w h o a r . c o . n z

“..U.N. highlights the struggles of developing countries in the fight against drug addiction

While celebrities earn notoriety from publicly going into rehab, millions of impoverished drug addicts are being ostracized, do not have access to doctors and are often imprisoned, a senior U.N. official said Monday.

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, also said the developing world — already struggling to deal with health, education and unemployment problems — lacks the treatment facilities and law enforcement to control narcotics.

“Poor addicts — and there are millions of them — have been pushed to the margins of society, deprived of medical attention, often exposed to conditions, including imprisonment, that exacerbate their illness,” Costa said according to a copy of a speech he delivered at a Vienna meeting of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

“Strikingly, the addicted rich, singers, models and bankers alike, enter posh private clinics in a deluge of camera flashes — and amuse themselves in the role of trend setters,” he added.

Costa said his office is working with the World Health Organization to achieve universal access to drug treatment and urged governments around the world to protect and respect the human rights of imprisoned addicts and drug users in general..”

(gee..!..going on the criterea cited here..new zealand is most definitely in the ‘developing-country’ grouping..eh..?..

..wot with our barbaric attitudes towards/non-treatment of .. the health issue that is drug addiction ..eh..?..

..our ostracising/denial-of-treatment/imprisonment of our addicts..eh..?..

..all the cited-hallmarks of the ‘developing-country’..eh..?..)

go to source/story>>Plight of the impoverished drug addict - Drugs - Salon.com

i’d like to go out on a limb here…and present what i think is obamas’ plan to prevent what is looking like a trainwreck of a mid-term election..

one that threatens to derail his presidency..forever..

there is one certainty around any predictions about the ’secret-plans’ of the obama team..

..that is that they will have to be radical .. to stop the current slide..

just to back up for a minute..what got me thinking about all this was an item buried on the business page of the new york times earlier this year.

..(and not commented on/examined in the american media since then..)

..that item was that obama had issued a presidential order/decree of sorts to the management of the (govt-run/owned) fannie mae..and freddie mac..mortgage companies..

that decree was that the previously-mandated limits on the monies the mortgage-companies could call on the federal government for were to be removed..

..and not only that..but that in the future there would now be no ceiling/limits on the amount of monies the companies could ask for…

now..that got me scratching my head..

..why was this done..?..

..there is/was no obvious answer that explains such a radical move..(more on that later..)

..my wondering/pondering on this was in conjunction with another examination of what obama has/has not done…

what brought this on..was that having published/linked to the earliest critiques of oama..(during the messianic-stage)..

..i now found myself running with the pack..on obama..

..and running with the pack makes me very very nervous..

..as the pack as usually way way behind the/any actual game..

so..i started looking at what obama has done..from a different perspective..and that proved to be somewhat revelatory..

the perspective i took was based on some givens:..

the first was the (prevously-noted) trainwreck destination…(unless radical plans are enacted..)

the second was the political ’smarts’ of obama..(and how he can not fail to see this..)

..the third was that those political smarts were earned in one of the most brutal/cynical political machines in america..

..the chicago/illinois democrat party-machine..

i then moved to the history of democrat administrations…and what has traditionally knobbled/castrated them..

..and all of this led me to the conclusion that obama is one smart cookie..who is playing a ‘long game’…

..and that we are now (only) just past the end of year one of that eight-year game-time/plan…

and let’s look at what obama has done/achieved in that year..

two of the power-blocs in america that have traditionally opposed democrat presidents..are the military-hawks/industrial-complex…

..and wall st/’the banks’..

..and (however wrongly implemented)..obama has silenced both..for the seeming duration of his presidency..

..however you argue the rights and wrongs of the wars…

..their engagement there takes the military-industrial complex (sorta) out of any serious oppositional role against obama..

..(they are ‘too busy’..as it were..)

and as for wall st/the banks..?

once again..however arguably ineptly executed..obama inherited the world that bush jnr left him..and had to stop the collapse of the global financial system..

and in that execution..the banks/wall st have been given enough greed/corruption-rope..to hang themselves..

..and hang themselves they have..

..(is anyone else surprised at the rapid changes in reputational-fortunes of the (former) ‘masters of the universe’..?

..from hero to below zero..in the snap of a crash..)

the banks/wall st/financial establishment have..given the ‘bank’ of hatred they have built up..

..totally disempowered themselves for the duration of obamas’-game..

..and are now low hanging fruit..unable to mount a single moral argument against serious regulatory-reforms of their industries..

..so..at the end of year one..of eight..obama has emasculated/castrated two of the traditional anti-democrat power-blocs..

..no mean feats..!..eh..?

and feats..i would submit..that only strengthen my long-game thesis…

so..what will obama do..?..to ’save’ the midterm elections..?

one plan he has up his sleeve is a green-stimulus package..

(he still has most of his stimulus-money left..so i think it is a no-brainer that a ‘grand green stimulus plan’ will be announced pre-midterm..)

the other move he will make will not be less ‘grand’..but perhaps less obvious..

which brings us back to that fannie mae/freddie mac item/news from earlier in the year..

..now..we all know that nothing happens for no reason..esp in the world of politics..

..so..my conclusion/prediction is that obama will use those govt. agencies as the vehicles for a radical defacto nationalisation of the american mortgage industry..

..one of the main criticisms of obama to date has been that everything has been done for wall st..

..and nothing for the struggling american working/middle classses…

so..any move..to have any hope of success..must directly answer/deflect those valid criticisms..

..so what obama will do..

..is that he will tell all of those americans facing foreclosure/losing their homes..

..that they will be able to transfer their mortgages to fannie mae/freddie mac..

..and re-negotiate those mortgages to reflect their straightened economic circumstances..

..and i see this as being somewhat of a ‘brilliant stroke’ by obama..

..for two reasons…

..he ends those ‘nothing for main st’ criticisms ..in a spectacular manner…(back to hero..from zero..)

..and the cherry on this cake..is that he need not go near the (possible roadblocks/spoilers) senate/congress for any approval..

..he can just tell fannie mae/freddy mac to ‘just do it’…

..and the answer to ‘why that piece in the nyt?’..

..is that that is/was just the preparing of the ground…

(and those who would scoff at any ‘nationalisation-idea’..

..should maybe ponder the fact that due to the govt taking over the assets of banks as they crash..

.that the american govt is already the largest real landlord/’owner’ of private property in america..

..expanding the roles of fannie/freddy in a ’saviour-deal’ is not that much of a step further..)

..obama the man..wants to be bigger than fdr/’the new deal’..

he still has seven years to achieve that in..

..and if the ‘long-game-thesis’ holds true..

..is firmly on-track..

(sorry..!..having started with a train-pun/metaphor..(i couldn’t resist returning there for a full-stop..eh..?..)

(here is the evidence..)

“.. There are three things I acknowledge, and accept that they exist, but which I have never been able, for the life of me, to get my head around. They have always remained far beyond my understanding, no matter how much I ponder them or how old I get.

The first is child abuse, paedophilia and cruelty to domestic animals; the second is male homosexuality; and the third is vegetarianism.

I have written often about child abuse and paedophilia, have touched on male homosexuality ..”..(heh..!..’touched on’..)

“.. but find it expedient these days simply to ignore such an infinitesimal minority, and every time I encounter a vegan or vegetarian (I’m told there’s a difference) I simply shake my head in wonder..”

(wot..?..’in wonder’ at how fit/healthy they are..?

as opposed/compared to one who has spent a long life ‘knecking’ animal bits/fats..such as yrself..?

..and where has it got you..?

..ripped off yr gear and looked in a mirror lately..?

do that..then go look at some vegans/vegetarians of yr advanced age..then get back to me..eh..?

(now..we have homophobia to explain georges’ mental-condition around homosexuality..

..but we don’t have (yet) a word to explain such a ‘mental-condition’ as george also has..

..his irrational/phobic attitudes to vegans/vegetarians..

..perhaps it is his role to be the stimulus for the creation of the appropriate labelling of this display of blatant ignorance..

..i mean..vege-phobia comes to mind..?

..but perhaps ’silly old bastard’ will have to fit for now..?

..eh..?

..garth..?..)

go to source/story>>Garth George: Animal cruelty the realm of psychopaths - Opinion - NZ Herald News

(it’s in paratai drive..didn’tyaknow..?..and he knocked over three houses..so his one would be big enough..eh..?..)

“..Mr Hotchin applied to the council in 2006 for resource consent to build on the 4322sq m section made up of three previous properties at 56 and 58 Paritai Drive and 4 Huriaro Place.

Paritai Drive is one of Auckland’s most exclusive streets, prized for its views of the Waitemata Harbour and proximity to the city..”

(and the house hotchin is able to ‘afford’..?..here are some specs..)

“..The Hotchin mansion

* Seven bedrooms, including art room and study on second floor.

