John Key, Blogsters and the Dotcom leaks

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, February 15th, 2014 - 170 comments
Categories: blogs, dpf, greens, john key, labour, national, newspapers, russel norman - Tags: ,

key dotcom

Another week and more Dotcom related revelations have occurred.

Winston Peters has revealed that he did meet with Dotcom three times and asked how Key could have known this.  It seems that the story was broken publicly by the Herald gossip columnist Rachel Glucina.  She is really on a roll because she also broke the news of Green leader Russel Norman’s visits to Dotcom’s home as well as those of Don Brash and Clare Curran.  And yesterday she stated that Dotcom’s former head of security Wayne Tempero has quit.

Where is she getting the information from?  Given the accuracy and the detail involved you would have to wonder if the State’s Security Agencies or maybe even those from another country had let someone within National know and the information was then passed onto her.  As acknowledged by John Key this would be a career ending move for him if the local agencies were used in this way.  But the only other possibility is a leak from within Dotcom Mansion itself.

You also have to wonder why Glucina was chosen to release the information.  This is an unusual subject for her to cover.

Normally her columns are full of socialite gossip which I would prefer to poke my eyes with a sharp pencil than read but suddenly she is the breaker of important political news.  Perhaps, post Len Brown, forces within the National Party have decided that they should have an alternative outlet to Slater and have looked for someone who is completely different to do so.  And maybe the calculation is that her breaking the news will suggest that the source is some socialite with a large mouth rather than a state agency carrying out surveillance of political opponents.

As pointed out by Karol and Zetetic by far the most important revelation this week is the John Key Cameron Slater relationship.  Key has pretty well said that Slater was the source of the information about Peters and Slater has not denied it.  Key also confirmed regular contact with Slater.  Jason Ede’s role in Key’s office is becoming clearer.  It is now obvious that Key’s office feeds Slater information which Slater  then converts into bile, spews over it and throws it around indiscriminately.

This is extraordinarily important.  Slater has a stench about him.  His blogsite has to be seen to be believed.  Between the youtube videos and the naff postings his regular attacks on grieving families suggest there is something not right with him.  An association with him has the potential of coming with a huge cost.

Another event that occurred this week involved Farrar and Slater engaging in a tag team slime suggesting that MPs were asking questions as favours for Dotcom.  Although not stated there is an attempt to link this to the UK political cash for questions scandal.  Shame on them.  This is a disgraceful allegation to make.  And it is now clear that the puppet strings are being pulled from within the beehive.

You have to wonder about this sustained attack on Dotcom.  Perhaps Key and National realise that the day when evidence that Key had met Dotcom prior to the police raids is produced is fast approaching and that Dotcom’s reputation needs to be smeared as much as possible so that the claim can be discredited.

So I suspect over the next few months we are going to see much more damaging information leaked about a large German industrialist who could have been one of National’s strongest supporters.

170 comments on “John Key, Blogsters and the Dotcom leaks ”

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  1. Zorr 1
    15 February 2014 at 9:03 am

    You also have to wonder whether claiming regular contact with Slater was the only way to cover his ass in this whole sorry affair – because it diverts questioning to that claimed action rather than continuing questioning on the validity of his information and his sources for it which may well still not be Slater.

    • karol 1.1
      15 February 2014 at 9:18 am

      My thoughts, exactly, Zor. Key seemed most keen to divert attention from the role of surveillance agencies. Throwing Slater to the wind likely to be an acceptable loss compared with the higher stakes.

    • Saarbo 1.2
      15 February 2014 at 11:24 am

      Yes, I agree Zorr. A couple of weeks ago Key would never have admitted to communicating with Slater…but given the allegations Peter’s is making…Slater was, although an ugly option, still better (and still believable) than the GCSB.

      Key is worried about this, he knows there is a strong perception amongst voters about his smug dishonest nature.

    • Clemgeopin 1.3
      15 February 2014 at 12:29 pm

      +1

  2. Stephanie Rodgers 2
    15 February 2014 at 9:03 am

    If Glucina doesn’t have print any more Dotcom-related revelations, my first assumption for her source would be the now-former security chief. I don’t really think it’s likely that information gathered by the SIS is being used in this instance – but given the past history of our security agencies and Dotcom it’s still a fair question to ask.

    • mickysavage 2.1
      15 February 2014 at 9:28 am

      I wondered about that Steph but he left in October and Russel Norman visited in November. It might have been one of the staff though. I can’t evaluate the possibility that the Police or the SIS did not collect the information so I can’t rule this out. Nor can I rule out the possibility the Americans did it although a leak from Dotcom Mansion does seem more plausible.

      • McFlock 2.1.1
        15 February 2014 at 12:06 pm

        A gossip columnist is a funny person for any security operator to start leaking to (and bear in mind that in Tempero’s industry, that would be a career-buggering move that you wouldn’t risk for free).

        Given the profile of the case and the resources for flight, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone were keeping tabs on activities at the KDC mansion – but even just logging the number plates of the cars that come and go would have identified the visitors (if they had access to registration docs and maybe driving logs).

  3. Tigger 3
    15 February 2014 at 9:28 am

    The Key-Slater tie will hobble both moving forward. Slater now looks like Key’s puppet and Key can now be fairly quizzed whether he is Slater’s source for dirt.

    Farrar has been the most odious this week though. His columns were truly stinky.

    • Murray Olsen 3.1
      16 February 2014 at 1:21 am

      The only difference I have ever seen between WhaleSpew and Farrar is that Farrar has a shower before anyone takes his photo. The cleanliness is skin deep, and temporary.

  4. tc 4
    15 February 2014 at 9:28 am

    No surprises really, key does not attend parliament from wednesdays so he has plenty of time to catch up with cammy whilst cavorting about doing a smile and wave in joints like Prego etc.

    KDC could prove to be their biggest folly, they took his cash, then hung him out when JK’s real employers (US interests) came calling.

    JK yet again shows that he has no moral compass and will do whatever it takes, no stoop too low for our PM. The throat slitting gesture summed him up really.

    • David Golden Bay 4.1
      15 February 2014 at 10:25 am

      Totally agree, if you thought the throat slitting gesture was just an aberration then he has just removed all doubt. He has just joined the National party all the way to the top with Slater, his site and his so called army of vitriol.

      Key is purely self motivated for Key, that extends to being complicit with the USA for his own benefit, he and his party are corrupt, arrogant liars. As for NZ, he couldn’t give a fuck, as long as he can monitor us all for the sole purpose of surpressing competing narratives….

  5. Tiger Mountain 5
    15 February 2014 at 10:09 am

    Has New Zealand society changed so far that nothing much beyond popular culture and the online equivalent of talk back radio–Whalespew and Kiwibog matters anymore to large numbers of Kiwis?
    One thing has not changed though, you definitely can still gauge people by the company they keep.

    The Prime Minister who has personal responsibility for much of this Dotcom debacle as minister of snoops would likely have been sent packing just for associating with a creep like blubberguts in earlier times.

