Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Perverse Entertainment

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  • Russell Brown, in reply to Rex Widerstrom,

    But surely so will the Timaru Herald and the Taranaki Daily news (both owned by Fairfax)? Even The Manawatu Standard, Marlborough Express, Nelson Mail, Waikato Times etc draw a lot of content from NZPA, unless things have changed since I last saw them.

    I heard from someone at a regional Fairfax paper today. He said NZPA had provided 14 stories for his paper today. His colleagues had provided seven.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Islander, in reply to Rex Widerstrom,

    Not in my opinion Rex: the “Timaru Herald” is the same mix as the other regionals- lots of local news, photographer/s/reporters at local events, plus whatever overseas links Fairfax is going to be offering them…which is why, I suppose (it is decades since I was a cardcarrying journo) the non-Fairfax papers are setting up their own news feeds…

    there is still a market for a good local newsorgan and I think Fairfax has miscalculated – again. “The Press” bled a considerable readership, whereas the ODT (a significant player/share owner in local papers in the South) has not. While I dont normally buy any Farfaxfing (the occaisional “Timaru Herald” is it),
    and my primacy source of news is the internet, I still like reading papers. But younger family generations simply dont…ETA: there are also the weird & eclectic extras from code-crackers & crosswords to food features AND, not least! the local advertising, including Births, Weddings, Anniversaries,Deaths...

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • JLM, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,

    But seriously, where will newspapers get the stories that NZPA used to supply?

    I wondered if there would be a niche for Radio New Zealand to onsell some of its news stories. The written versions on the website always look smart and to the point. Or do they get most of them from NZPA?

    Judy Martin's southern sl… • Since Apr 2007 • 241 posts Report Reply

  • glennd,

    Russell, to be fair to old Trump he did produce his birth certificate. But he produced the one actually issued at his birth, which ironically has no use in obtaining citizenry type things like a passport. He later produced the standard issue printout that can be used for such things. I still have my original NZ birth certificate somewhere, but I think that it too is useless in NZ for doing anything and that the printout from internal affairs is the true legal proof nowadays (could be wrong of course).

    I doubt Trump actually believes Obama is a non-citizen, he's too smart and canny to be a birther, but is playing the same game as Obama. Obama neatly keeps various nuts occupied looking for an "original" birth certificate that has no legal use, and might not exist any more anyway if he has lost it. Trump lays out his original from Jamaica as if to prove his originality and theatrically asks Obama to do the same. It's a game and Trump is playing it just as Obama is, just playing the cards (certificates in this case) rather than holding them.

    Since Mar 2011 • 45 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Well, that’s thee and me, then ;-) I think I first encountered Hard News on Usenet, when you used to post it for expats.

    ETA And Steve makes 3 ;-)

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    the quote at the top of the redbaiter blog is from George Orwell

    Well, after 1984 and Orwell's untimely death, he was packaged as an anti-communist proto-cold warrior. Which he of course never was. He was anti-Stalinist, but from a firmly socialist position with Trotskyist/Anarchist components.

    But you wouldn't expect a retard like Redbaiter to get that.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Rex Widerstrom,

    Ratings plummeted and the smarter bosses reversed it... but only just enough to get the ratings back up, of course. Now wait for readerships to fall. And the reaction? Why more layoffs, of course.

    Or $43 million-dollar guarantees.

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

  • Biobbs, in reply to Steve Ballantyne,

    I recall when Redbaiter first popped up on Usenet back some time in the 1990s with posts in nz.general and nz.politics. His outstandingly nutty rants were actually quite refreshing at first, since Usenet was already in terminal decline back then and most of the posters were plainly drongoes. Redbaiter generally spells quite well and has a uniquely colourful style, which is why I'm pretty sure there's only one of him.

    The debates between him and dear old Jim Purdie were legendary. I'm pretty sure it was Jim who first started calling him Rodbeater, the use of which is sadly neglected and long overdue for reinstatement IMHO.

    The River Mouth, Denmark • Since Jan 2011 • 114 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart, in reply to glennd,

    I doubt Trump actually believes Obama is a non-citizen, he’s too smart and canny to be a birther, but is playing the same game as Obama. Obama neatly keeps various nuts occupied looking for an “original” birth certificate that has no legal use, and might not exist any more anyway if he has lost it. Trump lays out his original from Jamaica as if to prove his originality and theatrically asks Obama to do the same. It’s a game and Trump is playing it just as Obama is, just playing the cards (certificates in this case) rather than holding them.

