Posts by Clint Fern
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Hard News: A right old Barney, in reply to Russell Brown,
I know that by 1990 things had started to change a bit, but the cops were pretty low profile still. I think I probably only saw a couple on site. Its a pity they weren't on duty in the carparks - my mates mini got broken into and we had to get a mechanic to hotwire it and drove back to Cornwall without letting the engine stop. Still managed to both get clean at Exeter Services. The Sunday that year was one of those Glastonbury mud days and the facilites on site were pretty grim.
Still it was good to have got there before it became Glastonbury TM and the massive increase in ticket price / security etc.
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Hard News: A right old Barney, in reply to Russell Brown,
I went to Glasters the next year and was amazed by the difference. As you say it was a beautiful setting and instead of goths there were hippies, I think they could still get free entry to the Green Field.
I knew quite a few people who regularly got in for free - which reminds me of the Bill Bailey sketch about the tunnel leading into the tent.
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I was at the Reading Festival that year, it was my first festival and so at the time didn't realise how crap the location was. As I remember it was the year that Reading turned from a headbangers heaven to something a bit more contemporary. I think NO were back from recording in Ibiza so they were definitely in a good 'mood'. Looking at the line up not a bad first day with My Bloody Valentine, House of Love, Sugarcubes and then NO. No wonder I put up with the facilities.
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Of the other two confirmed Govt parties, ACT got less votes than Mana dropping from 85,496 to 23.889 and the Peter Dunne Party got pretty much the same as the Bill and Ben Party did last time - 13,443 to 13,016 which would be a joke if he hadn't been given so much by Key.
Great that MMP is retained, needs to be changed to stop the Key/Banks/Dunne behaviour of this time round though - any solutions?
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Stephen Hill,
then Nat/Act/UF would have 60 seats.
Which to my mind would still make them the Govt, just one that may not be able to pass asset sales. There really isn't a credible alternative at the moment unfortunately. A weak Labour Party would not be able to govern as it'd have to get the agreement of the Greens, Mana, the Maori Party (up until this point plausible) and then the Winston Party (and it all falls apart) on any piece of legislation they wanted to pass.
The best I'm hoping for is for the specials to deliver a result that will put a brake on the asset sales, but Key will be PM for the next 3 years.
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Steve Barnes,
Thanks again.
You appear to be blaming the Greens for the failure of the Labour Party machinery to turn its vote out. If that attitude prevails in Labour then the 2014 election result might as well be handed to the Nats now.
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Hard News: The perils of political confidence, in reply to Russell Brown,
I feel some loyalty to fellow journalists here, and the pursuit of a criminal complaint against an editor who, after all, did not publish the transcript gives me the shits.
It seems bizarre to pursue this, especially against a paper which hasn't exactly been an enemy. The ridiculous attempt by Key to link this to the NotW hacking is so over the top it does question either a) his judgement b) his assertion that there's nothing to see.
The recording of a publicity stunt is to my mind a very, very long way from hacking the phones of murder victims and dead soldiers.
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Hard News: The scandal that keeps on giving, in reply to Stephen Judd,
As far as I know, there were four calls, but only one conversation, Key being too busy at the other times.
If thats the case then there is no issue. I hadn't heard this.
My other point re the leak, I'm not so sure about this. There aren't massive amounts of leaks from the SIS (that I know of) and an individual would be wary of doing this because of the repurcussions, ie the ongoing investigation as to who leaked. The point as to not knowing if the person who leaked is from the SIS seems dubious. Tulett, unless he is very stupid, would be sure who the source is and that they are SIS. I would hazard a guess he knows him personally, why else would they be leaking to the Southland Times, hardly the Guardian of the South Seas is it?
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Hard News: The scandal that keeps on giving, in reply to Stephen Judd,
A colourful chap, obviously, but you do seem to be over-egging the pudding.
I accept that using "liberated" was a misleading adjective. What I was meaning to address was Steve saying that the article debunked the whole thing. I would suggest that a USAR that contains an ex-Mossad agent (and isn't UN accredited) isn't exactly the least likely organisation to be clearing up a case of a lost spook.
The case is far from debunked. I can't see why a SIS agent would leak if there was nothing about the case. Also the four Netanyahu phonecalls don't ring true. Why on earth on a day of such massive tragedy would John Key take four calls from one overseas PM about one backpacker?
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Hard News: The scandal that keeps on giving, in reply to Steve Barnes,
In today's Herald we have a Story debunking the whole thing, referring to the Israelis as USAR members and I do remember that Israel did send a team to assist in the aftermath, explaining the passports etc.
What the article neglects to mention is that the leader of the search and rescue team was an ex special-ops paratrooper who was in Mossad and has "liberated" Israelis in overseas jails.
I also woudn't count the Israeli Embassy as an independent witness in the matter, so them saying there was only two passports would need real verification.