Hooton hits rock bottom

Written By: - Date published: 4:25 pm, September 17th, 2008 - 130 comments
Categories: blogs, Media - Tags:

Matthew Hooton lies for a living. He was one of the architects of Don Brash’s deceptive, racist campaign in 2005, he has told lies about me personally in his SST column, and he lies endlessly on his new paid blog.

The latest lie is that a small rightwing blog called ‘No Minister‘ has been blocked on government department websites. Gestapo behaviour, Hooten calls it. Ridiculously, he claims (yes, seriously) that this is part of a secret Labour plan to abolish the free press (to put that in context, last year he was claiming there wouldn’t even be an election this year).

It was easy to prove that was all a lie – I rang up a couple of mates in the pubic sector, explained what No Minister is, gave them the URL and it loaded. No such ban. But Hooton knew that.

Think about it. The blogosphere is a small part of the political discourse; only a few tens of thousands of people max engage in it. No Minister is a pathetically small part of the blogosphere that has never said anything newsworthy. Why would any party overstep its power and risk a political backlash to stamp on an irrelevant blog? No party would. But it’s a lie that Hooten tells anyway in the hope some mainstream media will pick it up and hurt Labour.

How many blatant lies does the man have to tell before his employers hold him to basic journalistic standards? Can the Right really provide no better commentator than this guy?

130 comments on “Hooton hits rock bottom ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Pat 1
    17 September 2008 at 4:37 pm

    The title of the blog is “No Minister Banned?” Note the question mark. It means he is asking a question.

  2. Wayne 2
    17 September 2008 at 4:41 pm

    Pat abuses children? I heard he was jailed for it? Maybe I’ve confused it with the domestic violence charge?

    [Tane: I realise you’re just trying to make a point here but this doesn’t help the level of debate. Try to keep it tasteful eh?]

  3. rjs131 3
    17 September 2008 at 4:44 pm

    I guess a reasonable question is why civil servants would need to access a blog while at work. If all blogs were banned then thats ok. Shouldnt they be working anyway?

  4. Poneke 4
    17 September 2008 at 4:46 pm

    Whale Oil hasn’t been available since Robinsod’s revelations about it. Is its unavailability connected with what the sod said?

  5. Killinginthenameof 5
    17 September 2008 at 4:49 pm

    Apparently he’s rebuilding the site so its not quite so sieve like.

  6. Lew 6
    17 September 2008 at 4:51 pm

    rjs: For plenty of people in (and out of) the public service, keeping up with what’s happening in NZ (yes, that includes monkeys with typewriters and morons with megaphones) quite squarely is a part of their job.

    L

  7. Brett Dale 7
    17 September 2008 at 4:53 pm

    He has had this site blocked by Government websites? That is disgusting, he has very right to be upset. As for calling him a liar, I would suggest you are very careful, that can land you in court if you don’t have the stats or hard data to back you up?

    Believe it or not free speech applies to both sides.

  8. Tane 8
    17 September 2008 at 4:54 pm

    Brett, you’ve been warned to stop posting while stoned.

  9. Bryan Spondre 9
    17 September 2008 at 4:56 pm

    Steve : “on his new paid blog.” What do you mean by paid ?

  10. r0b 10
    17 September 2008 at 5:01 pm

    Best part? Hooton links to an article on the Gestapo as a hint of how things might “develop”. What a fool.

  11. Brett Dale 11
    17 September 2008 at 5:02 pm

    Hi Tane, Thanks for sharing and not being repetitive. I still say you have to be very careful about calling someone a liar if you don’t have stats or hard data to prove they are lying.

    As for Government sites blocking a right wing blog, well that is censorship my friend.

  12. Steve Withers 12
    17 September 2008 at 5:02 pm

    Hooten as purveyor of information of dubious reliability is not a new idea. Anyone who knows much about the topics he writes about will be impressed by his ability to get it wrong and passionately so.

    I equate him with Mark Steyn. Another conservative with no regard whatever for verifiable reality who relies either on the readers’ ignorance or the reader’s willingness to ignore the facts in favour of prejudice and preconceptions.

  13. Tim Ellis 13
    17 September 2008 at 5:03 pm

    SP, is Hooten’s claim as outrageous as: “How much did John Key pay for his seat?”

    Because I’ve seen you ask that question here, if I’m not mistaken.

  14. Steve Withers 14
    17 September 2008 at 5:06 pm

    Brett: You’re avoiding the point made: The claimed block is unproven and the tests made so far indicate the claim made by Hooten is an incorrect one.

  15. Dom 15
    17 September 2008 at 5:08 pm

    Brett – actually Hooten needs to prove that this blog is blocked and prove in fact that it is blocked while left wing blogs are not. He made the claim but where is the proof to back it up?

    Many govt departments block a range of websites, from Trademe to property sites to newspaper sites. Maybe if it is inaccessible it’s more to do with making workers productive and not censoring free speech.

    And if we’re talking freedom of speech – the fact that right wing leaning people own much of the mainstream media is far more concerning to me than some blog being blocked.

  16. Brett Dale 16
    17 September 2008 at 5:13 pm

    It will be quite easy for him to prove it is blocked, if ya cant access it from a government department but can access the standard or my amazing blog, then it is censorship.

    TVNZ news is far from right wing, although I wouldn’t call TVNZ NEWS, news anyway.

  17. mawgxxxxiv 17
    17 September 2008 at 5:14 pm

    “The blogosphere is a small part of the political discourse; only a few tens of thousands of people max engage in it. ”

    Perhaps the “uniques” for “The Standard” might suggest that to you but I would ague the numbers are much higher.

  18. Bryan Spondre 18
    17 September 2008 at 5:16 pm

    “How many blatant lies does the man have to tell before his employers hold him to basic journalistic standards? Can the Right really provide no better commentator than this guy?”

    Isn’t this statement verging on defamatory ?

