Open mike 02/02/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:44 am, February 2nd, 2014 - 156 comments
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openmike

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

156 comments on “Open mike 02/02/2014 ”

  • Comments are now closed

    • joe90 1.1
      2 February 2014 at 8:09 am

      Oh dear, back to the bubbles….

    • bad12 1.2
      2 February 2014 at 8:28 am

      There’s another column from Kerre floating round on the Herald as well, a long sickening ‘gush’ over Slippery the Prime Minister,(apparently Kerre just happened to bump into Him while She was in training for a marathon,(pfft),and He was strolling round Auckland with the wife in tow doing a normal bloke routine,(that description by Kerre smacked so much of the ‘truth’ that i had a vision of John Armstrong leaning over Her shoulder whispering words of encouragement into Her ear, or more to the point wheezing the actual script of the article to be printed out of fast failing lungs),

      Put together with all the political commentary from the Heralds lineup of ‘wing-nut’ spin merchants this week i get a sense of a troop of Baboons becoming unsettled in their tree top home by the smell of approaching danger breaking into fits of insanely wild screeching all the while defecating/urinating uncontrollably in a paroxysm of fear driven terror,

      ”Took a knife to a gunfight”,how tired and old can you get,Kerre shows all the intellectual depth of a puddle of Baboons urine, and, with Her having joined the screeching of the troop you would have to wonder if Bryce now has a little competition for Armstrong’s job once the latter has drawn His last gasp…

    • North 1.3
      2 February 2014 at 8:34 am

      As McIvor nee Woodham always does – predictably facile – weirdly unintelligent – a media scrubber earning her crust.

    • ianmac 1.4
      2 February 2014 at 9:17 am

      Chris73. If you want a more realistic response to the accusations of castles and clothes then have a look at this. Fascinating lifestyle.:
      “Yesterday, the Green Party co-leader tentatively opened her doors to our photographer – and revealed a wardrobe filled with more blue than green. “I quite like blue,” she laughed…….
      “Well, this visit clears up a few things. The two-bedroom “castle” is made from stone and corrugated iron. Old fridges serve as cupboards and doorways; a large truck tyre has been turned into a window frame in the master bedroom. A new pizza oven, made from mud, straw and sand, rests on a stack of tyres.”

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11195535

      • bad12 1.4.1
        2 February 2014 at 9:54 am

        ianmac, great link to a well written story, lives in a castle indeed, why wouldn’t Mets dress to impress, most of us given the wages to do so would probably have a far more expensive means of dressing,

        Does the Childrens Commissioner dress in sack-cloth to deliver reports on the state of New Zealand Children, it is shear hypocrisy for Tolley,Collins and Slippery the Prime Minister to attack Metiria over Her chosen lifestyle with such absolute Lies,

        Hopefully the television channels pick up on this story which has in all probability already cost National big time proving to a wider audience just how ugly their fear driven attacks upon the Green Party are…

        • srylands 1.4.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 10:31 am

          The point is she is skating on thin ice wailing about poverty (and greenhouse emissions) when she clearly consumes huge quantities of food herself and spends conspicuous amounts of money on clothes. Then when she gets mildly called out she cries racist. Really?

          This has not cost National big time at all. I’ll call back in and see how you are doing when the next polls come out. Although I am sure you will have someone to blames. The media, the CE of Housing New Zealand. Maybe the Electricity Authority.

          • bad12 1.4.1.1.1
            2 February 2014 at 10:58 am

            SSLands, your latest attack on Metiria Turei, unless you would care to provide a modicum of proof, is simply more ‘wing-nuts’ lies,

            You are barely coherent this morning has the hang-over effected your ability to construct a lucid comment,not that any of the other utter rubbish you spew forth is much better,

            Yes please, F off until the publication of the next ‘opinion poll’, you wont be missed, perhaps i could ask LPrent to give you a hand in your stated intention to desist from commenting until that next poll is published…

          • QoT 1.4.1.1.2
            2 February 2014 at 2:35 pm

            Readers are invited to note srylands’ use of language:

            – Metiria is “wailing” about political issues
            – Metiria is fat so her opinions don’t matter
            – Metiria spends “conspicuous” amounts on clothes (the linked article above to the contrary)
            – She was only “mildly called out” so what’s the fuss about
            – She “cries racist” because that’s what manipulative brown people do

            Yep, no sexism nor racism to be seen here, folks. Carry on.

        • phillip ure 1.4.1.2
          2 February 2014 at 11:06 am

          @ bad..

          ..i don’t think it has hurt national..

          ..tureis’ racism-call was ‘the boy crying wolf’…

          ..and way way off the mark..

          ..(it was a hypocrisy/’nasty-natty’-smear..)

          ….and she did herself no favours..with those racism allegations..

          ..(and i know it is only a herald online poll..

          ..but that only 2% of respondents think tureis’ racism-call was correct..

          ..must tell her/say something..

          ..surely..?

          ..(and also..surely..granny-print-tolley and helmet-hair/80’s power-dresser collins criticising anothers’ dress-sense..

          ..is both very funny..and beyond irony..)

          ..phillip ure..

      • chris73 1.4.2
        2 February 2014 at 10:21 am

        I’ve no problem with people saying Tolleys comments were dumb or whatever other term you want but it wasn’t racist

    • Naki Man 1.5
      2 February 2014 at 10:49 am

      How lame of Material to play the race card. Taking a knife to a gun fight sums it up well.

