Headline fail

39 comments on “Headline fail ”

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1. Rex Widerstrom 1

   23 June 2009 at 2:53 pm

   Biffo seems to be the reaction-du-jour to political disagreement these days. Even Kerry Prendergast has called in the security guards, seemingly after a threatening phone call.

   I don’t see why the blogosphere should miss out on all the fun. I’m willing to chip in for a paddling pool and a gross of jelly crystals, if Redbaiter and sonic are up for it?
2. coolas 2

   23 June 2009 at 3:13 pm

   Is the ‘sound of a beat up’ like the sound of one hand clapping?
3. jarbury 3

   23 June 2009 at 3:30 pm

   “Sounds like a beatup” – I reckon!

   Didn’t Trevor Mallard have his money on Nick Smith as the next Minister to go? Could be right.
4. sally 4

   23 June 2009 at 3:32 pm

   And they’ve already gone after the victim:
   http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2009/06/sounds_like_a_beatup.html#comment-576530
5. Maynard J 5

   23 June 2009 at 3:39 pm

   I am not so sure this guy is a victim, by the various accounts but that is not for me to pre-judge 🙂

   But that headline is truly spectacular.
6. Duncan 6

   23 June 2009 at 3:41 pm

   This is hiliarous. They’re running the “honeytrap” angle:

   DPF – check your logs from Toad – there have been at least a couple of posts in the last couple of weeks suggesting Nick Smith was the next target, after Worth. Was this a heads up? Another “trap’? What relationship does Ross Cooper have with the Greens?

   http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2009/06/sounds_like_a_beatup.html#comment-576534
7. coolas 7

   23 June 2009 at 3:53 pm

   Nick ‘pull your socks up’ Smith is a fragile soul held together by chemical compounds taken with meals. Yellow pills at night. Blue by day. Last week’s beat up of Council resource consents back logged during the property boom was pathetic. Nobody told Nick the boom was over. That’s the problem with slow release psychotic medication.

   [Ed: Please lay off Nick Smith’s mental health issues, there’s plenty of other stuff you can legitimately criticise him on.]
   [lprent: Continued attacks at that level will result in you receiving a terminal condition on this site. Read the policy. Leave that type of dog-whistling outside of the site. ]
8. gingercrush 8

   23 June 2009 at 3:55 pm

   What was truly hilarious was Trevor Mallard blowing up in the house. What an idiot. Instead of questioning other member’s mental abilities he should be having a look at his own.
   • Quoth the Raven 8.1

     23 June 2009 at 8:24 pm

     That was such a non-event. Only overlysensitive children would take offense at such a silly comment – “Your nose is growing.” I don’t care whether or not he actually made the comment, but what does it matter? They make all parliament look ridiculous (not that it doesn’t look ridiculous anyway) when they don’t allow a bit of robustness. They look like bickering children instead of arguing adults.
9. gobsmacked 9

   23 June 2009 at 4:07 pm

   As National and their cheerleader chorus understood when they were in opposition, the media will not be overly concerned about trivial matters, such as what actually happened.

   Let’s just give it a “-gate” suffix and repeat “it’s not a good look”, ad infinitum. That’ll do the trick. Facts, schmacts.

   I tell you, it’s not a good look.
10. Pat 10

    23 June 2009 at 4:07 pm

    Update from Stuff:

    “This afternoon Nelson Bays police acting area commander Detective Inspector John Winter said police received a statement from Dr Smith regarding his version of events. A number of witnesses to the incident were interviewed yesterday.

    Mr Winter said police were satisfied there was no justification for the assault complaint and would not be pursuing charges against Dr Smith.”
    • gobsmacked 10.1

      23 June 2009 at 4:10 pm

      But still, it’s not a good look, is it?
      • Pat 10.1.1

        23 June 2009 at 4:21 pm

        If TV1 or TV3 interview Cooper, and then some of the witnesses to the incident, then it will become obvious what the real story is.

        .
      • felix 10.1.2

        23 June 2009 at 4:27 pm

        I agree, not a good look however it turns out.

