Open mike 17/10/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, October 17th, 2013 - 186 comments
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186 comments on “Open mike 17/10/2013 ”

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  1. amirite 1
    17 October 2013 at 6:47 am

    Well well well, the plot thickens:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11141316

    Meanwhile, the real news is that ShonKey doesnt see any conflict of interest in keeping Banks in Parliament for that crucial one vote on the SkyCity bill:

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Key-sure-of-numbers-despite-Banks-blow/tabid/1607/articleID/317532/Default.aspx

    Which bring us to a conclusion that it is absolutely vital to vote the fuckers out.

  2. Paul 2
    17 October 2013 at 6:51 am

    From the Herald today

    “The woman at the centre of the Len Brown sex scandal says she felt pressured to reveal the affair by a member of his right-wing rival John Palino’s election team – and is now sorry she went public.”

    The way this has been manipulated by members of Palino’s group does not make this a good look for such low life who use people to benefit their own political position.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11141316

    • Sanctuary 2.1
      17 October 2013 at 7:06 am

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11141316

      So John Palino’s henchman Luigi Wewege is revealed as a common, lowly coward and a dishonorable cad who doesn’t even have the guts to admit his relationship with Bevan Chuang.

      It is funny how suddenly the two Johns – Slater and Palino – have no knowledge of the sex life of Bevan Chuang when it suits them. We’ve seen this sort of right wing selective memory just yesterday with another John – John Banks – in the Auckland High Court and we now know what the judicial system thinks of that.

      I think we can take these examples of the cavalier wide-boy approach to the memory and the truth as symptomatic of the poisonous cess pit that is the political culture of the right in Auckland. The Slaters. John Banks. John Palino. Luigi Wewege. Cameron Brewer. Denise Krum. Sounds like Halloween has come early this year in Auckland. What a vile and appalling bunch!

      • Pascal's bookie 2.1.1
        17 October 2013 at 7:12 am

        Yep.

        Whale is a piece of shit who will say or do anything, and the fact that people work with him is a scandal in and of itself.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.1
          17 October 2013 at 12:23 pm

          Can Len Brown sue for invasion of privacy?

          But I am inclined to think that Auckland mayor Len Brown has a strong case if he wants to sue Cameron Slater, Stephen Cook, and perhaps even Bevan Chuang, for invasion of his privacy in their reporting about his affair with Chuang.
          I’m not saying that he should sue, or that he’s likely to. Just that the elements of a claim are probably made out.

          I’m of the opinion that he should.

          • Pascal's bookie 2.1.1.1.1
            17 October 2013 at 6:23 pm

            Probably won;t for the same reasons you don’t sue Wishart. It’s expensive, very public, and there’s little to gain.

      • chris73 2.1.2
        17 October 2013 at 7:20 am

        Oh I know, isn’t it exciting! Wonder what the next plot twist will be…like cheap john grisham knock-off 🙂

        Who says local body politics is boring 🙂

        • North 2.1.2.1
          17 October 2013 at 7:44 am

          Text message Wewege to Chuang 31/8/13 –

          “Baby I have everything set up people are just waiting for you.”

          People ?

          Wonder whom ?

          The Mad Right really are filth are they not ?

          Particularly SlaterPorn. Whose facility to fuck around is a matter of public knowledge – judgment of Judge David Harvey in the Harrassment Act appplication made against Sperling – former connection of Mad Michael Laws.

          Hey…….ShonKey Python…….sure love the “higher standards” in your Flying Circus.

      • phillip ure 2.1.3
        17 October 2013 at 7:53 am

        is anyone else mildly disturbed how the likes of key/lee-ross have so swung in behind their ‘len’..?

        ..just saying..!

        phillip ure..

        • Murray Olsen 2.1.3.1
          17 October 2013 at 7:52 pm

          Very disturbed. Lenny Boy runs Auckland very well for them, so I’m not surprised. What Brown basically does is keep a lid on the left, while actually helping them with the wharf and GI.

      • John Cox 2.1.4
        17 October 2013 at 6:20 pm

        Len is the cad – he is the one who has had an affair. Do not forget that. If his political opponents seek to take advantage of that, they cannot be criticised for making the most of the ammunition that Len has given them. He knew before the election that his affair was about to be exposed. He knew that he could not be sure that people would vote for him if they were aware of his affair. He decision to say nothing was dishonourable and political suicide.

        • McFlock 2.1.4.1
          17 October 2013 at 6:36 pm

          I reckon they can be criticised for apparently bullying someone into revealing intimate details which were then pasted all over the internet.

          Especially when one of them should know better, having already lost one job over similar behaviour..

        • Colonial Viper 2.1.4.2
          17 October 2013 at 11:23 pm

          Len is the cad – he is the one who has had an affair. Do not forget that. If his political opponents seek to take advantage of that, they cannot be criticised for making the most of the ammunition that Len has given them.

          Hey John.

          Did you just say that we should hold Len publicly accountable for actions he took in his private life, but the people now attacking Len with sleazy political ammunition, we should give the attackers a complete pass, free of criticism?

    • BM 2.2
      17 October 2013 at 7:21 am

      The facts of the matter are still.

      1.Brown cheated on his wife
      2.Brown instigated this affair
      3.This woman is a total bunny boiler and Brown demonstrated that he thinks with his dick not his head.
      4. Of course they’d want her to come out, Brown the good Christian man was rooting around behind his wifes back while trading on a happy family, good Christian morals platform.
      If this had come out before the election, Brown would have been fucked.

      • Sanctuary 2.2.1
        17 October 2013 at 7:30 am

        “…This woman is a total bunny boiler…”

        Can we just park the usual tendency to misogyny at least on this site please?

        It looks like she’s been ruthlessly exploited by the right, and her opinion of Len Brown according to Cameron Slater is a tissue of lies. Just when I thought my opinion of Cameron Slater could not possibly go lower, it does.

        Now as Russell Brown says follow the money – who paid Stephen Cook to write the story?

