Abattoir Blues

30 comments on “Abattoir Blues ”

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1. Matthew Hooton 1

   30 January 2016 at 12:30 pm

   Whole Saudi thing is utterly corrupt and hopefully the Auditor-General throws the book at the government shortly. The minister should be sacked.
   • Nic the NZer 1.1

     30 January 2016 at 12:45 pm

     Wouldnt that endanger progress on your beloved TPP deal?
     • Matthew Hooton 1.1.1

       30 January 2016 at 6:29 pm

       No. Separate issues.
       • Rae 1.1.1.1

         31 January 2016 at 11:31 am

         I wonder if Mr Hooton who seems to be able to accept that if this National govt can be corrupt in this, can also see they may indeed be able to be less than truthful where the TPP is concerned.
         The TPP is about corporations, and yes, US ones in the main, shoring up their position in a world where people are growing increasingly weary of big business, of consumerism and seeing their food becoming less and less like food all the time. They see it, they seek to make sure they are able to fight the people’s desire to live more simply, with less and less involvement and control of their lives from corporations. They are well aware of the rise of the “sharing economy” and they will be very busy figuring out how they can counter that. Nothing, no TPP or anything else must hinder such a change if that is what the PEOPLE want!!!

         It explains why opposition is coming from all quarters not just left or right, not just NZ. It is big v small
   • Draco T Bastard 1.2

     30 January 2016 at 12:51 pm

     At the very minimum the entire National Party caucus should be in jail for these bribes that they keep handing over.
   • Paul 1.3

     30 January 2016 at 12:54 pm

     Given the facts that your company Exceltium gets paid by large corporates to spin their lines, how do we know when you are saying what you really believe and when you are simply writing their pr lines?
     It’s very hard to trust your word.
     • mickysavage 1.3.1

       30 January 2016 at 12:57 pm

       Matthew has been consistently scathing of the Government’s Saudi dealing.
       • Paul 1.3.1.1

         30 January 2016 at 1:01 pm

         So this is a ‘free’ opinion with no drawstrings ?
         • Pascals bookie 1.3.1.1.1

           30 January 2016 at 11:52 pm

           I think it was stated at some point that he wanted the PR job for one of the players, but it went to someone else so yeah, it’s ‘free’, but also business in a sense.
       • TeWhareWhero 1.3.1.2

         30 January 2016 at 1:30 pm

         Matthew Hooton wants to lay claim to a degree of intellectual authority, political acuity and personal probity.

         No one who supports the Government’s dirty deals with the House of Saud can possibly lay claim to any of those things.

         Ergo ….
   • Keith 1.4

     30 January 2016 at 6:36 pm

     I have little faith in the Auditor General nowdays.
     • tc 1.4.1

       31 January 2016 at 8:37 am

       Yup and matty knows at best it’ll be a whitewash in the same way Collins copped a light shower when she should never be a minister of the crown again.

       Higher standards…..yeah right.
2. greywarshark 2

   30 January 2016 at 12:33 pm

   Yek heard about the Saudi Arabian methods and thought ‘What a bloody good idea’.
3. marty mars 3

   30 January 2016 at 12:56 pm

   I totally agree that this is an outrage – how this punygovernment can pay for this killing house for the murderous regime is beyond me – I hope the shit sticks on this.

   meanwhile the sheep continue to be abused for the taste of their flesh and blood – same there as here ain’t it?

   What are the chances that the state of the art killing house will just be used to slaughter and render baa baa’s? slim I’d say…
4. Stuart Munro 4

   30 January 2016 at 12:57 pm

   Nevertheless we have traded with many regimes over the years whose politics were repressive and objectionable – Israel, Russia, China & the US spring to mind.

   Saudi is not merely the world’s largest oil producer, it is presently one of the largest phosphate producers. Saudi has a shortfall of about 2.6 million sheep per annum. NZ has (or had) one of the lowest production costs for sheep in the world. They do much less environmental damage than cows.

   Somewhere in all that there is strong logic for trade between the two countries. A smart solution would be either an upgraded humane live trade or a NZ operated facility in Saudi or nearby. (Somaliland would be an obvious choice).

   But McCully, like most Gnats, should be in jail. Bribery is a crime.
5. Paul 5

   30 January 2016 at 12:58 pm

   Their self serving approach also has taken the shine off the resistance to the TPP.
   The big corporates must love them.
   Skeletons?
   Or is it simply follow the money?
6. Whispering Kate 6

   30 January 2016 at 12:59 pm

   “the minister should be sacked” . He gets away with it and his government gets away with it because we, the people of this country allow them to get away with it. Aided by a complacent MSM which is owned by the right and is high jacking the information highways of this country we are pretty much stuffed.

