Is John Key the man to lead NZ?

[Winston001]

As for National's plans to part sell assets - I'm opposed.

However leave aside my personal views and consider the rationale:

The five SOEs are easy to identify, value, and attractive for investors.

The true dividend returns are 2-3%, not 8-22% as claimed by some critics. The Crown electricity companies went through a restructuring recently which created accounting profits but no actual money. So the most recent returns are artificial.

When a business trades on the stockmarket it's strategies and decisions are wide open to examination and criticism. By contrast an SOE only has to worry about Cabinet which tends to be easily distracted by day to day politics. Trustpower has said they cannot understand why Meridian has developed a very difficult and expensive wind farm.

New shareholders can add expertise and knowledge because it is in their interests to do so.

And despite common belief, there is nothing to prevent a future government buying back the shares. If Contact Energy is any guide, they might even get them at a reduced price. As I've said before, Contact is a precise example of how a good energy company can still perform like a dog. It used to be an SOE.

[oldrider]

*As for National's plans to part sell assets - I'm opposed.

However leave aside my personal views and consider the rationale:

The five SOEs are easy to identify, value, and attractive for investors.

The true dividend returns are 2-3%, not 8-22% as claimed by some critics. The Crown electricity companies went through a restructuring recently which created accounting profits but no actual money. So the most recent returns are artificial.

When a business trades on the stockmarket it's strategies and decisions are wide open to examination and criticism. By contrast an SOE only has to worry about Cabinet which tends to be easily distracted by day to day politics. Trustpower has said they cannot understand why Meridian has developed a very difficult and expensive wind farm.

New shareholders can add expertise and knowledge because it is in their interests to do so.

And despite common belief, there is nothing to prevent a future government buying back the shares. If Contact Energy is any guide, they might even get them at a reduced price. As I've said before, Contact is a precise example of how a good energy company can still perform like a dog. It used to be an SOE.

Quote: *As for National's plans to part sell assets - I'm opposed. .... Why FFS?

You would do it your self if your personal circumstances were heading toward insolvency!

Every government since I can remember has bought and sold assets as required, nothing unusual about this ... until now!

Faced with extreme financial hardship everybody on KB would have to reconsider the value or liability of their "bike" in that equation!

The claimed high percentage of voters against sale of assets is really just a vote of no confidence in any of our political wannabe's to manage any such transactions honestly and competently!

Well I agree with the electorate on that!

So what we are really afraid of is the expansionist behaviour of our so called elected governments, they just get bigger and bigger and more and more expensive to operate!

For the electorate it is similar to riding a motorcycle from the pillion seat with an insane person operating the controls up front ... not a good look eh!

IMHO We need less government not more! (core government activities)

Politicians always try to keep as many balls in the air as they can in order to distract and confuse the electorate so that it is more and more difficult to hold them accountable for their failures!

I am searching for someone or something positive to vote for but it looks like I will vote as a typical New Zealander, voting for A to keep B C or D out!

How fucking pathetic is that!

[Robert Taylor]

Well I am ex military and proud of it. I am all for compulsory military training for all school leavers.

[Robert Taylor]

Depends on what you want in a PM. Personally I want a PM who can hold his own with any world leader on the international stage, who has a strong understanding of the political processes and international law, has the respect of people from all sides of the political spectrum (even if he or she isn't liked) and can make a hard decision. In the current lineup from all parties, I like Kennedy Graham of the Greens. He has taught international politics and international law at the School of Law, Canterbury and Victoria University and at the College of Europe in Bruges. He has worked for NGOs in New York, the UN in Europe and the Middle East, and as a NZ diplomat in Asia, Europe and North America. He was involved in negotiating the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone, defending the policy before the UN in Geneva and New York. He was also Director of a UN academy in Jordan.

Ken holds a B.Com from Auckland University, a BA Hons in Political Science from Victoria; an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Boston (Fulbright); and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Victoria University. He was also a Fellow at Cambridge University, studying in the Global Security Programme. He has gravitas and is respected by everyone in parliament.





