65 hours have passed since two anonymous high ranking Labour MP’s accused David Cunliffe of being “sneaky.” (Do you see the irony?)
They lied about the relationship between Shearer and Cunliffe. Shearer definitely DEMOTED Cunliffe from Finance Spokesperson (3 years with Goff) to Economic Development.
They accused this former Minister of Health (an exhausting portfolio job) of being “lazy.” In four months prior to his overseas trip he delivered three major speeches, each of which was well-covered in the press. (Note that only 2 of the 7 have ever been in cabinet. Parker had to resign as Attorney General. Jones had to resign as Minister for Immigration. 4 of the 7 failed to win electorate seats.)
Based on names discussed in the Standard, my list of suspects for this cowardly, dishonest attack is (in alphabetical order): Jacinda Arden (List MP), Andrew Little (List MP), Trevor Mallard, Shane Jones (List MP), David Parker (List MP), Grant Robertson, and David Shearer.
Each can clear their name by declaring they did NOT speak to Duncan Garner about David Cunliffe.
If you know about a crime and do not speak up, you are an accomplice. By their silence these seven are accomplices in a despicable act of treachery.
Whomever of these seven does not come clean is unfit to be in Parliament. What message does Labour send to the public?
“We are marginally less corrupt than National . . . . . maybe.”
Let me get this right… Duncan Garner claims that all the Labour politicians said that if Shearer was to be replaced, it would be by David Cunliffe over all their dead bodies? What a whopper!
Two very senior MPs have told me they would like an internal travel fund set up to keep Cunliffe out of the country for as long as possible. How nasty is this caucus? He is clearly not missed.
But Cunliffe is not only disliked by his caucus – he is not trusted. So many have told me he never delivers on his promises and is sneaky and lazy.
[…]
According to Shearer’s sources, the Labour leader no longer trusts Cunliffe. That view is shared by the majority of the caucus.
So two senior MPs told Garner exactly the same thing? Really! And then apparently a bunch of Labour politicians have all backstabbed Cunliffe… All saying the same thing as well?
If we’re to take the allegations seriously, although I’m at a loss as to why we should, you’re not trying to just pinpoint the source on one person… You’re saying that the entire Labour party is nasty, which just sounds like more bullshit from Nat spin-doctors.
that one in particular strikes me as ‘2 mps and garner out on the piss’. At the very least, it’s chummy informal banter mps are having with a media commentator.
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A bit like 2 sheep having a joke with a wolf – all very amiable, but sooner or later mr wolfy wants bar snacks.
Oh i see the irony alright, the Standard and us that comment in here regularly diss the mainstream media as being biased against the left in New Zealand politics and society, many of us here agree that a lot of what the mainstream publishes is utter bovine excrement,
In New Zealand we have as the core of our system of Justice the premise of innocence until guilt is proven, for you at least such a provision is meaningless,
Duncan Garner decides to please His masters to curry favor, dog whistles you all long and loud with a load of rubbish that if you tear away the blinkers is provably a load of s**t, and what do you all do,
Woof Woof, yap yap yap, hello Duncan Garner has quite a collection of poodles, and worse, Duncan Garner knows it, so anytime He feels like stirring up a political s**t-storm all’s He has to do is get out the dog whistle,
If you want rid of Shearer as the opposition Leader, and who could blame you, smearing half the Labour Caucus with Duncan Garners bulls**t allegations that havn’t a scrap of evidence attached to them is in my opinion not the way to accomplish this,
Emailing your wish for Him to be gone as leader to your nearest Labour Party electoral office might be more of a help…
“Mr Jaine said the council had a range of ways to identify sources of contamination.
They included having people walk ahead of collection trucks, opening up lids and leaving stickers to educate householders about what they should do”
–The words obey and comply followed by an article using various threats, should be motivational, encouraging, endear fear in those who are running this city???
Shearers right wing speech to grey power attacking the sickness beneficiary not pulling their weight as they were painting the roof of their house is good old fashioned bene bashing.
How can shearer cast aspersions on the beneficiary without knowing why that person is on a SB? There are a myriad of reasons why someone would be on that and not many would stop someone painting the roof of their house.
But like all stories its probably made up. A made up beneficiary to bash.
That speech annoyed me, too, no end. I agree, the beneficiary he was talking about probably came straight out of Shearer’s a*se.
If he was real, the man could have hired someone else to paint his roof and then added the cost to his next application for the Landlord’s benefit (aka Accommodation supplement), but he didn’t and saved the taxpayer money by doing it himself.
Also, I heard that the man who told Shearer about the beneficiary, owns a rental property. In fact, he has owned 3 of them over the last 10 years, never lived in any of them, but was able to charge high-end rent because his tenants were able to get the Accommodation Supplement anyway for whatever he asked. Then he sold each of the properties on for a profit after 2-3 years. Naturally, he failed to declare any of this on his tax return.
So if we want to talk about fairness in society, which rip-off do you think is more common? Which one should a Labour leader point out?
That speech annoyed me, too, no end. I agree, the beneficiary he was talking about probably came straight out of Shearerâs a*se.
Where can I find a report, or better still, a transcript of this speech? From what I know of Shearer, it’s just not the kind of thing he’d say! Standardistas seem (with two exceptions, one of whom is me) to hate Shearer worse than they hate Key! That makes me sceptical about this story.
Having just read it, I don’t think it’s as horrifying as it’s being portrayed. Shearer’s fault lies in not clarifying why it is he took the word of the guy about his neighbour’s situation… but ACT candidate in the making – give me a break!
I’ve never understood the widespread hatred for Shearer here.
I have previously got into trouble for expressing my loathing of Russel Norman and the middle class kiddies that make up the BLUE-green party.. but it’s okay, it seems to slander Shearer up and down and all around. I have not got over the sinking feeling I had, hearing Norman and Turei say on the TV news right after the election last year, that they were sure they could work happily with NACT in their ‘memorandum of understanding’ or whatever they call it.
The problem is that it has become acceptable to bash beneficiaries, and many people voted for National because of the perception that Labour gave too many hand-outs to the ‘undeserving’. Now that that attitude is firmly entrenched in our culture anyone trying to do right by everyone rather than giving more to the wealthiest few is seen as soft, bleeding-heart, gullible or, my personal favourite, jealous. Shearer is probably just saying what he thinks people want to hear. The thing that always amuses me (not a funny subject but let’s face it, if you don’t laugh you’ll cry) is how quick people are to criticize those on welfare while being ignorant to the fact that corporate welfare is a much bigger problem.
You have that right, i have been holding off on criticism of Shearer’s performance as Labour Party Leader until such time as He actually gave us (the electorate) some clues as to what we could expect from Him as Prime Minister,
The day a Labour Party Leader begins to speak the truth about those reliant on benefits will be the day that Labour again will have my vote which for Labour has been missing from their ballot count since Sir(spit)Roger Douglas,
My view on Shearer(spit) as Leader of the Labour Party is simply BYE BYE, perhaps He would be better stomping the hustings on behalf of ACT…
Off course it was made up. Nobody in the history of the world has ever tried to rip off the people of New Zealand by claiming a sickness benefit when they weren’t sick. No, never happens.
That lying “worker” who talked to Shearer should be forced to go and help his neighbour paint his roof. And they should put up his tax rate to the same as a rich prick and the extra given to his neighbour.. He should be happy to go to work to pay the tax that supports his neighbour. What a bastard.
Yesterday I posted an “employers” viewpoint, but stayed off the “unemployment” debate. One theme coming out of things was the impact of “corporate” NZ on the rest of the economy, especially the offshoring of profit.
A minor thought. Multinationals we are told provide the capital and IP we “so desparately need”. In return the profits flow out back to such places as the IBM Cayman Islands account. Quite obviously nobody invests without a profit motive, so ultimately more flows out than ever comes in. This is the wealth pump of the imperial system. Under this system we cannot help but lose more than we gain and gains are only relative. We are “colonized”.
The end result contributes significantly to the unemployment we face: if we had developed the businesses ourselves we would have kept the cash here in NZ and had a choice about how to use it, such as shorter working weeks thus employing more people. Instead we work those with jobs harder for less and less.
A minor thought. Multinationals we are told provide the capital and IP we âso desparately needâ.
And we don’t need it because, more often than not, the FDI we’re getting is just buying up NZ developed businesses any way. In fact, I don’t know of any Blue Sky start ups from FDI that used foreign knowledge or resources to get going. There may be some that used foreign money but money is nothing. We could, quite simply, have used our own by the simple expedient of printing it.
And various neolib governments over the years have been destroying NZ IP and institutional knowledge, to make us more dependent on foreign and private sector expertise.
The involvement of a secret Government organisation before the raid on Kim Dotcom’s mansion emerged during cross-examination of a police witness in the High Court at Auckland yesterday.
The witness, Detective Inspector Grant Wormald, refused to name the organisation when questioned about a meeting police attended before the raid.
Dotcom’s lawyer, Paul Davison, QC, asked him if an unidentified group of people at the meeting were from the Security Intelligence Service.
Mr Wormald replied that they were not. But asked where they were from, he declined to say, “because of the nature of the organisation”.
There are a couple of other NZ choices apart from the SIS. Apart from the obvious concerns about what âourâ spooks get up to, this is important because the trail has to lead to the Prime Minister at some point given the committees he is on and the briefings he receives.
The Prime Minister on TV3 denied personal knowledge of Kim Dotcomâs existence prior to the raid during the Banksie election donation affair. Yet Keyâs teapot chum certainly knew the eccentric
Dotcom well enough to visit him in ShonKeyâs very own electorate.
Could be GCSB? If there were questions about the interwebs and the technological capability of the equipment Dotcom had, then they might be a logical group to ask.
Although it does seem a bit of a wander from their normal remit.
Their website does, of course, claim that they have a “Mastery of Cyberspace” (see http://www.gcsb.govt.nz/ ) so I guess that could well make them PC Plod’s source of advice when dealing with Nefarious International Criminals of the Interwebs.
As an aside, I would have thought that proclaiming yourself “Masters of Cyberspace” was just asking for trouble. They may as well claim to be “Invulnerable to Hackers”…
Isn’t the plod in question under oath to the court, since when can a witness befor the High Court select what questions they will or will not answer,
If the ‘secret organization’ is neither of the known organs of espionage then what the f**k is going on here, secret Government organizations simply lead to the ‘disappearance’ of citizens,
Country’s such as Chile had ‘secret’ Government organizations back in the 70’s and 1000’s disappeared…
John Keys personal dirty tricks squad. Ready to be loaned out to foreign companies. IE RIAA and Hollywood against his own people. Oh and for when he does not want to get his hands dirty he lends them to the FBI.
This is really shite. Why are secret intelligence services helping American media corporates intimidate in NZ?
Also, it seems they are really shite at their job.
“works for the Govt”…works for the National Govt? Reminds me of the separate intelligence directorate that Rumsfeld and Cheney set up to bypass the traditional CIA and Army Intelligence, in order to run their own games.
The problem is that we don’t really know in what capacity the GCSB (or whomever it was) participated.
I suspect it was probably something very limited, effectively providing PC Plod with the answers to 20 dumb questions about how the physical hardware at Dotcom’s residence related to the “evidence” they were meant to be gathering, how long it would take Dotcom to wipe something incriminating, and whether a 1337 hacker / James Bond villain would have any capability to interfere in a police arrest operation.
Which on the one hand seems idiotic, but would hardly be a big drama — it would basically just involve some GCSB agents(?) going to a meeting. It is of perhaps equal idiocy to anticipating that Dotcom might flee in a fast car (to where? his secret volcano lair?).
We do develop successful businesses, but we allow them to be bought by overseas interests.
There are alternatives. The Swiss keep control of their successful businesses (Nestle, for example) by issuing two classes of shares, one for locals only and one for overseas buyers. The “locals only” shares carry greater voting power so the company remains under the control of the Swiss.
Another strategy is to declare classes of industries “strategic assets” which cannot be controlled by foreigners. We should never have let our news media fall into foreign hands. “Rupert Murdoch stay away from our editorial desks.”
I feel sad and embarrassed for the staff in the Labour offices in Parliament. They  have seen the shenanigans going on that lead to this stupid self inflicted wound. They, more often than not, know who has done what. They have heard Shearer being advised to ignore the crowd in The Standard and elsewhere. “It will all blow over, stick to the plan”. Â
During the Cunliffe/Shearer road show I suggested to both men that whomever won the leadership should make the other deputy leader. Shearer didn’t do it.
If we are going to heal this party, Shearer needs to step down ASAP and recommend the caucus elect Cunliffe the new leader. Then Cunliffe should give Shearer a significant position on the front bench. Anything less will exacerbate the blood feud.
There would be less disruption and lost face (party-wise) if, for the good of the party, Grant Robertson stepped back and allowed Cunliffe to be deputy.
I dunno,
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I would have thought that “all people who aren’t egotistical self-important linkwhoring trougher-wannabe vacuous mediocrities” Â would have been a good response to the trool.
Onnit Ama. The Parker pro-business toadying was one thing, but benny-bashing from a Labour leader (invented and repeated – see Gordon Campbell) is a viscious, inexcusable step far, far too far that will never be forgotten by his own progressive supporters and tory strategists alike.
And inexcusably politically dumb: revealing zero understanding of Sickness Benefit qualification, the effect of benny-bashing on the innocent, and even the make-up of his immediate audience – many of whom are “roof painters” themselves.
The current cancer could have been avoided by a co-leadership year; i.e. a de facto contest conducted openly that the media could not have ignored. Would have relished, in fact, and thus stymied the current white-anting metastasis, which as you note can now only be treated by amputation. But that depended on the courage and motivation to put principle ahead of the personal, and weakness prevailed.
The party will survive. It rests on the strong shoulders of millions who have gone before: strength that will always prevail over the spineless and dissipated. As the traitorous ACT cabal slowly seeps into the gutter of history, so too its current dregs.
Whats to know about the sickness benefit.
You are either physically stuffed – Not the case as this dude obviously could work as a roof painter.
Or you are mental – Probably shouldn’t be on the roof if that is the case.
Good on Shearer. Always championing the bludger over the guy slogging his guts out to do right by his family is a guaranteed losing strategy.
KK obviously belongs to the knuckle-scraping neanderthalic Tory turd race unwilling to admit that those reliant upon benefits are simply there to allow for the enrichment of the 40% who make up the Tory turds core vote…
“Hello I’m here about the job you have advertised for a roof painter”
“Can you paint roofs?”
“Yes in fact I was painting one the the other day untill some prick called David Shearer dobbed me into winz”
“Thats great however being able to paint a roof is not the same thing as being able to work as a roof painter. Have you read Houllebecqs latest book”
“Yes and I really noticed the continuation of the nihilistic subtext that weaves through all his work. Its a style that I believe really resembles Albert Camus”
“Your knowledge of modern French literature seems to be ok…you’ve got the job.
No, I’m simply and plainly asking you if you’d like me to explain what I meant in my first comment.
Let me know when you get bored with what you’re up to there and I’ll explain it for you.
You’re getting close though, what you described above isn’t a “ridiculous semantic argument”, it’s more or less the definition of a job painting roofs.
âHello Iâm here about the job you have advertised for a porn starâ
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âCan you have sex?â
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âYes, once every 10 years provided I’m careful not to do too much work at once, don’t move my back too much and stop immediately if I have a dizzy spellâ
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âThat’s great, however ‘being able to have sex’ is not the same thing as ‘being able to work as a porn star, maintaining an erection and reasonably strenuous physical activity for 6 hours a day and several days a week, depending on the amount of work we’ve been offered’. Good bye.â
Shearer, Labour is best rid of him, ACT is a party He would fit right at home in,
My view, David Cunliffe as Leader and future Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson as His deputy, both are telegenic and compared to Shearer who comes across like some hayseed 1950’s back-country farmer both can articulate the message not only in it’s long form but also have the gift of the 5 second soundbite…
My view, David Cunliffe as Leader and future Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson as His deputy, both are telegenic and compared to Shearer who comes across like some hayseed 1950â˛s back-country farmer both can articulate the message not only in itâs long form but also have the gift of the 5 second soundbiteâŚ
So, are you actually a Labour supporter?
Cause is telegenic all we want? I don’t think so. Bill Rowling was less telegenic even that than the egregiously awful Jason Gunn, but was also a decent PM.
Helen Clark always came across on TV as if she had better things to do, but she was an awesome PM!