* Theatre, games room, study, gym, living room, family room, kitchen, children’s room, various dining areas on ground floor.

* Garaging for 12 vehicles.

* Swimming pool.

* Tennis court and pavilion area.

* Minor dwelling on southern side of site.

* Land area 4322sq m…”

(i wonder how all those mum ‘n dad investors who trusted their life-savings to hotchin..are feeling about his new ‘digs’..eh..?..

and how many millions was that in special/directors-fees hotchin and watson ‘pulled’ from hanover..?..not that long before it crashed..?

all totally ‘legal’ of course..eh..?)

go to source/story>>Hotchin clear to exceed council building limits - National - NZ Herald News

“..Staff at Remarkables Primary School are set to adopt some remarkable job titles when it opens next year.

Teachers will be known as “expedition leaders” ..

.. while the school receptionist will become the “director of first impressions”.

Principal Debbie Dickson said the staff had been given titles that reflected the school philosophy of teaching and learning.

“Through our curriculum the children are going through learning pathways … and as learners there are many pathways –

- the expedition leaders guide them through that learning.

“The director of first impressions is Angela (Murray) ..

.. in the sense that she will greet most of the visitors into the school and so we wanted to give her that title.”

Head teachers Melissa Mitchell-Bain and Grant Hammond are to be “learning community leaders”, and will each oversee a group of four classrooms ..

.. known as a “learning pod”.

Job titles for Ms Dickson and deputy principal Sarah Graham are still being worked on.

It had not been decided whether pupils would address their expedition leaders using traditional honorifics or their first names.

“We need to talk about that as a whole staff. At the present time it is conventional names but it’s something we will discuss further ..

.. as we journey forward.”

(i dunno about you..but that last ‘journey forward’ has me screaming..and running head first into a wall..

and the thing is..that people like this actually talk like this..and are deadly serious about it..

..this never ceases to amaze me..and usually just leaves me at first gape-mouthed..

wit the next instinct being ..’run..!..run for your life..!’..)

go to source/story>>Remarkables School, remarkable titles | Stuff.co.nz

(this is a comment/response i just posted at (rightwing) kiwiblog..where a john ansell is trying to argue the brash-formula/plan..

ansell is a former national-supporter/now is an act-ite..

he was also the author of the racist iwi-kiwi meme from the 2005 election..)

“..# philu (7059) 0 0 Says:
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:00 am

“..The only party that’s ever had a plan is ACT, who took the trouble to The only party that’s ever had a plan is ACT, who took the trouble to cherry-pick the best-working policies from all round the world. If Brash’s policies looks similar, that’s why.

Would we rather he drew inspiration from the basket-case countries?..”

and..heh..!..number three..

“..cherry-pick the best-working policies from all round the world..”

here’s a thought..!

why not cherry-pick the ‘best’ working policies from those countries which self-evaluate as the ‘happiest’ countries in the world..?

wouldn’t that make some sense..?

but whaddaya know..!

those countries just happen to be those higher-taxing/higher social support/higher govt. spending as % of gdp..scandanavian countries..

y’know..!..where there are no underclasses for scum to exploit/demean/persecute/scapegoat on..eh..?

oh..!..guess what..!..those countries also come with low levels of crime/social unrest/child poverty etc..

hey..ansell..!..didyahear how the decades of your ‘wrong’ policies..(more on that later)..

have taken us to the top of the child poverty rates..?

we’re number one..!..we’re number one..!..noo zeeland..!

there’s a lot there to be proud of..

now..back to the ‘wrong’ policies..eh..?

you ansell..have obviously not yet seen the recant/mea culpa from allan greenspan..?

where he admits to a congressional inquiry..

that his life-long-held ‘freemarket’-beliefs..are..in his words..’wrong’..

and that those ‘wrong’ policies.. are what caused the american/global economies to implode..

i really think you need to go and see that mea culpa ..eh..?

and why don’t you take brash with you..?

eh..?

phil(whoar.co.nz)..”

go to source/story>>The 2025 taskforce recommendations | Kiwiblog

“..It’s fast getting to the point of saying if New Zealand wants to catch up with Australia .. it should get rid of the political middlemen and just apply to join the federation..”

(hmm..!..i find that rightwinger fran o’sullivan has come to the same conclusion i argued on kiwiblog yesterday..)

namely..that we are poland to australias’ european union..(she didn’t say that..i said that..)

..and that full economic union with australia..

..is the only way we will close the wage-gulf/’catch-up’..

and what is so wrong with that idea..?

i’m not tallking about losing our ‘identity’ as a nation..

i mean..poland..tho’ it has joined the european union..

is most definitely still poland..

so those who oppose such an idea on ‘nationalism’-grounds…

can still their fevered brows..eh..?

and maybe give the idea some reasoned consideration…?

and of course the ultimate irony here..is that don brash..in his fierce ‘freemarket-advocacy/policies..

..has always been a mini-me to the american freemarket-guru..allan greenspan..

yet what brash does not appear to have caught up with yet..

is the recent grilling greenspan received from a congressional committee..

where he admitted that in his over-arching economic worldview/long-held-beliefs/policies….

that he had been ‘wrong’..(the crash of ‘08 having poured that realisation over his head..)

maybe brash should get a copy of that ‘grilling’/mea culpa from greenspan..

..off that inter-webby thingy..

and take it along to the next act caucus meeting..

for a group viewing/conciousness-raising/political ‘lesson’..

eh..?

it wouldn’t hurt..eh..?

go to source/story>>Fran O’Sullivan : Key’s faux pas looking like Freudian slip - Business - NZ Herald News

(and..gossip has this task force was/is so ‘dry’..they had to have sprinklers playing on them the whole time..)

“..Prime Minister John Key says radical changes proposed in a report into ways to increase New Zealand’s productivity are unlikely to be implemented quickly, if at all.

The 2025 Taskforce - named for the date the Government aims to catch up with Australia - will today unveil its report.

Big cuts in top tax rates, cashing up the superannuation “Cullen Fund” to reduce government debt and a traffic congestion tax starting in Auckland are among the measures Don Brash’s taskforce has suggested to close the pay gap with Australia by 2025.

Mr Key said during the 1980s and 1990s New Zealand underwent radical economic reform while Australia took a more incremental approach.

The trans-Tasman neighbour was now in much better shape.

“In that regard I am not convinced that absolutely radical big bang reform is the right way to go,” Mr Key told Radio New Zealand.

“It would certainly have a dramatic effect on New Zealanders ..

.. and in the short term it would feel very much like we were pulling the rug out from underneath them.”

(i mean..what else did key expect this rightwing coven..headed by brash..to come up with..?..if not this tried/tired formulas for failure..?

was it all just a matter of giving brash a bit of an ‘earn’..?..

..something for him ‘to do’..?..

what a total wast of time/money that ‘task-force’ bullshit/exercise in irrelevancy was..

..eh..?..)

go to source/story>>Key cautious on radical economic reform plan - National - NZ Herald News

“..Young people thinking of hanging around on the dole can forget about it on her watch, says Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett.

She says that work is a vital part of a good life, and there’s no way she’s letting young people stay on the dole.

“You may not get your dream job, but you need to prove that you have other attributes.

Take the risks, show up early and convince someone you can give the job 100 per cent.

Suck it up, and do what you need to do to make a reasonable living and get ahead in life,” she told us in an interview at the Beehive.

Her rise from single mother on the benefit to minister with one of the biggest portfolios in government has been well documented ..

.. and she said during our interview with her that she has risen from washing dishes in a rest home to a quarter million a year “dream job”.

But her belief in young people and her hard truths about getting a job were very apparent in our interview.

We went into the interview with one goal in mind - to find out why youth unemployment is at its highest since 1994 (22 per cent of 15-19 year olds are unemployed)..

.. and most importantly, what the Government is doing about it..”

(um..!..aside from advising lip/mouth action…not a lot..!..

and of course..bennett has that cloak of irony about her..

she talks/praches about solo-mums/dads ‘getting ahead’..like her..

yet ..as one of her first tasks as minister..she scrapped the very education allowances she used to ‘get ahead’/qualified..

i guess the advice she would profer to them now is just to ’suck it up!’..also..

..eh..?..)

go to source/story>>The Job Tour: Paula Bennett’s ’suck it up’ advice - The Job Tour - NZ Herald News

what was promoted as being the biggest demo ..ever..

is perhaps the biggest fizzer..ever..

the herald is claiming 4-5,000 thousand marchers..

but it was 2,500-3,000 max..

so lets be generous and say 3,000..

