Author Archive
Another dose of financial hyperbole …
An occasional commenter here on ThePaepae.com, known as ‘Xav’ here and at PropertyTalk, did some homework on ‘bargain’ US properties being assiduously hawked by property spruiker Dean Letfus to his database and via the internet … From Dean Letfus’s list of Atlanta properties: Address . . . . . . . . . . . […]
Howick’s latest NIMBY hysteria
[NIMBY = Not in my back yard.] You may recall my post about the forces of [small-c] conservatism seeking to block an expression of Maori culture in the heart of Howick (where I live) despite support for it and an enlightened, respectful approach being taken by local Maori, their supporters and the local authority. The […]
Jon Stewart on Fox News – Is this Crossfire Part 2?
This year’s version of Jon Stewart’s intelligent, robust examination of clichéd, reactive, shallow, artificially partisan media and, to a certain extent, a dollop of intellectual humiliation for its players (Think Crossfire’s Tucker Carlson in particular) occurred on Sunday. Heralded with headlines like “Jon Stewart Eviscerates Fox News On Fox News“, “Stewart in the Lion’s Den” […]
Noted in passing
So Rep. Anthony Weiner resigned. As Jon Stewart soul jammed: “Look, Congressman, if you’re sending pictures of your penis as bait to young women who follow you on Twitter, then you’ve got to go.” Yep. Bad judgement is bad. A cover up worse. Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis): Twitter didn’t do in Weiner. Sex didn’t. The coverup […]
An ‘abiding distrust’ for anonymous speech
Here’s a really good article from Dan Gillmor defending the use of pseudonyms and anonymity on the web — even in the light of Tom MacMaster’s Amina ‘Gay Girl in Damascus’ hoax… Sounding real is not the same as being real. The fake Amina’s blog was especially well done, with details that sounded authentic even to native […]
Assange … a right to scrutinise the state.
We support a cause that is no more radical a proposition than that the citizenry has a right to scrutinise the state. The state has asserted its authority by surveilling, monitoring and regimenting all of us, all the while hiding behind cloaks of security and opaqueness. — Julian Assange Pretty hard to argue with that. […]
Let me not into temptation
This book on LBJ’s succession to John F Kennedy after the assassination was an eye-opener. I’m reading Nixonland by Rick Perlstein at the same time, and I can perceive the seeds of LBJ’s and the Democrats’ destruction in the character traits and deep suspicion and disunity Steven Gillon highlights in his book. Certainly, the book […]
More fakery on the internet. (So what’s new?)
A part of me wasn’t surprised this morning to discover the ‘lesbian’ ‘Syrian’ pro-democracy blogger supposedly ‘abducted’ by ‘security forces’ last week was actually a 40 year old American man called Tom MacMaster living in Scotland. My Twitter feed this morning was full of vitriol and disappointment about this imposter Tom MacMaster who provoked support […]
Nothing to hide but NOT nothing to fear
Here’s a good article on privacy by Daniel J Solove, who I last referred to when sharing some thoughts in my post Is it worth dishonestly defending a reputation? No. Solove’s article is called Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have ‘Nothing to Hide’ — it’s a preview of his next book, and it’s a worthwhile […]
Harsh criticism? Or Fair?
Spotted this from Glenn Greenwald re TV personality Chris Matthews … Now, as I replied, some might see such a strident comment about a fellow ‘peer in the industry’ as ill-motivated unprofessional. Not me. I think someone paying attention to the ‘industry’ (like, in this case Greenwald) is obliged to highlight what you see as […]
Start spamming young…
Now, look, I know Twitter meant this image as a joke … … but the line “I’m a 7 year old SEO GURU!” just soooo reminded me of the Geekversity Instant Expert Shaun Stenning so breathlessly promoted by down-on-their-luck ‘property experts‘. I needed to visit Twitter’s how to respond to spammy mentions page after I […]
‘Frivolous’ Palin won’t be meeting Margaret Thatcher
Litmus test/IQ test Little Miss Polarising Sarah Palin faced a wee knock-back in her [alleged] efforts to ride The Iron Lady’s coat-tails … Margaret Thatcher to Sarah Palin: don’t bother dropping by — The Guardian, Wintour and Watt blog: It would appear that the reasons go deeper than Thatcher’s frail health. Her allies believe that […]
Negative credibility
Ha! I like this concept … Writing on The Guardian‘s Comment is free website — Andrew Breitbart and the unwilling suspension of disbelief about the right wing web maven who ‘exposed’ Rep. Weiner — Dan Gillmor referred to his model of ‘negative credibility‘ and included this neat graphic: Gillmor’s article is worth reading, as, like the erudite j-school […]
Make no little plans
Inspiring. Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing […]
A cost of doing business – celebrity as meat
Good to read that Murdoch’s The News of the World has admitted hacking Sienna Miller’s phone message system and repeatedly violating her privacy … and news today that they’ve ‘apologised’ and are paying £100,000 in damages and costs to her. Big deal. Callous so-and-sos. It was purely business to them, the journalists, the editors, the […]
