Archive
John Key’s “pinch of salt” style of telling the truth
.
.
Continued from: When spin doctors go bad
The truth? You can’t handle the truth!
When Jack Nicholson bellowed that famous line in the 1992 movie, “A Few Good Men“, few would have thought that it would apply twenty years later; down under here in Godzone; but that this time the tables would be turned against an apologist for the Establishment.
Mark Unsworth – a right-wing lobbyist for a professional “government relations consultancy” company, Saunders Unsworth, seems to find difficulty “handling the truth”. Especially when that truth comes from respected and reknowned environmental scientist, Dr Mike Joy…
On 16 November, the New York Times carried a story on the upcoming release of “The Hobbit“. The article made reference to Tourism New Zealand’s publicity campaign centering around a supposedly “100% pureNew Zealand” theme.
As we should all know by now, New Zealand is not “100% pure”. In fact we probably haven’t been “100% pure” for several decades now.
Dr Joy stated as much and was duly quoted by New York Times,
“There are almost two worlds in New Zealand. There is the picture-postcard world, and then there is the reality.”
Green MP, Eugenie Sage, backed up Dr Joy’s brutal truth, and was quoted in the same article (from a statement she made in Parliament last month),
“We promote our country as 100 percent pure and 100 percent Middle Earth. But to swim in our rivers, which is the birthright of Kiwi kids — you cannot do it in the majority of the rivers that the Ministry for the Environment monitored.”
See: New Zealand’s Green Tourism Push Clashes With Realities
And you know what? They are telling the truth. The clear, unvarnished, simple truth.
Dear Leader John Key and Trade/Climate Change Minister Tim Groser Minister, have now waded into the ‘mix’.
Yesterday (26 Nov), Groser rebuked Environment scientist, Dr Mike Joy, by saying,
“It’s been used as a stick to beat New Zealand by environmental activists.”
See: Minister lashes out at environmentalists over 100% Pure
Today, Dear Leader added, just to make sure we understood what our politicians were “hinting” at,
“It’s like saying ‘McDonald’s, I’m loving it’ – I’m not sure every moment that someone’s eating McDonald’s they’re loving it . . . it’s the same thing with 100% Pure. It’s got to be taken with a bit of a pinch of salt.”
Dr Joy replied,
“I’m not going to lie about this stuff.”
He’s right. Why should he lie?
Politicians know that the “100% Pure” is a marketing scam to bring tourists (and more importantly their cash) to New Zealand and can only succeed if the true nature of our degraded environment is kept secret.
After all, successful politicians like Dear Leader John Key are so used to manipulating facts and employing half-truths to serve their political purposes (usually getting elected), that they forget that the rest of the population are not politicians.
So, having created their own “dynamic” standard of ethics, Key, Groser, and minions like Unsworth, are taken aback when the general populace raise an eyebrow in disbelief when we are expected to take part in conning overseas tourists? Our response is, “They want us to what-?”
How many times has Key been caught out telling half-truths, or not being upfront with the public?How many election promises has he broken; side-stepped; back-tracked; or watered-down until his pledges were useless?
The trouble now seems to be that Key and Groser are now expecting the public to buy in to their truth-bending ways.
Not just “buy in” – but to be tacitly complicit with the scam.
John Key wants 4.4 million people to be like him.
A nation of ‘politicians’.
Surprisingly most of the the general populace won’t have a bar of it.
Key says that no one expects New Zealand to be “100% Pure”.
I wonder what he expects when he buys a bottle of “pure water” to drink?
.
*
.
Sources
‘100% Pure’ is like McDonald’s ad, says Key
Minister lashes out at environmentalists over 100% Pure
Other blogs
The New Zealand story: 100% pooer!
.
.
= fs =
For a better New Zealand…
~ Cleaner rivers
~ No deep-sea oil drilling
~ Action on climate change
~ Less on Roads – more on Rail
~ A Living wage at $21.15/hr
~ Marriage equality – TICK!
