She's a bit of a heifer - But I think I love Paula Bennett

[avgas]

Burn em all!!

[Scorp]

Having lived and WORKED in the UK for five years in the early 80s I feel I may just be a little bit qualified to comment...

Well I was born there, raised there by true blue Tory die hards, lived there and worked there for most of my life. So I guess that makes me qualified to comment too. Everything you've written above is like the Sky News sound bite version of what actually happened.

I'm sure you genuinely believe what you've written, but the truth is considerably more subtle. For a start, the myth that one party presides over catastrophe, while another saves civilization (a view held by both left and right) is oversimplified, kindergarten grade nonsense. The kind of lie 60% of the public buy into and then go out and vote on.

Makes me laugh really. All that wind and fury and conviction, as though Labour and National are opposites, when they're really just two quite similar groups of lying bastards playing I'm the king of the castle.

[mashman]

Makes me laugh really. All that wind and fury and conviction, as though Labour and National are opposites, when they're really just two quite similar groups of lying bastards playing I'm the king of the castle.

Hey, it's tough at the top and many try to get their rest when there's nothing important to listen too

[MisterD]

For a start, the myth that one party presides over catastrophe, while another saves civilization (a view held by both left and right) is oversimplified, kindergarten grade nonsense.

Which is kind of where we came in with the whole "Maggie is the most evil witch ever to be born in an English-speaking country" thing...which is pretty much the orthodoxy hammered into my generation by lefty teachers and "alternative" comedians.

She became a larger than life hate caricature and that's why I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when she resigned...it was one of those moments.

As I said before, most of my generation never stopped to re-appraise what they had been taught and filter them according to the mouthpiece.

[Scorp]

Which is kind of where we came in with the whole "Maggie is the most evil witch ever to be born in an English-speaking country" thing...which is pretty much the orthodoxy hammered into my generation by lefty teachers and "alternative" comedians.

Not quite. It is one thing to believe that Labour are Britain's saviours and the Tories it's demons: which I don't.

And quite another to believe that Thatcher was an egotistical bitch who was bad for Britain and presided over a departure from traditional social and community values for which Britain is still paying today: which I do.

For what it's worth I also loathe Tony Blair, who, for any true capitalist has been Britain's best neo-con leader since Thatcher herself.

P.S. No one disliked Thatcher because of what alternative comedians said about her. They just enjoyed what those comedians were saying about her because they thought she was a bitch.

[Skyryder]

Thatcher was the closest that Britain came to electing a dictator. This woman is on record as claiming that Pinochet saved democracy in Chile. If that is not enough to convince anyone how fucked up this woman was I don't know of anything else that would suffice. Other that she reared a son who was as dodgy as she was. Mark Thacher was investigated in 1988 for loan sharking, a racketeering case in Texas was settle out of court. In 2004 the Cape town High court sentanced Thatcher to a four year suspended jail sentance.

Perhaps mum should have bought him up with some traditional values. I could go on with this but suffice to say it was under Pinochet that the Milton Friedman free market, that we know today and the Chicago school of econmics were first put into practice.

So much for Thatcher and her ideas on democracy. And they gave her Baronet..................no wonder the Brits are doing away with the House of Lords.


Skyryder.

[Scorp]

Perhaps mum should have bought him up with some traditional values.

Heh-heh... someone should put Family First on her case.

[Robert Taylor]

Thatcher was the closest that Britain came to electing a dictator. This woman is on record as claiming that Pinochet saved democracy in Chile. If that is not enough to convince anyone how fucked up this woman was I don't know of anything else that would suffice. Other that she reared a son who was as dodgy as she was. Mark Thacher was investigated in 1988 for loan sharking, a racketeering case in Texas was settle out of court. In 2004 the Cape town High court sentanced Thatcher to a four year suspended jail sentance.

Perhaps mum should have bought him up with some traditional values. I could go on with this but suffice to say it was under Pinochet that the Milton Friedman free market, that we know today and the Chicago school of econmics were first put into practice.

So much for Thatcher and her ideas on democracy. And they gave her Baronet..................no wonder the Brits are doing away with the House of Lords.


Skyryder.

For a new upperchamber top heavy with Labour party sympathisers, no no no. David Cameron will put a stop to that.

Im totally unrepentant in my praise for Maggie and totally reject your sanctimoious left wing crap. Lets go a stage further, the rot in Britain could have been arrested some 15 or so years earlier if Enoch Powell had become Priminister.

[Robert Taylor]

Well I was born there, raised there by true blue Tory die hards, lived there and worked there for most of my life. So I guess that makes me qualified to comment too. Everything you've written above is like the Sky News sound bite version of what actually happened.

I'm sure you genuinely believe what you've written, but the truth is considerably more subtle. For a start, the myth that one party presides over catastrophe, while another saves civilization (a view held by both left and right) is oversimplified, kindergarten grade nonsense. The kind of lie 60% of the public buy into and then go out and vote on.

Makes me laugh really. All that wind and fury and conviction, as though Labour and National are opposites, when they're really just two quite similar groups of lying bastards playing I'm the king of the castle.

