Sunday, March 23, 2014

Once upon a time I looked like this!-- way back in the late 1950's at Te Roti School.

Don't you like looking back at those old black and white pictures; you know the ones---maybe stored away in some forgotten box, brought out at family gatherings or those moments when you need to connect with a time gone by. Perhaps you are too young to remember  B and W pictures, but those colour ones you were so proud of, the first time you gazed upon them,  have probably gone that 'no colour, sepia' look as they fade with your memories.
 my big brother, Peter, because that's who he will always be, sent the picture of our old school 'photo day,' when I was just 10 years old. The school---Te Roti Primary in South Taranaki, where the Coleman clan made up 10% of the roll. I dare you to find me. NO one at my work did. All will be revealed in a 'comment' after you have tried to guess for a week. No telling them, my family!

Kim Dotcom finally wearing out his 'welcome?'

New Zealanders took the big man to their hearts for a while, in numbers that may have been the majority. People got swept up in their adulation of KDC as some sort of messiah, promulgating ideas of freedom form Government snooping into the affairs of citizens, whilst conveniently forgetting about his ‘questionable’ past. It was almost sickening seeing the long list of politicians and social media forums responding to his calls for a ‘better NZ.’ I have always wondered at how so many people got sucked in and when he started to talk about becoming involved in politics, my discomfort increased. Was NZ starting to emulate politics overseas where money is the key seeding factor? OK, some would say that this has been so in NZ for quite some time, but I still believe that anyone with strong ideals and willing to put in the time with ‘party machinery,’ can make it into Parliament, given the right set of supports. Of course, once there the real game behind the curtains begins, if leadership of the said party is the aim. With KDC, it has all been there before anyone representing his fledgling party (because he cannot stand!) even got onto the hustings.
It now appears that NZ’s love affair with the ideas and the ‘man’ is starting to wane. It took a while, but in the end sense is starting to prevail. One wonders what KDC’s next move will be. Even the Mana Party is looking a bit wobbly re the ‘reported dalliance KDC is attempting with that party. I cannot imagine more dissimilar ‘bedfellows’ and perhaps the Mana Party will be the loser for even letting the discussion get this far.
It is going to be a most interesting run-up to the election at the end of the year.