General Debate 27 March 2012

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Pete George

Of watermelons and chinese gooseberries.

“PM won’t reveal checks in spying row”:

Green MP Gareth Hughes said Parliament’s security and intelligence committee should investigate.

“If there are these security concerns, that’s the appropriate forum to look into it.”

The state was handing over a significant amount of money in broadband contracts – $1 billion in total – and should satisfy itself that “we are not being snooped on by the Chinese Government”, he said.

Greens seem to have a bit of a “pick on the Chinese” obsession. That’s curious as both have some communist roots.

If we are worried about being snooped on by technology providers shouldn’t we be suspicious of all provider countries?

What if a country like the US ended up with too much business influence on dramatic selective arrests and shutting down of competitive companies?

A lot of our international communications come and go via Australia. Perhaps they attach sublimal messages like:
“Move to Australia. Move to Australia.”
“Don’t catch up with our wages.”
“Use the Auckland wharfies as a test for how to deal to ours”.

And Finland, well, who knows what all those little Nokias tell them?
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March 27, 2012 8:03am
wreck1080

I don’t understand how these mfat staff get paid so much.

Even the janitor is on 154k per year.

How did they get away with this? Outrageous! Although , perhaps this is the new norm for labouring jobs, given that CEO’s of public companies are getting paid record busting amounts.

“Lucrative allowances are nearly doubling the pay of some overseas-based foreign affairs staffers – including a maintenance worker making as much as $154,000 a year.”
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March 27, 2012 8:03am
Yvette

News that Imperial Tobacco’s Petone factory is gearing up to massively increase cigarette production has been greeted with horror by the Cancer Society.
The long-established factory in Richmond St will be quadrupling its exports to Australia and introducing 50 new jobs, with a two-year, $45-million upgrade nearing completion.

Elsewhere –

Lead author Dr George Thomson says “incremental efforts” are not working quickly enough to achieve the 2025 smokefree target date.

So in 2025 will cigarettes in New Zealand be an illegal item, because they kill vast numbers of those who use them, but will be an item manufactured here to be sold to Australia?
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March 27, 2012 8:07am
CHFR

I think the smoking issue is one of being allowed to make decisions for yourself. I was a smoker till a year ago, I knew al the negatives and only gave up when I wanted to. Now someone can smoke next to me and I don’t care.

There is enough information on what smoking can do to you but it is a legal product and long may it remain so. If people chose to smoke then let them smoke and lay off them for their personal choice.
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March 27, 2012 8:29am
Keeping Stock

@ Pete; Russel’s not going to be happy until the Chinese give him back his flag 🙂
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March 27, 2012 8:52am
hj

John Maudlin on Sweden:

