April 2009

This is the TV3 clip of David Shearer – The Haliburton Candidate. Meanwhile Labour lies up a storm accusing National of dirty tricks. Let me tell you ther is no way I would have entrusted National with this gold, they would have fucked it up for sure.

Farrar is a soft cock too….only going for a polygraph test or sodium pentothal. I’ll happily submit to water-boarding to prove their lies. No one in national was even remotely involved in this.

Barnsley coined the phrase. David Shearer is “The Haliburton Candidate”

While doing a bit of research on Phil Goff’s chosen candidate for Mt Albert we came across some interesting articles written by the former student and UN worker.

I must say that previously I was against this carpet bagger but having read his articles (more to come btw) I have so say that I endorse David Shearer for Mt Albert, but with one proviso, he stands for ACT and not Labour.

I think that perhaps this is Phil Goff’s master plan to dramatically move Labour to the right and David Shearer is the new Sir Roger Douglas called in personally to save Labour from the clutches of socialism. I think Goff’s strategy is brilliant and really stamps his mark on the party.

Anyway back to David Shearer. Anyone who advocates, rather strongly for the privatisation of the military is someone that should be moved into parliament with great alacrity. Move over Heather Roy this guy has nothing on you and certainly makes all the claims of a secret agenda for privatisation by National pale into insignificance.

Some of his pearls of wisdom;

The principal obstacle to regulating private military companies has been the tendency to brand them as “mercenaries” of the kind witnessed in Africa 30 years ago,rather than to recognize them as multinational entrepreneurs eager to solidify their legitimacy

Out-fucking standing. I’m right behind him. Fighting should be left to the professionals and who better than professional for-hire soldiers. I think Shearer must have been channeling Eben Barlow. But wait there’s more as the ad goes;

Consequently, regulation can be best achieved through constructive engagement.

Brilliant, a freemarket Private Military Company environment. Could it be he is suggesting that?

The prospect that private military companies might gain some degree of legitimacy within the international community begs the question as to whether these firms could take on UN peacekeeping functions and improve on UN effort.

He is, he’s my man for the job. I wonder what the former MP for Mt Albert and now the new UNDP Administator thinks about her possible replacement suggesting that UN peace keeping forces should be replaced by Executive Outcomes and Sandline. Would someone pop onto a plane and ask the former super model.

There is no denying that they are cheaper than UN operations. EO cost Sierra Leone’s governmen$t35 million for the 22 months it was there, versus a planned UN operation budgeted at $47 million for eight months.

Saving money by outsourcing, this guy is music to my ears. I could almost conceive voting Labour.

Military companies may in fact offer new possibilities for building peace that, while not universal in applicability, can hasten the end to a war and limit loss of life. Moreover there is no evidence that private-sector intervention will erode the state.

Despite the commercial motives of military companies, their interventions, if anything, have strengthened the ability of governments to control their territory.

One thing bothers me though. The UN currently uses Fijian peacekeepers, could perhaps Commodore Bainimarama get around the planned embargo by forming Fiji Peacekeeper Incorporated?

Key cautious about full screening at airports – Expensive upgrades of airport security are unlikely to fly, with Prime Minister John Key saying he will take a cautious approach [TVNZ News Politics]

John Key has put the kaybosh on the blatent empire building of Aviation Security Services….ASS….oh how appropriate.

Good job.

I still think my Glock Idea has merit….as does Bill Ralston.

John Key shows reservations about upping alcohol taxes – Prime Minister John Key has expressed reservations about hiking the price of alcohol across the board in order to cover the costs abuse causes society [TVNZ News Politics]

Finally we have a government whose first thought isn’t hiking taxes on the populace.

It is patently ridiculous to foist tax increases upon the vast majority in an attempt to control a small number of fools. Labour wouldn’t have hesitated in upping taxes, they did exactly that to sherry and ended up socking all the nana’s out there who enjoyed a tipple.

Such moves are an extremely blunt instrument and it is pleasing to see that John Key’s first reaction is reservation.

Barnsley Bill is looking for a job. He reckons that he might enjoy a posting at the Parliamentary Library. I think he is most unsuited to such a position, might I suggest he looks at lawn mowing.

As Margaret Wilson noted in a speech to launch a book on the 150th Anniversary of the Parliamentary Library;

Since 1858 the Parliamentary Library’s role has been to provide information to Parliament.

However, not quite as we know it today.

In its early days it was more of a private gentleman’s Library with open fires, writing desks, comfy chairs and a liberal attitude to smoking indoors.

