"Superb work Cam!" - Keeping Stock outed

Tony Stuart, aka "Keeping Stock" has been caught out through mention in Nicky Hager's book, "Dirty Politics" and some of his awful sentiments exposed in this article from the Wanganui Chronicle. The comment featured here was only one of many made by Keeping Stock, provoking repeated responses from me, urging him to think more deeply about his behaviour and his shilling for the likes of the disgraced Slater and other National Party hacks, MPs and leaders. This resulted in my being banned from his blog. Repeatedly. I don't give up easily. I cared for him and believed he was endangering his reputation. And so it transpired. Beneath the article I've posted a comment from the Wanganui Chronicle that I think sums up accurately the situation for Tony Stuart.

Wanganui man outed in Hager's book


The Wanganui businessman behind a political blog has been revealed in Nicky Hager's controversial Dirty Politics book.

The book, which has caused a storm since its release last week, focuses on the exploits of foul-mouthed right-wing blogger Cameron Slater.

And it names Wanganui National Party member Tony Stuart as the man behind the Keeping Stock political blog.

When contacted by the Chronicle yesterday, Mr Stuart confirmed it was true. Keeping Stock is a right-wing blog and Mr Stuart is also frequently on Twitter under the same name.

He was named in the New Zealand Herald's list of tweeters to follow throughout the election.

However since then, Mr Stuart has deactivated his @Inventory2 Twitter account.

Keeping Stock's tagline is "an eclectic mix of some of the finer things in life - politics, sport, music, humour and God", and Mr Stuart has been writing the blog for seven years, as a hobby.


He said he was considering its future in the wake of the Dirty Politics furore. Until Hager's book, the name behind the blog had been anonymous, which Mr Stuart said was for personal reasons.

There was no suggestion of any wrongdoing on Keeping Stock's behalf and Mr Stuart said he didn't engage with politicians to get information for his blog.

Keeping Stock's brief mention in Dirty Politics comes on page 50 after Cameron Slater posted the name and contact details of public servant Simon Pleasants on his Whale Oil blog. Mr Stuart wrote two comments under that post which read "Superb work Cam!" and "I wonder if Mr Pleasants will get a less-than-pleasant invitation to have a wee chat with his boss sometime this morning ... "

The Whale Oil blog accused Mr Pleasants of working on behalf of the Labour Party while a public servant.

Mr Stuart said he would look at the future of the blog in the coming weeks.

"When someone like David Farrar (Kiwiblog) is looking to make some pretty significant changes, that can't be overlooked," he told the Chronicle.

Mr Farrar announced a raft of changes to his blog, following the release of Dirty Politics, including applying to join the Online Media Standards Authority.

Mr Stuart said he would move away from "gotcha politics" to "focus on the achievements of the current National-led Government".

"I think this has probably provided a really good opportunity for all political parties to look at how they disseminate information," he said.

He blogged: "After the election, who knows? We've already hinted that we were considering a sabbatical, given Keeping Stock has just celebrated its seventh birthday."

Speaking about an event he had been to, Mr Stuart wrote: "Both the local MP Chester Borrows and his challenger Hamish McDouall were there, but there were no dirty politics whatsoever; both are decent, gracious men, who want to serve their community. There's a message there, upon which we shall ponder over the next few days."

- WANGANUI CHRONICLE

So our own local blogger thinks an Slater did a great job in 'outing' a public servant who has never been proven of any wrong doing, resulting in him then been subject of hate mail and death threats! Stuart may present himself as a 'nice guy', but to support actions that call for the death of a servant of the state is quite a bizarre position to take! Stuart and his Party condemns violent crime, yet have frozen Police budgets for the third year running and passively endorse the activities of Slater and fellow haters!
The only reason Stuart fronted is because he too was 'outed'!

Keeping Stock folds - good

He's called "time" because he's been exposed by Nicky Hager.

Good. And right.

Nasty Politics

Keeping Stock condones violence

Disgraceful stuff (again) from Keeping Stock, a man of the church and someone whose business revolves around the care of pre-schoolers, gives his support to the assault on the streaker at Saturday night's rugby game in Dunedin. Keeping Stock, who used to go by the 'name' Inventory2, blogs:

"I don't normally condone violence...but..." 

then goes on to make it quite clear that in this instance he does support violence, and violence upon a person who could not see his attacker, was hit from behind with chilling and unnecessary strength, causing the victims head to snap back in a way that sickened many who witnessed the assault. Keeping Stock, avowed Christian and avid supporter of the John Key-led National Government, condones the assault here, on his blog.

