The Whaleoil blog is finally dead – reflecting on its impact over NZ politics
The Whaleoil Blog is finally dead.
It announced today its demise and final post, still clinging to their conspiracy pretence that Slater was hacked by a shadow coalition, it is this fake conspiracy that led the police to breach my civil rights when they illegally seized my bank records. My case against the NZ Police for this ridiculous conspiracy starts in Wellington this month with Graeme Edgeler representing me at the Human Rights Tribunal to argue against the secret trial the NZ Police are wanting.
My case will be the final chapter in the Whaleoil Opera.
As they draw their last breath, it’s appropriate to reflect on Whaleoil’s impact over NZ politics.
Let’s remind ourselves of the dirty politics allegations again.
- That Rodney Hide was threatened and blackmailed into standing down over lewd text messages by Jordan Williams who was the numbers man for Don Brash. Don Brash went onto to be the next Leader of ACT after Rodney Hide left.
- That Tobacco, big sugar and booze lobbyists paid to print articles on Whaleoil and then comment with the most disgusting hateful language aimed at public health activists. These allegations formed a huge defamation case against Slater that is in its final destructive stages.
- That Public servants were named and crucified for political gain on the blog.
- That Slater had a prostitute friend who tried to dig up dirt via the brothels on Len Brown, John Boscowan, Labour MPs, the Herald’s editors and Duncan Garner.
- That Slater was instrumental in the Len Brown sleaze campaign while living with his father who was the campaign manager for Brown’s main opponent.
- That the mainstream media enabled and colluded with Slater on his black op hatchet jobs.
- That Slater hacked into Labour Party computers with the help of Jason Ede and downloaded their entire database including donors.
- That Slater was provided information from the Secret Intelligence Service by way of being briefed on a specific question for an Official Information Act request.
- That Slater and co plotted to attack the head of the SFO which saw Judith Collins stood down for her suspected role in it.
- Most damning of all, The PMs Office colluded with the Secret Intelligence Service to manufacture a smear to attack Phil Goff, Leader of the Opposition, months before the 2011 election using a far right hate speech merchant like Slater as the vehicle.
- He managed to convince the Police force to illegally search journalist Nicky Hager’s house and breach Nicky’s civil rights.
There was Slater’s far right candidates college that scared the National Party hierarchy so much they banned MPs from having anything to do with the college again.
There were the allegations of Slater and Lusk helping MP mercenary Mark Mitchell gerrymander the candidate section process for Rodney.
Beyond the dirty politics allegations, John Key spoke to Slater regularly and over the mass surveillance issues Slater was a lead attack dog on Kim Dotcom, he had a hand in the attacks on Colin Craig and the Conservative Party internal tensions and he posted vicious attack pieces on Mulsims.
Whaleoil also was involved in a despicable character assassination attack on Matthew Blomfield who also suffered a home invasion that included a gun being shot at his house.
Whaleoil, more than any other media vehicle, gave voice to the ugly and violent part of NZs psyche. Malevolent always with a spite that justified its political bitterness, it allowed the sewer of our worst angels to feel empowered and feared.
As people turn their backs in disgust at Whaeoil’s celebrated demise, let’s not forget that the maliciousness of that blog could not have injected its venom into the political debate without the mainstream media enablers. Slater was on talking terms with them all, he drip feed them his toxicity and they gave him power. The way they crowded around him to congratulate him at the Cannon Media Awards should forever stain them all.
Whaleoil was Trump hatred before Trump, it was the kind of blog white supremacists, racists, sexists, homophobes, Islamaphobes and bigots of all shades went to feel connected and included. It slumped in popularity after the publication of Dirty Politics with many previous supporters recoiling at any public connection. The numerous defamation cases took their toil and contributed to a stroke for Slater. The blog has limped along ever since becoming a cautionary tale for venal nastiness rather than a feared stormtrooper for the hard right.
In the end Whaleoil showed us a side of who we are as New Zealanders that we had never dared expose, the dark whispers of anger previously given by selection in private to those we trusted with the same spleen were championed and celebrated on Whaleoil, not shamed.
It’s ending is the final closure of an abuse that did more than any other to influence the very worst of our political natures.
I’d say rest in peace, but something this tortured and damaged can never find solace. Even beyond its end, Whaleoil’s radioactive digital legacy will leak into the ether like a forgotten disease waiting to find a new host.
Whaleoil was the symptom and the disease.
Whaleoil was a warning.
So Cameron Slater prostituted himself and got burned, badly. Excellent.