Well Im unashamedly hoping that the National party is in power for a good number of years, at least theyve got more business sense.

[Smifffy]

And anyway, the average taxpayer is still better off footing the welfare bill, because it makes more economic (and personal) sense to give a bludger money he'll then return to the national pool of wealth, than to make him compete for someone else's job. You can't make people have jobs, without actually creating more of them. And currently I've heard there's a shortage.

Here's your shortage of jobs right here

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rd...9D5/0/1093.pdf

Many of these jobs have been in shortage mode thru a succession of governments, and what have any of them done about it?

"Oh we can get a fully qualified one of them from [insert favourite immigrant group homeland here], meanwhile the kiddies should be happy with a level 2 certificate in hairdresser floor sweeping, and maybe a concert in the newly created youth park. Maybe we should also introduce a level 1 skateboard repair course too, because there might be a future in that one day. Half of those other ones we'll send to boot camp, and the rest can go on a twilight golf which will instill in them leadership abilities and a strong work ethic.

Those students that manage to climb their way out of this mire of mediocrity and get themselves educated, trained and employed then realise that for a young kiwi with those skills the world truly is their oyster, and either head off overseas, or find themselves taxed into oblivion at an early age.

By this time the people imported to fill the skills gap have also realised that coming to NZ for a few years is a handy way to get into Australia, that you just don't read about on immigration NZ web site.

Or they say "Sod this for a game of soldiers" and get out of their high stress industry and become twilight golf instructors.

The govt changes, twilight golf is ridiculed by the media, is thrown out, and all of the unemployed skateboard techs, baristas and twilight golfers are put to work building cycle tracks so that the new wave of imported skills shortage employees have something to do on their days off.

[oldrider]

Makes me laugh really.
All that wind, fury and conviction, as though Labour and National are opposites, when they're really just two quite similar groups of lying bastards playing I'm the king of the castle.

True!

Like buying Matchless and A.J.S motorcycles in the old days and then arguing the merits of almost identical bikes (except for the name badge) made in the same bloody factory!

National and Labour are the same deal, you are only arguing semantics, there will be little (if any) change in the end result!

Well there has never been any difference in the 50 years that I have been voting, despite successive Labour - National governments!

The only significant change in that time has been the introduction of MMP, which enhanced the position of the politicians and introduced a few more flavours to argue over!

We will be voting in a "binding" referendum on MMP at the next election, ARE YOU READY FOR THIS!

[Robert Taylor]

True!

Like buying Matchless and A.J.S motorcycles in the old days and then arguing the merits of almost identical bikes (except for the name badge) made in the same bloody factory!

National and Labour are the same deal, you are only arguing semantics, there will be little (if any) change in the end result!

Well there has never been any difference in the 50 years that I have been voting, despite successive Labour - National governments!

The only significant change in that time has been the introduction of MMP, which enhanced the position of the politicians and introduced a few more flavours to argue over!

We will be voting in a "binding" referendum on MMP at the next election, ARE YOU READY FOR THIS!

And I will vote as I did at the last referendum, for FPP. If that is an option.

[Ixion]

For a new upperchamber top heavy with Labour party sympathisers, no no no. David Cameron will put a stop to that.

Im totally unrepentant in my praise for Maggie and totally reject your sanctimoious left wing crap. Lets go a stage further, the rot in Britain could have been arrested some 15 or so years earlier if Enoch Powell had become Priminister.

I am somewhat surprised you should say so, given that the two were such very different people and had such different political views. Both brilliant to be sure, but in very different ways, a sort of latter day Canning-Castlereagh contrast.

Mr Powell was a most interesting person.

[Skyryder]

Well Im unashamedly hoping that the National party is in power for a good number of years, at least theyve got more business sense.

Well that is debatable. Why on earth would we allow Chinese investors establish a dairy company in our own back yard to compete directly with a NZ owned company on the international market If this is your idea of Nationals better business sense then God help us.

But then it was not that long ago we sold kiwi fruit cuttings and stocks to the Chinese and looked what happened there. Oh that was the Nats business sense to if I remember correctly

To be fair Labour has to take some of the blame for this ‘dairy’ fiasco but Key is showing no sign of objection to this.

It is just plain stupid to allow overseas investors establish a competitive dairy company in our own country. Madness…………….


Skyryder

[Robert Taylor]

Well that is debatable. Why on earth would we allow Chinese investors establish a dairy company in our own back yard to compete directly with a NZ owned company on the international market If this is your idea of Nationals better business sense then God help us.

But then it was not that long ago we sold kiwi fruit cuttings and stocks to the Chinese and looked what happened there. Oh that was the Nats business sense to if I remember correctly

To be fair Labour has to take some of the blame for this ‘dairy’ fiasco but Key is showing no sign of objection to this.

It is just plain stupid to allow overseas investors establish a competitive dairy company in our own country. Madness…………….


Skyryder

To be fair I have to agree with you on that one and whilst being a diehard tory that is very definitely one of my conundrums.