Open mike 14/04/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 14th, 2013 - 79 comments
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Step right up to the mike…

79 comments on “Open mike 14/04/2013 ”

  1. AsleepWhileWalking 1

    Welcome to the dream: Kiwi Park, Sydney’s humanitarian disaster

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/8542785/Homeless-Kiwis-live-under-a-Sydney-bridge

    • AsleepWhileWalking 1.1

      “Because of their inability to claim the dole and an expensive housing market – a bed at an unlicensed boarding house costs $175 to $200 a week and a basic one-bed flat, $300 to $375 – Kiwis are easy targets for black-market employers offering just $75 a day. “That’s the only way they can support themselves,” says Macklin. One worker has heard some job agencies are incentivised by the government to get people off the dole – so have no particular desire to give jobs to Kiwis. “

    • AsleepWhileWalking 1.2

      PLEAS FOR COMPASSION REJECTED

      By popular demand, a monthly homeless services hub in Woolloomooloo offers immigration-specific advice. O’Hallloran says the Welfare Rights Centre also sees a lot of New Zealanders, at least two a week, seeking advice after “falling through the cracks”. They often apply to the state for “active grace”, where claimants are allowed a short spell of claiming benefits in recognition of dire need. “These are routinely rejected, although we make them for extreme cases; we think that’s completely inhumane. We’ve not had a successful one for a New Zealander in three years and that includes some very extreme cases of abuse, homelessness, violence, and some very sorry stories.”

      Having reluctantly accepted the law around benefit provision won’t change for most Kiwis, the centre is lobbying for young people who arrived as minors and those facing sudden change beyond their control who couldn’t reasonably be expected to return to New Zealand to access a discretionary payment called “Special Benefit”.

      To fight their corner, they’ve amassed some shocking case studies: a teenage boy forced into homelessness through sex abuse and another through family violence, both receiving nothing because they didn’t qualify for youth allowances and couldn’t get family tax benefit as they weren’t at home; a builder’s labourer in Australia to be near his child but couldn’t work as he lost an arm in an accident, yet received no disability benefit; and a 19-year-old who had been in Australia eight years, had no family back in New Zealand and who had been diagnosed with bipolar and couldn’t work. “We write up these case studies,” she says, “it is all we can do, and say ‘at today’s date, they remain homeless’. We hear some very shocking stories and there is often a very good reason why they get ‘stuck’. It becomes abundantly clear that it would be inhumane to leave them without any income support. It is inexcusable.”

      Note: “Special Benefit” began being phased out in 2006 and was replaced by TAS (Temporary Additional Support). I think they refer to another type of emergency benefit.

      • Olwyn 1.2.1

        The NZ government is not blameless for this state of affairs, since it has cheerfully used Australia as a safety valve for absorbing our cast-off workers, while at the same time allowing Australian banks here to privilege the so-called property market over manufacturing, thus adding to the numbers of cast-off workers. It could be insisted that from now on kiwis going to Australia must deposit their fare home, so that Australia can send them back if they find themselves out of work, which would not help the ones already there, and which NZ would probably oppose. It could also be agreed that Australia pays for Aussies here, and NZ for kiwis over there, but that would be fiercely opposed by NZ, since the numbers are so stacked against them. Basically, NZ says to the neighbours, “Please babysit our working age population while we go the casino. Don’t ring if anything goes wrong for them, as we are busy waiting for the jackpot.”

    • infused 1.3

      Well what the hell do they expect?

      This shit was widely known.

      • weka 1.3.1

        “This shit was widely known.”

        I suspect not. There was a very good in depth look at this on RNZ a few months ago, and it was an eye opener for me. I think many kiwis still see Oz as an extension of NZ, that they have more rights to be there than other non-Ozzies, and they don’t see themselves as ‘immigrants’. The RNZ interviews showed that many of the NZers that get into trouble in Oz had not understood the consequences of moving there.

      • McFlock 1.3.2

        The bipolar guy who was eleven when his family moved countries should have known better ?
        Classy tory.

    • Murray Olsen 1.4

      Key went across to sort this out. He returned after having given Queensland access to NZ Police records. With him on our side……….
      Kiwis in Oz pay the full tax rates, yet are denied many of the services that these taxes pay for. Even in terms of their beloved user pays philosophy, this is not right. They could at the very least give a tax rebate.

      • infused 1.4.1

        If they are living under a bridge, they are obviously not paying any tax are they? If they have a job, they are choosing to be there.

