I was renewing with Tower and it's gone up a lot, even though I haven't made a claim and nothing has changed. Same old car. I just thought stuff it, and I downgraded to third party only with no theft or fire cover (I have one of the best alarms)
On the phone they explained that part of the reason was that the value of my car had been adjusted (about $1,000 higher) but when they used the calculator to figure out the premium cost for a lower agreed value, it didn't change to the price I expected.
Prices must have gone up due to inflation or corporate greed.
I'd still trust Tower over AMI. Once I used AMI and my renewal package got lost in the post, and my insurance expired, but they didn't even text or email me. With Tower it automatically renews. So while AMI might be cheaper, they are really bad with communication, and won't even spend 2 cents to send an SMS to your phone.
When I was a gullible teenager I would have sided with the WWF, but since I'm an adult now, I realise it's a lobby group with an agenda, and they are just fear-mongering.
Some of the recent climate change articles are getting rather nutty. They are talking about BBQ and gas cooking as if it was a bad thing, and in an article about housing, one author claimed that climate change would alter the housing market, by destroying houses in floods. They cannot go five minutes without injecting their climate change theory into everything.
If moderators are allowed to delete this video and its interviews, that makes them as bad as Reddit and the Christchurch Press. I suppose it's inappropriate for Adam Nuttal and Omar Nabi to question whether Tarrant was given special treatment from the police, to expedite his firearms license, because this suggests that the government is involved in a conspiracy. That's too bad. If a conspiracy is happening in the government then we should be talking about it, not helping them to cover it up.
This is a New Zealand instance and the video that I shared is related to issues of public interest that are highly important for New Zealanders.
My website stats are not that great even after all my effort. I'm glad I gave it a go and set an example, because some people supported me. One guy shouted out to me "bro you're right, landlords ARE parasites". So, most people don't say it out loud, but there are people who agree with me. I was between the university and Ilam New World writing with my chalk, and a group of students walked past. One girl just said "FACTS". They got the message :)
Most New Zealanders are neither here nor there, they just wander aimlessly through life with a passive attitude like NPCs in a computer game. I'm not trying to win over those who are entirely passive "go with the flow, yeah nah bro" kinds of fools. If a few good people saw my chalk and laughed, then it was worth it. I don't care about the unwashed masses who are willing to accept any amount of abuse from landlords or the government. The type of person who rents, but is indifferent to my cause, I ignore them. These people will be the first to line up at the edge of a trench and take a bullet to the back of the head, willingly, if there was an authoritarian government. I'm the person who has to be assassinated or black-bagged first thing because I'm the person who agitates the second tier.
Put it like this:
- agitators and potential leaders: these people get pissed off first and take action.
- future activists: they see the actions of the above, and eventually become a type of activist themselves.
- supporters: they agree with the message but rarely take part in anything, besides agreeing with the message.
- lemmings: this is the bottom tier, they are totally indifferent. They will occasionally grumble about the cost of living, but they are happy to be taken advantage of. The lemming never does anything to help the cause, and will even grumble about those who take action.
It fails to upload as a comment and I'm not going to resize every single file (assuming that's the issue). Sorry if you're on mobile and don't have a real computer.
Open the URL, I self-hosted a zip file with 9 photos so you don't have to visit a website that's filled with ads.
http://rentingcrisis.nz/forum/images/chalk/activism.zip
I wrote in 20 locations around riccarton and ilam. Most of my chalk was on riccarton road or perhaps 50 metres into a side street.
Please share this file.
I'd agree to teach programming and maths for the minimum wage if they'd let me, but there's probably some BS requirement like needing a degree or having to pass a police check. The only thing I've done wrong is have the wrong thoughts about the government, that's not even a criminal record. They only want brain-dead degree wielders to teach. If you have any anti-government views and don't have a degree, might as well stay on the benefit. They don't like people who engage in wrong-think, even if it's in their own time. The failed education system is by design, and only a fool would think that Luxon and/or more funding will fix it. The education system is rotten to the core. It needs a complete re-work.