    • Paul 1.6
      2 February 2014 at 11:45 am

      If you regard Kerre McIvor as a journalist worth quoting, that says a lot about you.

      • North 1.6.1
        2 February 2014 at 12:01 pm

        What journalist ? Where ? A tired flibbitigibbert hack I see.

        • phillip ure 1.6.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 2:29 pm

          @north..

          ..have you seen the offerings from shelley bridgeman..?

          ..whoar..!..

          ..bridgeman makes woodham read like tolstoy laced/leavened with wodehouse..

          (..which if so..would be a tasty/interesting mix..)

          ..phillip ure..

  2. karol 2
    2 February 2014 at 8:00 am

    It’s important to address male violence in all communities. But isn’t Shane Jones just reinforcing negative stereotypes and prejudices about Maori men?

    Especially when he frames it in contrast to issues of land, manu whenua, and colonisation, in this way:

    “[It is] high time iwi leaders stopped obsessing over the ownership of earth, wind and fire and showed more ownership over the miserable record of the violence culture afflicting our young men,” said Jones, who hails from Northland’s Ngapuhi iwi.

    He pointed to the attack on German tourists in Whakatane in December which left a 19-year-old man with missing teeth as well as cuts and bruises and an 18-year-old woman with facial and arm injuries including fractures.

    • Flip 2.1
      2 February 2014 at 8:32 am

      “But isn’t Shane Jones just reinforcing negative stereotypes and prejudices about Maori men?”

      No. It highlights that Maori leadership is working to reduce violence in their communities. Maori are disproportionately represented in the violent stats as everyone knows. Working to fix that is a good thing not enforcing a stereotype or prejudices.

      • karol 2.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 8:49 am

        Working to reduce violence in one’s own communities is an excellent thing to do. But Jones is whistling hard for his dog here. And his timing is telling: along with the way he opposes the anti-violence message to core issues associated with Waitangi Day.

        • Mary 2.1.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 3:59 pm

          Precisely, Karol. The guy’s an idiot and a liability to Labour. They need to cut him loose. If they want an excuse get a journalist to ask him to name one thing he has in common with the Labour Party and there they’ll have it.

      • One Anonymous Knucklehead 2.1.2
        2 February 2014 at 11:43 am

        What has ethnicity got to do with it? Other than being a right wing dog whistle for bigots to drool over that is?

    • bad12 2.2
      2 February 2014 at 8:43 am

      Shane Jones, He who replaces waffle interspersed with words in the nature of 12 or more letters in an attempt to portray Himself as the ‘Oxford scholar’ should know better,

      Statistics will show that such young Maori as those highlighted have little knowledge and/or connection with their particular Marae and in fact live in exactly the same manner as their Pakeha counterparts,

      Maori no longer live surrounding a particular Marae, something that seems to have escaped Shane, and, Maori are now spread far and wide where they may reside in any rohe on the motu and most of what goes on at a Marae level these days is simply preaching to the converted so how Jones intends the voice of Iwi leaders in Te Tai Tokerau to be taken notice of, or even heard,in say Whanga-nui-a-tara is beyond me…

      • BM 2.2.1
        2 February 2014 at 8:56 am

        Out of curiosity what do you reckon the % of Maori would be who are actively involved in their tribe/ marae?

        10%, 20%,50% ?

        Also can someone from a different tribal area cruise along to the local Marae and get involved?

        • bad12 2.2.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 9:19 am

          BM, all of those numbers and sometimes higher depending upon the definition you apply to ”actively involved in their Marae”,

          There are many un-noticed an un-reported Marae based and inter-Marae based sporting competitions that the participants in have as their only strong connection to a Marae,(apart from Tangi),

          Just as there are many sports teams in the wider community that a particular Marae favors in terms of participation by it’s members without there being an actual Marae connection,

          i have spent a couple of spare weeks working on carvings at Marae while mostly accept for discussions in the family,(which might or might not have a wider reach), and, stopping ‘in’ on the odd occasion,usually in the wee small hours,for a spot of karakia is my ‘connection’,

          Why do you ask…

          • BM 2.2.1.1.1
            2 February 2014 at 9:44 am

            It was more of a question regarding your comment about Shane Jones being out of touch and his comment not being relevant to how Maori live these days.

            I could be completely wrong here but If you compared Maori who are more actively involved( not just turning up for a tangi every so often) in their Marae with Maori who are not, I’d say the bad statistics such as violence and crime would be way down and probably on par with most other ethnicities.

            Which I then wondered if a person who moved from one tribal areal into another could join up to their local Marae even though they’re from a different tribe.?

            If they can’t I do wonder if Maori Marae need to get together and maybe form Marae affiliations so Maori from other tribal areas have a place to go and feel involved in the local Maori community.

            • bad12 2.2.1.1.1.1
              2 February 2014 at 10:15 am

              BM, in some places this occurs but you have to remember that Marae and those who ‘belong’ are basically a family institution with a history going back centuries,

              On a deeper level it would then be hard for those who do not have knowledge of this history to join in but in the area of say sports, some cultural events and Marae based training activities friends of the wider whanau are welcome to join in, much of this depends upon how ‘active’ a particular Marae is, some mostly in a more urban setting have and are becoming again the focal point of tribal activity,

              What your really asking is for Marae,(an extended family),to take ownership of problems which they are in no way part of, a bit like asking you to take ownership of a particular homeless street kid with offending problems you have little or no prior knowledge of,

              Would you???…

              • phillip ure …
                2 February 2014 at 2:35 pm

                as a pakeha..(we who have nothing..in that sense..)

