Stuff

John de Bueger

Haves. Have nots. Have plenty of trouble

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

Last week, events in England overshadowed the never- ending saga of Western indebtedness. When the first pictures of mainly Afro-Caribbean rioters in hoodies appeared, it was easy to conclude that it was the inevitable end result of multiculturalism;

A pity they can't see the wood for the trees

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

There was an interesting front-page story in the Taranaki Daily News last Friday concerning the objections of Federated Farmers to the projected sale of several eastern Taranaki hill- country farms to a foreign buyer for forestry purposes; the application for change of land use is currently with the Overseas Investment Office (OIO).

Nice vases - but a lot of junk, me old China

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

Last week saw a picket line at Port Tauranga - a demonstration of trade union muscle that for those of us who can recall the pitched battles and brouhahas of yesteryear is now thankfully rare.

So Mr Thompson, ever had a hangover?

Comment

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

Alasdair Thompson of the Employers and Manufacturers Association got into deep water last week for blundering into that minefield where even angels fear to tread. He crossed swords with union boss Helen Kelly in an on-air discussion on the vexed subject of gender pay equity.

Don't mention the war - on nuclear power stance unworthy of smart nation

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

You've got to hand it to the Germans - this strange race has a weird tendency of periodically being unable to see the wood for the trees.

Why you should know your history

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

Over our years together, my late wife and I had an unspoken, yet clear understanding on the division of domestic duties.

Assassinating our veneer of civility

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

One of the more distasteful displays of subhuman behaviour occasioned by 9/11 was the eruption of spontaneous dancing in the streets of Palestine and other Mid-East centres as news of the collapse of the Twin Towers hit TV screens worldwide.

A republic? Not any time soon, thank God

Are you listening, Richie McCaw?

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

An identical scenario played out in many New Zealand homes last Friday night. He wanted to watch Super 15 (or even, God save us, crap basketball), while for the girls, the royal wedding was the only show in town.

Think Big - get rid of the lot of them

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

A couple of weeks ago, the perennially grumpy Gordon McLaughlin made a rather insightful remark on the radio. He blamed most of this country's problems on a single cause - bad governance over the last 30 years. He stressed that his remark was not directed at any particular party but at them all. Both have been as bad as each other with unaffordable, popularist policies intended solely for retention of power.

Truth behind the smoke screens

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

The media had a field day wallowing in the latest flare-up of Labour Party woes and the squirmings of the hapless Phil Goff trying to defend the indefensible.

Milking fear by nuking rational debate

JOHN BE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

Human beings pride themselves on being rational creatures, but very few manage to be logically consistent.

We're over the hill and the happier for it

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

The findings of yet another survey report on the eternal topic of human happiness were discussed on Jim Mora's "Panel" on National Radio last week. This time, the earth-shattering conclusion was that happiness increases with age.

Shaking society 's soft underbelly

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

The horrors that beset Northern Japan, with snow falling on countless numbers of hungry, displaced tsunami survivors, should be studied closely by civil defence organisations around the developed world, because eventually, there but for the grace of God go we.

Deplorable Disneyfication of death

JOHN DE BUEGER - © Fairfax NZ News

There was an interesting article about a depressing social trend in a recent Spectator. Theodore Dalrymple summarised highlights from his book on the public display of demonstrably insincere, morbid sentimentality.

Finding firm ground for our response

Following the quake, it was inevitable that media focus would shift from initial shock, through grief mode, to reflection on the adequacy of our seismic codes.

Why the plains we drained gave us such pain

All is not lost for those heritage buildings.

Time to put the bean counters in their place

Well, well, surprise, surprise. A PricewaterhouseCoopers report into police culture has found that management quality varies greatly around the country, and that some area managers haven't fully taken on board the implications of short- comings highlighted by the Louise Nicholas affair.