something for the 'homophobes' to think about

Some weeks ago, I blogged about a very good friend who fell from my balcony.

He had got into an emotional state because he had not heard from his partner, a male, for quite some time as he attended a family event.

The partner was in the closet, so found it hard to leave his family, even just for a few minutes, to contact my mate, his beloved.

Now, we have been told the partner, a young guy in his late 20s, has died in a car accident.

But we haven't seen anything in any of the papers, nor anything online.

My mate is reluctant to contact the family as they do not know who he is. As he says , he is 'nothing' to the family. They do not know he even existed. How can he pay his respects at the funeral when his likely behaviour would expose the fact that the deceased had a boyfriend?

Indeed, unbeknown to them, my mate had an insurance policy on his partner, so is in a position to pay the funeral expenses. But he does not want to 'out' his late partner. My mate says he does not want the insurance money either as it won't bring his partner back.

But being unable to find out what is going on, pay his respects and play a full role in the process makes his torment all the worse.

We can have our laughs poking fun at lesbians wanting to open an 'old dykes' home, but we need to consider the implications of 'homophobic' comments like saying lesbian mayors are 'depraved'.

It forces people into the closet. So the late partner of my friend felt unable to contact my mate, leading him to get into such a state that he fell off my balcony. Now, it means my friend is unable to pay his respects and have a proper role in the burial of his beloved.

The pair just wanted to live together in their own place. Have their own unit or family. They do/did not want to undermine 'traditional' values, as gays are accused of on other blogs. They wanted such a lifestyle themselves. To be together and be happy. Had they been able to do so, the deceased might not have been driving last weekend.

So to the 'homophobes' out there. Think of the potential impact of the comments you make and how it affects people.

The hypocritic oath

Here's what happens when you have med students who've grown up watching filth like "24" and "NCIS" all their lives:

Students did no better when asked if they, as physicians, should obey any of three hypothetical orders: to threaten a detainee with psychotropic drugs that would not actually be given; to give detainees a shot of harmless saline solution that they've been led to believe is a lethal injection; to kill a detainee with a genuine lethal injection. More than a quarter of the respondents said they would do the first two but not the third. Six percent said they would do any of the three. The right answer, according to the Geneva conventions, as well as the American Medical Association, is none of the above.

Full story: www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1675614,00.html

As a counterpoint let me add that during my time in Kuwait, I met several US doctors on their way in or out of Iraq with the National Guard, none of whom displayed any indication of being the kind of sick f*ck described in this article.

I Said I Would.........................

Helen,Winston and Alexander – Call Off The Dogs

I said I would report on the vicissitudes of life in Fiji.

First, the notorious adverse travel advisories.

Adolf has difficultly remembering any statements as full of pettifogging hyperbole and hysteria as the adverse travel advisories issued by the governments of NZ and Australia. They have crippled the tourism industry and have destroyed the livelihoods of literally thousands of ordinary Fijian families.

Adolf and the Cook looked in on three resorts well known to us in the Nadi area and occupancy was obviously less than 20% with few if any forward bookings. (Our own timeshare resort continues to enjoy over 90% occupancy.) Taxi drivers report trade is at rock bottom.

Second, general opinion

I talked to as many people as I could (Indo and ethnic) about the coup and the Commodore and without exception they ALL said they believed Mr Bainimarama was doing the right thing for the future stability and prosperity of Fiji. The locals had little sympathy for the crooks of the SDL party who were seen as largely corrupt elitists with their snouts in the taxpayer trough. Some of them reminded me that Qarase was about to enact legislation which would have (a) entrenched the legal right of these tribal elitists to blackmail every businessman in Fiji and (b) released the murderous plotters who perpetrated the previous coup and attempted to assassinate Cmdr Bainimarama. I was reminded also that these same plotters were widely perceived to have been encouraged by senior SDL party figures and by members of the corrupt Council of Chiefs.

Third, what of progress?

There is very good progress indeed. A new census has been completed. Readers might remember the completion of such a census is an essential prerequisite for a constitutionally legal election. Critics of the regime conveniently ignore the hard fact that the election which installed Qarase did not benefit from such a census.

Readers may not be aware that in Fiji, under it’s current racist and divisive ‘constitution,’ ethnic Fijians have two votes while Indo Fijians have one. Mr Bainimarama has circulated for discussion a new constitution entitled ‘The People’s Charter’ in which the ethnic gerrymander is abolished and replaced by genuine universal suffrage, wherein there is one vote for each person. He has indicated that this Charter will be put to referendum before the scheduled general election in March 2009.

Mischievous reports in the MSM have quoted The Cmdr as saying that Qarase and the SDL will not be allowed to stand in these elections. The fact of the matter is that what he did say is that anyone attempting to stand on the policies of the SDL would be prevented from doing so by the terms of the charter. In other words, their racist policies would be unconstitutional. All in all, I’d say that Mr Bainimarama is two or three degrees smarter than Helen Clark and Winston Peters and is jogging along about twenty metres in front of them while they gasp to keep up as they desperately try to prop up their own corrupt regime.

Fourth, how was the week?

Fabulous. From G & Ts at 1100 to warm water in the lagoon to 100 minute fast early morning walks to the humour that is just watching the locals being locals to a whole new meaning to the phrase 'gentle zephyr' as the temperature eased into the low thirties.
http://www.igougo.com/lodging-reviews-b196675-Musket_Cove-Malolo_Lailai_Lagoon_Resort_Club.html

Muldoon's spirit walks

This on Stuff this morning:

Clark's comment yesterday – that those arrested "at the very least" had been training with firearms and napalm – was also unusual, in that she was discussing cases currently before the courts.

How about you let a jury work out what these bozos did, instead of making wild assertions to the media, you arsehole? Some of us prefer not to have politicians deciding who's guilty of what before the case even hits the courts.

Parekura wakes up to the 'racist' Maori threat

For once, some praise for Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia, who accuses the Maori Party of 'playing the race' card over the Tuhoe 'terror raids.'
Horomia also realises relations between Maori and Pakeha aren't as bad as the Maori Party believe, who have accused the police and government of racism over the raids.
"And as we enter a new era we need to acknowledge the bonds that have been forged, sometimes painstakingly, between Māori and non-Māori.
We also need to acknowledge that there is no one Māori voice, but a range of different voices. That no one individual and no one political party speaks for Māori. Despite claims to the contrary, there is no one “authentic” Māori voice.”
His voice adds to some similar sense from Winston Peters on the matter, in contrast to the usual seperatist shite we get from the racist Maori party, who even compared Winnie to Don Brash.

It all leaves Colin Espiner of Stuff, like us, enduring that rare moment, agreeing with Winston Peters.

In the meantime, the police evidence is now with the solicitor general.

Hat Tip: Lindsay Mitchell.

Dear Leader defends her fucky Ducky

The nation's leading spinster, Helen Clark, has been defending her attack dog- Trevor Mallard, over him punching Tau Henare.

"I think he felt he was defending a women's integrity - a woman who had been quite wrongly and unfairly named in Parliament by Mr Henare as involved with Mr Mallard, but it should not have got to fisticuffs," she told Newztalk ZB.

How very chivalrous of Ducky we might add.

But which woman's integrity? Brenda the rower, or Sharon (not Burridge/Gold) but one, we hear Brenda won't be too pleased about.