                …i have marae-envy…

                ..and would like to see similar community-based/focused set-ups most places…

                .(possible name:..’parae’..?..)

                ..seriously tho’..!..

                ..phillip ure..

        • Paupial 2.2.1.2
          2 February 2014 at 9:22 am

          BM

          What do you reckon the % of Pākehā would be who are actively involved in community organisations? 10%, 20%,50% ?

          Depending on past actions, anyone (Māori, Pākehā, or Tauiwi) can cruise along to the local Marae and get involved. The tikanga (protocol) of doing so can be complex however. I find my lack of fluency in te reo greatly inhibits my ability to participate, especially down here in Kai Tahu country where the dialect is different to the Northland one that has become the standard.

          The important things to remember are respect and humility; so I’d advise you to stay far away.

        • KJT 2.2.1.3
          2 February 2014 at 1:56 pm

          To answer your question. Yes.

          Pakeha and Tau iwi are welcome also, on any Marae I have visited.

          Like any community group there are protocols and customs.
          Just like the local yacht club or Rotary.
          Not as complicated as the Masons, though.
          You won’t get into any trouble if you genuinely try to confirm to them.
          Ask a local.

          And. Also like any community group, if you are willing to pick up a tea towel or a hammer you will become Tangata Whenua very quickly.

          • Tracey 2.2.1.3.1
            13 February 2014 at 7:28 am

            or the Northern Club when I was a practicing solicitor. On two occasions settlement meetings were held there so I couldn’t attend. Women only.

            I didn’t practice in the 1880’s, I practised in the early 1990’s…

    • Naki Man 2.3
      2 February 2014 at 10:56 am

      Shane Jones is a very smart man. Has anyone told him he is in the wrong party?

    • Bill 2.4
      2 February 2014 at 11:08 am

      Maybe I’m missing some nuance. But it read to me as a straight forward appeal to bring people and community into a frame that has exclusively sat around concerns of material acquisition. Reinforcing stereotypes? no. Acknowledging shortcomings within the culture of iwi leadership? yes.

      • karol 2.4.1
        2 February 2014 at 6:26 pm

        It’s partly the timing – coming up to Waitangi day where the issues for many MOR NZers are those Maori going on about land rights, the Treaty etc. And partly the way he expressed it. Jones didn’t say it’s about materialism, obut something more vague – “ownership of earth, wind and fire” – serves as a dog whistle for those against Waitangi settlements – and along with such a mind set goes a stereotype of criminally inclined, violent Maori.

        • Murray Olsen 2.4.1.1
          3 February 2014 at 1:58 am

          I see Sealord Jones’s statements exactly the way you do, Karol. He’s saying “Shut up about the Treaty, the dispossession, and focus on what concerns pakeha bigots about Maoridom.” He’s serving himself once again as he plays his kupapa role in the politics of Te Tai Tokerau.

    • Jimmie 2.5
      2 February 2014 at 11:25 am

      No he is just highlighting the unfortunate fact that maori males are way over represented in family (and all) violence and crime stats.

      He is also highlighting the unfortunate fact that a deafening silence is all you hear from leadership in maoridom in regards to maori crime and violence however if anyone dare disturb a taniwha there are hikoi and hui up and down the country denouncing the same.

      • One Anonymous Knucklehead 2.5.1
        2 February 2014 at 11:41 am

        What has ethnicity got to do with it? Come on Jimmie enlighten us.

        • phillip ure 2.5.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 2:42 pm

          @ oan..

          ..jones is reaching out to/affirming to/dog-whistling to..

          ..the pakeha working class racist underbelly..

          ..confirming their prejudices/sneers..

          ..and painting himself to them..

          ..as a maori who will ‘sort out’ ‘the maori’.. in general..

          ..jones is smart enough to know the potency of that message..

          ..to that working class racist underbelly..

          ..it’s as simple as that..

          ..oan..

          ..eh..?

          ..phillip ure..

      • RedBaronCV 2.5.2
        2 February 2014 at 7:37 pm

        Nah they just aren’t as keen to arrest the white bullies

    • greywarbler 2.6
      12 February 2014 at 7:16 pm

      karol
      He done all right. Not everyone comes up to our high standard.

  3. North 3
    2 February 2014 at 8:03 am

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11195207

    So we’re meant to congratulate this fucked old bully Mr Al Kirk the principal of Whangarei Boys High School because he’s “unrepentant” are we ???

    And what are these weasel words from the same fucked old bully ?

    • karol 3.1
      2 February 2014 at 8:12 am

      Oh, he was just causing some “inconvenience” to the pupils, in order to put pressure on the parents.

    • North 3.2
      2 February 2014 at 8:18 am

      Comment not fully posted – the weasel words are here:

      ‘…..headmaster Al Kirk stands by his hard line on outstanding fees, saying the 15 students who were removed from class on Thursday and another 15 yesterday were not done so to be humiliated, but parents were more likely to pay if their sons were inconvenienced. He insists that this not a form of punishment for the students.

      “I have done this every two years for the last eight years. I am amiable with [the students] and there is no animosity. I emphasise that they have done nothing wrong,” Mr Kirk said.’

      Wonder what the fucked old bully Mr Al Kirk thought about the rapists who raped a girl but still insist that it wasn’t rape because they weren’t violent. Same thing.

      This fucked old bully Mr Al Kirk is meant to be an educator. He is not Baycorp. He and the self-importants on the board of trustees who seemingly empower him should be sacked immediately.