        • BM 2.2.1.1
          17 October 2013 at 7:55 am

          Ruthlessly exploited, yeah right
          Oh that poor simple woman, how could those mean men be so nasty.

          She knew what she was doing, she’s only decided to flip flop around because she isn’t liking the way it’s all gone and has got cold feet.

          Too late for that, she let all the gory details out in that signed affidavit, did she honestly think it was going to blow over in a day or two and then it’s back to normal, maybe even a job in the media trading on that new found fame.

        • Ennui 2.2.1.2
          17 October 2013 at 12:00 pm

          Just when I thought my opinion of Cameron Slater could not possibly go lower, it does.
          Why so surprised? Whale (to quote James Stewart in Shenandoah) “is the only person I know who started at the bottom and went downhill”.

          follow the money – who paid Stephen Cook to write the story. True but who made the whole story possible? Why Len of course. If he was silly enough to hang his balls out on the block some passing cetacean was bound to cut the off. Silly prick (quite literally).

          So to Len, a safe pair of hands for the “Left”? If he could keep his own hands around his own privates maybe.

      • felix 2.2.2
        17 October 2013 at 7:31 am

        1. None of your business.

        2. None of your business.

        3. Oh look, right-wing mysogynist scum are turning on their own.

        4. And yet you chose to release the info after the election.

        • chris73 2.2.2.1
          17 October 2013 at 7:37 am

          1. She used him as a reference

          2. He hasn’t ruled out other affairs

          3. Theres still the issue of the threatening text

          4. I can’t wait for the next bombshell

          5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAS4CSLAiyY

          • miravox 2.2.2.1.1
            17 October 2013 at 7:41 am

            5. See Felix’s 3.

            Take it back to the sewer, will you?

          • felix 2.2.2.1.2
            17 October 2013 at 8:06 am

            Hi Chris.

            My bullet points were each a direct response to BM’s bullet points. I have no idea what yours are.

            (except an attempt to discredit this site by spreading sexist, misogynist shit all over it)

            ps you mean the “threatening texts” that Slater sent from a burner phone?

          • McFlock 2.2.2.1.3
            17 October 2013 at 11:47 am

            re: 4: pull your pants up, your tumescent anticipation wouldn’t intimidate a gnat.

            • Murray Olsen 2.2.2.1.3.1
              17 October 2013 at 7:59 pm

              There is no way known to science to tell if a right winger is stricken by priapism.

              • Adele …
                17 October 2013 at 11:36 pm

                Kiaora Murray

                There is no way known to science to tell if a right winger is stricken by priapism.

                Science may not provide an answer but common sense says ‘they leak to the right’

      • bad12 2.2.3
        17 October 2013 at 7:55 am

        Lolz, BM, and the involvement, proved in today’s Herald, of the Palino camp in the belated outing of this affair between Brown and Chuang, plus the ongoing pressure put on Chuang to out the affair befor the election will do what for any future Palino challenge,

        Lover boy Luigi’s denial of ever having shared the bed with Chuang, ‘He hardly in His words knew the woman’, does what to Palino’s denial of knowing anything of what was being attempted to drop Len in His own mess right in the middle of the campaign,

        For any damage done to Len Brown by the exposure of what is essentially His private life, you can expect, as the real story continues to unfold, an equal, if not greater amount of damage to be inflicted upon the Citizens and Ratpayers ticket….

        • BM 2.2.3.1
          17 October 2013 at 8:11 am

          Not a chance.

          As hard as you lefties try to shoot the messenger, Brown is fucked, once this term is over he’s gone.
          And in the mean time, he’s a dead duck, he won’t achieve anything, all those great lefty dreams for Auckland, down the toilet where they belong.

          😈 😈 😈

          • felix 2.2.3.1.1
            17 October 2013 at 8:31 am

            Weird, I thought your concerns were for the sanctity of marriage and public office.

            Quelle surprise.

            • McFlock 2.2.3.1.1.1
              17 October 2013 at 12:14 pm

              whenever a tory expresses concern or moral outrage, always do a quick check to see if there’s a tent in their pants

          • bad12 2.2.3.1.2
            17 October 2013 at 8:34 am

            Lolz BM, your latest is what i term dragging defeat out of the jaws of victory, it’s a long long road to the next Council elections and it will be my pleasure to read your whinging, whining and wailing about this issue for the next 3 years,

            Hate to further burst your bubble, but, you seem to forget that we have a General Election next year, right now i would say it’s 60/40 that after that, unless Lolz, National can score 50% of the vote, David Cunliffe will be the next Prime Minister of the first Labour/Green Government,

            While that little scenario obviously fills ‘wing-nuts’ like you with terror it simply adds laughter to what you say about Len Brown being unable to achieve ‘anything’ in His current term as Mayor,

            i would say that the incoming Labour/Green Government will be only to happy to either fund Brown’s Auckland transport plans OR through Legislation, provide Browns Council with the tools necessary to gather the necessary capital to have such capital works well under way,

            Suck it up BM, across the political spectrum ‘the right’ have lost all traction, Losers in other words, a descriptive, on the odd occasion i have cause to think about you, which is easily able to be fitted to your dog collar…

            • bad12 2.2.3.1.2.1
              17 October 2013 at 6:01 pm

              Lolz, after the latest Roy Morgan out today i wish to change my odds of the next Government being a Labour/Green one to 70/30 in favor…

          • karol 2.2.3.1.3
            17 October 2013 at 12:25 pm

            Palino doesn’t look set to have much of a future, nor does anyone who WO supports.

            • David H 2.2.3.1.3.1
              17 October 2013 at 1:51 pm

              WO should be made to wear a sign around his neck that says, “Trust me at your Peril!”

      • Murray Olsen 2.2.4
        17 October 2013 at 7:56 pm

        What the fuck is a bunny boiler? And what does it have to do with the price of fish?
        Among the people who have a right to comment on Len’s peccadilloes are his family. Some of them have come out to support him, so you and the rest of the fake moralistic right should just get back to your porn and shut up.

