Proof ACT is doing well....

While others usually non ACT members from the left, or even those within your own party, like to put the boot into ACT. It has emerged that Rodney and the ACT caucus have proven to be a firm coalition partner to the Nats, giving them the strength to introduce laws that are good for NZ.

Case in point the 90 day trial law.

Kate Wilkinson didn’t want to look past the immediate benefit of extending the 90 trial to businesses of over 50 people, after its tremendous success for small businesses. Her short-sightedness to the bigger picture would have not delivered the benefits that the previous trial had shown to have worked well, meaning the Nats would not entirely be producing policy helpful to all workers. This would have been further dampened by National still forcing all workers to negotiate their contracts through a union, as dictated by John Keys mates at the CTU. So ACT had to move to squeeze some benefit for workers.

Excellent leadership from Rodney and his team to bring NZ back into 1st world employment practises.

More please! The sideshow is over and the leadership problems are over for now. One year to go before the election and we are seeing that even when things don’t look bad, the potential and results from the ACT Party are out there for all to see.

Yes I know it has been a full on 2 weeks for my ACT Party postings. Back to regular transmission next week!

Hello... my name is Peter... is anybody listening?

Some people don't know when their time is up.

I don't know what is more sad, Peter Jerkoff interviewing himself or the fact that he thinks he is speaking on behalf of members of the ACT Party:
Hello? Anybody? Please say something... pretty please?

Nobody is listening... and I should follow my own advice and do likewise.

Updated... it seems Peter hasn't done his homework. In order for him to be an ACT challenger to Rodney he'd have to fill out a candidate register and submit that to the board. He has to get endorsed by the board as a suitable candidate and then he has to go through a selection process to be the Act candidate for Epsom.

Considering Peters standing in the party is so insigificant - he won't get past the first stage. Nobody in the ACT Party has listened to his call to arms. Will somebody take him out the back and put him out of his misery?

Step Aside KFC Double Down... meet the BK Pizza Burger!

Cactus Kate recently experienced the joy that is the KFC Double Down while over in the US recently. Her description of politically incorrect hardcore food porn was brilliant, and led to many readers getting a semi over the sheer filthiness of its fat content.

I can do one better. Cactus was too busy shopping in NYC to see the new Burger King flagship Whopper Bar in Times Square - but the reviews I have heard are nothing but shock and awe over whats on offer. The headline act is this, the NY Pizza Burger!

Described as “…four flame-broiled WHOPPER® patties topped with pizza-lovers’ favorites – pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce and Tuscan pesto sauce – all on a 9 ½-inch sesame seed bun.” it already has the dieticians in a spin with 2520 calories, 144g of fat, 59g of which is saturated – the equivalent of 29 rashers of bacon and 3,780mg of salt... it will take 4 hours to jog it off :)

Sounds like something that will never be allowed in NZ purely because our food police are miserable, consumer hating killjoys.

Furthermore, this Burger King store also have some in-house exclusives:

BK Black and Bleu Steakhouse XT. If you can manage to remember its insanely long name, the Black and Bleu will reward you with tangy bleu cheese crumbles, crispy bacon and a blackened Cajun sauce.

The Meat Beast Whopper was exactly that. Coming in at around 1,250 calories, the Beast piles pepperoni and bacon on top of a quarter-pound beef patty.

The Whopper Bar also boasts a tasty California Whopper, which swaps ketchup for guacamole. It is reportedly the most popular of the new Whopper clan.

The Burger King team excitedly told me that, once the liquor license arrives, beer will be a-flowin' (from the Huffington Post)

Sounds like yet another good thing that is just too far away for us to try... I guess when I am in NYC next I will have to take a day off the gym and give this bad boy a go!

Hat tip - Me So Hungry

Congratulations Sir Mad Butcher

What a long time coming! I have never met Sir Peter Leitch, nor do I know anybody who knows the guy personally. But I have watched this damn fine Kiwi do a lot of good work through charity and his unstoppable energy to NZ sport and his businesses.

Labour wanted to end knighthoods, depriving so many Kiwis the right to be honoured for their deeds. It was one of Nationals best policies to date bringing them back - surprisingly so, as we were not too sure National would adopt this Labour policy too!

People like Peter deserve this honour and I only wish we had more people in NZ like him. Arise Sir Peter!!

Story here

Political snippets

It seems that the Council of Trade Unions have been telling porkies over their "well publicised" examples of poor employees exploited by the big bad evil 90 day trial law, or as they call it, the fire at will law.

It seems that in Heather Smiths case, the employment court was already dealing with this - and it was not a clear cut case of a "new employee" being fired within 90 days. The court also rules in Heathers case - meaning that the employment court is PROTECTING workers and not against them. The CTU campaign was leading people to believe their rights were being destroyed when in reality it was very much the opposite. This blog already exposed the fibs from the CTU in regards to their other example, Florence Cohen - who the CTU had deliberately changed her surname and didn't disclose that in fact she is a Labour activist with close links with Labour MPs and other grassroots activists.

The sad thing is that yes we all know some employers can be bad. That is very true. However the CTU has decided that truth isn't important in their campaign to fight fairness. Their spin and fibs are doing the union movement a disservive. Bad form!