Nope i am a Green party supporter, Labour lost me at the point of Sir(spit)Roger Douglas who i incidently might have helped get elected by stuffing the letter-boxes of my home-town with Labour election material,
I wont use the word ‘stupid’ in a descriptive of your appraisal of my previous comment only because i think you have the intelligence to perceive more from that comment that such support for a Cunliffe/Robertson leadership of the Labour is based upon more than the telegenic nature of both of them,
Cunliffe at least seems to have some ‘vision’ for a New Zealand future that can unpick the threads sewing us into the present paradigm of global stupidity and in my view would need someone as His deputy to manage the politics of moving labour from Right to Left,
We obviously have differing views on Helen Clark,(and yes i do know Her personally),awesome is not what i would describe Her tenure as Prime Minister as,astute political management was what i would describe as Her forte,
However, Hers was the Social Democracy of,for, and,by the middle class and she was quite happy to give the bene’s a kicking and did so by not including the children dependent upon benefits in the working for families scheme,
Therein lies the difference, She being a Social Democrat the socialism of selling out to neo-liberal economics, Me being a Socialist,
We obviously have differing views on Helen Clark,(and yes i do know Her personally),awesome is not what i would describe Her tenure as Prime Minister as,astute political management was what i would describe as Her forte,
Actually, I have to agree with you about Helen Clark.. (my late brother worked on her campaign one year, so I knew her by extension, so to speak) and you are right…
But I absolutely can’t bring myself to trust the greens. Winnie Peters’ phrase about ‘baubles of power’ springs to mind.
It doesn’t help that I met so many pretty vacant middle class women last year who oozed that they’d voted for those lovely greens, because they trusted the greens to stick to conservation and not do anything radical on behalf of all those lazy bennys!
It doesnât help that I met so many pretty vacant middle class women last year who oozed that theyâd voted for those lovely greens, because they trusted the greens to stick to conservation and not do anything radical on behalf of all those lazy bennys!
That would just indicate that you were speaking to someone who didn’t know WTF they were talking about and took that ignorance as being symptomatic of the Greens in general.
That would just indicate that you were speaking to someone who didnât know WTF they were talking about and took that ignorance as being symptomatic of the Greens in general.
I think it’s pretty indicative of the reason for the green’s landslide last year… I spoke to not just someone, but many someones, all nice kiddies from Remmers and Freemans Bay, all the kind of girls/women/boys who don’t even realise that they’re born privileged. Shades of the Lady/Lord Bountiful about them, they shed crocodile tears about poor brown kids in South Auckland and maybe even give $5.00 to Canteen, but show them a threatened native bird or some conservation Dept land, and they quickly forget about the people…
Ah, people in need – they prefer the pretty photogenic brown kids with the cute 5 year old gap-toothed smiles, but when faced with a dirty smelly alkie on the streets, or a shabby 65 year old woman begging for change in K Road, they draw back their figurative skirts and mutter that ‘people like that’ need to be kept out of sight and preferably in secure care where they can’t bother nice inoffensive 20 somethings!
Its actually pretty hard to be a homeless person on the streets of any of our major cities,
There is even an ongoing attempt to set up a ‘wet’ house for the homeless alkies in Wellington only foiled by the ‘NIMBY’ attitude of neighbors wherever the attempt has been made,
In that i cannot really point a finger of blame at these neighborhoods that have and do object to having such a ‘wet’ house in their street as by definition homeless drunks are broken people from broken personal lives who just cannot abide by the mores of suburban life,
That is not to point the finger of blame at the alkies either despite being broken they are still human beings,
Most homeless people have other problems besides drug/alcohol/substance abuse usually being psychologically damaged and criminal recidivists,as well as on regular occasions being the victims of crime,
I know many of those who live on Wellington’s streets,and the only 65 year old i have recently seem begging there was doing so simply to gain the money necessary for His partner to stuff into a pokie machine at the local strip club,
Such people are extremely hard to ‘help’ even the night shelter is too confining for them and of course to confine them together anywhere without adequate security simply means that they have a propensity to damage each other,
Being wary of such people on the street is probably conducive to good personal safety and i would hardly denigrate the bright young things from Remmers for having done so,
Although in saying that, our slightly famous and recently deceased ‘blanket man’ received from such bright young things here in Wellington such a steady supply of burgers and stuff,(this on top of meals from the soupy’s), that i was occasioned more than once to muse upon such an agreeable lifestlye…
Being wary of such people on the street is probably conducive to good personal safety and i would hardly denigrate the bright young things from Remmers for having done so,
I was thinking specifically of Margaret Hoffman, the woman who used to sit in K Road, and beg cigarettes and change from passers-by.
The worst she ever did to anyone, was swear at them, and yet the ‘bright young tnings’ derided her, ridiculed her and sneered at her, as they trotted past to their clubs, bars and pizzerias.
She died in early 2011, and the people of inner city Auckland came over all Scots-Kiwi, and ‘don’t speak ill of the dead’, and all claimed she was a great ‘icon’ and they’d loved her. Such hypocrisy made me spit. (I’d seen them in action, as I gave her cigarettes and change, and got sneered at myself – as a scruffy old beneficiary with bad teeth, cos that’s how I look).
That idiot Cameron Brewer spoke of erecting a bronze statue of her to sit on the bench she always occupied – as the bronze woman would attract the shopper the real woman had repelled.
The masturbatory love-in the Herald gave for her after she died was sickening. The “old harridan, ugly old beneficiary, get a job, you loser old bag” was transformed into ‘beloved local identity’. Only people who’d actually known her as a person, such as the woman from the Baptist Tabernacle who performed her funeral, were realistic about her, and mofre importantly, had cared about her when she was alive! Even I tried to avoid her, although I thought ‘hell, that could be me in 10 years!’… (She was actually much younger than she looked I discovered, and more like me in 4 years!)
These people who said in the comments in the Herald that she was a beloved piece of local colour, were the same nice school, good university business course, professional parents people who I spoke to, and who voted greens to keep the scruffs and wasters in line! After all, Labour or Mana might let people like Margaret Hoffman spoil their view or get the help they needed!
(Margaret Hoffman turned out not to be homeless, just terribly lonely – so lonely she would rather be sneered at than ignored)
Indeed, besides thoughts of the idyll of life in a blanket, there is always that other little nag felt when with a need to go and fit to bust one finds to ones physical horror a recent migrant to the City from Christchurch, an incorrigible Alkie sent fleeing North by the closure of that CBD, has taken up residence in the only available toilet cubicle,
There but for the grace of God go i is the thought as a furtive pee is taken against the pigeon Park pohutukawa with one eye on the look out for roving plods lest ones ablutions land one in the wagon on the way to the cells,
Indeed again as Wellington’s ‘blanket man’ had a family in Tokoroa who really wanted him to go home as well as many attempts by those who work in the trenches with such people to house Him in Council flats and HousingNZ homes as well,
It’s hard to be homeless in Wellington, but those that are ground down by whatever to the level of our own ‘blanket man’ do have some modicum of support and some would say such support is in fact far greater than that which is gained by the hidden homeless, where whole families live in garages,sheds,vans, and, cars,not to mention the growing population housed but paying 50, 60, 70% of their total income just to meet rents,
Therein lies our country’s real problem of homelessness…
“It doesnât help that I met so many pretty vacant middle class women last year who oozed that theyâd voted for those lovely greens, because they trusted the greens to stick to conservation and not do anything radical on behalf of all those lazy bennys!”
Braindead urban hippies have bolstered the Greens popularity, this is true to an extent, but you are wrong to assume that it reflects Green’s policy, instead it reflects the normalisation of the green movement. It is cool to be green now. Look at the hollywood stars and they are all on some green/3rd world poverty crusade but never raise awareness regarding USA poverty, structural issues, or the way capitalism drives environmental degradation. I’d say that many Labour voters are idiots because they have always voted Labour and believe they can sort out our mess.
The Greens also take a more logical view of our problems. The unsustainable road that Labour and National have taken us down ruin our environment and it is poor people that bear the brunt of this disaster. The environment is tied in with unemployment, economy, well-being, inequality etc.
You are not being entirely fair about Margaret. She was on the street every day and had friends among those who are there on a regular basis. It’s true that she fell out with some people, but then she was often up for a fight herself. On the day she died, a young woman I know had booked both herself and Margaret in for a manicure at Posh Nails. Yes, there were scoffers, but locals often sided with Margaret against them. People did not treat her sentimentally, but many did treat her as a friend or a friendly presence, and did her shopping for her when she had her broken arm, etc. And a lot of people knew when her birthday was and some gave her presents.
People did not treat her sentimentally, but many did treat her as a friend or a friendly presence, and did her shopping for her when she had her broken arm, etc.
The sentiment I was referring to, was the gooey schmaltz in the media after she died.
I never actually knew her when she was alive, I met her occasionally on my way to work at a couple of language schools at the top of Queen Street.
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Really, the baubles of power, the Greens sat outside of the previous Labour Government for 9 years enabling it for all that 9 years,
If you know the pleasant smiling Meteria Turei at all you will see in Her someone uninterested in the price of Her principles, under the smile the woman is made of the same steel as Helen Clark but the principles are not about to be traded for a ride in a Beamer,
Hopefully after His little bout of Me Too in echoing Shearers ‘we are not buying back the assets’ comment, Co-leader Russel Norman has been given the polite message sent which read something like, ”us lot out here don’t do political activism on behalf of anyone to have them then turn around and spit in our f**king faces”,
Sure the Greens appear to have gone straight, but, their socialism is all over their web-site so if anyone after an election wakes up to suddenly find the Greens have forcefully negotiated the Labour/Green Government into a march by the left, i can only say don’t be suprised and get an education,
It’s a valid point tho, distrust of politicians to hold to the core of their values seems to have become a modern disease…
In New Zealand chavs would be defined as ‘the underclass’.These are the people that right wing talkback host Michael Laws says shouldn’t have children – the women, he says, who should be sterilised. He has discussed this abominable idea on air with the Minister for ‘Social Development’ Paula Bennett – who did not immediately reject it. Bennett herself has opined about young women having to take the pill while on the Domestic Purposes Benefit. We can’t have ‘the mongrels’ breeding, can we? Look what they get up to on Outrageous Fortune, for god’s sake!
When did it become the norm to simply dismiss the working class as lazy, criminally inclined, sexually promiscuous, drug addled, drunk? When did it become acceptable to turn the working class into caricatured objects for entertainment in such shows as Shameless and Outrageous Fortune? When did the working class suddenly become ‘STUPID’? When did the British working class suddenly into Vicki from Little Britain? When did the issues of poverty, and unemployment become not an economic question but a moral issue about how poor people should be treated? When did it become the poor’s own fault for being poor?
When I left school in the early 80s, there was little stigma about going on the dole. Being unemployed was seen as a consequence of the high unemployment rate not an individual failing. In the middle class circles I moved in there was some shame attached to not having a job (every conversation with a new person started with ‘what do you do?’ and then faltered if you said “I’m unemployed”), but there was not yet the outright condemnation of being a beneficiary. The Dept of Labour were operating with carrots not sticks.
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It changed shortly after that. Suddenly being unemployed was something to be derided, the term dole bludger became normal usage for a class of people who were denied work but trying to find work ie the term was used irrespective of individual circumstances. The DoL introduced increasingly draconian policies eg having one’s benefit cut if you refused a job.
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I wasn’t paying much attention to national party politics then, but in hindsight I have to wonder if that change in attitude wasn’t intentionally driven by either ACT/Labour or the Nats, rather than being a shift in the social norm over time. For me that is where the nasty streak gained ascendancy in NZ.
Yeah thats the result of turning humans against other humans with dirty tactics, to ensure that people are not looking at the govt asking questions like..
Does anyone know if there was a deliberate hate the dole bludger campaign in the mid 80s? Obviously Social Welfare policy changed, but I’m thinking more about things like how the media was used.
Not sure about the mid 80s, but there was an 0800 line in the early 90s, where you could dob in a dole bludger. Anonymous, no proof required, just pass on the goss and we’ll have a look, type thing. They had ads on TV with it for many months, if I remember rightly. Can’t find a link, sorry. I’m sure it was just after Ruth Richardson first budget. the mother of half the problems we have today.
In the eighties it was not at all uncommon for middle-class young adults to go on a dole-holiday, often while travelling around the countryside or living an alternative lifestyle for a while*. Often also, a passionate romance allowed no time for wage slavery for a period.
I have the teeshirt for this, however I got bored with unemployment after just a few months, and I think this was par for the course because unemployment even in ideal circumstances can be depressing for those not born to idle upperclass indolence.
Even these temporary unemployment breaks, which were effectively taxpayer-funded holidays attracted little disapproval in those days. Genuine unemployment didn’t seem to either, despite the fact ( ironically) that jobs were so much easier to come by, and the dole was extremely generous compared with the rates paid today.
The only recent comparable institution has been tertiary students going on the dole for the summer, something which was still prevalent in the late nineties and early this century, again amongst middle-class students.
*I often think that memories of these halcyon summer vacations affect middle-aged middle-class perceptions of unemployment today. Terms like “living the dream” and “lifestyle” could be further from the grim reality of being on a benefit today, and yet these illusions continue to prevail.
“The only recent comparable institution has been tertiary students going on the dole for the summer, something which was still prevalent in the late nineties and early this century, again amongst middle-class students.”
This still happens now, but it is really the result of neoliberalism, instead of students wanting to bum around in the summer. Much of the summer holiday work for students is within the service industry and focuses on xmas shopping. The students can get work till xmas, but rarely into Jan/Feb. Also the stand-down period after ending work is longer than the stand-down period if a student takes the summer dole straight away, therefore if a student chooses to work they will have a longer stand-down. Also, the shitty wages that are paid to temp workers and the ‘flexibility’ (hours get cut at short notice, etc) of holiday work means its not worth the effort for most students. Better to take the dole straight away and hit the beach…its a shame cause most students want to earn a stable income during their time off, but its not worth it.
When I left school in the early 80s, there was little stigma about going on the dole. Being unemployed was seen as a consequence of the high unemployment rate not an individual failing
When my sister  and I left school in 1970 and 1972, my father took us straight down to ‘sign on’, just in case (he’d grown up in the 1930s) As it happened, we both got jobs immediately, and never actually collected benefits – signing on was precautionary, and considered quite reasonable! Of course we were very lucky to have left school when we did – 10 or 15 years later, things might have been different, and definitely would have been in the 1990s, when my older son finished school…
It’s understandable that you wouldn’t want to turn up to a funeral with blood on your hands, but it is your fucking job you lazy self-obsessed cowardly piece of shit.
Oh and what a dick move hiding in shame behind your child, who is now part of the story. Real leader this guy.
Markm 12.2
Trouble is your lot have taken all the rocks. It upsets people and leaves them nothing to shelter under or to throw, whichever is the most appropriate.
I don’t think I have to judge the value John Key places on his family, and I don’t think I’ve done that. I think it’s a disgrace that he’s brought his child into this arena as a smokescreen for his own actions but beyond that I haven’t commented on it because it’s none of my business.
What is my business as a citizen of this country is whether he’s turning up to do his job or not.
ps come on weka, flying to the other side of the world to watch your kid play sport instead of going to work is by definition a holiday.
So do you think that the PM is never allowed to prioritise their family? That they should always cancel family things when the job requires it? Wouldn’t that mean they never get to spend time with their family?
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I’m not arguing the case for Key here (who doesn’t deserve and consideration), just the principle.
Like I said, it’s none of my business what he does with his family.
But let’s not pretend this is about time constraints. They guy can find time for all sorts of shenanigans when it suits him. Just so happens that this one don’t suit him so good.
So Key met with the families of the dead soldiers personally, but you’re not happy because you’d rather he did a public event in front of the cameras and news media?
I think itâs a disgrace that heâs brought his child into this arena as a smokescreen.
What’s the bet he isn’t even travelling to the US for is sons baseball game anyway… There are lots of things to discuss with the yanks at the mo. Despite what some think, a Prime Minister has an obligation to the country… Especially when it’s his decision to continue to deploy troops in an unjust war that leads to New Zealanders dying.
I don’t think felix is one to judge values, even if he was capable.
Mr Key visited the families of Lance Corporals Pralli Durrer and Rory Malone, who were killed in a clash with insurgents in Bamiyan province on Saturday, to explain why he would not be at the service.
The families can make their own judgements, as can Key.
felix is just using it as an excuse to run a cowardly piece of shite. Which is a very shitty thing to do in the circumstance, extremely disrespectful of the soldiers and families.
Funny, I think the shitty thing to do is play General and talk tough about the SAS and get photos taken with Apiata and take ‘hard calls’ to send troops into war and then disappear when the inevitable result of your actions and decisions comes home to roost.
