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Open mike 25/08/2014

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, August 25th, 2014 - 178 comments
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openmikeOpen mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

178 comments on “Open mike 25/08/2014 ”

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  1. crocodill 1
    25 August 2014 at 8:00 am

    Hijinks and hilarity in Epsom yesterday. The Herald reports:

    “ Mr Peters told the crowd that he knew one Beijing-based property investor who owned 55 houses in Auckland. “Don’t blame the Chinese. They are renowned for not being stupid. They are renowned for being bright academically. They are renowned for long-term planning. “Don’t blame them, when they see a bunch of fools running the country, saying, ‘Come over here, you can make a fortune’.” ”

    So Peters told his audience that they shouldn’t harbour dumb cultural stereotypes and (maybe even racist) attitudes toward the Chinese… they can’t help being subject to greedy instinctual predatory urges… because they’re Chinese!

    Meanwhile, Cliff Lyon said Labour had lost touch with their working class roots:

    “If you have a look at their supporters they are really gays, lesbians, the unemployed who they throw heaps of money at, and what I might call the loony intelligent left who sit up in Auckland University.”

    Someone needs to ask Cliff which year it is now. I want to hear him say 1995. Hmm, let’s see if we can find out who was in the audience of NZ First supporters yesterday by inventing cultural opposites for those “demographics”.

    NZ First supporters in Epsom are really Hetero men, spinsters of unproved sexual orientation, people who gift all their income to the taxman, and the stupid unintelligent right who never went to school and now sit in the vacant basements of old office buildings. The place must have been packed out.

    Sometimes the ignorant venal malicious stupid goes so far into noise without intended effect that it becomes hilarious. By eclipsing National’s bizarre definition of low-income first home buyers and Labour’s almost honest but cute admission of support for “modest” incomes, NZ First have won the hilarity prize today – they will probably hold it for the rest of the week.

    • phillip ure 1.1
      25 August 2014 at 8:11 am

      and on a more serious note..

      ..those on the ‘left’ considering voting for peters should note he also said this at that epsom meeting:

      “..NZ First would hold the balance of power after the election – Mr Peters said.

      When one man asked him to not support National –

      • Mr Peters said any decisions would be made after the votes were counted and ‘we know what the cards are’.

      ‘It’s not going to be an easy decision..”

      ..are you clear on that..?..

      ..peters will decide who he will support..after the election..and could well go with national/key..

      ..wd it be too strong to call those on the left who consider peters a ‘safe’ vote for them..

      ..to call them totally-in-denial-dumbarses..?

      ..i don’t think so..

      • BM 1.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 8:29 am

        Peters will go National, it’s not a tough choice

        It’s ether making up the numbers with labour and the greens or having quite a bit of clout with National.

        It’s also works with his “Keeping the buggers honest” theme he likes to push.

        • phillip ure 1.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 8:37 am

          for once..bm..i agree with you..

        • Enough is Enough 1.1.1.2
          25 August 2014 at 11:09 am

          Yeah he almost said as much on Q & A yesterday.

          He was saying that some party’s spending plans were not acceptable to NZ First. Susan Wood repeatedly asked him if he was referring to the Greens. As always he would not answer the question but it was clear that is indeed who he was referring to.

          If Winston holds the balance of power he will do one of two things.

          1. Go with the Nats.
          2. Go with Labour on the condition the Greens are locked out.

          Both options are a disaster.

        • Puddleglum 1.1.1.3
          25 August 2014 at 2:43 pm

          But, hang on BM. I thought that the whole point of voting National (with its huge support) was to ensure that any coalition partners it needed would have little ‘clout’.

          But now you say that NZ First would have a lot of ‘clout’. Which is it?

          • BM 1.1.1.3.1
            25 August 2014 at 3:50 pm

            If Key can’t get over the line with Act,Dunne, Maori party but he could with only Peters, I’d say Peters has a lot of clout.

            Peters can then say, no Act,no Maori party, no Dunne, you want the numbers you deal with me and me alone.

    • Chooky 1.2
      25 August 2014 at 8:17 am

      @crocodill…actually I thought Winston Peters was rather good…anyone who has spent any time really travelling in China would agree with him!

      ie “ Mr Peters told the crowd that he knew one Beijing-based property investor who owned 55 houses in Auckland. “Don’t blame the Chinese. They are renowned for not being stupid. They are renowned for being bright academically. They are renowned for long-term planning. “Don’t blame them, when they see a bunch of fools running the country, saying, ‘Come over here, you can make a fortune’.” ”

      …however Cliff Lyon is way off the mark

    • Ad 1.3
      25 August 2014 at 10:29 am

      From doorknocking the last few weekends, I can see that the only European men over 45 voting Labour are all on this site. Because there’s fuck-all of them anywhere else.

      And even the ones on this site are dodgy 🙂

    • rhinocrates 1.4
      25 August 2014 at 10:42 am

      “If you have a look at their supporters they are really gays, lesbians, the unemployed who they throw heaps of money at, and what I might call the loony intelligent left who sit up in Auckland University.”

      Bigoted, ignorant and thinks everyone else is too. Ugh.

  2. tricledrown 2
    25 August 2014 at 8:14 am

    Milk prices due to plummet because of Russian sanctions and massive increases in production world
    wide!

    • Chooky 2.1
      25 August 2014 at 8:24 am

      Russian sanctions ( either against Russia or from Russia) do not apply to NZ….the smart solution is to make Russia our number one trading partner !

      • phillip ure 2.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 9:01 am

        our dirty/filthy/polluting dairy-industry is a sunset-industry..

        ..(and in the long run..for us..and for the planet..this is a good thing..)

        ..the twofer of a forseeable global-gut in that white-death for the next five years..

        ..plus the soon-to-be-introduced ‘milk’ made from yeast..(of all things!)..that will taste/be the same..

        ..be able to do everything milk from cows does..(cheeses..etc..)..

        ..that does not need to be chilled..and will cost a fraction of the costs of cows-milk to produce/needs no land/dirty-waterways..will be ‘clean’..environmentally..

        ..but just on price..it will kill the global marketthe/our dirty cow-milk industry..

        ..it’s gonna be a financial bloodbath..the transition…

        ..it will be britain joins e.u/stops buying our farm product redux..but worse..)

        ..(and of all people..james cameron is showing the way forward..with his purchases of big dairy-holdings..and his conversion of them back into farms growing real food..

        ..i guess that cameron is a vegan is at least a part-driver of that..)

        ..and the aspect of all this that really concerns me at the moment..

        ..is how so many iwi are pouring their treaty-settlement monies into what will be/end up a total financial disaster..

        ..i see all that only ending in tears..

  4. Chooky 4
    25 August 2014 at 8:21 am

    no definately NOT….i actually thought Lyon was talking about you!

    Peters is a poker player ….but imho he will join a coalition with Labour ….all his policies agree with Labour ….all his criticisms have been directed against National…and he cant stand John key or NACT!

    • phillip ure 4.1
      25 August 2014 at 8:26 am

      how..?..you are the resident peters-booster..

      ..would you vote for him..?..have you voted for him in the past..?

