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</div> <div class='status-msg-border'> <div class='status-msg-bg'> <div class='status-msg-hidden'>Showing posts with label <b>FukYoo Politix</b>. <a href="https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/">Show all posts</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> <div class="date-outer"> <h2 class='date-header'><span>Sunday, 3 March 2019</span></h2> <div class="date-posts"> <div class='post-outer'> <div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template' itemprop='blogPost' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/BlogPosting'> <meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPFsPP8KEgmRlgq_2LIBqJrtXId2rJ80N-MPuPezKNRwGYrO0C7yb3xN8Okp3T5GLH3WYrYqJiEGKgaHV4yztHRZTcz-ywG5NCP2voJ9oECkINWOEAlvshqW3nJWcxSWIOyEClaLXLLo/s320/SLAM_001_Main_PRESS-625x352.jpg' itemprop='image_url'/> <meta content='2932158055298887404' itemprop='blogId'/> <meta content='6723260540286700253' itemprop='postId'/> <a name='6723260540286700253'></a> <h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/03/all-hail-gentle-revolution-metoo.html'>All hail the gentle revolution! #MeToo </a> </h3> <div class='post-header'> <div class='post-header-line-1'></div> </div> <div class='post-body entry-content' id='post-body-6723260540286700253' itemprop='articleBody'> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPFsPP8KEgmRlgq_2LIBqJrtXId2rJ80N-MPuPezKNRwGYrO0C7yb3xN8Okp3T5GLH3WYrYqJiEGKgaHV4yztHRZTcz-ywG5NCP2voJ9oECkINWOEAlvshqW3nJWcxSWIOyEClaLXLLo/s1600/SLAM_001_Main_PRESS-625x352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="625" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPFsPP8KEgmRlgq_2LIBqJrtXId2rJ80N-MPuPezKNRwGYrO0C7yb3xN8Okp3T5GLH3WYrYqJiEGKgaHV4yztHRZTcz-ywG5NCP2voJ9oECkINWOEAlvshqW3nJWcxSWIOyEClaLXLLo/s320/SLAM_001_Main_PRESS-625x352.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div> <i>This one is for you Anon.</i><br /> <br /> Lets start this post by getting the elephant in the room out of the way by making it clear that I am a man.<br /> <br /> Shock and horror I know but being a man does not mean that I have not supported the<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/10/11/metoo-one-year/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.32777f0c8e5c" target="_blank"> #MeToo moment</a>, in NZ or worldwide, but have in fact been down with it.<br /> <br /> Also, in the past some on this blog have called me a "sexist" for comments made about Paula Bennett but the extent of their arguments extended to calling me a "sexist' and that was it, no actual evidence or discussion but just labeling me as if that was enough to do.<br /> <br /> And I raise this here because being critical of a person (a single individual), be it their dress sense, their politics, their lifestyle, religion or whatever does not mean that its appropriate to attach some sort of "ism" or "ist" based label as a badge denoting that that view can be expanded to cover an entire sex, race or species when its just comments about a single individual.<br /> <br /> Whats that got to do with the price of milk in Mongolia? Well a lot actually.<br /> <br /> See, the<a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/01/me-too-women-against-sexual-revolution/" target="_blank"> #MeToo movement is part of the longer running struggle</a> for women's rights and equality  as well as a larger shift in the ability of the public to discuss things like sexual abuse without feeling shame or being pressured into silence and the <a href="https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/lifestyle/career/metoo-in-new-zealand-impact-one-year-on-39634" target="_blank">very visible outpouring in the wake of #MeToo in NZ</a> has shown that behind the wall of silence the pressure had been building up because for all the legal enactment of women's rights (and for LGBTQ community as well) the social follow through has been slow in coming.<br /> <br /> Its been nearly 50 years since the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots" target="_blank">Stonewall riots</a> in New York in 1969, which are generally considered as the start of the modern fight for Gay rights and over 120 years since <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_New_Zealand" target="_blank">women got the right to vote in NZ</a> yet its been clear that despite having had several female PMs, many female MPs and business leaders (and its great to see criminal and traitor <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1902/S00681/jenny-shipley-must-pay-6-million-to-mainzeal-creditors.htm" target="_blank">Jenny Shipley breaking though the glass ceiling</a> by showing that women can be held just as liable as men for extremely dodgy criminal dealings) and so on and so forth men still seem to be ruling the roost, or more correctly the framework is in place for "equality between the sexes and genders" but the culture has not shifted fully and hence why #MeToo flared up in late 2016 and became a widespread rallying call to shift that culture.<br /> <br /> And I call this the "gentle revolution" not in reference to the female sex or anything like that but because as revolutions go its been completely bloodless (well almost bloodless).<br /> <br /> Most revolutions will see at least someone put up against the wall and shot (usually literally but occasionally metaphorically) but this revolution has occurred without any of that happening.<br /> <br /> Yes some careers have been flushed down the gurgler but in an age where the Catholic Church now appears to be organized and run purely for the benefit of pedophiles and  sexual abuse is still a major issue it was clear that having a law was not enough and that some actual change at ground level (read an actual revolution) was still needed.<br /> <br /> And its a revolution that was predicted almost 50 years ago by Germaine Greer in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_Eunuch" target="_blank"><i>Female Eunch</i></a> and hoped for Simone De Beauviour 70 years ago in her book <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Sex" target="_blank">The Second Sex</a> </i>(and with Naomi's Woolf's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beauty_Myth" target="_blank"><i>The Beauty Myth</i></a> in the 90s) but sadly not able to metamorph at the time but finally kicked off with the #MeToo movement and the ongoing social agitation of what has been called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-wave_feminism" target="_blank">Third Wave Feminism</a>.<br /> <br /> However that does not mean that I am down with all that has gone on in this "revolution" and I maintain a stance similar to that of Camille Paglia (in her book <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_Personae" target="_blank"><i>Sexual Personae</i></a> and her <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Paglia" target="_blank">general thought and theory</a>) in that just because you are a feminist does not put you above criticism, give you an invincible moral shield (based on your sex/gender) which protects you from all criticism or that sex and sexuality is not just an abstract social construct but something also rooted in biology and as such there are some immutable aspects of sex and sexuality which cant just be ignored or overridden by blind ideology and group chanting.<br /> <br /> One of the m ore valid criticism often leveled at feminism is that it seems to have been enacted and empowered mostly for and by rich white women (and I get the irony of the four feminist authors cited above being such) and that the spoils of the revolution have not been shared equally which is why the legal enactments of the past have not been matched by the broader cultural shift.<br /> <br /> The counter argument is that the current beneficiaries of Feminism (the rich, the white and academic) have merely been the revolutionary vanguard and that such benefits will "trickle down" in time to the rest as such things just take time, so stop moaning about it.<br /> <br /> I'm not so convinced about that as that argument has been used before in the often blind and monolithic theories about class, used by socialists (also often rich, white and academic, as well as male), which always just seem to say that they are leading the debate and only they have the knowledge and foresight to lead people to the glorious revolutionary utopia that awaits just around the corner if only they would buy a copy of their book. <br /> <br /> And we have seen that in NZ with the most prominent aspect of #MeToo being in the legal profession. Strange that this bastion of wealthy, well paid individuals should be the only area of NZ where sexism is so rampant that they had to organize protests while other heavily female professions* (such as teachers and midwives) are striking for better pay and working conditions.<br /> <br /> Which is not to say that there is not sexism in those professions (I used to be a teacher) but that the priority for the profession is elsewhere and while sexism does exist I have seen it go both ways, (because women can be sexist too) but fixing the problem of overwork and underpay takes precedence.<br /> <br /> But without the theory there is no practice, at least no with any direction, so the need for the above female theorists is there but it does expose the oft uncomfortable dynamic at work. <br /> <br /> Still it took a twitter hashtag to kick off what I think has been the best thing for sexual relationships since sliced bread in that without the cultural shift all that legislation and law was going to be nothing more than words with a few elite individuals benefiting while change elsewhere was not enacted.<br /> <br /> And the revolution has benefited not just women but men and others also as its part of a larger culture of openness and acknowledgement (via things like Alison Mau's #MeTooNZ or Mike King and John Kirwin talking about mental health) which is all part of shining the light of openness and transparency on what were once dark areas of humanity which dare not be discussed.<br /> <br /> Have I liked all of whats gone on, as I said before, no I have not but you cant make an omelette without breaking some eggs and you cant have a sexual revolution without some revolutionary justice being dished up piping hot because revolutions occur exactly because the normal means of justice and law have broken down so once the new norms are bedded in they will get drawn into normal legal practice.<br /> <br /> For now expect more peoples tribunals via public accusation and more than a tinge of unsubstantiated hot scandal because all law is based on the authority of violence and while the threat of violence being waved about here is less physical than emotional and reputational its still going to be the violence of having ones life and career exploded in the media and social media for all and sundry to see.<br /> <br /> Still there are some fish hooks with this because there is a reason why we have courts, juries and the idea of innocent until proven guilty and the frenzy of accusation around #MeToo is not always been used for altruistic purposes and without actual evidence there is always going to be ambiguity, doubt and a mob mentality.<br /> <br /> Which leads us to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_politics" target="_blank">identity politics</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_of_Victimhood_Culture" target="_blank">victim culture</a> which has ridden in on the coat tails of #MeToo and feminism and is in part a reflection of the break down of the institution of the nation state and traditional politics in the age of globalization , as well a christian based western culture (for both the good and bad its done), and introduced micro societies and techno savagery (both my own terms) as a world where social relations are atomized into groupings of race, sex, gender, identity and a host of classifications like games, comics, music and subculture and where people have access to advanced technology like digital media, the internet and mobile (and always on) devices yet do not have the slightest idea of how this technology actually works (in essence making it the same as magic).<br /> <br /> And that's probably where I draw the line because while #MeToo promises to level the playing field identity politics and victim culture intend to chop it up, fence it off and create a space that fosters permanent revolution and not an inclusive society of tolerance and understanding but one where revenge and utu are part of the plan, if not all of the plan!<br /> <br /> An example of this is the <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/12/auckland-pride-parade-2019-scrapped-reports.html" target="_blank">breakdown </a>of the <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/12/auckland-pride-parade-2019-still-on-but-will-be-radically-different.html" target="_blank">Auckland Pride Parade</a> over issues which, on the face of it, looked like a shift away from wanting to be part of the community to wanting to have their <a href="https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/12/08/pride-parade-decision-huge-win-for-pure-temple-exclusion-over-broad-church-inclusion/" target="_blank">own community</a> (enacting their own micro-community) and where <a href="https://gayexpress.co.nz/2018/12/opinion-how-extremists-hijacked-the-auckland-pride-board-railroaded-a-community-and-demolished-our-parade/" target="_blank">extremism </a>is an acceptable behavior set and justified no matter what**.<br /> <br /> And I get the <a href="https://thestandard.org.nz/pride-and-police/" target="_blank">arguments </a>made by those that voted to end the parade in its current form but was it worth destroying the whole parade over Police involvement, yet only to be subject to the irony or having a march protected by Police and where the ideological blinkers go on to the reality that yes fighting for tolerance is a good thing but that when you fight intolerance with MORE intolerance you don't get a better situation, you boil it down to a numbers game and in the end they have more numbers than you!<br /> <br /> But again, in the main, #MeToo has been a good thing and as with all omelettes some eggs etc etc etc.<br /> <br /> New Zealand, overal is rather tolerant society, but with some rather dark streaks running through it to be sure but the push for change in the underlying culture brought about by #MeToo has be for the most a good thing but that remains to be qualified by the new, and better, society that will emerge as the cultural shift is enacted.<br /> <br /> Also more than a few of those riding on the coattails of #MeToo have the stench of those who have never lived outside of their own cultural context (ie never lived overseas or in a country which is a lot less tolerant of things like gender roles, sexuality and such) and as such have more in common with those feminists in the ivory tower than those women outside.<br /> <br /> If #MeToo is the harbinger of nothing more than reversing the sexual polarity (ie women on top***) then its doomed to fail if not be beaten back by a counter revolution which is currently just the beleaguered and minor extremism found in the rearguard of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/02/toxic-masculinity-history/583411/" target="_blank">toxic masculinity</a> but if that label is hijacked to be used as the new label for all men and masculinity by extremists with revenge on their agenda then expect more than just men to oppose its imposition, expect society as a whole.<br /> <br /> The dynamic here is simple, if you create a moral economy of "being offended" and "cultural repression" as your currency then expect those positions to be used by everyone and anyone as a moral position based on "being offended" has little substance and having an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actus_reus" target="_blank"><i>Actus Rea</i></a> without the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_rea" target="_blank"><i>Mens Rea</i></a> is a subjective hell from which few can escape because, like any good meme, you cant control it once its been released into the wilds of public discourse or general culture.