Sickening, Keeping Stock, just sickening. 

Keeping Stock - the raid was okay

Keeping Stock has a peculiarly one-eyed view of the world that declares that if he's not affected, it's all good. He wasn't raided by paramilitary forces directed by America, so Kim Dotcom should just shut up and plead guilty to...whatever the Americans say.
Over on his "I love John Key" blog, Keeping Stock gets a serve from Andrei over this matter and rightly so (Pun intended).
Here's the detail:
Keeping (the faith) Stock:

"The Court of Appeal ruled that the raids on Dotcom’s property were NOT illegal"
Andrei:

"Well that’s ok then, is it?

You happy with armed paramilitary raids on private individuals homes at the behest of a foreign power Mr IV2?

There is something very troublesome about the way people are happy to surrender other people to tyranny provide they are not impacted and the other has been demonized by the powers that be."

Well said, Andrei.
Keeping Stock, your moral compass is rusted and bent and Andrei has exposed you nicely to the real world - you know, that one that doesn't fawn over John Key's every utterence.

Mojo

Mojo Mathers, Green MP and deaf to boot, traveled to a radio interview to discuss issues faced by a person in her position. She said it was necessary for her to go, as she has to be able to read the lips of the interviewer, something she can't do over the phone. As a result she is being attacked by right wing bloggers for 'wasting tax-payers' money'.
Good grief.


Good grief!!!

Waiting now for Keeping Stock's post attacking Mojo.

Shouldn't be a long wait.

* Andrew Geddis @ Pundit has covered the shameful business here.
He's titled his piece, "Let's all pick on the deaf girl".

The stupidest blog-post I've ever read

Yes, it's Keeping Stock again. Not surprised? Nor I.
Here is his vacuous, petty post in full for your entertainment. It's not every day he reaches this level of puerility, so it's worth having a quick read to see just how silly he, and those who thrum to his words, can get.

A wasteful stunt



How much would 83,000 plastic spoons cost?


Why would we ask this question? Well; check this out:

Thousands of spoons are being transformed into a graphic sculpture in West Auckland in a bid to draw attention to the plight of impoverished Kiwi kids.

Work began on the roadside artwork in the suburb of Te Atatu at 8am today. The project is the brainchild of Auckland artist Donna Turtle Sarten.

By 8.30pm on Sunday, 83,000 white plastic spoons will be inserted along the verge of the seaward side of the road before and after the Gloria Ave roundabout.

Each spoon represents a child in New Zealand that goes to school with no food each day.

''We are installing 83,000 spoons ... that is how many children go to school everyday without lunch,'' Sarten said.

''I believe we need to feed the kids in schools so they have a better chance at learning.''

One hundred and twenty volunteers are involved in the installation of the artwork, each placing about 690 spoons into the turf during their allotted three-hour shifts.

Work is to continue on Sunday between 8am-11am and 5.30pm-8.30pm.




So we did some research. The Party Warehouse sells packs of 100 spoons for $6.90 (GST inclusive); 6.9 cents per spoon. you'd need 830 packs of 100 spoons to get your 83,000 total, so that's $5727.00, just for the spoons. Add in the cost of all the 120 volunteers getting there, and you're probably looking at something between $7,500 and $10,000 being spent.


Let's settle on a figure of $8,000 all up. With a 1kg box of Weetbix on special at Countdown this week (containing 32 Weetbix) at $4.99 (down from $7.49) and a 1 litre bottle of Home Brand milk at $2.25, you could put a lot of food in a lot of kids' bellies for $8,000. In fact a large packet of Weetbix and a bottle of milk is pretty much the same price as 100 plastic spoons, so let's round everything off, and say that you could give around 6,400 hungry kids Weetbix and milk for breakfast one day.


We wonder if Donna Turtle Sarten and her fellow protestors/artists have thought this stunt through. It's blatantly wasteful, and given that the spoons won't be able to be reused after having been stuck into ground where goodness only knows what has been, they'll clog up a landfill somewhere.