(i mean..the marchers only filled one block of queen st..

as the tail crossed swanson st..the nose was entering the queen st/vic st intersection..

if that’s 5,000..i’ll eat my blog..)

i had some fun..baiting the scattered rightie crowd..

and is was a mish-mash of causes..

family first/sensible sentencing/the smackers..

and an interesting variety of placards..

from ‘john key is revoting’..

to ..’adam and eve is ok..not adam and steve’..

so..$500,000 divided by 3,000 = about $166 per marcher..

d’yareckon that guy who pissed a half a mill up against the wall on this..will be feeling a bit sick now..?

(update:..national radio is calling the march-numbers as 1,000..(!)

that means that guy..(who should now be curled in a foetal position..sobbing..)

spenf $500 for every marcher..

whoar..!..eh..?..)

go to source/story>>Thousands join ‘March for Democracy’ - National - NZ Herald News

(this news report sums up where hone stands now..)

“..Hone Harawira will spend the next fortnight with family and supporters back home before deciding whether to call the Maori Party’s bluff.

Co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples made it clear yesterday that there was little prospect of the maverick MP rehabilitating himself and the party was “moving on”.

Asked whether the party could still work with Mr Harawira if he promised to mend his ways, Mrs Turia responded: “I don’t think Hone is likely to change.”

MPs are due back in Parliament next week after a two-week recess, but Mr Harawira has been given two weeks’ leave to consult his electorate.

He has been asked to quit or face being pushed after an expletive-filled outburst over a public backlash to his unscheduled trip to Paris.

But sources suggested a challenge over the party’s actions as a breach of its constitution was possible .. indicating that Mr Harawira may call its bluff.

Dr Sharples made it clear yesterday that Mr Harawira was damaging the party, after his outburst accusing “white motherf…ers” of “raping our lands and ripping us off for centuries” stirred up a race relations hornet’s nest.

“We’re having difficulty controlling him, let’s be straight up about that,” Dr Sharples said.

“Tariana has had 600 emails as a response to the email Hone sent. I’ve had hundreds as well. Quite clearly there is concern about his behaviour.”

Mr Harawira could either remain in Parliament as an independent, or quit Parliament altogether, forcing a by-election.

He was keeping his head down yesterday and refused to comment..”

now..it is somewhat clear that harawira is being given the bums’ rush..

and let’s be clear here..

this is not about a paris trip..nor his demand for summary justice for goff/labour over the foreshore and seabed debacle..

this is the power struggle between turia and harawira coming to a head..

driven by the outspoken (private) opposition from harawira to what he sees as the maori party selling out to national..

and supporting legislation that is hurting maori..

(and..yahaftasay..he does have a point..)

now..harawira may be nurturing rejection-wounds at the moment..

..but he would be wise to see this as an opportunity..

as it stands..he has three options..

he can try to stay in the maori party..and fight his dismissal on constitutional grounds..

he can resign from the maori party..and stand as an independant..

or he can resign..and have a bye-election..

if he chooses the first option..and after a ‘messy’ battle..wins..what is he left with..?

the old problems won’t have gone away..and in fact will be compounded..

(both on the personal and political levels..)

the second option means he will be isolated..

and will have to fight the battle to retain the seat..in the general meelee of a general election..

where he/the fight will be a sideshow..

or he can chose to have that fight now..

which is the third option..

harawira should call their bluff/force a bye-election..now..

he can set up his new party..get a list together..and go for it..in a battle that will receive centre-stage attention from the media..

and when ..as expected by all..he wins..he will be the leader of a new political party..

(with all the attendant funding/infrastructure support..

and well set up to fight the next general election..)

what’s not to like about all that..?

and who should he have as number two on his new party list..?

(with a guaranteed co-leader slot..?)

how about sue bradford…?

between them they have at their hands the tools to set up a new..entirely viable centre-left party..

focussing on those who have been so studiously ignored by both national and labour..

and yes..of course that includes maori..

.but not only maori..

bradford would bring the disaffected left from the labour movement with her..

and together they would form a powerful new force/voice..

..for the empowering of the disempowered..

(and this new party will have the ’security’ of that northern maori seat..as their power-base)

as i said..what’s not to like about all that..?

and really..

that is the best option for both hone harawira..

..and those he seeks to represent/fight for..

go to source/story>>Final countdown for Harawira | Stuff.co.nz

why is nobody talking about the sub-text/’real’ story around this harawira/maori party brouhaha..?

namely..that harawira..for some time..has been complaining long and hard about what he sees as the maori party selling out to a rightwing national government..

and given how harawira calls a spade a spade..

you can bet he has been beating the ears of sharples/turia et.al..

and this is what any ’split’ will be over..

not that paris holiday..

and not his jibe at goff..

and i still reckon harawira and sue bradford should team up in a new ‘workers/battlers-party’..

harawira will win his northern maori seat…(and so get to bring in bradford/a team of mp’s ..on his coat-tails..)

it’s a natural mix..bradford/harawira..

their politics mesh well..

they would each bring their own constituency..

hard to see how they would not get both the northern maori seat…and crack 5%..

the cherry on the cake is that they are both from kaitaia/the north..

(i don’t know anything of any personality-issues between the two..)

but to me..on a purely political level..

it’s a no-brainer..

and boy..!..are they/a workers/battlers-party ‘needed’..!

(especially in the north..)

currently all the political parties…are squabbling over that ‘centre-ground..

with even the greens announcing their intentions to squat..

so there is a vacuum there..

a vacuum that could be filled..

and of course..such a party would not have just appeal in the north..

they would have a nation-wide constituency..

one news is reporting this..

and my idea of a new left wing party..

led by hone and sue bradford..

would/could be a step closer..

jeanette fitzsimons was just on national radio..

announcing the trial-separation/partial-divorce from national..

and she threatened/promised more vigorous anti-govt agitation from the greens…

this is to be welcomed..

tho’ she was asked a pertinent question..

as in..’why not have a full divorce..?’

she cited areas that are still ‘working’..

as the reasons not to..

namely..the house insulation program..

..and the cycleway..

now..correct me if i’m wrong..

but should the greens call in the lawyers..for the property division..

that national would not can the housing insulation program..

and that program will always be known as a fitzsimons/green party initiative..

full divorce..or not..

so..?

the other reason given..is the cycleway..

while yes..the greens will always support it/the concept..

but this cycleway is clearly a key/national initiative..

not a green party one..

so..once again..’so?’..

it seems to me..purely on a political science level..

that there is very little/s.f.a. reason for the greens not to go for that full divorce..

and to emerge as the loud/urgent/agitating opposition party..

..that they must become..

..surely..?

gee..!..rodney hide had better dig deep for a xmas present for hone..eh..?

harawira has done hide the big favor of pulling public attention away from his trough-wallowing..

and why all the fuss..?

had harawira stood up..in an official capacity..and made a public speech..using these same words..

well then the firestorm reaction could maybe be understood..

but this was a private email..to an old rival in that murky/byzantine/tribal world that is maori politics..

(with both these main players having a long ‘history’..)

and what did he say..?

historically he is correct..

maori were raped/kiled/had their land stolen..

..(by ‘white motherfuckers’..)

n.b..the use of the word mo’fo’ as a curse/insult is far more complex that the literal meaning..

as when calling a person a bastard..where there is no real literal insult meant..(as in birth outside wedlock)..

it is a more generic/all-encompassing word..hinting/accusing a general standard of bastardry..in all areas of the recipients life..

so it is with the (american/imported) insult mo’fo’..

the issuer of said insult..is not actually alleging sexual congress between the recipient..and his mother..

once again..it is another version of ‘bastard’..

so..let’s just stop this ‘defending the mothers of the nation’ bullshit/reason to attack harawira..

so..back to what harawira said..

he is only doing (inadvertantly) an updated version of ripping the scab from the myth of new zaland being the land of ‘racial harmony’..

with our ‘natives’ happy with their lot..

(interesting how on a comments thread at the rightwng blog kiwiblog..i went up against the extreme right screamers..who were emoting on this one..

..and even they had to admit that ‘no..he isn’t actually wrong’ in his historical descriptions..

they were (apparantly) just objecting to him breaking the uneasy silence around race/our history..(!)..and talking about it/pointing it out..(!))

and harawira was just saying what most maori think/say..

that they were well and truly screwed over by these white ‘bastards’..

now..i am pakeha new zealander..and no..i am not wracked with guilt over the actions of other pakeha in their colonisation of this country/subjugation of maori..

and i feel absolutely no slur against me..from harawiras’ pub-talk-email..

but were i maori..of course i would be pissed at how ‘my people’ were treated/had attempted genocide inflicted on them..

(harawira spoke of his anger at white soldiers killing maori children..and it was difficult not to empathise with him..)

and of course many many of these historical wrongs have not been acknowledged..let alone compensated for..

so..what’s the beef people..?

harawira..in a private email..had a squabble/traded-insults with a political rival..

