Cactus Kate

Stupid Voters Stupid Story

2012-03-05T00:24:00.005+13:00

Apparently John Key is facing a "heartland backlash" from a few angry farmers over the sale of the Westpac farms.

1. Who are they going to vote for? Labour who will tax the sale on their farm at 15% who along with the Greens will make them pay for their pollution and treat them as the rich pricks they deserve to be treated as? NZ First...hehe.....

2. Shall we ban sale of farms to foreigners and sell up the Landcorp farms to drop the value of their retirement fund? That would be as popular as cow pats as well.

Dozens of National backers told Key he had lost their votes over the sale, among them party members and farmers.

And this one from greedy inter-generational farmers

''I am a farmer of 35 years, I have five children, four of whom are farming and trying to own farmland is getting further out of their reach. ... As far as I am concerned the National Government is selling us down the river. I have been a National Party supporter for 45 years and my family before me. Never again. The agreement to sell the Crafar Farms to Asians when New Zealanders wanted to buy them is the final nail in the coffin for me. ... Just remember we are the back bone to this country.''

Forgets of course most Daddy's finance their kiddies into farming with an illusory "sale", guarantee or other use of equity. It's a bit like an Aucklander whinging he can't afford to finance four of his five kiddies into the family exporting business from the business he built. No one cares about millionaire rich pricks who cannot finance their kids into the family business. The backbone of the country? Yawn, no more than any other exporter/worker. His problem is he has four kids who are not qualified to do anything else, who want to be farmers all lining up for Daddy's help and he's not rich enough to do that. Wonder if the fifth kid is the independent one who is actually making a living on his or her own.

Dozens of emails? And Labour of all political parties are gagging over this.

Perhaps National next week in the House should ask Labour to release the no doubt hundreds and thousands of emails and angry letters from their voters before and after slumping to their 27%?

Beware Strange Men Flashing Cash

2012-03-02T03:27:00.005+13:00

Matt Nippert has a wee gem of a story here about convicted fraudster Gavin Bennett.

Mr Bennett seems to have had a fabulous time

$A900,000 in regular payments to “various female companions”

$A463,000 in rental payments for luxury apartments with views of the Sydney Opera House

$A429,000 on food and beverages, with a significant proportion at the upmarket gentleman’s club Hemmespheres.

$A161,000 on international air travel for himself and companions to New York, Las Vegas, Paris and London.

$A163,000 on designer clothes from Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Chanel, Georgia Armani, Gucci, Harrods in London and Bloomingdales in New York.

$A53,000 in corporate taxi expenses, understood to include the regular hiring of limousines.

The women were not cheap and neither were the trips to Gentleman's Clubs. But what is most amusing is that he chose these ladies as directors.

At least someone had fun with SCF money. Allan Hubbard would never have exercised such fun and frivolity. He died having never had so much fun as Mr Bennett did in one night.

The best quote was from an associate :

"He drank Dom Perignon like it was Speights".

Then he didn't drink much at all!

Let Jesse Ryder Loose

2012-03-02T03:11:00.004+13:00

Another day another Jesse Ryder ban.

It is time NZ Cricket just forgot about disciplining him for going out.

They wanted him to lose weight. He did.

They want him to score runs. He has been.

He still gets injured. He still misbehaves.

He definitely looks better than the cult of slob he used to.

NZ Cricket has the choice, keep disciplining him. Or just let him do whatever he wants on his own time with the rule being, turn up to work and perform or we will drop you.

They can't be too fussy. There isn't exactly hundreds of players in line capable of doing the business that Ryder does when he is on form.

I am one Black Caps fan who just says who cares about what he does off the field, worry about what he is doing on it.

Did Megaupload.com Pay New Zealand Taxes?

2012-03-01T22:39:00.017+13:00

Kim Dot Com put on a media trained masterclass on Campbell Live. He performed like a seal and if the slowness of the video on the website was anything to go by - TV3 scored big time ratings with it. If he is a natural and not trained, then it may be one of the most masterful performances in gaining public sympathy that I have seen in my lifetime. He was superb because he answered all the questions given to him in a calm, rational tone. Even the technical questions were answered with such simplicity that to a lay person not the slightest bit a tech geek, the reaction would be that this is the most harmed upon man in the Universe. Brilliant.

John Campbell went soft however as he misses one very pertinent question that would have been my second question -

Where are you tax resident and how much tax have you paid in New Zealand individually and for Megaupload.com?

He was running the "billion dollar" Megaupload from the basement of the Mansion he was living in which would count as a permanent establishment and place of management. We know this to be true as his nice friendly bodyguard gave John Campbell a tour of the mansion. In Hong Kong, a country that taxes only on Hong Kong sourced income there is a pretty good argument he was running the business from Hong Kong at that time and therefore possibly liable for Hong Kong taxes.

Reports say Kim moved to New Zealand in 2010. New Zealand taxes on worldwide sourced income not just what is made in New Zealand. That is two years of income from the "billion dollar" company that he may have had to return in New Zealand to the IRD and pay taxes on should he not qualify for various exemptions such as the four year one for new immigrants.

Kim's biggest problem may not be just fighting extradition, it may be with the IRD of New Zealand and Hong Kong if they want their pound of flesh as well and he hasn't structured his affairs accordingly. Internet businesses have to be structured very carefully as tax authorities have widened the scope of their net over the years beyond the location of the server. Megaupload.com seems to have them scattered around the world. This only adds to the argument that Kim was running the business from his basement.

Opening your gob like he has and inviting media in to his lair for a looksie has its downsides. It brings up little questions like this one that need answering. It is why lawyers always tell clients to STFU and face palm to themselves when the client opens up to media.

Public sympathy will run away faster than he can if the IRD go after him as well for ignoring New Zealand tax law or even if he has been following it and has yet to pay any taxes. Even if he has a four year exemption by law, he's not paying a cent in Income taxes, which makes him now a costly resident given either FBI co-operation and court costs.

Of course if he has been paying Megaupload.com taxes in New Zealand then New Zealanders should love him even more for the contribution he is making to the economy.

But he is playing a very dangerous game presently if he hasn't sent the right cheques to the IRD.

Update: The weasly scrote called The Jackal aka Todd McDonald has said that taxes were discussed. Clearly Toddy's broadband ran out in the car he is living in before he could get to the full TV3 transcript published that does not mention tax at all.

Mona Dot Com Going Back To Basics

2012-03-01T01:34:00.021+13:00

Extended freeze orders on assets without charges are against every bit of natural justice that you can be taught in a law school. I have posted on them before in relation to Mark Hotchin.

Desperate Tactics of the FMA

Huge Wins For Hotchin

Can Winkelmann Warm Up For Winter?

Justine Winkelmann Still Frozen To Scrutiny

Winkelmann J Has Unfrozen At Least Off Her Seat

Others have as well. This one from Mark Hubbard summarizes the rule of law issues well.

Hotchin is now up to month 15 without charge and without access to various sources of funds. He is living on $1,000 a week. The situation of justice delayed and denied is just an embarrassment to the NZ legal system and the FMA who are misleading the courts as to the length of time they need to investigate.

So enter a comparison we can now use in relation to New Zealand's use of freeze orders - Kim Dot Com.

Kim has been charged, jailed, bailed and hailed. The USA are now trying to extradite him.

Hotchin on the other hand is still yet to actually be charged with any crime and even if he ever is, he will not be charged with anything near the seriousness of Kim Dot Com's alleged crimes.

In comparison the Filipina housewife of heavily charged and bailed Kim Dot Com has been granted $30,000 (30 weeks worth of the Hotchin family frozen asset stipend) in frozen funds to cover just three weeks of living as well as use of a motor vehicle. Presumably they will get more after that and use this ruling as a base.

The FBI are alleging Mrs Dot Com was involved in the business of Kim Dot Com. I suspect she is nominee owner of some businesses and involved in the money-moving using her Philippines passport. The FMA are making no such allegations against the wife of Mark Hotchin. Yet Mona Dot Com can access funds ten times the value of what the Hotchin family are living on.

In a rather large insult to New Zealand women, it seems that a former Filipina model/housewife implicated in charges has been judged by our own courts to deserve more money to live on than a New Zealand one who authorities have judged had nothing to do with her husband's business affairs.

Most New Zealand women live off far less when pregnant and the “medical expenses” excuse doesn’t really wash with me. Wouldn’t they have insurance?

Another defendant Bram van der Kolk has been granted $10,000 (10 weeks of Hotchin’s stipend) to live off until 21 March.

The New Zealand courts need to look at freeze orders, their fairness and application. Kim Dot Com could be in New Zealand a long time before he is extradited. Is this charade going to continue where he is allowed more money than the Hotchin precedent, a man after 15 months is still yet to be charged with anything?

I have explained how easy it is to trace money these days through the banking system. You cannot just hide and then move funds of the size of Dot Com's alleged fortune or even Hotchin's comparatively paltry sums. America has more powers than any country to manage this.

The Dot Com's are making the NZ legal system look patently stupid every which way they cook it.

Update - Stuff read my mind a few hours later

Greedy GROWLers Want It All

2012-03-01T01:29:00.003+13:00

The older you are the more likely it is that you will get sick and need expensive hospital and medical care. When something does go wrong it goes horribly wrong.

Insurance premiums are calculated by very brainy people. They measure risk and allocate accordingly. Some people in high risk groups pay more. Some who look after themselves pay less. It is highly discriminatory as it has to be. Why should everyone pay the same premium?

I have medical insurance with Allianz that I have to negotiate as part of my salary package. It is not free to me because the company are taking it off me somehow in their calculations. It costs around US$5,000 per annum. So it is not cheap for someone of my age and it would be worse if I exhibited anti-social behaviour like smoking or excessive pie eating. Every age bracket I move into results in an increase in premium. Premiums also increased last year due to the GFC.

My premium is higher even in USD than whiner Rev Dr Terry Creagh plus his wife and they are twice my age.

I am having a wee cringe with New Zealand oldies at Southern Cross. Shielded from real-world insurance rates and reality. Hospitals and medical care are bloody expensive. There are 90,000 65+ year olds with Southern Cross. These aren't poor people they are nice white middle class folk probably with upward of a few hundred thousand dollars in assets parked for their retirement.

New Zealand's GRumpy Old White Lobby (GROWL) led by the politically blinded activist Bruce Sheppard are threatening to leave the company. Well I hate to break it to them - Southern Cross will probably be breaking out the bubbly if some of them actually do.

Such brilliant rationale follows:

"I am over 65, and also think that it is unfair that older people should be penalised for their age.

"A lot of us are totally healthy and claims made are virtually nil. Perhaps Southern Cross should look at the claims paid out per person on a case-by-case basis and adjust the premium based on the amount of claims paid out."

If this man doesn't think he will claim then why does he even have insurance? But he does want smaller premiums based on pay out? But not on risk?

Another comment:

Another Southern Cross member said he had been with the society for more than half a century.

"My premiums increase annually. Many of my pensioner friends have had to resign as they are unable to afford the premiums [if they rely mainly] on the pension. This creates an additional burden on the public system."

Again missing the point entirely. This isn't life insurance where you get your money back. It is a business of medical risk. Premiums always increase for heavens sake because costs always do and medical advancement means people can live longer and get treated better.

GROWLers don't know much about risk. They only see high returns. Many of them invested in finance companies so I don't know why Sheppard is helping them. Perhaps he is being paid to this time because of his new station in life in the FMA you would think he would stay out of this nonsense.

GROWLers have over their years with Southern Cross paid lower premiums because oldies with more risk have paid higher. Now they are the oldies they wish to change the rules?

If people don't want medical insurance then don't pay for it. Wait in the public health queue like everyone else who cannot afford medical insurance. It clears the lines for sensible people who don't risk their health for a few bucks.

The GROWL in New Zealand needs to exercise a bit of humility about their situation. There are more of them than ever, sitting on more liquid and illiquid assets than ever before. If they can afford their own home they can afford $5,000 a year premiums per couple for really their largest cost - their health.

Really the crux of the matter is that they all feel they are too good to use the public health system with all the Maaaaoooriiisss (sic) and freshies (that yes they have also paid for) but don't want to pay for their share of risk in the private system with the nice white and chinese people.

One good trip through the public health system to see how that operates for non-urgent cases will cure their GROWL stupidity immediately.

In the meantime they need to shut the f**k up and hit their kids up for the premiums if they think they cannot afford them. Let their kids deal with the white middle class whinging.

Surprising Result in MFAT Survey

2012-03-01T01:25:00.003+13:00

Not all staff disgruntled at pay changes

A quite bizarre result.

In a survey released by the Foreign Service Association, 73 per cent of MFAT staffers working abroad said they were either considering returning to New Zealand before the end of their posting or resigning as a consequence of the proposed changes.

Among Wellington based staff, 66 per cent said they would be less likely to consider a posting abroad and a further 25 per cent said they were considering resigning.

Only 73 per cent were unhappy abroad? Only 66 percent were less likely to want a junket abroad?

The Union head states:

"The bottom line is that hardly anyone will want to serve New Zealand abroad under the proposed changes."

Whatever. There's no shortage of people wanting to work in this glamour industry. Their threats are pathetic. If they could get better jobs they would already have them.

Serve New Zealand? Nonsense. Soldiers serve New Zealand. MFAT workers are serving themselves to large perks and good pay. Perks and pay that are now under the spotlight.

Until McCully hits 100% unhappiness at slashing pay and perks he is a failure as a Minister.

The good news is that 25% of Wellington staff were considering resigning and 73% of overseas staff likewise.

Chop chop, lets have their names then so McCully can start the letters and give them what they want.

Enjoy

2012-03-01T00:48:00.006+13:00

Not PC's fisk of Labour's "Critical Friends".

And Rob Hosking's NBR article (paywall) call that "Critical Friends" originates from Marxist theory.

More interestingly Hosking alludes to unnamed critical friends. You know, friends who don't want anyone to know they are friends with the devil.

Bernard Hickey anyone?

The list is curious. The very sort of people on the list with the exception of Pellett (a proponent of corporate welfare) are the very sort of Labour Party stooges that have put Labour in the 27% position they are in. No Waitakere men.

Academics and toffy nose snobs like Gould and Wilson. Sleepers like Parekura Horomia, a Senior MP who has overseen in Maori seats a complete collapse of the Maori vote to Labour.

I wonder what Young Labour think of the "critical friends" list? They seem more pro-active than the Senior Party in organizational change. There is no sign of youth there at all. Even if you count Mahuta, who seems to have a job in the process of making the tea.

Still, no complaints here if the left wish to re-invent their own broken wheel.

A Hairy Whodunnit

2012-03-01T00:32:00.007+13:00

Very sad to learn of the death of the world's oldest sheep Twiggy.

"It is a sad end," said Mr Maciver, 51. "She did well. But she went over a cliff. A fence could never keep her - she was very lively." He said he loved the sheep so much he even had her as his computer screen-saver

Even though it happened half a world away, Twiggy's death at age 25 and 11 months is a tragic moment for New Zealand and I am sure she will be honored tomorrow in the spiritual home of sheep, the New Zealand Parliament, in a suitable manner.

David Shearer is rumored to be on the eve of delivering a "break-through" speech since quietly taking over the Labour leadership from a much unloved Old Goat. Will he use the majestic and long-awaited occasion to call for a Royal Commission of inquiry on behalf of all of Twiggy's relatives in his Party? Will we hear more of Twiggy's back story? Did Twiggy really survive one cold winter fighting over mango skins? Did a "Waitakere Man" draft the speech and fight like Matthew Hooton to remove all references to Shearer's visits to Massey University and Lincoln for fear of offending the Union men?

Knowing her time was up, did Twiggy really fall off a cliff or was she pushed by much younger stronger, well-trained sheep waiting to take over her position?

How To Buy Off Maori Objections

2012-02-28T05:31:00.007+13:00

Ngati Ruanui are open to "elegant solutions".

NZ Energy Corp chief executive John Proust said they would provide a right of first opportunity to trust members for business, employment, educational and training opportunities in South Taranaki. "We are proud to be working with them [the trust] and look forward to building a collaborative relationship that brings long-term benefits to both NZEC shareholders and our community partners."

The announcement in is stark contrast to a move by the people of Parihaka Pa who have called for an immediate stop to oil and gas exploration and mining in Taranaki.

Parihaka Pa will side with poverty.

We have discussed at length before how Maori are simply blackmailing companies, other New Zealanders and indeed the government over Asset Sales.

Centuries of "cultural" objections seem to be waived in New Zealand and ignored if sums of money or other incentives are paid in exchange for lifting the objection.

I think I sit at the point where at least I have some respect for Maori who stick to their faux cultural objections and choose not to blackmail. It is time New Zealanders called Maori on their bullshit.

Maui Street has discussed how Maori can't have their cake and eat it too when it comes to their deep connection with the land which seems up for sale when the price is right.

I wonder what he thinks about getting into the slick with oil companies.

And if Xena would approve?

Marsden Fund Zebrafish Make Daily Mail

2012-02-28T04:21:00.003+13:00

Making The Daily Mail

New Zealand is such a great place. Any publicity is good for the country and makes K1W1's blush.

Today a geeky looking guy wins an Oscar for best original song "Man or Muppet" ....David Shearer's theme song... Sung by Kermit the Ficking Frog.

And Dr Johnson makes a fool of the rest of the country by appearing in the Daily Mail for studying something so bloody obvious that even Brits know the answer.

Suppose some toss pot will now measure the effects of both stories on tourism to New Zealand.

Marsden Fund and 700 Zebrafish To The Rescue!!

2012-02-26T23:06:00.016+13:00

A Sunday Star-Times reader poll found a majority of people felt 10 years was an acceptable age gap between partners, although many said compatibility, mutual respect and love were more important. Of the 1,216 respondents, only 11 per cent felt that more than 20 years was acceptable. However, a number believed age became an issue in later years.

Who did they poll?

I think 89% of respondents were women who have had men leave them for women 20+ years younger. And were still pissed off about it.

In this day and age rather than apply the half + 7 test on age I feel it needs to apply to income by way of means test. If you are much younger and earn more money than your partner and with it have more assets all tests should no longer apply.

This is usually a far easier test to pass when the former wife has dutifully scampered with half the usually older man's assets and the seven years is what it takes him to rebuild that.

We should never fear though, the Marsden Fund is to provide $345,000 for Dr Sheri Johnson to research with 700 zebrafish as to why younger women prefer older men.

Don't quite know how a zebrafish hypothesis can have a means test factored.....

Here is Dr Johnson's bio. She's a young lady who I feel really is after an older bloke and thinks she is discreetly disguising it as research. Very clever, but not fooling me with this game.

Sheri is a reproductive ecologist with broad interests in ecology, evolution and behaviour. Sheri uses an integrative approach (molecular, field ecology, reproductive biology and behavioural analysis) to understand the factors that influence reproductive success and mate choice in fish and marine invertebrates. Sheri is based at the Centre for Reproduction & Genomics and the Department of Anatomy.

Dr Johnson should give me a call and save three years of her life. For a $245,000 consultancy fee I will use my 14 years of post graduate advanced study in the habits of older men while avoiding all forms of contact with fish and zebras, and tell her the answer.

For keeping the $345,000 all to herself I can tell her right now will NOT make older men attracted to her.

Meet The Wharfies - Racist and Sexist cont...

2012-02-26T22:42:00.004+13:00

In January I posted on the employment dispute where senior Unionists from MUNZ were picking on workers from Tuvalu.

Here is the eyewitness account of a non-Union worker picked on it seems for the color of his skin by racist wharfies. "Brown boys" this worker says.

MUNZ is running their campaign from Sydney at present while their senior members are at a junket. They're losing a campaign of hate, fear and loathing because like boys who cry wolf, they have only succeeded in pissing all manner of people off.

I don't think this young man will be shoulder charged again. Those shoulders look pretty large.

Little Wonder Zetetic Is Anonymous

2012-02-26T03:34:00.008+13:00

When The Standard start opining on business you know good times and humour are ahead.

Directorships are the golden ticket in the world of the business elite. You attend maybe 10 meetings a year, sign whatever’s put in front of you, typically get paid $3-4K a pop, and do it over again half a dozen times or more for various companies. It’s a gravy train for managers past their use by date. But customers and shareholders have to trust

And of course teachers only work from 9am to 3.30pm with an hour off for lunch and half an hour for morning tea each day. What does Zetetic think directors do? Turn up and read hundreds of papers at the meetings for the first time?

Zetetic won't even lend his name to a blog, he then has a pipe dream that he might ever be asked to be a director.

So, it’s good to see the Lombard directors being held to account for signing off on statements that were untrue. If you paid me $4,000 per meeting and were asking me to lend my name, and in Doug Graham’s case his prestige, to the reputation of your firm, I would know those documents intimately. I would want to double-check every fact. For $4,000 per meeting, that’s the kind of service the shareholders and customers deserve.

Nice to see no left wing bloggers have implicated the former Labour Minister when they crank on about the former National one.

Perhaps like their glory years of 1984-90 it is something they think will go away if they don't talk about it. No, Zetetic is too poorly read in political history despite writing on a political blog to even know who Bill Jeffries is. Lord he can't even spell the man's name correctly,

Since I write on a political blog and I’ve never heard of Jefferies, I don’t think he has any prestige to lend to Lombard. Graham does and did.

Anyone suggesting directorships are a "golden" ticket is an idiot.

As I've previously opined when the PC brigade whine there are no women on Boards, everyone should aspire to own a business through shareholding than act as servants of shareholders with liability attached.

For $30-40k a year in this day and age the fees in New Zealand aren't worth the hassle. I would call most directorships in New Zealand a "golden shower" for anyone taking them on.

Say It Loud - Dairy Is Bad For Adults

2012-02-24T05:38:00.008+13:00

New Zealanders, especially New Zealand women LOVE their dairy. It goes straight to our arses. Quickly. Anyone growing up on a farm was indoctrinated on the compulsion of milk and dairy.

It is bad for adults, it is bad for women. Take a look at Asian women. Study their diets. Limited or no dairy. China will finger dairy eventually for obesity in their population as they become richer and can afford more dairy product. Chinese women won't go near it at that point. Even low fat dairy is calorific and worse, feeds cravings for other foods. French and Italian women don't get their svelte figures by supping down liters of milk and eating kilos of cheese. When they eat dairy they count every calorie and limit portions.