If you're going to protest against child poverty, then good on you. But to do it in such a wasteful manner is both irresponsible, and hypocritical.

Latest letter - nasty tricks from Mr Key's team

Anyone following New Zealand politics will know the National Party is in trouble.

 As the election approaches, its lack of partners is becoming obvious to everyone; Peter Dunne and John Banks have been or are being investigated for serious misbehaviours and it's their two votes that have given National its slim majority in Parliament. 

 With only that odd 'bring back the smack, man didn't walk on the moon' Mr Craig to replace them, National knows that its best chance, its only chance, is to attack the Green Party. 

 Labour, in coalition with the Greens, will win the election comfortably, National knows, unless it can demonize the Green Party, by calling them names every time they ask questions about coal mining, deep-sea oil drilling, genetically-modified foods, climate change; all of those things National wants but New Zealanders are unsure about.

  Calling your ememies 'crazy', 'mad', 'loopy' or 'evil' works quite well, as Mr Key, who does it often, knows. 

 By frightening New Zealanders at every opportunity, the National Party hopes to disguise the fact that its support from other parties is weak. 

 Look out for it, as the year progresses, not only from National MPs, but also from its supporters who comment in the media, even the writers of letters to this newspaper. Attack, demonize, frighten and lable is the strategy. 

 If National can convince you that anyone who questions them is a terrorist, they'll be in with a chance. 

Robert Guyton

Riverton

(Thank you, Southland Times).

Un-making Hay exposes Right-wing lies.

It's funny, isn't it. Well, it won't be to you, gentle reader, if you're not wedded to the minutiae of politics as some of us are, but this "Hay dumped by Greens", "Green hypocrites" brouhaha that the right-wing bloggers are desperately trying to get traction with across the blogs, typifies the narrowly-focused, fact-free, dishonest way in which the likes of Keeping Stock, Kiwiblog, Homepaddock and the other "I'll sell my grandmother if it keeps Key in power', National Party shills, present their stories to the world.
It is, quite frankly, feeble. Attempting to explain the true situation to any of them on their respective blogs is an exercise in futility and a complete waste of time. Those blogs come complete with commenter-goons, whose self-appointed task it is, to frustrate reasoned debate and demean any commenter who isn't dyed true-blue. My dear friend and dinosaur, Jabba, typifies this breed of Nat with his dull comments and relentless ad hominems but there are worse.  
What's most galling is the willingness of Jabba and his ilk, and the bloggers themselves, to maintain their misleading, dishonest blog titles and claims regardless of information provided by the brave souls from the Left who can be bothered engaging on those blogs. However, David Farrar's Kiwiblog today provided a nice example of how dishonest posting can be exposed by the simple provision of facts.
He, like Ludmann and KS, have whipped themselves into a lather over the removal from the candidate list by the Green executive of David Hay. The Right claim the Greens have destroyed their credibility by doing this, despite their own party's exact-same behaviour in the past. Without going into the details, which reveal that the story told by those blue-bloggers is falsely presented, here's the comment by at Kiwiblog that patiently exposes the technique used by National Party shill-bloggers, and tells the true story. Farrar claims:

So the Greens are now the party where if you declare you want to stand for the leadership, you get banned from candidacy. Sounds like the current co-leaders are very desperate to avoid a vote. I suspect their concern if not that Norman would beat Hay, but that the size of the protest vote for Hay could show how much discontent there is.

Chardonay Guy responds:

David, surely this is basic party discipline at work? Would someone who challenged Key’s leadership be similarly welcome within the National caucus? And look at the civil war that convulsed ACT in the Key administration’s first term over Rodney Hide’s leadership, as well as the New Zealand First schism in 1998. How is this any different?
Sorry, but what is going here seems little different from ACT (2002-2005). In that case, Heather Roy and Rodney Hide were at each others throats and Sir Roger was evidently not a very happy chappy. One cannot have constant internal sniping and disunity within a parliamentary caucus or potential candidacy and expect to be lauded for parliamentary stability. Why criticise the Greens for behaving like a responsible, disciplined political party instead of process-obsessed ineffectual leftist pressure group? Oh.