~ Strong, effective Unions
~ No secret free-trade deals
~ Breakfast/lunches in our schools
~ Introducing Civics into our school curriculum
~ Cut back on the liquor industry
~ A fairer, progressive tax system
~ Fully funded, free healthcare
~ Ditto for education, including Tertiary
~ Fund Pharmac for Pompe’s Disease medication & other ‘orphan’ drugs
~ No state asset sales!
~ Rebuild public TV broadcasting!
~ Keeping farms in local ownership
~ Reduce poverty, like we reduced the toll for road-fatalities
~ State housing for life
~ Meaningful work for all who want it!
~ Stronger communities
~ LGBTQI inclusiveness. Trans rights are human rights
Recent Posts
- A Tale of Two Schools…
- Does OIA evidence confirm possible Air NZ link to recent covid outbreaks?
- Is Air NZ the Covid re-infection problem? Possible evidence points to national airline
- 2020: The History That Was – Part 4
- 2020: The History That Was – Part 3
- 2020: The History That Was – Part 2
- 2020: The History That Was – Part 1
- 2020: Post mortem or Prologue?
- Life in Level 2: Two Tier Welfare; A Green School; Right Rage, Wrong Reason
- Life in Level 2: National’s Barely Secret Agenda
- Life in Level 2: The Curious Case of the Very Invisible Virus
- Questions for the Media to ask – if they have a spare moment or two
- Life in Level 1: The Doom of National
- Life in level 1: Newshub Nation, Q + A, and the end of Todd Muller’s leadership
- Life in Level 1: Cunning Plans, Unanswered Questions
- Life in Level 1: The Taxpayer’s Coin
- Life in Level 1: Reinfection – No, Dr Bloomfield!
- Life in Level 1: Reinfection – Labour’s kryptonite
- Life in Lock Down: Day 2 of Level 3
- Life in Lock Down: Day 33 & 34
- Life in Lock Down: Day 31 & 32
- Life in Lock Down: Day 29 & 30
- Life in Lock Down: Day 28 – An Open Letter to Prime Minister Ardern
- Life in Lock Down: Day 27 – and it’s been a shit day.
- Life in Lock Down: Day 26
- Life in Lock Down: Day 24 & 25
- Life in Lock Down: Day 23
- Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!
- Life in Lock Down: Day 21
- Life in Lock Down: Day 20
Essential Viewing/Listening
International Orgs.
Media Links
- Al Jazeera
- Dominion Post
- Evening Report
- Hive News
- Huffington Post
- Interest.Co.Nz
- Live News
- Maori Television
- National Business Review (NBR)
- Newsroom
- NZ Herald
- Otago Daily Times
- Parliament Today
- Parliament TV – On Demand
- Radio New Zealand
- Scoop
- Tangatawhenua.com
- The Intercept
- The Listener
- The Spinoff
- TV3
- TVNZ
Planet of the Blogs
- Bat, Bean, Beam
- Boots Theory
- Bowalley Road
- Brian Edwards Media
- Brooking Blog
- Cafe Pacific
- Closing the gap
- Domestic Electricity Users Network
- Dr Jarrod Gilbert, Sociologist
- Fearfactsexposed
- Fightback!
- Food Politics (US, International)
- Forest & Bird
- Frogblog
- Generation Zero
- Gitsbeat
- Gordon Campbell
- Hot Topic
- How Melulater Sees It
- Imperator Fish
- InsightNZ
- Jeremy Wells' Mike Hosking Rants
- John Pilger
- Keep NZ Working
- kiwi blog
- Kiwi Politico
- Labour Start
- Liberation
- Local Bodies
- Monkeywrenching
- My Thinks
- Naked Capitalism
- No Right Turn
- NZ Leftwing
- NZ Social Justiceblog2013
- O'Brien . . . My Long Road Back
- Open Parachute
- Politically Corrected NZ
- Porcupinefarm
- Public Address
- Pundit
- Putting NZ First
- Rebuilding Christchurch
- Sustainable Energy Forum
- Tangatawhenua.com
- Tewhareporahou
- the christchurch fiasco
- The Civilian
- The Daily Blog
- The Dim Post
- The Hand Mirror
- The Jackal
- The Left Estate
- The Occupied NZ Herald
- The Political Scientist
- The Post-Colonial
- The Standard
- Transparency nz
- Transport Blog
- Tumeke!