(who rushed to the press..obviously as another ploy in his rivalry with harawira..)

and like pavlovs dogs at the ringing of the bell..

they..and almost everyone else..have turned into a pack of barking dogs..

get a grip people..!

this is an absolute joke..!

harawira is expected to apologise today..for saying what he fervently believes..(and history confirms..)

namely that the history of colonisation is the history of white new zealanders screwing over maori..

(how can that be denied..?..)

and what words will harawira use to ‘apologise’ for what he knows is a fact..?

as i said..irt will be ‘meaningless’..

which brings us to rodney hide..and his apology..

and anyone with half a brain knows that hide is only ’sorry’/apologising..

‘cos of the public furore over his troughing/lapse…

hide was clear up untill his apology-u-turn..

..that he was going to ‘tough it out’..

(now..let me guess here..?)

d’yareckon it could be the case that feedback from the epsom electorate..

..has told act that hide could lose their lifeline-seat over this..?

and losing epsom means losing act..?

that is what rodney hide was apologising for..

he wasn’t apologising ‘cos he’s sorry..

he was apologising out of ‘fear’..(once again..in the apology-stakes..’meaningless’..)

and the one thing you can bank on..

is that harawira will not be issuing his faux-apology out of ‘fear’..

so..why..?.

and what will it really mean..?

go to source/story>>Harmony hangs on Harawira apology | Stuff.co.nz

“..A top academic has told the government its controversial national standards system could be a disaster ..

.. warning it to block league tables, prevent teachers playing “devious games” with marking ..

.. and be prepared to dump the policy if it does not work.

Professor John Hattie of Auckland University predicts that even with the changes he recommends, the system – a key National policy –

- will do little to raise student achievement..”

( um..!..correct me if i’m wrong here..but surely the object of the exercise would be more than to ‘do little to raise student achievement’..?)

“My terror is that if we go down the wrong pathway, it will fail,” Hattie told the Sunday Star-Times..”

(that’s the academic/expert..)

“..Education Minister Anne Tolley says she has had several conversations with Hattie about his concerns ..

.. and the pair agree on some issues but disagree on others..”

(as in the academic /expert says it won’t work..)

“We both acknowledge that this is a momentous moment in time, if you like .. and that it can go ether way.”

(it can ‘go either way’..?..’scuse me..?..

dos anyone else get the feeling we are being experimented on ..?..again..?

and all in the name of some half-arsed/populism-driven national party ideology..?

haven’t we been here before..?..)

“..The controversial national standards system will go live next year, when teachers will start measuring all primary and intermediate school children against set national targets in reading, writing and mathematics.

Parents will be sent charts and clearly written reports showing their children’s progress and, from 2012 ..

.. schools will start to feed their results to the Education Ministry.

Prime Minister John Key has credited Hattie, a highly influential education expert who is often called in to advise officials on education matters, with inspiring the system.

But today Hattie is going public with a critical discussion paper – which he says is a to-do list rather than an attack on the system.

The paper warns that although the national standards system could be a “wonderful opportunity” it:

Could be the most disastrous education policy ever formulated.

Will only barely raise student achievement, if at all.

Could “pervert the nature of teaching” by pitting schools and teachers against one another.

Hattie also writes that the standards themselves – the targets students will be measured against – are “untested and experimental” ..

.. and need to be drawn up based on evidence .. not committees..”

(now..that all sounds ‘fair enough’..as expert/academic-advice..eh..?

but no..the minister is refusing to accept this advice..from her expert..

and who is credited with being the ‘inspiration’ for this half-arsed plan..?..(sheesh..!..)

“..Tolley responds: “It’s been based on a great deal of national and international data…

.. It’s not as if a group of people just sat down and put them together.”

(um..!..to the casual observer..that would appear to be exactly what has happened..

and..y’know what..?..i reckon i’m with the academic/expert on this one..

and the thing is..y’see..this ‘plan’ has been tried elsewhere..in britain..

where it is denigrated as a total disaster..

turning the whol education process into a passing exams exercise..)

go to source/story>>National standards ‘disaster’ feared - national | Stuff.co.nz

(rightwing commenter farrar has suggested a ‘boy-crush’ on the part of george..?.and that he would probably like four white bulls to be sacrificed to key..each year..

and i would like to add the context of georges’ other recent media appearances..and the contents of his mind..)

garth george was on the panel on nat-rad the other day..

part of the format of the show..is where the host asks the panellists ‘what’s on your mind..?’

(which you’d think guests would be prepared for..eh..?..this is the bit where ‘they earn their pay’..as it were..)

but for the second time in a row…george just blew the host off..

the time before he had answered with ‘hair’….as being what is on his mind..

thereby leaving host hanging..(’dead-air-alert!’..)

(he also on that occaison proclaimed loudly/proudly..

that since 9/11…he had watched read no other news..save for the hour and a half he spends each day reading the front section of the herald..(!)

(he must be quite a slow reader..eh..?..)

this time his answer was simple and to the point..

‘nothing’..

(he did a sorta mumbled follow-up about age meaning there was nothing in his head..)

this time the host was more prepared..and moved quickly to the other guest..

now..i tell you all this..’cos i am amazed by the proud/willfull ignorance of ‘what is happening’..of the george..

i found his dropping the nat-rad host in the water..twice in a row..’funny’ in a radio ‘do’s and don’ts kinda way..

and that we really must consider the source of this hymn of praise to key..

(and yep..!..’boy-crush’ is pretty much on the money..)

this evaluation/praise is coming from a mind..steeped (for many years) in (only) the front section of the herald..

and that contains..(in the words of the owner..’cos of age’..)..

..’nothing’…

go to source/story>>Garth George: We should all salute our wonderful PM - National - NZ Herald News

(i posted this comment at (rightwing) kiwiblog..)

a major reason why key is still popular..

..is because the mainstream media are once again proving to be an abject failure in their reporting/warning of the realities that we face..

it is just the same as the run-up to the election..

where..in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary..

the mainstream media..to a man/woman..just parrotted the line of bullshit run by all the main parties..

that ‘the recession will be over after xmas’…

remember that..?

how everyone was in lock-step..

and here..now..one year later..we have them doing the same thing all over again..

this time peddling the ‘reassure-the-punters-myth’..

that once again..’the recession is over’..

reality check:..it is just beginning..this ‘great recession’..

and i know their are conscious efforts to ignore the many warnings/analysis i post on whoar..

but f.f.s..!

has anyone in the media got a fucken functioning brain..?

do they fucken read/investigate anymore than parroting press-releases..?

a particularly telling/potent moment in the validectory speech from bradford..

was where she looked over at national..and openly laughed at any possible beliefs in ‘green shoots’ in the economy..

she was adamant a major crash is coming/in process..

and really..all this happy-clappy/recession-is-over bullshit..

is just that..

and come twelve months from now..

i’ll bet ‘a pound to a pinch of rightwing bullshit’..

that the tenor/tone of the ’round-ups’..then..

will be the direct opposite of this ’sunny-side-up’ coin..

i had the privilege today of attending a green party forum on their c.o.o.l.-campaign..

(country of origin labelling..)

(now..i should issue a disclaimer here..in that i think that putting scarce energies/resources into this ‘issue’..given what we are facing..

..is just a latter re-mix of re-arranging deckchairs on the titanic..

..and i could come up with a priority to-do list that would have country of origin labelling ..way way down the bottom..

so do keep that in mind…it will help explain my acerbic take on the whole business/affair..

i confess i was there ‘cos of the list of speakers…)

gareth morgan kicked it off..

and in his impassioned speech..he didn’t mention the topic at hand..but issued a message emphasising the urgencies..

of dealing with all the nasty shit coming our way..

morgan seems to be getting very angry…at the feet-dragging of the major players..

..and this is good..

‘cos people listen to him..

and he is saying what needs to be said..

(if anything..he could ratchet-up the rhetoric even more..the circumstances certainly call for it..)

a questioner after his speech…tried to bring him back to the subject to hand…

and he was blunt in his dismissal of this campaign really meaning much of anything..

saying it is far more important to focus on the conditions any food is grown in..

rather than any country of origin..

he also pointed out what others also referred to..

namely that even our own country of origin labelled exports..often contain imported ingredients..

an example offered by another..is that watties baked beans…are offered as ‘proudly new zealand’ in origin..

but the beans are imported..(!)..(they just mix up the sauce here..and that probably also from ‘imported ingredients’..)

(morgan had to leave early..and bailed out soon after..)

and i have to say..the expressions on the faces of kedgely..and the event organisers..

..when morgan dropped this bomb..

was ‘a moment to behold’..’treasure’ even..

sue chetwin from the consumers institute also spoke..

and my question for her had to wait untill the end..

and it was…

that i am puzzled by the fact that for anyone to access the reports they do on consumer items..

a (healthy-sized) subscription fee must be paid..(!)

i pointed out to her..that those most in need of her services/advice in product ranking..the poor..

