Latest news with #Kumbaya
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
The Government's homelessness problem; Christopher Luxon and his minced oath
Lobbying by Waikato University paid off and, after convincing National to promise a third medical school last election, specialising in general practice, it has not only been confirmed by Cabinet but at a cost of $200 million less to the Crown than originally estimated. The savings are said to come from ditching previous plans to build regional outposts for the medical school and to use existing facilities instead. We won't know where and how many, even after the business plan is released this week. An artist's impression of the new school. Photo / Supplied. A couple of dozen options are being considered, it is understood, and they will be reduced to about a dozen outposts after discussions with the regions. One could assume, however, that places being considered for outposts would include regions such as Northland, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Manawatū, and possibly several regions in the South Island. While the medical school will have a bias towards producing GPs, because much of its coursework is going to be in the regions, it will need to have clinical leadership in those regions and getting that tied down will be a major hurdle before it is due to take its first intake in 2028. The big danger for such a small country is that medical expertise will be spread more thinly across three medical schools. Kate MacNamara has done a piece on how much consultants have been paid on the project since the Government came to power. Disharmony over Harmony Accord What looked like a Kumbaya story this week has turned a little discordant. An initiative by Ethnic Communities Minister Mark Mitchell to establish the foundations for ongoing co-operation between Muslim and Jewish groups has been criticised for not being inclusive. The NZ Harmony Accord was signed by the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand and several Jewish organisations on Tuesday at Government House in Auckland. But a group of 20 Islamic organisations and 18 Imams and Islamic scholars issued a statement rejecting the Accord, saying there had been a lack of consultation by both the Government and the Federation of Islamic Associations. The statement also said they were disappointed the Accord made no mention of the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which leading humanitarian groups said constituted war crimes and acts of genocide. On the same day, New Zealand joined 27 other countries to call on the war to end now. They were responding to horrifying scenes in Gaza, of starvation and of civilians having been killed as they sought food. 'Israel's military response to the events of October 7 2023 [when Hamas killed 1200 Israelis] long ago ceased to be proportionate, reasonable or moral,' Foreign Minister Winston Peters told Parliament. Christopher Luxon and his minced oath You can tell that the Prime Minister has felt the heat this week because he has been a little sweary. First, he referred to Labour leader Chris Hipkins as 'frickin Hipkins,' and then he accused him of asking a 'smart-arse' question. 'Frickin' is what is known as a 'minced oath' or a milder way of using a more offensive word. It's the PM's way of meaning 'f***ing' but not saying it. And in this case, Luxon was responding to criticism that only 153 families were receiving the full rebate in the Family Boost policy. 'I'm not taking any lectures from frickin' Chris Hipkins or the Labour Party,' Luxon said. 'They have no idea what to do. They put us in this mess.' Luxon was probably right about the 'smart-arse' question. Hipkins said: 'How many blocks of butter can he buy for the $60 a week he claims to spend on groceries?' The reference to $60 comes from the final election debate between the two in which Luxon said he spent that amount in a week, before clarifying it was only for three breakfasts and one other meal. Pity poor Mark Patterson, however, who also thought he could get away with saying 'arse' in the House, but was upbraided by assistant speaker Barbara Kuriger. 'Do you think that the farmers, the exporters, the foresters give a rat's arse about Greek philosophy?' Patterson said, after a Green MP mentioned the freedom of expression beginning as a Greek concept. Patterson modified his language to 'rat's derriere'. By the way... Maiden speech: New Zealand First MP Dr David Wilson, who has been sworn in to replace retiring MP Tanya Unkovich, gives his maiden speech tonight at 5.40pm. Wilson has previously talked freely about having been the victim of an investment scam in which he lost $200,000. And they're off: Labour's campaign team is off to an early start with Beth Houston, a former party vice-president, getting to work this week as campaign manager for the 2026 election. The general secretary remains Rob Salmond and party president is Jill Day. National has not settled on its campaign manager yet but it is likely to again be senior MP Chris Bishop. Quote unquote 'I've been very surprised at the almost breathless excitement of the blow by blow of what happened in that meeting.' Finance Minister Nicola Willis plays down her meeting with Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell about the price of butter, inter alia. Micro quiz Who is Labour's housing spokesperson? (Answer at the bottom of this article.) Brickbat Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters. Photo / Mark Mitchell