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Queue outside Kiwibank on bank day in Whanganui during the Covid-19 lockdown.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Living in lockdown

3 Apr, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Being in lockdown is a little like living out one of those dystopian movies.

It's all too human to act out the buying impulse, panic buying, as a hedge against the feeling of powerlessness in the face of the virus threat. Photo / File

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Coping through kindness

27 Mar, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Worry about what may be coming does little to help us cope with what is.

The claim that cannabis is addictive is one Harete Hipango keeps making but does not offer scientific proof. That's because there is none. Photo / File

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

MP's view on cannabis reform skewed by bias

20 Mar, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Hipango stated that she represented the Māori community. What about the rest of us?

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield during his update to the media on the response to the coronavirus. Photo / File

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

100,000 infected, 3400 dead - truth the best defence against coronavirus

13 Mar, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Jay Kuten: Democratic governments must be candid and truthful in informing its citizens.

To proceed the patient must be competent, their consent must be voluntary, free of external influence and continuous. Photo / File

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

It's not euthanasia, it's a choice

6 Mar, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Those opposed to the EOLC Act consistently use the term euthanasia - it's not.

Lab work at Helius Therapeutics Medical Marijuana facility in East Tamaki.

PREMIUM

Cannabis debate: More facts, less politicking please

28 Feb, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Fear-mongering is creating warnings of dire consequence based on no evidence.

The debate on human-caused global warming is over. We don't have to look far westward, to see our cuzzie continent burning, with the smoke coming over here.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Climate emergency declaration just the first step

21 Feb, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

The fact is, our planet is sick. God helps those who help themselves.

Acquitted of impeachment charges, President Donald Trump is now

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: A hard rain's gonna fall

7 Feb, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Trump, free of the threat of removal, is anointed by his Trump Senate party as a monarch.

Auschwitz Camp Birkenau Holocaust Concentration Camp.

PREMIUM

Jay Kuten: 15,000 children passed through death camp, only 35 survived, including my cousin Leo

31 Jan, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

It was their own very human sense of hope which fostered their gullibility.

Rau Williams (64), right, and his nephew Jim Shortland outside Whangarei hospital after Williams was refused kidney dialysis.

NEW ZEALAND

Deciding who lives and who dies ... it all comes down to money

24 Jan, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

What's our excuse for putting our elderly at risk?

While Iran, with its long memory, has seemingly stood down, avoiding direct confrontation and disastrous war.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

America the good guys; fact or fiction?

17 Jan, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Trump's killing of a high government official paints a target on anyone in the US govt.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Best of 2019: Jay Kuten: Cannabis 'evils' are noise

13 Jan, 2020 12:00pm
4 minutes to read

Legalising cannabis may give the far right a field day for trolling us.

Local iwi said a Whanganui councillor's comments were racially motivated at a meeting to name this local street. Photo / Lewis Gardner

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Comment: Why councillor should apologise over street naming gaffe

10 Jan, 2020 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Comment: The "naming" incident at the council deserves our attention and concern.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Best of 2019: Jay Kuten: Mid-life delusions and Paula Bennett

26 Dec, 2019 12:00pm
4 minutes to read

Given her self-appraisal, vulnerability is not an attribute of Paula Bennett

An End of Life Choice Bill debate at the Central Baptist Church in Whanganui last year.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

End of Life Choice debate rages on

13 Dec, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Jay Kuten responds to a Whanganui Chronicle column about the End of Life Choice Act.

Members of NSW police Strike Force Raptor unit with confiscated gang patches.

NEW ZEALAND

Comment: Importing police brutality

6 Dec, 2019 2:01pm
4 minutes to read

A NZ Strike Force Raptor won't improve safety. Ultimately police bullying affects us all.

Former US Ambassador to the Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, described how her dedication to the formal US relationship to Ukraine was distorted in a smear campaign that lead to her firing. Photo / AP

PREMIUM

Jay Kuten: US impeachment hearings breathtaking

29 Nov, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Gordon Sondland's statement corroborated the testimony of less central prior witnesses.

The End of Life Choice Bill has been passed by Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Religion should not influence dignity in death

22 Nov, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

The empowerment of the terminally ill recognises the right of an individual.

Togetherness and a hearty meal (in this case turkey, mashed potato and a side of sauteed broccoli rabe, corn and onions with crispy bacon) is the ideal recipe for Thamksgiving - a simpler, less stressful celebration than Christmas. Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten : In the spirit of generosity

15 Nov, 2019 11:17am
4 minutes to read

People here take for granted that Christmas is celebrated in mid-summer

Writer Jay Kuten feels an editorial was clearly written from the perspective of opposition to the End of Life Choice bill. Photo / 123rf.com

PREMIUM

Comment: The importance of accuracy

8 Nov, 2019 4:55am
4 minutes to read

Comment: Jay Kuten writes on the importance of accuracy.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was acting to protect the Christchurch mosque victims when she said the alleged shooter's name ought not to be publicised.

