Rudman on Dotcom

We're guessing that unlike Herald journalist David Fisher, columnist Brian Rudman is not a fanboi of Kim Dotcom; he opines:

Kim Dotcom for mayor? Now there's a thought. If Prime Minister John Key is to be believed - and a recent poll suggests he has a certain problem there - it can only be a matter of time before the celebrity du jour throws his black cap into the Auckland mayoralty ring.
In anti-spying bill protests last week, the internet tycoon described Mr Key as "the biggest puppet of them all" of the United States Government. The Prime Minister's response from Seoul was "I think he loves the limelight".
He added: "You've got to remember he's got a long-term agenda here, and that is to try and convince people that he should be allowed to stay forever."
If his theory is right, then how better to sink your roots into the country than get yourself elected as mayor of the Super City. With a transport policy of busting congestion with a helicopter taxi service, along with free encrypted superfast broadband for all voters, to protect us from the Prime Minister's spies, the contest would rapidly come alive.
Mr Dotcom is that larger-than-life oddball that mayoral contests tend to attract.
Tim Shadbolt out West and Invercargill, for example, Boris Johnson in London, the appropriately named Mr Weiner in New York. Mayor Robbie was Auckland City's last flirtation with the eccentric, so we are overdue for one. The late Paul Holmes did fancy the job, only to be dissuaded after his television masters warned him that ruling the airwaves was really enough for any one person.

Rudman's piece today far drips with sarcasm, which is probably not a bad way to view anything surrounding the Large German Gentleman; he is something of a parody of himself. Although some would argue that Auckland and Kim Dotcom deserve one another, we couldn't possibly comment on that!

Tweet of the Day - 5 July 2013

Russel Norman tweeted thus on his way into the latest Intelligence Committee hearing this morning:

Dr Norman can keep running the "Key's total surveillance state" meme as much as he likes, but frequency of repeating a fib does not make it any less of a fib.

We wanted to reply to Dr Norman but we couldn't; he has blocked us. We thought that the Greens were the party of openness and transparency, but apparently that's no longer the case. We only saw Dr Norman's tweet because Kim Dotcom's personal Herald reporter David Fisher retweeded it!

"Hey Clint; are we pleased about this?"

Getting the 3rd Degree

TV3's current affairs show 3rd Degree went large on the David Bain case last night with apparent "slam-dunk" evidence. The intent was to "prove" that Robin Bain was the killer, and to pressure Cabinet into giving David Bain compensation.

Less than 24 hours on, it is all unravelling. The NZ Police have put out this media release:

Police response to latest Bain theory (plus image)

June 27, 2013, 5:30 pm
The latest story advanced through the media by representatives of David Bain is an interesting theory but is not new evidence says Assistant Commissioner Malcolm Burgess.
"It is an interesting idea when taken in isolation, but is no more than a theory when taken out of context of all the other evidence which has been presented to several courts.
"Marks on a photograph can always be open to several interpretations by experts, and the significance or relevance of these marks have not been tested in court.
"Examination of the original photograph does not give any definitive indication of what the marks could be. There are other possibilities, including that they are minor cuts.
"We know for example that Robin Bain was doing work to the roof and spouting of his Every Street home in the days leading up to the killings - any Kiwi handyman knows the sort of damage this can do to the hands. Post mortem examination of Robin Bain's hands shows a number of minor abrasions and marks you would expect to find with someone familiar with manual work.
"Indeed, police have today conducted a preliminary examination of fingerprints taken from Robin Bain after his death. These prints show an absence of fingerprint markings in the same place on his right thumb as the dark marks appearing in the photograph. Our fingerprint experts advise that this is consistent with someone sustaining cuts or damage to the fingers prior to prints being taken, which would then affect the print image.
Had these been powder marks or smudges as claimed, we would expect to see a complete fingerprint image.
"I also reiterate the evidence put forward in court that the only identifiable fingerprints found on the firearm belonged to David and Stephen Bain.
"Police will continue to look at this issue to gain a better understanding of what this photograph may show. 

But wait, as they say in the advertorials; there's more. He comes the bit that really hits at the 3rd Degree team's motives (the emphasis is ours):

"However, I am mindful that this theory has been put forward through a programme whose makers chose not to seek comment from police prior to broadcast, and who also refused to provide details about their story when approached by police on Tuesday.
"Had they done so then we would have pointed out that fingerprints had been presented in evidence and have always been available through the court to help them decide if their story stacked up."
END

Oh dear. The Police asked 3rd Degree for a right of reply, and were refused. What possible motive could there be for that, other than to present a completely one-sided theory. Where is the balance, fairness and objectivity in that?

But wait; there's STILL more! Cameron Slater picked up the time stamp of  Herald story on the 3rd Degree "revelation"; check this out:

Is is REALLY feasible that David Fisher watched the whole programme, wrote a story, submitted it to the Herald webmasters and had it published at EXACTLY the time that the 3rd Degree documentary ended? No; we don't think so either. A PR machine was clearly driving this whole issue

Robin Bain is an easy target, because he is dead, and he can't defend himself. But with what has emerged over the last 21 hours, David Bain's case for compensation may have actually been done more harm than good.


FOOTNOTE: It's not just us unconvinced by last night's 3rd Degree "slam dunk"; check out this post from photographer and blogger Rob Suisted.