Yeah maybe VB isn't so bad, it was the lack of inspiration from teachers and lack of role models and advice that ruined it for me.
You couldn't make me go there just for the money. No way am I going to study 3 years just to become a teacher, when I can teach in a world class city like Moscow with only a minor qualification that takes 1 month to get.
That last part is the real deal here. Somewhere I have an old screen-shot from Trade Me Forum where a guy said he quit teaching because they basically thought he was a pedo or something like that. As a male, you can't dare be too friendly or jokey with any student, male or female, or you'll have to go through some sexual predator prevention programme or something. It will only get worse, and eventually they will roll out this "woke" training nonsense into every profession. Women control all the cosy office jobs and it's always women in HR who push the anti-male crap.
I just looked for work on Seek and Trade Me and there's maybe 2 jobs suitable for me, assuming the hours are reasonable. I'd rather die in a ditch in Ukraine than live in a backwater country like NZ. Nobody should pretend we are first world. Look at the poverty here, and the downtrodden fools who work in supermarkets, hardware stores and distribution centres. Being a wigger, acting tough and boasting about made up stories makes you top dog in some industries. NZ is a backwater country and it will never develop into anything that resembles a decent country. In 10 years from now I'll still be complaining about crappy over-priced rental bedrooms, and jobs that chew through staff every month.
I dropped out on my 16th birthday and I never completed level 1 NCEA. I asked to do a programming class and showed them a program I had written, but all they could offer me was Microsoft Visual Basic. Which, from my understanding, is stuff like putting a button on the screen, clicking it, and making it say "button clicked" (that was year 12's programme for 16-17 year olds, but it's probably more suited to a 10 year old's level). I wanted to learn pre-uni stuff like 'c' and c++ but they didn't teach that. I don't think they even taught Python.
The male teacher who I talked to on this matter was really boring and uninspiring. I didn't see how any of my classes would help me with my plans. The principal and secretary of the school kept on dragging me and my divorced parents into meetings because I was bogging down the school's stats. They really are just a bunch of useless paper pushers.
I'd like to volunteer to help primary school children or speak in high school assemblies, but it's impossible to do this, because the government-owned schools don't give a crap about what's good for people. Once I tried to sign up for Big Brothers Big Sisters, but the reference checks were impossible for me to pass. I think they wanted 3 people who had known me for 5+ years and it couldn't be my best mate or family lol. Nobody has really known me closely for 5+ years because I've never held a full time job for 12 months. Like the wojak/doomer meme I'm mostly invisible in this society.
The government won't fix this. What radical change to education could they possibly make? They can tweak a bit of administration, but the rotten core of the education system will remain.
You may as well write to ministers and officials, and tell them how poorly they perform, and that their actions have corrupted the country and ruined the lives of countless people.
Don't forget to heckle them and send some hate mail to your local council. I'm doing my part, I hope you're doing yours ;-)
I didn't watch this start to finish but I agree with everything he's saying.
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The election won't change anything. I believe we'll still be stuck in the same situation for another 5 years.
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Too much immigration. Do we need to let people into the country just to stack shelves at Countdown and Chemist Warehouse? This isn't a skills shortage.
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Community solutions, instead of relying on Parliament
On that last point - I will be doing a mailbox drop this summer to spice things up a little. Voting in the election is a waste of time for me. I want to see more houses being built and it's not going to happen from the government. We need the council to **** off and stop pandering to boomers and rich property buyers. It's the council's fault that there is no private property available for purchase or rent, at a reasonable price. They used zoning regulations to scam my generation out of a good quality life.
David Palmer if you read this, I went to Northlands Mall last week and I saw a huge empty section near the main bus stop. This looks promising, but so far it's just grass growing there. As soon as the zoning changes and they allow high density near the malls, it's probably going to be a 6 storey apartment. At least that's my hope.
