Open mike 16/09/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 16th, 2014 - 131 comments
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131 comments on “Open mike 16/09/2014 ”

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  1. b waghorn 1
    16 September 2014 at 7:06 am

    Sounds like Kim dot com is killing Hone’s Chance’s will be a shame to see him go.

    • phillip ure 1.1
      16 September 2014 at 7:38 am

      @ concern-troll..

      ..yes..closer than i wd like..

      ..i take some solace that in 2011 this same poll was out by ten points..

      ..and not in harawiras’ favour..

    • The Lone Haranguer 1.2
      16 September 2014 at 1:00 pm

      Naa, Hone will be a shoe in up in TTT.

      But Davis may struggle to get back to Wellington on the Labour list, given the fractured nature of the lefts vote.

  2. Tracey 2
    16 September 2014 at 7:07 am

    Does this mean “Spearhead” is NSA’s operation word for getting us to implement CORTEX?

    Even the name (see the definition) insults us.

    Time for Cunliffe and McCarten to step up and show Key’s litany of inconsistencies… so people understand what’s not to trust.

    Shit just focus on his don’t know versus expert on GCSB/SIS utterings…

    His Fletcher stuff his current stuff BUT somehow pull together threads of pithy lines to show he cannot be trusted by his own words defeat him.

  3. tc 3
    16 September 2014 at 7:32 am

    So mass surveillance has been outsourced to 4 of the other 5 eyes till GSCB law was passed, our cable has been eavesdropped and the speaker has a letter which possibly proves our PM mislead parliament on numerous occasions.

    Vote positive kids, ignore the MSM and love or hate the big German he has done the citizens of not just NZ a service getting this out there.

    • mickysavage 3.1
      16 September 2014 at 8:22 am

      Yep this is the only rational explanation and explains why Key has been saying what he has. While it may be true it is a maufactured truth.

  4. phillip ure 4
    16 September 2014 at 7:36 am

    cunnliffes’ promises to end mass-surveillance..(taken at face-value..)

    ..can’t do labours’ chances any harm..

    • phillip ure 4.1
      16 September 2014 at 8:23 am

      cunnliffe should really ramp-up on that promise over the next few days..

      ..standing on the sidelines going:..’but what about our policies?’..

      ..while understandable..hasn’t worked until now..

      ..it is time for cunnliffe to insert himself into this conversation..

      ..he/labour is/are not ‘above it all’…

      ..’vote positiv’ will only take you so far..

      ..and once again..insisting on this disengagement from these issues..

      ..hasn’t worked that well up until now..eh..?

  5. b waghorn 5
    16 September 2014 at 7:49 am

    @Phillip I like both hone and kelvin but have quietly hoped for a big future for hone it would be a shame if he gets finished buy a so called Ali

  6. phillip ure 6
    16 September 2014 at 8:11 am

    involuntary-humour on tvone breakfast show..

    ..the female co-compere..when she puts on her serious-face…

    ..just looks like she is hanging out for a pee..

  7. mickysavage 7
    16 September 2014 at 8:22 am

    Standardnistas LPrent can confirm but yesterday looks like it was the Standard’s biggest day ever, by quite a margin too.

  8. phillip ure 8
    16 September 2014 at 9:08 am

    laila harre interview on nat-rad/9-noon..

    ..soon..

    • phillip ure 8.1
      16 September 2014 at 9:30 am

      it’d be nice if ryan wd let harre end a sentence..

      ..she is a fucken disgrace..!

      • mac1 8.1.1
        16 September 2014 at 10:00 am

        Phil, my thoughts exactly, especially when the interviewee is working up to the main point or conclusion at the end of the statement, and it’s spoken over. Harre’s technique was to try to hold her ground and finish, and when that was not successful, to use the beginning of the next question to compete her point.

        Interviewers seem to have a technique that involves two things- one to rattle the interviewee by pressuring by quick questions, and also to keep asking questions prepared before the interview, even if they are going against the flow of the ‘dialogue’.

        It all ends up to a disjointed interview.

        Interviewees of course need to stop their technique of pausing at odd places to gain breath in order to run sentences together and thus take away the natural breaks which interviewers use to insert their next question. Interviewees have their techniques also to manipulate the interview. It’s all part of what can be a very unsatisfactory game, and not played in the interests of the general public.

        But that’s what we’ve learned afresh from last night’s moment of truth- little done by those in power, and mostly this is a criticism of the Right, is done in the interests of the general public who are manipulated, lied to by omission and commission, kept uninformed, discouraged from interest in politics or voting, distracted deliberately by false issues or by media circuses.

        The historian in me knows that this is all not new. It also tells me that there are times of renewal in a nation’s history.

        I pray that September 2014 is one of these times of renewal.

      • Once Was Tim 8.1.2
        16 September 2014 at 10:28 am

        It’s the ultimate in conceit really. Ryan, Espiner and Fergusson all do it – not allowing interviewees to finish a sentence or give complete answers to their questions. It’d be interesting to do timings on interviewer/interviewee – my suspicions are that Ryan occupied more time than Harre.
        They’d do well to take a few lessons/coaching from the likes of (say) Colin Peacock and/or Jeremy Rose.
        They’re all exactly what’s wrong with public service broadcasting – they push themselves as though they are ‘the product’.

      • Brigid 8.1.3
        16 September 2014 at 11:17 am

        I agree. I wish she (Ryan) would go do something she has talent for. Like cleaning windows.