Through the 19th and 20th centuries the Library became a true treasure house including rare books and artworks. I note that it took until the end of the 19th century for the Library to be housed in a fire-resistant building.

Having information in the Library was never enough – parliamentarians needed the assistance of experts to retrieve accurate information efficiently and promptly.

I expect that over a century and a half the idea of promptness has changed significantly. Today a Member may not simply require accurate and impartial information but he or she may require it in 10 minutes flat.

And I can say that the 60 full-time library staff with specialist research and analytical skills regularly deliver in that time frame, as well as with extended searches which can take weeks. As many as 15-hundred searches are completed every month.

However, given my time in the Chair, I can vouch for the fact that the Library is no longer asked, as it was in the past, for fine literature and classical references to embellish Members speeches.

A 150 year tradition of providing top-quality information is both a responsibility and a challenge for those who have built on the early ambitions for the Parliamentary Library.

Those were actually fine words from Margaret Wilson, who was quite possibly the worst Speaker ever, however far be it from me to contradict the view of impartiality and accuracy a Speaker of the House requires from the servants of the people who work in the Parliamentary Library.

Though that does bring to a rather disturbing question. Is it appropriate for someone who said the following to be employed in a position that requires, in the words of Margaret Wilson, accuracy and impartiality?

Bill ‘eyes on the ball’ English: “this Government is not preoccupied with all the details” He goes on to explain that he doesn’t need information because he is too busy making decisions. Any idiot can make a decision, good decisions require good, detailed understanding of the situation.

That is a highly partisan attack on the Deputy prime Minister. Do you think the Deputy Prime Minister could rely on impartial and accurate information from the person who said that? I am not sure I could.

Listen to Phil Goff goof Russel Norman’s name. He completely forgets his name. What a complete fool. And it isn’t like he just spelled it wrong either he completely forgets who Russel Norman actually is.

GOFF: Well what, what will happen is all of, all of Labour’s candidates are non-Parliamentarians so whoever, ah, is selected it’s the candidate, ah, if they go through to win in the by-election then they simply, ah, are additional an electoral MP for, ah, the Labour Party replacing Helen Clark. So the numbers stay the same. Now what, what will make, ah, the Labour candidate, I think unique amongst the major contenders is that the other two contenders are both sitting MPs, ah, Melissa, well they think they will be. Melissa Lee is the hot on favourite for, for the National Party. She’s already a Member of Parliament of course, a list member of Parliament, ah, as is, um, Russel, um, oh God, forgot his surname, ah, Russel, help me out [laughs], the co-leader of the Greens.

PRESENTER: Russel Norman.

GOFF: Norman, yeah that’s the one, ah, so, ah, Russel and Melissa are already Members of Parliament and I guess that might, ah, cause some electors to reflect. Well, why would we vote for an existing Member of Parliament because they’re already there? But, but if either of them were to win then, ah, of course somebody else would come off the list in their party.

Oh dear, no wonder the Greens aren’t interested in listening to Labour. Phil Goff can’t even beat Helen Clark in the preferred Prime Minister stakes and now can’t remember Russel Norman’s name. If Russel puts in a good campaign he may well supplant Phil goff in the preferred Prime Minister’s stakes.

Labour campaigners reckon the candidate is only for speeches and baby kissing, that it is party that is the more important. They are dead wrong and far be it from this blogger to tell them how to campaign but I think this strategy will back-fire.

By-elections are about personalities and about the person. Labour campaigning without a candidate shows just how desperate they are and also how foolish.

Their campaign signs have already been mocked. And I have mocked them further.

I must also point out the hypocrisy of “Putting Mt Albert First”. Helen Clark hardly put Mt Albert first when she bolted to the UN and foisted a by-election upon us all.

Putting Mt Albert First would be voting for Melissa Lee to have a voice in government rather than the wilderness of opposition.

It seems that this Swine Flu thing is a little more serious than originally thought.

The Police and Pork Chop would seem to be particularly vulnerable.

Seriously though, I was travelling alot in South East Asia during the SARS outbreak and went through Singapore several times.  At the airport they had these gizmos all disembarking passengers had to walk past.  The gizmos were measuring peoples temperatures with the aim of finding anyone who had a higher than normal temperature. The gizmos themselves were very unobtrusive.  Trust the Singaporeans to be so organized.

So this begs the question, do we have these same mechanisms at Auckland airport?  I am guessing not…it just seems so casual to rely on people revealing their flu symptoms.

I think I’ll take MacDoctors advice and book the family in for the flu jab before the rush. Perhaps they should means test recipients. Those who earn over $100k get the jab first then a sliding scale downwards in $10k bands until all doses are used up.