..are unable to access this information..

(am i the only one to think there is something really seriously out of whack about that..?..)

chetwin had no answer..

there were other speakers..

but the other one i had come to see/hear..was the head of the pig-farmers/producers association..

and the grinding sound from the back of the room that was my teeth..started soon into his speech..

he echoed the calls of other speakers..to only buy local pork..not imported pork..

he then..somewhat off-handedly..referred to ‘that animal welfare issue from a while back’..

and noted he had sorted it by sending out welfare-guidelines to all the pig farmers..

he then left the subject..and continued in his riff..

of ‘foregn pork bad..local pork good!’..

so..my question to him..(which caused some consternation in the room..i must say..

one person came up after and said ‘good question’..and i got nods/winks/smiles from a couple of others..

but in general..the punters weren’t happy..)

was to ask him was he aware of the ironies inherent in much of this imported-pig being farmed in far better conditions than the animals here.?.

he started banging on about america having no animal welfare standards..

i tried to bring him back here..by asking if we could have a look at this new document/rules he has sent to all farmers..?

and ‘is it voluntary or compulsory?’..

he then said it wasn’t new..was just the current regime/rules…(an oxymoron ..?..surely..?..’animal welfare guidelines’..?..)

and that he/they are ‘waiting on the government’

so i asked..’so..no pigs in new zealand are one iota better off than they were when mike king went into that piggery..?..with the cameras..

your industry has made no voluntary moves..?..”

he didn’t get a chance to answer..as the person compering the event butted in and closed me down..

(wither free speech..?..eh..?..)

another questioner attempted to point out similar anomalies in their master-plan for country of origin labelling..

but was also closed down by the compere..(also..like me..at the urgings of kedgely)..

and what was really ‘unsettling’ about this ‘do’…

(wasn’t so much kedgely et.al. being ‘upset’ by morgans’ abrupt dismissal of the worth of the task under discussion..

and the hard/awkward questions at the end..

it was that blind devotion kedgely et.al have to their task at hand..

(something kedgely said she ‘has been working on for ten years!’..

..i wasn’t sure why that deserved the round of applause she received ..)

and that devotion .. blinding them to what they really should be focussed/working on..

which i really don’t need to list..

eh..?

(i haven’t said much about this here..but i have been quite voluble in other places..

i’m linking you to a comments thread at frogblog..from yesterday..where..over a series of comments/answers to others..

..i manage to articulate most of what i feel..

so..if interested..

(here is one of the comments..)

really valis..well..i am neither national nor labour..

but have watched gape-mouthed as the green party first burnt off nandor..

..and now sue…

two of the most widely-respected/charismatic/able-political-operators ..

‘leaders’ in anyones’ terms/definitions..

and the meme against both was a very well organised whispering campaign..

..along the lines of how they ’scare the horses/punters/’middle’ new zealanders’..

(and yes i am aware of the irony of bradford being hoisted on her own petard..a little further down the track..given her uber-efficient campainging for norman..against nandor..

.more fool her..for that..)

and that the alternate candidate-package ..first norman..them turei..

..would be more ‘appealing’ to that amorphous middle ground the green party seems (puzzlingly) to strive for ‘approval’ from….

and for the most shallow/facile/cosmetic of other reasons…

..you swapped proven/able political co-leaders..

(who now..would be kicking arse..)

for..(to date)..???

so valis..your shallow/defensive sneer to one side..eh..?

‘cos really..the green party leadership look to be well on the way to setting new benchmarks..

in winning battles..but losing wars..

(and what’s with that ‘young’ thing..

do you really think young thinking people wouldn’t have voted for nandor/sue..’cos of their ages..?

if you do..?..whoar..!..eh..?

once again..’shallow/facile’..(projected)..

(i’ll never forget the telly-moment when scribe..told newsreader peter williams..that as far as street-cred-news-dude status in sth auckland..is concerned..

that he..straight/old/cardiganed/golf-playing peter williams..

is ‘the man’..

y’know..!

it’s not what theuy look like..how old they are..

it is what they say/do..

(do i really have to tell you that..?

are you all really that far ‘off course’..?

phil(whoar.co.nz)

go to source/story>>General Debate, September 28, 2009 | frogblog

“..It was within the rules’ are dangerous words for MPs to rely on.

They are the same words MP used initially in the United Kingdom.

The problem with that line of defence is many voters don’t care about the rules – because MPs set the rules.

Bill English must be ruing the day he turned down an offer of the Bolton Street property owned by Ministerial Services.

It is a huge house, far bigger and more expensive than his current residence.

From memory it has seven bedrooms or so, and was in fact the House he had as a Minister in the late 1990s.

If the Finance Minister had accepted this House (and as Deputy Prime Minister he gets first choice of Ministerial properties – normally he would be offered Vogel House..

.. but the Governor-General is squatting there while Government House is renovated) he would have never had the problems, or criticism, he has been facing.

But by staying in his current house owned by his family trust, and having Ministerial Services rent it from the trust, he has fallen foul of the old maxim that perception is more important than reality in politics.

That is why he reduced the rental payments in half to the level a backbench MP qualifies for.

However in politics, it is not the big things they hang you for.

It is the small things.

The undoing of Tuku Morgan wasn’t the millions of dollars spent on Aotearoa Television, but the $89 spent on a pair of underpants.

Likewise, the Finance Minister has suffered additional damage from the news story that someone from his household asked Ministerial Services, aka the taxpayer, for an additional $20 a week to cover cleaning.

The automatic reaction of most people is to think you’re being greedy to ask for that, on top of the $200,000+ salary and the free house.

You don’t get kudos for giving back $24,000 a year –

- but you get mocked for asking for $20 a week..”

(my problem with farrars’ piece is that he is ignoring the elephant in the room..

the fact that the very eligiblity of english ..to even qualify for ten years of ‘away-from-home-allowance is studiously ignored by farrar..

and given that what disqualifies from eligiblity .. english has in spades..

i am puzzled by farrars’ non-mention of theses facts..

namely:

if you spend most of your time in wellington..

if your wife lives with you in wellington..

if your wife works in wellington..

if your children live with you in wellington..

if your children go to school in wellington..

these all disqualify you from any out-of-town allowance..

and these facts all pertain to bill english..

this is the ’story’ in this story…

and is what will see the end of english as finance minister..

(which the far-right in national will delight over..but that’s another story..)

go to source/story>>David Farrar: It was within the rules | The National Business Review - New Zealand - business, markets, finance, politics, property, technology and more

(english is claiming that something that looks like a duck..walks like a duck..quacks like a duck..isn’t a duck…

and key has pushed english into the position of providing ‘assurance’ that it ain’t a duck..

so..should it turn out to be a duck..?

english would have to walk…

prime ministers get upset about being lied to..

and key is also totally covering his arse…

and has opened a definite option for him to ask english to walk”..

..by this public declaration on his seeking ‘assurance’ from english..

that that quacking noise coming from his direction..

is actually the billing/cooing of a pidgeon…

whereas..in reality..key is just lining english up to be his ‘pidgeon’..

and really..!..i reckon key’ll be glad to be rid of the person who stands just behind him..

smirking..and pretending it is really him who is ‘running the show’..eh.?

“..Prime Minister John Key is standing by deputy Bill English as questions mount over the way he qualified for a $700-a-week accommodation perk.

Mr Key revealed yesterday that he had received assurances from Mr English that his affairs had not been rearranged in order to qualify for the weekly rental,

.. which is about double what he received as a backbencher.

“He’s given me an assurance that’s not the case .. and I accept him at his word,” Mr Key said.

The assurance was given about the time that officials brought questions to Mr Key’s office ..

.. over whether Mr English could have his rent paid while remaining in his family home, which he bought with wife Mary in 2003.

In March this year, the title on the $1.2 million Karori property was transferred to his wife alone.

Ministerial Services leased the property through a family trust, the Endeavour Trust.

Mr English signed a declaration in February that he had no beneficial interest in the Endeavour Trust.

Mr Key confirmed that Mr English’s situation had been brought to his attention after officials raised it with his office, though “not immediately”.

“The advice I was given was that he fully complied with all the rules that were required to be met.”

Asked if it was credible that Mr English had no pecuniary interest in the house he had lived in with his family since 2003, Mr Key responded:..

.. “That’s the legal test and that’s absolutely correct.”

Mr English declared a beneficial interest in the Endeavour Trust in the 2008 register of pecuniary interests ..

.. but he has since confirmed changes in the trustee arrangements for “personal and family reasons”.

He has given an assurance that the change was not related to qualifying for parliamentary allowances .. and was done while he was an opposition MP.

A spokesman said yesterday that Mr English “absolutely” stood by that assurance.

He said Mr English would not answer further questions..”

