Open mike 26/02/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, February 26th, 2014 - 183 comments
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183 comments on “Open mike 26/02/2014 ”

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  1. bad12 1
    26 February 2014 at 7:19 am

    From RadioNZ National news, the latest round of of talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade deal have ended in failure to reach agreement,

    This piece of ‘pull your pants down and let us have our way with you’ stupidity is just that because the US Senate simply will not agree to a ‘trade deal’ that strips away the ‘protections’ of the US farming lobby,

    ‘Free trade’ is a lie, the cost of it, free trade that is, can be found in the rising number of unemployed people in our economy after every act of ‘trade liberalization’,

    This cost, the unemployment on a ‘rotational basis’ so as to disguise its true effects, simply equates to a shifting of wealth within our society with the creation of a demographic of have nots as much out of employment as they are in,

    The true cost of this unemployment has remained unmeasured as it has occurred over multi-decades with those negatively effected being so over periods that measure weeks, months and years, there is no measurement of the ‘human cost’…

    • Saarbo 1.1
      26 February 2014 at 7:34 am

      agree. On this matter I was recently told by a good source about the Chinese Trains, apparently they are really struggling, recently needed some SKF branded bearings changed, it turned out that the SKF Bearings fitted were actually counterfeit SKF bearings. I don’t know a lot about Trains but I do know that if you purchase from a Chinese manufacturer who has fitted counterfeit bearings then you will have major major problems coming up.

      • bad12 1.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 7:58 am

        The human cost of a train set that can barely keep its wheels on, all those who gave their labour year after year for the benefit of both business freight and passenger travel in this country, those from the Dunedin railway workshop made rendundant, thrown on the ever growing scrapheap of employment destroyed by trade liberalization…

        • Skinny 1.1.1.1
          26 February 2014 at 8:37 am

          I was on a picket line opposing the arrival and use of wagons from China. It makes me shiver thinking back, it was the coldest day of the year, 4.am kick off, I’ll never forget my teeth chattering on the loud hailer lol.

          The subsequent amount of problems with these inferior made wagons were shameful. Brakes, bearings, poor welds, inadequate primmer/paint coating. A lession learnt is ‘you pay and continue to pay’ for what you get, and the taxpayer will pay through the nose for both Chinese made trains and wagons for many years to come.

          Meanwhile many of the highly skilled workers from the workshops took their skills abroad to Aussie, others left the undignified task of battling WINZ for a subsistence payment (dole) probably the first time in their working life.

          For this reason and others I am proud to have joined our local protest against the TPPA last Saturday. The TPPA will not ‘Keep New Zealanders working’.

          • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.1.1
            26 February 2014 at 12:26 pm

            The TPPA will not ‘Keep New Zealanders working’.

            It’s not supposed to. It’s supposed to keep lowering wages so that the rich can keep getting richer.

      • Te Reo Putake 1.1.2
        26 February 2014 at 8:07 am

        The fake bearings wouldn’t surprise me at all. I was told a few years back by the CEO of a tool manufacturer of a worrying increase in product failure in the Asian market. Turns out it was inferior pirate copies being badged as their stuff, right down to their own website and toll free number being prominently promoted on the packaging if customers had any complaints!

        • bad12 1.1.2.1
          26 February 2014 at 8:15 am

          Lolz, i do so love the Asian minds ability for attention to detail…

          • phillip ure 1.1.2.1.1
            26 February 2014 at 8:54 am

            racist..?

            ..with an underpinning of eugenics..?

            ..ew..!

            phillip ure..

            • bad12 1.1.2.1.1.1
              26 February 2014 at 8:59 am

              That Phillis is Laughable, i should have included the word She somewhere in the comment so you could accuse me of Missongloaphology as well,(did i get that spelling write,snigger)…

              • phillip ure …
                26 February 2014 at 9:07 am

                no..it’s not ‘laughable’..

                ..it is blatant..if a tad retro..anti-asian racism..

                ..they are yr words..all yr own work..

                ..and so ‘casual’ with it..eh..?

                ..phillip ure..

                • bad12 …
                  26 February 2014 at 9:34 am

                  Your stupidity deepens Phillis,it’s good to see tho that you are blind to the subtle differences in the thinking of Asians V Europeans in a broad context,

                  Had the train set highlighted by Saarbo above been built in the US with such faults alluded to, those having used ‘pirate parts’ in the manufacture would never have ‘thunk’ for a moment to set up a 0800 number and a website to deflect and handle complaints,

                  An interesting story broke in the past couple of days about a supposed Lawyer attached to the TPPT negotiations having fraudulently claimed to have such a university qualification, a European He simply relied upon the claim,

                  i would suggest that the Asian mindset would have if such a false claim were to be made resulted in the claimant either having had someone hack the university web-site and include them in the years for having sat the relevant Lawyers degree, OR,the person wishing to assume a law degree without the intellectual capacity to have passed such a qualification would have got someone else to sit the degree for them in their name,

                  Drug use they say Phillis, broadens the mind, in your case tho, poly abuse of various drugs have in fact seemed to have created the opposite effect, the fact that you continue to use in spite of this would tend to suggest a reinforcement of such damage…

                  • phillip ure …
                    26 February 2014 at 9:40 am

                    keep digging..

                    ..you might even reach china..

                    ..the rate you are going at..

                    ..shortly..we can branch into the long history of that (unfortunate)-fact of the strong ties between fascist/racist/eugenics/far-right..and what we loosely call the ‘green’ movement..

                    ..won’t that be fun..?

                    ..we will be able to trace yr lineage..right back..

                    ..as it were..

                    ..phillip ure..

                    • bad12 …
                      26 February 2014 at 10:03 am

                      Yes of course Phillis, everyone on the planet thinks to a lesser extent just like you,

                      How you see ”i do love the Asian minds ability for attention to detail” as a racist slur is beyond me,

                      The fact that you can trot out a list of your favorites in the comment below shows that you have a tidy amount of racism you so deplore set deeply into your mind…

                    • phillip ure …
                      26 February 2014 at 10:06 am

                      keep digging..

                      ..you are almost out of sight..

                      phillip ure..

          • Disraeli Gladstone 1.1.2.1.2
            26 February 2014 at 9:32 am

            Racism.

            • bad12 1.1.2.1.2.1
              26 February 2014 at 9:41 am

              Gallstone, stop it please, Phillis has already delivered that gut-buster, the neighbors will be getting itchy phone fingers listening to the gales of mad laughter emanating from my place at the likes of you…

              • phillip ure …
                26 February 2014 at 9:47 am

                what’s next..?

                ..black people make good field-hands..?

                ..you can’t trust those jews..?

                ..arabs are shifty..?

                ..do give us yr match-up list..

                ..phillip ure..

                • bad12 …
                  26 February 2014 at 9:57 am

                  Phillis, keep em coming, it appears that it is not my head that is full of racist smears, the little list you trot out with the greatest of ease tells us all a story of an entirely different nature…

                  • phillip ure …
                    26 February 2014 at 10:17 am

                    ah..!..the old he’s-a-racist-‘cos-he-said-i’m-a-racist racist/racism-defence..

                    ..i haven’t heard that hoary old chestnut for awhile..

                    ..and it always was a shaky defence/come-back..that one..

                    ..phillip ure..

              • Disraeli Gladstone …
                26 February 2014 at 9:48 am

                It doesn’t matter what you think.

                Racism isn’t something where intent actually matters. Racism is something that can cause hurt and be completely unintentional by the speaker/writer. Just because you don’t think it’s racism doesn’t make it so.

                Just like, me saying it is racism doesn’t automatically makes it racism, but I suspect I’m in the vast majority when saying that “yes, it is.”

                • bad12 …
                  26 February 2014 at 10:06 am

                  Gallstone, as a latecomer to this little discussion i am going to ignore you as you have only chosen to be Phillis’s little tool on this occasion for personal spite,

                  That and the not inconsiderable fact that i don’t give a fuck what you think…

                  • phillip ure …
                    26 February 2014 at 10:13 am

                    you’ve stopped laughing..?

                    ..your neighbours will no doubt be relieved..

                    ..phillip ure..

                  • Disraeli Gladstone …
                    26 February 2014 at 10:14 am

                    Bad12’s comment translated:

                    “I don’t have any way to respond so I’m going to ignore you instead.”

                    That’s fine. I just hope you’ve learnt that words matter.

                    • phillip ure …
                      26 February 2014 at 10:23 am

                      ka-boom..!

                      ..well..that’s bad done and dusted..

                      ..(and obviously now marked as one to now ‘go to’ for racial-characteristic-updates..who knew..?..)

                      ..can i suggest you go and seethe in a corner..

                      ..somewhere..?

                      ..(i’m almost tempted to use a smiley-face-emoticon..)

                      ..phillip ure..