    I just watched him being interviewed on a morning TV show. He played the "I'm not saying he is, but...." and "Three weeks ago I believed he was born here!" cards for all they were worth, but he's certainly doing his best to give the strong impression he's on-board with the birthers. And the "My people are researching this, and you wouldn't believe what they're finding!". We wouldn't, of course, because what those findings were was left to the imagination. He dropped the term "Obamacare", too. The interviewer's "Do Not Believe You" face was most entertaining to behold.

    Of course, none of this is likely to get him elected President - appealing to the Tea Party might win someone the Republican nomination, but it won't win them a general election, as McCain demonstrated with the proto-Tea-Party types three years ago. But it's certainly indicative of...something.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • glennd,

    He'll be giving the appearance of being on-board perhaps, but I can't see he is dumb enough to be actually believing it. Theatre, he's playing a part for some possible role in the near future and maneuvering to flank Obama if needed.Both are playing the birthers for what they are worth, just from opposite sides of the table.

    Since Mar 2011 • 45 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart, in reply to glennd,

    He'll be giving the appearance of being on-board perhaps, but I can't see he is dumb enough to be actually believing it. Theatre, he's playing a part for some possible role in the near future and maneuvering to flank Obama if needed.Both are playing the birthers for what they are worth, just from opposite sides of the table.

    Quite likely, re: Trump, but I really don't understand what makes you think Obama is "playing" them - they're loons. He's ignoring them as best possible. Any attempt on his part to provide more evidence would just result in more calls of conspiracy. The birthers don't need to be "played", they play themselves. Constantly and without encouragement.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • glennd, in reply to Lucy Stewart,

    Well, "playing them" in as much as they are there making a racket about something pretty loopy when they could be going on about something meaningful. If he did have his original certificate and put it out there or came out and said it was long lost then they'd lose some wind (maybe, I guess the 911 truthers and Bush's service records crowd are probably still banging on). But as it is by not encouraging them to shut up he keeps them and others occupied. Not that this is a difficult game to play by any means, just a convenient crowd to subtley egg-on.

    Since Mar 2011 • 45 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart, in reply to glennd,

    But as it is by not encouraging them to shut up he keeps them and others occupied.

    But nothing Obama could do would encourage them to shut up. There is literally not one single piece of anything approaching evidence that he was born outside America, and yet they go on. George Washington could rise from the dead to swear on a Bible before the combined Houses of Congress that Obama was born in America, and the birthers would still go on. You're buying into the idea that there's some secret evidence Obama's hiding, something more he could do. There isn't. Which is why the best move is to ignore them.

    You seem to be framing this as some sort of cunning plan on Obama's part, when let's be realistic - if these people weren't fixated on where Obama was allegedly not born, they'd be fixating on him being a secret Muslim, or him being a secret terrorist, or a secret Marxist, and so on and so forth. The birthers are not a serious opposition who have been cunningly led astray from the real issues. They are conspiracy theorists. The problem is that in the American political environment, conspiracy theories gain real currency - and that's not helpful to Obama at all.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • glennd, in reply to Lucy Stewart,

    Nah not a cunning plan, just a beneficial byproduct. If they're shouting and screaming crazy stuff like he's a non-citizen (and probably also that he's a muslim marxist macaroni man) it keeps them above the radar and makes the whole "opposition" look barmy. Tarred with the same brush and all that. I really don't know if he has an original hospital certificate or if he's lost it, and I agree it is irrelevant. But if I was Obama I would be doing nothing to dissuade them from their shouting and even holding back any older certificate, again not saying it exists but just that it'd be a mildly cunning plan. I suppose that is what the Don is after as well, either hoping Obama will one day reveal that a certificate does exist and show he was playing a game or, most likely, just planting the idea in the mass psyche of his own "originality".

    Since Mar 2011 • 45 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart, in reply to glennd,

    If they're shouting and screaming crazy stuff like he's a non-citizen (and probably also that he's a muslim marxist macaroni man) it keeps them above the radar and makes the whole "opposition" look barmy.

