Posts by Don Christie

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  • Hard News: Claims,

    Hi David - I understand the points you make but...I once saw an Investigate magazine. It was full of stuff about NZ being run by a bunch of jack booted lesbians nazis who would stop at nothing to get us ruled by Communist China. In short, a conspiracy magazine whose hatred of Labour politicians is pure poison.

    I cannot disprove all that the magazine claims but neither can I disprove that aliens have landed on Earth. And then there is all that stuff about "intelligent" design I read about in a DomPost book review.

    Other stuff about Wishart and his stories I have read has been 2nd hand. But if a magazine has a record of publishing scurrilous material that never gets credence then I would certainly thing twice about giving it credibility by suing them - and why should I? It seems very unfair that I would be presumed guilty because I didn't bother to stoop to their level.

    If a credible source printed a similar story and it was not true I would obviously consider corrective action. But then I would expect a credible source to investigate and publish this in a very different way, not to throw out as much shit as possible just to see if anything sticks.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

  • Hard News: Claims,

    Craig, thanks for your reply.

    OTOH, you never stop bullies by ducking, and just hoping they move on to someone else. Politicians, its fair to say, are generally people with very thick skins who have no illusions about the downside of public life. Others who get dragged into tabloid smear campaigns aren't.

    Agreed. I must say I did pause for some time before commenting on this thread. I do run a business and I have no desire to get dragged into this sort of muck-taking debate. But in the end I feel that unless a folks from across the spectrum of views are prepared to say "this is wrong" then the likes of Wishart go through life unchallenged and the tone of debate in this country turns to puke.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

  • Southerly: The Astonishing New Car from…,

    Very nice [looking] car compared with some of the fuel [efficient] models around Europe. The [contrast] between the USA and Europe is stunning. I have just [returned] from both and dodging the SUVs was a [nightmare]. Unfortunately New Zealand seems to be [closer] to the US than Europe in [choice] of vehicle.

    Fuel [efficiency] as a goal is not new. The oil [shocks] of the late 1970s made a huge [difference], everywhere other than the USA. Changes in habits [probably] need some government encouragement as fuel for cars seems to be an incredibly elastic consumer good.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

  • Hard News: Claims,

    As for the timing of this...well, it is budget week, and by some accounts a pretty good one coming up. Last time Wishart made a "major" revelation was the day Don Brash resigned.

    Convenient.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

  • Hard News: Claims,

    David Farrar says:

    If the allegations can not be substantiated, those named should sue for defamation to clear their names. These are very serious allegations.

    WTF! Why on earth should they / would they. The guy is clearly very nasty. I have no doubt he would revel in court. Just another forum for self publicity and his deluded ramblings. This is the stuff of Brethren hiring detectives to follow government ministers. No wonder Clark used the cancerous and corrosive phrase to describe this kind of politics. I think she was being very restrained. I find it incredibly odd that Key and English chose to give their first in-depth interview to Wishart. Was this some kind of payback?

    Craig, as has been pointed out to you before, Danyl is spelt

    December Alpha November Yoyo Lima - as a radio personality of growing repute I would expect you to be erring on the side of accuracy these days.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

  • Hard News: The People's Choice,

    Tony, yes but he is about to lecture government IT folks right here at 5pm. If you can get a pass, hurry along :-)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

  • Hard News: The People's Choice,

    And whilst I am stomping over the thread (thanks Che for the encouragement) the tools used by Rosling are available at Google Tools. Whether you are a stats junkie or not this is great stuff.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

  • Hard News: The People's Choice,

    Sorry to have hijacked this thread a little. But if you want a scoop on what the GOVIS folk will be hearing in a couple of hours take a look at this video of Hans Rosling's presentation.

    Titled "Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you’ve ever seen", it is a work of genius.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

  • Hard News: The People's Choice,

    Will go off and hunt down some DRM busting codecs now.

    GOVIS turns me into a criminal. It's a funny old world.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

  • Hard News: The People's Choice,

    Except it looks like they're using an audio codec that isn't supported by Flip4Mac.

    Oh good, I was thinking it was just a Linux thing. Will go off and hunt down some DRM busting codecs now.

    Che, if I had been there I would certainly have said hi. Chris Daish did a very nice job on our behalf though.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

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