Which is why we have a phenomenally popular PM who has achieved little and is not all that bright. It's also why I like MMP and the concept of list MPs. A person can be elected as the candidate simply because they win the people over - remember Bob Clarkson in Tauranga? Or even worse they get elected simply because they wear the right button on election day, and so we end up with buffoons like Jerry Brownlee in Ilam. Talking to people who have worked with him, he is incompetent, a bully and cunning rather than intelligent, but on Saturday he will return to parliament and government simply because the vast majority of people in Ilam vote National by default.

MMP aka ''mickey mouse politics'' bought the likes of Sue Bradford into Parliament ( a crime against humanity ) This time it could bring that a...wipe John Minto into parliament. No 3 on the Moron party list of displaced communists.

[davereid]

Simply for the sake of accuracy and from memory, armed conflicts/war over the past 40 years:

North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam
Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands
Angola
Nicaragua
Russia invaded Afghanistan
China invaded Tibet
Serbia invaded Croatia + Montenego etc etc
Russia invaded Chechnya


There are plenty more especially in Africa. The point is, the USA is not quite the war-warmongering nation the popular press makes it out to be. More a case of being the worlds policeman and a thankless task it is. For example the European armies could not and did not halt the Serb-Croat genocides and that 10 year conflict only ended when the USA lost patience watching and acted decisively.

Then there are the American soldiers who died trying to keep the peace in those choice spots known as Lebanon, Kenya, and Somalia.

Americans are good people and its a crying shame they were led into the current wars by GW Bush.

Don't forget governments that turn on their own people.

The warnimg signs are governments that ignore democracy - like National has done with over 100 laws passed without consultation or full democratic process.


The tools the corrupt state uses are
Identity cards and systems, (National IGOVT)
The power of the state to search and seize virtually at will, (Various laws, even extendint to liquor bans)
Limited rights to a trial, and to be judged by your peers (Passed by National)
Limited right to remain silent (proposed by National)
Limited presumption of innocence.(various vehicle laws, NAIT, fisheries etc etc)

We sometimes are asked to provide these tools to government for very good reasons, to help us with welfare, to ensure we pay taxes, to crack down on crime and terrorism. Before you allow government to put that chain around your neck to “help you”, be sure you know who will be on the other end of it, and how hard he is allowed to pull. As there are always those who will use the tools the wrong way, and we should remain wary of those who tell us “we have nothing to fear unless we are criminals”, while asking us for the tools of enslavement.

After all, simply opposing any of the following leaders made you a criminal.

The last 100 years roll of honour.

