The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Seven Italians convicted of left-wing domestic terrorist crimes in the 1970s and 1980s, including several former members of the Red Brigades, were arrested at their homes in France on Wednesday, the French presidency said, a development Italy hailed as historic.
The crimes for which they were convicted include the 1980 killing of a Carabinieri paramilitary general and the kidnapping of a judge in the same year.
The arrests followed negotiation and agreement between Italy and France after decades during which Paris refused to act on many of the arrest warrants issued by Italy for convicted left-wing terrorists. The French presidency said new negotiations started when Emmanuel Macron was elected French president in 2017, but the decisive change came when Mario Draghi became Italian premier earlier this year.
The seven arrested individuals had fled Italy and sought refuge abroad before they could be imprisoned to serve their sentences. Police in France, aided by Italian police, are still searching for three others who eluded arrest at their homes.
Five of those arrested in what Italian police said was code-named Operation Red Shadows were former members of the Red Brigades, a group active during the 1970s and 1980s that carried out killings, kidnappings and so-called "kneecappings," in which targets were shot in the legs by attackers who fled. The group later fell dormant.
Also detained was Giorgio Petrostefani, 77, a militant from the far-left group Lotta Continua (Struggle Continues). Petrostefani was convicted of the 1972 slaying of Milan Police Chief Luigi Calabresi and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The police chief's slaying was one of the more notorious crimes during the so-called "Years of Lead,'' when acts of terrorism committed by the extreme right and the extreme left bloodied Italy in the 1970s and 1980s.
Calabresi had been leading the interrogation of Giuseppe Pinelli, a suspected anarchist, about the 1969 bombing of a Milan bank that killed 17 people. Pinelli fell to his death from the 4th floor of police headquarters. The police chief was shot three times from behind while he walked to his car. The bank bombing has never been solved. Pinelli's death inspired a play and a movie.
France established in 1985 a policy known as the "Mitterrand doctrine," named for Socialist President Francois Mitterrand. It said that Italian far-left activists who had fled to France would not be extradited to Italy unless there was evidence that they committed "crimes of blood."
The various European arrest warrants that allowed Wednesday's arrests were set to expire between December this year and 2023, according to Italian police. A French court must decide on extradition to Italy for each person individually. The French presidency said definitive decisions could take two to three years depending on appeals.
"France's decision to remove every obstacle to the just route to justice is of historic importance,'' Italian Justice Minister Marta Cartabia said. She added that "my thought today, above all, goes to the victims of the Years of Lead and to their families, kept for so many years waiting for a response."
Italian Premier Draghi, who took office two months ago, expressed satisfaction, saying the cases "have left an open wound. "The memory of those barbaric acts is vivid in the conscience of Italians," he said in a statement released by his office.
Mario Calabresi, a prominent Italian journalist and editor and son of the slain Milan police chief, tweeted that what happened on Wednesday established "a fundamental principle: there mustn't exist free-zones for those who kills." But, Calabresi, added "I can't feel satisfaction in seeing an old and sick person in prison after so much time."
French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti told a news conference: "I am proud to take part in that decision which will enable Italy, I hope, after 40 years to turn a page of history...

For all the puff and posing from the social media giants it appears they are still a law unto themselves.
In the last 48 hours, we have had Twitter conform to orders from the Indian Government to remove tweets that criticise their handling of Covid.
And now Facebook is allowing businesses to advertise things like smoking, gambling and extreme weight loss to kids as young as 13.
Professor of Computer Science at AUT Dave Parry joined Mike Hosking.
“What happens is, that rather than directly advertise the products, what they do is, advertise something that looks like a social media club or something which happens to lead you through to the other things.”
LISTEN ABOVE

