Open mike 01/02/2013

80 comments on “Open mike 01/02/2013 ”

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1. KhandallaViper 1

   1 February 2013 at 7:03 am

   The Trevor and Shearer thing! God give us patience!

   Shearer (correctly) complains that he should be consulted on the selection of a New Speaker.
   Then Shearer back’s Trevor’s attempt to become speaker by the ruse of hoping the other side are not there to vote because they are not aware he is running.

   Let us for one moment imagine Trevor had won via this childish ruse. What message about Labour would it have sent to country?
   That we are clever dicks who can sneak around procedure?
   That we say on thing and do the opposite?
   That we can win and bugger the consequences?

   We have seen in these pages some of Trevor’s proxies and Mike Smith put forward procedural reasons why the Leadership Selection should not go the the Members and Unions. We will see more of this nonsense.

   Stupid is what stupid does. What little credibility Trevor had has now been flushed away. And this man is our Leader’s Chief Strategist!

   No wonder we can’t budge our poll number despite Key and his mob’s antics.
   • just saying 1.1

     1 February 2013 at 8:04 am

     It’s certainly symptomatic of a serious disconnect.

     It reminds me of when the ministerial “perks” were revealed to the public. The leadership team (and many on here) never really ‘got’ what those receipts revealed about the Labour Party to the public, and the damage done.

     They never got that Labour is supposed to be different. Labour ministers living ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous, feeling completely entitled, endlessly explaining and whining and feeling aggrieved that National doing the same weren’t getting anywhere near the stick for it. Well newsflash, National troughers were being completely true to their actual values, and everyone knew it. Labour was and is supposed to be representing something different. Something better actually.
2. higherstandard 2

   1 February 2013 at 7:30 am

   Crikey

   http://www.smh.com.au/world/just-217-left-in-the-bank-as-zimbabwe-faces-crisis-20130131-2dnnv.html

   Now that really is a crooked ruling elite.
   • CV - Real Labour 2.1

     1 February 2013 at 8:22 am

     That’s interesting, coz it seems Mugabe himself may be worth over $1B….seems someone has been taking from the country’s till?

     http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/22422

     And I read somewhere else that Mugabe and the Chinese are co-operating in a hundred billion dollar diamond mine in Zimbabwe. Where’s the moolah going?
   • CV - Real Labour 2.2

     1 February 2013 at 11:44 am

     Funny, I read Mugabe and the Chinese had developed a multi-hundred billion dollar diamond mine.

     Where’s all the money?
     • McFlock 2.2.1

       1 February 2013 at 1:34 pm

       hawaii?
3. Elizabeth Bourchier Real Labour 3

   1 February 2013 at 9:01 am

   ” Labour was and is supposed to be representing something different. Something better actually”

   Spot on, Just Saying. Certainly “symptomatic”!

   There is a small group that just does not get it. Their removal is critical for the party to get out of the rut is is in. Roll on a member and union engagement in the leadership selection. Only that “hui” will lance the boil.
4. karol 4

   1 February 2013 at 9:47 am

   Sir Paul Holmes; gone.

   Condolences to his family and friends.
   • Pete 4.1

     1 February 2013 at 10:17 am

     RIP, Sir Paul. He certainly had an impact on NZ.
   • bad12 4.2

     1 February 2013 at 10:32 am

     My bog-Irish Gran born into what was little more than a mud hut in County Clare bless Her soul admonished me as a child never to speak ill of the dead,

     So i wont, but believe me i have to overcome some strong internal urges to stay true to what She taught me…
     • Draco T Bastard 4.2.1

       1 February 2013 at 11:02 am

       I was taught that as well but I’ve never really understood why. If some one was an arsehole then obviously it would be better to accept that truth than to try to hide from it.
       • Lanthanide 4.2.1.1

         1 February 2013 at 11:09 am

         Agreed.