So we see that Heather is back in Parliament and she has fronted up to the hungry media packs. What does this mean for ACT or Heather? I guess with her denial of what was leaked being untrue along with the general body language of her statement that the saga may very well linger for a bit longer.

Speaking of things that linger, apparently Peter Jerkoff is still a member of the ACT Party, although one would be wondering why after his remarks about Rodney that has been polluting the internet over the past day. He thinks he can stand against Rodney in Epsom to be the ACT candidate but is obviously living on Planet Giles
I don't have any advice for Peter. He seems to think he can use his so called 'Number 7' spot on the party list as leverage to give him some credibility in the media... when in all reality his political ambitions will end even before they begin. ACT won't ever select him on the party list, nor would anybody in Epsom want this guy representing them.

Peters little flow diagram that he added to his quite embarrassing statement has some much needed changes done to it, by yours truely. That statement is the worlds most boring political suicide note. Please get it over and done with Peter!

You need to see his statement to fully appreciate my little amendments :)

In all a positive day in politics, long may it continue!

Another political compass

Makes sense I guess!

My Political Views
I am a right social libertarian
Right: 7.2, Libertarian: 5.46

Political Spectrum Quiz


Now compare me to the blogosphere...



Top marks to Scrubone for putting this together, a remarkable idea! (and it proves that Farrar was wrong when he said I was one of the most right wing people he knows!)

Who can trust the National Business Review?

One day, the NBR decided they would do a competition to celebrate their 40th birthday. Something involving champagne, because that's how one celebrates a noteworthy birthday. They chose Veuve Cliquot because it had a decent enough brand name and decided upon a theme:

Win your weight in Veuve Cliquot for our 40th birthday.

The premise was simple. Get people voting for who you wanted to win this prize. Entries flew all about the internet. The NBR encouraged people to "get their votes in" on online media. The clear front runners were encouraged to spread the word, and they did. Busted Blonde did a spectacular job. Not only did her pitch win the hearts and thirsts of the general public, but it was also going to a good cause....

Suddenly things began to look fishy. The NBR changed the deadline for the competition and then dropped an absolute clanger - it was not a popular vote. In fact it seemed that while the NBR were happy enough to lead people on with it, they were only doing so to milk as much attention and traffic to their website as possible. The NBR never intended to give the prize to the winner of the popular vote and never told the entrants. They sat back while the entrants were advertising and promoting their website (for free) in order for them to win.

The NBR turns 40 this month. They got all their free advertising about this from bloggers, via Facebook and other online social media. They built up this competition and are now willing to die by the very same methods they started out with.

I'm furious, and you can imagine the people who took time out of their busy day to support Busted Blondes hard effort to win this competition can't be impressed. Many were NBR readers. Many more were Veuve Cliquot consumers.

Not any more.

It seems that the NBR has cheapened itself by even thinking it could get away with fooling its readers with such barefaced lies. And as for Veuve Cliquot? Their brand is now worth as much as the popular UK chav beverage, Lambrini.

The NBR pretty much used her to give their 40th Birthday some free publicity. Is one bottle of semi decent bubbles the going rate? It must be if they employed Matt Nippert!

See Whale Oils reaction

They are pretty sad about it over at Roarprawn.

I'm sure more bloggers will also be outraged about this. Never again will anybody be able to trust an NBR competition again.

*Update*

And indeed Cactus Kate has also posted her thoughts.

As does Keeping Stock

And Will De Cleene

The joy of SIX

What a great win over Blackpool over the weekend!

6 - 0 is a great confidence boost for the lads and especially for Walcott after his cracking hat trick.

More please!

What exactly is the "advice" she is getting?

You know you've hit the big time when you get your very own Downfall parody!



*Update* Yes there was a request for me to change this post. I stand by the remarks made but I will comply.

Heh - I guess that will mean I will be "defriended"

Fun times on Facebook :)



Peter Jerkoff 'thinks' people want to hear his comments when in reality he is a waste of space. He also thinks he is number 7 on the ACT party list, I am sure that if the board and members had a say he will be long gone. Talk about a wannabe media slut.

More vindication

I don't think I need to say anymore about ACT, we're about to become stronger after this mini crisis, fanned it seems by the media and the usual suspects who always like a good ACT whipping.

Heres an idea, read these stories and tell me you think that Rodney is a bully and ACT are in its dying stages..

We start with Kiwiblog: The Roy Dossier whih goes into detail about this supposed problems in ACT but instead of hurting Rodney, makes the author look very silly..and Heather as well. This led to ACT loyalist John Ansell stating:

I’m going to say what follows because I can’t let the criticisms of Rodney Hide stand.

If the word ‘menace’ is going to be applied to an ACT MP, it should be applied not to Rodney, but to his deservedly former deputy.

From my experience working for ACT in 2008:

1. Rodney is no bully. He may look like Benito Mussolini, but in private he barely raises his voice. I once delivered a speech to him seconds before he was due to deliver it on TV. He just laughed and delivered it sight unseen. No one could tell. Anyone else would have deservedly flayed me alive. But he trusted me to reflect his brief. That’s the thing: Rodney trusts those who give him their best. The only time he got annoyed with me was when I criticised two of his longstanding staff.

