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28.7.07

Dumb Kiwis, as perceived by the USA 

Of course I can’t post the confidential bits of a team meeting that we had with some of our folks in California, but what was interesting was a discussion on how and are perceived there.
   If like making fun of , then let us know now that we don’t look too smart to them.
   Jon Stewart has (rightly) used the country as fodder in the now, now that New Zealand has passed some weird rules saying we can’t show MPs in a bad light in Parliament. There were some stringent old rules, too, which were breached regularly, but the new ones are pretty far-reaching for our elected officials. As the Press Gazette explained:

… the often used wider-angled shots or published photographs of napping, reading comics, eating lollies, and in one notable case, giving another MP the finger.
   Occasionally, media organisations were punished for this, but only by the withdrawal, for a set period, of their right to attend the chamber.
   The new standing orders make a breach a contempt of , potentially punishable by imprisonment.


   This is a party in power for too long, letting the idea of parliamentary sovereignty get to its head.
   Though the government denied it at the time, it is essentially a clamp-down on the . In other words, TV cameras, for example, can’t show a MP flipping the bird, even if it happened, or dozing off.
   When I was at law school, we were taught that if a regular Joe Bloggs could see something publicly, then it is probably OK to film it, unless it crosses the line of (e.g. inside someone’s house). And since regular people can watch parliamentary debates, then whatever goes on there can be filmed and shown to us.
   I think our government has forgotten that it is here to serve us. That this is a , not some goddamn commie state. (Unless this is some demonstration to Red Chinese politicians that we are taking their orders.)
   Yes, ladies and gentlemen, is outlawed. (Just like in .)
   The fact is, we do have such ill-mannered louts in Parliament. This is the honest-to-God truth. They have passed this law out of their shame. And they should be ashamed for not doing their jobs and representin’. In a company, maybe not one here since firing someone is illegal, but one overseas, they would be sacked.
   Hey, morons: if you don’t to be shown in a bad light, then behave yourselves.
   Now have been curtailed.
   And our American readers wonder why some of us are tired of having liberals in office.
   Even among liberals, there is a lack of support for this move, one that I see as undemocratic. A bit like when this same government passed ex post facto laws (ones that would be illegal under the US Constitution, or, indeed, most fair-minded democracies) about . Here’s one poll:

The vast majority of people in New Zealand are against a recent rule approved by lawmakers that bans using images captured inside Parliament to satirize, ridicule or denigrate lawmakers on broadcast and print media, according to a poll by TNS released by TV3. 71 per cent of respondents disapprove of this measure.

   Someone please tell me why we are even bothering with spending our tax dollars on tourism to Americans and funding newzealand.com (one of our ) if news of our undemocratic ways is now the stuff of jokes in US television shows. I mean, Americans know more about our weird-ass political follies now than they do about, say, Cuba’s.
   My Californian colleague continued along these lines: ‘What has Helen Clark done for New Zealand, apart from being really good at getting photo ops and talking about Lord of the Rings, which she probably hasn’t seen? What is her legacy for New Zealand?
   ‘We just see her taking every opportunity to talk in tourism brochures and shows.’
   Remember, folks, this is from a foreigner. And all this is the sum of how New Zealand is being seen.
   What this tells me is that we need to pick up our game.
   I may be wrong, but from what I know, our seems to have ignored Mr Stewart’s programme’s criticisms, although it was networked here. We in the media should stand up, not bend over.
   I imagine that with the farting Phil Goff gag that Mr Stewart showed, our networks can always license footage to the Americans and let them broadcast it instead, to get around the contempt charge. That will do wonders for our foreign relations.
   In Mr Stewart’s words:

Fear not, for you may not be able to shit on your politicians, but I can be your anus.

