Dr Cullen is a telepath
February 28th, 2006 at 12:59 pm by David FarrarI can only conclude that Dr Cullen has psychic ability and is a telepath.
You see NewstalkZB has Dr Cullen saying the former Bayfield High School Principal is “confused” when he says he told David Benson-Pope about the complaint against him.
Now this is amazing that Dr Cullen, who has absolutely no first hand knowledge of what happened, is able to state with certainity that the former principal is confused. Perhaps he can also work out who killed Mona Blades with his new found powers.
I’m amazed the Government is going to try and brazen this out. I mean from a partisan viewpoint I should be delighted as it will keep the issue going for longer, but it is going to be so sad for the Minister. Already we hear another parent is alleging DBP kneed his son in the groin.
DBP is seeking to do a personal statement at 2 pm. This will require leave of the House and as anything said in a personal statement can no longer be challenged afterwards he might not get it. He should use the personal statement to resign.
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February 28th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Wow – can’t believe they don’t just sacrifice DBP for the greater good of the Govt. $10 bet – he’ll try to stand up and quibble with whether this was a “complaint” or not, and argue it was merely an issue which was resolved at the time and the headmaster was satisifed there was nowt pervy in it.
Big BIG demerit points to the opposition if they let him make that sort of personal statement… and hence duck the scheduled questions. He has plenty of time to explain himself in his answers to Question 1.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
They don’t have to face voters for the next three years. And they have changed the law before. Looking at young girls while they’re showering will become retrospectively legal.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
No leave for a statement.
And now DBP states that it was school policy to look at young girls while they were showering or get them standing outside almost nakedly in the cold in the middle of a night and shining a flashlight at them.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 1:48 pm
After the Facial Breakdance at the last attempted explanation. Minties Moments advertising executives will be sitting there with baited breath, the guy makes Rowan Atkinson look like an armature!
I can only surmise the expressions we saw from DBP last time were the same expressions you would encounter while having diarrhea, vomiting and premature ejaculation, all within a 3 second period.
It was almost painful to watch.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
can someone keep us posted please on the Q&As Wish I could get to a TV
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
I just heard the Prime Liar saying that because DPB didn’t violate any school policies that what he did was alright.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
“Looking at young girls while they’re showering will become retrospectively legal”
Is that what DPB did now? My how things escalate.
oh and apparently
“Already we hear another parent is alleging DBP kneed his son in the groin”
Boy, another fact no doubt.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
just watched all I could be arsed seeing. Brash asked Clark various questions about DBP.
-Was there confidence in him
-Was his behaviour condoned
-Was lying to parliament condoned
-Could such an allegation really have been forgotten
-Is the government worried that the people of NZ have already formed opinions about DBP
answers were:
-Yes
-It seemed to be in accordance with school policy of the time
-She believed he answered to the best of his ability to remember
-Yes, politicians do forget things, example being something to do with the EB (Ben starts to get bored)
-No, not all of NZ has already found DBP guilty
Sharples then crapped on in Maori for a bit, and the question was tranlated as something Brash had already raised. Clark answered, and I notice the answer didn’t need translation. Pity, that would have been interesting, seeing the poor translator at work interpreting Clark’s response (which I can’t recall).
Peters then asked some question which wasn’t a question, basically saying that the Nats should stop indulging in trial by media. Clark struggled to reply since it wasn’t a question. ‘Cheers, mate’ would probably have been the best answer.
Then Fitzsimmons asked about Peak oil, blah blah, I allowed my wife to continue with her Days of Our Lives episode. Maybe Hide had some more questions but *yawn*. Dead horse.
Still, I can see that playing the man and not the ball will continue to frustrate Labour, and maybe DBP will lose his job over these allegations, whether or not it was actually the right thing to do at the time. Such is politics.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
My dear Andrew, there wasn’t any need to make acceptable behaviour more explicit at this school, was there?
And have you read the actual statements and reports? I’m just quoting. I hope you feel sick that you have to defend guys like this. I worry you won’t.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
GD: an uncorrected transcript will be available on http://uncorrectedtranscripts.clerk.govt.nz/ from 5:30 pm today (or shortly thereafter). Sorry, but this is a no-frills product and will not be annotated with colourful descriptions of Mr Benson-Pope’s various facial expressions. But, for all that, the interjections may be an unwelcome distraction and the uncorrected transcript may provide an opportunity to relect on what was, and was not, said in the House today.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
Ben many thanks for the update looks like I didnt miss anything out of the ordinary
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:29 pm
Sorry David, but Cullen isn’t a telepath, he’s a smart-alec, a related – but separate – skill.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:29 pm
I take it there has been no attempt to bring a privileges complaint about his previous statement ? Of course there is no way Wilson would allow one regardless of the number of holes in his statement.
