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.

Boston bomber makes Rolling Stone cover

Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, a move that’s being described as glamourising terrorism. The music magazine said it chose Tsarnaev after contributing editor Janet Reitman spent two months interviewing dozens of people connected to him, including friends, teachers and police