Africa
Idris of Libya Emirate of Cyrenaica, Kingdom of Libya 1949-1969
Kwame Nkrumah Ghana (commonwealth realm), Ghana 1957 elected 1966 by military coup
Gamal Abdel Nasser United Arab Republic 1958- 1970
Ahmed Sékou Touré Guinea 1958- 1984
Kigeli V of Rwanda Kingdom of Rwanda 1959 -1962
Modibo Keïta Mali Federation, Mali 1959- 1968 by military coup
Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal State of Somaliland 1960
Albert Kalonji South Kasai 1960- 1961
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Federation of Nigeria (commonwealth realm) 1960- 1963
Moise Tshombe State of Katanga 1960 1963
Joseph Kasa-Vubu Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) 1960 1965
David Dacko Central African Republic 1960, 1979 by military coup 1966, 1981
N’Garta Tombalbaye Chad 1960 1975
Moktar Ould Daddah Mauritania 1960 elected 1978 by military coup
Félix Houphouët-Boigny Côte d’Ivoire 1960 elected 1993
Richard Turnbull (colonial governor) Tanganyika 1961 1962
Walter Coutts Uganda (commonwealth realm) 1962 1963
Milton Obote Uganda (commonwealth realm), Uganda 1962 elected, 1980 1972, 1985
Hastings Kamuzu Banda Malawi 1963 1994 lost election
Abeid Karume People’s Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba 1964 1964
Glyn Smallwood Jones Malawi (commonwealth realm) 1964 1966
Hastings Banda Malawi (commonwealth realm) 1964 1966
Kenneth Kaunda Northern Rhodesia, Zambia 1964 elected 1991 lost election
Dawda Jawara The Gambia (commonwealth realm) 1965 1970
Houari Boumediene Algeria 1965 bloodless coup 1978 death
Ian Smith Rhodesia 1965 1979
Mobutu Sese Seko Zaire 1965 coup 1997 civil war
Jean-Bédel Bokassa Central African Empire 1966 coup 1979
Albert Okonkwo Republic of Benin (1967) 1967 1967
C. Odumegwu Ojukwu Biafra 1967 1970
Gnassingbé Eyadéma Togo 1967 coup 2005 death
Omar Bongo Gabon 1967 from Vice-President 2009 death
Francisco Macías Nguema Equatorial Guinea 1968 elected 1979
Moussa Traoré Mali 1968 1991
Hasan as-Senussi Kingdom of Libya 1969 1969
Gaafar Nimeiry Sudan 1969 by military coup 1985
Siad Barre Somali Democratic Republic 1969 by military coup 1991
Muammar Gaddafi History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi 1969 by military coup 2011 popular uprising
Anwar Sadat Egypt 1970 1981 assassinated
Idi Amin Uganda 1971 1979 deposed
Mengistu Haile Mariam People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia 1974 1991
Kenneth Mopeli QwaQwa 1974 1994
Mathieu Kérékou People’s Republic of Benin 1975 1991
Olusegun Obasanjo Nigeria 1976 by military coup 1979
Jean-Baptiste Bagaza Burundi 1976 1987
Lucas Mangope Bophuthatswana 1977 1994
France-Albert René Seychelles 1977 2004
Daniel arap Moi Kenya 1978 2002
Abel Muzorewa Zimbabwe Rhodesia 1979 1979
Josiah Zion Gumede Zimbabwe Rhodesia 1979 1979
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Equatorial Guinea 1979 by coup present
José Eduardo dos Santos Angola 1979 present
João Bernardo Vieira Guinea-Bissau 1980 by coup, 2005 1984, 2009
Samuel K. Doe Liberia 1980 by military coup 1990
Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe 1980 elected present.
Jerry Rawlings Ghana 1981 by military coup 1992 resigned
André Kolingba Central African Republic 1981 by military coup 1993 lost elections
Hosni Mubarak[citation needed] Egypt 1981 2011 popular uprising
Paul Biya Cameroon 1982 from Prime Minister present
Hissène Habré Chad 1982 by military coup 1990
Thomas Sankara Burkina Faso 1983 by military coup 1987 by military coup
Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya Mauritania 1984 by military coup 2005 by bloodless coup
Ibrahim Babangida Nigeria 1985 1993
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Tunisia 1987 2011 popular uprising
Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir Sudan 1989 by military coup present
Idriss Déby Chad 1990 by military coup present
Meles Zenawi Ethiopia 1991 by military coup present
Sani Abacha Nigeria 1993 by military coup 1998
Yahya Jammeh The Gambia 1994 by military coup present
Laurent-Désiré Kabila Congo-Kinshasa 1997 by military coup 2001
Charles G. Taylor Liberia 1997 elected 2003
François Bozizé Central African Republic 2003 by military coup present
Ely Ould Mohamed Vall Mauritania 2005 by military coup 2007 relinquished power

North America
Porfirio Díaz Mexico 1879 1910
Victoriano Huerta Mexico 1913 1914
Grantley Herbert Adams West Indies Federation 1958 1962
Patrick Buchan-Hepburn, 1st Baron Hailes West Indies Federation 1958 1962
Hudson Austin People’s Revolutionary Government (Grenada) 1983 1983