      • greywarbler 8.1.4
        16 September 2014 at 9:27 pm

        Laila is good at pegging on till the end phillip ure. It just may be that Kathryn wants to cover more things in the allocated time than Laila’s full answers would allow.

  9. Dialey 9
    16 September 2014 at 9:14 am

    “Sir” Bruce Ferguson, former government spy boss spining for Key on Morning Report, said Snowden is a traitor and therefore what he has to say has no value. Brucy earning his knighthood said no NSA in NZ. Of course as a spy, he was/still is? paid to lie and obfuscate.

    • phillip ure 9.1
      16 September 2014 at 9:25 am

      the laugh-out-loud moment from ferguson was his saying that because the ceo of the cable company said there was no tapping..

      ..there was no tapping into that cable..

      ..the idiocy of that contention was laugh-out-loud demolished by greenwald last nite.

      • vto 9.1.1
        16 September 2014 at 9:47 am

        The thing about a spy is that there is never a route back for them. They can never ever be trusted again. Never.

        • Tracey 9.1.1.1
          16 September 2014 at 11:26 am

          was Snowden a spy?

          • McFlock 9.1.1.1.1
            16 September 2014 at 2:23 pm

            Just because he’s more trustworthy than John Key, it doesn’t mean that he’s what you or I would call “trustworthy” 🙂

            • Tracey 9.1.1.1.1.1
              16 September 2014 at 2:36 pm

              also the difference between Snowden and, say, Ferguson, is Snowden has ended up in Russia with his life turned upside down in an attempt to shine some light into dark spaces…. Ferguson got a knighthood.

              I am really annoyed right now. It is more than an ideological difference of opinion, imo, between Key fans and tose who don’t want Key. To me it is of much deeper significance than this. And even spoon fed last night out media have let us down, so far.

              I can’t recall a PM who “changed” his version of events so often over the period of his tenure as this one…

              I recall key very upset at Clark about Winston and Glenn’s stoush, I recall the uproar over her speeding to an AB match, to her signing a painting she didnt paint for charity… about the attack on democracy proclaimed by the herald over the attempt to bring transparency to political donations…

              ….

          • Murray Olsen 9.1.1.1.2
            17 September 2014 at 1:19 am

            Snowden did computer system work for a spy agency. I don’t think that makes him a spy and therefore not to be trusted. Secret Squirrel Ferguson headed a spy agency. That makes him a spy.

      • Once Was Tim 9.1.2
        16 September 2014 at 10:10 am

        My thoughts exactly. The CEO says – therefore it is so – “he would know”. And of course Ferguson knew absolutely all and everything that went/goes on in the GCSB because he was ‘across’ ALL staff 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

        • marty mars 9.1.2.1
          16 September 2014 at 11:30 am

          key has confirmed the cable was tapped.

          • Tracey 9.1.2.1.1
            16 September 2014 at 2:39 pm

            do you have the link, cos that contradicts Briscoe, CEO of Southern Cross Cable Network (and no CEO would ever lie for John Key)

          • Once Was Tim 9.1.2.1.2
            16 September 2014 at 2:52 pm

            I was sort of marveling at Ferguson’s attempt at spin and self-preservation really. On one interview I heard, he was even talking about the need for deep sea divers. I suppose that might be enough to convince portions of the public but it doesn’t convince me.
            If anyone happens to notice the Fibre rollout by Chorus – checkout the method by which hundreds/thousands of single subscribers are multiplexed using Wavelength Division Multiplexing – a kind of prismatic separation of light colours. Then think about NSA’s technical capabilities and the possibility of tapping (I dunno – perhaps using some sort of wrap around capability) AND the fact that the Pacific cable is in a self-correcting ring where temporary outages can be catered for, and even go unnoticed.
            There have been outages, but might point is that I’ve no doubt there is the technical capability to tap – and its without the need for Ferguson’s deep sea divers – whether he knows it or not. Who ever suggested it was occurring at sea anyway?

            • weka 9.1.2.1.2.1
              16 September 2014 at 5:17 pm

              Wasn’t there something about a specially tasked submarine?

              Another tech question. If as Key says that the GCBS only tapped the cable for cybersecurity reasons, how does that work if they’re not collecting mass data? Surely they have to collect the data in order to be able to filter it to what they are after.

              • Once Was Tim …
                16 September 2014 at 6:37 pm

                +1.
                Unfortunately these days I pay less attention to what I hear on MSM outlets and I didn’t hear about specialty submarines. Nothing would surprise me however.

                • KJT …
                  16 September 2014 at 6:51 pm

                  Don’t need a submarine, just access to the network.

                  A back door into internet providers is enough.

                  Mind you, I would be very surprised if US spies had not been looking at internet traffic ever since it started.

                  As one of Pinochet’s minions said afterwards. “No need to tell spies and interrogators to exceed their legal boundaries, they will do it anyway”.

                  • weka …
                    16 September 2014 at 11:34 pm

                    In 2005, the Associated Press reported that a submarine called the USS Jimmy Carter had been repurposed to carry crews of technicians to the bottom of the sea so they could tap fiber optic lines. The easiest place to get into the cables is at the regeneration points — spots where their signals are amplified and pushed forward on their long, circuitous journeys. “At these spots, the fiber optics can be more easily tapped, because they are no longer bundled together, rather laid out individually,” Deutsche Welle reported.