   I have always said that people can see through hype, especially in the 21st century. If a lacks and integrity, then it becomes a joke. And we now have that joke.
   The only problem remains this: I can’t see too many alternatives to this bunch of shame-driven dorks. Because it seems the Leader of the Opposition is as vision-off as the incumbent. He did, after all, support the move—and one National Party member questions why I think leader John Key will lose them the next General Election.
   The only party that didn’t was the Greens, voted down 111 to 6 (I believe our Parliament has 120, so three MPs were either napping, flipping someone off, had their hand in the candy jar or absent on a toilet break).
   Vision, transparency, accountability. Not too much to ask of someone who should lead a nation. Might I add ?
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Comments:
Hi Jack Yan,
I am interested in providing encouragement to our veterans and the soldiers who have been wounded while protecting our great country. If you could tell your readers about my blog, I would appreciate your kindness. My name is Craig J. Phillips and I am a traumatic brain injury survivor as well as a master’s level rehabilitation counselor. Through out my lifetime, I have taught myself how to overcome many insurmountable odds. These strategies have helped me to prosper and succeed. On February 6, 2007, I decided to start a blog at http://secondchancetolive.wordpress.com/ Second Chance to Live presents topics that motivate encourage and empower the reader. As a tbi survivor, I can speak from my experience, strength and hope. As a professional, I provide information to encourage, motivate and empower both disabled and non-disabled individuals. Our circumstances are not meant to keep us down, but to build us up. Second Chance to Live empowers the readers to live life on life's terms.

Please read my post; http://secondchancetolive.wordpress.com/2007/02/18/my-journey-thus-far/ as that will help you understand more about my background. Professionally speaking, I have nursing training on the LPN level, I have an undergraduate degree in Theology, with a minor in Physical Education / Recreation, and a masters degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. I have practical experience with in nursing, emergency medicine, physical education, private and public rehabilitation, chemical dependency counseling, day treatment and partial hospitalization for mentally ill adults, and I have worked with in both the cemetery and funeral industries. In addition I have been pursuing my own personal empowerment for the last 30 years. Please consider sharing my site with anyone who needs to be encouraged, motivated or empowered.

Per my traumatic brain injury, at the age of 10, I was in a motor vehicle accident. Upon impact -- the Cadillac hitting our VW Beetle -- I was thrown forward from where I sat, behind my father who was driving. On my way forward, I snapped my left femur on my Dad's bucket seat and then hit the windshield. When my head hit the windshield, I sustained an open skull fracture. The injury to my brain resulted in my remaining in a coma for 3 weeks. Upon waking from what I thought was a bad dream, I found my left leg elevated and in traction. Slowly, it became apparent that I was not merely in a bad dream. Although I am unable to remember much from that time in my life, one memory stands out. The right side of my forehead -- where the fracture occurred -- was depressed inward like a shallow bowl. I later learned that my right frontal lobe had been damaged, that I had sustained a severe brain contusion, and that my brain stem had been impacted.

In 1967 neurological rehabilitation was not available. As a result, I was virtually on my own. I had to re-teach myself how to walk, talk, read, write and speak in complete sentences. Although my injuries were life threatening and I was not expected to succeed beyond high school, I went on to obtain both my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I have learned that daunting pessimism and negativity is pointless. My hope is that through visiting my site, those individuals who may have lost hope will see a new light. This light will in turn guide them to a renewed hope, an array of possibilities, and a new zest for living.

Second Chance to Live, http://secondchancetolive.wordpress.com/ will enable the reader to live life on life’s terms.

Please share my site with veterans, soldiers and their families.

Thank you for your time and kindness,

Respectfully yours,


Craig J. Phillips MRC, BA  
Mr Phillips, it would be my pleasure to highlight your blog. I will place your comment on my personal Vox blog later today.  
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Entries from 2006 to the end of 2009 were done on the Blogger service. As of January 1, 2010, this blog has shifted to a Wordpress installation, with the latest posts here.
   With Blogger ceasing to support FTP publishing on May 1, I have decided to turn these older pages in to an archive, so you will no longer be able to enter comments. However, you can comment on entries posted after January 1, 2010.


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