Why don't they say it loudly in this latest release of 49 foods to avoid? Hidden or obvious dairy in plenty of those foods.

Unless you are an athlete or training hard in burning off anything you put in your body or a freak of nature you cannot eat excessive amounts of dairy.

We need dairy as kids, we don't need it in great quantities as adults. Cheese, yoghurt, chocolate, cakes, milk. Full and "no" fat. Cut it back. Those complaining it is too expensive, don't buy it.

We aren't allowed to mention this as New Zealanders of course because the country believes it can't manage without selling dairy, lobby groups and Fongterror want you to believe you cannot live without dairy. They tug at your heart strings with the kiddie commercials then they guilt trip you on the calcium deficiency that dairy is a necessity.

I was diagnosed in the detailed pricey test you do as dairy intolerant. Not allergic, but enough to be curious enough to cut it out of my diet for a month to see what happened.

Enough happened in a real hurry (two weeks) for me to stay away from dairy for another month that's what and keep away from it in the forms of milk, butter, cheese (which is bloody hard as I love it) and yoghurt.

If I had it my way even after this short test period dairy would be at the top of the PC food pyramid as foods to consume scarcely not in the middle.

NZ women have been sold a lie that dairy is healthy for their waistlines and a complete nutritional food.

And I recommend anyone with skin allergies, bloating, lethargy, sugar cravings and other ailments that they haven't managed to cure with other treatments to cut it out and see what happens.

Maori Stop Mexicans

2012-02-24T04:37:00.007+13:00

Oh sweet Jesus this is really where you need a bucket so you don't backwash your sick that is happening in your mouth as a New Zealander. The sad pretentious fucks of the art world meet the politically and culturally correct mob from Planet Eyecanteverupsetthenatives.

Maori stop exhibition

Natural Resources Adviser Liz Mellish said she was delighted that the trust's advice had been taken on board. She said the trust would have been unhappy at the use of the exhibition in any gallery but the situation was made worse by the fact that the sacred pataka was housed there.

''From our perspective it is inviting death in the door, more or less. In using fluids from people who have died and blowing them on to the bodies of living people is culturally unsafe.''

Oh for fucks sake. Maori are happy to sit wailing for days over dead bodies in an open casket at a tangi, yet have an aversion to trace elements from the water from a morgue being used in an art exhibition?

The water used in the Margolles exhibition contained only trace elements of the morgue water and there was never any public health issue, Mr McCracken said.

I suppose if the Mexican paid a suitable "koha" then local Iwi would be happy to release the curse?

"So It Vanishes"?

Indeed it did. But not before the artist had to be just as culturally cringing in her acceptance of the withdrawal.

He said the artist's reaction had been one of sympathy, empathy and understanding and that moving the pataka in order to display the bubble art was never an option as it was ''really the heart of the Dowse''.

Point being why oh why does the taxpayer ever have to subsidies the pretentious pricks in the arts industry?

And how much taxpayer funding was involved to solve months of this dispute between Maori and a Mexican?

Man of the Month - Murray McCully

2012-02-23T20:00:00.003+13:00

I admit that I'm not much of a Murray McCully fan. From a female perspective I can't see what the fuss is about, well to deserve the Charlie Wilson sort of following he has amongst women in the Beltway. I have frequently lampooned the strange wee man.

This week however I've done what women are allowed to do all over the world, since the beginning of time.

I've changed my mind.

It doesn't happen often and it usually takes a hell of a lot of convincing.

Slashing 305 jobs from his own Ministry and making 600 people from a roster of 1340 beg for their own jobs by reapplying? Well that brings tears to ones eyes.

Making staff actually do what New Zealand expats now usually have to do and pay for their living costs because generous expat allowances are a thing of pre-GFC eras? I'm leaking buckets of joy.

Questioning the relevance of the Maori Policy Unit to MFAT and kicking them as well? Brilliant.

The downside is NZ staff are to be paid more.

But it is a good start that's what it is.

Now all we need is for McCully to look at the half million dollar flat here in Hong Kong while he's in the groove for wielding his big slasher about. Such wastage and excess cannot be tolerated along with cutting so many staff.

If you recall I sent in an OIA request on and received a rather timid response.

I sent a second OIA request on 26th January 2012 and am still awaiting Lord McCully to sign the letter off.

The half million dollar flat will need to be relocated soon as it is tagged for demolition. There's nothing wrong with the building, it is just that a gazillion dollar building is due to be built to replace the current billion dollar building.

Normally one would be a tad ticked off not receiving a response to basic questions straight away.

But McCully can be forgiven for once.

Sounds like his wrist is experiencing a bad case of RSI from signing a few hundred DCM's (don't come Monday's).

Pimping the Poor - Investigative Series

2012-02-23T10:23:00.003+13:00

I dedicated an entire week of blog posts to dispute the "Divided Auckland" series from Simon Collins.

By the end of the week, exhausted, I was less convinced of the need to critique the beneficiaries and participants and more convinced that something didn't smell right with Collins' work.

On Saturday I discovered one of the participants was a Labour Party cheerleader and the other was a suicidal heavily depressed woman who rather than being married with two children was in fact a participant also on a NZ dating site looking for a shoulder to cry on.

I received many requests via email links and Facebook and Twitter messaging to follow-up on the story of the solo mother Tania Wysocki who claimed to require to turn to prostitution to pay for her studies.

You will note that I didn't, because something didn't smell right there either. I let it run. And run it did.

In the meantime Whaleoil had a bit of a swipe at Wysocki, who then had the gumption to contact him by email and slowly develop a rapport to tell the complete story of her troubles to Whaleoil who unlike the grandstanding MP's actually made the trip all the way out there to see her in South Auckland.

What results is a complete series of work that I can only describe as outstanding in rebutting this repeaters work as disingenuous sensationalism and Ardern's laziness and sloppiness. We learn of:

- A supposed experienced and professional journalist in Simon Collins who has been proven to sensationalize these stories for his own means and to sell papers and gain website hits.

- A senior Opposition Spokesperson in number 4 ranked Scum List MP Jacinda Ardern who sees the line of first defence and attack not to investigate the case herself or through her taxpayer funded staffed office(s) but call her good friend in the media - Mr Collins.

- An Opposition Party in the Greens attempting to capitalize on the Pimping of the Poor by grandstanding paying for Wysocki to go to Parliament to hear her questions come up in the House. At least they called her back.

In the meantime through the grandstanding Collins, Ardern and Logie along with the NZ Herald, Labour and Greens all missed focusing on the the problem that she was actually facing.

That was found in one trip by a blogger.

This is now not even the story.

Simon Collins cosy relationship with Labour and Jacinda Ardern is the story.

As is Jan Logie and the Greens actually stealing Ardern and Labour's thunder entirely in actually eventually exposing the issues and caring about the lady they used.

It is quite obvious to all concerned that Collins is planning a full scale attack on the National Government's welfare reforms on behalf of his Labour Party mates. The Herald do this, they have "campaigns". This one is up there with "2 drinks max" in concrete journalism and with it likelihood of success of changing public opinion.

The problem Collins is going to have is like we saw with the Wysocki case as well as the Bradley's, the public actually want Paula Bennett to be tough on beneficiaries. Talkback and comments are aghast when presented with the facts even in Collins' edited form.

It's rather like the leaked McCully emails discussing MFAT cuts - the best publicity a Minister can get is cutting the fat from what is seen as excess.

Collins should take note that he doesn't have free license to write this sort of nonsense like the old days where journalists were the be all and end all of what is good and right in the world.

Bloggers will now question and dissect his work, sources and the dirty, back-room politicians feeding him these tales.

And if he portrays innocents incorrectly they will now make a quick call to the Whaleoil tip line to get a real reporter to tell their side of the story.

Politician Hides In His Basement

2012-02-23T03:50:00.008+13:00

I have previously blogged on the Mainland's first choice for HK CEO - Henry Tang. The pick will be made 25th March this year. I say "pick" as it is not really an election it is an appointment.

At the time he was under a cloud for marital infidelity. He has been caught since with numerous additional women. One as late as this week.

But in a new development he was caught with an illegal basement. Quite common in Hong Kong where land is scarce, there are hundreds of thousands of illegal alterations to homes. The law surrounding is a bit silly and frequently homes trade hands many times with these structures.

Henry Tang though didn't just build an illegal basement.

- This mo'fo was at least 2,250 sq foot. About five times the size of the average flat which Hong Kong people live in. The plans showed a wine cellar, Japanese style bath and movie theater.

- At first he lied and said it was for storage.

- When the grandiose plans were uncovered after journalists hired 10 cranes to get pictures of the house he then changed his story.

He then blamed his long suffering wife as the house is in her name and said he knew nothing of the basement and that it was her idea.

Tang, even though he's an inherited rich kid, is my pick for CEO still for this comment:

Last May, after Hong Kong residents staged several demonstrations to protest housing prices and what they said was an economic system run by the elite, Mr. Tang said that Hong Kong’s youth should try to emulate Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s wealthiest tycoon, rather than complain about the growing gap between the rich and the middle class.

His public poll rating is still higher than David Shearer's.

Needless to say there is not to a lot to worry about. The next candidate self-made gazillionaire CY Leung is more my style of politician.

His promises were costed by the local papers and he plans to spend far less than Tang and keep our taxes even lower than they are now.

A win-win really.

In a New Zealand context it really is like choosing whether you want Alan Gibbs or Peter Goodfellow to be CEO of the country and replace the Prime Minister as supreme dictator.

One For The Boys

2012-02-23T01:21:00.006+13:00

Norrie Montgomery from the A-List found this young lady at a Valentines Day Party.

Quite an extraordinary figure. Well done her. A hell of a lot of non-eating has gone into that.

But the breasts are larger than Busted Blonde's for heaven's sake! And BB's are like balloons by which I judge all woman's breast size.

So who thinks they are real? Discuss. And if they are natural what sort of bra design gives you that? Because more than a few female readers will want one.

Sack Him Julia

2012-02-23T01:13:00.003+13:00

I'm not much of a Gillard or Labour fan but Kevin Rudd is a wailing spoilt little blonde tosspot. He lost to a woman before and now he's throwing his toys out of the cot after his latest attempt to cause chaos and mayhem in the camp.

"totally dedicated" ...but you know, not on the trip. Speaking from Washington.

Anyone who resigns while overseas on a trip is a coward.

Julia Gillard should make the prick pay his own airfare home, bill him personally for all the costs incurred on cutting his trip short and boot him with the infamous Gillard shoe to the backbench if he doesn't resign completely from politics.

An interesting parallel in New Zealand politics would be for example if David Cunliffe after losing the leadership battle to David Shearer had similar behaviour or even Phil Goff.

Yeah not likely to happen is it?

NBR Column - Who is John Banks?

2012-02-21T03:59:00.004+13:00

I penned a column for NBR post election and was asked to do a follow-up on the appointment of John Banks as ACT Party Leader.

The link follows here.

Just one medium length stupid comment from the village idiot Penny Bright so far. Obviously I pitched the column above her comprehension and she's not too upset about it. Damn.

No Link Between Funding and Academic Achievement

2012-02-20T21:58:00.003+13:00

Here is a study I bet the left will not quote. It highlights the danger of using any survey you can find to try and increases taxes, claim inequality and apply more government funding to your projects for political gain.

I guess the Unions and Labour and the Greens will have to do some more "survey shopping" now to justify increased funding levels in the bottomless pit that is education.

It appears New Zealand students are achieving very nicely in the OECD despite lower the average funding.

New Zealand also received a special mention, with the report noting that it was a "top performer" in Pisa, but spent a lower-than-average amount per student.

An OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) report, released today, looked at the correlation between national wealth and student achievement, and found the amount spent on education was less important than how resources were used in high-income economies.

Labour Disease Figures an Embarrassment

2012-02-20T21:42:00.003+13:00

Labour are politicizing another silly survey.

Bit of an own goal chaps.

A study by the University of Otago, Wellington shows hospitalisations from infectious diseases have increased by 51 per cent from 1998 to 2008

The survey period from 1998-2008 is the entire period that they were last in government.

Update. Apparently the survey is 1989 - 2008. The Herald not for the first time in recent weeks is wrong.

Which makes no difference really considering the early 90's are a throwback from the Labour government of 1984-90 then there was nine years of Labour to fix all the infectious diseases.

Reading the list of infectious diseases it is fair to say most are decidedly middle class.

Politics v Principle - How To Piss Off The Public

2012-02-19T18:34:00.006+13:00

New Labour MP David Clark has a members bill to "mondayise" Anzac Day and Waitangi Day.

On the face of it there's no reason to change the status quo, if the holiday is in the weekend, hard luck. National and ACT should tell them to f'off. Boom boom free market, boom boom individual contracts.

But politics a bit more complicated than that. Opposing this bill makes your party look like a pack of stingy mean overlording arsewipes.

Apparently it costs $200 million each time there is a day of public holiday. I dispute this figure as everyone important will still have their IPhone or Blackberry on for the duration. Holidays really are only for the disposable labour units whom you can replace at will anyway. John Banks claims not to have had a holiday since the 60's. While I believe him it is not the best advertisement for canning public holidays is it?

In reality the next Mondayising past this year required would be in 2015 when Anzac Day falls on a Saturday. In 2016 Waitangi Day falls on a Saturday. By then if there is a left wing coalition government it will not matter, the country will be well poked and $200 million a day will look like a rounding error in debt.

Unless my calendar on the iPad is wrong, all up in the next five years 2013-2017 there are just TWO days that require Mondayising.

Compared to the waste of government spending by this National government and the past "losing" $400 million over the space of five years is equivalent to dropping a 10 cent coin in a drain.

Opposing this Bill makes the right look terrible. The holiday is due anyway and on a cost-benefit analysis of making you look like a royal pack of arsewipes, this one is a fail. Pass the Bill.

There are far more important things to worry about and fight for.

Quote of the Day

2012-02-18T04:26:00.005+13:00

Rodney Hide is on Radiolive filling in for Paul Henry and sometimes John Tamihere on Willie and JT's show. The dynamic between Rodney and Willie is clicking quite well. They both tease each other mercilessly about unemployment, being unelectable and even down to each others taste in women. On Friday it was worth sitting through the news bulletins and mindless ads alone to hear Rodney raise a spirited free-market defence of the actions of Trevtek.com.

In the midst of which they were chatting about Mr Jan Trotman 66, Kept Man from St Marys Bay.

After calling Mr Jan Trotman the best politician of our lifetime and that his supporters would still vote for him when he was dead, Rodney quips about his selling ability:

"Imagine him in charge of a finance company".

It would be appreciated if Radiolive sacked their web person and stuck in someone who could create useful soundbit clips of shows like they do on Radio NZ. I mean if the public broadcaster can manage......

Cunliffe's Stocks Rise As Norman Speaks

2012-02-17T01:23:00.013+13:00

Those of you who know my politics generally realize I am quick to loathe the far left for among other matters, complete illiteracy when it comes to international economic matters. They live in a bubble of themselves, their pathetic voters, hippies and if we are lucky Waiheke and Great Barrier Islands. Not much scope beyond that.

David Cunliffe is therefore about the last white hope for me that if the Keys to the Kingdom were ever to leave National, they have to go to him as he has at least half a clue about fiscal management.

The problem is that he will be left dealing with dangerous twits like Russel Norman (aka Kermit). An Australian who studied post graduate for heavens sake - the Alliance Party. The Greens are nothing more than a worldwide marketing brand and are the most dangerous party in Parliament for their "butter won't melt in their sweet little mouths" manipulation of the "poor me" media. The way they played politics on Mojo Mathers this week a prime example of what they are capable of.

The Greens are such a disgrace that I make myself listen to them frequently as motivation. They should stick to social policy and stay away from all forms of economics. I listened to all the blabbing through their Maiden Statements, from Holly Walker who wore a battery hen cloak of sanctimony, right through to Denise Roche who really must win a Supercity award for being battier than Len Brown. Then I read Frogblog, as I am prone to do when in a happy mood so it moderates my estrogen sufficiently so I create enough testosterone to function efficiently again so I can make balanced financial decisions of my own.

Kermit has an academically lazy post on The NZ Superannuation Fund where apparently it has

"decided to take a $23 million bet on a property development company with significant exposure to China — a country where some reports say that there are 64 million vacant apartments".

Kermit has got all confused comparing SHKP to pathetically run Landcorp in New Zealand and is worried about this

Kermit then has a Hickeyesque moment where he predicts the collapse of China because Hong Kong listed company SHKP is developing new cities and starts bagging the Super Fund for investing in it:

Is China the next big property bubble on the brink of collapse?

The Chinese Government has spent much of its massive export revenues on building brand new cities. Trouble is, not many Chinese people can afford the prices of new apartments and some of the cities have become ghost cities — their emptiness

Thank you for the concern Mr Frog.

SHKP just so happens to be my landlord so I know a bit about them. They develop huge luxury buildings and own a truckload of land in Hong Kong. All the tallest buildings IFC1, IFC2 and ICC were developed by SHKP. The building I live in is built to an extremely high standard.

Here is an interactive map that shows how much of Hong Kong they own and how little of China.

The major owners the Kwok Family have one of the most interesting histories of any company in Hong Kong. SHKP was founded in 1963 by the family and listed in 1972.

Their revenue alone is around $NZ10 billion with over 35,000 employees. Dividends are tax free in Hong Kong so the Hong Kong people including the billionaire shareholders love dividends.

SHKP is pretty much an index stock that tracks the Hang Seng Index:

Take a look at the NZ Super Fund of $NZ17.73bn.

The Kwok Brothers ALONE are worth $US15.4 billion ($NZ19 billion) at last count in Forbes Asia

The family running SHKP is therefore worth more than the entire NZ super fund.

SHKPs Net Assets are $HK312,195m (approx $NZ52,032) or $NZ52 billion. You cannot even use a calculator to add from or subtract those numbers they are so large.

SHKP has net assets worth three times the entire NZ Super Fund

The NZ Super Fund has just $NZ23.1 million of exposure in SHKP or .1% of its NZ Super Fund.

If SHKP tank it will be because the bottom has fallen out of China and with it Hong Kong and quite frankly, export reliant New Zealand will have a hell of a lot more to worry about than .1% of its Super Fund if this happens.

Norman is simply disgracefully playing the China card and pretending he knows more than the Super Fund Managers. During the Crafar sale he complained New Zealanders cannot buy land in China, yet now he's arguing that the NZ Superannuation Fund should have no exposure in China to a potential "bubble" and not be investing in a property company.

Newsflash - Kermit doesn't know anything about numbers and should sit down and do what he is good at, telling farmers they pollute.

If Kermit is allowed anywhere near the purse strings under a Labour led coalition in the future that's about the end of matters.

The Greens are like NCEA students when it comes to economics. They are out of their depth and unable to deal with adult problems. Most are simply overqualified, loony, batty Green Party workers with limited skills in ever doing anything other than spending OPM (other peoples money). A classic example of the downside of over-education and obsession with social policy and under achievement in anything practical enough for them to understand hugs and love and blinding your opposition with meetings, social policy and consensus doesn't make the world go round - cold hard cash does.

David Parker isn't enough to cope with their lunacy, Cunliffe and his mongrel will be needed to keep the Green loons from running amok.

Friday SMOG Prediction

2012-02-17T00:56:00.009+13:00

The SMOG - or Social Media Own Goals have been all around us today.

Fortunately "Thee Who We Won't Name As He's Already Got Enough Publicity Today", need not worry his pain is almost over, his Hurricanes supporting mate is about to take a full frontal blow from the PC wowsers with this shocker. Admittedly like many New Zealand women, I quite like Cory Jane in a pleasant "wow he's got a great body even if he seems a bit dim" sort of way, and his wife seems pretty hard case as well in her support for him and the admirable way she deals with women who hit on him. And I generally love his tweets because most are good humored, honest and silly. Which is what twitter really is.

To which Young Labour activist and Union hardman James Sleep (whom I follow to get to know the enemy better) retweeted this

The problem really is that Hamish McConnochie is responsible for such gems as tweeting that the Labour Party leader the heterosexual David Shearer has just been in the toilet. Creepy.

So before the MSM hang Cory Jane for tweeting quite natural abuse from no doubt long-suffering abuse about his name, they may like to look at the quality of the sort of faux horror out there.

A man who sits at airports spotting public figures coming from toilets then tells everyone about it.

The McCully Emails - World Exclusive

2012-02-15T18:27:00.005+13:00

It appears Murray McCully's emails have been hacked.

Through the tipline from an obvious underworld contact I have managed to obtain several of these emails which I will now release. The source who will only be known as Kim, has promised many more emails on the payment of large sums of money and dim sum vouchers.

---------------------------
To: muzzamccully@xtra.co.nz
From: monicalew@gmail.com
Subject: Lost and Found
Date: 18th May 2011

Dearest Murray

It was a pleasure to meet you last night after your date with the heinous Hillary. I am glad you don't believe a word she says about me. She's like such a bitch.

Anyway I am sure it was a member of your staff but "someone" left a Gurkha Black Dragon in my hotel room. If you would like to come and get it let me know and I'm available.

Yours
Mon.
-----------------
To: monicalew@gmail.com
From: muzzamccully@xtra.co.nz
Subject: Re: Lost and Found
Date: 19th May 2011

Hi Monica

I am told by my staffer that this was indeed a small gift of appreciation for your hospitality last night. He won't remove the smile on his face which is always a good sign isn't it?

Keep in touch, this email is best.

Yours sincerely

Murray McCully

----------------------------
To: muzzamccully@xtra.co.nz
From: svet1985@hushmail.com
Subject: greetings!!
Date: 21st April 2011

Dear McCully

I recall meeting you in lovely UAE in April 2011 last night with your friends. I had good time and everyone so funny.

I write as I told you about my girlfriend Domnica from Moldova, well she has a special friend Francesco and I want to put you in touch so you can maybe accept invite with me to go on their boat?

Thank you
Svetlana

-----------------------------

To: svet1985@hushmail.com
From: muzzamccully@xtra.co.nz
Subject: Re: greetings!!
Date: 22nd April 2011

Dear Svetlana

I had a good time last night as well as did my staff.