    Anyway whether the spying and later blabbering on Norman, Peters and others was an inside job, done by state or overseas forces, private operators or talented individuals or a combination of all the above the truth is slowly emerging. Especially the truth about tory networks and modus operandi.

    My worry is that when John Phillip ShonKey is finally, definitively, revealed to be the filthy liar that politically aware people have known for a long time, will Micky’s concern come true–that so many smears on others and Dotcom will make the Prime Minister appear to be just another rat in the nest.
    Turn on the rugby and forget about it.

    • David H 5.1
      15 February 2014 at 1:32 pm

      And if Key and co get back into power how long do you think that siltes like this will be allowed to function? When under some new draconion media laws

  6. big bruv 6
    15 February 2014 at 10:14 am

    Seen the latest polls Micky?

    Are you off to a BBQ and Shane Jones house this weekend?

    • Te Reo Putake 6.1
      15 February 2014 at 10:35 am

      The latest poll that shows support for National still dropping? Yep, that’s worth getting the barbie out for. Must be nervous times in National HQ when even the most over-puffed poll of them all shows Key heading for the exit door.

      • Lanthanide 6.1.1
        15 February 2014 at 11:52 am

        The latest poll that claims National would get 64 seats out of 123 in parliament and therefore be able to govern alone. Not really ‘dropping’ is it?

    • Pascal's bookie 6.3
      15 February 2014 at 10:58 am

      No real movement in that ipsos poll.

      Interesting crosss tabs though. Greens doing really well in the South island especially and in the provinces more generally, and the Nats being held up by their support from the over 50 yr olds. That’s your John Key super bribe right there. National is becoming NZF with an increasingly elderly farm of bought off supporters, support for ACT style stuff remains nowhere.

      • Tiger Mountain 6.3.1
        15 February 2014 at 11:31 am

        Agree Pascal on the super bribe. There are thousands out there that can’t wait for 65 to come.
        National super is barely livable but there is little battling WINZ to get it and a certain respectability accorded.

        A whole generation of over 50s have been stung by the legacy of Rogernomics living on underemployed income for years. Some I have spoken to will vote National for this self interested reason so Labour should keep their traps shut on raising the age. Key knows the statistics about affordable super but publicly ignores them.

        • Pascal's bookie 6.3.1.1
          15 February 2014 at 12:39 pm

          Mostly agree with this.

          There are a hots of people out there who don’t need it though, who will fight like buggery to keep it even though they’ve voted for 40 years to cut taxes and reduce the safety net for actually vulnerable people.

          And they all vote Nat and labour could punch away at them without cost.

    • David H 6.4
      15 February 2014 at 1:38 pm

      You seen that Key is kissing pals with WhaleSlime? Oh fun times. But wouldn’t want to be at a BBQ with them. Slater would rot the meat at 50 paces.

  7. Whatever next 7
    15 February 2014 at 10:27 am

    Slimy slitherins, the lot of them, the whole cabinet can be aligned to the ministry of magic (especially prof Umbridge as hekia parata)National’s use of propoganda in the media is like watching the last Harry Potter films, when corruption seems to be winning out….perhaps the sheeple will make the connection themselves one day and wake up from their stupor.

  8. captain hook 8
    15 February 2014 at 10:42 am

    the stench coming off this government will sink them for sure. If they had decent policies and a comprehensive programme to generate employment then they would have no worries but they are a gang of takers and users so they are taking the easy option of enlisting a gang of sleazeballs.
    shame on them.

  9. Blue 9
    15 February 2014 at 10:53 am

    “Large German Industrialist” ?, Fat creepy German convicted fraudster and wanted International criminal. What sane person would want anything to do with him? Banks is an idiot so that’s understandable, Winston is a serial liar, so that explains him, but to think he has become a political force is taking the farce too far. For Gods sake think about what he is, a hedonist millionaire who made his money stealing other peoples intellectual property. What I find astounding is that anyone would hold him up as a hero. He has values as much in common with either National or Labour as Hone has with Don Brash.

    • Rob 9.1
      15 February 2014 at 5:56 pm

      So why did Winston go and meet with him and what was discussed , this is the elephant in the room.

      Another issue again conveniently overlooked whilst pounding keyboards inventing a GCSB leaking conspiracy.

      • McFlock 9.1.1
        15 February 2014 at 6:29 pm

        Maybe KDC was stalking the opposition MPs and feeding the information to Winston – oh wait, that’s the other two.
        Maybe Winston was feeding blackmail information to KDC – oh wait, that’s the other two.
        Maybe Winston wanted to see if KDC had any more information about the sex lives of regional politicians – oh wait, that’s the other two.

        There’s a fucking herd of elephants in the room, but the one you’re obseesing over is one of the smallest.

      • karol 9.1.2
        15 February 2014 at 6:39 pm

        Winston has said why he went – Dotcom contacted Winston after Winston was highly critical of Dotcom. Peters accepted the invite to hear Dotcom’s side of the story.

      • Colonial Viper 9.1.3
        15 February 2014 at 11:38 pm

        “So why did Winston go and meet with him and what was discussed , this is the elephant in the room.”

        Why dont you ask the GCSB and the SIS; no doubt they have Dotcom under full time surveillance.

  10. Ad 10
    15 February 2014 at 10:55 am

    Dotcom is a glorious and frivolous political distraction for both left and right. But the right is using his as a deep wedge to destroy as much of the left as they can. How many more politician and activist reputations we need to see blown up defending this guy? He’s not the Statue of Liberty, he’s the Monument to Digital Greed. Hey lefties, stop worshipping at the feet of the .1%

  11. Stever 11
    15 February 2014 at 11:17 am

    Blue: john key isn’t German and he’s not all that fat either.

  12. marty mars 12
    15 February 2014 at 11:22 am

    There seems something a bit off about all this. I note that cam says, “if the PM says I’m the source I guess I must have been…” That is a funny kind of admission considering how much he craves attention. And i also note how frantic key was to get away from the thought that he had used the official spys to get the dirt – almost too frantic imo

    He said no public agency was involved. “And if there was, it would be an immensely serious thing. It would see the end of myself as Prime Minister and the end of the Government.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11202362

    yes it would wouldn’t it…

    • felix 12.1
      18 February 2014 at 5:59 am

      “if the PM says I’m the source I guess I must have been…”

      I can’t see any way to parse that except as a denial.

  13. TightyRighty 13
    15 February 2014 at 11:25 am

    I find whale oil tiresome, but I can’t help but laugh at his ability to absolutely own the entire political left in NZ. Moaning about about links between senior politicians and bloggers is a bit rich don’t you think? And Farrar and slater asking some pertinent questions about the correlations between dotcom meetings and questions being asked in parliament regarding his case isn’t a slime job. It’s a natural conclusion.
    I do love how dotcom has become the albatross round the neck of the opposition, when all your electoral hopes rested on one fat German with lots of cash. We now know the lefts price. And it’s fucking low rent

    • Tiger Mountain 13.1
      15 February 2014 at 11:43 am

      Back up the bus, Mr Dotcom is ShonKey, Banksie (turn out the lights, the ACT party’s over) the FBI, NSA, NZ Police, NZSIS and GCSB’s albatross Tighty.