        Minister of the crown, allegations of biffo, no smoke without fire etc – not a good look for Smith.
11. Craig Glen Eden 11

    23 June 2009 at 4:08 pm

    Thank goodness finally the sleazy Nact Government leave the countries women alone. Who do they turn on next some old guy struggling to pay the power bill. Nice Nick.
    Key knows how to pick them thats for sure.
    By the way GC allegedly assaulting some one is not funny at all, what pills have you been taking?
    • gingercrush 11.1

      23 June 2009 at 4:13 pm

      I wasn’t laughing at the Nick Smith incident. Secondly the police have stated that there will be no charges laid as there is no case to answer.
12. Pat 12

    23 June 2009 at 4:11 pm

    Kudos to Smith for showing admirable restraint in the face of threatening behaviour from Cooper.
13. gobsmacked 13

    23 June 2009 at 4:18 pm

    From the police statement:

    “Police are attempting to resolve the matter by a scheduled meeting between the complainant and Dr Smith at the earliest opportunity.”

    So is Nick Smith going to front up? Or has he got something to hide? Hmmm, this is starting to look very murky. Allegations will soon be “swirling around”. Smoke, fire, etc.
    • gingercrush 13.1

      23 June 2009 at 4:24 pm

      You really want this to be murky don’t you gobsmacked. I’m quite surprised really as you seem to be above the normal smears of politics. Could it simply be that this complainant was upset and went too far?
      • gobsmacked 13.1.1

        23 June 2009 at 4:29 pm

        If you read my comments a little more carefully, Ginge, you’ll see what I think of ‘smears’. I’m taking the piss.

        But lest we forget: under Clark, days of mock-outrage and frothing columns were built on less.

        I prefer truth and reason. But: “explaining is losing” – John Key.
    • felix 13.2

      23 June 2009 at 4:28 pm

      He quite possibly won’t front up – which certainly makes it seem like he’s got something to hide.

      Note that he hasn’t been on the telly straight away to explain himself either.

      Not a good look at all.
    • exbrethren 13.3

      23 June 2009 at 4:32 pm

      From TV3 News “A number of witnesses spoken to by police confirmed the complainant, Ross Cooper, was acting in an aggressive manner and trying to stop Dr Smith from closing his car door. ”

      I think Smith is not going to be in any trouble for this. More likely Cooper might be.

      I can’t see “constituent attacks MP” as a bad look for Nasty Nick.
      • Ari 13.3.1

        23 June 2009 at 5:54 pm

        I can’t see “constituent attacks MP’ as a bad look for Nasty Nick.

        Well, it doesn’t exactly make him look popular or anything, but I get what you mean.
14. exbrethren 14

    23 June 2009 at 4:20 pm

    It seems from the latest police statement that this wasn’t Smith attacking the man. Rutherford St at that time of day would be pretty busy so it would have been witnessed by a few people.

    I guess the guy had been going to see Smith at the Nelson Market where he meets constituents and found Smith leaving before the market closed (at 1pm) and tried to get things sorted out then.

    If this guy did stop Smith leaving then that’s not a good thing. We’re lucky that our MPs can be seen without protection and if they’re accosted by people that may change.
15. Pat 15

    23 June 2009 at 4:24 pm

    Smith is an easy target since he is generally despised by the Left. But it is clear Smith has done nothing wrong here.
    • felix 15.1

      23 June 2009 at 4:31 pm

      Not a good look for him though.
16. So Bored 16

    23 June 2009 at 4:25 pm

    So does this indicate Smith will vote NO??? Will he be sent to live in a container?
17. gingercrush 17

    23 June 2009 at 4:32 pm

    Oh well I’ve never been good with irony. I’m rather humourless.
    • Maynard J 17.1

      23 June 2009 at 4:36 pm

      That is not a good look gingercrush 😉
18. Murray M 18

    23 June 2009 at 4:36 pm

    A friend of mine used to be a case officer at WINZ in Nelson. Nearly all of those presenting with “disgusting” power bills would not want the police to have a look in thier attics.
    • exbrethren 18.1

      23 June 2009 at 4:39 pm

      Probably lost his job for blabbing about his clients.
    • felix 18.2

      23 June 2009 at 8:34 pm

      I’m not going to jon the dots for you as to how ridiculous your mate’s claim is, Murray, as I think it would be an insult to the intelligence of most readers.