PREMIUM

Jay Kuten: What's in a name?

25 Oct, 2019 5:00am
3 minutes to read

Jay Kuten discusses the effect of anonymity.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Overwhelmed by climate change? Be inspired by Greta Thunberg

16 Oct, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

The bigger the problem, the more entropy accumulates with pressure to do nothing.

Those running to replace Donald Trump have 90 seconds to present their case.

PREMIUM

Jay Kuten: Saving the US democratic primary

9 Oct, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Those running to replace Donald Trump have 90 seconds to present their case.

Trump Ukraine scandal, impeachment.Photograph by Guy Body

PREMIUM

Jay Kuten: Impeachment - what does it mean exactly?

2 Oct, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Folks here are imperfect in their understanding of impeachment - here's the lowdown.

Those who chose to use e-Cigarettes need to know the warning signs.

NEW ZEALAND

Comment: Do you vape? It's killed eight people so far

25 Sep, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Comment: Oils combined with THC or nicotine at high temperature are believed responsible.

The Afghan war, in its 18th year, is America's longest war.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Reality TV and American war and peace

18 Sep, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

War in Afghanistan has no rationale, no actual legal basis, no clear reachable objective.

Local council elections ... it's time to decide

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Election for the future of Whanganui

11 Sep, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

It's local election time and columnist Jay Kuten discusses the important issues

Pacific Island people during their rally opposing the End of Life Bill at Parliament, Wellington.

PREMIUM

Jay Kuten: Trust and deception in the end of life debate

28 Aug, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Local politicians, Harete Hipango and Ian McKelvie have expressed distrust of voters...

PREMIUM

Jay Kuten: If it walks like a racist, talks like a racist ...

21 Aug, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Trump uses techniques of provocation along many of America's fault lines.

Jay Kuten regrets that David Bennett has decided not to stand for Whanganui District Council again.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: An open letter to David Bennett

14 Aug, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Whanganui District Council needs to play a role in mitigating global warming.

Jay Kuten says we can be proud of the Government's actions in the wake of the Christchurch mosque murders.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Hateful speech can result in hateful acts

7 Aug, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Jay Kuten encourages people to choose their words wisely.

Is the UK's new Prime Minister the next Donald Trump? Photo / Mark Mitchell

PREMIUM

Jay Kuten: Why civility matters

31 Jul, 2019 4:59am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Good luck UK, says Jay Kuten.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Opinion: Our harmful, senseless cannabis laws

24 Jul, 2019 12:52pm
4 minutes to read

Present system makes for harmful social policy on recreational cannabis, says Jay Kuten.

Speaker Trevor Mallard announces on May 22 that a parliamentary staff member has been stood down, pending investigation into sexual assault. Photo /file

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Alleged bullying by MPs cuts across party lines

17 Jul, 2019 4:41pm
4 minutes to read

Bullying may prevent a clear and honest debate on the issue of choice in the way we die.

Soundbite politics is how Donald Trump wins. Photo/ Andrew Harnik/AP/REX/Shutterstock

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Soundbites over substance is Trump's victory

3 Jul, 2019 4:59am
4 minutes to read

Policy is not the focus of "mindless, quiz show" debates.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Publish and he's damned

25 Apr, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Calling Assange a narcissist is psychobabble or misuse of diagnostic tags to diminish him.

National MP Maggie Barry and Act Party leader David Seymour at the End of Life Choice Bill debate in Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Do not go gentle into that good night

18 Apr, 2019 5:01am
4 minutes to read

When I first heard of the End of Life Choice bill I was skeptical and frankly curious.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Gun lobby too much say

10 Apr, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Any inquiry into the terror attack needs to look into the gun lobby's influence

Claims of endorsement of vaping by the Ministry of Health, the American Cancer Society, and Canada are simply false. Photo / File

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: E-cigarettes, that's the real name "vaping" is the sexier term

20 Feb, 2019 11:24am
4 minutes to read

Claims of endorsement of vaping are simply false

Vaping effectiveness ... opinions divided.

WORLD

Jay Kuten: More inconvenient truths

6 Feb, 2019 3:00pm
4 minutes to read

Just like the fate of real possums, that paralysis can be fatal.

Cannabis -- medicine, recreational drug and political tool.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Simon Bridges' pipe dreams

30 Jan, 2019 4:30pm
4 minutes to read

Simon Bridges is following in Richard Nixon's footsteps with politicisation of cannabis.

Junior doctors have gone on strike in Whanganui and around New Zealand. Photo / File

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Safety first for striking docs

16 Jan, 2019 3:00pm
4 minutes to read

Studies liken doctors' sleep deprivation, to 0.05 per cent blood alcohol.