Sweden, the Socialist Mecca
I was brought to Stockholm to speak for Swedbank. They arranged for me to meet a wide
variety of local people, as well as to have dinner with readers. I talked with a number of people
who were in positions of authority during the Swedish credit and debt crisis of the early 1990s.
And a crisis it was. The currency was under attack, as the fundamentals were negative. This was
at the same time that Soros was attacking the British pound. Interest rates had been rising in
Sweden, but the financial environment was being loosened. This meant that Swedish businesses
and consumers could borrow in foreign currencies that had much lower interest rates, and borrow
they did. The central bank made it very clear that they would protect the value of the currency,
and everyone believed them. Remember, this is a relatively small country, and basically
everyone knows someone who at least knows someone who was involved with the central bank.
The central bank was adamant in its belief that it could protect the value of the currency, and it
raised rates by 500% in order to do so.
Why such a fetish for a strong currency in a country that was driven by exports? Because
their past experience had dictated that not defending the currency was the wrong thing to do. My
guests went into detail about Swedish history (which I found fascinating), explaining the thought
process at the time. Just as hyperinflation in the 1920s had scarred Weimar Republic Germany,
leaving that nation with a visceral reaction to loose monetary policy, the history of Sweden had
colored Swedish views as to appropriate monetary actions.
That seems to me the classic problem of generals always fighting the last war in their
planning,” I said. “Precisely,” came back the quick answer. To even mention publicly that
“maybe we should allow the currency to float or weaken” invited late-night phone calls from the
leadership, raising the question of the individual’s future participation in polite circles.
Ultimately, of course, the market dictated that the currency could not be kept at
artificially high rates in either Sweden or Great Britain. The Exchange Rate Mechanism broke
down. The Swedish Krona was allowed to float and overnight dropped 21%. Which meant that
the incomes produced in Sweden to pay the interest on foreign loans dropped 21% in relationship
to interest-rate costs. Property was immediately less valuable in terms of the currency that had
been borrowed to pay for it.
Unemployment soared as a recession hit. The government deficit rose overnight to 10%,
as there were less tax revenue and higher unemployment costs. Government debt rose, and the
bond market wanted higher interest rates, which of course made the situation worse.
“Let me guess. Most of the larger businesses and investors saw the crisis coming and
protected themselves. The smaller people and businesses were hurt the most.” My hosts (who,
even though younger than I, were at that time were already in responsible positions) had all lived
and suffered through those times. And they all smiled and nodded yes. Well, they remembered,
as they talked among themselves, that there was one large company that believed the central
bank up until the end, and it went bankrupt.
What the US Needs Is a Good Swedish Socialist
Interestingly, no matter the politics of the persons I talked with, there was universal
disagreement (if not disdain) with how the US had handled its recent banking crisis.
“We did it much differently and it proved to be the right way. If a bank wanted
government help, the government said ‘Sure. No Problem. Just give us all your private equity.’
Shareholders were wiped out in exchange for government help.”
They recalled that bankers did everything they could not to fall into the gentle hands of
the government. But if they did, the government took the assets and put them into a good-bank
and a bad-bank pile. Typically, the assets that were under water were real estate-related. As an
aside, as the government sold the assets after some time and ended up not losing on their real
estate portfolio, which shows the value of being patient money in the middle of a crisis.
If we had only had Swedish socialists running our TARP program.
And speaking of Swedish socialists, if someone tried to introduce their “solution” to the
Swedish equivalent of our Social Security program in the US, there would be weeping and
wailing and gnashing of teeth in both parties. It would be deemed the end of the world and
heartless cruelty.
Sweden’s system is set up as a “pay as you go” model of social security. What current
retirees get is a direct function of what current employees pay. If during a recession the revenue
goes down, then the social security payments go down. You can actually have a case where your
retirement pension goes down within a given year rather than up, if the country is in recession. In
essence, their social security costs are indexed to GDP. They can never run a deficit in the
program. I suppose they could raise the tax, but there seems to be little appetite for raising taxes.
There was some clear chafing at being labeled a socialist nation, which most of us in the
US think they are. “We could teach you a lot about being responsible socialists” was the
universal response. “In many ways, we are less socialist than you.”
Going back to the crisis, many remembered reading a report from a major European
group, talking about how Sweden was doomed to years of depression and endless malaise. Yet
within a few years Sweden was again growing, as those socialists got their government act
together, and the country has never looked back. From a very large debt-to-GDP (I can’t recall
the exact number, but was indeed large [and there is no internet on Air France]), it is now
between 30 and 40%, much more like that of an emerging-market nation. It helped their recovery
that they had a strong export sector, which was aided by a drop in their currency valuation. They
now run surpluses everywhere, and their currency floats. While Europe went into a recession
with the credit crisis and is once again rolling into recession, Sweden has grown, albeit slowly.”
http://www.johnmauldin.com/images/uploads/pdf/mwo032312.pdf
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March 27, 2012 8:58am
Yvette

CHFR – I respectfully suggest you miss the point
It has nothing to do with the question of the choice to smoke or not
It is whether time and money is being wasted by a Government pandering to the Maori Party and others on reducing smoking while the tobacco industry here embarks a $ 45 million up-grade
and saying the product should by 2025 be illegal for this country but supposedly allow it to be produced here for another country.
It is another case of various parties wasting a lot of money, time and effort just buggering about.
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March 27, 2012 9:04am
david

wreck1080 you have to appreciate that in most instances, allowances paid to people posted overseas are reimbursing rather than “add-ons” like the POAL workers receive. So the maintenance man in Moscow (employed because otherwise the soviet security apparatus would have the place fully bugged and booby trapped in 5 minutes flat) who has his children’s school fees paid at a local foreign school would have the payment of those school fees included as an allowance.

My experience in another asian country in the 90’s working for a private sector company was that school fees added about NZ$100,000 to my package, housing US$13,000 per month, scheduled annual trip back to NZ NZ$6,000 etc. The cost of living in some of those places is heinous and is compensated for by a COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) calculated on the basis of a recognised international survey.

Moscow in particular was also categorised as a “hardship” post because of the personal risks faced , the need to bribe local officials who are constantly extorting expats etc. As such additional leave (an extra week + fares out of country) was added to the package in the case of my employer.

