Author Archive
Harawira: Fortune favours the brave
What do we take from ‘rebel’ MP Hone Harawira winning his by-election? … Even with a ‘slashed’ majority — from 6,000 to 867. Wait and see. Let the punditry begin. It must certainly be a victory sweetened by the decision by the Electoral Commission to register his new party, meaning he will be a ‘leader’ […]
Black hat techniques
Reminded me of Review: An odious little volume… – P
Totally worth reading article on writing. (Refs Autism/Asperger)
Here’s a very worthwhile article with valuable tips on writing (check the comments stream for more!) It’s by Steve Silberman who wrote The Geek Syndrome for Wired magazine, which we discussed in passing in 2009. Anyway… … I’m finally writing a book of my own. The subject of my book is autism, the variety of […]
Getting around ad blockers …
We discuss web browser ad-blockers like Safari Adblock here from time to time, and since I use one routinely I enjoy a pretty much ad-free environment … so of course the heat is on to find ways to get around it. Here’s the Huffington Post’s latest attempt … ‘sponsor generated content‘: Still, without Safari Adblock […]
Another dose of financial hyperbole …
An occasional commenter here on ThePaepae.com, known as ‘Xav’ here and at PropertyTalk, did some homework on ‘bargain’ US properties being assiduously hawked by property spruiker Dean Letfus to his database and via the internet … From Dean Letfus’s list of Atlanta properties: Address . . . . . . . . . . . […]
Howick’s latest NIMBY hysteria
[NIMBY = Not in my back yard.] You may recall my post about the forces of [small-c] conservatism seeking to block an expression of Maori culture in the heart of Howick (where I live) despite support for it and an enlightened, respectful approach being taken by local Maori, their supporters and the local authority. The […]
Jon Stewart on Fox News – Is this Crossfire Part 2?
This year’s version of Jon Stewart’s intelligent, robust examination of clichéd, reactive, shallow, artificially partisan media and, to a certain extent, a dollop of intellectual humiliation for its players (Think Crossfire’s Tucker Carlson in particular) occurred on Sunday. Heralded with headlines like “Jon Stewart Eviscerates Fox News On Fox News“, “Stewart in the Lion’s Den” […]
Noted in passing
So Rep. Anthony Weiner resigned. As Jon Stewart soul jammed: “Look, Congressman, if you’re sending pictures of your penis as bait to young women who follow you on Twitter, then you’ve got to go.” Yep. Bad judgement is bad. A cover up worse. Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis): Twitter didn’t do in Weiner. Sex didn’t. The coverup […]
An ‘abiding distrust’ for anonymous speech
Here’s a really good article from Dan Gillmor defending the use of pseudonyms and anonymity on the web — even in the light of Tom MacMaster’s Amina ‘Gay Girl in Damascus’ hoax… Sounding real is not the same as being real. The fake Amina’s blog was especially well done, with details that sounded authentic even to native […]
Assange … a right to scrutinise the state.
We support a cause that is no more radical a proposition than that the citizenry has a right to scrutinise the state. The state has asserted its authority by surveilling, monitoring and regimenting all of us, all the while hiding behind cloaks of security and opaqueness. — Julian Assange Pretty hard to argue with that. […]
Let me not into temptation
This book on LBJ’s succession to John F Kennedy after the assassination was an eye-opener. I’m reading Nixonland by Rick Perlstein at the same time, and I can perceive the seeds of LBJ’s and the Democrats’ destruction in the character traits and deep suspicion and disunity Steven Gillon highlights in his book. Certainly, the book […]
More fakery on the internet. (So what’s new?)
A part of me wasn’t surprised this morning to discover the ‘lesbian’ ‘Syrian’ pro-democracy blogger supposedly ‘abducted’ by ‘security forces’ last week was actually a 40 year old American man called Tom MacMaster living in Scotland. My Twitter feed this morning was full of vitriol and disappointment about this imposter Tom MacMaster who provoked support […]
Nothing to hide but NOT nothing to fear
Here’s a good article on privacy by Daniel J Solove, who I last referred to when sharing some thoughts in my post Is it worth dishonestly defending a reputation? No. Solove’s article is called Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have ‘Nothing to Hide’ — it’s a preview of his next book, and it’s a worthwhile […]
Harsh criticism? Or Fair?
Spotted this from Glenn Greenwald re TV personality Chris Matthews … Now, as I replied, some might see such a strident comment about a fellow ‘peer in the industry’ as ill-motivated unprofessional. Not me. I think someone paying attention to the ‘industry’ (like, in this case Greenwald) is obliged to highlight what you see as […]