<br /> <br /> But, on the other hand, if #MeToo is a long over due cleansing of the cultural pallet without the the decent into messy but necessary revolutionary anarchy being enshrined as the new and "permanent" revolution for the sake of revolution then the long hoped for equality among the sexes, and yes genders, can and will be achieved, in a future where its everyone wears those <a href="https://www.popmatters.com/white-jumpsuits-sci-fi-tv-of-the-disco-era-2495458985.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_blank">unisex jump suits like in all 70s Science fiction TV shows</a>.<br /> <br /> But maybe that's just me (the jumpsuit thing I mean). <br /> <br /> As a male I am in support of #MeToo but that does not mean I am in support of scrapping the good things about being a male because there are masculine values which are good and I reject the idea that opening a door for a women is just the gateway to a whole swamp of toxic masculinity, especially when there are still plenty of women that both like and expect such behavior and when civility and kindness are still common virtues.<br /> <br /> However, by saying that the general argument runs that I am showing "unconscious bias" and am in fact harboring all sorts of bias based on my actions, behaviors and values. Its a tempting and delicious argument to be sure, and it does exists but using it as some sort of test to benchmark how tolerant one is, is fraught with more problems than solutions.<br /> <br /> Still that has not stopped people using it but more than some of those people are using it as a trojan horse stuffed full to bursting point with their own agendas rather than using it to address the actual issues. And while not an indicative example, I once had a "debate" (I put the little squiggles around it because politeness is a virtue) with an ardent feminist who was basing her position on the point that science and rationality were male constructs and therefore served no purpose for women or general society. Not a norm I know but a fair indicator of how far out some of the positions can get.<br /> <br /> Nor am I against the idea of women as leaders or being in charge, If I take issue with our current female PM its not due to her sex but her politics and her behavior etc, and the same goes for my disdain for MPs like Paula Bennett.<br /> <br /> As an individual I was raised by my Grandmother until the age of five (who was a stern but fair women who gave me much of my values and ideals and who also taught me to read before I started school) and who I have an un-payable debt to for looking after me when no one else would.<br /> <br /> I have also had female bosses and leaders/managers and some were good and some were not but my opinion of them never had to do with the fact that they had ovaries but whether they were actually competent or not at their jobs which might just be more of that "male orientated construct" talking but who if so #myrealityisstrongerthanyours. <br /> <br /> In some situations I prefer male company to that of female and sometimes vice versa but I think that the generational shift is further along than people think as I found out a few years back when my downstairs neighbors got a new female flatmate who was as much a geek as I was, had the same interest in comics and video games as I and showed that the shift of these areas from being once male only preserves was shifting so that ones gender no longer mattered and what did matter was the fact that there was a common language and interest. And I was down with that*4. <br /> <br /> But, and there is always a "but" with me, that does not prevent me from saying that I think all plans the revolution are making are the best (back to Camille Paglia's position) or that I will go along with the current vogue for cheap ideology, chanting slogans or the now fashionable rush to be offended by anything which does not toe the increasingly strict sexual/gender/whatever party line espoused by extremists who get off on nothing more than revolution as a moral crutch for their intellectual, social and emotional failings (ie joker-politics or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efHCdKb5UWc" target="_blank">just wanting to watch the world burn</a>).<br /> <br /> Revolutions (like jihads and fashion trends) have their own energy, and like fires tend to only burn out when they run out of fuel, sometimes to be sparked back into life again but eventually ceasing and leaving behind the ashes from which something new (and hopefully beautiful) may grow.<br /> <br /> So all hail the Gentle Revolution, long may it last.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *-because <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11983564" target="_blank">female lawyers are the majority in NZ</a> now.<br /> **-because such an argument has been made before that <a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barry_Goldwater" target="_blank">extremism in defense of liberty is no vice</a> etc etc and look how well that always works out<br /> ***-Yes, pun fully intended<br /> *4-What I was not down with was that she could beat me at every and any drinking game ever conceived and lead to one particularly bad night where I got thrashed at cards, drank an entire bottle of cheap Irish Cream, half a dozen beers and one bottle of wine and passed out dead drunk on my kitchen floor with my feet resting in the open, and now rapidly warming refrigerator. <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>E.A.Blair</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/03/all-hail-gentle-revolution-metoo.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/03/all-hail-gentle-revolution-metoo.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2019-03-03T18:21:00+14:00'>18:21</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/03/all-hail-gentle-revolution-metoo.html#comment-form' onclick=''> 7 comments: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-121313707'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=6723260540286700253&from=pencil' title='Edit Post'> <img alt='' class='icon-action' height='18' src='https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif' width='18'/> </a> </span> </span> <div class='post-share-buttons goog-inline-block'> <a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-email' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=6723260540286700253&target=email' target='_blank' title='Email This'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Email This</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-blog' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=6723260540286700253&target=blog' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=270,width=475"); return false;' target='_blank' title='BlogThis!'><span class='share-button-link-text'>BlogThis!</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-twitter' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=6723260540286700253&target=twitter' target='_blank' title='Share to X'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to X</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-facebook' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=6723260540286700253&target=facebook' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=430,width=640"); return false;' target='_blank' title='Share to Facebook'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to Facebook</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-pinterest' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=6723260540286700253&target=pinterest' target='_blank' title='Share to Pinterest'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to Pinterest</span></a> </div> </div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-2'> <span class='post-labels'> Labels: <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/%23MeToo' rel='tag'>#MeToo</a>, <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/Books' rel='tag'>Books</a>, <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/FukYoo%20Politix' rel='tag'>FukYoo Politix</a>, <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/Plumbing%20the%20depths' rel='tag'>Plumbing the depths</a> </span> </div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'> <span class='post-location'> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="date-outer"> <h2 class='date-header'><span>Sunday, 24 February 2019</span></h2> <div class="date-posts"> <div class='post-outer'> <div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template' itemprop='blogPost' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/BlogPosting'> <meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1P9iNQOZYaqcEzI89Ezjy4iU7V1VpynVg88CwsgDb8i1YLKTXB_ldcWTwLE6zuvzCdBAEL-A5rEfz39tjfDlLDbG_k05UwKp4IC1mWM8LMoedXoM-_JRkAg08-H-bsUrVGjDIOdjvMwc/s320/the-walking-dead-8-5-guide.jpg' itemprop='image_url'/> <meta content='2932158055298887404' itemprop='blogId'/> <meta content='8142888958824334345' itemprop='postId'/> <a name='8142888958824334345'></a> <h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/02/no-better-place-to-die-reframing-cgt.html'>No Better Place to Die: Reframing the CGT debate</a> </h3> <div class='post-header'> <div class='post-header-line-1'></div> </div> <div class='post-body entry-content' id='post-body-8142888958824334345' itemprop='articleBody'> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1P9iNQOZYaqcEzI89Ezjy4iU7V1VpynVg88CwsgDb8i1YLKTXB_ldcWTwLE6zuvzCdBAEL-A5rEfz39tjfDlLDbG_k05UwKp4IC1mWM8LMoedXoM-_JRkAg08-H-bsUrVGjDIOdjvMwc/s1600/the-walking-dead-8-5-guide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="825" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1P9iNQOZYaqcEzI89Ezjy4iU7V1VpynVg88CwsgDb8i1YLKTXB_ldcWTwLE6zuvzCdBAEL-A5rEfz39tjfDlLDbG_k05UwKp4IC1mWM8LMoedXoM-_JRkAg08-H-bsUrVGjDIOdjvMwc/s320/the-walking-dead-8-5-guide.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <i>Who brings a knife to a gun fight?</i> <br /> <br /> In a week where the public had two different flavors of hysteria to choose from (that being China or the CGT) it was disappointing, yet expected, to see the debate rise and fall on such simple terms that statements from quisling traitors like Simon Bridges, and many of the useful idiots in the media, were nothing above the kind of statements found in the average comments section online with Bridges calling it a "<a href="https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/the-country/audio/simon-bridges-capital-gains-tax-a-kick-in-the-guts-for-middle-nz/" target="_blank">kick in the guts</a>" for middle NZ.<br /> <br /> Still, its expected to see Simon playing the fear card because at this point he might as well with his credibility as leader shot and the party trying to figure out how to remove him without treading the same doom-laden path as Labour once did.<br /> <br /> But Bridges, like a drowning man, has clutched at the first thing that came his way and he probably feels like the CGT is the perfect vessel to keep himself, and his leadership hopes, afloat until election 2020 but such is his mind now that going all out with frothing fear mongering statements in the media, sorta like Donald J Trump with his comments about Mexicans being "<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/video_and_audio/headlines/37230916/drug-dealers-criminals-rapists-what-trump-thinks-of-mexicans" target="_blank">criminals and rapists</a>", is treading a dangerous path.<br /> <br /> <i>"Yes, its true, the CGT is going to climb in your bedroom window one night, tie and gag you before raping your hard earned capital gains while you watch in mute, bug eyed horror, at the unfolding terror of all that retirement income being stripped away from you until you have nothing left and your forced to live in <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/110691917/sports-stars-linked-to-christchurch-rest-home-forcing-residents-out" target="_blank">some dingy rest home (possibly owned by some ex All Blacks)</a> for the rest of your miserable life."* </i><br /> <br /> Its a shocking thought I know but that's the power of fear and its the nightmare that only a well paid mouth piece, like Simon (or Fox News) could spin with a straight face but in the age of FukYoo Politix Simon probably thinks this is his Orewa Speech moment where he taps directly into the twitching nerves of "middle NZ" and rides the shuddering spasm all the way into the Beehive.<br /> <br /> Funny thing about fear though, is that its an irrational impulse and not one subject to much control, specially in the minds of the public, so Bridges might have started something but there is no guarantee that he will remain in charge once the fear machine gets rolling.<br /> <br /> Today NZ has a growing wealth disparity, with simple things like a home becoming more and more out of reach for "Middle NZ" and people living in cars or being housed in motels as emergency accommodation and with no prospect of things getting better Simon hoping to tap into their sentiments is like skydiving without a parachute.<br /> <br /> But whats done is done and lets not dwell on it for too long because Bridges is clearly consumed with his own fears, that of not being leader for much longer, so like a headless chicken running around screaming the sky is falling, Simon is clearly externalizing his own deep seated fears rather than making any rational debate.<br /> <br /> However, while its fun to point at laugh as Simon has (pardon my French) <i>merde son pantalon de grand garcon, </i>the CGT is a genuine attempt to address the issues of growing inequality in NZ and deserves a better level of debate than the one its getting.<br /> <br /> Maybe its not the best way to fix things, but that's a debate for another day, whats important here is if you asked most Kiwis if they wanted NZ to have a growing inequality and gap between the rich and the poor, and with the majority being the poor, they would say "hell no!"<br /> <br /> So far so simple but if you pressed a bit further and asked what they themselves would do about it, like say pay more tax, or loose their home, few, if any would agree to it. And thats the fear that Simon is hoping to tap into by phrasing the debate in such scary (and misleading) terms.<br /> <br /> However, as the gap gets bigger and bigger and more people start piling up on the loosing side of the inequality equation, start to see no real increase in wages and, horror of horrors, the value of their homes decrease (its happening in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jan/02/australian-house-prices-falling-at-fastest-rate-in-a-decade-data-shows" target="_blank">Oz</a>, will happen in <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/21/china-economy-biggest-risk-may-be-property-market-not-trade-war.html" target="_blank">China </a><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-06-24/why-china-can-t-fix-its-housing-bubble" target="_blank">soon </a>and is going to happen here) fear is going to drive people to vote for the biggest, craziest, person who will promise to end their fears and dish out a healthy dose of retribution to the thieving assholes who stole their future (read the Rich and National).<br /> <br /> So question time darlings: do you think Simon Bridges will be the one that people are going to trust to quench their fears when the skeletal hand of poverty, homelessness and starvation reaches out for them?<br /> <br /> If you said yes then good on you for being an honest, if misguided, National Party supporter (or at least the part that still likes Simon Bridges) but the chances of Bridges being able to ride the Chaos Tiger into office when the PMs job is up for grabs is down to single digits (just like his poll ratings) so watch your back Simon.<br /> <br /> While if you said no well done for not being fooled by his lies but shame on you for still framing the debate at the level of fearmongering.<br /> <br /> Inequality in NZ will either be fixed or it will grow and when things get crunchy nobody is going to be trusting Simon Bridges to lead them out of the maze when he is the one of the criminal cyphers that lead them in.<br /> <br /> However, on the flip-side of things, Jacinda Ardern and Labour are going to have to make a decision about whether to do what some are calling political suicide or asking if "<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/109941845/is-capital-gains-tax-a-hill-that-labour-is-willing-to-die-on" target="_blank">this a hill worth dying on?