Alpine: "The top risk is Israel targeting Iran's nuclear program, escalating the conflict regionally, disrupting Persian Gulf oil exports, and potentially drawing the U.S. into the fray. Prior to this conflict, we thought this risk was underappreciated. We had estimated it at ~20%, given Iranian nuc...
More realistically though,
Press TV's Telegram comments on claims by Israeli media: "All surrounding areas of Gaza retaken, no clashes now taking place with Hamas"
Maybe Hamas will wait with the hostages, knowing that the most hawkish Israelis will advocate further violence. At this point Hezbollah might join.
edit: t.me is a shortened URL for Telegram links, some posts are visible without the need to install telegram.
When I was in Timaru a couple of years ago I actually drove down Pages Road. The Timaru Council assures me that they are building new homes, but I guess I'll never afford to even rent one of the bedrooms of these expensive houses.
Did anyone here run the Kiwi Kids Marathon? I didn't but my neighbours in the 90s did.
I'm fine with Sanitarium being a charity. Academics and Redditors just hate anything to do with Christianity and want to persecute Christians at every opportunity. Back to the original topic though, Sanitarium made a mistake here. I've thought about buying cereals from The Warehouse but the range is extremely limited, Sanitarium should definitely keep selling WeetBix to The Warehouse, I'm sure many families benefit from it.
A recent post on Plebbit’s r/newzealand subforum involved a Boomer crying about having to pay a farmhand $28 per hour […]
Vince shows the numbers on how much a person must earn in order to buy a house in New Zealand
I was driving out of a quiet street in Christchurch around noon today when two SUVs approached from the right-hand side. I waiting for them because I thought they would go pass, but they had a different idea. Both SUVs pulled into the street which I was coming out of, and they were using it to compensate for their poor turning-circle, instead of attempting a 3-point-turn which would've been safer.
So there I was trying to turn right, with the first SUV sneaking up behind me, waiting for me to go, then there was a second SUV that also wanted to use the side-street to swing around, but they were waiting for me, and I was hesitant, because they were blocking my view from my right and I couldn't see oncoming traffic.
I paused in confusion and then crept forward, saw it was clear, and moved along.
It was a stupid situation to be in, it made me wonder why they don't do a 3-point-turn, or just go one vehicle at a time, instead of blocking the road with their SUV convoy. I call these women soccer moms because they are exactly the same as their American counter-part. They drive their SUVs together to go to the local park with their family. There is no other word for it besides soccer mom.
This is what happens when Karen from accounts makes friends with Becky from HR, and they discover that they both have sons, and both live in the same suburb. They drive their SUVs for an outing down to the local park.
When they swung around and went to the park, they were still there half an hour later. They didn't seem to have any sports gear with them. We are becoming more like America with each passing day.
When I browse Reddit I always open it in a private window, because that website is cancer and I like to keep it contained. I have no interest in revisiting ironic "shit posts" or run-of-the-mill opinions from Reddit-dwelling incels. I was writing about Reddit on another website, commenting on the perverted mindset of basement dwelling degenerates on Reddit:
"Redditors are all ******. They talk about circle-jerks, hate-boners, and ass-holes. They are obsessed with erect penises and anuses. Truly warped people."
reply: >reddit causes brain damage. >(I can list them if interested) >And as a result all nz reddit users that don't get censored are extreme leftwing, porn addicted, losers. Angry and bitter but determined to ruin once new zealand.
I didn't even mention pornography yet someone made the connection between Reddit users and pornography 😆 There are probably Reddit communities based around VR porn and there's probably a whole community with thousands of active members, just to talk about what to do when a matchbox car gets parked where the sun don't shine. And how to find an "open minded" doctor. Just normal heterosexual stuff you do with the normal wife, you know?