      Instead I’ll just ask you to think it through and see if you can spot the problem.
19. gobsmacked 19

    23 June 2009 at 4:53 pm

    If the police have cleared Smith, then I think we can all agree that is the end of the matter, and nobody will mention it again.

    Oh, hang on …

    “Police have cleared New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and his party of any wrongdoing in its declaration of donations. …

    Police on Tuesday said that having investigated the complaint, they are satisfied no offence was committed.”

    (TVNZ, Nov 4 2008)
20. Ianmac 20

    23 June 2009 at 5:08 pm

    I think that Smith offered the man to make an appointment to see him in his office but man remained obstructive. It is without substance but then so many claims and counter-claims swirled around last year. Remember Smith/shower/heads/nannystate. A nonstory except it carried on.
21. Murray M 21

    23 June 2009 at 5:55 pm

    No ex, actually lost his job for circulating an email calling Christine Rankin a c**t. Best thing that ever happened to him, he went to poly and got a Bachelor of Information Technology degree. He now works in Sydney earning 130K AUD pa. At WINZ he was on $23K NZD pa and had to suffer abuse and bullshit from the scum who wouldn’t work for a living.
22. Akldnut 22

    23 June 2009 at 5:59 pm

    It could be the man was just brushed aside (fobbed off) after seeking an answers to some queries about his power bill to which he got angry and became demanding of better treatment from his local MP.
23. RedLogix 23

    23 June 2009 at 6:04 pm

    Sighs,

    Everyone seems to have lost sight of the fact that for lots of people their power bill IS disgusting. And given that the Crown owns the power companies, who else to gripe to about it?

    So far it’s been a wet, cold and miserable winter. Finally the decades of crap building standards and rising power prices have met at the crunch point.

    As for the govt insulation scheme… frankly I give up. I’ve been trying to get a result out of our local scheme supplier EnergySmart this week. It’s been absolutely hopeless. Right now I have two older houses I really want doing. I’m paying for the wall insulation myself ($4k) because the supplier (Airfoam) have a decent finance package (7% over 2 yrs). The ceilings are being done next week by a local Hasting team who is putting R3.5 wool in for $7.50/m2 cash. I’ve done the draft-proofing and lagging the hot water cylinder and pipes myself.

    Now in order to access the govt assistance I want EnergySmart to do the the underfloor damp course polyethylene and insulation… but now they won’t do the job because they want the whole house for $7.4k cash…. or nothing at all. I’ve been around this kind of loop with these guys for about a year, and always the same stupid hangups.
24. toad 24

    23 June 2009 at 6:22 pm

    For different reasons to Worth, Smith has problems with his temper (which are well-known), rather than Worth’s problem with thinking with his dick. This sort of incident is likely re Smith from what I know of him, but I know nothing of the facts other than the two sides of the story that have been reported. Let’s let the Police complete their investigations.

    This is nothing like the Worth incident.

    I am also informed Worth’s forced resignation had nothing to do with Phil Goff’s allegation or with the complaint lodged with the Police about him by a Korean businesswoman. I’m pretty sure (as reported to me as sourced from reliable National Party sources) of why Key lost confidence in him. But it was related to Worth’s sexual conduct and its relationship to his Ministerial and Parliamentary responsibility. But not in relation to either of the issues that have been reported to date.

    Can’t go much further than that due to the defamation laws – I don’t have the time or resources to verify what I am told about the Worth resignation.

    But for anyone with an investigative bent, there is a clue in another recent and somewhat obscure Kiwiblog comment I’ve made. Go for it guys!

    Personally, I’d rather debate policy. But if Ministers open themselves up for allegations of misconduct, it has to be addressed.
25. coolas 25

    23 June 2009 at 6:32 pm

    fair enough – got the message – I shall be less robust

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