</a>"<br /> <br /> The answer to that question is yes, yes it is.<br /> <br /> To be fair, the CGT was never going to be an easy sell and calling it something more palatable like the <i>Simon Bridges Rich Asshole Tax</i> would probably go a long way to soothing the public's pulsating fear glands, as most of the public in NZ (including most National supporters) do not consider themselves to be "rich assholes" so if posed as such most would happily get behind seeing those "poncy bastards" suffer.<br /> <br /> And if you want a fairer NZ then you may not want a CGT but call it by any other name and you would be behind it 100%, you know you would. Its either that or you come up with some actionable suggestions for rolling back the growing sludge of poverty and inequality in NZ.<br /> <br /> What you don't have any suggestions? How surprising! Somehow I did not think you would but thats ok because in the end the answer is simple: Tax the Rich! Make them pay their fair share!<br /> <br /> And thats just what the CGT is once you scrape the maggots of fear (helpfully sprinkled by Simon Bridges) away. The CGT will be a step towards equality. It might not fix everything but its a start and it will do so by taking from the rich and giving to everyone else.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, as for that "hill" question the answer is in the title of this post because if Labour doesn't go though with it then <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/02/judith-collins-says-capital-gains-tax-will-make-simon-bridges-the-prime-minister.html" target="_blank">predictions of electoral defeat gloated about by China Spokesperson and part time National party MP Judith Collins</a>, may just come true as after Labour fell back on hills like Kiwibuild and Budget "responsibility" there are not many hills left to stand on. Just the flat open plains of mismanagement, muddling and mediocrity where their is no moral high ground and Labour can easily be outflanked on issues.<br /> <br /> But if it comes down to Labour going into battle but being back-stabbed by Winston Peters at the critical moment then so be it as that would likely not save them anyway if caught in the path of the runaway, blood spattered, combine harvester that is fear.<br /> <br /> Because what got them [Labour] elected in the first place was an unspoken promise to fix things like inequality, to make NZ a better place (as trite as that can sometimes sound), and the ongoing worry of National doing noting (and promising nothing) but more of the same inequality enhancing policies mixed in with abject outburst of fear which will eventually be the trigger that truly unleashes the FukYoo beast on NZ politics.<br /> <br /> CGT is not quite Brexit for NZ in its scope but the choice is just as stark and if Labour looses then it was a brave last stand of the idea that Aotearoa can have a fair and equal society where the rich can be rich but not at the expense of the everyone else. Because if no CGT then what else is there?<br /> <br /> Still Simon is going to continue his squawks of fear but the louder he squawks the more clearer it is that he is in the pay of those wealthy few who don't want to pay their fair share, who dont want to see NZ prosper because it means they would get less than they greedily have now. However if Simon wants to sell his soul to the devil and whore his backside to China for dollars thats his business but the very clear subtext of his message is "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXS1sJm7QEA" target="_blank">screw you guys</a> I got mine, sorry about yours!" <br /> <br /> If it was me I would simply declare a national emergency, have anyone over a certain income threshold taken away in buses to be housed in rat hole motels before being brought before a hastily convened "tax court" which would summarily strip them of ALL their wealth as punishment for their capital gains and then send them on their way, to sleep in the back of a crappy rusted out car.<br /> <br /> So its probably a good thing that I am not in charge but that's because I don't speak for the today, I speak for the tomorrow, or more correctly the tomorrow of FukYoo Politix where Simon got his way, rode the fear into the PMs seat and then did nothing while NZ continued to rot away and then it got so bad that people stopped voting for the sane or even the reasonable, fled to the margins, and elected their own populist demagogue who promised to end the fear by their own "10 point plan"** to fix things.<br /> <br /> Or even worse they stopped voting and just sought to change things by hanging a few of the rich or rioting in the street (<a href="https://www.wibc.com/blogs/tony-katz/morning-news/riots-france-reveal-greater-truth-about-governments-and-ideologues" target="_blank">a popular pastime in France now</a>) because it became clear that no government would do anything so f**k it lets have a riot!<br /> <br /> See, I can play the fear card as well and its much bigger and nastier than Simon's. <br /> <br /> This is why Simon Bridges summoning fear in the popular mind is not a smart move, its an incredibly short term and very risky strategy that will do nothing but buy him some time to save his own ass but doom the country to more, and worse, of the same inequality issues that we have now.<br /> <br /> Thanks Simon, thanks a bunch! <br /> <br /> If Labour was to push the CGT, fail on the issue and either loose the next election or win and then muddle on doing little else then its a hard to decide which is the worse option but most people would rather they fought the good fight (rather than just trying to save their own political careers) as its an issue which is worth fighting, and politically, dying for.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *-Hypothetical statement from Simon Bridges.<i> </i><br /> **-Just Google "10 point plan" and see how many people have had one. <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>E.A.Blair</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/02/no-better-place-to-die-reframing-cgt.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/02/no-better-place-to-die-reframing-cgt.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2019-02-24T21:48:00+14:00'>21:48</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/02/no-better-place-to-die-reframing-cgt.html#comment-form' onclick=''> 3 comments: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-121313707'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8142888958824334345&from=pencil' title='Edit Post'> <img alt='' class='icon-action' height='18' src='https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif' width='18'/> </a> </span> </span> <div class='post-share-buttons goog-inline-block'> <a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-email' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8142888958824334345&target=email' target='_blank' title='Email This'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Email This</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-blog' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8142888958824334345&target=blog' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=270,width=475"); return false;' target='_blank' title='BlogThis!'><span class='share-button-link-text'>BlogThis!</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-twitter' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8142888958824334345&target=twitter' target='_blank' title='Share to X'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to X</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-facebook' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8142888958824334345&target=facebook' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=430,width=640"); return false;' target='_blank' title='Share to Facebook'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to Facebook</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-pinterest' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8142888958824334345&target=pinterest' target='_blank' title='Share to Pinterest'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to Pinterest</span></a> </div> </div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-2'> <span class='post-labels'> Labels: <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/China' rel='tag'>China</a>, <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/Donald%20Trump' rel='tag'>Donald Trump</a>, <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/Elections%202020' rel='tag'>Elections 2020</a>, <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/FukYoo%20Politix' rel='tag'>FukYoo Politix</a>, <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/Labour%20Party%20NZ' rel='tag'>Labour Party NZ</a>, <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/National%20Party' rel='tag'>National Party</a> </span> </div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'> <span class='post-location'> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="date-outer"> <h2 class='date-header'><span>Sunday, 30 December 2018</span></h2> <div class="date-posts"> <div class='post-outer'> <div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template' itemprop='blogPost' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/BlogPosting'> <meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpelvOaExpCyiQBHWMVJvbXkFrqOg6N58E5hiYRgFkYha2a_vLltG18UxOmD2SAiQ3sZait9W1JQYAhePrDmgyJ6fugFGd9CuBHydCVvILfmQ0zZpDP0-9W2BcNzkqakQuJ6C1CBm9HQ/s320/parlt-078.jpg' itemprop='image_url'/> <meta content='2932158055298887404' itemprop='blogId'/> <meta content='8612219032904697808' itemprop='postId'/> <a name='8612219032904697808'></a> <h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/12/politics-2019-year-of-fukyoo-in-nz.html'>Politics 2019: The year of FukYoo in NZ</a> </h3> <div class='post-header'> <div class='post-header-line-1'></div> </div> <div class='post-body entry-content' id='post-body-8612219032904697808' itemprop='articleBody'> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpelvOaExpCyiQBHWMVJvbXkFrqOg6N58E5hiYRgFkYha2a_vLltG18UxOmD2SAiQ3sZait9W1JQYAhePrDmgyJ6fugFGd9CuBHydCVvILfmQ0zZpDP0-9W2BcNzkqakQuJ6C1CBm9HQ/s1600/parlt-078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="940" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpelvOaExpCyiQBHWMVJvbXkFrqOg6N58E5hiYRgFkYha2a_vLltG18UxOmD2SAiQ3sZait9W1JQYAhePrDmgyJ6fugFGd9CuBHydCVvILfmQ0zZpDP0-9W2BcNzkqakQuJ6C1CBm9HQ/s320/parlt-078.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Something happened in 2018 to NZ politics and I think it has everything to do with Jacinda Ardern.<div> <br /></div> <div> You see after a near decade of National Party rule for better or worse (mostly worse for the majority and definitely better for the well off) the scales tilted just enough (when the thumb of Winston Peters was added) to tip things in favor of regime change and before you could say "Chinese spies in the Beehive, Thompson and Clarke and Bill English for leader, why God why?" National were out and we had a new (well sorta new) government with political darling Jacinda Ardern and political opportunist Winston Peters running things.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> It was for many, who had longed and hoped for an end to the Neo-Liberal revolution that Labour had started in 1984, supposed to be a fresh start, a new page if you will in the book of NZ, with our two heroic leaders (because we are not counting James "I wanna be conservative" Shaw as a leader in this scenario) tearing down the old structures and rebuilding the new.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> And then nothing happened.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Oh to be sure we had a dynamic 90 days of fun and excitement over the summer of 2016 with what at the time looked like an auspicious start but by mid winter 2018 the "revolution"* was well and truly over and by start of summer 2018 it was clear that the leitmotif of the government was something along the lines of "Opps, oh dear, but hey at least we tried".</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> I have detailed it here on this blog and so have others on other blogs but what is clear as I sit in the shade, sipping an ice cold beer, on what is otherwise a scorching hot summers day is that the revolution was not televised because it never occurred.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> We could go into detail and look at how things like Kiwibuild, the watered down labor reforms, Winston's slush fund and parasitic nods to horse racing, as well as Jacinda Ardern, showing no political nonce or skill, has become little more than a hollowed out talisman like figurehead for a highly cathartic but ultimately futile feel good orgy of political spin and retroactive finger pointing at National for why the country continues along this doomed course to neo-feudal slave state.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> But it was not all doom and gloom in 2018 as things like MeeToo in NZ, the teachers strikes and issues like water, immigration and tourism have slowly continued to bubble away while the willingness of whistle-blowers and leakers, in and outside government, show that FukYoo Politix is alive and well and lurking just below the surface of NZ.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Oh yes ladies and gentlemen, its not the political classes (and the now mostly parasitic media) which have dominated the discussion but ordinary kiwis with their voices and their issues and this is why the Labour/NZ First coalition has found that the agenda slipped away from them before even six months were up and that celebratory mood of late 2017 had shifted to increasingly organized dissent.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> This is also why National can not get itself out of the political doldrums that they now listlessly drift in as leader or no the party is only marginally representative of the political landscape in NZ (and only the most idiotic believe that a new leader will change that around).</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> And thus we arrive at the year 2019, the year of FukYoo Politix in NZ, the year that Jacinda, Winston and Labour start to look just as bad as Simon Bridges and National and we start to see more and more Kiwis saying (usually in large groups with banners and placards) that they have had enough, that they want real change for the better, not just some feel good platitudes from the faux liberals in government.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> 2019 is the year that issues like water quality are going to come to a boil (pun intended) and the fact that Aotearoa has become little more than an over priced tourist resort in the South Pacific will find common parlance.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> 2019 is also the year that decrepit organisations like political parties, the Treasury and the NZDF are going to come under more and more examination and scrutiny as social media and digital tech continue to act as independent drivers of change because if Jamie-Lee Ross can tape his conversations with Simon Bridges so can anyone.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> 2019 is also the year this blog gets its mojo back as we will be going over from a "wait and see" attitude to our new government to full blown critique and mockery of the scum-baggy doings of this current government because its become evidently clear that Jacinda has her comfortable salary and those nice perks but Labour is essentially out of ideas and now more than happy to sit back and get by on nostalgic reminiscences and saying things like "but it was worse under National" rather than do anything concrete.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> In short the FukYoo revolution that was brewing under National and John Key but which was temporarily nipped in the bud by a change of government is now back on track and looking for a few new scalps. And this blog officially endorses that.