- Watchblog Aotearoa
- Wellington Region Cycleways
- Werewolf
- Whoar!
Political Parties
Resources
- Action Stations
- BERL Economics
- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- Debt Clock – New Zealand
- Farm Land Grab
- FYI
- General Elections in NZ
- History Commons
- List of countries by tax revenue as percentage of GDP
- List of New Zealand by-elections
- N.A.S.A. – Climate Change
- Parliament TV – On Demand
- PolicyMic
- Referendums in NZ
- State Asset Sales History
- Tax rates around the world
- The New Zealand Government Directory
- Trading Economics – NZ Economic Data
- US Debt
- Wikipedia
Social Media Groups
- Action Stations
- Affordable Housing For All
- All New Zealand Media
- Anadarko eye
- Anadarko- Wish You Weren't Here!
- Aotearoa is not for sale – NZ
- Aotearoa is Not for Sale Wellington
- Bomber's Blog – The War on News
- Campaign for Marriage Equality New Zealand
- Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG)
- Children of Aotearoa
- Coal Action Network Aotearoa
- Community Campaign for Food in Schools – NZ
- DiscussioNZ
- Feed The Kids
- Forest & Bird
- GayNZ
- Generation Zero
- Hector's and Maui's dolphin SOS
- Housing NZ Tenants Forum
- Inside Child Poverty New Zealand
- It's Our Future – Kiwis concerned about the TPPA
- John Banks do the honourable thing and resign
- John Key has Let Down New Zealand
- Keep Our Assets
- KidsCanNZ
- Kiwi Expats Against Asset Sales
- Lets Talk About WINZ (Work and Income New Zealand)
- National Standards Must Go
- New Zealand Pompe Network
- Nobody Likes a Tory – NZ
- NZers for a snap election 2012
- Occupy NZ
- Occupy WINZ
- Oil Free Wellington
- Palestine Human Rights Campaign (New Zealand)
- PolicyMic
- Pre-register your disinterest in buying Mighty River shares
- Revoke the GCSB Bill
- S.O.S Save.OUR.Shores
- Save Fiordland
- Save Otago from Deep Sea Oil Drilling! (OIL FREE OTAGO)
- Save our Schools – Christchurch Needs your Suppport !!!!!!
- Save Radio New Zealand
- Save The Basin Reserve
- Say No To Fracking In New Zealand
- Service and Food Workers Union – Nga Ringa Tota
- Stand up for kids – protect our schools
- Stop the Search and Surveillance Bill Now!
- Tax Justice Network
- The daily blog
- Tibet Solidarity Network (Wellington, New Zealand)
- TPPA Action Group
- United Nations For a Free Tibet
- Vote Out National 2014
- We Don't Need Your Charter Schools
- Wellingtonians against Welfare Reform
Uber Cool Internetty Places
- All Out
- Cafe Pacific
- Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa
- Campaign for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly
- David Suzuki Foundation
- Domestic Electricity Users Network
- Dr Jarrod Gilbert, Sociologist
- Flying Blind
- Friends of Tibet
- Greenpeace
- guestauthorfranklyspeaking
- John Key Looks At Things
- John Pilger
- Kia Ora Gaza
- Kiwi Expats Against Asset Sales
- Living Wage Campaign
- NZ Fabian Society
- Richard Dawkins Foundation
- Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand
- Royal Society of New Zealand
- S.E.T.I.
- Save Our Schools NZ
- Save the Farms
- The Equality Trust
- The Virtual Museum of Bacteria
- Transparency.Org
- Voluntary Euthanasia Society
- Wikileaks
- Xkcd
Useful Utilities
Archives
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
Blog Stats
- 543,198 hits