2. The main reason Heather was demoted was that she was just not very good. Certainly nowhere near as good as she believed. As a speaker, she was mediocre. Her two most public media stories were about her Army escapade (for which I admire her courage, incidentally) and her demotion. John Boscawen will cut through much better.

3. Heather can hardly complain about her dumping. It was she who actively shafted the much more competent and visible Muriel Newman – despite being voted only the 7th best MP by the members! God knows what that Board were thinking in placing her above so many talented people.

4. Heather alienated a lot of good people from ACT. All of them are mightily cheered by these developments. Far from being the end of ACT, I suspect it’s a shot at a new beginning.

5. Heather’s loyalty to the ACT brand can best be seen by one glimpse of her personal website http://www.roy.org.nz/. You will note that it’s green, with no mention anywhere on the home page of the party that gave her its number 2 ranking. Can you imagine how hard it was for me trying to develop a consistent brand with that kind of thinking going on?

6. Heather is under the spell of one Simon Ewing-Jarvie. I don’t know the guy, but have heard nothing but bad things. He’s now gone too apparently, which will thrill many.

In all this, people are overlooking the qualities of John Boscawen. He has what Heather lacks – loyalty and belief in the brand by the truckload, an ability to cut through, and the immense respect of the troops. The best of luck to him.

However the absolute nail in the coffin for the media vultures was the fine work done by Whale Oil who have made the journos look bloody stupid.

His post Anatomy of a failed leak, coup, smear has slowly dissected the entire situation and the person behind it all. It's wonderful reading.
All illusions have been shattered that this was a simple case of bullying, abuse, a poor women being picked on.... this was much more than that and lead back to one or two people... and in my opinion - encouraged by others who I have mentioned in other posts. Will journalists keep on repeating their stories? Probably. Whales facts have embarrassed many already so I doubt they will want to change the record.

One thing is for sure... ACTs #7 on the list will never EVER be elected or put on a party list ever again! Maybe he can join a new party consisting of him, Kevin "John the Jew" Campbell, Simon Ewing-Jarvie and Rick Giles.

I think I have said enough about this over the past few days. No doubt I have heard enough via feedback and emails...mostly ok, but there's always a few twats who think they know better. ACT has every chance to get past this quickly and fight with strength at the 2011 election!

I was right...

We are blessed that our media is so stupid and that we have bloggers who do their jobs for them. We are also lucky that Whale Oil dug deep and found out a few more truths about the Heather Roy situation.

Hell yes.

It seems that after reading the so called Roy Dossier that there is absolutely nothing at all to pin on Rodney. I said this all along, you're welcome.

It now seems that all the trouble is coming directly from Heathers office. So much for being the innocent victim, her EX defence advi­sor Simon Ewing-Jarvie has his fingerprints all over it. I have heard rumours and stories about this fulla... and none of them have been nice. He is dangerous and I'm glad he was let go.

I have always said the ACT Party had nothing to worry about and it was largely a media beat up led by frustrated journalists and the usual deadbeat tossers who always like putting a good boot into ACT. Seems I am once again correct.

Whale puts it best, as usual..

It is clear from where this blog­ger is sit­ting that there has been a com­plex and seri­ous attempt, a fraud almost to smear, via innu­endo, false doc­u­ments, lies and tricks using blog­gers, media and oppo­si­tion politi­cians to “get Rod­ney” no mat­ter the col­lat­eral dam­age. It has all the hall­marks of a mad artillery strike when a sniper would have been bet­ter and now there are casualties.

Some of the obfus­ca­tions can be cleared up pretty quickly. Wayne Mapp needs to be asked if the doc­u­ments sup­port his view of what hap­pened. A sim­ply Yes or No answer is suf­fi­cient, then Heather Roy needs to be able to pro­duce hard evi­dence to sup­port the alle­ga­tions leaked by her lieu­tenants by proxy, and then when she can’t she needs to resign from ACT, and from par­lia­ment because she will have been shown to have been hope­lessly com­pro­mised, and a liar.

Rod­ney too needs to come out with some action points, which involve cut­ting the can­cer of rebel­lion from his party. That means going after Kevin Camp­bell as well. He is still busily shop­ping doc­u­ments to all who will wal­low in them.

So far I have only seen smears. I mean who cares if Rod­ney got ham­mered on Wai­heke and abused some union­ists for being poofs. I would have thought that was a merit badge require­ment for ACT on Cam­pus mem­ber­ship. And who cares who is root­ing who. I mean really peo­ple, we should be focus­ing on other more impor­tant things. As Helen Clark used to say, move along, noth­ing to see here.

Exactly. It's good that many so called ACT supporters have come out publicly showing their true colours. Not just Kevin Campbell but also Peter Tashkoff too. We can push them off the ship right away, and anybody else who jumped onto the bandwagon attacking ACT this week. A political party is as strong as its supporters, and the last thing ACT needs are wishy washy supporters. You can bugger off back to National.

