Comments on: Herald cans fact-checking, opts for dogwhistles

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:25:09 +0000

Most of my fellow medicos regard orthopods as being, ahem, ‘intellectually challenged’ – “strong as oxen and twice as clever” as the old saw goes. Go easy on him, his reasoning capacity is severely limited, as evidenced by the content of his blog posts. Boomtown seems to be superfluous.

By: Pascal's bookie

Pascal's bookie — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:14:37 +0000

Racist Friend

If you have a racist friend
Now is the time, now is the time for your friendship to end

Be it your sister
Be it your brother
Be it your cousin or your, uncle or your lover

If you have a racist friend
now is the time, now is the time for your friendship to end

Be it your best friend
Or any other
Is it your husband or your father or your mother?

Tell them to change their views
Or change their friends
Now is the time, now is the time, for your friendship to end

So if you know a racist who thinks he is your friend
Now is the time, now is the time for your friendship to end

Call yourself my friend?
Now is the time to make up your mind, don’t try to pretend

Be it your sister
Be it your brother
Be it your cousin or your uncle or your lover

So if you are a racist
Our friendship has got to end
And if your friends are racists don’t pretend to be my friend

So if you have a racist friend
Now is the time, now is the time for our friendship to end

GOODBYE

The Specials

By: Clint Heine

Clint Heine — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:06:18 +0000

I can’t regulate who comments on the blog. One of my contributors isn’t as liberal as me and I have spoken to him about this. That does not make me homophobic. That only shows you as ignorant.

My work is on display. I just removed one link to it. It’s still there and easily found. Surprisingly, you seem upset that you can’t click on it quickly enough… which is a little creepy considering you apparently “object”to it.

By: Marty G

Marty G — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:18:36 +0000

you play host to homophobs, who you let write on your blog. I don’t see any substantive difference.

and you’re a pornographer without the courage to keep your work on display when it comes to public attention. Bit like Slater.

By: Clint Heine

Clint Heine — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:09:32 +0000

Marty G… dude, where have I *ever* written anything homophobic? Seriously. I have never made comments about that, I’m as liberal as you can get. Get it right!

I may be a lot of things, but that is well wrong.

By: SPC

SPC — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:10:28 +0000

It’s up to the Herald to check the facts in their blogs (off line columns) – especially if they want to be taken seriously as a media standing by the quality of their product – being a critic of blogs for lacking journalism standards.

Being a media, means being accountable for one’s own brand.

People write blogs to share commentary, sometimes they do so to inform and that’s where their research would come in.

People who blog and those who comment on blogs often are influenced by media into accepting a false understanding of a situation – and I doubt many will deny that is true of them – particularly when doing a commentary of recent event.

Lew had the rights of this earlier, the Herald made the blog into a news story without checking the facts and the error is on their part – probably because it was mislead by other media which simply broadcast a women so out of touch with the real world she presumes gay people don’t have children. The wider dog whistle is about Labour, having MP’s without children, not understanding parents – WFF must really hurt when ACT wants the money to give the few and not the many an even larger tax cut.

By: Marty G

Marty G — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:34:03 +0000

You’re a homophobe who posts porn on your website. And a coward who removes it because you’re scared of the media seeing it.

By: Clint Heine

Clint Heine — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:33:33 +0000

OTT don’t you think Toad? Out of all the comments made here, yours is the silliest. The Standard has actually (and I hate to say it) done a fair appraisal of this… apart from the political bias, as I know he’d write about any MP if it was done. So much that I have only written any feedback here and no other blog….

But don’t be too worried, I don’t plan on polluting your blog much longer

By: Clint Heine

Clint Heine — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:29:43 +0000

My co-blogger is neither racist nor homophobic. I *do* have a number of authors on my blog and some do have leanings that do verge on homophobia. I have spoken to those who do make these remarks on my blog. Funnily enough, the worse two I ever had was a Nat and a Labour supporter…both horrifically anti gay – and booted out after one post.

It wasn’t an attack on Labour, but I know you won’t believe that. I know him well and he is a parent and a professional first – politics is a distant third. If it was any other MP he would have said the same.

By: Clint Heine

Clint Heine — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:18:21 +0000

Try getting me to explain that I don’t have any children in New Zealand Dita. That was an interesting one to front up to when I woke up yesterday morning.

Eddie – I take my hat off (honestly) for not revealing the name until it was public. Thank you.

What bugs me, is that my blog has been deemed as homophobic and racist. I can get the homophobic stuff, as a few readers are blatantly nasty gay-haters – but the racist bit is baffling. The MSM have been in my opinion, a disgrace. This is not journalism. Man got offended by a comment made by an MP on a flight, he got home and vented it out on my blog, end of story.

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:55:31 +0000

It takes a brave (or foolish) soul to read the feedback comments on a Herald blog, but I did in this case. And, surprise surprise, most were sympathetic to Chauvel’s actions as the parents did nothing to calm the kids, therefore showed contempt for their fellow passengers. Chauvel’s comments were obviously aimed at the parents, not the kids.
Most comments were of the line that kids will be kids, and if the parents are doing all they can, then so be it, they sympathise with the parents and can put up with it. But if the parents don’t give a shit that their darling toerags are making life hell for the other passengers, then they sympathise with the actions of Chauvel.

By: Lew

Lew — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:51:17 +0000

Dita, the article wasn’t nearly as offensive as the fact it was treated as front-page news. That’s not your fault, though.

By: MikeG

MikeG — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:29:08 +0000

“But what I was meaning to convey was that he didn’t have a child on the flight…”

Tui billboard anyone?!!

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:11:52 +0000

So hard to do real journalism, so easy to interview your word processor and jump on the populist bandwagon with no thought as to the origons of the beat up “story” from the ACToid blogger.
Professional – not!

By: Dita De Boni

Dita De Boni — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:39:40 +0000

Hi Guys

Sorry that what I thought was a pretty innocuous piece on CC was so offensive to y’all.

Firstly, I did get the Clint Heine bit wrong, and that WAS sloppy. I agree. I sent through a correction earlier on but it hasn’t appeared yet.

Secondly, I don’t know much about CC, I didn’t realise he had a child, true. But what I was meaning to convey was that he didn’t have a child on the flight and was therefore “child free”, ie, without child. To suggest it has anything to do with his sexual orientation is really daft. In fact, the most judgemental of parents, I have found, are other parents, regardless of what they get up to in the bedroom.

Thirdly, yes I was a TVNZ “hack”. I was also a NZ “Herald “hack”, but unfortunately being on strike with your fellow work mates for almost three weeks doesn’t endear one to management much. Luckily for me, but obviously not for you guys, Herald Online had me back as a blogger many years later.

Again, just want to reiterate I have nothing against Labour party members, gay people, Bailey Kurariki (well, hang on a sec…) or even people who call me a “dipshit”. Hey, you’re entitled to your opinion like the next person.

regards
Dita