      • Chooky 4.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 8:45 am

        @ PU….nyb… the GREENS will probably get my vote this time …but I am sorely tempted by MANA/INT ….and Winnie is wonderful…and so is David Cunliffe!…so I am happy …i have plenty of choice

        …you dont seem happy …..who are you voting for? ….are you a closet NACT?…or just disillusioned Labour?…you attack Labour at every opportunity and Winnie…..the NACTs absolutely hate Peters….this could explain your attitude to him!

        • phillip ure 4.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 9:10 am

          internet/mana..greens..labour..

          ..are my parties of choice..in descending order..

          ..i thought i couldn’t have been more clear about that..

          ..and you are in la-la land with yr ‘winnies’ wonderful’…

          ..no he’s not..he’s a con-man..

          ..just running his schtick for the final time..

          ..doing a classic ‘bait and switch’..

          ..(and the reply-function has had another meltdown..)

          • The Al1en 4.1.1.1.1
            25 August 2014 at 5:34 pm

            They keep giving you oxygen and you keep wasting it. More fool them.

            Peter’s won’t go with national unless the left vote splitting mip are somehow in the frame post election.

            To be sure you get a red/green government, you have to vote red/green. Don’t mess about with the minimal munters.

            • Chooky 4.1.1.1.1.1
              25 August 2014 at 5:44 pm

              @ the Allen…you have to say who yu are addressing your comments to because the order of the threads are not working

            • marty mars 4.1.1.1.1.2
              25 August 2014 at 7:45 pm

              @ allen – It is IMP not mip – not that hard to get the name correct although maybe the big letters are confusing you.

              I agree that people should vote for the party they want but relying on winnie – nah too risky.

              • The Al1en …
                25 August 2014 at 8:55 pm

                “@ allen – It is IMP not mip – not that hard to get the name correct”

                You mean like Al1en, not al1en?

                But no and somewhat incredulous having to answer such a weak whine, to me it’s always been mip ‘mana internet party’, but if you want to get all arseholey about it, all the better 😉

                “maybe the big letters are confusing you.”

                You’ll have to remind me why you’re acting butt hurt, again, but if it’s going to be a long list, which it probably might well be, you’re better off saving the poison from your pen for someone willing to play the victim, rather than waste it on me.

                You and your utu (the seeking of revenge) 🙄
                You’re still raging, yet I shat you out ages ago.
                The mirth of it all. 😆

      • greywarbler 4.1.2
        25 August 2014 at 9:40 am

        @phillip ure
        I think Chooky is assessing Winston’s likely choice of coalition if he gets that far, while you are arguing that he doesn’t deserve to be there because of low integrity and commitment to the people, only to himself. Both are relevant separate points which can’t be argued against each other.

        I’d vote for Peters in a contest on fashion style on the catwalk. But in politics his style changes with the wind. Labour would have to do an Alamein Kopu with him, and have a chat with him each morning to gauge his direction for the day.

        • phillip ure 4.1.2.1
          25 August 2014 at 9:49 am

          no warbler..i am saying a vote for peters is not a ‘safe’ vote..

          ..for anyone wanting a change of govt..

          ..it’s as simple as that…

          (wow..!..reply-function really has gone sth..this is reply to 8.1.2.1…)

          • Tiger Mountain 4.1.2.1.1
            25 August 2014 at 9:57 am

            Voting IMP, Green, Lab means little chance of a wasted vote. They all grow the left bloc.

            Winston First is a major chance of a wasted vote if you want not just a change of government but a left as possible one. He is so likely to go with the GodKey.

            ACT, Colon, MP and Hairdo are definitely wasted votes in any event and moreso if Epsom, Ohariu and Māori electorate left voters get strategic.

            Don’t vote Winston. Let someone else get him to 4.9%.

            • Rich 4.1.2.1.1.1
              25 August 2014 at 9:59 am

              What’s this GodKey stuff?

              • North …
                25 August 2014 at 11:08 am

                It’s the delusional rubbish pumped out by National saying that John Key has theistic qualities, that he’s a god. Whereas the truth is he’s a flakey wee rich man liar who’s produced not a thing in his entire life save immense wealth for himself. It’s all part of the dark stuff we see in Dirty Politics.

                • Man in a Barrel …
                  25 August 2014 at 11:24 am

                  …

                  Don’t overlook the fact that we have it on no less an authority than St. Lloyd Blankfein of that well-known altruistic institution the Church of the Holy Goldman Sachs.

                  “We’re very important,” Blankfein said in an interview with The Times of London. “We help companies to grow by helping them to raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. It’s a virtuous cycle. We have a social purpose.”

                  St. Blankfein said that he understood, however, that people were angry with bankers’ actions: “I know I could slit my wrists and people would cheer.” But he is, he told The Times, just a banker “doing God’s work.”

                  As is the Holier-than-thou John Key.

                • Rich …
                  25 August 2014 at 11:57 am

                  Yes I’ve always wondered where he got his money from, a week on here and I figure that I’ve worked it out. He stole it.

              • David H …
                25 August 2014 at 11:15 am

                Why that’s the Nats election campaign right there.

            • Bearded Git 4.1.2.1.1.2
              25 August 2014 at 9:59 am

              I’m dreaming of NZF 4.8, Colonservatives 4.8, ACT 1.5 with Goldsmith taking Epsom.

    • phillip ure 4.2
      25 August 2014 at 8:33 am

      yep..he’s got u well and truly suckered in…eh..?

      ..have you forgotten how the last time that peers went with national..

      ..polling afterwards showed some 70% of those who had voted for him..

      ..had done so..because of their fervent belief..going on his attacks on national etc.. that he wd go with labour..

      ..were you one of them then..?

      ..peters has run this con before..he knows how well it works..and what to say to make it work..

      ..how to suck in the gullible..

      ..fool you twice..more fool you…eh..?

      • Bearded Git 4.2.1
        25 August 2014 at 9:10 am

        Anyone from the Left who votes for Peters needs their head examined.

        But Phillip you say Peters will go with Key. I think he will go with Cunliffe.

        A small wager,say a bottle of our fine Central Otago Pinot Noir, on this?

        • phillip ure 4.2.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 9:15 am

          i don’t use alcohol b.g…

          ..but a bag of stinking-heads vs. a bottle of plonk..

          ..i’d be up for that bet..

          ..(if you don’t know where/how to get it..just ask the next teenager you see..

          ..they’ll be able to point you in the right direction..eh..?..)

          • Bearded Git 4.2.1.1.1
            25 August 2014 at 9:22 am

            Ha ha. Sorry I don’t use the heads any more, so we will leave it as a gentleman’s bet.

            I will vote Green, but it’s tricky as there are elements of Labour and IMP policies that I would prefer. For instance Labour’s using Kiwisaver to control interest rates and exchange rates, and IMP’s focus on poverty.

            • phillip ure 4.2.1.1.1.1
              25 August 2014 at 9:36 am

              it is the internet/mana focuses on the seemingly so different/disparate areas of ending poverty and economic-innovation/transition that draw me to them..

              ..and for those of a progressive bent it must be clear that the better the result for both internet/mana and the greens..

              ..the more the chances of them being able to demonstrate to labour..

