Open Mike 25/02/2017

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1. rhinocrates 1

   25 February 2017 at 9:10 am

   From The Spectator of all sources, but…when they start complaining, you know something’s giving way behind the facade.

   http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/02/brexit-rise-superliar/

   The author argues that in the past, the political lie was something almost furtive, the liar hoped to get away with it, knowing that there was a difference between truth and falsehood.

   In contrast, the post-truth ‘superliar’ is brazen about their lies, which are of huge magnitude, contradictory and have extreme consequences. They do not care about the difference between truth and falsehood, and instead of being furtive, they dare you to contradict them and bully their critics into silence.

   I’m not sure that the past was not so rosy, but even Nixon had enough of a conscience to use his lies to conceal.

   Apart from the big, yuge orangest one and UK PM May, which is the example in the article, there are plenty of virulent little Trumpoids to provide examples, the obvious ones being Key, Blinglish, Smith on water (and Mapp shaking his pom poms from the sidelines).
   • mikesh 1.1

     25 February 2017 at 9:42 am

     Nick Cohen fails to make a case. It seems clear (from his article) that people formerly opposed to brexit are now favouring it only because of the referendum result and not from personal conviction. This doesn’t make them “superliars”. Cohen sounds like a “remainer” pissed off because the referendum went the other way.
   • Morrissey 1.2

     25 February 2017 at 10:34 am

     You quoted Nick Cohen, who is one of the nastiest, sleaziest, most dishonest lite-thinkers in Britain—and that is very lite indeed. That makes you look very foolish indeed, rhinocrates.
     • rhinocrates 1.2.1

       25 February 2017 at 11:29 am

       Mikesh, Morrissey, read my first sentence.
       • Morrissey 1.2.1.1

         25 February 2017 at 1:06 pm

         Sorry, rhinocrates, I shot from the hip again, without checking. You’re one of the good guys, I reckon, and I’m a trigger-happy charlatan.

         Please accept my apologies.
         • rhinocrates 1.2.1.1.1

           25 February 2017 at 2:26 pm

           Gladly – I know where your heart is.
   • Andre 1.3

     25 February 2017 at 12:45 pm

     It fucks with the heads of the people trying to translate it into other languages, too.

     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/translating-trump-stupid-japan_us_58b07942e4b060480e078f19?4zlef5oucmhx5hfr&
2. Anne 2

   25 February 2017 at 9:16 am

   This Civilian fellow is going to give me a heart attack one day. Scrolling through the blog feeds… his opening paragraphs can be horrifying until you get to the bottom and see who has written them. 😮

   http://www.thecivilian.co.nz/starved-tigers-and-bears-to-be-introduced-to-new-zealand-as-bio-control-measure-against-humans/
   • rhinocrates 2.1

     25 February 2017 at 9:21 am

     Not to mention this:

     http://www.thecivilian.co.nz/government-vows-that-by-2040-90-of-new-zealands-rivers-will-be-vaguely-liquid-in-nature/
3. ianmac 3

   25 February 2017 at 9:37 am

   I see that the Cawthron Institute is praising the Nick Smith farce on water.
   Is the Cawthron Institute to be trusted?
   There is a formidable long list of scientists on their books!
   • Morrissey 3.1

     25 February 2017 at 10:40 am

     This “long list of scientists on their books” includes one Dr. Nick Smith.

     http://www.cawthron.org.nz/people/trust-directors/
4. saveNZ 4

   25 February 2017 at 9:47 am

   More wage and benefit drops under neoliberalism in the US…

   ‘I was naive’: after losing healthcare battle, factory workers fear next blow

   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/24/union-strike-momentive-stephen-schwarzman-blackstone
5. swordfish 5

   25 February 2017 at 9:59 am

   Tories getting a touch jittery ?

   Matthew Hooton Retweets Marcus Lush

   (1) Marcus Lush
   ‏@marcuslush

   “Bill English’s loyalty to mate Nick Smith will cost him the election.”

   (2) Matthew Hooton Retweeted Marcus Lush
   @MatthewHootonNZ

   “I don’t agree it’s certain. But if there is a @nzlabour, @NZGreens, @winstonpeters, @AeMarika govt, Nick Smith will be to blame.”