      • Tautoko Viper 3.2.1
        2 February 2014 at 9:11 am

        A better solution would be for Head Master Al Kirk to start up a fund whereby the past pupils association or the public could donate to assist (in a discreet way) the students from financially strapped homes so that they can participate in extracurricular activities or get help with stationery or uniform requirements.
        I have had a complete gutsful of people who have no understanding of how hard it is for those who are struggling financially and who can just stand by and offer criticism. perhaps the Northern Advocate can start to advocate by setting up a fund.

        • North 3.2.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 12:06 pm

          Yeah good suggestion TV but that wouldn’t answer the big fish bully in his little pond fiefdom. Unrepentant ? What a fucking disgrace.

          • Will@Welly 3.2.1.1.1
            2 February 2014 at 7:54 pm

            Repeat what I wrote earlier when I saw this, the man is queuing to first in line for one of John Key’s principal leaders – a nice little bonus of $50,000 thanks. F**k the kids, or the local community – the man needs a right bullocking !!

      • greywarbler 3.2.2
        12 February 2014 at 7:19 pm

        The word rape is lining up to be another word coming under Godwin’s law.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.3
      2 February 2014 at 1:30 pm

      He needs to be fired ASAP.

    • QoT 3.4
      2 February 2014 at 8:47 pm

      What is it with some school principals? I mean, the obvious abuse of power aside, how do they get to run schools when they clearly have no fucking idea how schoolkids think and react?

      I’m reminded of Pukekohe High principal Ian McKinnon’s complete hand-waving away of sexual assault in his schoolyard: http://ideologicallyimpure.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/principal-ian-mckinnon-accepts-bullying-as-normal-a-joke/

    • Murray Olsen 3.5
      3 February 2014 at 2:00 am

      I had the honour of being expelled from WBHS. One of the best things that ever happened to me.

  4. phillip ure 4
    2 February 2014 at 8:20 am

    myself..and quite a few others..

    ..are getting a bit pissy about how..with the ongoing wave internationally of ‘normal’isation of cannabis laws..

    ..at a time when they should have put down their bongs/stood up/and spoken out..loudly..

    ..our local ‘drug-warriors’ have all impressed with/by their stunned-silences..

    ..are they just thinking/acting thru their wallets..?

    http://whoar.co.nz/2014/clinic-on-high-alert-comment-and-what-has-happened-to-the-new-zealand-drug-warriors-too-busy-raking-it-in-from-pushing-legal-highs/

    phillip ure..

  5. karol 5
    2 February 2014 at 8:20 am

    Matt McCarten on the dodgy unemployment stats (courtesy of Mike Treen’s research).

    Here’s a really depressing statistic Mike Treen found. Using a broader definition of jobless, he says that in the late 1990s about 75 per cent of jobless received a benefit. Today it’s less than 20 per cent. He estimates more than $1billion a year is withheld from the poorest. Little surprise then that at the same time we are told the economy is rosy churches and voluntary social services are overwhelmed by the poor begging for charity.

  6. karol 6
    2 February 2014 at 8:46 am

    Very important Daily Blog post from Wayne Hope, on the transnational elite that is the core of the rulers of our 21st century world.

    This elite has at its core transnational corporations, especially those of speculative finance:

    Or, to put this question another way, how do the rulers of the world rule? They do it through a loose network of power which William Robinson has called the transnational state. It incorporates policy development organisations such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Trilateral Commission (TC), the Bilderberg group, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSCD) and, of course, the World Economic Forum (WEF). Together, these organisations constitute a cultural milieu of financiers and corporate executives who, selectively, invite in major government leaders, non-government organistions (NGOs), leading intellectuals and `try hard ` celebrities such as Sting and Bono.

    It is such a loose network of power that I referred to in several posts on “networks of influence”. It’s not a carefull orchestrated conspiracy, but something far harder to counter: people involved in a range of intersecting networks all working in their own ways to get and use power, wealth and influence.

    • bad12 6.1
      2 February 2014 at 9:01 am

      If you add in the US Federal Reserve along with the hand in that particular glove the American Mega-Banks you have the template for how 30 years of Neo-Liberalism was able to permeate across the political and societal landscape, sweeping all befor it to gain an ascendency it still holds today…

    • just saying 6.2
      2 February 2014 at 9:33 am

      Empires strike back. And win.

      I’ll be looking forward to his next post. How do communities fight back?

      It seems to me that most people’s lack of free time nowadays, the way life is structured so that work almost never ends, is a big factor here. It’s probably a factor in the rise of “clicktivism” – people have their computers on and can dip into sites like this without using up too much time.

    • travellerev 7.1
      2 February 2014 at 9:56 am

      I wish there was a like button for comments.

      AND…I just linked through to your blog. Never realized Whoar was your blog.

      Even more like now!

      • phillip ure 7.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 11:34 am

        chrs 4 the kind words re whoar..

        ..and that article is a killer/must-read..

        ..(for all in labour..for all who label themselves as ‘progressives’..)

        ..eh..?

        ..phillip ure..

    • Te Reo Putake 8.1
      2 February 2014 at 10:00 am

      “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi

      • alwyn 8.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 12:33 pm

        You seem to be implying that this is something that Cunliffe could say.
        A more appropriate quote from Mahatma Gandhi might be

        “I have been known as a crank, faddist, madman. Evidently the reputation is well deserved. For wherever I go, I draw to myself cranks, faddists and madmen”

        Does that remind you of some of the Cunliffe supporters?