         After Jock Hobbs died, everyone went on about how he was such a great rugby player, blah blah blah. Narry a mention of his shady business dealings, from wikipedia:

         He was also a director of finance company Strategic Finance, which was placed in receivership in March 2010. The Financial Markets Authority is investigating the records of this company.[4] The Financial Markets Authority stopped its probe into Mr Hobbs role after medical information provided on behalf of Mr Hobbs disclosed the extent of his illness; the investigation into other living parties involved with Strategic Finance continues.
         • MrSmith 4.2.1.1.1

           1 February 2013 at 7:18 pm

           What a hypocrite Lanthanide, you are so quick to correct people here yet have no trouble slandering someone else ‘now dead’ with unsubstantiated allegations.
           • Lanthanide 4.2.1.1.1.1

             2 February 2013 at 11:39 am

             Being under investigation doesn’t happen to just anyone, you know. A lot of people lost money by investing in the company he was a director of.

             Did he have any personal culpability? Looks like we’ll never know for sure, since they called off the investigation in his dealings, although it continues for the other directors.

             Compare the complete lack of mention of this about Jock Hobbs with the 4-minute recap I saw on Holmes last night, where they played the audio of him calling Kofi Annan a cheeky darkie. The treatment of Holmes was balanced, the treatment of Jock was not.
             • MrSmith …

               2 February 2013 at 8:03 pm

               “Being under investigation doesn’t happen to just anyone, you know.”

               There you go again, what’s that meant to mean? if your under investigation your guilty? or must be you know?

               All I know is your slandering a dead man that can no longer defend himself, throwing stones at people that can’t defend themselves is cowardly.

               And talking about Balance in the media is also a joke, who pays the medias wages? The marketers/advertisers thats who, what do they want? Consumers to buy their products, but first they need there attention, how do they get there attention. Sensationalism not balance.
       • rosy 4.2.1.2

         1 February 2013 at 11:15 am

         It’s a timing thing, I reckon. Mostly because the family needs a bit of time to grieve for the person they loved before having people start up with the negative.
       • bad12 4.2.1.3

         1 February 2013 at 12:01 pm

         Ah, in the small closed village atmosphere of my Gran’s time word of what you had said would quickly spread and you would be in danger of making enemies among the family of the deceased where befor you only had friends,

         My Gran was full of interesting takes on historical events which She would impart freely after a few gins in Her thickest of Irish accents,

         Included among these pearls of wisdom was Her swearing oaths that the current Royal family has in it’s fairly recent gene pool the off-spring born from the loins of an Irish chamber maid, brought into such ‘service’ because a particular Queen seemed unable to deliver to the King a son,

         Who would have thunk it, the descendants of an Irish ‘piss-pot emptier’ sitting on the Royal throne of all the Britt’s…
         • Draco T Bastard 4.2.1.3.1

           1 February 2013 at 2:39 pm

           Ah, in the small closed village atmosphere of my Gran’s time word of what you had said would quickly spread and you would be in danger of making enemies among the family of the deceased where befor you only had friends,

           Dunno why. I would have said exactly the same thing before they died. And that is the point: Why say something different after they died? That just comes across as dishonest and craven.
           • bad12 4.2.1.3.1.1

             1 February 2013 at 4:16 pm

             LOLZ luckily you didn’t come across the old girl in Her prime then, according to my Mother (who had first hand experience) the Gran could and did brawl like a man and would happily go toe to toe with anyone, insinuating that She was craven or dishonest to Her face would have been to run the risk of Her inflicting some serious damage to your’s…
             • Draco T Bastard …

               1 February 2013 at 5:12 pm

               If she couldn’t say the same thing about a person before and after that person died then the brawling would just show how weak she was.
               • bad12 …

                 1 February 2013 at 5:46 pm

                 LOL only to the effete…
                 • CV - Real Labour …

                   1 February 2013 at 7:57 pm

                   Exactly. There’s a whole dimension to human relationships here that go beyond the rational.
           • karol 4.2.1.3.1.2

             1 February 2013 at 6:50 pm

             Well in my initial comment above, I certainly didn’t contradict anything I have said or thought previously about Holmes. I think there is a time for criticism, and right now is the time for his friends and family.

             s I get older, I am very aware of more and more people dying who are younger than me, – Holmes was a fraction younger than me. It kind of shocks me, and makes me feel sad when people go relatively young (Steve Jobs, Whitney Houston, various teenagers killed in car crashes, over doses, natural disasters, etc.)

             It also reminds me we all live under a death sentence.