   ‏@MatthewHootonNZ

   “Eternal rule of NZ politics #629: If Nick Smith is involved, it will be a total fuck up.”
   • The decrypter 5.1

     25 February 2017 at 10:40 am

     Andrew will shortly offer nick a Knighthood,– to keep him on keeping on. Wonderful long time supporter.
6. marty mars 6

   25 February 2017 at 10:10 am

   control the message, control the media, control the message

   Reporters from The Times, BuzzFeed News, CNN, The Los Angeles Times and Politico were not allowed to enter the West Wing office of the press secretary, Sean M. Spicer, for the scheduled briefing. Aides to Mr. Spicer only allowed in reporters from a handpicked group of news organizations that, the White House said, had been previously confirmed.

   Those organizations included Breitbart News, the One America News Network and The Washington Times, all with conservative leanings. Journalists from ABC, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Fox News also attended.

   …The White House move came hours after Mr. Trump delivered a slashing attack on the news media in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The president denounced news organizations as “dishonest” purveyors of “fake news” and mocked journalists for claiming free speech rights.

   “They always bring up the First Amendment,” Mr. Trump said to cheers.

   https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/us/politics/white-house-sean-spicer-briefing.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

   when it begins, it begins…
   • mauī 6.1

     25 February 2017 at 11:07 am

     Well the message is already controlled day in day out my corporate media anyway, even here. Trump is just doing it overtly. Removing those players I dont see as a necessarily bad thing.

     Lets say Morgan became our president and banned Shrewshubbery, stuffed and Juan news from media reporting. Many would enjoy the freedom from the daily dose of spin I would bet.
     • marty mars 6.1.1

       25 February 2017 at 11:19 am

       the funny thing about the corporate controlled media meme is that both the right and left accuse it of being the lapdog of the other – I think that tells the story about this.

       imo it is not the spin that is the problem – they all spin – it is our susceptibility to believing the spin especially when it fits with our narrow and self interested worldview.

       banning media is the start of a very dangerous slippery slope and I’m sure The Dump is quite happy for that slipping to start – hides his lies and incompetence and bigotry for a start.
   • Sabine 6.2

     25 February 2017 at 11:38 am

     its all good, he is gonna bring peace, with the Russians, and the Syrians and Israel, and he is gonna be a Nationalist, and anti globalist, and he is gonna drain the swamp, and he is gonna show it to everyone how good he is, and shit.

     If the US of A humans loose a few of their rights, that’s ok, cause insert what ever reason.
   • joe90 6.3

     25 February 2017 at 11:53 am

     Getting hot in the kitchen….

     Buzzfeed: Steele DossierNYT: Cohen/Sater, FBI casePolitico: Manafort blackmailCNN: Priebus-FBIWaPo: Flynn discussing sanctions— A Finely Tuned 🍞💩🍞 (@ZeddRebel) February 24, 2017

     https://twitter.com/ZeddRebel/status/835211502433013766
   • Cinny 6.4

     25 February 2017 at 2:50 pm

     Brilliant move, keep denouncing the media, then when they attempt to tell any shocking truth’s about Agent Orange he will call them out as liars and the public will believe him. God help ‘Murica
   • joe90 6.5

     25 February 2017 at 3:36 pm

     Memories.

     (video inside)

     FLASHBACK: @seanspicer in Dec. says Trump WH won't ban specific media outlets. "That's what makes a democracy a democracy vs a dictatorship" pic.twitter.com/qYd6xE4IwN— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) February 24, 2017

     https://twitter.com/kenvogel/status/835219520541364225
7. miravox 7

   25 February 2017 at 10:13 am

   Brilliant act of subversion
   http://www.salon.com/2017/02/24/someone-at-cpac-handed-out-russian-with-trump-written-in-bold/

   I guess those news media entities that were banned from the White House presser would have reported it
   • Morrissey 7.1

     25 February 2017 at 10:32 am

     “Brilliant act of subversion”? You must be kidding. There was nothing brilliant about the Democratic National Committee’s absurd strategy of telling lies about Trump being a Russian pawn. Nobody with an IQ above room temperature believes a word of those lies.
     • miravox 7.1.1

