or was it Kato – that common Japanese surname – Do you have leecence for that Minke?
or Kato – The Green Hornet's sidekick as portrayed by Bruce Lee on TV.

Or Kato Kaelin, a witness in the OJ Simpson murder trial. Or Kato, Nicole Simpson's dog.

And there was me thinking the Cato Institute was named after Clouseau's manservant.

or was it Kato – that common Japanese surname – Do you have leecence for that Minke?
or Kato – The Green Hornet's sidekick as portrayed by Bruce Lee on TV.

That is the worst taste joke I have ever seen on PAS, I hope.

The horrid thing is I don't know whether it's true or not.

Whale Oil Beef Hooked will star in his own telly show soon. TVNZ are negotiating the rights at the moment.

It'll tie in nicely with the New Zealand edition of The Running Man. A leaked memo has just revealed that snuff TV has effectively been legalised in a secret deal…

This is what troubles me most – he's a faux celebrity because he's a malevolent miscreant. He's no Tim Shadbolt or even Ken Mair. He seems entirely devoid of authenticity (whatever you think of Shadbolt or Mair, they appear sincere).

Why does NZ reward and not revile this kind of…

You know, Gio, given the ACT Party's love of the Cato Institute, paraphrasing a classical Cato line about Rodney really is the bee's knees (to me).

Wrong Cato. The Cato Institute is named after Cato the Younger (and a dishy piece of statue he was). Unlike that of his great-granddaddy…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQb2m6VJ-eo

I gather the new press secretary is the staffer who has previously complained about Garrett's attitude to women. The fun never ends.

I'm sensing a race to be the first to get the book on the shelves. Be a fascinating read. I'm going to suggest a title of "Fucking morons…

"Hide, meanwhile, was stranded in Hong Kong at his son's 21st birthday celebrations, and had lost his chief press secretary, who walked out of his job earlier in the day

I gather the new press secretary is the staffer who has previously complained about Garrett's attitude to women. The fun…

Mr Garrett had "a big battle ahead of him" to regain credibility as Act's law and order spokesman, he said.

Nevertheless, he believed Mr Garrett deserved a second chance.

All men deserve second chances. But some deserve second chances more than others. Pihema Cameron, anyone?

A well oiled rigger... & the jawbone of an ass

I see you're taking a Garrett and schtick approach.

"Hide, meanwhile, was stranded in Hong Kong at his son's 21st birthday celebrations, and had lost his chief press secretary, who walked out of his job earlier in the day." (from John Armstrong here)

Is that "I cant spin…

David Garrett ...after being hit
from behind by a top psychiatrist."

...step right up folks
the fight of the century
Shady n Freud
David "Dodgy" Garrett
vs
The Psycho "Spinner & Paddlefist"
face to face...

...vis-a-vis visas
PAS-sport reports
Identity theft and…

But yes, it was Hyde himself who dismissed his 40-something affair as a youthful indiscretion ... while leading the charge against Bill Clinton for similarly youthful and foolish activities. A classic of the genre.

"young and foolish."

My my! Very caustic we are there tonight, Jolisa.

(I'm impressed, btw.)

Umm... how young? Does anyone know how old he was 26 years ago? I'm getting curious as to how old you have to be to get a lenient judgement.

He's probably referring to that misty never-never when he was, in the famous words of Republican congressman Henry Hyde (no relation),…

What are the chances that the CERRA and the dirt on Garrett are connected?

*sigh* I'd answer that, but I think there are very good chances I'm having a big chunk of troll flesh dangled in front of my nose.

the Tongan psychiatrist incident.

Anyone want to start a post-shoegaze noise rock band with me? We have the perfect band name now.

Beyond this issue, I know nothing and care to know nothing about he who

"Then perhaps you might stop lecturing those of us who have bothered to take a longer term and broader interest."

You have taken a longer and broader interest in a "cocksucker".

That's just...congrats.

when you say that you can't imagine who would do such a thing it is because the potential backstabbers are so many that it's hard to choose, yeah?

I was being sarcastic, because there's one obvious candidate among many. They are singlehandedly keeping the House of Knives in business, for…

– Is Hansard protected by privilege because it's published by Parliament itself, or does it have infringing material expunged.

– Can one link to Hansard if not?

