Sunday soapbox

Sunday’s soapbox is yours to use as you will – within the bounds of decency and absence of defamation. You’re welcome to look back or forward, discuss issues of the moment, to pontificate, ponder or point us to something of interest, to educate, elucidate or entertain, to muse, amuse or bemuse.
>:) kindest, Boris

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 2nd, 2014 at 7:00 am and is filed under soapbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

36 Responses to Sunday soapbox

  1. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 8:29 am

    Sunday reminder of how foolish Tolley and Collins were to attack Metiria over her clothing choices.

    JK said:

    JK 9.1.2
    1 February 2014 at 10:17 pm
    “This sort of negative malice towards leftie women is just so typical of Nat “cats” – they’ll do anything they can to bring a strong woman down in public. They did it with Helen Clark, now they’re doing it to Metiria Turei. But they won’t succeed – they’re only making themselves look extremely silly and petty. Not pretty. Petty !”

    Like

  2. Andrei says:
    02/02/2014 at 8:45 am

    Poetry in motion.

    Why this particular athlete, this morning?

    There was much originally to be written here, that I’d like to say but I fear it might make some heads explode if I did so I thought better of it.

    But take it as read that putting this woman forward, who is pregnant incidentally, is anything but random

    Like

  3. Andrei says:
    02/02/2014 at 8:48 am

    Like

  4. JC says:
    02/02/2014 at 11:16 am

    Translation..

    Metiria took on a woman half her size, got the crap kicked out of her and ran away bawling that she was only a poor widdle Maori girl.. the classic response of the blustering bully when confronted.

    JC

    Like

  5. Andrei says:
    02/02/2014 at 12:34 pm

    The prize for the height of foolishness Robert Guyton in the last week goes to this inanity

    the House wish our athletes competing in the Winter Olympics in Sochi well, and note Russia’s recent passing of anti homosexual legislation, and ask the New Zealand Government to urge other governments and the Winter Olympics Organising Committee to protect the rights of all people in Russia regardless of their sexual orientation”.

    And it is a sad reflection on the quality of our MPs of all parties that they allowed this to pass.

    It is right and proper to wish out Olympic team well – but this absurd Member of our Parliament who put this forward has no real interest in the winter Olympics or probably any sport – she wanted to insult the Government of another sovereign nation. All she succeeded in doing was to insult the intelligence of the New Zealand public.

    The law fyi, oh man of little brain, that she casts as “anti homosexual legislation” is nothing of the sort, of course – it is a sane piece of legislation that we would enacted in this country if we hadn’t surrendered out nation to screeching harridans and neutered males – it protects underage children from being subjected to indoctrination into “non traditional” sexual life styles and practices.

    If I an adult male with grown children wished to discuss in any way the joys of fellatio and cunnilingus with underage girls (I don’t, just to make things clear for moronic Green and Labour supporters, on the contrary I’d be appalled by anyone who did this) then society would come down upon me like a ton of bricks.

    And yet we have been so brainwashed in this nation by those with certain sexual maladjustments that my son at the tender age of thirteen was subject to a classroom detailed discussion of sodomy.

    Anyway I don’t know about you but I don’t see New Zealanders taking it too kindly if foreigners from Africa and the Middle East were to lecture us on not teaching our young the virtues of polygamy, how we should be telling our little girls how great it would be for them to be number two wife of a rich husband – do you think this would receive a warm reception in Oamaru or Invercargill?

    And yet this post menopausal Green MP took it upon herself to presume to lecture the Government of Russia for not pushing her chosen lifestyle on the children of Volgagrad, Vladikavkaz, Perm and Omsk regardless of the parents of those children’s expressed wishes.

    And this has been cast as a “human rights” issue because in the bizarro world of the Greens the rights of parents to bring up children according to their own mores, heritage, culture and tradition doesn’t exist and the right of a sovereign nation to protect these rights via legislation becomes a human rights violation

    We have truly fallen down the rabbit hole

    Like

  6. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 1:47 pm

    Andrei uses “post menopausal” as an insult in the comment above.

    Tracey?
    Ele?

    Good with that, are you?

    Like

  7. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 2:06 pm

    Morgan Godfrey sides with Metiria (because she was correct):

    “Tolley didn’t need to mention race. Her attack is loaded with social, political and racial assumptions. The unspoken context is that Metiria, a Maori woman who lives well and dresses better, is acting out of turn and out of step with her community. How can she be in touch with her community when she isn’t living like them? The premise is that a Maori woman cannot dress well and claim to represent her people. Because Maori live exclusively in poverty, amirite.