  19. randal 19
    17 September 2008 at 5:16 pm

    hootn is is just a mothpiece for the “hard done by party” and he is at it again…boo hoo hoo we’ve been hard done by now give us a go. allright. just go away. anyway hooton hit rock bottom years ago. since then he has just been wallowing in the filth. he loves it being a short person an’ all. sticking his nose in other peoples business. making up for his basic insecurities by sucking up to his betters asnd doing their dirty work.

  20. Phil (Pacific Empire) 20
    17 September 2008 at 5:18 pm

    No Minister is blocked at my workplace while The Standard is not. I think that is more to do with being hosted by Blogger.

  21. Brett Dale 21
    17 September 2008 at 5:19 pm

    It will be an easy one to prove, if his site is blocked from Government departments, then that is Government censorship.

    Is it so hard for you to believe that our government will try and censor their critics.

  22. Tim Ellis 22
    17 September 2008 at 5:22 pm

    From my reading, Hooten asked the question based on reports he had that some government websites had blocked No Minister. It’s quite a legitimate question to ask what the extent of that blocking is, by posting about it. He probably resorts to a bit of hyperbole by leaping to the conclusion that it’s a sign that the government is clamping down on free press, though. Had I written it, I would have waited for the response from government-based readers, and seen whether it was unique to right-wing blog sites, or not. But I don’t think you, of all people SP, have the right to criticise somebody else for using hyperbole.

    It was you, SP, who wrote a blog post alleging that John Key had paid $1.5 million for his seat in Parliament, without any evidence. That was simply defamatory.

  23. Aj 23
    17 September 2008 at 5:25 pm

    No, Hooten just hit rock bottom on Nat Rad where he’s spinning that Winston has dirt on Helen, and that is the only reason she doesn’t sack him. Hooten is scum, and totally unprincipled.

  24. Bryan Spondre 24
    17 September 2008 at 5:27 pm

    “It was easy to prove that was all a lie – I rang up a couple of mates in the pubic sector, explained what No Minister is, gave them the URL and it loaded.”

    So where they behind a firewall at the time ? Or where they accessing the internet from some other location ?

    I have reports that “No Minister” cannot be accessed from Ministry of Health or IRD worksites. Are your friends employed in either of these departments ?

  25. Chris S 25
    17 September 2008 at 5:28 pm

    Random sites end up blocked with shitty blacklist software all the time. I severely doubt that they comb the internet manually and block all dissenting views of our lord high Helen.

    More likely some spider or other automaton got hold of it, triggered some key words or phrases and blocked it. It happens in businesses, schools, whatever because most of the time it’s outsourced.

    Usually a quick email or phone call, depending on the blacklist maintainer is sufficient to unblock a false positive.

  26. weka 26
    17 September 2008 at 5:28 pm

    Hooten asked the question based on reports he had that some government websites had blocked No Minister. It’s quite a legitimate question to ask what the extent of that blocking is, by posting about it.

    Tim, I think it would be legitimate to ask if he named the departments that are supposedly blocked. That way someone could check for him. But in the absence of that it just looks like a smear tactic.

  27. Bryan Spondre 27
    17 September 2008 at 5:28 pm

    “that this is part of a secret Labour plan to abolish the free press”

    Surely the EFA is hardly a secret ?

  28. randal 28
    17 September 2008 at 5:28 pm

    what a load of cobblers. either it is banned or it is not. either other sites are banned or they are not. and there is still no proof from hooton that this site is bannned or not. just more malarkey from hooton and the hard done by party…give us a go. and if sp did defame john keys then why has john keys not sued for defamation?

  29. Bryan Spondre 29
    17 September 2008 at 5:29 pm

    Weka: see my comment above concerning IRD & MOH.

  30. weka 30
    17 September 2008 at 5:30 pm

    I have reports

    What does that mean exactly?

  31. weka 31
    17 September 2008 at 5:31 pm

    Yes, saw that thanks Bryan.

  32. insider 32
    17 September 2008 at 5:31 pm

    My Web marshall often blocks perfectly normal sites because “it contains references to ‘pronrografy’…”

    I don’t think it is a decision by sysops just an automated thing because it picks up a funny tag or combination of words. There are often ways around it.

  33. Bryan Spondre 33
    17 September 2008 at 5:34 pm

    It means I have been contacted by people working for those organisations in my capacity as Matthew Hootons blog producer.

  34. Daveski 34
    17 September 2008 at 5:34 pm

    Tomato/tomatoe

    How many blatant lies does the man have to tell before his employers hold him to basic journalistic standards? Can the Right really provide no better commentator than this guy?

    We’ll sort out Hooten if you sort out Trotter 😉

  35. weka 35
    17 September 2008 at 5:39 pm

    Ok, Bryan, just wanted to know how direct that was.

  36. Robinsod 36
    17 September 2008 at 5:42 pm

    Daveski – if I could sort that idiot Trotter out I would but Hooton is a credit to your side.

    Sadly it seems all I can sort out lately is Whale. But what a nice job, aye?

  37. Bryan Spondre 37
    17 September 2008 at 5:42 pm

    No problem Weka. We are open about our affiliations over at policy.net.nz/blog .

  38. Bryan Spondre 38
    17 September 2008 at 5:45 pm

    Robinsod: Based on your inability to deliver on your ‘exclusive’ I don’t think either Chris or Matthew have much to worry about (or Cameron for that matter).

  39. Bryan Spondre 39
    17 September 2008 at 5:51 pm

    “if sp did defame john keys then why has john keys not sued for defamation?”

    He probably has much better things to spend his time and money on.

  40. Ruth 40
    17 September 2008 at 5:55 pm

    No Minister is run by an unemployed ‘journalist’, an ex-cop, a retired old guy and a librarian.

    Surely the peak of political knowledge.