Thanks to Whale Oil and todays Kiwiblog for getting the facts out to the masses. It won't change the minds of the ACT haters, but it will put at ease the minds of those who thought the worst or who have been directly affected by this event. I see things getting better, and I remain solidly a member of ACT as I have since 1996.

National to stand (again) in Epsom

Some are calling it big news. Others are saying this could be the end of ACT. I call it a big fat bluff.

We all know about the last guy who was 'worthy' enough to get the last nod from National to stand in Epsom. I'm relaxed about it, Rodney is a popular hardworking MP despite what non residents and the so called experts in the blogosphere think. If anything, this is a challenge for ACT to perform even better at the next election.

What is my possible plan for ACTs 2011 election campaign?

Rodney to continue doing what he is doing for Epsom. His majority and goodwill within the electorate will keep him in. There will always be a few out there who will take pleasure in trying to bully him out.

John Boscawen to also have a punt for a seat. Lets push the boat out and see what we can achieve. Even Labour MPs say he is a capable and convincing man. Run with it!

The media were saying Sir Roger didn't want to run, but failed to listen to what Sir Roger said. on Facebook today he even stated, "I was reported today as saying that I was considering standing again. I also said in the radio interview that if I chose not to stand, it would not be because I was not committed to ACT, but because next election I will be 73...but the story has come up on stuff with the headline ACT Founder In Doubt. The sensational headlines they can make up from nothing is always amusing"
Either way, Sir Roger can still help the party, like he has worked all his life towards making NZ a better place.

It's all down to how the party ranks the party list - ACT has always attracted people who make a difference. Who knows who else may be attracted to the list? I certainly don't.

With a strong leadership team ACT can easily improve its vote. Cull off the deadwood and ex members who hold delusions of grandeur and focus from today to get the results we need. We already accept that John Key is popular but he is too afraid to formulate and articulate policies that will actually put NZ in the right direction.

Surely with the National Party supporting the ETS, telling parents that politicians know better for their kids education, ignoring calls to stop excessive spending etc - there is more than a place for ACT in the political environment. 10 MPs and National will finally have to accept their failings as a "right wing" party. If we wanted a centrist party with no balls we'd all vote Peter Dunne.

It all starts from today. Bring it on.

If Winston is the answer... what the hell is the question?

So we see on TV that our repeaters and other bored political types are creaming themselves at the prospect of the return of Winston Peters.

Why do we want this CROOK back in Parliament?

Where is our money back?

Remember this?
Plenty of things to see there, the Speaker unable to control the house, the pathetic attempts by NZF to protect Winston and both Helen and Cullen back-pedalling.

Don't forget these too..

Why on earth do we want to bring back a man who LIED to all of us to save his political career. We all know that he is only coming back for revenge - so if he gets in he will will be once again a one trick pony.

John Key, National and ACT have to say now that they won't have anything to do with this guy if he is elected. We don't need criminals in Government or given taxpayers funds while in opposition.

NZ deserves better.

My thoughts on the Heather Roy story

I must say that after the very public meltdown of Chris Carter and the not so secret rumblings behind the scenes within Labour - Hawkins being pushed out, Laban secretly applying for a new job etc the way ACT have played this out has been nothing short of admirable.

ACT did not give the media any blood and this is pissing off the media to no end. John Armstrong is seething and I bet the TV news are speculating like anything in order to whip up an invisble frenzy to make this look worse than it is. I am very sorry John but the ACT Party is not the Labour Party. Same to you Colin Espiner.

Heather has been a very capable Minister. Her work assisting Rodney that helped ACT increase its MPs was invaluable and ACT increased its share from 2 to 5 MPs - unheard of in the MMP environment.

John Boscawen has also been a long supporter of ACT. His tireless work towards fighting the ETS and supporting freedom of speech is infamous. His elevation to deputy leader is reward for all the hard work and personal sacrifice for what he believes in. It will prove to be a great step up for him.

John Key could have allowed Sir Roger an enhanced role in this Government - not by allowing him to step into the Deputy role, but by allowing him a new role. However he has signalled that he isn't interested in any real change but moreso light blue window dressing. If ACT improves its vote in 2011, I'd like Rodney to make Sir Rogers influence in policy making a bottom line condition, as part of any coalition agreement.

The hard work begins all over again for ACT. We have had a few bumps both in the party and the embarrassment within the youth wing. It's time to start working together to keep the 5 MPs in and to add a few more to the team. The overall message for all ACT MPs and potential ACT MPs is that you need to work together, and remember that without an electorate seat - there is no ACT.

National are proving day after day that their right wing credentials are sadly lacking. They don't support bulk funding and today have dismissed the idea of pupil choice aka vouchers for education. The solution to this is for all ACT members to get in behind their leader and work towards giving Kiwis a stronger ACT presence in 2011.

The challenge is there, who will take it up?

**Update**

As predicted yesterday, I said (on other blogs) that Heathers true motive will be revealed eventually. Will she work for herself or for the party. The leaks that have "suddenly emerged" and found their way into the hands of the media prove that Heather is in it for herself. Time to go Heather, we have a very capable woman from Dunedin called Hilary Calvert who can take your place. I worked alongside Hilary in the Dunedin ACT organisation and she will be an excellent representative for the party. Busted Blonde also calls for Heathers resignation too.

