Open mike 24/02/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:33 am, February 24th, 2015 - 133 comments
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133 comments on “Open mike 24/02/2015 ”

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  1. phillip ure 1
    24 February 2015 at 6:57 am

    happy happy daze 4 trp…eh..?

    ..the boys are off to war..!

    • phillip ure 1.1
      24 February 2015 at 7:12 am

      the canadian tory prime minister promised canadians that their troops wd be non-combatant/’trainers’..

      ..as it turns out..

      ..that was just another pile of tory-lies..

      ..(does any of that sound familiar..?..)

      • phillip ure 1.1.1
        24 February 2015 at 7:29 am

        the tv3 breakfast interview with key (online later..) is worth watching for an episode of peak-hubris from him..

        ..after his war-mongering ‘training-only!’ lies/bullshit..he is asked why he didn’t come clean about that fundraising dinner @ lius’ home..

        ..and that is when the peak-hubris kicks in..

        ..sneering-contempt-on-a-stick…

        ..’contempt’ for all of us..

        ..a rare glimpse behind the mask..

        ‘..i’m not gonna tell you..’..(he spat out..)

      • phillip ure 1.1.2
        24 February 2015 at 8:41 am

        “..The Top 10 Bogus ISIS Stories..

        ..It’s important to note that much of the ISIS threat –

        – has been habitually overstated by an uncritical media..”

        (cont..)

        http://www.alternet.org/media/top-10-bogus-isis-stories

    • logie97 1.2
      24 February 2015 at 7:42 am

      R.I.P. New Zealand’s once proud independent foreign policy.
      John-we-were-missing-in-action-2003-speech-Key now has fulfilled his wish.

      • phillip ure 1.2.1
        24 February 2015 at 7:56 am

        they were so jonesing for war then..

        ..that’s where/when simon power made his defining-political-statement..

        ..his ‘all the way with george w!’..

        (not only gagging-inducing..but also a crib..)

    • AsleepWhileWalking 1.3
      24 February 2015 at 10:56 am

      Interesting

      http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/sunday-review/please-dont-thank-me-for-my-service.html

      But doesn’t their sacrifice merit thanks? “Patriotic gloss,” responded Mr. O’Brien, an unofficial poet laureate of war who essentially elevates the issue to the philosophical; to him, we’re thanking without having the courage to ask whether the mission is even right.”

      “I apologize to you for not doing more to keep our country from unnecessarily rushing into an elective war.” – comment posted in response to the above article

  2. tc 2
    24 February 2015 at 7:15 am

    Granny earns her keep with an online edition filled with crashes, celebrity fluff, JK spin about not going to war and greens out spending labour etc

    no sabin, skycity, lui ….no surprises there.

  4. Morrissey 4
    24 February 2015 at 7:34 am

    “Hur hur hur hur hur.”
    Vanessa Redgrave’s bravery in 1978 amuses Jim Mora and co.
    The Panel, Radio NZ National, Monday 23 February 2015
    Jim Mora, Stephen Franks, Ella Henry, Noelle McCarthy

    Excitement is high this afternoon—the Academy Awards are on!

    NOELLE McCARTHY: They still haven’t announced the Best Supporting Actress. I’ve been waiting for this for two hours.

    JIM MORA: We’re going to be talking about acceptance speeches on The Panel.

    NOELLE McCARTHY: Oh!

    MORA: Is Neil Patrick Harris doing well as the MC?

    NOELLE McCARTHY: Oh look, he’s having a bit of a SONG and a bit of a DANCE….

    MORA: He’s talented!

    NOELLE McCARTHY: He did an edgy joke about cross-dressing.

    MORA: Hur hur hur hur hur!

    NOELLE McCARTHY: Which he’s allowed to do of course, ‘cos he’s done a fair amount of that on Broadway. In the meantime, if you want something in the meantime, there’s a quite good round-up of some INFAMOUS Oscar moments in the New York Daily News today, including—talking of acceptance speeches—Vanessa Redgrave’s from 1978—

    MORA: Oh yes.

    NOELLE McCARTHY: Because of course she got up and gave that famous shout-out to the PLO—

    MORA: The PLO!

