Canary in the Mine

The Government has backed down over plans to increase public access to waterways, saying there is "too much conflict" to introduce the legislation now. Pity it did not apply that logic to some of its other contentious legislation! But then, it wasn't falling behind in the polls then.

The next generation's violent criminals can be spotted by the age of about three, Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft says, but early intervention in the often troubled lives of these "human time bombs" is seriously lacking. (The article provides some pointers to look out for in kids.)

The Importers Institute has taken a dig at the government over increasing bureaucracy in the Customs Service: "Since 2002/03, the number of people employed by the New Zealand Customs Service has increased by 61 percent. In 2002, Customs employed 716 people. Today, it employs 1,274. Customs did considerably better than other Government departments, whose numbers have expanded by 'only' about 30% under the current Labour government. This sort of thing is known in government circles as 'capability
improvement'."

Student loan debt has reached mountainous proportions for some. New figures show the highest loan balance for a single student is $230,810.

I am seriously considering starting a website devoted to posting the idiocies that academics and bureaucrats say (and unfortunately teach). Here's an example: "In an important sense, a limb that is not experienced as one's own is not in fact one's own." Comes from a debate about whether surgeons should amputate healthy limbs of people who suffer from Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID). A Scottish surgeon has amputated at least two limbs from sufferers before he was told to stop. ~ Journal of Applied Philosophy, 1, 2005; blog.bioethics.net

American doctors are a religious lot. A survey of 1,044 doctors has found that 76% believe in God, 59% believe in an afterlife, and 55% allow their religious beliefs to influence how they practice medicine.

More than 80 per cent of Italian men aged between 18 and 30 still live with their parents and a new study says it is because they are "bribed" by mum and dad. The study found high rent and unemployment might also be among the reasons for so many mamma's boys. However, mostly they stay at home because they are spoilt by doting parents.

I'm sure you know the King Kong trailer is out. If you want to see it, you will find it here.