       25 February 2017 at 10:42 am

       Nothing has to be true these days Morrissey – it just has to be a meme.
       • Morrissey 7.1.1.1

         25 February 2017 at 1:08 pm

         God, miravox, I hope not. If that’s the case, we’re doomed. (To quote Private Fraser)
   • weka 7.2

     25 February 2017 at 11:27 am

     I do like a good bit of protest theatre.
   • Sabine 7.3

     25 February 2017 at 11:39 am

     Yep, that was excellent trolling.
8. Morrissey 8

   25 February 2017 at 10:28 am

   Paul Robeson’s songs and deeds light the way for the fight against Trump
   by JEFF SPARROW, The Guardian, Monday 20 February 2017

   These are strange times for popular music and politics. On the one hand, the opposition to Donald Trump now extends so deeply into the entertainment industry that the president struggled to find any real talent willing to play his inauguration.

   On the other hand, it’s by no means clear what difference most anti-Trump interventions by musicians actually make. After all, during the election, the galaxy of A-listers backing Hillary Clinton spectacularly failed to generate either turnout or votes, with some pundits even suggesting the campaign’s reliance on celebrity power legitimised Trump’s claim to fighting “liberal elites”…

   http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/02/23/the-one-and-only-and-i-do-not-mean-obama/

   In contrast to Paul Robeson and Harry Belafonte, this is how less thoughtful singers engage in politics…
   • Ad 8.1

     25 February 2017 at 2:01 pm

     You don’t like Bruce Springsteen???
     • Morrissey 8.1.1

       25 February 2017 at 3:53 pm

       I like many of his songs, but I lost a lot of respect for him when he endorsed Hopey Changey. That was bad enough in 2008, but to do it again in 2012, after four years of Hopey Changey’s bailing out Wall Street bankers, drone murders in Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, supporting ISIS and its affiliates in Syria, supporting Israel’s “right” to massacre Palestinians at will, smashing democracy in Honduras and Haiti, deporting undocumented immigrants—Trump is not doing anything new—and persecuting journalists and political dissenters and whistle-blowers, it’s unforgiveable.

       There ARE thoughtful and intelligent singers and entertainers, but Bruce Springsteen is not one of them.
9. AsleepWhileWalking 9

   25 February 2017 at 10:59 am

   “You can pass on my respects to the grand mufti, but I will not cover myself up” – Marine Le Pen when offered a scarf to wear to a recent meeting with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian.

   https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/le-pen-soars-in-french-polls-to-top/
   • joe90 9.1

     25 February 2017 at 11:36 am

     Corrupt fascist visits country, sneers at religious majority’s conventions, fascists cheer.
     /
     • Sabine 9.1.1

       25 February 2017 at 11:42 am

       Respect and such …..but hey, she is white, and the white minority is very very fearful that they will become obsolete and loose grip on power. So lets be rude it will gain her some points.

       Never mind, that in France there are many many families that are of mixed races and cultures. But then she too will make France Great Again!
   • Psycho Milt 9.2

     25 February 2017 at 1:04 pm

     It’s very annoying when a nationalist authoritarian is giving the regular politicians lessons in liberalism. This ought to be not worth reporting, because it ought to be unremarkable – no public figure in a western democracy should let foreigners dictate their wardrobe. It’s a story because people in France know their mainstream politicians would fold, unlike Le Pen. They should stop leaving her free gifts to pick up.
     • Morrissey 9.2.1

       25 February 2017 at 1:10 pm

       Bet she covers up when she enters St. Peter’s in Rome.
       • Psycho Milt 9.2.1.1

         25 February 2017 at 2:59 pm

         The people running a venue have a right to impose a dress code for visitors to the venue. An individual doesn’t have a right to impose a dress code on other individuals. Do try and keep up.
10. marty mars 10

    25 February 2017 at 12:10 pm

    the sign of the times

    “He pledged “one of the greatest military build-ups in American history” and to “totally obliterate” the Islamic State terrorist group.