                    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-16092014/#comment-889298

    • CC 9.2
      16 September 2014 at 10:02 am

      Sir Bruce Fergson’s adoption of the ‘traitor’ smear in relation to Edward Snowden brought Samuel Johnson’s famous quote, ‘Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel’ into sharp focus. True patriots use whatever means, even at extreme risk to their very existence, to protect the honour and integrity of the country they treasure – traitors spy on their own people.

  10. adam 10
    16 September 2014 at 9:14 am

    This is a linux hero whom I enjoy.

    A good job explaining what the creepy things they know about you!

    • Once Was Tim 10.1
      16 September 2014 at 10:19 am

      Interesting @ adam. I actually allow my poor starving student neighbours to use my WiFi at times in order to do their assignments, and visitors to access their emails. I’m happy for them to use a piece of my monthIy quota that I can’t possibly use. I don’t hang off them everytime they do use it. They are adults, and they deserve their privacy. They reciprocate in other ways. It’s ‘community’.

  11. Hami Shearlie 11
    16 September 2014 at 10:19 am

    Why aren’t we hearing from the man who headed the GCSB AFTER Bruce Ferguson? Namely, Jerry Mataparae?

    • phillip ure 11.1
      16 September 2014 at 10:55 am

      that guy who key might approach for the nod to form a minority govt..?

      ..that jerry matapere..?

      ..rotten to the core..the whole establishment..

    • Molly 11.2
      16 September 2014 at 11:49 am

      Have friends in the Defence Forces that have very little time for Mataparae.

      And it’s been a while since I read Nicky Hager’s Other People’s Wars – but I’m surmising that Mataparae may have been in the upper echelon of those who worked with the US – and misinformed Helen Clark – while that was occurring.

      I have such respect for those who go into the Defence Force as a way to serve NZ’ers and humanity. Unfortunately, they are often used for other purposes and by those who don’t share their values or integrity.

      • Chooky 11.2.1
        16 September 2014 at 2:09 pm

        +100 agreed Molly…some are very idealist and fine young men…and it is a tragedy when they are used by politicians for ignoble ends for ignoble wars

        • CrashCart 11.2.1.1
          16 September 2014 at 3:31 pm

          Not jumpping down your throat here Chooky as I know this was nothing sinister in your post but as a person in the NZDF I would also like to point out that there are a lot of fine women serving too.

      • Once Was Tim 11.2.2
        16 September 2014 at 3:19 pm

        Understand where you’re coming from @ Molly. Personally I reckon Jerr is still working out which side his bread is buttered on. (He could be excused if he was ekshully a bit fick – but he’s not.) I wish he’d just grow some balls ‘cos he seems to be just looking ahead to retirement via the cushiest route possible. Same goes for Ferguson and various others. If I was a gambler, It’d put bets on his being on the wrong side of history (going forward, so-to-speak, as a matter of fek, ekshully). Shame they’re not more worried about the legacy they leave for their descendants)

        • weka 11.2.2.1
          16 September 2014 at 11:40 pm

          Mateparae was only head of GCSB for 5 months. Then they moved him on to the GG role. Which means he will have to decide what to do if there is no clear election result and Key decides to keep on governing.

          • Murray Olsen 11.2.2.1.1
            17 September 2014 at 1:29 am

            When Matapaere was replaced by Key’s mate, it was pretty obvious to me that they wanted some business type at the head of the spooks rather than a military person. I think most of their spying these days is for commercial reasons, and I don’t think it’s to protect Kiwi commercial interests.

  12. JRT 12
    16 September 2014 at 11:25 am

    Really quiet here today. RWNJ astroturfers are all over at Stuff, posting like crazy because Andrea Vance has finally stepped outside the tent and started questioning what is happening in NZ. They must be so rattled.

  13. adam 13
    16 September 2014 at 12:20 pm

    I hate stuff and all it stands for. And all the judgemental haters who think we should swallow their hate speech as some form of eternal truth. Sorry pissed at this piece in stuff – Journalist in this country happy to stomp on peoples rights again.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10501900/Mentally-impaired-led-to-vote

    • The Al1en 13.1
      16 September 2014 at 2:26 pm

      With a mental age of 2, those carers should be ashamed of themselves.

      • adam 13.1.1
        16 September 2014 at 11:09 pm

        Oh please you’re going to slag of the caregivers, then what about the brother, nephew or the journalist? You’re going to support a system which assumes mental capacity without rigorous testing, that quite frankly, is a horses ass. I know a person who they decided had a mental age of 11 and was going to be stuck there – turned out when they got their BCom, the doctor looked like real brightspark.

        But no lets let journalists sensationalise, lets let journalists and family members trample over peoples rights. Oh wait lets slag of workers who take people to a place were they have a legal right to be. Joy.

  14. logie97 14
    16 September 2014 at 1:22 pm

    Herald columnist Wendyl Nissen.
    Sticks it to the right … re Dirty Politics and Newstalkzb. If only more people like her would also come forward. There is still time.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11325097

  15. Molly 15
    16 September 2014 at 2:26 pm

    And the expected dismantling of Maori television has begun:” Maori TV executives demoted

    …”High-profile Maori Television executives Julian Wilcox and Carol Hirschfeld have been demoted from their jobs in a restructure process announced to staff at the station today.

