I wanted to title this post “much ado about nothing” but it’s just too hackneyed. But that is exactly what I think of the Russell Norman Protest Saga. I’ve seen a lot of outrage over Norman’s treatment with, hilariously, a great deal of nationalistic fervour from the left. Even some of my right wing compatriots [...]

Just so we understand each other, I consider the entire Charles-Chauvel/Noisy-Kids-in-airplane episode to be slightly less newsworthy than “cat stuck in tree”. My interest in the affair can be accurately gauged by comparing the entire mass of the earth to the full stop at the end of this sentence. The only relevant result is that [...]

Fancy an emetic? The Herald is running a series of articles on child abuse today. Here is a nauseating recitation from a single article: An average of eight children are killed each year, and many more end up battered in hospital at the hands of family members. Children under two are especially vulnerable; each year 59 [...]

The Frog continues his series on ACC changes, complaining this time about the changes to the management of sexual abuse counseling. Interestingly, Frog is moaning about counsellors having to provide a DSM IV mental health diagnosis, which is odd, because they have always been expected to provide a diagnosis from DSM IV. These diagnoses are [...]

Forget smacking. If you want to understand the real causes of child and spousal abuse, look no further than the murder manslaughter of Jasmatbhai Patel, the 78 year old beaten to death by 28-year-old Bio O’Brien for putting a minor dent in his car. This trivial accident caused O’Brien to drag Mr. Patel out of [...]

I sincerely hope that John Key has read this article this morning, because it confirms exactly what I have been saying about the repeal of section 59 – Parents who have not lerned other ways of disciplining are now not disciplining their children at all. Parents are telling truancy officers that they don’t know how [...]

Deborah Coddington holds forth on the referendum in the HoS today. Her vitriol illustrates two old myths that seem to be brought up every time this is discussed. Ms. Coddington ends her article with these words: Ten years ago I didn’t give much thought to Section 59. Then I wrote a story on the death [...]

The horrific details of the murder of Duwayne Pailegutu by his stepfather, Johnny Pukerua Joachim have been released. They make grim reading. Johnny Joachim is serving an 18-year, non-parole sentence after admitting Duwayne’s murder. For the week before he died,Duwayne sat, partially paralysed and fitted with nappies, slowly suffocating on blood which he inhaled into his [...]

Spam Journalism: The spurious use of sensational headlines to add spice to an otherwise pointless article. (MacDoctor definition) Another piece of spam on domestic violence. This one is perpetrated by that master of statistical manipulation, Kim Workman, and embellished by the sub-editors at the Herald. ‘Three strikes’ policy could silence family violence victims – study The [...]

Spam Journalism: The spurious use of sensational headlines to add spice to an otherwise pointless article. (MacDoctor definition) I swore I was not going to post again on Tony Veitch but the front page of the Weekend Herald persuaded me otherwise: Sport stars misled over letters for Veitch Two of the letters written by high-profile [...]