Tales from the Back Benches

It is a Wednesday night and The Backbencher pub in central Wellington is packed. Unless you have booked a table, it is standing room only and there are some familiar faces in the crowd – Justice Minister Judith Collins shares space with people holding signs calling for the legalisation of cannabis and a fellow who has made a Peter Dunne puppet.

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Shark death mocked in US comedy

An American stand-up comedian’s staging of a grisly celebration of the shark killing of Auckland man Adam Strange at Muriwai Beach last month has offended Kiwis. The Jeselnik Offensive hosted by Anthony Jeselnik had pictures of Adam Strange posted on the set as he staged a “Shark Party” on the pay network Comedy Central

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Yemen’s Dilemma: Caught Between Saleh and Al-Qaeda

Fireworks lit up the skies of the Yemeni capital of Sana’a on Tuesday night as Yemeni government officials claimed that President Ali Abdullah Saleh, recovering from wounds he sustained in an attack on his palace earlier this month, would be returning to the Yemeni capital on Friday, June 24. The president’s supporters made a raucous display of their joy by shooting barrages of AK-47 rounds into the air, similar to their display of support when news of his successful surgery reached the capital

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