                    • bad12 …
                      26 February 2014 at 10:49 am

                      Aw Phillis, so childish of you to play little ego games of victory or loss…done and dusted has simply got me chortling again…

                      The fact that you have to get into a little love–fest with Gallstone in an effort to do or dust me makes me wonder…along with your little list of racist slurs so glibly trotted out in the comment above not only if the Junk has scrambled whats left of your brains…but…whether or not you are,as Gallstone appears to be…a closet ‘wing-nut’…

                      Phillis…you can suggest whatever it is that fires up whatever neurons that have survived the self inflicted drug binging to no effect…a bit like me suggesting that you go fetch that which you wake up every morning craving like nothing else on this earth and fire as much as possible into those aching veins…

                    • Crunchtime …
                      26 February 2014 at 11:36 am

                      bad12’s comment was NOT racism.

                      Racism is oppression, discrimination, fear or hatred of another race.

                      bad12’s comment was none of these. It was certainly racial or cultural stereotyping, but I think Ure (and Gladstone) making the racist call is oversensitive.

                      bad12 for his part is responding in a personal way to Ure which is wholly unnecessary.

                      Settle down all of you.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  26 February 2014 at 10:23 am

                  The Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, and South Koreans built their industries upon wholesale and detailed copying of western designs and technologies. This was very obvious in the early decades of both the Japanese and South Korean car industries, as well as the many cheap electronic toys and consumer goods you would get out of places like Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong in the 70’s and 80’s.

                  Japan pre-WWII and post WWII modelled its entire heavy industry on American approaches, right down to copying exactly the paperwork and statistical methods used in the USA.

                  None of this is in question.

                  The calls of “racism” are meaningless in the context that entire Asian nations, their leaders and their workers used these highly detailed and methodical approaches to economically leapfrog ahead. To me these calls are especially funny as it appears to underline how little understanding some people in western nations have of what actually happened and how it happened.

                  One bit which is actually racist IMO is all the self righteous pronouncements based solely on ones own cultural outlook and values. That and how the western powers treated SE Asia and China as backward colonies to exploit and wage horrific wars of empire in.

                  Exploitation of Asian workers by western powers and corporates is still rife. Now that’s actual racism. Not the silly little comments that the PC brigade appear to take great pride in demonstrating all kinds of offence at.

                  • bad12 …
                    26 February 2014 at 10:38 am

                    My whole point, obviously one that escapes both Phillis, and Gallstone as they come ‘ a hunting’ wishing to vent their personal little hard on’s they have for me is in the modern context of thought as set out in Saarbo’s comment,

                    i should imagine that ‘copy fraud’ is rampant in the US,(they have a whole spy network which services such),

                    Had the ‘train sets’ being discussed been sourced from the US with the same copy-fraud parts attached i doubt the Americans would have the subtly of thought nor the attention to detail to have set up an 0800 number or a website with which to snare complaints over the faulty parts,

                    Then again, that of course is simply my opinion having not deeply researched such an issue…

                    • phillip ure …
                      26 February 2014 at 10:39 am

                      just yet another orifice-pluck..?..then..?

                      phillip ure..

                    • phillip ure …
                      26 February 2014 at 10:41 am

                      and dunno if it is happening for others..but i have ‘lost’ three comments to header/blank white page..

                      phillip ure..

                    • bad12 …
                      26 February 2014 at 10:53 am

                      Phillis, losing comments to a blank page is simply a reflection of the inner workings of your mind…and…the effect your squirts of increasingly abusive invective have upon me…

                      Which equates to zero, zilch,nada,none in other words…Pssst…stop beating up on your computer…you are barely coherent…and…the blank pages might just stop…

                  • Disraeli Gladstone …
                    26 February 2014 at 10:43 am

                    So you stand by “Lolz, i do so love the Asian minds ability for attention to detail…” as not being remotely racist or offensive?

                    • wtl …
                      26 February 2014 at 11:03 am

                      1) Not racism: Saying counterfeiting is rife in China.
                      2) Not racism: Saying that some Chinese counterfeits can be really hard to tell from the real thing because they go to a lot of trouble to make the counterfeits seem genuine.
                      3) Is racism: Saying that all Chinese people can’t innovate and all they can do is copy.

                    • bad12 …
                      26 February 2014 at 11:05 am

                      Gallstone, go fetch…take a poll of commenters of the Standard of Asian descent…if the majority of those polled are offended and consider my comment,(and the other comments which lead to my comment) racist…

                      Then i will happily withdraw and apologize for having made the remark…as far as your pretense at offense goes tho…go have sex with Phillis it will give your hand a rest…

                    • weka …
                      26 February 2014 at 11:05 am

                      o/t Disraeli, not sure if you would see this so am linking. This doesn’t need a response necessarily but I felt given the accusation that I had right of reply

                      http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-25022014/#comment-778635

                    • Disraeli Gladstone …
                      26 February 2014 at 11:10 am

                      Bad 12, the fact that you’re so obsessed with sex and masturbation suggest you are quite young so I’m going to stop now. Like you said, you seem to think you’re done and you haven’t responded to what I said constructively but with insult.

                      So, we might as well stop.

                    • bad12 …
                      26 February 2014 at 11:16 am

                      wtl, i do not know if (3) is directed at CV’s comment above, but, it got a laugh outta me as i am sure it would have from CV…

                    • phillip ure …
                      26 February 2014 at 11:30 am

                      tsk tsk..such a potty-mouth..

                      ..and from such a ‘prominent’-green..

                      ..too..

                      phillip ure..

                    • weka …
                      26 February 2014 at 4:15 pm

                      There should be a Godwin-like law regarding the use of the term “potty mouth”.

                  • Bill …
                    26 February 2014 at 11:39 am

                    Hey CV? You overlooking the historical fact that Britain built up a lot of its industrial base by copying, for example, Indian ship building technology of the time? Maybe stealing would be a more accurate term insofar as they used extreme stand over tactics to ensure that, for example, Indian ship building ceased.

                    Same for cotton manufacturing – chopped off weavers’ thumbs and then had all raw cotton exported to Britain.

                    Probably many, many more examples…

                    • wtl …
                      26 February 2014 at 12:23 pm

                      That’s because copying is the most obvious and usually the best way of learning something new. Even non-human animals do it.

                      Counterfeiting, of course, is not the same thing as copying, as it contains an element of deception or fraud.

                    • Tracey …
                      26 February 2014 at 12:32 pm

                      Interestingly, the rise of “entrepreneurship” as a notion in Britain very quickly led to slavery… so the free market has always been more free to some than others.

                  • phillip ure …
                    26 February 2014 at 4:10 pm

                    that’s a first..!

                    ..being called a member of the ‘pc brigade’…

                    ..heh..!

                    ..phillip ure..

        • Huginn 1.1.2.2
          27 February 2014 at 12:41 am

          For example . . .

          ‘Aston Martin has recently made a big announcement of a major recall which will affect about 75 percent of all cars manufactured since 2007.

          This huge recall will affects at least 17,590 cars made by Aston Martin.

          This reason behind the massive recall is a Chinese sub-supplier who was using counterfeit plastic material for a component which they supplied to Aston Martin.

          http://speedlux.com/aston-martin-recall-75-percent-cars-2007-affects-17590-units/

    • Ron 1.2
      26 February 2014 at 8:40 am

      Maybe we should consider changing TPP to a five way deal excluding USA and Japan.
      We might find that we could have an effective relationship with the other five and forget about the machinations of USA and Japan trying to protect their own markets while being free to dump whatever they like on the rest of us.

      • bad12 1.2.1
        26 February 2014 at 8:55 am

        Ron, as an opposed view, not saying you are entirely wrong, but, maybe we should consider that the economies which are buying in massive bulk our raw milk products and raw timber logs are doing so ‘in spite of’ any trade deals we may have with them,

        i would suggest that such economies with growing populations are buying our primary produce simply because they ‘need’ the stuff,

        The proof of this will be in 5–10 years time when the Chinese dairy industry is sufficiently geared up to supply a larger part of their ‘needs’ at which point we, a nation, will be left sitting here dick in hand with a very large problem,

        i would suggest to you that the current enrichment of 40,000 dairy farmers has lead to 40,000 manufacturing jobs being lost to the Asian economies as the trade off, now the increased tax take from dairy that accrues to the Government books might look fine as it pays the extra dole payments and more,

        BUT,

        The miserable level of dole payments, and yes, in the current climate of rotational employment such misery is ‘shared around’,(mostly among the already poor), no account of the human misery inherent in such a system is thought of as of such import as to be quantified…

    • Disraeli Gladstone 1.3
      26 February 2014 at 9:28 am

      Free trade is good. It is a largely responsible for the huge drop in worldwide poverty. It has its flaws. There are some concerns. Developed countries need to make sure they still offer protection for developing countries (and the GATT/WTO does this). But free trade is good.

      The TPPA isn’t free trade. It looks like it is going to have various level of protectionism written into it to protect the US while removing any worthwhile protection for the other countries.

      So, free trade is good.

      TPPA is not so good.

      • Tracey 1.3.1
        26 February 2014 at 12:33 pm

        Interestingly, the rise of “entrepreneurship” as a notion in Britain very quickly led to slavery… so the free market has always been more free to some than others.

      • wtl 1.3.2
        26 February 2014 at 12:34 pm

        I don’t really see how you can make such a general statement. Free trade in itself is neither good or bad, what really matters is the outcome of free trade.

