Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: We're in this together

Chris Waugh

Wed, 24 Dec 2014 18:45:36 +1300

Merry Christmas, everybody.

Mandy S

Tue, 23 Dec 2014 20:11:57 +1300

Old time listener on the B here too. Can I just say that I think your contribution to politics, media and culture in this country has been a wonderful achievement Russell. It has also been a much greater and worthier contribution than that of a certain someone who had one…

Sacha

Mon, 22 Dec 2014 19:28:41 +1300

Wellington can be like that

'on a good day' :)

Russell Brown

Mon, 22 Dec 2014 17:07:53 +1300

Cheers, David. And best wishes to you and your family for 2015 too.

David Cohen

Mon, 22 Dec 2014 16:53:08 +1300

Well done, Russell. I disagree with you three-quarters of the time, as you know, but I appreciate the way you value people who disagree with you three-quarters of the time. All the best for 2015.

Tony Kennedy

Sun, 21 Dec 2014 15:08:58 +1300

Late to the party, listening to "Good Times" and the sun has come out (Wellington can be like that), have a great Christmas Public Address and more goodness in 2015

Kumara Republic

Sat, 20 Dec 2014 13:24:08 +1300

And seeing the bigger picture of where this government has pushed us. I thank Nicky Hager for that too. Tremendous effort all round. He deserves person of the year and I hope he has a good break as with all the rest of you.

This so much, Even truth-seekers need…

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 20 Dec 2014 12:22:08 +1300

Respect, Deborah, for volunteering to do the tough stuff.

A+

Joe Wylie

Sat, 20 Dec 2014 10:09:17 +1300

Respect, Deborah, for volunteering to do the tough stuff.

A+

JacksonP

Sat, 20 Dec 2014 08:12:19 +1300

I want to also acknowledge Nora Legs prolific contributions there.
Thanks for the nudge Steven.

Yes, Nora has been a sustaining force, and her contributions are always thematically relevant and excellent quality. Much aroha Nora.

And of course Jonathan G, who has helped maintain the space from the get go.…

Sacha

Sat, 20 Dec 2014 07:30:03 +1300

Kia ora

Stassee

Sat, 20 Dec 2014 06:27:39 +1300

Thanks Russell for a stimulating year on Public Address. I have been one of the many lurkers here – this is the first time I've posted – yet I read PA pretty much every day. I agree with your comments regarding this community. Post election it was essential for believing…

Joe Wylie

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 16:49:10 +1300

Our radio are so much more independent these days, they don’t need the PM to write their copy for them.

Khrist that shirt's vile.
About Savage's supposedly draconian control of the media, maybe a little context would help.

Tom Semmens

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 16:13:16 +1300

For all that we revere Michael Joseph Savage, it is worth recalling that he not only nationalised all radio, he personally vetted the news radio put to air.

Our radio are so much more independent these days, they don't need the PM to write their copy for them.

Russell Brown

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 15:19:34 +1300

Please don’t stop, ever.

No pressure, then ;-)

BenWilson

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 14:47:43 +1300

Kia kaha Russell, and everyone else here. Have a good Christmas.

Mark Easterbrook

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 13:29:19 +1300

Public Address is a cultural treasure and Russell and everyone else who has made it what it is should feel a ridiculous level of pride.

As a reader, lurker, and occasional commenter I have learnt so much here, and it has sent me down so many new paths and opened…

Paul Campbell

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 11:01:19 +1300

And I've 'listened' since the written version became one of my few connections back to NZ via usenet ....

Globalmitch

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 05:27:54 +1300

It is with some surprise (at how old I am) that I count myself amongst the readers here who have been listening to Hard News since it was a rant on bFM in 1991. In my first year at University in 1992 I read the morning news on bFM while…

Gareth Swain

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 01:14:11 +1300

During the holiday period, I like to read old PAS posts from the years before I started lurking here.

Russell Brown

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 23:37:02 +1300

And yeah, guilty of tub thumping, tendentiousness, being a bore, and worse, so I’m immeasurably grateful for your tolerance of my often injudicious longwinded posts.

You try my patience sometimes Chris, you really do. But you’re still in the house :-)

Geoff Lealand

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 23:14:43 +1300

Thank you, Russell, for the cheerful message. We need moments like this, to counter a feeling that the world is going to hell in a hand-basket. There have been two other such instances this week : reading this morning of a detente between Cuba and the US, brokered by the…

Russell Brown

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 22:37:03 +1300

And Capture: thank you for Capture Jackson in this year where I didn’t contribute much or even comment but appreciated it all mightily.

The Capture threads are a phenomenon. It’s like a group of us – Jackson, Jonathan, Matt Buchanan, Gary Henson and me – accidentally designed something great.

Matt…

Hebe

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 21:30:30 +1300

And Capture: thank you for Capture Jackson in this year where I didn't contribute much or even comment but appreciated it all mightily.