But there's no such chivalry from Whale Oil, who offers these two amusing Mallard videos to the blogosphere.

It's not Ok.

and

Clever Trevor

Has Helen lied about David Benson-Pope??

Well, Clint Heine thinks so....

Helen Clark tells TV3 News she has no idea about possible challenges to David Benson-Pope for his South Duedin seat.

But then Claire Curren comes out of the woodwork, a simple, humble Liarbour party member.

But Claire runs a small Dunedin pr/communications firms which does much work for the Liarbour Party, including advising it how to use language to shape debate.

And Claire is a member of the Labour New Zealand council.

Obviously, Dear Leader knows nothing of this woman and her plans to beat Panty Slut Boy.

What do you think?

It's not like Helen to lie, is it?

Hubbards' Last Lunatic Fling

Auckland City has pinched TriangleTV's logo, claiming it was really all their own work.

The new Auckland City Council logo (L) and Triangle TV's logo (R).

This reminds Adolf of the the time the National Party stole Nutritech International's logo, sometime in the mid eighties. The company owner was overseas and Adolf sent out a press release entitles 'National Pinches New Logo.' We had heard at the time that a North Canterbury cocky's wife was on some upper echelon committee for the party and she spotted opur new logo on the envelope when she opened her statement of account. I will never forget the personal trauma of being pursued all day by journos desperate to get me to say we were going to sue the party. Of course we were never going to do that but, by hell, if it had been Labour it would have been a different story. I even had a call from one Max Bradford accusing me of being a publicity seeker. The cheek of the man. I reckon we got $50k's worth of radio, front page daily space and TV time out of it. Here they are. You make up your mind. (In fact, looking at it closely, I'd say the Gnats have made a few changes since those entertaining times.)

You Couldn't Make it up: Number 94

Two facts about the United Nations which demonstrate what a joke it has become...

1. The Head of the UN's economic development commission comes from .... Zimbabwe.

2. The next Head of the United Nations Human Rights Commission comes from .... Saudi Arabia.

Cuba and China are also leading members.

Coming soon: Iran to head up the Nuclear Non Proliferation Commission!

Oh! and after losing the next election, Helen Clark will head a UN committee into democracy and government corruption.

Hat tip Iain Dale

New Zealand First launches youth branch

And, Psycho Milt aside, you thought No Minsiters was made of Act and National supporters.

Ever to show our political pluralism, we are doing our bit to help NZ First.

After all, they do need it.

From the Dominion Post today

Hat tip Kiwi Blog

Youth and NZ First rarely go together in the same sentence, but the party hopes to change that with a new branch.
The brainchild of Porirua part-time music teacher Tim Manu, the new branch is open to 18 to 25-year-olds.
Mr Manu, 26, who was elected to Porirua City Council this month, said he had been frustrated while a student to see NZ First without such a group.
"You always had National . . . and Labour on campus, but there was never NZ First."

Auckland Marathon

While all of you were catching forty winks and then slurping on your lattes I was running from Devonport through Takapuna and across the Harbour Bridge and then out to St Heliers and back to Victoria Park.

I don't recommend it despite the enjoyment I had crossing the finish line in just on 4 hours.

I had planned/hoped to finish in 3:45 but slowed down in the head wind along along Tamaki Drive.

Now I'm very sore. It's a pleasant sore though.

I might stick to half marathons in the future. Much easier on my old bones.

And While My Back Was Turned................

Adolf goes away for a week and look what happens. The Labour Party falls off it's wheels.

How pathetic it all is.

Mallard The Muss turns out to be Palid The Puss.

Some commentators even say he deserves sympathy. Ralston should go and take a cold shower. This is the fellow who broke yet another convention for partisan political gain by fingering Dr Brash in the house. All I can say is, I hope Mallard's political career goes the same way as that of his victim. The difference is, of course, that it won't because Labour has no ethical standards. Then again, Labour will realise that, unlike Dr Brash, Mallard is unemployable in the real world.

Oh how Adolf would love to have been a fly on the wall. Did it go something like this?

'Speaking of affairs, Trev, how's Brenda? Have you caught any crabs lately?'

(For the juvenile lefties who might be trolling past, 'catching crabs' is a term used in rowing. It's what happens when you don't quite get your oar in properly.)

When is the next set of opinion polls due?

Liarbour rats flee sinking ship

On the SS Helengrad , the ship is about to sink, and the rats are already deserting.

We have seen would-be leader Steve Maharey announce his departure for academia- and no wonder after the bosses are set for big pay rises.

And this, after Mr Tips recently noted Maharey would have some say over the university gaining some extra research funding.

He certainly has got his snout in the trough.

Now, Liarbour Party President Mike Williams says more MPs "than is required" for rejuvenation are set to quit the party.

Previously, he had spoken of 8-10 departing MPs as being the number for this.

So, let's get this right, almost 20% of the 50-odd Liarbour MPs is nececessary for rejuvenation.

Liarbour is obviously full of so much 'dead wood.' No wonder the ship is sinking. No wonder the rats are deserting.

Showing my charitable side, as Tracey Watkins noted some like David Benson-Pope are keen to hang on because they might have nowhere else to go. Let is hope they fare better than former Alliance MP John Wright, who had to return to panel beating.

There are Lies, Damned Lies and the Social Sciences

I figured somebody would call "Bullshit" on the latest claim that 1 in 4 women have been sexually abused, and the SST has today published such a call from Prof David Fergusson. The headline is "Statistical Abuse," which they used presumably because "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" was already taken.

It's usually best to ignore any social science reporting in the media, or even any science reporting based on statistical data (eg, just about anything to do with nutrition and health), because working out whether you should take it seriously or not would require you both to look at the actual published research to see what it really found, and then spend some time analysing the likely agenda of the researchers and how they might have massaged/manipulated the results to get the outcome they were looking for.

For instance, if you read that someone analysed survey data from 7 countries and discovered a clear correlation between dietary fat intake and heart attacks, you might need to spend a lot of investigative time figuring out that he decided to leave out of his article the survey data from a dozen other countries showing no correlation at all. Or, if someone writes that your favourite food increases your chance of getting toenail cancer by 30% (Shit! Stop eating that poison now!), you'll search the news story in vain for the level of absolute risk, which most likely turns out to be that enjoying this food could increase your absolute risk of toenail cancer from 0.02% to 0.026%. (Well, that is a 30% increase, isn't it? Surely that's fair reporting then?)

In this case, it was reasonably obvious right off the bat where the grift is. The obvious first question is "How did you define sexual abuse?" (An obvious first question that no journo seems to have thought to pursue - as usual.) In this case, sexual abuse seems to have been defined as anyone ever touching you sexually in a way that you didn't want. Well, on that basis 1 in 4 seems pretty damn low if you ask me. Hell, I've been sexually abused on that basis. Who are all these people who haven't been?

If you go look at the WHO report, as opposed to the sensationalist blather from locals, you can see that it's a fairly well-designed survey that does actually distinguish genuine sexual abuse from sexual activity you didn't initiate or that happened before you hit the age of consent. I blame local activists for trying to turn the results into "1 in 4 women sexually abused!" scare-mongering.

Fergusson's right - all that this kind of scare-mongering achieves is the development of skepticism in the general public, and a consequent skeptical attitude by the public to genuine claims of abuse.