      The torys price is sell out NZ sovereignty to the yanks which they have done in spades already with the TPPA, asset sales, offshore drilling and Afghanistan.

    • lprent 13.2
      15 February 2014 at 11:55 am

      The issue was if the information about meetings came from the GCSB and/or SIS and/or police.

      Basically I still don’t believe Key. Cameron Slater couldn’t manage the surveillance – he’d have problems organising a pissup in a brewery. While there might be leaks from the KDC mansion, there was an extraordinary precision about the details that Key released. The kind of detail that you get from a electronic search warrant

      • Tracey 13.2.1
        15 February 2014 at 4:38 pm

        Agree. Slater is a conduit for sleazy info. The kind the right say nats dont stoop to.

        Most interesting to me is the media find nothing odd about a PM spending any time on whaleoil or speaking with him. The man who launched an unimaginable attack on a dead man.

      • ghostwhowalksnz 13.2.2
        16 February 2014 at 10:31 am

        Slater has good contacts in the security industry as he ran a business in this area before he went bankrupt ( blames everyone else)

        Security guards often have a military background ( the really good ones) so Id assume that military intelligence might have a watching brief here. This would be very risky politically so it could be outsourced to MI6 or UKDI ( or even Mossad? , haha)

  14. Sanctuary 14
    15 February 2014 at 11:38 am

    I think most people suspected that Slater and Farrar were part of sophisticated propaganda machine driven out of the ninth floor. That accusation is not news. The confirmation of that relationship – and more particularly, the shocking revelations from John Key himself of the extent of his communication at a personal level with Cameron Slater – is a scandal.

    My main emotion at hearing Key confirm he talks to someone as odious as Slater without apparently a moral qualm was actually one of profound sadness. Do the people of New Zealand really deserve such a rotten ruling class?

    How has it come to this, that our PM rings a pornographer, a man who repeatedly breaks the law, a man who mocks and makes jokes about dead babies and has amiable chats with him? How has it come to this, that our media has so lost it’s moral compass that it doesn’t regard this news as a shocking admission of moral decadence in the very highest eschelons of our ruling political party? Our media and political establishment is seriously sick, sicker than anyone can imagine. The suspicion that the venality and stupidity and dishonesty the Dotcom fiasco reveals in our elites is a glimpse of something very, very, rotten at the heart of our governing class is something the PM’s links with Slater merely serves to help confirm.

    • Shona 14.1
      15 February 2014 at 11:47 am

      Well said!

      • David H 14.1.1
        15 February 2014 at 2:24 pm

        Very well said. And have you noticed there is NO comments section in any articles that Link Key and Slater either. They are scared of the reaction they will get.

    • RedLogix 14.2
      15 February 2014 at 11:53 am

      Once again you capture the conversation for me perfectly Sanctuary. It’s an odd thing that so many conservatives profess will shock and outrage at a perfectly ordinary affair between consenting adults – while happily aligning themselves with a misogynistic, anti-sex, toxic cretin like Slater.

      With this small episode NZ politics has finally managed to make Aussie politics look good.

    • CnrJoe 14.3
      15 February 2014 at 12:33 pm

      right on Sanctuary ++

    • Saarbo 14.4
      15 February 2014 at 3:01 pm

      “My main emotion at hearing Key confirm he talks to someone as odious as Slater without apparently a moral qualm was actually one of profound sadness. Do the people of New Zealand really deserve such a rotten ruling class? ”

      Agree with you 100% Sanctuary!

      It really makes you wonder what sort of upbringing some people have had to support such a deeply disturbed and fucked up person as whale oil…The right have a group of very suspect supporters.

    • Anne 14.5
      15 February 2014 at 3:29 pm

      Do the people of New Zealand really deserve such a rotten ruling class?

      Sadly Sanctuary I believe many of them do. Perhaps even a majority. That so many are blind and oblivious to the corrupt and rotten NACT govt.practices occurring right under their noses is testament to their ignorance, gullibility and self-centred mindset. I won’t even get started on the bunch of MSM pretenders who masquerade as journalists and reporters. Some are only just out of nappies and their puerile comments and lack of any real political knowledge and understanding render them an embarrassment to have to listen to… It’s the ‘off’ button for me most of the time these days.

    • repateet 14.6
      15 February 2014 at 6:34 pm

      At last someone who gets it. Thank you.

    • Draco T Bastard 14.7
      15 February 2014 at 7:46 pm

      The suspicion that the venality and stupidity and dishonesty the Dotcom fiasco reveals in our elites is a glimpse of something very, very, rotten at the heart of our governing class is something the PM’s links with Slater merely serves to help confirm.

      That’s inevitable with every governing class which is why we keep having to get rid of them.

    • xtasy 14.8
      15 February 2014 at 11:11 pm

      “My main emotion at hearing Key confirm he talks to someone as odious as Slater without apparently a moral qualm was actually one of profound sadness. Do the people of New Zealand really deserve such a rotten ruling class?”

      Sanctuary –

      I recommend your comment for the Sunday sermons in all Christian churches, and for the next Friday meeting speeches at mosques, same as for gatherings of other folks. What a sad state of affairs in this country, that once counted itself as one so uncorrupted and “pure”!

  15. unpcnzcougar 15
    15 February 2014 at 11:52 am

    I imagine the folks at the GCSB are rolling on the floor in stitches that our politicians think they are interesting enough to be spied on. I remember hearing Keith Locke on the radio who was very disappointed to find out he hadn’t been under surveillance. Really people, I mean really!

    • fender 15.1
      15 February 2014 at 12:25 pm

      Keith Locke was told he wasn’t one of the 88 illegally spied on by GCSB.

      He was however spied on by the SIS for 51 years

    • BM 15.2
      15 February 2014 at 12:26 pm

      Yeah that was hilarious.
      Poor old Keith that must have been the worst day of his life, his ego totally shattered.

      I doubt he’ll ever recover.

    • Colonial Viper 15.3
      15 February 2014 at 12:57 pm

      I imagine the folks at the GCSB are rolling on the floor in stitches that our politicians think they are interesting enough to be spied on.

      Five Eyes partners have spied on each others politicians on a regular and routine basis.

      You should wake up to the facts.

      It’s not about spying on people who are “interesting,” it is about a deep state apparatus which believes that it is beyond political control.