– Would a prosecution of a person who linked to Hansard be a breach of privilege?

I really can't imagine who would want to do such a thing though...

We had a drongo of the party hierarchy here just two weeks ago finishing each comment with "Rodney Hide delendus est", so I presume that when you say that you can't imagine who would do such a…

All that was needed to reconstruct Christchurch was a law allowing special permits to be given for construction work at the discretion of…

I suspect someone in ACT who has a reason to dislike Hide decided it was time for payback. And this has all occurred while Hide was…

Umm... how young? Does anyone know how old he was 26 years ago? I'm getting curious as to how old you have to be to get a lenient judgement.

Campbell Live said he was 26 years old when he did it. Can't see the age in any print stories, though.…

What are the chances that the CERRA and the dirt on Garrett are connected?

It is so amazingly conveniently timed. It so so extraordinarily taken over all media. Rodney knew it was floating around. Was he prepared to let the Nats get away with this and…

I rather think the Tongan court knew its business, and found that an affronted male was fighting…

What I want to know is: who was wielding the top psychiatrist at the time?

How do you wield a top psychiatrist — grab it by the hair and swing it around? Grip the hips and deploy like a Klingon bat'leth? Chop your offensive mental health professional into fist-sized chunks…

I'd really really love to see the x-rays (I have a family member who was a medic in Tonga round about that time...hmmm.)

While noting that he himself was breaking the law in doing so.

While noting that he doesn't think anything will come of the breaches.

Media law guru ... has posted on this, and seems happy to relate details of what Garrett revealed.

While noting that he himself was breaking the law in doing so.

I can't look at that crazily constructed sentence without laughing. Tears of mirth are actually coursing down my cheeks.

What I want to know is: who was wielding the top psychiatrist at the time?

Something to do with the psychiatrist's wife, was what Garrett said.

Damn those over-sensitive man-hating snatches PMS-ing over light-hearted banter. :(

"He was fined $10 for that incident, in which he had his jaw broken in two places after being hit from behind by a top psychiatrist."

I can't look at that crazily constructed sentence without laughing. Tears of mirth are actually coursing down my cheeks.

Didn't work.

The Police, just as they did with Mr Slater.

Yes, but the police there were stepping in to protect a the person who the order was protecting – the victim of the crime.

Given that this order is protecting Garrett, and he's chosen to announce it to the world, and…

Garrett's problem is now news in Australia too.

And it's being talked about just about anywhere – there's even a thread on /. – we in general are looking a bit stupid right now

how do you break someone's jaw from behind

A hook would do it. But this is all how Garrett tells it. It could have been to-and-fro, and he just came off second best.

what could you possibly do to wind up a psychiatrist to the point of violence?

Something to…

* Oil-rigger – Clearly.
* Sawmiller? – Possibly.
* Truck driver? – Owner-operators probably qualify as upstanding independent capitalists. Contractors, maybe not.
* Railworker – Too union affiliated.
* Meatworker? Too many Maori and Pacific.

...will continue to carry for the rest of my life."

Oh, which life?
Callous disregard is the term for that sort of behaviour but then that is a qualification needed to be a member of ACT

The Police, just as they did with Mr Slater.

Sure, however the Police prosecuted Slater as a third-party who breached a name suppression order. Why would the Police wish the courts to apply a suppression order breached by the party who was protected by it?

"Twenty-six years ago while living a very different life"

Could somebody please ask the honourable member if "living a different life" can be used to reset one's strikes clock?

And:

"The regret I feel at the hurt I unwittingly caused the family of the deceased child is…

Perhaps it's an issue of who'd have standing to apply to have the order enforced?

The Police, just as they did with Mr Slater.

"He was fined $10 for that incident, in which he had his jaw…

I also expect the AG's appetite for chewing up bloggers has been sated for the time being, so…

"In the end the management of the people in the ACT party is the responsibility of (leader) Rodney Hide and certainly from what I've seen in the past is he's taken that responsibility seriously and acted promptly where he's had information."…

I got nothin'.

And plenty more where that came from...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giVGv_dnmdY

I got plenty o'nothin' and nothin's plenty for me

I got no car, got no mule, I got no misery

Folks with plenty of plenty, they got a lock on the door…

I do feel some chagrin that my only defence is that all the big kids were doing it.

And I'm sorry I put you wrong too.

I got nothin'

Naturally he's not consistent

2. It's not a defence to a charge of breaching name suppression.

Which occurred to me subsequently, when I recalled that MPs have tried to do this in the house.

I do feel some chagrin that my only defence is that all the big kids were doing it.

I got nothin'.

Time for a sing-song, bitches!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vufO2FZY6XQ

Isn't it rich?
Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air.
Send in the clowns.

Isn't it bliss?
Don't you approve?
One who keeps tearing around,
One who can't move.
Where are the clowns?
Send…

I got nothin'.

You know it was a three strikes law, right?

The Legislature Act 1908, and the Bill of Rights 1688…

In update to Herald story (scroll to bottom), Garth McVicar declares that Garrett is entitled to a second chance.

I got nothin'.

Isn't it Albany ward and therefore potentially Auckland (SuperCity) Council rather than a local board?

Yes, worked that out later. He's up against Andrew Williams for the council seat.

Even today, he's bragging that the exposure will make him a shoo-in for the Albany local board seat he's standing for

Isn't it Albany ward and therefore potentially Auckland (SuperCity) Council rather than a local board?

ACT party list for 2008 General Election (first 15 of 61)

1 HIDE, Rodney…

Whole lot of that 'taking public decisions into your own hands' stuff going around.

They're generally very cautious on these matters. I imagine there must have been some lively conversations in the newsroom.

Prize line from that story:

Mr Hide says Mr Garrett can see both sides of an argument because he…

I see Graeme has just said on the Dim-Post that it's not covered by qualified privilege

Danyl's satirical response cracks me up:

I’m making a bold moral stand. Also, I hear voices and can’t control myself and it’s a binary image, not a publication.

*I'm assuming I can report this to you as it's been aired by him in the House.

So if an MP names a person protected by a suppression order, in the house under parliamentary privilege, then the media can report that? I am not so sure.

*edit, note to self.…

@ Philip M. I was pleased to see your Press feature on the Chch earthquake reprinted as a full-page feature in the Waikato Times.

Cheers Geoff. And it led to this juxtaposition on Stephen Stratford's blog, where I found myself linked to an endorsement of John Key ... But Stratford…

Heh, that would be amusing, if name suppression actually applied to the person whose name is suppressed. I wonder if that's ever come up before. Certainly it's a creative defense and it also sounds like complete BS.

No, if someone protected by an order wants to talk to the news…

Crikey – I assumed Danyl was only satirising.

An entirely understandable error.

As I thought. Couple of people on Twitter seem less sure.

I think what's confusing is that the permanent name supression means he's breached the court's order by talking about it. However, he's said, in his statement, that he sought advice before making his statement that said the statement itself…

From Garrett's statement to Parliament – and interesting in light of yesterday's legal judgement about suppression:

I was also granted permanent name suppression. My reluctance to answer media questions was due to my uncertainty regarding the extent of coverage of the suppression…

Yes, qualified privilege applies to statements made in parliament.

As I thought. Couple of people on Twitter seem less sure.

A scrap in Tonga, and a stolen ID? He's only got one more strike.

Thought crimes?

*I'm assuming I can report this to you as it's been aired in the House.

Yes, qualified privilege applies to statements made in parliament.

I figured he was clown but now this is way-more-whacky than I expected (which was more like, he'd got into a fight in a rugby game or some such).

He created a fake passport in the name of a dead baby.

It was discovered as part of the Mossad thing.

He was dismissed without conviction.

And he got permanent name suppression.

That's going to make Slater's Act party…

I think Ken Mair has matured, actually. His role in the story we're looking at on Media7 tonight seems to have been a very constructive one.

I'm not surprised at all.

And, for the record, I don't mean to be critical of Tim – quite the opposite, I have enormous…

His demonization of those on ACC, whilst he complains about his insurance company withholding his benefits, says as much about his double standards

I believe the argument from him and others hinged on one being a private arrangement while the other was public funding.

(whatever you think of Shadbolt or Mair, they appear sincere).

I think Ken Mair has matured, actually. His role in the story we're looking at on Media7 tonight seems to have been a very constructive one.

The fact that Slater doesn't need to work because of his trust fund

No, not the case at all.

