Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Still one of my favourite photos of John Banks
So, facing trial for offences against the Electoral Act (no pun intended) John Banks is bowing out. See: Banks shuffles towards retirement stuff.co.nz No retrospective view of his career would be complete without mention of the now infamous ‘cup of tea’ with John Key at Newmarket’s Urban café. I was lucky enough to get a […]
One day in lobbyist land …
for Matthew Hooton and Carrick Graham. – P You may also be interested in: It’s only ‘propaganda’ if you’re talking about the other side, right, Carrick? and Smoke gets in your eyes, Carrick? Movie credit: My son.
Now, if Cunliffe had joked that Judith Collins was a ‘troll’ …
Actually, I read this introduction to a David Cunliffe blog post (apparently. I haven’t read it) as jovial, a play on words. “The original brief was to respond to a post by Judith Collins. My post was going to be about snapper, not trout. But considering that issue, along with Judith’s leadership aspirations, has floundered, […]
Puffery. Lies by another name?
I saw the emergence recently of a new ‘grassroots’ lobbying group and, unlike some spluttering online commenters, chuckled to see the personnel involved. It would be unfair and potentially misleading to call David Farrar, Jordan Williams and John Bishop members of a government/public relations rogues’ gallery, so I won’t. And anyway, seriously, how could anyone […]
Orchestrating smear campaigns against your rivals is seen as dodgy in business, so what about politics?
South Korean cellphone manufacturer Samsung has been censured and fined for organising a campaign to denigrate one of its competitors by paying for derogatory comments to be posted on the internet. According to a finding by Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission Samsung paid contractors to pose as cellphone users and post comments which attacked rival HTC’s […]
“Sleazy gutter politics is not my style” by @imperatorfish
Oh, you must* read this wonderful spoof by Scott Yorke: A statement from John Palino Nice. A highlight (for me): “Your decision to talk to Cameron Slater disappoints me, and no good will come of it. If I were you I would just forget about the whole thing. Move on with your life, and try […]
Emmerson – Palino’s diner
This, from Rod Emmerson in the NZ Herald, is one of those cartoons with plenty of subtlety* … it rewards scrutiny. – P *Like, for instance, the ‘speciality’, the puddle under Banks, and, is Slater junior wearing pants?
I think it’s OUTRAGEOUS that poor Simon Lusk’s name gets dragged into these dirty, shabby, venal, nasty political schemes time and time again. How must he be feeling?
Like this uncalled-for example, for instance, from this morning’s NZ Herald Who is Luigi Wewege?: John Palino man’s links to the National Party’s youth wing The political organiser who asked Len Brown’s mistress to reveal their affair belongs to the National Party youth wing. The Herald revealed yesterday that Luigi Wewege, a key member of […]
The same post-election vindictiveness we’re seeing in Washington DC? Probably.
If one loses an election (or the candidate/Party one was hoping would win loses it) there are a number of options for dealing with that. This is all I need to know about the political machinations behind a recent public humiliation … accompanied by a sworn affidavit. Ms Chuang was unable to be reached for […]
The ‘values’ & ‘goals’ of immoral political deceivers
This, from a (typically) excellent politics column by Charles P. Pierce goes some way to explaining why I feel such disdain for the dishonest political ‘operators’ whose activities I observe and highlight here now and then, and whose reptilian coarsening of political ‘debate’ I have come to see as so irredeemably negative. The second basic […]
Echo chamber? Or seeing the world as one wants it to be?
I like receiving Bryce Edwards’ NZ Politics Daily newsletter. It’s a valuable digest of political issues seen through the filter of media coverage, including the blogosphere, and Bryce’s commentary is always worth a read. (Material from The Paepae features now and then too, which I also appreciate.) Yesterday’s missive reflected the theme of the Thorndon […]
Left and Right: useful when doing the hokey cokey, but past its use-by date for politics?
“I put my right hand in, I put my right hand out, In out, in out. shake it all about. …” — words to the popular 1940s participation song (from Wikipedia) Prompted by Bill Ralston’s use of the label ‘the Left’ above and an earlier comment in another thread wherein Ivan says: I’m not a […]
A hint of siege mentality from Steve Joyce?
I watched an interview with Steven Joyce on TVNZ’s Q&A show yesterday and, as has happened before, was pretty impressed with his commendable communication skills … up to a point. Then, as has also happened before, I watched him unravel a bit as he descended into ‘political’ debate. Yeah, well, ‘Yawn’, you might say. Fair […]
Here’s the story political journos fixated with sports metaphors missed yesterday
I got bored quickly with the boxing/gladiatorial references to Parliament’s Question Time yesterday. Apparently it was David Cunliffe’s first QT as Leader of the Opposition. The coverage I saw was largely a (sad) case of style being reported over substance. Having earlier in the day defended Patrick Gower’s ‘colour’ and instability, I was intrigued and, […]
On vulgar, irrational, deceitful misinformation campaigns
This, from Jon Stewart talking about Fox News, put me in mind of some of the oily local propagandists and liars who demonstrate a similar nasty, negative, fixation with ‘the left’ and reflexively spin their personal attack lines against public and private figures who represent it … After showing a montage of Fox clips, Stewart […]