I'm trying not to complain about Reddit too hard, in all honesty, it's pretty funny how screwed in the head people on Reddit are. I sometimes visit just to see what dumb opinions people have. Last time I checked /r/chch someone posted about Kyle Chapman's arrest, and someone in the comments wrote that Kyle is an "angry incel" which is ironic because that's the perfect description of these redditors. A bunch of craft beer, soy latte drinking, porn addicted virgins who will never get a woman pregnant. On the other hand, Kyle has 5 children (presumably to at least 3 different women) which is sick too, but still better than a lot of these redditors.
Kyle is a run-of-the-mill boomer as far as I'm concerned. Reddit says he's a fascist but I don't think Kyle has cared about politics or ideology for at least 12 years. Of course, on Reddit you get upvotes if you say that Christchurch is a Nazi city with a big "nationalist community". I saw someone farming karma just 2 days ago.
The same 'redditors' believe that The Rob Gray Life Centre is some kind of secret fascist training centre. But if you go to (I think) the Barbadoes Steet intersection with Cashel, then walk east down Cashel, you'll see the sign outside which says "Rob Gray Life Centre open today - everyone welcome".
It's not just the invisible fascist boogey-man that Reddit obsesses over, it's also the secret Christian nationalists in Parliament. Apparently Christopher Luxon is a secret Christian nationalist who wants to bring in extreme religious laws, or something.
If I go on reddit and disagree with the secret Christian (or fascist) threat, then it's guaranteed that the mods have a secret porn group on Discord where they hashtag my username and make secret notes about me, that I'm stirring up trouble, and causing offence (by disagreeing and providing information which contradicts the hive mind)
I have a problem with Reddit, because it's bastion of weirdos where they are not exposed to anyone with different view points, and it's been an echo-chamber for years now. There's much talk about the 'danger' of X and what Musk has done to it, but it seems like his WEF adviser has come out against anti-semitism, and Musk is going to met Benjamin Netanyahu. I really doubt that Elon truly supports free speech. He's a tricky guy who will change his mind on things and toy with the media and public figures. The scrutiny should be on Reddit. I think even if there was a child porn scandal involving /r/newzealand moderators, it probably wouldn't cause an exodus of users. If a Reddit moderator was caught with thousands of images of naked 6 year old girls on their hard drive, the /r/newzealand community would probably raise money to defend them in court. I believe it's that cohesive, basically like a cult where the moderators are highly venerated figures.
This is the best thing for Christchurch. It should've happened 15 years ago.
I saw a couple of short clips and ended up watching the whole thing one evening, while trying not to fall asleep. The last question that Tucker asks, is "will there be a civil war". Trump comments on Jan. 6 and says he's never seen such an out-pouring of love, but equally, he's never seen such an out-pouring of hatred.
I know most of you don't care about these figures all that much, but what Trump said is quite revealing. America is probably screwed now. If Trump doesn't get elected, his supports might go crazy. Likewise, if he does get elected, it might embolden his supporters anyway. I don't think that anyone will fix the problems in America. It's too late now. If they'd hadn't spent billions of dollars trying to rule the world, they could have paid reparations to blacks and possibly avoided the ugliest parts of the current political environment. They'd need jobs and manufacturing too of course.
There is a risk posed by people who misdirect their anger, like that 21 year old kid who shot random black people, painted swastikas on the wall of a supermarket or something, and then shot himself. Of course he's 21. If he'd made it to 24 or 25 without deleting himself, he would've realised that there's more to life, even if the economy is in the toilet.
2024 is gonna be a war I reckon. There's no reconciling the differences with most people. If they can't get justice and a fair standard of living for all people, then things won't improve (conflict, division).
Ukraine will not disclose its death count, but the BBC’s Quentin Sommerville witnesses the mounting toll.
I suggest that victory in the war be defined by who docks their ships at Sevastopol. Most people just focus on who is killing the most, which isn't a useful measure. It's worth considering the waste of life though.