    • travellerev 8.2
      2 February 2014 at 10:01 am

      No, you don’t actually. It’s the mocker who after winning the initial point scoring loses his credibility when people actually begin to listen to the mocked.

    • veutoviper 8.3
      2 February 2014 at 10:09 am

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/9650607/The-secret-diary-of-John-Key

      26 January 2014

      When you are mocked you lose all credibility.

      • chris73 8.3.1
        2 February 2014 at 10:23 am

        “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi

        *Disclaimer, I used to listen to a fair bit of Genesis so I won’t hold that against Cunliffe

      • Bearded Git 8.3.2
        2 February 2014 at 10:28 am

        add to this Dunne, Banks et al….and Supper’s Ready is my absolute favourite

        • chris73 8.3.2.1
          2 February 2014 at 10:37 am

          I always liked Duchess and Home By The Sea 2

          • phillip ure 8.3.2.1.1
            2 February 2014 at 11:28 am

            could someone alert iprent to the fact the site has been/is being attacked by ‘genesis’/phil collins spam-bots..

            ..and that it’s getting pretty ugly down here..

            ..(shudder..!..)

            phillip ure..

            • phillip ure 8.3.2.1.1.1
              2 February 2014 at 11:31 am

              and that braunias-piece on cunnliffe is funny..

              “….I want to begin with an anecdote that humanises me as an ordinary New Zealander.

              I had a bit of time to kill one morning over summer –

              – so I decided to climb Mt Everest.

              It was icy in places – but I wrapped myself in the scarf I used to wear as a student at Otago University.

              The smell of the wool brought back priceless memories.

              Memories of rocking out at parties to the sounds of Genesis.

              Those were the days!

              Or were they?

              As I stood on the peak of the world’s highest mountain listening to Sessudio on my iPod –

              – I felt then what I felt in Dunedin: cold.

              You might say “Well – David – that’s your problem.”

              But it’s also New Zealand’s problem..”

              (heh..!..it goes on..)

              phillip ure..

      • QoT 8.3.3
        2 February 2014 at 2:38 pm

        Yeah, not the best idea fisiani’s ever had.
        http://lmgtfy.com/?q=steve+braunias+secret+diary

    • phillip ure 8.4
      2 February 2014 at 11:44 am

      when you are ‘fisani’..you lose all credibility..

      phillip ure..

    • North 8.5
      2 February 2014 at 12:10 pm

      Freudian in the extreme FussyAnnie.

    • alwyn 8.6
      2 February 2014 at 12:19 pm

      Hmm.
      One would have to say that there isn’t a politician in the country who has very much credence then. At least among the ones that the public has heard of.
      Among the “secret diary” versions he has published are ones about:
      Colin Craig, Winston Peters, John Palino, David Cunliffe, Grant Robrttson, John Key and Peter Dunne.
      Those were only the ones on the first screen of the google results from
      “steve braunias secret diary of stuff”.

    • Paul 8.7
      2 February 2014 at 12:40 pm

      Looks like the Tories don’t have any actual arguments..just insults.

      • blue leopard (Get Lost GCSB Bill) 8.7.1
        2 February 2014 at 1:40 pm

        +1 lol yes they are really scraping the barrel having to resort to linking to satirical pieces – is that all they’ve got?

        No arguments attacking the great policies coming out of the left-wing – simply false ‘flags’, and jackets (their version of addressing ‘material’ problems I guess). No, simply ‘ooh someone is making fun of Cunliffe – he must, therefore, be finished [:roll:]

        Veutoviper already linked to one – here is another

        Also another interesting ‘opinion piece’ [Stuff, 29 December 2013] about writing those ‘Secret Diaries’ from Steve Braunias, from which I quote:

        “OPINION: It was a vintage year for low farce and high foolishness in New Zealand public life, for shameful acts and disgraceful behaviour, for sheer stupidity and evil doing, and I was very grateful…”

        “…John Key and David Shearer tied for most appearances in the Secret Diary, with three each. Poor old Shearer! Twitchy and equivocal, he ended up jumping the snapper.

        Key held on to power, and continued to resemble a moral and intellectual vacuum. I usually wrote diaries about his head floating away. I guess I felt about bad it, because I dreamed I ran into him, and lied, “Listen, deep down, I’ve got a lot of respect for you.” He stormed off. I respected him for it… “

        Humour is great (and that piece about Cunliffe was funny!)

        Thanks Steve Braunias, & keep up the good work!

    • Murray Olsen 8.8
      3 February 2014 at 2:13 am

      Yes indeed, fake Warrior. They’ve already done John Key and most of the others that serve mainly to inspire man love in you.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/9650607/The-secret-diary-of-John-Key

  9. travellerev 9
    2 February 2014 at 9:48 am

    This morning I was watching Max Keiser and I highly recommend the show but on his site another video caught my eyes. The video called: Jump you fuckers and it is a song dedicated to the masters of the universe also known as the London city/Wall street bankster crowd.

    This song is not for the faint of hart. In fact it’s brutal so if you don’t like swearing and wishing the pox on an entire group of people no matter how much they deserve it this song is not for you.

    But if you feel the need to blast the bastards with a song that tells them what you think give it a go! I firmly held John Key in my mind when I listened to it and it gave me great joy!

