Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Debate like it's 2008!

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  • Graeme Edgeler,

    Well, today's effectively Friday :-) so I thought I'd post a Friday link:

    http://dothetest.co.uk/

    It's awesome (if someone wants to edit this to embed it, please do).

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Graeme Edgeler,

    Turns out I can do that myself - should have checked it for YouTube!

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    just as Close Up's elaborate contrivance to compare Clark and Goff as student protesters with the pair of them as government ministers 30 years later was irrelevant.

    Well, I'm not so sure. I think its fair comment to compare and contrast when they -- and much of the Labour Party -- took a much harder line on economic, sporting and cultural contacts with South Africa. Or is John Key the one one who's not allowed a certain degree of strategic memory loss where the '81 tour is concerned. :)

    Now, of course, it would be entirely fair comment to say few of us hold the same political views we did as teenagers -- and a bloody good thing that's not the case. :) But when you're trying to paint Keith Locke as an apologist for mass murder, then I think its entirely relevant to point out that there's a certain hypocrisy in play here.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Well, I'm not so sure. I think its fair comment to compare and contrast when they -- and much of the Labour Party -- took a much harder line on economic, sporting and cultural contacts with South Africa.

    You don't think trying to compare apartheid South Africa with modern China is just a wee bit of a contrivance?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    we have the lowest rate of bicycle theft in the survey

    Quelle surprise. We probably have the lowest rate of bicycle ownership as well.

    In fact, this statistic is meaningless unless related to a breakdown of bicycles per person, or perhaps per household. Get Keith on the case immediately :-)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    Also: let me see. The *cough* "MSM" reports on a press release from a politician, while the blog goes to the source and looks at it critically.

    Remind me which one is meant to be journalism?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    In fact, this statistic is meaningless unless related to a breakdown of bicycles per person, or perhaps per household. Get Keith on the case immediately :-)

    What I want to know is, are Asians more or less likely than the general population to commit bicycle-related crime? Eh? Eh?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Also: let me see. The *cough* "MSM" reports on a press release from a politician, while the blog goes to the source and looks at it critically.

    Yep. And as i pointed out, the first round of reporting on the survey was also based solely on a press release, from a government-funded organisation, and reported a completely different story.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie,

    You don't think trying to compare apartheid South Africa with modern China is just a wee bit of a contrivance?t

    Probably - but if you wanted to put your money where your mouth was back in '81, all you had to do was swear off drinking Nederburg. No great hardship. For those currently ranting online against China, in most cases itd mean giving up their computers and sitting at home in the nuddy.

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Sigh ... why bother actually reading reports and stuff when you can just quote Garth McVicar?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • David Haywood,

    I was also working on this story, but have been neatly beaten by a combination of Russell "Great Helmsman" Brown and Bob "The Very Bad Baby" Haywood.

    A couple of very minor additional points:

    1. An equally good title for Simon Power's press release would've been "Overall Crime Drops Under Labour Administration". This really underlines Russell's point about the laziness/incompetence of the 'proper' journalists (including, alas, those at my beloved Radio New Zealand) in that they didn't even bother to read the ICVS report's summary. To all intents and purposes the definition of news journalist has now simply become: "One whose job is to retype press releases".

    2. Apparently Simon Power was away the day they taught subtraction at school. His claim that "After nine years of Labour are Kiwis any safer? These figures show we are not" is quite mysterious. The data was collected in 2004 -- how does he manage the arithmetic so that 2004 - 1999 = 9?

    Maybe Public Address should be handing out a "Complete Fucking Bullshit" award to the worst case of bad journalism each week (of course, we might have to give it a more acceptable name such as the 'Deborah Coddington' award).

    The only problem with this concept is that most weeks we'd just be mailing it directly to Garth George.

    Dunsandel • Since Nov 2006 • 1156 posts Report Reply

  • Terence Wood,

    As I noted yesterday, I have some qualms about Locke's unwaveringly negative views about interacting with China. Sometimes it seems like the acceptable face of xenophobia.

    For what it's worth I was in a panel discussion/debate with Keith Locke last year on the subject of sweatshops in developing countries. While we disagreed on quite a lot, one thing I didn't sense at all was sinophobia (China featured in the discussions, of course).

    Also, at least as long as I've been interested in this area, Keith Locke has been consistent and dedicated on human rights issues wherever they take place. Be it a largish rally on Falun Gong (sp?) persecution and Tibet or tiny March on Zimbabwe, he always seems to be there to meet it at parliament.

    I'm not defending everything he's ever said or done, or even the Green's position on trade agreements - all I'm saying is that, best I can tell, he has a genuine and admirable commitment to human rights internationally. And I'm pretty sure that that is the motivation for his current actions.

    Since Nov 2006 • 148 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    To all intents and purposes the definition of news journalist has now simply become: "One whose job is to retype press releases".

    One of the best pieces of advice I ever got about getting your story in the media (from Grant Robertson) was to use double-line spacing.

    For two reasons - one, if your release still fits on one page then its the right length, and two, it means the journalist might re-write between your lines, and then your media release becomes the basis for the story. A few times I've gotten my releases simply reprinted with a journalist's name added to the top.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I'm not defending everything he's ever said or done, or even the Green's position on trade agreements - all I'm saying is that, best I can tell, he has a genuine and admirable commitment to human rights internationally. And I'm pretty sure that that is the motivation for his current actions.

    Yes, I didn't mean to imply he wasn't a god guy, but the Greens' approach to China as a whole is generally very negative, especially on trade.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Terence Wood,

    I didn't mean to imply he wasn't a god guy

    Phew - that's a relief. We wouldn't want any atheists in parliament ;)

    Since Nov 2006 • 148 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    Maybe Public Address should be handing out a "Complete Fucking Bullshit" award to the worst case of bad journalism each week (of course, we might have to give it a more acceptable name such as the 'Deborah Coddington' award).

    The Deborah Coddington Memorial Award. Now that has a nice ring to it.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    In that case, I vote that the trophy be one of those waving lucky cats.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    more acceptable name such as the 'Deborah Coddington' award)

    Might I throw the "Coddingtonswallop Cup" into the ring?

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • Eddie Clark,

    Gah! Waving cat statues so terrifying! And yet, what an excellent award, and what an appropriate trophy.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 273 posts Report Reply

  • dc_red,

    The Codswallop Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence?

    Oil Patch, Alberta • Since Nov 2006 • 706 posts Report Reply

  • Eddie Clark,

    And if we're doing awards, how about the Garth George Prize for Creative Use of Scripture in Journalism?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 273 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    In that case, I vote that the trophy be one of those waving lucky cats.

    FTW!

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Keith Ng,

    What I want to know is, are Asians more or less likely than the general population to commit bicycle-related crime? Eh? Eh?

    Psssh. What would an Asian do with a bicycle, anyway? That shit's for peasants.

    And damn you and your work habits, Russell. I read that NZPA report at Wellington Airport, and by the time I sat down in Auckland with a cup of coffee to read the report properly, you'd friggin' finished.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 543 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    Gah! Waving cat statues so terrifying!

    Something a little stranger, courtesy of the Aucklandista...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    Yes, I didn't mean to imply he wasn't a god guy,

    , Keith Locke has been consistent and dedicated on human rights issues wherever they take place.

    Absolutely, Isn't that his job also?Human rights are always part of the Greens issues and Keith locke is passionate, so it should be difficult for the Green Party to separate the two areas in China.The Debating Chamber is the chance for the Greens to make their point.

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

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