And to use your kid as an exit strategy? That’s what you do when you want to leave a boring party, not when you want to avoid getting in the paper with dead bodies.
But of course according to tory t đ logic none of that is disrespectful of the dead people and their families. What’s disrespectful is mentioning it. Although I expect that doesn’t apply to you mentioning my mentioning for some twisted tory t đ reason which will never be explained or expanded on.
Now quickly Pete, fuck off to Kiwiblog and tell everyone what horrible things I’ve talked about and how horrible it all is and then write a big blog post full of quotes that no-one will ever read.
I’ve never been comfortable with politicians turning up to funerals and memorial services etc. seems deeply hypocritical to me. BUT, it is the accepted and expected norm.
If JK could abandon trade talks or whatever it was he jettisoned to return for the funerals of two helicopter pilots last year (or whenever it was – somebody attempted to link to it yesterday), then it just doesn’t quite gell that he’s putting his sons baseball game ahead of a funeral attendance.
I’ve no dooubt he will attend the baseball game. But I can’t get away from the thought that he’s been summoned by the whitehouse. But for what? Whatever it might be it’s obviously of such a nature that the public ought not to know of it. (So it ain’t trade related) And so my punt is that JK has had no option but take a hit on the whole thing.
Or then again, maybe he really is as disgusting and pathetically void as his ‘hard decision’ would have us believe.
It was probably all planned at the same time as the Mars landing. Obama himself may have organised the baseball tournament to divert attention from his birth certificate. A CIA plant would have orchestrated the team selection here in NZ.
This would all have had to have been started months ago, so I’m not sure who they got the dates to line up with what happened in Afghanistan, but I’m sure you’ll come up with a credible explanation for that too.
i was thinking aloud about the same thing down the bottom of yesterdays ‘Open Mike’,
* Event 1, the tragic death of 2 and wounding of 5 more Kiwi soldiers in Afghanistan, ( the 2 were flown back home this morning),
*Event 2, Slippery the New Zealand Prime Minister all but accuses Hungarian troops serving next to the Kiwi’s in Afghanistan of being cowards with what was in reality a sick joke worthy of a psychopath,
*Event 3, After having cancelled the upgrade to the National War Memorial in 2009, the Prime Minister is now falling all over Himself to have the expansion go ahead with what will be special empowering Legislation,
One thing about Slippery the Prime Minister that is a given, the urge to compulsively lie to the population of New Zealand is strong and ongoing,
i am left wondering if the Slippery one ‘sees’ a need for a National War Memorial that has very little use except for the yearly commemoration of world wars 1 and 2 to be expanded for future higher use,
The baseball trip to the US may just be to brief the Prime Minister about the expected future ‘sacrifices’ that ‘they’ expect from New Zealand…
The baseball trip to the US may just be to brief the Prime Minister about the expected future âsacrificesâ that âtheyâ expect from New ZealandâŚ
Sort of what I’ve been quietly thinking. The US Pacific build-up…it’s Chinese ‘concerns’. What role would NZ be expected to play?
The usual mindless sacrifice, a 10% mortality rate and a 45% injury rate for our troops in someone else’s conflict is what i would ‘guess’ as being a sufficient ‘sacrifice’
I can’t see a future conflagration as being Pacific based and believe the next ‘big’ war will be as usual centered on the European Continent,
Throughout history when Kings,Queens,Generals, and, latterly Politicians have destroyed their particular isms through financial mis-management War has been the final tool used to keep control and power over their citizens,
The debt bonds effectively turned into debt bombs will in my opinion again see the soils of Europe run red with the blood of a generation probably within the next 10-15 years…
Bill 12.4
The USA is going to ask for an extension of our troops time in Afghanistan until the US manages to introduce the high standards of US democracy there. Their men need relief as they are are going out of their minds being rotated continually to act in the never-ending stooooory.
+1 Bill. And how long is he away for? What else can he fit in in that time frame?
As for family, the son is 17, not 7 surely he’s old enough for an adult discussion about this sort of thing?
Also, how many doctors, nurses, police etc have leave cancelled in emergency situations that mean they have to give up family events. That’s what come with the job. The PM’s job is (should be) the same.
It has become common to criticise the use of Nazi analogies in political debate as examples of Godwin’s Law. Such analogies, commentators imply, are stale, call into question the validity of the underlying argument and the judgement of those making the comparison. Recently, there was widespread criticism/ridicule in the media of Nazi analogies made during NZ parlimentary debates over state asset sales.
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But where is the equivalent rhetoric condemning the use of Communist/Stalinist analogies in political debate?
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I wonder why media commentators see these as more acceptable? (e.g., “Helengrad”)
Because if you set a ridiculously high bar for what might be allowed to pass as fascism in ‘polite’ conversation – by equating it to it’s most extreme expression – of nazism, then it makes calling a spade a spade impossible in certain given situations.
There is no possible fascist dynamic in todays societies. Any such charge would require the trappings of nazism to be evident to have any merit. So fascist undercurrents become ‘invisible’ in any acceptable debate or analysis.
Communism, or communist dynamics on the other hand, really are absent from todays societies. So you’re permitted to draw communist comparisons whenever you like because, lets face it, if there was any communist undercurrent it would be flowing counter to any current the corporate world desired.
So set the bar very low for what might be allowed to pass for communism in any ‘polite’ conversation.
Both communism and fascism are heinous. But only one, if pursued, would undermine the power of current global elites.
Right, so let me get this straight:
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1) The outer trappings of fascism have to be present for the Nazi analogy to stick. And this is unlikely to occur in contemporary NZ politics (although that “blackshirt” Destiny Church march was probably getting close).
2) “Communism” is so absent from contemporary NZ politics, that it has no real meaning and therefore can be used to stand for anything you don’t agree with.
Erm, nah. What I was saying that in the interests of stifling criticism that would draw parallels with fascism, the trick is to banish talk of fascism altogether by setting a benchmark for fascism that equates with nazism…or nazism as popularily envisaged. So if no-one is piling minorities into concentration camps, invading neighbouring countries and exhibiting all those more extreme traits associated with nazism, then charges of fascism can’t hold…will be dismissed as ludicrous.
This allows for much in way of fascist doctrine to be developed and deployed (ie, corporatism) free from pesky historical comparisons. (It ain’t fascism if it ain’t nazism)
On the other hand, communism was never the doctrine of the current masters and sits in direct contradiction to their basis of power. And so ‘anything’ can be labelled communist because the knee jerk reaction that follows suits the interests of incumbent powers just fine.
It is because the manstream has a tendency to slide toward the authoritarian end of the spectrum in a well oiled but invisible manner. “Nice” National or Labour types like to give the illusion that their drift toward corporatism is “nothing” like drifting toward f@scism. To point it out using the correct terminology results in calls of Godwin….which is a crap bollocked brained thing. Lets call a spade a spade.
Yeah, this mass media invoking of Godwin’s Law seems like a classic anxiety formation. Deriding others becomes a way of reassuring oneself, of quelling the anxiety produced by such an analogy.
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It’s a pity NZers don’t know their history better, in particular about the cryto-f@scist New Zealand Legion that had some popularity in the 1930s. Sid Holland was a member, so was Keith Holyoake.
Teachers are being accused of petulance and having political agendas and yet the Governmentâs push for National Standards, league tables and charter schools are not considered ideological or political? Good grief!
More blind stupidity from Meat George…Key is wrong to go to see his boy and his framing of this as a ‘family choice’ is only acceptable to simpletons. Key’s economic and social policies have forced thousands of our children into poverty and stunted their opportunity of a bright future, Key is not family focused, Key is selfish and greedy…his actions could only be considered legitimate if he focused that kind of care and attention to all kiwi children. He abuses kiwi children.
Right, so if we had a PM who was doing good things about addressing poverty etc in NZ it would be acceptable for them to sometimes choose family over work?
Maybe, but most people make their own choices about attending funerals or spending time with their family.
I’m not making the PM a special case, you and others are. Apparently the PM has to be on call all the time. Maybe that’s fair, I’d just like to know if that’s applied to all PM’s or just Key.
“Right, so if we had a PM who was doing good things about addressing poverty etc in NZ it would be acceptable for them to sometimes choose family over work?”
I said…”his actions could only be considered legitimate if he focused that kind of care and attention to all kiwi children.”
I didn’t say it would be acceptable, I said it could only be considered legitimate if…
The legitimacy of his choice will always come down to personal ideals, but Key has proven time and again that he does not care about kiwi children, so his choice is not legitimate.
Personally, I would not consider Key’s choice as legitimate even if his concern over the welfare of children matched Mother Teresa’s. He can miss a game of whatever his son is playing.
My point is that this idea of Key being a family man does not correlate with his actions as PM…its bollocks. Key has once again framed his despicable actions in a positive light, he’s been doing it for years.
Sorry HS…I shouldn’t compare the way Key treats his own children, with the way he treats other people’s children.
You’ve really changed my thinking with your well reasoned argument.
…I am now in favour of Key imposing charter schools on those stupid poor children, while Key’s kids get private schooling. What was I thinking!
“Neither Goldman Sachs Group Inc nor its employees will face U.S. criminal charges related to trades they made during the financial crisis that were highlighted in a 2011 U.S. Senate report, the Justice Department said on Thursday.” – LINK
All good, if the political process is too weak at the knees to seize what are in effect the proceeds of criminal enterprise by organized criminal gangs in the form of major banking orgaizations they will simply be left to concoct even bigger scams which will in turn lead to even bigger world-wide financial,economic, and, social disasters,
Welcome to the slow motion train-wreck of the death of capitalism where the Beast in effect eats itself…
Welcome to the slow motion train-wreck of the death of FINANCIAL capitalism where the Beast in effect eats itself⌅minor correction, capitalism does just fine without financial capitalism, which is NOT to say that is a desirable scenario.
More importantly the above link shows that the rule of law in the financial capitals of the world is now a two tier system: absolute repression for scum like you and me, complete do as you will for the financial elite. Legal apartheid! We the 99% are black.
Financial capitalism seems to come about due to the collapse of physical capitalism which collapses due to over production and the declining rate of profit.
Minor correction if i may be so excused, TRADE can do just fine without either capitalism or its vicious half brother( the mongoloid), financial capitalism,
As butter can and was swapped for Lada’s presto the coin stays in each country that is trading therefor there is no real need for International Banking…
Something else for Pete to pretend to be horrified about:
When John Key attends a soldier’s funeral as PM it’s not because they were mates and he misses them. He’s there as our representative. Not the govt’s rep. Not the National party’s rep. Ours.
Now observe the way he framed this situation as a personal decision, as if the decision on whether to attend a funeral or a baseball game all came down to how it would affect him and his family.
It’s not about him. It’s his fucking job and he’s missing again.
I wasn’t explaining anything to you Pete, you’ve already shown you’re incapable of understanding much beyond your own nose.
And I’ve already told you I couldn’t care less what Shearer thinks. Why would I give a fuck what Turei, or you, or any other politician has to say about this?
But thanks for the mock-horror, I knew you wouldn’t disappoint. Will you be posting this to Kiwiblog as well?
Yep. We, as citizens of a democratic society, sent soldiers to their death. We did it through representatives but we ultimately hold the responsibility for that.
And similarly, as our representative, the PM should be attending such funerals on our behalf.
Or, and this is just an idea, we could elect someone to represent us as a collective to do things in our name that it would be obviously absurd for us all to do as individuals.
No. I’ve laid out my reasons for objecting to Key’s decision not to attend quite clearly and if you have any questions about what I’ve actually said I’ll be happy to chat.
Delegation of govt duties happen all the time. The govt as a whole represent us not just the PM. The GG is going representing the head of state. This appears nothing special as he’s not attended servicemen’s funerals before. What’s different apart from Key publicly saying he is doing something else?
Correct, he can fuck off to the U.S. for baseball anytime he likes, and I can criticise that decision for a number of reasons, which I have.
Problem?
Also note that one of my criticisms specifically addresses him publicly saying he’s doing something else, what I believe to be his motivation, and why I think he’s wrong to do so.
Selective in that the PMs absence from the two most recent Afghanistan death related funerals was never commented on, yet you apprantly strongly believe the PM should go to them all. If Key hadn’t said anything, would you really have cared?
Yeah we should have slammed him down for that too mate, thanks for correcting us and showing us that this is not John Key in a one time event, the many actually is repeatedly callous.
He was probably just following Helen clark’s example. She thought it more important to open a rugby ball in paris than go to the funeral of the sailor solomon killed on active duty due to the negligence of the navy and minstry of defence, or to sgt billy white’s funeral.
Up till now you’ve been saying it was all about the principle that PMs should be there, now it’s all about the optics as pascal nicely describes it. Like I said, you’re just being selective, much like Key.
Not sure why you think optics and principle are exculsive things. optics are important in and of themselves. As a matter of principle there are optics that a PM needs to get right. Things need to be both done, and seen to be done.
“Whatâs different apart from Key publicly saying he is doing something else?”
I can only tell what has rubbed me the wrong way about how he has done this.
He has framed it as a comparison of sacrifice. He used that word.
Now I fully acknowledge that being in a politicians family is a tough ask, even more tough for the PMs family. No argument. But that toughness does come with the territory, and Key asked for the job, just like soldiers sign up.
I’m not saying that his family must always come second. But I do think it has to be considered on a case by case basis.
This game will obviously be very important for his son. No argument. And no argument that being there would be important for Key, as it would for any loving parent.
But he drew the specific ballancing act here, one that says being at this game is more important than being at the funerals for those other sons. He explicitly drew that comparison, saying he had a tough decision and “had to disappoint someone” but he thinks he made the right choice (about who to disappoint). That ground my gears.
The thing is, and it comes back to the PMship being atough job, his son will play other games. there will be other big events in his life, many parents cannot make it to big events in their children’s lives due to other duties.
If his son was having surgery, or in an accident, or something else happened where it might reasonably said that he needs his family there, then I would be saying that his family should certainly, and obviously be there.
That’s how I feel anyway, and it’s a feeling that has come from the way the PM has expressed himself about this. the comparisons that he has made. He didn’t say he took advice, and said he fronted to tell the family why he wasn’t going to be there. I’d feel a lot different if I had the impression he had asked the family.
Thatâs how I feel anyway, and itâs a feeling that has come from the way the PM has expressed himself about this. the comparisons that he has made. He didnât say he took advice, and said he fronted to tell the family why he wasnât going to be there. Iâd feel a lot different if I had the impression he had asked the family.
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That I can agree with. Key is obviously a dick who doesn’t really give a shit and at the moment he often doesn’t even try and hide the fact. His comments about the soldiers not having much in the way of family are unbelievable.
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Asked the family… maybe they told him to fuck off. I know I would have in that situation.
Explaining might be losing if you are a pinhead but when you are a self proclaimed intellectual or have an iota of intelligence and can actually read the printed word then explanations are necessary.
If you want to swim in a soup of sound bites and haircuts then good for you but I prefer Felix’s explanations to your puerile exclamations anyday.
The latest Roy Morgan is out. The nats are down 3.5% to 44%. Labour is up 2 to 32% but the greens are up 3 to 14%.
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A green surge is the last thing that Shearer needs. This is good for the opposition’s chances of forming the next Governnment but not so good for Shearer’s chances of survival.
although technically when you’re talking about small percentages, the margin for error also reduces.
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The big issue though is that small percentages mean less people need to change their mind to swing the vote, so they bounce about quite a lot.Â
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You really only get consistency from which you can hypothesise fluctuation causes either with large proportions (e.g. 40 or 50%), or with flatlined parties like United Future or ACT.Â
Labour and Greens are usually complimentary – they share nat drops and DNR changes.Â
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I’m just worried that the short term trend (i.e a few months) might be indicating a plateau in Labour’s growth from the election. We’ll see – polls go up, polls go down…Â
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My opinion, the sooner the Beneficiary Bashing Shearer is given the Boot and replaced by Cunliffe as both Party Leader and next Minister of Finance the better,
Beneficiaries, all of them, with their low incomes and expectations are what keeps the interest rates of the comfortable middle class at levels which ensure their continued comfort,
That middle class and the politicians put in place on the behalf of that middle class should be thanking beneficiaries on a weekly basis for being willing to except a lowered standard of living so as to ensure that middle classes continuing comfort…
yes yes, but you can’t just have any class of bene. You have to have the ones that know their place, and daring to have a life while being on SB just doesn’t cut it I’m afraid. You’re supposed to not do anything while on SB, and then suck it up when people criticise you for being a malingerer. And be grateful.
