Posts by Russell Brown
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Hard News: "Orderly transition" in #Egypt, in reply to Bart Janssen,
While it may be fun to mock someone about his derision of twitter and facebook one thing to remember is that most Egyptians have no access to facebook or twitter. It is their revolution and from here it may look like facebook and twitter play a role but in Egypt I doubt it. It may be our portal to the events but not theirs.
So why did the regime block Twitter, Facebook and then any connection to the rest of the internet?
It seems pretty clear that Facebook groups in particular played a significant role in the initial momentum of the protests. People have found other ways to organise since those tools were disabled, and the protest has spread, but that doesn't mean they weren't important.
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Hard News: "Orderly transition" in #Egypt, in reply to Ewan Morris,
Does Mohamed ElBaradei really have a "pivotal role" in events in Egypt? Or is he just a suitably West-friendly figure for the Western media to focus on?
From what I can tell, the answers are "yes, probably" and "possibly". If he gets his million-man-March this week, on top of the Muslim Brotherhood's endorsement, it looks like that will be very significant.
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Hard News: Only what we would expect a…, in reply to Stephen Judd,
To return to the topic of the Herald’s celebrity obsession – apparently the most newsworthy thing about Egypt right now is that Frank Bunce is there.
It's not that this shouldn't be a story for New Zealand media. It actually is a story, as is the New Zealand journalist being beaten by police. Apart from anything else, I know at least one of the people there with Bunce. I hope they're getting pictures.
But yes, when it's the only thing in the front of the paper it's a bit sad,
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OnPoint: Election 2011: GO!, in reply to Matthew Poole,
As has been said many times, it wasn’t the wholesale flogging-off that improved Telecom’s performance, it was turning it into an SOE.
This is sooooo true. The SOE period of Telecom's existence was one of significant capital investment and substantial improvements in performance. Under Deane, Telecom's capital investment fell to below the rate of depreciation and money was channelled into shareholder dividends. This would eventually have a serious adverse effect on the business.
Here's one I prepared earlier:
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Hard News: Because it's about time we…, in reply to BenWilson,
I recall the House of Brown being mocked for months on Kiwiblog and others for talking about coffee for several major posts several years back. It confirms prejudices about the effete city-slickers that dwell here.
One of the small joys of the holidays was feeling no need to look at either Kiwiblog or The Standard.
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Cracker: Gimme Shelter, in reply to Damian Christie,
I was like, 19, and I can’t remember if that was the BDO I tried acid, but it probably was.
Dude! That was the night my dear, departed friend Claire gave me some of her acid when she really didn't have to. She was like that.
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Muse: Linky Love, in reply to Sacha,
I just wish the yanks would get over their need to remake the rest of the world's culture so everyone speaks with their accent - provincial hicks.
Well, it worked with The Office and All in the Family ...
And, really, it's a damn shame that Honest, the US remake of Outrageous Fortune was a bit crap (without being nearly as crap as the British version). Had it caught on that would have been very good for its creators. So I'm alright with it in that sense.
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Hard News: Because it's about time we…, in reply to Stuff n Things,
Sure, there are people all around the word who can do it - but I think Australia and New Zealand wins the award for the highest ratio of cafes that get it right consistently.
I recommended the Kiwi flat white as a compelling promotional tool to Fonterra, five years ago. Buggers ignored me.
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Hard News: Because it's about time we…, in reply to Jacqui Dunn,
Ooh, thanks for the info! I thought it always was vegan-friendly. Lashings of guacamole and aioli….fantastic. (Never thought of honey though.)
Never heard of a vegan aioli ...
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Hard News: Because it's about time we…, in reply to Marion Ogier,
Fails was an awesome place with the most amazing cast iron tables and served a mean whole flounder and chips.
Aw, you're just making me feel even more sad that it's not there any more.