Minister for International Embarrassment

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John Key On Trial

Written By: - Date published: 4:35 pm, September 15th, 2014 - 27 comments

The latest instalment in the saga of John Key’s struggle to maintain his image as someone above suspicion has produced the amazing spectacle of a Prime Minister in free fall. Faced with the threatened revelation that he has been – not just economical with, but contemptuous of – the truth as to whether or not […]

McCully’s incompetence and the ongoing case of the Malaysian diplomat

Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, July 31st, 2014 - 18 comments

The Malaysian diplomat charged with serious offences has not returned to New Zealand.  Despite previous assurances given by John Key it appears that his formal extradition will be required.  And as further evidence of incompetence Murray McCully did not read the email advising him that Malaysia had invoked diplomatic immunity for weeks after it had been sent.

A John Key. With assembly instructions.

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, June 29th, 2014 - 11 comments

How to make your very own New Zealand Prime Minister. Even better looking than this vessel.

Polity: TPP deal on rocks. Surprise!

Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, June 24th, 2014 - 10 comments

John Key is abandoning hope of a TPP deal. As it stands at present there is nothing in it for New Zealand. Of course the usual ugly swamp that is US internal politics is making the deal descend into a mire.

Expect nothing to happen for another year or two, and maybe the damn thing will never happen.

Local Bodies: Politics, Sharks and Voter Apathy

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 23rd, 2014 - 10 comments

I had a conversation at our farmer’s market this morning about how my election campaign was going and the person I was speaking to had the view that all politicians don’t actually do much, apart from talking. I find that this thinking is actually fairly common, many people talk about the nonsense that goes on in Parliament and how all politicians are as bad as each other, “It doesn’t matter who you vote for, nothing really changes.”  I find this view really frustrating, but at the same time I can see why people may feel this way.

David Farrar is (still) the hypocrite

Written By: - Date published: 1:31 pm, May 27th, 2014 - 23 comments

It appears that David Farrar, paid rubber mouthpiece for the National party, is exercising his right to be a hypocrite again. Surely he remembers his attitudes back in 2012 when he was acting as their mouthpiece to discourage other economic migrants seeking a better life in NZ? And it looks like Key is parroting the message tested at Kiwiblog… How predictable.

LB: Bill’s Busted Budget and Tim’s Exploding Emissions

Written By: - Date published: 4:28 pm, April 9th, 2014 - 13 comments

Local bodies points out a couple more of the National government’s sad-sacks. For some strange (but obvious) reason a warmish market for milk powder doesn’t do much for NZ apart from destroying our environment. English’s taxcuts for his wealthy mates have destroyed the fiscal base of the government and done nothing to cause any investment in the productive and employable parts of our economy. Tim Groser has also made an artform of making NZ worse off.

Polity: Moral mandates in Europe

Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, February 10th, 2014 - 37 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity highlights John Key’s naivety in politics. It isn’t hard because he is a poor amateur and largely unskilled.  If he ever raised his eyes from golf and photo-ops for long enough to exercise his brain, then he could look at the governments of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark

John Key: The invisible man

Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, December 12th, 2013 - 47 comments

Fresh from his comedy career on Letterman, his rolling over puppy imitation for Warner Brothers, and other such high profile appearances. John Key has now taken to reprising the role of “The Man with No Name”. Milly the kitten is better known..

Hypocrisy-watch

Written By: - Date published: 6:24 pm, December 6th, 2013 - 85 comments

After today’s platitudes, it’s worth remembering where Key stood on apartheid when it mattered.

How to pass treaties – could John Key please stop lying?

Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, October 9th, 2013 - 44 comments

One thing John Key always seems to like to do is to appear to be stupid about his own job. Last week the fool said that parliament had to ratify a TPPA treaty. Either through incompetence at his job or by deliberately lying to the public, he is completely wrong. This is something that a few minutes reading of the MFAT website could have told him.

