The prize for the most eye-watering double entendre of the year goes to Rodney Hide, who commenting on Winston Peters and Helen Clark last night said:
“She’s stood him down but she hasn’t cut off his baubles”
Nasty. And without anaesthetic, too!
Rodney, I know you and Peters don’t get on, but surely a simple tarring and feathering [...]

In Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Adams describes the ultimate bureaucrat, the Vogon thus:
A Vogon would not lift a finger to save his own grandmother from the Ravenous Bug-blatter Beast of Traal without orders signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, lost, found, queried, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in [...]

I am on-call tonight and it has been really busy, so no meaningful blogging from me today. Do not despair! Here is an old post I wrote some time ago which might interest you:
“The HOS of 25th March contains an article entitled “Strange but True”. It is a re-write of a daily Mirror article “Can [...]

Hat-tip once again to Homepaddock who has made me aware of this article on waiting lists for drug addicts (I am always amazed she manages to blog about so much stuff – does she not sleep?). She rightly points out how this once again illustrates how little difference Labour has made to the health system, [...]

Apparently, the Greens seem very happy that they have managed to extract a $1 billion fund to insulate every house in New Zealand from the government (i.e. You, the taxpayer), in exchange for their agreement on the ETS. The Greens think this may help in the fight against global warming. I think it might help in [...]

I see National has accused Labour of having a hidden agenda – wanting to force the amalgamations of district health boards.
“Behind closed doors,” says National’s health spokesman Tony Ryall, “Labour appears to be working on a plan to forcibly amalgamate some DHBs, and proposals are already at the point that they’re making their way through Cabinet.”
I [...]

Homepaddock pointed out this little gem on her blog. 
The Canterbury District Health Board said police were investigating several incidents where pain medication has been diluted or replaced with water at Christchurch Hospital.
I am assuming that the pain medication was a narcotic such as morphine. It is also very likely that the perpetrator of this travesty [...]

Just a quick update to the famous Herceptin saga. The Herald today mentions that Roche has offered a further $2 million off the 12 month course. Not hugely interesting (unless Pharmac change their minds), but buried in the article are the latest costings.
The July paper lists the 2009 cost of the nine-week regimen at $5.9 [...]

Chuck Bird suggested that I hold forth my opinion of the proposed new deferral periods for Blood Donors that Stephen Franks has recently blogged about. A deferral period is how long you have to wait between doing something that might infect your blood and actually donating blood. For instance, the deferral period for using a [...]

 
 And as he journeyed, he came near the Beehive and, Lo! there shined a great spotlight on him from upon high.
And he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Shawn, Shawn, Why persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, that I may smashest thy face for blinding me with thy [...]