             For a public personality or achiever who I respected and valued, I would have been more likely to write a post commemorating their life, rather than just express condolences. Very often, it is what is not said that is significant.
             • CV - Real Labour …

               1 February 2013 at 7:59 pm

               It also reminds me we all live under a death sentence.

               We are all born under a death sentence. Usually with no knowledge whatsoever of when it will be carried out.
       • Vicky32 4.2.1.4

         1 February 2013 at 11:46 pm

         “I was taught that as well but I’ve never really understood why.”

         Exactly! To me, it’s just hypocrisy. It was my Scottish mother who taught me the same, but her hypocrisy made me vomit at my father’s funeral – “No, we never had a cross word” she said in a syrupy voice. I think everyone present knew differently.

         Paul Holmes was not a great guy. I am sorry that he’s dead at such a young age, but that doesn’t suddenly make him a plaster saint.
   • Treetop 4.3

     1 February 2013 at 2:00 pm

     I shed a tear on the passing of Sir Paul Holmes. There is a family link of sorts.

     My deepest and sincere condolence to his immediate and extended family.
5. just saying 5

   1 February 2013 at 10:41 am

   With Labour’s leadership vote due to happen on Monday, I’ve been thinking about writing to my local MP. I realise this is a touchy subject, and I don’t want my lobbying to be counter-productive, so it will need to be customised. I find it all the more difficult knowing that he and his colleagues consider people like me to be extremist nutters, and this will colour his reception of my words.

   When I wrote to him previously on another matter, his first response was to ignore me. I recently reread that whole correspondance with a view to doing better in the future. Although by email number three he was no longer simply trying to fob me off, I came away from reviewing the emails feeling angry that it was so hard to engage him in the first place. My original (ignored) email was polite, self-disclosing, and heart felt. I told him how I had been hurt by the issue at hand. He never should have ignored it, and I wonder how I could have gotten him to listen – not necessarily agree, but to hear me out. It feels a little bit like trying to communicate with a family member who has joined a closed cult, in the sense that having closed ranks against people like me, any effort I make could be so easily elicit a counterproductive defensive rearguard re-action.
   • Dr Terry 5.1

     1 February 2013 at 1:34 pm

     just saying – without going into all the details I have every reason to empathise with your personal and painful experience. It is these so-called “little matters” that really count in the end.
6. Chris 6

   1 February 2013 at 11:05 am

   john key told Shearer to put a bell on Cunliffe so he can hear him coming(much mirth from the girls and boys in blue) methinks he should do the same to s joyce who seems to be making himself over.Less condescension,less snarling,perhaps a hair style change(hard to tell that one but it looks a little different) maybe lost a little weight,engaging in conversation on radio instead of shooting down etc. Dunno,he just seems different.Going for the statesman persona? Listen for the bell key!
   • chris73 6.1

     1 February 2013 at 12:39 pm

     Snigger
   • Chris 6.2

     1 February 2013 at 1:57 pm

     The question is though how long does John Key actually want the job? More likely is he is helping groom Joyce to take over.
   • VivaciousViper 6.3

     1 February 2013 at 3:26 pm

     Gotta agree with you Chris, i thought after seeing Joyce on tv that he had softened his
     know all attitude and intimidating ways to one of smoking a peace pipe elequently in so
     far as actually listening to what people say with regards to the happless novapay saga.
     I wouldn’t like to be in the shoes of those idiots inside the nact govt that signed it off,
     knowing full well it was a broken system and a dog,according to Joyce.
     The ministers that signed it off should pay for the cost of fixing it or establishing a new system,deduct their salaries,or fire them.
     Joyce next Nact leader then ?
     • McFlock 6.3.1

       1 February 2013 at 3:32 pm

       yep, is my guess. I reckon sometime this year or early next, to try and reinvigorate the nats before the next election. They’re sinking and they need a flotation device.
7. Andre 7

   1 February 2013 at 11:59 am

   Nats going to feel some real pain soon re Novopay the twitasphere is digesting the infodump released today. Alas i feel Mr Key will swear in public soon and poof its all gone…
   • Andre 7.1

     1 February 2013 at 12:04 pm

     http://t.co/M6KMYfAU summary of info of NOVOPAY
8. aerobubble 8

   1 February 2013 at 12:34 pm

   Many murderers do not serve out their sentence, dying in
   prison, many do not lose all kin, many do not lose
   all wealth, many do not lose the opportunity to have
   kids when young, but David Bain has lost all that,
   and more, publicity will dog him for the rest of his
   life, but worse, he was also found NOT GUILTY.

