Do I really live in a country where a PMs vanity project masquerading as a flag debate will be a Rugby logo???

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We aren’t really going to change the flag into an All Black logo are we?

Is the country drunk?

Could we be the worlds first Rugbyocracy?

The slavish worship Key gives the All Blacks is bordering on the weird.

If Richie McCaw ever grows a ponytail there will be trouble. When will Key suggest the All Blacks change their name to All Blues?

Having this expensive debate right after the Rugby World Cup is such an obvious play, Key may as well be asking for the anthem to be changed to “God Defend Dan Carter’.

Are we honestly this easily led?

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

Here are 4 things the PM can do with his flag designs…

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…if we were honest, this is the flag Key would choose…

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Usually a flag brings people together, but Key has managed to make it a symbol of division. Remarkable.

66 COMMENTS

  1. Must be, since the lead story on the TV1 news was about rugby, with a ‘breaking news’ interruption about the All Blacks and that’s before we even got to the sports section.

  2. Remember when Dean Barker was going to get a knighthood, 7 nil up, John Key was all giddy and knighthoods are what great men in this world are all about. Attach your brand to a winner. Trouble is Team NZ lost and well, Barker may as well have been sunk by a U Boat for all Key cared. Dean who?

    However I really can’t take much more of this mindless shit. Now “Richie” (is there a National Party seat awaiting him?) has thrown his support behind John Key and the flag change. Who gives a flying fuck what some ludicrously over paid Range Rover driving rugby bore who plays a game less exciting than watching paint dry thinks? When did we become a nation of mass simpletons? When has rugby ever been more a symbol of the National Party than now?

    Key clearly thinks we are all fuckwits.

    • ha ha awesome Xray..can’t stand the bloody rugby culture ..and these are the boys who brag and think it is cool to invest in the exploitation of the elderly…yep shareholders in large profit driven corporate rest homes.

      Makes me puke

    • The man doesn’t have one original idea, so no doubt he’s fulfilling someone else’s agenda. He’s a puppet, a patsy, a lackey, a smiling assassin just doing what he’s been told – a figurehead whose job it is to conceal the source of real power. That’s partially why this flag thing is a fiasco, there is no real vision or conviction from the protagonist. To JK a flag could be a teatowel you put on a stick.

  3. You have to understand, Key’s an almost All Black. Never played of course (rofl), but would’ve liked to if he’d had the character, physique, self-discipline or talent.

    • That’s only because he didn’t have the All – American build to plat GridIron.

      He doesn’t give a shit about rugby or McCaw.

      Just so long as he gets the TTPA passed he gets his American reward.

      Always keep that in mind.

      Always.

    • You have to understand, Key’s an almost Prime Minister. Never played of course (rofl) (despite taking on the role), but would’ve liked to if he’d had the character, physique, self-discipline or talent.

  4. I find it rather strange that this man Key who had no qualms being the right hand man of Andrew Kreiger in pulling of the greatest Forex heist in history against his own country ( Keys place of birth New Zealand ) suddenly has this new found ‘ patriotism ‘ for rugby in this country…

    It is not almost tacky – it IS tacky – there is a word for it…

    Over-identification.

    And its usually done for the reasons of currying favor with an individual or group.. in this case…the smarmy pursuit of a sport to mollify a population who otherwise would be outraged at how far they have been played for suckers by this govt…. in particular Key.

    It is obvious that he is a USA plant here and that the primary objective was to bring about American hegemony with the TTPA.

    A lot gets discussed by two leaders on a Hawaiian golf course who both have holiday homes there….straight ‘ A ‘ s for guessing the sort of thing that IS discussed.

    It is more than likely closer to the truth that Key actually has more in common with American Gridiron than New Zealand rugby – and that Key simply sees the All Blacks as a valuable political tool to manipulate the public with…akin to the old cliche of politicians kissing baby’s…and about as faked.

    Oh yes…there is no doubting that on a superficial level their will be some form of banter and fraternizing…but this whole All Blacks thing by Key is a Crosby Textor construct.

    Its obvious.

    Not that Macaw hasn’t realized this …but he stands to gain immensely by this sort of Prime Ministerial attention. But it does beg the question why encourage it… as it was not the Kiwi way not so long ago to have the Prime Minister of our country fawning over popular cultural figures like a teenager smitten with a rockstar…

    As well as the ponytail incident this also is very cringe-worthy in our societal values…its just a bit too much of a cozy little relationship to be either credible or anything more than part a carefully scripted list of endorsements trotted out by Crosby Textor to placate the population that is to be followed…

    Key has no more affinity with New Zealand rugby than most of us would have with the American bank Merrill Lynch or the New York stock exchange.

    Its time for Key to not only stop pulling ponytails but also to stop playing the actor for the American corporations over here.

    Its getting highly obvious and highly see – through and highly embarrassing.

  5. For a man [sic] who can’t remember his opinion, of the Springbok Tour, his sycophant-ism now knows no bounds. He was probably the klinker cleaner for the All Blacks in 1981, by the time Textor-Crosbie get hold of the back-story.

