Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Nasty

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  • Joanna,

    Although of course I'd never idly surf the internet on the public's dollar, assuming I was the type of person who'd do that, I would have lost count of the number of wikipedia posts I would have edited, using a government IP address - trying to save the world by fixing one apostrophe catastrophe at a time.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 746 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Semmens,

    Judith Collins? To quote the old saying about the Bourbons:. "They have forgotten nothing and learnt nothing".

    If Labour is the Germany of the 1980's new right Axis, National would be the Japan. One de-nazified and the other still likes to try and re-write the history books rather than say sorry and move on.

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report Reply

  • Deborah,

    I prefer carrying chalk in my handbag, and correcting the blackboards of Wellington.

    Proud to be a Pendant

    New Lynn • Since Nov 2006 • 1447 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Graham,

    I had Bill English on my show yesterday and asked him about this. He sounded somewhat bemused and a bit embarrassed about the whole thing.

    Interestly enough, he also said that National will not remove Kiwisaver but may tweak it a bit.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 218 posts Report Reply

  • B Jones,

    Ahem, pedant?

    Sorry, I'm one too, and would love my own chalk and ladder for café menus.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report Reply

  • InternationalObserver,

    I've met Buckwheat a couple of times, and she (I think one should call drag queens "she" when they're in uniform) was graceful and kind

    Snap! (ie Ditto!)

    I've actually hired Buckwheat for a corporate function and was immensely impressed with the effort and professionalism she* put into the event. We definitely 'got our money's worth' albeit was private money and not taxpayers money. I have issues with (what to me are) obvious rorts such as the infamous 'Hip Hop Fact-Finding Tour' but as a taxpayer I can endorse Buckwheat/Edward's work and I have no doubt it was money well spent.

    You're right RB to highlight Judith Collins' pettiness in this story, but let's also spare a negative thought for TV3 who decided it was a story worth running. It wasn't and someone should have binned Collins' press release when it arrived.

    * I didn't know either until someone enlightened me as to Drag ettiquette: one should always address a lady as a lady. Do do otherwise would invite a frown, to do otherwise with malice may invite a punch in the nose.

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report Reply

  • InternationalObserver,

    <To do otherwise...>

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report Reply

  • Danyl Mclauchlan,

    Interestly enough, he also said that National will not remove Kiwisaver but may tweak it a bit.

    John Key has also announced that he wants to 'improve' Kiwisaver. I'm betting these improvements will involve either freezing or scrapping the employer contributions.

    [Obama] has to win his own party's primary before he can think about reaching out across the barricades.

    If Obama wins the nomination I'm not sure I like his chances of surviving the presidential campaign.

    If Labour is the Germany of the 1980's new right Axis, National would be the Japan. One de-nazified and the other still likes to try and re-write the history books

    Godwin'd on the second post! Impressive!

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 927 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Ahem, pedant?

    "Pendant" is a running joke spawned by one of my own trivial typing errors.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • daleaway,

    Onya, Deborah. I have found a chalk and a black felt pen vital handbag accessories to help the needy.

    Co-pendants unite!

    Since Jul 2007 • 198 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Tom:

    Is there a Godwin's Law equivalent for the Yellow Peril?

    Russell:

    I'd be very surprised if Edward is going to be doing a motivational drag show down the Mangere WINZ office any time soon - any more than 'she' spent nine years in full drag while working for the NZAF.

    Having said that, and getting the titilating tranny angle out of the way, I think there's quite leigitmate questions about how the MSD is spending public money on staff recruitment, training and professional development.

    You write:

    This is, allegedly, a "waste of money". But does anybody think for a moment that Collins would have picked it up if that person had not been a drag queen?

    Maybe, maybe not. Would Christine Rankin have drawn so much media attention and political criticism if her taste in blouses and ear-bobs was more sober? And was Labour playing to a not very well disguised streak of misogyny for political advantage? (My answers, FWIW, are 'hell yes' and 'possibly, but who can really tell for sure'.)

    Still, elsewhere, wasn't it just lovely to read in the Herald on Sunday that while Trevor Mallard was dragging Don Brash's marriage into the political sewer, it now turns out his own was very far from healthy. As a human being, I feel very sorry for him and his family; as a politician who built a reputation as Labour's designated 'attack dog', my reaction is a little more complex.

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

  • InternationalObserver,

    Blardy good point about Mallard, Craig!

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Having said that, and getting the titilating tranny angle out of the way, I think there's quite leigitmate questions about how the MSD is spending public money on staff recruitment, training and professional development.

    And they are what, exactly? Public and private organisations bring in people for staff development and training all the damn time.