              ..the mandate for those poverty-ending etc policies..

              ..and a ‘left’-coalition containing peters..i see more and more as being a trainwreck..

              ..especially in the area of getting any real progressive polices enacted..

              ..it will likely just limp along..doing not very much..

              ..and liable to be thrown out of office after just one term..

              ..whereas a lab/grn/int/mana govt..

              ..wd see some real ‘progress’ being made..

              ..to me..all that couldn’t be clearer..

              • swordfish …
                25 August 2014 at 10:12 am

                @ Phillip Ure (9:36am comment) (damn reply button’s gone AWOL)

                And yet I’d argue that the only chance of there actually being a Left Government after this Election is with Winnie’s support. Unfortunate – deeply unfortunate – but true. The Left Bloc just aint gonna make it by itself. And no amount of Pollyanna wishful thinking will change that fact.

                I agree, though, that on balance he’s a little more likely to go with Key. But nothing cut and dried as yet.

                • phillip ure …
                  25 August 2014 at 10:26 am

                  @ swordfish..

                  ..at the launch yesterday..and i presume going on internal-polling as he was so precise..dotcom said 7.8% wd be the election-outcome..

                  ..(i have for some time picked just sth of 10%..that from more reading runes/straw-in-the-wind than internal-polling..)

                  ..so my ideal is lab 25-27%..grns 15%..int/mana just sub-ten..

                  ..and there you have it..

                  ..home and hosed…

                  ..and eminently do-able..

                  • phillip ure …
                    25 August 2014 at 3:23 pm

                    @ swordfish..

                    ..and don’t forget we still have the greenwald/dotcom spook-dump five days before polling day to look forward to..

                    ..and the fallout for key/national..and to a certain/lesser degree labour..is hard to predict from here..

                    ..but the conclusion can be that it will be good for neither of them..

                    ..and as that shitstorm goes down..there stand int/mana..and the greens..

                    ..promising to clean up all that..and presenting a new future..

                    ..instead of just more of what we have got here..from national..(and to a certain/lesser degree labour..)

                    ..and i can’t see that spook-dump hurting the int.mana and green vote-outcomes..can you..?

        • Chooky 4.2.1.2
          25 August 2014 at 9:26 am

          BG +100 “I think he will go with Labour”….. Winnie worked very well with Helen Clark….and once upon a time he was way to the Left of both Labour and National….Winnie would destroy himself for posterity if he went with the NACTS this time

          • yeshe 4.2.1.2.1
            25 August 2014 at 2:55 pm

            and that awful time he went with National and we all got so mad at him ( what year ?) ? Turns out, and it’s verified, that Jim Anderton refused to work with him in any coalition deal — Winston had absolutely no option but to turn to National or leave us with no government at all.

            Just my two cents worth ..

            • yeshe 4.2.1.2.1.1
              25 August 2014 at 2:58 pm

              this was supposed to a reply to Chooky .. can’t work out what;s happening today and LPrent said he maybe couldn’t fix it from his laptop … Sudoku on The Standard !!

            • Kiwiri 4.2.1.2.1.2
              25 August 2014 at 3:08 pm

              Interesting.
              I’d be keen to read a link to that.

            • Chooky 4.2.1.2.1.3
              25 August 2014 at 3:42 pm

              @ yeshe ……no Jim Anderton refused to work with Labour in any coalition deal

              ( remember Anderton was mad with Rogernomics and Labour…the Alliance was out to destroy Labour , even although his friend Helen Clark was leading Labour at the time?)

              …and Winnie had no choice but to go with National because a Labour coalition govt without the Alliance in just didnt have the numbers. ..

              Winnie was faced with the option of a new Election being called , where he may have had a backlash, or of going into coalition with National and seeing what he could get out of it…his bottom line was no asset sales

              …In the end Winnie (despite choosing to go with National) brought down the National govt over more proposed privitisation of state assets

              the NACTS have never for given him….and still want him destroyed …they also succeeded when they conducted a year long vendetta over the funding by Owen Glen

      • Man in a Barrel 4.2.2
        25 August 2014 at 10:04 am

        …

        This is the problem uncommitted voters such as myself face. I don’t trust either ‘main’ party with a majority in Parliament. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

        I’ve a lot of time for Winnie going right back to the Winebox, and IMHO a Labour or a National Government forced to deal with NZF as a strong coalition partner is probably going to be the most honest Government we could hope for at the present time. I was even considering giving my party vote to NZF on this occasion but unless Peters comes right out and declares that NZF would not go into Government with a National Party still including proven sleaze-balls like Key, Collins, Brownlee et all I can’t risk voting for it.

        • Chooky 4.2.2.1
          25 August 2014 at 11:33 am

          +100 man in barrel….and for your previous comments on 13.1.2.3

          (btw… there is something wrong with the reply functions and also if one wants to start a new topic)

        • Kiwiri 4.2.2.2
          25 August 2014 at 3:06 pm

          unless Peters comes right out and declares that NZF would not go into Government with a National Party still including proven sleaze-balls like Key, Collins, Brownlee et all I can’t risk voting for it

          +1

  5. phillip ure 5
    25 August 2014 at 8:27 am

    for moderator..f.y.i..

    ..the reply-function is not working..

  6. TheContrarian 6
    25 August 2014 at 8:27 am

    Tama Iti standing for The Maori Party. Could be quite the vote winner

    • Rosie 6.1
      25 August 2014 at 8:36 am

      It’s Tame.

      And yes, he’s very influential, carries a huge amount of mana and might just revive a dying coalition partner. Damn.

      Not sure where he’s standing as yet.

      • TheContrarian 6.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 8:37 am

        His influence however might swing the Maori Party away from the Nat’s however. I can’t see Iti working with National

        • Rosie 6.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 8:55 am

          I heard on rnz this morning that he wanted to join the Maori Party as they are only party working with Government to benefit Maori. (my paraphrasing). I was quite surprised to hear it as his world view doesn’t align with the Right.

          I recall that when the Maori Party have been criticised for being sell outs they have said in their defence that is was “better to be at the table, than on the floor getting the crumbs”, meaning they were willing to compromise their own values in order to progress their agenda. For them it was purely a matter of practicalities. I wonder if this is simply how Tame Iti see’s it too.

        • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.2
          26 August 2014 at 1:27 am

          I can’t see Iti working with National

          Huh? Iti has been working closely with Chris Finlayson, and with National.

      • ianmac 6.1.2
        25 August 2014 at 9:01 am

        Not standing in an electorate – just the List.

    • Chooky 6.2
      25 August 2014 at 8:51 am

      that is a great pity …Tama Iti should be standing for Mana…the Maori Party are sellouts and have no mana

    • millsy 6.3
      25 August 2014 at 9:37 pm

      The goal of the Maori Party is to create a new aristocratic layer of tribal bearaucrats who will have their “people” under their control through iwi-owned state housing and charter schools.

  7. Pete 7
    25 August 2014 at 8:39 am

    Key was interesting on Morning Report today. One mention of Judith Collins and he GTFO. That’s going to be a festering wound for a while.