Dear ol' Toad adds:

So the Greens are now the party where if you declare you want to stand for the leadership, you get banned from candidacy.

The recommendation to refuse Hay’s entry to the candidate pool was made in September. His leadership bid was in response to that, not the other way around as you suggest DPF.

In short, what Hay did in 2011 was attempt to campaign for the electorate vote in Epsom, despite a clearly articulated nationwide party strategy to campaign for only the party vote. This was particularly important in Epsom, where many Greens were holding their noses and voting for National’s Paul Goldsmith in order to try to stop the odious John banks from taking the electorate.


…National’s Board uses it very very rarely, and basically only uses it for people who are “mad” or “bad”.

Which was Roger Payne?

This sort of 'interaction' is typical of this level of political action and can make an ordinary sort of bloke like me feel jaded. However, I'm buoyed by the clarity brought to these skirmishes by the likes of ChardonayGuy and Toad (Armchair Critic and Viv) along with Judge Holden, Edward the Confessor and others, all of whom are regarded as trolls, commies, whatever, on the Tory-blogs, or banned altogether in order to lessen their 'disinfecting' effects on the Right-wing blogs. 

Go the Good Guys!

An idiot's guide to drilling for oil in quake-prone seabed

Green MP Gareth Hughes has been alerting the New Zealand public to the risks involved in oil drilling, particularly in the deep waters off our coast. With the recent significant earthquake activity through the middle of the country that saw Wellington shaken and a little broken, Gareth put together the map of the quake-affected areas along with that of proposed oil-drilling sites in what is to me and entirely sensible and responsible demonstration of real risks we face, should we allow oil drilling in those fragile environments. Here is that graphic.

In response, hard-bitten and short-on-logic National Party shill and tame blogger, Keeping Stock, declared in his over-heated post on the issue, titled, "Reason #7592 why we don't like the Greens" 

that, " this is nothing short of fear-mongering" and "Perhaps Gareth Hughes and his leader Dr Russel Norman might like to explain where the oil comes from that allows them to fly up and down the country with impunity..." and "Surely, if Green MP's were REALLY worried about the risks that drilling for oil has on the environment, they would consume less of it."

I don't know if I've ever read a more worthless, illogical or empty comment than that from any blogger before and I can only assume that he is desperate for traffic on his floundering blog. If Keeping Stock represents the depth of thought from the right-wing around oil drilling in our seas, New Zealand's marine environment is under serious threat. Infantile thinking like his needs to be challenged, revealed for what it is and overturned with rational argument, if you can be bothered, if not, summarily  dismissed.

It takes only a moment to imagine what might happen, were there a deep sea oil rig with it's proboscis buried deep into the sea bed of the Cook Strait in the event of a strong earthquake. Blinkered blue shills, however, might need an hour or two before the seriousness of the situation sinks through their skulls.

Keeping Stock eats crow!

Oh dear, oh dear, as my long-time doppleganger, Keeping Stock is wont to say.
Oh dear!
He's fallen right in it this time, falsely accusing the Green Party of all sorts of un-Christian behaviour, only to discover, after several days of gloating over his 'scoop', that he was entirely wrong and that his gleeful smearing of the Green Party, was nothing but a litany of lies.
You see, Keeping Stock has an informant, who passed on some salacious information that proved to Keeping Stock that he'd been right all along; that the Greens were rotten to the core. No different from his own beloved National Party.
But the informant had jumped the gun, assigning something totally unconnected; some tobacco industry business for goodness sake, to the Greens. And Keeping Stock willingly swallowed the over-heated pish, to his great embarrassment. It's not very kind, I know, but I'm enjoying his fall from grace, such grace as he ever had, and am happy to rub his nose in the mess he's helped create.
Live by the sword, die by the sword, KS.
Here's the link to his original scoop and here's his about-face.