        • weka 1.4.1.1

          Do you believe that all NZers living in Australia are unemployed and living under a bridge? I think that makes you a supreme idiot.

        • Murray Olsen 1.4.1.2

          Did you read the article, idiot? One guy had been doing senior IT work, but fell victim to depression. Maybe if he’d started a hate blog instead of helping people, you’d respect and follow him.
          The point is that they all would have been working, they all would have been paying taxes, and some still are. Now run along and find something else to get totally wrong.

          • felix 1.4.1.2.1

            It disturbs me how many of our right-wing friends appear to believe in a static universe.

  2. Tim 2

    The NZ in ANZAC has definitely gone missing – it only turns up on ANZAC day for some strutting about at the break of day.
    Still – why worry? Wonder Boy is comfortable with it and Joolia sees no need to change things.

  3. Colonial Viper 3

    Economics and the Powerful: how the elite skew economic and financial policies

    An outstanding presentation organised by the INET group. Insights not into economics as such, but how economics has been used by the elite and disseminated to ignore the reality of peoples lives in society and consequently screw the 99%.

    (starts about 3 mins in)

  4. (this is a good-news/how-to/visionary/futurist-story..that i found on my rounds this morn..and that you may not otherwise come across..)

    http://whoar.co.nz/2013/lessons-for-building-a-solar-economy/

    (explanation of link..)

    “..Hawaii generates more of its power from the sun than any other state.

    Here’s what the rest of us can learn from the obstacles that came up along the way –

    – and and what’s being done to overcome them..”

    (and of course those preferring to avoid my ellipses-scattered/capital letter/traditional-sentence-structure-devoid website..can also find the story at the alternet website..

    ..alternet is a progressive news-website i rely on/read/link to each day..

    ..and – as an aside – i would highly recommend alternet to those interested in such matters..)

    phillip ure..

    • Lanthanide 4.1

      …. too irritating, didn’t read ….

      • weka 4.1.1

        ..too irritating, didn’t read..

        ..fify..

        ..and ditto..

        • DH 4.1.1.1

          It’s not really relevant to NZ, covers the problems they had with their grid and we wouldn’t have the same sort of issues here.

          It’s a shame NZ isn’t embracing solar while the opportunity is there. With our $NZ being so high and Chinese manufacturers desperate for sales they’re incredibly cheap and may not be that way for long. Buying in bulk it’s possible to land all the hardware for a grid tie system for a depreciated cost of well under 5c Kw/hr. Households are paying 25-30c and wind costs over 10c.

  5. halfcrown 5

    Just seen another Tui Advert by Key on the Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the National Party called Q&A

    “I am honest and up front” Yeah Right

    • marsman 5.1

      Add that to the list of John Key’s lies.

    • ghostrider888 5.2

      The Nation : The Leader (Atom secrets, secret leaflets, Have the boys found the leak yet the molehill sets the wheel in motion His System of a Downfall picks up Locomotion)
      pearls of wisdom from Mai Chen
      -“the Kitteridge Report is a damning report”
      -“we should not be giving the GCSB anymore powers”

      -Colloidal Cruiser ( Hot Stuff, it’s only Rock and Roll but I like like it yes I do)

      korea
      XIAMING HUAN
      -“diplomatic rhetoric is important in trade with China”

      Hearn-shaw
      -“NK people are just normal people, warm-hearted, friendly, (if a little hungry)”
      -“incorrectly portrayed buy Western media”
      -“military believe they can extract concessions” (Sky City?)
      -“while all-out war may be unlikely, skirmishes are possible”

      back to the CC CP freak-show; “party not initially keen to talk about their platforms, what they stand for; a lot of Colin Craig appearances and little of the party board; “too busy” / “not comfortable with the story” (Three times before the atomic rooster crows “What is conservative about Rankin’s dress sense?”) an turn of phrase “he’s not playing politics, he’s deadly serious” lol (but he just has to run up the skirts of his press secretary first) cos’ there is sitting-room only at his party’s brow-beatings due to the Nationalistic message on the manufactured Lindauer pai-pai (sic)

      Gavin Elllis, “said, said, said” (what other commentators say) if Key fell down the sh*t-house he would come back up grasping a a gold chain.