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Democracy is at its strongest when people participate and when participation is more than voting once every three years and in the last 12 months I have seen more and more people get upset about things, talk about things and talk about doing something about those things rather than just sit by and do nothing.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Other blogs may make "predictions" but thats just playing the odds of generic but expected random events happening, this blog will be doing its best to exhort the revolution and lead the charge by taking a critical and opposing stance to those who are enemies to a better New Zealand.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> And its not just NZ but across the world the mood has continued to get closer and closer to a flipping of the zeitgeist, some places are closer than others but if you cant read a a blog , watch the news or listen to a pod-cast and get the impression that the world is going through change then you need to get out more.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> 2019 is the year the Coalition Government in NZ gets put on notice and have that notice enforced if they cant do whats needed to be done and 2019 is also the year that we start to look critically at politics in NZ in general as its become pervasively clear that political parties are more the problem than the solution, that undue influence of foreign and business interests are really what politicians and senior civil servants are listening to rather than Kiwis.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> At this point this is only a thumb nail sketch of my ideas for blogging in 2019 but I must say its an exciting thought to be out of the stink mist that was 2018 and heading towards a dynamic and trans-formative next 12 months.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Happy new years and now back to that cold beer.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Vootie!</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /></div> <div> *-Because who does not remember both Winston and Jacinda flouncing around on the Beehive stage saying they needed to contain the destructive forces of capitalism</div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>E.A.Blair</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/12/politics-2019-year-of-fukyoo-in-nz.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/12/politics-2019-year-of-fukyoo-in-nz.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2018-12-30T15:20:00+14:00'>15:20</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/12/politics-2019-year-of-fukyoo-in-nz.html#comment-form' onclick=''> 7 comments: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-121313707'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8612219032904697808&from=pencil' title='Edit Post'> <img alt='' class='icon-action' height='18' src='https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif' width='18'/> </a> </span> </span> <div class='post-share-buttons goog-inline-block'> <a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-email' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8612219032904697808&target=email' target='_blank' title='Email This'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Email This</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-blog' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8612219032904697808&target=blog' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=270,width=475"); return false;' target='_blank' title='BlogThis!'><span class='share-button-link-text'>BlogThis!</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-twitter' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8612219032904697808&target=twitter' target='_blank' title='Share to X'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to X</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-facebook' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8612219032904697808&target=facebook' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=430,width=640"); return false;' target='_blank' title='Share to Facebook'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to Facebook</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-pinterest' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=8612219032904697808&target=pinterest' target='_blank' title='Share to Pinterest'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to Pinterest</span></a> </div> </div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-2'> <span class='post-labels'> Labels: <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/FukYoo%20Politix' rel='tag'>FukYoo Politix</a>, <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/Labour%20Party%20NZ' rel='tag'>Labour Party NZ</a>, <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/National%20Party' rel='tag'>National Party</a> </span> </div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'> <span class='post-location'> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="date-outer"> <h2 class='date-header'><span>Friday, 26 October 2018</span></h2> <div class="date-posts"> <div class='post-outer'> <div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template' itemprop='blogPost' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/BlogPosting'> <meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzmFmdP0Piq-57QNuXEa8lQrxxj1J3XVy8sttUQHVou9ZKSJWzIc1LZe9ppPFMzEn36ZqPPZdbfN-hgPJ-Bphecpld1MOEXYKVL3lE7i_osIsiRSJDw_qhtB_-opdDv_sPTTWUNxoZYg/s320/s8wcuNY.jpg' itemprop='image_url'/> <meta content='2932158055298887404' itemprop='blogId'/> <meta content='1804435531030172248' itemprop='postId'/> <a name='1804435531030172248'></a> <h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/im-just-going-to-leave-these-here.html'>I'm just going to leave these here</a> </h3> <div class='post-header'> <div class='post-header-line-1'></div> </div> <div class='post-body entry-content' id='post-body-1804435531030172248' itemprop='articleBody'> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzmFmdP0Piq-57QNuXEa8lQrxxj1J3XVy8sttUQHVou9ZKSJWzIc1LZe9ppPFMzEn36ZqPPZdbfN-hgPJ-Bphecpld1MOEXYKVL3lE7i_osIsiRSJDw_qhtB_-opdDv_sPTTWUNxoZYg/s1600/s8wcuNY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzmFmdP0Piq-57QNuXEa8lQrxxj1J3XVy8sttUQHVou9ZKSJWzIc1LZe9ppPFMzEn36ZqPPZdbfN-hgPJ-Bphecpld1MOEXYKVL3lE7i_osIsiRSJDw_qhtB_-opdDv_sPTTWUNxoZYg/s320/s8wcuNY.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> <div> <i>They say it cant happen here!</i></div> <div> <br /></div> If you want some great examples of why bloggers are often doing a better job than the media these days you would be hard pressed to go past the following posts from the left and right of the political spectrum around National having Jamie-Lee Ross sanctioned (read forceably incarcerated) for "mental health issues" as a means to keep him from dropping any further dirt on National.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> And the mainstream NZ media has been notably absent in this area because, as I have said before, they are far to close/embedded to those they cover to keep on reporting and as such they remain compromised and entirely suspect in Nationals bad behavior.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> First we have <a href="https://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2018/10/herald-breaks-news-that-simon-bridges-called-me-after-i-already-wrote-about-it-in-the-morning/" target="_blank">Cameron Slater  of Whale Oil</a> <a href="https://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2018/10/herald-breaks-news-that-simon-bridges-called-me-after-i-already-wrote-about-it-in-the-morning/" target="_blank">(yes that Cameron Slater of that Whale Oil)</a>(via the <a href="https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/10/26/love-him-or-hate-him-slaters-nuclear-bomb-on-national-must-be-investigated/" target="_blank">Daily Blog</a>) pointing out that it was National that got Ross locked away by the cops out of fear of Ross saying anything further, or worse contradicting Nationals set narrative.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Meanwhile Left-wing blogger <a href="https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2018/10/questions-questions-questions.html" target="_blank">Chris Trotter </a>adds his own take on things from his own blog (Bowalley Road) and this is again well worth the read.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> And there is so much in both of those posts that I will say no more but encourage readers to put any political prejudices they may have aside and go read them and see for yourself.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> What I will add is that I was aware of some of these details through my own source in National but did not feel I could outright say what I had been told given the inability to verify it but that is where my allusion/comment to National assembling a "<a href="https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/this-is-why-national-cant-have-nice.html" target="_blank">political hit team</a>" in my recent post came from as Ross was high enough and deep enough into Nationals power structure to have more than enough dirt to team wipe National in its entirety and my source indicated as such.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> And as this story is now well beyond Ross and his behavior things are verging on terminal scandal as Bridges has been caught red handed whoring the party for money and the only way out is to silence Ross from making any further revelations so Bridges and Co will be using any and all tricks to get Ross to shut his mouth as there are political reputations and careers at stake here and plenty of vested interests who would go down as well if National gets exposed as little more than a front for the PRC.</div> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> And if this is all somewhat shades of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Silkwood" target="_blank">Karen Silkwood</a> or that poor bugger who's name I can recall but who got killed in mysterious circumstances for having data disks from the Bank of New Zealand which suggested it was up to no good, then so be it because it does happen here!<br /> <br /> Its probably time we started to ask some serious questions about National and its Chinese "friends".</div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>E.A.Blair</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/im-just-going-to-leave-these-here.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/im-just-going-to-leave-these-here.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2018-10-26T13:59:00+14:00'>13:59</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/im-just-going-to-leave-these-here.html#comment-form' onclick=''> 4 comments: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-121313707'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=1804435531030172248&from=pencil' title='Edit Post'> <img alt='' class='icon-action' height='18' src='https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif' width='18'/> </a> </span> </span> <div class='post-share-buttons goog-inline-block'> <a 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</div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'> <span class='post-location'> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="date-outer"> <h2 class='date-header'><span>Thursday, 25 October 2018</span></h2> <div class="date-posts"> <div class='post-outer'> <div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template' itemprop='blogPost' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/BlogPosting'> <meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4be9vxzDUPQZhOUzf7RFDEFVKgqx-VYeJNtb-NcQ5Ql6t5NeDS9Q_TuXvNCCrwSd5waUZgzfN8YWDwOTDz0iwnL_1YcWLNfE5RhWFEY0raAo-AZXvS0kEnar_v_n_WUQjnhJf-m41Ues/s320/MV5BZmZjZDlhOWQtOWYzZS00OWEzLTgwMWQtZmUzNTRjNzFhNjQ5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjgyODE4NTE%2540._V1_.jpg' itemprop='image_url'/> <meta content='2932158055298887404' itemprop='blogId'/> <meta content='2118117091335595143' itemprop='postId'/> <a name='2118117091335595143'></a> <h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/sex-lies-and-judith-collins.html'>Sex, lies and Judith Collins</a> </h3> <div class='post-header'> <div class='post-header-line-1'></div> </div> <div class='post-body entry-content' id='post-body-2118117091335595143' itemprop='articleBody'> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4be9vxzDUPQZhOUzf7RFDEFVKgqx-VYeJNtb-NcQ5Ql6t5NeDS9Q_TuXvNCCrwSd5waUZgzfN8YWDwOTDz0iwnL_1YcWLNfE5RhWFEY0raAo-AZXvS0kEnar_v_n_WUQjnhJf-m41Ues/s1600/MV5BZmZjZDlhOWQtOWYzZS00OWEzLTgwMWQtZmUzNTRjNzFhNjQ5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjgyODE4NTE%2540._V1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4be9vxzDUPQZhOUzf7RFDEFVKgqx-VYeJNtb-NcQ5Ql6t5NeDS9Q_TuXvNCCrwSd5waUZgzfN8YWDwOTDz0iwnL_1YcWLNfE5RhWFEY0raAo-AZXvS0kEnar_v_n_WUQjnhJf-m41Ues/s320/MV5BZmZjZDlhOWQtOWYzZS00OWEzLTgwMWQtZmUzNTRjNzFhNjQ5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjgyODE4NTE%2540._V1_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <i>Listen to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHimia_Fxzs" target="_blank">this </a>while reading</i></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Some people may have been shocked at the dirty laundry put on display last week when Jamie-Lee Ross and Simon Bridges went head to head in the public sandpit like <a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/l0HlujfKuBRih4V2M/giphy.gif" target="_blank">two junkies high on cat pee</a> but if you have spent any time in Wellington such stories are just the tip of the iceberg.</div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Take for instance the following:<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">         </span></span></span>A prominent minister in the last National Government was known to have such an insatiable lust for hiring pretty blonde women to work in his office that staff started to screen applicants based on hair colour<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">         </span></span></span>The speakers apartment, on the top of Parliament, has been the scene of several drug fuelled orgies involving MPs, sex workers and parliamentary staff<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">         </span></span></span>There are at least three brothels operating within 5 minutes’ walk of the Beehive; one set in a high class apartment building on the Terrace, another in an oddly decorated house slightly further up the terrace and one just across the road from Parliament: all have MPs as clients<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">         </span></span></span>Political lobbyists with access to parliament have provided drugs and sexual services <o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: none; text-indent: 0cm;"> to MPs as part of their job<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">         </span></span></span>A highly paid Wellington courtesan operates under the cover of being a “communications consultant” to MPs and has her expensive Agent Provocateur lingerie insured as a “business expense”<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">         </span></span></span>Parliamentary services staff in the mid-2000s noted the operation of an individual they nicknamed “the groupie” whose mission it seemed to be to sleep with every male MP in parliament<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">         </span></span></span>An acquaintance of mine who has worked in the offices of five MPs, from various parties, over the years noted that all of them had affairs with their staff, all were married at the time and the offenders were both male and female MPs <o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">         </span></span></span>The wives of at least two current MPs met their mates after working in their offices and having workplace affairs with them<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Seven of the above are confirmed true and one remains suspected but unproven, you guess which one.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> The point of the above is not to provide salacious titbits but to show that the kind of dirty laundry exposed by the Simon Bridges/Jamie-Lee Ross spat is not anything new if you work on or near the beltway in Wellington. Such things are, in fact, depressingly mundane.