http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/6861673/Middle-classes-hit-hard-by-recession.html

A: Journalists never, ever reveal their sources. It’s Journalism 101, Eddie. If we did, we’d never get any stories. And information the public deserves to hear would never get heard. So it would be kind of difficult to report that story and them, duh, tell the public at the end of the article where it came from. It’s not about being “played”. I’m not stupid, Eddie. You might not like my writing, and that’s fine, but I’ve been in the trade for 20 years, and I do understand how these things work. The story was one that deserved to be told, the person who gave me the information believed that it should be told, and I happen to agree. So do 99 percent of the people who have commented on the article (outside of the Standard, obviously!). If you believe that a gang family with a long history of violence and intimidation that has been taking the taxpayer for a ride for 25 years deserves the shelter of the Privacy Act well that’s your concern, but I think your choice of a family to defend is a poor one.

B: Paula B’s announcement on time-limiting the unemployment benefit was surely worth reporting, Eddie, even you’d understand that. When you say I “faithfully” reported this as if it were a bad thing, how would you prefer I reported it? As to whether or not the policy is “meaningless” well I will leave that for others to judge, such as you have, and that’s fine. But would you have preferred I had editorialised in a news story, rather than reported it? Perhaps said it was a crap idea and wouldn’t work? I might say that in a commentary piece or a blog, but not a news story. Incidentally Eddie I tried in vain to get one of your spokespeople in the Labour Party to comment, but strangely they wouldn’t go anywhere near it. Perhaps because they realised that the policy would be hugely popular with the public, and Labour, unlike you, has to get elected. And obviously there was political timing in Bennett’s announcement. It’s politics. But nothing different to anything the Labour Party did in government, Eddie, let me assure you on that one.

C: It’s great the Herald followed the story up the next day. Espiner didn’t “fail” to report Bennett’s remarks, however. Espiner was on holiday and didn’t even know about them. Sorry, Eddie, but even journalists get days off.

Merry Christmas.

Regards

Colin

What is particularly disgusting about this slogan is the fact, that those who coined it, were the political representatives of the well off in German society.

What brought these people together was the shared opinion that the mass unemployment and hardship that arose from the Great Depression was the fault of the unemployed themselves, rather than a failure of the market system.

All that the lesser “classes of people” needed in their opinion, was to be forced to work using methods of violence torture and murder.

In a similar fashion Paula Bennet instead of confronting the failure of the market system, is again trying to push the lie – that the lesser classes are shiftless and stupid and greedy and the cause of their own misfortune. All they need is a swift kick up the bum.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3188355/Cancel-dole-after-year-says-Bennett

Bennet’s attack on the unemployed has been coupled up with a propaganda campaign in the conservative MSM. The campaign has begun by picking on isolated cases of beneficiary overpayment and malingering.
In my opininingon the MSM campaign as well as Bennet’s idea to cut off the dole, are to soften the public up for a wider attack on those at the bottom of society affected by the recession.

In the coming year, my guess is, none (excepting rich bankers and financiers) will be spared.

After the unemployed, solo mothers and pensioners will be in the gun. Means testing and raising the ages of entitlements will be one way of targeting pensioners. Single mothers after a similar campaign of MSM scapegoating and shock horror stories, and claims of unafordability will also be in line for cuts.

Those receiving ACC payments or on sickness benifits will probably be next.

Teachers and schools are already in the gun.

By 2011 this campaign will be ready to turn on the public health system.

Anything accept an MSM campaign naming those who actually caused the recession, which could lead to calls for targetted taxes, on their tricky billion dollar financial manipulations.

The degradation of the rest of society will however will allow these people to freely continue about their business as usual.

Bennett should be explaining how this has been going on for over 20 years and whose heads will roll.

I don’t see how the post is defending the Harris’. It’s about how the government manipulated the media and how the media went along like a dog on a leash.

Skinny: WaPo Newsroom recieves eye witness tip from one of their own ( off assignment) staff members about a cop pulling a gun in a snow ball fight. this is backed up by available images and video footage.

WaPo runs uncritical story based on Police spokescritter’s account that gun was a cell phone.