    • muzza 2.3
      17 October 2013 at 7:25 am

      Wewege, palino, chuang.

      Welcome to nz, thanks for your contribution to making it better for everyone!

      To say nothing of the local handlers!

      Who are all these people, really!

      • chris73 2.3.1
        17 October 2013 at 7:29 am

        You forgot Norman 😉

        • framu 2.3.1.1
          17 October 2013 at 12:10 pm

          exactly what are you trying to say?

          im sure its some moronic barb about him being an commie or something, but do please put in the extra effort to actually make sense

          • chris73 2.3.1.1.1
            17 October 2013 at 5:00 pm

            Not so much the commie bit (not that it helps) but being another foreigner coming over and making the country all the worse for it

  3. mickysavage 3
    17 October 2013 at 6:52 am

    What is happening at NBR. I have heard a rumour from an impeccable source that long time reporter Jock Anderson has been fired for writing a pro Len Brown editorial.

    The page is still there at http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/editorial-len-brown-needs-stay-job-ja-p-147196 but access has been denied. Someone with greater skill with Google Cache may be able to retrieve it.

    Can this be true? And if so what happened to freedom of the press? Perhaps regular contributor Matthew Hooton would like to comment.

  4. risildowgtn 4
    17 October 2013 at 7:23 am

    eww fat slug Slater is on breakfast….

    Hell I heaved my brekkie n then some

    fat slug is rattling on about morals

    • felix 4.1
      17 October 2013 at 7:38 am

      Are they asking him about his own affairs?

    • muzza 4.2
      17 October 2013 at 8:14 am

      Slater Seniors actual nickname – “Slug”.

      Auckland, like all cities around the globe is tightly controlled.

      From time to time, we get to see into the filth that allows the criminal elements to control the resources, and in NZ we are really scraping the bottom levels.

      Wewege and Chuang are from a “future leaders” style of group, which brings into question what exactly that group is designed for!

      Cameron Brewer has slipped off rader for the time being, very quiet cameron – fill his inbox people, his council email is public record, do is the contact via his blog site.

      Chuang, the Dragon Baby Mamma, is calculating and conniving, just like those she is involved with!

      Future leaders, piffle!

  6. LW 6
    17 October 2013 at 8:01 am

    how sad and how terrible to think that just exposing someone to advance their own career is the right moved. Especially that person is your own girlfriend. let this be the lesson to him, and how sad, because this guy, Luigi Wewege will never learned and found true love. He was even regard as the future leader, serious, what the exposure and creating a future leader turn up to creating a future monster….disguising. By the way, you are still young, and one day when you have your own daughter, seriously……best luck….

  7. miravox 7
    17 October 2013 at 8:14 am

    Well, at least some good news today with the climate change skeptics bailing on their appeal against NIWA. Seems they don’t even understand their own court case.

    The dispute centred on readings from the seven-station series – stations in Auckland, Masterton, Wellington, Nelson, Hokitika, Lincoln and Dunedin – used by Niwa for temperature records.

    The trust claimed unscientific methods used created an unrealistic indication of climate warming.

    But last year, High Court Justice Geoffrey Venning ruled against the group and ordered it to repay court costs. The group decided to challenge the ruling in the Court of Appeal, but this week withdrew the appeal.

    Barry Brill, who acted as solicitor for the trust, said his clients could not see a way forward after coming upon a procedural issue. The judges had noted two scientists involved in the reports were not cross-examined – something his clients were unaware could be done during the earlier court process.

    They were always going to lose this one.

    • McFlock 7.1
      17 October 2013 at 12:19 pm

      Isn’t that something their solicitor should have told them about at the time?

      Maybe they just decided “withdrawing on a technicality” is better for their snake oil sales than “arses handed to them on a plate”

  8. vto 8
    17 October 2013 at 8:18 am

    Congratulations to Eleanor Catton on her Man Booker win – must read the book, covering a topic of close personal interest, history and locale.

    However, her comments on nat radio yesterday were a little disturbing in trying to use gold in pakeha society and pounamu in maori society as metaphors for their respective features. Seriously lacking imo. So many New Zealanders have lost a sense of their history and cultural and societal mores from pre-WWII. There is little understanding of many parts of society from before that time. Perhaps she should stick to writing. But then, maybe I should read the book first (which most certainly will) and then re-assess what she was trying to say yesterday.

  9. risildowgtn 9
    17 October 2013 at 9:12 am

    Bit rich of Slater to be so moralistic is it not?

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10813552

  10. Morrissey 10
    17 October 2013 at 9:28 am

    Drones, the Media and Malala’s Message
    by PETER HART, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, 15 October 2013

    Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai’s visit to the United States was widely covered in the media, including interviews with ABC’s Diane Sawyer (10/11/13), CNN’s Christiane Amanpour (10/14/13) and Jon Stewart of the Daily Show (10/8/13). She was selected as ABC’s “Person of the Week” on October 11, and was considered a serious contender for the Nobel Peace Prize.

    And for good reason; just one year ago, Malala was attacked by the Taliban for her outspoken advocacy on behalf of educational equality, surviving a an attack where she was shot in the head.

    But one part of her message didn’t seem to penetrate the corporate media.

    During her October 11 visit to the White House, Yousafzai told Barack Obama that his administration’s drone strikes were fueling terrorism. As McClatchy’s Lesley Clark (10/11/13) reported:

    In a statement released after the meeting, Malala said she was honored to meet with Obama, but that she told him she’s worried about the effect of US drone strikes. (The White House statement didn’t mention that part.) “I thanked President Obama for the United States’ work in supporting education in Pakistan and Afghanistan and for Syrian refugees,” she said in the statement. “I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fueling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education, it will make a big impact.”

    This exchange, for some reason, didn’t register ….

    http://www.fair.org/blog/2013/10/15/drones-the-media-and-malalas-message/

  11. tc 11
    17 October 2013 at 9:56 am

    On another matter the all whites now face mexico home and away to reach WC 2014.