**UPDATE 2**

A good story on John Boscawen has appeared in the Herald. . I also agree that John being put into these roles is a good thing and he will peform well. John is a good loyal member of the ACT Party and isn't afraid to roll his sleeves up and work hard. Good luck.

Fuck saving the whales... Save THE Whale!

Whale Oil has been doing an admirable job revealing offenders who seem to think that through wealth or self importance, can get away with name suppression to save their reputation.

We all know how much this has cost Whale, both financially and emotionally. It's time for people to give back.

Whale continues:

I appre­ci­ate the months of loyal sup­port as I await the slow wheels of our Jus­tice sys­tem to turn. Now I need your cash sup­port, no mat­ter the size, every bit helps, to help with the fight.

It is time to ban the Burqa of our Legal Sys­tem – Stop Pedos and Sex Offend­ers from hid­ing under the burqa.

In just 8 days (25 August) I appear in the Auck­land Dis­trict Court to defend these charges.

I need help to pay the legal bills. The next few days are hec­tic as I pre­pare my defence with my lawyer Gre­gory Thwaite.

My Kiwibank account num­ber, opened this morn­ing for dona­tions is
38–9010-0764240–01

You can also donate through here:



If there was ever a good cause for us, THIS is it. The surplus from this will be donated to RSA Wel­fare Fund and the Ex-Vietnam Ser­vices Asso­ci­a­tion, in hon­our of those who fought for our rights to free­dom of speech.

Hear hear Whale!

Student union costs Polytech $207,000

Another timely media release from Student Choice:

Compulsory Whitireia student union costs Polytech $207,000

The compulsory Whitireia Polytechnic student union, currently at the centre of a police investigation over fraud allegations, also took legal action against Whitireia Polytechnic in 2007. Defending this action cost Whitireia Polytechnic almost $207,000 in legal fees between 2007-2009.

Student Choice said the information on the Polytechnic’s legal costs was obtained under the Official Information Act and provides yet another argument in support of voluntary membership of student unions.

Membership of Whitireia Independent Students’ Association (WISA) is compulsory and all Whitireia students must pay a fee to WISA before they can study. WISA’s most recent (2007) accounts show that in one year the group took over $173,000 from students in compulsory levies.

Student Choice opposes compulsory membership of student unions and supports the Freedom of Association bill, currently before the Education select committee. The bill, if passed, will make membership of student unions voluntary.

Compulsory membership of WISA and other unions creates large pools of money that makes a tempting target for fraudsters. As students are forced to join groups like WISA they don't take an active interest in the organisation. This gives a small number of people control over large amounts of money and makes fraud easier.

The Whitireia case is the latest in a long line of frauds involving student money:

2003, Massey Wellington Students Association lost $203,000

2005, Victoria University Maori students association lost $161,000

2008, Christchurch Polytechnic Students Association lost $175,000.

Fraud is the most overt example of the abuse caused by compulsory membership. Another serious problem is political misrepresentation where students are forced to fund political causes that they don’t support.

