who let the dogs out?

Waiheke island’s number one enemy has posted this on his Facebook page

Aaron Bhatnagar wonders if angry Waiheke people are going to nominate him for a “Roger Award” this year.

Give me a break Aaron, you know you fucken well deserve it, but thanks for the idea!

Entry forms available here

Arrived via e-mail

Aaron Bhatnagar appears to have elevated himself to the position of Waiheke enemy number one. While putting together YouTube clips for Waiheke TV News website it became fairly evident that Mr Bhatnagar had engineered a solution that was not achievable by the incumbent (Clean Stream Waiheke), denied speaking rights to the Waiheke community, had opposition councillors denied voting rights and eventually managed to get Clean Stream Waiheke disqualified for canvassing after the tender had closed.

Anyone else notice that Aaron’s hair appeared freshly gelled for the camera. Obviously our man Aaron is a firm believer in the product or he was so excited about destroying Clean Stream that he had his own “Something about Mary moment”

Anyway, we are on to you Aaron,  you cannot unring a bell, the truth will come out.

Read about Mr Bhatnagars electioneering methods here, and view his work here

To everyone involved in Transition Town initiatives- Waiheke’s loss is everyone’s loss. Now is the time to show the strength of the Transition Town community.

If we can’t save a recycling programme from local government then all of our initiatives are in danger of being taken away by the whim of council officers who have not come to grips with the pressing realities we are up against. We must stand together to preserve this resource. Please pass this on and make plans to meet us at Auckland Town Hall at 9:30am, Thursday, 11 June. If you can’t make it to Town Hall please take the time to visit the Waiheke Does It Better website for phone numbers/emails to let council know it is up against all of New Zealand, not just a small island.

Please, before it is too late, make Transition Towns’ presence heard on this issue. Phone or email today or show up on Thursday.

Full Story

So whether it was Jim or John, someone has been muckin in on Waiheke, and doing a damn good job of it too by all accounts.

In Lynley Dodd’s book Schnitzel Von Krumm’s Basketwork, sausage dog, Schnitzel von Krumm, is outraged when his family decides to replace his worn out, beaten up old basket. The new bed doesn’t look right, feel right – or smell right! Something must be done…

It is the way I feel about Waiheke. Every day I leave my Onetangi home, and wander down my gravel path to my car that I can’t get up to the house. The car is covered in pigeon poo because I can’t have a garage. I drive down unformed roads without footpaths or streetlights, to a free carpark in the mud miles from the ferry. I share a ferry with countless others, have a coffee, laugh and tell lots of lies, and about 90 minutes after leaving home,  I arrive at work.

And at the end of the day I just can’t wait to get back. There is something infectious about this island. It gets under your skin, it’s not perfect, but just like Snitzel von Krums old basket, it matters not a bit.

This island fits right, it smells right, it looks right. Its not about curb and channel, its not about wheelie bins or street lights. It’s about the very essence, the wairua, the spirit. It;s about Waiheke.

To the councillors who live in that smelly inhospitable city who have no idea what living in a community is, until you have tried this old smelly basket for size, and have lived here a couple of winters, you can keep your big ideas to yourselves. (and you can keep your wheelie bins and Mt Visy too)

The Cynic

What has happened to Nobby? no blog posts, no letters to the Gulf News, where are you?

Simon Johnston – A tribute from Greg Treadwell

Gulf News Story

Keep Your Wheelie Bins In Auckland Central from Scott Ewing on Vimeo.

In a key New Zealand defamation case (Lange v Atkinson [2000] 3 NZLR 385), Lange sued political scientist Joe Atkinson for representing him in the magazine North & South as a lazy prime minister. In a 1998 judgment, and on appeal in 2000, the courts affirmed a new qualified privilege for the media to discuss politicians when expressing the criticisms as the “honest opinion” of the author.

It is therefore my opinion that Bill Carrig, and others honestly believe what was written in Bill’s letter. It therefore falls into qualified privilege. It also stands to reason that the Waiheke media should climb out from behind the fear of legal retribution and say it as you believe is true. Nobilangelo is a duly elected community board member and as such is open to grater scrutiny than Mr Joe Public.

Defaming Politicians