    Maori Television Service chief executive Paora Maxwell briefed his executive staff this morning about a structural realignment that has seen Mr Wilcox and Ms Hirschfeld both big casualties in the changes at the station.”…

    …The Herald understands a new role called head of corporate affairs has been created at the station among several other positions including a head of programming and production role – that will oversee Mr Wilcox’s old news and current affairs job.

    The source said Mr Wilcox and Ms Hirschfeld are able to apply for the role but it’s likely it will go to the station’s current general manager programming, Haunui Royal, who is currently in Hawaii on holiday.”…

    • yeshe 15.1
      16 September 2014 at 4:50 pm

      Shit. That is terrible, terrible news. Why now, three days out ? Slipping it out so no-one will notice in the chaos ?

      The last bastion of investigative journalism on screen, along with John Campbell … and Hirschfeld was his original producer as I recall.

      This is exactly what they did to kneecap TVNZ. Put ‘owned’ advertising and programming people in charge of news and current affairs.

      Bastards. Bastards. Bastards.

      • kenny 15.1.1
        16 September 2014 at 8:06 pm

        Agree Yeshe – Maori TV has been one of the bright lights in the current attack on quality radio and TV. I must also mention the good work done by TV One on Sunday mornings BEFORE & AFTER Q&A. but I can’t understand why Jim Mora was installed as co-host on Checkpoint with Mary Wilson (well I can, he was put there to water down Mary’s talent for asking the hard questions).

  16. joe90 16
    16 September 2014 at 2:37 pm

    Out with the racists, in with the feminists.

    It didn’t go all the way this time, but Feminist Initiative has changed the conversation in Swedish politics, establishing that feminism is not something that can be ignored. The party has forced Swedish politicians to talk about gender equality and discrimination—and incorporate an intersectional perspective on oppressive structure. In so doing, they’ve put the possibility of a successful feminist party on the international map. A political party solely devoted to feminist issues is no longer a faraway dream, but a real thing

    http://msmagazine.com/blog/2014/09/15/swedens-feminist-party-nearly-gets-into-parliament-and-pharrell-helps/

    • Tracey 16.1
      16 September 2014 at 2:42 pm

      is there a follow up article about the sky falling as a result?

      • joe90 16.1.1
        16 September 2014 at 2:55 pm

        Yup, the racist thugs at the NRO –

        So regardless of the final vote counts in Sweden’s recent election, and no matter who makes up the governing coalition, it looks as if the country will preserve many free-market reforms. The situation is reminiscent of what happened in Britain in 1997, when the Labour party’s Tony Blair ousted the Conservatives after 18 years in opposition. Far from overturning the economic agenda of Margaret Thatcher, Blair broadly accepted it and proceeded to move left on social policy and immigration. Those moves damaged Britain even while its economy grew. The same thing could happen in Sweden. Conservatives appear to have won the broad economic argument in many countries, but the culture wars are a different matter entirely.

        http://www.donotlink.com/bn4v

  17. s y d 17
    16 September 2014 at 2:58 pm

    Stuff has breaking news

    Eminem suing National

    ROFL….slim shady

    • Tracey 17.1
      16 September 2014 at 3:00 pm

      But…but…but after the Cold Play ‘error”, national wouldn’t steal again????

      “John Key could be in copyright trouble over music used in the DVD to mark his year as National Party leader.

      The party has been warned it is walking a fine line by using a newly created piece of music very similar to Coldplay’s Clocks.

      The similarities are enough to have prompted the Australasian Performing Right Association, which manages copyright issues and licences for many international bands in New Zealand, to notify the copyright holder for Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.

      The Weekend Herald asked a music lawyer and musicology analyst to compare the Coldplay song to music used in the opening segments of the Ambitious for New Zealand – Meet John Key DVD because of confusion from some readers about the song in its opening segments.

      National Party campaign manager Jo de Joux said the music was composed by “an Auckland artist” and paid for by the production company which produced the DVD.

      However, music lawyer Chris Hocquard said if it was similar enough that the public was confused into thinking it was Clocks, it could be in breach of copyright laws and the Fair Trading Act.

      “The test is ‘does it confuse?’ Does the public listen to that and think ‘that’s Clocks?’ There’s a very fine line when you’re doing this and you have to be careful not to cross it.

      And I’m not sure they haven’t.”

      Dr Graeme Downes, the former Verlaines frontman who is now a musicology consultant at Otago University, said the music shared the same rumba beat, harmony and chords as Clocks.

      It also had a similar drum introduction, and the key was the same, “which draws even greater attention to the harmonic similarity”.

      “If I were approached by a lawyer to furnish a report for a prosecution of copyright infringement against the music on the DVD I would happily do so. If approached by a lawyer to furnish a report in its defence, I would decline.”

      Martin is well-known for his alignment with left-wing causes, such as fair trade and Oxfam, and his opposition to the Iraq War and George Bush. In his acceptance speech after winning the best record Grammy for Clocks in 2004, he specifically endorsed presidential candidate Democrat John Kerry.

      The NZ branch of Coldplay’s record company, EMI, had no comment.”

    • Tracey 17.2
      16 September 2014 at 3:04 pm

      it’s just never Key’s fault,, nothing ever…

      ” National Party leader John Key says his staff should never have signed off a DVD that appears to plagiarise a hit by English rock band Coldplay.
      DVD lands Key in hot water

      Key yesterday ordered a recall of 20,000 DVDs featuring him in a video called Ambitious for New Zealand after Coldplay’s record company, EMI, warned National it was breaching copyright by using music similar to the smash hit Clocks.