  16. Tombstone 16
    15 February 2014 at 12:28 pm

    How come the MSM isn’t asking many of the questions found here on The Standard and putting them out there for the public to digest? Isn’t that what the media is there to do? To investigate and to report the FACTS rather than manipulate, fabricate or simply ignore them? I can’t for the life of me believe how much Key has managed to get away with and how easily he’s managed to do it. There’s no doubt that this has to be causing a great deal of concern for opposition parties who are looking at what could be another election defeat if someone doesn’t manage to pull a rabbit out of the hat some time soon. Labour need to avoid bribes – that will hurt them more than anything. Cunliffe also needs to tap into the national psyche more and start talking like a real leader – strong words, less grinning and winking at people as if to say ‘That’ll have them stuffed!’. This is war – class war. He needs to get angry. Get the blood flowing. Start showing some muscle and stop trying to out wit Key at every turn. Key is too slippery for that kind of thing. You need Jokey on side of the house and defiant determination on the other. Every suit of armor has its weak point – Labour need to find it fast and drive the spear home. The latest poll will have National riding high and Labour are running out of time. I give them one month to nail Key good and beyond that I think it’s good night nurse and another 3 years of seeing this country fucked over even more by this retched government. JMO. Welder, family man from Christchurch and fed up with all the namby pamby bullshit. Fight back and fight back now! Key wins this race Labour are fucked and I mean royally fucked. I don’t think the party will recover and I for one won’t be voting for them again if this election is lost. They have enough ammo to sink the Bismark but right now the shots aren’t landing and it’s getting painful. Nuff said from me!

    • Paul 16.1
      15 February 2014 at 1:01 pm

      Simple answer…a biased media owned by corporate interests.

    • The Pink Postman 16.2
      15 February 2014 at 3:04 pm

      Good points but, can you explain how Labour gets a decent share of good publicity or photo opportunities Because all the TV channels are biased toward the Right .Talk back hosts are mainly Tory and the daily papers are without doubt National .An example ,last night the main story was the Countdown expose .Jones had 2 mins,
      Key was headlined for this scandal .Grinning Key solving the Countdown scandal. This happens non stop so tell me Tombstone just how do we get a fair share of the story.

      • Tombstone 16.2.1
        15 February 2014 at 7:47 pm

        That’s the million dollar question but it’s one that I’ve been mulling over for quite some time and here’s the problem as I see it – Labour’s brand is boring. It’s just National in red. Create a brand / visual campaign that really gets people excited and watch what happens. Suddenly people become interested in the message because they like what they see or they feel compelled to understand the message behind what they’re seeing. Like a photograph that speaks a thousand words – something that can’t be denied. Reality caught in a single shot. Powerful images without the need to cover them in statistics – the image speaks for itself. I live in Christchurch. I survived the quakes. I see the heartache every day that surrounds me and it’s not something that can be described in mere words but a single photograph can on the other hand be more powerful than the sum of all words combined. I work as a freelance graphic artist in my free time and do a lot of low brow art and so I guess I tend to see the world from a very visual perspective and the weak point I see in the National Party is Brand Key – that is the weak point in their armor. That is where you drive the spear home. Fuck the MSM. Let them gorge themselves on Key’s bullshit. What counts most is that you get the people excited and wanting more. Do that and the MSM will follow. Bye bye Key. Bye bye National.

        • xtasy 16.2.1.1
          15 February 2014 at 11:34 pm

          Tombstone – I sympathise with you, and I am also very disheartened and yet also angry. There are so many political and coal face issues that Labour can and must take up. I found this speech by Shane Jones, raising issues with the supermarkets, of some interest, but then again, he was whipping up emotions in Parliament, but would not raise the same issues outside.

          We have appalling things going on for the working poor, struggling to pay bills, to make ends meet, we have disgusting practices adopted by WINZ, to now scare sick and disabled, as they are in increasing numbers expected to look for at least part time work.

          Yet Labour is stuffing up too much, is only addressing a few matters, but too little. Most wonder, what would be the difference between having them be in government, or another term of Key and his rotten lot.

          As for the MSM, journalism started to die with the rise of Paul Holmes, and the new breed call themselves “media personalities”, nothing much short of “media celebrities”, and we can watch them tweet each other on Twitter, dishing out at each other, or gossiping mostly about trivial nonsense, and trying to be “trendy” to get more clicks and ‘likes”, so they can boost their egos yet more, to knock on the top editor’s door, and say, hey, I deserve a pay rise.

          Investigative journalism is mostly dead, dead silent and not to be seen or heard. The print media is desperate for advertising revenue, same as radio and television, so they compete as “prostitutes” to appeal to the advertisers, that are the commercial business interests, who again do not want serious news and stories, they want “excitement”, adrenalin and dumbing down, so people do not think or doubt, they want them to follow the hormonal dictate to buy, buy, buy, nothing else. The hunter gatherer instinct is predominant in the wider populace, due to all this, nothing else. We can drive the most modern Japanese or European car, but we behave as primitives too often, that is the majority of the brain washed population, I am afraid.

          That is New Zealand in February 2014, in the year of the most important election for decades.

          • McFlock 16.2.1.1.1
            16 February 2014 at 12:04 am

            to be fair, Jones was making explicit claims of blackmail under parliamentary privilege.

            Repeating that on the outside would lead to a number of problems.

            But Rich for the distributors agreeing with at least part of the story (requests for retrospective payment) lends credibility. It’s a multi-month issue.

            As an aside, corporates “requesting” retrospective payments makes windfall taxes on privatised asset shareholders a bit more the norm 🙂

  17. Blue 17
    15 February 2014 at 1:09 pm

    Glucina may be a gossip columnist but she has always had her nose in politics, with a strong National Party alignment.

    With all the heat on Slater lately, it makes sense for the Nats to utilise one of their other bottom-feeding resources.

    • Anne 17.1
      15 February 2014 at 3:37 pm

      Glucina may be a gossip columnist but she has always had her nose in politics, with a strong National Party alignment.

      That’s an understatement Blue. She’s a right-wing John Key lickle-spittling b–ch. Rarely go near her third-rate ravings, but once or twice she has commented on Labour/David Cunliffe with venom and vitriol pouring from her metaphorical pen. Another silly, shallow Kerre Woodham – maybe worse.

    • Tracey 17.2
      15 February 2014 at 4:44 pm

      Source?

      • Anne 17.2.1
        15 February 2014 at 4:53 pm

        Her gossip column Tracey. One of them was around 6 weeks to two months ago and another last year sometime. I can’t source them now partly because I rarely read them. Those two just happened to catch my eye because they were mentioned in the headline.

        • karol 17.2.2.1
          15 February 2014 at 5:52 pm

          “Scandal”! Who’s the Olivia Pope in all this?

        • karol 17.2.2.2
          15 February 2014 at 5:54 pm

          There’s this, from Bryce Edwards.

          No surprises there – but it’s what is making it’s way to Edward’s ears.

        • karol 17.2.2.3
          15 February 2014 at 6:48 pm

          That’s from this NZ Herald article of 2012. Glucina did a pols studies degree.

          Glucina won’t talk about her relationship with John Key, instead smiling coyly. Neither will the PM talk. His press secretary instead saying “we decline to be involved in this” in response to questions including whether Key regularly texts asking for the names in the scandalous Guess Who, Don’t Sue column.

          Eventually Glucina says she does talk to Key -“I talk to lots of people” – and that he is an”avid” reader of Spy. She’s fascinated by politics: “Possibly the power behind it, the scandal, the stories, there’s something sexy about politics.”

