Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Start with your conclusion

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  • BenWilson,

    Good idea. What do such mags look like? ;-)

    Investigate.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Zippy Gonzales,

    All this Ian Wishart in one day has given me retinal cancer. Must... have... brain... sorbet.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

  • Alien Lizard (anag),

    shill be right... mate
    if you catch my grift....

    If I had a joke about 'long cons' and 'pizza,' I would be making it now.
    Someone make it for me, please.

    I'm going for gold, but may only achieve
    a "long con silver"... (or "bunko bronze")

    Step right up folks...
    Hustle on down to Ponzi Pizzas
    - the baseless large slice takeaway!
    Investigate our reliable sauces
    and flim-flame-seared toppings.
    Our scampi don't come the raw prawn
    with anyone - mark my words!
    rip off a piece of the action now!

    </fast phew>

    The Arrrgh Complex • Since Jan 2010 • 158 posts Report

  • Rich Lock,

    New Scientist is a bit of a rag these days, and has been for a while, at least as far as a lot of their particle physics and cosmology coverage is concerned.

    To a point, Lord Copper. In it's defence, it covers the whole spectrum of anything that is remotely 'science', from psychology, to biology, to chemistry, to climate, to...particle physics. Every week. Frankly, if you can get your head round all the info it crams in in any single issue before the next one is on the shelves, you're doing better than me.

    That, my friends, is the tip of the 'Secret Bankers ruling the world' conspiracy theory. It's a classic for a reason, although the reason has been lost to history.

    Not entirely. As DeepRed mentioned upthread, there's more than a whiff of 'Elders of Zion' to any 'secret bankers' conspiracy.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Rich Lock,

    Every time I encounter Investigate in magazine racks, I reverse the cover or attempt to conceal it behind other mags. Adolescent, I know, but one must make such gestures to combat the enemies of democracy.

    Heh. Every time I'm in the video shop, I make a point of moving 'what the bleep do we know' into the childrens fairy tales section.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • andin,

    It hurts my eyes to read some of the nonsense Wishart dribbles.
    So I'll read it at my leisure. Thanks.
    At a glance, he hijacks genuine concerns for his own narrative at one point, and uses Paul Ellis' story pointing to conclusions I wouldn't draw from my quick reading.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report

  • Gareth,

    Wishart's been running his Soros/drugs stuff for some time: it's in Air Con (fits nicely with Soros as the evil billionaire socialist driving the global warming scam). But when you follow the footnote trail, it takes you straight to LaRouche, and the British Royal Family's globalisation empire, with Soros as Phil the Greek's hit man.

    Bucolic in the backblocks… • Since Jan 2008 • 269 posts Report

  • Gareth Ward,

    Wow, I wanted to read it, I really did. But I couldn't get past the first two paragraphs that state the war on drugs is a given (makes it a bit difficult to assess alternatives I would have thought), puts quote marks to belittle otherwise quite upstanding adjectives and then makes awful rape comparisons.

    Points to all of you that had the stomach to continue...

    Auckland, NZ • Since Mar 2007 • 1727 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    Every time I'm in the video shop, I make a point of moving 'what the bleep do we know' into the childrens fairy tales section.

    Rofflenui

    I have a colleague who thinks it's serious philosophy.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Phil Lyth,

    Meh, don't want to de-rail the thread this early, but I'm reliably informed that Martin Scorsese has just cast Mel Gibson to headline The Last Martyrdom of Cameron Slater.

    Many months ago Craig, I think you said, Make me laugh and I'm your bitch forever.

    Seems like you own me tonight and forever.

    Wellington • Since Apr 2009 • 458 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia,

    It hurts my eyes to read some of the nonsense Wishart dribbles.

    While just looking at the cover of Insinuate in a bookshop makes me feel so dirty, I have to go scrub my body with the shrink-wrapped hetero porn to get clean.

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

  • Sacha,

    Hey, you've used that line before. I call recycling.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Lucy Stewart,

    To a point, Lord Copper. In it's defence, it covers the whole spectrum of anything that is remotely 'science', from psychology, to biology, to chemistry, to climate, to...particle physics. Every week. Frankly, if you can get your head round all the info it crams in in any single issue before the next one is on the shelves, you're doing better than me.

    I find it's quite useful for keeping an eye on general goings-on in other fields, or at least what is shiny and media-attention-friendly in other fields; I can usually go look up the actual paper if I'm interested in the detail. It's definitely pop science, but anyone reading it is going to have a significantly better understanding of science than anyone who doesn't, so I'll call that a win.

    I don't know that I can back the "tell them to trust peer review" idea of journalism, however; I have read some appalling peer reviewed papers, including, very recently, a genetic association study with a case n=37. To put that in perspective, there has been some not unpersuasive suggestion that any genetic association study with an n of less than 10,000 may be ultimately time-wasting. You're better off getting an expert in the field to explain the paper to you; it's both more helpful and a good test, in that if the finding is that important and they can't explain why it's well or badly-researched, they're probably not very expert.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Hey, you've used that line before. I call recycling.,

    Fair cop, but it's not only true but the only way I can convey my crawling disgust at the spawn of the evil one without breaking into modern dance.

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

  • Sacha,

    ..about architecture

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Steve Parks,

    I haven't read through the comments yet, but Russell's post reminded me of reading this a little while back...

    Pop quiz: Which European country has the most liberal drug laws? (Hint: It's not the Netherlands.)


    Although its capital is notorious among stoners and college kids for marijuana haze–filled "coffee shops," Holland has never actually legalized cannabis — the Dutch simply don't enforce their laws against the shops. The correct answer is Portugal, which in 2001 became the first European country to officially abolish all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
    ...

    Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U.: 10%. The most comparable figure in America is in people over 12: 39.8%. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana.

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report

  • Paul Litterick,

    I, for one, have never seen a problem with dancing about architecture. I do it all the time.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    Ahem, last nsfw part contains fake moaning and fishnets. Not much architecture though.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    I do like talking about music

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Paul Litterick,

    Nice Wurlitzer.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • Just thinking,

    A family friend almost died and spent the rest of her shortened life in a wheelchair after a bad batch of small pox vaccine.
    Wonderful person and small pox had been taken off the OE vaccine list but not off the doctors list.
    Ultimately an admin error, just need to be aware vaccines do have risks.

    Putaringamotu • Since Apr 2009 • 1158 posts Report

  • Just thinking,

    [edit - computor burp]

    Putaringamotu • Since Apr 2009 • 1158 posts Report

  • HORansome,

    See, I wasn't going to suggest that Wishart was alluding to a Zionist banking conspiracy theory because, well, I had enough trouble with the Truthers late last year and don't really want a round, at the moment, with Wishart and Howling at the Moon.

    Tāmaki Makaurau • Since Sep 2008 • 441 posts Report

  • HORansome,

    He does dance about architecture. He also chants "ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" whilst he does it, which is fooling nobody.

    Tāmaki Makaurau • Since Sep 2008 • 441 posts Report

  • Lucy Stewart,

    Ultimately an admin error, just need to be aware vaccines do have risks.

    Nothing is risk-free. It's just that the risks associated with vaccines are vastly smaller than the risks associated with getting smallpox (or measles, or whooping cough, or...you get the point).

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report

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