The Beehive is buzzing with rumors that the two anonymous Cunliffe character assassins are joining John Banks to form a new party based on Machiavellian principles.
Wimp Walloping
The Wimp: DUNCAN WEBB; The Walloper: NEIL MILLER
“The Panel”, National Radio, Friday 10 August 2012
I’m listening to another horror show unfold. Once again, the ostensible “liberal” (Webb) is bending over backwards to find common ground with, and to please, a right winger (Miller). So whatever Miller says, no matter how bizarre and doctrinaire, Webb has obviously decided to agree with it.
Today, Miller announced that the New Zealand security services are “open” and that he feels “relaxed” about their conduct, or misconduct. Duncan Webb did not even so much as demur at this nonsense. And neither did the stand-in host Finlay McDonald. Instead, both of these “liberals” laughed insipidly at Miller’s wry and cynical comments.
Question: Why is Gordon Campbell never on this programme any more? He had the courage to confront Graham Bell, getting the tough old copper to admit he knew nothing about climate science, and on another occasion got Richard Griffin to backtrack and apologize for making some ignorant comments about Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. On another occasion, Bomber Bradbury angered Michelle Boag, when he demanded that she back up one of her wild statements with at least one piece of evidence. I would not be surprised if she had something to do with the eventual banning of Bradbury from the programme.
But Campbell and Bradbury are not on the programme any more. Instead, we get the likes of Duncan Webb playing the patsy. Neil Miller is a shallow and complacent commentator, but he gets an easy ride on this programme. As do other right wingers like Michael Bassett, Karl Du Fresne, Barry Corbett, Stephen Franks, John Bishop, and Deborah Hill Cone.
The pity of it is that “The Panel” is so much less interesting and stimulating than it could be. Is it too much to hope that Jim Mora gets a thoughtful and serious producer one day?
Maybe someone should ask RNZ how they pick the panelists.
It’s quite clear how they pick them: anyone who has anything interesting to say will probably not be asked on, and neither will anyone who “rocks the boat”, i.e., stands up to the likes of Boag, Bassett and Griffin.
I suggested it was simply an inadequate producer, but I think the real reason is the management at RNZ, headed by one, errrrr, Richard Griffin.
Morrissey 23 1 1
I think that it is Jim Mora’s preference, that he and his producer perhaps have approached the people who have the Right sort of opinions and can express them fluently. So I think that Stephen Franks et al get on, and Joanne Black who is now Press Secretary for some rightie, which is no surprise, and so on.
I think that it is Jim Moraâs preference, that he and his producer perhaps have approached the people…
I am pretty certain that it is the producers/managers, rather than Jim Mora himself, who make the decisions. Surely no decent person, and Jim does seem to be a nice guy, would actually choose to spend an hour in the company of people as overbearingly pompous and unpleasant as Messrs Franks, Bassett and Bishop.
Joanne Black who is now Press Secretary for some rightie
Morrissey
I know nuthing… but I have a feeling when I listen to Jim Mora that there is something false there and that puts me off, as well as the circumlocutions you refer to.
I have a feeling when I listen to Jim Mora that there is something false there and that puts me off, as well as the circumlocutions…
I know exactly what you mean. You’ve caught the essence of the problem very well. I’ve been analysing his style and modus operandi for a long time now, and I might soon post up some of the things that bother me, and obviously other people too.
Question: Why is Gordon Campbell never on this programme any more?
Jeepers Morrissey who is the clairvoyant? You or me? I was wondering exactly the same thing earlier today. I think you’re right. Campbell showed the rest of them up for the toadies they really are. That’s embarrassing all round. I’ve pretty much stopped listening to The Panel. It’s not worth it. I bet there listener numbers are falling…
There’s always the possibility Gordon Campbell chose not to go on the programme again. And if that is the case it’s easy to understand why!
Jeepers Morrissey who is the clairvoyant? You or me?
You and me both, I think.
I bet their listener numbers are fallingâŚ
I would not be surprised. It’s getting to be arch and self-referential, as well as vacuous. This dreadful “Complaints Choir” is almost always terrible, and about as amusing as toothache.
Thereâs always the possibility Gordon Campbell chose not to go on the programme again.
Yes, he seemed to be impatient with the inane chatter and the long, bloviating circumlocutions that Jim feels compelled to indulge in. He also declined to laugh dutifully at unfunny remarks by Jim or his fellow guests.
Tame and anxious-to-please “liberals” like Peter Elliott or Tim Watkin or Chris Trotter are much more reliable, always willing to flatter the host with laughter.
You and me both total cynics too methinks, and not without reason. Don’t mention the Complaints Choir ever again please. Life’s hard enough without being reminded of that travesty of the soul.
I don’t buy this theory that Key has got some other important business in the States. Don’t make no sense.
The guy clearly loves his son, and he likes going to sports events. that’s enough to explain this. He took his son out of school to go to see the All Whites play at the world cup, remember that? He loves going into the changing rooms and hanging out with sporting heroes. 3 way handshake anyone?
And going to discuss high faluttin secret policy with the masters of the universe? pfft.
What’s he gonna do? Tell them his secret plan to save the whales? Promise to get them a fricken Panda of the chinese? Sort it all out with a job summit? Bike trails! A financial hubblet!
Finally, the MSM asks question about what Stephen Joyce’s ‘intensification of agriculture’ means. I’m more worried about pressure on the environment from intensified dairying than I am about mining, and that’s saying something! Not to mention the animal rights aspects. Although I’m not a great animal lover, I do believe that if we’re going to use them we must at least treat them well.
Was he signalling that we had all better get used to the fact that agriculture will become more and more intensive, and stop being squeamish about animal welfare?
Was he suggesting that our reluctance to accept certain practices, such as locking up hens in cages, or fattening cows in cubicles or feedlots, is holding agricultural progress back, and will have to change?
Perhaps he was signalling that it’s time we dropped our resistance to genetic engineering, and embraced it enthusiastically?
Or was he simply signalling we need a huge boost in the number of dairy cows in New Zealand?
Certainly there are signs of a renewed push for genetic engineering in New Zealand, and for more intensive, irrigation-based dairy farming, and innovations such as “cubicle farming” to fatten up dairy cows.
But I believe Mr Joyce is dreaming if he thinks consumers will happily accept ever more intensive agriculture, as the price we must pay for more jobs.
And then I checked the byline – it’s Sue Kedgley. Thank you Sue.
Nice one rosy. Here’s the link if anyone wants it http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/7448874/Is-agriculture-NZs-golden-goose
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At least the regional councils are starting to step up and protect the land and water. Doubt they will look at animal welfare though.
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I agree, this is far more of an issue than mining. We can recover from mining, industrial diarying and other intensifications will damage the land and water for a long time.
ooops, sorry I forgot the link (hadn’t had my morning coffee ;-)). Thanks for putting it in.
I’d like to agree about the regional councils, but I fear this is what the ECan debacle is all about – allowing water rights for intensified farming, in particular, dairying.
Unless someone who knows how to get information picks this up I fear any dissension is all going to be far too late.
In Paris in 1789, in St. Petersburg in 1917, and in a great many other places and times, the people who thought that they held the levers of power and repression discovered to their shock that the only power they actually had was the power to issue orders, and those who were supposed to carry those orders out could, when matters came to a head, decide that their own interests lay elsewhere.
So, just how much legitimacy does our government still have? It’;s still has it ATM but it’s obviously declining.
“Intensified agriculture” means dairy cows take priority over households for water AND get used to cow manure run-off into streams and lakes because we’re not going to punish it.
It can mean the same for pig farms and chicken factories.
Water and animal sewage. Learn to love less of the first and more of the second.
Another Friday night in blighted impoverished NZ.
Currently I am seated in a deck chair, in front of a hot oven, bathed in the light from a sun lamp – sipping on Just Juice Pineapple juice made with 5% pineapple juice (& 95% apple concentrate imported from Germany).
I’m listening to the sound of waves & ukulele’s playing on a CD player and I have just sprayed the room with Glade Hawaiian Breeze.
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I’m calling this my John Key “You to” Aspirational Hawaiian Experience.
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I have never had it so good.
Yeah, I think Michelle Boag took them as part of the contract when they hired him. Supposedly they were served as finger food at a nat party conference. Rumour has it Gerry ate them (along with a pie, two sofa cushions and half of Christchurch).
William Joyce
You’re in such a good mood you should now read Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus is a play with “14 killings, 9 of them on stage, … He has captured Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her three sons, and Aaron the Moor.” (thanks google). All I can say about this one is that they don’t write like this any more.
Jim N 33 1 1 1
Trite I know but Shakespeare certainly has a way with words. And some of the well-known phrases just keep on. Maybe one day our own doughty leader will be wailing – ‘A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse’.
Isn’t there a great scene in one of the king plays where a body of archers set themselves to send a rain of arrows high in the air to down the enemy? Makes sitting tapping complaints at the keyboard seem very tame in comparison. But then it is an attempt to think our way to a solution that doesn’t involve privation and bloodshed.
Jim N
Didn’t Shakespeare give Richard 3 a bad rap? Now Jokey Hen… Didn’t Richard 3 die on Bosworth field? Perhaps Key should go and fight along with certain USA pollies and generals, in Afghanistan.
By the way USA is going to help Vietnam to counter the effects of Agent Orange at this late stage. What has happened about the Depleted Uranium in Iraq? Anyone been watching this?
That would ruin the buzz of pretending I am in Hawaii living off the profits from all the State Asset shares I purchased with my meagre discretionary dollars (plus the ones I get free, illegally paid for from all the other taxpayer saps).
I’m trying a more Zen approach – my therapist said that spray painting a “hit list” on my bedroom wall wasn’t working for me – besides, it was getting too long. Apparently, the police will not be so happy next time if our beloved leader wakes up and finds me sitting at the end of his bed again.
*sigh* As the song says, “….since I gave up hope I feel a lot better”.
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Just a minute, there’s a loud knock at the door………
Is it that obvious? Damn, Google Earth!
The NZ Police, Thought Crime Division – Free Speech Suppression & Evidence Fabrication Team are onto me. Gotta run, heading off to Tuhoe country…………..opps
he’s pobably going over their to checkon why his BofA ML shares are worth nothing now he going to ask Mitt the git Romney if he can pull the wool over the american publics eyes and bail out BofA a second time if he becomes president.
Romney is their John Key. A man from the financial industry that the people are told has the “economic skills” to fix the country, who smiles and waves, who has the “cred” of being wealthy i.e. successful (which people respect in our society of shallow values) but who has a murky past that they stonewall to protect from disclosure.
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Obama had to show his birth certificate – where the hell are Romney’s tax returns?
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mike e Sounds like Key is a bit of a bofver boy. I see that some investors here got the right to get something back from their Blue Chip investments. Perhaps he will be able to swing something in the States to make up his losses.
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
âFollow the moneyâ is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left  Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes –Â I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes –Â Parliamentâs speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes â The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline âSenior Kingâs Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.:Â âMany of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] eachâ, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands arenât ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliamentâs speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of MÄori Land) Amendment Bill (HĹŤhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing MÄori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
 Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion âinvestmentâ in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes –Â Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and appliedâŚÂ Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliamentâs Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECDâs chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changesâintroducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, Â “Oranga Tamarikiâs governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealandâs foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealandâs foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech:Â AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This weekâs announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House â but itâs not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand:Â The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasuryâs forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when â during an interview on RNZâs Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? âIt's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their âfutureâ amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected â and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers â as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP â critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori âstrenuouslyâ objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to âtheirâ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Councilâs District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion âThis House Believes British Museums are not Very Britishâ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP HĹŤhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of MÄori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of MÄori land. ...
A senior, highly respected Kingâs Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga MÄori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealandâs growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesnât know or care about the frontline cuts sheâs making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. Â ...
Todayâs Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and itâs only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. âThis is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. âThe government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicineâ, said Ayesha Verrall âThis is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoonâs interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour childrenâs spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te PÄti MÄori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veteransâ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veteransâ affairs spokesperson Greg OâConnor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxonâs management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonightâs court decision to overturn the summons of the Childrenâs Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about MÄori without evidence, says Te PÄti MÄori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. âThe judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last yearâs severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labourâs environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our countryâs most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Governmentâs Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a âget out of jail freeâ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te PÄti MÄori Justice Spokesperson, TÄkuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, MÄori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealandâs good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National governmentâs lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Â Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Â Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Â Ladies and gentlemen -Â Â In diplomacy, we often speak of âcloseâ and âlong-standingâ relations. Â ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. âThe medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. âWellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. âWith 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. âWe are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayersâ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in TairÄwhiti and Hawkeâs Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealandâs engagement with the region.  The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu.  âNew Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealandersâ security and wellbeing. âCongratulations to this yearâs recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealandâs defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealandâs digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. Â âThe immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Governmentâs school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealandâs next Ambassador to the United States of America.  âOur relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,â Mr Peters says.  âNew Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. âNew Zealand was built on gold, itâs in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is âan Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhereâ and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. âThis is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASAâs Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. âOur Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECDâs latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its membersâ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli.  ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Councilâs Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today.  "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Councilâs Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today.  Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. âThese reforms are long overdue. New Zealandâs insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. âThree years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. âBeing able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canadaâs refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ânext moveâ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Childrenâs Commissioner. âThe Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.    âThe coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. âOur Governmentâs thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening â  Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealandâs foreign policy, weâd like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. âCreating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northlandâs marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. âThis is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the countryâs total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. âThe beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ĺ-RÄkau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mĹ Ĺ-RÄkau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ĺ-RÄkau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Governmentâs plan to supercharge New Zealandâs EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four â and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Governmentâs plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. âI have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People â Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel âthrough to 2050 and beyondâ. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuelâs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who wonât cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed â Australiaâs big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make â and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this yearâs Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served âwokeâ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australiaâs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash Weâve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guineaâs deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of âreckless economic managementâ that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape âmust stop lying to the people of Papua New Guineaâ, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoaâs booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish Iâd writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. âFollow the moneyâ is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a âcatastrophic humanitarian situationâ. Rafah was âsignificantâ because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. Itâs 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canadaâs largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayersâ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayersâ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Ministerâs office. Taxpayersâ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. Itâs power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, thereâs the rich list and the powerful âc-suiteâ list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeerâs phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gaddâs story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didnât have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail â those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Whatâs all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boyâs body was found the day he died. Lachieâs body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucyâs brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where âhe had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didnât get inâ. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Aucklandâs water woes. This is how itâll work. New Zealandâs pipes are munted. Theyâre cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. Itâs a big, ...
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 8 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and sheâs having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
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I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: âAs time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.â This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, itâs not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Womenâs International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the âcruel and barbaric use of forceâ in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The leagueâs open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australiaâs resources industry. The project will fund âthe first comprehensive map of whatâs ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their studentsâ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to ârepair colonial violenceâ and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year â and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. Thatâs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the governmentâs legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
7 Cover-up Accomplices
65 hours have passed since two anonymous high ranking Labour MP’s accused David Cunliffe of being “sneaky.” (Do you see the irony?)
They lied about the relationship between Shearer and Cunliffe. Shearer definitely DEMOTED Cunliffe from Finance Spokesperson (3 years with Goff) to Economic Development.
They accused this former Minister of Health (an exhausting portfolio job) of being “lazy.” In four months prior to his overseas trip he delivered three major speeches, each of which was well-covered in the press. (Note that only 2 of the 7 have ever been in cabinet. Parker had to resign as Attorney General. Jones had to resign as Minister for Immigration. 4 of the 7 failed to win electorate seats.)
Based on names discussed in the Standard, my list of suspects for this cowardly, dishonest attack is (in alphabetical order): Jacinda Arden (List MP), Andrew Little (List MP), Trevor Mallard, Shane Jones (List MP), David Parker (List MP), Grant Robertson, and David Shearer.
Each can clear their name by declaring they did NOT speak to Duncan Garner about David Cunliffe.
If you know about a crime and do not speak up, you are an accomplice. By their silence these seven are accomplices in a despicable act of treachery.
Whomever of these seven does not come clean is unfit to be in Parliament. What message does Labour send to the public?
“We are marginally less corrupt than National . . . . . maybe.”
Labour look like they are hoping with Green help to lose less than National in 2014. Ambition and leadership don’t seem to figure in their strategy.
The spotlight is on Shearer regarding the Cunliffe clobbering, but removing him would fix little if anything of Labour’s core problems.
Tory T đ
Let me get this right… Duncan Garner claims that all the Labour politicians said that if Shearer was to be replaced, it would be by David Cunliffe over all their dead bodies? What a whopper!