Goes to Foreign Minister Winston Peters for refusing to answer a question in Parliament yesterday about the UN Oceans conference he attended in France because the Green MP asking it referred to 'Aotearoa New Zealand'. Quel disgrace. Bouquet Act Leader David Seymour. Photo / Mark Mitchell Goes to Act leader David Seymour for keeping the Government's feet to the fire over the Waikato University Medical School, its need and its costs. This week's top headlines Homelessness: Government report on homelessness shows the number of people living without shelter 'appears' to be outstripping population growth. Price of butter: Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell discuss butter prices with no immediate relief. Police numbers: The Government's 500 police target it delayed again as an Australia poaching campaign is considered. Sport NZ: The Government has forced Sport NZ to ditch transgender guidelines as they don't align with its coalition agreement. Foreign buyers ban: Winston Peters says change is likely to be announced this year, but denies NZ First is 'softening'. NZ Harmony Accord: Mark Mitchell says Muslim and Jewish leaders are sending a powerful message in the signing of a new agreement. Policy stoush: Christopher Luxon mouths off at 'frickin' Chris Hipkins over cost of living policy stoush. Conflict of interest: University of Waikato vice-chancellor Neil Quigley denies any conflict of interest exists in balancing his role as Reserve Bank chairman and his university receiving $82 million from the Government. Orr's resignation: RBNZ chairman Neil Quigley apologised for Adrian Orr losing his cool in the lead-up to his shock resignation. FamilyBoost: Just 153 families are getting the maximum $75 weekly childcare tax credit. NCEA: A Government briefing has raised significant concerns about the credibility of NCEA. Quiz answer: Kieran McAnulty
Daily Maverick
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
The Trump administration's rebellion against history and common sense
The idea that America faces an inexorable, irreversible decline has become a form of conventional wisdom. Is this really true — or is it becoming so because of poor policy choices being made by its leadership? The woods are filling up with descriptions in sombre periodicals like The Economist, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy on the inexorable decline of America and what the implications of such a decline will be for the global power dynamic. In essence, one way to see the question being framed is whether we will, soon enough, have a Hobbesian universe or a world according to Jacques Rousseau in our future. Or, put another way, will life in the world, soon enough, be one that is nasty, brutish, and short, or one where the nations will sing Kumbaya in 195-part harmony — one where all those metaphorical lions will be lying down peaceably with those metaphorical lambs? In fact, in most of the articles that are looking forward to that wondrous, brave new world, the assumption is that America's decline has become an axiomatic inevitability. Moreover, for some writing about such a future tantalisingly just beyond the horizon, such an eventuality is to be eagerly anticipated, in contrast to that American-led, rules-based order (albeit unevenly exercised) that exists now. One can almost feel the schadenfreude emanating from this geopolitical version of 'The Wizard of Oz' chant, 'Hail, hail the witch is dead; the wicked witch is dead.' Beyond articles, there is even a cottage industry of books on this subject, such as Amitav Acharya's recently published, The Once and Future World Order. Post-Vietnam But it should also be recalled that this discussion is something of a reprise of the conversation that became the authorised version of things in the aftermath of the Vietnam conflict. Back in the mid-1970s, it was confidently assumed — even predicted as inevitable — that America's best days could only be seen via a rear view mirror rather than looking forward. Henry Luce's 'American century' was already en route to the rubbish tip. But were there really strong reasons to assume the decline of America in the future was axiomatic and inevitable — and that renewal was impossible? (In fact, the decline of nations and civilisations has been the subject of debate by philosophers and historians for millennia. The ancient Greeks had divided history into gold, silver, and bronze ages as the greatness of the past inevitably declined to the less valuable alloy of the present. St Augustine, in his volume, The City of God, had argued that the decline of Rome in his time was not, despite pagan critics, the fault of the spread of Christianity. Instead, that faith had helped preserve the Empire, even in its weakened state. More recent writers like Edward Gibbon in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire had insisted that its internal contradictions and religious and cultural divisions had inevitably led to its downfall. And after the destruction of World War 1, Oswald Spengler had insisted in The Decline of the West that the civilisation comprising that collection of nations was inevitably heading towards its collapse.) In the immediate post-1975 years, the conventional wisdom was that, for America, there was nothing ahead but a long but inevitable, slow slide into global second or even third place. And especially given the disastrous effects on the country from its excruciating experience in Vietnam, that decline was something approaching faster