  41. Felix 41
    17 September 2008 at 5:56 pm

    I can’t believe you’re still actually using the title “blog producer”.

  42. Draco T Bastard 42
    17 September 2008 at 6:01 pm

    Usually a quick email or phone call, depending on the blacklist maintainer is sufficient to unblock a false positive.

    You haven’t dealt with any of the blacklist maintainers have you?

    Actually, if you’re a paying customer of theirs then they may be easier to deal with. If you happen to be the ISP that got blocked by their softwares false positive then that’s another matter.

  43. Bryan Spondre 43
    17 September 2008 at 6:02 pm

    “Don Brash’s deceptive, racist campaign in 2005,” dear oh dear. THis from the political party that has given us race-based funding for primary schools and the EFA.

  44. Brett Dale 44
    17 September 2008 at 6:04 pm

    Ruth:

    I would think that a retired old PERSON, a ex Police Officer, a Journalist and a Librarian would probably know a lot about Politics and life. in general.

  45. Inventory2 45
    17 September 2008 at 6:05 pm

    Tim Ellis – lot’s of interesting responses to your 5.03 and 5.22pm posts eh – the silence is deafening! I think you must have struck a raw nerve 😉

    [lprent: There is a noticeable drop in the sites traffic at 5pm and for a couple of hours after 5pm. Some people get to go home at that time. I usually wait until the traffic dies down. ]

  46. Anita 46
    17 September 2008 at 6:06 pm

    Bryan Spondre,

    [Labour] has given us race-based funding for primary schools

    Which policy? Which funding?

  47. Tane 47
    17 September 2008 at 6:13 pm

    Bryan, Steve isn’t the Labour Party. As I understand it he doesn’t even vote for them.

    In any case, I’m not sure how the EFA is deceptive and racist. And unless you’re trying to argue Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa are racist (and were introduced after 1999) I’m not sure what you’re on about with your other point.

  49. Bryan Spondre 49
    17 September 2008 at 6:17 pm

    “I’m not sure how the EFA is deceptive and racist.” Tane, the EFA is not racist but it is certainly deceptive. Though as it is turning out it was the L+P+G sponsors who deceived themselves into believing it would give them advantage.

    I hadn’t considered “Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa” but now you mention them, I do.

  50. Anita 50
    17 September 2008 at 6:18 pm

    Bryan,

    Anita: See here

    I did.

    What I saw was a description of the decile funding system which says that decile calculations are based on sample student addresses provided by schools, census meshblocks and the following socioeconomic indicators:

    * household income
    * occupation
    * household crowding
    * educational qualification
    * income support

    Where is the bit about “race-based funding”?

  51. Bryan Spondre 51
    17 September 2008 at 6:18 pm

    “Bryan, Steve isn’t the Labour Party.” Where exactly did I say Steve is the Labour Party ?

  52. Tane 52
    17 September 2008 at 6:20 pm

    “Don Brash’s deceptive, racist campaign in 2005,’ dear oh dear. THis from the political party that has given us race-based funding for primary schools and the EFA.

  53. Fairfacts Media 53
    17 September 2008 at 6:22 pm

    Thanks everyone
    I heard today from a fellow, or maybe that should be fellowess blogger, that No Ministry was banned from her place of work, a large government department.
    Yet, other blogs, I’m sure you can guess which, could be accessed easily.
    I asked this blogger and one other to make a few enquiries to ascertain the situation, and one of them alerted Matthew Hooton who then made his own post seeking information.
    I had said to them I would make my own post this evening when I was more aware of what was going on. I even had one of my old pictures of Dear Leader to use on standby 🙂
    As a technology/business journalist, I can see how websites can be blocked for various reasons, it might not necessarily be political, though it is strange that No Minister is blocked at one government department when other controversial blogs are not.
    I was happy to hold off posting for now, but my co-blogger Grant decided to post something on No Minister.
    And that is the situation we have. Somehow No Minister cannot be accessed in certain government departments, but apparantly it can in others, while similar blogs are fine. Why is this?
    I will be contacting WebMarshall/MailMarshall.
    Anyway, thanks for the publicity. No Minister is not that small and on some days, a few weeks back, our Alexia ranking exceeded that of The Standard. But yes, the Standard has a higher Alexia ranking now.
    As for me, I work freelance as a journalist, I am not unemployed. The ex-policeman is a lawyer and the retired chap , if you mean Adolf, is gainfully employed in the finance sector. So Ruth, you might want to get your facts right.

    [lprent: You’re still banned. However it is appropriate to ignore it in this case since we did a post related to your site. ]

  54. Bryan Spondre 54
    17 September 2008 at 6:22 pm

    Anita: no doubt you remember how popular Labours “Closing the Gaps (between Maori & Pakeha)” policy was ? So popular it was dropped and never mentioned again.

    That doesn’t mean race-based policy has disappeared, it has just been disguised. The criteria “household crowding” is clearly intended to advantage cultures that favour communal living like Maori & Pacific Islanders. Race based funding by stealth.

  55. Tane 55
    17 September 2008 at 6:23 pm

    I hadn’t considered “Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa’ but now you mention them, I do.

    So the right of Maori to be taught in their own language is racist? I thought you were all for freedom of choice Bryan, or does that not apply when it comes to forcing the natives to speak English? I take it you think having Maori as an official language is racist too?

  56. Tane 56
    17 September 2008 at 6:23 pm

    The criteria “household crowding’ is clearly intended to advantage cultures that favour communal living like Maori & Pacific Islanders. Race based funding by stealth.

    God I’ve missed you Bryan. Off home now, have a nice evening.

  57. Bryan Spondre 57
    17 September 2008 at 6:24 pm

    Tane: exactly, I didn’t mention the Labour Party did I ? You are the one making the connection between Steve and the Labour Party.

    [Tane: Bryan, it was implicit in your comments. Which other party that has been in power in recent years could you possibly be talking about?]