Hey, don’t you lefties get a bit worried about having a man who can’t remember something as potentially explosive as a sexual misconduct complaint being made against him only 8 or so years ago, as a minister. Are you sure he can remember anything correctly ? As for Cullen’s “confused” statement, sometimes the mendacity and intellectual dishonesty of that man leaves me near speechless.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
gd, no probs. I’m kinda sorry I made my wife miss what Victor’s evil plan #956 was. Still she did drop off to sleep, makes me wonder if question time might be a good way to lull the baby to sleep.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Berend says: Looking at young girls while they’re showering will become retrospectively legal.
…then…
And have you read the actual statements and reports? I’m just quoting.
Can you point me at the text where it says DBP was “looking at young girls while they’re showering”?
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
take it there has been no attempt to bring a privileges complaint about his previous statement ?
He can’t be called before the privileges committee of the current Parliament for statements made during a previous Parliament.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
Hey, don’t you lefties get a bit worried about having a man who can’t remember something as potentially explosive as a sexual misconduct complaint…
And, paraphrasing both yourself and the PM during Question Time, don’t you righties get a bit worried about having a man who can’t remember meeting with a fundamentalist religious group. And not years, but only weeks earlier?
Are you sure he can remember anything correctly?
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
Berend, I think you have completely missed my point. I am NOT defending DBP. I am trying to point out that we should look at the facts, not wildly speculate about what DBP may or may not have done. If he did indeed do what some have claimed, I would be the last person to defend him.
I am not sure what you meant by:
Vote:“there wasn’t any need to make acceptable behaviour more explicit at this school, was there?”, but I think it refers to the quote I lifted from YOUR comment!
February 28th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
Ed, as a lefty, I suspect he’s lying about not being able to remember the complaint. But as a person, I do also believe he can’t remember any of the details. 8 years is quite a while back – my memory of things that happened then, even quite traumatic things, is quite hazy.
A sexual misconduct conviction would be ‘explosive’. A complaint? Hard to say, especially if it was ‘informal’.
As for Cullen’s telepathy, that’s just silly. He’s interpreting, just like everyone else. I imagine he meant the principal was confused about what DBP was claiming. Call me a telepath, or just admit that everyone has an interpretation of what other people say.
Sleight of hand on DBP’s side, reminiscent of ‘I did not have sex with that woman’. And, by the sounds of it, similarly harmless, but likely to be pursued to the grave. It’s not the crime, it’s the cover up, and all that.
I pity the fool that has anything to do with pubescent teenage girls and then expects to have a high profile public life thereafter.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
I pity the fool that has anything to do with pubescent teenage girls and then expects to have a high profile public life thereafter.
Precisely. Besides, Clarke has let go a number of Ministers who have made mistakes, but there is a difference between that and allowing the Opposition to determine the composition of your Cabinet by smear tactics.
This is political trash at it’s worst, and I would imagine there are any number of Nat MP’s quietly cringing as they sit through it all.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Ben – nice spin on it, but still smells a little off, I think as the days go by and Twitch Benson Pope is grilled a little harder we might see the truth.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
What this really comes down to is the opposition capable of rolling D B/Pope?
Vote:DPF, smells blood & like many can’t wait for the kill. But how long will the likes of DPF have to wait for his associates to preform the task?
Banksie this morning predicted D B/Pope will be gone today before question time, 11.00am or abouts. Then we read 2pm. Or will it be tomorrow? next week? when?
I personally don’t like D B/Pope, but at the end every day D B/Pope is in parliament it just proves how incapable & inexperienced the current opposition is.
Why didn’t Hide and his cronies use this ammunition on D B/Pope/Labour just before the last election? To be 100% honest I was waiting last election for Hide to deliver the killer blow. But nothing happened it all just stopped. I new after that and the Bretheren scandal, Labour would make it back in.
In someways if ACT/National were capable of working together they would have had a team effort in putting resources into taking out D B/Pope and given Hide Epsom. Trouble was Hide new his party were on the ropes and with National giving Hide no slack all energy went into winning Epsom for ACT to stay afloat. Benson Pope was let off.
In someways Benson Pope saved the election for Labour, with the Right infighting we ended with a divide and rule scenario.