I think one of my staff left a small item of personal clothing in the meeting room. Would you mind leaving it at reception in a sealed envelope and I will have a staff member retrieve it?

I am a keen lover of large booats and if you send me some more information I will see how I can incorporate the venture into my next official trip. This email is best.

Yours sincerely

Murray McCully

----------------------------

To: muzzamccully@xtra.co.nz
From: aaron.gilmore@parliament.govt.nz
Subject: Rugby World Cup tickets
Date: 10th September 2011

Dear Murray

Great to see you last night at the rugby. The AB's were brilliant and well worth the 5 hour walk back to my hotel.

As discussed given my crappy shithouse list position I am not happy. I don't know what's fucking happening Murray but I KNOW WHERE THE BODIES ARE BURIED.

Can you send me RWC tixs pllllllease? Preferably the finals.

Thanks mate

Aaron

-----------------------------

To: aaron.gilmore@parliament.govt.nz
From: muzzamccully@xtra.co.nz
Subject: Re: Rugby World Cup tickets
Date: 10th September 2011

Yeah I know it's tough politics Aaron. There's been many times I thought of quitting but you know, the people keep voting for me.

Sorry I can't give you tickets to the finals, we just gave the last lot out to the Greens support staff. Got to keep them sweet.

As a token of my appreciation I've got one ticket for you for the following games:

Namibia v Fiji
Scotland v Romania
Tonga v Canada
England v Georgia

Hope you can make them all mate, should be great rugby.

Cheers
Muzz

---------------------------------

To: muzzamccully@xtra.co.nz
From:apes1967@gmail.com
Subject: Spy
Date: 30th October 2011

Muzz

Just spat my fucking cornies out of mouth reading that b.s from the cow in Sunday papers.
I told you to sort the bitch out when she said I was holding your hand. I mean I can't reach down low enough to hold your hand can I?

Apes
------------------------------

To: apes1967@gmail.com
From: muzzamccully@xtra.co.nz
Subject: Re: Spy
Date: 30th October 2011

April

You really need to calm down.

What kind of woman eats cornflakes? Don't you know how many calories they have? I told you the stress eating is no good for you.

Cheers
Muzz
------------------------------------

To: muzzamccully@xtra.co.nz
From: siriporn.vaginot@friendlythai.th
Subject: ASEAN conference
Date: 19th November 2011

Khun Murray

I enjoy meeting you at ASEAN summit Bali. You look very powerful and handsome next to Mr. Julia Gillard and almost as tall as her. I think you wear flat shoes which why you look shorter.

I think I can show you good time next time you in Pattaya and I can work with my Boss very closely to ensure plenty of New Zealand butter make it to Thai cooking class.

I wish you good luck for next week to make you Prime Minister. I would vote for you most excellently.

Love you and good wishes
Siriporn

----------------------------

To: siriporn.vaginot@friendlythai.th
From: muzzamccully@xtra.co.nz
Subject: Re: ASEAN conference
Date: 20th November 2011

Siriporn

My staff and I definitely enjoyed meeting with you in Bali where we discussed many ways for more effective working relations between our two nations.

I have a few contacts who would most enjoy learning more about placement of butter in your market.

Please keep in touch by this email is best.

Thanks
Murray McCully

David Shearer Sex Symbol Attempt #1

2012-02-14T00:56:00.013+13:00

"Go on David I reckon you should do that for the cameras, I will back you up on Red Alert, promise!"

"Look Grant, the dog is more effective in leading us than David. How you reckon it would go in the House?"
"Probably better than David did last week Jacinda! Haha"

Picture credits Setford

David Shearer needs a bit of a boost, he was totally pwned in the House last week where Mr Jan Trotman, 66 Kept Man of St Marys Bay completely stole his thunder from day one and became the effective Leader of the Opposition demoting Shearer to the nice bloke babysitting the Labour Party until H3 is old enough to take over.

David is a bit of a cooler than ice, laid back Surfer dude. Playing to his strengths he has to get women to want to sleep with him and men to want to be like him. He is not an unappealing man visually and is in good physical shape. The largest concern with him is that he opens his mouth and could bore holes in wood his personality is so mild and dull.

Here is the new Labour Leader in action walking his .....dog (or is it a cat walking him?) with his children H3 and Socialist Cindy in tow. Any man who walks a feminine looking dog like this one is clearly on the pull.

David Shearer needs a bit of advice from his Chief of Staff Stuart "formerly known as Rooter" Nash, widely recognized as the best looking Labour Party MP in years.

If you want to make the girls go crazy with the unbuttoned shirt......best save that for the old ladies at Copperfields and not show it off at the Big Gay Out.

I have my eye out for all attempts of David Shearer to place himself as a sex symbol and shall grade them accordingly. This one :-

Props - 1/5 - taking the two kiddies and the dog for a walk.....nah. Just looks bad. The dog looks like it is taking Labour's front bench for the walk.

Clothes - 2/5 - sunglasses a nice touch defining his chest line, metrosexual purple shirt hanging loose fits ok and looks better on than it would off.

Chest - 4/5 - nice and hairy. NZ women like this. I am not against the hairy chest look. More hair on his chest than his head which is a hard look to carry off.

Audience - 1/5 - lesbians and gay and bisexual men. Inappropriate as they are voting for you anyway.

Sex Symbol Attempt 8/20.

Try harder.

V-Day Advice

2012-02-12T22:20:00.000+13:00

Long time readers of my blog will recall in 2008 when my then object of affection delivered up 99 roses for Valentines Day. I quite liked him but sadly he's passed on (not away, still alive), and since then I've had two replacements this time of year who have taken me out to what turn out to be extremely overpriced and bland set menu dinners. It is impossible to find a seat in a restaurant in this city on the 14th where there isn't a ghastly set menu. It is like people here while they are thinking of certain sex, cannot be trusted to pick what they wish to eat first.

This year I have a meeting, a business meeting actually with the guy who took me out last year. There will be four others present and it will no doubt drag on all evening because the agenda is longer than the LOTR trilogy. The organizer of the meeting has been married three times. He probably doesn't even recognize the day.

In general Valentines is silly. If you are shagging someone you shouldn't be, it is a red card offence to send anything to them especially at work. Never send anything anonymously. You risk a freerider claiming all the credit if it is too good and forever a suspect if the present sucked.

I do joke often with men that I will send a stripper in a cake if they don't behave themselves. You can do this any other day except the 14th of February. It is a red card on that day because every busy body PA and receptionist is on alert not only for themselves but any sign that anyone else may even slightly fancy their otherwise moody shit-box of a Boss.

Dinner is a drag, roses are kind of passé when you've received one year 99 of them. It's as white trash as hell to get engaged or have a first date on the 14th, most men have no clue about jewelry and chocolate makes you fat.

This isn't so safe for work when you click the link but this year girls should be aiming for one of these. Handy for your iPhone and iPod. And nice and discreet.

And boys. Pretty easy, we all know what you want. I suggest girls just stick to the basics in 2012 after all Greece is in crisis, Italy is a disaster and even the Vatican look under pressure to open up the vault.

Stick to writing some very dirty poetry, or if you are not so good with words, try something closer to your nose.

Hallelujah - The Answer Is Jesus And Len Brown!

2012-02-11T17:47:00.021+13:00

When Rodney Hide created the Supercity he did so to allow Auckland to do pretty much whatever it likes. In his wildest dreams this probably didn't mean that the Supercity would put itself responsible for inequality in the city along with core local body functions. In doing so devolve Wellington from distributing welfare and Auckland to no doubt increase rates (and with it low-income earners rents) to pay for it.

According to Simon Collins it is. The thirty year "spatial plan" (remember the left didn't even want the Supercity) is meant to be the guiding light to the solutions of everything. The waffly language that "integrates social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives".

Make no mistake this series is the Herald's version of the pre-election "Inside New Zealand". And it has as many holes as the mockumentary did.

If the Supercity and with it you can guaran-damn-tee higher rates to go along with it, is the magic wand to start and progress "solving" inequality and Len Brown is the answer to the question.

Then it was a bloody dumb question.

Craig actually suggests cutting taxes, well ones he pays the most of:

Craig Bradley has one immediate suggestion: "Just dropping the tax on petrol. It's going up, and GST is going up, and wages are not going up to match."

Why stop there? Why not cut PAYE as well? Oh that's right, he doesn't pay any net income tax.

One question I had was answered; that being how Collins found the Smith's to do this story - The Smith's are part of a politically active group Closing the Gap. Or is it more than this? I think it might. I have a good pinko radar and I got to about Wednesday and thought reading Anita's silly dribble that she had a good tinge of red about her. She was too simple to even be a Tory:

Personally, the Smiths have joined web-based group Closing the Gap, supporting political action to reduce inequality, and the Donate NZ website started by Papakura florist Claire Sawyers, which links people with surplus goods to community groups who need them.

Then there is this:

Anita Smith says: "If we want people to clean our toilets and streets, and serve our burgers, then we need to pay. Either a decent living wage or a universal, non-means-tested benefit to underpin "market rates".

Beltway language in bold. Just how politically active are these people? Very it seems. This off the publicly available section of Anita Smith's Facebook page:

So the Herald through Simon Collins has recruited clearly a left-wing Labour aligned bleater who likes the idea of arresting the Prime Minister. That is his example of the views of the "comfortably off" in the "divided city".

Collins jumps the shark though once and for all with his comparison of Len Brown's Draft Auckland Plan to the Bible. I don't understand the Bible because I am not interested in ever reading it so I contacted Whaleoil who is an expert in such matters for some strange reason and I asked him what this means:

There is an inbuilt tension in any large-scale economic system. Natural variations in human capabilities and ambitions tend to accumulate according to what has been called the "Matthew effect" after the Bible verse: "For the one who has will be given more ... But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."

Whale told me what it means. Even God wanted the best to have more. I don't know why Whale hasn't tried to convert me to Christianity sooner as this is the single best reason I have ever had explained for becoming a Christian.

Did Simon Collins seriously write this or has the Godly Len Brown slapped his face again and drafted this paragraph? It is a truly bizarre inclusion out of place in the series.

But I am going to stop here now and turn to Collins again because I have done what he should have and made a wee background check on Carla Bradley for today's finale. Why? Because I thought about the milk over contraceptive remark she made and realized something wasn't quite right with her either.

I am not going to post here the excerpts I could from her publicly available Facebook wall as even I was horrified when I read through her history as I waded through her dreadful spelling. And the cat photo because I like cats. The Bradley's laptop might have needed repair from four months ago but that hasn't stopped Carla accessing Facebook as late as the last week of January.

The Herald has scored a huge own goal in using this obviously seriously depressed and at times even publicly suicidal woman in unhappy relationships to prove their great story on inequality. Why? There are hundreds of thousands of others similar without the depression and suicidal thoughts. Carla's serious depression really is irrelevant to the material they have used about her life but dragging her personal details all week over the paper to not prove a point is appalling.

She is obviously rather unwell and has continued to have children to replace love that is missing in her life elsewhere. They have shone a massive light on her life every day this week when it is clear even reading the excerpts from a few of her Facebook posts that she cannot handle this attention. I hope they continue to monitor her progress. And of course pay her a sum for this gross intrusion in her private life.

Anita Smith ends the series with the sort of aspirational thinking for the poor that really should see her on Socialist Cindy Ardern's welfare committee:

"If we want people to clean our toilets and streets, and serve our burgers, then we need to pay. Either a decent living wage or a universal, non-means-tested benefit to underpin "market rates".

Yes, the suburban liberal elite, always thinking big for others. There will always be people to clean toilets, streets and serve burgers. If the left had their way like Britain, these people would be degree qualified as the economy will be so chocked from welfarism that there will be no jobs for them on leaving University and no incentive to get off welfare once they are on it because of the bloated size of the beast it has become.

I trust Anita is as forgiving at the tenancy tribunal for the tenant who trashed her rental property as she is for failures in responsibility of individuals elsewhere.

There is no easy answer to inequality and neither should there be because I don't think it is a problem. The rich may get richer but the poor have a better standard of living than ever compared to the poor of the past so they are richer as well. You cannot measure poverty the way it currently is in terms of a percent of the median wage because you will never not have poverty under that measure.

Every New Zealander who has lived in a large, cut-throat economy where the poor simply starve and die knows that New Zealand is a small country where it is easy to make something of yourself, regardless of how small that something is. It is a highly pleasant, scenic, relatively uncompetitive country where you can relax and have a nice hassle free lifestyle if you take responsibility and manage your own life within your means. The large generous welfare state looks after everyone and billions are poured into it, health and education. As Whaleoil has posted, New Zealand is also a country where you can come from the poorest, most abusive of backgrounds and still make something of yourself. And not do the same to your kids as your parents did to you.

The problem seems to be as proven Monday to Friday this week is that people are simply not looking after themselves as well as the taxpayer and WINZ is trying so desperately hard to.

Inequality of Education, or Parenting?

2012-02-10T20:36:00.011+13:00

So we have got to Friday in "inequalitygate" and on to education.

As proven from Monday to Thursday, there's not much education going on in the parenting examples, so how on earth can they teach their kids some basic common sense in life?

The first Collins piece starts with linking socio-economic backgrounds to reading ability.

Auckland has half its total students in decile 1 (poor) and decile 10 (rich) schools. "With relatively few in between". Well not quite Si baby. Half are in between but anyway with the accuracy of Monday to Thursday's work we've come to expect a bit of lazy poverty hyperbole.

In decile 1 schools, such as the closest one for Carla and Craig's kids when they get older, only 43% of pupils attended preschool. Compared with 94%. Why? Isn't it free? For heavens sake why aren't kids going to pre-school in decile 1 areas? Hello? You get to drop your kids somewhere and you don't have to look after them which gives you time to clean the house. Or not as the case may be.

Despite all the recycled clothing and donation places these days, children still are coming to school without the right clothing. Apparently they can't be clothed often because parents can't afford the power to do the washing.

I'm sorry but laundry detergent works in COLD water and if its good enough for one time solo mothers like Diane Foreman after a full day of business meetings to wash her undies in a hotel sink, what on earth are these parents doing? Three words - cold+water+surf. Even someone as inept and inexperienced as myself with menial tasks as washing knows where to find the detergent aisle.

Then the hallelujah moment, if schools get parents more involved the children do better. One year 13% of parents at a decile 1 school attended parent-teacher interviews. The teachers must be beside themselves.

As I've previously blogged, I don't blame teachers. The responsibility of getting a child to the school gate to learn and home to do homework is with parents. These poor teachers can't be responsible for social work that parents are creating for them by being inept.

Collins magnificently omits the simple fact that decile 1 school receive far greater funding per student than decile 10 schools. That is, if money is the answer it would have worked.

The answer of course is better and more active parenting. But no one wants to point the finger at that do they? They are then criticised for not having children or the way they raise their children and the "rich prick" taunts that go with it.

The only inequality in education is the inequality in parenting skills. And just as there are terrible and great parents in lower socio-economic groups there are terrible and great parents among higher socio-economic groups as well.

The second article commences with a three year old bragging about his Uncle being in jail and how he was going to "smash him".

Apparently no pre-school would take him. Why?

Kids Count sounds like a Whanau Ora showpiece. The staff sound like absolute angels and if Whanau Ora is to work this is where it needs to go. However it all seems a bit fluffy in being "non-judgmental because the parents of these children were born 15 years ago".

Carla and Craig send their kids to Kids Count. WINZ pays the fees because we now learn Carla suffered post natal depression not after child 3 but at number 2. Then went out and bought more milk instead of contraception and had child 3.

But to give them some credit, Craig and Carla are the parents obviously who care enough to enrol their kids in early childhood education. Even if it is with kids who have prison inmates in their family.

Collins then tries to intertwine inequality back to our idiot UK immigrant mother Anita with a high income husband running his own business.

Anita's little angels are homeschooled. They are gifted and special needs. Every child of the middle classes/high incomed these days is of course gifted and special. They couldn't possibly go to a normal school could they and adjust to the curriculum?

Ben, the 13 yo is a trick. "It's harder to teach someone who's gifted". Really? From the mouth of a 13 yo. Who is so gifted he can't do maths and certain subject he would "fall behind".

Anita's children have a "natural learning philosophy" where they can learn about anything that interests them. Wtf?

Wouldn't you love to employ them in ten years time? One day the poor wee dears will have to leave Mummy's bosom and get a job and do what they are told.

While parents have the right to choose of course, I am against homeschooling. It's for hippies, kids who are socially inept who cannot defend themselves from being beaten up and parents who would still breastfeed a child at 13yo if it was the social norm.

I don't know what Collins' piece was meant to prove here. The children from "poverty" appear to be being looked after with specialized care and higher funding, likewise those from the wealthy background where the parents seem hellbent on making their children feel so special they reduce the odds of the child to integrate back into society.

Lack of money doesn't create educational inequality. It also doesn't create good or bad parents because there are rich and poor parents who are doing great jobs and terrible jobs. But behind every good student there is almost always at least one supportive parent or member of an extended family.

Simon Collins is going to tell us all the answers tomorrow. If he actually comes up with them this will be a Canon Award winning series. If not, it will be an example of some of the worst, least balance repeating I've ever seen. Well, since the Inside NZ mockumentary. And worthy of a press council complaint.

People are quick to tell me via email when I am wrong and not one person has said anything to me this week other than they cannot believe the absence of any common sense whatsoever from our precedent families. Even centrists think it is outrageous that a woman with three children +1 she cannot already afford, chooses to not buy contraceptive and instead buy milk.

I can't wait until Labour through its Socialist Cindy Ardern tries to attack Paula Bennett with this pathetic excuse for journalism. I hope Cindy tries to table this nonsense in the House and it is refused after she's squashed like the bug she is by Bennett as Ardern was The Crusher Collins on Thursday when she tried with Holly Walker to get a whine on.

Milk Over Contraceptives - The Choices We Make

2012-02-09T20:00:00.011+13:00

Today's Collins cringefest centres on the bottomless pit of health.

I say bottomless as New Zealand could spend a trillion dollars it didn't have on health and there would always be some people who remain unhealthy as they don't take responsibility for themselves and their kids.

In a redux of Inside NZ, Collins trots out to see a South Auckland Doctor who blames poor health on "overcrowding and poor housing".

Apparently it is "difficult to keep the hygiene going when you have too many people in the house". Really? I thought the more idle hands you have in a house subsidised by the taxpayer the more hands you have available to help clean up?

Overall New Zealand's rate of rheumatic fever is 6 in 100,000 people or 240 cases per 4 million people. Porirua's is much higher.

The taxpayer has recently forked over millions for home insulation and Collins repeats the very low cost of going to the Doctor for low income earners. Just $17 for adults, $11.50 for kids and FREE for under sixes. I do believe that if you are on a benefit and high use then your prescriptions are free.

Free healthcare for under sixes gives absolutely NO excuse for the poor to claim inequality in healthcare. If you gave adults free healthcare, would it make a blind bit of difference if they didn't turn up to the Doctor or apply some basic common sense to maintain a healthy lifestyle? No, you would just see an endless queue at the Doctor from the responsible middle classes every time Johnny has a sniffle. Healthcare must be price rationed for this reason.

Here is an example of services targeted at Maori in Clendon where all these "third world" diseases are meant to be occurring. A clinic where the worst cot cases 0-17 years old can see a doctor for FREE, senior citizens can see a doctor for FREE and adults with a Community Services card can see the doctor for just $10. Other clinics allow a gold coin Koha.

I watched the Inside NZ documentary and I saw a hell of a lot of state housing tenants with all day up their sleeves and not an ounce of hygiene practiced. I saw a hell of a lot of whinging about mould for example.

Even private housing gets mouldy. When it does you need a bucket and a mop and some elbow grease to clean it. I recall my early days in a nice classic Kiwi weatherboard house before the dehumidifier was freely available in stores, and my mother and grandmother spending hours in the winter months scrubbing mould off the window framing. The house was like many in rural New Zealand situated in bitterly cold frosts in winter and little sun in the summer. I frequently employed the sleeping bag even in front of the open fire with the cat lying over top of me to keep warm. Most New Zealanders have rolled this way it is not special to live in cold conditions. Our parents seemed to have a knack of building the coldest bloody hell holes imaginable in the 60's and 70's.

Did I see the same with state house tenants on Inside NZ? No. Someone else's job to clean the mould in the house aye? The landlord. And brrr it's cold here, I'm living it hard if I need to use a blanket. Come on even Socialist Cindy from Labour cannot defend this ineptness,

The second article focuses further on overcrowding. We are reminded yet again that "children in poverty" is a neverending definition of "living in homes with less than 60 percent of the median income after housing costs".

By this definition you can NEVER end poverty can you? Child poverty can only be improved by making more childless people have less than 60 percent of after housing cost median income. It is a silly definition not worthy of worrying about.

Dr Baker states that rheumatic fever was "almost exclusively a Maori and Pacific disease" and blames overcrowding. I do ask this then, there are still many European people in state housing just as poor and overcrowded you have to assume because of it having to share with family. Are you saying they are not catching rheumatic fever because their homes are not overcrowded? Or perhaps other factors such as hygiene and not sleeping on floors and mats can be taken into account? Isn't there a maximum amount of persons allowed in each state house? There are in private rentals.

But the bit that had me laughing (as none of the rest of the article was that funny) was poor young Carla 29yo mother of three with one SOCK to support as well who states:

"I had to put off my medication for post-natal depression and contraceptive pills....it's $3 or something but that could go towards milk".

Would a Doctor please remind Carla that milk is plentiful in supply from your own bosoms when you stop the contraceptive pill even for a few days and become pregnant again. And introduce her to depo provera.

Face meet palm. It is Thursday and this woman is still providing gems of amusement.

Faux measures of poverty seem to be the least of the next generation of New Zealanders problems.

Having terminally stupid parents making bad choices appears far more damaging.

Tomorrow's cringe-feat will be on education. Lets see how teacher unions are whining that kids are coming to school hungry, tired and diseased. In the UK just this week we have seen evidence that children are being sent to school in nappies. Nothing should surprise us.

