Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Playing the Man

Kumara Republic

Thu, 12 May 2011 19:54:41 +1200

Finally, a mention of James Hansen. Video's not online yet.

And 3News, though it has no word on Hansen, has more on the Beeb interview.

BenWilson

Thu, 12 May 2011 08:42:05 +1200

Given that the SAS are in their country shooting people, I think the cat might be out of the bag on that one.

I remember when the US started their assault in Afghanistan, and some Jihadist sympathizer was being interviewed by a NZ reporter, and was saying "anywhere that attacks…

Craig Ranapia

Thu, 12 May 2011 00:04:50 +1200

Politics aside, has anyone actually heard of John Key getting angry?

No — but since it actually looks like Trevor Mallard and Chris Hipkins shot themselves in the foot, the question should be this.

Why isn't John Key laughing? He really should because this reminds me of the undisguised glee…

Kumara Republic

Wed, 11 May 2011 23:49:52 +1200

Politics aside, has anyone actually heard of John Key getting angry?

Ross Mason

Wed, 11 May 2011 16:41:26 +1200

Off topic????? John Key on Hardtalk

nzlemming

Wed, 11 May 2011 16:06:05 +1200

Oy vey, the comments on the original article are seriously – I don't even have a word.

Kumara Republic

Wed, 11 May 2011 15:28:01 +1200

has anyone found any recent mention in MSM of the arrival today of the great Dr. James Hansen to 'our shores'..?

RadioNZ, even if it hasn't been broadcast yet.

And nice to see the Beeb calling bullshit.

nzlemming

Wed, 11 May 2011 15:02:04 +1200

has anyone found any recent mention in MSM of the arrival today of the great Dr. James Hansen to 'our shores'..?

http://www.wwf.org.nz/take_action/dr_james_hansen_s_nz_tour_/

j chosun

Wed, 11 May 2011 13:54:45 +1200

Not to change the subject too much here, but with regards to Tim Grosner and his (lack of) performance as detailed nicely in the good No Right Turn blog posting,

... or rather more accurately, in relation to the similar non-performance of main stream media (as accessible here overseas) on…

izogi

Wed, 11 May 2011 13:16:16 +1200

I guess the point I meant to make (if it wasn't clear) was that the only reason for the NZ government to stay secret about the fact that our military's been in Afghanistan leading operations that kill and maim people, then taking prisoners, is a political one. If people actually…

Kyle Matthews

Wed, 11 May 2011 03:22:35 +1200

It seems to me that the less is known about the nature of our role in Afghanistan, the less likely NZ will become a target of international terrorism. Is that not the thinking behind the NZDF’s secrecy?

Given that the SAS are in their country shooting people, I think the…

vangam

Tue, 10 May 2011 22:48:52 +1200

Yep, something is more than nothing, n'est pas?

izogi

Tue, 10 May 2011 21:53:30 +1200

Chances are al Qaeda or some other terrorist cell know a lot more than we do anyway.

vangam

Tue, 10 May 2011 21:35:05 +1200

And there's the rub. If you know what they're doing, then al qaeda probably knows as well. However, I agree – the lie is the travesty, not the actions so much.

Thanks for that, Paul.

Paul G. Buchanan

Tue, 10 May 2011 21:30:47 +1200

vangam:

I am going to break it to you gently. In dictatorships the political elite do as they please and the masses suffer the consequences, be it foreign or domestic in origin. In democracies the political elite are required to be transparent and accountable in their decision-making. If Key and…

izogi

Tue, 10 May 2011 21:22:53 +1200

You're welcome to stay in the dark if you want to, but I'd rather know a bit about what these people are doing on my behalf that could provoke people to come here and kill me .. certainly over being lied to by my government. Otherwise how the hell am…

vangam

Tue, 10 May 2011 20:05:21 +1200

Holly Johnson

Tue, 10 May 2011 17:21:40 +1200

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxwXBS8AM6M&feature=relmfu

Idiot Savant

Tue, 10 May 2011 17:16:01 +1200

That's just response times, I think. I suspect the qualitative measure might be less flattering, but you'd have to ask I/S about that.

Brownlee is one of the Ministers I had in mind when I was talking about grubby paws. It took me three requests and a complaint to the…

Idiot Savant

Tue, 10 May 2011 17:11:51 +1200

I think a defamation claim against the sitting PM and the head of the military would be quite entertaining. Key might be able to use Privilege

They were made in his weekly press conference. Unless Parliament happens to be sitting there, the Beehive theatrette is not covered by Parliamentary privilege.

Craig Young

Tue, 10 May 2011 16:26:48 +1200

And lest we all forget, here's a chilling little blast from the recent past on current US neoconservative positions on the utility and legitmacy of torture:

Charles Krauthammer: “The Truth about Torture” Weekly Standard: 5.12.2005: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/400rhqav.asp

This is why Stephenson is concerned. He is right to be so.

Craig Y

Paul G. Buchanan

Tue, 10 May 2011 15:53:03 +1200

The issue is that the National government sold the SAS re-deployment under false pretenses (i.e., that they would only be "trainers" that "assist" the Afghan CRU on counter-terrorism operations that do not involve the SAS capturing or detaining prisoners). As it turns out, as Wayne Mapp has now been forced…

Andre

Tue, 10 May 2011 15:05:57 +1200

He has set himself up as an enemy of the Governor General and Prime Minister though...

Russell Brown

Tue, 10 May 2011 14:52:36 +1200

Irrespective of who's wrong or right, I wonder if Jon Stephenson has set off an Assange Effect – airing the establishment's dirty laundry which rattles them, who then try to shut him down by hook or crook.