    NOELLE McCARTHY: She gave a shout-out to the PLO and denounced Israel as a fascist state!

    MORA: That’s right! And didn’t some—there was a writer who got up and replied to her!

    NOELLE McCARTHY: That’s right! He was a three time award-winning screenwriter and he said “I’d like to suggest to Ms Redgrave that her winning an Academy Award is NOT a pivotal moment in history, does NOT require a proclamation.”

    MORA: Hur hur hur hur hur hur hur!

    NOELLE McCARTHY: [archly] “And a simple ‘thank you’ might have sufficed.”

    MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! “A simple thank you” Ha ha ha ha ha!

    STEPHEN FRANKS: Ha ha ha ha ha!

    NOELLE McCARTHY: Elegantly put!

    MORA: [heartfelt sigh]….. Back to the real world. …..[heartfelt sigh]…..

    NOELLE McCARTHY: Yes. Back to the real world. Back to Bali, in fact. Indonesia is putting fighter jets in place for the transfer of these two Australians who are going to be executed….

    ….ad nauseam….

    Vanessa Redgrave 1978 Oscar speech…..

  5. gsays 5
    24 February 2015 at 7:50 am

    …sigh..
    i turned the tranny on this morn to hear the end of a monologue from our dear leader, spinning the role of nz troops overseas.
    not a whimper from the interviewee.
    i may have missed them, but i didnt hear any tough questions eg vote in parliament, is the whole cabinet in support of sending troops etc.

    contrast this with what followed when andrew little was interviewed.
    he seemed to be there only to acknowledge that he listened to the iraqi minister that visited recently.
    ms fergusson hectored and hectored him like a hectoring thing.

    i wonder if she pays secondary tax for the work she is doing for the government.

  6. mary_a 6
    24 February 2015 at 8:08 am

    I take it when he handed back the $25,000 donation to Mr Lui, Jamie Lee Ross also gave back the interest the donation earned for National/ the Botany Cabinet Club, for more than twelve months?

    • infused 6.1
      24 February 2015 at 9:03 am

      Where did they say they banked it?

      • Hayden 6.1.1
        24 February 2015 at 9:11 am

        Wouldn’t it be “stale” after 6 months? If so, there’d be no need to return it, just destroy the cheque, and I think they’d have described it differently.

        A cheque is stale when it’s presented more than six months after the date on which it was drawn (dated). To receive payment, the cheque will need to go back to the Drawer (the person or company that wrote the cheque out) to have the date updated or to issue a replacement cheque.

        ASB

        • infused 6.1.1.1
          24 February 2015 at 9:56 am

          I know, but they could have just returned it, regardless.

          I don’t actually know the answer. Just haven’t seen anyone say they banked the money.

          • freedom 6.1.1.1.1
            24 February 2015 at 10:04 am

            Why would they say they returned $25,000, fifteen months after the donation was apparently made, if all that is being discussed is a piece of paper representing a dead cheque with no financial value? If the Cabinet Club never deposited the money into Ross’s or National’s campaign funds, what then did they return during the reported assessment of the campaign’s finances? Oh, one more thing – why would John Key be dancing around the topic refusing to answer questions? If it was just a dead cheque he would be stating that consistently. Why would they even mention it? Come on infused, you are better than that 😉

          • Skinny 6.1.1.1.2
            24 February 2015 at 10:25 am

            Listening to Sean Plunket on radio live this morning he was very critical of John Key ” deliberately misleading the public over the 25 k donation ” going as far as saying ” he doesn’t trust Key over the role Kiwi troops will play in the Middle East”.

            It appears honest Johns teflon is worn out with Sean.

            • mary_a 6.1.1.1.2.1
              24 February 2015 at 3:55 pm

              @ Skinny –

              And it appears Key’s popularity is also wearing thin with John Armstrong NZH’s chief political reporter, judging by his comments in today’s edition –

              http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11407096

              Seems msm’s love affair with the great dictator might be coming to a much awaited end ….. Plunkett, Armstrong …. let’s hope it snowballs and takes hold 🙂

              • Skinny …
                24 February 2015 at 4:44 pm

                Yes Mary it is refreshing to see the love affair taking a turn for the better. It happened with Helen and now it’s John’s turn. About bloody time too 🙂

          • McFlock 6.1.1.1.3
            24 February 2015 at 2:23 pm

            if they never cashed it, would it even count as a donation, or just an offer/promise of a donation?