   We obviously don’t give a toss about our freedoms and are too engrossed in our electronic hand pieces soaking up dross all day that important events and losses just flow over our heads. In Newmarket the other day hardly anybody knew about the TPPA. And, we don’t care one wit about it. We need serious problems to happen out here and I mean serious problems, then people will sit up and whinge and bleat and take notice. The All Blacks and “no name” will not be able to help us then and it will be all hands to the crisis. Not beforehand. “No name” already has his future sorted out and it won’t be in this country thank Christ for that. .
   • Paul 6.1

     30 January 2016 at 1:06 pm

     So true.
     So depressing.
     Also us Huxley’s Brave New World.
     • Chris 6.1.1

       31 January 2016 at 12:55 pm

       Shows how morally bankrupt the government is, but worse the lack of public outrage shows how morally bankrupt we are as a nation. A direct consequence of Crosby-Textor approach to politics. National thriving on an apathetic public.
7. Keith 7

   30 January 2016 at 1:29 pm

   Meanwhile over heard in a mansion in Judges Bay?…..Yeah, nah, acshully the beheadings are not a good look, but at the end of the day the advice I’ve been given is, who cares, theres a deal in the wind. Fuck, I’d do a deal with Pablo Escabar if there was a buck in it!
8. savenz 8

   30 January 2016 at 1:41 pm

   +100 – absolutely disgusting!!

   No wonder the Natz are increasing our international corruption rating.
9. Paul 9

   30 January 2016 at 1:54 pm

   Wonder what the prize for signing the TPPA is?
   For Key?
   For Groser?
   • Bill Drees 9.1

     30 January 2016 at 2:10 pm

     Key would see signing the TPPA as a significant milestone in career, CV and obituary. Not signing it works have lost him the JP Morgan level directorships he hopes to gather.
     Grosser? A shot at BIG international Civil Servant job and a couple of professorships. And money for Cuban boots.
   • mary_a 9.2

     31 January 2016 at 3:15 pm

     @ Paul (9) If he hasn’t got it already, I’d say FJK will be handsomely rewarded with US citizenship. But I suspect he might already be a patriot of Uncle Sam. Of course he will get a knighthood and join the rest of the corrupt criminal element of the brotherhood. He’s well qualified in that regard.

     As for Groser. Possibly a knighthood I’d say. He’s got the Washington post already, to enable him to do some pimping against NZ on behalf of the US! That will also improve FJK’s rating with his good ol’ boy Yankee buddies!
10. pete 10

    30 January 2016 at 2:37 pm

    As per usual Te Reo, a great article. Thank you.

    Just wish that Labour could get their act together long enough to go for the jugular on this issue (sorry, bad choice of words in this context).
    • Rae 10.1

      31 January 2016 at 11:37 am

      I am not all that sure that Labour has figured out just what is going on, and its not just here, it is all around the world. Who’da thunk that someone like Bernie Sanders could quite possibly become POTUS a few short years ago? Imagine a ticket with him and Elizabeth Warren on it.
      What we need is our own Bernie Sanders or Jeremy Corbyn, I think we are still to learn of his/her existence, but they are there, somewhere, and they will pop up like a Jack-in-a-box.
      PS its not Winnie
11. reason 11

    30 January 2016 at 6:28 pm

    It could be worse ………….. we could be selling them weapons

    “Pressure is mounting on David Cameron to explain the role of British military personnel in the Saudi-led bombing campaign of Yemen after a UN panel ruled the operation contravened international humanitarian law.”
    &
    ” “The panel documented that the coalition had conducted airstrikes targeting civilians and civilian objects, in violation of international humanitarian law, including camps for internally displaced persons and refugees; civilian gatherings, including weddings; civilian vehicles, including buses; civilian residential areas; medical facilities; schools; mosques; markets, factories and food storage warehouses; and other essential civilian infrastructure, such as the airport in Sana’a, the port in Hudaydah and domestic transit routes.”

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/27/labour-raises-pressure-on-cameron-to-explain-yemen-involvement

    Reminds me of how the bloodhounds made money out of East Timor and their genocide http://johnpilger.com/videos/death-of-a-nation-the-timor-conspiracy

    We should be doing less trade with and not chasing the blood money from places like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia etc
12. Rae 12

    31 January 2016 at 11:40 am

    This Saudi stuff is so unbelievable it almost impossible to believe. It is one of those occasions where Key reminds me so much of Donald Trump, in that he knows that he can get away with such blatant disregard to sensibilities in much the same way as Trump, by his own admission, could shoot someone in the main street of somewhere and still remain as popular as ever, if not more.
    There are strange things happening at the moment.
13. pat 13

    1 February 2016 at 3:48 am

    “So how unusual is it for the Saudi royal family to hand over this amount of cash in a personal donation? Not at all, said the Saudi insider, adding that Jordan, Morocco, Egypt and Sudan have all been beneficiaries of multi-$100m donations from the Saudi royal purse.
    “There is nothing unusual about this donation to Malaysia,” he said. “It is very similar to how the Saudis operate in a number of countries.”

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35409424

    just another day at the office?
14. Robert 14

    1 February 2016 at 2:00 pm

    What short memories people have.

    Under Rogernomics some wealthy people got a lot wealthier buying up our state assets at knockdown prices. Same of the deals that when went down back then was a disgrace (the sale of the Governmenr Printing Office for one – read David Lange’s memoir) and who was in Governement – the Labour Party (as I said, just to remind you, people have short memories).

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