Immigration policy: NZ v USA

An interesting 'compare and contrast' can be considered with these two cases concerning immigration policy.

On the left we have the infamous Algerian terror suspect Ahmed Zauoi who, after a multi-million dollar immigration case, funded by legal aid, now has his family in New Zealand.

The NZ Herald has the heartwarming reunion story and photos .Immigration Minister David Cunliffe says he is pleased the family are finally reunited. However, as NZ First note, there was never ever anything stopping Zaoui from heading back to Malaysia to be with his family.

And this week we saw Dear Leader try to save the life of a Saudi criminal, but the Saudis took no notice anyway and the beheading still occurred.

All this has happened while Kiwi blogger Rick Giles, pictured right, has been languishing in a US jail for a month for overstaying in the USA by accident for a few days.

Rick was actually trying to leave the US for Canada but had to make the crossing by bus as pedestrian border crossings are not allowed. Thus, he asked a policeman for direction to the bus station, and that led to his arrest. As if a known overstayer would approach a policeman!

So there we have it. New Zealand welcomes and funds terror suspects and their families. The prime minister 'personally intervenes' to try and save the lives of foreign criminals.

Meanwhile, her own countrymen languish in jail in friendly countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade may be doing all they can behind the scenes, but Rick still remains in prison. And, yes, the USA will bang you away for a month, should you stay in their country a few days too long. I wonder how they might have handled Ahmed Zaoui?

Convicted drink driver Dyson stirs the shit

If ever you doubted there were some nasty little weasels in the Liarbour Party, take a look at Ruth Dyson.

First of all, Dyson has been exposed as leading an email campaign against former Labour cabinet minister Dr Michael Bassett after he attacked Dear Leader in a Christchurch Press column.

Of course, all parties do their bit to coax members into writing to local papers, talkback radio, etc, to get their party message across.

But Dear Leader must be in such great danger if she needs a 'praetorian guard' out there protecting her like this.

Nonetheless, as former Alliance President Matt McCarten notes, it is 'unwise' for ministers to get involved in directing party members like this, when it should be done at a local level.

Either way, the whole business shows how Liarbour especially like to manipulate the media with its faux outrage and media campaigning.

Dyson also gave some faux outrage over Rodney Hide wanting parliament to discipline Trevor Mallard over him thumping Tau Henare.

Dyson says she is 'gobsmacked' at Hide's 'hypocracy' because Rodney opposed the Section 59 anti-smacking bill.

Well, as a convicted drink driver, I can only hope Dyson hasn't been involved in any campaigns concerning road safety.

Dear Lord! Please can I borrow $186,000

New Zealand First is finally to pay back the $186,000 it unlawfully overspent in election 2005.

But hear the party's cheeky excuse for not paying back the money sooner.

It had been on term deposit at a bank, the account of which was due to mature in November.

But as David Farrar rightly notes, term deposits can easily be broken, you just lose some of the interest.

Thus, Winston First wanted to keep earning money on that $186,000 for as long as possible.

David plans to work out what the interest was , and in the meantime, United Future still has to PAY IT BACK!

Liarbour's list of shame

Again, there's no shortage of comment and analysis over Trevor Mallard.

Whale Oil presents a fine round up of commentators' opinion and for me, Fran O'Sullivan takes the honours in noting the challenge Helen Clark faces in dealing with her favourite attack dog.

Best of all, Fran has dug up the lengthy list of liarbour miscreants, noting how Dear Leader has dealt with them.

That list includes:

1-Dover Samuels (brutally dropped from Cabinet when sexual allegations, that were not later substantiated, were levelled against him).

2-Ruth Dyson (sprung for drunk-driving on her way home from Parliament).

3-Marian Hobbs and Phillida Bunkle (who faced double-dipping claims).

4- Harry Duynhoven (infringed arcane nationality rules).

5-Lianne Dalziel (caught out telling porkies to journalists).

6-Tariana Turia (sacked after she took issue with the Foreshore and Seabed legislation, resigned from Parliament and came back as Maori Party leader).

7-John Tamihere (sacked after he made imprudent comments to Investigate magazine).

8-Taito Phillip Field (pushed out after police moved to investigate his dealings with Thai immigrants).

9-David Benson-Pope (pushed out after he misled the Prime Minister over the Madeleine Setchell affair)

No doubt, Dear Leader faces much anguish in the coming days as she decides how to weild the knife.

In the meantime, Mallard can take comfort in the arms of his new lover Brenda and ponder on the mess he got himself in.

Perhaps he should have followed Steve Maharey's example, as noted by the Herald's Noelle McCarthy in a global review of parliamentary behaviour. A simple "fuck you!" would have saved Mallard lots of bother.

Trevor Mallard is the Kiwi's own John Prescott

Tv and talkback radio seem dominated by talk about whether Helen Clark should sack Trevor Mallard over him thumping Tau Henare in parliament.

It got me thinking about a case in England early this century when former deputy prime minister John Prescott was out campaigning. A protester threw an egg at him and was promptly thumped back in response. The incident did Prescott no harm at all.

You Tube has a video here and you will see the circumstances differ.

But it made me think of the similarities between Prescott and Mallard. Prescott was seen as a working class bruiser, who did his master's (Blair's) bidding. Ditto Mallard.

Prescott was notorious for several affairs. Mallard obviously likes his women too, though it remains uncertain whether he cheated on his former wife. However, I hope for new love Brenda that the similarities end there. For her sake, lets hope Mallard offers more than a cocktail sausage.

The "old dykes" home

Just what is it about the Wairarappa, come on Oswald Bastable, please tell us.

Anyway, a lesbian who lives there believes she has the perfect spot for an "old dykes" home.

Aggie Jakubska lives out in the bush with six other lesbian ladies- a positive harem of them, it seems.

Anyway, Aggie believes her 137ha property would be ideal and she plans others.

Now, the Wairarappa is the place where Georgine Beyer became the world's first transexual mayor and then MP, so it is obviously a beacon of tolerance.

And if the happy couple on our left cannot make the opening, then obviously that new Lesbian mayor of Levin, or wherever it was, can perform the honours.

And if ever Lucyna over at NZ Conservative ever needs a job, I'm sure the lesbians would be happy to receive her CV most favourably :)

The Perils of a Misplaced Exhaust Pipe

Hampshire police thought it would be a good idea to advertise on the rear of a bus... although their planning did not take into account the position of the bus's exhaust pipe... It gives a new meaning to the phrase "would you blow into this, sir"!

Hat Tip: Iain Dale

Liarbour's tax conundrum

Liarbour looks set to have to perform verbal and ideological gymnastics to explain their stance over tax cuts.

The Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard yesterday contradicted the view of Finance minister Michael Cullen when he said high government spending is contributing to inflationary pressure.

Cullen believes it does not.

Somehow, we are also led to believe that tax cuts would be inflationary. But Working for Families 'tax relief' is not inflationary. Then the government calls WFF a tax cut for families, but hang on? Won't that be , by Liarbour's own definition, inflationary?

Now, Cullen says tax cuts are affaordable. But won't they be inflationary, or are tax cuts only inflationary when National promises them? Discuss.

Ducky's new bird

So Mallard's 'other woman' is finally exposed. It's former world champion rower Brenda Lawson.

