Cameron just say sorry

Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, January 29th, 2014 - 236 comments
Categories: blogs, Media - Tags:

whaleoil

Whaleoil is in trouble.  He claims that a denial of service attack has knocked his website offline and that he has been receiving death threats to him and his family.

He has wondered if Dotcom may be involved because orchestrating a DOS attack is an expensive thing to do and after all Dotcom is a wealthy person.  Good luck with that claim Cameron.  Making baseless and totally unsubstantiated suggestions about Kim is not something that I would recommend anyone does.

The apparent cause of the attack is a recent post with the title  “Feral dies in Greymouth, did world a “favour”.  The person that he referred to, a young man called Judd Hall, was the fourth son of Rick Durbridge and Joe Hall.  All four of their sons have died in tragic circumstances.  One of them was the victim of a drunk driver, another one died in the Pike River Mine disaster.   Hall had only just died and the timing as well as the complete lack of sensitivity were as bad as you can imagine.

I am all for freedom of speech.  But there are limits and Slater’s comments breach any concept of civilised limits.

He should unconditionally apologise.  Because this time he has well and truly overstepped the mark.

And Judith Collins and all the wanna be National Party candidates such as Policy Parrot should sever links with Slater.  Because association with him will ultimately be destructive of their reputations.

236 comments on “Cameron just say sorry ”

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  1. Tiger Mountain 1
    29 January 2014 at 10:11 am

    This is one whale that will not be missed by too many if it becomes extinct.

    However unwell people deserve treatment and if he survives this current shitstorm he has bought upon himself yet again, may he reflect a bit, make some positive changes and stop bringing pain to others.

  2. lprent 2
    29 January 2014 at 10:12 am

    Cameron is really complete dickhead. I’m just surprised that he hasn’t triggered this kind of response before.

  3. Philj 3
    29 January 2014 at 10:19 am

    Xox
    The law of the jungle comes to mind.
    And, how low can we go?

    • lprent 3.1
      29 January 2014 at 10:27 am

      Over the years I have had a few direct and implied threats, mostly by idiots who frequent Whaleoil getting my details from there. But I have also seen bits of various private websites for his own vigilantes (amazing what you can find in searching google caches) that contained precis of various “enemies” including me, and a number of other people.

      If you act like an bullshitting arsehole “demanding” money to attack people as Cameron has admitted doing, then I’m afraid that I have no sympathy for such a dickhead.

      These are all behaviours that are reprehensible, as is deliberately stirring up any kind of hate speech as Cameron does most of the time. Clearly it has gotten him into trouble now.

      But it is good to hear that he is back with his family – he tends to be somewhat more stable when that happens.

      It is going to be interesting seeing how the police deal with it. It does rather sound like a distributed attack because otherwise it could be shutdown with a few sentences in a file against a small number of IP addresses. Problem is that trying to tie some threats on facebook to someone with access to what must be a botnet is going to be hard.

      And by the look of it both his website and his comment system (disqus) are offshore. That will made it interesting legally for the police.

      • toad 3.1.1
        29 January 2014 at 11:19 am

        Is it technically practicable to identify the IP address that targets a botnet to commence a DDoS attack? Even if so, I wouldn’t imagine this being at the top of the police’s cybercrime priorities.

  4. Anne 4
    29 January 2014 at 10:28 am

    I have absolutely no sympathy for him. He’s not only brought it on himself but he’s now playing the role of “victim”. He’s had death threats. How many? One, two or three? Most people who receive such threats go immediately to the police and they don’t advertise the fact for fear of copy-cat responses. He has moved his children to safety. Fair enough, they’re not responsible for their father’s behaviour, but given his penchant for exaggeration and attention seeking you have to wonder what has really been going on.

  5. tricledrown 5
    29 January 2014 at 10:35 am

    Whaleoil beached after having a farewell spit Dept of Conservatives considering euthenasing stranded whale but
    can’t find a big Enough hole to bury him in problem solved he dug a big Enough hole for himself.

  6. Tom Gould 6
    29 January 2014 at 10:39 am

    The Herald reportage is simply appalling – covering up for their source and mate. The only mention of what sparked it all is this: “In a blog post, Mr Slater called a Greymouth car crash victim “feral” – a comment that was reported in the local Greymouth Star newspaper this week.” The rest is Slater whining and asking for sympathy.

  7. Bill 7
    29 January 2014 at 10:41 am

    He should unconditionally apologise.

    Nope. Not enough. Not even close. He should disappear or be disappeared… from social commentary.

    What would an unconditional apology count for anyway, when in the Radio NZ link he’s heard still banging on about a ‘feral underclass who are above the law’?

    • One Anonymous Knucklehead 7.1
      29 January 2014 at 11:27 am

      I can’t see the point of removing Slater. Another one of Judith Collins mouthpiecess will just take his place.

      • Mary 7.1.1
        29 January 2014 at 1:15 pm

        And I think Judith Collins should remain as closely associated with him as she can in order to help ensure the best future for her career as possible.

  8. Chooky 8
    29 January 2014 at 10:51 am

    …if anyone looks Feral it is Cameron Slater

    ….the young man who he calls “feral” looked positively sophistcated and film star ‘metro man’ in comparison….no wonder his heart broken family is mad

    on feral Slaters:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlouse

    http://soilbugs.massey.ac.nz/isopoda.php

    • weka 8.1
      29 January 2014 at 10:59 am

      please don’t use the word feral as a pejorative, esp to describe someone like Slater. Ferals are an important part of our world. Nothing wrong with being feral. That Slater used the term in the way he did speaks to his lack of humanness. He’s a really sick fuck, but he’s not a feral.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_%28subculture%29

      edit: lolz, just seen your links. Slaters in nature are very useful to their ecosystems, so I think that comparison fails too 😉

      • Chooky 8.1.1
        29 January 2014 at 11:10 am

        Ok weka….good points …..and sorry to all the little feral critters( slaters included )…i did think this at the time that it wasn’t fair to them

        But what is to be done about the big human horrible Slater? …i applaud what has happened to his computer system……it is justice imo….but why is he crying like a baby?

        (and sorry to all babies…… who cry for good reasons)

        • Arfamo 8.1.1.1
          29 January 2014 at 11:19 am

          but why is he crying like a baby

          Crying babies get attention.

          • weka 8.1.1.1.1
            29 January 2014 at 11:25 am

            And crying serves his agenda.

            • Arfamo 8.1.1.1.1.1
              29 January 2014 at 11:30 am

              Exactly. Although I think he will elicit little sympathy.

              • weka …
                29 January 2014 at 11:44 am

                Probably true, but even so, the more publicity he gets the more people will go look at his website (once it’s back) and see what a cesspit it actually is. And the more the mainstrean makes the connection between that and NACT, the better.

                • Arfamo …
                  29 January 2014 at 11:49 am

                  I’m thinking similarly. I think he’s badly miscalculated the reaction of most people. Even those who rightly condemn the threats he says he’s received are probably thinking still, given the crassness of his insult to a grieving family, it serves him right.

    • Beatie 8.2
      29 January 2014 at 12:21 pm

      Judd was a good friend of my daughter and a really nice person. He will be sorely missed here in Greymouth.

      • Molly 8.2.1
        29 January 2014 at 12:42 pm

        My sympathies to your daughter and those who will be grieving his loss in their lives.

        It is of small comfort, but the petulant, attention-seeking post and resultant news frenzy resulting from a small man in the world of humanity, should mean little to those who truly knew and loved the person who has been lost.

        Try to give Slater the energy and attention he deserves from your community – which is none.

        Your time and focus belongs with Judd and your community. I hope you are able to do this – despite the media frenzy. Kia kaha.

      • tinfoilhat 8.2.2
        29 January 2014 at 12:48 pm

        Terribly sad for the family.

        How are the rest of the occupants of the car will they be charged with anything ?

      • Rosie 8.2.3
        29 January 2014 at 2:31 pm

        I’m so very sorry for your loss Beatie and for Greymouth’s loss.

        I did read your post about Slater last night on Open Mike and was disgusted beyond belief – and it was only a week or so after Farrar made fun out of the tragedy of the deaths of two children and their father in Dunedin – yet sadly and unsurprisingly he learnt nothing from the cruelty of his fellow pond dweller.

        Condolences to the family and to your daughter for the loss of her friend.

        Take care.

  9. Arfamo 9
    29 January 2014 at 10:54 am

    I’m not really seeing a problem here. I’m seeing a market response to an unsavoury product.

    • weka 9.1
      29 January 2014 at 11:02 am

      Or a feral response to a problem in society that the mainstream cannot handle. I also can’t see the problem.

  10. ambergris 10
    29 January 2014 at 11:02 am

    Dear Cameron,

    [lprent: ?? and ?? ]

  11. ambergris 11
    29 January 2014 at 11:06 am

    Dear Cameron,

    .. it seems that you are the only one with moral fibre enough to stand up to .. westies.