Garner also writes:
So two senior MPs told Garner exactly the same thing? Really! And then apparently a bunch of Labour politicians have all backstabbed Cunliffe… All saying the same thing as well?
If we’re to take the allegations seriously, although I’m at a loss as to why we should, you’re not trying to just pinpoint the source on one person… You’re saying that the entire Labour party is nasty, which just sounds like more bullshit from Nat spin-doctors.
“Youâre saying that the entire Labour party is nasty,”
I didn’t say anything like that.
“Let me get this right⌠”
Well, try again, you got it all wrong.
I was replying to AmaKiwi Pete George, not you. Have you ever thought about getting some professional help?
LOL – that one might have sunk his battleshit
Have you? I think you’d really benefit from it. We can talk about over dinner if you keen? A then maybe a movie?
that one in particular strikes me as ‘2 mps and garner out on the piss’. At the very least, it’s chummy informal banter mps are having with a media commentator.
 Â
A bit like 2 sheep having a joke with a wolf – all very amiable, but sooner or later mr wolfy wants bar snacks.
Oh i see the irony alright, the Standard and us that comment in here regularly diss the mainstream media as being biased against the left in New Zealand politics and society, many of us here agree that a lot of what the mainstream publishes is utter bovine excrement,
In New Zealand we have as the core of our system of Justice the premise of innocence until guilt is proven, for you at least such a provision is meaningless,
Duncan Garner decides to please His masters to curry favor, dog whistles you all long and loud with a load of rubbish that if you tear away the blinkers is provably a load of s**t, and what do you all do,
Woof Woof, yap yap yap, hello Duncan Garner has quite a collection of poodles, and worse, Duncan Garner knows it, so anytime He feels like stirring up a political s**t-storm all’s He has to do is get out the dog whistle,
If you want rid of Shearer as the opposition Leader, and who could blame you, smearing half the Labour Caucus with Duncan Garners bulls**t allegations that havn’t a scrap of evidence attached to them is in my opinion not the way to accomplish this,
Emailing your wish for Him to be gone as leader to your nearest Labour Party electoral office might be more of a help…
People who refuse to comply with Auckland’s recycling and anti-litter code will risk being denied a civic kerbside collection or being fined under changes to waste management bylaws.
“Mr Jaine said the council had a range of ways to identify sources of contamination.
They included having people walk ahead of collection trucks, opening up lids and leaving stickers to educate householders about what they should do”
–The words obey and comply followed by an article using various threats, should be motivational, encouraging, endear fear in those who are running this city???
Shearers right wing speech to grey power attacking the sickness beneficiary not pulling their weight as they were painting the roof of their house is good old fashioned bene bashing.
How can shearer cast aspersions on the beneficiary without knowing why that person is on a SB? There are a myriad of reasons why someone would be on that and not many would stop someone painting the roof of their house.
But like all stories its probably made up. A made up beneficiary to bash.
How far labour have fallen.
That speech annoyed me, too, no end. I agree, the beneficiary he was talking about probably came straight out of Shearer’s a*se.
If he was real, the man could have hired someone else to paint his roof and then added the cost to his next application for the Landlord’s benefit (aka Accommodation supplement), but he didn’t and saved the taxpayer money by doing it himself.
Also, I heard that the man who told Shearer about the beneficiary, owns a rental property. In fact, he has owned 3 of them over the last 10 years, never lived in any of them, but was able to charge high-end rent because his tenants were able to get the Accommodation Supplement anyway for whatever he asked. Then he sold each of the properties on for a profit after 2-3 years. Naturally, he failed to declare any of this on his tax return.
So if we want to talk about fairness in society, which rip-off do you think is more common? Which one should a Labour leader point out?
Where can I find a report, or better still, a transcript of this speech? From what I know of Shearer, it’s just not the kind of thing he’d say! Standardistas seem (with two exceptions, one of whom is me) to hate Shearer worse than they hate Key! That makes me sceptical about this story.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/david-shearer-speech-grey-power/5/131125
Having just read it, I don’t think it’s as horrifying as it’s being portrayed. Shearer’s fault lies in not clarifying why it is he took the word of the guy about his neighbour’s situation… but ACT candidate in the making – give me a break!
I’ve never understood the widespread hatred for Shearer here.
I have previously got into trouble for expressing my loathing of Russel Norman and the middle class kiddies that make up the BLUE-green party.. but it’s okay, it seems to slander Shearer up and down and all around. I have not got over the sinking feeling I had, hearing Norman and Turei say on the TV news right after the election last year, that they were sure they could work happily with NACT in their ‘memorandum of understanding’ or whatever they call it.
The problem is that it has become acceptable to bash beneficiaries, and many people voted for National because of the perception that Labour gave too many hand-outs to the ‘undeserving’. Now that that attitude is firmly entrenched in our culture anyone trying to do right by everyone rather than giving more to the wealthiest few is seen as soft, bleeding-heart, gullible or, my personal favourite, jealous. Shearer is probably just saying what he thinks people want to hear. The thing that always amuses me (not a funny subject but let’s face it, if you don’t laugh you’ll cry) is how quick people are to criticize those on welfare while being ignorant to the fact that corporate welfare is a much bigger problem.
You have that right, i have been holding off on criticism of Shearer’s performance as Labour Party Leader until such time as He actually gave us (the electorate) some clues as to what we could expect from Him as Prime Minister,
The day a Labour Party Leader begins to speak the truth about those reliant on benefits will be the day that Labour again will have my vote which for Labour has been missing from their ballot count since Sir(spit)Roger Douglas,
My view on Shearer(spit) as Leader of the Labour Party is simply BYE BYE, perhaps He would be better stomping the hustings on behalf of ACT…
Off course it was made up. Nobody in the history of the world has ever tried to rip off the people of New Zealand by claiming a sickness benefit when they weren’t sick. No, never happens.
That lying “worker” who talked to Shearer should be forced to go and help his neighbour paint his roof. And they should put up his tax rate to the same as a rich prick and the extra given to his neighbour.. He should be happy to go to work to pay the tax that supports his neighbour. What a bastard.
Yesterday I posted an “employers” viewpoint, but stayed off the “unemployment” debate. One theme coming out of things was the impact of “corporate” NZ on the rest of the economy, especially the offshoring of profit.
A minor thought. Multinationals we are told provide the capital and IP we “so desparately need”. In return the profits flow out back to such places as the IBM Cayman Islands account. Quite obviously nobody invests without a profit motive, so ultimately more flows out than ever comes in. This is the wealth pump of the imperial system. Under this system we cannot help but lose more than we gain and gains are only relative. We are “colonized”.
The end result contributes significantly to the unemployment we face: if we had developed the businesses ourselves we would have kept the cash here in NZ and had a choice about how to use it, such as shorter working weeks thus employing more people. Instead we work those with jobs harder for less and less.
+1
And we don’t need it because, more often than not, the FDI we’re getting is just buying up NZ developed businesses any way. In fact, I don’t know of any Blue Sky start ups from FDI that used foreign knowledge or resources to get going. There may be some that used foreign money but money is nothing. We could, quite simply, have used our own by the simple expedient of printing it.
And various neolib governments over the years have been destroying NZ IP and institutional knowledge, to make us more dependent on foreign and private sector expertise.
It really really sucks a big one.
Just print our own money…?! Clearly you have a masters in economics then. Get me some while you’re at it.
What is this? A secret NZ intelligence group that is not SIS?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10825903
There are a couple of other NZ choices apart from the SIS. Apart from the obvious concerns about what âourâ spooks get up to, this is important because the trail has to lead to the Prime Minister at some point given the committees he is on and the briefings he receives.
The Prime Minister on TV3 denied personal knowledge of Kim Dotcomâs existence prior to the raid during the Banksie election donation affair. Yet Keyâs teapot chum certainly knew the eccentric
Dotcom well enough to visit him in ShonKeyâs very own electorate.
Could be GCSB? If there were questions about the interwebs and the technological capability of the equipment Dotcom had, then they might be a logical group to ask.
Although it does seem a bit of a wander from their normal remit.
That’s what I/S thinks.
Their website does, of course, claim that they have a “Mastery of Cyberspace” (see http://www.gcsb.govt.nz/ ) so I guess that could well make them PC Plod’s source of advice when dealing with Nefarious International Criminals of the Interwebs.
As an aside, I would have thought that proclaiming yourself “Masters of Cyberspace” was just asking for trouble. They may as well claim to be “Invulnerable to Hackers”…
Isn’t the plod in question under oath to the court, since when can a witness befor the High Court select what questions they will or will not answer,
If the ‘secret organization’ is neither of the known organs of espionage then what the f**k is going on here, secret Government organizations simply lead to the ‘disappearance’ of citizens,
Country’s such as Chile had ‘secret’ Government organizations back in the 70’s and 1000’s disappeared…
Hm! More New Zealanders disappear than are murdered each year.
John Keys personal dirty tricks squad. Ready to be loaned out to foreign companies. IE RIAA and Hollywood against his own people. Oh and for when he does not want to get his hands dirty he lends them to the FBI.
This is really shite. Why are secret intelligence services helping American media corporates intimidate in NZ?
Also, it seems they are really shite at their job.
“works for the Govt”…works for the National Govt? Reminds me of the separate intelligence directorate that Rumsfeld and Cheney set up to bypass the traditional CIA and Army Intelligence, in order to run their own games.
The problem is that we don’t really know in what capacity the GCSB (or whomever it was) participated.
I suspect it was probably something very limited, effectively providing PC Plod with the answers to 20 dumb questions about how the physical hardware at Dotcom’s residence related to the “evidence” they were meant to be gathering, how long it would take Dotcom to wipe something incriminating, and whether a 1337 hacker / James Bond villain would have any capability to interfere in a police arrest operation.
Which on the one hand seems idiotic, but would hardly be a big drama — it would basically just involve some GCSB agents(?) going to a meeting. It is of perhaps equal idiocy to anticipating that Dotcom might flee in a fast car (to where? his secret volcano lair?).
We do develop successful businesses, but we allow them to be bought by overseas interests.
There are alternatives. The Swiss keep control of their successful businesses (Nestle, for example) by issuing two classes of shares, one for locals only and one for overseas buyers. The “locals only” shares carry greater voting power so the company remains under the control of the Swiss.
Another strategy is to declare classes of industries “strategic assets” which cannot be controlled by foreigners. We should never have let our news media fall into foreign hands. “Rupert Murdoch stay away from our editorial desks.”
I feel sad and embarrassed for the staff in the Labour offices in Parliament. They  have seen the shenanigans going on that lead to this stupid self inflicted wound. They, more often than not, know who has done what. They have heard Shearer being advised to ignore the crowd in The Standard and elsewhere. “It will all blow over, stick to the plan”. Â
Have a good weekend away from the crap. Â
They must cringe when they see some of their bosses pushing the 67% rule to entrench their power.
During the Cunliffe/Shearer road show I suggested to both men that whomever won the leadership should make the other deputy leader. Shearer didn’t do it.
If we are going to heal this party, Shearer needs to step down ASAP and recommend the caucus elect Cunliffe the new leader. Then Cunliffe should give Shearer a significant position on the front bench. Anything less will exacerbate the blood feud.
There would be less disruption and lost face (party-wise) if, for the good of the party, Grant Robertson stepped back and allowed Cunliffe to be deputy.
đ Please ignore the Peter Dunne candidate from Dunedin, his interests are not ours.
Who is ‘ours’ felix? I thought you’d claimed to not be associated with any party.
đ
I knew you would avoid that one.
F off turd đ …
Don’t have to, it’s a patently nonsensical question.
You’ll also note that I’m not associated with any badminton clubs. Why don’t you bring that up next for no reason whatsoever?
I dunno,
 Â
I would have thought that “all people who aren’t egotistical self-important linkwhoring trougher-wannabe vacuous mediocrities” Â would have been a good response to the trool.
đ
What about water polo clubs?
Have you noticed the complete lack of waterpolo in prime’s coverage of the olympics, yet the ‘almost never played in NZ’ handball gets ages? Scandal
Onnit Ama. The Parker pro-business toadying was one thing, but benny-bashing from a Labour leader (invented and repeated – see Gordon Campbell) is a viscious, inexcusable step far, far too far that will never be forgotten by his own progressive supporters and tory strategists alike.
And inexcusably politically dumb: revealing zero understanding of Sickness Benefit qualification, the effect of benny-bashing on the innocent, and even the make-up of his immediate audience – many of whom are “roof painters” themselves.
The current cancer could have been avoided by a co-leadership year; i.e. a de facto contest conducted openly that the media could not have ignored. Would have relished, in fact, and thus stymied the current white-anting metastasis, which as you note can now only be treated by amputation. But that depended on the courage and motivation to put principle ahead of the personal, and weakness prevailed.
The party will survive. It rests on the strong shoulders of millions who have gone before: strength that will always prevail over the spineless and dissipated. As the traitorous ACT cabal slowly seeps into the gutter of history, so too its current dregs.
Whats to know about the sickness benefit.
You are either physically stuffed – Not the case as this dude obviously could work as a roof painter.
Or you are mental – Probably shouldn’t be on the roof if that is the case.
Good on Shearer. Always championing the bludger over the guy slogging his guts out to do right by his family is a guaranteed losing strategy.
Being able to paint a roof is not the same thing as being able to work as a roof painter.
But your third sentence pretty well demonstrates that you won’t understand what that means.
I thought the whole comment pretty well demonstrated that KK is a hairy T. All blathering ignorant and prejudicial hot air, no substance :yawn:
“Being able to paint a roof is not the same thing as being able to work as a roof painter.”
Fucking numbnuts.
Unless you are describing some sort of Schrodingers paradox type thing.
KK obviously belongs to the knuckle-scraping neanderthalic Tory turd race unwilling to admit that those reliant upon benefits are simply there to allow for the enrichment of the 40% who make up the Tory turds core vote…
No, it means exactly what it says. It all comes down to the idiocy in your third sentence, KK.
But did you see where I said I didn’t think you were going to understand any of this? Do you know how I knew that?
“Hello I’m here about the job you have advertised for a roof painter”
“Can you paint roofs?”
“Yes in fact I was painting one the the other day untill some prick called David Shearer dobbed me into winz”
“Thats great however being able to paint a roof is not the same thing as being able to work as a roof painter. Have you read Houllebecqs latest book”
“Yes and I really noticed the continuation of the nihilistic subtext that weaves through all his work. Its a style that I believe really resembles Albert Camus”
“Your knowledge of modern French literature seems to be ok…you’ve got the job.
Just say you don’t understand and I’ll explain it to you. Simple as that.
Are you running to one of your ridiculous semantics arguments again Felix?
“Ah, but you didn’t say being able to paint a roof continuosly for an 8 hour period for 5 days in a row over a prolonged period of time”
“Another falls at the feet of the brilliant Felix.”
No, I’m simply and plainly asking you if you’d like me to explain what I meant in my first comment.
Let me know when you get bored with what you’re up to there and I’ll explain it for you.
You’re getting close though, what you described above isn’t a “ridiculous semantic argument”, it’s more or less the definition of a job painting roofs.
âHello Iâm here about the job you have advertised for a porn starâ
  Â
âCan you have sex?â
  Â
âYes, once every 10 years provided I’m careful not to do too much work at once, don’t move my back too much and stop immediately if I have a dizzy spellâ
  Â
âThat’s great, however ‘being able to have sex’ is not the same thing as ‘being able to work as a porn star, maintaining an erection and reasonably strenuous physical activity for 6 hours a day and several days a week, depending on the amount of work we’ve been offered’. Good bye.â
Don’t bother felix. If you look at KK’s comments on TS they are completely devoid of any meaningful content. KK is a tr*ll.
Shearer, Labour is best rid of him, ACT is a party He would fit right at home in,
My view, David Cunliffe as Leader and future Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson as His deputy, both are telegenic and compared to Shearer who comes across like some hayseed 1950’s back-country farmer both can articulate the message not only in it’s long form but also have the gift of the 5 second soundbite…
So, are you actually a Labour supporter?
Cause is telegenic all we want? I don’t think so. Bill Rowling was less telegenic even that than the egregiously awful Jason Gunn, but was also a decent PM.
Helen Clark always came across on TV as if she had better things to do, but she was an awesome PM!
