Author Archives: Mark

From the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday – “Nine rejected asylum seekers forcibly repatriated by Australia to Afghanistan are believed to have been killed upon their return, and others were arrested or had family members killed, researchers who investigated the … Continue reading →

The Sydney Morning Herald has an article today by Paul Sheehan about the Australian WorkChoices legislation. I haven’t really followed the arguments over this legislation too closely, but I was interested in one comment that Sheehan made – “The union … Continue reading →

From the Sydney Morning Herald today on the censoring of Karaoke singing in China – “The Ministry of Culture has issued new rules to prevent ‘unhealthy’ songs from ringing forth in the sing-along bars, and to safeguard intellectual property rights. … Continue reading →

Seen recently on a website promoting a Christian conference – “It’s a formula-busting, cliché-erasing multimedia extravaganza featuring key leaders of our time, music for a new generation, and practical training relevant to our day. “ Hmmm – a multimedia extravaganza … Continue reading →

I get a little annoyed by governments that try to bully people for no good reason. Three examples came to my attention this week, two related to Apple Computer and one related to Australian television…

An article in the NZ Herald on Monday quoted Stephen Hawking as dismissing arguments against embryonic stem cell research (labelling George Bush and others as reactionary, whatever he means by that). Hawking’s argument is that embryos used in research “are … Continue reading →

Always gives me a kick to see some connection with NZ here in the US. I’m currently sitting in the lobby of the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego and I’ve just been listening to Crowded House playing over … Continue reading →

Here’s something to thrill the heart of any political geek – a site that provides access to all NZ legislation and parliamentary bills. Heaven! Acts and Regulationshttp://rangi.knowledge-basket.co.nz/tkbgp/welcome.html Bills and Supplementary Order papershttp://www.knowledge-basket.co.nz/gpprint/docs/welcome.html

From the NZ Herald, a story that a two year drought in the Amazon basin could turn it into a desert and accelarating global warming. The prediction is based on a study that involved covering a patch of rainforest the … Continue reading →

The TV One web site has video of the NZ Parliamentary Question Time (centre column about half way down the page – I don’t imagine that the content will be there indefinitely). I took a look at the Tuesday session. … Continue reading →