The Christchurch attack only emboldened Australia’s white supremacy movement, and experts warn the government’s refusal to take extremists seriously may have deadly consequences
The other day I met a guy from Chengdu, so I looked it up on YouTube. I also follow a modest YouTuber who uploads videos of Saint Petersburg when he goes for walks with his wife and granddaughter.
I'm not suggesting that Christchurch should look like one of these big cities with 10 or 20 million people, but could we please knock down that derelict building that's next to the bus exchange? It has walls falling down, and graffiti everywhere. Then there's the case of shipping containers on the side of the road.
These inner-city features give third world vibes. I don't care what these buildings are, please destroy them.
We also need a city-wide land tax to encourage development. There are empty sections all around Christchurch that aren't being used for anything (or they are just for parking a jetboat). I saw two properties in Sumner that are used for parking a jet boat, and there are places in Riccarton like Kirkwood Ave and Leslie Street, each have an empty section which has been empty for 20+ years. The central and local governments aren't doing anything to solve these problems.
Catching the bus is my main way to get into the city centre, though on rare occasions I drive or e-scooter. I found that catching the bus is sometimes useful on short trips, such as going to the bakery (if the bus is every 10 minutes). Really great for me since I don't have a job right now, but if I get a job again I'll need a car, because employers insist.
I don't like owning a car because other tenants can suddenly move in and block me off with their car, which they expect to park on the driveway too. All the nearby streets have problems with parking. An e-scooter would suit me most of the time. I could sell my car, buy an e-scooter, motorcycle helmet, rain-repelling pants and gumboots. ** Just a couple of problems:**
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safety - a guy I know recently had an accident in the Opawa/Sydenham area and broke his shoulder + other bones. I was told that he wasn't hit by a car, apparently he lost traction and fell off. Maybe he was going 30 km/ph if not 40 km/ph, but I don't know. Based on the injuries he wouldn't have been going under 20 km/ph.
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winter - traction problems and visibility at their worst, potentially for months. So far, this winter has been mild. Most times 11am - 5pm are good temperature for an e-scooter, without too much moisture on the road. Next winter might be colder and less suitable for an e-scooter.
I could use the bus in winter, borrow a car from family, or rent a Zilch vehicle for 4 hours every 1-2 weeks. Everything else should be possible on a scooter, most days. Part of the trick is to buy a large enough backpack from the Army & Outdoors store!
Transport in Christchurch is troublesome, because of the city's one storey high design. Employers expect me to pay for fuel and then drive several kilometres to get to work, because there's no way I can find a rental that's near a job, or which has a suitable bus route for getting to a job. With the increases to rent, fuel and food, I think I'll give up driving before I give up anything else. To hell with what employers expect.
So I guess the reason I made this thread is to speculate that I'll be one of the test subjects for e-scooter ownership in Christchurch. I'm not a competitive, angry person who tries to flex on other road users. I used to speed constantly in a Mazda mx5 without giving a damn but now I drive a more modest vehicle, and I notice how many people overtake me even when I'm driving slightly above the limit. Sometimes I like to drive 30 or 40 km/ph on narrow streets because I don't want to kill a cat or someone's child. It may be legal to drive at 50km/ph but that's not always safe. Luckily, motorists are surprisingly courteous on narrow roads when they are forced to yield or get through a small gap.
Affordable apartments (complete with bikesheds) are still 5 or 10 years away, so I expect that public transport won't get more routes or become much more popular. E-scooters may be the fix we require. I'd rather ride my bike but I can't store that in my bedroom. Most boarding houses are just a bedroom and nothing else, so I think an e-scooter is the way to go.
