Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Go Us

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  • Russell Brown,

    And meanwhile, Helen Clark, having had a just shut the fuck up moment this morning in baselessly supposing that the SFO had tipped off the National Party about Peters, gratefully accepts the chance to change the subject in making fun of Key's comparison of himself to Obama.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Tom Beard,

    Instead they decry anyone who chooses not to abort.

    What, anyone who's had children? Those pro-choicers really are fanatical bastards, aren't they?!

    On the other hand, the idea has its merits...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia,

    And meanwhile, Helen Clark, having had a just shut the fuck up moment this morning in baselessly supposing that the SFO had tipped off the National Party about Peters, gratefully accepts the chance to change the subject in making fun of Key's comparison of himself to Obama.

    Great minds thinking alike, I linked to the actual story story itself, and here's what Key actually said in its entirity:

    "I'm a bit like [Barack] Obama. I am not institutionalised in Wellington [the country's capital]," Mr Key told the FT from his parliamentary office. "I had 18 years in the commercial world and I will be quite pragmatic."

    Meh... I think Helen Clark is "a bit like" Hillary Clinton, in some ways.

    And Clark certainly hasn't had a STFU about allegations that Key had a 'tip off' about the SFO investigation into Peters. She's just widened it to the point of absurdity -- if the SFO didn't, then someone in Crown Law or the Police must have. What the hell is up with her?

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    Sarah Palin Baby Story Ender

    Although some of the commenters still won't let it go. (It's a pregnancy suit!).

    Sigh.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Che Tibby,

    james - Marcy from Married With Children...?

    to be honest, i was trying to work out who the naked woman was...

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    Sarah Palin Baby Story Ender
    Although some of the commenters still won't let it go. (It's a pregnancy suit!).
    Sigh.

    Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!

    There are a number of things that argue against the conspiracy theory, but that photograph is not one of them.

    Here it is in its original setting on Flickr.

    Taken on March 19, 2005.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia,

    By the way, while we're toting up STFU moments. What aboutthis textbook Duncan Garner gotcha on Three News tonight?

    I'd recommend watching the whole video. Its brilliantly ghastly.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia,

    to be honest, i was trying to work out who the naked woman was...

    That was Governor Palin back in her bootylicious pageant days -- bearing a startling resemblance to a Hollyweird sapphist. :)

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report

  • Don Christie,

    Re the Key / Obama thing...I think there is a possible "Stories" thread here.

    Who would you most like to be a "little bit like" and what would that "bit" be?

    Me, I'm thinking Errol Brown.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    Taken on March 19, 2005.

    She didn't give birth to any child in 2005, so the date can't be right.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    She didn't give birth to any child in 2005, so the date can't be right.

    Touche. I thought I'd let you check that. I actually thought the pic I linked to earlier made it clear enough that she was pregnant.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Blake Monkley,

    Has anyone started to think about the impact that Gustav could have on the U.S oil and natural gas needs if the rigs are damaged and how this may play out for the republicans and democrats campaigns.I guess the next 24 hours will see how much of a election decider it will play.

    Auckland • Since Jul 2008 • 215 posts Report

  • Graeme Edgeler,

    __One popular theory is that McCain wanted Lieberman and Rove wanted Romney, and McCain chose Palin to piss Rove off ...__

    BTW, Graeme you are aware of Leiberman's voting record? He might well be hawkish on defence and Iraq, but on gay rights, gun control and abortion he's still the anti-Christ to the Republican "base".

    Yes. That was my point.

    Russell's suggestion was that McCain who wanted Lieberman, chose Palin in order to piss off Rove.

    If the point of McCain's VeeP pick was to piss of Karl Rove, he'd have gone with Lieberman. That - as you reiterate - would have pissed off Rove a lot.

    A lot more than his choice of Palin.

    Thus, McCain's choice was not primarily motivated by a desire to annoy Karl Rove. And his choice of Palin, in particular, was not to piss off Karl Rove.

    [A proof by contradiction, if you will]

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    Touche. I thought I'd let you check that.

    Russell, you magnificent bastard...

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Tom Beard,

    Me, I'm thinking Errol Brown.

    Me: Errol Flynn.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report

  • JohnAmiria,

    Key was initially evasive when 3 News asked if anyone in his party had met with Lord Ashcroft.

    "Yes, I think they have."

    Did he personally meet with Lord Ashcroft?

    "Yes, I have. I met him at my home."

    How is that evasive?
    Maybe if Garner had of asked 'Have you or any of your party met with Ashcroft' Key might have answered the first question better.

    Ashcroft is the wealthy Briton who put up the $200,000 reward for the return of the stolen medals from the Army Museum in Waiouru.

    Oh, he's that guy? I presume the PM also invited him to the Beehive for a cup of tea and a thank you. Was Dr Cullen there too? Did he call Ashcroft a 'rich prick' to his face? Tell us more, Mr Garner.