  7. vto 7
    24 February 2015 at 8:29 am

    So now John Key is sending us off to war and exposing us to retaliation…..

    How long until we suffer our own warring in our land? How long until those we are targeting in the middle east decide that attack is the best form of defence to us? How long until a so-called “terrorist” attack is undertaken in NZ? (oh. other than the French, and right wing anti-unionists that is, who have already done so in NZ).

    This will go down as John Key’s legacy

    • Rosie 7.1
      24 February 2015 at 2:20 pm

      A valid concern vto. Who knows what may happen! A busy Lambton Quay on a Friday lunch time? Close enough to the seat of government?………….

  9. One Anonymous Bloke 9
    24 February 2015 at 9:00 am

    As Key and Little compete to see who can be a bigger hawk, Hager drops the elephant on them.

    Short version: intelligence is the bloodiest part of this conflict, and we’re donkey deep in it.

    • adam 9.1
      24 February 2015 at 9:33 am

      Thanks One Anonymous Bloke, as I’ve given up on national radio.

      Silly question I know – but doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome – after ten years. Whose the crazed killers here again?

  11. Philip Ferguson 11
    24 February 2015 at 9:06 am

    Internationalism and open borders are not simply nice ideas, but vital things to fight for in order to advance the interests of workers as a class. The bosses unite across borders to exploit us more effectively; we need to unite across borders to defend our interests more effectively. The bosses also try to put workers against each other, based on nationality and country of origin, we need to avoid falling into the trap they try to set for us. Moreover, workers’ migration tends to lead to the sharing of experience which is in our interests – whether it’s food that’s new or different to us or whether it’s the fighting experience migrant workers often have and can usefully share with us. . .
    https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/workers-rights-internationalism-and-open-borders/

    Phil

    • vto 11.1
      24 February 2015 at 9:24 am

      I couldn’t agree more.

      Everything else is globalised and so too must workers groups like unions.

      Oh, but what about tax? and police and other laws? where does it end – at a new world order? Is that sustainable or even possible? nope. but we are going there pretty steadily..

    • weka 11.2
      24 February 2015 at 9:54 am

      transient populations can destroy community.

      open borders can be at odds with sovereignty.

      • Colonial Rawshark 11.2.1
        24 February 2015 at 1:24 pm

        Ironically, open borders can fuel the rise of the anti-immigrant right wing. Plenty of examples in the EU.

      • Bill 11.2.2
        24 February 2015 at 2:05 pm

        Transient populations can also be community/culture etc. eg – Romani, Kalahari San (Bush People).

        They (transient populations) can also embody sovereignty – a thing we don’t have, no matter how loudly some liberals may protest to the contrary.

        • weka 11.2.2.1
          24 February 2015 at 2:33 pm

          I didn’t take Philip’s comment to be in any way referring to nomadic peoples. Nomadic peoples (eg the Kalahari) aren’t transient, they’re nomadic. In fact the Kalahari example supports my point. Nomadic people exist within specific territories and relationships with people from outside those territories is based around the existience of the territory ie before nation states we as humans still had ways of understanding geographical boundaries and relationships based on how the humans living there related with those boundaries. It wasn’t a free for all. Ignorance of those territories and boundaries has impacted hugely on many peoples.

          And leaving aside a debate about sovereignty, yes nomadic peoples are a good example of how that works (not transient populations).

          The point can be made that it’s farming peoples who are transient, always with the need for more land to expand their empire, whereas nomadic peoples tend to have very long (and I mean very long*) relationships with specific places.

          Is it possible that we could have workers (and others) moving globally in truly nomadic ways? Maybe, but I’m pretty sure that’s not what was meant in the opening comment.

          (not going to comment on the Romani because that’s a complex kete of ika).