          But this report from Russell Brown in 2008, shows how much WO and Glucina were vitrolic enemies:

          Clearly, you are not apprised of Whaleoil’s astonishing foray into the land of the gossip queens.

          It goes like this: Cameron ‘Whaleoil’ Slater, self-regarding attack dog of the wingnutosphere, has become the confidant of Sunday Star Tmes gossip columnist Bridget Saunders; she channels his yawn-inducing tips about political rivals and he plays the unstinting schoolgirl bully to Saunders’ grammatically-challenged rival Rachel Glucina, who is referred to by Slater and his chums, including Cathy Odgers, as “the Pork Chop”.

          Now, Slater is accusing some 23 year-old would-be fashionista socialite written up by Glucina of faking her credentials. If only we could care as much as he does.
          […vitrolic quote from WO…]

          The target of this hilarious teenage invective regards Slater’s claims about her as defamatory, and has thus hired a lawyer. Who happens to be Steven Price, poor bugger.

          And so forth….

  18. tricledrown 18
    15 February 2014 at 1:22 pm

    Tighty Almighty
    So Now Key has shat all over Winston how many coalition parties does he have Now.
    Or is he still going with Peters.
    Key is painting himself into a corner based on one biased poll.
    Like I Said before give him Enough rope and he will hang himself.
    Cup of tea anyone!

    • chris73 18.1
      15 February 2014 at 3:07 pm

      Well after 8 years I suppose prediction might come true but it won’t be this one

    • TightyRighty 18.2
      16 February 2014 at 9:37 am

      Will you take that same length of rope and hitch a ride out of here when national wins the next election without coalition partners?

  19. chris73 19
    15 February 2014 at 2:14 pm

    I was going to post this after the election but this post has convinced me to bring it forward:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjIYXyURpLg

    • Ben 19.1
      15 February 2014 at 2:40 pm

      That isn’t even really funny! The only funny part is that by posting it you come across as a troll and an idiot. Oh dear!

      • Hayden 19.1.1
        15 February 2014 at 3:16 pm

        Not experienced chris73 before, I see.

      • chris73 19.1.2
        15 February 2014 at 3:20 pm

        Its not meant to be funny but rather an idea of how paranoid this post is and how Whaleoil still has the left chasing its own tail

        • fender 19.1.2.1
          15 February 2014 at 3:32 pm

          The Joker, the one whom chris73 models his moral compass upon.

          • chris73 19.1.2.1.1
            15 February 2014 at 3:36 pm

            Naah I’d class the Joker as Chaotic Evil or Chaotic Neutral whereas I’m Lawful Good or Lawful Neutral

            • fender 19.1.2.1.1.1
              15 February 2014 at 3:44 pm

              Your far-right ideology is a crime against mankind, nothing lawful about that.

              Funny you speak about paranoia as you sit there clutching your loaded gun.

              • chris73 …
                15 February 2014 at 4:15 pm

                My far-right ideology will be returned to power for another three years which means I’m following the current govt and its rule of law so I’m definately Lawful but you would seem to be chaotic

                • McFlock …
                  15 February 2014 at 5:45 pm

                  “might makes right” is not “rule of law”.
                  Which you’d know if you weren’t a fuckwit.

                  • chris73 …
                    15 February 2014 at 6:01 pm

                    Where did I say might makes right fucktard

                    • McFlock …
                      15 February 2014 at 6:15 pm

                      The bit where you said you were Lawful because the govt “will be returned to power for another three years”, you lockjawed fluffer.

                    • chris73 …
                      15 February 2014 at 7:26 pm

                      Since the govt of the day can change the laws and I’m following the laws of the govt (and in fact every previous govt as well) I must be lawful

                      Is there some part of that you don’t get you wart-hog-faced-buffoon!

                    • McFlock …
                      15 February 2014 at 7:40 pm

                      But the first “which means” indicates that should the government not be returned to power, you would not be (or even are not now) “lawful”.

                      Which is different from your current position “Since the govt of the day can change the laws and I’m following the laws of the govt (and in fact every previous govt as well) I must be lawful”.

                      Although nice to see you’ve given up pretence of being “good” or “neutral”.

                      You festering son of a camel’s haemorrhoid.

                    • chris73 …
                      15 February 2014 at 7:57 pm

                      Dancing on the head of a pin again, you really are a boil, a plague sore, an embossed carbuncle in my corrupted blood

                    • McFlock …
                      15 February 2014 at 8:01 pm

                      nah, just unfairly reading what you actually write, rather than bending over backwards to pretend you’re not an idiot

                      edit: you pustulent excuse for a rotting maggot

                    • chris73 …
                      15 February 2014 at 8:18 pm

                      I already mentioned I’m either good or neutral I assumed you were intelligent enough to remember that (or could have looked up) I apologise for giving you too much credit

                      You infectious, sheep-biting, malmsey-nosed foot-licker

                    • McFlock …
                      15 February 2014 at 8:22 pm

                      no you said you’d class yourself as either good or neutral, but gave no evidence whatsoever for that. Which is exactly what I’d expect a shill for the forces of evil to say.

                      You vacuous turd who suckles on the teat of the Sith.

                    • chris73 …
                      15 February 2014 at 8:24 pm

                      So wheres your evidence that you’re good, neutral or evil?

                      You impertinent, odiferous codpiece

                    • McFlock …
                      15 February 2014 at 8:29 pm

                      Spent 15 years keeping people safe & alive for not much in the way of financial reward.

                      Rather than lobbying for pollies whose policies kill children.

                      Thou misbegot son of a cut-purse

                    • chris73 …
                      15 February 2014 at 8:36 pm

                      In that case I’ll put my forward my peace-keeping experiences (and unlike peacekeepers from other countries I did my job professionally) and general not breaking the law-type stuff as proof I’m good

                      You dunder-headed, guts-griping fustilarian

                    • McFlock …
                      15 February 2014 at 8:46 pm

                      yeah, but I’m not lobbying for the dark side.

                      You depraved felch-puppy

                    • chris73 …
                      15 February 2014 at 8:53 pm

                      Thats the problem though because you think the right is the dark side whereas I think of the left as being somewhat similar to the saying the road to hell is paved with good intentions

                      You floppy-cocked popinjay

                    • McFlock …
                      15 February 2014 at 8:59 pm

                      all well and good, until you look at the youth suicide rate across different governments, the unemployment rate across different governments, gdp across different governments, and then it becomes obvious which side is working for the good of the country and which side is working for the good of the few.

                      Thou goat-bred trollop

                    • McFlock …
                      15 February 2014 at 9:01 pm

                      whoops, hit moderation 🙂

                    • phillip ure …
                      15 February 2014 at 10:52 pm

                      heh..!

                      ..very funny..

                      ..you pusillanimous poppycocks..you..!

                      ..phillip ure..

                • Stephanie Rodgers …
                  16 February 2014 at 10:30 am

                  I hate to out myself as a nerd, but that’s not what the Lawful/Chaotic distinction means. Lawful doesn’t necessarily involve acting in line with the current regime, it can apply to any set of moral or ethical codes.