    This will not be easy as mexico are going for 6 straight WC’s and have been hot/cold through their qualification so lets hope we get the cold ‘El Tri’ as the hot one is a class above us.

    • Morrissey 11.1
      17 October 2013 at 10:03 am

      New Zealand 4, Mexico 0.

      Wednesday July 20, 1980.

    • millsy 11.2
      17 October 2013 at 10:37 am

      We might as well not bother showing up now. Mexico will take us apart. Its like Argentina playing the All Blacks.

      • tc 11.2.1
        17 October 2013 at 11:00 am

        Yes CONCACAF is alot tougher than facing an asian team. This team boasts Rafael Marquez (ex barca centre half), Manyoo’s hernandez up front and technically gifted players that can do the unexpected

        We may find out the hard way what an awesome on field leader and defender the retired Ryan Nelson was. Hope we don’t but 2 WC’s in a row is long odds for us now.

    • The Al1en 11.3
      17 October 2013 at 12:20 pm

      For the good of the game here, NZ should follow Australia into the Asian confederation.

      • Colonial Viper 11.3.1
        17 October 2013 at 12:26 pm

        Can someone please tell Qatar to stop stadium workers from being over worked and dying.

        • The Al1en 11.3.1.1
          17 October 2013 at 12:47 pm

          And fifa from awarding competitions dependant on the size of the backhanders on offer.

          • tc 11.3.1.1.1
            17 October 2013 at 1:24 pm

            Agree Allen on going through Asia.

            Qatar is getting interesting with the major clubs (via the leagues/associations) waking up to the fact they’ll be shipping their employees off to the oven for that summer.

            The bill payers V those who get their bills paid.

      • Brett Dale 11.3.2
        17 October 2013 at 2:03 pm

        the allen

        But if that happens though, our age groups teams would never qualify for their world cups.

      • grumpy 11.3.3
        17 October 2013 at 4:10 pm

        Auckland mayor leading the way.

    • miravox 12.1
      17 October 2013 at 10:24 am

      Ummmm…. thinking ….. No.

      • weka 12.1.1
        17 October 2013 at 2:15 pm

        Maggots, despite our current cultural view on them, play a vital role in the cycle of life. Can’t say the same about Slater. I think the cartoon is an insult to insects everywhere and is inherently accurate. The cartoonist implies that despite our abhorrence for Slater, we really need him. He’s wrong.

    • David H 12.2
      17 October 2013 at 2:11 pm

      Hell no!

    • Murray Olsen 12.3
      17 October 2013 at 8:11 pm

      Not harsh at all. Flattering in my opinion.

  13. fambo 13
    17 October 2013 at 11:01 am

    Interesting interview with local entrepreneur Selwyn Pellet on Nights on National Radio last night (Wednesday 16 Oct) – purportedly about “How curiosity helps to build better business” but in fact more interesting in the way Selwyn talks through experience about how well New Zealand IT businesses do under the present environment. Particularly interesting is how he says the IT industry has in the short term the ability to actually provide greater net wealth for New Zealand than the dairying industry, but our reliance on the commodity market (especially dairy) actually influences interest rates and the value of the New Zealand dollar to the detriment of our IT exports

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/2573058

  14. captain hook 14
    17 October 2013 at 11:08 am

    yey hey well all very groovy dude.

  15. Puckish Rogue 15
    17 October 2013 at 11:10 am

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11141320

    – I don’t think thats a good idea, they’ve brought themselves into the spotlight…but then 4/10 Len does need to keep up the family man image I suppose

    • BM 15.1
      17 October 2013 at 11:18 am

      Written on behalf of Sam, Olivia and Victoria

      How nasty is that, did they even know about this article?
      Dragging his family back into this turd heap to try and save his job, what a weasel.

      • Te Reo Putake 15.1.1
        17 October 2013 at 11:24 am

        Fuck. you’re dense, BM. It was written by Sam on behalf of all three. The words at the top of the article kinda give that away:

        By Sam Brown, daughter of Auckland mayor Len Brown.

        • Puckish Rogue 15.1.1.1
          17 October 2013 at 11:27 am

          Well I’m thinking they might have opened themselves up to questioning, which I sincerely hope they don’t. Keep the humour going with Two minute noodle Len as long as possible but the kids shouldn’t be involved…

          • Pascal's bookie 15.1.1.1.1
            17 October 2013 at 11:32 am

            How does it “open them up to questioning”?

            Is this more of the trade marked right wing personal responsibility theory that says whatever right wingers do, it’s the fault of those they do it to?

            • Puckish Rogue 15.1.1.1.1.1
              17 October 2013 at 11:43 am

              Naah more like they’ve stated some opinions so now some journalists could now ask them some questions…

              • Pascal's bookie …
                17 October 2013 at 11:55 am

                Journalists can ask anyone questions. It’s what they do. Can’t see what questions his kids would have to answer, and I doubt any serious journalist would either.

                Your sick boy mate whose lines you keep trotting out is having a crack at them, but that’s cause he’s a fuckwit, not cause he’s a journalist.

          • Te Reo Putake 15.1.1.1.2
            17 October 2013 at 11:35 am

            Fuck racism, PR. You can do better than that. Probably.

            • Puckish Rogue 15.1.1.1.2.1
              17 October 2013 at 11:37 am

              Hows thats racist?

              • Te Reo Putake …
                17 October 2013 at 11:40 am

                I take back the ‘probably’. You obviously can’t do better than that.

              • fender …
                17 October 2013 at 11:41 am

                LOL

                Hey BM and Puckish Rogue….look at your leader!

                • Puckish Rogue …
                  17 October 2013 at 11:53 am

                  No such thing as bad publicity 🙂

                  • BM …
                    17 October 2013 at 11:58 am

                    He’s got to be happy with that.
                    Go the Whale.

                    • Pascal's bookie …
                      17 October 2013 at 12:24 pm

                      I’m sure aspiring National party candidates will be lining up around the block to pay for Lusk’s thoughts on how to run political campaigns yep.

                  • fender …
                    17 October 2013 at 12:05 pm

                    Glad you are honest and don’t deny he’s your leader.

                    When the bad publicity can’t get any worse, beggars can’t be choosers eh 😀

                    • Puckish Rogue …
                      17 October 2013 at 1:33 pm

                      I guess thats why hes got a popular website, gets interviewed on radio and TV more then anyone else on here put together

                      But who cares about getting your message across to the widest audience eh 🙂

                      [lprent: Perhaps you should reread the about. We’re unconcerned with getting the widest audience. Basically we’re also not a narcissistic egotistical failures like Cameron Slater who appears to have failed at everything in his life apart from titillating the lowest common denominator on the net.

                      The reason that we don’t get interviewed is mostly because we don’t want to be talking heads. It isn’t what we do for a living. For instance I’m a c++ programmer working on our exporting bleeding edges. r0b is a professor at a major university. Mike Smith is semi-retired, but used to run the Labour party. The people under pseudonyms past and present are pretty damn successful at whatever they can do. This is one of the reasons why many of the authors here write using a pseudonym – we don’t want the shallowness of the media to interfere with what we really value.

                      Personally, I’ve turned down all except one or two of the dozens of interview requests I’ve had over the last six years including those from the left media like Bomber. Generally I only get a couple per year these days. You also can’t find images of me on the net.

                      Offhand I think that the only other person from here who has been on the media was Clinton Smith before he went to work for politicians, and Jenny has been on The Nation once when she was working on Cunliffe’s election team. Currently we have no-one volunteering to be a talking head.

                      Basically your comment reveals far more about your lack of knowledge about this site than it does about us. However if you wish to continue in this vein, then I will be happy handing out a long ban in accordance with our policies on people trying to tell us how we should run this site.

                      You have a weeks ban now so you have time to read these links. ]

                    • fender …
                      17 October 2013 at 1:42 pm

                      His puppeteers (like Daddy, Lusk, Collins etc.) must have been successful in getting that Tea Party money to fund their backfiring engine, pity (judging by the abode he was filmed in on Tuesday) he’s not getting any ‘trickledown’.

                      But it’s great he’s happy floating around with turds.

                    • fender …
                      17 October 2013 at 2:32 pm

                      Sorry LPrent but you do have a ‘wise’ audience, but I know you meant ‘widest’ 😀

                      [lprent: typo fixed…. Thx. ]

    • Ennui 15.2
      17 October 2013 at 12:13 pm

      Sam writes beautifully: I have been critical but she hit us right between the eyes with the “first stone”. Thanks Sam, over and out, no more comments. So some wisdom from Francis (abridged):

      Grant that I may not so much seek
      To be understood, as to understand;
      For it is in giving that we receive;
      It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

  16. Sable 16
    17 October 2013 at 11:33 am

    LOOKING AT POLL RESULTS IT LOOKS LIKE NO ONE IS FOOLED BY FISH OILS PLOY:

    http://www.seek.co.nz/job/25325726

  17. captain hook 17
    17 October 2013 at 11:36 am

    the question is was she a good r**t or was it just a sporting f*ck?

  18. amirite 18
    17 October 2013 at 11:39 am

    New allegations are that Len Brown wrote references for Bevan Chaung for a job she was applying for.
    How is that different from John Key giving a GCSB job to his mate? Who says they haven’t been having sex?

    • Tigger 18.1
      17 October 2013 at 12:27 pm

      Of course, Brown was a referee and not the employer, which makes it rather less messy than Key giving his dinner buddy our top spy job…

    • felix 18.2
      17 October 2013 at 12:37 pm

      amirite, it’s different because Len wasn’t in a position to appoint anyone and didn’t appoint anyone.

      Are you being serial?

      • karol 18.2.1
        17 October 2013 at 12:44 pm

        Chuang has also said brown was one of 5 referees on her CV for the job, and she didn’t think he got the job because of Brown. Although, I guess she wants to show she got the job fairly.

      • felix 18.2.2
        17 October 2013 at 6:01 pm

        Having thought about this, I should add to what I wrote above that I agree that he shouldn’t have provided a reference for her.

        It’s a far cry from what amirite compares it to, but it’s still wrong.

    • KJT 18.3
      17 October 2013 at 1:02 pm

      Please! I do not want to picture Key having sex. Brown is bad enough!

  19. greywarbler 19
    17 October 2013 at 12:42 pm

    Just a reminder about a lecture on a topic close to our hearts- for Wednesday 30th.
    2013 Bruce Jesson Lecture:
    Sir Edmund Thomas –
    Reducing Inequality: A Strategy for a Cause

    The speaker, a Distinguished Fellow at the Law School at The University of Auckland, argues that the gross inequality in income and wealth which besets New Zealand is the outcome of the neo-liberal economic measures of the mid-1980s and early 1990s and the culture of liberal individualism and unfettered free market ideology which it spawned.
    A breakdown in social cohesion and a sense of community is the result. Reforms to counter this inequality are widely mooted. But increasing focus and discussion on the topic is confronted by a plethora of mantras and myths purveyed by the rich and powerful. The stimulus for change is deadened.
    The speaker advances a strategy designed to provide a coherent impetus to reduce the rank inequality that now prevails.
    The Rt Hon Sir Edmund Thomas will deliver the 2013 lecture on Wednesday 30 October, 6.30pm, at the Maidment Theatre (bar opens at 5.30pm).

    I’ll try to remember to publicise it during the weekend by which time there may be some room left on the site for something other than scurrilous gossip.

    • Draco T Bastard 20.1
      17 October 2013 at 2:02 pm

      To fix the issues facing New Zealand’s economy, the public sector needs to call on the expertise of the private financial sector, Finance Minister Bill English says.

      The private financial sector caused the GFC, The Great Depression, increasing poverty and looks to be increasingly corrupt. About the only thing we should be doing is telling them to fuck off while jailing a large proportion of them.

      • vto 20.1.1
        17 October 2013 at 2:12 pm

        ha ha, exactly DtB. Fancy calling on the biggest leaches in our system as if they somehow know anything other than self-enrichment by any means.

        English is a sick joke in suggesting this.

  21. KJT 21
    17 October 2013 at 1:15 pm

    Amazing amount of good satire around at the moment.

  22. McFlock 22
    17 October 2013 at 2:32 pm

    IPCA says the cops can’t even investigate themselves properly
    Party broken up, allegations of excessive force, complaints laid, a three year internal investigation that exonerates all officers involved, and – guess what? The IPCA says the investigation took too long, reached the wrong conclusions, and the only reason individual officers haven’t been charged is that the ones who swung the batons couldn’t be identified (gotta love the riot gear and tiny badge numbers – if they haven’t been removed).

    What a crock.

    • vto 22.1
      17 October 2013 at 2:55 pm

      Police are as scary as the military and not to be trusted in these types of common circumstances

  23. Rogue Trooper 23
    17 October 2013 at 2:36 pm

    oooh, Doug McKay to announce a Brown inquiry
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11141735
    (still not ending well, breakin’ up is so hard to do). 😀

    • karol 23.1
      17 October 2013 at 2:40 pm

      Who knows, RT. For instance, the worst case scenario, a re-election, might actually favour the left now Palino’s and Brewer’s team have been shown to be somewhat murky as well.

      • Rogue Trooper 23.1.1
        17 October 2013 at 2:56 pm

        personally, while this whole drama is regrettable, and sad, I’m not for pressuring the man out, however, he’s chosen a hard road to hoe, (and with a little benefit-of-hindsight, not an unexpected one). Some of these ‘powerful’ folks appear to get a little carried away with themselves, and foolishness follows.
        ironically, this proverb, or one similar, was on WOBH one day (in the not-too-distant past)
        “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares;” 1:20
        later, (in the same book)
        “For the lips of an adulteress (-er) drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword…” 5:3, and plenty more follows in the same vein. Another day perhaps, anyway, the St Francis prayer that Ennui notes covers all the Remedy (Black Crows circling, yet they keep the Vultures at bay).

    • grumpy 23.2
      17 October 2013 at 4:18 pm

      First Campbell, then Rudman. Now for the heavy guns…..

  24. Ennui 24
    17 October 2013 at 3:19 pm

    Whilst lesser “lites” like Len and Whale have been centre stage here on our biggest (and perhaps the worlds smallest) stage…other things of greater import have been happening out in the big wide world.

    Tucked in the side columns of todays Dom……In Rome Pope Francis has dismissed Cardinal Bertone, the man who acted as Richelieu for Pope Benedict. During his watch the scandals involving children went unanswered, there were Papal bank fraud issues go unchallenged, and the appointment of a Holocaust denying British bishop. Vatileaks scandal followed.

    The Pope thanked Bertone for confronting his setbacks with courage and patience. “There were so many,” he added, damning him with faint praise. Francis appears to be the real deal.

  25. Rogue Trooper 25
    17 October 2013 at 3:23 pm

    “(Parata’s) faux consultation narrative and her inherent inability to listen to the community were always going to end in tears” (also)
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/christchurch-earthquake/news/article.cfm?c_id=1502981&objectid=11138222

  26. gobsmacked 26
    17 October 2013 at 3:36 pm

    Why are the Right getting ever nastier? What on earth could have caused this lurch to the desperate and dirty? Here’s a clue …

    http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/5243-new-zealand-voting-intention-october-17-2013-201310170151

    That’s half a dozen polls in over a month, all telling the same story.

    Tick tock, tick tock …

    • richard 26.1
      17 October 2013 at 3:50 pm

      They will start lashing out like cornered feral cats now, not caring who they damage in their fear and anger.

      • Draco T Bastard 26.1.1
        17 October 2013 at 5:51 pm

        +1

        They really don’t like it when they’re out of power or heading that way.

    • karol 26.2
      17 October 2013 at 3:53 pm

      LOL at Blinglish in attempting to attack the Greens during the debate on Banks right now, claims Cunliffe is getting some of their support and doing better than his predecessor…. then changes tack realising he’s praising Labour too much for improving it’s support!

  28. Pascal's bookie 28
    17 October 2013 at 3:43 pm

    Another scoop from whale: he’s caught out some Herald staff blatantly colluding together in a plan to write a ‘series’ of ‘stories’ in their ‘newspaper’.

  29. ak 29
    17 October 2013 at 4:35 pm

    Morgan, all.

  30. Te Reo Putake 30
    17 October 2013 at 5:07 pm

    I quite like the headline in the latest Roy Morgan: A Labour/Green alliance would easily win election.

    http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/5243-new-zealand-voting-intention-october-17-2013-201310170151

    ps Confidence dropping like a stone.

    • ScottGN 30.1
      17 October 2013 at 5:35 pm

      No uptick for Key either which you might have expected while he was gallivanting around on the world stage. That must be a concern for National. Dunne and UFP have dropped to 0%, Banks and ACT can’t be far behind.

    • bad12 30.2
      17 October 2013 at 6:24 pm

      Oh dear Labour and the Greens still going UP, this time the bump is in the Green Party vote, Better start composing my dear John note for Slippery,

      In all honesty at the 2008 election i would have picked Slippery to lead National to 3 terms, hasn’t ‘the fall from grace’ been hard and fast tho, and, i wonder when Collins will make Her move, has to be soon, if She goes into the 2014 election not being the Prime Minister the best She can hope for is a couple of terms as Opposition Leader befor they rid themselves of Her,

      Yes i am being mischievous, whichever way it’s looked at there’s another 9 in the sin bin coming for National, perhaps Collins sees a point in letting Bill from Dipton lead the team in the first 3 years of Opposition and then rolling Him a year out from the second term ending…

  31. karol 31
    17 October 2013 at 5:30 pm

    Watched a bit of the TICS committee stage 4. Government ministers not standing to defend it. Curran, Goff & Robertson say there’s not enough checks and balances to protect people’s rights, and the Human Rights Commission have criticisms that the government should heed.

  32. Paul 32
    17 October 2013 at 5:44 pm

    Slater has just been grilled by Mary Wilson on Checkpoint. She made him squirm. He tried to blame other people.

  33. Paul 33
    17 October 2013 at 6:04 pm

    Apparently Jock Anderson has been fired from the NBR for publishing an editorial supporting Len Brown,.
    Bizarre or what?

  34. karol 34
    17 October 2013 at 7:04 pm

    John key – just an average Kiwi guy – like one you’d meet at the local pub or BBQ.

    • fender 34.1
      17 October 2013 at 7:30 pm

      Lucky for some, other families in NZ only have the green-fee figure to survive on every week. But he will fix that….one of these years…..just vote for him….and guarantee your seat on the brighter future train….

    • miravox 34.2
      17 October 2013 at 8:43 pm

      Not good timing for an article that shows the stark contrast between Key and the majority of NZ.

      Mr Key said he avoided the new Nevis bungy jump… He said his political staff did not think an image of him “diving off a bridge screaming” would be great footage in case he ever had a big dip in the polls.

    • Murray Olsen 34.3
      17 October 2013 at 9:07 pm

      Queenstown and Omaha – full of average Kiwis, sure. Good places for him to be quarantined with his diplomatic protection squad and leave the rest of the country for the rest of us.

  35. Penny Bright 35
    17 October 2013 at 7:08 pm

    Jock Anderson dismissed from NBR over ‘Lengate’!

    http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nbr-journalist-dismissed-147312

    NBR journalist dismissed

    NBR Staff | Thursday October 17, 2013

    A senior National Business Review journalist has lost his job in the wake of the Len Brown sex scandal.

    National Business Review publisher Todd Scott in a brief statement today said: “We do not comment on internal employment issues but I can confirm Mr Jock Anderson was dismissed yesterday for failing to comply with specific instructions to treat coverage of the Len Brown affair in an impartial and unbiased manner.”

    Mr Anderson had filed copy on NBR ONLINE yesterday morning purporting to be the NBR’s stance on the controversy. His copy was headed “Editorial” and called for Mr Brown to stay on as mayor. His copy was removed shortly after it was posted.

    Mr Scott said NBR’s news coverage of the ongoing scandal would remain strictly neutral. There would be no restriction on NBR’s regular columnists to analyse events as they unfolded.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    Far out!

    Sounds a bit harsh?

    Don’t the NBR do ‘warnings’ or was Jock Anderson’s filing of ‘copy on NBR ONLINE yesterday morning purporting to be the NBR’s stance on the controversy. (his copy was headed “Editorial” and called for Mr Brown to stay on as mayor)’ – SERIOUS MISCONDUCT?

    What do others think?

    Kind regards,

    Penny Bright

  36. Jilly Bee 36
    17 October 2013 at 7:32 pm

    Who remembers Dove Myer Robinson’s trysts – he was apparently quite legendary and it didn’t harm his mayoral job at all. Mostly heard it from my parents and their friends – I was a bit too young to really take it in, but my partner heard it resurface on the radio today.

    • Murray Olsen 36.1
      17 October 2013 at 9:12 pm

      I knew a bit about other mayors as well, but I’m not even going to name them. It had nothing to do with how they ran or misran the city.
      I heard a lot of stories about Banks which had nothing to do with sex, but can’t produce evidence. I’m just ecstatic that he might finally be crashing and burning.

  37. karol 37
    17 October 2013 at 8:15 pm

    I made the mistake of watching Citizen A tonight with guests Colin Craig and Matthew Hooton. So Hoots reckons if we had a better police force, Helen Clark would have been prosecuted for her many criminal activities (election spending etc), and would never have lasted 3 terms.

    David Cunliffe is further left than any social democrat country int he world (or is it Europe) – he’s gone VERY far left. People in the National Party thought Simon Brudges was excellent on Campbell Live and he’s a potential leader of Nats.

    Alternative universe really.

    • Jilly Bee 37.1
      17 October 2013 at 8:36 pm

      I watched Citizen A too and was commenting out loud how restrained Matthew Hooten was, but then he let fly at the end about the Police and their lack of prosecutions re Helen Clark and how terrible it will be if we elect a Mana/Green/Labour [his order], he then said Labour/Green/Mana. I also wanted to wreck our TV when he carried on about Simon Bridges on Campbell Live – sheesh a potential leader of the Nats, spare me. I suppose he was being serious, but he had that bloody smirk on his dial which tells me he’s just stirring. Oh, and for David Cunliffe and Labour espousing far left policies – yep he’s just stirring.

    • miravox 37.2
      17 October 2013 at 8:51 pm

      “David Cunliffe is further left than any social democrat country int he world (or is it Europe)”

      No. He’s not.

      • Colonial Viper 37.2.1
        17 October 2013 at 9:27 pm

        In Hooten and Colin Craig’s little universe he is.

        • miravox 37.2.1.1
          17 October 2013 at 9:35 pm

          That’ll be where Planet Key is then

        • Rogue Trooper 37.2.1.2
          17 October 2013 at 9:54 pm

          a switcheroo from the “once he’s in he’ll drag the party to the centre / right” narrative the tory scribes and talking heads ran with following his election as party leader; Yes , you, RW lurkers, are so transparent it’s a wonder you spend as much time grooming as you do.

    • Rogue Trooper 37.3
      17 October 2013 at 9:49 pm

      it’s a Marvel universe karol

  38. joe90 38
    17 October 2013 at 8:25 pm

    3D printophiles rejoice.

    Amaze is a loose acronym for Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards Zero Waste and Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products.

    […]

    Amaze researchers have already begun printing metal jet engine parts and aeroplane wing sections up to 2m in size.

    These high-strength components are typically built from expensive, exotic metals such as titanium, tantalum and vanadium.

    Using traditional casting techniques often wastes precious source material.

    Additive manufacturing – building parts up layer-on-layer from 3D digital data – produces almost “zero waste”.

    “To produce one kilo of metal, you use one kilo of metal – not 20 kilos,” says Esa’s Franco Ongaro.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24528306

    • Draco T Bastard 38.1
      17 October 2013 at 8:49 pm

      The best thing about 3D printing in high density materials is that it’s going to be very cheap to set up which means that any country will be able to manufacture anything they choose and with that you can kiss goodbye to long distance trade.

      We (NZ) really, really, really need to get on the R&D with this and that means government funding. We will not get it any other way.

    • Colonial Viper 38.2
      17 October 2013 at 8:49 pm

      Using traditional casting techniques often wastes precious source material.

      Which is BS of course – everything is recycled and reused in any decent foundry.

      • joe90 38.2.1
        17 October 2013 at 9:06 pm

        Not in the one I worked in CV where barring spills and mishaps a materials loss at 3.0% to 10% was tolerable because of the inefficiency of recovery.

        • Colonial Viper 38.2.1.1
          17 October 2013 at 9:34 pm

          Fair nuff

        • joe90 38.2.1.2
          17 October 2013 at 9:52 pm

          The real inefficiency in foundries is energy, excluding materials the loss of other inputs is particularly high – casting sand losses were at 20% and more, being around half of total losses.

      • lprent 38.2.2
        17 October 2013 at 9:42 pm

        …everything is recycled and reused in any decent foundry.

        Apart from a bit of skim with the burnt off refractories, oxides and the like. Even those are usually blocked and sent back to the scrap metal people..

  39. Murray Olsen 39
    17 October 2013 at 8:37 pm

    I can’t find the reply button, but I feel terribly slighted*:

    “r0b is a professor at a major university. Mike Smith is semi-retired, but used to run the Labour party. The people under pseudonyms past and present are pretty damn successful at whatever they can do. This is one of the reasons why many of the authors here write using a pseudonym – we don’t want the shallowness of the media to interfere with what we really value.”

    I’m a senior research fellow at the university rated 90th in the world. I received an Outstanding Referee Award from the American Physical Society. I saw one metric that put me in the top 4% of active physicists in the world. I think that’s reasonably successful. I’m all over google. Not bad for someone who has been accused of not understanding Newton’s Laws 🙂
    I don’t use a pseudonym because I’m terminally ill and don’t give a fuck. What can anyone do to me that I haven’t done to myself? I make no judgement either way about people who do.

    “Offhand I think that the only other person from here who has been on the media was Clinton Smith before he went to work for politicians, and Jenny has been on The Nation once when she was working on Cunliffe’s election team. Currently we have no-one volunteering to be a talking head.”

    I’ve been interviewed by New Scientist Magazine, newspapers in Australia, and radio stations on both sides of the Tasman. I am not volunteering to be a talking head.

    *Not actually slighted at all, just saying this to ram down the illiterate right wingers’ throats that there’s more talent to be found around here than in all the RWNJ hate blogs of the world combined.

    [lprent: The reply button disappears when the comments are indented 10.

    I was just confining it to some of the outed authors. Even then I forgot a lawyer (hi Mickey!), Jenny – PR, and probably many others..

    Don’t get me started on the commenters who seem to range over everything… ]

    • Rogue Trooper 39.1
      17 October 2013 at 9:58 pm

      Wow, Murray, and it’s an honour to be engaging with your wit.
      PR, you say Lynn…

  40. Rodel 40
    17 October 2013 at 8:43 pm

    Watching Joyce speak in the house reminds me of the penguin in Batman movies. Left hand thrusting up and down like an energy charged banker..or something rhyming. They are so ridiculous. I despair at where my taxes are going.

  41. vto 41
    17 October 2013 at 9:18 pm

    So Eleanor Catton, Man Booker prize winner (well done), says on the one hand …” I don’t see that my age has anything to do with what is between the covers of my book, any more than the fact that I am right-handed. It’s a fact of my biography, but it’s uninteresting.”

    And then with a straight face and the other hand claims some of her reviewers are themselves driven by factors of gender and age…
    “People whose negative reaction has been most vehement have all been men over about 45.”
    .

    Sheesh, some people.

    Will have to hunt down a few more of her gems for daytime giggles (like the one she punched out yesterday about gold and pounamu, maori and pakeha).

    It seems age is a major determinant in her verbal ravings, given the level of naivety shown.

    • Murray Olsen 41.1
      17 October 2013 at 9:27 pm

      “People whose negative reaction has been most vehement have all been men over about 45” is a fact about their biographies. It’s uninteresting. Where does she say they’re driven by factors of gender and age?

      • vto 41.1.1
        17 October 2013 at 9:30 pm

        why mention gender or age?

        • weka 41.1.1.1
          17 October 2013 at 11:56 pm

          Because everyone else was?

          • vto 41.1.1.1.1
            18 October 2013 at 7:16 am

            no defence whatsoever weka, you can do better than that.

            Not having a dig at her talents or good works, merely highlighting a common trait in some highly talented and well know people who think their talents extend beyond what they are recognised for. Other examples include Sam Neil and Bono.

  42. fender 42
    17 October 2013 at 10:41 pm

    Seems strange that National don’t want to drug-test the police, nor does the police association despite often calling for a gun on every hip. They should have tested the overly angry officer who broke the neck of Jakob Christie with a batton in 2009, and be thankful he wasn’t carrying the much lauded gun on every hip.

    • Murray Olsen 42.1
      18 October 2013 at 5:18 pm

      Police and poaka are both words that start with P. Funny that, because it drives people into uncontrollable rages as well. In São Paulo, a lot of the police sell and/or use cocaine, especially right in the centre of the city. It does wonders for their emotional stability and they are heavily armed. People die.

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