    “Nobody will dare question our military might again,” Trump said.”

    http://www.smh.com.au/world/donald-trump-among-friends-uses-conservative-political-action-conference-speech-to-attack-media-20170224-gul3so.html

    yep we are very safe in this world – as safe as being tired up in a cage with a crazed hungry rat.
    • weka 10.1

      25 February 2017 at 12:22 pm

      Ok, so he’s going to build a huge US military, but he’s not going to use that overseas? Wasn’t that the deal, that vote against Clinton because Tr*mp was less of a warmonger? I guess the Islamic obliteration will happen by non-military means.

      😉
      • Andre 10.1.1

        25 February 2017 at 12:30 pm

        How’s he going to “bomb the shit out of ’em” non-militarily? He personally going to take a crash course in making IEDs?
      • Sabine 10.1.2

        25 February 2017 at 12:58 pm

        He is gonna drown then in lethal bibles dropped from the most beautiful fighter jets ever.

        and send troops to syria, and have ‘save zones’ and shit.
11. Doug 11

    25 February 2017 at 1:05 pm

    The big question.
    Will Jeremy Corbyn last until next Election.

    The Tories swept aside Labour, which had held the Cumbria seat for 80 years, to record the first by-election gain by a sitting government in 35 years.
    Mrs May said the success showed her party’s broad appeal across England.
    Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he will stay on after it won a separate by-election in Stoke Central.
    But one Labour MP has urged him to consider his position following the Copeland loss.
    • Morrissey 11.1

      25 February 2017 at 1:11 pm

      You think they should go with a proven winner like Ed Miliband, do you?
    • KJT 11.2

      25 February 2017 at 1:29 pm

      So long as Corbyn continues to be white anted by his own parliamentary party, British Labour will continue to lose.

      Just like NZ, there are those in Labour who would rather lose than become a Democratic socialist party, as they were in the 50’s.
    • millsy 11.3

      25 February 2017 at 1:43 pm

      Teresa May still wants to impose austerity and privatisation on Britain, rolling back the state to levels unseen since the Walpole era.
    • TootingPopularFront 11.4

      25 February 2017 at 5:34 pm

      Just to clarify the tories “swept aside” a Labour candidate that was selected by the local Labour Party rather than by Jeremy Corbyn, the electorate takes in Sellafield which is a nuclear power plant and one of the biggest employers in the area – Corbyn is against nuclear power, Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson spent the last week of the by-election criticizing their own party, all of the media in England (including the Guardian and the Independent – shame on both of them) have carried predominantly negative stories about Corbyn for the last 2 years, Corbyn has had to fight for the leadership twice in the last year because of the Blairite Labour MPs being against his leadership but the membership of the party have elected him overwhelmingly both times…it is a wonder that Labour managed to get as close as they did to the tory candidate in Copeland. By the way, Labour beat UKIP to win Stoke on the very same day – Stoke is considered Brexit heartland, and the Labour candidate beat the new leader of UKIP – considering both results simultaneously suggests that there are other factors at play rather than the never-ending cacophony of media-led noise about Corbyn’s leadership credentials.
      • Red 11.4.1

        25 February 2017 at 11:54 pm

        Yep Corbyn is a winner, he can be assured he has the full support of the Conservative party even if his own MPs and the mass of the uk population think he is a walking disaster Stick with it Jerry I say
12. marty mars 12

    25 February 2017 at 1:47 pm

    “The high cost of housing “hanging over” young families is a result of the efforts to protect the environment in Auckland and other big cities, Prime Minister Bill English says.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11807509

    “battle lines being drawn…”

    https://youtu.be/BWTqj5lvkFs
    • Graeme 12.1

      25 February 2017 at 2:30 pm

      Go Bill…

      Nothing like picking a fight with the good burghers of the leafy suburbs in election year. Going to be really interesting watching him sell high density development next door to the party faithful in the inner city suburbs, or dismantling the covenant structures on most subdivision developments of the past 20 years.
    • Muttonbird 12.2

      25 February 2017 at 2:46 pm

      It’s another lightbulbs moment all over again.
    • Cinny 12.3

      25 February 2017 at 2:57 pm

      Too funny, maybe the outgoing government isn’t aware that with out an environment there can be no economy. And blaming someones rules on furniture placement and plant arrangement, isn’t going to fix the housing crisis.

