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Blogging isn’t the problem Mr Key

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, September 3rd, 2014 - 26 comments

John Key has been pushing the “they blog on the left too” line, but he’s deliberately missing the point.

It’s ethics that matter.

lprent: I add my little bit at the end about pseudonyms

Puddleglum: We no longer have a Prime Minister

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, September 2nd, 2014 - 34 comments

There’s an excellent post at The Political Scientist I want to highlight, plus a few other of today’s Dirty Politics reads…

Spinning the media: commericial imperatives

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, September 2nd, 2014 - 24 comments

The main problems with dirty media-blogger connections, as exposed by Dirty Politics lie with the commercial dominance of our news media. Mediawatch focuses on issues raised by the book. Online Standards Authority is not the answer.

Wakeup call for the media – has Slater done us all a favour?

Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, August 31st, 2014 - 171 comments

National’s dirty politics, for all its corrosive damage, also marks an opportunity for NZ. An opportunity to take stock, recognise such tactics for what they are, and reject them. An opportunity to clean up both politics and the media’s coverage of it.

“VRWC” exposes rift at top of National

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, August 30th, 2014 - 18 comments

There is a self-appointed “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” in New Zealand. Odgers and Slater are key members. Search VRWC on Slater’s website and you’ll find their activities.  After Pansy Wong’s forced resignation from Cabinet for misuse of her travel perk the VRWC thought the National Cabinet needed “some serious steel going forward.” You can read the minutes of their virtual white-board session on post-it cards – the rifts at the top are deep and nasty.

‘Malevolent males’, ‘Mistress Collins’ & a ‘free press’

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, August 29th, 2014 - 7 comments

Dirty Politics shows the need for a reformation of our media, broadcasting and related online content. It’s about democracy.   Lucy lawless agrees. Laila Harre and Colin Craig have been added to the line up for Sunday’s Broadcasting Debate in Auckland.

When will they ever learn?

Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, August 28th, 2014 - 37 comments

How did @peace’s offensive song from 2013 suddenly become topical news? Why the usual suspects of course…

Condemning the obvious

Written By: - Date published: 12:46 am, August 27th, 2014 - 143 comments

Of course I (and other Standard authors) condemn lyrics that incite violence, and any and all threats to the children of politicians (who are completely out of bounds). Does this even need saying? But – Farrar, his little fan club, and the moral high ground? – it is beyond hypocrisy. There is no equivalence between the actions of a disenfranchised, angry few and the systematic abuse of democracy and decency undertaken by National’s dirty politics.

Tapping the media: subverting democracy

Written By: - Date published: 11:16 pm, August 25th, 2014 - 32 comments

Dirty Politics shows why we urgently need a revitalised public service broadcasting & online media. The domination by corporate media is poisoning democracy, providing openings for ruthless manipulators like Cameron Slater.  An article by David Fisher provides some insights.

Q&A – independent media?

Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, August 24th, 2014 - 42 comments

farrar-qa

Working with senior nats for release

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, August 20th, 2014 - 17 comments

I trust that the media will be interested to know which senior Nats Slater was working with on the release of data hacked from Labour servers.

Mr Clean talks Dirty Politics: Key standup transcript pt2

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, August 20th, 2014 - 12 comments

In this part of the transcript of John Key’s Aug 14  standup, Key repeats dubious spin lines, & tries to maintain his Mr Clean image. Topics include Jason Ede, Judith Collins, Bronwyn Pullar. Key tries to implicate left wing blogs, naming The Standard

Dirty politics vs accountability – you can’t be smeared with the truth

Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, August 20th, 2014 - 50 comments

Accountability is not dirty politics. You can’t be smeared with the truth. John Key’s lines are as worthless as his promises of ministerial accountability.

“Mr Slater’s made it quite clear”: Key standup transcript pt1

Written By: - Date published: 1:10 pm, August 19th, 2014 - 26 comments

How slippery is John Key? Part one of transcript of Key’s press standup last Thursday. On accessing Labour’s website private details, OIAs to the SIS, Dirty Politics, Nicky Hager and Mr Slater. [Updated]

No Changes for Kiwiblog

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, August 19th, 2014 - 112 comments

David “Princess Parties” Farrar at Kiwiblog is trying to wash off some of the stench of Dirty Politics. Turns out it’s after the election (of course) – and so heavily qualified as to be meaningless. Expect business as usual at the sewer.

Left wing blogs aren’t “the same”

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 19th, 2014 - 165 comments

Part of John Key’s frantic spin is that left wing blogs are just the same as Whaleoil. As a left wing blogger I take personal umbrage – there is no equivalence. [Update: As also stated by RNZ political reporter Brent Edwards on Morning Report this morning (7:25am)]

The moral low ground

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, August 18th, 2014 - 45 comments

Revulsion. That’s what’s coming out from a range of people who have ploughed through the inner thoughts of Slater, Farrar, Ede, Collins, Lusk, Odgers, Jordan Williams – they’re all repulsive. It’s the strength of that gut feeling in response that will sink their plot. Despite all John Key’s efforts to move as quickly as possible to the end of the day, …it’s still not ok.  Key’s try at cover up is pathetic, and doomed to be futile. But what it shows is that he has chosen the moral low ground with the rest of them. TeamKey indeed.