        In an extreme example, let’s say country X produced all their food using slave labour and country Y does not uses slaves and instead has workers that are paid fairly. Originally country Y had trade barriers to prevent the food from country X entering their markets, but a free trade agreement removed these barriers. Next thing, the food from country X starts dominating the market in country Y because it is cheaper, so country X acquires more slaves to increase production volume.

        Was free trade in this example good?

        Yes, I know you caveated your response, but I think simply shouting slogans like “free trade is good” is extremely unhelpful to proper discourse.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.3.3
        26 February 2014 at 12:43 pm

        Free trade is good.

        All the evidence indicates that it’s not.

        We built ourselves up to a first world nation through protectionism (So did the UK and USA) and now that we’ve dropped that we’re steadily going backwards. We seeing increased poverty and a declining manufacturing base (it really is the manufacturing base that puts a country into “developed” status). And we’ve done it all because a few people wanted to be richer.

  2. phillip ure 2
    26 February 2014 at 7:19 am

    11 Outrageous Arguments Against Legalizing Marijuana

    “..Nearly 80 years ago –

    the feature film “Reefer Madness” hit theaters –
    projecting demonstrably false anti-marijuana propaganda all over the big screen.

    In today’s era of legal medical and recreational cannabis-

    the tone of this movie is often mocked.

    But drug warriors are still employing many of the same hysterical arguments –

    to prop up their campaign against weed..”

    (cont..)

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/25/marijuana-legalization-arguments_n_4789444.html

    phillip ure..

    • bad12 2.1
      26 February 2014 at 7:28 am

      Are you arguing for the legalization of the current addiction which you use as the poly-addicts crutch to subdue your craving for a stronger addiction simply based upon your personal financial situation and availability of supply Phillip…

      • phillip ure 2.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 7:55 am

        i understand the above ‘commenter’ is a ‘green’..(!)..(they do say it’s a broad church..but..y’know..!..)

        ..and i had the thought the other day..

        ..what if it is a ‘prominent’ green..?

        ..whoar..!

        ..eh..?

        ..phillip ure..

        • bad12 2.1.1.1
          26 February 2014 at 8:23 am

          ”What if it is a prominent Green”, well Phillip what if i am, my denial of course quickly follows but then i am one of the opinion that ‘prominence’ or lack of it is simply an ego contest and the Green’s have need of ‘leaders’ with prominence only as far as being able to fit into the current power structures,

          In reality i am a supporter of legalization with no attached codicils and i neither smoke the Lady Jane nor drink alcohol,

          Got your heart rate going at a normal level for the morning did i Phillis…

        • RedLogix 2.1.1.2
          26 February 2014 at 8:44 am

          Exactly bad12.

          I don’t use either drug but I’d be happy to see decriminalisation – if I thought that people like Mr Ure would take some personal responsibility for their ellipsis abuse.

          • phillip ure 2.1.1.2.1
            26 February 2014 at 8:57 am

            i can’t..i’ve got a 300 a day ellipsis-monkey on my back..

            ..i’ve tried uses dashes (-) as a form of methadone..

            ..but i seem to lapse on a regular basis..

            ..phillip ure..

            • RedLogix 2.1.1.2.1.1
              26 February 2014 at 9:12 am

              lol – guess I need to own up to my own hyphen habit.

              • phillip ure …
                26 February 2014 at 9:25 am

                i congratulate you on yr ‘hyphen-habit’..

                ..if it means you have banished that most annoying of all punctuation-affectations..

                ..the ever-ugly comma..

                (the only other that comes close in ugliness..is that (neither here nor there)..semi-colon..)

                ..tho’ i am a firm fan of the colon..

                ..it’s brutalist efficiency appeals..

                ..you know where you stand..with a colon..

                phillip ure..

  3. Te Reo Putake 3
    26 February 2014 at 7:24 am

    Hmmm, not so sure Matt McCarten’s consistent history of great ideas that go nowhere is the right fit for Labour. But Greg Presland (who he?) sounds like our kinda guy.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9763705/Matt-McCarten-tipped-for-top-Labour-position

    • mickysavage 3.1
      26 February 2014 at 7:26 am

      Hehe.

      I can confirm that I will not be the next chief of staff. Announcement today at 1 pm …

      • Tiger Mountain 3.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 7:34 am

        Talk about fear and loathing in the beehive. I will eat my leather stetson if Matt gets this role. Someone with Unite type views would have to top the usual bland “yes Minister” careerists though.

      • Te Reo Putake 3.1.2
        26 February 2014 at 7:35 am

        Bugger!

      • just saying 3.1.3
        26 February 2014 at 7:39 am

        Damn.

        Still, on the bright side, I suspect a chief or staff would not be free to blog at TS.

        Those being mentioned seem to be actual left-wingers which must be a good sign (desperate for good signs from Labour – but won’t be holding my breath).

      • Ron 3.1.4
        26 February 2014 at 8:42 am

        Can we get Frank Underwood ex House of Cards. He would be so helpful

      • weka 3.1.5
        26 February 2014 at 11:09 am

        Micky, you are one of the reasons I still have faith in the Labour party. Not that I vote for them you understand 😉 but am still hoping they get their shit together (for their own sake and everyone else’s) and it’s people like you that make think this is still possible.

    • bad12 3.2
      26 February 2014 at 7:46 am

      Interesting, might fit in with the big ‘Slurp’ Matt gave to the Alfred E. Nuemann of television jonolism Patrick Gower in His weekend Herald column,

      Getting onside with the media would probably fit in with the ‘job description’ but did Matt have to be so blatant in what looked like giving Gower a tongue bath with the comment He,(Gower), was ”a frighteningly good journalist”…

      • Skinny 3.2.1
        26 February 2014 at 9:08 am

        It all makes sense to me now Bad12. I was somewhat bemused with Matt’s suck up to Gower, actually thought he was taking the piss. Truth be known Gower is Garner’s attack dog… all be it a skittery goofy type dog at that.

      • Ant 3.2.2
        26 February 2014 at 9:20 am

        I think the idea behind Matt is that they can’t rely on the media to tell their story so they are putting energy into grassroots organising.

        • Skinny 3.2.2.1
          26 February 2014 at 10:43 am

          Matt would bring a much needed double edge sword to the messaging being relayed. He would as you say counter the media spin on things. Of course the bias media would try bypassing him altogether. I note Helen Kelly has said it’s highly unlikely. Must be some push back from the ‘old’ Unions. Nice thinking of what might have been I guess.

    • Skinny 3.3
      26 February 2014 at 7:56 am

      It would be a real back straightener if Mc Carten got the job. I’ve always liked Matt’s skills campaigning as he cuts through the nonsense and remains focused on the task at hand.

      I won’t hold my breath he will get the appointment, too many obstacles like the beltway and last stand MP’s. If he does, expect a much needed no nosense approach. Are you in or are out!

      • phillip ure 3.3.1
        26 February 2014 at 8:05 am

        tho’ surprised at mccarten getting in bed with what has been his ‘enemy’ ..for so many neo-lib years..

        ..i am encouraged at the (possible) confirmation of some seachange-policies coming up from labour..

        ..as i can’t see mccarten signing up to help steer a same-old same-old neo-lib ship…

        ..so all in all..

        ..good news..

        ..and yes..!..as noted above..mccartens’ surprise tongue-bath of/on gower the other day..

        ..now comes clearer into focus..

        ..as to ‘why?’..

        phillip ure..

        • phillip ure 3.3.1.1
          26 February 2014 at 9:31 am

          hooten was just on nat-rad..and seems to be somewhat panicky..

          ..and we are told that a david talbot will be labours’ campaign-director..

          ..i know nothing of him..

          ..but i understand he has strong mana/green ties..

          ..(the neo-lib apologist labour mp’s will be freaking out..

          (..lefties to the left of them..lefties to the right..)

          ..the walls having been breached..and all that..)

          ..but i am encouraged by these straws in the winds of change..

          ..phillip ure..

          • phillip ure 3.3.1.1.1
            26 February 2014 at 9:33 am

            mod -mod mod..mod mod-eration..

            ..(sung to tune ”barbara-ann’..beach boys..)

            phillip ure..

          • Tim 3.3.1.1.2
            26 February 2014 at 11:04 am

            “hooten was just on nat-rad..and seems to be somewhat panicky..”

            heard that too – it seems to be scaring him (Hooton) shitless – not just panicky. Out came all that “far left” kaka.

            ……. and just as an aside PU – do you know of a recent study that shows excessive use of pot is as bad as alcohol regarding Hep C recovery, etc. (That’s a question btw). It’d certainly explain my brother’s demise. But then he was a greedy guts when it came to anything, along with a needle fetish.

            • phillip ure 3.3.1.1.2.1
              26 February 2014 at 11:19 am

              don’t know of that..

              ..that wasn’t my recent experience..

              ..and i was very open about my pot-use..

              ..and/yet received no health/pot-warnings..

              ..when raised..it was brushed aside as inconsequential..

              ..sorry to hear about yr brother..

              ..did he turn to alcohol..?

              ..many ex-junkies do..

              ..and that is perhaps the worst thing they could do..

              ..for their already battered liver..

              ..phillip ue..

    • Disraeli Gladstone 3.4
      26 February 2014 at 9:35 am

      Can you imagine how much fun Kiwiblog, WO, Gower, Garner, etc are going to have with McCarten is in Cunliffe’s office considering his less than stellar history with UNITE paying tax. Anytime, Labour brought up multinational companies not paying their fair share, it would instantly be shut out with questions about “doesn’t your Chief of Staff have the same problems?”

    • Saarbo 3.5
      26 February 2014 at 9:45 am

      Its been confirmed on RNZ via text to Hooten from Mc Carten.

  4. Sanctuary 4
    26 February 2014 at 7:54 am

    I got to self-righteously and triumphantly ring my bell at a member of the lycra-clad plutocratic cycling elite today.

    A small victory for the working man.

    • phillip ure 4.1
      26 February 2014 at 7:57 am

      i hate that ‘ lycra-clad plutocratic cycling elite’..

      ..(mainly ‘cos of the ‘lycra’..)

      phillip ure..

    • Ad 4.2
      26 February 2014 at 8:19 am

      Now what we need the complete netwrk of dedicated fully separated bike lanes across every city in the country.

      BTW TransportBlog and GenZero guys did a good presentation ot the Auckland Transport Board yesterday – very slick, very positive, and challenging.

      • RedLogix 4.2.1
        26 February 2014 at 8:55 am

        And a separate lanes for working class three-speeds and another for the lyrca-clad plutes….

        • phillip ure 4.2.1.1
          26 February 2014 at 9:01 am

          @ red-logix..

          1..

          ..can’t we put them in a tunnel..?

          ..so we don’t have to look at them..?

          ..oh..!..the humanity..!

          ..phillip ure..

          • phillip ure 4.2.1.1.1
            26 February 2014 at 10:03 am

            i think there should be an age-limit on lycra-use..

            ..(i dunno what the cut-off age should be..but as an example..mallard is well past that date..)

            ..and at that (to be determined) age..cyclists must be forced to shed the ever-more-spongy to the touch lycra..

            ..and into (sensible) jodhpur-styling trousers..

            ..preferably made of corduroy ..(and whale-cord..at that..)..

            ..can we have a referendum on this..?

            ..phillip ure..

            • fender 4.2.1.1.1.1
              26 February 2014 at 1:48 pm

              You’ve just blown it Phillip.

              After your desperate attempt to secure a wife the other day I felt a little sorry for you and I decided to play match-maker. I searched high and low for someone special who would get you out of your rut and had all but convinced a slightly crazy eccentric vegan lady I know to take a chance on you. Once she answered affirmative to the ‘do you really really like Nutella’ question I was certain there was some hope for you.

              But this age-limit you have suggested for wearing lycra has given her cold feet because she’s a keen cyclist and (although prefers her birthday suit when riding) often wears the tight-fitting apparel.

              So I’m sorry but you’ll have to be content for the time being with your four legged pet dog for a little while longer, but all is not lost; just be thankful Lucy(?) doesn’t have a nut allergy 😀

  5. bad12 5
    26 February 2014 at 8:10 am

    Interesting readers poll on Stuff.co this morning asking what are the main concerns for voters in this election year,

    At number one by a country mile, the economy 39.4%,(its–the–economy–stupid),

    Second, who would have thunk it,Affordable Housing 12.7%,(hopefully the relevant parties can ‘see’ that this also includes affordable rentals, rebuild the numbers in the States portfolio please),

    Third, but hardly least, Unemployment 8.2%,(i should imagine that if the dole wasn’t such a disgustingly low level of ‘at least they can eat but only if they ‘choose’ to live under a bridge’ the employment issue might have rated higher than 3rd)…

    • karol 5.1
      26 February 2014 at 8:44 am

      I voted afforable housing. It has a significant direct impact on more people than unemployment. Those worried about affordable housing include the unemployed as well as many low paid, precarious and employed people.

      Edit: That poll is a bit of a push poll, with “the economy” at the top of the list. It’s a general term that encompasses aspects of most of the other things on the list.

      • Pasupial 5.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 9:43 am

        I don’t generally pay attention to self-selecting polls such as that on Stuff – can you “vote” multiple times on that one the way you can with the NZH?

        The recent Roy Morgan has a better sampling method than most published polls (still phone interviews, but at least includes cell phones – though the 14+ age-group will include some not eligible to vote this year). They also define what issues they regard as “economic” (42%, but that includes 7% “unemployment/ job security”), no category directly corresponds to “Affordable Housing” but “Cost of Living/ Increasing Prices/ Financial Hardship/ Household Debt” seems closest (5% also categorised as “economic”).

        http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/5445-issues-facing-new-zealand-world-february-2014-201402210457

        “Poverty/ The Gap Between Rich & Poor/ Imbalance of Wealth” (16%) was the largest issue of the “Economic” category (42%). “Social Apathy/ Lack of Values/ Lack of Empathy Toward Others/ Intolerance” (5%) for the “Social issues” (21%). “Government/ Politicians/ Leadership/ Government Spending” (8%) for “Government/ Public Policy/ Human Rights issues” (19%). “Environmental Issues/ Degradation” (4%) for “Environmental issues” (9%). However 8% were “Can’t say”; of the “993 men and women aged 14 or over [who] were interviewed by telephone in February 2014”.

        Looking at the trend from Oct 2012, it appears economic issues have reduced in priority for the population studied (from 57% to 42%). Whereas; Social issues (13% to 21%); Government issues (14% to 19%); & Environmental issues (4% to 9%), have all increased.

      • Tracey 5.1.2
        26 February 2014 at 12:37 pm

        I said affordable housing also… People first baby!

        I take it to mean rent too karol.

    • Bill 5.2
      26 February 2014 at 10:57 am

      Just an observation, but 1 and 3 are concerns that essentially ‘get in behind’ and push in the direction of unsustainability.

  6. ianmac 6
    26 February 2014 at 9:44 am

    Interesting. Fran reckons that Mr Prebble will get Mr Key out of a tricky spot by “forcing” the retirement age up to 67 as part of a deal when/if ACT gets some MPs into Parliament. Mr Key would be able to say, “They made me break my vows. Pity that.”

    • Lanthanide 6.1
      26 February 2014 at 10:24 am

      Key has recently said that if they broke their word on that, voters would ask what else they would break their word on.

      So I think it’s a bridge to far for Key, and they’d really only go there if Act had a significant, required, presence (say 6+ seats) which I don’t think they have a hope in hell of getting.

      Prebble thinks they can get to 9 seats, which is just la-la-land thinking. Jamie Whyte himself is aiming for 5, but I think they’ll be lucky to get 2-3.

      • ianmac 6.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 10:48 am

        If it was a condition for regaining power, Key would claim that it is the price of that MMP that people wanted and that his hands were tied.
        Like Charter Schools? An ACT condition but not what National wanted. Really. National did not want Charter Schools. Really and truly!

  7. bad12 7
    26 February 2014 at 9:51 am

    Was that wee Matty Hooton i just heard on RadioNZ’s Nine to Noon, screeching like a demented child that David Cunliffe had promised a far left Government over and over as if some psychiatrist practicing hypnosis had put the ‘spinner under’ and then forgot to bring Him back to reality,

    Labour wee Matty is a very broad church and thus must appeal to a broad cross section of the community from those living on benefits to those in the comfortable middle class,

    So of course the message to different audiences is going to be different, just as Slippery the Prime Minister carries in His carpet bag various disguises so as to enable Him to ponce among those attending the Big Gay Out, and, preen among the fat-cats of the Business Roundtable or whatever their new disguise happens to be…

    • Tracey 7.1
      26 February 2014 at 12:38 pm

      it’s wednesday, i thought monday was his soapbox day?

      • veutoviper 7.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 12:58 pm

        Usually, but Ryan got both Hooton and Williams on again this morning to discuss the McCarten rumour. She kept stressing that it was the middle of the night or similar for Hooton, so don’t know where he was calling in from. Obviously somewhere overseas.

        • Tracey 7.1.1.1
          26 February 2014 at 1:14 pm

          so now it’s news to discuss something not actually official yet? Good God. Did mike say ” I agree with Mathew?”

    • NickS 7.2
      26 February 2014 at 8:24 pm

      The sooner we legalise dope, the better, especially for Hooton’s blood pressure come election time

      It would mean less stupid, mindless ranting though 😉

  8. Rosie 8
    26 February 2014 at 10:52 am

    For James Thrace:

    Hi James. Thanks for your response on Open Mike on Monday in regard to newly “announced” Labour candidate for Ohariu, Virginia/Ginny Anderson.

    I detected a sense of annoyance from you, that I hadn’t read your earlier comment from 11th February stating that she was indeed the candidate, as a response to my questioning when Labour would announce their Ohariu candidate. Apologies – I spend too much time here at TS as it is and usually don’t get overly involved in discussions, as much as I would like too, so hadn’t checked up on follow on comments.

    It would have been good if I had on that occasion however because I would have known two weeks earlier.

    I continue to remain in a state of puzzlement about the way the candidacy hasn’t been trumpeted given the importance of this electorate,and Epsom, is to National.

    • James Thrace 8.1
      26 February 2014 at 3:30 pm

      Sorry Rosie, didn’t mean for it to come across as annoyed! Definitely not my intention though I can appreciate it did seem like it.