    But Tolley can. She dresses like her community, lives with them and – it seems – perpetuates their prejudices. The premise is that her community is well off and that gives her the right to live well, dress well and hold power. Tolley is constructing a self-serving stereotype. A world of (literally) black and white where binary assumptions can be made about how racial communities live. “

    Like

  8. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 2:10 pm

    Danylmc on Slater

    “So here’s Slater laughing at a six week old baby who died in Titahi Bay. Here’s Slater laughing at a fifteen month old baby who was savaged by a pitbull. Here’s Slater mocking a two year old accidentally crushed by a car and killed. Search his site and you’ll find dozens of ‘Silly First Name’ posts, most of them laughing about the death or serious injury of very young children. There’s other horrible stuff of a similar nature on a pretty constant basis. If you’re reading WhaleOil regularly you’re reading a lot of content that mocks the victims and families of horrible tragedies.”

    Whaddayareckon, Ele?

    Family viewing at WellI’llbef*cked?

    Like

  9. TraceyS says:
    02/02/2014 at 2:36 pm

    How is that an insult Robert? I think the insult occurred earlier in Andei’s piece when he referred to the member as “absurd”.

    Is it an insult simply because the statement identifies a person by their biological stage?

    “Children’s Commissioner Russell Wills has demanded The Warehouse remove a line of padded bikinis being sold to pre-pubescent girls.”

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Childrens-Commissioner-outraged-over-Warehouse-bikinis/tabid/423/articleID/329755/Default.aspx

    Is that an insult?

    No of course not. Not unless you consider those stages to be negative and therefore the terminology then takes on that connotation.

    “Lack of Respect or Rituals for the Midlife Transformation:
    In many cultures the post menopausal woman is considered powerful and wise. There are social roles or positions that are not available until a woman has made this crossing. The most powerful shamaness or healer is the woman in her late 50’s or older. In many tribal situations the older woman, with her intimate wisdom gained from the years of nurturing children and managing the family, moves on to nurture and manage the tribe through her position on the tribal council (especially notable with the Hopi and the New Zealand Maori, matriarchal cultures that value women).”

    http://www.gretchenlawlor.com/articles/Navigating_Midlife.html

    I am not a post-menopausal woman but will be one day. It is a stage in life that many women look forward to. I am actually a little saddened that you consider this term, perhaps even this stage of life, to be an insult.

    One thing I’m pretty sure of, Robert, is that if we happen to cross paths when I reach the stage of post-menopausal matriarch, you will come off second best.

    Like

  10. TraceyS says:
    02/02/2014 at 2:53 pm

    The striking irony here, Robert, is that you can promote a view which reads extensively (and probably incorrectly) between the lines, and yet simultaneously further another view which takes everything at surface value with no attempt to consider the message behind the words.

    Word of the day: Bias: “inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair.”

    Best you get a grasp on that if you want to engage in worthwhile debate about equality.

    Like

  11. Andrei says:
    02/02/2014 at 3:03 pm

    In many tribal situations the older woman, with her intimate wisdom gained from the years of nurturing children and managing the family, moves on to nurture and manage the tribe through her position on the tribal council (especially notable with the Hopi and the New Zealand Maori, matriarchal cultures that value women).”

    Exactly right Tracey – and how much easier it would be to respect Labour’s spokesperson for children it would be if she was a person who met these criteria, but of course a woman who did would almost certainly be well endowed with common sense, a quality sadly lacking in our parliamentarians

    Like

  12. homepaddock says:
    02/02/2014 at 3:16 pm

    I don’t read it regularly.

    Like

  13. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 3:27 pm

    Really? What relevance to the question of gay rights in Russia, has anyone’s ‘biological stage’ and if none (there is none), why did Andrei chose to mention it? Because he sought to demean, that’s why. You two are again, trying to defend the indefensible.
    You are both pretending that Andrei used the term in a way that empowered or enhanced the status of the Green MP, but you are trying to mislead. Elsewhere in his comments, Andrei uses ‘moronic’, ‘foolish’, ‘deluded’ and ‘bizzaro’ but you’d have us believe that when he described Jan Logie as ‘post menopausal’ he was giving her credit?

    Pulleeeeeaaase!

    How was that an insult, Tracey?

    I would never use the term as an insult, but Andrei did, and he knows it. So, I suspect, do you.

    No doubt Ele will have an opinion on this – Ele?

    Like

  14. Gravedodger says:
    02/02/2014 at 3:31 pm

    Jesus wept Robert Guyton, can you never find any middle ground.
    You lurch between verbal diarrhoea and silence from tossing your toys and taking your ball home.

    Some of your positions have relevance but all too often they are a Gilbert and Sullivan burlesque so far removed from reality as to be nonsensical.

    No one, absolutely not a single person is forced to read what Slater writes on his blog however some of the stuff he digs up has been carefully buried and although often substantial in content, has an army of spin doctors making extravagant efforts to keep it in the bottle.