   Key panders to the nastiness in all of us, Key is making
   us a nastier nation, Key has no conscience. The principle
   is clear, a civil standard does not attract a prison sentence.
   Justice Binnie declare David Bain innocent on balance.
   Justice Minister has obviously allowed her own political
   needs to infer in my opinion, and the opinion of many.
   Even Rodney Hide points out 12 errors in the Police
   collection of evidence. The idea that any freedom loving
   country could jail someone for that long, without a fail trial,
   frustrate in their appeals, and now hounded even more some
   modest compensation – has Key seen the prices of housing!!!
9. Rogue Trooper 9

   1 February 2013 at 12:47 pm

   want to play. Blind Mans’ Bluff mice
   read ’em and weep around those deckchairs
   Magogs and Golgothas cross swords once more
   earwigs around The Faraway Tree
   thread the Stradavarian bow
   beneath those Nikau charms of doubtful sounds
   know our Peking pedigree. Hells Bells.suite
   The Judge is standing at the door;
   that’s a guarantee. No no no Leppard
   He’s a pinball Wizard, there has to be a trick

   (been weeding. Whats for lunch.Dock? dandelion roots tea)
   from the Ark Ives- http://www.storytime.net.nz/product/66998-TeRongoaMaoriMaoriMedicine-9780143011361.

   -pre Fab sprout (ride the 3:10 to Yuma)

   0bit
   gone gently into that good night
   fashionably flying at speed by light
   seven pointed bulletin filed in Time
10. Kevin Welsh 10

    1 February 2013 at 12:49 pm

    I have a question for the more financially literate out there. Is the value of the New Zealand dollar based on the amount of currency in circulation OR the amount of currency in total? eg: hypothetically $1 Billion in circulation, OR $500 million in circulation + $500 million in reserve.

    If it is the 500 + 500 version, what is to stop the government printing money to drive the value down, but not putting it into circulation?
    • Chris 10.1

      1 February 2013 at 1:58 pm

      Forgive my ignorance, but how will not putting the currency in circulation make any impact on the value of the currency?
    • CV - Real Labour 10.2

      1 February 2013 at 2:21 pm

      NB the value of the NZD is not overly driven by supply, it is driven mostly by speculative expectations and (non trade) demand.

      Forgive my ignorance, but how will not putting the currency in circulation make any impact on the value of the currency?

      It’s a psychology thing – if people know that a flood of supply might be released shortly, it will suppress pricing.

      Like the Government announcing an immediate build of 100,000 houses. House prices can be suppressed before earth for the 1st house is even broken. (As long as the build announcement is credible of course).
    • bad12 10.3

      1 February 2013 at 2:45 pm

      OK now your asking for a lecture, but, rather than me sit here typing for the next 3 days read this link below 3 or 4 times very slowly,

      http://www.rualnewsgroup.co.nz/…news/why-does-the-new-zealand-dollar...

      Ok, the NZ$ is based upon our exports which have now taken the place of gold as the standard,one of it’s problems is that as a small currency it is not pegged to the major currencies of the major economies a situation brought about by Sir(spit)Roger Douglas in all His Neo-Liberal wisdom,(none evident),

      The NZ$ is thus a free floating dollar which besides being valued as per what the link above says is also valued by ‘demand’, so, as most of what we export is sold into the international markets on the basis of US$,s to bring this money back to New Zealand it must be then converted to NZ$,s,

      In step the international Banksters who when demand for NZ produce goes up and prices of that produce rise have already got in first and bought up NZ$,s and as demand for them increases the price NZ producers must pay to convert US$,s to NZ$,s rises, thus the international banking cartels ‘clip the ticket’ of all our exports via the free floating NZ$,

