Thursday 28 February 2019
1) Political blogger Cameron Slater is bankrupt
The facts:
The head of the Whaleoil blog site has declared bankruptcy and pulled out of all political work. A post on the Whaleoil site gave details of Cameron Slater’s bankruptcy and his recent stroke which, according to the post, has left Slater incapacitated.
Cameron Slater was once one of New Zealand’s leading political commentator. He had very close contacts in parliament, including with former Prime Minister John Key. However, Slater’s star status rapidly diminished after has was implicated in dirty politics by author Nicky Hager. Due to Hager’s expose of dirty politics in New Zealand, Slater went from being the right’s most loved attackman, to being a pariah cut off from political access.
Analysis:
Cameron Slater led the blog revolution in Aotearoa, and he acted to transform the nature of political reporting in this country. His coverage of politics was unashamedly biased, and his closeness with the National Party was never a secret. He was once New Zealand’s most well-known political blogger, and was sort after by mainstream media due to his inside knowledge of the goings-on in Parliament.
However, despite his previous popularity, Slater is loathed by many, especially those on the left. He has been written off by his opponents as a gutter blogger, who lacks integrity and morals.
Despite the hatred often levelled at the Whaleoil blogger, Slater has at times played an important role in exposing political scandals. The Whaleoil blogger exposed the hypocrisy of former Conservative Party head Colin Craig, who preached a moral conservative form of politics while at the same time attempting to engage in an extramarital affair.
Slater also exposed details of an extramarital affair of former Auckland Mayor Len Brown. And the blogger revealed how Brown, while engaging in an affair, had been receiving free hotel rooms and upgrades totalling more than $32 000. Casino and hotel operator SkyCity was one of the corporates providing free hotel rooms for the former Mayor. The honourable Mayor Len Brown publicly backed the previous National-led Government's controversial SkyCity convention centre deal.
So, love him or hate him, there is no denying that Slater transformed political reporting in NZ, and did at times reveal the hypocritical, if nor corrupt, goings on of some of his political opponents.
2) Donald Trump’s former lawyer plays the role of Judas.
The facts:
Donald Trump has been labelled a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat" by his former lawyer Michael Cohen. In a congressional testimony, Michael Cohen also said that Trump effectively conspired with WikiLeaks, via the President’s political advisor Roger Stone. The WikiLeaks release of emails from Hillary Clinton during the last US Presidential election acted to severely discredit the former Senator and First Lady. Both Michael Cohen and Roger Stone are currently facing prison time.
Analysis:
Will these revelations from Trump’s former lawyer act as a fatal blow for the President? Hardly. Republicans can easily dismiss Cohen’s testimony as a desperate attempt to curry favour with prosecutors and the courts, in an attempt to reduce his prison time.
Of course, these accusations do strengthen the case for Trump’s impeachment. But as long as Trump’s party - the Republicans - control The Senate, Trump remains reasonably safe from prosecution and impeachment.
Also, the use of Trump's former confidants against the President helps to build a narrative that there is a conspiracy against the President coming from the Democrats in collusion with the so-called deep state. Trump supporters at times refer to intelligence agencies such as the CIA and FBI as being part of a deep state acting to thwart the President.
3) Trump meets his so-called best friend Kim Jong Un in Vietnam
The facts:
The US President and the North Korean leader have met for a second time to nut out a deal of North Korean denuclearisation.
Analysis:
For International Relations expert, this meeting is an extraordinary event. Meetings between top international leaders usually involve months of preparation and are carefully managed by Government top officials. Not the case with Trump, apparently. And in the case of North Korea, the position of the US has been to delay any meetings with North Korean leaders until a deal is already in process. However, Trump is his own man and is not afraid to dispense with US protocol.
And in this case, just maybe the President’s erratic and idiosyncratic political mode of operation might just bring peace to the Korean peninsula.
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This political roundup by John Moore is an extension on the five-minute breakfast political roundup that John gives on Radio One Dunedin, Monday to Thursday at 9am.
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