Central America
José Santos Zelaya Nicaragua 1893 1909 resigned
Manuel Estrada Cabrera Guatemala 1898 1920
Maximiliano Hernández Martínez El Salvador 1931, 1935 1934, 1944
Jorge Ubico Guatemala 1931 1944
Tiburcio Carías Andino Honduras 1933 1949
Anastasio Somoza García Nicaragua 1937 by military coup 1956
Carlos Castillo Armas Guatemala 1954 by coup 1957
Oswaldo López Arellano Honduras 1963, 1972 1971, 1975
Anastasio Somoza Debayle Nicaragua 1967 succession 1979
Omar Torrijos Panama 1968 by coup 1981
Kjell Laugerud García Guatemala 1974 by coup 1978
Efraín Ríos Montt Guatemala 1982 by military coup 1983
Manuel Noriega Panama 1983 1989
Roberto Micheletti Honduras 2009 by coup 2010
Porfirio Lobo Sosa Honduras 2009 dubious election present

South America

Cipriano Castro Venezuela 1899 1909
Rafael Reyes Colombia 1904 1909
Juan Vicente Gómez Venezuela 1909, 1922, 1931 1914, 1929, 1935
Óscar Benavides Peru 1914 by coup, 1933 1915, 1939
Augusto B. Leguía y Salcedo Peru 1919 by coup 1930
Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Chile 1927 1931
Getúlio Vargas Brazil 1930 1945
Gabriel Terra Uruguay 1931 1938
Higinio Morínigo Paraguay 1940 1948
Manuel A. Odría Peru 1948 by coup 1956
Marcos Pérez Jiménez Venezuela 1948 1958
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Colombia 1953 by coup 1957
Alfredo Stroessner Paraguay 1954 by military coup 1989
René Barrientos Bolivia 1964 by military coup 1969
Forbes Burnham Guyana (commonwealth realm) 1966 1985
Hugo Banzer Bolivia 1971 by coup 1978
Juan María Bordaberry Uruguay 1972 1976
Augusto Pinochet Chile 1973 by military coup 1990
Luis García Meza Tejada Bolivia 1980 by coup 1981
Dési Bouterse Suriname 1980 by military coup 1988
Gregorio Conrado Álvarez Uruguay 1981 1985
Leopoldo Galtieri Occupation of the Falkland Islands 1982 1982
Alberto Fujimori Peru 1990 2000

Caribbean
Gerardo Machado Cuba 1925 1933
Rafael Trujillo Dominican Republic 1930 1961
Paul Magloire Haiti 1950 by coup 1956
Fulgencio Batista Cuba 1952 by coup 1959
François Duvalier Haiti 1957 elected 1971
Jean-Claude Duvalier Haiti 1971 succeeded father 1986
Eric Gairy Grenada 1974 1979
Raoul Cédras Haiti 1991 by coup (de facto) 1994