Slater, via the Whaleoil blog, was a main player in destroying my primary school principal career in 2011 because I took an active stand against the National led government’s “National Standards’ for primary schools. I don’t know the full story of the attacks on me ( there are things that happened that suggest someone high up was involved and feeding information to Slater and others) but I do know that Slater was very vociferous in his attacks on me and on the other principals who spoke out against what we saw as educationally damaging polices. Hindsight has proved us right, but this came at a big cost to me and to the other principals. Consequently I have no sympathy for his present plight or the demise of Whaleoil.
Sorry to hear about your mauling at the hands of the slug, Allan. He was a nasty piece of work who seemed to delight in causing as much misery and distress as he could manage, and like you, I’m not terribly inclined to feel badly for him, despite his health-related woes. I’m not pleased he’s had a stroke, but I do believe you reap what you sow. My only regret is that his enablers, accomplices and sycophants haven’t faced similar consequences.
Whalehole may be dead, but it’s replacement is already up. And it looks like they have borrowed heavily from your redesign, Martyn.
Yes, we noticed that they copied our entire design. The tiny numbers following them on social media now however suggest a tiny audience and how slow is the upload of the site? You could go and design a whole new blog by the time theirs loads.
Best. Blogpost. Ever.
Well written, Martyn. Slater should stand as a stark warning that there is a nasty vindictive side to us asa society, The evidence cannot be ignored.
As for SlaterandWhaleoil, good riddance . And a pox on those who enabled him, benefitted from him, and otherwise supported him. The man was malevolent from beginning to end . The fact he and Key were on close speaking terms shows what our former PMs morals were; non existent.
I hope those who benefitted from his nefarious activities think carefully of their actions.
Well, I hope this doesn’t impact upon your case in any way, with one of the likely major contributing entities now out of the play. The timing is interesting, but it would have happened eventually.
There were people involved slimier than Slater; they enabled him, paid him, were chillingly and childishly ruthless in pursuit of their goals, impressed themselves with their own slime, and they are still here.
Surprisingly balanced synopsis, Bomber.
And as is inevitably the outcome where tight teams conspire; when shit happens, there is always one sucker left holding the smoking gun.
Not that I have any sympathy Slater.
People will likely have their own particular post from Slater that they found most disturbing, beyond even the usual malodorous output of his industrial strength filth pump.
My nomination for Slater’s nadir, was when he tried to undermine pitifully low paid workers–Parliamentary Cleaners–who were trying to get decent pay and conditions in a Collective Agreement, for their task of literally cleaning up after MPs. That was low.
If Slater gets better and lives on, and on a basic human level he should be allowed that, then hopefully the rest of his days will be spent well out of the public arena. The new web site does make one wonder how ever, if it is mere legal subterfuge like property developers do!
The new blog (and I won’t publicize its name) is also disgusting. All/any contributors should be ashamed.They’re not kiwis.
Slater’s blog name. ‘Well I’ll be fucked’ (Whale Oil Beef Hooked) can now be changed to ‘Well I’m fucked’.
Sooo sad! (not)
From 2008 through to late 2017 and even for sometime afterwards(and even now if I should say so myself)the National government successfully over-satuated the mainstream NZ media with biased towards National so-called journalists.
Perfect examples being Slater, Hosking, Hawkesby, Roughan, Young etc.etc.etc. The list is all too lengthy and most of those so-called journos are given far too much article space in the tabloid NZ herald(I deliberately use lower case when it comes to the mainstream NZ media printed paper).
And these so-called journos will would their articles with vomit and venom of hatred towards anyone and everyone who doesn’t side with National or questioned deeply what the John Key government did.
I am sure we should be grateful Whaleoil no longer exists. But what will turn up in its place is anyones’ guess?! Right now the very MPs of the NZ National Party are into full-blown insult and disparage thinking and behaviour. Perhaps they are replacing Whaleoil with their hatred and vomit of verbal abuse especially towards Jacinda Ardern.
Out of all this I think we now realise the Whaleoil type blogs should really have no place in civilised NZ society. But if National and their supporters deem it necessary to behave in such an uncouth manner then on their heads be it at election time.
Just me. – I like your comment about:”
“so-called journalists.Perfect examples being Slater, Hosking, Hawkesby, Roughan, Young etc.etc.etc.
I’ve never enjoyed the work of these people but linking these birds of a feather into one flock, especially Slater and Hoskings has given me a new perspective.
Hosking is the middle class, sanitised version of Slater
And thus the gods punished a man whose hubris over-reached his wisdom… and kicked W.O. firmly in its cybernuts.
All the best for your case Martyn. For too long the police have shown an appalling dereliction of duty when it comes to anything connected to the National party and its close associates.
Slater was just a puppet, his masters are still at large and enjoying the life of lux but it’s all reinforcement for my belief in Kharma
Good riddance
Cant be arsed expending another pixel on him
Not a smart man but a narrow nasty parasite living off a wealthy right wing crew who have little regard for most Kiwis and NZ.
He will be replaced by the same patrons.