    All hail the best klinker cleaner the All Blacks ever had in 1981.

  6. This is what key was employed for by his corporate masters.

    During the Merrill lynch era he was similarly employed to do their dirty work and sack hordes of employees while entertaining them in ways to make them feel good about being fired.

    He is setting us all up to again take much away from us while engendering a sense of euphoria about our major sport icon, so he doesn’t give a toss about sport or people it is just a method to push through quietly all those nasty changes to take away our rights and sovereignty he is a slimy creep so dont buy the smiling assassins creepy methods.

    Anne Else is a Wellington writer and social commentator.
    Her column says it all.

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0810/S00433.htm

    “Speaking of the time he sacked 500 Merrill Lynch staff, I heard John Key say, “They always called me the smiling assassin.”

    Much later I heard him say, “In the end I had to carry out wider responsibilities, but I think I’m fundamentally a nice guy, but have to follow instructions.”

  7. The silver fern is much more than the All Black logo, and has long been used as a general NZ symbol in many situations from the coat of arms, numerous clubs and organisations, NZ made products, the military and most tellingly on war graves from the Boer war to Gallipoli, France, North Africa and Italy.

    Can you think of any other national symbol which is used as often? It hasn’t been chosen by John Key or the All Blacks, its been chosen by New Zealanders as a whole – John Key isn’t leading at all, he’s following.

    • The silver fern is not unique to NZ, has no particular historical significance, and says little or nothing about our nations traditions or heritage. I may upset some people here, but the current flag does all of those things, warts and all. This entire process smells to me of a marketing exercise mixed in with a legacy project, and the smell is rancid.

    • So what? these flags do not resemble the fern used on war graves or even NZ butter. They look like shit! Personally I would like a change of flag but I’ll be fucked if I will support any of these shit designs or anything Key proposes!

    • @ Skeptic. I would agree with you, that yankee doodle psycho jonky-stien’s ‘following’. I think he’s following a script.
      And indeed, the ‘ Silver Fern ‘ is an iconic design carrying sound symbolism which has enabled it to be used by Kiwis here and abroad to identify us as New Zealand/Aotearoans. People of a small but hugely significant country producing the best produce and in abundance. We’re also world leaders in many other fields including medical, engineering, physics, chemistry, flight, sport, art including writing and philosophy. Our ancestors were at the forefront of theatres of war and helped build modern nations upon empathy, respect and love of our fellow human beings.

      And we’ve been brought to our knees by a currency trader who’s financialised our capitalist / socialist system with his own particularly nasty toxins. Injected into our society by none other than ourselves, such is his evil brilliance.
      We’ve all bought into his plan. All of us. We buy shit we don’t really need but fuck it. It’s nice to have new things, I’ll be the first to admit that. We borrow money and live beyond our immediate needs because today ? The sun shines, who knows what tomorrow might bring.
      Well, ‘tomorrow’ has brought this upon us. This awful, terrible, monetized nightmare of how everything must turn a profit and to enable that, everything can, and will be marketed and placed up for sale. And as any marketer will tell you, the best way to do that is to use established brands to push the agenda. Jonky is simply using a respected brand to sell his profile to achieve notoriety in order for him to achieve his goal. ( No pun intended )
      It’s what he’s up to that should scare the be-Jesus out of us. It’s what he’s up to that should be the focus of our attention and that’s one reason I’m taking several days off my work to go to Wellington to judge for myself the shape of the course of events surrounding the TPPA swindle.
      @ Skeptic. Do you have a dubious reputation here because honestly? I’m not sure why you have so many thumbs-down. You made sense to me.

      For me personally, it’d be depressing if our iconic symbol be used by Yankee doodle psycho jonky-stien to push the shift of tenure of our country away from the Crown ( My sincere apologies Maori people ) and into his USA / Zionist masters hands .

    • Many countries have symbols they admire or find evocative of certain national traits. The English don’t put the rose on their St George, the Scots don’t put the thistle on their St Andrew, the French won’t be replacing the tricolour with a cockerel. One could go on, but the point is clear. We can likewise consider the fern an inconic signifier of NZ-ness without needing to make it into our flag.

    • Most people wouldn’t know a silver fern if they fell over it. It’s only silver if the sun shines on it, and only fleetingly does anyone see silver. Otherwise it’s just an ordinary GREEN fern leaf.

  8. Hey!!

    Don’t bring Rugby into disrepute by attaching it to Key and his cronies… That’s highly unfair on a game and national past time which cannot speak for itself!

    And lets face it, Key and his buddies would have better luck associating them selves to our national identity by changing the colours of National to black, so the national party could call themselves the all blacks.

    The weird sycophancy, and at the same time their narcissism, and their blind religious like belief to their neo liberal dogma, is cause for real concern, that this nation is being run by the same sort of zeal as people who would herd people into a metaphorical capitalist concentration camp, is very worrying…

    • A national pastime which cannot speak for itself?

