(Untitled)

[bastard_amber]

Up Close and Personal
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A news conference in New Zealand came to an awkward halt Monday after the country's prime minister acknowledged having had a vasectomy

Comments

Mod note.

[rex_dart]

Re: Mod note.

[thecityofdis]

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[selenia_actimel]

TMI is always awkward but that one reporter recovered nicely XD

[kitkats_lj]

Idk what this says about me but I don't think that's tmi - given the question asked it's more classic avoiding-the-question than anything, surely?

[coyotesuspect]

That's what I thought. It was TMI. But it was also a brilliant way to derail the conversation from, "hey! you're shafting our children you asshole!"

*facepalm*

[deepbluemermaid]

On behalf of all right-thinking New Zealanders, I'd like to apologise for our Prime Minister! I swear, most of what John Key says is meaningless waffling or highly embarrassing gaffes. He's a smart guy, I think, but his mouth seems to be disconnected from his brain.

For example: he recently joked about a Maori (NZ's indigenous people) tribe wanting to eat him for dinner, given that he'd recently shafted them during grievance negotiations. While it's true that cannibalism was once practised among the Maori, to joke about it in 2010 - while that tribe is seeking redress for the government's past crimes - is just unbelievable!

He then made one of those non-apologies (if anyone misinterpreted my light-hearted statement and took offence, then I apologise). Gaaaah, my blood pressure!

Re: *facepalm*

[hivesix]

Lol, everything John Key says is just like a runaway train. I think he forgot that one little bit about being a politician -- anything you say gets taken and spun until it can't be spun any more. Don't try to be funny, John! It doesn't work! The Treaty will get you in the end! (<-- see that is the kind of thing he would say and then it would just snowball into endless headdesking for us all)

Kind of reminds me of John Banks and when he made a joke about the new Auckland City logo a ways back... falls flat and makes everyone feel awkward.

Re: *facepalm*

[delia43]

This has got to be a "you had to be there" moment right? Was the delivery bad or just that Kiwis don't talk about their peens in public?

It sounded like a pretty funny joke to me on paper. I mean, I get that he's a politician, but Al Gore pokes fun at himself all the time and he gets some major laughs--especially on Futurama.

Re: *facepalm*

[hivesix]

I actually think we're one of the less PC countries in the world. But then American politics dominates the media and the Republicans are just ridiculous, so.

It's funny on paper. I guess it's just that he says all this other stuff as well, and you have to be really careful here especially if it's related to Maori affairs (this one wasn't, but he's just like this most of the time). Also, a lot of young voters don't like him/National so some might just be looking for a reason to have a go at him.

[foveaux]

I don't think it's too much information in an every day conversation. However it is rather embarrassing that it's coming from our prime minister during a media press conference about another of his government's terrible funding changes.

I'm really confused about his popularity. He smiles and waves and speaks in vague terms with an awkward-sounding accent. He's a photogenic muppet. I don't actually know who he is or what he stands for. Prior to the election I actually quite liked him because he was being portrayed as a sensible and practical centrist. Fortunately he leads the National party so I'd never actually be tempted to vote for him.

I must say though that he (or his PR team) is brilliant at dodging questions and diverting attention away from potentially negative issues.

[crasherwake]

It is a pretty great diversion, really.

"What if your kids had to go to these understaffed schools??"
"Well my kids are too old to go to those schools, so..."
"Well what if you had another child?"
"Can't. Vasectomy."
"... Eeer."
*conversation derails and crashes into the ground*

[stormqueen280]

Great diversion, and hilarious! I can imagine the reporters blinking like crazy.

[pragmatic_chimp]

I'm really confused about his popularity. He smiles and waves and speaks in vague terms with an awkward-sounding accent. He's a photogenic muppet. I don't actually know who he is or what he stands for. Prior to the election I actually quite liked him because he was being portrayed as a sensible and practical centrist.

You know, this sound eerily like first-term George Bush. O_0