(see what i mean about looks/walks/talks like a duck..?..

and keys’ qualification..?..”..and I accept him at his word..”

that clicking sound you just heard ..was a gun being loaded…

as the conchords would say….”it’s english ..it’s english time!”..)

go to source/story>>PM defends English home vow - politics - national | Stuff.co.nz

(editors note:..i have tried to ask mallard about this on the labour party blog..’red alert’..but there..mallard runs a benchmark in high degree of censorship..

so this is a question i posed to him when he stuck his head up at the rightwing blog..’kiwiblog’..

the rest is self-explanatory..)

“..# philu (5657) 0 0 Says:
September 9th, 2009 at 10:53 am

“..Trevor Mallard (137) Vote: Add rating 1 Subtract rating 4 Says:
September 9th, 2009 at 9:25 am ..”

ah..!..mr mallard..on a general thread..

a few questions for you..?

how are you and the rest of labour feeling about your time in power…given the release by the oecd of our child poverty statistics..?

(i know..from my short visit to your (benchmark in censoring) blog..red alert…that you will not countenance such questions there..

and instantly erase them..and will allow no comments of that ilk/subject..

..but..here..?)

it is really a subject you may well want to avoid..given as yr letterhead reads ‘labour’..eh..?

and these statistics could not be more of an indictment of your failures..

of your turning your backs on..and demonising along the way…the poorest/most struggling in new zealand..

how do you feel the founders of your party would feel about this/you/your record..?

how..since the 1980’s ‘greed-revolution’..you have effected policies to further widen the chasm between the ‘haves’..(you)..and the have-nots..

with this perhaps reaching its’ peak with your establishment of two classes of families..the ‘deserving-families’…and the ‘un-deserving-famiilies’..

the ‘deserving-families’..we were urged to shed tears over…(as they struggled on seventy grand a year..) ..

..in the campaign to introduce ‘working for families’..(what a blackly-ironic title that one is..eh..?..a ‘wicked’ sense of humour there..?..eh…?)

whereas the ‘undeserving families’..sole parents on 15 grand a year..the sick..the invalids..the unemployed..

they all got nothing..those families..’cos they are all ‘undeserving families’..eh..?

you should be prostrate in fucken shame..!

begging forgiveness..!

not strutting around like a chimpanzee with a fucken hard-on..

eh..?

phil(whoar.co.nz)..”

go to source/story>>General Debate 9 September 2009 | Kiwiblog

..rodney hide would not have walked from his quarter of a million dollar job..

..so he already knew the deal was done..

..when he issued his (posturing) threat..

sharples was just on nat-rad..

..and he was talking like a man staring defeat in the face..

..and he said that he was not threatening to throw his toys..and walk..

..but that decisions on that would be made after any decision on maori representation was made..

..if hide was hoping to hive the maori party away from national..

..(and thus make himself/act support essential/crucial..to key..)

..he would appear to have succeeded..

..if key just turns his back on these maori aspirations..

..he can kiss the maori party/maori support .. goodbye..

..(wither ‘mana/respect’..?..eh..?..when push comes to shove..

and hey..!..maori have been here before..eh..?

..this is a well-trodden path for them..)

and that moving away of the maori party will make the political picture more interesting..

..and could well lead to this govt. lurching further to the right..

..and key is silly really..w.t.f. can act..on 1%..bring to him/give him..in the long term..?

(..as opposed to a close relationship with the maori party/maori..)

..of course..if the destruction of the maori party is the ultimate end/game.

..(and why wouldn’t it be..?..).

..that is also moving along apace..

..an empty-handeded maori party…(save some ‘token’ gestures)..

..will guarantee maori party voters return in droves to labour..

..and this could well see the maori party wiped out..

“..The Cabinet is expected to reject Maori seats on the Auckland Super City council today.

This follows a week marked by disquiet within National, and Act leader Rodney Hide admitting he had told Prime Minister John Key he would resign as Minister of Local Government rather than have his name on legislation introducing the seats.

Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples and Mr Hide will present a joint paper pleading their cases when the Cabinet discusses the issue today.

Dr Sharples is expected to argue for at least two Maori seats and Mr Hide for none.

Although Dr Sharples has watered down his initial proposal..

.. the Cabinet is expected to stand by its initial reaction to the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance’s recommendations..

.. and not include Maori seats..”

(this deal is already ‘done’..and the maori party are the ones getting screwed..

how do we know..?

‘cos there was no way hide would have given up his quarter mill a year job..

hide knew he had won..before he made his (posturing) ‘threat’ to resign..

had he not known..there would have been no threat from hide..)

go to source/story>>Cabinet meeting tipped to back Hide and rebuff Sharples - National - NZ Herald News

(this one had my jaw-dropping..

carter reckons everyone is pissed at his spending a quatrer of a mill..on ‘expenses’..’cos he’s gay…(!)

um..!..chris..!..really..!..it’s all about the money..!..eh..?

and on a strategic-level..?..(just a word in yer ear..)..this was not a good time to play the ‘gay-persecution’ card..eh..?

in fact..you couldn’t really have picked a worse time…to play that card..

you doing this..combined with the (so strong you could bottle it) arrogance/entitlement from lockwood smith..yesterday..

(”no..i am not going to tell you how much mp’s spend on tax-payer-funded private holidays..it would put too much stress on their families’..)..(!)..w.t.f..!

you have both guaranteed a fresh whirlwind of voter/media-rage..

..and helped seal your own political fate..

(i’d stick some wet-weather gear on..if i was you..eh..?

it’s gonna get real stormy..eh..?..)

“..Labour MP Chris Carter believes he has received more attention over his travel costs and spousal travel because he is gay, implying the news media have a prurient interest in him.

“Why was there no interest in any other minister taking their partner with them, only me?

Why should that be?” he said yesterday.

“The only conclusion that I can draw from that is it’s because I’m gay..

.. and that if I was a heterosexual minister taking my husband or wife with me, it would be of no interest.”

(i repeat..mr carter…it is ‘all about the money’…not who you share yr bed with..eh..?..)

and another repeat-prediction:..chris carter ‘will not stand’ at the next election..

..he has just made himself poster-boy for troughing/gouging mp’s..gay division..

(hetero’s to follow..)

and he may not now it yet..

but he is dead-man walking..

go to source/story>>Carter: Fuss on costs ‘because I’m gay’ - National - NZ Herald News

did anyone see lockwood smith on q&a..?..excusing/covering-up for the troughing politician culture..?

whoar..!

was he out of touch with what 90% of people out here think..?

(as in..a pox on all their houses..!..)

..or what..?

his only answers/excuses was to compare mp’s salaries+ expenses..with how much holmes earns..(!)

..and that oh!..he will not be telling us how much mp’s are spending on taxpayer-funded private holidays..(!)

(have we got ‘news’ for him..?..eh..?..)

the reason he gave..was that it ‘would be too hard on their families’..(w.t.f..!..)

..and he maintained his famous ‘there ! there !-grin/smile..

but by the end of the interview..his face was in a state of pure rictus..

..(and ..later..holmes was almost rubbing his hands in glee…at the mp’s rorts..yet/still to come to light..

..as they will..as they will..)

..this story has legs that stretch all the way to the next election..

..and like in britain..where a lot of the old guard-mp’s..their rorts ended..are bailing out/not standing again..

so here we will also see a raft of older mp’s decide not to stand..

..at the next election..

..either from being unable to answer voters concerns/questions..(c.f..chris carter..)

..to those who will realise the gravy train is pulling into the station..

..and staying there..

..for extensive renovation..

..and yagottaluv the ‘defense-phrase-du-jour’..

..’we aren’t as bad as england..nobody has had any moats cleaned.”.)

no..mp’s just spend a quarter of a mill..

..swanning off to ..on ‘private holidays’.. and view moats..

..dragging all these facts out about the individual rorts/abuses..

..will be like pulling wisdom teeth..

..and the screams will be loud and long..

..but out they must come..

..and out they must go..

“..Oh, how wrong they were.

If there’s one overarching truth of the financial crisis..

.. it’s that the world’s most powerful business leaders, investors and politicians were so flat-out, unarguably wrong about the severity of the crash ..

.. and its causes.

The harrowing market plunge of last fall seemed to catch a nearly every prominent public figure off guard.

Of course, this created some memorable and ludicrously wrong predictions..

.. prognostications and all too rosy expressions of faith in the American economy ..

..(In fact, “fundamentally sound” became something of a go-to phrase in 2008.)

In the interest of looking back, we’ve compiled some of the worst calls of the financial crisis: ..

..Ben Bernanke’s famous dismissal of the subprime problem..

.. a few glaringly bad statements about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ..

.. and, of course, a Jim Cramer classic..”

(and..of course..here..we have those intermittant ‘turns’ from the govrnor of the reseve bank..