      Not in a gazillion years Colin.

      In my time in NZ (50 something years) there has never been a time when rugby did not speak for itself. And if you are unlucky enough to have John Minto look at this thread he will say the same but using a thermonuclear device!

      Aside from that particular thing, everything else you say is absolutely bang on correct. This clearly snivelling sycophantic brownnosing by our Dear Leader for the simple expedient of public acclaim.

      I’ll acclaim the dozy sod when he’s frog-marched to the guillotine…

  9. Yeah, this image here says it all really:
    http://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/the-all-black-2015-rugby-world-cup-team-pose-on-stage-with-news-photo/485898898
    The John Key and The All Blacks are clearly bff’s. Personally don’t give a flying fuck about sport let alone rugby anyway, so no loss. I do wonder if posing with The John Key is a net benefit for the popularity of the All Black brand though. It should make the fans sick, but they keep doing it. Perhaps I’m way out of touch with the average NZer?

    • One would think John Key is actually a member of the All Black Team, he appears to be in every photo shoot lately. He has a big ego to feed.

    • Look at the atrocious buttoning of Key and Coleman’s suit jackets. Pair of gross, vulgar, petit-bourgeois slobs who can’t even rock a nice suit with attention to detail at a purportedly important photo shoot. All the proof you could want that money can’t buy class.

  10. It appears the World Cup/All Blacks and changing the Flag are the most important things happening in NZ at present.

    When are these clowns going to start addressing the problems with the economy, we have $105 Billion Debt and climbing, and national have not produced a Balance of Payments Surplus since they have come to power.

    Looks like we are up Shit Creek without a paddle.

    Time for the Magican of Wall Street, John Key to start pulling rabbits out of the hat?

  11. The Flag Designs are absolute rubbish, confused designs is how I would describe them.

    Flags generally have meaning and symbolism behind them, this has basically been a Sesame Street Design Competition, to satisfy an urge by our PM John Key the son of a new immigrants.

    • Who spent the better part of his adult life in the USA and helping Andrew Kreiger out with performing the biggest Forex heist in history – against his own country of birth – New Zealand.

      And people still vote for the despicable little arsehole?

    • The fact that 2 of the designs are already in use elsewhere is indicative of the lack of integrity in the whole process.

  12. The Flag Designs are absolute rubbish, confused designs is how I would describe them.

    Flags generally have meaning and symbolism behind them, this has basically been a Sesame Street Design Competition, to satisfy an urge by our PM John Key the son of new immigrants.

    • They are buried under the NEW ZEALAND FLAG – not some hideous nightmare construct which is the egotistical fetish of an out – of – control individual who spent more of his adult life in the USA than he has here in New Zealand .

      Retain the current flag and put paid to all this egotistical nonsense of Key.

  13. Ha ha ha love that ponytail on Ritchie comment, that bought tears to my eyes I was laughing so much. Sadly everything else is likely to come true (CRINGE NATION)

  14. The problem with the silver fern is – with the lack of protection and care that the National government gives to NZ’s native bush and National parks – the silver fern will probably become an endangered species – if not extinct altogether within a few decades!
    What a great flag then… ‘A’.

    • Based on what? One good game against Argentina, throwing his toys out of the pram and threatening to go play League whenever he was dropped or his contract was almost up and turning up overweight every year?

  15. read this if you haven’t – Gordon Campbell – link below

    The blurring of our national identity with rugby reached its logical conclusion this week, when the All Black team for the Rugby World Cup was announced at Parliament. Here’s the quote by Key on why he felt that was appropriate:
    “The reason why they wanted to do it and the reason why its appropriate is that Parliament is the House of Representatives. It represents every New Zealander, and actually the All Blacks I think as I said in my remarks, are admired by every New Zealander. So I think its appropriate. Its what they wanted….”
    Just for the record, some of us don’t admire the All Blacks. Some of us even feel repelled by the extensive investment by some of them in the ( notoriously underpaid) aged-care sector.
    Dan Carter and Richie McCaw and other name rugby players have together taken a stake of about 10 per cent in the “boutique” Park Lane Retirement Village, located a few steps from the new AMI Stadium. Stage one of the $80 million Park Lane Retirement Village in Christchurch was opened yesterday by Prime Minister John Key, at a gathering which included Carter and fellow investors All Blacks Andy Ellis and Corey Flynn.
    Carter said he had invested in seven retirement villages, including complexes in Blenheim, Nelson and Christchurch, drawn in by Ben Hurst, the son of 1970s All Black Ian Hurst, who worked in the sector. Former All Black Greg Somerville was another one of the early investors in the retirement sector.
    Other current or former All Blacks sharing in the 10 per cent stake in Park Lane include Kieran Read, Leon MacDonald, Mark Robinson, Aaron Mauger, and former Crusader and now Scottish international Sean Maitland.

    http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2015/09/02/gordon-campbell-on-refugees-the-flag-and-bo-diddley/

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