  8. Rosie 8
    25 August 2014 at 8:48 am

    Apologies if this has already been discussed. No surprises but horrifying all the same, it happens that Patrick Gower is in Slater’s contacts in his phone. (Dirty Politics, Nicky Hager) Is this not a real worry that a “journalist” is happy to compromise his credibility by being connected with such a despicable person?

    As we know, (and several Standardista’s have made formal complaints about it) Gower has been on a mission to destroy Cunliffe for a long time. Are tv3 willing puppets for Slater’s agenda? How can the connections and influences be investigated?

    • David H 8.1
      25 August 2014 at 10:30 am

      Come Rosie you should know by now that Patrick (I make shit up) Gower is a right wing stooge. That became very clear, when he attacked Cunliffe at the Labour Conference about mounting a challenge to Shearer. Hence I take everything he says with a huge pinch of salt.

      • Rosie 8.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 11:43 am

        Exactly David, that’s why he needs to be called out on it – and all the others in the contacts in Slaters phone.

        They need to do the decent thing, it’s not too late, and say they will disassociate themselves from him, but they never will because such an admission of association shows them up as having a questionable moral compass all along.

        • Olwyn 8.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 12:43 pm

          It looks to me as if, for political journalists, Slater has for some time been the prime source of information – I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them have his number. Basically, to get copy you have to be in the information loop, and the inner circle around Slater appear to largely control that loop.

        • David H 8.1.1.2
          25 August 2014 at 2:41 pm

          Do the decent thing? Why that concept is totally alien to them.

    • TheContrarian 8.2
      25 August 2014 at 10:58 am

      I wouldn’t be surprised if Whale Oil had a whole load of journalists telephone numbers

      • Puddleglum 8.2.1
        25 August 2014 at 2:48 pm

        Indeed, presumably because they were well aware that he was getting leaks and considerable ‘help’ from inside the PM’s office and from Judith Collins.

    • Blue 8.3
      25 August 2014 at 11:18 am

      One of the things you learn from the Whaledump is that there are plenty of MSM people circling Slater likes flies around shit.

      None of them seem to have any scruples about it.

  9. One Anonymous Bloke 9
    25 August 2014 at 9:23 am

    David Cunliffe:
    Labour believes in a clean, transparent political system. The revelations in Mr Hager’s book raise serious and disturbing questions about how the National Party has been conducting politics. The way to clean up the system is to change the government. Party vote Labour.

    On Stuff live chat.

    What a rubbish answer. No Royal Commission of Inquiry? No Serious Fraud Office probe?

    • Chooky 9.1
      25 August 2014 at 9:39 am

      ‘Why the Secret Intelligence Service feeding Cameron Slater information is so very, very, very serious’

      By Martyn Bradbury / August 25, 2014

      “Folks, it doesn’t matter if you are Right or Left, the issue of the Secret Intelligence Service being forced to feed a far right hate speech merchant like Cameron Slater with sensitive information is an ‘us’ issue…

      The SIS are ‘deep State’. We ‘trust’ in them to use the vast powers they have for the protection of NZ. I think we can all see, regardless of how we vote, that getting them to release information to a blogger with the ethical standards of a drug cartel are well outside what is acceptable.

      We know that the guidelines for the release of such information from the SIS requires consultation between Key, Ede and Eagleson for several days. The PM has stated in his video answer that he was briefed, he has since claimed that when he said “I was briefed’ he means something completely different, and that when public servants Tucker and Wakem both said he was briefed, they also meant something completely different.

      So that’s 3 people saying the same thing but all meaning something completely different, and this is the tissue thin defence being erected to shrug off handing Cameron Slater of all people information sensitive within one of our spy agencies?

      This just isn’t fucking good enough. This defence of “when I say me and I, I actually mean some faceless and anonymous ‘office’ where blame and responsibility can’t actually be established” isn’t a defence, it’s a declaration of incompetence that if true simply means all of them, the whole office, needs to go.

      The Prime Minister is either incompetent or lying through his front teeth. Neither of which helps explain why someone as toxic as Slater was given access to SIS information.
      Using the state spy apparatus to embarrass and smear political opponents is a dark and frighteningly dangerous moment in our political history, it can’t just be shrugged off with ‘my office was briefed’ as an answer.

      Such casual fascism must be challenged.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 9.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 10:02 am

        The Prime Minister is neither incompetent nor lying through his teeth. He is brazenly corrupt and openly challenging us to prove it, confident that we cannot.

        • Minarch 9.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 10:54 am

          +1 to this

          He strikes me like a successful mugger..

          and now hes giving the county a big fat

          “F**k you New Zealand, Ive all ready beaten you senseless, now im going to rifle you pockets and take all your shit”

    • anker 9.2
      25 August 2014 at 10:36 am

      I have to agree OAB. I think there needs to be a Royal Commission of Enquiry.

      After Election as a Labour Party member, I will be in touch with him/them once he is (hopefully) PM.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 9.2.1
        25 August 2014 at 10:41 am

        There needs to be something. If Blip is correct Cheryl Gwen and Ben Keith have serious conflicts of interest.

        • anker 9.2.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 2:06 pm

          OAB………..I have a great deal of confidence if Cunliffe is PM there will be a Royal Commission.

      • Rosie 9.2.2
        25 August 2014 at 11:50 am

        Oh hi anker. Reply to your helpful and kind offer on Yesterdays Open Mike. Sorry for the lateness.

        • anker 9.2.2.1
          25 August 2014 at 2:08 pm

          Rosie @8.2.2

          Thanks I will check it out. We are not in your electorate, doing work for Central, but husband has some time now and particularly dislikes Dunne!

          BTW I would vote for that cute baby if he or she was standing. Showing pics of the baby must increase Ginny’s chances.

          • Rosie 9.2.2.1.1
            25 August 2014 at 2:52 pm

            Thanks anker. We do have people from outside the electorate leafleting, as it’s in everyone’s interests that Dunne goes! We welcome anyone who can help out in any way 🙂

            And yes, baby Eliza is adorbz. It seems Ginny has put a lot of effort into meeting parents and women, very family focused, which is entirely appropriate for such a family orientated area. She would be a huge asset to Ohariu if she were the MP.

      • Draco T Bastard 9.2.3
        25 August 2014 at 12:36 pm

        I think there needs to be a Royal Commission of Enquiry.

        And heads need to roll.

    • Puddleglum 9.3
      25 August 2014 at 2:52 pm

      Whether or not it is a “rubbish answer” depends upon what follows from a “change in government” that will lead to cleaning up the system.

      A prerequisite to the implementation of any processes to ‘clean things up’ may well be a change in government because the present government (a) is compromised and has a conflict of interest in investigating the allegations and (b) the PM has already shown a distinct lack of interest in following any of this up.

  10. greywarbler 10
    25 August 2014 at 9:31 am

    I’m reposting this so it gets ‘noticed’. Put it on late last night and have to resurrect it I think. This Nicky Hager event is this Thursday if you are in Auckland and have time.

    PUBLIC NOTICE
    Nicky Hagar [Hager] – Auckland Public Meeting
    A public meeting meeting with Jesson Prize winner Nicky Hagar will be held
    Wednesday 27th August, 7.30pm,
    at the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall (Cnr Dominion Rd & Balmoral Rd).
    Chaired by Sir Edmund Thomas
    Hosted by the Human Rights Foundation & Equal Justice Project.

