Open mike 25/02/2012

15 comments on “Open mike 25/02/2012 ”

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1. just saying 1

   25 February 2012 at 7:59 am

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10787770

   Shearer. Gods help us!

   Worst. Political. Interview. Ever.

   (and therefore more approval from the right “A better question might have been how does he differ from Key? Time will tell on that one, too. I certainly can’t.“)
   • Te Reo Putake 1.1

     25 February 2012 at 8:15 am

     Meh. If it’s the worst political interview ever, surely that reflects the questions asked? It reads to me like it should have been in the Woman’s Weekly not the Herald, particularly as most of the word count is made up of the journalist’s opinions, not Shearer’s.
     • phillip ure.. 1.1.1

       25 February 2012 at 8:40 am

       i am quite puzzled by the apparant either/or of shearers’ attitude..

       ..is there some reason why he can’t do both..?

       ..yes..i think we would all like someone rethinking politics..

       (if that is what he is really doing..i do fear tho’ the advice of the pragmatists/incrementalists advisers he has…that labour just has to sit and wait for national to screw up..then it will be business as usual..again..the clark years..redux..does chill the blood…)

       ..but we also want someone to show they have the ability to rattle the tories/neo-libs..

       ..he has to also show some fire/mongrel..

       ..and as i say..i can’t see any reason why he should not be trying for both..

       ..and if he hasn’t learn’t those skills yet..set cunnliffe loose on them..

       ..(i do commentaries on questiontime…and i hafta say…the year so far has been pretty meh..!..)

       ..and labour needs to seriously get behind the groundswell of opposition to asset/land-sales..however they possibly can…

       ..and that is not to be done in three years…

       ..that is to be done now…

       ..and as a current example…i am not saying shearer has to climb that tower with lawless..

       ..but if he is aiming to be a man of the people..

       ..he needs to be at the bottom of the tower..at the very least..

       ..cheering on/leaning in…

       ..if he is to gain any gravitas as a leader..

       phil-at-whoar.
     • marty mars 1.1.2

       25 February 2012 at 8:50 am

       What a shocker – I’m not sure what wearing his guns on the inside means but they must be unloaded otherwise he’s going to hurt himself.

       I don’t think you can blame the interviewer vor – bit like blaming the screwdriver.
       • just saying 1.1.2.1

         25 February 2012 at 9:05 am

         Don’t worry Marty.
         The guns are loaded with thousands of new-age fortune cookie messages, happy ones, such as “nice is nice, let’s do that”. When he shoots, they rain down in really pretty colours. No-one gets hurt, which is good because it’s not like people are hurting unnecessarily. Nothing a spot of positive thinking wouldn’t fix right up anyways.

         Best of all, he can shoot himself in the foot without hurting himself.
   • Bill 1.2

     25 February 2012 at 11:56 am

     So he voted for National. And doesn’t (apparently) offer any contextural explanation, thereby allowing for the impression that National are kind of okay or in some way acceptable.

     Sure. He said he voted for them the first time he voted, which by my reckoning was in the late 70s. So, when Labour still retained a bit of the Labour tradition, the current leader of Labour voted against them!?

     And before anyone jumps up and down seeking to excuse him ’cause he was only 18 or so and maybe suggesting that his tory voting presbyterian father might have had an influence on him at that age. Or before anyone suggests that he ‘hadn’t seen the light’ from the back of a pick up truck in Africa yet…I just don’t give a toss.

     He has constructed a political view that would by and large come naturally to people against the political view that was formally ingrained in him. And so now (for me), Mr ‘Charity Man’ is starting to make sense.

     Simply, he just doesn’t ‘get it’. There is no innate outrage seeking political expression or articulation. All there is, is an idea that being nice and doing nice stuff will suffice. And so Labour merely needs to be a bit nicer than National. Since there’s nothing intrinsically bad about anything – nothing a bit of reasonable discussion with those lacking a dash of charity won’t fix – some people just need the error of their ways pointed out to them in a reasonable fashion in a civilised forum. And thereafter, the world will come to rights because people will be nicer to one another.