    {Irony completely intended.}

    Regards,

    [ .. add excited whale audio on *.mp3 ..]

  12. fender 12
    29 January 2014 at 11:17 am

    I feel ill every time I look at that hideous photo, a face only mummy and BM could love..

    • BM 12.1
      29 January 2014 at 11:48 am

      I don’t love Slater. I don’t hate him either.

      Cameron makes money off his blog by being controversial, sometimes he misses the target other times he nails it between the eyes.

      The feral comment is a definite miss and once the true facts came to light he should have offered an apology.

    • Rosie 12.2
      29 January 2014 at 2:48 pm

      I have to say the ugliness of that man is truly manifest in his appearance. He gives me a cold shiver of revulsion every time.

      Normally I would never say such thing as I’m completely non fussed by physical appearance however his ugliness screams and I feel I can say that after what he has said about the death of Judd Hall and also, what he said about Lprent further along in the thread. To wish death upon someone and to joke about death is purely sociopathic.

      • McFlock 12.2.1
        29 January 2014 at 5:22 pm

        Tend to agree – but the photo isn’t actually a bad photo. It’s just that his “staunch, determined, serious” gaze slips into “yuck – just plain wrong”

        Put your hand over the face, even just the eyes, and the creep-factor plummets, in my opinion

  13. Bobo 13
    29 January 2014 at 11:19 am

    I agree that Slater has overstepped the mark on this one, and should apologise, but then so should those who have threatened to pack rape his 15 year old daughter, and those who made death threats should also.

    • weka 13.1
      29 January 2014 at 11:27 am

      “but then so should those who have threatened to pack rape his 15 year old daughter, and those who made death threats should also.”

      [credible citation needed]

    • Tracey 13.2
      29 January 2014 at 4:48 pm

      Source?? Has slater published the threats

      • Judith 13.2.1
        31 January 2014 at 3:27 pm

        The threats were all on his facebook page which was public. Anybody could see but they are down now and in the hands of the police.

  14. tricledrown 14
    29 January 2014 at 11:38 am

    Whaleoil site is still stranded.
    Cameron has made a complaint to police over death threats fair Enough .
    But he should turn himself in for inciting such behaviour as well as defaming a grieving family.
    NZ is outraged by his comments
    The police sound like they will have to prosecute a lot of people I hope this puts an end to
    Cameron Slaters need for fame seeking.
    I think its his father trying to live his life through his son syndrome and Cameron can’t live up to his fathers expectations so has this destructive obsession.
    Cameron time to move on get a real job where you can have pride in your self and set a good example for your children.

  15. Sanctuary 15
    29 January 2014 at 11:45 am

    “…Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn told Radio New Zealand that Mr Slater had it coming…”

    Good on Tony Kokshoorn. Slater libels, slanders and breaks court supression orders all the time. Now he is discovering that being fast and loose with the law and playing dirty is a game two can play. No middle class tut-tutting about lowering yourself to wrestling with a pig from the no-nonsense people of the West Coast. They saw the pig, jumped straight into the sty, and now they are kicking the metaphorical shit out of it. They know that once you’ve taught the pig a lesson you can always climb out of the sty and take a shower.

    Slater only understands one thing. And this DDoS is it. And if/when he gets his site going again it will be worth checking to see if he ever slanders West Coasters again. if he doesn’t, then the we all owe the West Coast a big favour for revealing how best to hit back.

    • BM 15.1
      29 January 2014 at 11:50 am

      This attack on his site has nothing to do with the west coast hill billies, it’s just a coincidence.

      There’s quite a long thread about it on Kiwi blog with some quite interesting comments.

      • Sanctuary 15.1.1
        29 January 2014 at 11:53 am

        That isn’t how Slater is calling it.

      • Arfamo 15.1.2
        29 January 2014 at 11:53 am

        That’d be nice.

      • bad12 15.1.3
        29 January 2014 at 12:01 pm

        Lolz BM, just a coincidence you say and Kiwiblog would know this how???, if those born and bred or living down the Coast are ‘hillbillies’ what does that make you BM, an Auckland Arse-hole perhaps…

      • BM 15.1.4
        29 January 2014 at 12:02 pm

        From kiwi blog

        For anyone that is interested in such things, a 10k botnet can be rented for US$200 a day, that’d be plenty to bring down a small site like whaleoil, either by classic DDOS or by smashing it’s authoritative DNS.

        I’m not sure how he can say the attack “originates” in NZ. NZ has one of the lowest levels of infection anywhere in the world. It’s almost certain the vast bulk of traffic is coming from offshore. The controlling servers for such things are normally in places like Belarus or Moldova.

        I’ve worked through DDOS attacks, the likelihood that its arranged by someone that disagrees with him is very small, it’s likely that they are a straightforward shakedown for cash. I’d imagine a demand for about $5k in cash to be transferred to a western union office in a location with dubious legal structure will be happening soon.

        Strangely the last couple I’ve seen all wanted the cash sent to Serb controlled areas of Bosnia

        http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2014/01/whale_under_attack.html#comment-1267312

        I’d say it has something to do with that big donate button that Cameron put up on his site a few days ago.
        Especially when it had, at last glance 67% of target reached written right beside it.

        Maybe certain people thought he’d come into a bit of money and was ripe for picking?

        • fender 15.1.4.1
          29 January 2014 at 12:32 pm

          Is there a postal address for donations? The neighbours dog left something on the council berm meant for Slater that should be forwarded..

        • bad12 15.1.4.2
          29 January 2014 at 3:08 pm

          Lolz, better check the bank accounts to make sure the kids havn’t cracked my internet banking password and gone on a spending spree…

        • Pascal's bookie 15.1.4.3
          29 January 2014 at 3:49 pm

          lol, That’s pretty thin gruel for claiming it’s probably a coincidence.

          A few hundie to seriously piss him off for jumping into a west coast town’s grief? You’d raise it in minutes in any public bar.

        • Tracey 15.1.4.4
          29 January 2014 at 4:53 pm

          So basically anyone slater pissed off cld have done it for 250 bucks. That narrows it down.

          Slater looking to deflect and inflate his own importance. Priceless.

      • fender 15.1.5
        29 January 2014 at 12:04 pm

        “….. west coast hill billies…..”

        You and Slater are brothers in (stinky under) arms.

        • BLiP 15.1.5.1
          29 January 2014 at 3:41 pm

          ‘
          Amazing, ain’t it? Yet, entirely predictable. You see, in order to believe the things BM and his BFF Slater do believe, one has to dehumanise those who are most hurt by those beliefs.

      • vto 15.1.6
        29 January 2014 at 1:36 pm

        Burn in hell BM

      • Tracey 15.1.7
        29 January 2014 at 4:50 pm

        Is this the true facts you said will come to light…. opinions posted on a blog?

  16. bad12 16
    29 January 2014 at 11:48 am

    The swamp amoeba also known as ‘wail-oil’ deserves no sympathy, it’s a pity the Judge in the Court found it ‘inappropriate’ to jail the blubbering, whining lump of lard for His refusal to hand over documentation the Court had previously said He must, instead ordering that this be handed into the court,(presumably until such time as an appeal to a higher Court is heard),

    My view is that Slater, reputed at times to be in receipt of Sickness Benefit for issues of a psychological nature, shows signs of having a serious disease of the mind, anyone viewing His unwarranted attack on that kid down the Coast would probably come to the same conclusion,

    He certainly belongs in institutionalized care as His activities are becoming a danger to Himself and His family,(the fact that He cannot see how He has brought about such danger is another factor to be taken into account when assessing His mental condition), perhaps a CAT team need assess Slater with a view to removing Him from society for the safety of Him and His family…

  17. uke 17
    29 January 2014 at 12:07 pm

    This is an appalling low.

    Yet didn’t PM Helen Clark – I think – also call some West Coasters “feral” a few years back? That was also a bit of a low point.

    [lprent: Nope. That was Cameron and other idiots carefully misquoting. ]

  18. JustLikeTigerWoods 18
    29 January 2014 at 12:28 pm

    “If you don’t stand up for the stuff you don’t like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you’ve already lost.”

    I’m saddened that so many here don’t understand freedom of speech. Many people may not like what Slater has to say, or what you have to say, but that is no reason to silence you, or him.

    • Arfamo 18.1
      29 January 2014 at 12:36 pm

      It doesn’t sound like he’s been silenced. His website’s just been taken down temporarily. All has been referred to the police. No worries. They’ll get to the bottom of it.

      • lprent 18.1.1
        29 January 2014 at 12:47 pm

        Yes. He does still appear to be whining loudly.

        Doesn’t appear to be doing much about getting his site operating. If it is simply a DDOS attack (rather than sloppy handling of his site with a bad upgrade – far more common (I know) ) then it shouldn’t be that hard.