Poor Brenda will no doubt be the source of much amusement in the coming days, and will probably regret any involvement with Mallard.

But that's life.

I look forward to seeing interesting profiles on her in the weekend papers. I know that's what the Brits would do, even 'respectable' broadsheets like the Guardian or the Sunday Times.

In the meantime, there's renewed speculation on the impact of Mallard's brawling on his career.

Martin Kay at Stuff clearly states the matter in question. Mallard has been 'hoist on his own petard' and 'what goes around , comes around.'

Mallard only has himself to blame for his misfortune.

Finally, enjoy Whale Oil's latest graphical exercise.

'Ducky' seems a nice name for Mallard.

I wonder what might happen if you called him that to his face.

What's Left? Not much for the progressives!

Because I took a lead yesterday for a posting from the Midnight Sun, I was accused of potentially being a "vile racist bigot."

Now, the post wasn't about race, it was about Hillary Clinton setting up an army of paid bloggers to help her be selected the presidential candidate for the Democrats.

However, like many 'right-wing' blogs, The Midnight Sun, like many of my own posts, is strongly anti-Islamic.

As this article in the Sydney Morning Herald notes, Islam has presented such a challenge to liberals, lefties and 'progressives, that they just cannot cope. It opens them up to so many contradictions. The right, however, can cope and finds itself speaking up for things you might expect from the left, like women's rights, gay rights, freedom of expression.

"It is a conservative government in the Netherlands that makes would-be immigrants watch a film on Dutch culture showing a topless woman sunbathing and a male couple kissing," reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
"The populist Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was often labelled right-wing but said, fairly or unfairly, that he was hostile to Islam because he did not want to "have to go through the emancipation of women and homosexuals all over again". He entered politics partly out of rage at young Muslim men smashing the windows of his gay bar.
Left liberals, meanwhile, are thrown into confusion, or worse. In 2004, the left-wing Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, hosted a visit by Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a Muslim cleric whose fatwas endorse wife-beating and the murder of homosexuals."

Such contradictions have also been noted by 'left-wing' journalist Nick Cohen, who wrote about it in his book What's Left.

We cannot all put it down to 'Bush Derangement Sydrome' and the War in Iraq, can we?

Or is it that 'the left' hate the West, the system that gives them their freedom and wealth, so much that they want to destroy it by jumping into bed with our enemies?

Either way, it is puzzling that where Islam is concerned, lefties do not stand up for their former values and the things they once campaigned for.

Islam is not a race. I could adopt the Islam faith tomorrow, though if I did, I could never leave.

I am white, but much as I might get sunburnt, I would/could never turn black.

It's like what I said this week on race, when I stressed my support for 'one nation' treating people the same, regardless of colour.

Who are the racists? I asked, is it those who support race-based parties, and the reservations of seats in parliament for members of a certain race?

Aren't the racists those who support members of a certain race being able to veto resource consents? Aren't the racists those who 'positively' discrimate too, on grounds of race.

And there's me, who's ex was Maori and wants everyone to be treated equally being branded racist.

Yes, I oppose Islam, but that is because it is an intolerant doctrine, it opposes the freedoms we all take for granted.

So let's get this right. In a world where there is Islam, the left oppose women's rights, they oppose rights for gays, and they oppose free speech, because that can be 'hate speech.'

And those who want people treated equally are now branded 'racist.'

What's Left? Not much for the progressives.

What a topsy turvy world we live in.

Cretinous Cullen confirms he's a leader in New Zealand's Nasty Party!

If there was any doubt that Liarbour in New Zealand is the 'nasty' party, it came from Michael Cullen last week.

We can put Trevor Mallard to one side today, who obviously showed he cannot take what he dishes himself.

We can also put aside Dear Leader who infamously called Don Brash 'cancerous' and 'corrosive.'

No, let us reserve our comptempt for Michael Cullen for his treatment of Christchurch businessman Dave Henderson.

Under the protection of parliamentary priviledge, once Cullen claimed that "Dave Henderson, or Hendo, is one of the biggest and nastiest tax evaders in this country – who ran the sex industry in Christchurch and avoided tax thereon?".

Rodney Hide (pictured, with the actor who plays him) has raised the issue in Parliament , adding that Dave Henderson will never get fair treatment from the IRD because the finance minister believes he is a criminal.

Cullen declined to retract his previous allegations, saying it would give direction to the IRD, which he is not meant to do.

Now, Dave Henderson fought back against IRD claims of tax evasion and has never been charged or convicted of evading tax, something now written into parliamentary records.

His battle has also been made into a movie called : "We're Here to Help."

Of course, it adds irony to the fact that the movie has received $1.8 million of government funding.And of course, Henderson is now landlord of the IRD building in Christchurch.

Now the film is released on November 8, but see it while you can.

Rodney Hide says, as noted by David Farrar at Kiwiblog yesterday, that under the current wording of the Electoral Finance Bill, the government subsidised movie could be illegal from January1!

Either way, the fact remains, by his actions, Cullen shows what a nasty little man he is.

But there again, he is a leading light in New Zealand's nasty party.

Hat Tip: Hitting Metal.

Tuhoe 'terror camps' Islam connection

Not in our wildest fantasies did I ever suspect there would be Islamists training in our mists down in Tuhoe country, getting friendly with the iwi. And I doubt Adolf didn't suspect it either.

In the 'you cannot make it up' department, the identity of another of the accused 17 has been revealed.

Omar Hamed, a Greek-born Palestininian raised on Auckland's North Shore.

Obviously with a name like that, he must be Presbyerian!

The Herald story mentions he is an 'anti-capitalist' but the religion angle is a worry, especially if Hamed has been polluting radical Maori with any Jihadist extremism.

I recall the Sunday Star-Times once reported that Islamists were targetting Maori in our prisons for conversion to their faith.

We have seen Islam causing enough trouble globally, the last thing we want is radical Maori turning islamic here.

I'm not suggesting Hamed is some Shore Boy Jihadist, but you never know.

After last weekend's whitewashing of the alleged terrorist training camps and its participants, we can only judge the expected denials with caution.

Indeed, here comes another 'You cannot make it up' story, dripping in irony.

After 9-11, the good old BBC made a documentary 'Don't Panic, I'm Islamic". The muslims featured noted there had been no Islamic terror attacks in Britain and said British Muslims were all sweet and lovable people, as I expect many are.

But guess what? Within a couple of weeks of the programme being broadcast in June 2005, we saw the London bus and tube bomb attacks.

But wait! It gets even better. There is a High Court case going on in London and at least one of the people featured in that documentary helped organise Jihadist 'terror camps' in the English Lake District. Camps where some of the July 2005 London bombers were trained.

Now the BBC cameras showed one of the camp organisers involved in paintball activities but complaining people viewed him as a terrorist. But he is now charged of being one, training them.

So here in New Zealand, in our 'benign strategic environment,' just what are we to make of a member of the Islamic faith attending 'health' or 'training camps' with anarchists, eco-activists and radical Maori?

One wonders when the Liarbour-link will be revealed, which anarchists posted at Indymedia yesterday, which No Minister followed up on yesterday.

It all confirms the point raised in the cruel graphic above; the succour and comfort that the media can give to extremists, with the BBC particularly soft on Islamist extremism. So no wonder nasty right wing bloggers produce things like this.