Ladies and gentlemen, your Prime Minister

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, August 28th, 2013 - 66 comments

Much has been made of Key’s bizarre performance in the House yesterday. Some are naturally questioning his medical intake after his unhinged laughing at his own weak pre-written jokes in answer to Labour questions. But, for me, it was his response to Russel Norman’s questions that was more telling. His utter contempt for accountability is something every Kiwi should see.

Key cheated of his rightful victory!

Written By: - Date published: 4:02 pm, May 8th, 2013 - 35 comments

We don’t often take Key’s side here at The Standard, but I think that most of us here would agree that on this occasion John Key has been cheated out of a victory that was rightfully his.

Climb the mountain of conflict

Written By: - Date published: 6:57 pm, April 8th, 2013 - 54 comments

North Korea is playing nuclear brinksmanship at the moment. Its leadership probably doesn’t want war but the constant threat of war is how it get concessions from the West, gains mana, and keeps its people in line. The West is trying to defuse this situation by talking down the prospects of war, while showing its readiness. Into this delicate, high stakes game stumbled John Key.

PM’s Science Advisor worried PM doesn’t understand science

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, April 5th, 2013 - 74 comments

Why else would he say “that he is particularly concerned by the trend for the complex nature of science to be ignored or misunderstood in societal debates, leading to the argument that you can find a scientist to support any given position. This, he says, totally misinterprets the way that scientific consensus is achieved and can engender serious mistrust in the scientific enterprise.”

Key’s Venezuelan snub

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, March 8th, 2013 - 277 comments

John Key’s decision to not attend Hugo Chavez’s funeral is a snub of a major trade partner at a crucial time. Remember, this junket’s justification is that, for some reason, Key’s presence in these countries will improve trade. But, in snubbing Venezuela, he is insulting our largest export destination in South America. Venezuela matters more than all the countries Key is visiting combined.

Mega overloads

Written By: - Date published: 6:15 pm, January 20th, 2013 - 72 comments

In the continuing saga of Kim Dotcom against the forces of blind, silly, and technically illiterate conservatism, amongst whom John Key (our Minister of International Embarrassment) fits pretty well. Kim Dotcom has launched a new file storage service. Although that is not strictly correct – rather people associated with him did. It is the “Mega” and is accessible at present only using the https://mega.co.nz. And it is a bit bogged down with mega demand…

Mega-screenshots promise more embarassment

Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, December 10th, 2012 - 6 comments

Kim DotCom has been twittering about his new website that is under development to the amusement of some observers. But for us in NZ we’re probably less interested in the layout of his file manager than what is actually in the screenshot of the file manager. Promises yet more pain for the government and it’s inept police and security services.

Opposition Party statements; what the MSM doesn’t report

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, November 10th, 2012 - 39 comments

The MSM quickly picked up a press release on the failure of the Southern Cross Cable. Others that are ignored:  Bennett has either lied or is incompetent;  Nat-linked appointment to TVNZ board; Hone’s ‘feed the kids’ Bill; Joyce’s education agenda; John Key as a “bumbling Marxist”.

New heights of childishness

Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, November 8th, 2012 - 33 comments

Yesterday, Key denied calling David Beckham “thick as batshit”. Specifically, he denied using the word ‘batshit’. While it’s enlightening to see Key remembers quips to schoolgirls better than he does briefings from his spies, couldn’t he just have manned up and told us exactly what insult he did use, and then do the adult thing and apologise?

Unbecoming & out of touch

Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, November 6th, 2012 - 171 comments

I just wonder in what world John Key thinks that it’s OK for the PM to go around slagging off and insulting people in public. Planet Key, perhaps. Why does he think it’s OK for him to call a visitor to our country ‘”thick as batshit”? Why does he think that it’s not homophobic to use “gay” as an insult? And does he think it’s not hurtful when he says “gay” is a synonym for “weird”?

Clear as batshit

Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, November 5th, 2012 - 147 comments

On Breakfast just now, Tourism Minister Key tried out his line on the international debacle arising from his insulting a prominent visitor to our country who was forbearing enough to spend time talking to Key’s kid. His plan is to try to stymie the story by saying ‘I’m not going to engage with what some reporter think they heard’. No denial. No owning his behaviour. Just pathetic.

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