      • Paul 19.1.3
        15 February 2014 at 4:02 pm

        Chris idolises the blubbery one.

        • chris73 19.1.3.1
          15 February 2014 at 4:37 pm

          Paul, this is not an argument.
          Just a snide remark.

          • McFlock 19.1.3.1.1
            15 February 2014 at 5:44 pm

            so says the fucktard who posts pointless youtube shit

            • chris73 19.1.3.1.1.1
              15 February 2014 at 6:02 pm

              Just because you miss the point doesn’t make it pointless dickwad

              • McFlock …
                15 February 2014 at 6:22 pm

                While 13 minutes of insane laughter is probably the most meaningful thing you’ve said or linked to, the fact remains that (compared to even the flatulence of people who have normal levels of empathy and intelligence) it signifies nothing.

                • chris73 …
                  15 February 2014 at 7:35 pm

                  Basically this post is completely scraping the bottom of the barrel stuff so the only response you can give it is 13 minutes of the Joker laughing

                  Its sad that for over 8 years (thats nearly a decade) the left have been desperately trying to find some smear about JK, trying to label him as some aloof money man and its not sticking, its not working because the people of NZ are smarter then the left give them credit for

                  The left are so desperate that they latch onto someone convicted of computer fraud, data espionage, insider trading and embezzlement in the vain hope that he might give some PR or might be able to bring John Key down

                  You simply can’t admit that someone who bested Helen Clark, Phil Goff, David Shearer and (probably) David Cunliffe is actually quite intelligent and knows what hes doing

                  Get used to another three years out of power but don’t worry the left will get in by default at 2017

          • Paul 19.1.3.1.2
            15 February 2014 at 9:34 pm

            I have tried many times to debate with you.
            However, you are only on this site to cause trouble.

  20. Whatever next 20
    15 February 2014 at 2:57 pm

    David H, absolutely noticing the lack of comments sections in media on anything important these days, and also seeing them stopped early when there were comments……….they must be very nervous, and the propoganda machine in overdrive

  21. Tracey 21
    15 February 2014 at 4:46 pm

    Mickey

    Any experience in defamation law? Any chance you could email me?

  22. Instauration 22
    15 February 2014 at 4:47 pm

    “Rachel the Revealer” of Mahoenui rock-cam.
    She has been the recipient of much Whalebile – the Pork Chop sagas – renders her an overly obvious nominee for a non-Slater source.

  23. greywarbler 23
    15 February 2014 at 8:59 pm

    When does somebody get regarded as a space-wasting troll? The threads get so long with their provocative comments that always someone has to answer and so it keeps going.

    Chris 73 I already mentioned I’m either good or neutral I assumed you were intelligent enough to remember that (or could have looked up) I apologise for giving you too much credit
    You infectious, sheep-biting, malmsey-nosed foot-licker

    This is the ‘quality’ of discussion that ensues.

  24. Steve (North Shore) 24
    15 February 2014 at 9:26 pm

    Been at the beach most of the day – wonderful.
    Seems there are a lot of people who don’t want to enjoy our great summer weather and just cyber away attacking John Key.
    Your loss, not mine, caught any fish? cyber fish? corksoakers

  25. Tombstone 25
    15 February 2014 at 9:39 pm

    As posted in a reply … Labour’s brand is boring. It’s just National in red. Create a brand / visual campaign that really gets people excited and watch what happens. Suddenly people become interested in the message because they like what they see or they feel compelled to understand the message behind what they’re seeing. Like a photograph that speaks a thousand words – something that can’t be denied. Reality caught in a single shot. Powerful images without the need to cover them in statistics – the image speaks for itself. I live in Christchurch. I survived the quakes. I see the heartache every day that surrounds me and it’s not something that can be described in mere words but a single photograph can on the other hand be more powerful than the sum of all words combined. I work as a freelance graphic artist in my free time and do a lot of low brow art and so I guess I tend to see the world from a very visual perspective and the weak point I see in the National Party is Brand Key – that is the weak point in their armor. That is where you drive the spear home. Fuck the MSM. Let them gorge themselves on Key’s bullshit. What counts most is that you get the people excited and wanting more. Do that and the MSM will follow. Bye bye Key. Bye bye National.

    • Colonial Viper 25.1
      15 February 2014 at 11:54 pm

      Art, whether photography or poetry, can capture the symbolism and the emotion more perfectly and more succinctly than a bureaucratic report ever could. Which is of course why the corporate state always tries to suppress transformative inspirational art and reduce everything to analytical cost benefit figures devoid of human content, creativity and value.

  26. appleboy 26
    15 February 2014 at 10:13 pm

    What a load of horseshit.

    Key first says ‘people tell me things’ when first put on the spot re how he knew KDC and Winston met 3 times.

    A day later he’s telling us SlugSlater told him.

    Yeah right.

    No politician would associate themselves with that piece of crap unless they were desperatew to deflect. Like SlugSlater sat outside the KDC mansion for months and just happened to be there each time Winston arrived?

    No, Key decided he wanted to deflect the story re GCSB monitoring of KBC/Winston. Must be desperate to have publicly stated he’s in contact with SlugSlater

    Only the ignorant or a right wing nutter would believe otherwise.

    • ianmac 26.1
      15 February 2014 at 11:06 pm

      Yeah. And Slater didn’t really endorse himself as a source. Suppose it worked because the fuss died down.

  27. xtasy 27
    16 February 2014 at 12:40 am

    Dotcom’s more recent piece may be a bit rubbish, but do not forget this one, which was at least “very appropriate”, right?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CvRSZxqk_I

    “Kim Dotcom – John Banks Song”

    This must never be forgotten in NZ history!!!

    It reminds us of what it was and is all about!

    This is a bit more bizarre, but perhaps listen:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MokNvbiRqCM

  28. xtasy 28
    16 February 2014 at 1:06 am

    Despite it all – still a human being, also with children:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQwvC0bvxg4

    It seems the MSM and Key have now forgotten that, in their war newly declared on Dotcom (and family)!

  29. xtasy 29
    16 February 2014 at 1:34 am

    Extradtion possibilities, yeah, but nah:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11200101

    Deportation possibilities, nah, as kids born here:

    http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2009/0051/latest/DLM1440303.html

    I think New Zealanders better accept, this man and his family are here to STAY! Whether you like it or not, and that includes John (the Idiot) Key!

    Better get used to it, and the thorn in Key’s side will be there forever, and I KNOW a German’s feelings, so Key will have to retire to his “refuge” on Hawaii, no matter what! Good riddance! There are “feelings” that will persecute him FOREVER!

  30. Murray Olsen 30
    16 February 2014 at 1:58 am

    While the photos of Farrar are incredibly sad, but funny, I think we need to be careful about getting caught up too much in the gossip circle that passes for politics in parts of Aotearoa. I don’t really care much about who’s twittering whom, or which bag of lard is calling which gossip columnist a pork chop. We’ve got a future to build, and focussing on the mechanics of gossip won’t even get us to the starting bell for the fight to come.