Removing Red Tape and Pinko Policy

2012-02-08T20:50:00.005+13:00

Simon Collins is now into day three of the manufactured "inequalitygate" and well into just living in the past crazy stuff.

Today we were subjected to the alleged inequality of housing. Where the grand conclusion seems to be ACT policy of cutting red tape.

The first piece took us back to the past where families could capitalise their family benefit to buy a house. This sort of delusionary policy ended in 1986 after Roger Douglas and Labour had to clear up Rob Muldoon's reign of fiscal terror. And large double digit interest rates where there wasn't the sort of banking liquidity as we have today. I don't recall this policy funnily enough but New Zealanders should as they are still paying for it. From 1946 to 1985 the benefit was paid for every child regardless of parental income. Similar benefits exist of course in welfare for families, the modern day uncapitalised equivalent.

Collins suggests it is impossible to capitalise today due to welfare recipients "fluctuating and unpredictable income". I call bullshit on that as it is first and foremost completely unaffordable with the increase in population growth and simply the stock of housing available in main centres.

Give everyone say $120,000 (a fifth of the modern day average home in Auckland) to buy their own home and what do you think happens? Apart from crippling the economy. House prices rise that is what happens.

Craig and Carla have "no prospect of buying a house". Yes well we've already examined why. And is it a bad thing they can't? Is it a necessity to own your own home?

I think not. Unless you are hungry for capital gains. Renting is still cheaper rent v interest, opportunity cost and outgoings than owning your own home. It has been for me since I left home at age 17 living in five different countries across dozens of properties. New Zealand is not alone internationally for its citizens wedded to the crazy notion of housing being affordable to all. Problem is in every country home ownership is as realistic to most people as a date with George Clooney is for me. Acceptance is the most important part so you can avoid the disappointment of failure.

Its not 1946 or even 1985. Times have changed and even though Winston Peters is still in Parliament he's sporting a more crooked brand of wig than his beautiful mop from the 80's.

The second piece titled "More become tenants in own city". Here Collins answers his own questions as to why this has happened and it has absolutely nothing to do with inequality or poverty.

Regulatory restrictions and demographics. But no Collins brushes those aside and focuses on the fallacy of inequality.

He returns to our UK immigrant couple and speaks with the air-head of a wife who thinks the tax system she has benefited from is "morally wrong". Perfect. I look forward to Anita's tenants receiving free rent because it is "morally wrong" to benefit from them. And how about dropping the tenancy tribunal action against a tenant who has caused damage in their Manurewa house because that would be "morally wrong" as well. It's not their fault.

The third article states the renting trend will last decades. Quite a blindingly obvious statement as home ownership requires money.

The conclusion to this article was Auckland families could be helped by council cutting red tape.

Arthur Anae gives a common sense solution particularly for Island families who seem to better stomach parents living on the same section as their children. I endorse this approach as I was brought up having my grandparents living next door and for grandchildren it is fabulous and gives you a second home and babysitters, even one of our family cats attempted unsuccessfully to escape his primary residence and permanently move next door so good was the arrangement.

So today's series of articles promotes ACT red-tape policy and concludes with population growth there will be a shortage of 300,000 low cost houses needed in 40 years.

Tomorrow's feature is health where no doubt we will find Craig and Carla have children with all manner of health problems and endless complaints about the cost of the bottomless pit of healthcare.

Family Planning on Other People's Money

2012-02-07T19:49:00.002+13:00

Simon Collins has continued to manipulate Auckland couple Carla and Craig in his "inequality" series.

Today was a stunning piece of glib one-sided repeating "Aussie's Baby Bonus A NZ Drawcard".

Collins reports our poverty pin-ups pay just 17.4% of their pre-tax income in tax. In Australia they would pay 21.5%. So if they focused solely on working for a living the conclusion is low income New Zealanders are better off working in New Zealand than Australia.

They would get almost the same welfare top-ups in both countries.

But Australia, as I showed yesterday is the highest growing developed country in the world and has a baby bonus of A$209 a week for six months after a baby is born. Carla doesn't work so cannot qualify for New Zealand's parental leave.

Collins concludes that this handout makes it better for Craig and Carla to live in Australia. Despite the baby bonus being targeted to encourage young Australians to breed, not the spawn of a 50 something male breaking the half + seven rule.

Well hallelujah to that possibility they are better off in Australia and if they think this is true and will base a decision on being A$209 a week better off for 6 months then I implore Paula Bennett to personally ensure they are given one way tickets as soon as possible.

Anyone basing family planning on whether they get money to do so from other taxpayers is not really a quality citizen.

If Chinese could come to New Zealand and do likewise I am sure there would be howls of protest. We don't let immigrants openly bludge like that, so why do New Zealanders get away with it?

Kiwis even contemplating doing the same in Australia? Nah, we will write it up as an example of inequality and how Auckland is a "city divided". Australia won't mind paying for New Zealanders babies.

I can't wait for the housing special tomorrow where we can read of Craig and Carla's accommodation that no doubt is too small/isolated/cold/mouldy/cheap for them and they need to move closer to town/into Remuera/next to nicer neighbours/schools etc...

The Poverty of The Penis

2012-02-06T22:31:00.015+13:00

Every year the Herald seems to run a series of case studies where poor unfortunates volunteer their income and expenditure details to contribute to "struggle street" stories. Usually around budget time, however random spurts occur throughout the year.

The problem is that as I have analysed before the people used are one step short of having no brain matter whatsoever.

I am now starting to think these are the best most representative examples the Herald can find and that in fact there is a perfect positive correlation between stupidity and faux poverty and inequality in New Zealand.

Today's example tried to play a hardworking UK immigrant man with an idiot of a wife against a pair of breeders. A ridiculous piece by Simon Collins who is old enough to know better.

True to form politicians from the left couldn't help themselves and we were treated to some David Cunliffe incomprehensible poverty poetry right up there with his fabulous rendition "I am Harvard". An upper caps allegedly-educated attempt at something we have only seen in the blogosphere from the brilliant mangled mind of Phil Ure.

"The Strugglers" are a mis-matched 51 yo with a 29 yo who simply must be from West Auckland originally - Craig and Carla. C&C.

Right away Carla is breaking all manner of female common sense. At 29 years of age and a woman if you are to break the half + seven rule and hook up and breed with a man 22 years older then let him be one who is at least self-supporting.

Else you are better off on your own or an underachiever your own age with a chance of changing his future.

I am often chided in applying this rule for a lack of romance, however it is also a measure of your own independence as a woman. One day if you are rich enough to support a man 22 years older than yourself then this rule won't apply and you can co-habitate with any man you like. The problem at that point is you won't want to because you will pity him like you do a cold, wet Siamese kitten on a doorstep being chased by a mouse rather than see him as a useful example of testosterone capable of matching you even in the scratcher let alone in open debate.

Carla not only puts up with an underachieving bloke dumb enough to be interviewed by Simon Collins, she's got a SOCK (some other c----s kid or as the Herald terms it "Cinderella syndrome") on the scene. The good news is she doesn't have to put up with Craig around the house as he has to work seven days a week.

Sticking the harsh but wonderful Suze Orman test on them we get the following:

1. Two cars of $160 a week. Beggars belief as to what cars they bought/financed.
2. Child support for SOCK of $132 a fortnight. So Craig can't afford his first child. How on earth did Carla think this would end up?
3. Credit card debt. Go figure. Who gave them a credit card?
4. Petrol of $120 a week. So $280 a week is being spent on cars?
5. Wear shoes til they have a hole in them? Seen my shoe collection? I think most people do this. Even I resole. Especially if they are my favourites.
6. An old couch? So what most student flats have them and at 29 yo she's not much past that.
7. Laptop won't work. Cancel the broadband then.
8. Haven't had a family holiday. Hardly the biggest sacrifice. The UK immigrant couple didn't make any money for five years working all week.
9. They eat meat and veges sparingly and eat noodles, risotto or macaroni cheese. Along with most of Italy and their people seem alright.
10. At 51 years old this my very well be as good as Craig is going to get, an unskilled office furniture deliverer. Carla will have to enter the workforce at some point however with three children the welfare system heavily stacks any advantage to her doing so while they are net beneficiaries. The tax credits alone this family soak up are $211 a week from the taxpayer and Craig is only paying $132 in tax from his gross 40 hour week x $20 an hour. His child support of just $66 a week will be paying stuff all towards his other child.

The conclusion is that inequality is created by bad personal choices. No one forced these two to have three children of their own in addition to a SOCK. They didn't accidentally have three children. The only thing the taxpayer should be paying for is Craig to have the snip.

Am I picking on Craig and Carla? Yes. But only because they have been silly enough to be used for this story. They are not the only family living like this. Will this be a permanent or temporary state for these people? Hard to tell. They have chosen to make life as difficult as possible for themselves that is for sure.

Inequality and with it "child" poverty is a mathematical equation that even the most simplistic of persons can understand. The more children you are financially responsible for the less likely you are able to be financially responsible for them.

David Cunliffe says "no one wants to be poor". If this is really the case then why do New Zealanders try so very hard to be poor? That is the essence of what Labour have to get to the bottom of. For if it doesn't it risks alienating their middle class supporters who turned their back on them when they decided to adopt the mad as batshit policy to give beneficiaries welfare for families. Labour doesn't need to target the lowest common denominator anymore, these people vote Mana or maybe Greens.

Do not be afraid to apportion blame on low-income people for poor choices and being in the position they are in. No one wants to remove welfare to the most needy (by my definition Christchurch earthquake victims and those incapacitated by severe physical illness or handicaps), but families who do not help themselves should not be helped.

To humanise the problem if Cunliffe had a 29 year old daughter who brought home to his Herne Bay millionaires row a man 22 years older than herself from his electorate in New Lynn who didn't have a chance of supporting a proposed family of a dependent and four children, I bet Cunliffe would apply a calm, practical world view to matters and then stick a size 46 Brioni boot firmly up that man's backside. So why isn't he prepared to do that as a politician to the collective Craig's out there?

Until the quality of sperm improves in New Zealand even this faux poverty and inequality will be a sole function of bad breeding and poor personal choices.

New Zealand, in 125th place has one of the largest population growth rates in the OECD. Behind only all manner of terrible African, South American and Caribbean basket cases. There is only resource rich baby-bonused Australia at 101st, the tinker-ridden collapsing Irish economy at 112nd and the long slow crumbling US at 118th ahead of New Zealand in the ability to breed.

I wonder if the Herald will examine inequality and poverty with this statistic? And conclude New Zealand is a world leader at promoting people to breed who cannot necessarily afford it.

Hickey Advocates Crashing The Currency

2012-02-05T23:50:00.008+13:00

A Bernardism for Sunday

It means that investors can borrow at near zero percent interest rates and then buy assets in higher interest rate currencies to make an easy profit. It is fueling a surge in cash around the globe on a hunt for hard assets, such as farmland, mines and oil fields.

It creates an enormous game of musical chairs in the currency markets. It means that the last one to print and devalue is the loser.

Only problem with Hickeynomics is that foreign investors have cash. The Chinese are flush with it. Cold hard ones. They don't need to borrow. They don't put cash in the bank as it earns zero interest.

Crashing the New Zealand dollar only make New Zealand assets cheaper so foreigners will line up to buy more land and assets. If as Bernard advocates foreigners want to cash in capital gains rather than long term revenue streams, it stands to reason crashing the currency is far better for foreign investors than low interest rates even if they are borrowing which are just on revenue account.

On a localised level to give an example I cashed in almost all my New Zealand currency at 83 cents. I predict it may rise back up to around 86 cents but I am risk averse to holding on that high and missing the cycle.

I will buy it in at around 75 cents and do this all over again. If you don't need the money right away and are using your pocket money this is a reasonably conservative way of earning gains and no different to what fund managers or individuals do with stocks when they see opportunity in the market. If Hickey wants Key to assist to crash to 50 cents I would be delighted. Problem is Key is far smarter at currency than most of us and knows he can't do this without denting New Zealand's books as the market players all with more cash than his government will bet to beat it. I don't care about putting money in a bank account and getting a zero % interest rate when you can trade within conservative margins a couple of times a year. Tax free here as well.

I will buy New Zealand assets again when the dollar does drop back to a lower level and it will only do this when the USD recovers. Which bites right back into Bernard's infamous housing crisis posts.

Morgan Incapacitated In Ice

2012-02-05T23:24:00.006+13:00

The news we have all been waiting for.

In four days time expert on how others should pay more tax, Gareth Morgan is hold up for a month with Te Radar, Nick Tansley, Lance Wiggs and some other unfortunates for an ENTIRE month on a boat. Internet will be a scarce resource. Silence may result. Before a deluge of global warming/climate change panic and more reminders of the daft capital tax as Morgan cuts the fine line again between hypocrite, volatile political activist and philanthropist.

I wish the other crew members well. Especially the Bear. All look in good shape for the rough voyage ahead.

I hope they have taken earplugs, earmuffs and tramadols for the pain. And something for headaches as well.

The ship’s complement has ended up as I’d hoped, a wide cross section of New Zealanders.

Given a slot is around $20k per person for the last trip, I doubt that but in Gareth's world it is everyone else who has to practice perfect equality and not himself.

Château LaFoot In China

2012-02-05T20:49:00.003+13:00

The South China Morning Post this morning featured an amusing article about fake Chateau Lafite Rothschild. It is not available online but I have found a similar link.

"China is not a mature market for wine. What the consumers care about most is the label on the bottle, not the taste of the wine," Lu Fei, manager of a wine salon in Beijing, told the Global Times Monday.

"Chinese consumers have been in a frenzy to buy Lafite to offer it as a gift, which has shored up its prices," Lu said.

Due to the high profit, illegal winemakers produce numerous fake bottles, targeting inexperienced consumers.

"Almost 90 percent of the Lafite sold in China is fake. The prevalence of counterfeits has gradually driven consumers away from the brand and eroded its value," consultant Sommelier Duan Lian told the Global Times Monday.

What I find most amusing of course is that the Chinese cannot taste the difference. I believe this given the Chinese are still prone to mixing reds with coke. Second only in humour to the country known for fakes is now a victim of its own success.

I have a few friends who collect wine. I have learned the most valuable of investment lessons from them. Don't. Unless you love wine and are prepared to drink your entire collection, the value of it is quite a remarkably volatile prospect. The storage costs are hideous and it is tricky to get temperatures right. And at the end of the day with the old stuff you can never be guaranteed once you open that ten thousand dollar bottle - that it isn't completely off.

It has got me thinking though. If they can fake Chateau Lafite, can they fake milk?

The 1%

2012-02-05T20:08:00.008+13:00

Waitangi Day is for the real scum 1%. The Harawira's.

The Harawira family have hijacked the event yet again. Another buffoon spawn from the defective yet fast spreading Harawira seed has misused the "n" word all over the Marae at MP's. I hope that the net result of today is Hekia Parata receives upgraded security detail. And once again a reminder that having her husband Wira facilitate privatization meetings on Marae will be a disaster.

Mana are a political party with the highest ever popularity of 24,168 party votes. That is the Harawira trash mandate. Hell even ACT in its first election pulled 126,442 votes.

Mana and the Harawira's represent Maori as much as the owner of Pastis represents all French people in New Zealand and the owner of Grand Harbour represents Chinese.

As for the 99% of New Zealanders who will be enjoying the day off, we plan to honor them in Whaleoil's blogging "Brown Out" where all talk of Waitangi Day on Monday will be out of bounds.

Silence is often the most effective tool.

Ignoring the Harawira's would be a huge step New Zealand could make as a nation and if Maori are to be involved in Waitangi Day then let it be Maori who represent more than the 1% and have something constructive to add.

Hone forgets that when he was in the Maori Party he and Mummy were more than happy to suck up to John Key when he thought there was some dollars in it for them.

And Mummy is still clutching the arm of Key as her family continues to take the piss.

Update:

Tau Henare has his take from an on-the-ground account of what really happened.

I would like the genetically deformed buffoon to call Tau the "n" word and see what happens.

How To Beat I-Tunes In New Zealand

2012-02-04T00:30:00.007+13:00

Sick of only having NZ i-tunes shows?

A friend of mine who has elevated himself to the top tier referred me to this site

www.jerrycards.com

For a small premium Jerry can turn your NZ i-tunes account (in my case a Hong Kong account where we CANNOT ACCESS i-tunes) to a US one. Just make up a US address and it works.

This will change your life if you love the latest movies, songs and HD DVD's.

You can also buy i-tunes Match that for an annual subscription will send your CD collection to the i-cloud.

Buy with your credit card and automatically receive the i-tunes code for the card of the value you have bought. Remove your credit card from the account record then use the i-tunes number from the voucher.

Easy. And all legitimate as Jerry buys from Apple itself. It is a breach of Apple's terms and conditions but considering I have heard they even price their songs and movies differently across regions I say stuff them they deserve it.

This sort of fiddly crap required to beat the system is the reason I have sympathy for Kim Dot Com. New Zealand is bad enough with the recent US shows, try Hong Kong where we cannot even access album artwork let alone the purchases you can in New Zealand on i-tunes let alone buy songs. We also don't have any Apple TV service.

I am more than happy to pay for the services offered but Apple and co take the piss when they don't offer it.

Kit Dot Com should be freed on this basis.

Movie and music bosses haven't moved with the times. Stick your product on i-tunes and open it up to the world with one pricing model and let us access everything at the same time.

Don't do this and you create arbitrage opportunity that Kim Dot Com provided a solution for and you deserve to be pirated. Many frustrated users of technology hold his view and I for one come out n support of it.

Jerrycards.com is a service we should not have to use.

Happy Seventh Anniversary To Me

2012-02-02T06:08:00.003+13:00

On Friday I have officially been in Hong Kong for seven years so can apply for my permanent residency card. Unlike some who buy it I've actually earned mine by living here the entire time. I wouldn't say Hong Kong is an easy place to live as a New Zealand female it has definitely had its moments.

After this time I do though feel qualified to at least share a top ten of things I have learned doing business here and in the Mainland so you can see just how difficult it is for aspiring New Zealanders who think they can come here and rule the world.

1. Any Westerner or even Chinese person who claims to be an expert in doing business in China, is not. The experts are already rich and they don't like sharing. Every part of China is different, every industry and every person has different morals, ethics and way of doing things. Just like back home.

2. Cash is not only King it is Queen and the Prince. Limit allowing Chinese to run up credit. Cash upfront, especially on volume deals where they've offered to buy 100x of a product. Tomorrow usually never comes.

3. Lowest price when pitching almost always beats quality of service or even loyalty. Regardless of what is said about service being important. The market in China hasn't evolved that far. I have found they will put up with bad or negligible service before putting up with paying even slightly a higher price.

4. Chinese will claim poverty when it suits then arrive to the meeting in a chaffeur driven Rolls Royce wearing head to toe Patek Phillipe, Chanel and fur coats. Take everything at face value. No one here is as rich or as poor as they seem. They lie, scheme and bullshit to make a buck. Just like every other group of people in the world.

5. It is hard for Chinese people to make money in China. It is very hard for a Westerner. Witness how few New Zealanders have made successful businesses here. Never underestimate how good a businessperson has to be as an outsider to make money in China. It is not easy. It is easier to live here as a Westerner and make money doing business with the rest of the world.

6. The first time a Chinese person rips you off do not go on a bender in Shanghai. It is far cheaper and safer to turn around and simply throw your chair through the hotel window. Glass and labour to repair the glass is cheap and you probably never wish to return to the hotel anyway.

7. When you eat chicken penis and all the other weird foods around, the Chinese are laughing at you not with you. Avoid all dining experiences where possible unless you have an iron stomach. No good can come from being in the eating situation. Send your staff to "eat for the company".

8. Never do anything free when promised future value. The future will never arrive and they'll find another sucker who will do something for free. Be very cynical with promises of riches ahead. Never spend any money before it is in your bank account.

9. The value of a contract is equal to your ability to enforce the contract. Which is often zero. You can't just wander off to the friendly High Court and get a fair hearing. There's law here and then there is enforcing the law. The rule of law here is a very fluid concept which is what makes it different to doing business back home or with say our friendly Australian neighbours.

10. This is still and I think always will be the wild west for Westerners. Don't cry when you are ripped off. No one here cares. Even the media. There's no Kevin Milne, no Fair Go and no Bernard Hickey to run to. And no political sympathy for foreigners or any sitting in Parliament to help.

Ngai Tahu Flog Off More Land Than Westpac To Foreigners

2012-01-31T03:07:00.004+13:00

Ngai Tgahu know all about asset sales so should be supporting National's privatisation programme. Here are just two recent examples of Maori more than happy to flog off their assets to foreigners who need OIO approvals.

In 2010 they sold 1348 hectares in Kaikoura to an American couple for 7.5 million dollars. They paid 8 million dollars so made a $500,000 loss.

In 2011 they sold 18,000 hectares of forest to a Swiss owned family company for 22.9 million dollars. And continue to manage it. Alf Grumble reported it at the time on his blog noting the hypocrisy and lies of Tuku Morgan in relation to asset sales. Ngai Tahu sold this land under the euphemism of a "change in investment strategy". National are having that same change in investment strategy selling stakes in SOE's.

“Iwi won’t sell and the investment is intergenerational,” Morgan says.

What ballocks.

The Westpac farms were just under 8,000 hectares. So Maori have already sold in one deal more than twice the land area of the Westpac farms and its export cash flows in forestry.

Now Maori wish to construct an argument that National's privatisation programme cannot go ahead because of the SOE Act due to a conflict with Treaty Principles. More taking of the piss.

Selling assets to locals and foreigners seems to be completely in line with Maori principles of making profit or a loss when inept, for themselves. Ngai Tahu have proven that Maori principles are to sell when it suits them.

Another example of Maori completely taking the piss for their own commercial ends.

No one need think Maori are not immune from selling their precious taonga when required. And there is nothing wrong with this, just don't hide behind the skirt of our Queen Elizabeth and some loosely interpreted Treaty principles when the Crown wishes to do likewise to pay for things like schools, health and a legacy of years of over-spending on welfare on a feral heaving pathetic underclass.

Book Review - Taking It From Behind

2012-01-31T02:16:00.011+13:00

Blogging has evolved over the years. I've had offers of many free things: CD's, electronics, party invites, discounts, food, alcohol and most pleasurably sex from readers but never in a zillion years did I think I would be offered a book to review on the four letter "a" word. No I can't publish it here.