    How say you on the matters raised and exposed to sunlight on Richard Nixon by the Pulitzer winning journalists from the Washington Post, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, were their revellations worthy or unworthy when viewed in History.
    Those two very courageous journalists were the ‘Bloggers” of their time with a supportive boss Ben Bradley who together forced a bent POTUS out of office.

    Back to Topic;
    Calling Anne Tolley out of touch was reckless, over the top, completely false and that it earned the response it did, was only justified.
    For the stupid little girl to then claim racism among other whines, in a few words, pathetic and childish.

    There are many proverbs, quotes and sayings to cover such nonsense, my offering include sowing and reeping among other agrarian responses.

    A valid comparison has been drawn with now retired former leader, Jeanette Fitzsimons, she walked the walk, talked the talk and enjoyed
    much mana for her beliefs and efforts for the GP, conservation and looking out for the disadvantaged.

    Your current mate is not qualified to clean Fitzsimons gumboots. She is little more than an incompetent anarchist who without the mantle of co leader gained under MMP, would still be shilling about dope legalisation and completely ignored by voters.
    At least Jeaanette had enough in her tank to gain a plurality in an electorate, Turei would struggle to regain her deposit.
    Your current idol is no more than a manipulative, self seeking, false butt of farce, pun intended.

    Like

  15. Andrei says:
    02/02/2014 at 3:40 pm

    You are diverting Robert Guyton, the substance of what I wrote has you flummoxed so you are going off at a tangent.

    Bit like the “racist” taunt your illustrious leader deployed last week.

    Like

  16. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 4:13 pm

    “stupid little girl”, “post menopausal” – you and Andrei are doing your tribe no favours with your misogynistic comments. Still, Tracey’ll back ya!

    Like

  17. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 4:16 pm

    So you don’t stand by your use of the loaded descriptor “post menopausal” then Andrei?
    Ele, your input would be valuable here, I reckon.

    Like

  18. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 4:21 pm

    Did you find Slater’s posts on the fates of children with names he regards as ridiculous entertaining, Ele?
    Have a read:

    http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/09/sfns-takes-another/

    http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2011/12/nanaia-mahuta-needs-to-apologise-2/

    http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2009/12/sfns-strikes-the-just-before-christmas/

    Like

  19. Andrei says:
    02/02/2014 at 4:27 pm

    You know Robert Guyton – your lot are so fricken hypocritical, you lot fling insults, like your glorious leaders usage of the word “rascist” last week but when any comes back your way you burst into tears.

    By nature I prefer polite and reasoned discourse where you listen to what those who you disagree with have to say and they listen to you,

    But alas the self absorbed left, who are by nature Stalinist have exploited our natural tendencies to politeness and while they have retained the right to sling insults at their opponents at any opportunity and have more or less shut down any debate on a lot of bullshit they promote by so doing.

    Racist
    Denier
    Homophobe
    Bigot
    yadda yadda yadda

    Well to hell with it, I’m not going to be mealy mouthed any more.

    Your lot are literally trashing anything decent they can find.

    I love sport, the Winter Olympic start on Friday and what are our air headed elites talking about “gay rights”.

    How have we allowed a bunch of airhead dolts to dominate our national discourse?

    Like

  20. Euan Ross-Taylor says:
    02/02/2014 at 4:31 pm

    Sad that such a good blog has so little in readers comments. Always a great read Ele (and team?) I made the trip over here while WO was down and found your articles very well written, and so have you bookmarked to compliment my daily read. Thanks again.

    Like

  21. Andrei says:
    02/02/2014 at 4:33 pm

    Nixon’s wife Patricia took a lot of flak because she wore store bought clothes directly off the rack.

    Nixon’s crime was not what you think – His real crime was that he was an upstart from rural California who had somehow managed to achieve high office well above the station he was born to in life.

    Abraham Lincoln, interestingly had the same problem, getting assassinated helped improve his reputation

    Like

  22. Andrei says:
    02/02/2014 at 4:49 pm

    Oh by the way GD, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, were not two very courageous journalists who shone sunlight on anything – the were two hacks used as a tool by an unscrupulous bureaucrat, one Mark Felt, who used them to destroy Richard Nixon’s Presidency as payback because he wasn’t given the directorship of the FBI after Edgar J Hooverj died.

    It doesn’t take much courage to publish dirt being fed to you by the deputy director of the National police force and publish it in a town which has an almost visceral dislike of the target of said revelations and where scuzzy behaviour is a fact of life.

    Like

  23. Ken Hillman says:
    02/02/2014 at 4:51 pm

    “I love sport…”

    Oh dear. It’s the Springbok Tour all over again.