      Q+A : Jane says… 😉 , on FTA with China / Asia, “quid pro quo, not just talking about trade” Chop Chop
      while as Clinton Hillariously reminds us re the TPPA
      -“re-militarization” in the region
      (Johansen agrees, with Jane) Elephant Boy.
      Aus. is forming military alliances with CHINA; yes Fran, NZ is not (like you) the centre of at tension.

      ask Kenneth Wells, a very warm and funny man (Korean Historian) “different degree now, verging into a different kind” (at least they are finally interviewing people who DO actually know something about these topics and not the freakin elected troughers)

      Graphene
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene
      cook-a-too
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galah
      AL EX
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)

      • Tim 5.2.1

        “the Kitteridge Report – a damning report”

        Aye …. and one that should be considered in relation to a remark Paul Buchanan made (on Firstline from memory – during the week just gone). A good description on how ‘those powers that be’ become captured by those that eventually make decisions.
        I well recall a ‘spook’ (1 degree of separation rather than 2 in that it was a ‘spook’ relative relaying his/her frustrations), telling me how during the early 2000’s, it had been made clear that ‘un-PC’ type activity was verboten and that activity was pretty much limited to checking out the suitability of various senior public servants. (Btw … they weren’t listened to all the time either – hence the various bugger’s muddles at various times).
        Still – no matter! we’ll outsource to another (such as the GCSB).
        Police: same shit different stink with a cheer leader named Greg egging it all on.

    • tc 5.3

      What’s the point of having a state broadcaster if you can’t get your message put out there all wrapped around with pasty questions so it looks like the fawning interviewer is ‘satisfied’.

      • Tim 5.3.1

        tc – confusion between ‘state broadcaster’ and ‘public broadcaster’. The difference is often used by the neo-libs to justify it’s demise.
        It might be publicly owned, but its priority is the commercial/populist imperative.
        But before you jump to the ‘what’s the point’ bit – consider that it’s used as a justification for flogging off the asset.
        Far better to flog off those that attempt to commercialise (TVNZ management and its disciples), keep the asset, and insist those that follow have an understanding of the nature of Public Service Broadcasting).
        Hint: they won’t be the likes of Bill Ralston

        • tc 5.3.1.1

          Nice idea but I reckon we’ve gone beyond the point of being able to make TVNZ a public broadcaster.

          We lack the talent in content production, mostly outsourced and swallowed now by foreign production houses (South pacific being the latest) and political will to fund it.

          labour had a limp attempt with the charter but mahreney and others made a pigs ear of that.

          • Tim 5.3.1.1.1

            I take your point – there is still a bit of talent around, and a few that could well be lured back should there be a commitment to PSB properly funded.
            You’re correct about labour’s attempt.
            Why flog off any more of our assets though. At the very least – keep the buildings and chattels within or the next thing you know Sky City will be turning them into pokie galleries

    • Murray Olsen 5.4

      A bald person doesn’t have to tell anyone they’re bald.
      A fat person doesn’t have to tell anyone they’re fat.
      A tall person doesn’t have to tell anyone they’re tall.
      It’s obvious as soon as you meet them.
      An honest upfront person has to tell everyone they’re honest and upfront. Hmmm.

      • Hami Shearlie 5.4.1

        Maybe he’s not telling the public so much as trying to convince himself – Message to Jonkey – It’s not working! OR as in Little Britain, – “Computer says NO”!!

  6. johnm 6

    The Artist Taxi Driver Another U$K Austerity Class War dispatch

    Lord Freud Ukuncut Thatcher Obama Drones+Witches; Weekend B
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAexf0AIWdE&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=1

    Loads of room to talk! Bedroom tax Tory Lord Freud lives in eight-bedroom country mansion
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/bedroom-tax-tory-lord-freud-1545677

    “Freud is the grandson of Sigmund Freud and has relatives who are married into the Murdoch and Rothschild family. It should not take much imagination to understand which ethnicity they belong to.”

    “The idea that everybody should receive a basic income is out there. If you wish to have more than the basic income then you can work. The idea is that no person should starve, freeze or be uneducated.”

    • johnm 6.1

      Glenda Jackson launches tirade against Thatcher in tribute debate

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDtClJYJBj8

      The industries that brought us most of our GDP, gone so now we live on a false economy of credit and stock.. High sustained rates of unemployment, powerless workers, evicted from their homes, the three most dramatic and destructive recessions in our history, the banking crises caused by financial dergulation, part time jobs replaced stable jobs, prices for basic necessities hugely inflated annd thousands of pensioners and some young people dying from the freezing cold and all this masked .