still. Evolving from that view, the future most probably belonged to the Soviet Union, along with its (sometimes reluctant) allies, which was poised to be the wave of the future, per that implacable Marxist logic. And the momentum was growing. But that was then. Just a decade and a half after such a view, by 1990, the Soviet Union was no more. It had disintegrated due to its inability to address successfully the defence budget challenge posed by the US, multiplied by the Soviet Union's creakily inefficient — even sclerotic — economic system. And, surprisingly to many, it was unable to address internal pressures from ethnicities inside the borders of the old USSR, plus the resurgent nationalisms and desires for greater individual liberties in the countries dominated by the USSR in Eastern Europe since the end of World War 2. China and the USSR/Russia One important footnote was that the idea of an existential challenge posed by China to the US was barely envisioned back then. Throughout the 1970s and 80s — and even on into the 1990s — China was not seen as a truly serious challenger for the top spot, given that it was still rebuilding from the excesses and depredations of its Cultural Revolution. It was only when China entered into the regulatory framework of the WTO — the World Trade Organisation — and had enacted a wide range of economic reforms that its export-oriented industries really took off, turning the country into the global manufacturing powerhouse it has since become. Think back to the early-to-mid-1970s. Seeking a counterbalance to the manifold military and political challenges coming from the then Soviet Union, even as the US was still in the last tormented years of the tragic entanglement of its Vietnam misadventure, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger drew on the lessons of 19th-century realpolitik thinking and the 'Concert of Europe.' The key was to carry out a triangulation of relationships, balancing America between the then Soviet Union and China and using a new Chinese relationship to balance the energies of the Soviet Union. Particularly for China, it dangled the possibilities of greater access to the American economy and the larger international order against its continuing economic isolation. For the Soviet Union, it offered both the possibilities of finding a way out of its costly military (and nuclear) standoff and dangled possibilities for greater international investment in the USSR. For decades, this triangular balance held, until the three parties' divergent intentions for the global future became manifest. By the time of the Trump administration 2.0, the fracturing of this triangular balance has now become the reality with the increasing coming together of Russia and China. Perhaps that was to be expected for many reasons, not least because of the way the two economies dovetail tightly. But it has also been significantly abetted by the mercurial nature of Donald Trump's approach to foreign and economic relations, including his constantly changing positions on tariffs. Vladimir Putin's Russia has been determined to reassert its control over czarist Russia's possessions — and especially Ukraine — as well as its broader sphere of influence. This parallels a belief in the importance of an older Russian value system that eschews the perceived moral slackness of Western nations that could infect Russia as well, if unchecked. Such attitudes and ideas are driving forces in Russia's onslaught on Ukraine (and parts of Georgia), along with its not particularly subtle threats towards the Baltic nations (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), once part of the Russian empire — and even underpins suspicious-sounding hints directed at other eastern members of Nato. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping's China is determined to create its own primacy in the international economy, something being built largely upon its massive capabilities as a manufacturer/exporter, as well as its increasingly imposing position in developing and putting to use new and emergent technologies. This stands in stark contrast to the US which, under Trump, is busy ramping down R&D support by the government in those very same technologies of the future. Running in the background, of course, for China's leaders (and many of its people) is a realisation that half a millennium ago, its economy was the largest and most productive on the planet. That history also contributes to the country's leadership cadre's real desire to regain the high ground heading into the rest of the 21st century. The US As for the Americans, after decades of being positioned as the global primus inter pares nation, and having imbibed the idea that it was the essential nation, under its incumbent president, the decision has been made to pull back from international engagement and long-established relationships. Instead, rather than seeking to engage energetically with either Russia or China to reach a newer version of a modus vivendi that might echo what Kissinger had achieved in his time, after first cozying up to Russia largely on Putin's terms, the Trump administration now seems intent on finding disagreements with both China and Russia — and with Western Europe's EU as well. In the latter case, this is despite the largely overlapping membership of those nations in the Nato alliance with America. Resolute positions that are made in conjunction with heretofore longstanding allies is not a strong suit for the Trump administration