Hi Peter
Kicking ethics review committees is a bit rum. Especially given NZ and Australia's past use of social science to kick indigenous people, which is one, amongst other sobering reasons that we have these committees. As Chair of Canterbury University's ethics committee I think your characterisation of the committee's is reasonably offensive, though perhaps you have had unfortunate experiences in the past. Whatever else those who sit in the committees to examine social science research are your peers and colleagues and community members whose work (without pay) makes your research possible. Come to Canterbury if you strike problems again, we'll be only too happy to have you come through our conversational approach to ethics review, where we attempt to model the best of collaborative and trust making ethics processes. In the meantime, would you know anyone who could justify, from the academic literature, the use of the special treatment question? Because no one seems to want to reply to the original point: if there are one thousand ways to ask that question without echoing that politicized phrase, and given how much scholarly work has gone into criticising the use of that phrase, what possible scholarly reason could justify it's use? I just wish someone would answer with empathy and a respect for the human dignity of those questioning the use of special treatment.
Cheers Lindsey Te Ata o Tu MacDonald

As usual, Creon nails the culture. But for me it's the politics or at least the lack of political traction; in Wellington last week it became apparent that nobody, esp the journo's and pollies gets the Anger. The visceral fury of Christchurch citizens. At Rik Tau's tangi
at Tuahiwi today, the Marae was a sparkling (and lovely, wonderful) contrast to those of 10,000s of us yet to finalise the scope of works let alone get a payout or a fixed house (& so, so much worse, which people are enduring down here in their 1000s,; I don't know how) And Wellington seemed to be completely oblivious to the reason for our silence. That Brownlee and his powers mean we cannot speak since he hold the purse strings for each and every rebuild. If you think that this is paranoia, you're not from Christchurch... God how I wish for an opposition in Parliament that gave a shit about Christchurch, and would hold Cabinet to account for its failure to replace the failed experiment of using as a linch pin a Minister who seems of incapable of building relationships with the city, let alone assisting with that rebuild. Let's make it really clear, Auckland or Wellington have more cranes in their CBDs than we do down here.
People have and continue to do amazing things down here, but the failure of the political machinery to do justice to those people leaves me without words... He aha te mea nui ....

Re Vodafone.

I gave up with my vodafone problem. I emailed the chief executive, saying that they were once slick and cool and fast and now they were as effective as the manager of the flight of the conchords. He cc'ed me into a email send to a manager who sorted it all out for me. If everybody does that who knows what we might achieve... imagine, perhaps even good service.