    Also here is link to Nicky Hager’s 2012 text http://www.brucejesson.com/?p=394#comment-305
    for his lecture to Bruce Jesson Foundation audience
    and Sir Edmund Thomas 2013 lecture http://www.brucejesson.com/?p=475.

  11. Puckish Rogue 11
    25 August 2014 at 10:20 am

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10418392/Tame-Iti-to-stand-for-Maori-Party

    • Well thats surprise

    Dotcom denies he’s the hacker behind Dirty Politics, but at the party’s campaign launch today said this.

    “I hacked our German credit rating system and put our Prime Minister’s credit rating to zero because I didn’t like the guy,” said Dotcom. “You have all figured by now there’s another Prime Minister I don’t like.”

    But he didn’t want to talk about his comments afterwards.

    • Thats not a big surprise

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11313619

    • Value for money?
    • phillip ure 11.1
      25 August 2014 at 10:39 am

      morning talking-points/briefing a bit late this morn..there..p.r..?

      ..and do try a bit harder to ‘keep up’..eh..?

      ..you are so far off the mark..you aren’t even in the stadium..

    • tricledrown 11.2
      25 August 2014 at 10:48 am

      John Key will do another 3 way hand shake with the Maori Party!

      • Puckish Rogue 11.2.1
        25 August 2014 at 12:24 pm

        Heres the thing, I’m ok with National in power with anyone (Conservatives last) I’m also ok with Labour in power as long the GIMPs are out so basically Labour/NZFirst in power is ok by me (not my first choice of course but the best of a bad situation)

    • tricledrown 11.3
      25 August 2014 at 11:01 am

      PR he is just baiting you guys winding you up !
      Giving you something to hold onto!
      Whaledump is playing with the Corruptors of our democracy letting them think they have got away with their treasonous crime and exposing the lengths these corrupt cronies will go to to usurp democratic processes in our country!
      The more Key Collins and Slater Deny the Worse they look!

    • Draco T Bastard 11.4
      25 August 2014 at 12:40 pm

      They were told before hand that KDC wouldn’t be giving interviews so WTF did they go in there pestering for interviews? The whole thing comes across as the MSM looking for a distraction from the IMP campaign launch. Trying hard not to cover the news.

  12. joe90 12
    25 August 2014 at 10:34 am

    The facade is cracking.

    I no longer respect John Key. Not even a bit. And that’s why John Key’s problem is Waikato voters’ dilemma.

    National’s election strategy has long depended on Key’s immense popularity. That’s why his face is on every billboard just as big as your local candidate’s. The visual message is compelling. You’re voting for Key, you see. The nice man. The smiler. The good bloke, the one you’d drink a beer with, and all the usual banalities that I’m so sick of and which should be, by now, unmasked as the untruths they’ve always been..

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/opinion/10420033/PMs-nice-guy-image-gone-forever

  13. Ad 13
    25 August 2014 at 10:35 am

    Cunliffe and Twyford seriously need to relaunch their housing policy this week. Got to gain back the momentum on housing fast.

    • Colonial Viper 13.1
      26 August 2014 at 1:32 am

      Relaunch – and up the ante.

      And what is all this rubbish about cutting back on Labour commitments to spending. Spending needs to go up, not down.

  14. joe90 14
    25 August 2014 at 11:00 am

    Kim Dotcom – “I’m on my final final warning”

    [audio src="http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-election2014-20140825-0725-kim_dotcom_live-048.mp3" /]

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/20146934/kim-dotcom-live

  15. Man in a Barrel 15
    25 August 2014 at 11:03 am

    …

    This might stir a few hearts amongst Standard readers:

    https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/08/the-good-kings-return

    • Bill 15.1
      25 August 2014 at 2:14 pm

      Who says workers are thick, unable to organise and need to be led?

      An old IWW cartoon came to mind when reading the link where there are workers gathered outside two doors. One is marked “union” and the other marked “boss”. The question the workers are asking among themselves is “Which one do we negotiate with first?”

  16. Rosie 16
    25 August 2014 at 11:58 am

    How did I miss this brilliant song from 2011?

    John Key Pack Your Things by Trillion:

    And how about this brand new gem! DJ Pups with “At the end of the day”, Guyon Espiners legendary interview with John Key last Monday sampled into a dance track. Ha! Didn’t I say someone needed to do that!

    Both songs getting airplay on Radio Active, one of the stations that was sent a warning from the electoral commission about playing Planet Key by Darren Watson.

  17. anker 17
    25 August 2014 at 12:26 pm

    A COPY OF THE DRAFT LETTER I HAVE WRITTEN TO TVNZ BELOW…………….OTHERS MAY WANT TO DO THE SAME. HO

    RE: Mike Hoskings moderating the Leaders Debates.

    I wrote to you about this issue on 24 July. To date I have received no response. This is unacceptable.

    This needs a bit of editing, but below is my draft letter to TVNZ re Mike Hosking moderating.
    Would encourage others to do same

    “Mike Hoskings moderating the leaders debates is unacceptable and frankly a disgraceful display of our tax payer funded broadcaster showing unacceptable levels of bias.

    You will be aware of the recent disclosures in Nicky Hager’s book, Dirty Politics, clearly illustrating the links between Cameron Slater and the National Party, that goes to the highest level, the Prime Minister in running on-going smears against the past Labour Leader, Phill Goff. Hager also produces strong evidence of Slater being involved in the attempt to smear David Cunliffe over the Dong Liu letter

    Mike Hoskings recently hosted an item on 7 Sharpe about Cameron Slater. This item is mentioned in Dirty Politics (refer page 134 – 5). To quote from the book “the item ended with the host Mike Hoskings saying (about Slater) “Love it”. Hosking adds,” I do note he (Slater) quotes from my editorials quite a lot, so clearly a man of taste”. Clearly Mike Hoskings, Cameron Slater and the Prime Minister (who is in contact with Slater regularly, are aligned in their (right wing) political beliefs.

    I am requesting that you replace Mr Hoskings as mediator on the Leaders debate, if you havenot already done so given the relevations in Dirty Politics. I suggest someone who appears less biased (possibly Rachel Smalley). Please advise me as soon as you have done this.”

    • Puckish Rogue 17.1
      25 August 2014 at 12:34 pm

      Wah wah wah, how about you quit yer whining and see how the debate plays out?

      • adam 17.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 5:22 pm

        PR pathetic again. Attack the man not the ball.

        If Hoskings as half way decent we’d give him a chance, but again and again he has proven he is a twit. An ideological racist tool.

        But please PR keep living in lala land – it suits you.

    • Chooky 17.2
      25 August 2014 at 3:11 pm

      @ anker +100….That is a very good letter.!..i would like to protest and use it too…Kim Hill would be far better than the shallow , NACT biased , Slater friend, ‘fruit and vege reporter’ Mike Hoskings….a choice for political chair which is a disgrace to TVNZ editorial and management! ( there must be a review and cleanout after Labour/Left wins the Election)

      Is there any way it could be a petition /form letter ?…(so i just have to sign it and press a button)?

