“The biggest load of hot air since the Hindenburg!”

“John Tamihere’s Timaru speech on business was the biggest load of hot air since the Hindenburg disaster,” according to Brian Connell, MP for Rakaia and National party Commerce Spokesman.

“He told the hard-working people of South Canterbury how well they’ve done - as if they didn’t already know - and claimed he understood their concerns about Labour’s high taxes and their growing red tape burden.”

“But did he offer to do anything about it? No, not one iota. This was yet another speakfest without one drop of value being derived from the exercise. It was less relevant than Tariaana Turia at a seminar on racial harmony!”

“My advice to Mr Tamihere is to get out of politics and start a business, then perhaps he’ll understand why he’s just made a fool of himself.”

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>