| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| New Zealand PM roasted over cannibalism joke |
| 2010-05-14 |
| New Zealand Prime Minister John Key found himself in hot water Thursday after joking about an indigenous tribe eating him for dinner. Key has been at loggerheads with a Maori tribe, the Tuhoe, over negotiations to settle their grievances over land confiscations by European settlers in the 19th century. During a speech to a tourism conference Thursday, Key joked about having dinner with the neighbouring Ngati Porou tribe, or iwi. "The good news is that I was having dinner with Ngati Porou as opposed to their neighbouring iwi which is Tuhoe, in which case I would have been dinner, which wouldn't have been quite so attractive," Key said. A settlement negotiator with the Tuhoe tribe, Tamati Kruger, told Radio New Zealand the joke was in poor taste. "I'm just astounded that the prime minister can make light of what we regard as a very, very serious situation (over the negotiations)," Kruger said. "I don't think it's becoming at all of a prime minister." An MP for the Maori Party, which supports Key's government and has two leaders serving as government ministers, said the joke was unfortunate. "Well the first thing to say is, it's probably correct, and the second thing is (it's) probably not Cannibalism remains a sensitive subject in New Zealand, where Maori warriors sometimes ate their defeated enemies until the practice died out in the mid-19th century, according to historians. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #11 Then there's the cannibal who couldn't stomach his mother-in-law. The one who threw up his arms in disgust. The one who passed his brother in the woods. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-05-14 21:27 |
| #10 Dyslectic Tuhoe: "Oh Key, now you are a dead mate! |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2010-05-14 20:16 |
| #9 Would you serve red or white? |
| Posted by: Skunky Glins**** 2010-05-14 19:34 |
| #8 tastes like chicken |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-05-14 18:45 |
| #7 I can see this controversy stewing for a long time. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-05-14 18:37 |
| #6 Canibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2010-05-14 10:08 |
| #5 Just flew in from meeting with the Tuhoe and are my arms...OH MY GOD! THEY ATE THEM!! Hey, just kidding, folks! I'm here all week. Try the Ngati Porou, it's to die for! Don't forget to tip your waitress! Goodnight everybody! |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-05-14 10:04 |
| #4 Ok, go to your respective rooms. For at least 2 minutes. ;-) |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-05-14 09:29 |
| #3 The PM could have said he finds cannibalism "distasteful." Or, "If you don't like my remarks, you can just eat me." "I've got a bone to pick with you?" Or, "You all act as if you have no spleen." "You need to grow a set?" |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-05-14 08:58 |
| #2 Man, if there's an American politician out there descended from the Donner Party, you goddamn know that it'd be a standard opening gag in his opponents' stump speeches. I know *I'm* not eating at that new Rey Azteca restaurant that's opening up over by the dollar theatre. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2010-05-14 08:50 |
| #1 A settlement negotiator with the Tuhoe tribe, Tamati Kruger, told Radio New Zealand the joke was in poor taste. And the debate simmers on. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-05-14 08:17 |