Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Everybody's Machiavelli

408 Responses

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  • Cam Slater,

    Stephen Cook is not being paid, and frankly all these conspiracy theories and justifications from the left about Brown's actions are disgusting.

    Irrespective of that why does Russell always come down to payment...did he work on Media 3 for nothing? of course not.

    You guys were donkey deep in salivating over Richard Worth, commented about Alasdair Thompson and hounded Nick Smith...so did I for the record...at least I am consistent.

    New Zealand • Since Sep 2013 • 6 posts Report Reply

  • Alec Morgan,

    Jeez there may be more to be revealed, our very own “Bonfire of the Vanities”.

    Agree with others, drop “centre”. The Eastern suburbs lot try and play for keeps.

    Tokerau Beach • Since Nov 2006 • 124 posts Report Reply

  • Alec Morgan, in reply to Cam Slater,

    Bullshit. No one lives on thin air. The money trail is always important.

    Tokerau Beach • Since Nov 2006 • 124 posts Report Reply

  • Raymond A Francis,

    I don’t see anybody coming out looking better than they did at the start.
    Saying the Right or the Left are worse is laughable as both sides are spinning like demented tops
    Len Brown’s wife by saying nothing, had my sympathy and now my respect

    I am interested in what the women of the Left feel about the “demonising” of the other woman involved,
    We have had her past dragged up and quite nasty spin on her motives
    And as for her “handlers’ ghastly

    45' South • Since Nov 2006 • 578 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Hebe,

    Brown doesn’t look bad just silly: another middle-aged man who should have bought a red MG.

    Or a Chevy Corvette if American.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to izogi,

    If she had to come out with this some time, it’s a total shame she went the whale oil way to do it.

    More likely, it was to buy Chuang's silence.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Grant Taylor, in reply to Richard Love,

    they are all contenders for the village idiot

    Indeed, Richard. It's embarassing. It's a relief we have the reflected glory of Team NZ, Lorde, and Catton to bask in at the moment.

    Auckland • Since Jul 2012 • 24 posts Report Reply

  • Alec Morgan, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    You can be such a “tory distract” Craig.

    Pallino unsurprisingly could not topple “Lenslider” and his crew has adopted the US practice of destabillisation after the election. Though it looks like they would dearly liked to have gone earlier.

    Tokerau Beach • Since Nov 2006 • 124 posts Report Reply

  • Andre Alessi, in reply to Cam Slater,

    You guys were donkey deep in salivating over Richard Worth, commented about Alasdair Thompson and hounded Nick Smith...so did I for the record...at least I am consistent

    Worth was accused of committing a crime. Thompson used his role as an influential industry figure to actively excuse gender discrimination using made up "facts" he pulled out of his arse. Smith used his position as minister to influence ACC's supposedly independent decision-making processes. Brown had consensual sex with someone other than his wife.

    One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just isn't the same.

    Devonport, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 864 posts Report Reply

  • linger, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    to buy Chuang’s silence

    I'm confused: Do you mean to “ensure exclusivity” rather than to “buy silence”? The situation described seems more coercion than reward.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Oh bless, just been rung by a tele-marketer pimping subscriptions to a certain daily newspaper. Thankfully, I didn't bite clean through my tongue...

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

  • linger, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    (..."Oh, I thought Truth had folded."
    "Yes, it was folded into the Herald ...")

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • Rob Stowell, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    Aucklanders are also entitled to expect a LOT better from their only daily newspaper

    Perhaps.
    But after filling the first 5 pages of NZ's largest paper with salacious garbage-trawling, maybe they felt a tiny acknowledgement there's another side to the story was appropriate?
    Some PhD student will probably do a detailed comparison of the coverage of election issues vs the coverage of Len's Folly. But on the face of it, gossip over substance is an understatement: gossip totally swamps substance.

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report Reply

  • Steven Peters,

    No doubt about it. It is a coterie of right-wing conspirators who are responsible for His Worships libido, and its alleged exercise upon his mistress in the Mayoral Chambers, Ngati Whatua room, and who knows which other public spaces (with or without chains).

    CHCH • Since Oct 2012 • 96 posts Report Reply

  • SteveH, in reply to Cam Slater,

    justifications from the left about Brown’s actions are disgusting.

    I haven't seen anyone justifying Brown's actions. Quite a bit of shrugging and disinterest in someone else's personal life, sure, but justifications? Not at all.

    And since when do you get to take the moral high ground over extra-martial affairs?

    Since Sep 2009 • 444 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Cam Slater,

    Stephen Cook is not being paid, and frankly all these conspiracy theories and justifications from the left about Brown’s actions are disgusting.