No one would believe me if I said I was otherwise randomly asked to review a book by American author Dr Sadie Allison on "the under-explored seat of love". Of course I was always going to accept the challenge of reviewing "Tickle My Tush" despite blushing and giggling all day when sent the email invitation from her publicist. Others seem to have been as well and like pussies turned down the challenge. I received a fridge magnet too however I didn't think of Cheryl Cole's best almost gay friend while reading. Unlike this slowie I didn't require two sittings, I swung through the book in my lunchtime in the most unromantic of places in the world - the office.

Looking at the Doc's credits she holds a Doctorate in Human Sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. Many men I've met in bars at 3am claim similar credentials. She has been on most advanced American talkshows. Except Oprah. Which is a compliment really as the only backwards motion Oprah appears to want to endorse is the naming of her production company.

My comfort zone really is in her earlier title "Tickle His Pickle". I wished the Good Doc had sent that first to ease me into it her karma sutra style of sex education. Tickle My Tush is literally a very tough, bottom-clenching little book exposing what Dr Sadie terms politely ones "penetration inhibition".

A wise friend tried to talk me out of it on the basis reviewing the book wasn't part of my brand. She was outvoted by my blog target audience of advanced middle aged men thinking it was a fabulous idea as long as I sent them the book once I was done. For their wives and/or girlfriends of course.

A copy of the book is being sent to Auckland for passing round forthwith. Gentlemen please be careful not to glue the pages together.

I'm not the only woman to flinch at the mention of the "a" word. I am taken back to a time at school where one particularly adventurous otherwise very attractive and lithe girl partook in the practice and was immediately nicknamed "Backdoor Pam" when the then love of her life blurted to everyone in the community he'd performed the act. At that point onwards, like agreeing to a sex video or nude pics only to have ex-boyfriends post online, bad publicity resulted always from being known as performing the act. Male discretion could never be guaranteed.

I have had several men at times in my life bravely suggest that I may enjoy it. Like I wouldn't have offered if I actually thought I would. Ironically always the ones more genetically blessed. I suggested back to those men that they may enjoy it as well. A conversation ender if ever there was one.

The cry of "Come on, up the botty, no children!" was the rumoured pitch from a to be unnamed Aucklander. Another declares in favour saying "Eight more muscles and four degrees warmer!". I am not sure even after reading Tickle my Tush cover to cover if that's celsius of fahrenheit. Then there's the infamous cry overheard by a neighbour from a lady to another less salubrious loud-mouthed type of "oh ****** not the broomhandle". The legends of men pleading for it are plentiful.

Amazing how women are expected to enjoy it, yet straight men get a leave pass on an "ick" basis. Same hole, same purpose, same mechanics. Yet only one gender in the heterosexual community is expected to take it there. Dr Sadie says homosexuality is judged not by whether you receive this pleasure but the gender of your partner. Hence a section on women with a device giving their bloke a good seeing to. "The pleasures you seek are right behind you" another of Dr Sadie's catch-cries. "It only hurts the first time" from a man's mouth doesn't translate into the poor wee dear happily lining up for just a finger for his own prostate check does it? It is a hard sell.

Dr Sadie writes a humorous often corny yet structured account of a deconstructed subject including female on male action. She works through the above apprehensions that I have exhibited here and provides another angle on them. Rear-entry if you like.

Despite her protestations it reads like a sex manual. By about page 78 and the zillionth reminder of the importance of lubricants I'm thinking the whole act is all a bit complicated and requiring much too thought and pre-planning. The section on STD warnings is very American and the disclaimer at the front of the book even more so. I looked for the disclaimer and legal work to sign before I could actually go to the next page.

I did learn an exciting new word "shejaculation". In intimate diagrammatical detail we are shown where a man's prostate is. I am sure sometime in the next 20-30 years this will be critically important in my personal development.

The problem with the practice is that without accessories like a rear view mirror, as a woman you only get that one angle. Dr Sadie gives us a back seat in the bus and compiles what I describe as the male perspective written by a woman. Yes, a male begging a woman to try the unspeakable.

I can't say Dr Sadie has converted my mindset into believing next to Lawn Bowls and Golf, that backdoor would be a suitable regular casual recreational pursuit for women under the age of enjoying perpetual knitting.

But each to their own and if you are in a relationship and already bored witless with missionary or explored every Karma Sutra front position imaginable then buying this book would seem a logical next step before either breaking-up or getting a Mistress or Toyboy. Or perhaps all of the above.

In any instance Dr Sadie has books for that as well in her empire. All small enough to read in bed. Together.

And the best part? What I can really thank the Doctor for.

I got to the end of the book, unclenched the cheeks as I closed the book and felt fabulously prudish and virginal.

Then went back to the computer to read pages of disclosure notes in annual accounts reviewing tax reconciliations.

Inequality Examples They Won't Mention

2012-01-30T01:36:00.003+13:00

I have just finished watching the most epic of tennis matches ever.

Did you know that the winner of The Australian Open Novak Djokovic of Serbia but living as a tax exile in Monaco is paid 110 times more than a first round loser in the tournament?

I bet they didn't discuss this inequality at Davos in Switzerland over the week and send out calls to Occupy Rod Laver Arena.

The 1% inequality myth can only be sold when the big guy can be painted as a hate figure. Sports such as basketball, football and baseball have had such massive inequality for years, however because the best paid persons are not all necessarily white old men in suits - no one wants to demonise them.

Athletes are a great example to discuss the other side of the debate. More than 99% of us will never play professional sport because we are not born with the right attributes. No amount of training can make someone into a world class athlete if they don't have a high base to work from. And even if a person is there is massive differences in skill levels and talent at even the highest levels of sports. It is the genetic luck of the draw in most cases.

Djokovic responded in a fashion that explains inequality perfectly after working more than five hours.

He is better than everyone else and bloody deserves it. That's all that needs to be said. Yes it is unfair he is so good but so what?

Woeful Choice For Privatisation Stooge

2012-01-30T00:29:00.006+13:00

This has to be the worst appointment of the year already. Maui Street has already opined and I agree with him from different views. Morgan is a concerned Maori against asset sales and I am a concerned supporter of the asset sales wishing for the process to be expedited and run smoothly enough so it can even be expanded to include such cash cows as Landcorp.

Wira Gardiner is an unusual creature I have examined before when he was entertaining an equally stupid idea that he could be National Party President. He threw his toys after a day, perhaps this is a backhander to invite him back into their trough? To marry an MP can be brushed off as a school girl or school boy mistake because they are all dastardly difficult and absent creatures. To turn around and volunteer to do it twice makes you insane or on the pull for the bonuses attached to it - government jobs.

Which is why appointing Wira Gardiner to broker talks with Maori about asset sales is a shocker from a non-Maori perspective. Having Tuku Morgan even mentioned in the same breath is an equal shocker.

We understand Maori views on asset sales perfectly. Hui isn't required. And really it matters stuff all what Maori think of asset sales because they didn't come out and vote against them in November last year, they sat on their couches watching the world go by. There are three groups.

a) Most Maori won't have a clue what is happening as they are nicely purposely disenfranchised by their Iwi.

b) Maori where Iwi have already spent their Treaty Settlement monies will be against the sales.

b) Maori where they are in a brotocracy position and can see the benefit if their Iwi can buy in. In other words - they are in it for their own benefit. Just like everyone else.

All will give reasons of assets being sacred to them as indigenous people while at the same time Ngai Tahu just last year flogged off some of their precious land to foreigners. We will all gush with their faux concern at asset ownership then roll our eyes as Maori take the piss yet again.

Appointing the husband of not just an MP but a Cabinet Minister is atrocious and already undermines the credibility of the process. It puts Hekia Parata in a conflict of interest and potentially damages her politically, it puts Gardiner himself in the same conflict.

A facilitator of anything has to be seen to be neutral. There can be no less neutral facilitator than one married to a now senior member of the very political party seeking views of others.

An effective Labour opposition would already be all over this.

Selling The Westpac Farms

2012-01-29T23:42:00.007+13:00

Some may call them the Crafar farms but that is horribly misleading. The Crafar's never owned them, like some $NZ47 billion of New Zealand's rural sector, the offshore banks do.

An idiot of a banker let some backward hicks run up $200 million of debt. Looking at a Clampett of a family is it surprising that some massively undereducated naive fools actually failed in this large business using OPM(other people's money)? How was this meant to turn out other than tears before bedtime? Loaning that much money to such unsophisticated brain matter based on volatile dairy pricing models and rank parcels of land.

I have posted enough in this debate if you go through my archives but I will leave you with this.

Among the special conditions of the OIO approval to the new buyers is this

* Help Landcorp to extend its business and market its products in China.

This has me laughing out loudly and fearful all at once.

Let us take a step back and ask, what exactly is Landcorp? Here it has jumped in to assist an OIO bid against the Faynau low-ball bid.

What business will it have in China? I shudder when I see New Zealand private enterprise in China with pipe dreams as to how easy it is. An SOE by definition is a far less capable business model. It is hard enough for Landcorp to run an effective model in a country they have full knowledge of.

Landcorp should be flogged off in John Key's privatization plan with all farms tagged for private sale. With some $1.6 billion dollars of land in an SOE is a huge valuation distortion in the market.

While trumpeting a $42.2 million net profit in 2011 (just some 2.6% on assets - less than interest in a bank), major changes in livestock and forestry valuations with the volatility that brings seem to be the main contributor making the actual trading returns even worse.

Landcorp is merely a proponent of state housing for farms. Even in a good year its net profit is less than 3% on its assets. The doyenne of the pro-farming blogging community Mrs Homepaddock thinks the return is tits.

Quite what Landcorp thinks it can achieve doing business in China? Hell it needs to learn how to make profits above interest rates in New Zealand first.

There is little reason to keep it.

All that is is achieving right now is a low return for taxpayers and like the nations state housing stock does for homebuyers, keeps farm prices artificially high..

The Hypocrisy of Bernard Hickey

2012-01-29T22:55:00.007+13:00

I have just about had enough of Bernard Hickey's strange chino-xenophobic rants loosely based on an economic reality obtained by channelling corporate welfarists like Selwyn Pellett and buddy Gareth Morgan.

From his piece today

The only way to end our addiction to overspending is to throw out the enablers of foreign borrowing and selling assets to foreign interests.

Hmm....the only way?

That's like saying the only way people addicted to shoving pies in their gobs can lose weight is by having their stomach size reduced with a taxpayer funded stomach stapling operation. Deborah Coddington went through this problem in detail today in the same rag.

How about New Zealanders learn to eat less?......Of middle and lower class welfare spending, paying ferals to breed and corporate welfare for his sensitive new age corporate confidants who suddenly find worth in hugging a nationalistic front so they can benefit for their own pockets.

One that made his millions to build a business by being a shareholder in a company that was sold to a large nasty multinational company owned by some Australians including worse still Dr Evil himself Rupert Murdoch. Yes Kiwibank would not have bought Morgan's Kiwisaver without his history having profited from "selling assets to foreign interests". Sending the profits offshore in exactly the same circumstances as selling a bunch of overpriced, undercapitalized farms. Fairfax can host Trademe offshore on any server they like in the world whenever they like. And outsource Labour. The Chinese can't take the Westpac land away.

There is no such thing as a nice businessman. Let us get that straight. Witness how the most Green loving turn when the chips are down and the environment is too costly on profit margins to save. Or evil people get when they are owed money and the squeeze goes on their business. If you own a business or are a shareholder you have a sole responsibility to maximize profits to yourself and other shareholders. Until you have enough money, relax and don't have to worry about it anymore.

At that point you cease to become a true businessman and turn into a philanthropist in some ritual cleansing exercise brought about by reading too much of wailers like Hickey to expunge the "evil of their dirty money".

The difference between a Michael Fay and the new age businessmen of corporate welfare who Hickey hugs to death is that Michael has not yet schooled himself on or cares about philanthropy.

Tweets From NYC

2012-01-27T03:04:00.001+13:00

Real. And an endorsement for the i-phone all at once.

See the Texts from NYC are real after all.

Thankfully Julia Wasn't Wearing Louboutin's

2012-01-27T01:21:00.007+13:00

This is a shot of Julia Gillard being rescued after falling over due to running from the baying mob of heaving pathetic tent-pitching underclass and random shit-stirrers in Australia.

All Tony Abbott said that is was time for a bunch of squatters to leave after FORTY years!! His words were "time to move on". Hardly inflammatory.

Already the underclass and their supporters are spinning like tops through social media.

"We didn't know she was in the building"

"We didn't mean for her to be involved"

Bottom line is this is why there is no such thing as a guaranteed peaceful protest. When you get a mob of people together things are always unpredictable. Their entire purpose is to intimidate in numbers with charging, shouting actions. If you haven't seen one in real life I suggest visiting even a small protest in New Zealand. Here is a report from the Occupy protest that I witnessed. The columnist took poetic license as I maintain that he was in fact the one who baited the crowd.

Sue Bradford for example has mastered the art of being non-intimidating and polite. She even comes over and chats to the various right-wingers around at the time. The rag tag bunch that she leads however have no such grace. Any slight deflection from Sue's command and it would turn into a shit fight.

Today the Aborigine ferals and their masters went out looking for a fight.

Earlier today one of the tent embassy's founders, Michael Anderson, addressed a rally at the site.

"To hell with the government and the courts in this country. You haven't got a high hope to take us on," he said.

"We will force these issues. Too many of our families have suffered for some bastard to get in the road."

These are not peaceful words. No courts, no government so the only words are violent barbaric ones.

They will get zero sympathy in Australia for their thuggish actions. I predict Abbott's polling will go up as he told it like it is. Although Gillard was gracious in ensuring Abbott shared her security detail as shown in this clip.

I am no fan of Julia Gillard but for a woman to be scared of her safety such that she panics and her reasonably flat shoe falls off, is disgusting. I would say the same if it was Helen Clark and I will say it for Gillard.

Update - own goal. It appears one of Gillard's staff tipped off the protestors that Abbott would be in the building, therefore responsible for endangering the Boss if you are not going to blame the ferals outside. Fired. But will they be re-hired later?

Ashleymadison.com Review

2012-01-26T23:10:00.001+13:00

Found this gem of a website Ashleymadison.com which encourages hook-ups for married persons wishing to enjoy casual sex. They came out with a survey in New Zealand about what sort of person cheats.

A reasonable sample survey has given me enough data to comment on what sort of man is a cheater:

National voter - only small sample size here due as I find most too left wing

Owns a PC - most own Apple now. Or are too old to use a computer.

Meat Eater - definitely, vegetarians don't even deserve a wife.

Has a tattoo - only one of those.

Smokes - never gone near a married man who was a smoker.

Christian - as I never discuss religion, pretty hard to tell however none seem too devote else assume they wouldn't come near me.

Fairly inaccurate I would say. Although it has been 18 months or more I think, since I went near a married man so am out of practice somewhat.

Ashleymadison.com doesn't seem to have come to Hong Kong yet. But I tried it for research purposes signing up to the New Zealand site as I am sure many did today.

Conclusion:

Totally fucked up. Sorry, not my thing and I cringed through it. It is like a smorgasbord of persons promoting themselves with complete and utter bullshit. It is worse than the lies someone will spout at a bar. Most people have an ambition ability gap and hello - men without their shirts on as their profile shot....unless you are Sonny Bill, just don't.

Limits? Anything goes....Jesus. Of course it doesn't. And if it does, perhaps not cool.

Swingers. No, there is a difference between someone who doesn't care that their partner is already married and a fucking swinger.

No fun if there is permission granted. Never understood swinging.

"Just an average Kiwi guy" - yeah, who wants to root around on their wife.

"Being a little older, am at a point of life where "it is not all about me". As much if not more pleasure comes with working with a lady to achieve a physical high for her" - yeah, your wife doesn't put out anymore does she? So it really is all about you.

"Older men take more time" - really?

"I live in Auckland but Travel to Napier regular. Want a no strings relationship.Live and work at home so am available during day if interested in just sex. Very up front with what I want.And I think I have as much chance of anyone replying to this add as flying to the moon next week". - at least realistic, although Virgin flies to the moon now.

"Discreet lover" - hello, your picture is on an internet dating site and you claim to be married!!

A BBC? That's like another language. I found a hell of a lot of new acronyms. Didn't understand most of them. Then I put my dirty thoughts cap on and googled and found the real meaning of BBC. Jesus wept. NSA? An Accounting firm where I am from.

Conventional Sex, Light Kinky Fun, Curious - Domination, Fetishes, Spanking, Blindfolding, Experimenting with Tantric Sex, Erotic Tickling, Experimenting with Sex Toys, Threesome, One-Night Stands, Open to Experimentation, Erotic Movies, Aggressiveness, Gentleness, Good with Your Hands, Sensual Massage, Extended Foreplay/Teasing, Likes to Give Oral Sex, Likes to Receive Oral Sex, Lots of Stamina, Kissing, Cuddling & Hugging, Sharing Fantasies, Sex Talk

Looking for discrete fun with those who like a BBC. I can be very unselfish in bed and satisfy you multiple times while holding back. Have a few kamasutra techniques up my sleeve too!

Yeah we get the picture - you are a dirty root bag. If you were a woman you would be called a slut.

The winner goes to the man spiky_one who proclaims "& I like 2 eat pussy". Gee thanks for that.

One man's picture is of his behind with his hand in his pockets wearing suit pants and business shirt.

Some are just confused. Do you drink or not. You can't even tell the truth about that.

Travel, Fine Dining/Candle Lit Dinners, Cooking/Barbequing, Physical Fitness, Cottage Country, Boating, The Outdoors/Nature, Romantic Walks, Long Drives, Wine Tasting, I Do Not Drink, I Am a Social Drinker

What I cannot understand is openly married men using their own pictures! Surely not. I am quite mortified at their stupidity. Ditto picturing yourself in undies in front of the mirror. Bad.

I have never quite understood internet dating/rooting.

Then it happened. As you were all expecting.

I found an ex of mine on it. Who either has the dumbest or most understanding wife in the world. #winning

New Zealand v Hong Kong Residency And Political Paranoia

2012-01-26T01:03:00.014+13:00

I have been following the colourful case of Kim Dotcom from afar and want to deliver a new perspective on it from the screeds already published in New Zealand. I wish to focus on this concept of residency and compare and contrast attitudes in the media and in politics to a case like Kim Dotcom.

I shall start from the premise that Kim is a total utter nutcase. Quite clearly slightly unhinged and eccentric as hell. He lives on another planet and makes Gareth Morgan look like a strong stable quiet individual. However none of the above should affect judgment on this case. Living in a region that is poorly served with legitimately available purchases of songs and DVD's (we have no iTunes or Apple TV devices available and movie releases in the theatre are months behind) I have some sympathy with the services provided by Megaupload to those who used it. If we can't buy it on a timely basis, pirating is the only way you can get your hands on it.

Kim has Hong Kong residency. A subject I know a bit about because next week I have made the seven year mark working in Hong Kong so qualify to apply for a permanent ID card and therefore have the right to live here without requiring a work permit. I will earn mine by physically working from a base here for seven years and being able to prove to authorities I have enough money to support myself and therefore not take welfare, health or education tax dollars. Mine will be a permanent residency.

There is another way to get residency in Hong Kong which I assume Kim took. That of the capital investment entrant scheme. After seven years under this scheme he could apply for what I am doing to gain permanent residency.

The most important here for our discussion is (d) - have no adverse record in both Hong Kong AND country/region or residence. Here is the declaration on the application form which would also include relevant background checks. It covers "elsewhere" so Germany:

Here are the stats on the scheme, most applicants are Chinese and plenty get turned away. Some 23% of the total were declined and 33% of foreign nationals. That is - money alone doesn't buy you a slot.

Applications can be declined without even a reason given. A final test of good character is usual in this and Hong Kong has a procedure here for declining without lawful reason and I guess even appeal.

And lying means the residency disappears.

New Zealand has a similar process of checks on applicants. Added to these checks, Hong Kong already made the checks on Kim Dotcom and he was granted residency here so New Zealand authorities could gain some comfort in that. That is another jurisdiction with a record of declining the applications of 1 in 3 foreign applicants passed him clean with the same background checks.

So the difference in New Zealand and Hong Kong

New Zealand
- sensationalist media coverage
- confusion between tests for OIO and residency
- Labour trying to make political mileage out of it
- NZ First trying to resurrect their support base with it
- calls for an inquiry
- public happy with compliance with US authorities demands
- talks of revoking residency

Hong Kong
- silent politicians
- barely made a ripple in the media
- public couldn't care less
- no one in the media or public has even questioned revoking his residency
- iTunes store doesn't even allow you in HK to legitimately buy music and movies, there is no Apple TV devices available for sale. Television shows are a mile behind the rest of the world and movies are released here months even after New Zealand
- Life goes on

As I have said many times, I do wonder about the health of New Zealand media and political obsession with such sensationalism when 6 nights out of 7 the leading headlines on the nightly news appear to be stories about weather.

And Labour should be a little more humble about the Kim Dotcom case. I recall Bill Liu, Whaleoil's expose, Liu's multiple identities and donations to the Labour Party. So will frontbenchers David Cunliffe and Shane Jones they will never forget Bill Liu. Neither will all Labour MP's old enough to have been around to facilitate the disaster.

Those who live in glasshouses should not be throwing rocks.

Auditors Put An End To Union Lies

2012-01-25T04:16:00.006+13:00

Ports of Auckland Fact Sheet - Ernst and Young

On December 2nd I published these figures after I requested them from Ports of Auckland.

The Stranded cried that the figures are wrong and launched personal attacks behind their shield of anonymity on everyone who dared question their Union mates.

On January 11th I suggested a recount based on Peter Kiely and Mike Williams and Waitakere.

The Ports of Auckland have done better.

Today they published a press release stating that Ernst & Young have audited the figures as correct. Here is the summary.

Team VRWC of Farrar, Whaleoil and myself have been vindicated and The Stranded and their Union mates look like a wet pack of lying sooks spreading misinformation. And still they keep spinning in the face of a big four audit.

Thanks to our team of VRWC blogs doing the job of journalists while our little paid press petals put their feet up in the wet that was the New Zealand summer, Unions can no longer run public misinformation campaigns of propaganda and smear in order to bring the public on their side.

Parsloe is whining that our actions are political, well of course they are bloody political. He's created a political shit storm, tried to bring Labour into it. Funded the Labour Party with his mates, and what does he expect now MUNZ are plain dirty liars? Does he expect the pro-employer hard right (and David Farrar) to sit back and take his shit? The mainstream media have created a gap in the marketplace because they are all still on holiday and we've filled it with facts. Audited facts.

They can no longer paint themselves as the good guys while they hold consumers to ransom. The Union can no longer be trusted with anything they say. MUNZ's credibility is shot and it is clear that the Good Old Boys are trying for one last gasp at workplace power grabbing hold of any politician to the left they can find in a desperate hope one of them will back their cause.

They won't because David Shearer is too smart to back racist, sexist, bully boy liars who are stuck in the past.

The day of racist and sexist Union bully boys running workplaces is firmly over.

What A Grand Idea

2012-01-24T05:40:00.004+13:00

Ms Reuben has given Paula Bennett her best idea yet.

Cut off benefits and give recipients a one way ticket to Australia.

A true win-win. And here for around US$137 for her and smaller for the children.

At just 26, in and out of employment and with a total of four children born into a situation that can be called voluntary poverty, this woman belongs in Australia. A richer country that thanks to an abundance of natural minerals can actually afford to fund this blunt instrument of a woman.

At 26 she has four children, ranging from a 12-year-old down to Te Rawhiti, who is just 13 months. She is in a Family Start programme run by Ngati Hine Health Trust, which invited her and about 80 others to a meeting with Ms Bennett about the green paper on vulnerable children.

Ms Reuben started her full-time role as a baby machine at age 14 by the calculations above. Instead of managing the situation by closing her legs and stopping when realizing any further children would be disadvantaged by her inability to master the Ph D required for modern day contraception, she popped out three more sprogs to a bloke or blokes who appear to have bolted.

Most 26 year olds are a couple of years out of University or Polytech and earning decent money even if they are working in a working class position.

Encourage Ms Reuben over to Australia so she can bludge off her mother and stop the breeding machine lifestyle she has been funded for by Paula Bennett failing to produce the sort of policy that clamps down on this attitude and this lifestyle being funded by people who read my blog.

"My mum is over there. She said there's a job sitting there for me. I've been out to employment before. But when I had to get childcare for my other children I was $40 better off working for a fulltime job, so it was not a win-win situation. It seems like a win-win situation just to go over to Australia, even though I don't want to."

Injured Shag Saved By Family

2012-01-24T05:26:00.003+13:00

Must have been a good shag then.

What I like about this story is that the family spent $2,000 to save the bird by flying it in a helicopter. If it is good enough for Michelle Boag to fly back in one to grab her passport on Waiheke Island I say it is good enough to do it for a shag. Thank God they stepped in else Gareth Morgan would have said he was going to save it, walked past and waited til its health was dire and only funded its funeral.

he injured pied shag was about to die in Sandy Bay, Port Charles, before it was rescued by the Davis family who paid $2000 to fly it to Green Bay's NZ Bird Rescue Trust.

Narelle and Gavin Davis' children, Ellie, 7, and Trent, 11, spotted the bird in front of their Sandy Bay bach three weeks ago.

''It was waddling up the road like a duck.

''He was just really really skinny and small,'' Narelle Davis says.

Lucky Whaleoil didn't see it. If it looked like a duck he would have run it over.

The story gets even better, the family had to save it from a pussy who wanted to have the shag.

'The biggest reason for making that decision was because I saw a cat that had been lurking around under our deck where the shag was and I could only guard him so much,'' she says.

''It was going to be a matter of time before the cat got him and we'd actually fallen in love with him.''

The Davis children have learned the most valuable of lessons.

Daddy's a big softie and if he spends $2,000 on a shag that looks like a duck and had to be saved from pussy they won't have any trouble getting what they want out of him in the future.

How Not To Treat Phoenix Fans

2012-01-24T05:10:00.004+13:00

Gareth Morgan thinks he is a bit of a K1W1 character. Fine, let him loudly shout at the top of his voice that he donates money to charity (despite evidence to the contrary), fund funerals for the homeless and go on expeditions to cold places to ride bikes. Let him sell his business tax free back to a taxpayer funded bank on an undisclosed valuation method, most of it containing his own funds to start with. Let him harp on about bringing in new taxes that he will never actually pay because by then he will be well retired off his son's bright idea. Let him lie about not wanting to own a business because, my God, it has 50 staff to manage because government has created the industry for him.

But when you own a football club and fans are not turning up to games, the last thing you do is make silly threats about moving the games when your most loyal fan base is still turning up.

What a dick.

Owning a football club in New Zealand is somewhat a labour of love, that's why Terry Serepisos did it, he loved the game and knew it was part-charity. Even if it was with someone else's money.

Now we have this loud mouth twat who you cannot call out without one of his cult followers screaming "tall poppy", spitting on Phoenix fans for not making him a return on his coin. Diddums. For a bloke who likes to have a good down-home and down to earth New Zealand reputation, and mouths off at those who he deems under the Book of Gareth to be full of themselves, he is behaving like a spoilt, full of himself dickhead.

Yesterday Mr Morgan said the consortium bailed out the Phoenix with the intention of making it a viable business but that would not be possible if people did not turn up.

Morgan should let them all in for free with the amount of tax free coin he has made from the taxpayer kindly buying his personal fund management business.

I mean for heaven's sake, it is not like he needs the money and he's giving so much of it away so loudly, surely Phoenix fans can benefit without threats made.

He bought in to the Phoenix along with a few other big-swinging dicks in Wellington for his own ego. He can lump it. Quietly.

Don't Mess With The Shock Jock

2012-01-23T23:24:00.002+13:00

"burly female" - You mean a fattie boomsticks Jock?

The case of Kim Dot Com will keep the NBR reporters in bad headlines and shock stories for a good year.

Leaked Labour Camp Schedule

2012-01-20T20:29:00.012+13:00

As part of the Vast Right Wing and Non Labour Left Wing Conspiracy (VRWNLLWC) I bring to you this official schedule for the Labour Summer Camp.

Documents that have been leaked to me however suggest that this schedule is just a front for what is really happening at the Labour Training Camp.

PROGRAMME

THEME: How the F**k Did We Lose So Many Votes To The Hippies?

FRIDAY 20 JANUARY 2012

3.30PM Arrival and time for you to confess and repent swearing on the grave of Michael Joseph Savage with new Dunedin North Labour MP Rev. David Clark if you did indeed split your vote and tick the Hippies.

5.30PM Summer School Opening Address

Jordan Carter - Introduction To The Enemy. Hippies and David P. Farrar

Policy Council Secretary and Representative to New Zealand Council. Labour candidate in 2008 and 2011. Jordan was instrumental in organizing Summer School as an annual event on the Labour calendar since 2003.

In this in-depth speech Jordan will explore the weaknesses and strengths of the two most evil forces against Labour in 2011. The Green Party and David P. Farrar. Jordan knows David P. Farrar better than any Labour Party member and has been chastised internally for hugging the Penguin. However today Jordan shares his decade of knowledge on the most evil force known to New Zealand politics.

5.45PM Housekeeping

Here Charles Chauvel will show you all how to make your bed properly. So you can tell the staff to do it for you later.

6.00PM Dinner

Our scrumptious three course meal will be prepared by in-house Chefs from the Auckland City Mission. Jacinda Ardern, fresh from a refresher course from her two day stint in New York almost a decade ago, will serve your meal. Entertainment from James Sleep and Michael Wood who will share with you the secrets of how to extract funding from your friendly corporate sponsors - the CTU/Maritime Union. Darien Fenton will be putting in a guest appearance showing you how to work a picket line while waiting for a handout.

7.00PM Welfare Reform

We have canned the guest speaker and instead will just watch a re-run of Inside New Zealand documentary commissioned especially for the Labour campaign by our mates.

8.30PM Debrief with David Shearer

David arrives refreshed from his mornings meeting with Garry Parsloe head of our corporate sponsor the Maritime Union and will be available to explain just how he became Leader when the membership really wanted David Cunliffe. It promises to be a stunningly open session where you can learn of David's time in Somalia fighting the evils of poverty by feeding the poor the skins of fresh fruit.

SATURDAY 21 JANUARY 2012

4.30AM Compulsory Bike Ride

Part-time Lower Hutt MP and Professional Cyclist Trevor Mallard will take you all for a compulsory bike ride through the roughest terrain he can find. Those of you who didn't bring bikes and instead took the one hour trip by car, can walk. This carbon friendly trail will show you the sort of discipline our Hippie friends had to win at the 2011 election.

5AM Coping With Loss

David Cunliffe will speak on his time dealing with disappointment. We haven't told him (or Greg Presland) yet but you will all be away biking with Trevor at the same time except those of you in wheelchairs or who are heavily physically impaired.

8.00AM Breakfast

If you still can stand after the compulsory bike ride our esteemed Deputy Leader Grant Robertson will serve you a Blanketman breakfast in honor of his favorite constituent. Just to get you all going for the day on a high.

9.00AM Dead At The Centre: The Third Way and Party Reform

Here Hayden Munro will bore and confuse the shit out of you all so no one will be left believing we can possibly prosper hogging National's centre ground. We are a left-wing party and proud!! Blair's bullshit has been exposed and he uses tax havens. Class traitor!

10.00AM Labour's Organisational Review

Our esteemed President Moira Coatsworth will explain how the Hippies infiltrated our core constituency, stole our donors, votes and volunteers. Input from Clare Curran. With SMOG advice from Darien Fenton. Our guest will be the anonymous authors of The Standard who always have a lot to say on this subject.

10.30AM Morning Tea

Enjoy your smoke while you still can. Discussion on Asset sales where CEO of Port of Tauranga explains how you can sell an asset and end up with way more than when you started. Quick session as we don't want mutiny!

10.45AM Beyond Migration - Multiculturalism in New Zealand

Dr Kathy Smits

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Auckland. Kathy’s research include political theory, identity politics, nationalism, and multiculturalism.

Kathy will explain to us why Labour shed votes to Mana and the Maori Party.

Wai Ho

Activist focussing on the place of minority cultures in New Zealand. Wai is interested in the dynamics of internalised racism, the benefits and harms of playing off “ethnic” versus “indigenous”, and the pitfalls of the model minority myth.

Wai will explain why Asians love making and spending money and cannot understand Labour policy or the opposition to the Crafar farm sale.

Neelam Choudary

Needs no introduction. How to catch sleazy Tories in a honey trap. Neelam did more damage to National in the last term than any Labour MP could manage.

12 NOON Lunch

Sandwiches. Suitably bland as we don't want to be seen enjoying ourselves.

Election Vote debrief - discussion on conspiracy of how we ended up on November 26th with the exact same percentage as people in the world who believe that lightsabers in Star Wars are real.

1.30PM The Future of Government

Dr Chris Eichbaum

Deputy Head of the Victoria University School of Government and member of the board of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Dr Eichbaum will explain why less government in our lives is good for citizens but bad for Labour.

2.30PM Occupy: Symptom of what?

Dr Campbell Jones

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the Univerisity of Auckland and is the spokesperson for Occupy New Zealand.

Dr Jones will explain why only 50 dirty hippies decided to camp at Aotea Square and the Greens and Mana picked up their vote anyway so we shouldn't bother about them. Not even Blanketman wanted to join Occupy.

3.45PM Afternoon Tea

More cigarettes. Spud will be in attendance and deliver a quick session during the break explaining how to use emoticons to say absolutely nothing and irritate Clare Curran all at once. Special use of "lol" explained.

4.15PM Crisis/Opportunity - Labour, climate and the end of environmentalism

Steve Abel

Environmental activist and a singer-songwriter based in Auckland with leading involvement in numerous environmental campaigns.

Steve comes along as an example of what we have to do to pick up the Hippie vote. Paul Watson to join as Special Guest explaining Environmental terrorism and how to scare the voters back to us in removing once and for all the Hippie myth that Green is good.

5.15PM Rebuilding Christchurch

Megan Woods, MP for Wigram.

Megan will speak about Christchurch and the relevance of hope in the rebuilding of our entire electorate organization down there after the decimation on 26th November where even Aaron Gilmore whopped our arse in the Party vote.

6.00PM Dinner - Sausages on BBQ sponsored by The Mad Butcher

Indepth after dinner conversation on "Traitors in the media" featuring John Pagani and Chris Trotter with comparisons to "Thee Who Can't be Named" from the pre 1990 era and Mad Dog Prebble. Guest historian Judith Tizard and Michael Bassett.

Prayers to Dear Former Leader Rt Hon Helen Clark and Skype to NYC. Followed by a bit of social media training to explain the phenomenon of Whaleoil and how to combat him. Alcohol will be provided so please bring a plastic cup.

SUNDAY 22 JANUARY 2012

4.30AM Compulsory Bike Ride - as Saturday

5AM There Is No "I" In Team

David Cunliffe will explain to Greg Presland and Lynn Prentice while you are all on Trevor's compulsory bike ride, that "there is a "me" if you look hard enough". And politics is all about "me". Please note we have not told this trio that you will all be on Trevor's bike ride during this time slot so please - Chatham House rules apply.

8.30AM Breakfast - Sponsored again leftovers from the Mad Butcher

9.30AM Drug laws kill. Why can’t we have better ones?

Nandor Tanczos

We canned the official speaker and Nandor will come and show you all how to roll some good ones. A not to be missed session. By then you will be needing it!

10.30AM Morning Tea

Save your tea bags from yesterday please - think of the planet. And the Labour Party campaign funds.

11.00AM Open leadership selections

Grant Robertson

Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Grant will speak in favour of reforming the leadership selection process to formally recognise the role of members. Grant will also explain how one day he was firmly behind David Parker and nek minnit, running for David Shearer. Grant will also explain how you can be a part of a failed campaign committee and still end up Deputy Leader with future Leadership ambitions.

Trevor Mallard

Labour MP for Hutt South. Trevor will facilitate a discussion about a new concept - an open leadership selection process, outlining various options and opening the floor to discussion and input from the membership. Trevor will then share some of the secrets in how to roll one leader out and get your own candidate in to keep another out. A not to be missed opportunity to learn the true craft of the leadership coup from the Master.

12 NOON Lunch

Skype to Dear Former Leader in NYC.

1.30PM Closing comments and debrief

Conrad Reyners

Member of the Labour Party Policy Council. Conrad will lead a discussion on how the weekend’s sessions relate, and how they will not affect Labour one little bit in the approaching years as we will continue to use policies of envy and spite.

Ella Hardy

President of Young Labour. Ella will officially close Summer School 2012. That is if Trevor hasn't performed a coup over the weekend and installed his own preferred candidate in the role in which case they will be closing the camp.

Pack up - leave it as you found it. Remove all listening devices and hidden cameras from factional walls and send to Leaders Office for future blackmail attempts.

3.00PM - Depart back to spread the word about Labour Camp

Fenton on Casualisation

2012-01-19T02:24:00.011+13:00

Darien Fenton has true to form, defied David Shearer's directive that Labour would stay out of the POAL v MUNZ fight and posted on Red Alert. I trust she will be disciplined by the Leaders Office as soon as they actually form one. Fran Mold as Head of Media and Comms has a job here that already screams constructive dismissal before it has started looking after the likes of Fenton.

Fenton's post is all over the place, exhibiting no Mantrol. As we have come to expect from Fenton and MUNZ on precisely what the strike is all about. Darting from discussing the sensationalism of privatisation, asset sales and Pike River. But let me pull out her words on one of the many things that the MUNZ argument has switched to and from - "casualisation":

The problem with MUNZ's, Fenton's and the left's argument about casualisation is that right now MUNZ is pursuing a case against POAL in the Employment Court to prevent the Port offering permanent jobs to "lashers".

This is not a joke. They are AGAINST casuals getting permanent jobs. The POAL has proceeded to employ on a permanent basis.

Hang on some may say, is the Union not bravely leading the struggle against "casualisation" along with Third Woman on the Wharf, Helen "Clean Up" Kelly and the left?

You may think so, but not when the Union bullies (mainly old, white crusty's like the charming couple we met yesterday on this blog) have the top jobs and like to take the overtime at their much higher rates rather than allow the lower paid workers to get permanent jobs.

See - it is never quite that straightforward with Union bullies is it Darien? Best you stay out of it then and go back to watching the Mad Butcher specials for some weekend shopping.

There is a reason that David Shearer is in charge. He's actually thought about this, spoke with all sides and decided to stay out of it.

Union Admits It Is Out of Mantrol

2012-01-18T01:56:00.006+13:00

After an onslaught from the crack team of Farrar, Slater and myself - our efforts duly noted by our friends at The Stranded where accusations started flying we were being paid to do such enjoyable work as highlighting the other side of the Union spin, Garry Parsloe has had a moment of extreme clarity.

Garry Parsloe has admitted that it has all unravelled out of Mantrol for his Union. He now stars in his own ad above for a victim of the classic New Zealand bloke syndrome.

"The goal has been lost. We started having some arguments around shuttles," he said.

Far from me to call the male dominated and with it sexist Maritime Union conts and use the term control, I prefer to recognize their man dominated culture and use "mantrol".

The Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation of New Zealand says this dispute has escalated to a bitter, acrimonious labour stoush and that the union may be losing sight of the goal

Typical of a left wing campaign, rather like the failed New Zealand Occupy protest that Chris Trotter panned, the Union have lost sight as to what they are even campaigning against or for. What a clusterfuck of the highest order for these rich prick wharfies who have spent the past two week debating and explaining how they don't earn a $91,000 package despite Ports of Auckland management standing behind their claims and releasing details for those who are spending two weeks trying to look poorer than they actually are because you know, super, medical and leave isn't counted because you know, all New Zealander get as generous benefits as we do....

Rather than focusing on their ever changing goals, the left have spent most of their time pissing in the wind about the calculation of the $91,000, trying to smear Farrar's polling company, Slater's income status, handling of my own admission that I have been in the pocket of big business quite happily since 1999 when I entered the workforce. They then moved to attempt to smear Port Boss Tony Gibson's rather unspectacular rumored $750,000 salary and even thinking his wearing a $7,000 Bvlgari watch was relevant. A middle class watch if ever I have seen one. A Bvlgari? For heaven's sake he could at least have bought a gold Rolex or Patek Philippe at an executive level.

Old school lefties like Chris Trotter are having kittens because of this new-age Union lack of solidarity and purpose by his fellow comrades. He is of the kindergarten of thought that says, the Labour Party must support the workers to "balance" this situation so the workers win and wrote an open letter to David Shearer eloquently stating such. Hang on, didn't Trotter also say that David Shearer needs to do things differently?

Shearer would not be doing things differently interfering in a pay dispute. He would be returning Labour to the very old days of being captured by its chief Sugar Daddy's - The Unions. John Pagani described this in more detail the other day.

The "third woman on the Wharf" Helen "clean up" Kelly has been working overtime on strategy and the master plan.

Labour members have already defied the "no political interference while negotiations going on" edict from the top from Shearer, that even Darien Fenton is adhering to. An assorted collection of Labour and Green flunkies, including those double dipping as a Board Member and MP, named and shamed here by Whaleoil produced a meek statement of support for the workers. The worst part for the Union? They could only find 28 Board Members to support their cause!

Parsloe rounds it all off with the most ironic statement of a terrible day for him PR wise in front of the Press which plays right into the hands of right wing bloggers original point about how easy these guys have it.

Parsloe says the strike notice may be withdrawn if the company gives the union time to talk to its workers.

I don't see what Parsloe's issue here is, they've got plenty of time to talk to their workers. Not many work 40 hour weeks.

Meet The Wharfies - Racist and Sexist

2012-01-18T00:19:00.004+13:00

The Stranded has reposted stories of some of the workers who claim to earn under the $91,000 average. This is to be welcomed, some real life case studies of the sort of chaps down their doing good honest half days of work. So Meet the Wharfies.

Now I will let you meet the real culture of the Wharfies they didn't want to share. Stronger Together.

Unless you are from Tuvalu or a woman.

It doesn't take much of a google to see the sort of chaps who work on the Ports of Auckland Wharf. They sure keep the Employment Court amused and busy. The mainstream media briefly touched on the problems late last year when it was buried in election coverage.

This is the case of Andrew Angus and another for Graham "Coach" McKean. Good K1W1 blokes down at the Wharf. Both Senior members of the team.

The net result was that a Judge after meeting them suggested the Human Rights Commission be called in to assist as there was such a problem down at the Wharf.

In two judgments, dealing with bids for interim reinstatement of the two men to their roles, Judge Graeme Colgan, at the Employment Court, said Ports of Auckland needed to “engage external professional advice, the likes of the Human Rights Commission, to deal with the problem”.

Colgan said the circumstances of the dismissals indicated that the “engagement of Tuvaluan stevedores on the Auckland waterfront has been met with a degree of hostility by some members of the existing workforce”.

He said the summary dismissal of Andrew Angus, who wrote the note slipped under the door, and Graham McKean, who wrote the magazine article, had been Ports of Auckland’s “reaction to what it perceives to be racist elements in its workforce”.

Angus slipped this note under the door of a POAL administrator

Then there is "Coach". Coach is/was an executive member of the Local 13, the Auckland local branch of the Maritime Union and has appeared in pickets despite his dismissal. He wrote a column that I link to here with excerpts at [8] and [9].

It raised the ire of many who complained including a Pacific Island worker and others who identified themselves in the details

Coach's defense for re-instatement was that he was acting in the capacity as a Union rep at the time and that if action was to be taken it should be against MUNZ!! Stronger together!!!

After all the article was published in the Union magazine available to some 1,200 members and non-members, edited by the Union itself. They claim they "missed the editing window" of their own publication. Yeah right.

I am unconcerned at the outcome of the pending employment disputes here. I am more concerned at highlighting that even in 2011 the Maritime Union is acting true to form and promoting racist, sexist K1W1 attitudes. That "Coach" was allowed back on the picket line as a representative shows that MUNZ condone his behaviour.