          *The San people have lived in the Kalahari for 20,000 years as hunter-gatherers

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalahari_Desert#Population

  12. ianmac 12
    24 February 2015 at 10:10 am

    Blip might record this from Key under “You Misunderstood Me.”
    “Mr Key, who has previously said involvement in Iraq was “the price of the club”, said that his comments had been misinterpreted and that by “the club”, he had meant the 60 or so countries that were helping in the coalition against Isis.”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11406714 (Last lines.)

    Seem to remember his context being that we are members of the 5 Eyes Club so as members of the Club we must get involved as it is “the price of the club.”

    The cheek of that man!

    • freedom 12.1
      24 February 2015 at 10:16 am

      oh, he meant this club
      The club we are such a valued member of, they forgot to include us on their map. 🙂

    • rawshark-yeshe 12.2
      24 February 2015 at 10:22 am

      My, even John Armstrong thinks it is an ‘outrage’ !!!!! Must be so ….

      “Key’s insistence that he was referring to all of the members of the multi-national force as the “club” defies logic. How could contributing to that club be the price of being a member of that club when New Zealand has yet to become a member of that club?

      Key’s desperate attempt to rewrite history is something of an outrage. But it is also a measure of his discomfort with the deployment which could well turn out to bite him severely politically.”

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11406716

      • Clemgeopin 12.2.1
        24 February 2015 at 10:37 am

        I hope AT LEAST now more of the right wing inclined people will SEE/REALISE what a lying, untrustworthy and dishonest disgraceful bull-shitter of a Prime Minister we have running our Government and leading our good country!

        • logie97 12.2.1.1
          24 February 2015 at 10:44 am

          It just begins to make one wonder whether the SFO were showered with bullshit and lies all those years ago. This man must struggle to lie straight in bed even …

          • rawshark-yeshe 12.2.1.1.1
            24 February 2015 at 11:13 am

            I don ‘t even wonder. I just know he lied again and again. The evidence is all there and one day some brave MSM writer will front a story on it. We have all been conned from the very beginning.

  13. greywarshark 13
    24 February 2015 at 10:38 am

    There are three great omnivores in the world – rats, cockroaches and humans. I heard that on Radionz talk this a.m. I thought you might like to know that.

  14. Skinny 14
    24 February 2015 at 11:12 am

    I see all the Ma & Pa investors in Mighty River have suffered a blow with their share price about to tumble down after MR announce a much lower performance.

    • rawshark-yeshe 14.1
      24 February 2015 at 11:15 am

      unlike Meridian who are returning nearly $1 billion in capital over the next five years !!

    • Puckish Rogue 14.2
      24 February 2015 at 11:43 am

      Meh, I’m in it for the long term performance and dividend return so its all good

      • DoublePlusGood 14.2.1
        24 February 2015 at 1:39 pm

        Why do you think you should get to own those shares and not New Zealand?

        • Puckish Rogue 14.2.1.1
          24 February 2015 at 2:55 pm

          NZ has the controlling share of the company so not sure where you’re coming from but the other option is for people to purchase shares

          Just because I bought shares doesn’t mean you can’t (in case you didn’t know)

          • framu 14.2.1.1.1
            24 February 2015 at 3:03 pm

            you received stolen property – it was sold against the wishes of its owners

            but we all know you not so thick that you dont understand what people are saying.

            Please dont start that game again

      • gsays 14.2.2
        24 February 2015 at 10:34 pm

        hi pr, i know its none of my business, but i will ask anyhows.
        do you have a property portfoloio?

    • fisiani 14.3
      24 February 2015 at 12:46 pm

      You mean it has slumped below the $2.50 they paid????? Nup. Currently paying $3.28 with an increased dividend. Do you not understand the share market or just jealous because you failed to get your share.s

      • Puckish Rogue 14.3.1
        24 February 2015 at 1:25 pm

        Jealous sounds about right

      • Skinny 14.3.2
        24 February 2015 at 1:26 pm

        $3.28 and heading downwards, back to $2.50 by Friday. Far better returns for my money thanks. Like most Kiwi’s I don’t trust the boom and bust cycle of the share market, especially with the insider trading and ponzi schemes that the National govt sollict.

        • Puckish Rogue 14.3.2.1
          24 February 2015 at 1:40 pm

          I don’t trust the boom and bust either but power companies are a different matter entirely

      • Skinny 14.3.3
        24 February 2015 at 4:56 pm

        Unlike you Wewege and your side kick Plucked Duck I have a moral compass. How would I wake up in the morning and look at myself in the mirror knowing I was profiteering off the honest toil of my fellow men and women. Anyway you enjoy your paper gains but please don’t start howling when the bubble bursts and ya get dealt a hiding by the Gorillas of Wall Street. Little bit players such as yourselves are the ones I take pity on, all ya life savings burnt on a black Friday. Tho I guess in your case its a karma thing.

  16. Puckish Rogue 16
    24 February 2015 at 11:49 am

    Now this is interesting:

    http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2015/02/2014_spend_per_vote.html

    National and Labour were quite low, lower then I’d have thought

    • weka 17.1
      24 February 2015 at 2:38 pm

      what?

      • rhinocrates 17.1.1
        24 February 2015 at 2:50 pm

        It’s finally vanished up its own arse. It probably did so long ago.

        Honestly, it was one of the great New Zealand blogs, a site full of lively and informed discussion. Now it’s just a few posts now and again plugging Russel Brown’s media ventures, music dads dance to at wedding receptions and parochial Grey Lynn/Pt Chev matters.

        When journalism is in such dire straits, we need some energetic investigation and debate. PA once provided that, but everyone interesting has been driven away and the posts are utterly anodyne. I miss its spirit.

        • felix 17.1.1.1
          24 February 2015 at 10:50 pm

          ” it was one of the great New Zealand blogs”

          That was a long, long time ago. And there weren’t that many blogs.

  18. fisiani 18
    24 February 2015 at 12:43 pm

    Andrew Little is asking the first question today and will skewer John Key. John Key will break down and cry and ask Andrew to lay off.
    In the real world we will see the Prime Minister being Prime Minister and Andrew Little trying and failing again.

    • mac1 18.1
      24 February 2015 at 12:49 pm

      @ Fisiani.

      John Key will 1. lie, then 2. deflect. then 3. blame the opposition. then 4. refer to Helen Clark’s time then 5. rub his nose. Warning: the order and timing may vary according to how many lies.

      All of this while looking sideways with an arrogant grin.

      • fisiani 18.1.1
        24 February 2015 at 1:16 pm

        In other words The Prime Minister will win again

        • McFlock 18.1.1.1
          24 February 2015 at 2:37 pm

          Are you proud of being a moral vacuum, or do you just not notice when you show everyone your emotional disability?

          Most people would regard winning by unethical means to be cheating, and reprehensible. You probably still wear Lance Armstrong bracelets and call him a 7-time tour de france champion.

        • mac1 18.1.1.2
          24 February 2015 at 2:39 pm

          If you call being a liar a winner……… If you’re happy that the PM is a liar…… If his being a winner means that the rest of NZ loses………

          • rhinocrates 18.1.1.2.1
            24 February 2015 at 2:54 pm

            No, no, no, it is in fact a brave repurposing of words. “Win” can now be used to denote anything. “Lie” equals “win”. “I think I’ve got the flu” becomes “I’m winning!” “You have cancer” becomes “Congratulations you’re a winner!” If we extend the principle, anything can mean “win” in a grand situationist-dadaist enterprise. “Fish” equals “win”. “Spaghetti bolognese” equals “win”. Everything equals “win”.

            Think of the money saved printing dictionaries!

            (Personally, I prefer “Malkovich”, but there you have it.)

            • mac1 18.1.1.2.1.1
              24 February 2015 at 3:12 pm

              Rhinocrates, it’s more a brave ‘re-porpoising’ of words where like a school of porpoises words dip in and out of the water, popping up somewhere else meaning something else and then ducking under the surface again before a lexicon can draw a bead.

              • rhinocrates …
                24 February 2015 at 3:32 pm

                Malkovich!

                Or plusgood.

                Childish and clumsy as fisiani is, they do, in their “innocent” way, reveal the kind of thinking that goes on in Nat and CT offices and what kind of people populate them – the unintelligent and emotionally shallow who think cynicism is virile.