Free Rick Giles!!! Come on Helen , You can do it?

I was only thinking this morning that no-one has seen or heard from the wee fellow for about a month and I was getting concerned.
Then the story broke.
Rick Giles of NZB3 and Silent Running fame has been incarcerated in an American jail for the past month for staying a few days too long in the US of A.
He was trying to leave the country for Canada when a policement noticed he had stayed in the country seven days too long, which Rick said was due to him getting his dates mixed up.
But remember, he was trying to LEAVE America, he was not wanting to stay, he is no threat to America.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade are working on the case and the Libertarian community is rallying round. The ACT Party has been informed.

Dear Helen, I know he's not a supporter of yours, Rick is just a harmless little Libertarian from Canterbury.
Please use whatever power you have to get the Americans to release him.
I am sure you will find him more worthy of your time than a Saudi who frees drug criminals.
You have duties closer to home Prime Minister, responsibilities to your own citizens.
So Please Helen, use your power, show your leadership.

Dear Leader helps a Saudi criminal while ignoring the real victims of Islam

As if she hasn't better things to do, Dear Leader decided to poke her nose into the judicial affairs of another country, and to come to the aid of a common criminal.

The chinless scarf wearer appealed to the Saudi authorities to stop the beheading of the brother of a Saudi student studying in New Zealand because the brother helped a drug trafficker escape from jail.

Despite the issuing of a 'personal plea' from the Prime Minister, the Saudis took no notice and beheaded the criminal anyway.

Here's our message Dear Leader: Try not to help overseas criminals. If you want to help people in Saudi Arabia, I am sure there are better examples. The barbaric acts of Sharia can be found all over the interweb. But if you learn something from this, I hope it lessens your faith in Islam and you begin to realise how evil it is. There again, I bet the Saudis don't have the same 'p' problem that we have.

Duckman: The gift that keeps on giving!

David Farrar at Kiwiblog, the other day, referred to David Benson-Pone as 'The Gift that keeps in giving" when Panty Slut Boy announced his intention to stay on as Liarbour member for Dunedin South.

The same can obviously be said of Trevor Mallard, who has been scrapping with Tau Henare about his love life.

Tau branded Mallard a hypocrite because, as we all know, Mallard raised the issue of Don Brash's love life with taunts in parliamaent of 'How's Diane' in respect to Auckland businesswomen Diane Foreman, whom Brash was accused of having an affair with.

Early this year, Mallard left his wife. He even told the Press Gallery to respect his privacy, who like sheep did, until word reached the blogosphere and cyberspace that Mallard was getting his beak into a netballer.

The question is, which one? We thought the Herald on Sunday had the right answer, but apparantly not, and Mallard forced Granny to issue an apology.

But the truth obviously hurts. Mallard is a hypocrite. You cannot go throwing stones as he hid, when his own bawdy house is obviously in disorder. Even Dear`Leader is not amused.

Phil Goff must be even happier today.

UPDATE: More details merge, such as 'Mallard punched me." Career speculation and Herald readers aren't happy with Duckman.

Colin Espiner lands a few punches too, with Audrey Young also giving Mallard a good slap.

Liarbour link alleged to Tuhoe "terror camps"

I'm not for one moment suggesting that in a Reggie Perrin-style moment of madness that Dear Leader was faking her own demise down in Tuhoe country.

Now, we have seen the identities of a few of the arrested 17 terror suspects, and to date, they are as expected: maori radicals or just plain and stupid, but potentially evil, anarchists.

However, Trevor Loudon at New Zeal reports the anarchists at Indymedia have claimed that one of the 17 people arrested last Monday is a member of the Labour party. Helen Clark's old Auckland University based Princess St branch no less.

I can reveal that one of the people arrested in the trumpted up terror charges is a abour party member.

Due to the current court suppression the name of the Labour party member cannot be revealed.

Not only is he a member, he was also at the Labour party conference. He is also a member of Princes St Labour club along with Prime Minister Clark, her husband and Jonathan Hunt.More coming soon.

The truth is coming out.

Trevor has done a fine job in monitoring the 'terror' events and reporting the backgrounds of those whose identities have been revealed so far.

Like he says, the truth cannot come out soon enough.

And all I would add is, if the Labour connection is true, it will be explosive!

Hillary's paid army of bloggers: and does Helen have one too?

Hot on the heels of No Minister on Tuesday reporting how the (UK) Independent newspaper proved it wasn't by passing off government propoganda as its own work, we now turn over to a fresh case of lefty media manipulation.

Hilary Clinton has been exposed as a funder of left wing blogs in a scandal branded as 'bloggergate.'

The rorting of the New Media, it seems has gone on largely unnoticed for several years, until a video of Clinton posted this month on You Tube exposed the affair for all to see.

Such abuses of corporate funding may even be against the law, not that lawbreaking ever bothered the Clintons when they were in the White House.

Either way, the evidence all seems pretty damning as covered in these stories here, here and here.

It all makes us wonder about the New Zealand blogosphere.

There has been some discussion on right-wing blogs about whether left-wing 'trolls' are deliberately setting out to damage David Farrar's highly successful Kiwiblog, by them hijacking debates. Are they doing it independently, or acting on orders from Liarbour command?

And, like in America, might we have money from Trades Unions or wherever, being paid direct to employ Pro-Liarbour bloggers here? Might such a method overcome Liarbour's planned Electoral Finance Bill? Who would know if someone was getting paid or not?

For myself and the others I know, blogging is , dare I use the word, a labour of love.

Hat Tip: Aurora at The Midnight Sun.

Laura Bush meets the ladies of Dubai

"The last time Laura Bush went on a Middle East tour, she lectured the Islamic folks there about the most pressing problem facing women. If you thought the prob was female genital mutilation/clitorectomies, honor killings, honor suicides, being forced to wear a hijab, niqab, or burqa, forced arranged marriages, or the lack of rights of women to obtain a divorce, own property, or drive, you would be . . . . WRONG!
Nope. Facing death by stoning or beheading for going the wrong way on any one of the items noted above ain't a big thing to good ole girl Laura. Instead, she highlighted the one thing that is ultimately less preventable and deliberate . . . Breast Cancer."
So wrote US blogger Debbie Schlussel a week ago about Dubya's better half's impending tour of the Islamic world, which is also covered by USA Today.
As Debbie notes, the irony is, while Mrs Bush panders to Islamofacist states, the leading country in the Middle East fighting breast cancer is , you've guessed it Israel!
And now she has arrived in supposedly moderate Dubai- the country that funds our yacht team and wanted to snap up Auckland Airport- we have the photo that encapsulates one of the many problems of Islam- it's treatment of women.
Debbie Schlussel makes another post this week, after the pics were published, adding a delightful caption competition.
All I will add, is at least by covering up the women don't have to worry about skin cancer!
UPDATE: I should have given a hat tip to Little Green Footballs but having just seen a posting on Fortress Australia, I am now thinking Debs was a little too harsh on Laura.

Fortress Australia believes Laura Bush "rocks" and her grace and style in those photos speaks a thousand words. She can deliver the clear message more clearly: Islam is an evil doctrine that treats women as slaves.