Keeping Stock - skittery as a wee mousey

The most hilarious moment at the Local Government NZ meeting I attended on Wednesday in Dunedin was hearing the keynote speaker telling the assembled mayors, deputies, chairs and councillors, to prepare themselves for a Government that included the Greens. One of my fellow councillors is, like Keeping Stock, highly reactive and allergic to 'green' and must have taken a huge gulp of air so as not to pass out at the news that the Greens will be shaping our future after the election, if they're not doing that already. Keeping Stock, as mentioned, fizzes and froths as the moment where his greatest fear is realised draws closer and closer but today he broke down completely and entered the realms of pure fantasy, tinged with a little blue-paranoia, and wrote this silly post. I only link to it here because he mentions me, assigning far more credit than I deserve (not the pedestal, KS, please!). I don't recommend you bother reading his post but if you must, do leave a comment there - I'm banned from making comment on his blog, because of my ill-manners, I'm informed.

Greens with guts

The Green Party is enjoying its AGM over the Queens Birthday weekend and flexing its muscles at the same time. Metiria Turei has given several National MPs the biff and served John Key up a plate-full of whup-ass as well:

"Mrs Turei directly attacked Mr Key for undermining the state school system despite previously speaking of the importance of his own public education at Burnside High School.

"I'm amazed that the Prime Minister could be so blatant in saying that his pathway out of poverty was education and then so clearly stripping away that pathway today.

"He has cut back on public schools. He has increased funding to private schools because he wants his kids to have better access to better education and small class sizes."

All strength to your arm, Ms Turei. Batter those hypocrites all around the park.

Meanwhile, the natty shills are getting nervous - We thought they were above that! - very amusing.

Shearer's earnestness, Key's glib smart-arseness

"Finally, Jane Clifton comes in to bat for beleaguered Labour leader David Shearer, making the case that he’s slowly but surely reinventing Labour against the odds. What’s more, ‘The contrast between Shearer’s measured earnestness and Key’s glib smart-arse routine in Parliament is potential election-campaign gold’ – see: Relitigating Labour shibboleths?."

(Lifted straight from Bryce Edwards' 'Liberation', to counter some of the relentlessly anti-Shearer drivel that Keeping Stock spews, Linda Blair-like, into the blogosphere :-)

Keeping Stock - the new stupid

The argument that mining protesters are barred from legitimacy by their use of cell phones and or oil-powered vehicles is becoming the whine-de-jour with the conservative, authoritarian right wing bloggy-set.
You can't criticize the oil prospectors, they wheedle, unless you are entirely removed from reliance on oil.
What clap-trap. Suits their argument though, given that we are all enmeshed in oil and it's products. The stupidity of the argument that disqualifies all of us from comment on the activities of the drillers seems to bypass the brains of commentators such as Mr Keeping Stock, whose post today on the Greenpeace action involving Lucy Lawless is a perfect example of the thinking that I find so depressingly shallow.
Following the logic that Mr KS uses, no criticism is valid, therefore we must all just shut up and let the oil boys get on with their legitimate business.
I
don't
think
so.
Here's a sample of the right-thinking Mr Stock's world view:

" After all, can Lucy Lawless and her foolhardy mates personally guarantee that the environment was not harmed by the production of the survival gear they are using, the cellphones with which they are communicating with a meek and compliant news media (hang your head in shame TVNZ), and the means of transport by which they made their respective ways to New Plymouth? 

Of course they can't, which merely exposes them as hypocrites of the first order, as well as lawbreakers preventing people from going about their lawful business."

From the Right

Many Right-wingers are having difficulty accepting Hone Harawira's win at the weekend and are expressing themselves on Right-wing blogs in a manner that is revealing of the depth of their inability to see beyond their own narrow world of priveledge.
This comment, from someone who calls himself Tinman, posting at Keeping Stock on a thread the author calling himself Inventory2 has named 'Hone Muldoon' spells out clearly the frustration and anger many Right-wingers feel at Hone's victory in Te Tai Tokerau. It's not comfortable reading, for those of you who regard the world in a reasonable manner, but instructive to read nevertheless. Tinman says that Hone:

"is doing exactly what is expected - just what mummy tells him to.

Mummy, of course, is one of the lowest forms of life to be found in this universe.
The racist scum that elected this pair to parliament should be immediately rounded up and shot (slowly)."

Keeping Stock btw, advertises itself as:

"An eclectic mix of some of the finer things in life - politics, sport, music, humour and God."

- which begs the question, does the author condone comments such as those of Tinman? There's no indication from the bloggers response that he's uncomfortable with the kinds of things said therein.

Keeping Stock