                Six year old boys in other words.

                • fisiani …
                  24 February 2015 at 4:37 pm

                  Polished performance today by the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Why does Angry Andy think he will win when Clark, Goff Shearer and The Cunliffe were all thrashed by John Key?

                  • McFlock …
                    24 February 2015 at 4:43 pm

                    Because he sees the cold sweat on your forehead, and senses the desperation in your words. And can smell the puddle that has gathered at your feet.

                  • Skinny …
                    24 February 2015 at 5:09 pm

                    Let’s see if your still swinging your silk undies wildy above your head cheerleading for John Key the day the shit hits the fan and a number of the troops get wasted by some crazy terrorist attack. Key’s name will be mud with every man and his dog in this country. If there is a torrorist attack in the country I will join in and riot on the streets throwing bricks through Bank windows for starters.

                  • DoublePlusGood …
                    24 February 2015 at 5:09 pm

                    So you missed that he doesn’t actually understand anything about the situation in the Middle East?

                  • halfcrown …
                    24 February 2015 at 5:48 pm

                    Why don’t you just fuck off fisiani. I believe in opposing opinions and points of view, but your juvenile posts are an insult to peoples intelligence.

                  • Clemgeopin …
                    24 February 2015 at 6:20 pm

                    fisiani, you idiot.

                    Enough said.

      • Weepus beard 18.1.2
        24 February 2015 at 8:16 pm

        Yeah. He and Paula Bennett (yesterday on Garner’s show with Grant Robertson) constantly refer to Helen Clark as a way of deflecting pointed questions.

        She left office seven years ago.

    • Draco T Bastard 18.2
      24 February 2015 at 3:20 pm

      In the real world we get this.

  19. AUDNZD 19
    24 February 2015 at 12:46 pm

    Mr Little needs to moderate his anger. It will serve him well in the future.
    At the moment, when baited by journolists like P. Gower, he unleashes and shows his angry side. Patience, Mr Little.

    • greywarshark 19.1
      24 February 2015 at 12:54 pm

      That might be gold for Mr Little, if that’s the way it is. Keep those positive hints coming.

  20. adam 20
    24 February 2015 at 1:12 pm

    Just a reminder from Abby Martin on how far the media have fallen…

    • freedom 20.1
      24 February 2015 at 1:29 pm

      Abby Martin spent the day with CIA torture whistleblower John Kiriakou fresh out of prison, stay tuned for the interview which should be broadcast tonight on RT
      http://rt.com/shows/breaking-set-summary/

      Also, for those who don’t follow RT, Abby Martin is leaving their network soon to go out and do her own thing -which will no doubt be well worth keeping tabs on

  21. te reo putake 21
    24 February 2015 at 1:17 pm

    Not sure if this is a ‘win’ as it was their money all along, but good on the Meatworkers Union for taking the case. The company concerned had claimed that they weren’t making 180 workers redundant, they just had no work to offer them:

    http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/334044/meat-workers-win-payments

  22. Old Mickey 22
    24 February 2015 at 1:29 pm

    If a country like China is going to join the fight against ISIS
    (http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/china-about-declare-war-against-isis-12201)
    then which countries are not standing up to these scum bags ? If ISIS is left unchecked ie others do nothing, then the spread of ISIS will continue. At what point is enough “enough” ? At what point does NZ say we will no longer sit on the sidelines ?

    • DoublePlusGood 22.1
      24 February 2015 at 5:12 pm

      If China is involved, they have abundant capability to destroy every military in the region. We’d just get in the way.

  23. swordfish 23
    24 February 2015 at 1:39 pm

    Nearly three-quarters of people living in the Wellington Region oppose being part of the proposed Super-City according to a new Nielsen Poll.

    Support
    All 26%
    Wellington City 30%
    Porirua and Kapiti 29%
    Hutt Valley 18%
    Wairarapa 17%

    Will the horrendous Fran Wilde (Wellington Regional Council Chair and leading advocate of the super-city) listen to the democratic will ? Will our own local Mayor, the equally-horrendous Nick Leggett (Close confidante of Wilde), feel humble enough to concede ? Doubt it.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/66575300/wellington-region-largely-rejects-supercity-poll

    • swordfish 23.1
      24 February 2015 at 2:05 pm

      Just a few days ago, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint about a misleading Wellington Regional Council (WRC) pro-Super City newspaper advertisement which breached the advertising code of ethics.

