Did you hear the one about the dead babies?
Our thanks to an alert Watcher who pointed out this transcript (or a link to video of the original incident) on Damien Christie's section of the Public Address blog, in which Wanganui's Civic Leader makes a joke on Out of the Question about the tragic deaths of the Kahui twins.
Christie sarcastically suggests, somewhat unkindly, that possessing such sentiments makes Laws "an ideal candidate, not only as Mayor of Wanganui, but as a human being". Unkind to Wanganui, that is, as we're sure the majority of residents find nothing funny in the deaths of children. But that's what you get when you elect a self-promoting narcissist as Mayor - tarred with the same brush.
As Christie also notes, such callous flippancy is at odds with the "tough love" approach taken in his Sunday Star Times column on the topic. But then Mickey has no real principles - he simply writes or says whatever he thinks will play best to the audience he's addressing at the time.
Comments on this post are now closed. Do feel free to address your further comments to Ms Spears' attorneys, though :-D
33 comments:
Is this really the clown who claimed on a previous post to be "good tv"?
Is he trying to brand Vision Wanganui as the Ku Klux Klan of NZ with him as Grand Wizard?
That's the last thing this town needs but he has people like Rangi Wills, Nigelhuw & Julie Morris and Nicki Higgie as his supporters. Now Graeme Adams I can understand, but the rest of them have to be able to live with themselves in this town.
The flooding and damage at the moment is a timely reminder of the cleawr and present dangers of the mayor's extravagant spending on swimming pools etc, "nil rates rises" and anti-regional council hysteria.
He's been determined to gouge the last cents out of the kitty and leave no buffer for this sort of thing. ... And imagine if he got his hands on regional council responsibilities. No doubt he'd sack all key staff and leave the city and district without any systems to monitor or cope with threats to the environment.
It's reassuring that people just ignore his rantings and that Horizons, with our one capable repreesentative, just get on with their important job.
"Arts are seen as something incredibly valued and very central to who we are as New Zealanders. There's strong public support for the arts ..."
- Peter Biggs, departing chair of Creative NZ
"Sadly, this has led to an explosion of creatives. Who, actually, aren’t. Modern art has had one appalling effect upon modern civilisation and that is, that most anyone can call themselves an artist." - Michael Laws, departing member of the human species and outgoing "mayor" of Whanganui.
Get over it. In its context, the mayor was right. Britney Spears IS the white trash equivalent of the Kahuis. Don't you read the gosspi mags then - not worthy enuff I expect.
anon @ 5.20pm wrote -
"The flooding and damage at the moment is a timely reminder of the cleawr and present dangers of the mayor's extravagant spending on swimming pools etc, "nil rates rises" and anti-regional council hysteria"
What a jerk post!
Name ONE budget item that the council could have spent that would have prevented any of the damage from the storm. Next you'll be blaming the guy for rabies which most of you must have given the deranged postings here.
Mickey, you incompetent fool, flood events and civil emergencies are inevitable, and if you've left nothing in the kitty for them you're not just incompetent you're negligent too.
What else is in Mickey's repertoire? "How many Jews can you fit in a gas oven?" "What do you call a Maori in a suit?". Go on Mickey, they're equally hilarious.
Last time I checked, Britney Spears hadn't killed a child. And if she had, anyone making jokes about it would be a slime bag with no morals or taste.
And if bad character traits are hereditary, does that mean all of Mickey's offspring are pathological lying egotists? Of course they aren't. So... not funny and not true. Which only leaves one reason you'd make such a comment. To draw attention and spark exactly this discussion.
You've been sucked in by this two bit egotist, Laws Watch, and so have I. Deny him the oxygen of publicity and watch him jump up and down like a naughty child, screaming "look at meeee! Look at meeeeeeee!"
Yeah he loves Laws watch. Feeds his ego and adds another nought to his speaking fees.
Guys - Just read this in a book called 'we know what you want' - it was distributed before WW11 by a group callioong itself the institute of propagande analysts for identifying several basic types of rhetorical tricks used by propagandists
1. Name-calling. This technique, in its crudest form, involves the use of insult words. Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is reported to have used this technique very deliberately, circulating a list of negative words and phrases that Republicans were instructed to use when speaking about their political opponents-words such as "betray," "corruption," "decay," "failure," "hypocrisy," "radical," "permissive," and "waste." The term "junk science," is an obvious use of this same strategy. When name-calling is used, the IPA recommended that people should ask themselves the following questions: What does the name mean? Does the idea in question have a legitimate connection with the real meaning of the name? Is an idea that serves my best interests being dismissed through giving it a name I don't like?
2. Glittering generalities. This technique is a reverse form of namecalling. Instead of insults, it uses words that generate strong positive emotions-words like "democracy," "patriotism," "motherhood," "science," "progress," "prosperity." Politicians love to speak in these terms. Newt Gingrich advised Republicans to use words such as "caring," "children," "choice," "commitment," "common sense," "dream," "duty," "empowerment," "freedom," and "hard work" when talking about themselves and their own programs. Democrats, of course, use the same strategy. Think, for example, of President Clinton's talk of "the future," "growing the economy," or his campaign slogan: "I still believe in a place called Hope."