Outrage is easy to foment but the media really need to offer some balance here.

While the package sounds incredibly generous on the face of it, few if any, come home with a pocket full of cash.
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March 27, 2012 9:05am
graham

Maori TV chiefs on Arctic expedition

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10794830

“Maori Television has sent five executives to an indigenous broadcasters’ conference in the far north of Norway – and has declined to say how much taxpayer money was spent on the trip.

Times are tough for public broadcasting with the imminent closure of TVNZ7 and non-profit channel Stratos forced off the air because they lack public funding.

But Maori TV executives who flew to the Arctic circle will this week be staying in hotels in Kautokeino in the Arctic highlands to attend the 2012 conference of the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network.”

I actually have absolutely no problem with this. Business trips are common practice, and apparently they’re making an effort to curtail costs by flying economy class.

But I am waiting for bated breath for someone in Parliament to loudly denounce this “waste of money”, and ask “why couldn’t it be done via video-conference”. After all, if it was any other publicly-funded company the questions would be ringing out.

I’m sure that our fine upstanding politicians will leap to the challenge and question this trip, despite the fact that it’s Maori Television and they might get accused of racism.

… won’t they?
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March 27, 2012 9:11am
wreck1080

@david : I totally accept those points.

The so called herald reporter perhaps should have asked the questions that everyone is now thinking.
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March 27, 2012 9:15am
mikenmild

What is neglected in discussion of the MFAT issue is that the allowances they get are markedly more generous than those paid to other NZ govt employees overseas.
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March 27, 2012 9:17am
EverlastingFire

“I actually have absolutely no problem with this. Business trips are common practice”

If Maori Television was a ‘real’ business it would have buckled by now. I do have a problem with this. It appears this is just another case of Maori troughing on the tax payer dime.

The money for this trip should absolutely be disclosed.
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March 27, 2012 9:21am
joana

Bereal
thanks for referring me to twinkletoes..very good.
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March 27, 2012 9:43am
bereal

Here is an article that will upset the climate change zealots who post on KB

Wait for the squeal from little Scott Chris and his mate Griff among others.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2120512/Global-warming-Earth-heated-medieval-times-human-CO2-emissions.html
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March 27, 2012 9:55am
Pete George

@AliIkram

Palindrome: (n) Alaskan sports stadium in which contestants r allowed 2 run both backwards & forwards while audience pretends 2 understand

It’s a sort of Palindome palindrone.
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March 27, 2012 10:00am
cha

Of watermelons and chinese gooseberries.

The US has decided that Chinese made equipment is a risk to their national security too.
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March 27, 2012 10:06am
bereal

joana

yep, Twinkletoes raised some good stuff.

One thing is for sure, if Sharia law has already risen it’s disgusting head in New Zealand you
can be sure that the muslims are not going to broadcast the fact.

The other salient point, one that no apologist for islam has been able to address thus far on this blog
is the question.

Why will New Zealands experience with muslim immigration turn out to be different than that in any
other western country that has imported them ?

Any one who missed Twinkletoes, it was on the general debate at 3.40am on 26th March.
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March 27, 2012 10:09am
bereal

Sorry. That was confusing. Twinkletoes was on the GD 25th March, but posted at 3.40 am the 26th.
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March 27, 2012 10:17am
CHFR

Yvette- point taken. I misread your meaning.
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March 27, 2012 10:29am
wreck1080

Herald reporting is bordering on the utter ridiculous at times…..

——————————–
The New Zealand dollar fell as investors await more evidence of the pace of global growth, including Chinese manufacturing and US consumer confidence and durable goods orders.
The kiwi fell to US81.60c at 5pm from US81.65c at 8am and US81.88c at the close of New York trading on Friday.
——————————–

Wooooooo, big news indeed, the Kiwi dollar fell by 0.061%.
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March 27, 2012 10:38am
Keeping Stock

We’re not sure what’s worse; the Herald role in the tawdry teapot tapes saga, or their editorial refusal to accept any responsibility for it. Those who made the Herald a once-great newspaper must be turning in their graves at the standards of journalism being used now.

http://keepingstock.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/righteous-indignation.html
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March 27, 2012 10:44am
philu

(mind-food..)

http://whoar.co.nz/2012/the-crisis-of-the-democracies/

“…The glittering success of individualism has brought with it the miserable deterioration of fellowship…”

phillip ure@whoar.co.nz
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March 27, 2012 10:45am
Pete George