From fire and fury to Kool-Aid - Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un. Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: New day dawning in United States

2 Jan, 2019 6:30pm
4 minutes to read

Hope dawns as Democrats take control of the US House of Representatives.

Jacinda Ardern holds her own in the banter stakes with American TV host Stephen Colbert.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Guess what ... the good and the bad of 2018

26 Dec, 2018 1:30pm
4 minutes to read

Trump v Ardern -- the bad and the good of 2018

Film producer Harvey Weinstein enters State Supreme Court in New York in October. The #MeToo movement made abusers in the entertainment industry accountable. Something similar is needed in other fields of endeavour. Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Bullying and abuse of power

12 Dec, 2018 4:00pm
4 minutes to read

What's needed is a clear understanding of frank and more subtle bullying.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Ghost in the machine

28 Nov, 2018 6:00pm
4 minutes to read

The story of computer technology is a tale of hindrance as well as help.

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: End justifies the means

21 Nov, 2018 6:30pm
4 minutes to read

Whitaker is in a position to warn Trump exactly how much danger he is in.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

The President's blood libel

14 Nov, 2018 5:00pm
4 minutes to read

Trump's language lit the fuse of Soyac's bombs and the explosions of Bowers' guns

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's war in Yemen has produced massive civilian casualties. Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Murderous darkness taints Saudi fossil fuels

24 Oct, 2018 3:00pm
4 minutes to read

Saudi Arabia annually cuts off more heads than Isis has done in all its years of existence

The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (pictured), raises a dark question for anyone who dares criticise governments or speak out against those in power: Will the world have their back? Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Now you see it, now you don't

17 Oct, 2018 10:00am
4 minutes to read

Trump, who admires strongmen, is not as interested in human rights as he is in power.

Senator Susan Collins is under pressure after voting to support Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: It's over? Judge for yourself

10 Oct, 2018 4:00pm
4 minutes to read

These hearings are not criminal trials. They are job interviews for high judicial posts.

Christine Blasey Ford and her attorneys Debra Katz, foreground left, and Michael Bromwich, foreground right, take a break during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington. Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Kavanaugh issues abound

3 Oct, 2018 5:00pm
4 minutes to read

Seating Kavanaugh would put the faith of citizens in the US Supreme Court in jeopardy.

Hey, now I'm a psychiatrist - Senator Rand Paul has taken to diagnosing Donald Trump's critics. Photo / Getty Images

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Psychobabble as a weapon

19 Sep, 2018 3:00pm
4 minutes to read

The Trump virus, once imbibed, erodes the spine, alters the brain and erases principle.

The controversial anonymous opinion article published in the New York Times on September 6.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Error to run spineless piece

12 Sep, 2018 8:00am
4 minutes to read

A genuine patriot would have resigned and then written his objections.

An American hero is farewelled. Family members follow a horse-drawn caisson that carries the casket of Senator John McCain, as it proceeds to the United States Naval Academy cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland, on Monday, for burial. McCain died on August 25 from brain cancer at the age of 81. Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: The true definition of a hero

5 Sep, 2018 4:00pm
4 minutes to read

John McCain had the mark of genuine heroism — strong at the broken places.

Former Reserve Bank governor and National Party leader Don Brash.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Chester Borrows' admission of profiting from racism is welcome

29 Aug, 2018 8:01am
4 minutes to read

If we could bottle Don Brash's boring cadences, we'd have a cure for insomnia.

Fred Rogers, the friendly public face of religion. Photo / Reuters

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Religion in the public space

22 Aug, 2018 12:00pm
4 minutes to read

End-of-life issues are too important to be left to politicians with a religious agenda.

Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2013 version of 'The Great Gatsby', another cinematic effort that fell short.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Gatsby Redux

15 Aug, 2018 8:00pm
4 minutes to read

'The Great Gatsby' feels right for the times, although Gatsby is timeless.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Choice, dignity in death

8 Aug, 2018 4:30pm
4 minutes to read

Jay Kuten on the end of life debate.

Melania Trump, with the notorious Zara jacket, knows the importance of parental support for children. Photo / Getty Images

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: A deliberate act of cruelty

25 Jul, 2018 8:00am
4 minutes to read

We ought to declare Stephen Miller, author of the contemptible policy, persona non grata.

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Chance can alter one's life

18 Jul, 2018 9:29pm
4 minutes to read

The iron rod ripped into his brain and exited through his skull, landing several feet away

Community groups march in downtown Miami, Florida on June 30 in protest against President Donald Trump and his administration separating refugee children from their families as they enter through the Mexico border seeking asylum in the US. Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Jay Kuten: Border crossing no crime for refugees

11 Jul, 2018 12:00pm
4 minutes to read

Separating children from parents is a terrorising technique of authoritarian states.