"Houghies" was a lovely person in more ways than could be counted and, despite his illness, a happy soul who could use his ample abilities in a highly analytical way. The last time I was with him before his first attempt he had sat
down in a Terrace cafe to explain what he believed to have happened in the David Ross affair, displaying his trademark knowledge and logical analysis of both finances and people. He had become a mining stock expert in later years and had followed Ross's investments.
A film industry pioneer, on the financial side, he worked on "Utu" and other productions before hitting the financial skids in the aftermath of the 1987 crash. He found God, but in a personal and good-humoured, non-preachy manner, occasionally bringing out a well thumbed and heavily marked pocket Bible to explain what was happening on the financial scene. At least twice, upon seeing me approaching in the street, he would raise his hands Heavenward and call: "Dear Lord, bring me John Bowie" and then fall to his knees on the pavement when he saw me approach. Embarrassing, but funny. And sad, now too.
Beauty and the Beast
The clash in "paradise", for lack of a better descriptive, between Amal Clooney, wife of George, and Cherie Blair, wife of Tony is something only a reality show or the Daily Mail could throw up. And throw up is the descriptive here, because
the encounter is somewhat vomit-inducing on a number of counts.
Amal is a very beautiful and bright creature, to be sure, but in grave danger of having her incandescent beauty and fame overwhelm even her intellectual abilities, or her often politically-tinged briefs, so to speak. She has either
skillfully leveraged the fame of her husband or become a media magnet of such power that it has potentially sapped her effectiveness. While not the most successful human rights lawyer, she has a highly credible legal CV before marrying the chap from Nespresso, and undoubted commitment to human rights causes.
Which brings us to the Beast. The often unspeakably awful Cherie Blair is a capable lawyer from all accounts, but also possessed of unbridled ambitionand a Tony-lust for money that would see her represent any despot or human-rights abuser if the downpayment is made. 'Bashir al-Assad on the phone? No problem.'
Her so-called "pioneering" Omnia Strategy law firm has effectively used its "strategy" label to cultivate any and all comers, so long as the money is right. She's encountered Amal Clooney over her new client, Maldives despot Maymoum Gayoom, picked up while languishing with the horrid husband poolside in Sri Lanka where she was to address the local bar association. (I wonder if she called the country "Ceylon" or even "India" as when
she visited New Zealand in 2005 and mistook us for Australia in a short tour costing a mere fee of $330,000 and where she flogged her book). Nasheed has seized power from and imprisoned Amal's client, Mohamed Nasheed.
Among her "strategic" client list are the Qatari royal family, Gabon's Ali Bongo Ondimba, Rwandan alleged war criminal Karenzi Karake and sundry well-heeled telcos and others doing
business in darkest Africa.
Chapman Tripp's White Camelia
Gender diversity is all the rage these days, as well it might be given the law profession's rather laggard approach and the ongoing tsunami of women entering the profession but failing to achieve partnership/director status in numbers that come anywhere near reflecting their numbers. Chapman Tripp have picked up a "White Camelia" award which sounds very sweet and is administered by good people at people like the NZ National Committee for UN Women and th EEO Trust. Heard of them? No, I didn't think so.
Gender diversity is a pursuit many law firms are following with renewed vigour, as well they might. Some, like Anderson Lloyd and Kensington Swan, are well ahead of the pack while others like Bell Gully, are playing catchp-up. However garnering a "White Camellia" award is likely to lead to enough raised eyebrows to have listeners to whom you're bragging whether you too - like half of the Western World these days - has "come out." No, I'm afraid the public servants in these trusts could do better by calling the award something like the Gender Diversity Award. Now there's an idea.
George W's Problem with Carter
A few readers emailed about my conversation with George W Bush and Ronald Reagan advisor Elliott Abrams, commenting in sometimes adverse terms about both presidents. A couple of 'inside' observations from Abrams though: first, the "actor from Hollywood" was a delegator but when the world was falling apart in 1979 with the Russian invasion of Afgansistan and crises in Latin America and even Cubans in Angola, he displayed "terrific leadership" in America's role during numerous foreign affairs crises. But for "Dubya' Bush, he has nothing but praise for two main reasons: His leadership after 9/11 when he visited Muslims and put on a firm but positive face because
he couldn't afford for a moment to be "down".
To do so, said Elliott Abrams, would have had an "electrifying" effect on the entire country. He bore that burden with extraordinary effectiveness, he said. Second, Bush was hindered as President considerably by Jimmy Carter's constant interference in foreign affairs, which was something he swore he would never do to his successor, President Obama. He hasn't and his personal reputation has risen considerably as a result, he said.
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