For quite some time he was receiving employment insurance payments, on the basis that his depressive illness prevented him from working — but was such a prodigious blogger (he even declared…

I saw that. Fuck! Surely not, surely he's unelectable?

He's not unelectable, but he is deluded. I highly doubt receiving a conviction for obvious crimes has helped his chances with the conservative electorate, and even being brought to the attention of the left will help them steer clear of accidentally…

Even today, he's bragging that the exposure will make him a shoo-in for the Albany local board seat he's standing for

I saw that. Fuck! Surely not, surely he's unelectable?

This is what troubles me most – he's a faux celebrity because he's a malevolent miscreant. He's no Tim Shadbolt…

Beyond this issue, I know nothing and care to know nothing

Then perhaps you might stop lecturing those of us who have bothered to take a longer term and broader interest.

Is it really a mystery why New Zealand has such a high suicide rate? Are these comments befitting adults? What desire do they satisfy? Judgement was handed down. Personalizing it too much

Oh, for goodness sake. Slater has deliberately been using this whole thing as a means of self-promotion all…

For my part I was disappointed at the schoolboy nature of his protest, and the weak and the implausible defence. I wish…

But the reading involved, particularly of historical theorists – I felt like history had sucked my brain out and replaced it with a robotic reading, note-taking, memorising and regurgitating machine. It needed healing and I spent a couple of years re-reading pulpy fiction

snap! much as I really…

I thought America was born out of "anti-colonial' sentiments, though I may have completely missed the point of the American Revolution.

I guess it depends how you define 'anti-colonial sentiments'. The huddled masses didn't just wake up one morning yearning to be free from the tyrannical bonds of monarchy.

The…

Surely a false analogy, Craig?

No, I know John Slater a little better than most around here. You don't have to like his politics, but I've been reliably informed that John just despairs at 'WhaleOil' the blogger while still being a supportive father of his child. I'm not going to…

Is it really a mystery why New Zealand has such a high suicide rate?

It's not because we insist on certain basic standards of behaviour, Chris. Mental illness does not explain or excuse what Cameron Slater chooses to do. And because he does that beyond the court system (indeed the…

I gather Slater senior genuinely despairs of his son's behaviour

At a personal level, I totally agree that politician's families should be kept out of it unless directly relevant (eg: hypocrisy about a particular topic). That includes behind the scenes operators like Slater senior. We don't want to put off…

Slater is a cowardly cockhead with a raging sense of entitlement.

Slater is almost certainly an obnoxious prick regardless of his health.

Is it really a mystery why New Zealand has such a high suicide rate? Are these comments befitting adults? What desire do they satisfy? Judgement was handed down.…

It's true that successfully completing a PhD usually involves pushing through a sort of pain barrier to get the writing finished--certainly there's as much perspiration as inspiration involved. There's also the fact that by the end one has lost almost all objectivity about the thesis and…

By contrast, in what way is Amanda's drug conviction politically connected to her father?

Well yes, because not only would it damage the idea that wealth is a sign of success in all areas of life but it would focus people on daddy's role as the head of C&R and ex-President of the National Party.

Jesus, Sacha, and I guess Amanda Goff's drug conviction should…

Srsly dude, don't read the relevant Kiwiblog thread.

Heh. Not tempted.

Why are we hearing nothing here about Slater's wealthy father? or is there a self imposed name suppression thing going on here?

Well yes, because not only would it damage the idea that wealth is a sign of success in all areas of life but it would focus people on…

I thought America was born out of "anti-colonial' sentiments, though I may have completely missed the point of the American Revolution.

The American Revolution was one of those historical mistakes we still have to live with. Imagine if the colonies had stayed as they were. Colonies. The "USA" would now…

Srsly dude, don't read the relevant Kiwiblog thread. I only just managed to drag myself away from engaging with the idiocy at play there.

As usual with your recommendations re: Kiwiblog I've gone and taken the exact opposite course of action.

I admit, you were right, but at least I…

I manage my mental illness and alcoholism (with a lot of unconditional love and support from angels in human guise) and don't use it as an excuse for being a shit. There's a lot of us out there.

Yes, there are. I've been encountering a lot of depressed people recently,…

But, to be expected, I suppose.