Voluntary membership won’t end financial misappropriation in student groups but it will reduce the amount of money at risk and will force committees to be more accountable and transparent.
```````````````````````

The sooner the better I say. The sad thing is that student unions are already spending student funds on defending compulsion and National MP Steven Joyce is apparently uncertain about VSM.

MPs are hearing submissions on VSM right now, and most are from left wingers hoping to defend their financial and political position, with no regards to freedom of association.

The CTU think Kiwis are stupid

As per my last post, Helen Kelly has an agenda. She wants to tell Kiwis that the 90 day trial period is bad. In fact it is so bad that she needs to tell all Kiwis on You Tube that this law is a bad idea and workers will be exploited as a result of it.

Enter, "ordinary New Zealander" Florence Cohen, or as the CTU called her on You Tube Florence 'Coen'. She was let go from her job before the 90 days for no reason it seems. She didn't explain if she spoke to her ex boss for an explanation so her story about her being fired sounds a little fishy.

However what is very fishy is Florence is not an ordinary Kiwi. She is a young party activist for Labour, a member of Grassroots Labour. She has been a member of them since she was at least 16 years old.
This is how she got in touch with the CTU when they asked Labour members if anybody wanted to volunteer for their campaign.

Rather than go to her local MP the able Nathan Guy, Flo decided that the best course of action was to make some political milage out of this and to impress her elders in the Labour Party. I can understand that.

While I know Florence is naive, the CTU must think we are bloody stupid that the public or at least somebody on the right didn't figure out the subtle name change for Florence on the CTU promotional clip. This was deliberate in order to hide her links with the Labour Party. It's not just stupid, it's misleading and shows that the CTU cannot find ordinary New Zealanders who know all the facts, to speak out against the law change. Florence has at least the insight to block her Facebook page..I bet my house that her friends list is a who's who of Labour and left wing activists!

Helen Kelly should apologise.

Naming and shaming bad employees....

How good was Paul Henry giving Helen Kelly a proper interview about the 90 day bill?
It was very refreshing to see a journalist not fawning over their interviewee giving them easy questions... this was the real deal.

Click here to watch it in all its glory

Helen Kelly is of course the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president and she thinks the "new" 90 day trial period for all employers is a bad thing. It isn't a new policy at all - this policy has been used and is successful all over the world.

Helen also admits this campaign is on a hiding to nothing - she agreed with Paul Henry that the public supports the 90 day law and despite evidence showing that more people were given a chance to get a job under the trial of this law - she is still going to fight it tooth and nail. Makes you wonder what her and the other unions real agenda is.

Not only that but her double standards were breathtaking. She wants unions to name and shame employers and companies and yet does not support employers naming and shaming bad employees. The issue would be, if a union gets a bee in its bonnet about a company, they can make life very unpleasent for them. Employers need to be safe from the types of wretched abuse that comes from many hardcore unionists.

I support equality in this. Lets name the shitty employers and lets publicise lazy and incompetant employees too. While we're at it, lets name and shame long term benefit workshy fraudsters. If it is going to achieve the results that Helen Kelly wants, we should apply the consistency to all - to make it better for all of us!

As a taxpayer, I have a number of people I'd like to name and shame.... many within the Government and plenty in our opposition.

How low can one go?

I apologise for not posting sooner about the recent passing of Sir Ron Trotter. Thankfully for my very few readers, Kiwiblog amongst others have blogged it respectfully, as one would do during this time.

Of course there are those who like to scrape the barrel when it comes to people dying, even people we may not particularly like.
Danyl at Dim Post and Malcolm Harbrow at No Right Turn particularly like to wallow about in the misery of others. Dim Post in particular wrote a nasty piece on Trotters death only for others to start rattling off other equally nasty comments about him and other right wingers deaths, and I am posting them here in case Danyl thinks he can delete them and pretend it never happened.

Danyl fails to sound moderate about this...


The sounds of the bitter and stupid ring loud and clear...

His fans jump onto their next victim

The Greens also get stuck in... nice to know they have no respect, as if we didn't know this already...


And finally Malcolm himself puts his foot in. Quite sick if you think about it. However Malcolm has already written about this..(again posted in case he hides it) I also blogged on this back in 2008.

I don't recall at any instance where my friends or blog friends have revelled in the death of anybody political who they didn't like. Indeed we were all united in sadness when Rod Donald died despite him holding completely different opinions when he was alive. Kiwiblog never fails in respecting the dead.

Why is it that the left hold such grudges against anybody who rubs them the wrong way? My theory is that the hard left have to always have an enemy and always laden their hatred with names for people, accronymns for people they dislike and enjoy long lasting bitterness. They call this government NACT (which is silly) and call people who want to work on sites where unions are on strike "scabs". They live in the past.

Danyl already thinks he is awfully clever and will probably get away with these stupid comments. Malcolm doesn't allow comments on his 'blog' so doesn't have any contact with the real world with his posts. He's in la la land and is happy to stay there. It's rather sad that people like this exist purely to feed the Labour movement in NZ who in turn are moving leftward. In Labour Phil Goff is on a hiding from hell, and not from the electorate - his party are going to destroy him and I honestly feel sorry for him.

Meanwhile... it's nice to see Chris Trotter also thinks Malcolm is a bit of a tosser. We here wholeheartedly agree! (hat tip Whale Oil)

Boobs on Bikes... a simple rule of thumb

If Auckland are going to have the Boobs on Bikes parade they should look at recruiting a rare breed of women to ride down Queen Street. I like to call them..

HOT WOMEN.

You know, the type that has a fit body and a nice pair of boobs. Her face has to be hot as well. I don't subscribe to the pisspoor excuse that you won't be looking at the face - because in reality a hot face enhances the boobs.