  58. DeeDub 58
    17 September 2008 at 6:30 pm

    Bryan Spondre

    “”How many blatant lies does the man have to tell before his employers hold him to basic journalistic standards? Can the Right really provide no better commentator than this guy?’

    Isn’t this statement verging on defamatory ?”

    Surely you of all people should know the difference between a statement and a question?

  59. Bryan Spondre 59
    17 September 2008 at 6:36 pm

    Tane: ok, ok you got me, have a nice evening.

  60. Brett Dale 60
    17 September 2008 at 6:42 pm

    Tane

    People should have every right to be taught in what language they want to, or teach their kids what language they want.

    They should also have every right to speak what language they want.

    I find it repulsive that a teacher or a Government department, may tell its students or workers that you have to pronounce certain place names in a Caucasian or Maori way.

  61. Tim Ellis 61
    17 September 2008 at 6:44 pm

    I suspect this post is just a sign of how really dirty things are going to get this election. Just last week, SP was defining the difference between negative campaigning and dirty campaigning. Claiming that government departments are shutting down access to right-wing blogs is a bit dirty if there isn’t any evidence of it. There does seem to be some evidence.

    Claiming that a politician bought his seat in Parliament without any evidence is dirty, as opposed to just negative, if there isn’t any documentary evidence. I think the PM’s performance at the Lower Hutt Grey Power this morning, where she said if John Key had been PM, 60 New Zealanders would have returned home in body bags, is just disgraceful. Absolute fear-mongering. Dirty campaigning.

  62. Ianmac 62
    17 September 2008 at 6:45 pm

    Decile Ranking is more than a decade (??) old, and therefore hardly something racist introduced by Labour?

  63. Brett Dale 63
    17 September 2008 at 6:50 pm

    Tim:

    That is immoral what Helen said, so much for so called Right ring media jumping up and down on her for that comment.

  64. Killinginthenameof 64
    17 September 2008 at 6:58 pm

    “Ianmac
    Decile Ranking is more than a decade (??) old, and therefore hardly something racist introduced by Labour?”

    I’m not suprised, this whole thread is about righties not letting facts get in the way of your opinion.

  65. DeeDub 65
    17 September 2008 at 7:04 pm

    Brett Dale:

    “I find it repulsive that a teacher or a Government department, may tell its students or workers that you have to pronounce certain place names in a Caucasian or Maori way.”

    I find people who don’t at least make an EFFORT to pronounce words in ANY language correctly just a bit stupid and/or arrogant.

    Teachers and Government departments can’t ‘make’ us pronounce Maori words correctly – but it’s totally fair of them to ask that we ‘TRY’. As fair, in my opinion, as asking that we speak English to the best of our abilities if it’s part of our studies or work.

    Seriously Brett, why do you righties always object to being asked to make an effort to respect and learn to pronounce a few words of the official language of our country?

    Surely only an idiot continues to mispronounce his own country’s place names even after he has been shown the error of his ways? Either an idiot, or someone who thinks he knows better, and continues to misspeak in a childish attempt to sell it to anyone who’ll listen as a ‘personal freedom’ issue.

    I find THAT ‘repulsive’.

  66. weka 66
    17 September 2008 at 7:08 pm

    I take it you think having Maori as an official language is racist too?

    Nah, I think he’s saying that being Maori is racist 😉

  67. Brett Dale 67
    17 September 2008 at 7:24 pm

    DeeDub:

    If people want to make a effort then that is great, but a government official shouldn’t tell people that YOU HAVE TO pronounce a place name a certain way, I find it condensing to Maori and Caucasian alike.

    If someone wants to pronounce Aranui in the correct Maori or English way that should be their right.

    To think anything else is just plain wrong and yes I think Maori should be an official language of New Zealand as well as English.

  68. Brett Dale 68
    17 September 2008 at 7:26 pm

    Deedub:

    The errors of my ways?????

    For speaking my own language and pronouncing place names in the correct way of my language?

    Its each to their own

  69. DeeDub 69
    17 September 2008 at 7:36 pm

    Brett:

    “If someone wants to pronounce Aranui in the correct Maori or English way that should be their right.”

    So you seriously believe there is a ‘correct’ English way to pronouce a Maori word?

    “For speaking my own language and pronouncing place names in the correct way of my language?”

    Oh dear!?! Sorry you are being so oppressed there, bro.

  70. Quoth the Raven 70
    17 September 2008 at 7:38 pm

    It’s not hard to pronounce Aranui properly Brett. Just don’t get out of your car, your best not to stop moving actually. I’m just joking.

  71. randal 71
    17 September 2008 at 7:43 pm

    anyway whats the odds on hooton suing for being labelled as lying for a living? all bets on! the mangy little cur. he knows he would flip out in court for starters and as to the veracity of the clain he can sue me too.

  72. Brett Dale 72
    17 September 2008 at 7:50 pm

    Deedub:

    You just have to respect other peoples cultures, and you should know that other cultures pronounce certain words, certain ways, that is okay isnt it? buddy.

  73. Inventory2 73
    17 September 2008 at 7:52 pm

    Tim – the worst thing about the Clark/bodybags comment was that it was a made-up number – BY HER OWN ADMISSION the 60 figure was a “back of the envelope calculation”. So who’s hit rock-bottom now?

    http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2008/09/back-of-helens-envelope.html

  74. randal 74
    17 September 2008 at 7:56 pm

    you two stop talking rot and address the question. is it the case or is it not that hooton lies for a living?

  75. Roflcopter 75
    17 September 2008 at 7:59 pm

    “… I rang up a couple of mates in the pubic sector …”

    I really, really wanted to say something in response to this, just chose to bite my tongue instead… 😀

  76. Inventory2 76
    17 September 2008 at 8:01 pm

    randal – the post topic is “Hooton hits rock bottom” – Tim and I are just discussing someone else who has hit rock bottom today. Would you rather that no-one spoke about the PM in unflattering terms?