      The same banking cartels, as much of this trade in produce is bought and sold on ‘forward contracts’ also get to play with such produce on the demand side by simply bidding up the price of such produce six months or a year ahead of it’s actual production such cartels then have the inside knowledge of what the demand for the NZ$ will be in 12 months time and only need wait for a dip in the price of the NZ$,s by as little as 1 cent to make millions of dollars from both the actual purchase of future production and by purchasing the right amount of NZ$,s well ahead of the actual production having taken place,

      The NZ$ is hence the 10th most traded currency of all the worlds currencies and there seems to be only 2 solutions apparent, the first being to ‘fix’ the value of the NZ$ against the worlds major currencies, or, print and spend into the local NZ economy amounts of money which gradually increase the supply of NZ$,s by producing assets such as housing that remain in NZ as opposed to attempting to produce even more product for sale on the international markets which would simply lead to more of the same,

      Such dilution of the NZ$ could easily be accomplished by simply diluting the NZ$ by the spending of printed monies into the NZ economy at such a rate so as to hold inflation within the Reserve Banks inflationary target band of 1 to 3% inflation in any given year, not rocket science for the bean counters….
      • Rogue Trooper 10.3.1

        1 February 2013 at 3:05 pm

        not wanting to speak ill of dead cows yet when I grazed the cheapest supermarket this week for some protein, the cheapest beef that was unprocessed (other than mince) was stir-fry at 19-something dollars a freakin kilo: I went with free range eggs, 3 meals from a dozen!
        • Kevin Welsh 10.3.1.1

          1 February 2013 at 3:35 pm

          Interesting. My boss and his wife have just come back from a holiday in Vanuatu where one of their biggest exports is beef. Now, we constantly get lectured how we must ‘pay the international price’ for things like dairy products and met, so I was wondering just how my boss got away with paying $19/kg for fillet steak?

          Not discounted. Normal supermarket price.

          In fact, ALL the meat was well below the prices we pay here in NZ.
        • bad12 10.3.1.2

          1 February 2013 at 4:29 pm

          LOLZ you been robbed bro, Pack and Slave where i did the weekly on Wednesday had 1.1KG of corned beef for $6.80 and along with that i got a 500gram prime beef rolled roast for 11 bucks,

          That’s about the day i listened to the bloke from the Fed say that farmers in Canterbury and the East coast of the North Island were de-stocking in the face of drought conditions,

          ill spoken of dead cows seems to be wherever you are uncalled for wishing the same fate upon the owners of said market would seem to be more to the point…
        • Vicky32 10.3.1.3

          1 February 2013 at 11:50 pm

          “not wanting to speak ill of dead cows yet when I grazed the cheapest supermarket this week for some protein”

          Never have I been so happy that I don’t eat meat!

          (I bought some for my son’s visit a while back only to discover that I needn’t have bothered, he doesn’t either! 🙂 )
          • Olwyn 10.3.1.3.1

            1 February 2013 at 11:53 pm

            Hi Vicky, long time no see! Good to see you commenting again. 🙂
      • Kevin Welsh 10.3.2

        1 February 2013 at 3:35 pm

        Thanks bad, most appreciated.
        • bad12 10.3.2.1

          1 February 2013 at 4:37 pm

          Welcome, just as a afterthought, the scale of the field upon which this little money go round is played is easily ‘seen’ when we consider that the total export market is some 40 billion dollars a year,

          I havn’t got the figures for current values/volumes of dairy products on hand but even if that were half of total exports you can then see how easy for the banking cartels it is to insinuate themselves into the middle of the equation to make a buck from essentially doing nothing,

          Just one of them Goldman Saches (sacks of gold man) has a reported 100 billion languishing in the tank in the basement on any given day…
    • mikesh 10.4

      1 February 2013 at 3:04 pm

      When you say “value of the NZ dollar” do you mean locally or in relation to other currencies. A dollar will always be worth a dollar locally, but how much you can buy with that dollar will depend on inflation. However the value in terms of other currencies, or the3 “exchange rate” depends on the supply and demand for NZ dollars and may bear no relation to its local value.
11. Colonial Weka 11

    1 February 2013 at 2:04 pm

    February. If I were a member of the Labour party I would be asking these questions,

    1. when is the caucus leadership vote likely to happen? (a ballpark idea is ok if there is no set date)

    2. what processes will be used to ensure the vote is confidential?

