Every now and then you come across an op-ed piece that appears to be orbiting it’s own little planet, so wonderfully divorced from reality. There was such a piece the the Herald yesterday by Gehan Gunasekara who teaches commercial law at the University of Auckland’s Business School. I am hoping none of his students pay attention [...]

I was briefly struck blind yesterday. Struck down by a flash of the blinding obvious from this headline “NZ Islamic group condemns Gaza air strikes“. What else was the Herald expecting? The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand waving placards saying “Go, Israel, Go!”? As I blogged yesterday, this is one of those conflicts that really lends [...]

Robyn Stent, the former Health and Disability Commissioner, adds an interesting twist to the tale of the IVF embryos in cold storage. Her tack is that Former Health Minister Annette King altered the wording of the HDC code of rights to allow something like this to happen. The change occurred to right 7(10): “Any body parts or bodily substances [...]

I confess, I was highly amused by the strident panic of peak oil enthusiasts when the price of oil recently shot to ridiculous heights, courtesy of speculators and money from the sub-prime crisis looking for a new home. Most of the more level-headed bloggers, including myself, predicted a fall as sharp as the rise. Least you think [...]

No, not Aldous Huxley’s book (good though it was) and not the band of the same name. The latest bombing raid by Israel on Gaza reminds me of John Milton’s Samson Agonistes, from which Huxley took his title. .. Promise was that I Should Israel from Philistian yoke deliver; Ask for this great deliverer now, [...]

I fully support the right of groups like Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd to engage in activism in support of their causes. I often think their causes are somewhat flakey, but that is beside the point. Protesting vigorously is their right. However, there is a difference between a strong protest action and a dangerous one. Once again, Sea [...]

An article in the Weekend Herald (not yet online) entitled “High cost stopping Kiwis visiting the doctor” tells us that over two thirds of New Zealanders over 20 have avoided visiting a doctor because of the cost. I didn’t need any research to tell me this is true, because these people pitch up to emergency [...]

A new Government report again portrays the obvious, telling us that women are paid up to 35% less than men. Cue the feeding frenzy: The Human Rights Commission says the evidence of workplace gender inequality is now indisputable, and it calls on public organisations to take action. “We want people to start fixing the problem, [...]

There’s a silly “beat-up” article in the Press today. A mother is angry because she may have to pay heavy fines because she can’t get her 14-year-old son to school. Don’t you just love these stories where they ask the opinion of one person and then hang their whole story around that opinion, even when [...]

Tomorrow is Jesus’ birthday. Yes, I know the holiday of Christmas has been taken over by commercial interests and the current festival celebration seems to have little to do with Jesus. And I know that there is only a 365:1 chance that Jesus was actually born on  December 25th but Christmas is still His birthday. [...]