..when he goes “yoo-hoo..!..the recession will be over by/in (fill in yr own date..)”

..with out our political leaders..in the run-up to last years’ election ..despite knowing how bad it was/is..(esp. globally..)

..just parrotting out their joint ‘there there!’s..the recession will b over soon…!”

..(smoothing our pillows..eh..?)

..then..of course..there are our local ‘financial-experts’..eh..?

..shall we join hands..?..and have a good laugh…?

..it beats crying..!

go to source/story>>The 10 Worst Calls Of The Financial Crisis (PHOTOS)

(oh really..!..surely that one makes the shortlist for ‘most-fatuous-excuse-by-a-politician award’..)

..Revealing how much MPs are costing taxpayers for their subsidised private international travel would put too much stress on their spouses and marriages, says Speaker Lockwood Smith.

“I will hold that line very, very forcefully,” he said.

Asked how information on private international travel would put pressure on marriages, Dr Smith said: ..

..”Because it makes spouses feel immediately, ‘I shouldn’t go’.

It is that simple, and that’s wrong.”

He said that since other information was released last week on individual MPs’ spending, spouses and families had been feeling stressed, and spouses particularly about being with their MP partner.

“We always knew the risk of it happening but I am troubled at the extent that it is happening.

Believe me, spouses are already feeling the pressure, and that’s not fair.”

(’fair’..he is using the ‘fair-defence..?

whoar..!..eh..?..

d’yareckon we are stupid enough..to swallow that one..?

..i don’t..

..but this one will go on the ‘best/worst excuses for gouging’ list..

..up there with englishs’ anguished cry/wriggle/maude flanders impersonation..

..of ‘won’t someone think of the children..!’..”

go to source/story>>Smith: Revealing travel costs would stress MPs’ partners - Politics - NZ Herald News

how will we/the nation stop from cracking up in cynical laughter..

..should at anytime between now and the next election..

..english rise to his feet..

..and preach fiscal restraint/belt-tightening..?

..the man has become a joke..conjoined at the troughing/gouging hip with his ideological twin..

..roger (’it’s my holiday..and i’ll go if i want to..!’) douglas..

..what will happen here..is what is/has happened in england..

..in that the historical gouging will all be exposed..

..and a lot of current political ‘faces’..

..from most parties..

..won’t stand again next election..

..we’ve got a big ‘clean-out’ coming up..

..(and a new regime for our politicians to work under..

..the voters will demand nothing less..)

..and the ‘cleanskins’/untainted will have their day..

..look to heather roy to lead act..as just one example..(with the caveat there will be no gouging to behold..from roy..)

..and of course..(shock!/horror..!)..as another (apparant) ‘cleanskin’..fucken dunne will likely also benefit..(aarrgghh!!..)

..english is just the stalking-horse..

..and as such..

..will be one of the first to fall..

..his/any/govt. credibility..on matters fiscal..

..is in tatters..

“..Finance Minister Bill English is defending taxpayers paying more than $900 a week for his $1.2 million family home in Wellington..

.. saying National has capped how much ministers can claim..”

(oh..!..that’s ok then..!..we’ll all just ‘move on’..?..shall we..?)

“..Prime Minister John Key and Parliament’s Speaker, Lockwood Smith, disclosed MPs’ travel and accommodation expenses for the first time this week - the outcome of a Herald on Sunday investigation.

Ousted minister Richard Worth, in his first interview since resigning, said he too had done nothing wrong ..

.. in claiming thousands in Wellington accommodation costs from both Parliament and Ministerial Services.

The two big parties had come under pressure to disclose their expenses after Green and Act MPs disclosed theirs through the pages of this newspaper.

National and Labour said that MPs would come under intense political scrutiny over the spending, to the detriment of bigger issues of public policy..”

(there was an interesting interview on nat-rad the other day..and the upshot was it would seem labour and national have ‘done a deal’..

..to not criticise/attack each other..over their respective obscene levels of ‘troughing’/'gouging’….

..so..i guess it’s up to us outside parliament to scream/holler/demand ‘reform’..eh..?

..let the hollering begin..!)

go to source/story>>English defends subsidies - National - NZ Herald News

hey..!..how about this..?

..we just tell this failing/failed empire to just ‘fuck off!’..eh..?

“..President Barack Obama’s new ambassador to Nato, Ivo Daalder, has told the Herald that New Zealand should be fighting the Taleban as a “partner and ally” in a Western effort.

Prime Minister John Key has indicated the elite SAS combat troops will be sent back to the war and the United States already has a likely role ready for them.

New Zealand currently has 155 troops in Afghanistan, mainly in a provincial reconstruction team in the relatively stable Bamiyan province.

It also contributes $7 million in aid and a small team of police trainers.

Dr Daalder said the US wanted more troops - in particular the elite SAS - more aid, more police and army trainers as well as civilians with expertise.

All would help to bring an end to the war, he said..”

(isn’t that last ‘end to the war’ claim hilarious..?..h..?

..tell that to all the other/the long list who have invaded afghanistan..

..and faced miserable defeat..

..and i’ll bet you a hundred bucks to a pinch of national party bullshit..

..that key..and his slavering dog of war simon ‘all the way with bush!’ power

..will be as eager as to prove that we are still the ‘bitch’ ..of (whatever) foreign power..)

go to source/story>>US: Fight for us, you may need us - National - NZ Herald News

(apologies/regards/obeisances paid to the gil scott-heron magnum-opus..’whitey’s on the moon’..the concept of which i have unabashedly ’stolen’/borrowed..)

the kids up north have still got rotten teeth..

but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..our forests have disappeared at an ever increasing rate..

..but hey..!.helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..our species are dying off..every day..for nine long years..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..our coastal wetlands have been polluted/developed..

but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

our rivers and streams are dirtier than ever..

.but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..raw sewerage pours into the harbours of our main cities/towns..for nine long years..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n…eh..?

..the poor were left to rot..for nine long years..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n…eh..?

..the chronically ill were also left to their miseries..for nine long years..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..sole parents were taught how they are ‘undeserving-families’..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..we are now reaping the crime/dysfunction of/from the fostering of/neglecting of..the/this underclass..for nine long years..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..we have lots and lots of more-prisoners/jailed/jails..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..we have continued to poison our/the earth air..for another nine long years..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..our farmed-animals still scream/suffer/suffocate..for yet another nine long years..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..we have had our soldiers maiming/killing peoples we have no wars with..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..the evils/miseries/gang-fostering of prohibition continue..unchanged..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..our supermarkets still peddle poisonous crap masquerading as food..to us/our families..with nary a demur..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..we have an epidemic of obesity/associated health-costs..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..we have one of the highest abortion rates on the planet..(see ‘undeserving families’..)

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..our slavish devotion to the inequities/’evils’ of the freemarket..have lead us to this economic abyss..

..but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..our wholesale ignoring of the environmental imperatives..for another nine long years..have lead us to this pollution/warming-abyss..

but hey..!..helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

..i guess there was something they got/did ‘right’..

..’cos helen’s at the u.n..eh..?

(as far as that being ‘a great day for pigs’..that would have to set a new benchmark in incrementalist-gains..eh..?

..for the ‘pigs’..

..eh..?..

..that the spca is the one praising this possible ‘gain’..this ‘great day for pigs’..

..couldn’t be clearer evidence of their decades of enabling/’approving’ the most vile abuses against both farmed animals..

..and those tortured/killed by the vivisectionists..

..(the spca ‘approves’ the cruel works/practices of those vivisectionists..they have a seat on the board that ‘oversees’ these obscenities..)

“..It would be “a great day for pigs” if the pork industry went ahead with plans to audit conditions on all commercial farms annually, the SPCA says.

New Zealand Pork (NZP) this week also said it would investigate a labelling system similar to that used on eggs..”

go to source/story>>Pork labels ‘great day for pigs’ - SPCA - National - NZ Herald News

quite gobsmacking..really..

..that the architect of our current woes..thru his slavish adherence to the rightwing/’freemarket’ chicago school of voodoo-economics..

..(with his ‘keep a clamp on wages..here’s some cheap money for bubble-building!’ economic direction/dictates..)

..has been chosen to try and ’solve’…the very problems he created…

..(could someone ‘pinch’ me..please..!..)

“..Brash said he was confident the gap could be closed but would not be drawn on how..

..saying he did not want to prejudge the conclusions of the taskforce, whose other members have yet to be appointed, let alone deliberate.

For a while, back in the 1960s, New Zealand’s economic output per head was slightly higher than Australia’s.

But last year, according to the OECD, while Australia’s population was five times New Zealand’s its gross domestic product (GDP) was 7.2 times larger, implying per capita GDP was 31 per cent higher across the Tasman.

Much of the gap is a legacy of the 1970s and 1980s..”

