Posts by Rich of Observationz
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The grass roots will say "go with Labour", Turia will stand up and say "this is why we are going with National", and that's what will happen.
So the Maori Party is really just another personality-based breakaway? They don't want to go with Labour because Helen dissed them over the Foreshore & Seabed.
They'll join a National government, be linked with that governments abuse of Maori and others, and lose much of their support. In two or three parliaments, they'll have gone the way of Mauri Pacific, NZ First, United Future, the Jim Anderton Party and all the other vehicles-for-personal-pique that have briefly sullied NZ politics.
They did have the option to become a real party like the Greens. They probably even have the option to lose the F&S act as part of a deal with Labour. But it's not about policies, it's about people. Two or three people.
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I'd also point out, Rich, that the linked story was rather careful not to allege any criminal wrongdoing against Key.
And I don't believe he's engaged in any. He worked as an FX trader. That's about making money any (legal) way you can. Mostly. Some players in that game don't bother with the legality bit. Read Liars Poker, or hang out in the City of London for a while.
Some people in his firm and their customers considered that when the stock market tanked in '87, it wasn't them that were going to lose out. The way they achieved this definitely wasn't legal. Key's knowledge of this isn't really discoverable.
The upshot of this for me is: do we want someone as PM who regards all this experience as valuable preparation for the job? Particularly when said financial markets have again got the world in a right mess - which the next government will need to be part of getting us out of. Will Key be batting for NZ, or for his mates in the money markets?
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Hands up who knows what a "sham foreign exchange transaction" is.
Basically, it was part of a scheme by those who controlled several companies to steal money from the shareholders of one company and put it into another.
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It's comedy of exaggeration - it works (for me, comedy is personal) because the characters are completely bizarre inventions.
The Office isn't hatred directed at office workers. League of Gentleman isn't hatred directed at rural people.
If the creators of Little Britain *did* have a nasty right-wing agenda after the fashion of Bernard Manning, then it would be different.
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Yeah, apart from that bit on the end about "playing the person, not the ball".
This Is Not A Game of Rugby.
The nation is deciding who governs us for the next three years. The attitudes of that party to financial shenanigans at the smart end of town are fully relevant to that. It isn't like accusing somebody of having a custard fetish or whatever.
I think the National Party's idea of a clean election is that they present their policies, Labour present theirs and the electorate decides there's nowt much to choose but they could do with a change of scenery.
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I'm wondering if this is going to backlash on Labour and any media outlet that touches it.
John Key made his fortune in an industry where it's fairly well documented that sharp practice has often been the way to get ahead.
For others in that line of work, the sharp practice crossed over into tax fraud and they went to jail.
Key has in past interviews distanced himself from this - the Herald article calls the timing in his version of events into question.
I think it's an important question the people of NZ need to ask - do we want somebody with a background in the international banking industry running NZ? The idea that this is "nasty negative campaigning" isn't the point - we are entitled to know about this stuff.
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Hey Damien: did you know this was on its way when you posted?
I wonder if it will impact the "Honest John" image?
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On the subject of poll accuracy, maybe that Wiki project could use their spreadsheets to make a league table of poll accuracy after the election.
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I suggested elsewhere that the next round of "live" election debates should be put on a fifteen second delay, like talkback radio
No, I reckon they should be like the stump mikes at cricket to pick up the sledging that doubtless goes on:
Politician A: Why are you so fat?
Politician B: Coz every time I sleep with your wife she gives me a biscuit. -
reaching the unanimous conclusion that yes, [character from TSH] was exactly like [dear friend who now works for the Ministry of (Redacted)].
My guess would be either:
Henry - Treasury
Bunny - Internal Affairs