Posts Tagged ‘telling the truth’
Oops, another Whale Oil truth FAIL.
First off, let me say this is NO Big Deal. But I find it mildly interesting and, since that reaches the threshold for blogging … Only an idiot would expect consistency from Cameron Slater In April, prompted by Cameron’s industrial-strength lunatic conspiracy theory that Twitter mention maps revealed undeclared ‘bias’ when journalists communicate with other people […]
Matthew Hooton on John Key’s GCSB ‘recall problems’ and repeated failures to ‘come clean’
Interesting discussion on Radio NZ’s political panel with Kathryn Ryan this morning. I heard it in the car and thought I heard spin doctor Matthew Hooton suggest John Key’s ‘recall problems’ and his trail of repeated failures to ‘come clean’ has seen him lose the trust of the Press Gallery — trust he’d built up over […]
Nicky Hager on why John Key’s GCSB scandal just keeps rolling
Journalist and author Nicky Hager (The Hollow Men, Secrets and Lies, Other People’s Wars, Secret Power — last mentioned on The Paepae here) knows a thing or two about the state security/surveillance apparatus … and leaks. He was recently interviewed for a spot on Radio NZ’s Mediawatch (14 Apr 2013) on the subject of the leaked […]
Tripping over the paper trail. Spokesman says Mr Key advised cabinet about Fletcher link ‘orally’.
I remember writing a post before the last General Election, Hansard can be a real bitch, eh Mr Key? wherein I sympathised with noticed the difficulty some politicians seem to have remembering what they themselves said and how awkward that can be for them when they’re questioned about it in any detail. It’s not easy. Reporting […]
John Key addresses Parliament on his earlier misleading statement about Ian Fletcher’s appointment
Here’s the NZ prime minister John Key delivering a ‘personal explanation’ to Parliament yesterday for his misleading answer to a question about the appointment of his school friend Ian Fletcher to the job of Director of the Government Communications Security Bureau, GCSB. Well, that puts that matter to rest, doesn’t it? Ya think? (What do […]
Apropos the ‘reputation as a liar’ thing for John Key
More on the issue of the public perception (reputation) of the NZ prime minister and his veracity, here’s Otago University’s Bryce Edwards’ take on it, from TV3’s Frontline this morning: “As usual with these scandals, it’s not the so-called ‘crime’ in the first place… it’s the cover-up. It’s how the politician handles things, and he’s […]
John Key toughens up? “Forearmed is forewarned (sic), I’m going to change.”
I enjoy the rough and tumble of Radio LIVE’s duo Willie & JT. I’ve said before their ‘political hour’ is a highlight with its irreverent argy-bargy. Who can forget Willie Jackson’s rejoinder to Matthew Hooton “right wing fascist mongrels like you”? They’re an oasis. The show offers a refreshing, robust counterpoint to the earnest, often […]
John Key is getting a reputation as a liar
This, from Emmerson in the NZ Herald today is pretty sharp: The euphemisms — ‘economical with the truth’, ‘not forthcoming’, ‘selective’, ‘evasive’, ‘spin’, ‘telling porkies’ — continue to fly (like pigs?) but how long will it be before the media and others in the mainstream start to describe the New Zealand prime minister’s performance by shorter, sharper […]
Howick Deputy Chair Adele White speaks up: Tells Chairman Michael Williams his failure to properly address his recent drink-driving conviction and his manipulative bullying is damaging the Howick Local Board’s reputation
Deputy chair of the Howick Local Board Adele White addressed the disgraced chairman Michael Williams at the Board meeting last night [11 March]. Ms White, famously in these parts, stared down an attempt by the chairman to remove her as Deputy on flimsy grounds see: Bunfight at Howick Local Board. With her permission, these are […]
By an amazing coincidence
On the same day The National Business Review printed a retraction & apology: … the Waikato Times web team also made a startling confession:
I would have thought Dana Perino would have learned about the risks of ambiguity
Bob Woodward’s credibility-eviscerating ‘I been threatened by the White House!’ (er, not really, actually) episode has seen a lot of ink and electrons spilt. I don’t need to add to it. But this short statement (above) from former GW Bush press secretary Dana Perino caught my eye because it wasn’t clear. Even my favourite right […]
Cameron Slater is social media “beef lasagne”
Oh dear. In another example of his near-pathological ‘I-can-dish-it-out-but-can’t-take-it’ mindset, Pakuranga’s social media thug Cameron Slater is emoting ‘upset’ about comments on Twitter. (sigh) This loutish, heavy-handed propagandist makes a habit of cyberstalking, goading and abusing public figures and those whom he perceives as the National Party’s political enemies … and some within the Party […]
Who do politicians think they actually work for?
Read today’s editorial in the NZ Herald about the Official Information Act … and ask yourself. The Minister of Justice, Judith Collins, wants MPs to remain in total control of their own information. The Government’s response to the report has shamefully and summarily dismissed opening Parliament to the act. “The government does not agree with the Law […]
Bunfight at Howick Local Board
Every now and then I feel the urge to participate in local politics, sadly usually from a sense of disquiet about how some of our elected officials are running the borough. (See: Why do you think we call it a struggle? for some background.) Tonight was a special meeting of the Howick Local Board (costing […]