(sorry..!..the ’80’s’..?..was it..?..

..wasn’t that when roger douglas really screwed our economy..?

..sold our inter-generational funded state assets to the rich/elites/’business’..?

..and started the breaking of the unions..which led directly to our low-income..bordering on third world..banana-economy..?

..and ‘grew’ that big gap between us and the aussies..?

..why don’t they go the whole hog..?

..and get douglas to help brash..?

..to find the ’solutions’..

..to their handiwork..?

go to source/story>>NZ can catch Australia: Brash - National - NZ Herald News

(a visiting expat bemoans the dire state of tv one..

..and hey..!..everything he says..is ‘on the money’..eh..?..)

“..With respect to some sort of balanced presentation of significant world events in the main evening presentation of news..

.. New Zealand’s TV One is significantly worse than the main commercial TV channels (7 and 9) in Australia..”

(and hey..!..the aussie commercial channels used to be a global benchmark for crap television..

..we’ve beaten them..!

..we’re number one..!..)

“..In my view, TV One has lost the plot, and if it is to be considered New Zealand’s TV flag-bearer, it is a disgrace to the nation.

I’m not sure whether to admire or deplore the ability of New Zealanders ..

.. to tolerate the mind-numbing stupidity, frequency and duration of commercial advertisements..”

(the ads..?..whoar..!..don’t get me started..!..)

now..as an exercise to test this slagging of tvone..

..i’ve just perused the tvone evening programmes ..for this week..

..and this is how it breaks down..as in ..what could i bear watching..

(disclaimer:..i loathe crime/disease/cooking-’shows’..)

sat:..nothing:..’louis theroux’ at 1.30 am (sun morn)..is the only one to tempt me..(not being an adam sandler/romantic comedy fan..)

sun:..we have a crime-drama..bracketed by two reality shows..and the fluff (usually!) that passes for current affairs..on ’sunday’..

..’rome at’ 12.10am (mon morn) would be the only one to tempt me..

mon:..this night has a definite ‘theme’..

..crime-reality..followed by medical-reality..followed by crime-reality (local)..

..and topping the evening off..?..’sex-change soldier’..at 11.05 pm..

tues:..coro..aussie domestic drama..crime-reality (local)..

..’big love’..at 11 pm..might tempt me..

wed:..consumer-show..reality/advice show (local)..latta on kids..watchable)..

..followed by crime-drama..then crime-reality (local)..

..latta is the only (one-off) watchable there…

thurs:..coro..medical-drama..crime-drama..

..and you can top this evening of ‘quality-viewing’..with a ‘change’..some crime-reality(local)..at 11.25pm..eh..?

..you are spoilt…!

fri:..reality-show (fashion)..crime-drama..reality (ghosts)..

..an ancient einfeld comedy-sketch show at 11.00pm is the only ‘tempter’ there..

..so..there it is…!

..whoar..!..eh..?..(even i am shocked at the actual breakdown.!..

..the current weekly offerings from our (state-owned) cultural flagship…

..the ‘wall-to-wall crap’ thesis is pretty much q.e.d..eh..?

(update:..and surely..we can only conclude..

..the target-audience for tvone..

..is the crime-obsessed/voyueristic hypochondriacs..

..in our midst..

..a very ’scared’/ignorant audience..eh..?..

..is this what we have become..?..)

go to source/story>>Ian Bayly: TV One descends to mind-numbing stupidity - Opinion - NZ Herald News

(the main armchair-warrior in national..simon (’all the way with bush!’) power will be pleased..eh..?

..he has been a salivating dog-of-war ever since the ’shrub’ invaded iraq..

..and isn’t it interesting..how those who would barely be fit enough to lift a rifle..are so ‘gung-ho'’/dead-keen for others .. to go and fight/die..

..and i guess key wants to prove to the americans..that we are their ‘bitch’..

..that’s right..!..that american-spook was here the other day..(to give key his instructions..eh..?..)

..and now this..!..)

“..Prime Minister John Key has given the strongest indication yet that New Zealand’s elite SAS troops will be sent to Afghanistan despite Government misgivings about the increasing numbers of American and European casualties from the escalating war against the Taleban.

“I do think it’s important that New Zealand plays its role, and plays its part in trying to get on top of what is a terrorist hotspot,” he told TVNZ’s Q&A programme yesterday.

The Prime Minister stressed that the Cabinet would not make any decisions before next month, when ministers will have received the findings of a review of New Zealand’s military commitment to Afghanistan.

But he agreed the “war on terrorism” in Afghanistan had been necessary ..

.. and New Zealand’s involvement likewise..”

go to source/story>>Key indicates SAS will return to Afghanistan - Politics - NZ Herald News

(such ‘new-found-empathy’ .. from a party that..for nine long years…left the poorest/worst-off..to just ‘rot’..

..and the party that introduced the economic-apartheid of families ‘worthy’ of government support (working for families)..

..and those families ‘unworthy’ of ‘working for families..(sole-parents/invalids..etc…

..um..!..would ‘fuck off goff..!.be too visceral a reaction to this exercise in humbug..?

..d’yareckon..?..)

“..Pressure on the Government to offer more help to the families of the recently unemployed is intensifying, with the Labour Party rewriting policy to give more generous assistance to wage and salary earners made redundant as a result of the recession.

Labour leader Phil Goff is challenging the Government to seriously consider temporarily paying the full unemployment benefit to workers laid off because of the downturn regardless of the income of their spouses.

He said those losing their jobs were carrying a “disproportionate burden” of the recession and the National Government was not doing enough to help them..”

(excuse me while i dry-retch all over goffs’ words..eh..?..)

go to source/story>> Goff: Pay dole even if partner still working - National - NZ Herald News

the paul holmes hosted talkshow on sun morns..q & a..has been pretty much of a meh..!..so far..

..but that all changed this morning..

(and this footage is a political junkies’ wet-dream..behind the sofa watching through a crack betweeen the fingers material)

..here is the nub of the story:..

..the labour government signed up to a deal with australia..to add folic acid..to all breads..from sept..

..(pregnant women need folic acid..)

..and in this this we were echoing moves in britain/ireland to to the same with their bread..

..(with a wholemeal-bread exemption..but more on that later..)

so far..so good..

..but..new scientific research has since raised the possibilities that too much folic acid can cause pre-cancerous prostate/bowel ‘developments’..

..woo-hoo..!..(i hear you say..)

..this evidence is strong enough for the english/irish govts to delay their introduction of mandatory follicing (new word alert..!)..of their bread..

..so..what’s the problem..?..(i hear you say..)..why don’t we just do the same thing..?

this is where we turn to q & a/paul holmes..and the minister for food safety..

(as you will see..a title that sets a new benchmark in political oxymoronality..(new word alert..!..)..kate wilkinson..

..and sue kedgley from the green party..

..and the political career of kate wilkinson is the one we watch crash and burn..

..’cos..guess what..!..wilkinson claims she ‘dosen’t have the power’ to order a similar delay to follicating here..(!)

..that she is bound ‘by the regulations’..

..and that all she can do..is ask australia for ‘a review’..in october..(!)

..one month after the compulsory follicating of all our bread..(save organic..)..(!)

..and..as wilkinson tries to defend this indefensible/incomprehensible..

..a well-armed sue kedgley..and paul holmes..turn on her like a couple of tigers tearing apart a gazelle..

..it’s brutal to watch..

..and the interview ends with a wish that wilkinson would just take her blatant incompetence..and go away..

..and that sue kedgely was our minister of food safety..

(added footnotes:..the bakers are unable to guarantee a standard dose in each loaf..there will be ‘variances’..

..wholemeal bread already has folates in it..the english/irish plan was to exempt wholemeal bread from follicating..for that reason..

..but no..not here..!..the only exemption here will be organic bread..our wholemeal..already with folates..will be amped-up with more..(!)

this will be the big political story of the coming week..

..the political career of kate wilkinson would appear to have been seriously derailed..to say the least..

..and sue kedgley has done more to raise ‘confidence’ in the greens..since..i can’t remember when..!

..and this display of blinding incompetence/impotence from one of keys’ ministers..

..has dealt a mortal blow to any aura of ‘competence’/even basic ability around this relatively new prime minister/government..

..and hey..!

..sue kedgley for minister of food safety..eh..?

..she’d soon sort those bloody aussies/regulations out..eh..?

(and hey..!..i swear i saw a (nervous/involuntary) genital twitch/wave pass through the all-male panel..post feasting on wilkinson..

..when the prostate/bowel implications of too much folic acid..on men..were aired..

.(whoar..!..eh..?..)

..(and hey..!..i was thinking about a wheat-free diet for a while..eh..?..this could be just the push i need..)

(go to source/story>>)

Q AND A | Television New Zealand | News, Sport, Weather, TV ONE, TV2 | TVNZ