    Collins, by her own account, has picked this single case to try and use politically. If she is really interested in general staff training issues rather than than good old gay-bashing, it doesn't really show.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Idiot Savant,

    John Key has also announced that he wants to 'improve' Kiwisaver. I'm betting these improvements will involve either freezing or scrapping the employer contributions.

    That would fit with their general "bait and switch" tactics.

    Palmerston North • Since Nov 2006 • 1717 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Blardy good point about Mallard, Craig!

    Er, not so much. Mallard's marriage broke up several months ago, apparently under the strain that tests so many MPs' marriages. Not to suggest I approve of Mallard's conduct in 2005 -- or at various times since -- but I'm not aware that he was conducting a clandestine affair whilst preaching the virtues of matrimony and toting his wife around for media opportunities.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Well, IO, when it comes to 'nasty' Collins is a mere padiwan learner compared to Darth Trev. And while Pete Hodgson is manfully trying to fill the gap, I think you can count on one hand the people who don't wish he'd STFU about John Key (or at least make an allegation that he doesn't flip-flop or u-turn on in the next breath) and focus on his day job.

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

  • Stephen Judd,

    Russell, make sure that SPF records are set up correctly for the domain that you're sending mail from. (It doesn't look as though there are SPF records for publicaddress.net...)

    The new Yahoo mail servers seem to use lack of or broken SPF as one of their main flags for potential spam. I don't think anyone at Yahoo is going to "fix" that.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    I'm not aware that he was conducting a clandestine affair whilst preaching the virtues of matrimony and toting his wife around for media opportunities.

    I'm not "aware" Don Brash was either - rumours are one thing, but the bitch never sucked my dick. Neither has Trevor Mallard, come to that or any of the other current or former MPs listed by the Herald on Sunday as separating from their spouses in recent years.

    And thankfully, we've been spared the sight of our politicians getting into *cough* Paris Hilton-style home video.

    As I said, I feel very sorry for Mallard as a human being - having a marriage come to an end is a sad thing, regardless of the reasons. Politics is infamously hard on relationships, and surely Russell you'd acknowledge there's an element of hypocritical 'nastiness' in using them as an offensive weapon in the House.

    Personally, I find that a damn sight more offensive that a weak story that looks like it was shoved into a hole on a slow news day.

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

  • InternationalObserver,

    Blardy good point about Mallard, Craig!

    Er, not so much. Mallard's marriage broke up several months ago, .... but I'm not aware that he was conducting a clandestine affair whilst preaching the virtues of matrimony and toting his wife around for media opportunities.

    Hey c'mon! I'm prepared to give Brash a break on this one. How many of us have waited until after Valentines Day to break up with our GF/BF? (Remember High School people?) How was Brash supposed to campaign without his wife present? The Press would have had a field day. Was he supposed to 'fess up that there was 'a few bumps in the road' re his marriage?

    And besides, maybe his wife had something to say about it ie it's my private life, something I don't want shared with the public. So STFU Don and lets both keep smiling while we work this out.

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Semmens,

    Godwin's law only applies if you are calling someone a Nazi.

    I am trying to illustrate that Judith Collin's is merely one of un-reconstructed band of merry Nats like Maurice Williamson (the minister for Telecom), Murray McCully,Tony Ryall and Lockward Smith who fancy themselves as cabinet ministers after the next election.

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Personally, I find that a damn sight more offensive that a weak story that looks like it was shoved into a hole on a slow news day.

    I don't, at all. Politics is a rough business, which is not to say I approve of such conduct, including, of course, the whispering campaigns about Helen Clark's marriage. Labour's catcalling in the house lately has been dreadful.

    But baiting a political opponent is quite different from singling out a private individual to try and score political points out of their sexuality. That's really reprehensible.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I/O: I guess so, although they didn't break up and it appears she didn't know what was going on. I feel uncomfortable labouring the point any further, but what I said back then was that while I didn't regard cheating as a disqualification for office, I did see deception of a loved one as a reflection on character.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Was he supposed to 'fess up that there was 'a few bumps in the road' re his marriage?

    That's a new euphemism for an extra-marital affair that his wife didn't know about.

    Sure it would have been political insanity to 'fess up'. It was also political insanity to have the affair in the first place.

    Craig is right, it shouldn't be a matter for public scrutiny. That doesn't stop it being such a matter, whether it should or not. Mallard's troubles will be scrutinized for sure. And probably will end up 10th page news for one day.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Ben Austin,

    I would have thought that the "STFU Its yours to lose" rule still held true for National MPs. Apparently not?

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Co-pendants unite!

    That's an excellent neologism.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

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