Western Asia
Faisal II of Iraq Arab Federation 1958 1958
Abdul Karim Qassem Iraq 1958 by coup 1963
Abdullah as-Sallal North Yemen 1962 by civil war 1967
Abdul Salam Arif Iraq 1963 by coup 1966
Qahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi South Yemen 1967 1969 by coup
Abdul Rahman al-Iryani North Yemen 1967 1974 by coup
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr Iraq 1968 by coup 1979
Salim Rubai Ali South Yemen 1969 by coup 1978
Hafez al-Assad Syria 1970 2000
Ibrahim al-Hamdi North Yemen 1974 by coup 1977 assassinated
Ahmad al-Ghashmi North Yemen 1977 1978 assassinated
Ali Nasir Muhammad South Yemen 1978, 1980 1978 by coup
Abdul Fattah Ismail South Yemen 1978 by coup 1980
Ali Abdullah Saleh North Yemen, Yemen 1978 present
Mehdi Bazargan Interim Government of Iran (1979) 1979 1979
Saddam Hussein Iraq 1979 2003
Ali Salim al-Beidh South Yemen, Democratic Republic of Yemen 1986, 1994 1990, 1994
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Iran 1989 present
Alaa Hussein Ali Republic of Kuwait 1990 1990
Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas Democratic Republic of Yemen 1994 1994
Bashar al-Assad Syria 2000 present
Central Asia
Mohammed Daoud Khan Republic of Afghanistan 1973 by coup 1978 by coup
Nur Muhammad Taraki Afghanistan 1978 by coup 1979 murdered
Hafizullah Amin Afghanistan 1979 president murdered 1979 country invaded
Askar Akayev Kyrgyzstan 1990 2005 by popular uprising
Islam Karimov Uzbekistan 1990 present
Nursultan Nazarbayev Kazakhstan 1990 present
Saparmurat Niyazov Turkmenistan 1991 2006 death
Wekîl Mustafayev Lachin Kurdish Republic 1992 1992
Sibghatullah Mojaddedi Islamic State of Afghanistan 1992 2001
Burhanuddin Rabbani Northern Alliance 1992 2001
Emomali Rahmon Tajikistan 1992 present
Alikram Hummatov Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic 1993 1993
Heydar Aliyev Azerbaijan 1993 by coup 2003
Mohammed Omar Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan 1996 2001
Ilham Aliyev Azerbaijan 2003 present
Hamid Karzai Afghanistan 2004 present As dictator
Kurmanbek Bakiyev Kyrgyzstan 2005 2010 by popular uprising
Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedow Turkmenistan 2006 present
South Asia
Don Stephen Senanayake British Ceylon 1947 1948
Ayub Khan Pakistan 1958 by coup 1969
Abdullah Afeef United Suvadive Republic 1959 1963
Yahya Khan Pakistan 1969 1971
Tajuddin Ahmad Provisional Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh 1971 1972
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Pakistan 1978 1988
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maldives 1978 2008
Hossain Mohammad Ershad Bangladesh 1982 by coup 1990
Pervez Musharraf Pakistan 1999 by coup 2008
Eastern Asia
Yuan Shikai Republic of China 1912 1916
Roman von Ungern-Sternberg Mongolia 1921 1921
Chiang Kai-shek Republic of China 1927 1975
Khorloogiyn Choybalsan Mongolia 1936 1952
Ehmetjan Qasim Second East Turkestan Republic 1944 1946
Ho Chi Minh North Vietnam 1954 1969
Edward Gent Malayan Union 1946 1948
Kim Tu-bong Provisional People’s Committee for North Korea 1946 1949
Kim Il-sung Provisional People’s Committee for North Korea, North Korea 1946 1994
Syngman Rhee First Republic of South Korea 1948 1960 revolution
Mohammad Hatta Republic of the United States of Indonesia 1949 1950
Bao Dai State of Vietnam 1949 1955
Sukarno Indonesia 1949 1968 overthrown
Mao Zedong People’s Republic of China 1949 1976
Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal Mongolia 1952 1984
Ngô Ðình Diệm South Vietnam 1955 1963
Tunku Abdul Rahman Federation of Malaya 1957 1963
Yun Bo-seon Second Republic of South Korea 1960 1961
Norodom Sihanouk Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–1970) 1960 1970
Le Duan North Vietnam 1960 1986
Park Chung Hee South Korea 1961 by coup 1979
Ne Win Burma 1962 by coup 1988
Thanom Kittikachorn Thailand 1963 1973
Duong Van Minh South Vietnam 1963 by coup 1975 by invasion
Ferdinand Marcos Philippines 1965 1986 by revolution
Suharto Indonesia 1967 1998
Nguyen Huu Tho Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam 1969 1976
Lon Nol Cambodia 1972 by coup 1975
Huynh Tan Phat Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam 1975 1976
Pol Pot Cambodia 1975 1979
Chun Doo Hwan South Korea 1980 by coup 1988
Valery Chaptynov Gorno-Altai Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic 1990 1991
Yasushi Akashi United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia 1992 1993
Than Shwe Myanmar 1992 by coup 2011 [95][96]
Khieu Samphan Provisional Government of National Union and National Salvation of Cambodia 1994 1998
Kim Jong-il North Korea 1994 inherited present
Sonthi Boonyaratglin Thailand 2006 2006