    We need a Labour that’s not NAct in a red frock. We need to get around a biassed MSM. We need to get people out to vote. We need to keep those people organised so that whoever sits on the government benches after the election listens to us, and takes more notice of us than they do of the Anadarko boys from Texas, or the Warner Bros. Or even Dotcom. It’s not obvious to me that knowing who and what is on Bryce Edward’s twitter list helps with this.

    • xtasy 30.1
      16 February 2014 at 3:09 am

      “We need a Labour that’s not NAct in a red frock. We need to get around a biassed MSM. We need to get people out to vote. We need to keep those people organised so that whoever sits on the government benches after the election listens to us, and takes more notice of us than they do of the Anadarko boys from Texas, or the Warner Bros. Or even Dotcom.could be done easily”

      “but Labour want none to be do with guys like me, or others, so f them. ”

      Even if you separate yourself from a mad person like Dotcom, but while he is not that mad after all, the challenge is great, and there are too few “capable” in NZ that can do the job. There are endless IDIOTS in Labour, and even to a lesser degree in Greens, something bigger is needed, but who the hell will do it???

    • karol 30.2
      16 February 2014 at 7:34 am

      It’s worth knowing how Glucina fits into the NAct’s MSM-blog spin machine.

      It’s more important to get back to why Key is so keen to shift the focus from his role in the Dotcom saga that he’ll throw Slater to the wind.

      Key is clearly worried about what will be unfolding this year in relation to Dotcom and surveillance, and is trying to spin some smoke and mirrors around it.

      It is at the top end of the rich-corporate-backed-powerful and poor-powerless divide.

      • veutoviper 30.2.1
        16 February 2014 at 8:41 am

        Good points, Karol.

        My perceptions are that Key is clearly worried about what might unfold, but I am not so sure that he has ‘thrown Slater to the wind’ as such. Time will tell. Key’s performance in those two interviews on Thursday and Friday was astounding and almost over the top, however, and his ‘minders’ are probably worried as to what he will come out with next.

        I also agree with Murray Olsen that we have a future to build and time is too short to become sidelined on the mechanics of gossip.

        But to “get around a biassed MSM” as MO suggests, we also need to understand that biassed MSM. My eyes have been opened in the last week during my venture/voyeurism into the Twitter bubble of MSM journalists and other participants in that bubble.

        I don’t want to belabour the point (no pun intended) but Twitter has certainly become a source of information. For example, Rachel Glucina seems to be hosting the Herald’s corporate box at the Nines this weekend – and her tweets and photos yesterday show that both Judith Collins and Nicki Kaye were in the box yesterday. Who today? https://twitter.com/RachelGlucinaNZ

      • Karen 30.2.2
        16 February 2014 at 10:32 am

        Glucina has been including pro National anti Labour and Greens comments for some years now. I have long suspected the role of the National Party in supplying her with political gossip they want spread and this latest example confirms it for me. Whether the original information came from the Dotcom entourage or government agencies is not clear, but I think the latter is absolutely feasible. The timing is also interesting – I think Dotcom is going to produce evidence John Key lied about previous contact and this is the the way they will spread the heat. I think the Nats were probably hoping Norman and Peters would also lie but no such luck.

        • Anne 30.2.2.1
          16 February 2014 at 12:17 pm

          Great summing up Karen. My hunch is though: that the source was not a government security agency but rather a shady bunch of business types with enough dosh to purchase (or maybe already possess) the spying equipment and to hire people who know how to operate said equipment. In other words a loose knit ‘private security agency’ possibly set up for the specific purpose of spying on Key’s opponents.

          Lets face it, we have already seen how low he is prepared to stoop.

          Edit: Tom Scott may have been closer to the truth than he knew. 🙂

          http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/cartoons/6736460/Tom-Scott-and-others
          (hit ‘next’ for right cartoon)

    • Tombstone 30.3
      16 February 2014 at 9:19 am

      I offered up some ideas on how Labour can make some in roads into turning things around but people don’t seem interested so I guess it’s gonna be a long road to the election with people endlessly debating the facts rather than getting on with storming the fucking castle and taking the bastards out!

  32. ghostwhowalksnz 32
    16 February 2014 at 10:09 am

    For me the interesting part of Wayne Tempero leaving Dotcoms employ is that he was a prime witness in the saga of John Banks anonymous donation from Dotcom.

    I think it was Tempero who flew to Queenstown to bank the two cheques as part of the deal to make it ‘anonymous’

    Will this mean that Tempero isnt going to go to court when Banks case comes to trial?

    It shouldnt make any difference who his employer is, but maybe his new employer will not want him in court. And maybe his new employer is connected in a very roundabout way to John Banks?

    • veutoviper 32.1
      16 February 2014 at 10:51 am

      Presumably Tempero will still be a witness in the Banks case – IIRC both he and KDC were subpoenaed to appear.

      I read somewhere that Tempero left on good terms and is setting up his own company. If he is a subpoenaed witness, no one (eg a new employer) can intervene in that legal requirement/process – and presumably would find themselves before the courts if they tried.

      • ghostwhowalksnz 32.1.1
        16 February 2014 at 11:38 am

        Tempero doesnt have any current companies listed, no doubt he would have been a self employed sub contractor all the time he worked for Dotcom. So’ setting up his own company’ is nothing new. Hes had more companies than you have had hot dinners

        Maybe it it is just a coincidence, or maybe Tempero will be out of the country on ‘urgent business’ when Banks trial takes place in the next month or so.

        Up till now Banks has had no defence to actually soliciting or receiving personally the donations in question. The police investigation covered two different charges, but one of those which he would have had little choice but plead guilty the time of limitations has expired.
        The current charge he is relying the paperwork being filled out by someone else, and he just signed it without any thought. The problem is that only his treasurer has given evidence on ‘what he thought Banks is thinking’ when signing. To be safe Banks needs to testify himself on what he was thinking. But of course that will place him in jeopardy of questions about getting the donations directly himself including how Dotcom could make it anonymous -Thats why Tempero is so important he supports Dotcoms story

  33. Penny Bright 33
    16 February 2014 at 11:59 am

    FYI

    The lion, the witch and Len Brown’s wardrobe | The National Business Review
    http://www.nbr.co.nz

    “Penny Bright and Graham McCready make an unlikely crime-fighting duo”

    Kind regards,

    Penny Bright

  34. tricledrown 34
    16 February 2014 at 12:45 pm

    Nbr aren’t showing kind regards to you .
    Lion or witch.
    Witch is a highly sexist comment .
    A put down of women with opinions who aren’t afraid to speak out and back their opinions.

  35. Jenny 35
    16 February 2014 at 3:59 pm

    The question that has been asked and not been answered is where did Whale Oil get this information.

    That our secret police forces cultivate sleazy Right Wing media outlets has a long history that proceeds that of the internet.

    Before the rise (no pun intended) of online 24hr porn and sex for sale digital (no pun intended), the lead commercial media supplier of such services, in this country was the New Zealand Truth.

