Dave has gone to Thailand for a month. Despite the fact that he's now several thousand miles closer, not being able to talk to him every day or two means that it feels like he's several thousand miles further away. I miss him already and he only left two days ago :o(

The resignation of Don Brash as Leader of the National Party came as no particular surprise to me, however I must admit that in some ways I'm sad to see him go, oddly enough. Although his time was definitely drawing to an end, I feel sorry for him in that his real goals were never realised. I guess for me the thing is that he's been the National Party Leader for the time when I was most involved in NZ politics and so for better or worse, he's the one that I associate with the National Party. I never saw eye-to-eye with his policies and I hated the fact that he rolled Bill English, but he was the leader and for that commanded some level of respect. My best wishes go to him, his family, and the party.

In other news, former Russian Spy Alexander Litvinenko has died and 160 people have been killed in car bombings in Baghdad. My prayers are with the families of all those who lost family members today, for whatever reason, wherever they may be.