Posts by Chris Waugh
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Hard News: The Letter, in reply to Matthew Poole,
Thanks.
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Hard News: The Letter, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
I completely agree, Sofie. I just think it's pretty funny that, in the midst of all these molehills being made out to be Himalayan-sized mountains, we have in yet another non-story Foss apparently incriminating himself.
Back to taking things seriously: We have one minister rightly forced to resign for dealings involving Donghua Liu that might not be quite corrupt but were certainly beyond the pale. We have another minister still in office even though there is plenty of evidence of an actual conflict of interest serious enough she should've been fired, and more to suggest an investigation for corruption would not be a waste of police resources. Then we have government bullying of journalists like Bradley Ambrose and that freelancer who wrote about NZDF activities in Afghanistan whose name I can't remember right now, the Kim Dotcom saga, and now what looks like rather desperate attempts to stick some mud to Labour, both at the local level in Hawkes Bay, and at the national level with The Cunliffe Letter and The Barker Boat Cruise and whatever else. And the evidence for all this is so flimsy that the Herald felt the need to suggest that perhaps the date of the fundraiser Donghua Liu claimed to have spent $100,000 at could be interpreted the American way. I strongly suspect the Slow Drip is all about distracting people from the real issues. If the media were actually holding the government to account instead of chasing these non-stories, what would the polls be saying?
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Hard News: The Letter, in reply to Sacha,
I know, and I'm being a little bit silly, and that's probably what was meant. But the context seemed to allow the interpretation that she'd been helping National, not just helping get people out to vote.
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Hard News: The Letter, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
I also note Foss is trying to sling dirt What’s he trying to do there? Keep up the anti Labour momentum?
Shoot himself in the foot, it would seem:
Mr Foss said he recalled Ms Lorck volunteering on election day in 2011.
"Every election we have lots of people helping us, of which she would have been one.
"That's why it's always surprised me that she put her hand up for Labour, knowing she'd helped us in the past."
My emphasis. I thought campaigning was illegal on election day.
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Hard News: The Letter, in reply to Russell Brown,
I’ve not doubt Liu regarded the $50,000 he spent on bringing all his staff to a lavish dinner as an investment in the relationship.
The way I read Barker's description of the Yangtze River cruise it seemed to me like he just happened to be in town at the same time as Liu's company was putting on a big do for all the staff, and Liu, hearing Barker was in town, invited him to join. Purely opportunistic. Such work dos are very common, and surely if the dinner was a planned investment in the relationship, it would've been much smaller, with only a few select, important people.
ETA: So I'm interpreting the $50,000 as an investment in the company, maintaining good relations amongst the staff and between management and workers. Liu heard Barker happened to be in town, and said, "Hey, we're having this big do, why don't you join us?" because it's a good opportunity to also build relations with a government big-wig. $50,000 gets creatively reinterpreted several years later as an investment in Labour. But I've never been to Chongqing and never met any of the players in this sorry little game, I'm just extrapolating from what I've read in the Herald.
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Here's what I find a bit odd in the article Russell linked to above:
The statement from Liu said the $100,000 bottle was purchased at a fundraiser on "3-6-2007". A Labour press statement said no fundraiser was held on June 3, 2007, but the date could be read as March 6, 2007.
My emphasis added, of course. That date could be read as March 6, but only if you're American, or one of those Chinese people who thinks the world outside China is America or, at least, just like America. Donghua Liu doesn't seem like either. Chinese dates are written year-month-day, so June 3, 2007 would be 2007-6-3, and March 6 would be 2007-3-6. If, as my memory of Williamson's turn in the hot seat suggests, Liu's English is very limited, and he is managing to communicate this well, then there must be a good translator/interpreter involved, and if the interpreter is as good as they seem to be, they must be aware that in NZ, dates are not written American-style. So why the sudden need to obfuscate the date of the disputed fundraiser?
Minor detail, I know, but it's just one of those little details that jars like a roughly-made judder bar, something that doesn't quite ring true.
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Capture: Lost, in reply to Nora Leggs,
More lost stuff
It never ceases to amaze me how many random, lost single shoes there are lying around. An awful lot more people than I ever see must find themselves having to hop* home and swap newly single shoe for a pair.
*probably not such a problem in NZ where going barefoot generally isn't such a bad idea as it is around here.
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Capture: Lost, in reply to Jos,
That first shot would look so good upside down Chris.
You mean this one? I can't see any other first ones that would work upside down.
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Hard News: The Big Chill, in reply to Lucy Telfar Barnard,
But then remembered it later, when you needed the material for your next book?
Nah. Remove the stick to a jurisdiction safely outside of 5 Eyes and destroy all copies of the material in NZ. Saves having to persuade a judge that you have these oh-so-convenient brain fades just when you need them, then your memory kicks back in when required, and your name is not John Key.
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Hard News: The Letter, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
mortar come….