    You’d think we’d be a wiser people after all that learning, but it would seem not, Andrei.

    Like

  24. homepaddock says:
    02/02/2014 at 5:24 pm

    Thanks for dropping by.

    I’d prefer to have comments of quality rather than quantity – though whether that’s what I get is moot. 🙂

    Like

  25. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 6:34 pm

    The polls, the polls!
    They’re looking terrible for National and Key now. Key’s only hope is to marry Winston and you’re not going to enjoy that courtship now, are you!
    This is the most fun we’ve had in years!!
    Squirm, squirm, squirm!

    Winston for PM!

    You know he’s going to demand it (along with Key’s resignation)

    What a circus!!!

    Like

  26. TraceyS says:
    02/02/2014 at 6:53 pm

    Yep, been labelled “denier”, “racist”, and “unable to learn”. Now expects an apology for ASKING him to be honest?

    I think he will be waiting quite some time…

    Like

  27. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 7:17 pm

    TV3 political poll:
    “The first major poll of the election year can be summed up in one word – Winston.
    The 3 News-Reid Research poll has the New Zealand First leader in a familiar position as kingmaker.
    And Prime Minister John Key is in an unfamiliar and deeply uncomfortable position; National for the first time is in real danger of being thrown out of office.
    National drop to 44.5 percent, which is the lowest since Mr Key took power. Labour are up and so are the Greens, and together they have more votes than National.

    Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/3-News-Reid-Research-poll-shows-Peters-as-kingmaker/tabid/1607/articleID/330698/Default.aspx#ixzz2s8ugYRzA

    Like

  28. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 7:19 pm

    Key:
    “We’ll have to be out there earning those votes and trying to cobble together a coalition…”

    “Trying to cobble together…”

    Oh dear.

    That doesn’t sound very optimistic, does it?

    Like

  29. homepaddock says:
    02/02/2014 at 8:31 pm

    In your excitement Robert, you appear to have overlooked that a Labour/Green/Mana Party government would also need Peters.

    Like

  30. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 8:54 pm

    Wendigo Jane 7 said:

    “Insults about what a woman looks like and/or how she dresses still goes down very well with many NZers. Look at the way some people STILL go on about Clark’s appearance and the “airbrushed” billboard etc. However, it is slightly problematic for males to slag off females in this way – there is a risk of being (correctly) labelled a sexist, etc instead of a funny and cool bloke as intended/believed. So, problem: good points still to be scored by slagging off women about their appearance, but risks attached if males do it. Solution: get other women to do it, preferably with an “us tough chicks over here” affect, knowing Labour and Green women would not sell out and attack other women in this personal way about appearance etc (or for not being married, not having babies, etc etc). In this way sexist attacks can continue from the Right directed at women on the Left, but it can be claimed this is not sexism, because it’s women saying it. They’re testing the waters to see whether it’s open season for this kind of shit to be dished out and whether the snigger-snigger “get over it”, us-over-here-is-tough-chicks-and-real-women antics continues to go down well and how far they can go.”

    Like

  31. TraceyS says:
    02/02/2014 at 10:16 pm

    “Wendigo Jane 7” is a strange full name. For a moment there I thought it might even be a pseudonym! Such comments don’t carry so much credibility according to you. Even less so when they are copied from another site and posted here where the author (full name or pseudonym) has no track record.

    Like

  32. Andrei says:
    02/02/2014 at 10:28 pm

    Do you like trains, Robert Guyton?

    Like

  33. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 10:33 pm

    She’s right though, isn’t she.

    Like

  34. robertguyton says:
    02/02/2014 at 10:38 pm

    Great oil-can! I have one very similar to the one the ‘oiler’ carried.

    Like

  35. TraceyS says:
    02/02/2014 at 10:57 pm

    Do you know how far apart Cunliffe and Peters are as preferred PM and whether that difference is beyond the margin of error?

    Who wants a coalition without a leader clearly preferred by a reasonably large chunk of New Zealanders? That would be rather precarious and not a good way to start the term.

    Like

  36. TraceyS says:
    02/02/2014 at 11:22 pm

    “…knowing Labour and Green women would not sell out and attack other women in this personal way – “.

    That is a delusion.

    Evidence to the contrary was provided by your good green friend Viv K in comments on Hilary Calvert’s image on billboards during the 2013 local government elections. Remember those? I recall the word “airbrushed” was mentioned.

    “…it is slightly problematic for males to slag off females in this way – there is a risk of being (correctly) labelled a sexist…”

    Oh dear – the “trout” comment from David Cunliffe (trying to be a funny/cool bloke).

    So no she’s not right. Women can be harsh with words it’s true. And so can unpopular men who are trying hard to be likable. But there is no political divide.

    Like

Leave a comment