as it meanders directionless through the landscape of global issues — in addressing Russian actions in Ukraine, the continuing conflicts of the Middle East, or the collapsing structure of the global trading regimen. Under Donald Trump's deeply uneven, mercurial leadership, the US has managed to position itself against its three other major global economic or security competitors, as well as with the BRICS formation, for whatever that grouping really matters, thrown in for good measure. Effectively, the Trump administration is busy running the table in a hunt for potential or real antagonists. Even further, it has now tossed overboard efforts to find areas where cooperation could be found with this collection of forces. This could have included the threats of environmental degradation and climate change; instead, it has labelled all of that as a hoax designed to suck out the wealth of the US for the benefit of undeserving others. Historical examples But history says multi-directional competitions waged against a full sweep of potential partners turned enemies cannot be a successful plan for the longer strategic interest of the US, even as it offers some possibilities for individual tactical (and temporary) gains. Consider the following examples drawn from history, showing the failure of such omnidirectional antagonisms, even from an ostensible position of great strength. For example, by the early part of the 19th century, Napoleon had established a European system that drew in virtually all the nations of Europe, save for the United Kingdom. But that hierarchical system with France at the peak broke apart in the wake of Napoleon's failed Russian campaign. As a result, by 1814, his military was confronting an alliance that overwhelmed any chances for a continuation of a European system captained by an imperial France. The alternative, hammered out in the Treaty of Vienna after Napoleon's downfall — the 'Concert of Europe' — largely managed continental issues until the tensions between two groups of nations overwhelmed the continent with the outbreak of World War 1. Similarly, in 1940, Germany was ascendant over most of Europe, save for Britain. For many observers, including the American Ambassador to the UK, Joseph P Kennedy, it seemed the Germans would, even if they did not actually invade the British Isles, eventually be able to wear down the British into a kind of sullen submission. But the delusion and enticement of still greater victories led to the disastrous invasion of the Soviet Union. And if that was not sufficient, just days after Japan's own effort to gain control over the Pacific Ocean through its attack at Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on America as well. Facing three determined, powerful enemies simultaneously led to Germany's total and complete destruction by those three allied nations, despite their very different goals for what would come after the defeat of the Third Reich. Or look further afield for an example of how overweening hubris can deliver national disaster. Consider the fate of Paraguay in its war with three neighbours during the years 1865-70. Its ruler, Francisco Lopez, had built a formidable military (at least in Latin American terms) and Lopez decided for some reason that it would intercede on Uruguay's side in Uruguay's dispute with Brazil. Things soon turned into a war that pitted Paraguay against an alliance comprising the combined might of Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. The inevitable result was its utter defeat. By the end of hostilities, the population of Paraguay fell to around 250,000 people, with only 25,000 men remaining in the country, and with big chunks of territory ceded to its neighbours. Things were so dire, Paraguay received a unique papal dispensation to allow polygamy to restock the country's population. While virtually nobody believes the fatal outcomes for Napoleonic France, Hitler's Germany or Lopez's Paraguay awaits America despite ill-fated decisions by its president effectively to confront all of its international competitors or frenemies pretty much simultaneously, the facts remain what they are — the road ahead will be increasingly fraught for an America without friends or even negotiating partners in a complicated world. Such a stance is in opposition to its own larger, longer-term interests. DM
The National
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Dugald Bruce Lockhart: 10 things that changed my life
One: Strontian (Western Highlands) DESPITE spending the first four years of my life in Fiji, my earliest memory is sitting in the hull of a rowing boat, fitted with an outboard motor, as we set off from the village of Strontian across the wind-whipped waters of Loch Sunart, terrified the boat would sink. Having made it to an island, picnicked, and not sunk, I was charged with newfound confidence for our return journey. Peering over the gunwale, staring into the low-lying sun, I repeatedly sang the chorus of Kumbaya, My Lord, marvelling at how the tune fitted the scenic backdrop. Thus was born my desire to impose narratives on the world about me; which, in turn, led to playing guitar, acting, and eventually, writing my first novel. It was also where I first tasted a lime-flavoured popsicle; which to a four-year-old, fresh from the Pacific Islands, was almost as weighty a game changer! (Image: PA/Alamy) Two: My first fishing rod A FOUR-FOOT-LONG, fibreglass fishing rod, that had been given to me by 'Dear'', my formidable