101 uses for an unwanted Liarbour MP

Many years ago, the above book appeared '101 uses for a dead cat.' I recalled the name after reading Tracey Watkin's piece on Stuff today saying that David Benson-Pope wants to remain the honourable member for Dunedin South because he "might have nowhere else to go."

Tracey notes its a tough life for MPs once banished from the corridors of power.

Former Alliance MP John Wright has had to revert back to panel beating to make a living.

While former consumer affairs minister Robyn McDonald, of NZ First, now works for the SPCA and brands the words "former MP" on her CV as 'poison" to the public service.

Of course, it might help MPs if they had more real-world experience before entering parliament so that when they leave it, they can better survive back in it.

Which brings us back to the book '101 uses for a dead cat.' So how many uses are there for a unwanted MP? What could David Benson-Pope do outside parliament, and such Liarbour hot shots as Dianne Yates (who couldn't even get elected to council) , Anne Hartley, Rick Barker, Mark Burton and even Pete Hodgson, who is also rumoured to be planning his exit.

I always said Dear Leader looked quite fetching at the petrol pumps, but let's keep it clean.

"Climate Change" critics put heat on Liarbour

As Liarbour drives (in a Pruis, of course) down the road to 'environmental sustainability' , more roadblocks are discovered , preventing us reaching the destination of some kind of Green Nirvana, which doesn't exist anyway.

On Labour Day, I speculated how a Maori-run Aotorea might have turned out without Pakeha colonisation and fantasised about some pastoral, agrarian state, economically on the same level as Chile or Argentina.

This seems to be the kind of future Liarbour has in store for us, so make the most of your SUVs, your plasma tellies, before Liarbour bans them, as it announced the other week.

Not that you'll be able to afford them in future, mind you.

No, Liarbour seems intent on a deliberate de-industrialisation of New Zealand, a rejection of civlised, modern living and all its comforts. If you live in Dunedin, stock up on your thermals and prepare to wrap up well.

Liarbour's energy policy, announed the other week, included a ban on new fossil-fueled power stations, relying on wind power to take up the slack. But even those who sympathised with Liarbour's initial goals, such as Colin Espiner at Stuff, realised the unreality of Liarbour policy, something we noted here at No Minister.

Today, the New Zealand Institute calls on the government to scrap its committment to the Kyoto Protocal, saying current greenhouse reduction targets are too ambitious, and will damage industry, which will simply move to other, less restrictive countries, thus negating any overall benefit to the environment.

National Leader John Key agrees in such a balance and Fran O'Sullivan at the NZ Herald, noting the government is 'steamrolling' its policies through, calls the NZI's message' a wake-up call to government.'

Of course, there still remains debate on the whole 'climate change' business. More inaccuracies, some 35 in total, not just 9 claimed by a British High Court judge, have been found in Al Gore's movie 'An Inconvenient Truth.' All suggesting the inconvenient truth that in Gore's movie, there just isn't any. So why all the economic destruction over a Climate Change scenario that looks unlikely to happen as claimed, or if it does, it's happening naturally, when it was just a few decades ago, predictions of Ice Age was all the rage?

It's all about control, control, control. After the defeat of Communism, the socialists and politicians want to deliver totalitarianism through the back door, and what better way than to scare people with greenie tales of doom and gloom, environmental apocalypse, etc, etc.

Now, as for those polar bears in the infamous picture above, it seems global warming may not cause their demise, hunting is a greater threat, and their populations may actually be doing rather swimmingly!

Can we really stand nine more years of hard Labour!

As an immigrant from the UK, I can remember when I first came to New Zealand in 1995 on a Working Holiday Visa, that I seemed significantly better off than I had been in Britain.
But, in the tale as I have repeated many times since, over the years, New Zealand living standards have barely changed, while those in England seem to inch-up by 2-3% every year and likewise Australia too has prospered, creating a now noticeable wide gulf in prosperity each time I visit.
Further confirmation of this comes in this story: Wages up so where's the money gone? - New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz
It follows last week , as Whale Oil explains, when David Farrar showed emphatically that despite all the rhetoric we are hardly any better off under Labour and wealth grew faster under the previous National governments of the 90s.
Now, National has released figures that show that despite increased wages, the impact of taxation and inflation have robbed the average worker of all but $500 of the increased $10,000.
Labour has reacted by producing their own figures and surprise, surprise they show we are better off, BUT only if you have children.
Whale Oil says it begs the question, "Are Labour alienating the non-breeders by favouring Breeders?" And he believes Labour will suffer a backlash from singles seeing how much of their taxes go on to funding other people's children via Working for families when they have student loans to pay, etc.
Indeed, there are philosophical points about how much you should subsidise someone's lifestyle. Should people, families included, stand on their own two feet? What can we say of a tax system that subsidises families when their gross income tops $100,000 a year, as Working For Families does? What can we say of a tax system where you lose so much of any extra income that it does not pay to work harder or gain that promotion, as happens under Working for Families.
Still, WFF creates jobs for bureaucrats, allows Liarbour to claim it is offering tax reliefs, allows people to be bribed with their own money, and allows the middle class to become welfare recipients, thus enlargening Liarbour's dependent constituency.
Wouldn't it be better if tax could be kept as low and as simple as possible? That way, there would be no disincentives to work and promotion, families would not need subsidy, fewer bureaucracts would be needed, singles would not feel hard done by.
That might not be good for Liarbour, but I am sure it would be good for all of New Zealand.
UPDATE: Whale Oil uncovers this parliamentary exchange, which reports on the figures quoted above, where Dear Leader has possibly misled the house over definitions of what are tax cuts and what are tax relief.
UPDATE2: Colin Espiner of Stuff blogs today: Working for Families can't be tax cuts in drag.

Steve Maharey has his snout in the trough

Mr Tips over at NZConservative comes up with an interesting conflict of interest and potential scandal involving the way former education minister Steve Maharey was 'shoulder tapped' to become vice-chancellor of Massey University.

Mr Tips writes:

"But the fact that Steve Maharey is quitting politics next year (late enough to not incur a by-election I'm sure) has left one more than a little miffed. Why? Well, he is going to Massey University to be their next Vice-Chancellor, which is effectively the CEO job. And from there, the shit will fly in the New Zealand University sector. The reason?...Well, for a start, Maharey didn't even apply for the job. He was "shoulder tapped". This term is ominous once the next bit is unveiled. It will also show what a bunch of dimwitted idiots the AUS are for producing this. We don't expect anything more than crap like this from student unions, the breeding ground/wastedump for the nations attention seeking dickheads - but the AUS?

But more importantly, the way in which Maharey "generated" the "shoulder tap" ought to be investigated more thoroughly. Specifically, the role that Maharey played in the Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) bidding in the most recent round needs to be unearthed.

Back in December 2006 - the Tertiary Education Commission (which governs tertiary funding) oversaw the process for the latest bidding round of CoRE's. The government at that time funded 7, and made noises that it would fund 1-2 new ones.

When the results came out around May, they didn't do that at all. Instead, they stripped one existing CoRE out and replaced it with one from...oh look! it was Massey University! What a surprise! And Maharey, a Massey graduate and academic, was Minister of RS&T, and Tertiary Education too! How nice! And the government Cabinet table had the final say, NOT the TEC! And Maharey was "shoulder tapped" around March 2007, the time at which the shortlisting was done! And now Helen Clark says his leaving came as "no surprise".