It is little wonder that the third woman on the Wharf Helen Kelly and the Labour Party hierarchy are hesitant to get right in behind the Maritime Union on this one. The underlying culture is still stuck in 1951 and not one person has defended the Union record from my post the other day.

I would stick a bounty on anyone sending Whaleoil and myself a picture of David Shearer shaking hands with this prehistoric creature called "Coach" to start with.

It will be a PR disaster for anyone seen hugging this lot.

Inequality and Poverty Debate - Winging It Like The Left

2012-01-17T00:03:00.018+13:00

Fresh from his wife committing political suicide within the Labour Party, John Pagani gave us another breath-taking piece of cut-paste analysis this weekend where he tried unsuccessfully to frame the debate around inequality and poverty by doing what Josie told Labour not to do, be - gloomy, look backwards and fail to be aspirational.

So tonight I prepare especially for John a post about inequality and poverty written in a current left-wing style with a right wing base of myself so he can see how ridiculous the debate from the left looks currently in addressing poverty. The left are becoming poverty junkies. Inducing themselves with tales of woe and destitution all for their own political gain.

Paganiland - The Country

Paganiland is a country of 1,000 people. The median income is $5,000,000 per annum mainly from shareholding and investing. Of the 1,000 people many are members of the top 10 of the NBR Rich List families and then there is me, the Union leader if you like of the rest who work for them as I have done since 1999 - I am poor. I am not on the NBR Rich List. The Greens called for a Poor List. I would be number one on that.

The New Zealand measure of poverty means I earn far less than 60% of the median income of Paganiland. I am broke and angry despite working 60 hours a week.

And not going to take their shit anymore.

I live in a country with great inequality and poverty, it depresses me so much that I am deciding to get together with the few other poor in Paganiland and protest against the 1%. Those rich bastards who don't deserve their wealth, who have oppressed me and my people for centuries slaving off my labour.

Despite earning close to $1,000,000 per annum which everyone overseas says is heaps of money, I am poor. I feel poor even though I received more money last year than ever, the increases were inflationary as everyone received the same rises so I am no better off. I will now give you examples.

Housing

I cannot afford to buy a house in a modest neighborhood. They cost $1,000,000 on average and I can't afford one up on a nice hill and it is my dream to. Everyone should be able to own their own home, it is a Paganiland tradition. The rich should be taxed on their capital gains and monies redistributed to me so I can put a deposit down to buy a home. Yes, that would be fair as their speculation is stopping me from obtaining a fair price for my first home. I can't even dream of buying a bach for the weekends. In the meantime I would like a housing supplement to tide me over. Or a free one from these guys.

Food

I should be able to go out for lunch every day and have a drink and smoke cigarettes. I feel poor if I don't. After all the evil rich have got me addicted to such substances it is their fault. I could also do with free healthcare, because I am paying for that through my taxes. I shouldn't have to buy a private insurance policy and as I am the working poor I deserve to be seen when I show up and not have paying patients jump ahead of me just because they are richer and more fortunate than I am.

People say I cannot afford food at the local supermarket so should have to travel into the Labourland, the neighbouring country, to the markets. This is a complete disgrace. It is a hassle and 20 kms out of my way to travel there and the market isn't as nice as the shops in Paganiland and the people are unfriendly and look strange. I have plenty of time to do so but don't see why I should have to grow my own vegetables when the rich people of Paganiland don't. I want to shop at their supermarkets where I know the prices are higher but it is my right to buy local.

Transport

I also think a boat would be quite nice. John Spencer has a $75 million one, why can't I? And also want an Aston Martin. Everyone drives a nice car and I have to have one as well otherwise I will be sad and turn to a life of crime climbing in their windows at night. Colin Giltrap should be made to help the poor damn it and offer cheap car finance.

I cannot afford a Gulfstream like Peter Jackson has. Everyone needs a plane and damn it I don't see why the government cannot get me one of them as well. I will protest for the plane as well. Or a helicopter. I mean why can't everyone have one of those? The Vela Family have one.

Rent

I rent a building from Sir Robert Jones to run my consultancy business to the rich pricks. He's got 250 other tenants in his commercial properties so he should provide me with the tenancy for my business for free. Damn it I am working harder than all these privileged pricks who sit around all day doing bloody nothing. I deserve it.

Education & Health

The kids of the poor can't just go to any school, they have to go to the school here. However being poor they don't fit in as I can't afford to buy them Louis Vuitton school bags, i-pads and the latest shoes. They are depressed, feel displaced and I blame their learning deficiencies on that. If you don't have a University degree I mean you won't ever make any money right Sam Morgan?

Savings & Immigration

When there is spare money I want to treat myself and fly overseas. I mean John Key goes all the time, why can't I? I have elderly relatives overseas and I want them to come and visit me and eventually settle in Paganiland where the healthcare is better and the country safer than places like Labourland. Why can't they? I will protest that as well. After all it is owed to me. I built this damn country.

Privilege

I mean these rich pricks aren't even that smart. They are just selling junk to poor people. They have never had it so easy. It is all a Jewish conspiracy . All a risk-free total fluke. They don't even make anything. They never give anything back to those of us poorer. They are such awful bastards who never smile. They never started at the bottom, it was all get rich quick stuff.

Voting

I will vote for the political party that gives ME the most. As the working poor, I cannot afford to live the lifestyle of these people I am surrounded by and I will make someone suffer. I will vote for the politicians who make me feel the poorest and then offer me the most while punishing these bastards for treating me so badly in Paganiland.

I am poor damn it and I am not going to take their shit anymore!!

That's it we will Occupy land at Britomart to teach that bastard Peter Cooper a lesson and set up site like these chaps have

Then make him pay for all the damage while we drink his bars dry.

Plan!!

Faux Poverty - The Poverty Junkie

2012-01-16T23:51:00.008+13:00

Labour are crying over not being invited to the table for the Ministerial Committee set up to look yet again at why there is "child poverty".

Jacinda "Kim Kardashian" Ardern, a veteran of a short working holiday in a New York soup kitchen because she couldn't get a work permit in the USA as she had no skill they needed in a hurry, dedicated her first press release as Labour Welfare Spokesperson, to crying why she isn't in on the committee.

The simple answer is Tariana Turia is more important than she and her Labour Party mates are. Who had nine years to call a Committee on the subject.

All children are of course poor so right away framing of the debate is wrong. Children do not own anything. It is their parents who are responsible for the child. The parents are the ones having children into poverty. Too many children creates poverty because children are expensive. Having another child when you already have five does not assist an already hopeless situation.

Poverty debates are flawed to start with in New Zealand. And it can be represented as such. If Labour want to start this fight instead of backing workers who earn $91,000 per annum on a sexist Unionised wharf, those of us on the right will fight them. And we will be joined by those non-traditional political parties supportive of the right like the Maori Party who in Whanau Ora, have at least come up with some solution, albeit one that will lead to more welfare fraud. At least they have more thoughts than Labour's = more money, more bureaucrats, bottomless pit with no accountability.

Politicians wishing to score points from wallowing in this concept of faux poverty based on worst case scenarios such as the tragic tale of Blanketman and generalizations based around a no-fault no responsibility welfare state, now have a new name.

Poverty Junkies.

They mainline on tales of poverty, they get off on tales of poverty, they profit on tales of poverty. Quite simply they cannot exist without poverty.

Ding Dong....

2012-01-15T16:24:00.005+13:00

Finally Bryce Johns has given Pork Chop a DCM (don't come Monday).

As for the "New Position" - well she's hardly going to be threatening Brian Fallow's analytics on the economy is she or anywhere else in the "serious adults" section. Where on earth will they put her in the paper? Another boring media column maybe?

No this is just a polite easing out of Glucina altogether so she doesn't crack the shits completely at the paper and enter into yet more vexatious litigation that she and her family are famous for.

I wouldn't be surprised if part of the deal was that Glucina herself was allowed to write the piece today in HoS. It doesn't read like it came from anywhere but.

For only Glucina could have us want to believe that she was "moving up".

Lets hope SPY is reborn into something clever and witty with Norrie Montgomery's beautiful pictures rather than what it became - a nasty, dirty section of the paper where Glucina was given free license to victimize anyone who dared cross her. The net result was that she would rarely attend the functions she reported on and wrote the whole column from home while stuffing her face with cheese and sausage rolls.

Madonna Liberates Women From The Kitchen

2012-01-14T21:54:00.003+13:00

I doubt there is a better role model for battered women everywhere than Madonna.

In an interview on U.S. TV network ABC, she was asked: 'What was the last meal you cooked entirely by yourself?' She replied: 'I don't think I've ever cooked a meal entirely by myself.'

My nannies cook, my housekeeper cooks, the drivers cook, everybody cooks.' Asked if she can cook anything at all, Madonna said: 'No! But I do everything else! Do I have to do everything?

Cooking really is now a man's job.

Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Celebrity Chef shows everywhere have all shown us that women do not belong in the kitchen.

Time to move out of it and let men cook.

Sexist MUNZ Keeps Blokes Only Club

2012-01-12T00:52:00.021+13:00

A commenter on The Stranded started this argument to which I responded:

Frank Macskasy is well known on the net. I will leave it to readers to look him up. But he's the sort of "cook your own fucking eggs" comrade who likes to put women in their place and remind them how they got to where they are. Oops you know because he doesn't mean offence and all.

Frank however does raise one good point. What have Unions done for women?

Let me tell you what MUNZ (Maritime Union of New Zealand) have done for women down at the Ports of Auckland.

Place barriers in front of them.

I reference an article in December for which Pressdisplay has the print only section here with this addition in the print version.

POAL want to hire more female stevedores stating they are suited to the part-time "casual"nature of the work the POAL wish to promote in terms of flexibility. In the article it states there is only ONE female wharfie out of 300.

I have had it confirmed today there are in fact TWO female stevedores in a staff of 212 (.9%). Across the POAL the proportion of women is around 10%. No big business would ever get away with such imbalance in gender statistics.

What makes the job unappealing to women currently is the Union insisting that "lashing" is a core function of the stevedores and where they have to start training. This is an example of lashing.

Of course the LAST thing the blokes on the wharf want are chicks working alongside them. No more titty talk during breaks. It is all testosterone and backs to the wall stuff down on the wharf. Imagine what would happen if an openly homosexual man turned up applying for a job? Or a current stevedore was known to secretly have a history in such?

The Union is effectively keeping highly paid and lucrative stevedoring, a good k1w1 blokes only zone.

Even the MUNZ National Officials and Staff is a cock-fest. In Auckland a lady gets to run the office. That's it.

Strange then that a woman Helen "Clean-up" Kelly has been called into help the inept MUNZ and President Garry Parsloe. Even left winger Mickey Savage has called MUNZ's PR efforts "poor".

Clean-up Kelly you will all recall is a Hobbit Hater in her prior existence. Yet she is now effectively both in cricketing terms and in reality the "third woman on the Wharf" coming in where MUNZ blokes have cocked-up everything in the slips.

Clean-up is spinning like a top on that most social of mediums - Facebook. And a massive material dump of silliness that mainstream media ignored because it was TL;DR (too long didn't read).

The question I ask of Helen "Clean Up" Kelly is:

How can she defend a Union in a dispute where less than 1% of the workforce are female and it is the Union itself through restrictive practices that are impeding the progress of employing more women?

So the answer to Frank Macskasy on what has the Maritime Union done for women?

Stuff all.

I can't wait until Darien Fenton chirps up and defends this Union.

The Stranded Jumping The Shark

2012-01-12T00:20:00.009+13:00

We have all suspected The Stranded are a ragtag bunch of randoms all with access to various usernames such as Zetetic and Eddie.

They are now just jumping the shark completely.

In the space of a few posts this week they

- Have accused Trevor Mallard and John Pagani of being in on some sort of conspiracy. Remember these guys are on THEIR side!

- Have accused John Pagani of being on the Labour Party payroll throughout when Pagani has denied this.

- Attacked Clare Curran often viciously for an open comms policy.

- Accused Whaleoil of receiving $10,000 to run PR for Ports of Auckland. More nonsense.
- Whaleoil and I of "union bashing" like it is a bad thing and supposed to somehow end the argument. That's about as silly as Whale and I accusing pinkos of bashing the wealthy. It is their bread and butter to want to tax the rich.

- Published several "updates" based on their bullshit being disproven, when they should have been apologies and corrections.

- Tried to spin lines for Helen Kelly from her Facebook for the ineffective MUNZ.

- Accuse me of publishing a figure as a "sub-contractor" for the Whaleoil. Then when I state how stupid this argument is, attack me for publishing figures I asked for.

- Accuse a leak and conspiracy when I published POAL figures on the $91k average pay when it was very clear to readers of the blog I instigated the whole thing by merely asking POAL (and several business reporters I know) for the figure. What a journalist would have done.

- POAL state the number was actually public before I received it anyway. The Standard still do not accept the figures directly from the POAL and are entering into an asymmetrical war really with themselves to talk about it.

- Allow comments through from their comrades that are blatantly sexist yet censor others. I will cover these in another post.

When a blog unsuccessfully attacks on a conspiracy basis Whaleoil and myself on the right and then to the left Mallard, Curran and Pagani - and we have all spent time successfully refuting all conspiracy theories as nonsensical.

You have to ask - do The Stranded have any credibility left as a blog?

The new leadership of Labour could do nothing better than to ensure that no Labour staffers are involved in authoring, associated with or handing information to such a rag tag discredited anonymous unaccountable blog. The only reason the posters are anonymous is to protect their employment. Lynn has been clear about this. Which is code for they all have political positions and shouldn't be blogging in the first instance, least of all attacking their mates on the left.

The same goes for The Greens if Mallard's claim as to the identity of Zetetic is correct. To do this both organizations will have to find out who is authoring the sort of posts above under anonymous pen names and staining the left with inaccuracy, conspiracy and attacking even their own with lies.

Kind of ironic really The Stranded takes so many pot shots at Red Alert.

Air NZ G-String Haka This Year?

2012-01-11T02:58:00.005+13:00

Last time Air New Zealand won Airline of the Year Award Rob Fyfe stripped his shirt off and did the haka. A nation cheered.

We wonder how he is going to beat that this year as Air New Zealand have won the award again. Well done to the airline.

Women and gay men of New Zealand are however waiting.

I suggest the same but in more revealing bottom outfits. A G-string perhaps?

Pope More A Risk To Us All Than Gays

2012-01-11T02:26:00.003+13:00

I am not into religion. All of it. And do not enter long-winded discussion with anyone about religion because it bores me.

Religion is more of a danger to the world than anything. Most wars and conflict in the world have somewhere originated because of belief in fairies at the bottom of the garden. Everyone seems to be arguing over what sort of fairies there are.

If I have to choose a fairies I believe there is more chance of Smurfs existing than God.

So when the tax avoiding patron and protector of all things kiddie fiddling in the Vatican, called "The Pope" has a go at homosexual people for somehow being a threat to the "future of humanity itself", you really only have to laugh.

I couldn't care less if homosexuals wish to be formally married or adopt or have children. It makes absolutely no difference in my life, yet allowing these actions makes all the difference in theirs to be recognised as human beings. Weasel titles to get around upsetting twats like the Pope such as "civil union ceremony" are utter crap. Marriage can be non-denominational and it should be called that, given status of and relationships between same-sex couples treated equally to those of others.

There are 1.2 billion catholics in the world.

No one likes to undermine the Pope, everyone jumps not to attack the silly old twat, but make excuses for the Head Honcho's silly claims.

Alex Greenwich, from Australian Marriage Equality, said same-sex marriage would strengthen, rather than undermine, families.

''The Pope's comments are not reflective of the entire Christian or Catholic community, many of whom support marriage equality based on their Christian values of love, family and fairness,'' he said.

That's all very nice but The Pope isn't just a random member of the Catholic community he is the representative of the whole outfit There is no excuse for his words, he meant what he said.

I don't know why a homosexual person would ever consider themselves to be Catholic after listening in this day and age to such garbage. If a leader of a political party gave The Pope's speech, homosexuals and their supporters would walk out en masse. But The Pope always seems to get a leave pass perhaps because he sells the nonsense of an afterlife.

Time to roll the Vatican and redistribute all of their enormous illiquid wealth and power. After all the Pope keeps bitching about inequality as well so he's just as hypocritical in that regard.

Emotional Abuse Worse Than The Physical

2012-01-08T20:48:00.005+13:00

There was an awful lot of hand wringing, wailing and writing in 2011 about the horrific levels of physical abuse of children by the feral heaving pathetic underclass. Hand wringing because no one has yet to have the guts to place the blame with the random thugs killing SOCK (some other c**** kids) than sharing therefore devolving responsibility among the entire country.

I want to kick off 2012 by referring to a problem inter-related but just as large if not larger in New Zealand and something I'm pretty sure we've all either seen or been subjected to.

Emotional abuse.

The Handmirror team have covered this over the years and I agree with a lot of what they say from the female point of being abused.

Emotional abuse isn't reported as is an horrific physical beating of a woman or kiddie with an instant death resulting. But it is definitely more prevalent and just as damaging. It isn't a lower class, race or low incomed phenomenon either. Not all emotional abuse leads to physical poundings but all physical poundings seem to start with continuous emotional put-downs. It is statistically difficult to measure emotional abuse but we all can spot it when we see it in others.

It isn't just men dishing out this abuse, women are capable of doing it as well. But the victims are almost always children and the weak who can't stick up for themselves, whom more often than not are women.

Examples include:

- telling children they aren't good enough, ugly, fat, questioning their sexuality, worthlessness, a "mistake" or unwanted.

- continually favouring one child over others in the same family or "blended" family.

- children dishing out the same on weaker siblings and the parents not intervening.

- revealing to kids they're adopted as a weapon of punishment when they've behaved badly.

- a loveless marriage where parents are more like flatmates than role models for what a functioning marriage should be about.

- having a "band-aid" baby in one last attempt to save a relationship.

- telling a woman she's ugly, fat, worthless, pressuring her into weird sexual acts, threatening pets as retribution, telling her she's sexually undesirable, looking at and comparing her to other women.

- telling a man he's not earning enough, ugly, fat, lazy, impotent, too busy at work to care about kids, withholding custody and using kids as a pawn.

We aren't talking about one awful comment or action here.

Repeat this behaviour over and over even in little subtle jabs and the damage done is far worse than simply taking to a family member with a stick or belt.

Plenty of the most beaten of victims are better off dead than in their current state as they are not living. They are barely existing as functional adults or children.

I know of females who are otherwise successful intelligent high earning and achieving members of society putting up with some of the above. They are the sort of people you wouldn't think would take to being abused at this mental level. Yet they put up with it. They don't have to. No one is forcing them to stay.

I've seen their Partners, who are supposed to be the number one best friend and often father of their kids, subject them to abuse where they question their own worth. I cringe when I see the hate in the abusers eyes where even there are witnesses to their abhorrent behaviour. Say anything and you cease to be on the guest list. But it is very hard to sit there quietly listening to the mental warfare. I don't want to watch it.

I've seen unstable women behave as badly towards my male friends. Men deal with it differently and usually suffer in relative silence but when a woman emotionally blackmails a man by threatening to commit suicide if he leaves her, the sort of mind games at that level is hopeless to comprehend and impossible to counter. When she's flaunting the fact she's rooting around on him when he isn't there, flirting with his friends, loudly saying his appendage isn't big enough, sexual performance isn't good enough or he doesn't have a high enough income while she spends all his money. All designed to emasculate his existence and control him from a woman's position of physical weakness.

I first encountered being told around age 10 I couldn't do something because I was a girl, when being spoken to by a mother of a then friend. She was trying to put me off going to law school. I still remember it so it did affect me, however I looked at her rather sad existence and didn't take her words seriously. I wondered how my then friend coped living with that. She didn't really, I expressed that her mother was a nutter therefore ending our friendship and last I heard she didn't even make University even though she was academically very capable to.

Since then I have laughed off many attempts to play mind-games with me. Whether it be career wise, academically or on a personal level and usually the only reason because I'm a girl. There's only one response and it is unprintable. Then carrying on with what you intended anyway.

The first and only time a boyfriend upset me with a derogatory comment I didn't even talk back, I threw all his clothes off the fourth floor balcony at Princes Wharf into the street, waited til he went to retrieve them then chucked his cellphone at him gloriously hitting him smack in the middle of his head. I didn't see the point of subsidising him to hang around if he wasn't going to at least be pleasant.

This is the only appropriate response when you have such poison on your own team if they are family or not - cut them out of your life. A "no dickheads" rule. There's too many external enemies trying to chop you down out there, having one living with you or purporting to be on your side cannot be tolerated. I don't understand why there isn't a zero tolerance policy towards emotional abuse.

Because at the end of the day it affects the children watching it far more than adults. Children can't get up and leave. They've no choice in the matter. No adult related or not has the right to talk to a kid in an attempt of limiting their dreams or ambitions. Life will do that well enough for them eventually.

A child will then normalise the abusive behaviour in terms of men talking to women the same despicable way their father does, or women blackmailing men the way their mother does. They treate their weaker siblings with the same contempt. The cycle never gets broken.

A then female friend of mine spoke in front of her daughter that she shouldn't worry about her grades as she was just as dumb (as her mother was). The child was 9 at the time. I don't even want to think of the damage caused to that child by hearing that.

I've been around when an emotionally abusive father and mother making jokes about how their very sensitive son needed to lose weight knowing he was in the next room. I found him sobbing later in the toilet. His response since seems to have been to go eat more donuts.

On the purely evil emotional level I've known of deadbeat Dads unsuccessfully harassing mistresses into abortions and pretend to then be an advocate for solo Mums against the "evils" proposed by the likes of Paula Bennett. The most disgusting sort of hypocrite as they've damaged more lives than any proponent of controlling the welfare state will. Heaven help them when that child finds out the truth as to how little his or her father wanted them to be born.

I suspect the reason the ferals and lower class don't leave emotionally abusive relationships is that they have absolutely no self-esteem to cope with even the thought of living alone.

Educated men and women have no such excuse. If "education is empowerment" as the chest-beating slogans say surely leaving these abusive, vile relationships is the only acceptable answer and staying in them merely means in a twisted fucked up way the victim is enjoying the fighting.