        If disqus is the target, then turn it off and revert back to wordpress. Use cloudflare (which I see he is using) to quash the DDOS for IP ranges and/or geographical regions, back that up with .htaccess denials, and back that up with something like wordfence.

        • JustLikeTigerWoods 18.1.1.1
          29 January 2014 at 2:14 pm

          Perhaps you could offer to help him out. If you think about it, you’ll find you’ll “win” no matter how he reacts.

    • Murray Olsen 18.2
      29 January 2014 at 12:40 pm

      You have just shown that you do not understand freedom of speech. I am not surprised at all, any more than you are saddened.

      • RedLogix 18.2.1
        29 January 2014 at 8:20 pm

        Murry, you have fallen for a fairly common misunderstanding of what ‘freedom of speech’ really means.

        It means that you can express an idea, opinion or belief without the threat of legal, government or physical retaliation.

        It does not mean that you can say any vile, baseless, provocative, unreasoning or offensive thing you like and demand that there should be no consequences.

        • Colonial Viper 18.2.1.1
          29 January 2014 at 8:55 pm

          Indeed. Intolerance and disinformation must not be tolerated, if we wish to have a sane society able to consider reality based discussions and decisions.

        • Murray Olsen 18.2.1.2
          29 January 2014 at 11:05 pm

          I know what freedom of speech means, and my comment was directed at the golfer, but thanks anyway. I haven’t fallen for anything, apart from perhaps the delusion that people would understand how the comment numbering system works.

          • RedLogix 18.2.1.2.1
            29 January 2014 at 11:16 pm

            Sorry – I was in a hurry and misread the thread.

            • Murray Olsen 18.2.1.2.1.1
              29 January 2014 at 11:23 pm

              Never mind. It doesn’t hurt to have what you and CV wrote spelled out for those who do have funny ideas about it.

    • joe90 18.3
      29 January 2014 at 12:42 pm

      Unless I’ve missed something Slater faces no legal sanction for what he said because that’s what freedom of speech means.
      It doesn’t mean can say anything he wants with an expectation that his foul ruminations won’t bite his arse.

    • fender 18.4
      29 January 2014 at 12:43 pm

      You are confusing freedom of speech with hate speech.

    • lprent 18.5
      29 January 2014 at 12:51 pm

      I’m saddened that so many here don’t understand freedom of speech. Many people may not like what Slater has to say, or what you have to say, but that is no reason to silence you, or him.

      I’m afraid that I lost all sympathy for the cretin the day that I sighted a comment he made expressing sadness that my heart attack was not fatal.

      That is the type of arsehole that he is…

      • JustLikeTigerWoods 18.5.1
        29 January 2014 at 1:58 pm

        Maybe. Maybe some people take offense at the words spoken on this site.

        But I would not be gleeful at someone making this site inaccessible on that basis. The prevailing mood here seems to be “because we don’t like X, then it is good someone silenced X”. Yes, I know he has other avenues, but that’s not the point, is it.

        • weka 18.5.1.1
          29 January 2014 at 2:04 pm

          Please give an example of something that has been posted on the standard (post, not comment) that is the equivalent of what Slater did this week.

          • JustLikeTigerWoods 18.5.1.1.1
            29 January 2014 at 2:12 pm

            The point is that someone has chosen to take offensive at something Slater has done. I don’t see the point running an X-Factor to see who is the most offensive, because it isn’t relevant.

            • vto 18.5.1.1.1.1
              29 January 2014 at 2:15 pm

              It is entirely relevant. You mention it in your first comment.

            • weka 18.5.1.1.1.2
              29 January 2014 at 2:25 pm

              TigerWoods, I’ll take that to mean you can’t find any example of anything ever posted on ts that even comes close to what Slater did this week.

              “I don’t see the point running an X-Factor to see who is the most offensive, because it isn’t relevant.”

              Yes it is. Because you are the one that made a comparison between authors here and Slater. It’s not that people have chosen to be offended. It’s that Slater has done something that is so far outside the cultural norm of human behaviour that his website has been hacked and he has received threats (allegedly). You can try and spin this as left and right are equally reprehensible, but you have absolutely no evidence that this is true.

              The standard has never claimed to be an offence-free zone. But it clearly does have ethics, standards, and boundaries that ensure a level of basic human decency.

              • JustLikeTigerWoods …
                29 January 2014 at 2:34 pm

                Perhaps Slater wins the most offensive contest hands down. Romps through the finals and wins three years in a row.

                So what?

                That doesn’t mean people are justified in making his site inaccessible.

                • vto …
                  29 January 2014 at 2:40 pm

                  ha ha ha empty head

                • lprent …
                  29 January 2014 at 2:46 pm

                  Ah. Who do they seek redress from? What do you suggest that they do – spend years pushing a defamation case through the courts (like Blomfield is doing)?

                  It isn’t like there is even the ineffectual hand slapping that the local media pretend to obey like the press council or BSA.

                  Assuming this is something to do with NZ, then this seems like a remarkably effective technique to show disapproval for an arsehole who deliberately makes replies posted on his site the scene of sustained abuse in the comments by his “barmy army”.

                  Let us hear your alternative to how to deal with an arsehole with self-control issues running a blog.

                  • JustLikeTigerWoods …
                    29 January 2014 at 2:54 pm

                    It’s a big internet. Ignore him.

                    • lprent …
                      29 January 2014 at 3:16 pm

                      Despite his attacks my ex-employers, that is largely what I did.

                      However when the arsehole gloats over my having a heart attack, or bemoaning later on that I survived it all for the amusement of the juvenile wankers who appear to be most of his readers. Well that does make it rather personal.

                      These days I tend to cheer on and even assist people on who legally attack Slater. Basically I’ve been helping get rid of human trash like Cameron Slater from the net for decades and I tend to view this as being a good thing. It is just a human thing.

                      Looks like someone has taken a illegal way. Might be related to his posts. Might just be a shakedown But by the look of it, it appears to be effective.

                      So you still haven’t answered my question.

                      What do you do when the only legal redress for a nutter arsehole like Slater slagging you off over the net is having many years and much expense in court? When you know that the useless lazy mostly bankrupt git couldn’t pay any judgement against him anyway.

                    • JustLikeTigerWoods …
                      29 January 2014 at 3:36 pm

                      Generally speaking, narcissist characters crave attention. And status. So I’d ignore them. And win at my own game, whatever that may be. They hate that. Drives them up the wall.

                      Don’t fight head on. They love a fight head on. It validates them.

                    • One Anonymous Knucklehead …
                      29 January 2014 at 3:47 pm

                      Not only thatr. What do you do if the person who gloats over your illness and publicly wishes you dead is encouraged in his odious behaviour by the Minister of Justice?

                    • rhinocrates …
                      30 January 2014 at 4:39 pm

                      I now expect Russell Brown, impeccable middle-class liberal that he is, to defend Slater’s right to freedom of hate speech while shutting down any criticism of him.

        • lprent 18.5.1.2
          29 January 2014 at 2:35 pm

          …at someone making this site inaccessible on that basis.

          It is unlikely that we’d go offline for a DDOS. Usually the reason we go offline is mostly because of hardware failures like hard disk failures or getting tossed off a server because of traffic volumes. I’ve also had some software upgrade issues.

          I’ve had 8 DDOS attacks of various magnitudes from spambot frenzy in december to two deliberate attacks mostly out of eastern europe. In the latter case I simply dropped most of the world outside of NZ from connecting to the site (love GeoIP).

          These days I can literally throw capacity at the problem while also dropping the rest of the world off it outside of NZ. Costs money on the next bill. But allows me to isolate the problem. I’d guess that reason that Cam hasn’t done it is because his advertising revenue comes almost entirely from offshore (unlike us).

          From how it is offline, I suspect that they are targeting his Disqus comment section. His main server is behind Cloudflare which is reasonably effective at handling DDOS (I used to use them). But that may have been a recent change (and the TTLs from his DNS is usually the issue there. He should have been able to change IP addresses at the server long ago. But Disqus has had the odd problems with DDOS – so that would be my pick for the problem area.

          But I’m going to be interested in who is doing it if they ever find out. I rather suspect that Cameron has absolutely no frigging idea really. From the number of people that he has pissed off over the years for being such an arsehole, there are a wide wide range of suspects. I’m sure that I’m on that list as I really think he is a complete creep. But it isn’t exactly hard to do these days even for a non-tech. But usually I’d just follow the money. I rather like the extortion theory myself.

          I think that the overwhelming feeling here is that Slater has been courting such an attempt by someone for a long time. The only thing that is particularly interesting is how long it takes him to get up and running again. It will probably also be pretty expensive hardening his site.

    • One Anonymous Knucklehead 18.6
      29 January 2014 at 1:27 pm

      Slater’s freedom of speech is not in any danger, but I look forward to your defence to the death of the right to freedom of speech at sea, and sympathy strike action.