Nope i am a Green party supporter, Labour lost me at the point of Sir(spit)Roger Douglas who i incidently might have helped get elected by stuffing the letter-boxes of my home-town with Labour election material,
I wont use the word ‘stupid’ in a descriptive of your appraisal of my previous comment only because i think you have the intelligence to perceive more from that comment that such support for a Cunliffe/Robertson leadership of the Labour is based upon more than the telegenic nature of both of them,
Cunliffe at least seems to have some ‘vision’ for a New Zealand future that can unpick the threads sewing us into the present paradigm of global stupidity and in my view would need someone as His deputy to manage the politics of moving labour from Right to Left,
We obviously have differing views on Helen Clark,(and yes i do know Her personally),awesome is not what i would describe Her tenure as Prime Minister as,astute political management was what i would describe as Her forte,
However, Hers was the Social Democracy of,for, and,by the middle class and she was quite happy to give the bene’s a kicking and did so by not including the children dependent upon benefits in the working for families scheme,
Therein lies the difference, She being a Social Democrat the socialism of selling out to neo-liberal economics, Me being a Socialist,
hope that enlightens you…
Actually, I have to agree with you about Helen Clark.. (my late brother worked on her campaign one year, so I knew her by extension, so to speak) and you are right…
But I absolutely can’t bring myself to trust the greens. Winnie Peters’ phrase about ‘baubles of power’ springs to mind.
It doesn’t help that I met so many pretty vacant middle class women last year who oozed that they’d voted for those lovely greens, because they trusted the greens to stick to conservation and not do anything radical on behalf of all those lazy bennys!
That would just indicate that you were speaking to someone who didn’t know WTF they were talking about and took that ignorance as being symptomatic of the Greens in general.
I think it’s pretty indicative of the reason for the green’s landslide last year… I spoke to not just someone, but many someones, all nice kiddies from Remmers and Freemans Bay, all the kind of girls/women/boys who don’t even realise that they’re born privileged. Shades of the Lady/Lord Bountiful about them, they shed crocodile tears about poor brown kids in South Auckland and maybe even give $5.00 to Canteen, but show them a threatened native bird or some conservation Dept land, and they quickly forget about the people…
Ah, people in need – they prefer the pretty photogenic brown kids with the cute 5 year old gap-toothed smiles, but when faced with a dirty smelly alkie on the streets, or a shabby 65 year old woman begging for change in K Road, they draw back their figurative skirts and mutter that ‘people like that’ need to be kept out of sight and preferably in secure care where they can’t bother nice inoffensive 20 somethings!
Its actually pretty hard to be a homeless person on the streets of any of our major cities,
There is even an ongoing attempt to set up a ‘wet’ house for the homeless alkies in Wellington only foiled by the ‘NIMBY’ attitude of neighbors wherever the attempt has been made,
In that i cannot really point a finger of blame at these neighborhoods that have and do object to having such a ‘wet’ house in their street as by definition homeless drunks are broken people from broken personal lives who just cannot abide by the mores of suburban life,
That is not to point the finger of blame at the alkies either despite being broken they are still human beings,
Most homeless people have other problems besides drug/alcohol/substance abuse usually being psychologically damaged and criminal recidivists,as well as on regular occasions being the victims of crime,
I know many of those who live on Wellington’s streets,and the only 65 year old i have recently seem begging there was doing so simply to gain the money necessary for His partner to stuff into a pokie machine at the local strip club,
Such people are extremely hard to ‘help’ even the night shelter is too confining for them and of course to confine them together anywhere without adequate security simply means that they have a propensity to damage each other,
Being wary of such people on the street is probably conducive to good personal safety and i would hardly denigrate the bright young things from Remmers for having done so,
Although in saying that, our slightly famous and recently deceased ‘blanket man’ received from such bright young things here in Wellington such a steady supply of burgers and stuff,(this on top of meals from the soupy’s), that i was occasioned more than once to muse upon such an agreeable lifestlye…
I was thinking specifically of Margaret Hoffman, the woman who used to sit in K Road, and beg cigarettes and change from passers-by.
The worst she ever did to anyone, was swear at them, and yet the ‘bright young tnings’ derided her, ridiculed her and sneered at her, as they trotted past to their clubs, bars and pizzerias.
She died in early 2011, and the people of inner city Auckland came over all Scots-Kiwi, and ‘don’t speak ill of the dead’, and all claimed she was a great ‘icon’ and they’d loved her. Such hypocrisy made me spit. (I’d seen them in action, as I gave her cigarettes and change, and got sneered at myself – as a scruffy old beneficiary with bad teeth, cos that’s how I look).
That idiot Cameron Brewer spoke of erecting a bronze statue of her to sit on the bench she always occupied – as the bronze woman would attract the shopper the real woman had repelled.
The masturbatory love-in the Herald gave for her after she died was sickening. The “old harridan, ugly old beneficiary, get a job, you loser old bag” was transformed into ‘beloved local identity’. Only people who’d actually known her as a person, such as the woman from the Baptist Tabernacle who performed her funeral, were realistic about her, and mofre importantly, had cared about her when she was alive! Even I tried to avoid her, although I thought ‘hell, that could be me in 10 years!’… (She was actually much younger than she looked I discovered, and more like me in 4 years!)
These people who said in the comments in the Herald that she was a beloved piece of local colour, were the same nice school, good university business course, professional parents people who I spoke to, and who voted greens to keep the scruffs and wasters in line! After all, Labour or Mana might let people like Margaret Hoffman spoil their view or get the help they needed!
(Margaret Hoffman turned out not to be homeless, just terribly lonely – so lonely she would rather be sneered at than ignored)
Indeed, besides thoughts of the idyll of life in a blanket, there is always that other little nag felt when with a need to go and fit to bust one finds to ones physical horror a recent migrant to the City from Christchurch, an incorrigible Alkie sent fleeing North by the closure of that CBD, has taken up residence in the only available toilet cubicle,
There but for the grace of God go i is the thought as a furtive pee is taken against the pigeon Park pohutukawa with one eye on the look out for roving plods lest ones ablutions land one in the wagon on the way to the cells,
Indeed again as Wellington’s ‘blanket man’ had a family in Tokoroa who really wanted him to go home as well as many attempts by those who work in the trenches with such people to house Him in Council flats and HousingNZ homes as well,
It’s hard to be homeless in Wellington, but those that are ground down by whatever to the level of our own ‘blanket man’ do have some modicum of support and some would say such support is in fact far greater than that which is gained by the hidden homeless, where whole families live in garages,sheds,vans, and, cars,not to mention the growing population housed but paying 50, 60, 70% of their total income just to meet rents,
Therein lies our country’s real problem of homelessness…
What a load of nonsense, Vicky.
Try reading Green party policy instead of random neighbours.
Attending a few meetings would help to.
Not neighbours, colleagues, and what they do, matters much more than what they say they’ll do…
Yeah, read the policies of the Green Party.
“It doesnât help that I met so many pretty vacant middle class women last year who oozed that theyâd voted for those lovely greens, because they trusted the greens to stick to conservation and not do anything radical on behalf of all those lazy bennys!”
Braindead urban hippies have bolstered the Greens popularity, this is true to an extent, but you are wrong to assume that it reflects Green’s policy, instead it reflects the normalisation of the green movement. It is cool to be green now. Look at the hollywood stars and they are all on some green/3rd world poverty crusade but never raise awareness regarding USA poverty, structural issues, or the way capitalism drives environmental degradation. I’d say that many Labour voters are idiots because they have always voted Labour and believe they can sort out our mess.
The Greens also take a more logical view of our problems. The unsustainable road that Labour and National have taken us down ruin our environment and it is poor people that bear the brunt of this disaster. The environment is tied in with unemployment, economy, well-being, inequality etc.
You are not being entirely fair about Margaret. She was on the street every day and had friends among those who are there on a regular basis. It’s true that she fell out with some people, but then she was often up for a fight herself. On the day she died, a young woman I know had booked both herself and Margaret in for a manicure at Posh Nails. Yes, there were scoffers, but locals often sided with Margaret against them. People did not treat her sentimentally, but many did treat her as a friend or a friendly presence, and did her shopping for her when she had her broken arm, etc. And a lot of people knew when her birthday was and some gave her presents.
That was meant as a reply to Vicky
The sentiment I was referring to, was the gooey schmaltz in the media after she died.
I never actually knew her when she was alive, I met her occasionally on my way to work at a couple of language schools at the top of Queen Street.
Â
Really, the baubles of power, the Greens sat outside of the previous Labour Government for 9 years enabling it for all that 9 years,
If you know the pleasant smiling Meteria Turei at all you will see in Her someone uninterested in the price of Her principles, under the smile the woman is made of the same steel as Helen Clark but the principles are not about to be traded for a ride in a Beamer,
Hopefully after His little bout of Me Too in echoing Shearers ‘we are not buying back the assets’ comment, Co-leader Russel Norman has been given the polite message sent which read something like, ”us lot out here don’t do political activism on behalf of anyone to have them then turn around and spit in our f**king faces”,
Sure the Greens appear to have gone straight, but, their socialism is all over their web-site so if anyone after an election wakes up to suddenly find the Greens have forcefully negotiated the Labour/Green Government into a march by the left, i can only say don’t be suprised and get an education,
It’s a valid point tho, distrust of politicians to hold to the core of their values seems to have become a modern disease…
Unlike Labour, Green party members control the parliamentary wing. The party members who made the policies.
The ones Vicky should read.
Another Key PR disaster
Without his scriptwriters giving him the right things to say, Key is an ill-informed and therefore somewhat dangerous leader…
Will the pm personally pay for his protection to travel maine with him to the baseball? Can he “show me the money” for this?
An excellent blog from Steve Cowan at ‘Against the Current’ who likes to pretend he only has three readers.
On class hatred:
http://nzagainstthecurrent.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/class-hate.html
…..
….
When I left school in the early 80s, there was little stigma about going on the dole. Being unemployed was seen as a consequence of the high unemployment rate not an individual failing. In the middle class circles I moved in there was some shame attached to not having a job (every conversation with a new person started with ‘what do you do?’ and then faltered if you said “I’m unemployed”), but there was not yet the outright condemnation of being a beneficiary. The Dept of Labour were operating with carrots not sticks.
Â
It changed shortly after that. Suddenly being unemployed was something to be derided, the term dole bludger became normal usage for a class of people who were denied work but trying to find work ie the term was used irrespective of individual circumstances. The DoL introduced increasingly draconian policies eg having one’s benefit cut if you refused a job.
Â
I wasn’t paying much attention to national party politics then, but in hindsight I have to wonder if that change in attitude wasn’t intentionally driven by either ACT/Labour or the Nats, rather than being a shift in the social norm over time. For me that is where the nasty streak gained ascendancy in NZ.
Yeah thats the result of turning humans against other humans with dirty tactics, to ensure that people are not looking at the govt asking questions like..
“why are all the jobs being shipped offshore”?
Does anyone know if there was a deliberate hate the dole bludger campaign in the mid 80s? Obviously Social Welfare policy changed, but I’m thinking more about things like how the media was used.
Not sure about the mid 80s, but there was an 0800 line in the early 90s, where you could dob in a dole bludger. Anonymous, no proof required, just pass on the goss and we’ll have a look, type thing. They had ads on TV with it for many months, if I remember rightly. Can’t find a link, sorry. I’m sure it was just after Ruth Richardson first budget. the mother of half the problems we have today.
In the eighties it was not at all uncommon for middle-class young adults to go on a dole-holiday, often while travelling around the countryside or living an alternative lifestyle for a while*. Often also, a passionate romance allowed no time for wage slavery for a period.
I have the teeshirt for this, however I got bored with unemployment after just a few months, and I think this was par for the course because unemployment even in ideal circumstances can be depressing for those not born to idle upperclass indolence.
Even these temporary unemployment breaks, which were effectively taxpayer-funded holidays attracted little disapproval in those days. Genuine unemployment didn’t seem to either, despite the fact ( ironically) that jobs were so much easier to come by, and the dole was extremely generous compared with the rates paid today.
The only recent comparable institution has been tertiary students going on the dole for the summer, something which was still prevalent in the late nineties and early this century, again amongst middle-class students.
*I often think that memories of these halcyon summer vacations affect middle-aged middle-class perceptions of unemployment today. Terms like “living the dream” and “lifestyle” could be further from the grim reality of being on a benefit today, and yet these illusions continue to prevail.
“The only recent comparable institution has been tertiary students going on the dole for the summer, something which was still prevalent in the late nineties and early this century, again amongst middle-class students.”
This still happens now, but it is really the result of neoliberalism, instead of students wanting to bum around in the summer. Much of the summer holiday work for students is within the service industry and focuses on xmas shopping. The students can get work till xmas, but rarely into Jan/Feb. Also the stand-down period after ending work is longer than the stand-down period if a student takes the summer dole straight away, therefore if a student chooses to work they will have a longer stand-down. Also, the shitty wages that are paid to temp workers and the ‘flexibility’ (hours get cut at short notice, etc) of holiday work means its not worth the effort for most students. Better to take the dole straight away and hit the beach…its a shame cause most students want to earn a stable income during their time off, but its not worth it.
When my sister  and I left school in 1970 and 1972, my father took us straight down to ‘sign on’, just in case (he’d grown up in the 1930s) As it happened, we both got jobs immediately, and never actually collected benefits – signing on was precautionary, and considered quite reasonable! Of course we were very lucky to have left school when we did – 10 or 15 years later, things might have been different, and definitely would have been in the 1990s, when my older son finished school…
Bad form, Johnny. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7450343/Key-defends-hard-call-to-miss-service
It’s understandable that you wouldn’t want to turn up to a funeral with blood on your hands, but it is your fucking job you lazy self-obsessed cowardly piece of shit.
Oh and what a dick move hiding in shame behind your child, who is now part of the story. Real leader this guy.
That’s about as low as it gets from you felix. Your comments are despicable, even by your standards.
Thats the right call from Shearer on this.
And I give a shit what you or Shearer think why?
đ
đ Shearer backs Key while Dunne is silent; PG unsurprisingly approves of the whole lot
You are what’s bad about this country Felix
Go and crawl back under your rock
Typical two-bit tory, can’t differentiate between something awful and someone talking about something awful.
Markm 12.2
Trouble is your lot have taken all the rocks. It upsets people and leaves them nothing to shelter under or to throw, whichever is the most appropriate.
It’s ok p, we’ve got the sticks and the opposable thumbs.
( đ ) Slither on back to your PG blogspot wont you, all 3 of you can then discuss how great you aint…
I don’t know felix, are we in any position to judge the relative values?
Of what? Work vs holidays?
No, work vs family.
I don’t think I have to judge the value John Key places on his family, and I don’t think I’ve done that. I think it’s a disgrace that he’s brought his child into this arena as a smokescreen for his own actions but beyond that I haven’t commented on it because it’s none of my business.
What is my business as a citizen of this country is whether he’s turning up to do his job or not.
ps come on weka, flying to the other side of the world to watch your kid play sport instead of going to work is by definition a holiday.
So do you think that the PM is never allowed to prioritise their family? That they should always cancel family things when the job requires it? Wouldn’t that mean they never get to spend time with their family?
Â
I’m not arguing the case for Key here (who doesn’t deserve and consideration), just the principle.
Like I said, it’s none of my business what he does with his family.
But let’s not pretend this is about time constraints. They guy can find time for all sorts of shenanigans when it suits him. Just so happens that this one don’t suit him so good.
weka – of course a PM is allowed to prioritise their family.
AFTER THEY HAVE LEFT THE FRAKING OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
That’s the way it is. There are no days off even when you are on holiday. You do not get to turn your cell phone off or to ignore emails.
If you can’t do the job get out.
And when the people you sent to serve get KIA’d you better step up in a big way.
btw The main reason Key is going to the US is to meet hedge funds and major banks re Asset Sales.
So Key met with the families of the dead soldiers personally, but you’re not happy because you’d rather he did a public event in front of the cameras and news media?
Wow.
Appearance is obviously more important than substance.
It’s not about Key.
Baseball game and meeting with American bankers and hedge funds about asset sales more important than our soldiers funerals, eh boys?
felix
What’s the bet he isn’t even travelling to the US for is sons baseball game anyway… There are lots of things to discuss with the yanks at the mo. Despite what some think, a Prime Minister has an obligation to the country… Especially when it’s his decision to continue to deploy troops in an unjust war that leads to New Zealanders dying.
I bet he is going for a secret meeting with John Banks.
Probably shoulda picked someone who isn’t best known for having secret meetings and lying about them really.
Just, you know, to make your point.
I don’t think felix is one to judge values, even if he was capable.
The families can make their own judgements, as can Key.
felix is just using it as an excuse to run a cowardly piece of shite. Which is a very shitty thing to do in the circumstance, extremely disrespectful of the soldiers and families.