On the plus side I am privileged enough to know a few of the loveliest, most perfectly matched couples whom I am good friends with both parties and enjoy their company. Often these couples have had a couple of relationship false starts and haven't settled for making the same errors again.

But too often I see too many couples who would be better off a million miles apart with the sniping, bitching and abuse they subject each other and their kids too. Often in front of other people. That's not the sort of love to aspire to.

It is not normal to fight like this in a relationship, it's not healthy and watching it is not entertaining. It's just sad and desperately pathetic. Mainly for the kids but everyone notices it even if the couple believe a blind eye is being turned.

If there is to be handwringing concern over physical violence on a select few kiddies of the feral heaving pathetic underclass, there should be far more concern about the emotional health of a far larger subset of kiddies subjected to continual negative emotional abuse as discussed here. And that of men and women in these emotionally abusive relationships.

Too many teens are taking depression meds these days or receiving counselling for depression. How many of these children are not actually ill requiring these meds but have instead "just" been subjected to a lifetime growing up of emotional abuse leading to tragic outcomes such as attempted suicides? Or worse?

Once again it is a matter of individual responsibility not to be in an emotionally abusive relationship and therefore enabling another to be able to carry out this abuse.

It doesn't take money or government intervention to be positive and encouraging to your partner and kids. Anyone can do it. It doesn't need a whole government department to solve.

In fact being caring and pleasant to those you live with and purport to be supporting through life is one of the few things that money can't actually buy.

Chinese Women Say No To Broken Arses

2012-01-08T18:11:00.004+13:00

For years, Mainland China have favored boys to girls. Their one child policy made sure of that. The consequence however is now what New Zealand women can only dream of - a woman drought.

This will lead to excellent opportunities for women on the Mainland. As a result, they are raising the bar and not accepting broken arse men into their lives. It will also mean a one strike policy of tolerance of dickheads.

80 percent of Mainland women would not even consider going out with a man who earns less than 4,000 Yuan (NZ816) a month. Their benchmark is 10,000 Yuan (NZ1666) a month which is more than twice the average income in Beijing. One of the wealthiest parts of China.

68 percent of Mainland women would not marry a man who didn't own his own home. This may disqualify the average New Zealand welfare beneficiary from being a suitable husband for the Chinese woman, however his income wouldn't. New Zealand's welfare system means most pull more in total benefits than twice the average income in Beijing.

To put the Mainland women and their stand into perspective. The average NZ income is around $55,000. Meaning if the Chinese rules were applied in New Zealand most New Zealand men wouldn't get a look in until they earned around $110,000. A penny for your thoughts boys.

Greedy Oldies Want It All

2012-01-03T01:41:00.001+13:00

The older you are the more likely it is that you will get sick and need expensive hospital and medical care. When something does go wrong it goes horribly wrong.

I have medical insurance with Allianz. It costs around US$5,000 per annum. So it is not cheap for someone of my age. Every age bracket I move into results in an increase in premium. Premiums also increased last year due to the GFC.

My premium is higher even in USD than whiner Rev Dr Terry Creagh plus his wife and they are twice my age.

New Zealand oldies led by the politically blinded activist Bruce Sheppard are threatening to leave the company. Well I hate to break it to them - Southern Cross will probably be breaking out the bubbly if some of them actually do.

Such brilliant rationale follows:

"I am over 65, and also think that it is unfair that older people should be penalised for their age.

If this man doesn't think he will claim then why does he even have insurance? But he does want smaller premiums based on pay out? But not on risk?

Another comment:

Another Southern Cross member said he had been with the society for more than half a century.

The GRumpy Old White Lobby (GROWL) in New Zealand needs to exercise a bit of humility about their situation. There are more of them than ever, sitting on more liquid and illiquid assets than ever before. If they can afford their own home they can afford $5,000 a year premiums for really their largest cost - their health.

Really the crux of the matter is that they all feel they are too good to use the public health system (that they have also paid for) but don't want to pay for their share in the private system.

One good trip through the public health system to see how that operates for non-urgent cases will cure their GROWL stupidity immediately.

In the meantime they need to shut the f**k up and hit their kids up for the premiums if they think they cannot afford them.

New Zealand Order of What?

2011-12-31T21:11:00.006+13:00

Well done to unusual arty farty simplistic Maori Painter Ralph Hotere at age 80 and in ailing health, for joining such a prestigious list of New Zealanders including not one, not two but five ex-politicians (Jonathan Hunt of all people...) and a trade Union leader.

If this is our best people, then I don't want to see the reserve bench any time soon.

The only thing that can make this group worse would be the addition of Phil Goff.

I mean it could happen, Mike Moore was only PM for two months and Don McKinnon never made it that far and there are two vacancies.

{Shudder}.

Any self respecting New Zealander should refuse the award until the list is cleaned up.

Curious Forewoman

2011-12-31T18:30:00.005+13:00

Just finished reading a very curious interview with Diane Foreman who wins a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

The fact that her personal relationships have been the subject of much media speculation is another example of the struggle women in business face, she said.

"A male in my position would have never had the same attention, that's why it's hard for women. I've had some wonderful people in my life ... but if I was a man no one [in the media] would be very interested."

Nonsense. Being in the paper for relationships (friendships or otherwise) with Don Brash or Paul Henry doesn't make it "hard for women" in business. Other than the obvious, everyone questioning your judgment and good taste.

If a businessman was in a relationship with a similarly high profile New Zealand woman they too would receive exactly the same level of interest. They would and do feature in the very same section of the gossip pages. That they are usually blagging a secretary and not a high profile woman with a Type A personality, means they get less coverage, however it is still the same issues faced by them.

"In New Zealand it's a very small society so people tend to want to appoint who they know. So it's people they went to school with, people they play golf with, and as a woman often you don't fall into that group so you've got to do it from the outside."

More nonsense. New Zealand isn't alone in this. In any case Foreman didn't do it from the outside, her start in business was given to her by her former husband in a family business. So I have no idea what grounds she is talking from when she brings this up.

I enjoy reading about Diane Foreman's success since she was brought into Trigon and when she makes positive comments about what she has achieved. I was also surprised to see she is 51 years old as she definitely never looks it. I enjoy far less reading such utter dribble about how hard she perceives she has it, which only serves to paint her as something I am sure she is not.

Foreman is someone who is never going to come across well talking about women's issues in business. She would be best served to stick to what she's good at - cutting deals, and leaving the PR and media management of her personal and professional life to a team of professionals.

In any case she deserves the recognition of her achievement in the NY Honours List.

Man of the Year 2011 - John Key

2011-12-30T02:20:00.007+13:00

In six elections that I have been eligible to, I am yet to vote for National but I came the closest this year.

What started off as a bland career by a bland suited Banker, has turned into the creation of a necessary populist political phenom.

The term "populist" is a derisory highly insulting one in politics. However as the centre right struggles in an increasingly tepid environment where MMP odds are firmly stacked against it with the potential in buy-a-vote welfare politics by the growing class of net beneficiaries, Key is a stand out.

Union stalwart and Labour insider Mike Williams stated this week the "what if" we (Labour) scored just a couple of percent more list vote.

"What if's" in politics are an hilarious waste of time spoken only of by losers.

Populism isn't a dirty word when you are winning. And every day a Labour MP sits in the House opposite John Key they are reminded of that. They lost because they aren't as popular.

John Key wins my Man of the Year this year as almost singlehandedly he has stopped;

- Capital Gains Tax and with it all Gareth Morgan and Bernard Hickey's bat shit silly ideas

- increasing PAYE rates

- ridiculous GST exemptions

- expansion of Welfare for Families and the welfare state

- most importantly massive blowouts in government expenditure a Labour led coalition would have demanded

- excessive Treaty white guilt payments accompanying a Labour led coalition

- "buy-a-vote" policy from the left

At least for another three years.

Richie McCaw only led consistently the best team in the world to win the RWC on one foot with his fourth choice playmaker. Key's achievements are larger as the stakes are much higher and task more difficult.

National didn't need more of an election strategy than "politics is a team game, everyone shut up so John Key can speak". And he did.

The first time I saw Key's political ability up close was at the surprise party thrown after the botched ACT coup for the outgoing Leader. He did everything more than right that night. Key was magnificent, humble, funny and eloquent. And in all honesty probably had at least half the room list voting National by the end of the night.

Thank God John Key is a populist. The alternative was Don Brash.

He stands solely on principles. He stood this time for 1% of the vote as they weren't principles anyone seemed to connect with.

Principles without political power is a luxury only the richest man can afford. On the right we expect our politicians to have principles and somehow maintain the popularity to have power. We like to think we act purely on principles and criticize each other when we don't act purely. The Libertarianz are the grandest example of this behaviour and 1,405 people voted for them. Power and keeping the left from power are the only important matters.

John Key understands politics, he understands polls, coalitions and MMP. He also understands strategy and knows winning is everything. Thank God for that because very few on the centre-right have worked it out.

Key was already thinking how to cut Don Brash's throat well before the tea tapes. He knew that ACT with Hide was a different partner than ACT with the man he'd already knifed in his career, Don Brash. A wounded man looking now for revenge on Key who started his reign as ACT leader criticizing him. Key had seen Brash's callous disregard for strategy, political nous and cunning as a player in his axing of Hide without bringing the Party with him, or even some outside help to run it. A coup without an army. He'd seen Brash lose an election for National, he'd seen his lack of ability to play the public and incompetence and sloppiness dealing with media and staff. His lack of ability to take advice and play on the team.

If Key was still a banker and he took on a team of employees with Brash in it, the first for the pink slip would be Brash as despite his measurable intellect he was otherwise a liability.

Key knew Brash would cut off his nose to spite his face and attempt to destroy not only Key but the centre-right with it.

I am sure being stuck with co-coup plotter John Banks wasn't Plan A, B or C for Key but it is rumoured that together with Banks he plotted rolling Brash even before the tea tapes. The only matter was the timing.

In the last fortnight of the campaign Key looked almost physically out for the count. Like a banker working 20 hours a day on an international deal for weeks on end. But somehow he hung on and was still doing the business at the National Party function election night at 1am, photos, talking, thanking those who had assisted the Party.

Key's only mistake was his very late endorsement of changing MMP to SM. Even then I have confidence that Key, the politician, will rectify Simon Power's ineptness and come up with something to give him and the National Party a chance at a third term.

So he's in Hawaii? Good job. Having a nice holiday with his family away from New Zealand voters haranguing him. They had long enough to do that on the election campaign.

Key damn well deserves a holiday for saving New Zealand for at least three more years from a Labour let government. His job now is to come back and scheme up a way to keep it all this way past 2014 and with it ensure National and the centre-right do not suffer the same fate Helen Clark and Labour have.

Christmas in Hong Kong

2011-12-24T22:43:00.005+13:00

Many people ask me what Hong Kong does at Christmas time.

We have the least stressful Christmas Day imaginable. Everything remains open and we all go out to restaurants to Christmas Day Lunch and/or Dinner. Same for Boxing Day. It is important to book such places around a month in advance as competition for the best venues is fierce.

Someone else cooks.
Someone else cleans.

Bliss.

I have had some bizarre Christmas Days overseas. None more so than being the guest of a certain gentleman at his house only to have his ex-wife turn up and aggressively take over the kitchen. The other guests expected a floor show to commence in a battle between old and new. I couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth and simply exited the kitchen with everyone else and let her spend the entire day sweating over the oven. Cooking and cleaning on Christmas Day looks far too hard to contemplate.

Merry Christmas to everyone in New Zealand planning to cook and clean tomorrow as you wonder how next year you can delegate such functions to someone else.

The Pricks for 2011 - Blog Awards

2011-12-22T23:28:00.009+13:00

I think I missed these last year due to lack of interest (mine), but there has been so much going on this year we will relaunch with the awarding of my (sometimes) annual Prick(le)s awarded for excellence in the below fields.

The Unfortunate Prick Award for Being So Close - The Labour Party

Everyone forgets in the mull-up that Labour were just two seats away from having a clear centre-left coalition stopping asset sales, bring in CGT and tinkering while Rome burns on fruit and veges. Despite hemorrhaging vote to the Greens this would not have made a difference to Phil Goff's chance of being PM thanks to the stupidity of MMP. I was at the Nats election night parties in 2008 and 2011 and they were very different. The 2011 party was not one of joy, it was one of relief. If you had wanted to punish Labour you couldn't do so more than having them come this close.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Prick Award for Staff Management - Adam "Five Fingers" Feeley

Not only did Five Fingers pinch the Gosset with all the drama going with that, the incident brought out one of the most curious cases of 2011, that of Anita Killeen. Whom we are meant to believe fucked up her highly promising and high-flying professional life to get back professionally at Five Fingers. In the middle of all this Five Fingers had time to not advance much in the Hanover case, oversaw the death of Allan Hubbard and lead to Whaleoil's tipline being busier than ever with allegations of his curious behaviour.

The Limp Panty Waisting Prick Award for Being a Limp Panty Waisting Editor - David Kemeys

Not content with running a shit as dull paper the SST (aka slowly sinking tabloid) into the ground, Kemes was the idiot who showed mercurial Steve Braunias the door and made life impossible for Jonathan Marshall after he had the temerity to strongly investigate Kings College drunkards at After Ball Parties and Darren Hughes after his sleep-over at Annette's.

The Busiest Prick Award for Political Repeating - Garner and Gower tied

The terrible two-some burst their loads at each other in the final weeks of the campaign with Teagate competing to see who could test the law first by baiting Winston Peters. Like some cheap double act at a strip club as a pairing they are too much. One needs to go. With Gower's terrible whinging at ACT/United and National deals he never balanced it with the horror show of Green candidates such as Denise Roche actively backing her Labour opponent in the seat. Garner is credited by many as the reason Winston is back. Thanks Dunc.

The Impotent Prick Award for Worst Performance In An Election Campaign - National's Creative Team

Shocking. Labour had the best creative team and didn't win as they had the least charismatic Leader but National's creative work was appalling. They need to be outed and disciplined within the advertising industry.

The Smallest Prick Award for Political Silliness - Don Brash

Not content with sticking to rooting unsuitable women, Don switched to do so to an entire political party with 15 years of history and multi-millions invested in it. Good luck getting back with the Missus after that clusterfuck.

The Elephant Prick Award for Common Sense - Barry Colman

Colman had the balls to stand up and poo poo the myth of inequality back in July. The exploitation of this myth was then compounded by the Labour Party and left politicians all year. The voters spoke, National was returned as they still outweighed buy-a-vote policy favourites from the welfarists. How long net beneficiaries can stay the voting minority however is anyone's guess.

The Loudest Prick Award for Blatant Continual Shit Stirring - Whaleoil

There is too much material to list here. No one on the internet in New Zealand politics is louder, ruder or often more tongue in cheek hypocritical than the Whale. Only Whaleoil can hurl abuse at the Labour Party then call them "nasty" when they hurl shit and abuse back. Between breaking many stories this year and being the cause of Union strikes, Whale has exceeded expectations from even his friends and allies for being completely and utterly outrageous in the wooden spooning of shit.

The Disappearing Prick Award for blogging underachievement - David Farrar

David? Where art thou David? If your face was full up in a pile of muff we may have forgiven you but you have been largely absent this year with other stuff on your mind. We end the year with pictures from Safari in Africa. By far David's best series of posts of the year after some short spurts post election. A much larger effort is required in 2012 from our Jedi Grand Master Yoga.

"The Supreme Prick" Blog and Bloggers of the Year - Red Alert(ers)

They won this one off me back in 2009 and not much has changed since then. In terms of New Zealand political blogs it provides the best commentary because it is coming straight from the horse's mouth (oops did I really say that?).

Red Alert has become so successful that it has collected many critics. Often the harshest from those within Labour who do not think MP's should interact in the fashion they do on the site and through social media. Grasping at straws some grumpy old commentators believe Red Alert puts voters off Labour and their MP's shouldn't be on twitter.

Nonsense. Having a hapless goober of a communicator as a Leader and a policy platform that the heaving pathetic underclass usually voting Labour or did not understand put them off in 2011. And it will continue to put them off in 2012 because that hasn't changed either.

Red Alert has developed into a must read as the ultimate opposition blog. Labour people read it in their community in a different way than the VRWC view it. I read it as some would a daily affirmation. A motivational tool as to why I need to work even harder to oppose everything they stand for.

However it remains New Zealand's best political blog which should evolve further in 2012 down whatever path its team chooses it.

The Desperate Tactics of the FMA

2011-12-22T04:04:00.011+13:00

Hughes still making it up as he goes along

Fran O'Sullivan has pushed the buttons of FMA Head Sean Hughes to get some answers on the Hanover Finance investigation in a classic pre-Christmas PR dump from the Authority similar to last years freeze order.

O'Sullivan's column today raises more questions than it answered. A brief fact summary follows from her material:

- The FMA has cancelled Xmas leave so Hanover charges can be laid in the first two months of 2012.
- Prior to even laying charges, the FMA has come out pre-Xmas and said it would against directors and promoters.
- O'Sullivan concludes (and we can only assume because she has been told by Hughes) that the FMA now wishes to cut a settlement deal with the Hanover directors and promoters.
- Hughes has stated the Hanover scenario is NOT "talking about wanton reckless misconduct".
- Greg Muir speaking for Hanover suggests the FMA has all the material it requires to show directors acted within the law. Hughes responds by saying the FMA is NOT "alleging intentional or reckless misconduct". Just that the "prospectus and advertising portrayed a rosier picture than the true scenario".
- The FMA are making these representations to keep the freeze order on over Xmas.
- The SFO is yet to conclude its investigation into Hanover involving related party transactions.

Here are my thoughts on the piece by O'Sullivan. And I number them for simplicity's sake. I also note that O'Sullivan's piece is the first by a journalist on this stage of developments. I am not suggesting she is doing anything other than what is her job, that is she is well within her rights to publish the piece, which was a good one.

But looking at Sean Hughes' conduct:

1. What the hell is the head of the FMA doing speaking to a journalist while a formal and serious, and very public investigation is still in progress?

2. Do the Hanover parties even know the possible charges they possible could be charged with? I assume not if the charges have not been laid yet. How consistent is this with natural justice?

3. What kind of outfit threatens to charge persons after more than a one year investigation without detailing precisely what they are being charged with? And does so through probably the most senior and respected business journalist in New Zealand?

4. If the conduct is not intentional, reckless or wanton then what was it? It is starting to all look a bit limp dick when it comes down to the effect of advertising and a prospectus that very few Ma and Pa investors even read cover to cover.

5. What relationship has the purposive placement of this information in the public domain by the FMA got to do with Winkelmann J's demands that the FMA show that they are nearing the end of their investigation?

6. If Richard Long is to be charged for apparently inducing person's into investing in Hanover, will the NZ Herald also be charged for running the $2 million of advertisements in their paper saying same? Just asking given the FMA picked the Herald to run this story through. If Long goes down then surely so does APN. Long probably convinced more people to sign up to Hanover than Hotchin, Watson or any Hanover official.

7. Again despite O'Sullivan publishing the standard 16,000 investors of $500 million of losses, the FMA investigation to begin with did not relate to anything like this figure, it is for a specific time period based on a prospectus in December 2007. That is what the freeze order on Hotchin was for. Apparently now Hughes is looking at a wider time frame but details are vague.

The FMA has fed this information to the media on purpose in a far more blatant manner than their usual under-handed fashion of a "leak" (wink wink).

It all leads to the conclusion that the FMA are after a settlement with Hanover before this even makes a court room much to the teary eyes over at NBR in Jock Anderson who wants to sex this baby up.

Such a tactic in law is not one of a confident party with a bullet proof case. The FMA need Hotchin's scalp and those involved in Hanover in a far uglier fashion than a cash settlement. The FMA have sunk to such depths that they are willing to use the media to put information into the public about more than just the bare bones of progress of an investigation while it is still occurring.

That the FMA has now dragged all the other directors and even possibly those down to Richard Long into the debacle, tells me that the emphasis is not so much on Hotchin anymore but the entire outfit including auditors because they cannot nail Hotchin's backside hard enough to any wall. The asset freeze remember was restricted solely to his assets as though he was carrying the baby for the entire loss allegedly due to technical prospectus violations. You know, prospectuses that every Ma and Pa investor read from cover to cover and base their decisions on. Yeah right.

If you were advising Hotchin and Hanover in a legal capacity right now you would be taking that eventual meeting with the FMA with a large grain of salt from the "get fucked" shaker and taking your chances in court. If there was any behaviour that was so very bad the head of the FMA would not be eliminating intentional or reckless conduct from the charges before they have even been laid. At present anything looks very technical and with it shakier than Christchurch.

Playing Politics

2011-12-22T03:47:00.004+13:00

David Shearer gave an awfully boring and poorly delivered speech in Parliament today. He showed that he didn't just need Brian Edwards but he also needed a crack committee assisting of Judy Callingham, Bill Ralston, Janet Wilson, Michelle Boag, Matthew Hooton, Sean Plunket, Greg Ward, Mark Unsworth, Barrie Saunders, Roger Sowry and Deborah Pead.

John Key then slowly got up and destroyed him.

In a performance that showed confidence, style, humour and wit, Key was showing that not only he was the Master of Ceremonies, he was Langesque in delivery, timing and draw.

Straight away the Labour Party spin machine was on high.

They had no choice than to forget Key had already outlined his government's direction, ideas and mandate. They focused on the tagline that Key was being mean to Shearer and this was unfair. Words of the pathetic playing for the sympathy vote. Key, a politician, was apparently politicking instead of discussing the important issues of the day. Forgetting he already had in his lengthy speech humiliated David Shearer and Labour's campaign in the process.

And how did Labour MP's communicate in unison their disgust in John Key demoralising David Shearer with this alleged "abuse"?

Their boo boys and girls all jumped on twitter and started abusing John Key.

Pot Kettle Red?

David Shearer is just tits in the House. The House is now dominated by John Key, Steven Joyce, Winston Peters and Trevor Mallard with cameo's from John Banks, Gerry Brownlee with David Cunliffe to follow when he is allowed off the leash.

Continue with today's form and it will be three loooooong years for the Shearer.

Even a Backbench MP in Alfred Ngaro outshone Shearer today.