      …if not , what is the address to write to ….and I will use your letter as a basis

  18. yeshe 18
    25 August 2014 at 1:06 pm

    testing .. my post keeps defaulting to a #17 !!

    • yeshe 18.1
      25 August 2014 at 1:08 pm

      LPrent …problems ? have tried six or seven times to post re TPPA … will not let me post. It defaults to this #17 and the replies below do not belong to my post which I have deleted and replaced with the test#117 above. Thx !

      • lprent 18.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 1:31 pm

        It happens after a reply is posted to a comment that is deleted. If I give people long edit times and include an ability to delete, then there is a structural issue if they delete as someone is adding.

        There is a process that runs about every 20 minutes to clean them up the unparented comments that get left over. Obviously not running at present.

        I don’t think that I have the tools to fix this remotely on this laptop. Umm I downloading them.

  19. Minarch 19
    25 August 2014 at 1:10 pm

    Wonder how long until we see this here in NZ ?

    ‘Panic Selling’ In London Drives Fear That The UK Housing Bubble Is About To Burst

    UK homeowners start to panic sell in the face of house price uncertainty

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/11015301/UK-homeowners-start-to-panic-sell-in-the-face-of-house-price-uncertainty.html

    http://www.businessinsider.com.au/panic-selling-in-london-and-uk-housing-bubble-2014-8

  20. Lanthanide 20
    25 August 2014 at 1:14 pm

    Looks like you might have been right after all, Karol, re: National tax-cuts before the election: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10421122/Nationals-tax-cut-mixed-message

  21. crocodill 21
    25 August 2014 at 1:46 pm

    Pam Corkery popping her cork at the IMP launch deserves a gold star. Sure it wasn’t helpful, but at least it was honest. Good to see she has mellowed with age. Can’t say the same for KDC, though. He gets Worst Timing Ever Award for getting up on stage and admitting to personal hacking vendettas. In the absence of IMP leadership making sure he never speaks publicly again until after the election, they could track down Jamie McDonald, Senior Press Officer (The Crossest Man in Scotland) and have him discuss the basics with him.

  22. joe90 22
    25 August 2014 at 2:25 pm

    David Fisher: My history with Cameron Slater.

    .
    But when I started writing stories on issues which went against Slater’s interests, I became someone he wanted to “smash”. At that point, I was away from the tent and out in the wilderness.

    He launched a personal assault with what I believed were threats of violence and created an atmosphere in which I was personally and professionally denigrated. Those who post comments on his website made awful slurs. It is as horrible an online environment as you will find anywhere.

    Among the slurs were claims my behaviour showed I was suffering withdrawal symptoms associated with alcohol and drug addiction. On one occasion, when I rang a minister’s spouse for comment on an issue he was involved in, he ranted at me that I was “a drug addict” and would not talk to me. The only place such an idea had been floated was on Slater’s Twitter feed.

    In almost two years, he has published about 120 posts in which I am featured. Some are extremely unpleasant. I am called a “shill” in the context of being a corrupt reporter.

    Slater has invented nicknames for me. He called me “Gurnard”, then sent me pictures of dead “Gurnard”. He called me “Tainted” in relation to my coverage of the Kim Dotcom affair.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11313962

    • Karen 22.1
      25 August 2014 at 2:41 pm

      This article by David Fisher is very enlightening and hopefully will appear in the print section of the Herald and not just online. Interesting that Fisher says that John Key kept Slater at arms length until April 2012. Did Key just get careless or had he realised he needed Slater’s support and that would only happen if he fed Slater’s ego with much closer contact?

    • Chooky 22.2
      25 August 2014 at 2:47 pm

      @ joe90 …that article by David Fisher is REALLY SHOCKING!

      …and Slater won the Canon journalist award?…given to Slater by the judge Deborah Cone-Hill?( who was winner for a BNZ creative fiction writing award) …and Slater has the support of the Israeli Embassy (Slater is a “spiritual person”?)…. and Slater was invited to Israel? ( for what?)…and Slater was a good friend of John Key’s ?( see the lovely smiling photos, along with David Farrer’s smiling visage)…and Slater had many friends including Cactus Kate ( who is also a shocker)

      David Fisher is a brave man!

      • ianmac 22.2.1
        25 August 2014 at 3:12 pm

        David Fisher stands above many journalists. He is fair and evenhanded and reports facts rather than wild Paddy type fantasies. Sent an email to David last week telling him of my respect for his work. (He replied to acknowledge.)

    • MrSmith 22.3
      25 August 2014 at 5:27 pm

      Interesting listening to Michele Vogue attack David Fisher on Radionz this afternoon, Michele and Co won’t be very happy with ‘their paper’ at the moment going with the whaledump scoop etc and basically doing their job, Michele may be a little disappointed at finding her friends are only fair weather ones I guess, get over it Shell it’s only business baby!

      • Puddleglum 22.3.1
        25 August 2014 at 6:11 pm

        Yes, she just couldn’t resist engaging in a bit of dirty politics herself. She’s basically implied Fisher’s involvement in the book on no evidence other than a comment apparently on The Nation to the effect of “as we said in the Hager book”.

        I haven’t found the clip but can imagine it may have been a bit of ‘mishearing’ on Boag’s part. Less a Freudian slip from Fisher than a case of hearing what she wanted to hear from Boag. (e.g., perhaps mishearing “as was said in the Hager book”.)

        • Anne 22.3.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 6:21 pm

          Turned it off as soon as I heard Lady Boag was on the show. Guessed what was coming. It’s part of the panic reaction to [Hager’s] book. We can expect all manner of wild accusations from the “hard right” through to election day.

          Btw, interesting that she and Brian Edwards are no longer appearing together on that programme.

    • Pascals bookie 22.4
      25 August 2014 at 5:34 pm

      Also this one from the SST;

      http://t.co/qNUAU5BV8K

      Although some of the material has been covered in Dirty Politics, significant chunks refer to matters yet to be reported. Hager concluded a nexus existed between Slater, Graham and Food and Grocery Council chief executive Katherine Rich, that was used to surreptitiously attack opponents of corporate members of the council. New evidence shows:

      An email from Slater in January 2014 in which the blogger wrote “December hits coin” and invoiced Facilitate Communication $6555.

      A series of emails the same month from Graham to Slater, headed “Hit” and sometimes including “KR,” including draft posts savagely critical of council members’ commercial rivals or political opponents. Shortly afterwards Slater posted articles – nearly identical to Graham’s draft – on Whale Oil.

      An unreported email exchange between Graham, Slater and Rich discussing the political leanings of the Generation Zero climate-change lobby group, concluding with Graham saying: “That’s our job. They’re on the target list.”

      Countdown,the subject of more than a dozen critical blog postsin the months following the hack, was concerned but guarded when approached for comment. Following a wave of negative publicity earlier this year, the supermarket giant is now the subject of a Commerce Commission investigation into its business practices.

      Countdown managing director Dave Chambers said of the hacked emails: “If these claims are correct this is not only disappointing but very disturbing given the subsequent impact on our business.”

      • Murray Olsen 22.4.1
        26 August 2014 at 9:06 pm

        I wonder if this explains why Sealord Jones was so happy to begin a campaign against Countdown?