    So he’s doing it for free? How come?

    Irrespective of that why does Russell always come down to payment…did he work on Media 3 for nothing? of course not.

    Um, no, clearly not. But it was hardly a mystery who paid me.

    You guys were donkey deep in salivating over Richard Worth,

    This is quickly becoming a pretty popular meme, so it’s worth dispelling. In Worth’s case:

    - The story broke as a consequence of a criminal complaint on the part of one of the women who encountered Worth. The Prime MInister acknowledged it was a complaint of a sexual nature, and it was that which prompted his sacking as a minister.

    - Worth allegedly harassed another woman and, she said, offered her a taxpayer-funded job in return for sex.

    - The Prime Minister also acknowledged there had been complaints about Worth’s behaviour around still other women.

    - Worth was at the time already under pressure as a consequence of what looked like significant conflicts of interest in his actions as a minister, including having the taxpayer fund a trip to China on which he had promoted a private company.

    This was all reported at the time. Hope this clears things up.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Steven Peters,

    No doubt about it. It is a coterie of right-wing conspirators who are responsible for His Worships libido, and its exercise upon his mistress in the Mayoral Chambers, Ngati Whatua room, and who knows which other public spaces (with or without chains).

    Well, no. I don't believe anyone has claimed that.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • linger, in reply to Steven Peters,

    No: it is a coterie of panty-sniffing right-wing conspirators who are responsible for pushing His Worship's libido as a political deal-breaker. The whole affair (in all senses) is really only the business of the individual people directly concerned.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • linger,

    So he’s doing it for free?

    (Or perhaps: So what is he getting out of it?)

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • Dylan Reeve,

    This is interesting - Steven Price argues that Len Brown would have a reasonable case in suing Whale Oil (and Cook, and maybe Chuang) for breach of privacy. Not that he should or would but that he could.

    Auckland • Since Aug 2008 • 311 posts Report Reply

  • Jim Welch, in reply to Steven Peters,

    No doubt about it. It is a coterie of right-wing conspirators who are responsible for His Worships libido

    No, but they are responsible for making it news (along with the media who can't resist a sex 'scandal' especially in relation to a politician they don't like) and trying to use it as a political weapon.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 43 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to Rob Stowell,

    Perhaps

    No perhaps about it, Rob. Hereabouts we can pine for a Guardian of our own, pronounce old media dead (if only it would stop roaming the countryside crying for nummy brains to eat) and find new ways to call Cameron Slater a leaky bag of rancid douche.

    But here’s one irrefutable reality: New Zealand’s largest media market is directly served by ONE daily newspaper that is influential with people who couldn’t find Cameron Slater’s blog with a flashlight and a full hazmat team.

    So yeah, I think it’s important we hold Shayne Currie (and his opposite numbers at Fairfax, and the TV and radio networks) fully accountable for what they do on their watch because it really does matter. And it’s not going to change any time soon.

    Doesn’t mean I’m saying Whaleoil and his merry band of ethical pygmies should be held accountable for their sleaze, but let’s stop pretending the “mainstream” media are passive bystanders. They’re not, and we’ve got to stop allowing them to write themselves free passes.

    No doubt about it. It is a coterie of right-wing conspirators who are responsible for His Worships libido

    What a load of foofy-tosh. Can't speak for the rest of the VRWC, but I still fail to see what genuine public interest is being served. As I've said elsewhere, hard evidence that Len Brown has done anything illegal or unethical has been conspicuous by its absence. Which is the same position I took when certain sections of the left were wanking themselves into a conspiratorial froth over Don Brash's private and consensual sexual activities outside the bounds of matrimony. (Oh and I'll save you all some Google time. I still believe Bill Clinton should have been impeached -- for perjury, which is a crime, not adultery, which isn't.)

    I really don't know how our self-appointed media moralists would have survived the Second World War. The American President was a serial adulterer and the Prime Minister of Great Britain was a undiagnosed manic-depressive, and semi-permanently pissed to boot. History seems to have decided they did their jobs pretty well.

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

  • Russell Brown,

    Hmmm. Brown provided a favourable job reference for Chuang when she applied for a job at Auckland Art Gallery.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Matthew Poole, in reply to Rob Stowell,

    after filling the first 5 pages of NZ’s largest paper with salacious garbage-trawling

    To be fair, it's tabloid size so five pages isn't all that much. It is, however, an exceptionally appropriate physical format.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report Reply

  • Geoff Lealand,

    The so-called Auckland centre-right doesn't need to clean up its act; it needs to crawl back into its burrow and quietly die.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

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