Sorta, in one way. But Stephenson hasn't set himself up as an enemy…

Craig Ranapia

Tue, 10 May 2011 14:20:50 +1200

It’s great to see the NZDF has started thinking about process and training, though it’ll probably take more than that and also some time to change the culture and thinking around the OIA.

Yeah, but nah... I'm all for a considered approach to things, but twenty eight years is more…

nzlemming

Tue, 10 May 2011 14:20:48 +1200

Rounds of staff training have been undertaken to increase awareness in respect of the OIA and Privacy Act have been conducted. These have included lawyers and staff from the Ombudsmen’s office.

Wassamarra? The can't just issue orders, FFS?

nzlemming

Tue, 10 May 2011 14:19:20 +1200

Given Field-Marshall Brownlee's extraordinary powers under CERA and his reputation as a bully, that's hardly reassuring.

That's just response times, I think. I suspect the qualitative measure might be less flattering, but you'd have to ask I/S about that.

Tim Michie

Tue, 10 May 2011 14:11:42 +1200

Good on you, everyone involved in this. I'm impressed to see that people aren't just going to let this one go. And me.

recordari

Tue, 10 May 2011 14:00:51 +1200

At the end of 60 minutes on Sunday Mike McRoberts actively endorsed Jon Stephenson as both a person and a journalist. Haven't been able to watch the 'Take No Prisoners' from the week before, as online stream having problems, but Jon Stephenson wrote a detailed response to Lt. Gen. Rhys…

izogi

Tue, 10 May 2011 13:51:50 +1200

Yeah, maybe, or maybe they'll carry on obfuscating where "necessary" and pointing to the above message whenever accused of stonewalling. Who knows yet?

I'd trust this statement more if it actually came from the Ombudsman rather than the NZDF, which is full of [uniformed] staff who are trained to follow…

linger

Tue, 10 May 2011 13:22:20 +1200

A uniformed officer has been posted to the position of Deputy Director Corporate and Ministerial Services
I don't hold out much hope that that isn't simply a typo and they're continuing to delay by other means, i.e. appointing an uninformed officer.

3410

Tue, 10 May 2011 13:21:23 +1200

It's great to see the NZDF has started thinking about process and training,

Yeah, maybe, or maybe they'll carry on obfuscating where "necessary" and pointing to the above message whenever accused of stonewalling. Who knows yet?

izogi

Tue, 10 May 2011 13:14:33 +1200

It's great to see the NZDF has started thinking about process and training, though it'll probably take more than that and also some time to change the culture and thinking around the OIA.

A uniformed officer has been posted to the position of Deputy Director Corporate and Ministerial Services in…

Alex Coleman

Tue, 10 May 2011 12:52:27 +1200

I guess the problem for Stephenson is that some/most of his NZDF and SAS sources will have talked only on conditions of anonymity. If the official NZDF sources say one thing, and his say another, then he might run into some problems.

True. But there are other things in play.…

Kumara Republic

Tue, 10 May 2011 12:44:41 +1200

Russell Brown

Tue, 10 May 2011 12:42:30 +1200

And hey ho, look what's just turned up from the NZDF in response to our questions:

STATEMENT FROM NZ DEFENCE FORCE RE TIMES TAKEN FOR OIA REQUESTS

The New Zealand Defence Force is aware that some of its responses to Official Information requests received in the past have taken too…

Craig Ranapia

Tue, 10 May 2011 12:39:07 +1200

I’m sure Labour would just love to get their tooth (they haven’t displayed enough competence to credit them with a full set) into that particular privilege issue in an election year.

While such a complaint would force some rather uncomfortable attention on whether the current leader of the Labour Party…

linger

Tue, 10 May 2011 12:34:35 +1200

marketing of course is basically making stuff up for a living
...and so many of our MPs are basically making stuff-ups for a living.

Sacha

Tue, 10 May 2011 12:25:00 +1200

trailed by Gerry Brownlee (39.7%)
Given Field-Marshall Brownlee's extraordinary powers under CERA and his reputation as a bully, that's hardly reassuring.

3410

Tue, 10 May 2011 11:55:01 +1200

Good on you, everyone involved in this. I'm impressed to see that people aren't just going to let this one go.

HORansome

Tue, 10 May 2011 11:49:48 +1200

I shall try to tear myself away from finishing my thesis to attend "Media 7" this week; this is all getting far too exciting to pretend to ignore.

johnno

Tue, 10 May 2011 11:44:56 +1200

Matthew Poole

Tue, 10 May 2011 11:34:58 +1200

I think a defamation claim against the sitting PM and the head of the military would be quite entertaining. Key might be able to use Privilege – I don't know where he made his statements, but I'm not sure that he's as astute as Winston and Helen about where he…

Neil Morrison

Tue, 10 May 2011 11:32:38 +1200

One of the arguments put forward in Foreign Policy against torture was:

The more you think about, the less sense torture makes. U.S. allies will become unwilling to conduct joint operations if they are concerned about how detainees will be treated in U.S. custody...

It has indeed placed two NZ…

Paul Campbell

Tue, 10 May 2011 11:26:46 +1200

Key gives of the vibe of every marketing guy I've ever worked with – he even has the cheesy grin – marketing of course is basically making stuff up for a living

Craig Ranapia

Tue, 10 May 2011 11:16:48 +1200

Selwyn Manning covered the attacks too, noting that Stephenson has taken legal advice with respect to what has been said about him by both political leaders and Defence Force chief Rhys Jones.

If Sue, Grabbit and Runne have been consulted, I might want to tread carefully. But you’d really think…

Public Address

Tue, 10 May 2011 11:16:48 +1200

Discussion from blog post.