Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: The Wogistan form book

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  • Russell Brown,

    Blazing editorial from The Press -- Prosser's local paper. This is the first paragraph:

    Richard Prosser has shown himself unfit to be a member of Parliament. His obnoxious comments on Muslims are racist and bigoted, insulting a valued part of the New Zealand community and a great world religion. These are clearly not the charactertistics we require of a Member of Parliament. Prosser's remaining there besmirches his party, the House and the nation.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Cecelia,

    Agree wholeheartedly with the comments on Wishart and Investigate above. I feel a physical sense of repugnance when I read or hear or see Wishart. I was naive enough to be astounded that a writer for that scurrilous mag could become an MP. An MP. If you look at Prosser's work history, he gained the lowest number of votes in every previous election he entered and finally gained a political position on the NZ First list. How could they? How could they?

    Thanks for the succinct analysis below, Craig.

    <q>No, Andre, Wishart was a vile bigot, a mendacious hack and a spectacularly disingenuous concern-troll. (I’m sure Helen Clark will be delighted to know Wishart now loathes faith-based misogyny and homophobia.)<q>

    Hibiscus Coast • Since Apr 2008 • 559 posts Report Reply

  • Martin Lindberg, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Prosser’s remaining there besmirches his party, the House and the nation.

    But does he really besmirch ( love that word ) his party? I would say that he represents his party quite well.

    Stockholm • Since Jul 2009 • 802 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    I quite like this piece in the Herald this morn.

    Jason Kennedy's open letter.

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Prosser’s remaining there besmirches his party

    Like Martin, I had to have a little "bitch, please..." moment at what was an otherwise excellent editorial. Sorry for sounding like a broken record, but a not-insignificant proportion of the media has been bromancing Peters as some kind of lovable scallywag for the last three decades. Decades in which he's hardly kept his xenophobia, and flat out racism, on the downlow.

    Prosser doesn't "besmirch" New Zealand First. His only mistake was being too honest, and his only real crime embarrasing Winston.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Ross Mason, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    Prosser: He's a Burq.

    Prosser doesn't "besmirch" New Zealand First. His only mistake was being too honest, and his only real crime embarrasing Winston.

    Spot on Craig. They push the button when they want to, right audience, right time, right place. Perfect for the re-recruitment of their voters.

    Upper Hutt • Since Jun 2007 • 1590 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Cecelia,

    An MP. If you look at Prosser’s work history, he gained the lowest number of votes in every previous election he entered and finally gained a political position on the NZ First list. How could they? How could they?

    Because they're a shambles. I'm presuming they did little or no due diligence on Brendan Horan also. And because NZ First voters traditionally have no clue who the hell they're voting in when they vote for Winston.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart, in reply to Russell Brown,

    And because NZ First voters traditionally have no clue who the hell they’re voting in when they vote for Winston.

    I can't remember who gave me this insight in the first place: it might well have been someone here. NZFirst voters believe that the more they vote for Winston, the bigger he gets. They were quite surprised after the last election when that turned out to not just be 'eight seats for Winston'.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to Russell Brown,

    And because NZ First voters traditionally have no clue who the hell they’re voting in when they vote for Winston.

    True -- then again, I'd like to think I'm a pretty informed voter and looking down the National caucus I find myself having a few "who the fuck are you?" moments. If you're reliant on the lamestream media that seems determined to reduce every election to a holiday camp Miss Lovely Legs of 1956 pageant, it's not only substantive policy analysis that goes begging. It's a little digging into what you're going to get with your party vote.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    it’s sort of the NZ First party line

    If you were completely cynical about the NZ1st party you might suggest this actually is the party line and the reason he didn't get a bollocking is because he said something Winston knew would get votes. Perhaps even he was told to say something outrageously racist so Winston could get some more prime time coverage - which he did.

    Of course I wouldn't be that cynical.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Interesting Waikato Times editorial compares Prosser to former National MP Bob Clarkson and says “Prosser apparently aspires to pick up where Mr Clarkson left off.”

    You may recall that Clarkson declared that Muslim women wearing burqas, who did not want to fit in should “go back to Islam or Iraq”. He also had problems with women and non-heterosexuals.

    To be fair, Clarkson has now abandoned National. He joined Act in 2011.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    knives were very much on the no-fly list

    As we left Damscus - having bought a damascus steel sword (replica of course) - we were amused by the airport sign that explicity forbade carrying swords on the plane.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie, in reply to Russell Brown,

    NZ First voters traditionally have no clue who the hell they're voting in when they vote for Winston.

    You're probably right, but Denis O'Rourke took the trouble to turn up to the Ilam Meet the Candidates event, which is more than Brownlee bothered to do. I don't know if there were any potential NZ First voters present, although the guy who heckled Maori Party candidate Rãhui Kãtene for opening her address in Te Reo probably fitted the stereotype.

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart, in reply to Simon Grigg,

    To be fair, having done HKIA at least thirty times in the past 5 years, (without an issue – I rate it as one of the world’s more efficient) the one airport that leaves it in the proverbial when it comes to overreaction is Brisbane. Try landing there in any aircraft which has a an overwhelming % of non-Anglo passengers and observe the way the security treat everyone on the aircraft as Osama’s right hand.