  23. yeshe 23
    25 August 2014 at 2:59 pm

    (Been trying to post this all day .. apologies in advance if it intrudes somewhere by accident !)

    The TPPA is one of the biggest battles we will ever need to win imho. Please take some moments to read this and follow through if you can .. we are literally done for otherwise; we will be 100% owned by US corporates ( well, more than we are now even!) This is the dirtiest of politics.

    http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2af728ed394d2e3c92f383cd5&id=b359144860&e=0663fc3518

    • Kiwiri 23.1
      25 August 2014 at 5:04 pm

      Take heart.

      Laila Harre has committed to the Good Cause as she promised yesterday, saying:

      “I tell you that after Sep 20, your work will not stop because everyone in this hall, led by Internet Mana, and with communities around the country, will be launching a campaign on the 21st of Sep to stop the TPPA”

      at 4:20 – 4:43

      • yeshe 23.1.1
        25 August 2014 at 7:33 pm

        @Kiwiri .. thx for your post on Laila Harre and TPPA … thank goodness !

        • Tautoko Viper 23.1.1.1
          25 August 2014 at 10:04 pm

          Let’s hope there is a good showing at this march.

          “Join It’s Our Future at the ‘March against the Government” in Auckland, 30 August, 1pm, Aotea Square. Bring your placards and voices to tell the government: No TPPA – No Way!”

          TPPA Trans Pacific Partnership is not a free trade agreement.
          It is a signing over of part of our sovereignty to large corporations.
          We cannot allow this to happen.
          I want to hear the Labour party saying that they will not commit to any agreement which includes an investor-state dispute settlement system. ISDS
          Read the following- it will make your hair stand on end. http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/th_gallery/investor-state-dispute-settlement-isds/
          ISDS stands for INSIDIOUS!!

          • Kiwiri 23.1.1.1.1
            25 August 2014 at 10:12 pm

            Top lawyers urge the rejection of ISDS in an open letter:

            http://tpplegal.wordpress.com/open-letter/

          • Kiwiri 23.1.1.1.2
            26 August 2014 at 10:30 am

            Hi Tautoko Viper, yeshe and all

            There are events taking place at the same time in other centres (looks like more info posted on Facebook):

            Wellington
            Saturday 30 August, 1pm, Te Papa Museum (55 Cable Street, Wellington)

            Christchurch
            Saturday 30 August, 1pm, Hagley Park (Corner of Riccarton Road & Deans Avenue, Christchurch City)

            Dunedin
            Saturday 30 August, 1pm, The Octagon (Dunedin)

  24. phillip ure 24
    25 August 2014 at 3:11 pm

    on nat-rad there was a discussion about our national anthem..

    ..and a txtr has suggested ‘anchor me’ at as a new anthem..

    ..i think that is a great idea..

    ..if only bcause how cool wd it be to have a national anthem that citizens of other countries wd like to sing/grove along to..?

    ..instead of the neo-militaristic/pompous bullshit most are..

    .and if not ‘anchor me’..(which would be perfectly adequate..)..how about an online ballot to draw up a shortlist of contenders..and then a final vote..?..

    ..i wd like to nominate the underdogs:..’sitting in the rain’..

    ..(i know john mayall wrote it..but i’m sure a deal cd be done with him..)

    imagine footage of our sports-people/officials etc..at international forums/w.h.y..

    ..grooving along to what wd be the coolest-national-anthem-in-the-world..

    (f.y.i…moderator..i attempted to post this at the end of the thread..it ended up here..)

  25. Draco T Bastard 25
    25 August 2014 at 3:25 pm

    What do we do when automation takes all the jobs?

    • phillip ure 25.1
      25 August 2014 at 3:46 pm

      @ draco..maybe we cd return to what i view as an almost idyllic time..

      ..and this was the life of the early european settlers in northern nsw…

      ..they were all sustained by the potato-economy..they all grew potatoes..

      ..and the cycle of the potato..namely plant…then go back and dig up..

      ..some time later..

      ..meant that as a society..they had an inordinate amount of spare time..

      ..and what grew up around that was a vibrant social life..involving much partying/sports-tournaments..and all things cultural..

      ..the arrival of sheep and the like..ended that idyll..

      ..but it has been done before..

      ..and as long as people are fed and housed..and able to live a life..(a universal basic income of sorts..?..perchance..?

      ..what’s to be afraid of..?

      ..life is meant to be lived..not to be a fucken wage-slave..

      .to an ever-increasing age..

      ..bring on the automation..!

      ..and of course society will have to work differently than it does now..

      ..but that is not insurmountable..

  26. ianmac 26
    25 August 2014 at 4:53 pm

    Just heard that delightful Michele Boag attack David Fisher on the Panel. She said that he was a left wing non journalist who only looked at the faults in the Right wing.
    The she made a huge leap. She says that on the Nation David said in relation to Nicky Hager’s book that “We wrote…!” Aha. She reckons David was involved in the writing of the book. “We.”
    There was no one to balance her spite. Not Jim. Not Duncan ??
    Smear anyone?

    • Karen 26.1
      25 August 2014 at 5:03 pm

      I think Michelle claimed David Fisher used the words “What we said in the Hager book…” and then goes onto to infer that because Fisher has written about Dotcom then that means Dotcom is involved in the material in Hager’s book. Crazy stuff.
      I haven’t had time to review the Nation interview but my suspicion is that Fisher said “What we see…”
      I suspect Boag is trying to blacken David Fisher’s name after his piece today in the Herald today. Hopefully he will take this up with Radio NZ.

  27. North 27
    25 August 2014 at 5:00 pm

    Where’s Ms Boag ? She’s on Mora’s panel on RNZ now and the unctuous Mora has made it a benefit for her and the National Party the whole last hour. Including shutting down a guy from Demographia ready to give some solid stuff about the puffery of National’s housing policy. Sickmaking.

    • phillip ure 27.1
      25 August 2014 at 5:55 pm

      @ north..comment 26..

      ..yep..!..it was particularly gag-inducing..

      ..when she started doing her white-persons’-burden number pontifications/handwringings on the woes in the middle east..

      ..i was outta there..off to the park with the dogs..

      ..and yep..!..mora just lets her run..no matter how batshit-loony it gets..

  28. joe90 28
    25 August 2014 at 5:14 pm

    Yet the whack jobs insist that generating electricity using nuclear fission is a safe and viable alternative.

    .

    Three and a half years after the most devastating nuclear accident in a generation, Fukushima Daiichi is still in crisis. Some 6,000 workers, somehow going about their jobs despite the suffocating gear they must wear for hours at a time, struggle to contain the damage. So much radiation still pulses inside the crippled reactor cores that no one has been able to get close enough to survey the full extent of the destruction. Every 2½ days, workers deploy a new giant storage tank to house radioactive water contaminated after passing through the damaged reactors. We wander past a forest of some 1,300 of these tanks, each filled with 1,000 tons of toxic water, some of which was used to cool the reactors.

    http://time.com/worlds-most-dangerous-room/

  29. logie97 29
    25 August 2014 at 5:14 pm

    Jim Mora’s panel on RNZ

    Time to start a movement to get Bryan Gould on there as a regular guest?