      The ad – which the ASA said presented assumptions and opinions as fact, was misleading and likely to exploit reader’s lack of knowledge and thus had not been prepared with a due sense of social responsibility – focussed on a non-existent problem with water pipes in Lower Hutt, using this to argue that residents should support a super-city so the wider region could help foot the bill.

      Hutt City Council’s chief executive said the WRC’s Super-City campaign was “a shambolic con”, that “the single reason the Regional Council gives Hutt residents for joining….is a complete fabrication” and that the WRC “has tried to fool the public into supporting a super-city.”

      Tragically, Fran has taken the whole episode very badly indeed, implying that the ASA decision may herald the end of democracy as we know it.

    • Rosie 23.2
      24 February 2015 at 2:06 pm

      Lols. Yes, saw that. Reaction is:

      http://www.freeallimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/grumpy-cat-good-1.jpg

      Having a squizz at the LGC “super city” pamphlet which states:

      “…….The Commission will hold public hearings, and then decide whether to issue a final proposal or remain within the existing council arrangements.

      If the Commission issues a final proposal, voters can then demand a poll. A poll will be held if ten percent of any voters in any affected council area sign a petition. The vote would be held across the whole region and the result would be binding”.

      If the Commission does go ahead and issues a final proposal then we’ll need to rally together and give them the big thumbs down.

      Super City 🙄 It’s all so Rodney Hide

      • greywarshark 23.2.1
        24 February 2015 at 2:10 pm

        @ Rosie
        That’s a great little icon with its moving alert eyes. A suitable symbol for anyone involved in political observing these days. Any blink must be short or something of importance will be missed.

      • ropata:rorschach 23.2.2
        24 February 2015 at 2:56 pm

        The Supercity model is designed to undermine democracy (i.e. local government for the people). In Auckland the POAL, a supposedly council controlled organisation, regularly thumbs its nose at directions from the Council. The local “boards” don’t really have power they are just advisers. Maybe it’s more efficient, or maybe it’s privatisation by stealth.

        • adam 23.2.2.1
          24 February 2015 at 6:47 pm

          I thought they were quite up front about the privatisation part of the project. Kinda have been in Auckland – Water Care ,AT, etc, money for the mates.

          Personally what worries me about it is it’s a front for austerity by stealth. Water charges, increased in fares, and other costs passed onto the people who already paid for these services.

    • Reality 23.3
      24 February 2015 at 4:08 pm

      Fran Wilde at a public meeting last night successfully antagonised the majority present with her condescending and “I know best” demeanour.

      • GregJ 23.3.1
        24 February 2015 at 10:49 pm

        It seems hard to believe that this is the same person who introduced into the house the Homosexual Law Reform Act and the Adoption Reform Act. Frankly her local government career has been disappointing. Chris Laidlaw is another ostensibly left politician in Wellington that I find less than impressive.

        I don’t want to say they’ve sold out but…

    • adam 23.4
      24 February 2015 at 6:43 pm

      Look on the bright side swordfish. You too could get your own cock and balls out of the supercity.

      It’s what New Lynn got as it’s membership of the failed, waste of rate payers money – to prop up Nationals mates – we call a city council in Auckland.

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11397385

      Does beg the question if business is so good, why does it need hand outs all the time? Is not asking for a hand out bad under these Tory scum rules of engagement? So why do they keep making structures to give business a hand out of tax payers money?

  24. music4menz 24
    24 February 2015 at 2:27 pm

    Interesting to note the difference between Andrew Little’s solid speech in the House this afternoon about sending troops to fight ISIS and the whining, nasty, personal, vindictive diatribe that Russel Norman thinks passes for intelligent debate.

    No wonder support for the Greens is so quickly transferring to Labour. The Greens will be well rid of Mr Norman as co-leader.