I am sure the porn industry has some of these women working for them. In fact I am reliably informed there are some good looking women in NZ that fulfil this quite specific description. Why don't they get out there and do Steve Crow proud?

No wonder even Stuff didn't even bother publishing faces or boobs this year online - usually the article comes with a warning!

The only warning I'd give you is that if you look for photos of this years boobs on bikes, you'll be sadly let down.

No photo from the event from me either, you can enjoy instead a photo of supermodel Bar Refaeli.

Clare Curren - The Immoderate Moderator

We have written not too much recently on Dunedin Clare. She got into a seat that a red coloured bin bag would have won if it stood. She is however, far more dangerous to the political environment than a plastic bag is to the Green party as shes heavily influential in the "words" that come out of Labours manifesto.

I have written about her back in 2007 here. She is slippery and yet convincing. She also moderates the shit out of the Labour Red Alert blog.

Today I wrote what I thought was a reasonable answer to Pete Hodgsons quite pathetic post about ACC. She deleted it and accused me of trolling...when I did nothing of the sort, as you can see here:


She in reply.. or deleted it to make it sound like I was being naughty:

Funnily enough she allowed the post about people needing a bullet and not my quite reasonable comment. Pete is on his last legs in Parliament, he's ambling around with nothing to do because he doesn't have any options outside Parliament. His crocodile tears about ACC is bullshit as Labour didn't disclose the ACC black hole before the election in the PREFU. Clare doesn't want that bit of history dredged up again, and her job is to help put together a revisionist history of Labour for the next elections.

If she gets into a future Labour Government we need to be very careful about how she "frames the debate" and what her plans are to manipulate what's going on. If you thought Helen was impossible to squeeze the truth out of, Clare has built her entire career upon it.

Update.. 24 hours later and Clare has not got round to allowing my post... we can see where this is going.


Update 2... I have been WARNED.. but still get in another blow :)


I just repeat it... the bets are on she will either ban me or delete it completely. She'd be employee of the month at Goebbels Ministry of Propaganda...


Update 3...

My reply above is gone completely...without word or warning. Clare is obviously not happy

I persist...
And I get my last warning... oooh. You can tell where this is going!


I try one more time... go for gold I say!



Update 4...

Win! Don't know how I squeaked that one through. Bet she or Pete won't bother to give an answer!



The moral of this story. Don't expect Labour ro easily accept facts when presented with them. Expect dodging, weaving and pithy warnings to obstruct you. Thanks Clare, you proved again what your true colours are. Yet another MP who provides a strong case for fewer MPs.

Thank goodness the football is back!

I am thrilled that the English Premiership is back on our screens this weekend after a pisspoor world cup and the fallout of the shitty English squad who embarrassed themselves and the country in South Africa.

As a Gooner, I am thrilled that Capello has bought 3 of our boys into the squad that will play to a draw against Hungary later this week. However the FA should be questioned for why they scheduled a bloody meaningless friendly THREE days before the season kicks off. They should also be kicked up the ass for not asking Capello why he didn't go visit the England under 19 squad during their world championship... but I digress - there is too much be angry about in English football :)

The Championship has already started with some good results already. We've also seen some good players (and David James) take the step down to that league to prolong their careers, although James *did* let three goals past in a loss to Milwall. No surprises there then. In all honesty, the Championship is the Premiership without all the bullshit and with greater diversity and 'romance' that football should have. (for lack of a better word).

As for the premiership, it is going to be a cracking season. There has been some interesting signings, for love or money (see Man City) and it will be interesting to see how they play out for the season ahead.

Do I have predictions for the season? Yeah, and I am going to look bloody stupid for posting them now before a ball has been kicked but here goes...

Favourite to be relegated? Blackpool. No worthwhile signings but they will win the hearts of fans across the nation.

Will money buy success? Probably. City and Chelski will be holding 2 of the top 5 positions by May 2011.

What about the other 3 spots? Man United, Arsenal and probably Liverpool will fight it out for the other spots.

What about Tottenh... We'll stop you right there. Redknapp has yet to make any big signings and was pissed he didn't get the England manager role. He is looking to offload Crouch (who is a naughty boy) and maybe one or two others and try and make a big signing... I see his Croatian midfield being the stars of the team but I see their return to Champions League football being their likely downfall.

And Aston Villa losing O'Neill as manager is not going to help their cause is it? Nope! He is a great manager and whoever takes over will not even get close to this mans talent. Recriminations from fans will dog the Villa team for the opening games for sure. Bad call for Villa management!
Will Hodgson save Liverpool? I think he will start off ok, but I don't see this team winning the EPL. The fat Spanish waiter has stuff the Liverpool youth set and and the 1st team for many years. I think Hodgson will inspire Liverpool to win a cup.. but it won't be in Europe!

How can you keep a bench worth £95 million happy? Man City are not going to win the league with all the infighting and trouble that will rear its nasty head when the going gets tough around Xmas time.

Is Winston Reid going to start a Premiership game this season? Tough question! He really should be plying his trade in the Championship if he wanted a weekly run about. He won't be a regular in the West Ham 1st team - we know that. Avram Grant will most likely test him out in the Carling/FA Cup early stages and see how he goes. If he impresses, the media will love him and there is no way Grant will ignore that.

What about all the other Kiwis? Will they be snapped up by the top teams? Nope. Nor should we expect them to. If all of our team played Championship football we'd be much stronger. Tommy Smith has already scored a scorcher for Ipswich and he'll have a good season for them and be richer for the experience. People tend to forget, the English Championship is top quality.

