Brains Trust

Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, June 8th, 2009 - 36 comments
Categories: national - Tags: , ,

modalities

Whaleoil, John Key, and Melissa Lee. National’s policy wonks discuss transport modalities in an oil- and carbon-constrained future.

36 comments on “Brains Trust ”

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  1. bill brown 1
    8 June 2009 at 11:10 am

    Melissa who?

  2. Pat 2
    8 June 2009 at 11:14 am

    What next? A photo of Key in the urinal? Creepy.

    • Duncan 2.1
      8 June 2009 at 11:18 am

      But Pat, this isn’t a photo of Key in a urinal. It’s a photo of Key in a public bar used for the purposes of humour. Harden up mate. You Nats have got awful sensitive to criticism since your honeymoon turned sour.

      • Pat 2.1.1
        8 June 2009 at 11:27 am

        If paparazzi politics is the new go, then we should all arm ourselves with cameras and dictophone recorders and follow MP’s around in the weekends.

        Let’s face it, our MPs enjoy anonymity and privacy outside parliament not afforded to politicians elsewhere in the world. Maybe those days are over. If its OK to secretly tape conversations and take mobile phone snaps for posting on blogsites, then all gloves may as well come off.

        • Maynard J 2.1.1.1
          8 June 2009 at 11:37 am

          This is a screen grab from the TV, where these three were filmed and on broadcast TV. TV is broadcast nationwide these days, Pat, and available to the unwashed masses. Anyone can watch TV: ypu too can have a TV and watch it. If you did so last night, you would have seen this same ‘cellphone picture’…but it moved!

          I remember it because Key and Lee were clearly enjoying a beer, which was great to see. So many times you see people holding a drink or something, and looking awkward, which I find odd – it is normal for people to consume coffee or tea or a beer in such a situation.

          • Pat 2.1.1.1.1
            8 June 2009 at 11:42 am

            Then I stand corrected, and promise I won’t snap any MP’s at the Whitehouse this weekend.

          • Maynard J 2.1.1.1.2
            8 June 2009 at 1:07 pm

            lol yeah let’s keep that to “NZ Celebrities”…(very nearly oxymoron eh.)

            Although-when on official business I say they are a fair enough target but there are enough grey areas to not want to delve too deeply into it.

  3. bilbo 3
    8 June 2009 at 11:19 am

    T’is sad ……. tis sadder that the opposition brains trust is even worse………… politics in NZ overpopulated with fuckwits and retards, bit like the EPMU …….some things never change.

  4. Craig 4
    8 June 2009 at 11:27 am

    ooooh bilbo bit upset are we?

    Reduced to swearing and rubbishing a Union, you forgot your hatred for the communists the world over.

    I would have liked to see you try and argue that both Key and Lee are intelligent.

    That would have been bloody funny!

    • Tim Ellis 4.1
      8 June 2009 at 11:32 am

      Craig, what does it say about the Labour Party, that a popular and competent and highly experienced and very intelligent Prime Minister Helen Clark lost the last election to such an idiot like John Key?

      • Maynard J 4.1.1
        8 June 2009 at 11:39 am

        ‘time for a change’.

        No one said c/t were dumb.

      • the sprout 4.1.2
        8 June 2009 at 11:47 am

        wow that’s a spirited, proud defence TE!

        why don’t you talk about all National’s brilliant successes, their visionary plans, their masterful Leader? oh yeah… that’s right.. not really an option any more

      • Kevin Welsh 4.1.3
        8 June 2009 at 12:56 pm

        Good on you Mr Tim, at least you now admit Key is an idiot.

  5. vidiot 5
    8 June 2009 at 11:37 am

    I hope that’s a NZ Beer they are drinking.

    • Tim Ellis 5.1
      8 June 2009 at 12:01 pm

      From the tvnz clip, looks like they’re drinking monteith’s.

      • andy 5.1.1
        8 June 2009 at 4:09 pm

        Its Amstel Light!!

        • The Baron 5.1.1.1
          8 June 2009 at 6:04 pm

          Oh god, I think you’ve finally uncovered the key to bringing the government down:

          “KEY DRINKS FOREIGN BOOZE” screams the headlines.