Funny, I think the shitty thing to do is play General and talk tough about the SAS and get photos taken with Apiata and take ‘hard calls’ to send troops into war and then disappear when the inevitable result of your actions and decisions comes home to roost.
And to use your kid as an exit strategy? That’s what you do when you want to leave a boring party, not when you want to avoid getting in the paper with dead bodies.
But of course according to tory t đ logic none of that is disrespectful of the dead people and their families. What’s disrespectful is mentioning it. Although I expect that doesn’t apply to you mentioning my mentioning for some twisted tory t đ reason which will never be explained or expanded on.
Now quickly Pete, fuck off to Kiwiblog and tell everyone what horrible things I’ve talked about and how horrible it all is and then write a big blog post full of quotes that no-one will ever read.
And felix can create song about it that no one will ever listen to
Why would I do that? I think you’ve rather missed the thrust of the discussion there, old fuck.
I’ve never been comfortable with politicians turning up to funerals and memorial services etc. seems deeply hypocritical to me. BUT, it is the accepted and expected norm.
If JK could abandon trade talks or whatever it was he jettisoned to return for the funerals of two helicopter pilots last year (or whenever it was – somebody attempted to link to it yesterday), then it just doesn’t quite gell that he’s putting his sons baseball game ahead of a funeral attendance.
I’ve no dooubt he will attend the baseball game. But I can’t get away from the thought that he’s been summoned by the whitehouse. But for what? Whatever it might be it’s obviously of such a nature that the public ought not to know of it. (So it ain’t trade related) And so my punt is that JK has had no option but take a hit on the whole thing.
Or then again, maybe he really is as disgusting and pathetically void as his ‘hard decision’ would have us believe.
That’s a long bow from you Bill, and a pretty crooked one.
F off scum ^ đ ^ …
I wonder if it relates at all to the rumour that Key wants out. One way to abandon the job is to simply not show up.
Perhaps he has a job interview.
As an aside, solidarity is good. Even among maggots.
It was probably all planned at the same time as the Mars landing. Obama himself may have organised the baseball tournament to divert attention from his birth certificate. A CIA plant would have orchestrated the team selection here in NZ.
This would all have had to have been started months ago, so I’m not sure who they got the dates to line up with what happened in Afghanistan, but I’m sure you’ll come up with a credible explanation for that too.
I wonder if an infinite number of maggots would eventually come up with the works of Pete George.
It only takes one according to the available data.
Nice. Meticulous evidence based thinking.
lol
KTH #12.4.2.1.1
It would be a fucks site easier and quicker, than waiting for Chimpanzee’s to type the complete works of Shakespeare.
Keep hoping KTH – If you believe in it hard enough it will happen.
No, it won’t. Are you religious?
i was thinking aloud about the same thing down the bottom of yesterdays ‘Open Mike’,
* Event 1, the tragic death of 2 and wounding of 5 more Kiwi soldiers in Afghanistan, ( the 2 were flown back home this morning),
*Event 2, Slippery the New Zealand Prime Minister all but accuses Hungarian troops serving next to the Kiwi’s in Afghanistan of being cowards with what was in reality a sick joke worthy of a psychopath,
*Event 3, After having cancelled the upgrade to the National War Memorial in 2009, the Prime Minister is now falling all over Himself to have the expansion go ahead with what will be special empowering Legislation,
One thing about Slippery the Prime Minister that is a given, the urge to compulsively lie to the population of New Zealand is strong and ongoing,
i am left wondering if the Slippery one ‘sees’ a need for a National War Memorial that has very little use except for the yearly commemoration of world wars 1 and 2 to be expanded for future higher use,
The baseball trip to the US may just be to brief the Prime Minister about the expected future ‘sacrifices’ that ‘they’ expect from New Zealand…
Sort of what I’ve been quietly thinking. The US Pacific build-up…it’s Chinese ‘concerns’. What role would NZ be expected to play?
The usual mindless sacrifice, a 10% mortality rate and a 45% injury rate for our troops in someone else’s conflict is what i would ‘guess’ as being a sufficient ‘sacrifice’
I can’t see a future conflagration as being Pacific based and believe the next ‘big’ war will be as usual centered on the European Continent,
Throughout history when Kings,Queens,Generals, and, latterly Politicians have destroyed their particular isms through financial mis-management War has been the final tool used to keep control and power over their citizens,
The debt bonds effectively turned into debt bombs will in my opinion again see the soils of Europe run red with the blood of a generation probably within the next 10-15 years…
Bill 12.4
The USA is going to ask for an extension of our troops time in Afghanistan until the US manages to introduce the high standards of US democracy there. Their men need relief as they are are going out of their minds being rotated continually to act in the never-ending stooooory.
+1 Bill. And how long is he away for? What else can he fit in in that time frame?
As for family, the son is 17, not 7 surely he’s old enough for an adult discussion about this sort of thing?
Also, how many doctors, nurses, police etc have leave cancelled in emergency situations that mean they have to give up family events. That’s what come with the job. The PM’s job is (should be) the same.
You are obviously what results when cousins fuck cousins Felix.
DJ Your saying that felix is royalty.Alah bush etc
I thought he might have been speaking from experience.
A disturbing insight into DJ’s family life.
I’m sure Felix will be delighted you think he is Royalty!
It has become common to criticise the use of Nazi analogies in political debate as examples of Godwin’s Law. Such analogies, commentators imply, are stale, call into question the validity of the underlying argument and the judgement of those making the comparison. Recently, there was widespread criticism/ridicule in the media of Nazi analogies made during NZ parlimentary debates over state asset sales.
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But where is the equivalent rhetoric condemning the use of Communist/Stalinist analogies in political debate?
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I wonder why media commentators see these as more acceptable? (e.g., “Helengrad”)
I think it’s because they don’t like people saying mean things about the N@zis actually.
The Bard summed up Nact nicely…”Lawless are they that make their wills their law”.
Because if you set a ridiculously high bar for what might be allowed to pass as fascism in ‘polite’ conversation – by equating it to it’s most extreme expression – of nazism, then it makes calling a spade a spade impossible in certain given situations.
There is no possible fascist dynamic in todays societies. Any such charge would require the trappings of nazism to be evident to have any merit. So fascist undercurrents become ‘invisible’ in any acceptable debate or analysis.
Communism, or communist dynamics on the other hand, really are absent from todays societies. So you’re permitted to draw communist comparisons whenever you like because, lets face it, if there was any communist undercurrent it would be flowing counter to any current the corporate world desired.
So set the bar very low for what might be allowed to pass for communism in any ‘polite’ conversation.
Both communism and fascism are heinous. But only one, if pursued, would undermine the power of current global elites.
Right, so let me get this straight:
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1) The outer trappings of fascism have to be present for the Nazi analogy to stick. And this is unlikely to occur in contemporary NZ politics (although that “blackshirt” Destiny Church march was probably getting close).
2) “Communism” is so absent from contemporary NZ politics, that it has no real meaning and therefore can be used to stand for anything you don’t agree with.
Erm, nah. What I was saying that in the interests of stifling criticism that would draw parallels with fascism, the trick is to banish talk of fascism altogether by setting a benchmark for fascism that equates with nazism…or nazism as popularily envisaged. So if no-one is piling minorities into concentration camps, invading neighbouring countries and exhibiting all those more extreme traits associated with nazism, then charges of fascism can’t hold…will be dismissed as ludicrous.
This allows for much in way of fascist doctrine to be developed and deployed (ie, corporatism) free from pesky historical comparisons. (It ain’t fascism if it ain’t nazism)
On the other hand, communism was never the doctrine of the current masters and sits in direct contradiction to their basis of power. And so ‘anything’ can be labelled communist because the knee jerk reaction that follows suits the interests of incumbent powers just fine.
Okay, thanks for the clarification. I hear what you’re saying.
It is because the manstream has a tendency to slide toward the authoritarian end of the spectrum in a well oiled but invisible manner. “Nice” National or Labour types like to give the illusion that their drift toward corporatism is “nothing” like drifting toward f@scism. To point it out using the correct terminology results in calls of Godwin….which is a crap bollocked brained thing. Lets call a spade a spade.
Yeah, this mass media invoking of Godwin’s Law seems like a classic anxiety formation. Deriding others becomes a way of reassuring oneself, of quelling the anxiety produced by such an analogy.
Â
It’s a pity NZers don’t know their history better, in particular about the cryto-f@scist New Zealand Legion that had some popularity in the 1930s. Sid Holland was a member, so was Keith Holyoake.
Is the failure of the NZ mission in Afghanistan a one off, or part of a pattern?
http://www.readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/the-real-reasons-for-mission-failure-in.html
Teachers are being accused of petulance and having political agendas and yet the Governmentâs push for National Standards, league tables and charter schools are not considered ideological or political? Good grief!
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/teachers-petulance-and-political-agendas.html
“But he is still right to support his boy.”
More blind stupidity from Meat George…Key is wrong to go to see his boy and his framing of this as a ‘family choice’ is only acceptable to simpletons. Key’s economic and social policies have forced thousands of our children into poverty and stunted their opportunity of a bright future, Key is not family focused, Key is selfish and greedy…his actions could only be considered legitimate if he focused that kind of care and attention to all kiwi children. He abuses kiwi children.
+1
Right, so if we had a PM who was doing good things about addressing poverty etc in NZ it would be acceptable for them to sometimes choose family over work?
Why are you making out that the pm is in a special category with regard to his work/family balance?
Everyone with a job and a family is under exactly the same constraint.
Maybe, but most people make their own choices about attending funerals or spending time with their family.
I’m not making the PM a special case, you and others are. Apparently the PM has to be on call all the time. Maybe that’s fair, I’d just like to know if that’s applied to all PM’s or just Key.
As I pointed out below, he appears at such funerals as our representative. It’s nothing to do with him as a person.
That’s why it’s a falsehood to pretend that he was making a choice between two personal events.
There is the small matter that Key doesn’t actually see himself as our representative, just his own and that of an elite 5%.
“Right, so if we had a PM who was doing good things about addressing poverty etc in NZ it would be acceptable for them to sometimes choose family over work?”
I said…”his actions could only be considered legitimate if he focused that kind of care and attention to all kiwi children.”
I didn’t say it would be acceptable, I said it could only be considered legitimate if…
The legitimacy of his choice will always come down to personal ideals, but Key has proven time and again that he does not care about kiwi children, so his choice is not legitimate.
Personally, I would not consider Key’s choice as legitimate even if his concern over the welfare of children matched Mother Teresa’s. He can miss a game of whatever his son is playing.
My point is that this idea of Key being a family man does not correlate with his actions as PM…its bollocks. Key has once again framed his despicable actions in a positive light, he’s been doing it for years.
Fair enough.
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Personally, I think it’s acceptable in principle for any politician to have family time. Except Key of course đ
Sorry, was someone denying him “family time”? Care to point out where?
All Key needs to do is order another pizza delivery home and he has family time.
What bombastic piffle.
Have a cup of tea and grow some perspective.
Sorry HS…I shouldn’t compare the way Key treats his own children, with the way he treats other people’s children.
You’ve really changed my thinking with your well reasoned argument.
…I am now in favour of Key imposing charter schools on those stupid poor children, while Key’s kids get private schooling. What was I thinking!
Who is being forced to attend a charter school ?
Have you got information to suggest the proposed charter school is going to be detrimental to children ?
“What was I thinking ”
In response to your question I’m uncertain what you were thinking, looks like a Friday afternoon bleat.
“Who is being forced to attend a charter school ?”
Those that live close to the schools, and those that can’t afford to get their kids to another school will be forced to use charter schools.
“Have you got information to suggest the proposed charter school is going to be detrimental to children ?”
http://her.hepg.org/content/k34475n478v43022/
http://epi.3cdn.net/b4b5f5e1cb94bc5659_zpm6bnbpb.pdf
I’m sure HS has taken that all to heart now.
đ
You quoted a twitter post from Turei. Guess you must be “fair and balanced” after all!
đ
US Justice Dept announced today….
Fuckity Fuck Fuck Fuck!
All good, if the political process is too weak at the knees to seize what are in effect the proceeds of criminal enterprise by organized criminal gangs in the form of major banking orgaizations they will simply be left to concoct even bigger scams which will in turn lead to even bigger world-wide financial,economic, and, social disasters,
Welcome to the slow motion train-wreck of the death of capitalism where the Beast in effect eats itself…
Welcome to the slow motion train-wreck of the death of FINANCIAL capitalism where the Beast in effect eats itself⌅minor correction, capitalism does just fine without financial capitalism, which is NOT to say that is a desirable scenario.
More importantly the above link shows that the rule of law in the financial capitals of the world is now a two tier system: absolute repression for scum like you and me, complete do as you will for the financial elite. Legal apartheid! We the 99% are black.
Financial capitalism seems to come about due to the collapse of physical capitalism which collapses due to over production and the declining rate of profit.
Minor correction if i may be so excused, TRADE can do just fine without either capitalism or its vicious half brother( the mongoloid), financial capitalism,
As butter can and was swapped for Lada’s presto the coin stays in each country that is trading therefor there is no real need for International Banking…
Not really surprised. The US is the biggest Rogue State and it seems you only get that way by having corrupt leaders.
Don’t be confused why Goldman Sachs will face no criminal charges. Explanation here.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/confused-why-goldman-will-face-no-criminal-charges-heres-why
Something else for Pete to pretend to be horrified about:
When John Key attends a soldier’s funeral as PM it’s not because they were mates and he misses them. He’s there as our representative. Not the govt’s rep. Not the National party’s rep. Ours.
Now observe the way he framed this situation as a personal decision, as if the decision on whether to attend a funeral or a baseball game all came down to how it would affect him and his family.
It’s not about him. It’s his fucking job and he’s missing again.
Explaining is losing. This doesn’t change the fact you chose to be an arsehole. It’s still there for everyone to see.
And I’d put a bit more credibility on Shearer’s and Turei’s opinions on this than on your’s.
I wasn’t explaining anything to you Pete, you’ve already shown you’re incapable of understanding much beyond your own nose.
And I’ve already told you I couldn’t care less what Shearer thinks. Why would I give a fuck what Turei, or you, or any other politician has to say about this?
But thanks for the mock-horror, I knew you wouldn’t disappoint. Will you be posting this to Kiwiblog as well?
Please, DNFTT
mkay sorry.
*yours
đ
Is it his job to go to every funeral of every serviceman killed on duty? No-one complained when he didn’t go to Kirifi Mila’s or Douglas Hughes’.
Yep. We, as citizens of a democratic society, sent soldiers to their death. We did it through representatives but we ultimately hold the responsibility for that.
And similarly, as our representative, the PM should be attending such funerals on our behalf.
If you feel so strongly why don’t you attend ?
Oh brilliant, maybe we should all go.
Or, and this is just an idea, we could elect someone to represent us as a collective to do things in our name that it would be obviously absurd for us all to do as individuals.
Yes, if one feels very strongly, I would encourage them to attend.
So you only feel strongly about Key not attending ?
No. I’ve laid out my reasons for objecting to Key’s decision not to attend quite clearly and if you have any questions about what I’ve actually said I’ll be happy to chat.
Fair enough, personally I think there’s plenty of reasons to bag Key, but in this instance I find myself OK with his decision.
Course you do.
Why do you say that ?
Because otherwise you’d be agreeing with me. Silly goose.
Your logic is impeccable.
It has to be. Otherwise I’d end up agreeing with you đ
Delegation of govt duties happen all the time. The govt as a whole represent us not just the PM. The GG is going representing the head of state. This appears nothing special as he’s not attended servicemen’s funerals before. What’s different apart from Key publicly saying he is doing something else?
Correct, he can fuck off to the U.S. for baseball anytime he likes, and I can criticise that decision for a number of reasons, which I have.
Problem?
Also note that one of my criticisms specifically addresses him publicly saying he’s doing something else, what I believe to be his motivation, and why I think he’s wrong to do so.
I think your criticism is reasonable but selective.
Selective in that you think think I’m only discussing things that are happening right now?
Selective in that the PMs absence from the two most recent Afghanistan death related funerals was never commented on, yet you apprantly strongly believe the PM should go to them all. If Key hadn’t said anything, would you really have cared?
Yeah we should have slammed him down for that too mate, thanks for correcting us and showing us that this is not John Key in a one time event, the many actually is repeatedly callous.
He was probably just following Helen clark’s example. She thought it more important to open a rugby ball in paris than go to the funeral of the sailor solomon killed on active duty due to the negligence of the navy and minstry of defence, or to sgt billy white’s funeral.