Britain's political spending watchdog said Wednesday it was scaling up an investigation into Prime Minister Boris Johnson's finances, saying there were "reasonable grounds" to suspect an offense had been committed over the pricey refurbishment of the prime minister's Downing Street residence.
The Electoral Commission has been looking into whether any funds used to pay for renovating the apartment should have been declared under the law on political donations; amid claims Johnson received a loan from his Conservative Party for the work.
The commission said it was "now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offense or offenses may have occurred," and a formal investigation would take place.
"The investigation will determine whether any transactions relating to the works at 11 Downing Street fall within the regime regulated by the Commission and whether such funding was reported as required," the commission said in a statement.
The Electoral Commission has the power to impose fines for breaches of spending rules, and can refer cases to the police.
Last week, Johnson's former top aide, Dominic Cummings, claimed that the prime minister planned to get Conservative Party donors to pay for the refurbishment of the taxpayer-funded apartment where Johnson lives in the apartment with fiancée Carrie Symonds and their baby son, Wilfred.
Cummings, who left his job late last year, said he had told Johnson the plan was "unethical, foolish, and possibly illegal."
Johnson said Wednesday in the House of Commons, "I have paid for Downing Street refurbishment personally"
But he did not say when asked whether he had been lent the money for the work, reported to have cost around 60,000 pounds ($83,000).
Government ministers are required to declare donations they receive. Johnson insisted he had "conformed in full" with the code of conduct.
He said that "any further declaration I have to make, if any, I will be advised upon by Lord Geidt," a former private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II who is the prime minister's newly appointed adviser on ministerial standards.
The refurbishment allegations are part of a slew of claims of cronyism and ethical breaches against Johnson and his Conservative government that have been piling up ahead of local and regional elections next week.
Johnson has also denied a press report which quoted him as allegedly saying he would rather see "bodies pile high in their thousands" than impose a third national lockdown on the country. He called the claim "total, total rubbish"
The "cash for curtains" renovation story has struck a particular chord because it touches on money, snobbery and other sensitive issues in class-conscious Britain. Newspapers have run long reports on the Downing Street décor, alleging that it included gold wallpaper and a sofa that sells for 15,000 pounds (about $20,800).
Opponents have seized on allegations that Symonds and Johnson labelled the furniture chosen by the previous Prime Minister, Theresa May, and her husband a "John Lewis nightmare." John Lewis is a department store widely regarded as a purveyor of mid-range quality furnishings.
Words by JILL LAWLESS and PAN PYLAS Associated Press

The NZTA is trying to justify a speed drop using what is being described as ‘junk maths.’
State Highway 5 between Hawkes Bay and Taupo is one of our most dangerous in the country and to combat this, the NZTA have proposed an 80 kilometre an hour speed limit.
They say that it would only slow your drive down and 83 kilometre stretch of highway by one minute, because most people travel under the speed limit anyway.
Director of Da Vinci Transport Planning Ltd Dr Urie Bezuidenhout, who is calling it junk maths, joined Mike Hosking.
“If you want to sell something, you make it look like it isn’t as bad as maybe it should be.”
LISTEN ABOVE

President Joe Biden will use his first joint address to Congress to pitch a $1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education that would fundamentally transform roles the government plays in American life.
Marking his first 100 days in office, Biden will make his case Wednesday night before a pared-down gathering of mask-wearing legislators due to coronavirus restrictions. It will take place in a U.S. Capitol still surrounded by fencing after insurrectionists in January protesting his election stormed to the doors of the House chamber where he will speak.
In the nationally televised ritual of a president standing before Congress, Biden will lay out a sweeping proposal for universal preschool, two years of free community college, $225 billion for child care and monthly payments of at least $250 to parents. His ideas target frailties that were uncovered by the pandemic, and he will make the case that economic growth would best come from taxing the rich to help the middle class and the poor.
For Biden, whose moment has been nearly a half century in the making, his speech will also provide an update on progress in combating the COVID-19 crisis he was elected to tame, showcasing hundreds of millions of vaccinations and relief checks delivered to help offset the devastation wrought by a virus that has killed more than 573,000 people in the United States. He will also champion his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, a staggering figure to be financed by higher taxes on corporations.
Seizing an opportunity born of calamity, Biden has embraced momentous action over incremental change. But he will be forced to thread the needle between Republicans who cry government overreach and some Democrats who fear he won't go big enough.
The Democratic president's strategy is to sidestep the polarization and make his appeal directly to voters. His prime-time speech will underscore a trio of central campaign promises: to manage the deadly pandemic, to turn down the tension in Washington and to restore faith in government as an effective force for good.
"He is a big-government Democrat, and he has not been at all reluctant to propose big initiatives in a response to a national crisis," said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University presidential historian.
No American politician has more familiarity with the presidential address to Congress than Biden. He spent three decades in the audience as a senator and eight years as vice president seated behind President Barack Obama during the annual address.
But this year's scene at the front of the House chamber will have a historic look: For the first time, a female vice president, Kamala Harris, will be seated behind the chief executive. And she will be seated next to another woman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Biden chose to delay this speech, typically given in the afterglow of a presidential inaugural. In doing so, he gave himself the chance to not simply speak of the pain of the COVID-19 crisis but also to talk about progress.
The setting will be unlike for any of his predecessors, with members of Congress spread out and many Republicans citing "scheduling conflicts" to stay away.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, "President Biden ran as a moderate, but I'm hard pressed to think of anything at all that he's done so far that would indicate some degree of moderation."
Yet the desire for swift action is born from political necessity. Biden understands that the time for passing his agenda could be perilously short given that presidents' parties historically lose congressional seats in the midterm elections, less than two years away. The Democrats' margins are already razor-thin.
He will speak against a backdrop of the weakening but still lethal pandemic, staggering unemployment and a roiling debate about police violence against Blacks. Biden will also use his address to touch on the broader national reckoning...