      The DVD focuses on Key travelling New Zealand by car, visiting schools and factories and talking about his vision for the country.

      Produced for National by Production Shed TV, the cost has not been disclosed but The Press understands the party spent $110,000 on it.

      The DVD was meant to relaunch Key’s image and introduce him to New Zealanders unfamiliar with the National leader, but the botch-up has embarrassed and angered the party.

      Last week Key toured South Island centres, handing out thousands of the DVDs, and planned a similar North Island tour.

      National Party campaign manager Jo de Joux previously insisted the music had been commissioned from an Auckland artist and was original.

      She said yesterday that the party was angry with the production company. “We paid these guys to make a DVD for us. We relied on their expertise and they have let us down.”

      Key said National should not have relied on Production Shed.

      “My people relied on the production company. In my opinion, they should have kicked it upstairs for me or one of the senior management team to sign off, and they didn’t,” he said. “

    • McFlock 17.3
      16 September 2014 at 3:05 pm

      their press release on scoop.

      So the folks who think KDC is a criminal are accused of stealing intellectual property.

      Nothing new here – the fucking nacts are well-known for their hypocrisy.

      • Tracey 17.3.1
        16 September 2014 at 3:11 pm

        “So the folks who think KDC is a criminal are accused of stealing intellectual property.”

        So the folks who think KDC is a criminal are accused of stealing intellectual property AGAIN.

        fFIFY McFlock.

    • Molly 17.4
      16 September 2014 at 3:09 pm

      …having a good laugh in this household at the moment.

      • Tracey 17.4.1
        16 September 2014 at 3:15 pm

        In 2009 Key said National should not have relied on Production Shed.

        “My people relied on the production company. In my opinion, they should have kicked it upstairs for me or one of the senior management team to sign off, and they didn’t,” he said. “

        Is that John Key, he who knows nothing cos he delegates saying something should have been kicked upstairs to him for sign off? Is he an Intellectual property expert?

  18. Not a PS Staffer 18
    16 September 2014 at 3:17 pm

    The Wendy Missen story on Katherine Rich in the Herald will have a huge impact on “middle New Zealand”.
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11325097

    “As you may know I write a column called Wendyl Wants to Know in the Weekend Herald every Saturday which looks at what is in processed food.”

    “Earlier this year I was on the receiving end of a concerted effort, including legal letters, to get me discredited through my bosses at the Herald.

    The person behind it was Katherine Rich, the chief executive of the Food & Grocery Council….
    After that I noticed that right-wing bloggers Whale Oil and Cactus Kate (appeared to have begun a smear campaign against me. ”

    Katherine Rich and Slater took money to rubbish a food writer.

    Now THAT is the story that will incense National supporters.

  19. Not a PS Staffer 19
    16 September 2014 at 3:18 pm

    National Party sued over Eminem copyright infringment
    “A claim filed in the High Court today alleges the National Party used elements of Eminem’s Grammy-winning song in TV ads screening during their election campaign.”

    it is not just raining on National: it is pissing down!

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11325727

  20. joe90 20
    16 September 2014 at 3:24 pm

    John Oliver explains Scottish independence.

  21. s y d 21
    16 September 2014 at 3:44 pm

    something is happening…… Wairarapa farmers can sense things are not right..

    https://agrihq.co.nz/article/alternative-view-to-vote-corrupt-inept-anti-farming-or-lunatic?p=6

  22. hoom 22
    16 September 2014 at 3:50 pm

    Advance voting continuing its early very high trend & going through the roof
    http://www.elections.org.nz/events/2014-general-election/advance-voting-statistics

    So either this is going to be a big turnout or a lot of people who normally vote have early voted so they don’t need to later & there will be low turnout on the day.

    • McFlock 22.1
      17 September 2014 at 1:10 pm

      I’ll be interested to see which it is – I’ll be voting on the day, because I still haven’t decided yet lol

  23. Raa 23
    16 September 2014 at 4:38 pm

    The possibility of Scottish independence seems to have kicked off
    another move to change the Australian flag.

    http://www.smh.com.au/national/australian-flagchange-champions-aflutter-ahead-of-scottish-independence-vote-20140916-10eet2.html

    Perhaps we could try a possum pelt on a long-drop door ..

  24. yeshe 24
    16 September 2014 at 5:19 pm

    Weather forecasts have possible snow and rain for election day according to Stuff; worst since 1984 and a lot of us can remember.

    This had me chuckling, a welcome portent, and a brilliant old woman ….

    “Left-wing political commentator Chris Trotter recalled being in Dunedin for the 1984 election which saw Prime Minister Rob Muldoon defeated.

    “The memory that sticks in my mind the most was going up Carroll Street towards the polling booth and there was a very old lady trudging up through the snow as it was falling.

    “She looked so old and frail and I said, ‘do you need any help?’ And she said to me, ‘no, it’s alright, I can get rid of this bastard Muldoon all by myself’.”

    Despite the winter weather, that election was the high point of New Zealand’s turnout to general elections, with 93.7 per cent of registered voters participating, Trotter said.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10504834/Rain-wind-and-snow-predicted-for-Election-Day

  25. marty mars 25
    16 September 2014 at 5:21 pm

    key henchman?
    joyce shake them down?