great-grandmother, (real name, Mona), wife of J H Bruce Lockhart, former Scottish international cricket and rugby player. In a Highland burn, I caught my first trout, a whopper, at least five inches! This triggered a passion for fishing that continues to afflict me; casting my line over rivers far and wide, as well as providing the subject for my first short story – Salar The Salmon – which I wrote at the age of nine; about a salmon who struggles to find her way back to the stream where she was born. Even now, I'm unable to cross a bridge without stopping to check if I can spot that elusive, wavering shadow lying in the current below. And wondering how much it weighs. Three: February 22nd 1991 THE day I received a phone call at our home in London, to say I'd got in to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art – despite the fact I'd been drunk at my recall (thanks to a four-pint liquid lunch, to quell the nerves); that I'd given my Shakespeare monologue as Sean Connery (they stopped me after my first line), and had lied about all the other drama schools to which I'd applied. With no one else around to celebrate the news, I drank a glass of orange juice and explained to our pet African Grey parrot, Coco, how I was going to be a famous actor. Coco remained predictably implacable, looked me in the eye, then shat on the newspaper bedding at the bottom of his cage. My first of many critics. Four: My Yamaha acoustic guitar I BOUGHT it in Tokyo, while touring with the Royal Shakespeare Company. After an all-nighter in the district of Roppongi, a combination of hangover and jetlag caused a five-day bout of insomnia, resulting in a breakdown – along with the realisation I had to call off my engagement to my fiancée back home. Unable to think straight, let alone utter a sentence of Shakespearean verse, I was taken off the show to recover, only venturing from my 17th-floor hotel room to stumble across the square to the music store opposite, where I parted with the equivalent of £200 to buy the instrument. I continued to write songs for the remainder of that 12-month tour, and on, for the next 20 years; including one titled Wedding Train – which I now realise was an ode to my guitar – about the comfort of strumming her dependable six strings, and how she had carried me through my hour of need. Five: My pet lizard I HAD caught it in the wastelands outside our house in Cyprus in 1978. Hoping the creature might join the family, I gave him first a name, then set up home in our open-roofed inner courtyard, where there was a hole in the tiles. Using a rock to provide cover, I brought him flies and worms, and he soon became accustomed to his new dwelling. Then one day, I introduced him to some school friends. After much oohing and ahh-ing, we left him to his own devices – me quickly dropping the rock back into place, as we hurried out. When I returned to the courtyard that evening, I found him to be unusually still. He was lying at an angle that didn't make sense – his jaw, squashed and out of line. But still alive. In a panic, I took him outside and dropped him over the garden fence into the scrub below – lying to myself that he'd be better off fending for himself. My first encounter with true guilt; which, 50 years on, continues to haunt me. I hope one day to be able recall the poor creature's name. (Image: PA/Alamy) Six: The Diorama building in London THE soulless building in central London was where, as an out-of-work actor, I had to trek from my flat in Harlesden in order to take part in a group selection process for a corporate roleplay company based in Bristol. My spirits lightened when an extremely attractive brunette in a slim-fit suit passed me in the doorway, asking if she was in the right place. The building took on a greater shine, when it transpired she and I were both familiar with Southwold and that we both knew a certain actor – with whom she had read to stroke patients, and with whom I had toured the world for 10 years. A month later, I emailed him to ask about the status of a certain Penny, whom I'd met at Diorama. He replied that she was 'unattached', and would I like her number? Staring at a family photograph of myself, Penny, Mackenzie and Cassidy, posing in the grounds of a hotel in Gran Canaria, this spring, I recall that it had been raining the day of the interview, and that I'd hesitated in the hallway of my flat, wondering if I could really be bothered to schlepp across town in the pissing rain, for a job I was unlikely to get, and which I didn't really want in the first place. Seven: My children TO splash with them, one on each arm, in a tiny paddling pool in the garden, lost in their joy and wonder, and gap-toothed grins. Watching them grow, hearing them laugh. Sharing their daily tragedies. To know you are not only perpetuating the circle of life, but that your navel-gazing days are over. And that you are finally at one with unconditional love. Eight: Propeller Theatre Company WHEN in the autumn of 1998, I joined Edward Hall's all-male Shakespeare company, I had no idea that this would begin 15 years of international touring with a group of actors that would become tantamount to a second family. True, each 10-to-12-month tour was as akin to a 12-month stag do, as it was to spreading the joy of Shakespeare's plays; and yet, it was with Propeller that I truly learnt the craft of storytelling, and how performing is really more of a sport than any kind of mysterious art form. From climbing the pyramids in Mexico City at dawn, to