

ANNUAL FRUIT EXPORTS HITS RECORD: The annual value of fruit exports reached an all-time high of $2 billion in the year ended June 2015, Statistics New Zealand said today. See Agricultural Production Statistics: June 2014 (final) for more details: http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/agriculture-horticulture-forestry/AgriculturalProduction_final_HOTPJun14final.aspx

COMPANY POLICIES: 61 per cent of New Zealand employers admit that they don’t have a diversity policy in place for hiring new staff, according to findings in the recently released 2015 Hays Salary Guide. Get your copy of the 2015 Hays Salary Guide by visiting http://www.hays.net.nz/salary-guide

EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF LUNG CANCER: The Health Quality & Safety Commission has released a new Atlas of Healthcare Variation domain, focusing on diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in public hospitals. The lung cancer Atlas domain is available here: http://www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-programmes/health-quality-evaluation/projects/atlas-of-healthcare-variation/lung-cancer/

HEALTH AND SAFETY REFORM BILL: On 24 July 2015 the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee finally reported on the Health and Safety Reform Bill. The Bill was introduced to Parliament in March 2014. To read more on the proposed Bill, please click here: http://www.bellgully.com/resources/resource.04034.asp

INTELLIGENCE SERVICES: The NZ Council for Civil Liberties is pleased to host Get Smart – the People’s Review of the Intelligence Services – with meetings to be held in Wellington (29 July), Auckland (6 August). For more information see: http://nzccl.org.nz/content/get-smart-intelligence-review

KEEP TE REO MĀORI ALIVE: The use of te reo Māori is on the rise. More parents are speaking te reo to their infants, in comparison to their own childhood. The number of toddlers of Māori descent who understand te reo has also increased. Find the full policy brief online at http://www.growingup.co.nz/en/news-and-events/news/news-2015/nz-children-helping-to-keep-te-reo-maori-alive.html

RURAL BROADBAND: To check their eligibility for Spark’s Rural Wireless Broadband service today Spark customers can go to http://www.spark.co.nz/rural

SAFE CALLS FOR END OF RODEO: Animal advocacy organisations SAFE, SPCA and Farmwatch have joined forces in a coalition calling for a ban on rodeo, saying it is both unethical and inherently cruel. Know more here:https://www.change.org/p/the-new-zealand-house-of-representatives-ban-rodeo-in-new-zealand-9b0f7505-a419-4e25-bc54-a1a2cc7a0e27

UNMET HEALTH NEEDS: “The latest figures out of a district health board are further evidence that an increasing number of people are not getting the health care they need from public hospitals,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). More can be read at: http://www.asms.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ASMS-support-for-unmet-need-research-project_163854.1.pdf.

And that’s our sampling of the day that was on Monday 27th July 2015.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest. –]]>

byWADE…i am a journo…my hat says so…

Selwyn Manning — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:22:57 +0000

hager case has raised some big issues…is it time to professionalise journalism? …personally i think the hand-writing a tag or a name sticker that says “reporter” is the standard we should maintain in new zealand because then we can all keep our secrets…. You can follow WADE (from a safe digital distance) at www.facebook.com/bywade or look at more stuff and buy things in obscene volumes to show how successful and cool you are at www.iammenotyou.com…]]>