Good call insider, please feel free to apply the sentiments of my comments on this situation to all directly comparable situations.
As for “would I have cared”, a good deal of the problem I have with this is specifically due to what he said and how.
đ
Up till now you’ve been saying it was all about the principle that PMs should be there, now it’s all about the optics as pascal nicely describes it. Like I said, you’re just being selective, much like Key.
Nah, nothing to do with “optics”. Not sure where you got that from.
Not sure why you think optics and principle are exculsive things. optics are important in and of themselves. As a matter of principle there are optics that a PM needs to get right. Things need to be both done, and seen to be done.
“Whatâs different apart from Key publicly saying he is doing something else?”
I can only tell what has rubbed me the wrong way about how he has done this.
He has framed it as a comparison of sacrifice. He used that word.
Now I fully acknowledge that being in a politicians family is a tough ask, even more tough for the PMs family. No argument. But that toughness does come with the territory, and Key asked for the job, just like soldiers sign up.
I’m not saying that his family must always come second. But I do think it has to be considered on a case by case basis.
This game will obviously be very important for his son. No argument. And no argument that being there would be important for Key, as it would for any loving parent.
But he drew the specific ballancing act here, one that says being at this game is more important than being at the funerals for those other sons. He explicitly drew that comparison, saying he had a tough decision and “had to disappoint someone” but he thinks he made the right choice (about who to disappoint). That ground my gears.
The thing is, and it comes back to the PMship being atough job, his son will play other games. there will be other big events in his life, many parents cannot make it to big events in their children’s lives due to other duties.
If his son was having surgery, or in an accident, or something else happened where it might reasonably said that he needs his family there, then I would be saying that his family should certainly, and obviously be there.
That’s how I feel anyway, and it’s a feeling that has come from the way the PM has expressed himself about this. the comparisons that he has made. He didn’t say he took advice, and said he fronted to tell the family why he wasn’t going to be there. I’d feel a lot different if I had the impression he had asked the family.
That’s my 2c about what’s different. optics.
That I can agree with. Key is obviously a dick who doesn’t really give a shit and at the moment he often doesn’t even try and hide the fact. His comments about the soldiers not having much in the way of family are unbelievable.
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Asked the family… maybe they told him to fuck off. I know I would have in that situation.
It almost makes you want to open up his skull to see if there is a little alien running the controls inside.. He has’nt got a clue.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/features/7363893/Secret-Diary-of-Maggie-Barry
Something for a giggle.
Explaining might be losing if you are a pinhead but when you are a self proclaimed intellectual or have an iota of intelligence and can actually read the printed word then explanations are necessary.
If you want to swim in a soup of sound bites and haircuts then good for you but I prefer Felix’s explanations to your puerile exclamations anyday.
The latest Roy Morgan is out. The nats are down 3.5% to 44%. Labour is up 2 to 32% but the greens are up 3 to 14%.
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A green surge is the last thing that Shearer needs. This is good for the opposition’s chances of forming the next Governnment but not so good for Shearer’s chances of survival.
Of minor interest – Conservative support halved from 3 to 1.5 which could be related to Craig’s anti marriage equality campaign.
Up to 5 August (Sunday) which excludes this week of course.
Nothing under the margin of error means anything.
although technically when you’re talking about small percentages, the margin for error also reduces.
   Â
The big issue though is that small percentages mean less people need to change their mind to swing the vote, so they bounce about quite a lot.Â
   Â
You really only get consistency from which you can hypothesise fluctuation causes either with large proportions (e.g. 40 or 50%), or with flatlined parties like United Future or ACT.Â
Labour and Greens are usually complimentary – they share nat drops and DNR changes.Â
  Â
I’m just worried that the short term trend (i.e a few months) might be indicating a plateau in Labour’s growth from the election. We’ll see – polls go up, polls go down…Â
  Â
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My opinion, the sooner the Beneficiary Bashing Shearer is given the Boot and replaced by Cunliffe as both Party Leader and next Minister of Finance the better,
Beneficiaries, all of them, with their low incomes and expectations are what keeps the interest rates of the comfortable middle class at levels which ensure their continued comfort,
That middle class and the politicians put in place on the behalf of that middle class should be thanking beneficiaries on a weekly basis for being willing to except a lowered standard of living so as to ensure that middle classes continuing comfort…
yes yes, but you can’t just have any class of bene. You have to have the ones that know their place, and daring to have a life while being on SB just doesn’t cut it I’m afraid. You’re supposed to not do anything while on SB, and then suck it up when people criticise you for being a malingerer. And be grateful.
Tory Workfare a la UK is going to be next term, I bet you.
Key and Hungary.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10825896
These mutts are trashing our good name.
^^ Political, please move to Open Mike.
Done, thanks.
News Flash!
New Political Party forming as Labour Splinters!
The Beehive is buzzing with rumors that the two anonymous Cunliffe character assassins are joining John Banks to form a new party based on Machiavellian principles.
đ
Will they call it the Mad Haters’ Cup of Tea Party?
Wimp Walloping
The Wimp: DUNCAN WEBB; The Walloper: NEIL MILLER
“The Panel”, National Radio, Friday 10 August 2012
I’m listening to another horror show unfold. Once again, the ostensible “liberal” (Webb) is bending over backwards to find common ground with, and to please, a right winger (Miller). So whatever Miller says, no matter how bizarre and doctrinaire, Webb has obviously decided to agree with it.
Today, Miller announced that the New Zealand security services are “open” and that he feels “relaxed” about their conduct, or misconduct. Duncan Webb did not even so much as demur at this nonsense. And neither did the stand-in host Finlay McDonald. Instead, both of these “liberals” laughed insipidly at Miller’s wry and cynical comments.
Question: Why is Gordon Campbell never on this programme any more? He had the courage to confront Graham Bell, getting the tough old copper to admit he knew nothing about climate science, and on another occasion got Richard Griffin to backtrack and apologize for making some ignorant comments about Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. On another occasion, Bomber Bradbury angered Michelle Boag, when he demanded that she back up one of her wild statements with at least one piece of evidence. I would not be surprised if she had something to do with the eventual banning of Bradbury from the programme.
But Campbell and Bradbury are not on the programme any more. Instead, we get the likes of Duncan Webb playing the patsy. Neil Miller is a shallow and complacent commentator, but he gets an easy ride on this programme. As do other right wingers like Michael Bassett, Karl Du Fresne, Barry Corbett, Stephen Franks, John Bishop, and Deborah Hill Cone.
The pity of it is that “The Panel” is so much less interesting and stimulating than it could be. Is it too much to hope that Jim Mora gets a thoughtful and serious producer one day?
Probably. As it is, it’s a cringefest most of the time. Maybe someone should ask RNZ how they pick the panelists.
Â
Maybe someone should ask RNZ how they pick the panelists.
It’s quite clear how they pick them: anyone who has anything interesting to say will probably not be asked on, and neither will anyone who “rocks the boat”, i.e., stands up to the likes of Boag, Bassett and Griffin.
I suggested it was simply an inadequate producer, but I think the real reason is the management at RNZ, headed by one, errrrr, Richard Griffin.
Morrissey 23 1 1
I think that it is Jim Mora’s preference, that he and his producer perhaps have approached the people who have the Right sort of opinions and can express them fluently. So I think that Stephen Franks et al get on, and Joanne Black who is now Press Secretary for some rightie, which is no surprise, and so on.
I think that it is Jim Moraâs preference, that he and his producer perhaps have approached the people…
I am pretty certain that it is the producers/managers, rather than Jim Mora himself, who make the decisions. Surely no decent person, and Jim does seem to be a nice guy, would actually choose to spend an hour in the company of people as overbearingly pompous and unpleasant as Messrs Franks, Bassett and Bishop.
Joanne Black who is now Press Secretary for some rightie
It’s Bill English, actually.
Morrissey
I know nuthing… but I have a feeling when I listen to Jim Mora that there is something false there and that puts me off, as well as the circumlocutions you refer to.
I have a feeling when I listen to Jim Mora that there is something false there and that puts me off, as well as the circumlocutions…
I know exactly what you mean. You’ve caught the essence of the problem very well. I’ve been analysing his style and modus operandi for a long time now, and I might soon post up some of the things that bother me, and obviously other people too.
Question: Why is Gordon Campbell never on this programme any more?
Jeepers Morrissey who is the clairvoyant? You or me? I was wondering exactly the same thing earlier today. I think you’re right. Campbell showed the rest of them up for the toadies they really are. That’s embarrassing all round. I’ve pretty much stopped listening to The Panel. It’s not worth it. I bet there listener numbers are falling…
There’s always the possibility Gordon Campbell chose not to go on the programme again. And if that is the case it’s easy to understand why!
Jeepers Morrissey who is the clairvoyant? You or me?
You and me both, I think.
I bet their listener numbers are fallingâŚ
I would not be surprised. It’s getting to be arch and self-referential, as well as vacuous. This dreadful “Complaints Choir” is almost always terrible, and about as amusing as toothache.
Thereâs always the possibility Gordon Campbell chose not to go on the programme again.
Yes, he seemed to be impatient with the inane chatter and the long, bloviating circumlocutions that Jim feels compelled to indulge in. He also declined to laugh dutifully at unfunny remarks by Jim or his fellow guests.
Tame and anxious-to-please “liberals” like Peter Elliott or Tim Watkin or Chris Trotter are much more reliable, always willing to flatter the host with laughter.
You and me both, I think.
You and me both total cynics too methinks, and not without reason. Don’t mention the Complaints Choir ever again please. Life’s hard enough without being reminded of that travesty of the soul.
finlay is a fweep.
cross between a dweeb and a geek.
wallop that wimp.
When I hear Finlay McDonald, the word “toady” comes to mind.
I don’t buy this theory that Key has got some other important business in the States. Don’t make no sense.
The guy clearly loves his son, and he likes going to sports events. that’s enough to explain this. He took his son out of school to go to see the All Whites play at the world cup, remember that? He loves going into the changing rooms and hanging out with sporting heroes. 3 way handshake anyone?
And going to discuss high faluttin secret policy with the masters of the universe? pfft.
What’s he gonna do? Tell them his secret plan to save the whales? Promise to get them a fricken Panda of the chinese? Sort it all out with a job summit? Bike trails! A financial hubblet!
Not.Buying.It.
Agree Pb.
As if the masters of the universe are gonna discuss their high faluttin secret policies with him!
Finally, the MSM asks question about what Stephen Joyce’s ‘intensification of agriculture’ means. I’m more worried about pressure on the environment from intensified dairying than I am about mining, and that’s saying something! Not to mention the animal rights aspects. Although I’m not a great animal lover, I do believe that if we’re going to use them we must at least treat them well.
And then I checked the byline – it’s Sue Kedgley. Thank you Sue.
Nice one rosy. Here’s the link if anyone wants it http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/7448874/Is-agriculture-NZs-golden-goose
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At least the regional councils are starting to step up and protect the land and water. Doubt they will look at animal welfare though.
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I agree, this is far more of an issue than mining. We can recover from mining, industrial diarying and other intensifications will damage the land and water for a long time.
ooops, sorry I forgot the link (hadn’t had my morning coffee ;-)). Thanks for putting it in.
I’d like to agree about the regional councils, but I fear this is what the ECan debacle is all about – allowing water rights for intensified farming, in particular, dairying.
Unless someone who knows how to get information picks this up I fear any dissension is all going to be far too late.
Haven’t followed Ecan lately. ORC and Southland seem to be doing a bit better.
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http://www.orc.govt.nz/Publications-and-Reports/Regional-Policies-and-Plans/Regional-Plan-Water/Proposed-Plan-Change-6A-Water-Quality/
http://www.roymorgan.com/roymorgan/library/v13427_8.jpg
last time the country was this unhappy they chucked the government out.
Problem is, chucking a bad govt out is one thing, but who do you replace them with?
A good read from the Archdruid:
So, just how much legitimacy does our government still have? It’;s still has it ATM but it’s obviously declining.
Corporate lobbying – better ROI than adding real value to the economy
Why create something of new economic worth when you can spend your time and money lobbying for tax breaks and favours garnering 22,000% ROI and more!
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/08/Lobbying%20ROI.jpg
After the disgraceful abuse of the Prime Minister starting at http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10082012/comment-page-1/#comment-504964 – and the mugging mob abuse that followed is just par for the course here – it turns out that felix didn’t even have his facts right.
While there will be government representation at a joint memorial service the soldier’s families are having private funerals.
Hi Pete.
For every instance of “funeral” please read “joint memorial service”.
I trust this satisfies your interest in the matter and that you’ll amend any posts on other blogs to reflect this new understanding.
@Rosy
“Intensified agriculture” means dairy cows take priority over households for water AND get used to cow manure run-off into streams and lakes because we’re not going to punish it.
It can mean the same for pig farms and chicken factories.
Water and animal sewage. Learn to love less of the first and more of the second.
Poor old sad12, Are you worried Shearer might want to take your benefit away?
Another Friday night in blighted impoverished NZ.
Currently I am seated in a deck chair, in front of a hot oven, bathed in the light from a sun lamp – sipping on Just Juice Pineapple juice made with 5% pineapple juice (& 95% apple concentrate imported from Germany).
I’m listening to the sound of waves & ukulele’s playing on a CD player and I have just sprayed the room with Glade Hawaiian Breeze.
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I’m calling this my John Key “You to” Aspirational Hawaiian Experience.
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I have never had it so good.
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he is probably in Las Vegas with a couple of hookers.
Well he would be if he had any balls!
Yeah, I think Michelle Boag took them as part of the contract when they hired him. Supposedly they were served as finger food at a nat party conference. Rumour has it Gerry ate them (along with a pie, two sofa cushions and half of Christchurch).
William Joyce
You’re in such a good mood you should now read Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus is a play with “14 killings, 9 of them on stage, … He has captured Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her three sons, and Aaron the Moor.” (thanks google). All I can say about this one is that they don’t write like this any more.
“If one good deed in all his life he did,
he doth repent it from his very soul.”
(adapted) Act V, Scene iii
Dedicated to john or gerry
Jim N 33 1 1 1
Trite I know but Shakespeare certainly has a way with words. And some of the well-known phrases just keep on. Maybe one day our own doughty leader will be wailing – ‘A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse’.
Isn’t there a great scene in one of the king plays where a body of archers set themselves to send a rain of arrows high in the air to down the enemy? Makes sitting tapping complaints at the keyboard seem very tame in comparison. But then it is an attempt to think our way to a solution that doesn’t involve privation and bloodshed.
“His conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns him for a villain.”
(adapted) Richard III, Act V, Scene iii
dedicated to john key
Jim N
Didn’t Shakespeare give Richard 3 a bad rap? Now Jokey Hen… Didn’t Richard 3 die on Bosworth field? Perhaps Key should go and fight along with certain USA pollies and generals, in Afghanistan.
By the way USA is going to help Vietnam to counter the effects of Agent Orange at this late stage. What has happened about the Depleted Uranium in Iraq? Anyone been watching this?
That would ruin the buzz of pretending I am in Hawaii living off the profits from all the State Asset shares I purchased with my meagre discretionary dollars (plus the ones I get free, illegally paid for from all the other taxpayer saps).
I’m trying a more Zen approach – my therapist said that spray painting a “hit list” on my bedroom wall wasn’t working for me – besides, it was getting too long. Apparently, the police will not be so happy next time if our beloved leader wakes up and finds me sitting at the end of his bed again.
*sigh* As the song says, “….since I gave up hope I feel a lot better”.
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Just a minute, there’s a loud knock at the door………
WJ
Have they just found out that you have taken to painting your hit list on your roof you over-active decadent dissident?
Is it that obvious? Damn, Google Earth!
The NZ Police, Thought Crime Division – Free Speech Suppression & Evidence Fabrication Team are onto me. Gotta run, heading off to Tuhoe country…………..opps
William Joyce
That team has a mighty name – it should make a good acronym – something that would fit in with FESTER for instance?
he’s pobably going over their to checkon why his BofA ML shares are worth nothing now he going to ask Mitt the git Romney if he can pull the wool over the american publics eyes and bail out BofA a second time if he becomes president.
Romney is their John Key. A man from the financial industry that the people are told has the “economic skills” to fix the country, who smiles and waves, who has the “cred” of being wealthy i.e. successful (which people respect in our society of shallow values) but who has a murky past that they stonewall to protect from disclosure.
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Obama had to show his birth certificate – where the hell are Romney’s tax returns?
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mike e Sounds like Key is a bit of a bofver boy. I see that some investors here got the right to get something back from their Blue Chip investments. Perhaps he will be able to swing something in the States to make up his losses.