  77. Anita 77
    17 September 2008 at 8:05 pm

    Bryan Spondre,

    The criteria “household crowding’ is clearly intended to advantage cultures that favour communal living like Maori & Pacific Islanders. Race based funding by stealth.

    Wow, I mean… wow.

    Your probably need to check some of your underlieing assumptions, but to ignore them for a moment (and pretend you’re just gently misguided)…

    The “household crowding” measure does not favour (or disfavour) communal living, as it measure people per bedroom not people per house (or household). Nine people in a six bedroom house scores exactly the same as three people in a two bedroom house.

  78. Psycho.Milt 78
    17 September 2008 at 8:10 pm

    a small rightwing blog called ‘No Minister‘

    I won’t take the “small” as an insult, coming as it does from a “small” leftwing blog.

    No Minister is run by an unemployed ‘journalist’, an ex-cop, a retired old guy and a librarian.

    Surely the peak of political knowledge

    Ruth, however, does give offense and is indisputably “small.” No Minister may be run by a Librarian, but at least, unlike Ruth’s blog, it is not run by anyone with a ludicrously inflated sense of their own ability and significance.

  79. lprent 79
    17 September 2008 at 8:12 pm

    Looking at this thread and the number of places the blockage has been reported, I’d suspect a website blocker system (as others have suggested). They’re usually semi-automatic. Most of the sites are blocked based on sites either from the blocker provider or a 3rd party provide the URI’s.

    Like someone suggested, try other blogspot.com addresses from the same site. If they go through ok, then it is probably a phrase scan of the site.

    It could be manual, but bearing in mind the poor grasp of english (I’ve commented there previously about the spelling and grammar) often displayed at nominister, it is probably just rejected based on a warez based strategy. (If it was whale, I’d suspect the porno strategies.)

    Master Hooten is just computer illiterate. At his age people should make allowances…… Not all of us can be geeks 😈

  80. randal 80
    17 September 2008 at 8:13 pm

    do what you like just dont do it here otherwise it will seem as if you have adhd or something similar. so anyway. whats your OPINION. is hooton a liar or not?

  81. pinetree 81
    17 September 2008 at 8:14 pm

    IV2 – I’d certainly be interested in the PM’s thoughts on exactly what the SAS were doing in Afghanistan when Willy Apiata was at his finest…

    …”peacekeeping”, “doffing caps to large friends”, “is the world a single bit safer” etc etc…

  82. Tanya 82
    17 September 2008 at 8:17 pm

    No Minister posts lots of news worthy items, the real news that the main stream media is too biased to touch. Much more fun than the Dom Post or the Herald, for example.

  83. Robinsod 83
    17 September 2008 at 8:18 pm

    Milt – I don’t think you’re small. Just small-minded. Don’t worry tho my unread mate – your traffic will pick up now Cameron’s blog is off-line…

    edit – hey tanya – still pretending to be a chick I see…

  84. DeeDub 84
    17 September 2008 at 8:20 pm

    Brett:

    I certainly do respect other peoples cultures, ‘buddy’.

    That includes making an effort to adhere to the old ‘when in Rome’ principle of ‘cultural exchange’ wherever I travel.

    For me it sums up the kind of ‘respect’ you have for the original people of the land you live and prosper in, that you think attempting to pronounce their language should be on your terms and by your good grace.

    You’re a walking anachronism, ‘buddy’.

    Not so much a ‘neo-con’ as an ‘old con’ perhaps?

  85. Psycho.Milt 85
    17 September 2008 at 8:25 pm

    lprent: I presume our getting blocked has less to do with Fairfacts’ interesting take on English spelling than with me, Adolf and various commenters constantly calling a spade a f*cking c*nt of a shovel. WebMarshall and other blockers tend not to like that kind of thing, and it does seem a lot more plausible than Helen Clark issuing edicts banning us from govt depts.

  86. lprent 86
    17 September 2008 at 8:30 pm

    Yeah that could be the case. Apart from anything else, I’m pretty sure that Helen doesn’t really know what a blog is.

    In some ways I’m now glad that I missed out on the job at Marshall a few months ago. Imagine the conspiracy theories that Hooten/Whale et al could have constructed from that.

  87. Brett Dale 87
    17 September 2008 at 8:31 pm

    As someone who has traveled, yep I respect others people’s cultures and I do believe of the old saying “When in Rome”

    I just don’t think its a good idea of a government department spending time on telling its employees how to pronounce words to each other (Not customers)

    I find it off putting myself. If something is forced and not natural then it comes off as being worse.

  88. Pixie 88
    17 September 2008 at 8:35 pm

    I’m confused. Is Bryan Spondre a real person or is he a cyber robot through which his bloggers moderate their blogs?

    If the former, why does he comment on other blogs, how do we know if he’s speaking for Chris or Matthew and what happens if they’re both speaking at the same time??? :s

  89. johndoe 89
    17 September 2008 at 8:37 pm

    Government IT is heterogeneous in an extreme way. That includes web access control. I doubt that any system would block on the basis of political content, though, because heterogeneous as the IT structures are the staff are even moreso. Would be a foolish Government sysadmin who tried to run filtering the way the Standard’s does, here.

    [lprent: Yep, and I’ll bet that a government departments IT expends more than $160/month + the erratic amounts of volunteer time we can spare. But this is a private site unbeholdened to anyone including advertisers. We can pretty much do as we like. Since we prefer having a site with a content level above the sewer, that means we eliminate lousy content and bad behavior in the comments as efficiently as possible.

    It seems to work by what I consider are the most interesting measures – the number of people visiting and reading, the number of repeat visits, and the volume and quality of comments that are full of interesting and varied opinions.

