EDITORIAL: French lies cast slur on NZ's name

When Kiwis refer to French rugby player Mathieu Bastareaud in future years, it's likely his surname will be shortened and prefaced with ``that French ... ``
It has been obvious since police first stated they could find no evidence of the alleged attack on the Frenchman by five men in Wellington last weekend that a storm was brewing around his head wound.
But Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast was rightly angry when the confession finally came, from the safe distance of Paris, that his injuries were the result of drunken antics.
By that time, New Zealand's and Wellington's reputation as a host of international sporting teams had taken a hit. Not only that, but an embarrassed nation had felt compelled to apologise to Bastareaud, his team and France - from the Prime Minister down.
How much of the damage done can be undone?
Probably most, with further publicity to come when Bastareaud surely cops a stiff penalty from French rugby authorities. However, it was an annoying incident as New Zealand prepares for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. If he returns to New Zealand for that event, listen for the crowd's chant of his surname as close to home as McLean Park.
* On a sad note was news yesterday that two of entertainment's famous names had passed away.
Actress Farrah Fawcett's death at the age of 62 after a lengthy battle with cancer would have taken many back to the 1970s, and the height of her fame as a sex symbol.
She is best remembered for TV series Charlie's Angels, in which she played one of a trio of sexy, police-trained crime fighters who took their assignments from a rich, mysterious boss named Charlie.
With her perfect hair, perfect teeth and perfect body - the stereotypical all-American beauty - she was an advertiser's dream, a poster girl and a pop icon of that era.
Although more serious roles in television movies later in her career earned acclaim, it was that image which endured.
Incredibly, entertainment news got even bigger just hours later when ``The Gloved One'' died, only weeks before a planned comeback tour.
Brilliant singer, dancer and video maker Michael Jackson - a global superstar and a man surely sent to Earth to entertain - had thrilled for the last time.
Just 50 years old, much of the King of Pop's memory will be tainted by the way he destroyed his African-American good looks with plastic surgery, his weird antics - including showing one of his three children to fans by holding him over a balcony rail - and his trial and subsequent acquittal on child molestation charges.
But from his time with family group The Jackson Five and throughout his solo career, he was at popular music's forefront as an innovator, a genius.
Across the world today, like every other day, his songs will be played. Today, however, they'll be played and played, while his fans dust off their moonwalk and other moves in futile attempts to imitate ``MJ''.
Don't blame it on the sunshine, don't blame it on the moonlight, don't blame it on the good times, blame it on the boogie.