    3. will the numbers be released to the members? The public?
    • CV - Real Labour 11.1

      1 February 2013 at 2:17 pm

      1. when is the caucus leadership vote likely to happen? (a ballpark idea is ok if there is no set date)

      Monday.

      2. what processes will be used to ensure the vote is confidential?

      Hmmmm I think thats confidential. The President or the Gen Sec will probably be involved in the balloting process.

      3. will the numbers be released to the members? The public?

      Uh, being a secret ballot, they’re not supposed to be made public. However, we know how this has gone in the past.
      • Colonial Weka 11.1.1

        1 February 2013 at 5:45 pm

        Secret ballot? How come people have been saying that Shearer will get 100% support then? (if no-one is supposed to know).
        • CV - Real Labour 11.1.1.1

          1 February 2013 at 6:32 pm

          Well since the vote hasn’t actually been held yet claims of a 100% vote are of course speculative.

          Nevertheless, the secret ballot held after Conference last year gave Shearer 100% support (how did that number get out?), and nothing dramatic has changed since then.
12. Pascal's bookie 12

    1 February 2013 at 5:49 pm

    And what’s this all about?

    https://twitter.com/Garner_Live/status/297204001630470146

    Duncan Garner

    ‏@Garner_Live

    Brownlee hangs up on air during political head to head with Grant Robertson @radioliveNZ Drive – Dennis Connoresque? Bit sooky? Come back GB
    • bad12 12.1

      1 February 2013 at 6:25 pm

      Snigger, the word FAILURE when said in conjunction with Slippery’s National Government seems to have hit a substantial nerve,

      Brownlee is so sensitive as FAILURE is a hard word to wrap some spin around…
13. chris73 13

    1 February 2013 at 6:10 pm

    http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2013/02/january-2013-blog-stats/

    Don’t give up guys, one day you’ll be half as popular if you keep going 🙂
    • bad12 13.1

      1 February 2013 at 6:22 pm

      Should have stayed there at Blubber-boys sewer, coming over here talking s**t is just begging for a permanent ticket to travel…
      • chris73 13.1.1

        1 February 2013 at 7:44 pm

        Whoa we got a tough guy over here 🙂
    • fatty 13.2

      1 February 2013 at 6:25 pm

      justin bieber is popular too…what’s your point?
      • chris73 13.2.1

        1 February 2013 at 7:45 pm

        More people read his views (nearly three times as many) then these ones is all I’m saying
        • David H 13.2.1.1

          2 February 2013 at 8:07 am

          Its because blubber boy pads his numbers with guns, and dirty girls , and bullshit stories about BK, in the search engines. Most normal people run screaming for the shower, after reading one page of his vitriol, and hate mongering.
    • CV - Real Labour 13.3

      1 February 2013 at 6:28 pm

      Add Whaleoil and KiwiBlog together and it seems like the Right have 5x the page views of The Standard.
      • fenderviper 13.3.1

        1 February 2013 at 7:58 pm

        It’s probably just people clicking Refresh in an effort to make that shit make sense second time around.
        • Marty 13.3.1.1

          1 February 2013 at 8:39 pm

          Ha. Good one.
        • chris73 13.3.1.2

          1 February 2013 at 8:47 pm

          So only 2.5x the amount then…
          • McFlock 13.3.1.2.1

            1 February 2013 at 9:22 pm

            so why do you have to tout and linkwhore for him?
            Methinks you doth protest to much.

            Best case, the tory blogsites are indeed using stats consistent with reality, but you have such low self esteem you need to wander of here and swing your dick around.
            Worst case, the stats are full of shit or comparing the popularity of actual debate with tory tripe.
            • chris73 13.3.1.2.1.1

              1 February 2013 at 11:46 pm

              Best case, the tory blogsites are indeed using stats consistent with reality, but you have such low self esteem you need to wander of here and swing your dick around.
              – Jealousy will get you nowhere

              Worst case, the stats are full of shit or comparing the popularity of actual debate with tory tripe
              -There seems to be something about lefties and not accepting poll results if they go against them…
              • McFlock …

                1 February 2013 at 11:53 pm

                Just pointing out that people who have a low level of self-esteem sometimes compensate by gloating about a perceived superiority over others.