Europe
Benito Mussolini Italy 1922 1943
Aleksandar Tsankov Bulgaria 1923 by coup 1926
Miguel Primo de Rivera Spain 1923 1930
Joseph Stalin USSR 1924 1953
Ahmet Bej Zogu Albania 1925 elected 1939 country occupied
António Óscar Carmona Portugal 1926 1928
Józef Piłsudski Poland 1926 by coup 1935
Antanas Smetona Lithuania 1926 military coup 1940
António de Oliveira Salazar Portugal 1928 1968
Alexander I Yugoslavia 1929 1934
Engelbert Dollfuss Austria 1933 1934
Konstantin Päts Estonia 1933 by coup 1940
Adolf Hitler Nazi Germany 1933 1945
Kimon Georgiev Bulgaria 1934 by coup 1934 overthrown
Kurt Schuschnigg Austria 1934 1938
Boris III Bulgaria 1934 1943
Kārlis Ulmanis Latvia 1934 by coup 1940
Ioannis Metaxas Greece 1936 1941
Francisco Franco Francoist Spain 1936 1975
Jozef Tiso Slovakia 1939 1945
Ion Antonescu Romania 1940 1944
Vidkun Quisling Norway 1940 1945
Ante Pavelić Independent State of Croatia 1941 installed 1945
Josip Broz Tito Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1943 1980
Ferenc Szálasi Hungary 1944 installed 1945
Enver Hoxha Albania 1944 1985
Antoine Béthouart Allied-occupied Austria 1945 1945
Ivan Konev Allied-occupied Austria 1945 1945
Mark W. Clark Allied-occupied Austria 1945 1945
Richard McCreery Allied-occupied Austria 1945 1945
Georgy Zhukov Allied-occupied Germany 1945 1945
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Allied-occupied Germany 1945 1945
Rodoljub Čolaković Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1945 1945
Milovan Đilas Socialist Republic of Montenegro 1945 1945
Marie Pierre Kœnig Allied-occupied Germany 1945 1949
Bolesław Bierut Poland 1945 1952
Reinhold Maier Württemberg-Baden 1945 1952
Fadil Hoxha Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo 1945 1953
Blažo Jovanović Socialist Republic of Montenegro 1945 1953
Mátyás Rákosi Hungary 1949 1953
André François-Poncet Allied-occupied Germany 1949 1955
Walter Ulbricht East Germany 1950 1971
Nikita Khrushchev USSR 1953 1964
Todor Zhivkov Bulgaria 1956 1989
Leonid Brezhnev USSR 1964 1982
Nicolae Ceauşescu Romania 1965 1989
George Papadopoulos Greece 1967 1973
Marcelo Caetano Portugal 1968 1974 by popular uprising
Erich Honecker East Germany 1971 1989
Phaedon Gizikis Greece 1973 by coup 1974
Wojciech Jaruzelski Poland 1981 1990
Kenan Evren Turkey 1982 1989
Arnold Rüütel Republic of Estonia 1990–1991 1990 1991
Edgar Savisaar Republic of Estonia 1990–1991 1990 1991
Leonid Kravchuk Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic 1990 1991
Kiro Gligorov Socialist Republic of Macedonia 1991 1991
Mate Boban Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia 1991 1994
Ibrahim Rugova Republic of Kosova 1992 2000
Slobodan Milošević Serbia and Montenegro 1992 2000
Fikret Abdić Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia 1993 1995
Alexander Lukashenko Belarus 1994 present
Igor Smirnov Transnistria 1990 present

Oceania
Sitiveni Rabuka Fiji 1987 1992
Frank Bainimarama Fiji 2006 by coup present

[Winston001]

Sheesh David, I was just operating off the top of my head, no need for you to crush with facts damnit.

