Author Archive
Gonzo
I’m reading this oral history-style biography of one of my heroes, Hunter S. Thompson which I picked up at Real Groovy in Queen Street last weekend. Good book. I’ve been reading Thompson since being astonished by Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in the late1970s. I always found his writing worthwhile, particularly his political reportage […]
Europe: the ‘you have to act quickly’ sales pitch?
People who work in sales are familiar with the use of the ‘urgency’ or ‘impending event’ ploy to try to achieve a purchase decision. The sound of ‘I want to think about it’ is like finger nails on a blackboard to a salesman. Potential buyers use that statement or similar to put some distance between […]
Bloggers v journalists
The blogosphere has been atwitter about a blogger who wanted her un-sourced ‘comments’ and denigration of a businessman to be protected under Oregon’s ‘shield laws’ — designed to stop legitimate news media from being compelled to reveal their sources. By far the best comment I’ve read about it was from Forbes’ Kashmir Hill in her […]
Scrutiny and criticism starts at home
It is my belief that the writer, the free-lance author, should be and must be a critic of the society in which he lives. It is easy enough, and always profitable, to rail away at national enemies beyond the sea, at foreign powers beyond our borders who question the prevailing order. But the moral duty […]
Oh Patrick Gower!
Well worth watching … 50 seconds of … well, of … Patrick Gower. You know, the [allegedly] ‘deceitful bastard’ ACT leader-on-the-skids Don Brash wouldn’t talk to — three times. Good on him. From TV3’s Firstline (full clip). Look how he cracks up Rachel Smalley … who sometimes indulges in a wee bit of humour […]
Grumpies’ solution for the economy
This was emailed to me. Here it is, without endorsement or criticism, warts and all (although I think it’s a cut-and-paste. What ‘motor industry’?): ==START QUOTE== Dear John Key and Bill English, Please find below our suggestion for fixing New Zealand’s economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to the banks, Iwi’s and others to […]
Poor Siri caught up in an argument
A little swearing, but I had to chuckle at the tagline… See all the CollegeHumor Original Videos here. via stumbleupon.com
Is NZ’s international reputation as a democracy taking a pasting?
I started to reply to a comment by Craig, who suggested that if Bradley Ambrose is successful in his call for the High Court to declare the ‘cup of tea’ conversation “not a private communication” that that (in Craig’s view) would be “a sad day for privacy in this country” Oh yes? I thought. What […]
Winston Peters Kelston speech
I heard comeback kid Winston Peters complaining today that his ‘clear as daylight’ Kelston speech hasn’t been adequately reported in the media. Here’s a copy of the speech notes that I had at the event (with my scribbled notes on the last few pages). I filed reports from the venue on what I saw as […]
Bradley Ambrose takes the initiative
This is a smart move. His lawyer says Ambrose has been slandered and vilified by some in the National Party operating in election mode. They’ve treated him as if he had no reputation to defend. With loose language about Ambrose’s actions being ‘illegal’ and ‘unethical’ being relentlessly squirted at him … by increasingly desperate-sounding National […]
‘public interest’ vs ‘the issues that matter’
Reflecting on John Key’s clearly-scripted talking point before he ‘stormed out’ of a media conference yesterday, it seems to me the National Party spin doctors (and lawyers?) will be emphatic that their man Key NOT under any circumstances admit to any ‘public interest’ in the cup of tea tapes. Thus, the apparent attempt to smother […]
Leave John Key Alone
Oh dear. Now he’s a subject of piteous mockery. (I assume.) Whoever ‘runawaywithgypsies‘ is, I’m sure Cameron will have the number plates of their motorcycles up on his website days before the NZ Herald. – P
Sometimes Mail is soooo right. Junk.
I spotted this on a quick flick through my ‘Junk’ folder. ‘Mail thinks this is Junk Mail’. Er, … that’s fersure. What gives it away as fake, most of all, is that I’ve never actually entered that lottery. A small detail. – P
Teflon John Key under pressure over tape
Politics is all about responding to emergencies — and I don’t mean a container ship grounding itself on a reef. From the NZ Herald’s John Armstrong today: John Key insists there is nothing on the secret tape of his “cup of tea” conversation with John Banks to cause him the slightest bother. If so, why […]