    • DoublePlusGood 24.1
      24 February 2015 at 5:14 pm

      Really? Russel Norman systematically dismantled all of the flimsy justifications for war, showing exactly why the whole idea just won’t work. He was clear and articulate. Did you even watch that, or just tune out because the EVIL GREENS was speaking?

  25. freedom 25
    24 February 2015 at 3:26 pm

    reposting in Open Mike as it goes to the wider issues facing our Parliament

    Parliament is a theatre. One whose performances relay a script driven by protocol, performance and symbolism.

    Solidarity is also driven by protocol, performance and symbolism.

    To all members of all Parties who sit in the House in opposition to the Government’s decision to send our nation to war, I have a question –

    Would it have been so terrible for your Party’s Elected Representatives to applaud at the conclusion of all the statements opposing the Prime Ministers Statement?

  26. Rodel 26
    24 February 2015 at 6:52 pm

    When Journalists get things wrong is deliberate or just journalistic incompetence?
    Brook Sabin reporting on TV3 tonight about the Lui/ Cunliffe/Key issue, said,

    “Cunliffe denied he’d supported his residency bid when a letter emerged proving he did.”

    No Mr Sabin-he didn’t. He sent a letter 11 years ago simply making an inquiry.
    It was not a letter of support for anybody’s residency bid.

    The cumulative effect of these small fabrications which surely happen too often to be unintentional mean that the Cunliffe’s of this world still have to battle the small lies that our media tries to convince us is news.

  27. Paul 27
    24 February 2015 at 7:48 pm

    What a disgraceful decision by the Catholic Church.

    NZ Catholic Bishops welcome decision to send troops to Iraq

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11407194

  28. weka 28
    24 February 2015 at 7:59 pm

    Alex Coleman retweeted
    Al Jazeera English ‏@AJEnglish 3 hrs3 hours ago
    Prime Minister Abbott says civil liberties must be sacrificed, as we enter a new ‘dark’ age. http://aje.io/b3td

    Meanwhile the sleepy hobbits fire up the barbie and have another beer.

    • Colonial Rawshark 28.1
      24 February 2015 at 10:30 pm

      Talk about letting the terrorists win. The 0.1% are battening down the hatches because they know the living conditions for the 99% are going to greatly deteriorate.

  29. logie97 29
    24 February 2015 at 9:40 pm

    No particular reason for sharing this except for a bit of reflection perhaps.

    SPEAKING: THE HERO

    Felix Pollak

    I did not want to go.
    They inducted me.
    I did not want to die.
    They called me yellow.
    I tried to run away,
    They court-martialed me.
    I did not shoot.
    They said I had no guts.
    They ordered the attack.
    A shrapnel tore my guts.
    I cried in pain.
    They carried me to safety.
    In safety I died.
    They blew Taps over me.
    They crossed out my name,
    And buried me under a cross.
    They made a speech in my hometown.
    I was unable to call them liars.
    They said I gave my life,
    I had struggled to keep it.
    They said I set an example.
    I had tried to run.
    They said they were proud of me.
    I had been ashamed of them.
    They said my mother should also be proud.
    My mother cried.
    I wanted to live.
    They called me a coward.
    I died a coward.
    They called me a hero.

  30. weka 30
    24 February 2015 at 10:14 pm

    Citizenfour has been made available for download (free and presumably legal).

    https://archive.org/details/LauraPoitrasCitizenfour

    • Colonial Rawshark 30.1
      24 February 2015 at 10:28 pm

      I’m so glad that they won the Oscar…and were able to attend the ceremonies and speak on stage!

  31. joe90 31
    24 February 2015 at 10:19 pm

    Greek government has released a summary of reforms,

    The main points of the summary of the proposals include:

    Creating a fairer tax system
    Combating tax evasion
    Tackling corruption
    Targeting fuel and tobacco smugglers
    Implementing labour reforms on collective contracts and bargaining agreements.
    Tackling Greece’s “humanitarian crisis” with housing guarantees and free medical care for the uninsured unemployed.

    Greece’s creditors – the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund – are expected to deliver their verdict on the proposals later on Tuesday, before the reforms are discussed in a conference call with eurozone finance ministers.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31597181

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