For anyone who has followed my battles with bot-written and bot-based junk this year, this should come as no surprise: The UK riots were fuelled by the same kind of website, with the same raison d’être. This one was in Pakistan, where, sadly, some of the disinformation sites about me have come from. […]
Tag: racism
The trouble with the two-horse-race narrative
Maybe what happened here over a decade ago doesn’t apply in the US today. But then maybe it does: the notion of the two-horse political race. When I stood, some media, notably the foreign-owned newspapers (as they were), were obsessed with it. Which made it tricky for the guy polling third (in real polls, not […]
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Do you really want a Nazi brand association?
Dan Gillmor wrote: I share Dan’s view. Not only that, why would anyone want their brand—corporate or personal—to be tarnished by Musk and his simplified swastika? Yes, my account is still there, inactive (and locked), making sure no one takes the handle. That’s just prudent, because the one thing worse than having your […]
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Hellos and goodbyes
Twenty twenty-three, what a year. I’ve met some amazing people this year, a lot of whom are in the public service. You know who you are. I am happy to know you. Those who champion the good in our society. Those who offer alternatives to things that harm society. Those who create good in this […]
Being part of the problem, but not seeing it
There’s no big secret that I changed high schools, from one where the experience was less than stellar to Scots College, where I felt like I fitted perfectly. During my second mayoral campaign, an old boy of the first place, Rongotai College, wrote to me via my feedback form sitting on his high horse, wondering […]
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‘No more black spots’ is music to the white supremacist
A message I sent to the former Vodafone New Zealand: Everything is OK except the messages you’re promoting! I know you’ve already heard the feedback that you share your name with a white supremacist organization, and you shrugged it off. OK, maybe we can put this down to a marketing company that didn’t do […]
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Latest podcast; and both Twitter and Facebook appear to be down on IFTTT
I had recorded an earlier podcast but deemed it too controversial; instead, here’s something I uploaded to Anchor last week on the day Paul O’Grady passed away. It’s a little tribute to him (and Lily Veronica Mae Savage). There’s a little bit about a racist builder, and I conclude with the Business Book Awards. No, […]
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The expectation of invisibility
I rewatched Princess of Chaos, the TV drama centred around my friend, Bevan Chuang. I’m proud to have stood by her at the time, because, well, that’s what you do for your friends. I’m not here to revisit any of the happenings that the TV movie deals with—Bevan says it brings her closure so that […]
New Zealand Chinese Language Week: a podcast entry
As we come to the conclusion of New Zealand Chinese Language Week, a review about how inappropriate it was by being the very opposite of inclusive, for those who’d prefer to sit back and listen rather than read one of my blog posts. You’ll likely catch me on RNZ’s The Detail on Friday, […]
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The US, where big business (and others) can lie with impunity
One thing about not posting to NewTumbl is I’ve nowhere convenient to put quotations I’ve found. Maybe they have to go here as well. Back when I started this blog in 2006—15 years ago, since it was in January—I did make some very short posts, so it’s not out of keeping. (I realize the timestamp […]
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