      • johnm 6.1.1

        ” Margaret Thatcher the tax snatcher? Mystery of her £6m house with links to THREE tax havens
        13 Apr 2013 00:00

        Financial experts said it could have been a scheme which would help her estate avoid millions of pounds in inheritance ”

        http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/margaret-thatcher-tax-snatcher-mystery-1828441

      • halfcrown 6.1.2

        Thanks for pointing us to that site Johnm. I think Glenda Jackson makes some classic statements which I am sure will be quoted in the future. Apart from the one “The price of everything, and the value of nothing” I also liked the one “Hogarth would recognise London if he was alive” Hogarth died in the 1700’s Glenda Jackson told those Tory prats in no uncertain terms that Thatcher had turned the clock back at least 200 years and was being continued today by Camoron. But of course that would have gone over their heads.

        • Hami Shearlie 6.1.2.1

          Glenda was an amazing actress – Remember her Elizabeth the First? She must be a great MP too!! A very clever woman!!

  7. Morrissey 7

    Tim Bale’s pro-Thatcher apologetics this morning
    Radio New Zealand National, Sunday, 14 April 2013

    How do you find someone, other than a craven politician, to speak positively about a notorious politician who denigrated Nelson Mandela as a “terrorist”, yet supported Suharto, Pinochet, Begin, Shamir, Saddam and Reagan?

    The answer is, of course, you find an amenable academic. Now, there are tractable professors right through this country, from Wyn Hoadley in Auckland, down through crazy Ron Smith and Dov Bing at Waikato, Lance Beath at Victoria, right down to Otago’s mealy-mouthed Robert Patman. But Chris Laidlaw’s producers decided to bypass these dependable fellows and go for someone who is actually in the midst of the national celebr—, errr, mourning. He spoke to one Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary College in London, formerly a lecturer at VUW.

    Much of what Bale said was too bland and anodyne to bear repeating, but something of his moral character can be gauged by the following exchange which came near the end of the interview….

    CHRIS LAIDLAW: The sinking of the General Belgrano. There’s not much said in Britain about that. I regard it as a war crime.

    TIM BALE: [irritated tone] Hmmmm. [slowly and pompously] I don’t think you would find many people in Britain who think that. Most people think it was a good idea that she took the Falklands back from what was pretty much a fascist regime. Whatever you think of her, the British people actually LIKE conviction politicians.

    CHRIS LAIDLAW: [skeptically] Mmmmmmmm. Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary College in London, formerly a lecturer at Victoria University, thank you!

    • Tim 7.1

      Some sort of panel discussion would have been a little more appropriate me thinks. I suspect someone at RNZ just read ‘Cameron and the Conservatives since 1945′ and thought “ooooo, I know – we’ll get Tim’. The 9 o’clock time pips seemed the most appealing thing for me in that little discussion! (tik tok tik tok as it really does come closer to all turning to shit).
      Good on CL though for getting in the war crimes quip – no matter how one feels about the Faulklands

      • Morrissey 7.1.1

        I forgot to mention that Thatcher, obediently following the lead of her Washington master, also supported the Khmer Rouge.

        • swordfish 7.1.1.1

          Yes, she was a biiigggggg supporter of that vicious old nazi, Pinochet.

          Shame about Tim Bale – a former lecturer of mine at Vic. Something of a Blair supporter too, if I remember rightly.

  8. vto 8

    As if we needed another piece of evidence of the way this deceitful and dishonest government works.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/8547471/Secrecy-over-milk-DCD-scare-revealed

    • vto 8.1

      It seems the government has finally become that big ugly thing. It has become self-serving, existing solely to preserve and enhance itself, no matter its original purpose. It has become a large ugly wart that just wants to keep growing and growing, eating up all that wanders near. Yuck.

    • Dv 8.2

      I thought Guy comment about the DCD not being at a dangerous level was curious and bizarre.
      If it wasnt dangerous why the secrecy?…..

  9. chris73 9

    http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2013/04/the-abortion-story-that-the-msm-wont-cover/

    This is not a left vs right debate but be warned its a hard read (and not because its a whaleoil story) but an interesting one

      • chris73 9.1.1

        Fuckwit, considering the scope of the case I’d have expected a lot more coverage.

        • Murray Olsen 9.1.1.1

          If you want more coverage, paint it up on a sandwich board and stand in the middle of the street. Take your sense of entitlement somewhere else, get off your lazy entitled bum and just do it.