    It is always going to be a judgment call. I and the moderators make the judgments that we consider are required to protect the site. The readers and commentators make the judgment call about if the site is worth visiting. Looks like they prefer to live without a high level of inanity. I wonder why? ]

  90. Psycho.Milt 90
    17 September 2008 at 8:38 pm

    Robinsod: you’re such a sweety.

  91. Inventory2 91
    17 September 2008 at 8:38 pm

    randal said “do what you like just dont do it here otherwise it will seem as if you have adhd or something similar.”

    Are you one of The Standard’s administrators or moderators randal? No? Thought not? If SP, Tane, IB or lprent tell me to sling my hook I will, but not for you pal.

  92. Draco T Bastard 92
    17 September 2008 at 8:41 pm

    the worst thing about the Clark/bodybags comment was that it was a made-up number – BY HER OWN ADMISSION the 60 figure was a “back of the envelope calculation’.

    Obviously not made up then. She’s done a basic statistical analysis and come up with a ball park figure. Your only complaint seems to be that she did it on the back of an envelope. Guess what IV2 – not everyone needs a spreadsheet running on a super computer to do basic maths.

  93. Anita 93
    17 September 2008 at 8:45 pm

    Brett Dale,

    I just don’t think its a good idea of a government department spending time on telling its employees how to pronounce words to each other (Not customers)

    If someone I worked with mispronounced my name, or my partner’s name, or the name of the suburb I live in, I would point it out to them and expect them to make an effort to get it right.

    If they mispronounced the names of a large number of staff I would expect them to make an effort to learn to get it right. I would expect that a good manager would, if necessary, provide encouragement or direction to them if required.

    It’s about respect and politeness and communication. Getting names right, getting places right, getting words right is actually pretty important to having effective relationships at work, and actually getting the message across to ones colleagues.

  94. Brett Dale 94
    17 September 2008 at 8:54 pm

    Anita:

    Yes its about respect, and you should try and pronounce somebody’s name right.

    But shouldn’t you also respect say a white New Zealander for pronouncing a place in their language?

    So say if you had an Italian boss and a Maori worker pronounced a place name from Italy wrong, you would have no problem in the worker being corrected?

  95. Brett Dale 95
    17 September 2008 at 8:58 pm

    Anita:

    Personally if someone pronounced my name or where I from wrong the wrong way, I wouldnt care, I have worked with people off all different cultures and we all speak differently. People shouldnt be forced to say a place name a different way from their own culture, did you think that some people may find that offensive.

  96. Draco T Bastard 96
    17 September 2008 at 9:00 pm

    But shouldn’t you also respect say a white New Zealander for pronouncing a place in their language?

    Not if the name is in a different language.

    What is white New Zealander language anyway?

    So say if you had an Italian boss and a Maori worker pronounced a place name from Italy wrong, you would have no problem in the worker being corrected?

    Nope, why should I?

  97. Adolf Fiinkensein 97
    17 September 2008 at 9:02 pm

    The ‘retired old guy’ is younger that your Deputy PM and pays more income tax than the lot of you people put together.

    [lprent: Such a pity about the lack of wisdom. Makes the other comparisons fall a bit flat. ]

  98. Killinginthenameof 98
    17 September 2008 at 9:17 pm

    Anita
    September 17, 2008 at 8:45 pm

    Brett Dale,

    I just don’t think its a good idea of a government department spending time on telling its employees how to pronounce words to each other (Not customers)

    If someone I worked with mispronounced my name, or my partner’s name, or the name of the suburb I live in, I would point it out to them and expect them to make an effort to get it right.

    If they mispronounced the names of a large number of staff I would expect them to make an effort to learn to get it right. I would expect that a good manager would, if necessary, provide encouragement or direction to them if required.

    While I don’t really want to contribute to taking this thread further off topic, there’s a very simple rule of thumb. If its a Maori word pronounce it the Maori way, if its an English word pronounce it the English way. When in New Zealand pronounce Rome either the Maori (if there is one?) or English way, and when in Rome, pronounce it the Italian way.

  100. fitzyp 100
    17 September 2008 at 10:14 pm

    Took a look at his blog. It was painful to read.

  101. Falafulu Fisi 101
    17 September 2008 at 11:44 pm

    Lprent said…
    In some ways I’m now glad that I missed out on the job at Marshall a few months ago.

    I had met 3 of their senior technologists (all South African) about 2 years ago, because they were interested if I could develop them some image classification (pattern recognition) algorithms to be used in their internet-based product. I showed them some published articles on the subject from various journals including some from IEEE Transactions series on how to develop those. I drafted my proposal and sent it to them, but they decided to license an image classification engine from a US company, so we didn’t proceed further.

    I have to say, that their system is still primitive compared to other products that are available in the market. They still rely on rule-based , where I told them that they should develop an self-adaptive system, ie, the system learns as it goes (as new data arrives), it updates new rules to the working memory, pruned old ones that don’t apply anymore. These tasks are all done autonomously, ie, no human or admin that needs to go in and manually change/edit the rule-based dictionary (adding new rule/s or deleting/pruning old irrelevant old rules). I showed them all the relevant titles from journal publications of how such functionality is being done, but they were comfortable with their static non-adaptive rule-based system.

    Fairfacts Media said…
    I will be contacting WebMarshall/MailMarshall.

    FM, I suspect (although I am not entirely sure), that if your blog site is being blocked and it was censored in some government departments, then I believe that WebMarshall image filtering is at work here. WHY? There are lots of Helen Clark’s images on NoMinister, where one with her bare breasts shown, etc,…

    We (me/MailMarshall) did discuss the capability to block nude/porn pictures in an autonomous manner. I showed them the following document on how such system is to be developed:

    System for screening objectionable images using Daubechies’ wavelets and color

    As I said, that such capability wasn’t available 2 years ago in their product, however I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already developed it already.

  102. Falafulu Fisi 102
    17 September 2008 at 11:47 pm

    Lprent said…
    In some ways I’m now glad that I missed out on the job at Marshall a few months ago.