performing The Comedy Of Errors in Sri Lanka, watched by a group of wild monkeys that had climbed in through the windows, it was also my own Homeric journey of self-discovery, and the birth of lifelong friendships. Halcyon days, I shall never forget. Nine: Across The Universe WHENEVER I hear John Lennon's masterpiece, I am transported back to my parent's house in Greenwich, where I sat on the drawing room floor, in diffused sunlight, listening to the song unfold for the first time. I smell chocolates, pipe smoke, old books, coffee and toast; the musty aroma of our dog, Poggy, curled up in his basket, tucked away in the corner by the piano; the muffled chatter of the BBC's World Service from the kitchen, and the cloying scent of linseed oil from my newly acquired Gray-Nicolls cricket bat leaning against the wall behind the front door. Everlasting peace, frozen in three minutes and 47 seconds. (Image:) 10: Passing my driving test MY first attempt (in Dundee, while a student at St Andrews University) went rather well, I thought. Having pulled up by the side of the road, the examiner asked me how many lessons I'd taken. Understanding him to be thoroughly impressed, I proudly confessed I'd only had five. He smiled and informed me I'd be taking a few more. My second attempt ended up with the same result. (What you don't do, if a suitcase comes off your roof rack, is wait for a pause in the traffic then run out and grab it). The day I finally passed, I'd wrenched my back and had sat stiffly in the driver's seat with a brace on my neck, stinking of Deep Heat, barely able to look left or right, let alone turn to face my nonplussed examiner. How she let me sit next to her, let alone pass me, I have no idea. But I'm eternally grateful. How my life would have unfolded without the freedom of wheels, I can't imagine. Second Skin, a thriller set in the Greek Islands by Dugald Bruce Lockhart is published by Muswell Press
IOL News
10-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Time for Bulls to take hands and sing 'Kumbaya' after Jake White's ugly departure
Jake White and the Bulls have parted ways after rumours of dressing room split. Image: Backpagepix COMMENT It remains to be seen whether the Bulls will now sit in a circle, hold hands and sing Kumbaya following the departure of director of rugby Jake White. Reports of ugly infighting and a player revolt had been rife over the past few months. And, after weeks of speculation, White has left the Bulls after five years in charge of the franchise. It was widely reported, following last month's United Rugby Championship final — won 32–7 by Leinster — that a number of Bulls players were unhappy with White's post-match comments. White essentially said that the players at his disposal were not good enough to compete with the likes of the Irish giants. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading This reportedly sparked a player revolt, led by captain Ruan Nortje and Springbok Marcell Coetzee, who also raised concerns about White's management style. There were additional rumours of a major fallout between White and assistant coaches Chris Rossouw and Andries Bekker. The Bulls' once-celebrated team culture seems fractured, with White clearly at the centre of the dressing-room drama. The Bulls kept things respectful in their announcement of his departure, praising his contributions over the last five years. White, too, avoided criticism, signing off his farewell with a nostalgic 'hou die blou bol! (hold the blue ball)' Ironically, White's long-standing call for more Springbok reinforcements was finally answered this week — just after his exit. The Bulls announced a raft of signings to bolster the URC outfit ahead of next season. They have acquired the services of veteran centre Jan Serfontein, Springbok locks Marvin Orie and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, and Stormers scrumhalf Paul de Wet. Bok flyhalf Handré Pollard is also set to return to Pretoria next season. The side also confirmed that star Bok wing Kurt-Lee Arendse will return to the kraal from his loan spell in Japan. Arendse reportedly ignored White's calls while abroad and failed to return in time to be considered for the URC playoffs. The Bulls are still weighing up their options for a new coach, with former Lions boss Johan Ackermann and Bath's Johann van Graan among the names being mentioned as possible replacements.
New York Post
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Mike Brown won the press conference, but his Knicks mission is a different task
There was actually a time when it really did matter if you could — cliche alert! — 'win the news conference.' Pat Riley didn't just win his opening news conference with the Knicks, he ran up the score. Same with Bill Parcells when he became the Jets coach. Same as Joe Torre, in late 1995, despite the immediate concerns that the Yankees had interviewed him right there on the turnip truck. Just about everyone wins the news conference now. Frankly, you won't get hired if you're incapable of winning it. Gone are the days when Adam Gase can scare small children with his eyes. Gone are the days when Ben McAdoo shows up wearing David Byrne's old suit from his Talking Heads days. Gone are the days when Mickey Callaway all but invites the gathered media to sing 'Kumbaya' as he goes on and on creepily about how much he's going to love his players. (It doesn't take a full season of 'True Detective' to crack the case of what those three had in common, does it?)