    • Tracey 18.7
      29 January 2014 at 4:55 pm

      He doesnt seem able to deal with the consequences of his free speech

  19. Murray Olsen 19
    29 January 2014 at 12:31 pm

    The sleazy scumbag will be loving this because, in his diseased mind, he is once again the centre of attention. He will also be scared shitless because he knows he’s out of his depth, which is normally abusing 15 year old girls through his foul site. He loves playing the tough guy online and had possibly almost convinced himself that it was true, but now, thanks to his lack of any human qualities, he’s stirred up something he can’t handle and is straight off to whine at the local cop shop.

    I hope he gets his blog back soon and NAct continue to support him. The more his links to the PM’s office and membership of the Judith Collins CBT club become public knowledge, the better. We need to realise that many on the right are just like this creep, with flash suits and pretensions to be well mannered just being a thin veneer. Fuck him. He is the author of his own misfortune and deserves anything that happens to his festering self.

    • fender 19.1
      29 January 2014 at 12:40 pm

      “……. straight off to whine at the local cop shop.”

      Does that mean the headhunters aren’t with him anymore, if they ever were..

    • joe90 19.2
      29 January 2014 at 12:48 pm

      Judith Collins CBT club

      Ha!, brilliant, but the in my minds eye – ouch!!

    • amirite 19.3
      29 January 2014 at 8:51 pm

      +1000 Murray
      I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if it turns out he lied that he received death threats against his family.

  20. Tim 20
    29 January 2014 at 12:47 pm

    The thing that amuses me most about all this is Slator’s sudden respect of the law – i.e. to the extent he now intends laying a complaint in the hope those mean, nasty, feral types will be prosecuted (NO DOUBT “to the full extent of ‘the law'”)
    That very same “law” he chooses to ignore when it suits (such as with various judicial suppression orders).
    Selective? or What?
    It’s all on Cam’s terms though ……. aye? eh?
    Please yaRona! …. I’m suffering from dipreshin on account of my failed bizniss….. plus I’m far more deserving of your sympathy ‘cos I’ve never taken any benefit from the State or its apparatus…..
    Oh no…. wait … that ain’t gonna fly. Gimme 5 YaRonna – get back 2 ya.

    Just to be clear though – no threats are legit.
    Karma
    Can’t stand the heat?

    Suddenly worries tho’ Cam?
    I don’t REALLY think so, other than from the potential for morphing this all into the scenario that shows you as “the victim”.

    (btw Cam ….. “Victim”? boy – do I have a deal for you!!!!)

    Guess what though….. I’m picking that the NZPolis will both choose to investigate, and try on a prosecution. Good if they do though – it’ll be the ultimate in showing their double standards

  21. Skinny 21
    29 January 2014 at 12:55 pm

    Most people would choose to show some degree of compassion towards the family of the victim and not go on a nasty attack. It’s a bad look for National, by association with Cammeron. This guy wastes a lot of police resources with these sorts of stupid things. No one likes seeing tax payers money being wasted. So how about the tax payer union admonish him for doing exactly this?

  22. middxkea 22
    29 January 2014 at 1:07 pm

    Just don’t give him oxygen.

    Doh!

  23. rhinocrates 23
    29 January 2014 at 1:25 pm

    It’s a bit naive, I have to say, to think that shaking hands and making up is the solution.

    Slater will not apologise, ever. He needs help, and medication.

    Slater is seriously sick. He doesn’t need to say “sorry”, he needs to see a doctor.

    His weird obsession with death, shared with Farrar’s and Hooton’s gloating over dead children is not political or even moral, it’s a medical or psychiatric illness.

    We shouldn’t hate these people, but pity them and refer them to proper psychiatric professionals to deal with Farrar’s sexual obsessions (Wellington gossip, I have to say, has a lot to… say), Slater’s obsessive paranoia and Hooton’s own problems with being a moral vacuum and compulsive lying turned into a profession.

    One has to ask too about the Nats using these dysfunctional individuals.

  24. rhinocrates 24
    29 January 2014 at 1:29 pm

    Shit!

    Apologies if there are multiple posts, but I just can’t get through!

    Again, again, again…

    It’s a bit naive, I have to say, to think that shaking hands and making up is the solution.

    Slater will not apologise, ever. He needs help, and medication.

    Slater is seriously sick. He doesn’t need to say “sorry”, he needs to see a doctor.

    His weird obsession with death, shared with Farrar’s and Hooton’s gloating over dead children is not political or even moral, it’s a medical or psychiatric illness.

    We shouldn’t hate these people, but pity them and refer them to proper psychiatric professionals to deal with Farrar’s sexual obsessions (Wellington gossip, I have to say, has a lot to… say), Slater’s obsessive paranoia and Hooton’s own problems with being a moral vacuum and compulsive lying turned into a profession.

    One has to ask too about the Nats using these dysfunctional individuals.

  25. Tigger 25
    29 January 2014 at 1:43 pm

    Freedom of speech is a good thing. But I cannot fathom why people thinks freedom of speech means freedom from repercussions.

    You want to dance on the grave of the recently deceased – fine. But don’t expect any sympathy if someone takes it poorly.

    As for the ‘death threats’ Slater needs to realise the voices in his head aren’t a different person.

    • Colonial Viper 25.1
      29 January 2014 at 8:59 pm

      Yep. Consider the “freedom of speech” an employee has against their employer, or against the General Manager of their employer i.e. fuck all.

  26. vto 26
    29 January 2014 at 1:44 pm

    It is not just the “feral” comment ffs, it is the “did the world a favour”.

    The cunt is in for a lifetime of looking over his shoulder now and good job. And everyone above is correct in that he is out of his depth, that he has stirred up something beyond his understanding, let alone capability. West Coast people run on different rules and norms, different parameters and assessments, they don’t care for the law to anything like the extent that most of the rest of NZ does. Go there and get a feel – don’t take long to understand the law of the coast. Some of the shit that happens and the reaction of the community to it …….. he should be very worried…… and for a long long time….

    If the threats get actioned no tears will fall from these eyes

    (and personally, I think I am just about completely done with this blogworld shit, it is all getting a bit heated, dangerous and out of control)

  27. captain hook 27
    29 January 2014 at 1:48 pm

    the thing is that he is a sorry excuse for a human being anyway.

  28. vto 28
    29 January 2014 at 2:12 pm

    A bit on Judd Hall and his ilk…. have had a great deal of involvement with them over long periods. Judd and his type of circle are very very good people. They exhibit all the good qualities that most New Zealanders like to think of themselves as having. They are very fine and the sort that people like to have as friends.

    Their qualities are high.

    They leave the likes of Slaterslop in the dust. Slaterslop and his circles are absolute scum in comparison.

    In fact, there is no comparison. Slater and his circles occupy the bottom of society. I choose Judd Hall over Slatershit and his people in an instant everytime. It is a no-brainer.

  29. appleboy 29
    29 January 2014 at 2:15 pm

    Slater’s comments are clear evidence of a man who is utterly sick in the head. In fact , he’s beyond sick, perhaps in his twisted little word this crap is valid because it gets people looking at his website, but no human being could say such a vile thing for any reason.

    Did I hear he’s on a sickness benefit?

    • vto 29.1
      29 January 2014 at 2:17 pm

      Isn’t his father high up in the National Party? Isn’t he wealthy? What sort of upbringing has Slaterslop had to result in this behaviour?

      What does it say about National Party people and the way they go about life?

      • Anne 29.1.1
        29 January 2014 at 2:33 pm

        His father was the chairman of the Auckland division of the National Party back in the 1980s. I don’t know how long he remained in the position. One of the reasons Slater has such a hate thing going with the current National Party president, Peter Goodfellow is because Goodfellow beat his father for the position some years back.

    • weka 29.2
      29 January 2014 at 2:20 pm

      “Did I hear he’s on a sickness benefit?”

      Lots of people are on sickness benefit. What’s your point?

      • Daveosaurus 29.2.1
        29 January 2014 at 5:30 pm

        The point could possibly be that he’s been whining about how much having the site down is costing him in lost revenue.

        Has he been declaring that revenue to the welfare department (whatever it’s called these days)?

        • weka 29.2.1.1
          29 January 2014 at 5:55 pm

          Yeah, that argument has been made before. Maybe Slater is moonlighting as a roof painter too.

    • greywarbler 29.3
      29 January 2014 at 5:32 pm

      Lot of people on a sickness benefit. It doesn’t mean they behave like Slater. He has real ego issues I think. He’s in the obssessive, narcisisssstic class. however that is spelt, with a bit of sociopath thrown in.

      • Augustus 29.3.1
        30 January 2014 at 12:59 pm

        No such thing as a sickness benefit anymore. He would be a job seeker, perhaps currently exempt from looking for a job for health reasons. That gets assessed and re-assessed every 5 minutes until you no longer qualify or you are really sick, sick of jumping through hoops and having stress piled on top of your original problem.
        But that wouldn’t be a problem for a well known personality now, would it?

  30. Arfamo 30
    29 January 2014 at 2:19 pm

    Look, really, there are some things you shouldn’t say in a blog, farcebook, or a twitter feed or you will get absolutely slammed by fierce and angry reactions. Most people know this because such situations are regularly reported in the media. So, Cam would know that. So, why would Cam do that?

  31. captain hook 31
    29 January 2014 at 2:22 pm

    he might have some money but he stillhad to rort the insurance company over a dodgy claim to finance his lifestyle and whoever finances his sleaze rag is a mystery too.

  32. Lez Howard 32
    29 January 2014 at 3:02 pm

    Feral , Coming from Slater thats rich look at his mates Luigi, Palino and the other scum from the Right

  33. weka 33
    29 January 2014 at 3:05 pm

    There have been quite a few comments about Slater’s mental health. I’d like to point out that as tempting as it is to assign mental illness to Slater, the act of doing so perpetuates the very poor attitude and understanding we have in NZ about people with mental illnesses. There is no way to understand someone’s mental health from this distance.

    If it’s ok for people here to make judgements about mental diagnoses re Slater, and none of us here are in a position to do so in any way other than superficially, then it’s fair game for anyone to do so about anyone. It creates further unsafety for people dealing with mental health issues, when they already live in a culture that is pretty bad at supporting them to be well.

    By all means vent your anger at Slater, and look for ways of talking about how he is, but please don’t bring pseudo-psychiatric or mental health prejudice into it.

    • geoff 33.1
      29 January 2014 at 3:24 pm

      Excellent point, weka.

    • bad12 33.2
      29 January 2014 at 3:30 pm

      While i ‘see’ what you are saying, from my point of view Slater doesn’t deserve such largess and if it looks and sounds mental then i will happily label it mental,

      As to your query above regarding Blubber boy being in receipt of a sickness benefit at some point, this was widely reported a year or two ago by at least one TV channel and from memory the reason given for accessing this benefit was either psychological or stress related reasons…

      • weka 33.2.1
        29 January 2014 at 3:38 pm

        It’s not about what Slater deserves or doesn’t deserve. It’s not about him at all. It’s that if you legitimise this you legitimise it for all people, including people with mental health issues who are already vulnerable.

        “As to your query above regarding Blubber boy being in receipt of a sickness benefit at some point, this was widely reported a year or two ago by at least one TV channel and from memory the reason given for accessing this benefit was either psychological or stress related reasons…”

        Still don’t see what the relevancy is.

        • weka 33.2.1.1
          29 January 2014 at 3:45 pm

          For example:

          “He certainly belongs in institutionalized care as His activities are becoming a danger to Himself and His family,(the fact that He cannot see how He has brought about such danger is another factor to be taken into account when assessing His mental condition), perhaps a CAT team need assess Slater with a view to removing Him from society for the safety of Him and His family…”

          NZ has an appalling history of institutionalising people against their will. In many cases this involves a third party (person, doctor, other) making the kinds of statements you just made. In many cases institutionalisation has been used as a means of control. It also damages some people irrepairably.

          The language you use in that statement is typical of that used against many people who have been damaged by society’s fear of mental health and pretty fucked up attitudes about it.

          To be clear, it’s not Slater I am concerned about here. It’s that you legitimise the sectioning of people based on online gossip. That could be any vulnerable person. We also have no way of know if institutionalising Slater would make society safer. It could make him more dangerous.

          • One Anonymous Knucklehead 33.2.1.1.1
            29 January 2014 at 3:52 pm

            Plus one Weka.

            Slater deserves contempt, but no-one deserves his blood on their hands.

          • bad12 33.2.1.1.2
            29 January 2014 at 4:00 pm

            Yawn Weka, i took the trip to Porirua,(4 times to be exact), one of those was a snatch off of the street job, no reason given, straight into Craig with the needle to zonk me out for 2 days just a taste of things to come,

            Save your preaching for someone that deserves it, Slater sure as hell don’t…

            • weka 33.2.1.1.2.1
              29 January 2014 at 4:06 pm

              I’m sorry to hear that bad. I’m also sorry to hear that you feel this means it legitimises doing that to other people too 🙁

              “Save your preaching for someone that deserves it, Slater sure as hell don’t…”

              I’m not talking about Slater, as I’ve said a number of times now. Looks to me like you haven’t understood my point yet.

              • bad12 …
                29 January 2014 at 4:25 pm

                Oh i understand your point alright, i am just not prepared to drag the post off into a debate about ‘mental health’ in general which appears to be your intent, this post is after all about Slater,

                No need for the sorrow Weka, while i disagree with the means of getting me into the nut factory and my view is that the treatment was far far worse than the problem along with the various illegal actions taken against myself and 1000,s of others in the name of the mental health system i will admit to being at the time psychotic,

                Whether or not i was at the time a danger to myself or anyone else is debatable the same i cannot say about Slater tho who’s own actions, if i am right and He is suffering a disease of the mind, has put His and His family’s safety at risk…

                • weka …
                  29 January 2014 at 5:49 pm

                  What makes you think he has put his own and his family’s life at risk?

                  • bad12 …
                    29 January 2014 at 5:54 pm

                    Weka, Derr, death threats on His phone and facebook page, if of course He is not lying…

                    • weka …
                      29 January 2014 at 6:01 pm

                      Lynn Prentice has received threats as a result of his online actions, so should he be sectioned too? Shall we now discuss Lynn’s mental health and how he should be controlled psychiatrically? I guess not, but surely KB and WO commenters are allowed to, right? Not that Lynn would probably care, because he is a tough nut, but what about someone running a blog who has mental health vulnerabilities. Are they now fair game too?

                      Love the Derr typo btw 🙂

                    • bad12 …
                      29 January 2014 at 7:40 pm

                      You get more stupid the more you type, do you think the comments that provoked such death threats against Lprent were such that a normal person would be provoked to violence by them,

                      If the answer to that is in the negative then i would suggest that it would be the issuer of the threat would be the one needing a wee spot of treatment,

                      Given the loss of a child Weka what would you do in the face of the same s**t that Slater wrote about that kid down the Coast,

                      Given my past behavior, in such a situation i am reasonably sure i would go far far further than just the issuing of threats…

                    • weka …
                      29 January 2014 at 7:54 pm

                      It’s not just Lynn’s comments, it’s his role in the political blogosphere. Do I think the threats are credible? No, but I don’t think the risk is non-existent either.

                      (However, have a read up on what happens to feminist bloggers and the kinds of threats they get. You don’t have to do much in this world to put yourself in danger it seems.)

                      But I also don’t think that Slater is in that much danger either. More than Lynn for sure, but not that much. Nevertheless, let’s say you are right and someone is seriously going to do him harm

                      You seem to be making a cause and effect link between Slater’s mental health and him being at real risk. I would see the link as being between his behaviour and the threats. You would have to make the case that his behaviour is the result of his mental ill health, rather than say the fact that he is an extreme arsehole. Of course you can’t really separate out such things, but my point still stands: if you want Slater to be sectioned on the basis of your belief, then that lays the way open for that to be applied to all people who aren’t normal.

                      How often do people get sectioned for provoking others to harm them, at such a distance. They generally get sectioned for harming themselves and others directly (or being at risk of this).

                      btw, what makes you think that this theoretical person who is going to harm Slater is normal? I would say that such an act is outside the norm.

            • One Anonymous Knucklehead 33.2.1.1.2.2
              29 January 2014 at 4:23 pm

              Weka’s “preaching” to you, in the hope that you’ll let go of the bigotry against people with mental illness.

              Just saying.

              • bad12 …
                29 January 2014 at 4:28 pm

                What would you call bigotry against my own self??? that’s per-rity Lame with a capital, and for your information most of the people i talk to on a daily basis are the paranoid and the ‘out there’, yes a club of nutters in other words…

                • One Anonymous Knucklehead …
                  29 January 2014 at 4:40 pm

                  Think about it then. How could the casual stigmatisation of mental illness amount to bigotry? Um, let’s see…

                  PS: Some of my best thoughts are mentally ill.

                  • McFlock …
                    29 January 2014 at 4:48 pm

                    lol

                  • bad12 …
                    29 January 2014 at 7:33 pm

                    In the world i live AOK, casual bigotry and stigmatization are suffered by most from racial groups to solo parents to ex hospital patients,

                    With all of it we simply adapt it to ourselves and each other where it becomes a currency of every day discourse which generates much mirth so your prissy attitude which may suit the world in which you live, your world view so to speak, is simply another reason to laugh in mine…

                    Ps, All of my thoughts, according to those with the supposedly proper degrees are mentally ill…

        • bad12 33.2.1.2
          29 January 2014 at 3:55 pm

          Weka, quite frankly i don’t see the relevancy of what your blathering on about, here i will say it again,

          That piece of human flotsam called ‘wail-oil’, Blubber boy, or for the more prissy Cameron Slater has serious things wrong with His f**king nut, my view is that whatever these serious things wrong with His nut are have likely become a disease of the mind which has caused Him to publish words that put both His and His family’s lives in danger,

          This is an interesting interview with Slater that clarifies some of His mental health issues,

          http://www.nzherald.co.nz/news/article.cfm?c_1&objectid...

