Are you doing on Facebook what Facebook does on Facebook? They’ll sue you

Pxfuel/Creative Commons CC0 1·0 Here’s quite a funny one for you this Easter weekend: Facebook apparently has filed suit against companies that do the following, according to Social Media Today. • Companies that sell fake followers and likes, which Facebook has pushed harder to enforce since New York’s Attorney General ruled that selling fake social […]

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An update on yesterday’s COVID-19 table

Another late-night calculation of COVID-19 cases as a proportion of total tests done, so the figures will be out of date again, and I’ve also discovered that the total testing numbers some countries are giving are out of date. The ones with asterisks below are those that haven’t cited increased testing numbers (at least none […]

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March 15, 2019: never forget

Like many, I headed to the Kilbirnie mosque to pay my respects several times after March 15, but I would like the events of that day to be remembered beyond those that. I want our Muslim whānau here to know that I haven’t forgotten them, and here is my way of showing that. You may […]

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In the wake of terrorism in your own country

Above: Flowers at the Islamic Centre in Kilbirnie, Wellington on Monday. On 9-11, I wrote an editorial in Lucire immediately. It was clear to me what I needed to write, and the editorial got quite a few readers at the time.    Today is March 20, five days after a terrorist attack on our country, […]

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Go well, Dave Moore

I was very saddened to learn of the passing of my colleague and friend Dave Moore on May 31, which I learned about a few hours after.    You don’t expect your mates to drop dead at breakfast while on a press trip, especially not at the age of 67, and it’s particularly painful to […]

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Some positive news a month on from the Christchurch ’quake

Tomorrow, it will be one month since the Christchurch ’quake.    It’s tempting to argue scale—the Japanese earthquake and tsunami versus our own—but at the end of the day, people are people, and our nations have both been hurting. We have become united, through disasters that emphasized that we live in an emerging global community. […]

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In the wake of the ’quake, a time to be bold

The Christchurch earthquake is certainly not over, not while the city rebuilds. And the bill, at a meeting I had with some other luminaries last Thursday, is estimated to be in excess of the NZ$20,000 million that the New Zealand Government predicts.    So, other than juggling the funds, what does the Government intend to […]

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Christchurch in happier times

Christchurch, as it once was. These are some of the images that appeared on my old Vox blog (or, what is left of that). The Cathedral, as shot from my room at the Millennium Hotel The Holiday Inn The ceiling of the Isaac Theatre Taxis and a tram Gloucester Street Manchester Street New Regent Street […]

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Glimmers of hope for the people of Christchurch

As jobs are vital to any economy, there is, at least, a glimmer of good news from Christchurch’s manufacturing sector.    Tait, Sanitarium, and Steel & Tube appear to have escaped major damage, says The New Zealand Herald.    It’s not much solace to those who have lost everything from homes to limbs to family […]

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To the bastards who did over Donna Manning’s home

Donna Manning’s home was burgled yesterday. You have no idea how angry I feel.    Even if I didn’t know her, I would, right now, want to go “Gene Hunt” on the thieves.    To the person or persons who did over the Mannings’ place: you are the worst kind of human being.    You […]

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