      • joe90 9.1.2

        And I’d like wall to wall coverage of the ASP and the NZKB too.

        • chris73 9.1.2.1

          Nice one dipshit

          • Pascal's bookie 9.1.2.1.1

            Yeah well, this complaint would have more merit of it wasn’t just an obvious rightwing freak out of the day:

            http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/41853_Breitbart.com_AWOL_on_Gosnell_for_Past_Two_Years_Suddenly_Dozens_of_Posts

            Case has been going on for quite some time, very little interest from the right wing, then all of a sudden it’s everywhere, even down to little old failoil and his circus of derp.

            Has he covered that apparent terrorist attack againts the nurse in Auckland who works at a clinic, per chance/

            That story had one report on TV1. I’d say that’s a more under-reported story than this one.

            Another under-reported terrorist attack was that bombing attempt on a Martin Luther King parade. Way more developed than any number of failed attacks where the FBI are involved with some muslim dude.

            Bombs were made and in place, only failed to go off because someone noticed the bags. Whaleoil cover that?

    • joe90 9.2

      See fool, this isn’t about abortion, it’s about the greed and crime that flourished in a pro-life state which denied women access to safe, legal abortion services.

      • chris73 9.2.1

        Piss off wanker, stop seeing shit that ain’t there

        • weka 9.2.1.1

          chris, you’re being disingenuous. Please explain how this doctor would have been able to practice in a state where abortions were legal, equitably accessible, and managed in the same way as other health care. Of course this is about politics and restriction of women’s reproductive rights by US right wing prolifers.

          • chris73 9.2.1.1.1

            I get the feeling this guy would have operated the same regardless of the legal situation. To do what he did suggests theres something wrong upstairs. If a baby is born (or however the medical profession consider it) and healthy then I’d imagine the Hippocratic oath comes into play.

            I’m just surprised no ones tried to link John Key or Pauls Bennet to it…

            • Arfamo 9.2.1.1.1.1

              I’m just surprised no ones tried to link John Key or Pauls Bennet to it…

              So far you’re the only one who has…?

            • Draco T Bastard 9.2.1.1.1.2

              I get the feeling this guy would have operated the same regardless of the legal situation.

              Actually, he wouldn’t have been able to as the women wouldn’t have needed to seek him out.

              • weka

                Exactly. This isn’t hard to grasp chris. Women needed late term abortions, and were desperate enough to go through a horrendous experience to get one. Why do you think that is?

                As for the hippocratic oath, I suggest you read up on the technicalities of late term abortions.

            • Murray Olsen 9.2.1.1.1.3

              In a more rational state, the women would have had better options. When the crazy make women’s reproductive health care almost impossible, is it at all surprising that crazies will start providing the horrible level of service that we see here?
              We used to see med students struck off alcoholic doctors, and worse providing terminations in Aotearoa not that long ago. We had plenty of horror stories right at home. That story is our future if rabid dogs like the Conservatives ever get their way.

              • LynWiper

                +1 It wasn’t that long ago in NZ the wealthy could fly to Aussie and all the others had to find another way.

        • joe90 9.2.1.2

          That’s not my conclusion, it’s the grand juries…anyhoo…do tell me how hard you’ve worked.

      • weka 9.2.2

        “See fool, this isn’t about abortion, it’s about the greed and crime that flourished in a pro-life state which denied women access to safe, legal abortion services.”

        +1000

    • fender 9.3

      Chris you seem obsessed with linking to the sewer every other day, it’s gross.

      Have you got up to speed on the latest blunder by the stinky one you adore?

      It’s here he’s a fool and you need a new hero.

      • chris73 9.3.1

        And your point is?

        If I stopped reading a blog everytime someone got something wrong…well I wouldn’t be reading this one for a start

        *cue link please*

        • felix 9.3.1.1

          He doesn’t get things wrong. It’s not a mishap.

          He makes up complete bullshit and you swallow it daily.

    • Daveosaurus 9.4

      The only surprising thing about all of this is that anybody still so much as gives the Welfare Whale the time of day, never mind actually believing a word it says.

      • felix 9.4.1

        Those who post links to whaleoil do tend to be the more gullible of our visitors.