Now we have the right taking up the DPB case again, but it’s to late! of course Labour “NOW” can sacrifice Benson Pope, the elections over. A Bye Election would put labour back in power in Dunedin anyway, and the Govt has 2 more years to get over it. The name Benson Pope will be forgotten by most voters by then.
It could be seen as the biggest waisted opportunity for the Right in 6 yrs. The outcome could have been a National/ACT coalition, with the demise of Benson Pope gaining them victory.
The opposition is also being tested by the media/public if they can’t roll Benson Pope & Labour still keep ahead in the polls, it will just prove we have an inefficient & incapable opposition that is not fit to run the country. It will be interesting times ahead, not only for D Benson Pope, but the opposition in general.
February 28th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
Nice diversion Cartman. And Brash never said he did not meet the EB or that he could not recall meeting them. Try a better diversion next time.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
“This is political trash at it’s worst, and I would imagine there are any number of Nat MP’s quietly cringing as they sit through it all.”
Yep, you’re right, its all in your imagination.
Can anyone recommend a resource I can refer to to properly understand the self delusions the left will put themselves through in order to not face the truth?
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
Nice diversion Cartman. And Brash never said he did not meet the EB or that he could not recall meeting them. Try a better diversion next time.
Sorry, I should have been more specific. He couldn’t recall how often he had met them, or even where. To quote from the linked NZ Herald article…
—
Also undermining Dr Brash’s attempts to retain credibility over the issue was his struggle to remember how often he had met the Exclusive Brethren over the past 18 months – which he yesterday estimated variously as two, three or four times.
He conceded he could not remember, also admitting on Close Up last night, “I’ve forgotten what city I was in“, when referring to a press conference held the day before.
[emphasis added]
—
Surely there’s some memory issues there?
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 4:37 pm
yeah, especially considering that Brash had to answer to an official complaint immediately after meeting with the Brethren. I mean, the parallels with the DBP memory hole are scary.
I mean, Brash was going about his normal business when he met the brethren, he met all sorts of groups daily. And DBP was going about his normal daily business by bullying and perving on female students. Of course it would be easy for both of them to forget something as trivial as that.
The excuse “I forgot” can only really be used when the action is easily forgetable. What did you have for dinner six weeks ago? How many shoelaces did you break in the last decade? How many complaints of improper/indecent conduct have been made against you? All very easy things to forget.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
So Cartman thinsk there is a difference between not being able to recall if you had met with a group three or four times and being able to recall if the Headmaster had informed you of an official complaint .
Let me make it easy. In a year a senior politican may have 1,000 or so meetings.
In a year a teacher generally will have no official complaints against them.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 6:12 pm
I agree with Kimble that forgetting is no defence for anything except…forgetting. It does not justify claiming the opposite then coming out with a ‘couldn’t remember at the time’ defence. On the other hand, if your original claim was ‘in my memory …’ or ‘as I recall it …’, then a forgetfulness defence is a bit more safe. There’s a difference between saying “I did not do X” and “I don’t remember doing X”.
DPF, how do you know how many complaints a teacher generally gets? Is it something that goes on a teacher’s resume? Are there official statistics? And does every teacher even know about a lot of the complaints received against them?
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
I grew up around teachers. They do not get a complaint a week, for most an official complaint would be a once in a decade event. Any complaint was taken very seriously, and this one is very serious. A complaint of the nature of DBP’s (being present when teenage girls were getting dressed) would be very VERY memorable, to the point of being unforgetable.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 6:41 pm
Even back in those days teachers were informed about complaints. Anyway, this is not a trivial complaint. This is not just a “he gave me detention and i didnt even deserve it or nuffing!” sort of complaint.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
“I grew up around teachers.”
Didn’t everybody?
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 7:02 pm
Obviously i meant that a large proportionof my relatives were teachers.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
In a year a senior politican may have 1,000 or so meetings.
Fair enough. Good point.
At how many of those meetings would something as “memorable” as a half million dollar no-strings-attached pledge of advertising support from a fundamentalist religious group occur? Presumably enough to make Brash forget this particular incident?
By the way, I totally concur with everyone above that if DBP had been told, he would remember.
I was just interested in the comparison with Brash. At what level does an event that seems “memorable” to others (or maybe just the media and accompanying blogswarm) become plausibly forgettable by the person who was actually involved.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
Cartman:
*yawn* Very boring weapon of mass distraction, Eric. Then again, let’s see how rapidly the selective early onset Alzheimer’s strikes Clark, Cullen, Pete Hodgson, Mike Williams, Mike Smith, Steve Maharey etc. if the Police decide to prosecute over the Pledge Card debacle. After all, a whole eight months is such a long time to remember piddling little details like spending over $400K of public money.
