Yep. That’s Whale Oil’s newest attempt at breaching name suppression orders – almost. Nice one, Cameron, only a complete geek could get this one. I’m geeky enough, but I simply can’t be bothered. In fact, I suspect that the only reason why anyone would go to the trouble of deciphering Whale’s clue to the identity [...]

I see the Tabloid on Sunday is running true to form. Their front page advertises “The MP, his lover and his angry wife…” which turns out to be an article of Rodney Hide’s use of perks to take his girlfriend overseas. Now I am not going to argue whether this was right or wrong, though [...]

Apparently ACC have been accused of asking claimants for unnecessary information, according to the Privacy Commission. They cite the fact that rape victims are asked for their previous medical history and their employment details. In fairness, you would get the same thing happening with any insurance company, as their forms are always one-size-fits-nothing. If the [...]

For those in the blogosphere who are getting excited about the fact that Paula Bennett has had a complaint lodged against her with the privacy commissioner, let me remind you of a salient fact. The Privacy Commission is a toothless dog. It’s prime function is to waste endless hours compiling documents in defense of a [...]

The MacDoctor reiterates that this area is a no-Veitch zone, but I must comment on three pieces of utter crap in the Herald today. I will not link to any of them on principle. Apparently the police think it is OK to allow the contents of their evidence against Veitch to be splashed across the [...]

The following letter has been taken from the letters to the editor in this weeks New Zealand Doctor.  Over the past year there has been a debate raging in the UK about getting rid of mixed sex wards. The Government is considering a financial penalty for hospitals that continue with mixed sex wards. It is [...]

I see the Herald on Sunday is continuing down it’s path to tabloid-dom. Apart from the front page looking suspiciously like a woman’s magazine, There is yet another article on page 2 about Paula Bennett’s “Gangster connection” that isn’t. Ms Bennett has released two letter that she wrote to the department of corrections on behalf [...]

Yesterday, I blogged about how government bureaucracy fritters away health care dollars. Right on cue, there is a perfect example of this today.   A health group with 150,000 patients has pulled out of a system that shares lab test results among doctors because of fears over inadequate informed consent. Yes, you read that right. [...]