Thanks for the link, Stephen.

__Most of what they discovered violates cultural assumptions, but only some of it will surprise feminists. The biggest non-surprise (to feminists) is that the mythological wife-killer—a man who is generally a good husband but snaps when he discovers an infidelity—is a myth in…

But I agree with you, on the face of it, about the police action in giving him his sword and his passport without making inquiries. Perhaps there are parts of that we don't know about, but it looks bad.

I would presume that the police were only legally entitled to…

It makes me so sad. I'm just hoping something good can come from this.

The small mercy may be that it will underline and amplify the current family violence campaign, in which I now feel even more glad to have been involved (if you were watching NZ TV Tze Ming,…

One things for sure – the name of the street will haunt the police if they have screwed up.

And the Herald obliges: Sub heading of 'Keystone Cops' and a bullet point of 'Why it took them so long is just one of many questions arising from a sensational case…

If anyone thinks these facts are just some Women's Refuge conspiracy to 'guilt trip' men, then we are in trouble.

Tangentially, it really is amazing – and frightening – how many blog and website commenters in NZ and overseas actually think that these kinds of statistics are just dreamed up…

Murder, coming to a street near Xue. Sorry, I couldn't resist a Jackie Chan moment.

Hmmm, maybe you better see someone about that.

That's not even how you say it. It's like 'Shwear'. I'll save the rest of my opinion on that 'joke' for my ulcer.

So, another fatality through…

Murder, coming to a street near Xue.

Sorry, I couldn't resist a Jackie Chan moment.

Hmmm, maybe you better see someone about that. My humour is as black as OJ's butt, but your little zinger is inappropriate.

Something that…

The purported cuteness of little Maddy had no effect on me, despite her larger than life-size picture being plastered over every European customs terminal I've passed through in the last three months. Italian bakeries. Swiss bus shelters. The sides of cardboard box houses of homeless people.

It is quite stunning…

They are either covering up their mistakes or simply don't care about 'Chinese' people.

When this…

Sorry, I couldn't resist a Jackie Chan moment.

Wait a minute, it's actually the kid's name – little Qian Xun. Duh. I plead the '4:00 am blogging' defense.

Uh, really? 千寻 is literally "thousand searches". I just assumed it was the nickname they gave to the little lost girl (you know, lost --> search, etc.). Is this parental…

Um, so quite innocent then? Her conviction WAS overturned, you know.

I've found it amusing how my "quiet Mt Roskill street" has miraculously moved suburbs and is now in Three Kings according to the Herald today.

That's to fill the void left when the Real Estate agents moved
3 Kings into Mt Eden ...

First there was immediate acknowledgement of Qian Xun's status as a New Zealander and by extension, her parents. Asians are New…

Without the space constraints of newspaper headlines, we're back to form... and now the Herald is even turning to rhyme: "Pumpkin case: Gone without a trace"

As Jimmy Hayes said above, smacks of a weird editorial decision.

Refreshingly, on Campbell…

Wait a minute, it's actually the kid's name – little Qian Xun. Duh. I plead the '4:00 am blogging' defense.

Oh, 千 as in qian jing? I'll post you dumplings when you've abandoned your long-suffering parents again.

Do you think the search in Portugal/Europe for Madeleine McCann might go better if the media kept calling her Popsy?

The NZ Herald is relishing calling the girl by the nickname the Melbourne po-po have given her – Pumpkin. This leads to headlines like "Pumpkin parents had separated", which sounds like something from one of those Sesame Street sketches where Kermit did news reports on fairytales.

A good vege. headline…

And where are these dumplings you talk about?

Ummm, in Geneva?

This is only because the child was left in another country, right? Back in our own country we still use race as the default signifier.

The classic Donald Horowitz line (that Huntington quoted): "An Ibo may be ... an Owerri Ibo or an Onitsha Ibo in what was the Eastern…

This leads to headlines like "Pumpkin parents had separated", which sounds like something from one of those Sesame Street sketches where Kermit did news reports on fairytales.

What's funny is that they had to use this name to begin with, and then when her real name came out, someone in…

The little girl is gorgeous, but most little kids are at age 3 or thereabouts, even white ones.

I am of course, including my own lily-white little moppets in that assessment. They were outrageously cute at age three.

The little girl is gorgeous, but most little kids are at age 3 or thereabouts, even white ones. I have a sinking feeling of dread about her mother – I so hope that I am wrong.

I think that Jimmy's right – if…

I really like the way you manage to introduce some humour into what seems to be a very sad if not sinister story.

These are barely quibbles though, and it's actually refreshing to have seen the girl reported as a "New Zealand child" from the beginning.

This is only because the child was left in another country, right? Back in our own country we still use race as the default signifier. There's not…

Yes, but maybe underwear wearing in the middle of winter could be construed as odd unless he has Kung Fu Mammoth Skin Skill.

As for the mother Annie Liu, unfortunately my sources say there are very deep and…