Interesting though.

Anyway, John Key. I've always viewed him as benign, neither strong nor weak, personable and capable but really...kind of surprising as Prime Minister. I much preferred David Lange.

But I'm watching the TV1 debate between Key and Goff and have to recognise Key is sharp as a tack. He'd rival Helen Clark for attention to detail. Bling to him (I like Goff too, just not as much).

[trustme]

Sheesh David, I was just operating off the top of my head, no need for you to crush with facts damnit.

Interesting though.

Anyway, John Key. I've always viewed him as benign, neither strong nor weak, personable and capable but really...kind of surprising as Prime Minister. I much preferred David Lange.

But I'm watching the TV1 debate between Key and Goff and have to recognise Key is sharp as a tack. He'd rival Helen Clark for attention to detail. Bling to him (I like Goff too, just not as much).

He is not nick named ' the smiling assassin ' for nothing. If he was weak he would have rolled over on ' a cup of tea ', politically he should have but he took the moral high ground.

Lange was a light weight , when the going got tough he called for a ' cup of tea ' . He did not have the strength of conviction to follow through with what he knew was required.

' Benign, neither strong or weak ' . I think you seriously underestimate him .

We seem to favour the politician who is combative, aggressive.

I suspect Key talks quietly but has the strength of his convictions which is something lacking in most of our politicians.

Goff would lie with the devil [ Winston ] to form a govt . Key would rather walk.

I respect that

[98tls]

There all full of shit but lets narrow down the volume of it and ffs get rid of MMP.

[oldrider]

There all full of shit but lets narrow down the volume of it and ffs get rid of MMP.

True and yes!

[Hinny]

Well I am ex military and proud of it.

This reminds me of a radio interview with John Banks. Outlining his history he stated that he used to box as a young man.
A listener rang after Mr. Banks got off.
He asked "Did I hear John Banks say he used to box when he was younger"?
When answered in the affirmative he replied" Well that explains it then".

Your history clearly explains your outlook on life and society.
We don't need Crypto-fascist brain-washing in our society.
Your adulation of war criminals like Margaret Thatcher and Jenny Shipley are illustrative of that brain-washing.

F16's FFS.
It may be noted that they were F16's bought and paid for by the Pakistan govt. but not delivered...and then they tried to sell them to us. Shysters. And you condemn the Govt for having principles and rejecting the offer. It was akin to buying stolen gear at the pub.

[rainman]

I like Kennedy Graham of the Greens.

Indeed. I'm fond of slagging off politicians but Ken is quality for all of the reasons you list.

You would do it your self if your personal circumstances were heading toward insolvency!

Depends on the asset. Luxuries, yes. Strategic assets,no. Either way I'd rather start by living within my means, and spending less.

[avgas]

It was akin to buying gear at the pub.

Is it any good?

[avgas]

You would do it your self if your personal circumstances were heading toward insolvency

See if I could get the rail, water works and the electric company and sell the big expensive blue streets.
Its not as high income but it lets you pull through

[Hinny]

Maybe so and they aint perfect. Generally I dont much care for Americans myself and its not a favoured destination. But we owe people like Nimitz and a whole heap of dead marines for saving us from Japanese invasion.

How many of the men who fought to save us from the Japanese invasion would be happy to see the 'Asian Invasion' of these times.
New Plymouth seems OK but you try and find a face in Queen Street or Broadway that you could think 'OK, he or his parents were born here. 1 or 2 ... now and again.
We don't need F16s.to repel these 'invaders'. These people come in on commercial flights.
And we welcome (most of) them. (PS. We don't need any more 'painters'.)

I do believe, however, there is a major over-stayer problem that needs sorting out.

[Hinny]

Is it any good?

I can send you a sample in plain wrapping.