  10. ghostrider888 10

    Criusing Colloidally,
    if the Straijacket Fits She Speeds through Bailterspace Lightfootedly
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8jBuAWuaZU

    mysky? “Equilibrium” before The Fall to Higher Ground (or Higher Learning)
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238380/
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1562568/ http://www.higherground.org.nz/
    ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113305/ )

    Empire (from the History Channel) Records “doing good, by force if necessary”

    The Fun-Lovin Criminals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHDYfoRYcqQ Cougar
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mellencamp Revolution Revolution http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVKLmpALMFc from a Small Town
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CVLVaBECuc

    Lines of untold history
    http://www.google.co.nz/#hl=en&gs_rn=9&gs_ri=psy-ab&cp=9&gs_id=y&xhr=t&q=the+untold+history+of+the+united+states&es_nrs=true&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=the+untol&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45175338,d.aGc&fp=f2b169560604df12&biw=996&bih=499

    by RT; Russia produces list of US officials now sanctioned for Human Rights Breaches
    Breaking The Set
    http://www.youtube.com/user/breakingtheset

    ” a hard rains gonna fall”

    (Super) Nova
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfy7Dxy57aE

    …now Normie, if we can just establish who your Friends are, Kirstie (without withdrawel they just wanna possess your bits).

  11. ghostrider888 11

    Cruising Cooloidally,
    if the Straitjacket Fits She Speeds through Bailterspace lightfootedly

  12. ghostrider888 12

    mysky; Equilibrium before The Fall to Higher Ground (or Higher Learning)
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238380/
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1562568/?ref_=sr_1
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113305/?ref_=sr_1

    http://www.higherground.org.nz/

    “Empire” (from the History Channel) records “doing good, by force if necessary.”

  13. ghostrider888 15

    Super (Nova) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfy7Dxy57aE

    …Normie, if we can just establish who our “Friends” are, Kirsty, (without withdrawel they just wanna possess you b*ts).

  14. Rogue Trooper 16

    got stuck-in.moderation
    updated from the air-fixed recollection machine,
    The Spitfire Grill
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117718/
    “and that’s a Cold Shot babe, we’ve let our love go bad!”

    • Tim 17.1

      Don’t do it! You’ll simply add to the statistics that justify the self-indulgent Cameron’s ‘rasion d’etre’

      There is actually NOTHING to see there other than an ideologue all propped up with medication in an attempt to convince us how ‘relevant’ he is.

      Give it a miss. (Just like Facebook if you’ve no other reason to earn a crust by means of ‘networking’)
      twitter twitter twitter twit …. oooops truncated by an error 404 – or similar). Seriously – give it a fukn miss

  15. joe90 19

    Interesting read.

    http://www.alternet.org/print/media/propaganda-system-has-helped-create-permanent-overclass-over-century-making

    Important intellectuals of the era then became principally concerned with the issue of propaganda during peacetime, having witnessed its success in times of war. Propaganda, wrote Lippmann, “has a legitimate and desirable part to play in our democratic system.” A leading political scientist of the era, Harold Lasswell, noted: “Propaganda is surely here to stay.” In his 1925 book, The Phantom Public, Lippmann wrote that the public was a “bewildered herd” of “ignorant and meddlesome outsiders” who should be maintained as “interested spectators of action,” and distinct from the actors themselves, the powerful. Edward Bernays, the ‘father of public relations’ and nephew of Sigmund Freud got his start with Wilson’s CPI during World War I, and had since become a leading voice in the fields of propaganda and public relations. In his 1928 book, Propaganda, Bernays wrote: “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” Modern society was dominated by a “relatively small number of persons… who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses,” and this was, in Bernays’ thinking, “a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized.” Bernays referred to this – “borrowing” from Walter Lippmann – as the “engineering of consent.”

  16. ghostrider888 20

    return of the Police Investigation Groups
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10877273

    ONE : “the working poor being employed does not provide enough income to put food on the table”
    -Salvation Army
    Ardern- “still 20000 more people on main benefitts than before nats terms.

    3 : cut down on carbohydrates 😉
    -insulin leads to fat storage 😉
    -sat. fat may lead to lipid profile stabilisation

    Hulks perspective on Sunday : “Where Ships Go to Die” -Bangladesh (no national iron ore)
    -47c per hour
    -12 hours a day, 7 days a week (to fulfil their dreams)
    -amputations, burns, toxic heavy metals, asbestosis.

    “How can we tolerate this,?” asked The Navigator.

  17. One Anonymous Knucklehead 21

    Nice one Labour. Caveat emptor 🙂

  18. ghostrider888 22

    Live At Red Rocks! Hit The Electric Co’s . Gloria!!!