  10. fisiani 10
    2 February 2014 at 11:19 am

    Wow The TV3 poll results are fascinating. National slumped to 42% Labour 35% and Greens 11%. Certainly seems like The Cunliffe bribe has fooled enough people. Looks like there is no way that John Key can be Prime Minister. Labour/Greens still need Winston to come on board as last cab.

    • Ad 10.1
      2 February 2014 at 11:42 am

      And I am so going to enjoy being at the airport to wave Key to his home in Hawaii. Cunliffe promised new leadership, brought in a whole tide of fresh supporters (some of whom will refresh caucus), got explicit support from the entire Ratana movement, and understands really clearly who needs to vote in order to change the government.

      Key’s supporters can stay seduced by his smiles, his royal visits, the great sheen of the fawning and uncritical media, and will all weep at the end.

      Anyone surprised by the personal attacks this week? Cunliffe just launched a policy with far greater sweet spot power than simply trying to bribe the teachers union. He just told everyone Labour loves your family, but using a nice deep code. National saw how positive it was trending, and had to mount a full and hard attack.

      Watch the secret tidal change of major donors slipping over to the other side when they can see how fast and hard the tide is running out on National, below the surface.

      I was quite happy to have a crack at Labour if this poll was catastrophic, and I am very pleased to see how confounded I have been.

      Fisiani, come over to the side good, while there’s still time.

      • Will@Welly 10.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 8:02 pm

        Trust me, if Key thinks he’s going to lose, Airforce One will be winging it’s way out in the early hours of the morning. I’m picking a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday’s Honours List, just in case. He might even resign in the last week if the polls are against him, handing over to whoever, so he can F.O. Remember, he only likes “winners.”

    • ianmac 10.2
      2 February 2014 at 11:57 am

      Which poll was that fisiani? Recent was it?

    • bad12 10.3
      2 February 2014 at 12:01 pm

      Lots of water to run under the bridge befor the vote, lots more policy announcements to come from Labour and the Green party,

      48% in a Parliament without an overhang should be enough to form a Government, things are looking to be on a reasonable track this far out from the actual day,

      TV3 polls aint known for being kind to Labour, and many, including the rumor mill from downtown Wellington, who usually can be relied upon to ‘know’ something, have been since well befor the Policy announcements from both Labour and the Green’s in the past coupe of weeks, saying that National are polling in the low 40’s,

      Fisiani can call people fools all He likes, and, if He considers Labour’s ‘Best Start’ to be a bribe He must then acknowledge the National Party’s ‘tax switch’ as a bribe as well,

      Yell it from the roof-tops Fisiani, ”the people are stupid” should be the battle cry of you and Slippery the Prime Minister for the 2014 election, your pretty much odds on for another 9 in Opposition as it is, might as well make it a certainty…

      • srylands 10.3.1
        2 February 2014 at 12:08 pm

        Please stop capitalising personal pronouns. “He” makes you look ridiculous.

        The tax rebalancing was good policy designed to promote markets and self responsibility. The baby bribe is bad policy designed to entrench welfare dependency.

        How can you not see the difference?

        • bad12 10.3.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 12:33 pm

          Please stop commenting as each one makes you look ever the more a ‘wing-nut’, Soooo making the poorest sections of society pay more of their income in GST while offering no counter to rising prices of an ongoing nature and the payment of yet more GST as those prices rise promotes self responsibility,

          The heights to which your un-genius intellect will soar in search of bullshit knows no bounds and i am sure if the forces of gravity were not to be a factor of our little planet said intellect would simply travel the universe searching for the source of the one true piece of bullshit,

          What is this welfare dependency you speak of, the facts show that very few people as a % of the total recipients of welfare that have an entrenched dependence on the provision of welfare, in the great scheme of things most spend a while on a benefit and then move into the workforce…

        • Paul 10.3.1.2
          2 February 2014 at 12:51 pm

          Please return to kiwiblog.

        • McFlock 10.3.1.3
          2 February 2014 at 2:31 pm

          please just stop.

        • Draco T Bastard 10.3.1.4
          2 February 2014 at 2:44 pm

          The tax rebalancing was good policy designed to promote markets and self responsibility.

          You really have drunk the Kool-Aid. Nacts tax re-balancing was to make the rich richer and the poor poorer and that’s exactly what it’s done. It’s also left a massive hole in the governments accounts – just like it was supposed to – so that the government would have even more excuse for massive borrowing and austerity.

  11. joe90 11
    2 February 2014 at 1:06 pm

    The penny’s dropping.

    The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation has estimated that more than 60% of the 5.7 million U.S. manufacturing jobs lost over the last decade were because of rising imports of manufactured goods. The Peterson Institute of International Economics estimates that 39% of the increase in U.S. income inequality is because of this imbalanced trade.

    Yet Washington keeps negotiating so-called free-trade agreements that seem to open the U.S. market while leaving others relatively closed. A major reason for this is the classic economists’ argument that the generally lower consumer prices that may arise from imports will exceed the more limited wage losses that may occur in a few specific industries, and therefore, on balance, free trade will always and everywhere be a win-win arrangement. In other words, despite the millions of jobs lost as a result of the rising U.S. trade imbalance, the overall U.S. economy is supposed to be better off today than 10 years ago because of lower prices for consumers. The argument is that the wage losses occur only in a limited number of industries, while the lower prices are available to the entire population.