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> And while the public may enjoy seeing MPs going at each other the reality is that it drags politics in general further down the slippery slope it has gone in the last decade (as <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/108059696/jacinda-ardern-thinks-mps-can-shift-the-dial---but-is-it-too-late" target="_blank">Tracy Watkins has recently noted in Stuff</a>). <o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> It also doesn’t help that a recent round of research has shown that <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/107964829/a-breed-apart-mps-are-now-birds-of-a-different-feather" target="_blank">MPs are increasingly divorced from the general public they seek to represent</a> (as well as reality) and most current MPs are now the kind of career politician that have no real life experience or basis in reality to lead a country or represent their electorate (given that the report notes distinct lack of MPs with any farming or trade background).<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> But Watkins is being deliberately naive if she thinks that this recent round of childlike squabbling is going to bring about a happier healthier parliament or more moral MPs (come on Tracy, at least try and be realistic on this one) by the sudden realization that someone has gone too far.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Still, parliament remains operational by recently having the third reading of the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12148085" target="_blank">highly controversial and ultimately dangerous CPTTP trade deal </a>(boo, hiss!) while also seeing a bill that would<a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12148093" target="_blank"> empower the Commerce Commission to look at anti-competitive behavior</a>, and specifically the fuel market, also pass its third reading (Yaaay!) and thus showing that despite all the sexual shenanigans things can and do get done there.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Unfortunately all of this is being undermined by parties selling out democracy, wholesale, just so someone can buy their way into parliament (as National has recently been exposed doing) and no bill passing its third reading is going to offset that.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Nor is having people like National Party president Peter Goodfellow or Deputy Leader Paula Bennett stirring the pot or obviously playing the game for their own ends, by keeping Simon in the dark about Ross’s bad behaviour going to do National any favours by leaving Bridges looking naked and vulnerable as leader. <o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Thus we get to the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/108039035/Some-relief-for-National-but-no-comfort-for-Simon-Bridges-in-latest-poll" target="_blank">most recent political poll results</a>, done in the wake of Nationals spectacular meltdown, and what do you know, National down, Labour up, Greens up and Judith Collins (up several points to 5% as preferred PM) breathing down the neck of Simon Bridges (down 3 points to 7% as preferred PM) like the villain in a slasher movie.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Of course the reality is that with Jacinda Ardern now sitting on 42% as preferred PM it makes not a whit if its Judith or Simon who polls higher at this point as all Nationals internal ruckus has done is expose further the rift in National between the various party factions and your seven or five percent won’t be making the nut on election night against Labours 45% and Jacinda’s 42%.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> And the even grimmer reality is with the Greens up 1 to 7% Labour and the Greens can govern alone as Winston and NZ First went nowhere at 5%. This means that the direct political outcome of all of Nationals infighting was to boost Labour, Jacinda and the Greens while weaken National and Bridges and set Judith’s heart all aflutter.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Unfortunately for Judith “<a href="https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/02/consider-it-official-judith-collins.html" target="_blank">I stab from the front</a>” Collins, National does not appear suicidal enough yet to let her be leader which is a good thing because polling or otherwise National are now teetering on the brink of the political abyss that Labour fell into, with it nine cruddy years in opposition and endless leader swaps, which is a good thing because letting Judith run the show would bring the party to a place which it does not want to go.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Yes, the Judith Collins, as the Donald Trump of NZ politics scenario has been discussed before but not only is the NZ political landscape not polarized enough to facilitate such antics but Collins is such a tainted figure that it would be easier to leave Simon in charge and see what rocks he can steer the ship onto rather than allow Collins to rally the atavistic hordes to her dubious crusade.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Hunter S Thompson once said Richard Nixon represented the dark side of US politics and the same could be said for Judith Collins and politics in NZ. Just as Nixon did everything to advance his own political goals at the expense of all others so to would Collins do anything to get her backside on the throne, and NZ would be poorer for it if she did.<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> However, never say never as given how National has handled this crisis Collins might somehow exploit the chaos to grab the top job as Leader but she would never make it to PM and once that door is opened it cannot be closed and National would soon be begging John (or even Max) Key to come back and lead them rather than sink further into the murk that Labour has only recently climbed out of because if Collins for Leader, why not Brownlee, Bennett or (shudder...) Nick Smith.*<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> And there is even the rumor doing the rounds that Jamie-Lee Ross’s actions and later meltdown were subtly engineered by Collins (who Ross was a previous supporter of) so that the ultimate result would be to weaken Bridges and boost her own profile (and remove potential contender Ross) all in one foul swoop.<br /> <br /> Given how fractious National has become and with Bridges smack-down on certain MPs its clear that such a scenario could be used for personal advantage but it remains just a theory and while the path to  the top job always has a few bodies to step over it would not be sound to engineer some sort of fratricidal bloodbath just to be queen. Or would it?<o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> I don’t know where this will end but it’s safe to say that, after a brief hiatus in the wake of the 2017 general election, FukYoo Politix is back with a vengeance. <o:p></o:p></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"> Is it any wonder that politicians are viewed in the same vein as child sex predators and lawyers?<br /> <br /> And its <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/108058857/simon-bridges-needs-to-call-the-hazmat-team-and-order-a-full-scale-cleanout" target="_blank">a mood noted elsewhere</a> so with that in mind rather than burn the Beehive to the ground and behead all sitting MPs, their staff and pets, here are my suggestions to a better Parliament, more open political parties, cleaner MPs and a healthier democracy:<br /> <ul> <li>Term limits of being an MP (say four terms/12 years)</li> <li>No political donations to parties over 10K and all donations over $1000 must be declared in full</li> <li>Lobbyists banned from parliament and not allowed select or individual access to MPs or senior govt staff</li> <li>Pay of MPs cut to under 100K</li> <li>All MPs must have at least 15 years experience in non political/government jobs or roles related to their portfolio (ie must have been a farmer to be minister in any farming related role in government)</li> <li>Repeal the Waka jumping law</li> </ul> <div> None of the above are particularly extreme and yet they would be a lot easier to deal with for MPs and parliament than allowing the ugly, angry and sometimes violent specter of populism/FukYoo politix to predominate and ultimately do the same thing.<br /> <br /> Reader can suggest their own in the comments.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *-Amy Adams omitted because she is the obvious choice to succeed Bridges and go against Jacinda but I suspect that National male egos may not be ready for that yet (much as Labour was not able to stomach such a thought until they had scrapped the bottom of the barrel so many time that Andrew Little was leader before things got so desperate that Jacindamania happened. Also Adams may be playing the long game and lettering Judith run herself out of contention by tilting now, rather than when its less messy. Its what I would do.</div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>E.A.Blair</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/sex-lies-and-judith-collins.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/sex-lies-and-judith-collins.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2018-10-25T10:41:00+14:00'>10:41</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/sex-lies-and-judith-collins.html#comment-form' onclick=''> No comments: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-121313707'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=2118117091335595143&from=pencil' title='Edit Post'> <img alt='' class='icon-action' height='18' src='https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif' width='18'/> </a> </span> </span> <div class='post-share-buttons goog-inline-block'> <a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-email' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=2118117091335595143&target=email' target='_blank' title='Email This'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Email This</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-blog' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2932158055298887404&postID=2118117091335595143&target=blog' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=270,width=475"); 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margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJVqSkiXCrLusnDiFmKOOUHTvXGLLrQh9ce0UwzXMebCHjyPo4-6VVbvZwu-wO4DDiOoLKxC-kqoicUzhjgcQ2-b77SAoTO4TrbSNINbVIta9GTTOeBqO9mbV-j16diX47a-xCvKdnvo/s1600/XC73x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="449" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJVqSkiXCrLusnDiFmKOOUHTvXGLLrQh9ce0UwzXMebCHjyPo4-6VVbvZwu-wO4DDiOoLKxC-kqoicUzhjgcQ2-b77SAoTO4TrbSNINbVIta9GTTOeBqO9mbV-j16diX47a-xCvKdnvo/s320/XC73x.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;">Mania</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;">, also known as </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;">manic syndrome</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;">, is a state of </span><i>abnormally</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;"> elevated arousal, </span>affect<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;">, and energy level, or "a state of heightened overall activation with enhanced affective expression together with lability of affect."</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;"> Although mania is often conceived as a "mirror image" to </span><i>depression</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;">, the heightened </span>mood<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;"> can be either </span><i>euphoric</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;"> or irritable; indeed, as the mania intensifies, irritability can be more pronounced and result in </span><i>violence</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic;">, or </span><i>anxiety</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><i>. - </i>Wikipedia</span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">NOTE - Play <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxgRUyzgs0" target="_blank">THIS </a>while reading.</span></span><br /> <br /> Its seems appropriate (and ironic) that while the Prime Minister is being feted overseas the luster of Jacindamania is fading here in NZ.<br /> <br /> While Jacinda is out strutting on the global stage and appearing on talk shows the Clare Curran/Derek Handley scandal has finally been linked back to Jacinda herself (with the release of Mr Handleys personal communications with her) and its shows that the PM has not really been forthcoming on her dealings with Mr Handley or explaining how Mr Handley beat out all other contestants for the job.<br /> <br /> What it does shows is that behind that heavily manufactured image of a young, smiling, millennial mother the Prime Minister is just another scumbag politician who will do whatever it takes to protect and promote her own (and her friends) while doing little else as the scandals start to pile up and the real issues continue to burn the country down.<br /> <br /> And this shows exactly how far we have come in the last year, as 12 months ago Jacinda was being feted in Aotearoa, appearing on the Beehive stage extolling the virtues of real change and doing things differently (with the 100 day plan) while today the she has told the public that "radical change takes time" and allowed almost every genuine change based initiative to be watered down or have its agenda hijacked by vested interests until the voting public has come to the bitter realization that despite all the talk of "change" little has actually changed and little will except for the glitzy policy cosmetics used to whore up minor policy tweaks so they appear better than they are.<br /> <br /> But how did things change so drastically? How did the revolutionary fervor of the 2017 election, with its message of transformation away from the Neo Liberal nightmare get deflected into this endless stupor of denied expectations and ministerial and managerial incompetence?<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurKxfSiXX0N7RVJnmUFaqbcXc9b4mkMjFuCgzEozUzzE5lB6RFk-Fmj56JwgNZINM8Z2JqPOXrcnm9lp6lSZIH43y6RLia5XKJ2FYAkd_2HqP7XEVOTebjl-wAr0zx5infnk3fHFaJ8E/s1600/1501570418424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="619" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurKxfSiXX0N7RVJnmUFaqbcXc9b4mkMjFuCgzEozUzzE5lB6RFk-Fmj56JwgNZINM8Z2JqPOXrcnm9lp6lSZIH43y6RLia5XKJ2FYAkd_2HqP7XEVOTebjl-wAr0zx5infnk3fHFaJ8E/s320/1501570418424.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><u>Neon lights, Nobel Prize</u></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /> A good starting point for that question is the slick presentation by Jacinda and Winston recently to reassure the public that the revolution was still on track.</div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"> The contents of said presentation, done hurriedly to assure the public that a) Winston was not really running the show; b) that Jacinda was an effective leader and c) that this government (Labour led or Coalition notwithstanding) actually had an agenda and were sticking to it, were <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/09/jacinda-ardern-unveils-the-coalition-s-top-12-priorities-they-ve-agreed-on.html" target="_blank">12 priorities for moving the country forward</a> which was  referred to by the Jacinda as “Our Plan”. </div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Our Plan? Lets look at "Our"plan shall we.