October 2005

[Imported from Whale Oil Beef Hooked on Blogger]

TVNZ Chief Executive Ian Fraser has resigned saying he has “lost confidence” in his politically appointed board.

I dare say this will be played out in the media and in a courtroom.

“The situation facing me at the end of last week was one that would have prompted any chief executive in my shoes to walk away,” he said.

“I should make it clear that this is not about the TVNZ board losing confidence in its chief executive.

“It’s about the fact that I have lost confidence in my board.”

UPDATE: Board Press Release late on Sunday night.

Following the statement released earlier today by Ian Fraser, the TVNZ Board of Directors wishes to make it clear that:

1. The Board, collectively or individually, has at no time interfered or otherwise involved itself in the editorial independence of the TVNZ news and current affairs operation and notes that this independence is enshrined in the TVNZ Act.
2. The Board is required under its terms of reference, to decide on remuneration for all TVNZ staff and contractors, at $300,000 per annum or above.

The Board, under its “no surprises” policy will provide an explanation of the comments in Mr Fraser’s media release to the Minister of Broadcasting, Steve Maharey.

Craig Boyce, Chairman

[Imported from Whale Oil Beef Hooked on Blogger]

Six months since the Civil Union Act came into effect, only 205 same-sex and heterosexual couples have had their relationships legally recognised in this way.

What….205….Where are all the partnerships that were clamouring for recognition before the law was passed.

Tim Barnett said this just before the law was passed;

And what benefits will come from civil unions? Relationships left out in the cold for too long will be strengthened, by being given a label and some status in wider society. Both partners will gain from being able to prove their relationship, in a way that de facto partners never can, when needing to access rights, for example hospital visitation.

And that is, in my mind, what it is all about. It is a rare treasure in politics to find a solution to one lot of problems which doesn’t cause other problems to develop. That is what the Civil Union Bill does, and it deserves to pass into law over the next few days.

A solution to one lot of problems…what a crock this is one of those PC laws that Liar-boour apologists say aren’t PC at all.

[Imported from Whale Oil Beef Hooked on Blogger]

Helen Clark has axed Georgina Beyer’s Human Rights (Gender Identity) Amendment Bill from the legislative agenda this year.

Clark has told Beyer that her bill to protect transgender people from discrimination is “history”, and Beyer blames a “climate of intolerance” for its demise.

“I feel quite disappointed that I have had to capitulate. The political landscape has changed… They want to appease the more conservative elements that have come to the fore in recent years. It is quite alarming when you see this growing tide.”

Oh boo-fucking-hoo. Now there is no reason at all for Georgie to stay in Parliament. Odds are s/he will slink off into the never-never.

[Imported from Whale Oil Beef Hooked on Blogger]

The Opinion Journal has an interesting take on the indictments of “Scooter” Libby. Essentially Libby is charged with lying about a crime that wasn’t committed!!!!

The indictment itself contains no evidence of a conspiracy, and Mr. Libby has not been accused of trying to cover up some high crime or misdemeanor by the Bush Administration. The indictment amounts to an allegation that one official lied about what he knew about an underlying “crime” that wasn’t committed.

The culmination of the article investigates whether this is in fact a case of trying to criminalize politics.

In a statement yesterday, Mr. Libby’s counsel zeroed in on this point when he said, “We are quite distressed the Special Counsel has now sought to pursue alleged inconsistencies in Mr. Libby’s recollection and those of others’ and to charge such inconsistencies as false statements.” He added that they “will defend vigorously against these charges.”

On the answers to these questions hang a possible 30-year jail term and $1.25 million in fines for a Bush Administration official who was merely attempting to expose the truth about Mr. Wilson, a critic of the Administration who was lying to the press about the nature of his involvement in the Niger mission and about the nature of the intelligence that it produced. In other words, Mr. Libby was defending Administration policy against political attack, not committing a crime.

Mr. Fitzgerald has been dogged in pursuing his investigation, and he gave every appearance of being a reasonable and tough prosecutor in laying out the charges yesterday. But he has thrust himself into what was, at bottom, a policy dispute between an elected Administration and critics of the President’s approach to the war on terror, who included parts of the permanent bureaucracy of the State Department and CIA. Unless Mr. Fitzgerald can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Libby was lying, and doing so for some nefarious purpose, this indictment looks like a case of criminalizing politics.

[Imported from Whale Oil Beef Hooked on Blogger]

A St Petersburg Times Editorial coments on the deafening silence coming from the Arab world in reaction to the nutcase in Iran spouting on about wiping Israel from the face of the Earth.

Iran’s call for destruction of the Jewish state should remind the world and Europe in particular of the forces of hate amassed against the tiny democracy. Israel recently unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, challenging its own extremists in the process. Yet the silence throughout the Arab world to Ahmadinejad’s despicable words suggests that no matter what concessions Israel makes, its enemies in the Middle East will settle for nothing less than its annihilation.

[Imported from Whale Oil Beef Hooked on Blogger]

Epsom voters, surely amongst some of the more asute in the vagaries of MMP can rest easy knowing that Rodney Hide will remain their chosen MP.

Liar-bour has decided not to challenge Rodney’s spending.

“Our back-of-the-envelope calculation I think was $36,000, but it was going to cost us $100,000 to do it and strategically we think he drags National to the right and makes them unelectable.”