    This simplistic analysis is incomplete and wrong. Its key assumption is that the economy is at full employment. In such a situation, workers who lost jobs in a few industries would lose wages only for a limited period until they found new jobs at the same wages as the old jobs. Thus there would be no overall downward pressure on wages and only limited and temporary wage losses for a relatively small part of the labor force, while the whole population would be benefiting from lower consumer prices.

    http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-prestowitz-sotu-trade-deficit-20140130,0,1832709.story

  12. veutoviper 12
    2 February 2014 at 2:12 pm

    Well, it seems it is out with the old, and in with the new.

    According to Audrey Young (even though the formal announcement is not due until 3pm), Whyte is the new Act leader, and Seymour will be the Act candidate for the Epsom seat. Meaning that they have split the roles; and dumped Boscawen.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11195695

    • McFlock 12.1
      2 February 2014 at 5:08 pm

      fucksake, ACT have yet another idiot who fumbles the “skeletons in the closet” question.

      When your current MP is being prosecuted, and former MPs have committed identity fraud and who knows what else, the correct answer is “NO” – not “depends on what you call skeletons”

  13. Draco T Bastard 13
    2 February 2014 at 2:21 pm

    What can we actually learn from the UK’s first marijuana ‘overdose’?

    But when Nutt, a former chief drug advisor to the UK, raises the question of what Moss’s case can teach us about the dangers of smoking pot, his response is unequivocal: “I think the answer is nothing.”

    Nutt isn’t being cold – he’s being realistic. “Taking any amount of cannabis,” he writes, “like all drugs, like so many activities, puts some stresses on the body.”

    To suggest that a single incident – in which, it bears repeating, Moss smoked less than a joint’s-worth of marijuana – should ever be weighed seriously against weed’s history as a drug with no immediately lethal consequences is not only unreasonable, it distracts from more meaningful discussions about the actual dangers posed by drugs, illicit or otherwise:

    It would seem that some people are getting terrified of the legalisation that is spreading around the world.

  14. Mike 14
    2 February 2014 at 2:49 pm

    I’m wondering why there is a TV3 poll tonight – only the tail end of their polling would have covered the Labour announcement last Monday, (and Akl holiday weekend), but fully includes the effect of the National announcement

    Gower keeps calling it (this single poll) a ‘game changer’, so we’ll see
    But if you were going to time your six-weekly poll in a way to downplay the chances of one party after the ‘states’ of the nation, this would be it

  15. greywarbler 15
    2 February 2014 at 2:55 pm

    There was a review on radionz of film 12 years a Slave. A freeman was grabbed from New York I think, because he was black and was delivered to the South to be a salave, and it took him 12 years to get away.

    It was impressed on me the other day when I looked up the term shanghai-ing which I understood was the kidnapping of any unwary man to form part of a ship’s crew, how this was another type of slavery. Black slavery was done en masse, factory style, and for profit in a business chain where was money made at each node in the chain. The black slaves were goods later to be labour, but not as precious as supplying the correct number of crew before a voyage. So there couldn’t be the same ‘wastage’ as with the black slaves who were crammed into ships with lots of trauma, sickness, and death that decimated their numbers.

    The ones ‘impressed’ or press-ganged’ for crew were needed bodily on the spot. They were needed to work as crew so could not be allowed to die with such disinterest. And the British Royal Navy were the biggest perpetrators as they attempted to fill the crews for their battleships in their sea war maneouvres. Brit businessmen also were big on transporting and dealing in black slaves. So the mix of cruelty and desire for profitable business is deep n the English mix.

    Now Cameron and his ‘white shirts’ are reversing the social welfare and human rights advances so laboured over and sacrificed for, which has been used as exemplars of a modern better world. It is frightening to think of how low they can go, rationalising as to TINA all the way.

  16. phillip ure 16
    2 February 2014 at 3:04 pm

    boscowan has been given the boot from act..

    ..he got nothing..

    ..whyte is party president..

    ..seymour(?) is the candidate..

    ..they obviously swallowed boscowans’ pitch on the need for two roles..

    ..just sidelined him in their choosing..

    ..(his automoton-like appearance on the campbell show this week wouldn’t have helped his case..)

    phillip ure..

  17. fisiani 17
    2 February 2014 at 3:42 pm

    John Key will not have a “cup of tea” He will simply explain how MMP works and that to avoid a Greens led government stopping all progress a National led government has to be elected. He will explain that the key to this lies in just three constituencies. Epsom, Ohariu and East Coast Bays. He will explain that National supporters should give their party votes to National but cast their constituency votes for Seymour, Dunne and Craig. That will ensure that no one will think that a vote for ACT, UF or the Conservatives will be wasted. This will maximise the Centre owned by National.

    • bad12 17.1
      2 February 2014 at 3:45 pm

      Fish-head, Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, it’s going to be quite a big Opposition then, Ha Ha Ha…

      • srylands 17.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 4:12 pm

        yes ha ha. You know nothing. After 12 months of being convinced that we were stuck with a Greebour nightmare, I am convinced that a National led Government is a near certainty for another 3 years.

        The money agrees with me.

        https://www.ipredict.co.nz/app.php?do=contract_detail&contract=PM.2014.NATIONAL

        bad12 – I suggest you take 6 months rest and get on the meds again.

        • McFlock 17.1.1.1
          2 February 2014 at 4:16 pm

          Money doesn’t vote, sspylands.

        • bad12 17.1.1.2
          2 February 2014 at 4:51 pm

          Yet another Clown comment SSLand, ipredict is a site for the stupid who think that by rearranging the % of the vote as a prediction of the election outcome doing so will make it come true,

          Wishful thinking taken to it’s logical conclusion in other words, oh and that logical conclusion???, a fool and His money are soon parted which fits you to a T…

        • felix 17.1.1.3
          2 February 2014 at 4:56 pm

          srylands, please stop saying “we” and “our” when referring to New Zealand related matters.