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE (from Thursday's Mike Hosking Breakfast) Could Be Worse Choices/Too Many Councils/Segregation By Definition/The Queen Street Earful/This Was a Great Year

Promised roading projects could be scaled back or dropped entirely due to significantly higher than forecast costs.
The government's infrastructure package, announced in January last year, included 5.3 billion dollars towards new and upgrades of roads across the country.
But Stuff reports it's in danger of collapsing, which could impact projects like Auckland's Mill Road, or Wellington's Otaki to north of Levin.
Infrastructure consultant Barney Irvine told Mike Hosking it's a classic example of what you get when projects are guided by political factors.
"Ahead of really robust analysis based on what the public need is and what the customers, the people who are paying for it really need."
LISTEN ABOVE

The National Party is leaving it up to its members to decide on what changes the party needs to make before the next election.
A summary report of the party's post-election review has been sent to party members.
It covers a raft of topics, including diversity within the party, representation of Māori, and the status of the Treaty of Waitangi.
National MP Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking  the report's recommendations won't surprise anyone.
"That went out to every paid up member of the National Party, it’s publicly available it’s very vanilla and all it is is giving a heads up for a discussion at our regional conferences.”
National leader Judith Collins says it's now up to the party's thousands of members, to decide which recommendations to take up.
Stuart Nash and Mark Mitchell joined Mike Hosking to discuss the National Party review, China and Five Eyes plus what's happening with spare MIQ rooms.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its guidelines Tuesday on the wearing of masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans don't need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.
And those who are unvaccinated can go outside without masks in some situations, too.
The new guidance represents another carefully calibrated step on the road back to normal from the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 570,000 people in U.S.
For most of the past year, the CDC had been advising Americans to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of one another.
"Today, I hope, is a day when we can take another step back to the normalcy of before," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. "Over the past year, we have spent a lot of time telling Americans what you can't do. Today, I am going to tell you some of the things you can do, if you are fully vaccinated."
The change comes as more than half of U.S. adults — or about 140 million people — have received at least one dose of vaccine, and more than a third have been fully vaccinated.
Walensky said the decision was driven by rising vaccination numbers; declines in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths; and research showing that less than 10% of documented instances of transmission of the virus happened outdoors.
Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, welcomed the change.
"It's the return of freedom," Saag said. "It's the return of us being able to do normal activities again. We're not there yet, but we're on the exit ramp. And that's a beautiful thing."
Some experts portrayed the relaxed guidance as a reward and a motivator for more people to get vaccinated — a message President Joe Biden sounded, too.
"The bottom line is clear: If you're vaccinated, you can do more things, more safely, both outdoors as well as indoors," Biden said. "So for those who haven't gotten their vaccinations yet, especially if you're younger or thinking you don't need it, this is another great reason to go get vaccinated now."
The CDC, which has been cautious in its guidance during the crisis, essentially endorsed what many Americans have already been doing over the past several weeks.
The CDC says that whether they are fully vaccinated or not, people do not have to wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with members of their household. They can also go maskless in small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people.
But unvaccinated people — defined as those who have yet to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson formula — should wear masks at small outdoor gatherings that include other unvaccinated people, the CDC says. They also should keep their faces covered when dining at outdoor restaurants with friends from multiple households.
And everyone, fully vaccinated or not, should keep wearing masks at crowded outdoor events such as concerts or sporting events, the CDC says.
The agency continues to recommend masks at indoor public places, such as hair salons, restaurants, shopping centers, gyms, museums and movie theaters, saying that is still the safer course even for vaccinated people.
"Right now it's very hard to tease apart who is vaccinated," Walensky explained.
She said the CDC guidance should be a model for states in setting their mask-wearing requirements.
The advice to the unvaccinated applies to adults and children alike, according to the CDC. None of the COVID-19 vaccines in use in the U.S. is authorized for children under 16.
"The biggest thing that it helps us is our mental health," said Tim Stephens, a 52-year-old software salesman in Birmingham, Alabama, who suffered a bout of COVID-19 and has since gotten vaccinated.
"To be able to feel like we're turning the corner and can confidently go out and experience life and do a lot of...

There are jitters from people looking for their first home.
Economist Tony Alexander's mortgage advisers survey for this month shows they're seeing a lot fewer investors, which suggests the Government's housing policy changes are having the desired effect.
However he told Mike Hosking some brokers are also seeing fewer people trying to get onto the property ladder.
“They become fearful of prices falling away; they’ve generally got small deposits, maybe five or ten percent and they’re worried. They see talk that maybe the prices could fall back.”
Tony Alexander says the irony is, as conditions move in favour of first home buyers and there are fewer people to compete with, they tend to step back as well.
LISTEN ABOVE