<br /> <ul> <li>Grow and share New Zealand's prosperity more fairly</li> <li>Support thriving, sustainable regions</li> <li>Govern responsibly</li> <li>Transition to a clean, green carbon-neutral New Zealand</li> <li>Ensure everyone who is able to is earning, learning, caring or volunteering</li> <li>Support healthier, safer and more connected communities</li> <li>Ensure everyone has a warm, dry home</li> <li>Make New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child</li> <li>Deliver open, transformative and compassionate government</li> <li>Build closer partnerships with M膩ori</li> <li>Value who we are as a country</li> <li>Create an international reputation we can be proud of</li> </ul> Stop and think about the above list for a moment, and try to imagine who, or what, was in charge when the name “Our Plan” was decided upon because the priorities themselves are a grab bag of feel good slogans and mindlessly obtuse platitudes on a list that looks exactly like it was ripped right from the white board in what could only have been an extremely panicky brainstorming session in the wake of the the ongoing bad press the government has been getting.<br /> <br /> Now compare that list of lite weight political soundbites with the much more meaty fare on offer in the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11936177" target="_blank">original coalition agreement</a> from October last year which included clear directions on housing (establish a Housing Commission), law and order (1800 new police officers, increased funding and a Criminal Cases Review Commission), the environment (moving to being emissions free, a climate commission and alternatives to 1080), immigration (cutting down on low skill workers and migrant exploitation) and even smaller things like a commitment to build a Maori Battalion museum and a free trade agreement with Russia.<br /> <br /> One of those lists shows a sense of direction and plans on how to get there while the other reeks of having been desperately pulled out of ones sweaty arsehole in the wake of bad press. Which one do you think is which?</div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"> I mean does the government need one of its "priorities" to be “govern responsibly”, have such blindly self-obvious things such as “grow and share [New Zealand’s] prosperity more fairly” or include such a meaningless statement such as “value who we are as a country”? None of the above have any weight or even any semblance of a practical policy behind them. They are nothing more than hot air on par with the previous national government saying they will make NZ pest free by 2040, but now writ large and wholesale rather than just one single area.<br /> <br /> And the rest don't help either as things like "Create an international reputation we can be proud of" seems to indicate that we currently don't have a reputation we can be proud of while "Ensure everyone who is able to is earning, learning, caring or volunteering" is so vague and nebulous that its clear that this is a list by committee of spineless and brainless jellyfish who somehow found themselves in charge of ruining a country.<br /> <br /> All of these 12 points are just nothing but self sanctified farts being sniffed wholesale by people so smug with themselves but who have clearly no idea of what they are doing and when faced with a crisis or an actual issue which needs addressing have instead fallen back on the comfortable bureaucratic illusion of action by group think and list making which is more commonly known as the disease called <a href="http://caprofession.com/parkinsons8.asp" target="_blank">Injelititis or Palsied Paralysis</a>.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9a7nRC84F0MxwpoLOLAQtv7H6AWSDJrVrcCkV31ZqXvwZH0KwdMud7SsBbHmY_KBSzLjUsE3Wd7Zr4woglBMge4CGv30B77EdOM1WJYY3JCbZVQHMUXpnhiKOS3ea5lJ0VWAGxgkoo40/s1600/fortnite-windowscentral-screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9a7nRC84F0MxwpoLOLAQtv7H6AWSDJrVrcCkV31ZqXvwZH0KwdMud7SsBbHmY_KBSzLjUsE3Wd7Zr4woglBMge4CGv30B77EdOM1WJYY3JCbZVQHMUXpnhiKOS3ea5lJ0VWAGxgkoo40/s320/fortnite-windowscentral-screen.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><u>I've been everything you want to be</u></b><br /> <br /> Today we have a government which cant agree on its direction, cant govern its members and is now desperately careening from one crisis to another in a sweaty fever dream where its become abundantly clear the disparate elements of this coalition government are held together by one single solitary thing: Jacinda Arden, or more correctly Jacindamania.<br /> <br /> Twist it round and look it from any angel you like, struggle with it and agonize about it or even silently squirm in sweaty denial BUT in the end you will have to accept that the reason why we currently have the the highly suspect government we have is because of the sudden, and mostly unexpected rise of Jacinda Ardern to the leadership of Labour just two months for the 2017 election.<br /> <br /> Yes, its painfully true and also desperately worrying but dont say its not so because if you think its anything else that got us where we are then you are a god damned liar; and a fool to boot!<br /> <br /> Think about it. 80 days before the election Labour was polling a dismal 24% on a long running downwards curve and had Andrew Little as its gormless leader, a party which was composed of dull washed up MPs that no one wanted to vote for, a policy platform that was was dead on arrival and the political appeal of a road kill possum (leaking from all orifices) being thrown onto your kitchen table during a quiet Sunday breakfast.<br /> <br /> Then suddenly, Little quit, Jacinda Ardern became queen and the rocket took off. Two months later Labour had got 37% in the polls and there was a tangible sense that they would be the next government, once the paperwork was sorted out.<br /> <br /> And the only thing that changed between Little stepping down and the eventual coalition agreement with NZ First, three months later, was Jacinda Ardern. She alone was responsible for the 14% points that Labour rose in the final two months AND nothing else.<br /> <br /> Go look at the <a href="http://www.colmarbrunton.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Prelim_28-Jul-1-Aug-2018_1-NEWS-Colmar-Brunton-Poll-report-.pdf" target="_blank">latest Colmar Brunton polling</a> and skip to page 7, where it shows the party vote over the last decade. See that red line (denoting Labour [sic]) which continually struggles, like a drowning person, to desperately stay above 30% polling for most of the last 10 years. Then see how it suddenly shoots up to the high 30s/low 40s in mid to late 2017, thats Jacindamania!<br /> <br /> Jacindamania sucked back Labours wayward voters from the Greens and dragged down the party vote of every other political party in that election (go check the numbers of you don't believe me) while also raising the overall percentage of people who voted, after two decades of decline. It killed wholesale both the Maori and United Future parties and swept their MPs off the political chess board in such a dramatic and sudden fashion that NZ politics, for the first time since MMP began, had a major reduction in the number of political parties in parliament.<br /> <br /> Also, sitting inside Jacindamania, and fueling its monstrous rise, are the massive expectations by the general public for change, real change, away from the imbalanced tenets of neo-liberalism and rapacious capitalism and towards a freer, fairer place to live. This is the political equivalent of the high octane fuel that sends rockets into orbit, very powerful but also extremely unstable.<br /> <br /> So, call it a paradigm shift, a power shift or a re-alignment with the zeitgeist but don't deny that had Andrew Little led Labour until polling day the outcome would have been a fourth term National government, and Bill English as PM rather than the coalition government we have today and Jacinda Ardern as PM, thats the power of Jacindamania.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvgjksuAAt_LTZoAY-vmRLECLMkBsdOfGAuvw50t_T6jHSmz_eZ_HYgynDvINvRaT74BCFNsIaYLyvnZD1_HVJewyR8QfFwN6vRDeNvYcnYlGalpNUlTVk_U41uSg4wCaTcHVjCv6MLM/s1600/bd2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvgjksuAAt_LTZoAY-vmRLECLMkBsdOfGAuvw50t_T6jHSmz_eZ_HYgynDvINvRaT74BCFNsIaYLyvnZD1_HVJewyR8QfFwN6vRDeNvYcnYlGalpNUlTVk_U41uSg4wCaTcHVjCv6MLM/s320/bd2.jpg" width="246" /></a></div> <b><u>When a mirror speaks the reflection lies</u></b><br /> <br /> And an explanation for the phenomena of Jacindamania lies in an area of Political Science that is rarely explored but which can exert a tremendous influence over peoples, nations and states: The Cult of Personality.<br /> <br /> Put simply this phenomena creates a heroic image for a particular (political, religious or otherwise) leader which, regardless of reality, subsumes the actual leader themselves in a popular image of that individual that exaggerates (and eventually warps) their characteristics and abilities to suit a particular narrative . The result is that the public (or a section of it) see only the manufactured image and worship it accordingly and will also defend it from all criticism until the cult itself is extinguished or dies.<br /> <br /> NZ has its own particular form of the cult which has manifested itself in the Svengali magnetism of Jokey John key; the paternal strong woman of Helen Clark; the noble but all too human David Lange and the benevolent dictatorship of Robert Muldoon. In short <u>NZ has a thing for strong leaders who take stands on issues and can keep their minions in line</u>.<br /> <br /> And all are, despite their faults and failings, generally considered good leaders. Yes some tripped up at the end but its the consistency of their long run as leader that is important because the NZ public knows what it wants and any person who has the stones to swing is ensured an extended stay in the top job while any candidate that does not fit the profile is tainted from day one and will be hounded until they fall. Call it political reverse tall poppy syndrome.<br /> <br /> However this is the problem with Jacindamania as unlike the previously mentioned PMs and their respective positions in the NZ political pantheon, Jacinda Ardern stands apart as in her case the cult came first and not after her time as PM.<br /> <br /> But I can see your not convinced so lets have a look at the last two examples of the cult prior to Jacinda: John Key and Helen Clark. Whether you liked them or not few people could argue credibly that they were not both popular and effective leaders as each led their respective governments for three terms and with nary a challenger to their power or issue which derailed their political agendas.<br /> <br /> Both Clark and Key had strong leadership backgrounds before coming into the top job; with Clarke having served in the Fourth Labour government as a minister across multiple portfolios and having a long time in politics (both on the opposition benches and in Young Labour) while Key made it to the top in the cut throat world of international merchant banking where he earned the nickname the "smiling assassin" for his ability to get things done without ruffling feathers and earned a fortune in the process.<br /> <br /> Both Key and Clark ran their governments with a tight hand and both (and this is a key point) were quick to yank offending ministers and MPs back into line or, when need be, remove, demote or just outright kick their asses to the curb with no questions asked. And from such actions it was abundantly clear that both of these two PM understood Machiavelli's dictum about the leader needing to have both a public and private face and how the public persona of the good leader need not be in alignment with the need to get things done (sometimes to protect the public image) in private.<br /> <br /> Both of these two long serving Prime Ministers were able to get much of their parties respective political agendas through select committee and parliament which is a feat in and of itself and one which shows that without an effective leader at the helm a party, and its agenda, are doomed from the start as both external pressures and internal rivalries will detect any weakness and tear it apart.<br /> <br /> Like them or hate them both of these two PMs were  skilled political operators who not only got the job done but did so with generally high popularity polling. And while Clark worked to bring the unwieldy elements of NZ First, United Future and the Alliance (with Jim Anderton as deputy PM in the first term) into a working government (showing that the political <i>manage a trios</i> of NZ First/Labour/Greens is not so unique or unusual as we think) Key, despite his relative political experience, was able to shackle The Maori Party, ACT and United Future to the National party wagon with the political equivalent of beads and blankets and ensure three terms of a National Government despite an endless cascade of scandals and MP misbehavior on almost his personal charms alone.<br /> <br /> Thus both Helen Clark and John Key served their time with a formidable personality cult grown about them and even after leaving office both have retained a degree of their old magical persona in much the same way as some actors retain status on the basis of a classic role they played.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABNE7_J40NJwuM-U7kWjl6l_KK222OlE1w99aOe9GWd-GwtkvovhdnkyFpdOLcYwx7-d-IozJGndXN7nXfi3nPFvdTCkh5bS0wOZIR4lHJwwxAGKKC8akVtMteB6I44kFW32LVYXKUv0/s1600/Ark_Mansbatman-arkham-asylum-132.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1364" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABNE7_J40NJwuM-U7kWjl6l_KK222OlE1w99aOe9GWd-GwtkvovhdnkyFpdOLcYwx7-d-IozJGndXN7nXfi3nPFvdTCkh5bS0wOZIR4lHJwwxAGKKC8akVtMteB6I44kFW32LVYXKUv0/s320/Ark_Mansbatman-arkham-asylum-132.png" width="320" /></a><b><u>I'm the smiling face on your TV</u></b><br /> <br /> Thus we come to Jacindamania and its clear that Ardern is neither in the mold of Clark or Key and that there is something weirdly askew about this iteration of the PM personality cult which indicates that Ardern is not the political warlord that Key and Clark were.<br /> <br /> And I will be the first to admit its hard to put a finger on the queer dissonance that surround Jacinda Ardern as PM, given the high levels of political static that Jacindamania has created, but after some time and thought I think I know why Ardern is not going to be a three term political god like Clark or Key and will likely be more along the lines of a one term wonder like Norm Kirk (with his tranformative take on NZ government but without his heart attack) or a two term scarred idealist like David Lange (who made it into a second term on the back of things like Nuclear free NZ but was then roasted alive by the public and his own party as Rogernomics destroyed NZ).<br /> <br /> First up, Ardern is not an electorate or campaign politician like all of the above. She failed to win back the long term Labour stronghold of Auckland Central from Nikki Kaye in two elections (2011 and 2014) and was saved only by the party list from political oblivion (making her a distinct rarity in NZ political leaders but possibly a sign of the future). This is important because it shows that her personal image and mana is not road or battle tested and therefore her ability to be graceful under fire is suspect.<br /> <br /> Next, her experience prior to NZ politics was working for Tony Blair right at the time when he was bending over backwards for George Bush Juniors invasion of Iraq does her no favors and while she managed to win Mt Albert in both the by and general election (both in 2017) a shaved monkey in a red cap and t-shirt could have held this rather red of seats so thats not saying anything about her political skills either.<br /> <br /> Next up is that Ardern has had no previous experience as a Minister (like Clark) or a high level executive (like Key) and has spent most of her nine years in parliament as a mute backbencher or shadow minister in some marginal capacity until early 2017 when she became deputy leader for Andrew Little after long serving Labour battler Annette King was pushed aside as part of the ABL (Anyone But Little) faction of the party. So again we have someone in the top job who had almost no prior experience in any role where managing a team of people was a required skill, let alone running the country.<br /> <br /> And its this curious lack of skill, experience or ability for the PM role which shows up Jacindamania as the vaporous apparition that it is and Ardern herself as less some political Boudica (like Clark) or Svengalli (like Key) and more like a heavily manufactured, flash in the pan, sensation like Britney Spears and shows the incredible gap between the rather undefined image that Jacindamania presents of Ardern herself (one where the public got excited about her) and the rather stark reality of a late 30s millennial suddenly becoming the leader of a country with no prior experience or skill for such work.