There is lots of colourful debate about this issue, both in the media and in the blogosphere. I will not debate the ethics and morals of the issue but stick to a few very simple facts. Firstly homosexual relationships are about 7 times more likely to dissolve than a heterosexual marriage. This figure is probably [...]

There is a nice illustration in the Dom Post of how government subsidies merely inflate the price of things, absorbing the subsidy. A customer looking to purchase a heat pump has discovered that a firm not attracting the government subsidy is selling a pump cheaper than the firm with the subsidy. The subsidized firm’s excuse? [...]

Prima Facie evidence that Americans are insane. This is Bernie Madoff. He stole $50 billion dollars in a Ponzi scheme. If you stacked $50 billion dollar bills one on top of the other it would stretch about 5,461 Km, or a little further than Auckland to Perth. He got 150 years in prison for this. [...]

I have to laugh. The CEO of Jetstar is blaming his bad press on an Air New Zealand “dirty tricks campaign”. This does not bode well for the future of Jetstar, who can’t seem to admit that their launch has been the biggest cock-up I have ever seen. In the space of a couple of [...]

Line 7 has closed it’s doors and gone into receivership. That is sad, but that is also the way of the business world in a recession – some make it some don’t. Because Line 7 is a well-known brand we now have the inevitable use of the word “iconic” and people begin to make dumb [...]

If there was anything that illustrates the thoroughly dysfunctional relationship between Labtests and Diagnostic Medlab, it is the refusal of Labtests to reveal their transition plan, despite an OIA request, on the grounds that it has commercially sensitive data. I can’t say I blame them. All the evidence to date suggests that DML would do [...]

I hate plastic bags. They break easily and their handles are apparently an evil attempt to destroy the nerves in your fingers. I have used those green reusable bags for years for no other reason than they are stronger and easier to carry. I am not entirely convinced that plastic bags are quite the environmental [...]

“Healthcare NZ’s ‘biggest threat’ – OECD” blares the headline, which nearly sent it straight to my spam journalism series, but the underlying article is interesting. It is the OECD report on New Zealand’s economy. “With the risk of a baseline level of debt much higher than expected before the [global economic] crisis, controlling future health [...]

One of the signs of shock in a patient is cold peripheries – cold arms and legs due to lack of blood in them. The circulation always goes first at the outer edges. Once again the small peripheral hospital, Waitakere, is having to close off some services because it cannot fully staff them. Previously, it [...]

I am horrified that the frozen vegetable maker, Talley’s, is taking such a lackadaisical attitude to the contamination of packets of frozen peas. Up to 50% of their peas have been found to be black nightshade – a fairly poisonous berry. Have they ordered a recall? No. Have they shut down the line and checked their product? [...]