    WTF – are we in full gangster mode or what

  26. yeshe 26
    16 September 2014 at 5:31 pm

    Maori TV dangerous re-shuffles today and also here Pita Sharples does his masters’ bidding:

    http://tvnz.co.nz/vote-2014-news/peters-slams-sharples-tribunal-appointments-election-eve-6082657

  27. phillip ure 27
    16 September 2014 at 5:35 pm

    how stuffed is stuff..?

    ..at 7 mins past 4..new allegations from greenwald about nz spying on our neighbours..

    ..very soon afterwards it is bumped right down to the bottom story in the politics section..

    ..agenda..?..much..?

  28. phillip ure 28
    16 September 2014 at 5:44 pm

    wow..!..barry soper on prime news..deserves a special craven-toady award..

    .dismisses the mass-surveillance-issue..hopes ‘it’s all over now..and we can get back to the campaign’..

  29. Sans Cle 29
    16 September 2014 at 6:55 pm

    Is this a Monty Python Skit in the Herald?
    Breaking news is article on “secret document danger” (about how Key has endangered NZ, potentially), followed by “kiwi jihadist wants to return home”, with a picture of Mohammad Daniel, sporting a gun. Mustn’t have liked the Eminem story, as that has been bumped to third!
    Surreal….we need Russel Brand to take on our MSM, like he did with Fox news!

  30. weka 30
    16 September 2014 at 6:59 pm

    Anyone seen anything more on this? I can’t find anything RadioLive’s website (but they have a naff search engine).

    RadioLIVE Newsroom
    ‏@LIVENewsDesk
    John Key’s encouraging voters in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate to vote for Labour in a bid to destroy Kim Dotcom’s Internet Mana Movement.

  31. weka 31
    16 September 2014 at 7:12 pm

    Is this Key gearing up to steal the election?

    But this is where things could get a little hairy. Mr Key told TV3’s The Nation on Saturday morning that if he felt that Mr Peters was mucking him around, he’d advise the Governor-general to summon the new Parliament. He also signalled his intention to continue governing as a sort of pro tempore Prime Minister until defeated by a motion of No-Confidence – at which point he would advise the Governor-General to dissolve the House and call a new General Election. Faced with the prospect of being punished by the voters for forcing them into an unnecessary and unwanted snap election, Mr Key clearly believes that Mr Peters would blink first and get in behind a National-led Government.

    Such an outcome would, however, constitute a clear breach of New Zealand’s constitutional conventions and come very close to being a coup d’état. If Mr Key cannot negotiate an agreement with Mr Peters, then the proper course for the Governor-General is to invite the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Cunliffe, to have a go at assembling the requisite majority in the House of Representatives.

    Only in the event of both Mr Key and Mr Cunliffe being unable to assemble a majority would the Governor-General be entitled to convene the House and test its members’ willingness to do so. Should that prove unattainable, then – and only then – would the Governor-General be obliged to dissolve the Parliament and ask us – the voters – to elect a new one.

    http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/a-working-majority.html

    • McFlock 31.1
      17 September 2014 at 1:20 pm

      one thing that has fascinated me the last few years is that, despite the low opinion folks had of politicians prior to this regime, how much of our system of government relied on personal integrity and accountability.

      Cabinet manual – toothless
      Privileges committee – dominated by the government, so a lapdog
      Speaker – no recourse to a blatantly biased and incompetent Speaker
      Classified documents – binding on the opposition, declassified on a whim by the pm

      I wonder if it would be more effective to be able to kick privileges committee, cabinet manual things, and speaker rulings to the supreme court in a timely manner? The US court is stacked by whichever government is in power, but maybe if jurists elected supreme court members for fixed terms?

  32. weka 32
    16 September 2014 at 7:31 pm

    Updated list of businesses removing advertising from WO. Fonterra just joined the list.

    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/09/16/blogwatch-fonterra-join-2degrees-and-boycott-whaleoil/

  33. adam 33
    16 September 2014 at 7:36 pm

    Keys approach now – I wondered when he was going to reach for the Nationalism card – it seems now is the time!

    I’m loth to publish this whole letter but I think you need the context.

    Hello Adam

    I’m contacting you with this special message to thank you for your extraordinary support over recent weeks.

    This mirrors the support and feedback we’re getting from Kiwis all across the country.

    In the last few days of this campaign we are determined that nothing will stand between us and laying out our clear plan for New Zealand’s future… because that’s what New Zealanders’ are asking for.

    It is those same Kiwis who are also asking us what business Kim Dotcom and his foreign political friends have in telling Kiwis what they ought to think four days out from our election.

    But just to be perfectly clear, there is no truth to the wild allegations they’ve made – there are no NSA spy bases in New Zealand and no mass surveillance of New Zealanders.

    Our election on Saturday is about the future of New Zealand.

    We will continue to work hard right up until Friday night, just as we have for the last six years, to focus on the issues that matter to New Zealanders.

    We’ll be reminding New Zealanders that our plans will ensure a strong, open economy that delivers more for them and their families – like more jobs, higher incomes, more people off welfare and into work and world-leading education and health services.

    We’ll also be reminding voters that MMP elections are always close, even with the Opposition in disarray.

    We need to make sure voters know that any vote for any other party risks political turmoil and our economy stalling.