Can you win with kids? I hope that the elevation of kids like Ramsay, Wilshere and Gibbs into prominent positions in the Arsenal 11 will be a revelation to other teams to give their kids a go... however the English media are already piling on enormous pressure on poor 18 year old Wilshere and he has yet to even cement a first team spot for Arsenal, let alone make his England debut. The Arsenal team this year I think will come 2nd. There I said it.

Who to look out for this season? People who will stand out are people like Uniteds Berbatov, Citys Silva, Arsenals Fabregas, Nasri and Koscielny. Also watch out for Kalou over at Chelski and any of the South Americans the Wigan scouts always seem to mysteriously uncover. Joe Cole isn't going to be the best signing Liverpool has made... but he'll be handy as an impact player and worth every penny of his free transfer :) He only went to Liverpool because Arsenal and Spurs were not mug enough to pay his £90k p/w wages.

I'll probably be wrong on many of these, but that's the fun of the football season! What do you think?

Time to take the old nags out behind the shed...

No Minister is quite happy to lend their support to Helen Clarks supposed bid to become the UN Secretary General. Indeed "The Veteran" and "Adolf" are rubbing their hands with glee because it means Helen will be kept off shore for much longer than we anticipated.

I join Whaleoil in my disgust for even the idea that John Key will support Helens quest to run the UN.

I don't care if she comes back, her presence will only destabilse the Labour Party as it pushes past the Clark era. Labour at the moment is working slowly to an even harder leftward position and I don't see how her coming back will help this. By no means should we even entertain the idea that she should be given another job to fulfil her smug ambitions. It will only reinforce to Labour supporters that she was the best PM we ever had... do you want that?

The No Minister old boys are getting soft in their old age. They have already stated this week that they would vote ACT "ONLY" if Key decides to give Winston another chance.
Get off the grass, you'll back down on that too. National has already peformed enough backflips and twists that should have sent you running away ages ago. I don't believe you.

I remember the days when Nats were thrilled to have ACT around as it meant there were 2 parties opposed to socialism and the stupid lefties. Now the Nats are getting all upset as they think they own the right, but have done nothing to actually prove their credentials.
Now we have a party of old Centrists who think their softy goes policies are going to win on the day. Tell me how cuddling up to the CTU, opposing bulk funding and keeping Working for Families is going to bring NZ prosperity? How will these policies progress the right in any way? How did ignoring Sir Roger Douglas completely give you the authority to say you care about fixing NZs economy? Why did you brush under the carpet the leadership successes of Don Brash in order to give us the economic "vision" of Bill English?

These ideas are designed to keep you in power for long, without really rocking the boat. Ambling about slowly like an old horse that can't or won't run.

There is only one good thing to do with old horses.... perhaps the Nats should clear out the dead wood and allow a new younger bunch of right wingers to take over, who believe in privatisation, welfare cuts and reforming the state sector.. or they can follow the lead of the British Conservative Party!

Bulk funding? National loses their backbone (again)

Excellent work by Sir Roger Douglas... once again telling Parliament like it is:


Even the Maori Party get it:

(note that Turia isn't being heckled by Labour unlike Sir Roger)

And Sir Roger replies...



So with all this talk... did National support the bulk funding bill at the first reading? Nope! National are betraying their supporters, the children and parents of New Zealand. And for what?

58 National MPs voted against with 42 Labour and 9 Green and Jim and Peter Dunne against... sad and damning of what this Government has become.

Emma Mellow - A Lucky escape!

If you thought the Young Nats were silly buggers (and I mean buggers in a loose way) then they have proved their credentials by moving to expel one of their members - for reasons that seem unknown by all, but the YN executive.

What does the Young Nats have against a 20 year old female who has the political energy of a locomotive and a winning smile?

My experience of the Young Nats has been interesting. Some of my mates are now what I'd call "ex Young Nats" having been members and grown up and got real jobs since their rebellious days at University. By saying that, I successfully avoided being co-opted to their organisation. At Clubs Days I was asked more than a few times to join their club, but as I quite liked girls, was moderate right wing and had more than a few friends, I thought I would stand out like a orange shirt wearer during the St Patricks parade.

The Young Nats didn't entirely support Voluntary Student Membership in the 90's. In fact many of them in Wellington (and probably elsewhere) were openly working to keep student associations compulsory. At Otago, the Young Nats didn't support my Campus ACT proposals to vote against OUSA at6 student meetings in the fear that they would "upset" the socialists running the show down there. I remember the day we were a couple votes off from stopping OUSA from raising their levies, only for the Nats to abstain their votes and shafting the right wing, and other students in the process. It was becoming aware that the right wing students were badly represented by this organisation - and this benefited my organisation "Prebbles Rebels" tremendously for many years as we picked up dozens of political refugees and likeminded people hacked off by the Nats lack of "testicular fortitude" :)

Back to Emma Mellow, a politically active young right wing juggernaut. What next for her as her own party turns against her? Simple. She would be more at home in ACT. I am sure Peter McCaffrey would be happy to have her involved with the organisation up in Auckland. In case Peter doesn't have time to send her a membership form, she can click here and email Peter and co right away. I'd be thrilled to have this sort of energy inside the party so close to an election. She could even click here and join ACT!

Go get 'em tiger!

Other bloggers agree...

Cactus Kate begins the assault.

Ex Young Nat David Farrar, who incidentally I had a pint with in London Friday evening, also agrees....

And Blair Mulholland, who is back blogging, feels for Emmas plight....plight I said :)

The damage is done for the Young Nats. They have shot themselves in the foot and made what should have been a minor disagreement into a publicity nightmare. Unlike our rather embarrassing episode we had recently, which I don't need to talk about as it's so powerful that it's not necessary to talk about it, the party is wrong and look stupid. Emma is pretty lucky if you think about it... she gets a free pass OUT of the Young Nats, and will look great from the experience.

Take the expulsion and run with it Emma!