      I am concerned that this late in the piece, for a new candidate with no name recognition, Labour will lost Ohariu.

      Chauvel did well in Ohariu in successive elections through constant door knocking and street corner meetings over 8(?) years.

      I don’t believe that the new girl will achieve the same level of succes, and moreso that Wadestown, a highly blue area, is now included in Ohariu.

      Although, it could be seen that Dunnes sell out may be the death of his political career, but unfortunately people are so anti labour that they may yet again allow the Hair to live again.

      • Rosie 8.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 4:51 pm

        No worries James 🙂

        I share your concerns, but as mentioned, am trying to keep a lid on them, as I may potentially offer to support her campaign in this electorate. (I have no idea who she is, apart from the small amount of her work history outlined in the RNZ piece).

        One thing possibly to go on is the 64.6% out of a 49% turn out of Ohariu voters who voted NO in the asset sales referendum. If they come out in force with a Labour vote there may be some hope. In the meantime there is a huge amount of work to be done, quickly!

    • Bill 9.1
      26 February 2014 at 11:08 am

      Confused. “TDB is calling the Chief-of-Staff position for Matt McCarten.” is not the same thing as announcing his appointment to the position. Just curious as to whether that’s designed as a way to break an embargo on an announcement or if it’s wishful thinking on the part of ‘Bomber’.

      • Rosie 9.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 11:18 am

        MS says above there will be an announcement at 1pm today…………

        Yay, didn’t have to click on TDB link.

        • phillip ure 9.1.1.1
          26 February 2014 at 4:38 pm

          @ rosie..

          ..can i ask what you have got against tdb..?

          ..to be so averse as to cheer at not having to click on a link to it..?

          ..i don’t comment there because of past censorship..

          ..(i would rather have the likes of bad ranting on about junkie-me at me..boring tho’ it may be..than he be silenced..)

          ..but there are useful articles posted there,,

          ..and their roundups of local blog-action are well worth the effort..

          ..and show up the offerings of pete-george-pimp/wannabe-acceptable-gatekeeper edwards-the-younger..in his corporate-trout role in the herald..

          ..as the lite-weight efforts they are..

          ..what’s yr prob..?

          ..phillip ure..

          • Rosie 9.1.1.1.1
            26 February 2014 at 5:21 pm

            Hi phillip.

            Well, I’ve already blathered on about the reasons enough here at TS and don’t want to bore folks, but for your benefit I will blather a little more.

            Main reason: same as you, previous censorship experiences such as not having comments posted, albeit just a couple, or them being held in moderation all day.

            Other reasons:

            Bad experiences with trolls, I just couldn’t be bothered continuing commenting. The worst was a guy who high jacked a conversation I was having with a woman about men who use porn as form of harassment towards women (I don’t want to go into this discussion here by the way: the example I had given was about a close friend who had been traumatised by her partner) The guy went on and said it was her fault etc and was being a complete A- hole. He ended up with heaps of “thumbs up” and I got plenty of “thumbs down”. Sounds petty but I felt quite freaked out about that and annoyingly he got free reign in the comments section where as I had to wait in moderation.

            Bad experiences with Martyn: One time he just nutted out in an anti Wellington tirade of an article. His trigger for the tirade was a report he linked that indicated that Auckland received less infrastructure dollar per capita than anywhere else and that Wellington received more than Auckland per capita. It was basically a a no holds barred hate speech in which he made up all sorts of bullshit about Wellingtonians as a group. He sounded like a 5 year old who had his toys taken from him. I tried to reason with him but he just packed a sad.

            Disappointing, as previously I had given positive feedback and had been supportive of their efforts in the early days.

            This article came a couple of weeks after the TICS talk that TDB hosted in Wellington in late August last year. There was an embarrassingly poor turnout and that would have left him out of pocket. Maybe the article was him taking his revenge. I don’t know.

            Personally although I believe his heart is in the right place he does appear to have a fragile ego and is prone to outbursts. (Remember Green Storm troopers!).

            Yes, there are excellent authors in TDB but I don’t want to support a site where I don’t’ feel welcome and where I am insulted. You could say it’s personal.

            • Pasupial 9.1.1.1.1.1
              27 February 2014 at 3:15 am

              Rosie

              It was “Emerald Storm Troopers” (as in “Imperial Storm Troopers”; Star Wars allusion). Which I found ironic due to one of 4 principles of the Green Party charter being Non-Violence.

              Bradbury isn’t really about facts as such; not that he intentionally deceives, but neither he does he let excessive consideration get in the way of a turn of phrase. I actually think his persona worked best back when he was doing his Bomber’s Blog comedic infotainment TV bit. The demands of running TDB may not be the best fit for his talents. Though he does seem to have boundless energy – when QoT was disentangling herself from TDBs clutches she had a line about three-quarters of the posts being written by half a dozen middle-aged white men. My opinion is that fully half the content (barring comments) is produced by that one man.

              That said, I still read it; though rarely comment and often get snagged in moderation limbo myself when I try. If I boycotted every publication where I disagreed with the editorial decisions I’d never read any newspapers.

          • Rosie 9.1.1.1.2
            26 February 2014 at 5:39 pm

            Lol. In moderation whilst talking about moderation on TDB, phillip. Hopefully you will receive your answer shortly.

            • Rosie 9.1.1.1.2.1
              26 February 2014 at 6:38 pm

              Hmmm, o.k, it’s been one hour twenty now…………….was it the t….s?

              • phillip ure …
                26 February 2014 at 6:44 pm

                i find singing ‘mod mod mod mod mod-eration’..

                to the tune of barbara -ann..

                ..sometimes works..

                ..phillip ure..

                • Rosie …
                  26 February 2014 at 7:08 pm

                  I noticed. I’ll do the harmony.

                  Coulda been the potentially defamatory things I said about Martyn Bradbury, seeing as we’re being watchful of fragile ego’s and their propensity for defamation cases – although I wouldn’t put Bradbury in the same league as Craig…………

      • karol 9.1.2
        26 February 2014 at 12:17 pm

        Bradbury links to a Stuff article calling it for McCarten – via an alleged leak from Mike Williams.

    • just saying 9.2
      26 February 2014 at 11:14 am

      Not cheered.
      Anyone who says he thinks Parick Gower is an outstanding journalist either lacks judgment, or is a liar. Also his tactical and uniting skills didn’t work out that well for the Alliance.

      Was a time when I would have been happy – but reading McCarten’s column doesn’t inspire confidence.

      Just had a thought though, McCarten was an honourary ABC before Cunliffe won. Maybe there is some Mchiavellian genius at work here, not yet visible to the naked eye.

      • Bill 9.2.1
        26 February 2014 at 11:23 am

        “Not cheered”

        Neither. Sure, there might be good tactical/political reasons as to why DC (or whoever gets to make the call) would appoint a man who is so consistently ‘out for himself’ and willing to ride any bandwagon on the go, to such a team leading position. Bit beyond me to figure it though.

        • McFlock 9.2.1.1
          26 February 2014 at 12:23 pm

          To be fair, the alliance was royally fucked by anderton – Mccarten mad a decent attempt, as I recall.

          But I’ve never been into his column – and wasn’t he one of the bold Waitakere Men for a comment or two? Or was that just JT and WJ?

          • Tracey 9.2.1.1.1
            26 February 2014 at 1:01 pm

            remember lailla hare’s parental leave stuff has mad eit to law, braddford’s change to s59a and other alliance measures are implemented. It seems only natural that IF labour is moving toward its roots, that alliance type policy and thinking wouldbe re-embraced

            • McFlock 9.2.1.1.1.1
              26 February 2014 at 1:11 pm

              true true

              Breath ain’t bated, tho’ 🙂

              • Tracey …
                26 February 2014 at 1:17 pm

                I am trying to think why Williams would leak it. he’s a cunliffe supporter isn’t he, or did he just think Cunliffe would win leadership which isnt the same thing at all.

                perhaps they think the alliance leaning labour non voter is highh among the 800,000 non voters?

                • McFlock …
                  26 February 2014 at 1:43 pm

                  Bit much entrails-reading for me

                • phillip ure …
                  26 February 2014 at 4:44 pm

                  williams was a shane jones supporter..then a robertson supporter..

                  ..he is a fully paid up member of the abc’s…

                  ..a man who took every opportunity to sneer at/belittle any idea of cunnliffe being the one to lead labour..

                  ..week after week he used his pulpit on nat-rad to push this message..

                  ..a man totally on the wrong side of history..in so many ways..

                  ..(who tho’..will rewrite his own..on the hoof..)

                  ..a man so drenched in hubris/ignorance..

                  ..he can’t even seem to see how bad/wrong neo-lib was/is..

                  ..not a hint of any contrition from him..(of..’shit..!..we got it wrong..!’..)

                  ..let alone any acceptance of the needed change..

                  ..he is now just doomed to forever ‘agree with matthew’..

                  ..phillip ure..

  10. captain hook 10
    26 February 2014 at 11:11 am

    did you hear hooton whining and lying again on RNZ this morning.
    He is sh*t scared because Matt Mcarten will get the job done and he will have lost his number one client and have to sell weetbix for a living.