<br /> <br /> Its the political equivalent of the acne ridden teenage fry-cook at Wendy's being suddenly, and inexplicably, being promoted to national manager of the company and expected to whip up a plan to boost sales in one week.<br /> <br /> But if you want to know what really drives Jacindamania it is not in Jacinda Ardern herself that we must look but rather into the climate and tenor of the times in which she arose to understand why the fry cook is now running the entire company.<br /> <br /> <u><b>I know your anger, I know your dreams</b></u><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfJyVonvuArDWeg8IXdHieDVR4naDROiZGavautp1CBddS30gmTz7nmMOhJ0ZqqI4YLhRptZAahRBeziHQEHAHHIxO3gEcfG6UEFPSejYNnOPLaDCXFmVkn4jFyGMgY7F43uZp9N7Ga8/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="280" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfJyVonvuArDWeg8IXdHieDVR4naDROiZGavautp1CBddS30gmTz7nmMOhJ0ZqqI4YLhRptZAahRBeziHQEHAHHIxO3gEcfG6UEFPSejYNnOPLaDCXFmVkn4jFyGMgY7F43uZp9N7Ga8/s320/images.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /> Think back to late 2015 and early 2016. National was well into its third term, Key was finally starting to slump in the popularity polling from his stratospheric highs in the first term (near 60%) and the dreaded (and inevitable) third-term-itis has set in as National was staggering from one scandal to another, the Housing Hernia was coming to a boil and all other other issues (like immigration, water etc) were creating the doom laden atmosphere which prompted me to start blogging.<br /> <br /> The party polling was consistently stable but it was clear that it was Key, and his massive popularity, which was keeping National going rather than anything else and its draining effects on Key were abundantly clear when he unexpectedly quit politics in late 2016 citing burnout of all things. I suppose even an obviously evil man such as key can have his spirit drained by being chained to a broken down wagon of mongoloid retards such as most National MPs are.<br /> <br /> In short the mood in the nation was one of change that could be summed up as ABN or Anyone But National.<br /> <br /> However change in NZ politics and governments works best with a dynamic leader to front the prospective change agent and you only have to look at the rise of Helen Clarke or Winston Peters in the wake of the previous National government (1990 to 1999) to see what created and drove their rises as popular political figures and this is the similar dynamic which has driven Jacindamania but with one important difference.<br /> <br /> While both Clark and Peters were popular figures in their times no one ever spoke of Helenmania or Winstonmania which is a clear indication that their popularity was rooted more in the person themselves and not in the aura surrounding them (hence the term mania) and both, in their own ways, have demonstrated their longevity and skills countless times over the years while Ardern is struggling after just 12 months into the job.<br /> <br /> Thus Winstion with his rebel roots and Clark with her solid record and iron hand were clear leadership contenders before they rose to prominence while in mid 2016 no one in the right mind would have predicted that Jacinda Ardern would be sucked into office in late 2017 via the political equivalent of Beatlemania.<br /> <br /> Also worth noting is that in the age of populism and FukYoo politix, post truth and the #Metoo movement the rise of feelgood populists like Emanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau and Barrack Obama (a phenomena I refer to "soft-core politicians") concurrent to the rise of hard line populists (referred to as the "<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2018/05/how-we-entered-age-strongman" target="_blank">Neo-strongmen</a>" like Trump, Erdogan, Duerte, Xhi and various figures in Europe) Jacinda as PM is an indication that NZ is not immune to this trend.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg7mLsNrBcMoWS60kcU1kyHRRrrs8Ltb9OcrFSAshmL1hIHX49PzkJCdp8MUhSV_SQZvmR-ijrMHM6sPmU-216cjsEsYSw3hdX5h9fn3hkNk43S3em28AGbqhR6xS4sUa_b-4exGqkuSQ/s1600/a4e.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg7mLsNrBcMoWS60kcU1kyHRRrrs8Ltb9OcrFSAshmL1hIHX49PzkJCdp8MUhSV_SQZvmR-ijrMHM6sPmU-216cjsEsYSw3hdX5h9fn3hkNk43S3em28AGbqhR6xS4sUa_b-4exGqkuSQ/s320/a4e.png" width="243" /></a></div> <b><u>I sell the things you need to be</u></b><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;">So lets recap: Labour in a political slump, deadbeat leader and party while the mood of the nation was for political change BUT not if Andrew Little and Labour were going to be the government (hence the 24% polling).</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Then a political pawn (Jacinda Ardern) somehow makes it across the board to become a queen and the game changes completely.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The question then becomes who moved that pawn or who moved the other pieces out of the way so Ardern could make it to the final rank?</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The answer to this question is also the answer to those who created, nurtured and have profited most of Jacindamania (in the classic example of Cui bono?) and that is the members of the ABL faction that had always opposed the imposition of Andrew Little on the party by its union component and who were more than happy to let him </span>crash<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and burn in the 2017 general election if they could not have one of their own in charge.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Think about it, Ardern gets gifted the ultra safe seat of Mt Albert seat after failing to win back Labour stronghold, Auckland Central, on two </span>consecutive<span style="font-family: inherit;"> occasions. Shortly after she just happened to become Little's deputy (beating out the expected and much more experienced choice) and starts to suck up what little media oxygen he had left so that he drags the party into the political abyss.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">But is Ardern part of this plan or just a useful patsy in this scenario? </span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The answer is Ardern is both conspirator and pasty as she herself has carefully nurtured her own image but at the end of the day she has been the sole vehicle that Labour could use to get back into power and as such her rise smacks of carefully contrived media hype to tap into the desperate need of those left leaning voters who were pining for the days of Auntie Helen and could not stomach another three years of National and Bill English.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Bottom line is that the rather undefined image of Jacinda Ardern as something special is what got Labour back into office but as the pressures mounts the image has faded away to reveal a rather inexperienced individual who has about as much control over her party as any other backbench MP that who was suddenly thrust into the spotlight on account of their having some quirk of character which temporarily snagged the public's interest.<br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>I exploit you, still you love me</u></b></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYlnJBxIpwxMHoMAybNA2As1LjInkc7NOWQGQERDaP6GAAZxLFqJwvl202k7r-qtifo80FqgUq3pyG2tYlcwEL2gIn73Lbr316SZ8UVnLQRddagmZ1p3UYqSGAwncp-Ac3qib4FLgZPw/s1600/DJacinda-850x510.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="850" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYlnJBxIpwxMHoMAybNA2As1LjInkc7NOWQGQERDaP6GAAZxLFqJwvl202k7r-qtifo80FqgUq3pyG2tYlcwEL2gIn73Lbr316SZ8UVnLQRddagmZ1p3UYqSGAwncp-Ac3qib4FLgZPw/s320/DJacinda-850x510.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">We now have roughly two years before the next general election and in those 24 months expect to see more and more of the gloss wear off Jacindamania and more and more </span>pressure<span style="font-family: inherit;"> be brought to bear on Ardern herself because there is no one else in Labour or this government which can or is doing any of the heavy lifting.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, expect her to fumble before the cameras as sooner or later she will get caught in a lie and nothing in her </span>previous<span style="font-family: inherit;"> experiences indicate that she has the skills to talk her way out of it. Spin doctors are not expected to be the subject of their own spin; they are backroom people and rarely able to survive the harsh glare of public scrutiny and a government that promises everything to everyone delivers nothing.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">And as the lies pile up, as the agenda is watered down into an </span>unrecognizable<span style="font-family: inherit;"> mush (now almost there given the porridge that the recent 12 points is), as one MP or another gets caught in a scandal or when National get their game together (because another thing enabling Jacindamania is the fact that ABN still exists and while Simon Bridges has tried mightily its clear that John Key he aint) the next two years till polling day will </span>descend<span style="font-family: inherit;"> into a personal hell for Jacinda Ardern as she is forced to carry more and more of the reality that Jacindamania has previously been obscuring from the public.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> To be fair both Key and Clark stumbled with their image in time as well but for both of them it was well into their third term and after many slings and arrows had been fired their way before they were brought down and that was because both had their own particular skills and experiences to be more than just a selfie photo with some adoring admirers and genuinely transcended their image to resonate in that particular way that most Kiwis can relate to. Ardern does not do that.<br /> <br /> For all her popularity Ardern is not relateable or self depreciating (like Key) or as the benevolent matriarch (like Clark) and not having much pull in an actual electorate is part of her failure as well because Ardern has clearly not worked on her public image before becoming PM, while Clark and Key most certainly had*.<br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">But in the end the immense expectations which have fueled the rise of Jacindamania (that rocket fuel from before) will also be its downfall as when they are not met the rocket will run out of momentum, plunge back to earth and explode in a fireball. </span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">And the public backlash itself will become its own revolution (or even a counter revolution to </span>propel<span style="font-family: inherit;"> National back into power) as the electorate voices its unhappiness with how things are going. </span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Already its started with a business community which is clearly not down with giving up its easy living and the increasingly displaced lower and middle classes Jacinda (read teachers and nurses) who have ground Jacindamania into paste between them with only a few desperate </span>acolytes<span style="font-family: inherit;"> left to protect and shepherd its battered image into September 2020.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The key indicators to watch for will be when her personal polling starts to slip and the fragile tethers that bind the coalition (ie the ABN movement) loosen enough to allow ideas into the heads of NZ First and the Greens that maybe, just maybe, a deal with National can be done (both parties could be pried away from the coalition if its was clear that Jacindamania was going down for the count). </span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Also worth noting is that Jacindamania is only a one time thing, you cant capture the magic a second time around unless your candidate has some actual charisma or mana to tap into so election 2020 will see Labour on the hustings without the superstar draw of the 2017 election.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNnvJUaaB5Dd-oDyRPXbCDknzclc4HAIIF1oU7UnlA9-e4SXNd9fIQ4-tYVlHy_M0fSzzgr_9N4xyCeFUurhCqo7ud-MrwwQPVh2-hXUKDP3FurNZBlB9Gszbl-B485z6GRGdvB8VBkE/s1600/how-to-draw-vaas-from-far-cry-3_1_000000021495_5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="1027" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNnvJUaaB5Dd-oDyRPXbCDknzclc4HAIIF1oU7UnlA9-e4SXNd9fIQ4-tYVlHy_M0fSzzgr_9N4xyCeFUurhCqo7ud-MrwwQPVh2-hXUKDP3FurNZBlB9Gszbl-B485z6GRGdvB8VBkE/s320/how-to-draw-vaas-from-far-cry-3_1_000000021495_5.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><b>You gave me power in your Gods name</b></u></span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;">But if you want some sort of statistical entree for this soon to be circus of the damned then check out the oft neglected "don't know/refused" figures from the Colmar Brunton report and dig what they are saying because as of September 2017 the don't knows were at a very low 7% (after their pre election 20%), reflecting the gap voters who often wait to see which way the wind blows before swinging in behind the general electoral mood. </span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;">But as of August 2018 dont knows had almost doubled to 12% and when you add in the refused at 4% you get a rather leery 16% of punters who were down with Jacinda 12 months ago but have since become disillusioned and once again put back out to sea.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course you could argue that there is nothing direct to correlate this with Jacindamania and on the surface your right but given that pre election they were at 20%, immediately post election they were at 7% and now are climbing back up I think its pretty clear that these are the first refugees from jacindamania, but not the last.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> In my <a href="https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-pissed-away-revolution-labours.html" target="_blank">pissed away revolution</a> post a few months back I noted that the hideous emasculation that made Labour into the spineless political jellyfish it is today is also the same factor that helped create the rise of Jacindamania.<br /> <br /> Helen Clark gutted any and all rivals for her position with such force and ruled Labour with such control that all the virile specimens were killed or driven out of the herd while leaving behind only the weak and sick. But even among the weak and sick one case rise to dominate, in fact its a lot easier when the rest are poxy mongrels and you have just a hint of pure-breed about you.<br /> <br /> The result is the kind of politician that is perfect for a party of "everyone gets a trophy" MPs and even more perfect as the leader; unfortunately reality, and especially political reality does not play that game and there is no second place for polished turds when its the top job up for grabs, its strictly zero sum.<br /> <br /> Jacinda Ardern was swept into office by the political equivalent of a children's fad for a particular toy or pop star and such things are never meant to last. The consequence is that baring the rise of any other left leaning sensation the 2020 election may end up being fought exclusively on issues as there is no appeal in watching Ardern and Bridges face off for the crown when both are responsible for fiddling while Aotearoa burns.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *-To be fully fair I am willing to acknowledge that it may be I who am out of touch with political reality and the future is just more of the same but if that's so then god helps us !!!!<br /> <br /> NOTE- all section titles are lyrics taken from "Cult of Personality" by the most excellent band<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Living+Colour+band" target="_blank"> Living Colour </a></div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>E.A.Blair</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/to-accidental-princess-exploring-rise.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/to-accidental-princess-exploring-rise.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2018-10-01T14:56:00+14:00'>14:56</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/to-accidental-princess-exploring-rise.html#comment-form' onclick=''> 9 comments: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-121313707'> <a 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type='application/atom+xml'>Posts (Atom)</a> </div> </div> </div></div> </div> </div> <div class='column-left-outer'> <div class='column-left-inner'> <aside> </aside> </div> </div> <div class='column-right-outer'> <div class='column-right-inner'> <aside> <div class='sidebar section' id='sidebar-right-1'><div class='widget Profile' data-version='1' id='Profile1'> <h2>Itsa me!</h2> <div class='widget-content'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443'><img alt='My photo' class='profile-img' height='80' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwywnxbkeO3_r601evBzozvOPWXqxZfxSEwFJCeWMlTlXS_iRl3ApY-1oJU05YSuYFiRlsQ9xIeYpme2-9C5vJhZYGsosfYMWOQfIfV4o5z0sseAImcvaJpsniNMfpqIs/s113/56e.png.jpg' width='61'/></a> <dl class='profile-datablock'> <dt class='profile-data'> <a class='profile-name-link g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' rel='author' style='background-image: url(//www.blogger.com/img/logo-16.png);'> E.A.Blair </a> </dt> <dd class='profile-textblock'>Political pyromaniac; born again democrat; satirical connotator; fascist anarchist; relaxed conservative; focused liberal; consumer of truth, witch-hunter general of lies and putter of the praxis into perfect!</dd> </dl> <a class='profile-link' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/11041002150165406443' rel='author'>View my complete profile</a> <div class='clear'></div> </div> </div><div class='widget HTML' data-version='1' id='HTML1'> <h2 class='title'>What lunacy are we spouting on Twitter?</h2> <div class='widget-content'> <a class="twitter-timeline" href="https://twitter.com/EABlair6?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Tweets by EABlair6</a> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div> <div class='clear'></div> </div><div class='widget PopularPosts' data-version='1' id='PopularPosts1'> <h2>Popular Posts</h2> <div class='widget-content popular-posts'> <ul> <li> <div class='item-thumbnail-only'> <div class='item-thumbnail'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/05/why-i-am-retiring-from-political.html' target='_blank'> <img alt='' border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfKhTLUouuQW1haLFK8rST87F0Coc650b4WTTJs8Df3ULsG-GuPWoWNNETxQUPX78-gpeEs5KamOtO3Gu8HiroHO_L0jPSO2EZXhjkfKbKDV_h8nEEfAVLU3kY5xZKFSBRDUHFth3n_4/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/proxy.duckduckgo.com.png'/> </a> </div> <div class='item-title'><a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/05/why-i-am-retiring-from-political.html'>Why I am retiring from political blogging</a></div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li> <div class='item-thumbnail-only'> <div class='item-thumbnail'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/09/elections-2017-daffodils-of-change.html' target='_blank'> <img alt='' border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eLxkXVgqVdUzAV6S1mvF8JXRzXHRBSFNLiwx8sL9G1ArKxIErjb1kj0PwrKE9qrBBMMY4dtoanlyL2OfZbFzT5ru03UX1G3G-HYA62-1JKt4Ges_hjKw-Ge-PKtfMR5FCA2Q7NoHHW8/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/daf.jpg'/> </a> </div> <div class='item-title'><a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/09/elections-2017-daffodils-of-change.html'>Elections 2017: The daffodils of change</a></div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li> <div class='item-thumbnail-only'> <div class='item-thumbnail'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/01/new-zealand-politics-2017-change-is-as.html' target='_blank'> <img alt='' border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lIEiMMSfBls2N1s29yQxCbpGhTNq_dHHnkS70irmAdOytK6mx-qMhrm8IbMkhr27KnOpZtv_erSQrfET9OA1U1M-72CwsaEM8QlBRSUjSkkJlZTqUes24CLwHlV1RdGf5-dOUs67CmY/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/202853-677x450-whitelaundry.jpg'/> </a> </div> <div class='item-title'><a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/01/new-zealand-politics-2017-change-is-as.html'>New Zealand Politics 2017: A change is as good as a revolution</a></div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li> <div class='item-thumbnail-only'> <div class='item-thumbnail'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/04/dont-kid-yourself-jerry-its-demotion.html' target='_blank'> <img alt='' border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8NfoIGbD934TLoesiWLgOHB6o7YBAxDdMNUey0dt19uJfeUUNsPK0Flltgj44b3x_axyFHYAQ8s935cU4nxr9ih7-HdJSV2MAktQaGu61dBmteE4QsqorUju6eIJvkif5O6zm16jQ6YM/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/blimp.jpg'/> </a> </div> <div class='item-title'><a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/04/dont-kid-yourself-jerry-its-demotion.html'>Don't kid yourself Gerry, its a demotion not a promotion!</a></div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li> <div class='item-thumbnail-only'> <div class='item-thumbnail'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/08/elections-2017-how-to-avoid-post.html' target='_blank'> <img alt='' border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXwX3CSUeGHLPoBLQyl2Dgb_VH_Ire0GkIlcKjuSxv2K82Y9m0hv_NEVjmpS06nOg6TuolG4dltv8dw5waTGlpA4JoPel0VMvfsu13E9fqzDZZse2JhLBGt5bai5_ce1kryr2N3MFZr4/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/slump.jpg'/> </a> </div> <div class='item-title'><a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/08/elections-2017-how-to-avoid-post.html'>Elections 2017: How to avoid the post-election slump</a></div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li> <div class='item-thumbnail-only'> <div class='item-thumbnail'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/08/elections-2017-political-billboards.html' target='_blank'> <img alt='' border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitIplfNjCLkP7zcOa1ZvD6BAJlFTU2VAVYIpZFgOBVv7mv7WV63QFccf1_IpOjBTh-e2Wj3UYm6IgeYLsmND19jv43LtqbF9wNca2D4XKYpweiKAsciY4brpL4Uum5drUgrxgIm5kq-A/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/billboards.jpg'/> </a> </div> <div class='item-title'><a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/08/elections-2017-political-billboards.html'>Elections 2017: Political Billboards - The good, the bad BUT mostly the fugly!</a></div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li> <div class='item-thumbnail-only'> <div class='item-thumbnail'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/dead-party-walking.html' target='_blank'> <img alt='' border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgMo4oQblH1IM4WYGH876Y9p5ibzw9V8C5OJ9kbt_UER3VfFgnnwDgYTH6eRB5PqRHr480MHU5k6kqnGcLwhhw6Hm2HS6RhZIghd5XsQOvbaePFqKv537G5vUWA7ZKirCp6uyMCNKKos/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/Don-t-Open-the-walking-dead-30308284-500-280.jpg'/> </a> </div> <div class='item-title'><a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/10/dead-party-walking.html'>Dead Party Walking</a></div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li> <div class='item-thumbnail-only'> <div class='item-thumbnail'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/09/elections-2017-see-you-on-other-side.html' target='_blank'> <img alt='' border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmp0qJPl_dsK6EhnjpgTVps7aUKFu6JvXO0Llo7ZoyUnAC-b1msPS55iMq9Zuy-kxZDI3qWnT7QNnQXxfnkGW9KRfwkEB51BOTrzbTavvE-DWm1uV2uPo4ExVvjr3Ba1LL5xLEh-alJEk/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/Other+side.jpg'/> </a> </div> <div class='item-title'><a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/09/elections-2017-see-you-on-other-side.html'>Elections 2017: See you on the other side</a></div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li> <div class='item-thumbnail-only'> <div class='item-thumbnail'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-partys-over-greens-vs-winston.html' target='_blank'> <img alt='' border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSeeGm5A_JMkmB5cvGalrldn8kHJ2Z0jxcJgFneKlIt-H6dqRwLbeolyMl9AzLINLikPPuh5AN3aeoZIPgfDzGiHdZV3-Op_6fQhJhrUZe_-s4v20_xn5yHo3_TcPlkpHuyNv1C1PtLY/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/party.jpg'/> </a> </div> <div class='item-title'><a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-partys-over-greens-vs-winston.html'>The Party’s over: Greens vs Winston</a></div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li> <div class='item-thumbnail-only'> <div class='item-thumbnail'> <a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/01/and-now-few-words-from-new-spokesperson.html' target='_blank'> <img alt='' border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvqxRBSncL4oFiekv_zFGTxxaLqvxFeJPzDVEi0SH9DQIV4lp3k-txg7AUipYVq_Jb6EuEEBXc-PTsR82wgv1kh-OC49quftMUkcTDFEY-LjUHM7YKKLIPGRXsNnlMUUGQh2vIIpWCIM/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/stephen-king-it_pennywise_5_tim-curry_clown.jpg'/> </a> </div> <div class='item-title'><a href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2018/01/and-now-few-words-from-new-spokesperson.html'>And now, a few words from the new spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy and McDonalds: Bill English</a></div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> </ul> <div class='clear'></div> </div> </div><div class='widget BlogList' data-version='1' id='BlogList2'> <h2 class='title'>Blogs List</h2> <div class='widget-content'> <div class='blog-list-container' id='BlogList2_container'> <ul id='BlogList2_blogs'> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_trUxLc9tCzOLJjJQVblL_p3iz0UyVl9-guzDBuonEJJtI2lnsnr1duyuhpJwB5EkBIlcxluo0_kg-TU9nFTJpqmFoJNJsEEqbKafMN694=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/' target='_blank'> Bowalley Road</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-snippet'> *Record Numbers: The H墨koi m艒 te Tiriti, which began at the tip of the North, and the tail of the South, on 11 November, culminated outside Parliament on ... </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ui4F0Vz_PpJhXzmKlAGpkFp7-H882CCxwmmV_WNC1nZAYnnP2TE6I3-l1kH51cMlF8Ij1tBl3XM8liijKPtE1buNmsnU4g4X66sitd-Rk=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='https://brianedwardsmedia.co.nz' target='_blank'> Brian Edwards Media</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-snippet'> The web design aspect of an online business is crucial. A website must be user-friendly, attractive […] </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_u9IpchCVyKIN1Wb6-Q1wQH2KHg0j9Zdv50G59C0nkMmKOXv-rZZQP1I_tT-FlUbUJYQhLBqf4sy0IHjy-TS0tnJWBvQzxG298SnYEI=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='https://croakingcassandra.com' target='_blank'> croaking cassandra</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-snippet'> Apologies for nothing much recently on New Zealand macroeconomics and related topics. My spare time is pretty much consumed at present with my Bank of Papu... </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sFxjfPiwb-80k916niAPwADO3wDw-ILRrigJwxGjF6I8DfjGBFUWM-kbMP-9FzI0PJRsKSKczwiDGKO2Xq6WPbnbxiOEIkSdsj=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz' target='_blank'> Kiwiblog</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-snippet'> My great friend Nikki has died. It was inevitable since that diagnosis in 2016 that she had incurable breast cancer, . But that doesn’t make it less pain... </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sRVLmQQ3UU9Z_oabKeQdGUXTFD6Omrd3x_l7Yex8d_ScvbmPgM9Uibg4gs2vrBrDeTeT83D8lcYjD9oYiSm7XaSU6TcOCkQixmRw=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='https://www.kiwipolitico.com' target='_blank'> Kiwipolitico</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-snippet'> The latest “A View from Afar” with Selwyn Manning and I follows the lines drawn in my most recent post here at KP. Because the podcast is basically a dialo... </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vABkxG71ZZPE2IM5F4S5xb42qFafgPFFgGu3RwPtc0o4FeNtt2zUoGAngb5Y6V5XGeKRRVRISDdaxlbbgWigFZpqFFiu-KLMV_WRsBc6w=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='http://norightturn.blogspot.com/' target='_blank'> No Right Turn</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-snippet'> Following the 2022 Brazilian general election, election loser Jair Bolsonaro tried to do a Trump, attempting a coup to overturn the election. It failed. Bu... </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tjbnj8qvDgL3ZdWLAzsD-WCxRyoNs94reTtp0ZW2Lh10ge-8Hi1IjPO6YqXRMXBTCSYa9R-9Fk3_Nn9ByWBD6U1hI=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='https://pundit.co.nz' target='_blank'> Pundit</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-snippet'> My idealistic position on the role of MPs was articulated by Edmund Burke: ‘Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; a... </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vFZxv66LDZqIMFsW0J6_7cPsbYRFLF_bIPkhgqdaWSib5wBpLT4iddXunTRt_EBaZZiEA-xeX_wn5WnCFX4wz3XlN2ZJylZwB3=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='https://thedailyblog.co.nz' target='_blank'> The Daily Blog</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-snippet'> Puberty blockers to be prescribed more cautiously in New Zealand after review Doctors will be told to show caution in prescribing puberty blockers in New Z... </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sO2XlFiQ9BnNJJY97xqwiDMZLyuuy-y9gu_0n7bekonVK_iu1KrOjMc8LYWodfDVaIBByUEZ6qCRpufCxo_MsYHXVzrQ=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='http://werewolf.co.nz' target='_blank'> werewolf</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-snippet'> Israel seems on the brink of achieving the war with Iran that Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying all year to provoke. Until now, Iran had [...] </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tDduAO-6lmJdBnqHLX-kkhwHI7QmCy96HWhjWCgVIle76GZBYQuInpEP3wSXKzqtIZy7rFBTfz7Q3QOZmZmB6vgInN=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='https://51.79.246.82/' target='_blank'> Your NZ</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-snippet'> Syair HK, Kode Syair HK 30 Januari 2024, Forum Syair HK 30 Januari 2024, tempatnya sumber informasi mengenai kumpulan Syair HK 30 Januari 2024 dari waktu... </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> </ul> <div class='clear'></div> </div> </div> </div><div class='widget Label' data-version='1' id='Label1'> <h2>Labels</h2> <div class='widget-content list-label-widget-content'> <ul> <li> <a dir='ltr' 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href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/search/label/US%20Politics'>US Politics</a> </li> </ul> <div class='clear'></div> </div> </div><div class='widget BlogArchive' data-version='1' id='BlogArchive2'> <h2>Archive</h2> <div class='widget-content'> <div id='ArchiveList'> <div id='BlogArchive2_ArchiveList'> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate expanded'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy toggle-open'> ▼  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/'> 2019 </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(9)</span> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate expanded'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy toggle-open'> ▼  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/05/'> May </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> <ul class='posts'> <li><a 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class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/03/'> March </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(2)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/02/'> February </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(3)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://thekiwifirewalker.blogspot.com/2019/01/'> January </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(3)</span> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span 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