    Sarah Palin Baby Story Ender

    Although some of the commenters still won't let it go. (It's a pregnancy suit!).

    Sigh.

    I think it's perfectly reasonable for FOX News to demand a DNA test, as they did of John Edwards when he said "It's not my baby!"

    hither and yon • Since Aug 2008 • 215 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    Hopefully this Weather Underground link will work ...

    It's a model of Gustav crossing Cuba, breezing by Florida and slamming into New Orleans. Hell's teeth.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Raymond A Francis,

    Russell
    I have just read the whole thread and frankly I think (hope) there will be a time when you will remember this as a low point of your blogging life
    Bad enough that this sort og thing takes place elsewhere but there is no need to go hunting for dirt
    This is just as bad as the vileness that is linked to the PM's husband
    Sorry, I expect better of you
    Rant over

    45' South • Since Nov 2006 • 578 posts Report

  • Lucy Stewart,

    Surely we should be able to rise above our opinions of her stance on abortion and allow the woman her own choice in the matter.

    Much of the feminist blogosphere is already up in arms over various sexist attacks on Palin, including this one: there are hundreds of perfectly good reasons to criticise her as a choice for VP that do not involve addressing her reproductive choices, attractiveness, sex life, etectera.

    OTOH, it really bugs me that she's being portrayed foremost as the Super-Mom, as if merely popping out kids is some sort of qualification, and also that her decision to have a Downs kid apparently makes her saintly. Surely, if she's anti-abortion, seeking praise for not aborting her disabled child is like seeking praise for not stabbing your flatmate for leaving the dirty dishes around - the temptation is comprehensible, but the action is patently unthinkable, and no sane person would do it anyway. [Not that this reflects _my_ views on the equivalency of the acts, but given her extreme views on the availability of abortion, the question must be asked.]

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    I have just read the whole thread and frankly I think (hope) there will be a time when you will remember this as a low point of your blogging life.

    I don't apologise for being interested in this. As Andrew Sullivan put it:

    Here's why this isn't off-limits. The McCain campaign has made the existence of this child a central part of its PR rollout of Palin, in particular highlighting the fact that Palin chose not to abort the child even though she knew the baby had Down Syndrome.

    The campaign has made the entire story of this pregnancy and birth a part of its narrative to portray Palin as a morally superior being who is therefore deserving of the second-highest office in the land.

    Under the masthead of The Atlantic , Andrew Sullivan is alleging "a serious possibility that this narrative is completely false, that, in fact, Palin's daughter became pregnant".

    I think not. Apart from anything else, this photo from the Kos story wasn't taken when the Kos story said it was. It's the picture of the daughter, which makes it use in that article all the more egregious.

    But reading news reports of things that happened this year isn't "digging for dirt". And I'm struck by the way she's being hailed by people who, as Craig noted, would have probably have been condemning her as a monster if she was a Democratic candidate.

    (Actually, that Sullivan post is a cut-and-paste from a reader

    This is his actual post on the story and his follow-up concluding the rumour isn't true.)

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    Surely, if she's anti-abortion, seeking praise for not aborting her disabled child is like seeking praise for not stabbing your flatmate for leaving the dirty dishes around - the temptation is comprehensible, but the action is patently unthinkable, and no sane person would do it anyway.

    I was trying to work out a way of saying that.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Bob Munro,

    Hopefully this Weather Underground link will work ...

    And there is just superb hour by hour coverage at Nola which did a great job during Katrina and is just so ready for Gustav.

    Christchurch • Since Aug 2007 • 418 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    I think not. Apart from anything else, this photo from the Kos story wasn't taken when the Kos story said it was.

    Apart from anything else, the 'story' on Kos is a lunatic piece of invective. It contains arguments such as "she went back to work after three days" and "a pregnant mother wouldn't say things like I like running the hills, it kills me, that's why I like it, I mean it thrashes your guts." If that's the source behind Sullivan's reader's claim that "There is a serious possibility that this narrative is completely false, that, in fact, Palin's daughter became pregnant" then Sullivan is appalingly irresponsible for printing it. Any journalist or blogger who becomes an echo chamber for this kind of vile crap should consider very seriously what he or she is doing.

    This is not OK. And the fact that (some) Republicans promote and circulate all sorts of lies about Obama (or their own - see under John McCain, illegitimate black child of, ca. 2000) doesn't make it OK either.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    Good NYT story on a Wikipedia user called YoungTrigg (Trig is the name of Palin's baby son) who carried out extensive -- and competent, too, it seems -- edits to the Palin profile shortly before the announcement. He subsequently admitted to being a McCain campaign volunteer.

    Hardly a scandal, but it's good that there happened to be another editor there to whittle it down. Wikipedia in real time.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Paul Campbell,

    I guess I should apologise for vaguely starting this in this thread - mostly I guess what I was trying to convey was a sense of schadenfreude at seeing the swiftboaters get some of their own medicine, even if by mistake.

    I do still think she might really be Gidget though

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report

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