     Ah, Labour. Undead.
     • Draco T Bastard 1.2.1

       25 February 2012 at 1:46 pm

       +1
2. phillip ure.. 2

   25 February 2012 at 8:26 am

   http://whoar.co.nz/2012/cash-of-the-titans-against-the-noxious-fantasy-of-limitless-growth-squeamish-liberals-are-devotees-of-the-cliche-worshipping-temple-of-incremental-change/

   “…The concept of endless economic growth – accepted as sacrosanct by both U.S. mainstream political parties –

   – and internalized as the dominant mode of mind by the general population of the corporate/consumer state –

   – is mirrored in the exponential mathematics of a malignancy.

   Cancer, if given voice, would proclaim itself to be a believer in “free market values”…

   .. devoted to the principle of endless growth…

   ..until of course – it would silence its own voice by killing its host.

   Likewise all life seeks limits or prematurely dooms itself.

   The same holds true with addiction to unlimited economic expansion…

   …the craving for incessant ascension is in fact –

   – a doomed Icarusian flight.

   In our time politics as usual has failed to address the most pressing issues of the age:-

   – The manner by which neoliberal economic agendas exploit the masses in the service of a corrupt elite –

   – and in so doing decimating individual hopes and aspirations –

   – as, all the while, the environmental dangers, endemic to the unchecked system – imperil the survival of humankind.

   Although, alarmingly, both political parties continue to serve the status quo:-

   – Contemporary conservatives promote–in fact, seem to outright revel in–the litanies of a gospel of global-wide destruction –

   – (in the case of religious fundamentalists even going so far as to implore the forces of heaven, with fervid prayers, to expedite doomsday’s date of arrival)-

   – by means of militarist aggression and environmental carnage–

   – while squeamish liberals are devotees of the cliché-worshipping temple of incremental change…”

   (cont..)

   phil-at-whoar.
3. William Joyce 3

   25 February 2012 at 9:24 am

   The Banks/Key love affair continues – Link
   • mickysavage 3.1

     25 February 2012 at 9:29 am

     I never knew Banks was like that …
4. Colonial Viper 4

   25 February 2012 at 1:25 pm

   Uni student planning to leave because of jobs shortage

   And here I thought that Christchurch needed thousadns of tradespeople – most uni qualifications unfortunately add little value there.

   Finding a job is one of the biggest worries for today’s tertiary students – so much so that many are planning to leave the country when they finish studying.

   These are the findings from an online Colmar Brunton survey of more than 1000 students conducted on behalf of Student Job Search.

   When asked what their biggest fear was once they had left study, 21 per cent of students said it related to whether or not they would be able to find a job in their chosen field.

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10787888
5. Fortran 5

   25 February 2012 at 1:26 pm

   Shearer appears to be a nice guy.
   No good for Labour.
6. aj 6

   25 February 2012 at 2:54 pm

   Aussie politics – Sky 90
   Blood sport live. Gladatorial.
7. Draco T Bastard 7

   25 February 2012 at 6:35 pm

   15 Ways Politics Deplete Our Energy

   Actually, when looking at politics as a drain on society, it becomes rather easy to conclude that we may be indeed wasting our greatest potential for societal progress in this endless game of ego satiation and public parade. Furthermore, it appears that the hidden costs of our political efforts have been quite vast, and have had many detrimental effects to our collective psyche and identity.

   Can’t say that I agree with all of it but 3,4 and 11 definitely resonate.
8. ak 8

   25 February 2012 at 11:26 pm

   Anomie Territory

   Helen-lite-tory stuck in a fork

   Crammed into progression, led by a dork

   Dependant on Quisling, dimbat and Pork

   But bashing poor = bashing Maori: so there goes Pork

   And QuisDunne’s the cunt, most traitorest cunt ever

   So it’s scum propping effluent

   With their hands on the wheel

   As the forces of nature

   Bring us all to heel

   We’ll remember these days

   When we had a chance

   And rue the miss

   Tell the kids we were too busy

   Growing tumours instead

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