So says Mike Williams. Oh yeah Mike the real reason is you haven’t got a hundy, have ya. So poor is the Liar-bour Party they had to steal from the taxpayer to get themselves re-elected.

Hide has the last say.

“Mike Williams would be better to get out and meet more people rather than sitting in the back room always plotting and trying to be tricky.”

[Imported from Whale Oil Beef Hooked on Blogger]

Apparently, according to the Herald and Stuff TVNZ’s top men have offered to quit as a penance for the appalling ratings currently being experienced by TVNZ.

Can this be true?

Well a little right wing TVNZ bird (LRWB) told me on Friday night that the rumours going around the hallowed halls on Thursday were that the pair were to be fired by the board on Friday.

I have no reason to dis-believe my LRWB. What I find amusing though is that apparently the whole staff knew about the imminent sackings before the board meeting.

This would lead me to believe that corporate governance at TVNZ is non-existant and that the lifer and long-term toadies and lackies seem to be running the show through the back door.

When speaking to LRWB I asked him how he manages to work there in such a left-wing den of iniquity. He professes it to be difficult. On questioning about the blatant left wing spin attributed to almost everything he said to me “You know, it’s kind of sad, they don’t even know they are doing it, it is sort of automatic and a given”

Anyway back to the focus of the post, it would seem that my LRWB is correct but that Fraser and Ralston have negotiated a face saving exit, i.e. Offer to resign, have the Chairman try to keep you, but say at the end your job is done so time to move on.

It is all spin. Why? Because they know no other way.

[Imported from Whale Oil Beef Hooked on Blogger]

The Iranian President has not backed away from his pronouncment the other day to wipe Israel from the face of the Earth.

“My words are the Iranian nation’s words,”

“Westerners are free to comment, but their reactions are invalid.”

Thems be fightin’ words Mr President…..more so since he was cheered on by thousands of supporters chanting “death to Israel” and “death to America”, at a rally attended by most of Iran’s top officials. Some protesters set fire to or trampled on Israeli and US flags.

Israel meanwhile has said it would request an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, has said;

“I certainly think that a country whose head of state calls for the destruction of any other member state of the United Nations does not deserve a seat in this very civilized organization.”

“It was just 60 years ago that another leader, democratically elected in a European country, called upon the destruction of a whole people,” he said, referring to Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler.

“The fact that 60 years later these voices are coming from Tehran (is) very ominous.”

“Iran has emerged not only as a threat to Israel but as a global threat.”

Iran is a terrorist-supporting country, and the statements made by its president illustrate in the clearest way, and without any doubt, what this regime is all about.”

What is it with the Middle East? Is there something in the water? Extremism such as that displayed by the President of a country can only lead to conflict. The question is though, will it be the UN doing something about this? or Will it be left as usual to the worlds only willing policeman the US?

[Imported from Whale Oil Beef Hooked on Blogger]

The Government has resurrected its plan to create public walkways beside rivers crossing farmland – believed to be one of the main reasons it lost rural seats in the election.

Farmers were overwhelmingly opposed to such moves and presented Parliament a 26,000-signature petition against the proposal.

Sutton in the face of such oppostion in election year back-tracked but was often heard to mutter in the halls of parliament that he would get even and just wait till after the election.

Unfortunately for Jim he lost his seat by quite a wide margin, and then was ousted from his Ministers job. But that hasn’t stopped Liar-bour stooge Jim Anderton carrying on where little Jimmy left off.

He had no preconceived ideas about what form access should take, but people’s rights to rivers and the foreshore should be protected, he said. “Farmers say there’s access now, you only have to ask. Maori say the same about the foreshore. But what if someone says, `No, it’s my land, stay off it’?

“Most farmers are reasonable, but what if someone is unreasonable? Could that catch on and more people get unreasonable?”

Well Jim, What about Farmers rights to own the land that they bought and paid for, currently there are no rights for the public to cross that private land and nor should there be. By “protecting” peoples rights (that they don’t have) he is going to trample all over the rights that other people (the farmers) do.

Of course Liar-bour has won the election so they will now ram this legislation through and use the big lie method of countering opposition.

Mr Anderton said the argument against the walkways ended in a big “stoush”. “All sorts of perceptions that weren’t rooted in reality were out there.”

See the big lie….you watch them use greedy farmers, selfish land-owners, protecting rights, arguments not based in reality etc, etc.

For the Farmers it is much clearer.

Federated Farmers president Charlie Pedersen said the federation had never opposed access to rivers. “What we were opposed to was confiscation of property rights and the threats access created for the commercial farming business and the farming family.”

[Imported from Whale Oil Beef Hooked on Blogger]

Helen Clark has defended the inordinate number of immigration appeals that Philip “El Jefe” Field has made over the last 3 years.

She reckons that El Jefe had more than double the appeals of the next MP because he represents Mangere where there is a large proportion of Pacfic Islanders needing immigration advice.

Oh, really Helen, then why are Ross Robertson, George Hawkins and Mark Gosche no near “El Jefe” in the immigration statistics, in fact the nearest MP to El Jefe is Chris Carter from Te Atatu, hardly the Pacific Island mecca of Auckland.

The real reason which everyone seems afraid to say is that “El Jefe” is a morally bankrupt and corrupt politician who arguably could be described as “on the take”.

To defend his reprehensible actions merely tars her with the same brush….oh wait…she is a proven forger, liar and spin-ster….already tarred with the same brush.