Oh, and have you ever been a teacher. I just find it a little hard to believe that any male teacher would just happen to forget receiving a formal complaint regards female students. I certainly wouldn’t forget if I’d ever been on the end of a sexual harassment complaint.
Vote:February 28th, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Ben I was a youth leader to a couple of dozen 14 to 19 year olds – around half girls.
Most of them are now late 20s and I caught up with several of them in London late last year. We are still good friends.
You can’t blame everything on teenage girls being lying giggle beasts!
Vote:March 1st, 2006 at 12:35 am
DPF and Kimble have offered their anecdotal evidence. Anyone got any stats out there? Since this was offered as a 1:1000 memory burden on 0 evidence, I’m interested. Does anyone really know how many complaints a teacher typically receives in a year? A headmaster? How about back in the 90s?
But hey, I already said I think he is lying about forgetting if it’s true a formal complaint was made and presented to him. That’s still an IF, though. If it was not made, his failing to remember is no lie.
Vote:March 1st, 2006 at 2:04 am
Ben I was a youth leader to a couple of dozen 14 to 19 year olds – around half girls.
Most of them are now late 20s and I caught up with several of them in London late last year. We are still good friends.
You can’t blame everything on teenage girls being lying giggle beasts!
Vote:March 1st, 2006 at 8:24 am
BTW, Ben, while you’re busy accusing every one else of rank hypocrisy over this issue, I find ir rather ironic that you have problems with men sitting next to unaccompanied children on crowded airplanes but no concerns whatsoever about male teachers wandering through female dorms and shower rooms on school camps. What’s that about?
Vote:March 1st, 2006 at 9:04 am
Craig Ranapia:
After all, a whole eight months is such a long time to remember piddling little details like spending over $400K of public money.
Isn’t that similar to the point I was trying to make? The Brethren spent a similar amount on promoting National, yet Brash was fuzzy on remembering the details. Like I say, I was just interested in why this bout of amnesia was any less serious than those suffered by Labour MPs.
I just find it a little hard to believe that any male teacher would just happen to forget receiving a formal complaint regards female students.
I agree. And as I wrote: “I totally concur with everyone above that if DBP had been told, he would remember.”
Vote:March 1st, 2006 at 10:41 am
Craig, what that’s about is what I said on those threads. I don’t think their policy has fuck all to do with paedophilia, and everything to do with airlines keeping statistics on how to passify children. Seating them next to an angry businessman with a chip on his shoulder is likely to have them crying and much less settled. Which would also be, incidentally, annoying to the man as well.
And your claims wander more and more towards the unsubstantiated ridiculous every time re DBP. He wasn’t ‘wandering through female dorms and shower rooms’. He ‘burst in’, probably with the specific intent of hurrying up some girls who were probably holding the rest of the class up. Who knows if he made it loud and clear he was coming in beforehand? It’s all hearsay.
I think it was inappropriate, sure. Also quite forgettable. If my memory of PE at school is anything to go on, there were always annoying girls who didn’t want to do it, who dawdled around forever, who always had their period, every class. They were a fucken drag, actually. I always thought the solution would have been to allow them not to do PE, but that was not my choice, or the teacher’s. Said girls always absolutely hated the PE teacher, btw, because it was their least favourite subject. It was one where it was very hard to be cool unless you were an athlete.
Incidentally, my PE teacher was a old bully too. It was the traditional way to control kids who want nothing to do with your subject. I hated it. He was lucky enough to have a female colleague who could be sent in to clear the girls out of the changing rooms when they’d gone past the reasonable amount of time needed to get changed and were once again holding 30 other kids up.
Vote:March 1st, 2006 at 11:18 am
“He was lucky enough to have a female colleague who could be sent in to clear the girls out of the changing rooms”
And DBP didnt?
Do you think it is likely that formal complaints are common in the teaching profession? They arent in most other lines of work (except Police work of course), so what make teaching any different?
Vote:March 1st, 2006 at 11:43 am
What do you think, Kimble, and why? I’m only asking the question so we’re not all talking out our arses.
As for whether DBP has a female colleague at this camp available at the time, I don’t know, just as the court of public opinion also doesn’t really know many of the facts or context of this case. If it was a formal complaint it was dropped, which indicates how seriously it was taken at the time.
Vote: