Posts by Sacha
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Hard News: The Real Threat, in reply to Stephen R,
how rarely the initial denial is followed up by the reporters to whom it is given
You'd think given recent history they would learn to treat everything said to them by politicians or their staff as a well-planned lie needing further questions and verification. #tame
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Hard News: The Real Threat, in reply to Russell Brown,
the new story
Idiot/Savant notes Carter first claimed that records were requested but not supplied, and now supplied but not requested.
Henry claims that he never requested those records, and had instead been seeking records of Ministers. But its hard to see why they would have been supplied except in response to a direct request. Interestingly, last week Carter said they were requested. Given that he's now changed his story twice, I'm not sure we can trust him to be telling the truth now.
I can't see how Datacom could accidentally pull Vance's phone records as well unless she was specifically named - by whoever in Parliamentary Services manages their ongoing relationship. What a shame someone can't OIA the service request.
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Cracker: Johnny Foreigner & the Auckland…, in reply to Chris Waugh,
Exempting Aussies means we have to exempt Chinese
I've seen comment that this is incorrect - that earlier FTAs are exempt and only later-negotiated ones have to be matched. Someone may have a link?
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Coley Tangerina discusses this.
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Cracker: Johnny Foreigner & the Auckland…, in reply to Andrew C,
why did Shearer specifically mention the policy was dealing with Asian buyers?
Because either:
- he was not well-briefed or competent enough to frame around that utterly-predictable angle when offered by the interviewer, or
- it was politically advantageous to not put up a fight and thereby cleverly allow that angle to be dog-whistled by the media and others.
Choose an answer based on past performance and your level of optimism, I guess.
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Up Front: Good Counsel, in reply to Hilary Stace,
If I won Lotto this is a cause I would donate to
yes, and lobby future governments to invest properly in this.
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Personally I've found counselling invariably helpful at various stages of my adult life. I have no doubts whatsoever about the cost-benefit ratio for myself and those around me, and for what it has helped me contribute to our society and economy. I'd like to believe it has made me a better person, and hate seeing similar opportunities for others stealthily removed without decent evidence.
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Up Front: Good Counsel, in reply to Bart Janssen,
taking away an effective therapy just because it ruins the bottom line for an insurance company
And for government agencies, let's not forget. Judith Collins has some explaining to do.
If the government gets away with behaving like a corporate insurer, other public agencies are bound to follow suit under ongoing budget pressures and poor governance.
Recent welfare changes aimed at sickness beneficiaries (many with depression) will only incentivise similar scrimping by outsourced services seeking placement bonuses at least cost.
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Whatever Telecom is planning on offering in digital youth content won't be hurt by TVNZ gutting themselves in that space. Jason Paris must be delighted.
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Hard News: The Real Threat, in reply to Trevor Nicholls,
good point, yes.
"Minister hears what suits him"