Phil Goff will be laughing all the way to the leadership. The political deal-making that has gone on around the Labour cabinet table to nullify Maharey's potential leadership threat to Goff has resulted in the Government going back on its RS&T promises to the University sector.

The VC's of Victoria, Otago and Auckland are NOT happy about this, which is why the shit will fly when Maharey comes on board next year.

Massey University has received something far above its station in New Zealand University life and it will pay at the VC level meetings, and so they should - the current Massey VC, Judith Kinnear ought to have gone YEARS ago.

Maharey simply took advantage of the current disagreement going on at Massey Council level.

Also, it is now clear why Benson-Pope is staying on - he is personally pissed off that HIS University didn't get a CoRE, and thus, it gives him leverage in the next election.

Pete Hodgson will be fairly pissed off as well.

As for the AUS, if you think that congratulating Maharey and playing "nicey-nicey" is going to make the frustration of academics to this obvious rort go away - you really are a bunch of twats.

But are the National Party or the media interested?"

The (UK) "Not Independent"

One of Adolf's favourite newspapers is embroiled in a bit of a scandal.

Last week, the (UK) Independent published what it called '10 Myths about the EU Treaty.'

Not only did the splash cover the front page, but some of the inside pages too. Quite an exclusive!

But what the paper didn't tell anyone was who was its source for such shocking revelations.

Well, a good journalist never reveals its sources, but have a guess who was the source? How much investigation did the paper undertake for its European Constitution splash that day?

It turns out the Independent simply used a Foreign Office Press briefing, tweaked it a little, but effectively quoted it verbatim.

The Open Europe group noted the similarities between the government document and what the paper wrote and the uproar has started, fuelled by Independent editor Simon Kellner denying anything wrong, claiming he 'independenty' verified the information.

The matter is being covered by the blogs, including those from mainstream outlets like the Telegraph and the Spectator, who broke the story on its Coffee House blog, and the Guardian, with top blogger Guido Fawkes taking a particular interest.

Guido raises a few serious issues, which are worth debating here.

Don't Independent readers deserve to know how much of Independent 'news' is in fact a government press release, adding it should come with a government-ticked logo?

The Spectator's Melanie Phillips also notes how the Independent has now just become an outlet for government propaganda, just as Pravda was in former Soviet times.

And wouldn't heads roll in America, for example, if any journalist or media outlet found itself charged with such plagiarism.

Indeed, what might people say if a newspaper similarly ran verbatim, without criticisim, skepticism or much alteration, a government report on the Iraq war, Guido also notes.

As for me, I recall the launch of the Independent in the 1980s with its high ideals and in those days it wasn't a bad paper. It truly was Independent and it was refreshing to see a diversity of viewpoints within it. But alas it has since degenerated more into a 'viewspaper' rather than a newspaper, with an anti-war liberal stance that often out-lefts the Guardian. I cannot take it seriously any more.

Sadly, for us Kiwis, The Independent is owned by Irish baked beans tycoon and former rugby player Tony O'Reilly, whose business interests extend to the New Zealand Herald, so Granny often relies on the Independent for some of its overseas copy.

I hope the Herald subs realise how discredited the Independent truly is when selecting stories.

Of course, the media relies on government as a source of news, be it central or local government, with councils employing journalists to write media releases and government probably employing as many as Fairfax and APN combined to write them and handle press queries, which brings us to wider issues.

How damaging does it become for a short-staffed, under-resoruced or 'lazy' media to rely so much on government? Doesn't it damage its integrity/ independence?

And if the MSM cannot be trusted to be 'straight' or objective with the news, then what is its place in our hearts, it's raison-d'etre, it's gap-in-the-market?

You might as well get your news filtered by the blogs. At least from them, you know where you stand.

Panty Slut Boy begs for more

Panty Slut Boy, aka David Benson-Pope, is seeking re-election as a Dunedin Liarbour MP.

Dominatrix may not be happy but the local yokels down there see nothing wrong in being represented by a member who likes a good thrashing.

However, while BePop is known as a 'submissive', who likes a bit of 'puppy play', this is something where he says he will stand firm against his master, or should I say mistress.

Indeed, Dear Leader has promised not to intervene, if we can believe her.

Paula Oliver, the fresh faced political reporter at the NZ Herald, assesses the background of Benson-Pope's fall from grace, notably not mentioning the stuff about tennis balls or Panty Slut Boy's membership of the Southern Kinx bondage club (scroll down to 'The Secret Life of David Benson-Pope').

Obviously such details are a bit salacious for Granny even if published by that God-fearing Christian Ian Wishart in Investigate magazine.

There's probably a reluctance in the MSM too to give him kudos for getting to the bottom, as it were, of so much Liarbour sleaze and scandal.

Nonetheless, just to refresh Paula Oliver and anyone else, here's some more of Panty Slutboy's background that the NZ Herald and NZPA failed to report today.

Just one other thing, while that photo was used by Investigate magazine, I'm assuming it's not the former Social Development Minister all dressed for play.

UPDATE: Good to see Colin Espiner refer to "tennis balls" with BePop, unlike the others, in this piece on a cabinet reshuffle. Colin must have some balls of his own.

Horror of horrors ! It's the Hillary and Helen show

It's election time and US blogger Zombie notes how the MSM will be running nice, positive pictures of Hillary Rodham Clinton looking her ravishing best.

But what if you don't like Hillary?

Well, Zombie has created The Really Truly Hillary Gallery which offers a delightful montage of Bill's better half, and is seeking other contributions.

We at No Minister, along with our good friend Whale Oil, always do our best to please or horrify with our Dear Leader digital delights. We have a fair range but if you have any other shots looking just as gruesome, we are happy to receive donations too. We could well create our own Hell-en gallery, as well as use them in our regular postings.

Hat tip - Little Green Footballs.

UPDATE: Whale Oil creates a Helen Gallery of horrors!

IslamoFacism Awareness Week

It's Islamo-Facism Awareness Week, but without wanting to repeat much of what was said in New Zealand's Islamic Awareness Week, a short while back, I will keep it brief.

First, Islam expert Robert Spencer answers back to that expensive campaign in Britain which claims 'Islam is Peace', even with ads on buses similar to the ones Islamists blew up in London several years ago. I do hope the picture on the right, thanks Crusader Rabbit, is not real; I doubt its passengers would survive for long!

Aurora at The Midnight Sun links to 'Muslim contributions to our cultural enrichment.'

And in the US, Fox has just aired the 'Islam v Islamists' tv documentary, which liberal network PBS chickened out of showing. The documentary may find its way onto You Tube but a DVD is available.

Much is done to 'hide' the problems caused by Islam, such as this report of riots in Amsterdam, which Fortess Australia Outpost notes have lasted a week.

While Europe might seem to be falling prey to Islamisation and Dhimmitude, resistance to Islamist demands for the implementation of Sharia Law , the subjugation of women, and the killing of gays and those who leave the muslim faith seems to be growing.

In the meantime, enjoy this Islamist meeting his maker and those 72 virgins!

You Tube uncovers political filth

Does Helen Clark fart? Has Michael Cullen burped or thrown up in front of the tv cameras? Does someone somewhere out there have any incriminating or embarassing photos?

Over in Australia, Labour leader Kevin Rudd has faced ridicule over six year old footage showing that he eats his own earwax!