          If that don’t work the Google is: Michelle Hewitson interview: Cameron Slater- New Zealand Herald…

    • Rosie 33.3
      29 January 2014 at 4:57 pm

      Hi weka. I’m not sure if you’re including me in the “there have been quite a few comments about Salter’s mental health” In a reply earlier to Fender I did allude to sociopathy, one time.

      Firstly, I’m not picking up on anyone being specifically bigoted around mental health and attaching prejudice to Slater in that respect. I am hearing a lot of disgust and anger however.

      Secondly, just to make it known to you, if you were including me, that I would never use a term like sociopathy in any flippant way. From my memory of studying psychology in 2008 sociopathy refers to some one who has no capacity for empathy for the suffering of others. Slater has demonstrated this attribute clearly on several occasions and this is one appalling example. Like Rhino says, Slater does need help. Maybe he has received treatment but that is none of my business. His depression has been no secret in the media in the past and he was even featured in an article in the Listener some years back. Please bear in mind, you were the one that called him a sick fuck at 8.1.

      I especially wouldn’t use a psychological term in a derogatory way because I have coped with severe depression and anxiety myself, lived with those who suffer mental health illness, and sadly lost a friend to suicide in winter last year. I understand the courage it takes for someone with mental health issues to live in a world that separates itself from them and have immense respect for the journey to recovery and living a full life.

      Cameron Slater’s mental health is his own issue and that of his clinician’s, family and friends. I can respect that, but as for his actions, that is different. He deserves every bit of contempt laid upon him.

      • weka 33.3.1
        29 January 2014 at 5:47 pm

        Hi Rosie,

        No I wasn’t thinking of your comment, but I appreciate your reply. Slater might very well need help. Or he might be beyond help. Or helping him might make him worse. Or he might need a kind of help that doesn’t involve seeing a doctor (which was Rhino’s suggesting). My point is that none of us is in a position to judge someone else’s mental health and then know what they should do or should be done to them. We have the suggestion in this thread that he be sectioned. As I said, sectioning has been a tool of massive abuse in this country, so when we sanction people to take this line, esp online, we are in danger of supporting the use of that tool as abuse.

        Bad’s response to that seems to be that because it’s Slater its justified, but I’m not talking about Slater, I’m talking about what this does to the culture of mental health awareness in NZ and where that tool will be used against others. We suck, really badly, at this. Let’s not make it worse.

        Psychiatry and mental health services themselves also have done untold damage to many people at the same time as helping others. It’s a minefield. To assume that because someone falls well outside of human norms that they should be treated by doctors is not only supportive of the abuse of mental health patients, it’s really ignorant. Mostly what I see here is people wanting society to control Slater, and some are saying psychiatry should do it. I’m saying that if you sanction that (online lay-person diagnosis), then you sanction all the times that psychiatry has been used to control people who are not normal. That is not about the wellbeing of the person or society.

        When I read the interview linked above I saw much. I have no idea how much of it is true or real. I do know that you cannot understand the complexities of someone’s mental health from that article enough to know what should be done to them.

        Either way, I’m not willing to dehumanise Slater despite him being a sick fuck (sick fuck, btw, isn’t a mental health diagnosis or prescription, and is not a response to that article. It’s a response to his behaviour). Because Slater doesn’t exist in a vacuum. He exists within a context that created him. Modern psychiatry generally wants to divorce pathology from environment and experience, which means we never really get to what is wrong. Labelling him mentally ill and packing him off to hospital says more about us in this conversation than anything else.

        Where you said earlier, “To wish death upon someone and to joke about death is purely sociopathic.”

        I don’t have such a problem with that. You use a term to describe someone’s actions. This is different than saying HE is a sociopath who needs to be locked up (although even that wouldn’t be so bad, because it just everyday common ranting). I also don’t have a problem with your observation that he lacks empathy, but it starts to bother me when that becomes he IS a sociopath and then going into detail and concluding that therefore he should be locked up etc. It’s when we cross the line and start using the tools of power over and abuse that there is a problem.

        • Rosie 33.3.1.1
          29 January 2014 at 7:18 pm

          Hi weka.

          Got ya. Unfortunately I don’t have time right now to respond to you in a fully considered way but would like to let you know that I understand the point you are making.

          I’m aware that psychiatry isn’t the right path for everyone and that a holistic approach that takes in the influences of environment and the individual’s experience can be more beneficial. I’ve seen this approach taken and seen the results in others. I am also aware that much damage has been done, especially historically. I’m all to aware of that, in the case of Porirua Hospital in particular having had a family member work there in a clinical capacity during the time of abuse in the 70’s. The same hospital the bad 12 referred to above. Bad12 also had good points to make in your discussion with him, imo.

          I’ve really got to go. Thank you for your reply. In the meantime I saw 3news (those traitors) with Slater at the top of the news. I’d have to go back to my text books but I’m fairly certain he is displaying sociopathic tendencies, but that’s not for me to decide, maybe no one ever will.

          Judd Hall’s Mum Joe was awesome, despite the fact that she shouldn’t have to be dealing with this shit in her grief. Let him go to Greymouth to face her.

          • weka 33.3.1.1.1
            29 January 2014 at 7:26 pm

            Thanks Rosie 🙂

            I loved how Hall said she wanted him to come to Greymouth, and that he would be more than safe.

      • Eliza 33.3.2
        31 January 2014 at 9:39 am

        “. . . some one who has no capacity for empathy for the suffering of others.”.
        Rosie, this is his problem. Slater does not have the capacity to grasp this concept, that what he states publically (not, just in relation to Judd Hall, but other subjects as well), has the capacity to cause another human being/beings distress. In this case, not only Judd Hall’s family and friends, but the entire West Coast. This is the very reason why the West Coast community has reacted to what he has stated openly in the public arena! When a small community loses someone, the entire community hurts. I’m an ex-coaster, so I understand how they are all feeling!

        Slater now worries about his own daughter, but did he think about Jo Hall’s daughter, I doubt it very much!
        When Slater’s daughter grows up, and hopefully freedom of speech is still a round, she will have the opportunity to survey what her father expressed publically!

        Hopefully Slater’s “apple/apples all fall far from the tree”, and that they understand the concept, “to empathise with your fellow human beings, has the capacity to make the world a much better place to live”.

        Very proud ex-coaster!

  34. Will.@Welly 34
    29 January 2014 at 3:18 pm

    Whether Cameroon Slater likes to acknowledge it or not, it is public record that he needs to pop a pharmaceutical supply of drugs daily to make it from dawn to dusk. The guys a dependent junkie, that was recognized in a court of law. Perhaps like a lot of junkies, he has finally “fried” his brain.
    The statement referring to Judd Hall, and calling him a “feral”, when his brother was killed in the Pike River Mine is scurrilous, to say the least. 29 men died because of National’s policies. Cameroon Slater is now a mouth-piece for every death that occurs in the worth-place – does he champion the open slaughter in our work places because that’s what he alludes too.
    As for the “death threats” – it seems like a lot of hype and publicity to gain publicity, knowing full well he has made a monumental stuff-up.
    Personally, I be happy for him to “visit” the West Coast. There are plenty of abandoned mines that he could be shown around.

  35. karol 35
    29 January 2014 at 3:23 pm

    Helen Kelly’s tweet about this was very apt:

    I wish Whaleoil site wasnt down. I cld go on & find some of the violent threats made abt me 2 let him know he’s not alone #iamkindlikethat

    • One Anonymous Knucklehead 35.1
      29 January 2014 at 4:38 pm

      Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines.

    • Tracey 35.2
      29 January 2014 at 5:31 pm

      Plus one.

      Someone here once tried to convince me that slater does display signs of narcissist disorder… I wasnt convinced then and I am not now. He can threaten people cos when he does it… its right.

      I wouldnt be surprised if he dropped the site to divert from his behaviour to enable him to be the victim

  36. red blooded 36
    29 January 2014 at 4:17 pm

    The guy’s a narcissistic bully and completely lacks empathy. I can feel sorry for his children, but mostly because of who they got stuck with as a father.

    (A side comment – not only appalling attitudes, but dreadful grammar. “Feral” is an adjective, not a a noun. “Dies” – present tense, “did” past tense. Maybe Slater can use some of this down-time to brush up his writing skills…)

    Frankly, whoever attacked his site has done the world a favour. I only wish I could believe that it would teach him a much-needed lesson in human values.