“the Herald role in the tawdry teapot tapes saga”

In their defence of Armbrose they don’t mention the fact that someone also gave the tape to TV3, and possibly let Winston Peters listen to it, showed him the transcript, or they at least advised him of contents.
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March 27, 2012 10:52am
Keeping Stock

Quite so Pete; and on a legal matter, I think I’d prefer Crown Law’s opinion that Ambrose acted illegally over the Herald leader writer’s opinion that “no law was broken”; especially when said leader writer is trying to defend the indefensible!
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March 27, 2012 11:27am
graham

Keeping Stock:

The Herald’s refusal to accept responsibility just continues the shameful culture within the media at large worldwide to ever accept responsibility. Ambrose himself doesn’t accept any responsibility or acknowledge that he did anything wrong, instead whining that “It’s been unbelievably tough and tiring, having the prime minister upset at something you’ve done” and “‘It was a political hot potato and people just couldn’t use me – and that really hurt.”

Well boo-hoo. I get so pissed off at the media in general, they take great delight in reporting how the mighty and powerful have tripped up, they’re always waiting for someone to make a mistake so they can expose it, and they justify it by those tired old cliches such as “the public interest” and “freedom of the press”.

To the media in general – there’s this interesting concept that the rest of the civilised world has followed for decades called “taking responsibility for your actions”. Harden up and accept that you were wrong, and you got called on it (betcha weren’t expecting that – the media being asked to account for their actions? Damn …) Does it really take the death of a princess in a high-speed car chase, or a News of the World phone-hacking type of scandal before the media start thinking, “You know, maybe we should take a second look at what we’re doing …”?
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March 27, 2012 11:32am
virtualmark

So I have this bet with the young guy in our office, whenever the New Zealand cricket team plays a test match …

I’ll take him out to lunch if:
(1) A New Zealand batsmen gets to 80 runs; or
(2) New Zealand gets to 200 runs for the loss of 4 wickets or less.

The quality of the lunch goes up a notch if Brendon McCullum is the batsmen who gets the 80 (or higher).

He doesn’t get many lunches. I’m taking him out for lunch today because yesterday we were 200 for 3. We were all out for 275.

Personally, I think New Zealand’s test batsmen should all feature in a TV ad for premature ejaculation. None of them seem able to play a long game.
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March 27, 2012 12:08pm
Fletch

Danish TV calls Obama on his empty rhetoric…

“[insert country name] consistently punches above it’s weight…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=erYpXzE9Pxs
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March 27, 2012 12:43pm
Scott Chris

and on a legal matter, I think I’d prefer Crown Law’s opinion that Ambrose acted illegally over the Herald leader writer’s opinion that “no law was broken

Of course you do. You’re a conservative. The truth of the matter on the other hand has not been tested.
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March 27, 2012 12:45pm
graham

So Scott Chris, just to be clear …

… do you trust the Herald hack’s opinion over that of Crown Law?
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March 27, 2012 1:08pm
Keeping Stock

What graham said (1.08pm). What qualification does the leader writer at the Herald have to say definitively whether or not a law has been broken?
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March 27, 2012 1:18pm
tristanb

Of course you do. You’re a conservative. The truth of the matter on the other hand has not been tested.

You don’t think the fact that Ambrose works for the Herald, was paid by the Herald, and planned to take his recording straight to the Herald is a reason not to trust a Herald writer about this?
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March 27, 2012 1:22pm
Yvette

Teapot tape
Given the letter of apology and today’s Herald editorial, who gave a copy of the tape or a transcript of it to Winston Peters?

What graham said (1.08pm). What qualification does the leader writer at the Herald have to say definitively whether or not a law has been broken?

– no sound qualification apparently, as it differs to the statement of the Police who I believe would have fully informed themselves on the legality of the matter.
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March 27, 2012 1:25pm
Longknives

Virtualmark- I’d say your lunch money is pretty safe there mate!
To think this side crumbling before our eyes in this series is the same side who were beating their chests, trash talking and proclaiming themselves the best side in world cricket after their rather fortuitous win over an understrength Australia earlier in the summer.
I can handle the Black Caps losing but the trash talking and arrogance shown from McCullum, Bracewell and co is a little hard to digest..Suggestion for next summer- shut your traps boys and show a bit of respect to quality opposition!
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March 27, 2012 2:06pm
Lee01

“You don’t think the fact that Ambrose works for the Herald, was paid by the Herald, and planned to take his recording straight to the Herald is a reason not to trust a Herald writer about this?”