      • fisiani 17.1.2
        2 February 2014 at 5:07 pm

        Do the arithmetic 47%+ 2%+1%+4% =54% which equates to 64/120 MP’s + MP 3 MP’s = 67/120 Thus giving dissension room for either the Cons or the MP over specific issues since they will seldom share points of view.

  18. tricledrown 18
    2 February 2014 at 5:29 pm

    Seryalyerand fishyanal

    If you want less people on lonterm unemployment Dpb benefits Don’ t vote National going back to 1900 right wing govts have had more unemployment.
    National and National lead govts have had more on these benefits and for much longer .
    NZ statistics 1990 to 2000 National had over 6.5% unemployed averaging nearly 2 years on benefit Labour lead govt 3.5% unemployment with at an average of less than 6 months on benefits.

    So by your own logic you would be pushing to get rid of the bludgers party.
    What would make you even dispose Nactional even more is the picking winners BS nactionals broken promise of corporae welfare handef to media movie and mining moguls Nactionals friends!

  19. North 19
    2 February 2014 at 5:43 pm

    Ah, “Philosopher” Whyte.

    Here are some views expressed in articles he’s written:

    “Of course demand for GPs is too high — a visit costs zero – A moderate fee will deter people with sniffles” – 17th March 2010

    “Base bankers’ pay on market’s bump and grind – Lap dancers’ financial arrangements could be a model for remuneration in investment banks and cut scope for criticism” – 28th September 2009

    “Strip the Bank of England of its power – Leaving a team of ‘wise men’ to set interest rates is absurd. Market forces will always do it better” – 2nd July 2009

    “The economy’s not dying. It’s poorly – What will really harm our future wealth is a hyperactive state which takes on too much power” – 15th April 2009

    “The market is destructive. Good – Brown and Obama declare they love free trade. So why don’t they follow the logic of their thinking?” – 18th March 2009

    “Business is not responsible for social justice – My company’s only cause is to make a profit “- 12th March 2009

    “Perfect day to blow up the nanny state – The cost of protecting children from death is too high when it means that millions lose the chance of enjoying themselves” – 5th November 2008

    “Nobody knows the importance of everything – When it comes to spending money on behalf of other people, no one can get it right. So no one should try” – 21st August 2008

    Some consolation – at least it’s now official. If after 2014 Key governs only on account of electoral jack up with ACT we’ll truly be governed according to the imperatives of foreigners.

    Acknowledgment: not read any of the articles which are listed at http://www.whocomments.org/wiki/Jamie_Whyte. They’re behind a Sunday Times log-in or paywall.

    The kaupapa seems pretty clear however.

    • srylands 19.1
      2 February 2014 at 7:24 pm

      They read like perfectly sensible views to me.

      • McFlock 19.1.1
        2 February 2014 at 7:45 pm

        I can’t figure out whether your acceptance of them reinforces my view that they’re morally bankrupt and idiotic aphorisms, or that it simply reinforces my view that you’re a morally bankrupt idiot.

      • felix 19.1.2
        2 February 2014 at 7:49 pm

        Yes, but you’re a far-right extremist with very, very fringe views shared by an almost immeasurably small percentage of voters (according to all available polling data) and you have no understanding of the culture and society of New Zealand, a country you’ve only visited via Wikipedia and GoogleMaps.

      • Murray Olsen 19.1.3
        3 February 2014 at 2:47 am

        Thanks, SSlands, for confirming that you are a nastier piece of work than I had ever imagined. The cost of keeping you and your like away from my grandkids will never be too high.

    • greywarbler 19.2
      2 February 2014 at 8:43 pm

      These lines read as if may be part of a film like one on at present Elysium – mad complex life games with no value for no apparent human purpose.

      t

  20. tricledrown 20
    2 February 2014 at 5:44 pm

    Childhood poverty creates longterm welfare depedency.
    National the party that creates poverty.

  21. tricledrown 21
    2 February 2014 at 9:56 pm

    Schrillglands time to use your private health insurance ACTparty support down by .8% to Zero.
    Free straight jackets supplied to delusional rwnjs.
    Crosby taxdodgers must be scrapping the bottom of a very empty barrel to pay an Airhead like you.

  22. xtasy 22
    2 February 2014 at 10:19 pm

    As I am not sure whether anyone else here has taken not of some highly revealing information that Chris Trotter has made available on The Daily Blog, I will just in case post this here:

    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/01/31/falls-the-shadow-everything-you-didnt-know-about-the-committee-for-auckland/

    Inform yourself about the “Committee For Auckland”, the who knows who selected boys and girls club, that “advises”, “inspires” and guides Auckland Council (the mayor, counsellors and their staff).

    Go through it, and you will start to understand, why we have what we have, and why “democracy” is in the Super City nothing but a total farce. I would claim it is a FARCE in the whole country of New Zealand.

    Some info of the key stakeholders and business bosses that make up the leadership within that Committee:

    http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/about/staff-and-governance/executive-team

    http://www.committeeforauckland.co.nz/about/staff-and-governance/committee-for-auckland-limited-board

    “Independent”, yeah right, like the MSM (mainstream media) journalists cheer-leading Key and the Nats into office again. Look also at their “Communications Manager” and her background (in corporate media)!!!

    So how “independent” is Len Brown from big business then???

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