    The ONLY way to keep New Zealand heading in the right direction is to PARTY VOTE NATIONAL.

    So let’s get out as many supporters as possible to party vote National on Saturday.

    Thanks again for your support.

    Rt Hon John Key

    • karol 33.1
      16 September 2014 at 7:38 pm

      John Key, busy bamboozling.

    • marty mars 33.2
      16 September 2014 at 7:45 pm

      key is scared, very scared – he’ll do and say anything now – the next few days are going to be torrid and when the dust settles the utter moral vacuousness of key will be apparent for everyone to see. Win or lose, key is toast.

      • Colonial Viper 33.2.1
        16 September 2014 at 11:19 pm

        Yes – Key will destroy the credibility of this entire Government trying to claw his way back into the PM’s office.

        • blue leopard 33.2.1.1
          16 September 2014 at 11:27 pm

          He already has destroyed the credibility of the entire government.

          • greywarbler 33.2.1.1.1
            17 September 2014 at 1:42 pm

            Key and his gang are finishing off our belief in the goodness of our fellow citizens and our democracy. and the expectation that we will develop better ideas for managing the country as education rises and we have the option of calm reflection distant from temporary crises.

            That’s naive stuff. Bring on the crises, manufacture them like fireworks, let them off and watch the panic, no time now for rational, advanced thinking.

        • Tracey 33.2.1.2
          17 September 2014 at 1:28 pm

          Have you seen what 3rd degree is about this week? Former employees reveal what KDC is really like…

    • weka 33.3
      16 September 2014 at 7:51 pm

      Sorry adam, couldn’t bring myself to read it. I got a letter in the mail from Key and threw it in the fire without opening it 🙂

      • Molly 33.3.1
        16 September 2014 at 10:43 pm

        … had to laugh, because we did exactly the same thing.

        At least that way we actually got some genuine warmth out of current PM…

    • blue leopard 33.4
      16 September 2014 at 7:52 pm

      “I’m contacting you with this special message to thank you for your extraordinary support over recent weeks.

      This mirrors the support and feedback we’re getting from Kiwis all across the country.

      Yes, judging by the desperate fluoro messages you have taken to plastering across your hoardings, I guess my ‘extraordinary support over recent weeks’ …of left wing parties… (you appear to have missed that part out) does mirror the feedback you have been getting from ‘Kiwis all across the country’ and I have to assume that would be something along the lines of: ‘Fuck off, I ‘m voting left’.

      • karol 33.4.1
        16 September 2014 at 7:58 pm

        Some woman on TV One, did a report on Facebook mentions for leaders of political parties. key got the most mentions – but really, how vacuous!! People here mention Key quite a lot, and most of it isn’t flattering. She then said Key got loads of mentions after KDC failed to produce new evidence at the MoT – how does she know it wasn’t people on about Key and X-Keyscore, etc?

        How stupid do some of these reporters think we are?

        • blue leopard 33.4.1.1
          16 September 2014 at 8:15 pm

          Yes, I don’t understand it, but TV1 seems to have gotten worse than TV3 now 🙁
          (Wonder why they have degenerated so much? TV3 seems to have improved too. Just odd that they have almost done a complete swap over in my opinion – watch both now, to catch the different slants)

          I saw that report and thought it very very bizarre and shabby for that reason. Completely deceptive. Also, did I miss them mentioning IMP or were they ignored?

          • karol 33.4.1.1.1
            16 September 2014 at 8:39 pm

            Yes, I think they did. Though they also ignored Maori Party, Cons, etc.

            Also tonight, i had the misfortune to flick into TV One to catch a woman talking about MoT, GCSB, etc, and Mike Hosking replied with an exaggerated groan – “I’m so over this”.

            And that guy is meant to be some sort of quality political or current events journalist. I quickly flicked away from TV One in disgust.

            • blue leopard 33.4.1.1.1.1
              16 September 2014 at 9:06 pm

              I do find it bizarre because TV1 used to be the better one – now One has gone to pieces as far as decent reporting goes!

              I thought they missed out IMP because they would have ranked high due to the most talked about subject being related to their party.

              They also didn’t say how they counted the data. Hashtags? Some other means? Just hopeless.

              I laughed at what you said re flicking over to see something awful! What terrible timing! It really does annoy me seeing someone trivialize something so important. Even worse to think that they think they are excellent for having done so. They just look scared to me.

              Did you see Dotcom’s ‘outburst’ on 3? It was excellent, he was telling 3/Paddy off for bad reporting in the past, doing the public a disservice, that type of thing. I thought was excellent that they played it. I have to say, I agreed with every word Dotcom said!

            • Colonial Viper 33.4.1.1.1.2
              16 September 2014 at 9:26 pm

              and Mike Hosking replied with an exaggerated groan – “I’m so over this”.

              Hoskin hob nobs with the power elite, and indeed is part of the 1% (if not 0.1%). Hence it’s not surprising that he finds complaints about an infrastructure designed to entrench the power elite against everyone else totally banal.

    • weka 34.1
      16 September 2014 at 8:56 pm

      Bit of background here on how other cables are tapped, including reference the to submarine that Snowden talked about last night). Nice bit of historical context of cable tapping the Russians in the 70s too.