Sacha

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 21:02:57 +1300

I'd also like to acknowledge my boss for allowing moderation and other input during the working day as required. Thank you.

JacksonP

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 20:26:30 +1300

Looking back, my first post here was now 5 years ago, during the Carly binding referendum. Still can’t work out how that didn’t win WOTY in 2009. I mean, who even is Michael LHaws?

At times this community has sustained me, at others driven me to distraction, but it remains…

Hebe

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:41:41 +1300

Likewise, it has been good getting our writing out there where others can add to it. I have always appreciated this community’s supportive yet challenging nature. Tribute to its curator.

Thanks Sacha to you for Access, help, support, and for your patience.

chris

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:28:53 +1300

Awesome words Russell. As someone who tends to push the barrow quite a bit, e.g. I have more logins than John Key has hats – it’s not that I’m attempting to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes; in the interests of transparency those logins: mark taslov, NSA, “chris” and this…

Sacha

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 18:53:09 +1300

Likewise, it has been good getting our writing out there where others can add to it. I have always appreciated this community's supportive yet challenging nature. Tribute to its curator.

I believe Russell was going to migrate the Humans posts across to Access? Summer project, prehaps..

Sudhvir Singh

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 17:54:34 +1300

Great perspective on the rapidly evolving arena of current events.
Look forward to your contributions on local issues next year – Auckland desperately needs some more informed, balanced commentary on our issues to complement the great work of Transportblog. This is particularly relevant in 2015 with a 10 year budget…

Rob Stowell

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 17:52:39 +1300

Merry Christmas Russell – hoping everyone has a great summer.

Alastair Thompson

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 17:08:44 +1300

Merry Christmas Russell. Hopefully we'll catch up over summer, if it ever arrives. Which reminds me. Laneways – I may break my habit and attend this year for a change.

Hebe

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 16:36:46 +1300

You and Public Address and its peoples make this world more interesting, intelligent and fun. What a great thing!

Many, many thanks to you for providing a platform for the Christchurch quake rants of so many of us. It has made a difference, in tangible ways. Your 1am Twitter invitation…

Hilary Stace

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 16:15:45 +1300

Thanks for the Access opportunity, Russell and Sacha. Good to have something pan-disability as a sort of successor to the humans autism blog (which I hope is archived somewhere for some fine early disability writing from Giovanni and others now old hands). Some of my posts on Access are ideas…

Don Christie

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 16:14:57 +1300

Thanks Russell. Have a great summer.

Russell Brown

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:34:19 +1300

Ahem, LOCAL boards …

Duh. How many times will I make that same mistake? Thanks.

Russell Brown

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:33:17 +1300

God damn you, Russell.

I was 100% certain that someone would post that clip in the first half-dozen replies.

Mike O'Connell

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:30:52 +1300

And, in general, I think a good way forward for us will be through specialised subject blogs with multiple authors.

Great work Russell. It's the blog I spend most of my spare time (and not so spare time!) reading and I've really enjoyed contributing to specialist topics – love the…

Tamara

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:27:45 +1300

snap, me too!

Mark Graham

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:06:43 +1300

Good work Russ. I've always been in awe of your ability to write stuff that makes sense out of the noise and do it so consistently. The world is a better place for your efforts (or at least, better informed). Merry Xmas.

Greg Presland

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:05:43 +1300

Ahem, LOCAL boards ...

Good post BTW.

giovanni tiso

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:04:20 +1300

It's also more valuable than any amount of tub-thumping and armchair political generalising.

Big-picture, robust, historicised political criticism is easy to ridicule but it's absolutely vital for a society. It's also one of the areas in which our media fail to deliver most spectacularly.

Ross Bell

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:02:24 +1300

Pomo is *so* 1991.

Kevin McCready

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:58:32 +1300

Thanks Russell
Hope there's only one truth and you're not going all pomo on us?

Danielle

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:50:17 +1300

You can dance, if you want to.

God damn you, Russell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7hHx7gdN68

(And yes, I'm a 1991 bfm Hard News listener. I was sixteen!)

Ross Bell

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:47:36 +1300

Oh, thanks for the shout out Russell. Very kind words. We love your work too, so do our readers – we had an MP into the office this morning who said he was all up-to-speed on the status of the legal high law thanks to your recent piece.

p.s. I…

Ryan Mearns

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:45:47 +1300

Fantastic post Russel. I always enjoying reading Public Address for it's thoughtful and insightful take on the world.

Sara Bee

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:34:58 +1300

And Christmas is all around... [Love Actually]

Paul Brislen

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:33:08 +1300

It's been a delight watching Public Address grow and mature over the years, Russell. Keep up the good work and here's to a bright future.

Public Address

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:33:08 +1300

Discussion from blog post.