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'Write On' by C.C. Scott
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A
NZ-trained journalist turned Moscow-based
scribe/politico, CC
Scott has written for the Times across its
main titles for over a decade. Since 2000,
under the banner Write On!, he has turned
his hand every fortnight to analysing the
mercurial machinations of NZ and (since 2001)
British politics. Since mid-2005, CC Scott
has been inside Putin's Russia, with Write
On! from Moscow. Email: writeon_ccscott@hotmail.com
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Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Pressure part of the job
So it’s ‘no regrets’ for Katherine Rich as she leaves the National Party front bench, just as the party looks like it might win this year’s general election.
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Wednesday, 21 November 2007
Russia, warts and all
In November 2005, Mikhail Khodorkovsky placed a full-page ad in Britain’s Financial Times, carrying the former Russian oligarch’s mugshot from when he was behind bars for fraud and tax evasion (trumped up) and a potent message: change, or die.
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Thursday, 01 November 2007
Transmogrification Con-trick
In 2002, a year into his job as Auckland Mayor first time round, John Banks told the New Zealand Herald he had undergone a “transmogrification ... I have left the high ground of being an absolutist and I now occupy the sort of role that’s better associated with a statesman than a bar-room brawler member of Parliament ...” (NZH, 6.10.02).
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Thursday, 27 September 2007
Election
Election fever is in the air in Russia, much as it is gripping the body politic in the UK, Australia and, to lesser extent, New Zealand.
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Wednesday, 23 May 2007
Blair's reign changed politics
Before Tony Blair, British politics had a decidedly Putinesque feel to it: one party rule, with any Opposition more figurative that effective. Today, the political landscape has changed immeasurably: Labour is looking lack-lustre and the Tories are resurgent. All up, it looks like a genuine contest come the next general election.
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Wednesday, 18 April 2007
Profits over loyalty for Brit brand
Spot the odd one out: Burberry – the iconic British fashion label; Vogels – the bread that really does find its way into Kiwis’ suitcases (yours truly stocks up on every return trip from Moscow to London); Thorlos – socks sported by everyone from the Black Caps to some hardy souls (pun intended) who conquered last weekend’s Oxfam Walking Challenge. More on that remarkable event to follow.
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Wednesday, 21 March 2007
Profit over service can backfire
BA Sat Corpse in First Class. Hardly the sort of headline you want to see if you’re British Airways, still reeling from the £80 million in lost revenues last month from the prolonged threat of industrial action by cabin crew.
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Wednesday, 21 February 2007
Guess the Country
Guess the country: “Small; well-endowed with resources; geographically removed from the largest world markets but with good human skills.” It could be Godzone. In fact it’s a description of Chile, care of an interview with the country’s finance minister Andres Velasco in the March first edition of Monocle, created by Wallpaper founder Tyler Brule.
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Wednesday, 24 January 2007
Energy security on agenda
More than 2500 CEOs, politicians and journalists gather at Davos in Switzerland on Wednesday for their annual talkfest.
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Wednesday, 06 December 2006
Memorial hard to figure out
“We have not only imported into Britain the new Russians with their extravagant tastes for champagne, caviar and call girls, but also the darker, criminal aspects of all that wealth now coursing through our capital city”.
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Wednesday, 15 November 2006
Wealthy still hunt bargains
In 1986, there were no official millionaires in the whole of Russia. Now Moscow has 25 billionaires and the country has 88,000 millionaires, according to Forbes magazine.
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Wednesday, 18 October 2006
African adoptions - the latest in pop star PR?
Madonna came to Moscow last month and caused quite a stir. In short, her Confessions concert was a sell out. But fame can of course turn to infamy and the pop diva’s latest high-profile escapade – adopting a child from Malawi - shows every sign of backfiring.
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Monday, 25 September 2006
Business as usual
I was in London on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. Life should and does largely continue apace, with a heightened sense of awareness but ‘business as usual’ in all other respects.
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Wednesday, 23 August 2006
Anything but plane sailing
Six years ago, Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot hired US management consultants McKinsey to airbrush out its Soviet past, dodgy service and appalling safety record. Six years ago, Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot hired US management consultants McKinsey to airbrush out its Soviet past, dodgy service and appalling safety record.
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Wednesday, 12 July 2006
Fine and in the back pocket
The bane of Russia’s roads turned 70 last week — GIBDD (aka the state traffic inspectorate). The cops are armed for good reason. According to the Interior Ministry, 200 on-duty officers are killed every year and another 500 injured.
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