          Holy shit, who cares?

    • stinkmeaner 5.2
      8 June 2009 at 8:52 pm

      It could be summit.

      Its a good photo, but i think the blogs on the left are running scared of whale. Previously farrar was the worst they had to contend with and hes far tamer than cameron has proven to be.

      Worse still was that interview last week. Slater looked the goods, intelligent and blunt. People respond to that type of upfront opinion, look at Paul Henry, he has a cult following.

      The members on the political left cant polarise the electorate quite like the right do.

  6. vto 6
    8 June 2009 at 11:42 am

    Wouldn’t it be great if all politicians conversations and communications were publicly available…

    Would make for some very great interest.

    Would also, no doubt, make for an interesting change in the conduct of politics .

    • Draco T Bastard 6.1
      8 June 2009 at 12:35 pm

      Yep, something I’ve been thinking is necessary for the last couple of years*. In a democracy government needs to be open and we just don’t have that ATM. Too much happens behind closed doors.

      * there would need to be some restrictions such as talking to SOs but everything that involves another politician and/or business person would be publicly available.

  7. the sprout 7
    8 June 2009 at 11:44 am

    even Hooten was rubbishing National’s political management on RNZ this morning.
    now that really is saying something.

  8. jarbury 8
    8 June 2009 at 11:46 am

    Surely that’s not what they were actually discussing – National’s transport policies indicate that they’re unable to think beyond screaming “rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroads!!!!!!!!” .

  9. Zaphod Beeblebrox 9
    8 June 2009 at 11:53 am

    Though I disagree with his ideas, the nice thing about Key is that he always blurts out way more than he needs to. This is certainly making politics interesting at the moment.
    I am glad I am not his minder.

  10. roger nome 10
    8 June 2009 at 11:57 am

    “What’s next? A photo of Key in the urinal?”

    Are you comparing Whale Oil to a repository for urine? Who’s creepy again?

  11. all_your_base 11
    8 June 2009 at 12:25 pm

    Yeah, it’s a screen grab from this morning’s Breakfast interview with Key by the looks of it: http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/breakfast-monday-8-june-2771676/video?vid=2771688

    I took them to be discussing Melissa’s Mt Albert campaign. It has all the marks of a Whaleoil endeavour.

  12. bobo 12
    8 June 2009 at 1:55 pm

    Looks like an awkward office staff party talking shop around the boss.. “Dougie go with the perm”

  13. Adrian 13
    8 June 2009 at 2:24 pm

    I may be mistaken but on tv it appeared that Lee just pretended to be drinking from the bottle. If thats the case, how sad and sycophantic can you get.

  14. TC 14
    8 June 2009 at 2:37 pm

    More brains amongst those three than in the entire Standard.

  15. Rex Widerstrom 15
    8 June 2009 at 3:43 pm

    Thank goodness Trevor Mallard wasn’t around. They look uncomfortable enough as it is…

    😀

    captcha: mixers CLARK

  16. Bill 16
    8 June 2009 at 5:50 pm

    Is that John sayin’ how National has found a way to bottle their piss weak recession policies and sell them back to the punters at a profit? Should have been in the top three at the job summit that. The Greens might even have backed them since piss in and piss out is eminently recyclable!

    As an aside, notice Melissa’s the only one sucking it in? Half a second later she realises John is saying “Just a word in your ear son, don’t go drinking this”

  17. Craig 17
    9 June 2009 at 9:47 am

    Tim What it shows is that repeated attack lies change peoples perception.

    It does not have to be factual it can in fact even be straight out deception.

    It all has a effect in the end and if the media keep it up because they want a change eventually you will get a change in Government.

    National out performed Labour with a PR campaign that worked a treat!

    As they say though Tim the proof of the pudding is in the eating and it hasn’t taken long for people to realise that what they are being asked to chew was not the dish they thought they were being sold.

  18. millsy 18
    10 June 2009 at 10:00 am

    If I had my way, Mr Slater would be in jail for hate speech…