    The Listner reviews a book on the SIS links to NZ Truth by Wellington historian Redmer Yska:

    The whole Truth

    Truth’s page 3 girls have an enduring legacy in the public mind, but a new book takes a different kind of intimate look at a weekly newspaper that ruled for 60 years.
    “the first of a series of lengthy articles about Sutch appeared in Truth. A vast quantity of personal and financial information was published over three consecutive weeks to back up the weekly’s claim that Sutch was in fact a spy, a liar and a contemptible individual.”

    Whatever the original sources of those reports, they were but a warm-up for what Truth was about to publish. Yska explains in the book that in the wake of the Sutch exposure, police, on behalf of the SIS, were interviewing many of his contacts. Island Bay MP Gerald O’Brien was one

    In his notes of that interview, a detective wrote down that O’Brien said he, Sutch and Lewin had prepared, at Kirk’s behest, two papers, “setting out the policies that the Government was to follow, including the nationalisation of all banks and insurance companies and a merger between the Bank of New Zealand with the Reserve Bank”.

    This potentially politically explosive but highly secret note was filed with police and the SIS, but just months from the general election, a copy of it almost certainly fell into Truth’s hands. How that happened remains unexplained, although it was later established that senior SIS staffer Rohan Naldrett-Jays took a copy from a locked safe at SIS head office and mailed it to his friend Freeman.

    “It seemed clear,” writes Yska, “that Freeman was not the only one who had read the detective’s notes, and also that he, Naldrett-Jays or some other party had given Truth a copy.

    In his book, Yska says it is safe to conclude that “over many years, sources in or close to the SIS did pass information to Truth. The relationship would have been fluid and informal, but the SIS, like its British counterpart MI5, is likely to have had officers authorised to have ­contact with journalists.”*

    Joanne Black New Zealand Listener, November 20, 2010

    It seems that in the age of the internet, with the collapsing influence of the print media, our secret police forces have kept up their traditional links to the purveyors of sleaze and innuendo.

    And when they are caught out, as they were in the above case, stealing and leaking confidential files, the police, just as they do now ignored, or actively participated in the law breaking by their Secret Police cousins.

    * My emphasis. J.

    In a description of the Truth that could just as aptly describe the Whale Oil blog, Yska writes: “It was a scary paper. It was a paper that scarred.”

    The front-page headline on August 24 that year reads “MP’s odd love affair”, and the story begins, “Marilyn Waring, National Member of Parliament for Raglan, is a lesbian.”

    Waring, forewarned of the publication, had tried to stop it, but Truth’s then owners, Independent Newspapers Ltd (INL), had managed to have the injunction overturned. The outing of Waring, writes Yska, created shockwaves, “generating sympathy for the young and widely liked member of Parliament and bringing a massive backlash against Truth. It was further evidence of how much the weekly was out of step with the emerging social movement of the 1970s, [that was] embracing women’s rights, civil rights, the environment and gay and lesbian rights.”

    While researching the book, Yska emailed Waring, asking if she would talk to him. “I got an instant response, and she didn’t want to talk to me. I’ve heard that she’s mentioned it in speeches over the years, and has obviously moved on, but I still think there is something there – the fact that 34 years later she doesn’t want to talk about it shows how wounding it was. It was a scary paper. It was a paper that scarred.”

    Yska saw that first-hand when he did two reporting stints at Truth. “When the chief reporter, Tony Dominik, hired me, he was kind to me. I met some lovely people there, but at the same time the paper was drawing blood every week, destroying people every week, so it was terribly, terribly cruel. It’s power was quite terrifying, and there was a line of Dunn’s that he had a file on every New Zealander.”

    Joanne Black New Zealand Listener, November 20, 2010

  36. Jenny 36
    19 February 2014 at 5:25 pm

    ‘

    The plan to ruin Dotcom

    It can be little accident that a story maligning KDC has come out the very day after the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court findings that the police warrants for the Dotcom raid were illegal.

    But it is not all over yet

    Dotcom’s US lawyer Ira Rothken said on Twitter that his legal team was reviewing the ruling and would likely seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

    Matthew Theuissen The New Zealand Herald February 19, 2014

    In New Zealand you get the justice you can afford, but rarely would the state and the police have come up against an opponent that could match them dollar for dollar.

    Though the state is withholding Dotcom’s access to his bank accounts, Which were seized in the raid. Very early in the piece, high powered lawyers, initially working pro bono, were able to secure a judgement that the State could not reasonably deny Dotcom the right to withdraw the necessary funds from his account to conduct his defence.

    Considering that Dotcom will be detained in conditions not unlike those suffered by Bradely Manning…., this is an existential fight for Kim Dotcom, he has nothing to lose, even if it costs him his fortune.

    John Key has admitted that the Dotcom extradition case is likely to drag on past the elections, but he has shown confidence that National will still be in the position to deliver a shackled Dotcom into the American gulag.

    But the opposition parties have not shown such willingness to play lapdog to the US eagle.

    So if the Yanks are ever to get their talons into their prey, the effort to politically smear Dotcom must become a vital part of the campaign, therefore we can expect many more attacks like this. Such attacks will become even more unfair unbalanced and hysterical as time passes without a result favourable to the US. This is only the first salvo in the smear campaign, and as a matter of balance gave Kim Dotcom right of reply. As time goes by without a result favoured by the US and their local agents and collaborators, you can be sure that KDC will not even be granted this modicum of balance.

    Accusation:

    Creditors’ frustrations have soared in recent months amid a high-profile marketing campaign for his Good Times album, helicopter trips to the Rhythm and Vines music festival and a weekend at Huka Lodge.

    A spreadsheet on the court file dated January 23, 2012 stated there were 80 creditors owed between $69 and $133,916.

    Reply:

    Kim Dotcom promises to pay his creditors every cent owed but says he hasn’t the money to do so now.

    “I tried to get all those invoices paid. When we asked the Government to unseize the funds, they refused.”

    He said Megastuff Ltd was a “separate legal entity” and he could technically walk away from the company (now called RSV Holdings Ltd) and let it collapse. “Legally I don’t have any obligation to pay anything – but I feel an obligation to pay.”

    My position has always been those creditors should be paid. When Mega is listed my family, which owns the shares, [will] settle those obligations.”

    He did not want to pay some creditors over others and “I am not … in a position to pay all of them”.

    He said there were questions about how much money he had with his face on buses promoting his Good Times album and putting on fireworks at a music festival where he performed.

    “I have support from investors. The album was to promote Baboom [a music service he is launching]. These things have no connection to the debts I have to these people.”

    The helicopter he has travelled in was owned by a friend. “Just because people see some picture they don’t need to speculate I’m paying for that.”

    His fortunes “were improving”. Mega was growing at 3 per cent each week and was an “extreme success”.

    The question for the creditors is; ‘Who is most likely to pay our bill?’

    ‘Kim Dotcom?’

    Or,

    ‘The Government?’

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  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
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  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
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  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
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