It comes months after UK prime minister Gordon Brown, shortly before moving to Number 10, was filmed picking his nose in the Mother of Parliaments. Gordon apparantly ate that too!

Of course, You Tube is bound to be used for all kinds of campaigns, some official , some not. Not to mention ridicule.

And I'm sure Whale Oil has a few more productions up his sleeve whether or not Liarbour's Electoral Finance Bill makes such messages unlawful.

Indeed, I am still puzzled by Helen Clark at the Big Gay Out this year.

Was she 'coming out' or not?

Either way, You Tube and the Internet looks set to play some role in election campaigning- an issue TV One's 6pm news looked at tonight.

And Ackers, or any of our Australian regulars, I understand an email is circulating Australia which apparantly shows John Howard looking down the chest of a young female supporter. Please send us the link. That will be worth posting too.

UPDATE: Enjoy this Fairfax Whack-a-poll game.

UPDATE2: And on the day following Rachel Glucina reported the news others wouldn't, the old tale about the hypocritical Trevor Mallard netting former netballer Susan Burridge, who can forget the classic Trevor Mallard dance.

UPDATE3: Seems 'the Gluc' got it wrong and Trevor Mallard could be sticking his beak somewhere else.

Little Red Racists

One of the blogs I often read is Little Green Footballs- often slammed as 'Little Green Racists' by the lefty 'moonbats' who oppose its non-PC stance on multiculturalism, Islam and other matters.

But who are the racists really?

Surely it is those who want to treat people different because of their racial background.

So here we have a coup leader in Fiji under fire and branded a 'leper' by Dear Leader because he wants to replace a racially-based constituion dominated by an hereditary based Great Council of Chiefs with something more resembling one person one vote as found in most Western democracies. Col Banaramana recently outlined his plans to the United Nations, which Adolf also posted a few weeks back.

Now, gaining power through a coup might not be the best way to do things, but it seems Col Frank is serious in putting Fiji back on the road to recovery, based on racial equality.

Like I say, you think he'd get support for that in these quarters. But what do we have in New Zealand?

We don't have a written constitution as such but racism runs rife throughout government, both central and local. How racist can you get to have racially-based seats that are largely held by a racially-based party?

Or in your resource consent process, you have to effectively gain approval for your project by members of one particular race.

What makes matters worse is the parties that promote such racial seperatism often brand opponents to their racism as racist, even though the opposition will rightly believe in 'one nation' and 'one people.'

National Party deputy leader, the very liberal Bill English, was hardly radical with his calls when leader for "one standard of citizenship.'

A fair guide on the 'racism' of those who oppose the multi-culti PC trendiness on racial matters maybe gained on who their spouses are.

Bill English, you may recall has a Samoan wife, Judith Collins has a Samoan husband, Don Brash's wife comes from Singapore, Richard Prebble likes his Polynesian ladies and Rodney Hide was previously with an Asian lady. Racists indeed!

But I see no mixed marriages on the Labour benches.

Of course such a lack of racism in their personal lives is reflected in their political beliefs, such as wanting no seperate seats for Maori and backing a constitution where we are all equal.

So who are the real racists?, I would say the 'Little Red Racists', such as those socialists who support New Zealand's 'racist' status quo- Helen Clark, Liarbour, the Maori Party and such ilk, not just Tame Iti and his friends, including whitey Jamie Lockert who speaks of white people getting killed.

Brace yourself for the 'Greenwash"

Remember the Setchelgate affair, where it was reported the government was planning major campaigns on environmental sustainability.

Well, it seems the campaign is about to begin in earnest shortly, if this job ad for the Ministry for the Environment is anything to go by, which also appeared on Seek.

But if someone took a stance opposing the government's view, would they be allowed to under the Electoral Finance Bill?

So the government can spend taxpayers' cash willy nilly, on whatever it likes, while it silences those who oppose it.

Only in Helengrad, eh!
Something for everyone, including Environment Minister Marion Hobbs, to think about this cloudy Labour Day.
-

What if??? 'Sliding' through alternate realities

Finally caught up with the weekend papers and one theme about the 'terror raids' seems to be that the onus is on the police to deliver the goods.

Helen Clark says as much today, so as the police cop a lot flak, why not release a report showing a policeman's lot is not a happy one.

So the weekend news reports show that guns are part of Tuhoe life, even for children, so why is a police raid so traumatising for them?

And Tame Iti and friends are simply having a jolly good time out in the bush and being funded by the taxpayer while doing so.

Yes, funded by the evil Pakeha state they apparantly despise.

But it got me thinking, as the papers wheeled out various commentators to say nothing much was amiss, Tame Iti is a harmless fool, etc, etc.

But what might the reaction be from the commentariat to such raids had National being in power, if Don Brash had won election 2005?

I guess a National-led government would have been pushing harder to get some treaty settlements done, to get the issue over and dealt with. There might have been movement to abolish Maori seats and more talk of 'one nation, one people.'

The lefty commentariat would have been outraged at this, and various people would have been wheeled out to say it was all the fault of a National-led government, that Don Brash was to blame for his government's 'hardline' stance.

But let's think a moment. It was National that signed major treaty settlements in the 1990s and there have been none since. It was Labour that signed the Foreshore Act that led to the formation of the Maori party.

All Labour want to do is keep Maori dependent on welfare and take Maori for granted as Shane Jones MP once admitted.

So if the left are doing their bit to accuse Helen Clark, their beloved Prime Minister, of running a jackbooted facistic state, imagine what they would say about Don Brash.

This brings me on to another 'what if'.

So Tuhoe might want independence. Would it realistically be economically feasible? How would they seriously manage without 'Pakeha welfare.' But if they want it, why not? I doubt the rest of New Zealand would miss them. Can't see Murupara making a fine capital though, or Ruatoki?

In my fanciful moments I have sometimes wondered how New Zealand, or should I say Aoteroa might have fared if somehow the Maori had kept the white man at bay and the country had never being colonised.

Alternate realities is a fiction genre in itself . In my younger days, I enjoyed the tv sci-fi series 'Sliders' which presented a series of alternate realities as the characters traveled through various parallel worlds, like where the British Empire still ruled America, or the Soviets.

I guess Rotorua might have made a fine capital, but would the "Land of the Long White Cloud' be one country or several? How would it have progressed economically? About as much as other Polynesian countries, which isn't much.

However, some historians say Maori used to be very enterprising selling supplies to the white man, so maybe a Maori Aotorea might well have prospered.

My guess would be there would be some immigration of 'expats' and others who would have been needed to introduce sheep and horses, help run the farms, show the locals what to do, etc, etc.

The 'pakeha' population might then be 20% of say 1-2 million Maori.

So imagine an Aotorea at the turn of the 21st Century. The daughter of a farming family in the Waikato battling against the 'racism' and 'sexism' of the National Marae and the Council of Kaumata. Would Helen Elizabeth Clark make herself heard, would she have to sit at the back, or would she eventually become Aoteroa's first 'Pakeha' Prime Minister?

What do you think?

UPDATE: It is interesting to note that in The Future Eaters, Australian Tim Flannery notes Maori ate the megafauna (moas) and most seals, creating food shortages, leading to a more violent culture and wars over resources. Had the white man not arrived , then Maori could have eaten themselves out of existance.