Posts by Matt Jeffs
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As for John Key's up to date knowledge of lower socio economic areas of Auckland / Hamilton (delete as appropriate) . McGeghan Close had postal delieveries stopped due to various posties being chased by rotties and threatended by a couple of the locals with machette's. I know this as I was one of the posties that was delivering to this route at the time deliveries were stopped. Generally the locals of McGeghan Close are hardworking and, machettes aside, decent people. But that was 1991. Do we really want a bloke to be PM who can't locate his deprived areas on a map of the country he's suppossed to be running or draw on info that was produced in at least the same century. By the way we must thank John Key for pointing out that New Zealand has an underclass. Gosh without his clever multi millionaire insights how would we ever operate as a country. When John Key finally gets some better quality advisors around him he may want to pay a trip to parts of Sth Auckland that actually are still deprived areas. I'm sure there'll be plenty of locals who'll be more than happy to show him around.
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Somebody actually needs to point out to John Key, before he sets himself up as the true little kiwi battler, that growing up in a state house in New Zealand in the 60's, 70's and 80's wasn't out of the ordinary before someone had the bright idea of selling off the housing stock. John Key caring about the underclass in New Zealand is hillarious. Its was the social welfare slashing policies and anti trade union stance of the Nats during the 90's (employment contratcs act anyone?) that has given rise to the plethora of his fellow kiwis still struggling below the poverty line. Mind you reading the feedback to John Key's speech on Stuff it looks as though alot of New Zealanders can see through his 'tantastic' smile.
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I always thought kiwi blog was a joke..... it's not actually serious is it??? If it is .... it makes it even more funny. Comedy gold. Jeez there are some angry people out there.
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Russell - well said about the 'sweeping statements' of Austrlians. I may have been guilty of it in the past but there does seem to be some that are labelling all Australians as knuckle dragging rednecks. Chances are most Australians are likley to be very socially enlightened citizens just as there are some culturally insecure Kiwi's. You can't blame an entire population of 20 million people for the occasional rantings of their ill informed leader. Alot, if not most, Austrlaians I work with here in the UK are always keen to distance themselves from the cliched Ocker stereotype. Most of whom cringe whenever Howard opens his mouth.
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I don't think anyone would deny someone else having patriotic feelings towards their country and as we know the average Aussie is not short on patriotism. But I think the problem is the sentiment behind alot of the 'flag waving' thats going on in Australia at the moment. We have to remember that they are being run by a chauvanistic bigot who seems to honestly still believe in the highly outdated ideals of 'cultural asimilation'. This whole ideal Howard seems to be painfully gripping to that anyone who is white and is decended from white migrants who settled Australia with the assistance of the British army is more Aussie to the core than everyone else just doesn't make any sense and is massivly hypocritical. Alot of Australia's racial tension is now coming from the sheer frustration of Australia's new migrants and the inability of the white Australian Govt to acknowledge the facts. That Australia like all modern countries is a multicultural society. Instead of Howard poking his nose into other countries like Indonesia maybe he should be paying more attention to the quite obvious institutionalised rascism that exits within his own country.
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My partner has worked closely with a group of Iraqi based trade unionists. These are poeple who are not religious fanatics they are just people who are trying to get a better working deal for any Iraqi who is lucky enough to have a job in the country. Something people in all countries benefit from. They have had their headquarters trashed, been aressted and generally harrassed.Not by the local sunni militia but by occupying American forces. The Americans in Iraq seem to be doing all they can to discrdedit the Iraqi trade union movement through violent and non violent subversive methods.
Those who believe the Americans are leaving the Iraqi people to set up a society which benefits all Iraqi's is seriously deluded. -
*PS speaking about how much war costs.... Britain has just paid off its outstanding loan to the USA for its financial assistance post WW2. The final bill stodd at £144 billion not sure how much that is in NZ$'s. But it goes to show someone is still making money out of war and misery.
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Simon ... well said. Couldn't agree with you more.
I have a cousin at University in Australia. She has quoted one of her lecturer's who has also been quoted in the Aussie media in the past. He says 'there will be a major land war between Indonesia and Australia within the next 20 years'. I of course thought she was joking. But alas alot of Australians seem to be deluded enough, and full of their country's own self importance, to believe that the Indonesian military are sitting and waiting to plan an attack to nab Australia's uranium supplies.................... I'm sure this is news to most Indonesians let alone their military.Also it is incredibly niave to believe that the US, British & Aus invasion of Iraq is in anyway justified. Yes Saddam Hussein was a tyrant of unbelievable magnitude however his capture and subsequent trial and execution was a farce of comical proportions. There are several reasons why people think GW Bush went to war in the first place:
1) Dynastic reasons for example he was finishing off daddies work from 1991.
2) Oil! Tenders were being handed out to American companies to repair pipelines and other asorted bits of Iraqi infrastructure 1 year prior to invasion.
3) WMD's.... don't make me laugh.
4) Like alot of American politicians he is an ignorant git who suspened all rational thought post 9/11 and based his foreign policy on Star Wars:Attack of the Clones.Sorry about the rant but I get sick of people who still blindly try to justify the whole mess that is Iraq.
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Yeah the Suffolk Police have arrested a 2nd bloke ...... see attached link.
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.......... STUFF 1 - HERALD 0.