Ethics

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The ultimate Fuck you, to your neighbours, the community and the environment. Private helicopters!

Written By: KJT - Date published: 7:18 am, July 18th, 2025 - 12 comments

Again, we were woken up by a bunch of hoodrats drifting on the intersection by our house. Great clouds of smoke and lots of noise. As you do at three o clock in the morning, my brain started tying this together with recent articles about private helicopters in urban areas, and other forms of antisocial “Fuck You’s” to the rest of us.

Weasel Winston’s FiveEyes fudge

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 4:45 pm, June 25th, 2025 - 22 comments

Winston Peters’ Ministerial statement in Parliament yesterday was a disgrace. Echoing other FiveEyes leaders such as Keir Starmer, unable to distinguish evil from good, he accused those who can of “moral posturing.”

The existential moment we are in

Written By: weka - Date published: 10:44 am, June 2nd, 2025 - 26 comments

As the world re-entangles and pushes our interdependence to the foreground, we need a new thesis on freedom.

RNZ’s report on its Israel/Gaza coverage is not credible

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:13 pm, May 18th, 2025 - 1 comment

Radio New Zealand’s decision to conduct a review of its Israel-Palestine coverage post-7 October 2023 is commendable. We believe the presented report does not meet a credible standard in terms of breadth, methodology and analysis.

On Gallipoli and Gaza

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 8:37 pm, April 27th, 2025 - 11 comments

Gallipoli was then. Gaza is now. Gallipoli was a disaster, driven by arrogance and incompetence. Gaza is an atrocity, driven by unconscionable evil.

AUKUS. We “share values” with people committing genocide??

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 11:29 pm, May 20th, 2024 - 46 comments

Western leaders like to talk about values, shared values, common values. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) says the US and Israel have a partnership based on shared values. I believe them.

Rules-based cricket disorder

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 10:22 pm, July 6th, 2023 - 12 comments

“It isn’t cricket” supposedly set the ethical standard around the British Empire for over a century. Last week saw Lords, the ‘home of cricket,’ validate a damning report about racism, elitism, classism and sexism in British cricket just days after it was issued.

Medical gender transition in New Zealand: How common is it really?

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:05 am, November 25th, 2022 - 42 comments

Laura López decided to explore and analyse the available evidence on medical transition in New Zealand.

Tranquillum

Written By: Incognito - Date published: 7:28 pm, December 6th, 2020 - 134 comments

Don’t expect a jellyfish to grow a spine, they just bob along on the current and keep moving, gently, slowly, kindly.

NZ Medical Association drops its opposition to the legalisation of cannabis

Written By: weka - Date published: 6:05 am, October 13th, 2020 - 38 comments

“So after staunchly opposing the legalisation of cannabis all year NZ Medical Association chair Kate Baddock has issued a statement and apology, in the middle of voting, saying actually the NZMA has “no position regarding the cannabis referendum”” – TVNZ political journalist Benedict Collins

Should Parents and Teachers Defy the Government?

Written By: Bill - Date published: 4:02 pm, May 16th, 2020 - 66 comments

School’s back on Monday, but the medical community is still struggling to understand covid 19

A Response to ‘No Exit’.

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 1:48 pm, May 3rd, 2020 - 91 comments

In a recent post, Bill hit his straps with – “Either way, wind power won’t save us. Solar power won’t save us. Carbon capture and storage won’t save us. Your God won’t save us. Nothing but ourselves will save us.”

I felt miffed and more than a little grumpy at Bill’s flippant reference to God, and so sent through this long form response. ~ Adam.

How Not to Engage in Public Debate

Written By: Incognito - Date published: 7:00 am, April 15th, 2020 - 95 comments

The best way to engage in public debate on the lockdown is to be open, clear, and transparent and show the facts. A press release full of beliefs and reckons is unhelpful and irresponsible.

Quick Question.

Written By: Bill - Date published: 12:39 pm, March 8th, 2020 - 61 comments

Your material life; would you trade it for the world?

Update/edit.

Interesting that the definitive answers all ran in one direction.

BREAKING NEWS: Simon Bridges Calls on Simon Bridges to Stand Down

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 6:30 pm, February 18th, 2020 - 5 comments

BREAKING NEWS: Simon Bridges calls on the leader of the opposition to stand down while the SFO case is before the courts.

Known Knowns and All the Other Ones

Written By: Incognito - Date published: 12:49 am, January 4th, 2020 - 6 comments

We cannot know everything and our only option is to trust others who know stuff that we don’t.

It Is the Thought That Counts

Written By: Incognito - Date published: 12:33 am, December 28th, 2019 - 70 comments

Antagonistic personalities are an obstacle to effective politics tackling major present problems.

TWP – sorted?

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 12:10 am, November 4th, 2019 - 15 comments

A guest post from Chrissy Thomas on Te Whare Pounamu, Dunedin Women’s Refuge.

Te Whare Pounamu #3

Written By: Bill - Date published: 1:40 pm, September 7th, 2019 - 3 comments

Survivor Backs Refuge.

Te Whare Pounamu #2

Written By: Bill - Date published: 6:30 am, September 5th, 2019 - 4 comments

Are congratulations in order Ang! Are you perhaps patting yourself on the back for some part you played in RNZ dropping a major story on serious issues at Te Whare Pounamu quicker than a hot potato and then seemingly propelling it to obscurity faster than a .45 bullet? Maybe not. Maybe that’s just what happens. […]

Te Whare Pounamu – Are Children Really Safe?

Written By: koreropono - Date published: 10:52 am, September 4th, 2019 - 7 comments

How seriously do Women’s Refuge, the Ministry of Social Development and Te Whare Pounamu management take child abuse concerns? This requires greater scrutiny.

Te Whare Pounamu #1

Written By: Bill - Date published: 9:21 am, September 2nd, 2019 - 17 comments

When an organisation that exists to help abused people, itself abuses people, I suspect many people will have a lot to say. Here’s my initial take.

Same old dirty National

Written By: Incognito - Date published: 7:00 am, May 30th, 2019 - 179 comments

National is still embedded in Dirty Politics.

Billionaire pledges to pay off class of 2019’s student loans

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:57 am, May 21st, 2019 - 50 comments

Billionaire investor Robert F. Smith was invited to give the graduation speech at Morehouse College, his old school, and stunned everyone when he deviated from prepared speech notes.

10,000 lies

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 3:36 pm, May 2nd, 2019 - 64 comments

The Washington Post tracker of Trump whoppers suggests that he has told his 10,000th presidential lie.

Reflections on Free Speech and Public Discourse

Written By: Incognito - Date published: 7:00 am, April 15th, 2019 - 119 comments

Silencing dissonant voices only leads to more and stronger dissonant voices and further radicalisation.

Walking the Human Rights Tightrope in NZ Prisons

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 8:45 pm, April 1st, 2019 - 114 comments

The question of prisoners’ rights has hit the news today. That’s rare because we don’t normally care.

A new Guest Post from Maggie puts the case that we walk a tightrope when we seek to simplify the complex issues at play in prison.

Legalize it!

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 9:55 am, January 12th, 2019 - 51 comments

A new poll shows solid support for legalising cannabis. Is the 2020 referendum a done deal?

Julian Assange and the Streisand Effect.

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 6:45 pm, January 7th, 2019 - 161 comments

Wikileaks has tried to silence media organisations on behalf of Julian Assange. Why is a ‘transparency’ organisation opposed to free speech and have they made things worse for the Aussie hacker?

UPDATE: The list has been leaked. Link in post.