  11. Danske 11
    26 February 2014 at 11:15 am

    Matt mcarten? What is David Cunliffe and his advisors thinking?
    We need a voice of moderation and common sense to counteract National, not a shill unionist.

    • phillip ure 11.1
      26 February 2014 at 4:52 pm

      bring back stuart nash..?..y’reckon..?

      ..he’s got enough ‘moderation’ and ‘common sense’ to bore the opposition into submission..

      ..is this the tactic you are advocating..?

      (and nice typo..on the ‘shill’..eh..?..)

      phillip ure..

  12. Colonial Viper 12
    26 February 2014 at 11:18 am

    Ernst & Young consulting partner walks away from million dollar job to blow whistle on Dubai blood Gold trade

    Going against big money, defying your own institution, and killing your corporate career in the process. Sometimes that’s exactly what it takes, but so few people do it, deciding to succumb to careerism instead.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26341072

    • greywarbler 12.1
      26 February 2014 at 12:11 pm

      Wow right at the start of that story the journalist’s name is outstanding – Andy Verity.

      But reading on I wonder would withholding gold mined in conflict areas be good, because it furthers human rights abuses and funds armed guerilla groups which could be people like the Lords Resistance Army in Uganda? Or would it be bad because it denied armed guerilla groups funding so that they could carry on a fight against cruel, totalitarian governments?

      Then another confusing thing – it is normal for gold-painted silver to be received as if it was real gold?

      Alice in Wonderland seems like an imaginative scenario for today.

      • McFlock 12.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 12:48 pm

        Then another confusing thing – it is normal for gold-painted silver to be received as if it was real gold?

        Well, it would be normal if the “gold” came from legitimate sources and you had a stash of real gold from other sources – it adds up in the books. 4 tons in (silver), 4 tons out(gold), profit is essentially the same as the gold price (silver’s pretty cheap on that scale).

        And if you’re also refining silver ore, you simply record after the fact that the ore’s purity was surprisingly high, so you got 4 tons of silver from dirt. And everything you have to sell looks kosher.

    • Tracey 12.2
      26 February 2014 at 12:40 pm

      According to RadioSport hosts no one would ever walk away from big money.

  13. mac1 13
    26 February 2014 at 11:25 am

    I just heard on National radio 11am news that Mighty River Power has an increased return to its shareholders. Partly this was achieved by some weasel words along the lines of, “reduced exposure to commercial interests”.

    Now, I read recently that power prices to business are cheaper, deliberately so, and the price to domestic consumers is higher since we don’t have the same commercial clout/interests/favour. The Mighty River website confirms today that its sales in the low-price commercial sector are down 9%, and sales are down 11% over all.

    Am I right therefore in saying that the recently sold Might River Power, once an asset wholly owned by the state and people, with returns going back to the people, is now more profitable, and that this profit which was taken from the backs of the domestic consumer, i.e. the people, is now being returned half to its new private and wealthy owners and half to the government which also represents the wealthy?

    Could this increased profit have been engineered as a fillip to the government’s further assets sales, the viability of which which have been compromised by low share prices and demand?

  14. captain hook 14
    26 February 2014 at 11:55 am

    Mighty River Power was a pork barrel job pure and simple.
    The New Zealand economy is not big enough to hide financial depredations and legalised liens on the taxpayer so this is the only way they can do it.

  15. Colonial Viper 15
    26 February 2014 at 11:57 am

    Feminist infighting and activist groups self destructing: “Death of a Revolutionary”

    (By Susan Faludi)

    http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/04/15/130415fa_fact_faludi

    Anselma Dell’Olio, the founder of the New Feminist Theatre, in New York, was the first to speak publicly about trashing. In a 1970 address, titled “Divisiveness and Self-Destruction in the Women’s Movement: A Letter of Resignation,” which was delivered to the Congress to Unite Women, in New York City, she warned that women’s “rage, masquerading as a pseudo-egalitarian radicalism under the ‘pro-woman’ banner,” was turning into “frighteningly vicious anti-intellectual fascism of the left.” After hearing about the speech, several women, including Freeman, met and vowed to fight the problem. “Instead, each of us slipped back into our own isolation,” Freeman said. “The result was that most of the women at that meeting dropped out, as I had done. Two ended up in the hospital with nervous breakdowns.” After Ti-Grace Atkinson resigned from the Feminists, a group she had founded in New York, she declared, “Sisterhood is powerful. It kills. Mostly sisters.” The observation rang true for so many that it soon became one of the lines most frequently quoted by feminists, or, rather, misquoted: the “mostly” was dropped.

    The second-wave feminists had hoped to alleviate this isolation through the refuge of sisterhood. “We were like pioneers who’d left the Old Country,” Phyllis Chesler, a feminist psychologist and the author of “Women and Madness” (1972), told me. “And we had nowhere to go back to. We had only each other.” That is, until the movement’s collapse. Last fall, as I interviewed New York’s founding radical feminists, the stories of “social defeat” mounted: painful solitude, poverty, infirmity, mental illness, and even homelessness. In a 1998 essay, “The Feminist Time Forgot,” Kate Millett lamented the lengthening list of her sisters who had “disappeared to struggle alone in makeshift oblivion or vanished into asylums and have yet to return to tell the tale,” or who fell into “despairs that could only end in death.” She noted the suicides of Ellen Frankfort, the author of “Vaginal Politics,” and Elizabeth Fisher, the founder of Aphra, the first feminist literary journal. “We haven’t helped each other much,” Millett concluded. We “haven’t been able to build solidly enough to have created community or safety.”

    • karol 15.1
      26 February 2014 at 1:02 pm

      Thanks for the link to a very interesting article, CV.

      You have been very selective with your cherry picked quotes there, failing to put them in context. The article is from mid 2013, is an obituary for Shilamuth Firestone, and sets this in context of her role among New York radical feminists.

      The kinds of factions, struggles and personality conflicts referred to, can be seen across the left in various countries, and not just within the US feminist movement. And it puts that in the context of the first and second waves of feminism – the way each wave has risen, bringing with it much needed changes, then been appropriated and weakened – and along with that, often the full story has been revised and/or written out of history.

      Firestone is characterised as a brilliant, energised, but divisive figure, suffering from schizophrenia. Ultimately the story of her final years makes sad reading. I read her book, “The Dialectic of Sex”, way back. An interesting but flawed theory. She did provide some very significant insights: she modelled her theory on Marx’s dialectic, but posited that the primary social divide was one of gender. She was criticised for her biological determinism, as she argued that the basis of female oppression was the role of women in the reproduction of the species. She argued that the rise of new technologies (of birth control etc), would free women from their biology and their oppression.

      In Faludi’s article, she outlines Firestone’s role within the US radical feminist strand of feminism, especially in the late 60s and early 70s. In the US liberal feminism dominated. They wanted an equal role for women within the existing social structure. Radical feminists wanted to change the whole social structure.

      Unfortunately, it seems that Firestone wanted to hold on to some key features of US culture: she wasn’t keen on the move to non-hierarchical structures favoured by both the radical left, and left wing feminists, including most radical feminists. The whole of the NY radical feminist strand seemed also to not want to let go of aspects of the wider US celebrity culture, favoring “star” writers/leaders etc.

      My understanding of Firestone and the work of Kate Millet, was gained from my perspective in the late 70s early 80s women’s movement in London. The dominant strand of feminism in the UK in the 70s was socialist feminism. There was a secondary strand of radical feminists – there was much cross fertilisation of ideas and practice between strands. There was far less of a tendency to make stars out of key theorists.

  16. Penny Bright 16
    26 February 2014 at 12:01 pm

    FYI

    LATEST LEN BROWN UPDATE:

    26 February 2014

    Graham McCready

    9:04 AM (2 hours ago)

    The Auckland Electoral Officer confirmed yesterday to Grace Haden the former Police Prosecutor that her complaint of a $750,000 election donation fraud has been referred to the Police for investigation.

    Len Brown now finds himself in the same position as John Banks in 2012. That police investigation led eventually by way of a private prosecution to hi(s) committal to trial in the High Court.

    Again if the Police do not prosecute the New Zealand Private Prosecution Service will.

    The Len Brown election allegation may be coupled with a Police investigation for money laundering the donations through the New Auckland Council Trust

    Graham McCready

    Prosecutor for NZPPS Ltd

    …………………….

    Again – ever wondered why you haven’t heard Prime Minister John Key say a bad thing against Auckland Mayor Len Brown?

    Because, in my considered opinion, Auckland Mayor Len Brown, is Prime Minister John Key’s ‘little helper’, doing a GREAT job looking after Sky City, property developers and BIG business interests ……

    Penny Bright
    ‘Anti-corruption/ anti-privatisation’ campaigner.

    • Tracey 16.1
      26 February 2014 at 12:45 pm

      Grrace Haden once said and did some disgraceful things in her blind pursuit of a single person. She did not give a damn about the innocent folks she damaged along the way. There is searching for truth and there is distorting the reality to fit your version of truth.I have little faith in the integrity of any allegations and alleged supporting evidence supplied by Ms Haden. Statistically, even the misguided, can be right once.

      • Penny Bright 16.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 1:38 pm

        I have worked with Grace Haden for many years, know her to be both very capable and helpful, and have the evidence to support this.