    I really think you're underestimating how seriously the barmy stuff is taken here. I mean, yes, it's crazy, but as I and others have said - it is entirely possible in America to insulate yourself in a world where the birthers are noble patriots championing a shocking truth, and every article and radio show and TV programme you watch supports that view. Really significant percentages of people believe this stuff. Significant percentages of people who vote. Having it out there is not an advantage.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Whoops, in reply to Steve Ballantyne,

    Wow, a quick google and lo... there's his article.

    Redbaiter always strikes me as a smart but not quite as clever-as-he-thinks-he is fellow. Some deep frustrations there, but always good for a chuckle.

    here • Since Apr 2007 • 105 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    I discovered Redbaiter’s blog, TrueBlueNZ. I could comment there, but all I’d really be doing is trolling. And yet, it crowds with low-hanging fruit. Someone has to do some picking.

    Please do, I gave up even trying to rationally engage with Master Baiter after crap like this:

    Craig, nothing you say on Palin has any weight. You hate Christians because you’re homosexual. You’re free to say and think what ever you want of course, but don’t try and put across the idea that you’re some kind of white knight of objective commentary. You never have been and you never will be. You’re a left wing social liberal viewing politics and society through the prism of your homosexual experience, and your comments always come from that perspective. End of story.

    I also should try and dig out his delightfully insane poo facial after DPF linked to my first PAR piece. Apparently it was "socialism" when Russell invited me to provide my labour in exchange for money -- which sounds a lot like the capitalistic free market at work to me, but what does a lefty faggot commie like me know? Also couldn't resist the every so slightly trollish observation that when Master Baiter started paying all my bills (and a generous per diem) he could start telling me who I should work for; otherwise he needed to stop being such a command-and-control Stalinist. :)

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

  • Matthew Poole, in reply to Steve Ballantyne,

    It also led to Gordon McLauchlan outing him in the Herald in the early 2000s

    Ah, yes. The wailing and gnashing of teeth was wondrous to behold.

    As for nicknames, Bedwetter originated from Usenet time, did it not?

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report Reply

  • Andre Alessi, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    You hate Christians because you’re homosexual.

    I read that as "You hate Christmas because you're homosexual" and I was gearing myself up to agree with him. Everyone knows the gays hate seasonal interior decorating and drinking warm alcoholic drinks.

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

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to Andre Alessi,

    I read that as “You hate Christmas because you’re homosexual” and I was gearing myself up to agree with him. Everyone knows the gays hate seasonal interior decorating and drinking warm alcoholic drinks.

    Heh... that's funny but seriously, how the hell do you rationally engage with someone who can't get his head around the idea that people who don't totally agree with his narrow, incoherent idea of ideological purity aren't Satanic Marxists.

    Yes, I can be gay and vote for the National Party and regard Sarah Palin as an incompetent pathological liar and be friends with the evil Russell Brown and think stabbing a tagger is a very very bad thing. If that confuses and enrages Master Baiter, whatever.

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

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    Craig, nothing you say on Palin has any weight. You hate Christians because you’re homosexual.

    Redbaiter's aforementioned spout-out reminds me of the 'PC gone mad' urban myths that gathered legs in Britain, such as the Birmingham Winterval being a 'war on Xmas' when it was merely just a simple marketing campaign. In spite of the facts, the English Defence League (the Tea Party with a Union Jack) made a mountain from a mole hill.

    With apologies to Winston Churchill, sometimes a lie travels halfway round the world before the truth can type in its username & password.

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

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    You’re free to say and think what ever you want of course, but don’t try and put across the idea that you’re some kind of white knight of objective commentary.

    You know, Craig, I've never thought of you as that ... ;-)

    Good job, really. It sounds like a terribly dull thing to be.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • recordari, in reply to Russell Brown,

    You said somewhere, here or tweer, that it was a blog you read so we don't have to. I'm taking you at your word and not reading it.

    He was anti-Stalinist, but from a firmly socialist position with Trotskyist/Anarchist components.

    That must have been one hell of a party.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • Andre Alessi, in reply to recordari,

    That must have been one hell of a party.

    I like to think that it looked something like this.

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

  • Sacha, in reply to recordari,

    here or tweer

    now there's a nice phrase

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

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