    I had met 3 of their senior technologists (all South African dudes) about 2 years ago, because they were interested if I could develop them some image classification (pattern recognition) algorithms to be incorporated in their internet-based products. I showed them some published articles on the subject from various journals including some from IEEE Transactions series on how to develop those. I drafted my proposal and sent it to them, but they decided to license an image classification engine from a US company, so we didn’t proceed further.

    I have to say, that their system is still primitive compared to other products that are available in the market. They still rely on rule-based , where I told them that they should develop an self-adaptive system, ie, the system learns as it goes (as new data arrives), it updates new rules to the working memory, pruned old ones that don’t apply anymore. These tasks are all done autonomously, ie, no human or admin that needs to go in and manually change/edit the rule-based dictionary (adding new rule/s or deleting/pruning old irrelevant old rules). I showed them all the relevant titles from journal publications of how such functionality is being done, but they were comfortable with their static non-adaptive rule-based system.

  103. Falafulu Fisi 103
    17 September 2008 at 11:48 pm

    Fairfacts Media said…
    I will be contacting WebMarshall/MailMarshall.

    FM, I suspect (although I am not entirely sure), that if your blog site is being blocked and it was censored in some government departments, then I believe that WebMarshall image filtering is at work here. WHY? There are lots of Helen Clark’s images on NoMinister, where one with her bare breasts shown, etc,…

    We (me/MailMarshall) did discuss the capability to block nude/porn pictures in an autonomous manner. I showed them the following document on how such system is to be developed:

    System for screening objectionable images using Daubechies’ wavelets and color

    As I said, that such capability wasn’t available 2 years ago in their product, however I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already developed it already.

  104. Falafulu Fisi 104
    17 September 2008 at 11:50 pm

    Fairfacts Media said…
    I will be contacting WebMarshall/MailMarshall.

    FM, I suspect (although I am not entirely sure), that if your blog site is being blocked and it was censored in some government departments, then I believe that WebMarshall image filtering is at work here. WHY? There are lots of Helen Clark’s images on NoMinister, where one with her bare breasts shown, etc,…

    We (me/MailMarshall) did discuss the capability to block nude/porn pictures in an autonomous manner. I showed them the following document on how such system is to be developed:

    System for screening objectionable images using Daubechies’ wavelets and color

    As I said in my previous message, that such capability wasn’t available 2 years ago in their product, however I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already developed it already.

  105. imcheezy 105
    18 September 2008 at 12:07 am

    “The ‘retired old guy’ is younger that your Deputy PM and pays more income tax than the lot of you people put together.”

    Sounds like you need to get yourself a better accountant, mate.

  106. workingman 106
    18 September 2008 at 12:22 am

    Draco

    Obviously not made up then. She’s done a basic statistical analysis and come up with a ball park figure. Your only complaint seems to be that she did it on the back of an envelope. Guess what IV2 – not everyone needs a spreadsheet running on a super computer to do basic maths.

    Maybe you could give us an indication of the maths involved, as I cannot come anywhere near 60 deaths. It makes no difference to my results if I use the back of an envelope or a spreadsheet, apart from the speed of calculation.

    I would say to make the calculation you would need to know the size of the US defence forces, the NZ defence forces etc as minimum. So where does 60 come from?

    Please help my poor maths.

  107. lprent 107
    18 September 2008 at 12:24 am

    FF: I have a rules based system here as well as an adaptive system. One thing you should be aware of is in the rules based system.

    I toss people into the moderation queue if they don’t take a voluntary ban. If they persist then I toss them into the blacklist rules. Alternatively for people who really annoy me I toss then straight into the blacklist.

    That way I can start treating their comments as spam by educating the adaptive system by feeding it their comments.

    FFM is one such person because it was link-whoring here without bothering to make interesting comments or read comments on its comments. I find that offensive and anti-social, as well as being advertising on a non-advertising site. Eventually it made one too many attacks on the site, annoyed me too much, and copped a permanent ban. An ‘unfortunate’ side effect is that even using the name on comments here throws you in the spam queue at a mild level. That is useful because I can then answer supporters immediately when I clean the spam queue.

    You get rescued from there whenever one of us gets around to scanning the messages trapped there. Most of the time it is just a few examples of the real spam that the system wants us to confirm/deny on. Sometimes it is someone referring to the offending phrase. Sometimes it is people with a bare link too many. But we keep helping to educate the heuristic system.

  108. lprent 108
    18 September 2008 at 12:55 am

    On a lighter note, whales site currently has a good front page article – probably the first time I’ve said that. I’ll quote it in full.

    Welcome to your new Drupal website!

    Please follow these steps to set up and start using your website:

    1. Configure your website Once logged in, visit the administration section, where you can customize and configure all aspects of your website.
    2. Enable additional functionality Next, visit the module list and enable features which suit your specific needs. You can find additional modules in the Drupal modules download section.
    3. Customize your website design To change the “look and feel” of your website, visit the themes section. You may choose from one of the included themes or download additional themes from the Drupal themes download section.
    4. Start posting content Finally, you can create content for your website. This message will disappear once you have promoted a post to the front page.

    For more information, please refer to the help section, or the online Drupal handbooks. You may also post at the Drupal forum, or view the wide range of other support options available.

  109. higherstandard 109
    18 September 2008 at 8:21 am

    It’ll be interesting to see if his predictions about a potential smear from Winston and Labour over the next few days regarding OG is correct.

  110. the sprout 110
    18 September 2008 at 10:31 am

    So Hooten is blaming his and his ‘informant’s’ IT illiteracy on a government plot. Hilarious. What’s next? The government forces him to make shit up? The government has conspired to make nobody like him? What ever happened to personal responsibility Matty?

    rjs: “I guess a reasonable question is why civil servants would need to access a blog while at work…. Shouldnt they be working anyway?”

    oh and let me guess your next line rjs… “Civil servants are completely out of touch”

  111. bill brown 111
    18 September 2008 at 11:27 am

    I find it hard to believe Hooton’s hit rock bottom with this – I’m sure he’s still got a long way to go.