        I am not aware of the matter to which you are referring, but would equally remind you of the old adage ‘ one swallow doesn’t make a summer’.

        Penny Bright

    • ianmac 16.2
      26 February 2014 at 2:11 pm

      As a non-Aucklander bemused by this sad vendetta against Len Brown, I do hesitate to ask but,where did this $750,000 “fraud” come from?

  17. Tracey 17
    26 February 2014 at 12:48 pm

    I know many people make out the Greens are crazy but you knnow, they are the only party that could have plans to alleviate the kinds of “disasters” that would impact hugely on big business. ironic yeah?

    I speak of their exploration of solar and wind technologies which could one day cut off major black outs at the pass.

    • phillip ure 17.1
      26 February 2014 at 5:01 pm

      yep..!..that’ll do it..!

      ..slap a solar panel on the roof..and buy a prius..

      ..we won’t need to do anything else..eh..?

      ..we can still nod and wink to the really big elephant in the ‘green’ room..

      ..the dairy industry..eh..?

      ..no mention of the upcoming massive changes we are going to have to undertake..

      ..as a people and as a country..

      ..to have any hope of staving off disaster..

      ..don’t want to scare the horses..!..eh..?

      ..have to be seen as ‘a safe/calm pair of hands..eh..?

      ..when what they should be doing..

      ..is screaming alarms/warnings from the bloody roof-tops..

      ..they should be flaming radicals..using their pulpit for what it is meant..

      ..telling people what is coming up,,

      ..if we/they don’t get our shit together..

      ..and soon..

      ..but i think they are too busy..

      ..bbq-ing…

      ..the blind..gently leading the blind to the cliff-edge.

      ..(but they were so polite/nice!..with it..)

      • Colonial Viper 17.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 6:14 pm

        Sorry mate, you should realise by now that the mainstream political parties are by definition part of the establishment. And they will not do anything radical without radical pressure placed upon them by the wider populace through mass movements.

        Having a bitch about them is good and all, but won’t change that simple political fact.

        • phillip ure 17.1.1.1
          26 February 2014 at 6:25 pm

          you are denying all the major changes of history..

          ..and yes..they will have to be dragged there..

          ..but dragged there they will be..

          ..or else they will be swept away..

          ..phillip ure..

          • Colonial Viper 17.1.1.1.1
            26 February 2014 at 7:23 pm

            I’m not “denying all the major changes of history” as much as I am describing them. I think that much was clear about the point I was making.

  18. Penny Bright 18
    26 February 2014 at 1:39 pm

    MEDIA ALERT: ‘Len Brown – Stand Down Coalition’ PROTEST:
    Auckland Mayor Len Brown is certainly NOT ‘New Zealander of the Year!’

    According to the following Auckland Mayoral Office Media Advisory, Len Brown is to attend the Kiwibank ‘New Zealander of the Year’ award, to be held at the Auckland Langham Hotel, (83 Symonds Street, Grafton) tonight, at 7pm.

    http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/aboutcouncil/mayorelectedrepresentatives/mayordiary20140224.pdf

    ” Wednesday 26 February

    7pm Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year”

    “Members of the ‘Len Brown – Stand Down’ coalition and supporters, will be holding a colourful protest outside the Langholm Hotel, from 6pm.

    https://maps.google.co.nz/maps?ie=UTF-8&q=The+Langham&fb=1&gl=nz&hq=Map+Langham+Hotel+Auckland&cid=17989029583253604632&ei=dyUNU-OhLueciAfHq4BQ&ved=0CPoBEPwSMAs

    The attendance of Mayor Len Brown at this event, is a disgrace.
    We believe that he is not fit for duty, and should resign forthwith,” says coalition Spokesperson Dick Cuthbert.

    “The pressure on Mayor Len Brown to stand down, has significantly increased with today’s news that a complaint to the Electoral Office, alleging electoral fraud against Len Brown, has been handed over to the Police for investigation,” says coalition member, anti-corruption campaigner, Penny Bright.

    Penny Bright …………………..

    Dick Cuthbert ………………….

    BACKGROUND INFORMATION

    26 February 2014

    Graham McCready

    The Auckland Electoral Officer confirmed yesterday to Grace Haden the former Police Prosecutor that her complaint of a $750,000 election donation fraud has been referred to the Police for investigation.

    Len Brown now finds himself in the same position as John Banks in 2012. That police investigation led eventually by way of a private prosecution to hi(s) committal to trial in the High Court.

    Again if the Police do not prosecute the New Zealand Private Prosecution Service will.

    The Len Brown election allegation may be coupled with a Police investigation for money laundering the donations through the New Auckland Council Trust

    Graham McCready

    Prosecutor for NZPPS Ltd

    • Tracey 18.1
      26 February 2014 at 2:18 pm

      Any reason your group doesn’t demand Key step down for qall his lies and lies and lies… he’s an Auckland Mp afterall?

      • Murray Olsen 18.1.1
        27 February 2014 at 2:00 am

        It might be a little difficult finding a former police persecutor who was willing to use her dubious professional skills against Key. I can’t think of any profession that I would trust less. That sex is involved makes me think instantly of Graeme Capill. This whole thing against Brown is sordid and cheap, especially when there is no campaign for a left wing candidate to replace him.

  19. Puckish Rouge 19
    26 February 2014 at 3:11 pm

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11210282

    interesting when bloggers from the left and right all have issues with the article

  20. greywarbler 20
    26 February 2014 at 5:07 pm

    A huge number of Labour electorates across the country have electorate nominations closing on Friday, 28 February. This will be interesting when we hear the results in March. CViper are you there?

    • Colonial Viper 20.1
      26 February 2014 at 6:08 pm

      Hi GW, I will not be standing as a candidate this year, but will be very active in the Labour Party on other fronts.

  21. Tim 21
    26 February 2014 at 5:23 pm

    Joan Withers …. not a patch on Joan Rivers – not even Joan River’s nether regions.
    But I’ll give her an A+ for trying hard. Give the neolibs another + for appointing her.
    No doubt she’ll be joining Jenny and Burton down on the ranch for a BeeBee Q in the not-too-distant – unless some “far left cnut” jumps up and spoils their plan.
    Oh well – burnt steaks darling! We can improvise. A haw haw haw.

    (I think you’ve already said that! – such is the nature of our 3rdWorld Interweb)

  22. drum 22
    26 February 2014 at 5:56 pm

    not sure whether this has been featured on TS…but interesting to see a former National cabinet minister having a good poke at the current lot… http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/perspective/9732947/Doughnut-represents-Ceras-failings

  23. Colonial Viper 23
    26 February 2014 at 6:06 pm

    Mass surveillance state reaches Dunedin roads

    It seems that earlier this month, the first vehicle number plate recognition cameras went live in Dunedin. An extensive network of these cameras is being planned around the city. The cameras digitally record the number plate of every single passing vehicle for real time character recognition analysis, number plate data matching and storage. The data is currently being used to issue instant fines to vehicles without current WOFs and rego’s.

    There will be many other uses to this real time data as well, beyond that of mass traffic enforcement.

    Personally, I think that the way these cameras have been introduced, and their potential uses within a surveillance state apparatus, are extremely disturbing.

    Does anyone here know what legislation empowers the use of these cameras in the issuance of vehicle infringements?

    • karol 23.1
      26 February 2014 at 6:24 pm

      Disturbing – but maybe it’ll drive more people onto public transport, or to walk, or get a bicycle?

    • greywarbler 23.2
      26 February 2014 at 6:32 pm

      Pity that it doesn’t work out for you this time CV, but if you can increase your public interaction, perhaps you can provide some balance in the Council next time and seek an electorate position later.

      I’ll be interested in what you find Colonial Viper about this surveillance. I find it very disturbing that checking to see if WoFs and other certificates are current is being used as an excuse to place the populace under surveillance.

      And particularly seeing that WoFs are being downgraded as a regular check.
      It’s like creating a type of law that will be easy to break (forgetting) and then hitting people with large fines, not to encourage people to keep current, but just as an automatic machine printing money for the authorities.

      I hated Dunedin for fining me $65 for parking illegally for 10 minutes in an empty street, years ago. It appears that Dunedinites have a very authoritarian, grasping, top down council. Councillors were prepared to satisfy personal desires for sport enjoyment and force debt to be incurred to the tune of $millions to the ratepayer. Apparently it will do anything it wants to its residents and there is nothing that can stop its old-money, mean-minded, presbyterian tight-minded approach to its citizens.

      • Colonial Viper 23.2.1
        26 February 2014 at 7:08 pm

        Cheers, GW.

      • Murray Olsen 23.2.2
        27 February 2014 at 1:55 am

        I was in Dunedin recently and noticed the over the top parking enforcement. The street where I was staying was so empty that the warden couldn’t even walk from one car to another, but had a motorbike. I suppose someone has to pay for the Rugby stadium, much as citizens paid for cathedrals in past centuries.

        • greywarbler 23.2.2.1
          27 February 2014 at 10:36 am

          Murry O
          Yes I believe they had little scooters when I was there way back. And the bit about the cathedrals is too right. Pyramids also. Ozymandias despair. Let the rats get into the larder and they will take more than they should. Question to ask each electorate candidate at meetings – Are you a rat who wants to raid the community larder? And see them start and how they respond, calling on their dignity and affronted, or with a sharp look and a firm answer as to why they aren’t.