If it makes me unemployable to some employers that's just too bad. In the current situation I doubt I'll save up enough money to buy a car again (cue for someone to suggest I buy a piece of shit for $1,000)
We have to move with the times and accept that not everybody can own a car and afford a place to park it, where it won't be blocked off by new tenants moving in, who also wish to use the driveway. We've been warned since last year that 91 fuel could reach $3 a litre and we're only a few months away from that. If I give up my car this spring-summer-autumn it will save me at least $1,000 on insurance and fuel. Not even that much, but I think the lifestyle change will be the selling point. I just hope I don't get killed lol
Nelson mayor Nick Smith said the proposed changes are "absolutely essential if we are to improve housing affordability".
Sounds good to me Nelson, can we please get this in Christchurch as well?
When
Monday, the 28th of August, 6pm onward
Where
Christchurch WEA, 59 Gloucester Street (near the Art Gallery)
https://www.cwea.org.nz/
What to expect
Since this is 3 weeks away I haven't confirmed any speakers yet.
If the meeting receives enough interest, then it will grow. There are other groups such as Save Passenger Rail and a Living Wage group, the overlapping interests can help to boost this new group.
I've been looking for some old films to watch online and I'm looking at
- On The Beach (1959)
- Patton (1970)
- The Great Escape (1963)
- The Guns of Navarone (1961)
Those last two inspired parts of the video game series, Metal Gear Solid. In Metal Gear Solid 3, a lot of films get mentioned by characters throughout the game.
On The Beach is one I heard about because Alex Jones was talking about nuclear war earlier this year, and he showed a scene from that particular film. There's a newer version of On The Beach but I'd always go for the original, or better, read the novel it's based on.
Recently I watched 2 old Soviet films
- Amphibian Man (1961)
- Only 'Old Men' Are Going To Battle (1973)
Some links
The Guns Of Navarone (this one costs $ on YouTube)
Only 'Old Men' Are Going To Battle, black and white version
Only 'Old Men' Are Going To Battle, colourised in 2009
It's disappointing that many films are 48 hour DRM'd and cost $4 or $6 despite not being restored
but...
https://www.aliceinvideoland.co.nz/
w00t!
Got to get me some novels too.
Hey everyone, I registered a domain name and installed phpBB forum software, but I will also be:
- hosting meetings at Spagalimi's Pizzeria in Christchurch
- hosting meetings at the WEA (59 Gloucester)
- advertising through the Christchurch Progressive Network mail list
- knocking on doors to promote the forum
- setting up a table and chairs in town for some real life promo
The website is www.rentingcrisis.nz and that's where I'll be organising events in the near future.
I had some trouble with password resets on Lemmy so I just created a new account. I want to reply to https://lemmy.nz/u/kiwikruizer regarding this thread: https://lemmy.nz/post/26847
I complained about the crowded boarding house where I live and kiwikruizer replied: "Theres a few places around that have ensuites in the ~$230 range". This isn't the response that I expected. I pay slightly more than $230 a week (going up to $300 a week soon) and the problem isn't the lack of an ensuite bathroom. I didn't understand where kiwikruizer was coming from, because I never mentioned anything about an ensuite, I just said the place was crowded.
To clarify, a boarding house is not a house where you have 6 or 8 bedrooms and only 2 communal bathrooms. A boarding house will, in nearly all cases, be a modern building with 6 or 8 bedrooms that all have ensuites, but which share a kitchen (and optionally, a lounge, but it isn't required). I think most rentals are under a boarding house contract these days, unless for some reason it's a fixed contract (which I would recommend avoiding unless a person is well-off)
This confusion of terms is another reason why I want to host public meetings. People don't understand renting and have misconceptions about how it works, what it costs, and how convenient it is.
The $230 a week boarding houses that kiwikruizer mention generally have very thin walls and doors, so you can hear people coughing from down the hall, or singing in their bathroom in the morning. The median rent price is much higher than $230 a week, and even these $230 a week properties are more likely $245 or $250 by now. The prices will keep going up and up until we do something about it.
I'll keep you all updated on my progress. It will be a difficult road to build an active group but I'm determined to do this, because the alternative is doing nothing and having nothing change.