    It’s the only airport I’ve seen arriving passengers asked to disassemble their cameras…

    I got a pat-down coming through Sydney last year while *transiting between flights*. I repeat: I had just got off an international flight (from America, home of institutional airport paranoia) and I had to go through the full security rigamarole between exiting the plane and entering the rest of the international terminal. At that point it's firmly in the realm of farce.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Angus Robertson, in reply to Lucy Stewart,

    At that point it's firmly in the realm of farce.

    At every point, airport screening is a farce. It doesn't work well enough to justify 1/100th of the cost of doing it in the first place.

    Auckland • Since May 2007 • 984 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Magnum opus soup...
    ...and I thought Winston & Wishart had a nice little Winebox log-rolling industry going on...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart, in reply to Lucy Stewart,

    At that point it’s firmly in the realm of farce.

    On a domestic flight, Jetstar(!) objected to my having a lighter in my handbag. So I took it out, in front of the screeners, and put it in the pocket of my jeans. And that was fine.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to Lucy Stewart,

    I got a pat-down coming through Sydney last year while *transiting between flights*.

    My weirdest airport security experience was in Canberra, heading to a domestic flight to Melbourne the day after the delivery of the federal budget. I was pulled aside for a not-really-voluntary (i.e. you can decline, but you’ll be escorted from the airport by security if you do) “bomb residue test”. I’m sure scores of banking and mining lobbyists slept easier that night.

    On a domestic flight, Jetstar(!) objected to my having a lighter in my handbag. So I took it out, in front of the screeners, and put it in the pocket of my jeans. And that was fine.

    Weird thing while overseas. I always made a point of saying I'd have no problem binning the cheap disposable lighter I was carrying if there were security/safety issues, and there weren't. But more than once, I not only had to completely unpack my laptop case but put the battery back in, and turn it on. Which really takes up time when you've got a long line of (understandably) bored and exhausted people behind you doing a crappy job of concealing their irritation. :)

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz, in reply to Emma Hart,

    That is actually the international rule. I assume the rationale is that if your lighter was ignited in your pocket, you'd notice your pants on fire and do something about it fairly rapidly. If in a bag, it may not be noticed until smoke and flame started to come from the overhead locker, which is undesirable in flight.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Johnny Canuck, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    My weirdest airport security experience was in Canberra, heading to a domestic flight to Melbourne the day after the delivery of the federal budget. I was pulled aside for a not-really-voluntary (i.e. you can decline, but you’ll be escorted from the airport by security if you do) “bomb residue test”

    I get that one probably every 3rd-4th flight in North America (swab of the hands, carry on bag and laptop followed by not-so- suspenseful wait as swab is entered into a little machine).

    On one occasion at Vancouver everyone was required to put their hands in their pockets, rub them around a bit (not in an amusing way), and then present their hands for swabbing. Parents had to force their infants to do the same.

    My weirdest experience though was in Christchurch of all places, returning on an overnight flight from Brisbane in July or August. The plane was filled mostly with sunburned Kiwi tourists returning from their mid-winter week on the Gold Coast.

    Customs/Border Security proceeded to go berserk at absolutely everyone. I had a fair idea what was coming as I overheard the poor guy in front of me in the queue getting a going-over.

    As I recall my experience ended with the Customs officer yelling (more as statement than question): "Well do you have a WEAPON in your bag!" To which I replied (rather wisely) "No", and got a surly "Well then you can go through".

    I much prefer interacting with the passport scanning machines.

    Vancouver BC • Since Feb 2013 • 25 posts Report Reply

  • BlairMacca,

    I find it funny that this much outrage isn't expressed by the general public on a weekly basis whenever Micheal Laws column is published in the SST. I would ahve thought that calling Maori feral on an almost weekly basis was along the same lines...

    Wellington • Since Apr 2007 • 208 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    his only real crime embarrasing Winston

    Seriously, is that even possible?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Martin Lindberg, in reply to BlairMacca,

    I find it funny that this much outrage isn’t expressed by the general public on a weekly basis whenever Micheal Laws column is published in the SST.

    Michael Laws is a professional moron - not an MP.

    Stockholm • Since Jul 2009 • 802 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen R,

    Standing in the queue for the metal detectors at HKIA, two men in uniform carrying MP5 submachineguns pushed into the queue ahead of us and passed through the metal detectors without waiting. There was the predictable beeping noise, and then the wand operator, with a completely straight face, proceeded to wand them down (more beeps) and send them on their way.

    I think they do have a sense of humour, they just hide it well.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2009 • 259 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    My weirdest airport security experience was in Canberra, heading to a domestic flight to Melbourne the day after the delivery of the federal budget. I was pulled aside for a not-really-voluntary (i.e. you can decline, but you’ll be escorted from the airport by security if you do) “bomb residue test”. I’m sure scores of banking and mining lobbyists slept easier that night.

    My last trip to the US was a delight. In retrospect, I think I was flagged on entry (after an angry and bewildering grilling about my intentions) because I was travelling on a very fresh passport. On top of the usual rigmarole, I was invited to stand in the bomb-residue perspex box, where I had instructions shouted at me while I was peppered with jets of compressed air.

    Disposable lighters had also recently been banned -- so there were smokers standing outside the airports looking to give away their lighters before they went through the gate.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

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