    • Tracey 36.1
      29 January 2014 at 5:34 pm

      Agreed. Like michael lawz berating bad parents while publishing his dalliance with a prostitute in national paper.. . But keep my kids out of it.

      • unsol 36.1.1
        29 January 2014 at 6:05 pm

        That is it in a nutshell, Cameron always seeks to hold others to a higher standard that he is ever prepared or even capable of reaching himself.

        He needs to do more than apologise, he needs to turn off his laptop & get a real job in the real world & learn to have some empathy.

        He would also do well to remember what I am sure his parents taught him: think before you act, or in his case, before you press publish.

        He loves to exercise freedom of speech yet denies it to others & never seems to understand that freedom of speech does not actually mean you can say what you like when you like regardless of the consequences.

        He made an awful comment & now he is being subjected to awful consequences. But he is no stranger to humiliation & seems to have no qualms with dragging his family through the muck so I am not sure even this will get him to rethink how he approaches things. He seems to think that he is invincible, that he is beyond reproach.

        So it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. I am impressed with the hackers. They did good.

        Perhaps his 2IC Pete will take up the reigns – he offers a much more calm, rational & balanced approach to all topics & doesnt appear to want to incite contention, violence or be a fan of ridiculing others as method of procuring blog ratings.

  37. the pigman 37
    29 January 2014 at 4:22 pm

    My (layman) understanding is that DDoS attacks are basically orchestrated by saturating the host server with communication requests/traffic. My guess is that the ridiculous traffic-enhancing measures he set up (wasn’t he claiming to get more than a million hits per day?) have finally brought down his own server.

    Another snake choking on its own tail… we can only hope it’s terminal.

  38. Vagabundo 38
    29 January 2014 at 5:10 pm

    Micky, you talk about Slater’s freedom of speech, but let’s not forget that freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequence. At the end of the day, when you’ve stepped on as many toes as Slater has, this sort of thing was going to be inevitable and you are absolutely spot-on when you say Slater way overstepped the mark to begin with.

    That said, death threats aren’t cool.

  39. freedom 39
    29 January 2014 at 5:29 pm

    interesting interview on RNZ with Slater and Jo Hall

    Slater stated very clearly he has seven voice mail messages from Jo Hall that contain death threats

    Jo Hall stated very clearly he should take the messages to the Police

    I am guessing Slater’s next move will involve a chair and a certain stillness
    as shadowy voices remind him this better go away very very quickly

  40. Sanctuary 40
    29 January 2014 at 5:35 pm

    Just heard Slater on NatRad. My God, the guy is… Nuts. He is one seriously delusional dude. You don’t need a medical degree to work out he is a sociopath.

    The saddest thing about Cameron Slater is what his media profile tells about the state of news and current affairs in New Zealand.

    Also heard Jo Hall. Cameron may have run into a real world Cheryl West.

  41. Anne 41
    29 January 2014 at 6:03 pm

    I heard it too Sanctuary. It seems he’s claiming he has received several death threats from the mother of the son just killed in a car accident. She has denied it and – as has been said – challenged him to take the evidence to court. There is now no doubting he is a sociopathic individual. Cannot relate to people…has no feelings of compassion, decency and rational thought. The sooner he’s picked up by the men in white coats the better for him.

    As has also been said: What does it say about the MSM jerks who go to him for political comment!!

  42. rhinocrates 42
    29 January 2014 at 6:23 pm

    Just heard Graeme Edgler on National Party Radio.

    Christ, what a moral wimp hiding behind “professionalism”!

  43. DP 43
    29 January 2014 at 6:25 pm

    I don’t think the media use Cameron for his insight into politics. I think they use him to provides train-wrecks. I love hearing Cameron on the radio, just not for the reasons he thinks.

    Like the saying goes – people don’t watch Formula 1 for the racing, they watch it for the crashes.

  44. Steve 44
    29 January 2014 at 8:06 pm

    Telling the truth is something that WOBH does, leftie blogs have problems with the truth

    [lprent: Yes we did. However this problem appears to have cured itself.

    Cameron Slater, the ‘editor’ of both, ran century old The Truth into the ground and bankruptcy and now appears to be destroying his own site. If you want to be a professional prepubescent wanker (kind of ineffectual and pointless), then I suggest that yo go back to WOBH. I’m unlikely to tolerate a moron like yourself jerking off tired old slogans here.

    You have to use your grey matter rather than your corpus cavernosum on this site and express your own original opinions and verifiable facts with links to back them. ]

  45. Rodel 45
    29 January 2014 at 9:00 pm

    For some reason Slater reminds me of the peculiar people of Westboro church in the states.
    Pathology combined with an obsession to be regarded as important.

    We have a problem when the communicative power of the internet can be used so easily by unhinged people.

  46. felix 46
    29 January 2014 at 11:09 pm

    People are cutting Cameron Slater way too much slack.

    He deserves exactly as much sympathy as he has ever shown others.

    Cameron Slater can go to hell.

  47. Arfamo 47
    29 January 2014 at 11:23 pm

    Cameron Slater can go to hell.

    Piss off. I’ve been authoritatively told several times I’ve got a reservation there. Send the bugger somewhere else.

  48. Sanctuary 48
    30 January 2014 at 7:07 am

    Still down just now.

    Oh dear.

    What a pity.

    Never mind.

  49. vto 49
    30 January 2014 at 7:24 am

    [Do you want to rephrase this VTO? I can understand the feeling but … – MS]

    • karol 49.1
      30 January 2014 at 8:05 am

      That sort of a comment doesn’t do the left any favours.

    • felix 49.2
      30 January 2014 at 8:18 am

      Jeez mate, have another cup of tea eh?

      Besides, the most fitting end for him is having to live his life as Cameron Slater.

    • vto 49.3
      30 January 2014 at 8:51 am

      Yes, no I don’t. I can understand the deletion.

      I’m out for a long haul now anyways. See you all sometime in the future maybe and thanks for the good times (and the bad times too even). Keep up the good work.

      • mickysavage 49.3.1
        30 January 2014 at 8:57 am

        Hey VTO apols for the edit. Come back soon.

        • karol 49.3.1.1
          30 January 2014 at 11:34 am

          No need to apol, micky. I was concerned about the legal standing of such statements and was contemplating sending it to moderation for someone else’s opinion on it.

  50. tricledrown 50
    30 January 2014 at 7:41 am

    The longer Slater refuses to apologize the worse he looks.

  51. millsy 51
    30 January 2014 at 7:48 am

    Those with long memories will remember the glee he showed when that woman up in Auckland died when her power got cut off. It was almost like he got some sexual pleasure out of it.

    I got the impression that had he been there at that time, he would have watched her die and not done anything about it. He then went on to challenge her sons to a boxing match.

    I really see no difference between him, and the thugs who used to roam around Germany wearing brown shirts and roughing up old Jewish shopkeepers (I wonder if he secretly roams around Otara and roughs up DPB mothers — I know the guy does it to union members — though it is expected that right wingers go on about “freedom” and then in the same sentence, call for the outlawing of trade unions).

  52. One Anonymous Knucklehead 52
    30 January 2014 at 8:27 am

    I doubt Slater will apologise, but in the unlikely event that he does, I expect him to issue a non apology for “any offence caused”, rather than an apology for his own National Party behaviour.

    The Clayon’s apology so beloved of shock jocks and other trash, that is no apology at all, but merely another expression of contempt.

  53. travellerev 53
    30 January 2014 at 9:19 am

    I don’t like Whaleoil or Cameron Slater and I think he is iconic for what I don’t like about NZ in general. Which is not to say I don’t like anything about New Zealand because I do.

    However, Whaleoil is the biggest and most read blog of the NZ blogosphere and when my husband comes home despairing, with tales of his very middle of the road NZ company where colleagues are known to say things like: “Look at this piece of rope… Just think of how many blacks I could string up with that!” (and that is just one of the many hideous remarks) I hope you get my drift.

    A people breed the kind of bloggers it feeds the most and gets the government it deserves. Maybe it is time to have a good long look in the mirror and ask yourself who did I confront today about their ignorance and dangerous adherence to and celebration of stupidity? Or did you go down the spiral of silence as is so prevalent in NZ society?

    • RedLogix 53.1
      30 January 2014 at 11:34 am

      Thanks very much for that link.

      Otherwise yes – a very thought provoking comment.

    • lprent 53.2
      30 January 2014 at 11:47 am

      …is the biggest and most read blog of the NZ blogosphere…

      Whaleoil.co.nz is probably the most read blog in the .nz domain space. I don’t think that it is the most read or even the biggest blog in the new zealand blogosphere.

      Since most of Whaleoil’s content these days is aimed directly at being click bait for an overseas audience to provide Cameron with a advertising income, then I suspect that it what they get.

      Cameron values quantity over quality. This shows up in everything from the multitudinous micro-posts to the many but very very short (average comment length barely exceeds the 140 characters of a tweet) and largely vacuous comments. As you point out this probably matches his audience.