  30. Paul 30
    25 August 2014 at 6:02 pm

    Six years of mismanagement ….. ‘Rock star no more?’
    This is what happens when you don’t have a plan.

    ‘NZ economy could hit the rocks – economists

    Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens said New Zealand’s recent growth had been fuelled by the Canterbury earthquake rebuild, low interest rates and a surge in net migration, which hit a 10-year high in the year to June.
    ”When the Canterbury rebuild ends people will be quite surprised by the size of the downturn,” he said.
    Stephens said the strong net migration, which has been largely due to fewer New Zealanders moving to Australia and greater numbers returning from across the Tasman, is unlikely to continue at current levels for long.
    ”Australia will one day make a comeback. We are forecasting zero net migration for 2018. And one day interest rates will get big enough to crush the housing market,” he said.
    ”My fear is all three of those things will happen at the same time.”’

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10421920/NZ-economy-could-hit-the-rocks-economists

  31. Paul 31
    25 August 2014 at 7:43 pm

    The NZ Herald asked its readers their views on the Nats housing policy.
    Seems like the only people who like it are the Nat MPs and their media puppets…..

    Here’s a sample of the most popular comments…

    “So, after years of telling us that there is no housing crisis, here comes National at election time telling us how they can fix the ‘problems’ that exist in the housing market.
    Their solution is laughable. Making a little more credit available will just increase prices. And besides, the top amount you can get – if you meet all their criteria – is $550K. That gets you two-thirds of sod all in the Auckland housing market.
    New ‘starter’ homes at the much-heralded Hobsonville Point development start at $770K.
    Why don’t they just promise to do what Labour is promising – to actually build affordable new homes.
    This policy is a lot of noise with no promise of real results. Fail.”

    “It wont address the issue. It will just push the house prices up, and still be a haven for property speculators. Once again, this government is just tinkering around pretending to do something to address the real issue.”

    “It is a typical answer from a market/growth driven Government. This solution is still avoiding the market driven problem of overvaluation that has caused finance collapse all around the world – of course it is good for banks and merchant bankers – another boost to ponzi economics.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11313862

  32. Inky 32
    25 August 2014 at 7:48 pm

    Interesting stuff about Cactus Kate — who sounds about as pleasant an individual as Slater — and her motivation for wanting Hager to feel some serious heat from a few Chinese she knows:

    http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/08/new-zealand-prime-minister-john-key-the-whale-oil-blog-and-international-organized-crime.html

  33. Dont worry. Be happy 33
    25 August 2014 at 8:07 pm

    David Fisher is a brave man. Who else stand with him?

    • sockpuppet 33.1
      25 August 2014 at 8:23 pm

      Kim dot com

    • Colonial Viper 33.2
      25 August 2014 at 10:11 pm

      Nah, not brave, simply a man of integrity who refuses to back down to Whaleoil’s threats. Lots of people will stand by him just as they will stand by Hager.

  34. Mark Derby 34
    25 August 2014 at 9:12 pm

    Somewhat surprisingly, it’s Rodney Hide who has supplied by far the best description of Cameron Slater I’ve read so far (and he should know). Hide says Slater is “like a pig in mud”. Damn, that’s spot on.

    • Murray Olsen 34.1
      26 August 2014 at 9:20 pm

      I think that’s very unkind to pigs. They are quite intelligent and can be trained. One of my friends had a Captain Cooker that he’d raised from a piglet after shooting its mum 🙁 It would do anything most dogs do, except for not being very good at jumping or climbing over things. It guarded his section, often bailing up the poaka at the gate. He went off it a bit after it moved a concrete slab and ate the pound of heads he’d hidden underneath it, but it survived that. In the end it started killing his neighbour’s chooks and he turned it into roast pork 🙁

  35. the voter 35
    26 August 2014 at 6:04 pm

    The latest attack on John Key by a contemporary musician is what he deserves, any one in public office who has been found to have spent the country’s money and time promoting the shite that has turned up in Hager’s book has laid himself open for all that comes his way and he is not entitled to any more legal protection than the rest of us
    He, who thinks he can do what hes done over the years he has been in politics in this country deserves to be held up in public by whatever the public feel individually or collectively that is democracy

    ‘

  36. appleboy 36
    26 August 2014 at 9:20 pm

    One thing I’d love to see put to Key:

    Cameron Slater was roundly condemned by his hateful comments about a youth being “feral”, and the world was better off him,. “Dirty Politics” reveals Slater’s description of a call you made referring to the dead boy’s mother as being a woman who screamed at you at Pike meetings. You told the public today you rang Slater at this time just to say ‘” recognised her”.

    Yeah fucking right. You total bare faced liar! Do you think for one moment ANYONE would believe you rang Slater at this time just to say ‘I know here” that and nothing else.

    What sort of PM rings Slater at any time let alone this time. There’s no reason to believe Slater’s reporting of the essence of your call was anything but accurate.

    What a deceitful horrid man you are John Key. My god what you must be like behind the bullshit image scares me.

    • RedLogix 36.1
      26 August 2014 at 9:37 pm

      You told the public today you rang Slater at this time just to say ‘” recognised her”.

      Does anyone have a link or reference to Key making this statement today?

      I’m strongly in agreement with the sentiments above; that this incident alone – regardless of what Key actually said to Slater in that conversation – should be the cause of Key’s resignation at 8:30am tommorrow morning.

      It’s completely unconscionable on every level.

      • Ergo Robertina 36.1.1
        26 August 2014 at 9:57 pm

        http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/pike-families-dissatisfied-with-pms-visit-2014082618

        He’s previously confirmed the call, including that he told Slater Jo Hall was at Pike meetings. It’s the one issue on which he’s been citing Hager for support from the day after the story broke, because Hager did not agree with Slater’s characterisation of the phone call.
        I don’t know why it hasn’t had more attention. He’s abused his position in order to give Slater context about the family who had been attacked on the WO blog.

        • RedLogix 36.1.1.1
          26 August 2014 at 10:05 pm

          Thanks ER.

          Yesterday I wrote this.

          The next commenter threw me off the thread a little because I’m not living in NZ at the moment and I’m not up to speed with things. But now it’s clear Key did have a conversation with Slater to support and validate what he had done – it’s game over.

          Think about it. There is absolutely no context in which Key can have made that call and remain Prime Minister. None.

          • Colonial Viper 36.1.1.1.1
            26 August 2014 at 11:01 pm

            And yet our media and commentators remain compliant lapdogs, perhaps going so far as to say that it’s “not a great look” but missing the point that Key remaining as PM finally turns NZ into the South Pacific equivalent of a banana republic.

            • RedLogix 36.1.1.1.1.1
              26 August 2014 at 11:15 pm

              The only thing John Key could have legitimately done over Slater’s actions – was to publicly condemn him and privately insist that his Office, staff and all National Party figures cease all contact with him immediately. Anything less would have been an unacceptable validation and support.

              But what Key actually did was phone Slater personally (remarkable in any context) and pass on more details about Slater’s victim.

              Is the New Zealand media ALL so compromised that they cannot see what is wrong here?

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