For sure. The whole thread read like a parody, especially the repeated claims that Slater has huge gonads. If you deliberately break a law because you disagree with it, the courageous thing to do is take it right on the chin, to say "Yeah,…

@ Kyle. So, you had a bad experience but surely you are not arguing that your experience negates all scholarship?

Oh no. I thought my degree was very useful and mostly enjoyable, particularly my honours dissertation which actually had a life beyond submission – several people read it a year…

Certainly true, certainly. Though could it be because we're all more well (and not because you're more sensible and intelligent?)

Heh... deserved that I guess. But, you know something, I'm quite possibly not "more well" than Slater at all. I manage my mental illness and alcoholism (with a lot of…

My take is less considered: Slater is a cowardly cockhead with a raging sense of entitlement. His obvious mental illness does not excuse that, and nor does it excuse those who enable his ongoing bad behaviour.

Srsly dude, don't read the relevant Kiwiblog thread. I only just managed to drag…

Pepys is already there:

http://www.pepysdiary.com/

Great way to start the day.

And Boswell as "best chat show host that never was" (thankfully)

Where the "burke" is only 2 short pages, indeed would be great…

His obvious mental illness does not excuse that, and nor does it excuse those who enable his ongoing bad behaviour.

It actually makes people who hide behind him even worse.

My take is less considered: Slater is a cowardly cockhead with a raging sense of entitlement. His obvious mental illness does not excuse that, and nor does it excuse those who enable his ongoing bad behaviour.

That includes ignorant media…

I'd like to think I'm just better than that.

Certainly true, certainly. Though could it be because we're all more well (and not because you're more sensible and intelligent?)

I'll be honest though, I struggle to have sympathy for him despite believing he is unwell.

Certainly not — and while I've got issues with name suppression identifying the victim of a violent crime should be a no-way no-brainer. Having said that, I've been choking back a great deal of…

I don't spend much time following Slater, so maybe I've missed it, but I don't get any sense that he understands his behaviour is any way unacceptable. I also wonder if some of his "friends" are egging him on?

I had to laugh at the coverage on TVNZ's news this…

Critical thinking is useful for about 10% of any constructive process. It should be the final gateway, not the initial one. Any more, and it's like getting the testing department to design software.

Ben, that's actually extremely quotable.

And isn't it sad that it's largely untrue when working in government...…

Critical thinking is useful for about 10% of any constructive process. It should be the final gateway, not the initial one. Any more, and it's like getting the testing department to design software.

Ben, that's actually extremely quotable.

A friend of mine did English honours at Otago in the early '90s and he said doing so "destroyed my love of reading for about a year afterwards".

It didn't destroy my love of reading, at all. What it did was change the way I read. It probably was about…

A friend of mine did English honours at Otago in the early '90s and he said doing so "destroyed my love of reading for about a year afterwards".

See also history honours. Took me about three years to start wanting to read history non-fiction again.

Stuff has more, including some novel legal arguments:

[Slater's lawyer Gregory] Thwaite also argued that New Zealand's official languages were English, Maori and New Sign language.

Any mention of a person's name which occurred in other languages or…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmFGtsG_EgA

And this gives me another chance to say that everyone interested in Fairburn, Curnow and the whole cultural nationalism project should read Francis Pound's elegant, compelling The Invention of New Zealand. A real masterpiece, that.

Which I'm about 2/3rds of the way through at the moment.

I admire the breadth…

Everyone I know who has studied New Zealand literature at university has come away a little ambivalent about the experience. They feel, it seems, that they not so much absorbed the canon of important New Zealand writers as they were bashed over the head with it.

A friend of mine…

The Invention of New Zealand. A real masterpiece, that.

Hear, hear. Here.

I can also think of a few others who might have lit up the interwebs.

Robyn Hyde, for example, could have been brilliant.…

Every time the honours list comes out, I think of Roll Out The Knightcart.

When they were reinvigorating the titular honours, Jim Anderton had a go at singing that in Parliament.

Patrick Evans at his best was a bloody good night out too- and a rollicking funny lecturer. I loved that course!

And his new novel, Gifted — about Frame and Sargeson — is a great read too.