                Going “ha ha, we’re on the winning team” at kiwiblog would be one thing. Coming here suggests that we’re not the only people you’re trying to prove a point to.
      • Vicky32 13.3.2

        2 February 2013 at 12:21 am

        “like the Right have 5x the page views of The Standard.”

        Maybe it’s because The Standard is so good at driving people away! (I am back for the 1st time in 5 months, since QoT banned me temporarily. I discovered then how much more peaceful I felt without the daily nastiness here.)

        Now I am back, I am not staying!

        It’s as if no time has passed – everyone still hates Shearer, and everyone is still so relentlessly middle class.
        • QoT 13.3.2.1

          2 February 2013 at 1:20 am

          Please don’t lie, Vicky. You are specifically banned from my posts only. You were banned for the sum total of a week by lprent back in November for posting a series of childish comments on my posts.
    • Murray Olsen 13.4

      1 February 2013 at 9:24 pm

      I’m guessing WhaleSpew gets so many clicks because it puts everything in very simple terms, offers absolutely no analysis, and makes anyone who posts more than three consecutive words feel like a mental giant. His contributions are all cut and paste, with a bit of gun porn thrown in, and some crap now and then about how tough he is. Usage of insults like “cocksmoker” also goes down well with his audience, as do calls to be tougher on crims, bring back the death sentence, and calling anyone he disagrees with a “dud root”. His political philosophy is about as sophisticated as Forrest Gump’s, except that in his case the “wisdom” comes from daddy. In fact, he reminds a lot of a Forrest Gump who took up eating instead of running. In short, it’s a place for keyboard warriors to air their prejudices now that they might get called on it in wider society. It’s not as easy to spout off about mowrees, queers, dykes, and boongers in public bars as it used to be, and thank Cloacina for that.
      The Standard, on the other hand, has some very thoughtful and well constructed posts, with not much cutting and pasting at all. Even though most of the posters here are a bit to my right, I can always make sense of what they post and appreciate the thought that’s gone into their contribution. Then there are Chris73 and King Kong, probably both dud roots and/or cocksmokers, to put it in language they’d understand.
      • Colonial Weka 13.4.1

        1 February 2013 at 9:45 pm

        Lprent’s analysis from last year

        http://thestandard.org.nz/too-far-3/#comment-504329
        • QoT 13.4.1.1

          2 February 2013 at 1:22 am

          I still shudder at the idea of “people” spending 18 minutes on average on WO.
          • felixviper 13.4.1.1.1

            2 February 2013 at 2:30 am

            It should come as no surprise that his visitors don’t read so quick…
            • the sprout 13.4.1.1.1.1

              2 February 2013 at 7:41 am

              to be fair though felix, the drool and other fluids on their screens does make the words go all wiggly
            • David H 13.4.1.1.1.2

              2 February 2013 at 8:19 am

              Well it does take a long time to spell out each word, and ask mummy what they mean,
      • chris73 13.4.2

        1 February 2013 at 11:42 pm

        Yeah you keep telling yourself that enough times and maybe you’ll believe it yourself
      • lprent 13.4.3

        2 February 2013 at 1:35 am

        I suspect it is simply because we don’t bother just pushing pages and especially images to overseas audiences. We have a almost entirely and steadily growing NZ audience of humans.

        I just find it curious that WO got about 800k page views in December, and then suddenly in the slowest month in the year; Jan; he gets a 20% increase? FFS the humans in NZ are somnolent f most of the month and barely near a computer.

        It could happen I guess if you spent time pushing stuff on Digg or something similar to an overseas audience. But who could really be bothered pushing NZ politics though the SEO

        I suppose WO is more concerned with pushing the advertising revenue than anything else. By it is meaningless otherwise.
14. North 14

    1 February 2013 at 9:05 pm

    Alabama Drama. Five Year Old Held Hostage. Survivalist. Tea Party. Dangerous NRA Fuckwits.

    Thank Christ America Has Obama. Because That Means America Is Not Totally Fascist And Insane.
    • CV - Real Labour 14.1

      2 February 2013 at 12:00 am

      More Federal whistleblowers jailed than all the other presidents put together.

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