      Geezzz Billy the public aren’t that stupid, they won’t believe for a moment that the environment is to blame for the housing crisis.

      ‘stop children… what’s that sound.. everyone look what’s going down’ epic clip Marty, loved that, ty for posting.
    • Gabby 12.4

      25 February 2017 at 6:31 pm

      Hopefully Andy disagrees.
13. Matiri 13

    25 February 2017 at 1:54 pm

    Swimmable rivers plan obviously not going down too well. That nice Mr Key has broken his media silence. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11807522
    • Muttonbird 13.1

      25 February 2017 at 4:02 pm

      Yep, they’ve been forced to call in air support. I’m sure they didn’t want to wheel out Key so early having been less than 3 months out of the job.
    • Ed 13.2

      25 February 2017 at 4:40 pm

      The Tom Scott cartoon in todays Dominion Post (page C4) captures it nicely, but I have not been able to find it on the Stuff website – are cartoons politically ‘censored’ for publication on the web?
14. saveNZ 14

    25 February 2017 at 1:58 pm

    “Two men were yesterday jailed for their role in the country’s largest bribery case and Auckland Transport revealed six other staff left their jobs after investigations began into the scandal.

    The episode has triggered warnings from the Serious Fraud Office that the case has not been completely closed – and that corruption required a toxic culture to grow.

    Former Auckland Transport senior manager Murray Noone and Projenz managing director Stephen Borlase were sentenced at the High Court at Auckland to five years and five years six months respectively after being found guilty of bribery and corruption.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11805571
15. Glenn 15

    25 February 2017 at 2:37 pm

    First shots fired in Trumps war against the Media. Certain news media were not allowed into Whitehouse news briefing..

    Outlets in the meeting:

    Franco Ordonez, McClatchy

    CBS, Margaret Brennan (pool)

    Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones (pool)

    Washington Times

    Washington Examiner, Gabby Morrongiello

    One America News Network, Trey Yingst

    NBC, Hallie Jackson

    ABC, Cecilia Vargas

    Fox News, John Roberts

    AFP, Andrew Beatty (pool)

    Reuters

    Hearst (pool)

    Bloomberg, Justin Sink (pool)

    Fox News, John Roberts

    Emel Bayrak, TRT-TURK (pool)

    News outlets kept out of the meeting:

    DailyMail.com

    Buzzfeed

    Roll Call

    New York Times

    Politico

    The Hill

    Real Clear Politics

    CNN

    BBC

    Al Jazeera

    New York Daily News

    The Guardian
    .

    The ban is the latest round in Spicer and his boss’s war with the media – dubbed the ‘opposition party’ by Bannon.

    ‘The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!’ Trump tweeted
    He doubled down Friday morning at CPAC, mocking the ‘Clinton News Network’ and continuing to call the ‘fake news media’ the ‘enemy’.

    ‘They’re very dishonest people,’ he said. ‘They’re very smart, they’re very cunning and they’re very dishonest.’

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4257770/WH-locks-certain-reporters-briefing.html#ixzz4ZehawjIT
16. Sabine 16

    25 February 2017 at 3:11 pm

    just because we all need a moment of bearsies
17. Ad 17

    25 February 2017 at 3:14 pm

    Perez v Ellison for DNC Chair.

    Sinve the two are ideologically indistinguishable, did Obama push Perez to run just to shore up his and Clinton’s (failed) party machine?

    With Harry Reid and Elizabeth Warrenn on the same side (Ellison), I’m inclined this time to go with their judgement.
    • Gabby 17.1

      25 February 2017 at 6:25 pm

      Or to protect the dems from the consequences of egregious folly?
18. Mrs Brillo 18

    25 February 2017 at 7:28 pm

    I’m thinking of having a war on the media myself – if anybody can join in.

    Specifically, my nukes will be directed at TVNZ-owned DUKE channel, which has no plans to screen any more Samantha Bee.

    Will she turn up somewhere else… behind a double paywall, perhaps?
    Or has she been no-platformed because of her political stance?

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