  112. Bryan Spondre 112
    18 September 2008 at 7:22 pm

    Matthew Hooton responds to all your kind comments here.

  113. randal 113
    18 September 2008 at 7:26 pm

    hooten landed in here one day, hit the bottom and kept right on going…he never been back…hahahahahahahahahaha!

  114. randal 114
    18 September 2008 at 7:33 pm

    hey BS…I’d change that if I were you but I went to ‘here’ and it looks like hooten has been mixing his valium with crystal meth again.

  115. Robinsod 115
    18 September 2008 at 7:42 pm

    Hey Bryan – I see now why you are so very angry…

    Link removed at ‘sod’s request

    I’m thinking about turning it into a cation contest…

    Oh and Hooton is a fuckin loon. I mean you can tell Helen is evil from the look in her eyes???

  116. randal 116
    18 September 2008 at 8:00 pm

    judging by the look in hootens eyes he had too much mandrax in the eighties. as john keys would say he is ‘in compos mentis”. sounds bad!

  117. Deborah 117
    19 September 2008 at 1:37 am

    I’ve heard from a friend, via another blog, that my blog is blocked in a particular government department. It may be blocked in more. Anyone care to try and let us know?

    DPF identifies me as left, Whale Oil as wrong, some others as centre or “don’t know”. I prefer the latter…

    In a Strange Land

    [lprent: you’re in “Other blogs” here. I trust that is acceptable. ]

  118. Bryan Spondre 118
    19 September 2008 at 11:17 am

    Dylan Robinson: you go anywhere near me or my family and I’ll popping into see the Herne Bay community constable police. Then again as you live in New Plymouth I think I am reasonably safe.

  119. Bryan Spondre 119
    19 September 2008 at 11:24 am

    Actually Dylan I couldn’t be shagged waiting, I’ve had a chat to the Herne Bay community constable about you. Suggest you be very careful with your choices.

    I have also instructed our engineer to have a chat to IHUG/Vodafone about the way you are using your internet account.

    Take care

    Bryan Spondre

    Sorry about the off topic post Lynn.

    [lprent: Perfectly understandable. Remind me of this if I ever even think of putting up photo’s on the net. ]

  120. Paul Williams 120
    19 September 2008 at 5:33 pm

    Bryan said:

    The criteria “household crowding’ is clearly intended to advantage cultures that favour communal living like Maori & Pacific Islanders. Race based funding by stealth.

    This is one of the most idiotic things I’ve read in quite a while. I can’t think of a single jurisdiction where various indicators of social economic status aren’t factors in detemining the levels funding for public services. Surely you’d rather this than dead-weight funding? Household crowding seems a pretty good indicator of disadvatage to me, what do you suggest? It’s not the only indicator used in assigning deciles of course, there’s many others, and from memory all the indicators resolve to census data.

    Bryan, dog-whistling works best when it’s a little more sophisticated than you’ve managed in this instance.

  121. Robinsod 121
    19 September 2008 at 5:55 pm

    Hey Bryan – last time I checked calling you a retard wasn’t against the law. So once again – Bryan, you’re a retard…

    [lprent: ‘sod… pursuing petty vendetta’s onto this site is unacceptable. ]

  122. Billy 122
    20 September 2008 at 11:16 am

    Lprent,

    First, it’s “vendettas”. Simply the plural of vendetta.

    And, in fariness to ‘sod, Bryan started it.

    [lprent: I’m better at numbers than language. As I commented below, it was that lack of context that I was annoyed about. ]

  123. Robinsod 123
    20 September 2008 at 11:27 am

    Lprent – he put my IP address up on his blog along with my name. Now he’s named where I live and published my isp – he’s also been deliberately using my real name over the internet for months in an attempt to threaten me.

    I responded by making fun of him using a photo he had previously linked to via his mawxxx username. I know it was a bit Whalesque but I was only fighting fire with fire…

    Having said that – I’ll leave the issue off this site.

    [lprent: Bringing the topic up is ok. It was that there was no content or context – so other people couldn’t see what you were bringing up. If they scan around the blog sites, then it’d become apparent, but who has time to keep track of each spat. There was no context for people to see HERE. Fill in the detail or put in links.

    Then other people have something to comment about.. ]

  124. Tim Ellis 124
    20 September 2008 at 11:32 am

    It seems to me Robinsod that you have a spat with Bryan where you and Bryan are both playing a bit of dirty pool. It’s good of you to do the mature thing and fight elsewhere. It would be even better if you both did the more mature thing and stopped acting like children.

    [lprent:: snap! Even the same word… spat. ]

  125. Tim Ellis 125
    20 September 2008 at 11:34 am

    Billy, you’re like the kid in the playground yelling: “Fight, fight, fight!”

  126. Robinsod 126
    20 September 2008 at 11:36 am

    Tim – I agree with you for the first time ever.

  127. Deborah 127
    20 September 2008 at 6:36 pm

    [lprent: you’re in “Other blogs” here. I trust that is acceptable. ]

    Whatever! It’s your blog, and your call about how you see me. I don’t actually get upset about too many things – insult my partner or my children and I will start steaming – but most of the time I respond with “whatever” or in bad cases, an eyeball roll, which of course, you can’t see…. Or is there an emoticon for that?

  128. lprent 128
    20 September 2008 at 6:59 pm

    available smilies

    I’d suggest colon roll colon 🙄

  129. randal 129
    20 September 2008 at 7:13 pm

    well ditch the me me me and address the topic deb. thats what we’re here for.

  130. illuminatedtiger 130
    23 September 2008 at 1:13 am

    Can I call him a retard too? 😀