Of course he doesn’t. Scott’s a liberal.
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March 27, 2012 2:20pm
Scott Chris

do you trust the Herald hack’s opinion over that of Crown Law

That’s not a relevant question. The relevant question is: Do I trust a Judges ruling over the opinion of Crown Law, the answer to which is ‘yes’.

As to whether or not the conversation was private or whether or not the taping was inadvertent cannot be established by Crown Law alone.
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March 27, 2012 2:23pm
joana

And in Aussie , we have Anzacphobia…..
”There are risks in honouring our fallen soldiers..”
”Anzac Centenary could be divisive because of multiculturalism..”
etc See Winds of Jihad.
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March 27, 2012 3:10pm
mikenmild

Longknives
I don’t recall the NZ cricketers proclaiming themselves the best in the world.
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March 27, 2012 3:15pm
mikenmild

joanna
Given the strong support from Turkey for joint commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign, I don’t think you need have any fear for the centenary.
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March 27, 2012 3:18pm
David Garrett

Joana: Perhaps the ANZAC centenary in three years might just be the time to bring the whole “multicultural” bullshit to a head? For me, there are very few causes more important than continuing to honour our war dead, and looking after every last veteran properly until the day he or she dies. Our record on that score is pretty bloody shameful already..
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March 27, 2012 3:19pm
Viking2

Yvette (1,687) Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 1:25 pm

Teapot tape
Given the letter of apology and today’s Herald editorial, who gave a copy of the tape or a transcript of it to Winston Peters?

What graham said (1.08pm). What qualification does the leader writer at the Herald have to say definitively whether or not a law has been broken?

Well actually the lawyer acting for Ambrose made that statement. And what’s more he is correct when he said that the Police would have lost this case along with others which is of course why it was canned. Read between the Press releases from the spin mi esters in Wellington.
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March 27, 2012 4:11pm
bereal

There they were, even up to as recently as yesterday. The knowalls.

Prepared to die in the ditch to support their dream of man made global warming.
Posting screeds and screeds of pseudo intellectual crap to support their holy cause.
Happy to argue the hind leg off a donkey day after day even on this blog.

Now where are they?
Now that Professor Lu from Syracuse has blown them out of the water in one fell swoop. (@ 9.55)

i’ll tell you where they are. They’ve gone into the wind because………..

“They don’t like it up them, do they Captian Mannering ?” and right up those lying, tit sucking, bludging leech con artists from East Anglia university.

Prof Lu has put it right up them to the hilt, and while they may be dumb they’re not stupid.
They won’t be back for another dose for a while.

They’ve been found out.

Will they react in the same manner as a life long communist or a socialist who has devoted their whole lfe to the cause only to discover, in their twilight years, that it was all just a crock of shit ?
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March 27, 2012 4:36pm
Pete George

Professor Lu has claimed that the earth heated – and cooled – naturally in medieval times. That adds to the current knowledge for sure, but it’s pretty obvious the earth has heated and cooled many times pretty much since it was formed.

So we know there are natural variations – but we still don’t know how much (if anything) human effects influence either warming or cooling, and whether there’s anything we can do about it.
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March 27, 2012 4:49pm
krazykiwi

Oh dear …

Cash for access: David Cameron’s private dinners for donors revealed

David Cameron has been forced to admit that 15 donors who between them gave the Conservative Party £25million enjoyed secret dinners and lunches with him at Chequers and in Downing Street.

On a chaotic day of refusals and climbdowns, Downing Street eventually bowed to pressure and disclosed details of the Prime Minister’s private contact with the multi-millionaires who fund his party.

It followed the resignation of Peter Cruddas as Conservative co-treasurer, after he was recorded claiming that for £250,000, party donors could gain privileged access to the Prime Minister and potentially influence Government policy.

Despite Mr Cameron’s decision to disclose details of previously private meetings, he still faced calls for a full independent inquiry into the “cash for access” scandal.

In all, there were four meals with donors in the Prime Minister’s Downing Street flat, including one shortly after the 2010 general election to thank major contributors for their support.

There were also five lunches at Chequers, the premier’s Buckinghamshire retreat, plus several visits to the country house by Lord Feldman, the Conservative co-chairman and a significant donor in his own right.
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March 27, 2012 4:52pm
kowtow

kk

Cameron is a huge disappointment. Haven’t they learned anything? Blair did the same thing with donors,then there was all the parliamentary expenses scandal.
Cameron should have had a referendum on Europe, tightened up on immigration,human rights and he openly supports so called same sex marriage.
He is one shit conservative.
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March 27, 2012 4:56pm
bereal

Aw shit.
First off the rank, dear old Pete George.
Batting for both sides as always, and comming to…..wait for it………no conclusion. (Pete never was one to stick his
kneck out on anything. Ever.)