Jordan Williams words & Nat sexism

Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, August 18th, 2014 - 42 comments

Jordan Williams and Simon Lusk

Helen Kelly tweeted an image of an extract from Dirty Politics, highlighting some very nasty misogynistic writing by Slater and Jordan William.  Williams replied.

#TeamKeySlater

Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, August 18th, 2014 - 14 comments

Cameron slater john key

Helen Kelly on Vote Chat: Questions for PoA & Key?

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, August 16th, 2014 - 17 comments

Helen Kelly is interviewed on Vote Chat.  Kelly raises questions about the Ports of Auckland & Key’s role in Dirty Politics. She has read some of Dirty Politics, & was axed from today’s the Nation Panel, then replaced by Josie Pagani.[Updated]

Shadow play: Key’s 2-track politics

Written By: - Date published: 11:31 am, August 16th, 2014 - 40 comments

Nicky Hager’s Dirty Politics tells of the “two track strategy” of John Key’s leadership of the National Party & the country: a smiley nice front, & vicious, covert black ops behind the scenes.  Key has overseen one of the darkest, nastiest periods in NZ politics. Vote Left for necessary, democratic change, for people-centred governance.

But the door was open…

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 am, August 15th, 2014 - 277 comments

The intention of this post is to examine the similarities and differences between the hacking of Cameron Slater’s communications on the one hand, and the hacking of the Labour Party donor database on the other. There are two important issues to determine in both cases and I will cover them separately. The first is the legality of the hacking and the second is the ethics of using the resulting information regardless of whether the obtaining of the information in the first instance was unlawful.

Dirty Politics: The preface

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 pm, August 13th, 2014 - 57 comments

I do so want to read this book right now. I can hardly wait. The preface is online… http://dirtypoliticsnz.com Nicky Hager is way way more of a gentleperson than I am. Explaining the material that is not in the book – “The fact that Slater and his associates have made a career of exposing the very private details of other people’s lives does not make it right to do that to them.”

Cameron Slater dirties John Key (or vice versa?)

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 pm, August 13th, 2014 - 138 comments

I haven’t read the Nicky Hager’s book “Dirty Politics” yet. But I’m not surprised that Cameron Slater is up to his neck in dirt provided by John Key’s dirt merchant Jason Ede. That he has been given information sourced from the SIS is extremely surprising. I had not thought that John Key was quite that stupid.

Hager’s “Dirty Politics”

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, August 13th, 2014 - 189 comments

So the book is an expose of the Slater-Ede-Key Dirty Politics machine, based on data acquired and leaked to Hager. Will Update: Update: Hager to be on Campbell Live tonight.

Naming the game

Written By: - Date published: 6:34 pm, August 12th, 2014 - 78 comments

It’s been interesting to watch the nats and their busy little helpers working away at branding the election campaign as a nasty one.

It’s been disappointing to watch the media falling for it so hard.

Typical misrepresentation from Farrar

Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, August 12th, 2014 - 97 comments

Sociologist Dr Jarrod Gilbert takes everybody’s favourite right-wing spinster to task for misrepresentation and spin on gangs.

Campaigning Avondale Market style

Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, July 21st, 2014 - 37 comments

Every Sunday morning a group of Labour Activists attend the Avondale Market to hand out literature and talk to people. It is refreshing that ordinary people are not affected by beltway issues and are concerned at the basics such as housing, poverty and education.

Dear Greenpeace – difficult cases make bad law

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, July 15th, 2014 - 55 comments

Greenpeace has been told by the Electoral Commission that its Climate Voter Website requires third party authorisation and that a cap on the amount that can be spent applies.  There is an exception in the law if the site is a “news media” site which is paradoxically the same defence Cameron Slater is running in his case against Matt Blomfield justifying his refusal to disclose who his informant is.  The sense of irony is strong here …

Polity: The ENV debate: Some more data

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, July 11th, 2014 - 14 comments

Rob Salmond presents the David Farrar / Steven Joyce / John Key argument that 2011 non voters are a National-leaning bunch. Then he shows that a better look at their own data undermines their claim. This matters because it helps us understand which bloc has more to gain from voter mobilization efforts in 2014.  This means the left has a lot more to gain than the right from mobilization in 2014.

Repost: Not the war on men you’re looking for

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, July 10th, 2014 - 224 comments

It’s headline news again: Labour is trying to take away men’s rights and exile you all to a desert island. If you believe David Farrar, that is.

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