And this gives me another chance to say that everyone interested in Fairburn,…

Red Bulletin magazine

I will have to stop chucking this straight into the recycling bin, as I usually do, for it has all the appearance of a glossy mag promoting Red Bull and more ways of using up fossil fuel ;-

I had high hopes for The Red Bulletin when…

I first discovered NZ Lit (Jane Mander, Bill Pearson, Maurice Shadbolt) through a Univ of Canterbury English course, and I am mightily grateful for it.

Patrick Evans at his best was a bloody good night out too- and a rollicking funny lecturer. I loved that course!

I have some reservations about Fairburn as a person too. But he gave us one of our favourite family jokes: “The squalid tea of Mercer is not strained.”

He also came up with the famous derision of McCahon's paintings as "graffiti on the walls of some celestial lavatory".

Perhaps we should be thankful that beauty and grace can still come out of the broken places in this world.

I have some reservations about Fairburn as a person too. But he gave us one of our favourite family jokes: “The squalid tea of Mercer is not strained.” Every time…

George Fraser had the "Pollytikicle" booklet reprinted at his…

The problem with kind of sentiment is that is not far distant from 'we don't need no edgikation' . Don't blame tertiary institutions; it may well be the shortcomings of a particular lecturer. Anyway, reading is an integral part of any good university course.

Yeah, fair enough. But I do…

I'm just not sure that the big posthumous revision of Fairburn — a swing from a massive over-rating of his poetry to something approaching demonisation — should define him.

That's entirely fair — to take a pretty extreme case, I can still esteem Raymond Carver as a writer and feel…

Mum and Dad had a nice hardback of the collected works on the bookshelf. I set "Down on my luck" to piano in 7th form music. I should dig that score up, actually.

Every time the honours list comes out, I think of Roll Out The Knightcart.

I think Dominion, his bitter indictment of Depression-era New Zealand, is magnificent, but you need to spend all day reading it:

Backblock camps for the outcast, the superfluous,
reading back-date magazines, rolling cheap cigarettes,
not mated;…

But reading No Fretful Sleeper: A Life of Bill Pearson is a salutary reminder that while his frothing about a "Green international" of homosexuals at might have been a cheerful provocation to Fairburn, it blighted other people's lives

And yet, Pearson wrote fondly of Fairburn in 'Fretful Sleepers', attended Fairburn's…

Ill-education rules! I did a semester of history at Uni and felt I could have accomplished 20 times as much by spending that time reading instead

The problem with kind of sentiment is that is not far distant from 'we don't need no edgikation' . Don't blame tertiary institutions; it…

that would have kept a internet flame war going for weeks.

Strange it is, what people champion nowadays.

(You young people may not know that night carts, ie horse-drawn wagons that took away your shit and piss in lieu of a sewage system, were still a living memory at the time ARD was writing).

I tend to think Fairburn's alleged homophobia has been way overdone. It seems to have been more about his falling-out with Sargeson than anything else.

Perhaps — even Michael King's sympathetic biography of Sargenson had to grant the man wasn't exactly a low maintenance friend and every bit as capable…

They make me think that a night on the town with Rex Fairburn would have been a hell of a good time.

But surely not on a par with Alan Bollard? Care to comment, David?

disdain for faggots and uppity bitches you can't whitewash as pre-internet trolling for a fight

I tend to think Fairburn's alleged homophobia has been way overdone. It seems to have been more about his falling-out with Sargeson than anything else.

When I spoke to his daughter, Dinah Holman, once, she…

But of them all, one name stands out: A.R.D. Fairburn (1904–57) would have been bloody brilliant on the internet.

Who knows — the rather nasty strain of xenophobia (don't think "racist" is an entirely fair label to put on Fairburn), and disdain for faggots and uppity bitches you can't whitewash…

I see what you did there: you wouldn't Google Lyndon Hood because you've bookmarked him long ago. Well played.

You are too generous. I simply, and inexcusably, forgot him.

(Google Danyl McLachlan, David Haywood and Graham Reid for excellent contemporary examples.)

I see what you did there: you wouldn't Google Lyndon Hood because you've bookmarked him long ago. Well played.

They make me think that a night on the town with Rex Fairburn would have been a hell of a good time.

You would probably have ended up at Paul Groshek's place out West. Now he was a real character, unfortunately his famous vineyard with hand dug cellars is no…