Hey Pete, i’m still waiting to hear from you as to why……, why do you feel the New Zealands experience
with importing muslims will be different from all other western countries on earth that have imported them ?

Cat got your tongue on that one Pete ?
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March 27, 2012 5:04pm
bereal

Also Pete, i know you are an intelligent man so that leaves me perplexed as to whether you
missed the point accidentaly or on purpose.

i’ll spell it out for you.
The AGW crew base their theory on their assertation that the medievel change
was limited to Europe. The fact that Prof Lu has now proved that it was a world wide phenomena knocks
their whole act for a row of shitcans.

Their,’ it was only Europe theory’, was based on bullshit crap ‘science’ that they invented to suit
their own, fundamentaly fucked theory.

They have been found out for the bullshit artists they always were.

Hope that helps you get a grip Pete.
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March 27, 2012 6:43pm
mikenmild

How do anthropogenic theories of global warming depend on the MWP being limited to Europe?
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March 27, 2012 6:49pm
bereal

Hey mukenmild,
up to your pathetic usual shallow act.
Read up on the subject a bit mate.
Then you will find out.
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March 27, 2012 7:03pm
mikenmild

Maybe I will beryl, as you seem unable to explain what you’re on about.
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March 27, 2012 7:04pm
Nostalgia-NZ

At least POAL have really advanced their case, now they’re paying the stevedores not to work. That’s really helping the economy and port customers.
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March 27, 2012 7:53pm
nasska

The leaders of Europe are all sitting around a table at another Climate Change summit.
After the initial pleasantries, David Cameron speaks first. “I will end climate change, just like I ended boom and bust! I will be tough on climate change and tough on the causes of climate change! Britain will spend “£200 billion on fighting climate change this year!”
Before Brown has even sat back down, Angela Merkel of Germany begins to speak.
“That’s nothing! We will spend €300 billion on fighting climate change!”
Nicolas Sarkozy of France speaks next; “We will end zis climate change. We will spend €1 trillion on fighting climate change!”.
Attention now turns to the president of Armenia, he stands and meekly announces: “We have budgeted to spend $1,000 on fighting climate change over the next 10 years.”
People around the table begin to snigger. Embarrassed, the Armenian president slams his fist onto the table and shouts “Ok, ok, we will spend $100 trillion on climate change!”.
The sniggering around the table has now become hysterics; “How will you afford that?”
“Well” the Armenian president began, “The real figure was bit low, so I just made some up. Isn’t that how it works around here?”
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March 27, 2012 8:02pm
krazykiwi

mm – great. I’ve researched this.. so will be interested to read your analysis. Just in your own time …
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March 27, 2012 8:14pm

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Highlights

Health Target 5 – elective treatments
Health Target 4 – Specialist appointments
Health Target 3 – Emergency Dept Waiting Times
Health Target 2 – Immunisations

Links

"Seymour is only doing openly what M?ori nationalists and their Pakeha allies have been doing, quietly for the past 50 years."
Not PC
Barry Soper: The h?koi was M?ori Party's crowning glory
Breaking Views
Your Cheatin’ Ballot III: Pennsylvania Right Now
No Minister
Sowell says
Hompaddock
Seymour’s opponents need better arguments
Point of Order
Popuphobia’s Javier Milei Problem
Utopia
Open mike 22/11/2024
The Standard
Drawn
No Right Turn
The transgender agenda sunk Kamala
Bob McCoskrie's McBlog
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
No Punches Pulled (Bob Jones)
What does “reciprocity” mean in New Zealand laws?
Croaking Cassandra
A Day of Reckoning
NZCPR
Media Link: “A View from Afar” on the US elections.
Kiwipolitico
This will not end well
Offsetting Behaviour
Top 14 Predictions for Round 10
Stats Chat
Tory Whanau may have to sell Wellington mayoralty to make ends meet
The Civilian
The Accidental Engagement
Imperator Fish
Legal Beagle: Election '23: The Special Votes
Public Address
Making this movie might have been a mistake
Liam Hehir
Why I am retiring from political blogging
Kiwi FireWalker
Angie Warren-Clark: Meet the Newbies
Dan Moskovitz