      In 2005, the Associated Press reported that a submarine called the USS Jimmy Carter had been repurposed to carry crews of technicians to the bottom of the sea so they could tap fiber optic lines. The easiest place to get into the cables is at the regeneration points — spots where their signals are amplified and pushed forward on their long, circuitous journeys. “At these spots, the fiber optics can be more easily tapped, because they are no longer bundled together, rather laid out individually,” Deutsche Welle reported.

      But such aquatic endeavors may no longer even be necessary. The cables make landfall at coastal stations in various countries, where their data is sent on to domestic networks, and it’s easier to tap them on land than underwater. Britain is, geographically, in an ideal position to access to cables as they emerge from the Atlantic, so the cooperation between the NSA and GCHQ has been key. Beyond that partnership, there are the other members of the “Five Eyes” — the Australians, the New Zealanders, and the Canadians — that also collaborate with the U.S., Snowden said.

      http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/07/the-creepy-long-standing-practice-of-undersea-cable-tapping/277855/

    • karol 34.2
      16 September 2014 at 8:56 pm

      The sewer, you say? Surely they wouldn’t be interested in this?

    • karol 34.4
      16 September 2014 at 9:00 pm

      This one is very interesting: dated Sept 2010.

      The Southern Cross undersea cable landings at two Auckland beaches have been labelled critical infrastructure and key resources by the United States government, a Wikileaks cable released today reveals.
      […]
      They are the landings for the fibre optic link at Whenuapai and Takapuna.
      […]
      The memo from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is titled critical foreign dependencies (critical infrastructure and key resources located abroad) dated February 18 last year and is classified secret.

      It says it is not for internet distribution.

      The cable, released by Wikileaks, explains that under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) was written.
      […]
      The memo says that a National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) was developed under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

      It aimed to bring together critical infrastructure and key resources (CI/KR).

      “The overarching goal of the NIPP is to build a safer, more secure, and more resilient America by enhancing protection of the nation’s CI/KR to prevent, deter, neutralise or mitigate the effects of deliberate efforts by terrorists to destroy, incapacitate or exploit them; and to strengthen national preparedness, timely response, and rapid recovery in the event of an attack, natural disaster or other emergency.”

      • yeshe 34.4.1
        16 September 2014 at 9:35 pm

        OMG Takkers? What will the locals say ?

        thx Karol. What a day; hard to read everything isn’t it 🙂

        I have an idea .. some bright journo should ask Maggie Barry what she thinks about it !

      • joe90 34.4.2
        16 September 2014 at 9:41 pm

        The cable.

        Subject Request For Information:critical Foreign Dependencies (critical Infrastructure And Key Resources Located Abroad)

        […]

        New Zealand: Southern Cross undersea cable landing, Whenuapai, New Zealand Southern Cross undersea cable landing, Takapuna, New Zealand

        https://cablegatesearch.wikileaks.org/cable.php?id=09STATE15113&q=takapuna

        • yeshe 34.4.2.1
          16 September 2014 at 9:48 pm

          thx joe. extraordinary what some of those critical assets are. mines, mineral, pharma companies and their specialities, and Takapuna Beach !

          what a reality.

      • joe90 34.4.3
        16 September 2014 at 9:52 pm

        He really is an arrogant prick.

        (C) Summary: On February 22, the Ambassador accompanied a Washington visitor to a ” courtesy call” on Prime Minister (PM) John Key which turned into an hour plus discussion. PM Key noted that he (in contrast to MFAT) was not concerned about immediately devising a “media strategy” after the recent briefing on the USG review of bilateral military relations delivered by DAS Frankie Reed and DASD Bob Scher. He expressed confidence that he could handle any related questions if they came up (which they have not in several encounters with the media that the PM has subsequently had). Key also raised the topic of a bilateral visit to the Washington DC in a manner that indicated how important confirming the visit for June is to him. End Summary

        […]

        (C) Comment: The manner in which PM Key pitched the bilateral visit indicated to the Ambassador that nailing down a June visit is of intense importance to Key. The Ambassador gathered from the exchange that June is being held open by the GNZ in hopes of a confirmation for a bilateral visit then in the near future. Key, who has not previously raised this topic personally (leaving that to FM McCully and MFAT) clearly hoped his explanation might result in an early confirmation for June. End Comment. CLARKE

        https://cablegatesearch.wikileaks.org/cable.php?id=10WELLINGTON81&q=auckland

  35. Molly 35
    16 September 2014 at 11:40 pm

    Via a comment on the Wendyl Nissen article in the Herald was led to a couple of unexpected political articles in Agri-Weekly:

    Alternative View – To vote corrupt, inept, anti-farming, or lunatic? by Alan Emerson, who after reading Dirty Politic is now going to give his electorate vote to the Labour candidate, and is still unsure about his party vote

    – and –

    Gord Stewarts – Pulpit – National not serving farmers well. Talking about the arrogance of National in (not) addressing climate change, and the reliance it has on dairy.

    No comments so far on the articles, but interesting given the expected voting preferences of the farming community.

    I wonder if there will be any traditional National voters that are so conflicted about the current news articles that for a change it is right-wing voters that don’t turn up at the ballot box?

    • Colonial Viper 35.1
      16 September 2014 at 11:46 pm

      a lot of conservative, orthodox National supporters in rural areas are less than pleased that Key, Collins, et al have gotten into bed with Slater and his cohorts.

      Will that mean that significant numbers won’t vote blue this time? (Just 30,000 changing to Red Green or Black will be enough to end National). We’ll really only know on Sunday 21st.