      I think that kiwiblog is still (damnit) the most widely read (still by a long way) and commented (maybe*) blog of the NZ blogosphere. It gets pretty obvious when you look at the public statcounters and sitemeters, have a RSS post and comment feed, and run the raw feeds through any kind of lexical analysis.

      * In any given month kiwiblog has slightly more comments (right now it is about 11358 at KB vs 10599 at TS), but usually has a average comment size of about 2/3rds that of TS. Depends what you want to use for a criteria.

  54. Meg 54
    30 January 2014 at 11:30 am

    While the death threats are unacceptable, Cameron has caused this himself through his nasty abusive scummy American tabloid actions. He is the one who abuses and bully’s and he is the one who has inflicted this on his family.

    He will not say sorry for his actions, he is too arrogant for that. He will cry “poor me” and demand the cops punish the bully’s, and pretend he is not the actual bully in all this.

    Karma is a bitch and he deserves every little bit of this. Long may his blog be off line. The internet is a better place because of it.

  55. captain Hook 55
    30 January 2014 at 11:54 am

    he is just like any slug. pour salt on it and it will curl up and die.

  56. grumpy 56
    30 January 2014 at 12:39 pm

    Mickey, I find your belief that the comments about the dead young guy and the DdOS are linked ridiculous and though you had more sense.
    Sure, it’s a stupid thing to have said but the idea of the aggrieved family and mates having the ability and resources to initiate a sophisticated DdOS attack is frankly insane.

  57. Puckish Rogue 57
    30 January 2014 at 1:43 pm

    http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2014/01/back-2/

    – Just to let everyone know hes back up and running if anyone wants to check out his response

    [lprent: Saw that – Cameron blustering.

    The other post by the techhead was better (can’t get it right now as the site is again inaccessible bechind cloudflare).

    Turns out that Whaleoil wasn’t keeping a daily offsite backup so when their service provider disabled their site to protect their network – they couldn’t get the site files. Well duh!

    Mind you I only really really learnt that back in 2010 after a hard disk failure. You don’t have to do a 50Gb update every day. A combination of rsync and hard links on a linux backup system is your friend and savior. ]

  58. The Pink Postman 58
    30 January 2014 at 2:46 pm

    The fact is ,that this so called Whale Oil is a breed and born Tory.No more need said . except there are no good Tories.

  59. The Pink Postman 59
    30 January 2014 at 2:46 pm

    The fact is ,that this so called Whale Oil is a bred and born Tory.No more need said . except there are no good Tories.

  60. lprent 60
    30 January 2014 at 3:58 pm

    It was with amusement that I read Co-pilot Pete’s report at Whaleoil on what went wrong.

    In essence, they had denial of service attack on their site. That probably wasn’t that much of an attack. The problem was that their cheap arse provider shut the server down to protect their systems*, and the site didn’t have a (recent?) offsite backup to restore from.

    After I finished laughing, it is with a touch of remorse** that I offer this linux bash script to other wordpress sites. It does the remote backups of TS several times per day to one of my other systems. Fill in the details section and mount under a particular user crontab.

    It will do a full backup of the mysql database (not particularly synced unless –singletransaction is turned on), and a delta backup of the files. In my case I keep 12 local backups with all files using a copy-on-write hard links system. Make it easy to fix single files and/or directories at the server. A seperate cron archives the files.


    #!/bin/bash
    # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    # picks up the database state (no rotation)
    # rotating backup-snapshots of remote site whenever called
    # ----------------------------------------------------------------------

    #set -o verbose
    #set -x
    set -e

    unset PATH # avoid accidental use of $PATH

    # ------------- details -----------------------------------------

    # file these out for your local and remote systems.

    BACKUPDIR="" # store on local system - no spaces in path
    EXCLUDES="$BACKUPDIR/backup_exclude" # exclude filespecs

    SITE="" # backup site name - no spaces - the backup will use this

    DBHOST="" # url/ip of db host
    DBLOGIN="" # login for db host
    DBPASSWORD="" # password for db
    DB="" # name of the db

    SRVLOGIN="" # login for ssh on web files host
    SRVHOST="" # url/ip for web files host
    SRVDIR="" # the server site directory (eg /var/www/??)

    BKUSR=0 # backup user id (0=root)
    ROTATION=12 # numbers of copies of the site files that we keep.

    # ------------- system commands used by this script --------------------

    # these are for recent (at 2013) ubuntu versions
    ID="/usr/bin/id"
    ECHO="/bin/echo"

    MOUNT="/bin/mount"
    RM="/bin/rm"
    MV="/bin/mv"
    CP="/bin/cp"
    TOUCH="/bin/touch"
    MKDIR="/bin/mkdir -p"
    RSYNC="/usr/bin/rsync"
    EXPR="/usr/bin/expr"
    DATE="/bin/date"

    # must have a local mysql client installed.
    MYSQLDUMP="/usr/bin/mysqldump"

    ##########################################################

    # make sure we're running as right user because need access access to the
    # encrypted backup disk
    if (( `$ID -u` != $BKUSR )); then { $ECHO "Sorry, must be user $BKUSR. Exiting..."; exit; } fi

    "$MKDIR" -p "$BACKUPDIR"
    #
    DBBAKUP=$BACKUPDIR/$SITE_`$DATE '+%y%m%d_%H%M%S'`.sql.gz # no spaces

    # could run this directly as ssh, but since it is already running in
    # a tunneled ssh for development work, so I won't bother.
    $MYSQLDUMP \
    --compress \
    --quick \
    --host=$DBHOST --user="$DBLOGIN" --password="$DBPWD" \
    # --single-transaction \
    --opt --events --routines --triggers \
    $DB \
    | /bin/gzip > "$DBBAKUP"

    # and now to the files
    # rotating snapshots of files
    if [ ! -e "$EXCLUDES" ]; then
    "$TOUCH" "$EXCLUDES" # make sure that an excludes file exists
    fi
    cd $BACKUPDIR

    # step 1: delete the oldest snapshot, if it exists:
    if [ -d "$SITE.$ROTATION" ] ; then
    $RM -rf "$SITE.$ROTATION"
    fi

    # step 2: shift the middle snapshots(s) back by one, if they exist
    ONELESS=`$EXPR $ROTATION-1`
    for (( i=(( $ONELESS )) ; i > 0; i-- )) ; do
    AA=`$EXPR $i + 1`
    if [ -d "$SITE.$i" ] ; then
    $MV "$SITE.$i" "$SITE.$AA"
    fi
    done

    # step 3: make a hard-link-only (except for dirs) copy of the latest snapshot,
    # if that exists
    if [ -d "$SITE.0" ] ; then
    $CP -al "$SITE.0" "$SITE.1"
    fi

    # step 4: rsync from the system into the latest snapshot (notice that
    # rsync behaves like cp --remove-destination by default, so the destination
    # is unlinked first. If it were not so, this would copy over the other
    # snapshot(s) too!
    $RSYNC \
    -vaz --delete --delete-excluded \
    --exclude-from="$EXCLUDES" \
    -e ssh "$SRVLOGIN@$SRVHOST":"$SVRDIR" \
    "$BACKUPDIR/$SITE.0"

    # step 5: update the mtime to reflect the snapshot time
    $TOUCH "$SITE.0"

    # and thats it

    * this happened to me in 2009 with one of the first bot attacks on TS.

    ** The remorse is because I got caught without a full recent offsite backup in 2010 when a hard disk failed and it transpired that the offsite file backup had been failing (and I hadn’t picked up on it). You can still see the missing images for several months in early 2010.

  61. well I never 61
    30 January 2014 at 6:14 pm

    if anyone has gone feral it is the right wing bloggers/supporters. To mock and sneer at a family in mourning, no matter who they are/ or who they might vote for….shows an utter lack of humanity.

    • SHG (not Colonial Viper) 61.1
      30 January 2014 at 7:16 pm

      To mock and sneer at a family in mourning, no matter who they are/ or who they might vote for….shows an utter lack of humanity.

      +1

    • Delia 61.2
      31 January 2014 at 1:01 pm

      Exactly I have heard quite innocent people who stumbled upon the WhaleOil site during the Len Brown affair describe them as such.

  62. bad12 62
    30 January 2014 at 7:18 pm

    Lolz, and here was i having visions of a group of ‘ferals’ counting up another pile freshly pulled out of their stash, 247, 248, 249, TWO-FIFTY,

    While dancing round wildly, laughing like loons, singing ”put another log on the fire”, a cheap ‘server’ indeed, sounds like an appropriate title for Blubber boy’s auto-biography…

  63. rhinocrates 63
    2 February 2014 at 9:14 am

    Just a reminder, the Penguin’s no better, just greasier. He once incited or at least encouraged his trolls to stalk the pre-pubescent children of a friend of mine. Both of them are sick, evil bastards. And National sponsors them.

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    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

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