    • karol 23.3
      26 February 2014 at 6:43 pm

      Surveillance systems seem to be covered by a mix of government regulations and council regulations or by laws.

      This is Auckland Council’s guidance documents on it.

      This Aussie report refers in several places to an NZ Law Commission report. It looks like the NZ Law Commission felt there were gaps in the legislation and that it needs a specific new law governing it. e.g p25:

      In March 2009 the New Zealand Law
      Commission (NZLC) released an issues paper
      on the adequacy of New Zealand’s civil and
      criminal laws in dealing with invasions of
      privacy. They found a number of significant
      gaps in the law.36

      1.41 In February 2010 the NZLC published its
      final report, Invasion of Privacy: Penalties
      and Remedies, which recommended a
      comprehensive model to reform the gaps
      identified in the existing law regulating the use
      of surveillance in New Zealand. Central to these
      recommendations was the creation of a new
      Surveillance Devices Act that would establish
      both civil and criminal remedies in relation to
      the misuse of visual surveillance, interception
      and tracking devices.37

      • Colonial Viper 23.3.1
        26 February 2014 at 7:09 pm

        Thanks karol. I fear we are going down the paranoid surveillance state route of the UK, where you even get schools hiring private investigators using tax payers money, to follow parents they deem to be suspicious, around.

    • RedbaronCV 23.4
      26 February 2014 at 8:42 pm

      And no doubt the infringement notices will be much more expensive than the sentences handed down by law courts for much more serious offences.

  24. karol 24
    26 February 2014 at 6:22 pm

    So the government asset sales now includes selling more state houses – ones that are either “in the wrong place”, or are the “wrong” sort of house. sigh is there no end to their hatred of struggling Kiwi?

    • bad12 24.1
      26 February 2014 at 7:10 pm

      Yeah Karol, i too seen Bill the Minister of Ever Widening Deficits admitting to what i have posted here a couple of times,

      Got a hole in ya budget, who do you call, sure as hell ain’t Ghost Busters, get Bill ex of Dipton having tired of actually representing anyone except His self serving troughing, the right bloke to get you out of that hole,

      Having double dipped His way to infamy via double dipping on His own Parliamentary housing allowance Bills going to get you all out of that hole, which incidently is the one He has overseen the making of for the past 5 years, by kicking 20% of the poorest people/families out of their’s, houses that is, so He can flog them off in an exercise of book balancing,

      No worries right, after all the houses are all too big or too small and the ones Bill has no fucking intention whatsoever to build will all fit just fine, after all shop doorways are of a one size fits all nature if the poor need to get out of the winter weather and there are some fine bridges scattered across the whole country so those who Bill gives the kick will have a wide choice of accommodation,

      Bills mate Nick Smith having changed the law to be able to give anyone the kick from a HousingNZ home for any old reason, strange, bizarre. or, normal, and, believe me Nick has very few of the latter, reasons that is, but, the strange and bizarre when Nick is allowed to be himself he has a veritable smogasboard of, will quite happily balance Bills books by simply ridding the poorest of their homes and selling them off to the richest,

      What could be more fairer than that…

  25. andy (the other one) 25
    26 February 2014 at 6:26 pm

    Act Leader Jamie Whyte stands by incest comments

    um, er, eh, pffftttt! Go Epsom voters, your all the smartest voters in NZ (cf Mathew Hooton).

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11210373

    • AWW 25.1
      26 February 2014 at 9:51 pm

      Yea… I remember an interview (I think it was Barbara Wood) where the lady was talking about how children subjected to incest still felt powerless to stop further sexual violation by the same perpetrator as an adult.

      Does Jamie White think “consent” in this type of power dynamic is ok? Sounds like another JT and Willie type to me.

      • Pascal's bookie 25.1.1
        26 February 2014 at 9:58 pm

        Jesus though, what a way for ol’ John Banks to end his political career though eh.

        The trial, and now his party leader going on about how incest should be legal.

    • Murray Olsen 25.2
      27 February 2014 at 2:07 am

      I always suspected ACT on Campus was a group of guys who’d like having their invisible hands inside the intimate apparel of close relatives. Truth is almost always stranger than fiction with that lot. Given that the overt racism spewed by Banks was acceptable to the good burghers of Epsom, will this be the straw that breaks the thoroughbred horses back? No camels in Epsom, mate. Dirty Arab things!!

      • Pasupial 25.2.1
        27 February 2014 at 2:39 am

        It’s not just the disinclination to accept the long established societal condemnation of incestuous relationships (he’s the leader of Act, so won’t believe in the existence of such a thing as society). It’s also his comparison of the risks in pregnancy over the age of 35 with; “the increased risk of congenital disorders in children from incestuous relationships”:

        ” The probability of having some problem with the children is greater when the mother is over the age of 35 but I’ve never heard anyone suggest that anyone over the age of 35 shouldn’t be allowed to have sex.”

        This, mind you, is Whyte’s idea of a “virtuous” position. I’d hate to read the statements of his that he considers sleazy and manipulative. But no doubt there’ll be ample opportunity in coming months.

  26. bad12 26
    26 February 2014 at 7:45 pm

    My ears didn’t deceive me today when i heard on RadioNZ National that all the ‘partners’ in 5 eyes, those who spy on their own and share the info with each other, have all been tutored in how to use various means to disrupt on-line blogs that they feel are not supportive of a particular Government,

    Here i was thinking the likes of SSLands was a lowly bean counting serf for a little firm of Wellington tax lawyers with an office on the Terrace, my mind has been changed by one small article of news, the cubicle i will now have to have a think about could for all we know be one located in Pipitea Street instead,

    Can anyone contemplate the stupidity of Government organizations like our GCSB or SIS, in my view stupidity personafied, having actual people in their employ with a job description of entering online debates at the likes of the Standard so as to disrupt our opposition to the current Government,

    Lolz, poor old Fish-head, if He is one of the aforementioned a quick redeployment will obviously be necessary as Lprent cancelled His contract last night,

    David Cunliffe says review the whole NZ apparatus of spying, my view is scrap the lot, simply close them down, turn their office building into a homeless shelter,

    These people having had a taste of snooping on the citizens and even using human means to try and disrupt political blogs cannot be trusted to obey laws that would restrict their activities even if such existed,

    Information after all equates to power…

    • bad12 26.1
      26 February 2014 at 7:57 pm

      Lolz, that’ll learn me for not looking, Karol has a Post up on this very subject,and, this comment is possibly more appropriate over there…

    • karol 26.2
      26 February 2014 at 7:59 pm

      Yes, I posted about those strategies re – the Snowden leaks yesterday. I partly meant it by way of a warning about how the right are deliberately promoting such techniques of covert action.

      The various agencies may enlist others to do their actual covert action, infiltration, etc. Much like has been done in the past offline re various activist groups.

  27. Colonial Viper 27
    26 February 2014 at 8:10 pm

    Financial Times reports gold price is manipulated 50% of the time: then pulls article

    So you right wing free market morons…what do you make of this…it should clue you in on how rotten the financial markets used by the power elite are…

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-25/here-fts-gold-price-manipulation-article-was-removed

    Global gold prices may have been manipulated on 50 per cent of occasions between January 2010 and December 2013, according to analysis by Fideres, a consultancy.

    The findings come amid a probe by German and UK regulators into alleged manipulation of the gold price, which is set twice a day by Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Barclays, Bank of Nova Scotia and Société Générale in a process known as the “London gold fixing”.

    Fideres’ research found the gold price frequently climbs (or falls) once a twice-daily conference call between the five banks begins, peaks (or troughs) almost exactly as the call ends and then experiences a sharp reversal, a pattern it alleged may be evidence of “collusive behaviour”.

    “[This] is indicative of panel banks pushing the gold price upwards on the basis of a strategy that was likely predetermined before the start of the call in order to benefit their existing positions or pending orders,” Fideres concluded.

    “The behaviour of the gold price is very suspicious in 50 per cent of cases. This is not something you would expect to see if you take into account normal market factors,“ said Alberto Thomas, a partner at Fideres.

  28. greywarbler 28
    26 February 2014 at 8:11 pm

    I was just listening to the radio report on the USA training spy agencies to interfere with activists called hacktivists. The GCSB won’t comment as it is an operational matter. Key of course doesn’t know about it, but throws in some words about warrants being necessary.

    See Karol’s post 25 February 2014 The surveillance state online.

    I was wondering in today’s climate, if the terrible doctor from World War 2 Mengeles was being questioned about his horrors, would he say that he couldn’t comment because ‘it was an operational matter?. It seems as if there are no standards against which some of these people today measure their behaviour. Truly hollow men, and women too.

    • karol 28.1
      26 February 2014 at 8:51 pm

      Key said something about the GCSB working within the law, and that he hadn’t actually seen the Snowden material. As you can see in my post, the strategies being promoted by the NSA, 5 Eyes, etc, involve ways of working around the law, so what they do is legal – but not acting within the spirit and intentions of the laws.

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