3. Euphemisms are another type of word game. Rather than attempt to associate positive or negative connotations, euphemisms merely try to obscure the meaning of what is being talked about by replacing plain English with deliberately vague jargon. Rutgers University professor William Lutz has written several books about this strategy, most recently Doublespeak Defined. Examples include the use of the term "strategic misrepresentations" as a euphemism for "lies," or the term "employee transition" as a substitute for "getting fired." Euphemisms have also transformed ordinary sewage sludge into "regulated organic nutrients" that don't stink but merely "exceed the odor threshold."
4. Transfer is described by the IPA as "a device by which the propagandist carries over the authority, sanction, and prestige of something we respect and revere to something he would have us accept. For example, most of us respect and revere our church and our nation. If the propagandist succeeds in getting church or nation to approve a campaign in behalf of some program, he thereby transfers its authority, sanction, and prestige to that program. Thus, we may accept something which otherwise we might reject." In 1998, the American Council on Science and Health convened what it called a "blue-ribbon committee" of scientists to issue a report on health risks associated with phthalates, a class of chemical additives used in soft vinyl children's toys. People familiar with ACSH's record on other issues were not at all surprised when the blue-ribbon committee concluded that phthalates were safe. The committee's real purpose, after all, was to transfer the prestige of science onto the chemicals that ACSH was defending.
5. Testimonial is a specific type of transfer device in which admired individuals give their endorsement to an idea, product, or cause. Cereal companies put the pictures of famous athletes on their cereal boxes, politicians seek out the support of popular actors, and activist groups invite celebrities to speak at their rallies. Sometimes testimonials are transparently obvious. Whenever they are used, however, the IPA recommends asking questions such as the following: Why should we regard this person (or organization or publication) as a source of trustworthy information on the subject in question? What does the idea amount to on its own merits, without the benefit of the testimonial?
6. Plainfolks. This device attempts to prove that the speaker is "of the people." Even a geeky multibillionaire like Bill Gates tries to convey the impression that he's just a regular guy who enjoys fast food and popular movies. Politicians also use the "plain folks" device to excess: George Bush insisting he eats pork rinds; Hillary Clinton slipping into a southern accent. Virtually every member of the U.S. Senate is a millionaire, but you wouldn't know it from the way they present themselves.
7. Bandwagon. This device attempts to persuade you that everyone else supports an idea, so you should support it too. Sometimes opinion polls are contrived for this very purpose, such as the so-called "Pepsi Challenge," which claimed that most people preferred the taste of Pepsi over Coca-Cola. "The propagandist hires a hall, rents radio stations, fills a great stadium, marches a million or at least a lot of men in a parade," the IPA observed. "He employs symbols, colors, music, movement, all the dramatic arts. He gets us to write letters, to send telegrams, to contribute to his cause. He appeals to the desire, common to most of us, to follow the crowd."
8. Fear. This device attempts to reach you at the level of one of your most primitive and compelling emotions. Politicians use it when they talk about crime and claim to be advocates for law and order. Environmentalists use it when they talk about pollution-related cancer, and their opponents use fear when they claim that effective environmental regulations will destroy the economy and eliminate jobs. Fear can lead people to do things they would never otherwise consider. Few people believe that war is a good thing, for example, but most people can be convinced to support a specific war if they believe that they are fighting an enemy who is cruel, inhuman, and bent on destroying all that they hold dear.
Another device, which the IPA did not mention but which is increasingly common today, is the tactic of "information glut"-jamming I the public with so many statistics and other information that people simply give up in despair at the idea of trying to sort it all out.
Does this sound like anyone we know?
Lawsy must be gutted that Basher Bob got al the press after the bad weather in Wanganu?
People pay to hear him speak!??
I am incredulous!
Perhaps thats a way to increase the population here, people could just move here and hear him for free, doh! Sorry bad idea!!Not our target market surely, dont we want younger, richer, and imaginative people not the dumbed out, overwhelmed by tacky celebrity status morons who seem to hang on his coattails?
Get over it. In its context, the mayor was right. Britney Spears IS the white trash equivalent of the Kahuis. Don't you read the gosspi mags then - not worthy enuff I expect.
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I make no apologies for not reading gossip mags so please tell me... how many babies has Britney Spears killed?
Yeah he loves Laws watch. Feeds his ego and adds another nought to his speaking fees.
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You've misread... nought was the number in the audience.
"Yeah he loves Laws watch. Feeds his ego and adds another nought to his speaking fees."
Wannabe Shock Jock exposed as a cock. Read all about it.
Will somebody please put the link to the video in front of Britney Spears' lawyers? Send a covering note explaining the context of the remark.
Come on Watchers, do the right thing.
In its context, the mayor was right
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What, when he implies that genetics is entirely responsible for character? This is a constant refrain from worthless Mickey, "the Kanui genes" "shouldn't be allowed to breed", etc. etc.
The underlying theme is that some people are subhuman, and there's nothing they can do about it.
It is of course complete and unmitigated bollocks, and it is also of course at the heart of fascist "philosophy". For if there are sub-humans, the corollary is that there are superhumans; guess which category worthless Mickey thinks he fits into.
I enquired once for a function that I was organising of the various celebrity-type speaking agencies. One of them was Celebrity Speakers based in Auckland and, out of curiosity, I asked what it would cost for Mt Laws. They said $3,000 plus travel costs plus accommodation.
ACT deputy leader Heather Roy on the issue on her Net diary 08 July.
"Amongst the large number of commentaries in the media this week was an informative article in the Sunday Star Times by Michael Laws. He asked if the Kahui family are symptomatic of an underclass within Maori who are resistant to both mainstream and Maori assistance."
So not everyone thinks like LW. Now there's a shock!
so it`s peanuts today!!!!!
i have witnessed my greatniece here in penang near death through having accepted a piece of chocolate at pre-school that contained peanut traces!
here most schools make a concerted effort now to keep allergic children safe by outlawing(whoooops,sorry)peanuts and commodities containing them from schools ,and my niece was relieved to find,on her return to aussie, that the new school her daughter now attends was already doing the same thing.
no mention of being `p.c.`-just a sensible precaution.
wonder how ml would feel if his child was in the allergy category and no one cared!
ACT deputy leader Heather Roy on the issue on her Net diary 08 July... So not everyone thinks like LW. Now there's a shock!
Of course not. It'd be a pretty dull world if everyone thought alike, despite Mickey's best efforts to stamp out dissent in Wangas.
Congratulations Mickey. You now have the ringing endorsement of the Deputy Leader of a party whose philosophy is supported by a massive 1.23% of the population! Almost as impressive as those 1.6% ratings on radio Dead, innit?
Might be room on someone's party list for you after all.
Will somebody please put the link to the video in front of Britney Spears' lawyers?
What, you mean these lawyers? :-D
It is a measure of the stupidity of most posters here - almost all from the dysfunctional "arts" community in wanganui who are so distrustful of eachother that they can't even collaborate on joint enterprises - that anyone seriously believes Britney Spears lawyers would be vaguely interested.
But the no-one is influenced by anything written here. It seems to be a place to bitch, moan and whine and be really, really brave as an anonymous poster. Come election time ... not an artie or LW poster in sight. It would be psthetic if it wasn't so damnably amusing.
and the nutter in Penang who wants to ban her gene pool? Turkeys demanding Christmas.
ACT deputy leader Heather Roy on the issue on her Net diary 08 July.
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Yes Michael, there is honour among thieves.
thanks,mikey-i knew you`d get onto it
nuts to you too
gosh!i haven`t been called a `nutter` for ages,ml!personal abuse instead of the issue-what a change
js
Now then. Put Britney Spears and Michael Laws together...they deserve one another.
Come election time...
at least there'll be an accurate record of your behaviour, your bile and your mad woman's shit, Michael.
Oh sorry, I just realised that a reference to "your mad woman's shit" could be taken to mean Regional Cuncillor Leonie Brookhammer. So be it.
I love this bit:
"But the no-one is influenced by anything written here. It seems to be a place to bitch, moan and whine and be really, really brave as an anonymous poster. Come election time ... not an artie or LW poster in sight. It would be psthetic if it wasn't so damnably amusing."
And it was posted by...(roll of drums, please, maestro)...anonymous. Such bravery, such nervelessness, such unconscious hypocrisy and all-round tool-dom....
ML was always right. JS is a nutter but I like how he gave her a chance to be on his team and then sent her to Malaysia not to be seen again until AFTER the election.
a nutter you may consider me-you spineless blogger-but i was back from malaysia well before the campaign began-only wish now i had never been a part of it all
and i dare you to write your name and give me reasons for your contending i`m a nutter!
perhaps you failed french?
js
So, anonymous with the sour mouth and the bad attitude. We know several things about your identity. From your remarks placing you in the building you "work at Council". You have a high level of inside knowledge of both Mickey's work and family life, to the extent that not only do you stroll past the fortress-like PA, but you even attend your idol's speaking engagements at the weekend. We also know that bereft of anything new or original to say you've reverted to abusing JS and anyone else you can name, or dehumanise with some label you've invented. We have seen you recycle your frankly inept and laughable attempts to run down Wanganui artists.
My question is, have you ever had a positive or creative thought in your entire life, or are you stuck in some cosmetic vanity hell?
Good luck with the hate thing. It'll rot you from the inside, you know.
Trying to guess my identity now? I thought everyone who ever wrote anything independent here was always the mayor. I'm really disappointed now because I'd like to be.
Trying to guess my identity now?
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Well you deserve our pity, so it'd be nice to have a name to feel sorry for.
I don't need your pity. I need your address so I can work out where to send your medication.
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