Rebels With New Shoes

"London's burning" and "Anarchy on the streets" read the headlines. So what's really going on in London's surrounds, and why?

It began with a peaceful protest against the police shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham. That turned violent and destructive. Then came the copycat displays of disorder. It seems to be loosely organised and very chaotic civil disobedience. Mother England is a country with a large police force and a larger cohort of all-seeing eyes in the form of surveillance cameras. After the 7/7 bombings, they fear terrorism. They fear anyone acting out, anywhere and for any reason. So how did this happen? How do hundreds of hooded or masked youths bring chaos to town centres? Live television shows the wanton destruction of other people's property, as police retreat in paddy wagons.

What has caused a small and disjointed guerilla army of young people to go so feral? Is it the hot summer, the tertiary education funding cuts, the high levels of unemployment, the cuts to youth community funding or the fact that the iPhone 5 hasn't yet been released? Why did the Met (and other) police not see this coming?

The answer: it's the perfect poison of social networking and instant information meeting the young and the restless. There is no real cause, there's just a platform for violence. It's not a revolution. It's mass disobedience. The fuel for the fire is the anonymity.

Five Things We Should All Be Doing In The Wake of Christchuch's Tragedy

1. Calling our friends and family and seeing how they are. Talking helps. It gives meaning to the confusion in our own heads and forces the emotion to the surface. We all need to grieve this loss, in our own way, together as well as alone.

2. Checking we're well insured. Almost everyone is under-insured and that's not a good look when you have to replace every single thing in your home.

3. Keeping a supply of food and water handy in our homes. Because food and water are the last thing we want to worry about finding when loved ones are missing in the chaos.

4. Getting to know our neighbours. They may be people you see only through the windows as they eat their dinner, but they could be the only ones around to save your life. Talk to people. It'll help you and it may well help them. We need each other, now and in times of crisis.

5. Getting our heads ready. It's easy to check all the tangible items off Civil Defence's list of must-haves. But preparing our own coping strategies is absolutely vital. Mental clarity and courageous calm is such a skill in a crisis and we must all master it before it's really needed. Or we simply will not cope. We must know how to think about our world once it's changed forever. And what to do so that we can simply cope.

Survival Kit Essential Item: Mum's hugs - epiry: never?

If Christchurch has taught me anything, it's that being prepared is great. But it's also an impossibility. Bottled water, tinned food and some painkillers. A substitute toilet and some old clothes. But none of that will help us through the cold and shaken nights we'll spend awake, wondering, desperate for a dream pass out of that nightmare.

I've realised that the most important preparation is psychological. My generation know virtually nothing of life without the basic amenities. If, say, the power went out for days, we would find things really tough. Or would we? Is it possible that the survivor lives in all of us, waiting for that time when our world really has crumbled around us. Are we all capable of that steely resolve? Could any one of us on board a packed commuter train rescue the injured and broken from wrecks of buildings? Do we have that hidden and reserved ability, that stoicism, to just carry on and preserve life? I hope I do, and I hope I'm not alone when disaster strikes my city.

We can pack all the tinned food and warm clothes we like, but can we function with little to no sleep? Can we walk for miles in lieu of usable roads? Waking up on cold mornings to walk down the road, just to use a toilet. Could I cope? Would I sit inside the Portaloo and sob? More than likely. I'd just want a hug from my mum.

I doubt there's a way of teaching people to cope with disasters. Without living through one, could we really steel ourselves for the lack of basic services? Would our frustrations boil over? Would we escape the region however we could? I think the only way we will ever know is to live it. And I hope to God we never have to. I'm as prepared as I can be, but I'm frightened that's just not enough.

Kia kaha Christchurch. We are still thinking of you, still praying for you and still wanting to help in any way we can.

megznz's photostream

megznz's photostream on Flickr.

Oh, Christchurch

Tuesday shocked us all. An already shaken Christchurch was rattled to the core and this time it was during the day. Photos and videos emerged, quickly, as they do these days. It looked like another country, a country we could easily shrug off and forget. But no, this was our country. And our people were scattered in the streets, injured and filled with adrenaline. The human spirit took over what shock and fear suspended. People just got to work and started putting their panic towards helping others.

I was in Wellington and the first I knew of this was when I overheard a colleague mention something about an earthquake. I'm a bit of an earthquake nerd so I perked up and noticed that she was at the GeoNet website. I quickly found my way to the national seismograph network's page. A vertical black line dwarfed the horizontal lines representing each seismometer. There had been a massive shake. From Waipu Caves to Wether Hill Road, the black line was bad.

Ten minutes earlier, I had left the office to indulge in my daily ritual of chocolate covered almonds. While waiting to cross Willis Street I looked up and wondered if these were the eerie conditions Ken Ring had warned about on February 14th with his article "Earthquakes again in Christchurch?" Those odd cloud formations I'd seen whilst walking the previous afternoon. The drops and hikes in barometric pressure I'd been feverishly monitoring via GWRC's met stations. Yes, these were the conditions. And Christchurch was the venue for utter destruction. I'd been hassling my partner that our disaster kit wasn't up to scratch and last weekend, we restocked. I was sure it was coming, for us.

I began to wonder why Christchurch had been struck again. Why, considering Wellington is known to be so overdue for a massive shake? I felt a strange and horribly selfish guilt for Christchurch, that somehow they had been given our fate. I just wish I could do more than donate to the Red Cross, offer Christchurch friends a place of stable refuge and pray for better news. People all around town have a look of guarded sadness in their eyes. They're sad, but stoic. Such is the reality of living here. Our shaky isles are beautiful but ever restless.

I'd like to fast forward to ten years from now. This disaster's victims are remembered fondly, not frantically. The city is mostly rebuilt, except for councillors haggling over which sculptor to commission for which piece and where. The suburbs are humming again with buses, cars and big-box hardware stores selling home improvement at the lowest possible price. Such is the peace that time passed will bring. But for now, courage is Canterbury's constant companion. Kia kaha Canterbury.

Excellence.

Spending all day watching the Sopranos, meerkat cake, good friends and bad spinach. Oh and dogborrowing. WITH PICTURES.

Gawd what a week.

I spent Friday night out at Makara watching the sun go down with the S.O and one very cool Canadian.

I spent Sunday watching the Sopranos and ironing. And eating meerkat cake.

I spent Monday vomiting and feeling generally shite. I left work at 10am having chundered three times and occupied one of the two toilets on level 4 for most of the two hours I was actually there. For that, there is no picture.

I spent Tuesday at work and 20 minutes on the phone to the Lower Hutt public health office informing them of my experience with bad fucking spinach. But I'm very glad I didn't get this. For that, there is also no picture.

Wednesday and Thursday were rather uneventful but I did meet a Beagle called Rose who I may dogborrow. Rose and I might go to the park one day for a run around. That would be fun. For that, there will be a picture of Rose when I dogborrow her.

Now it's Friday and I'm listening to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. For which no picture is ever needed.

Happy birthday nana, all our love.

Implant to Prevent Teen Pregnancies

is the headline of a story from the Taranaki Daily News. It goes on to say:

The Pharmac-funded Jadelle implants, which protect against pregnancy for five years, were launched nationwide in August and will be available from Taranaki Family Planning in a couple of weeks.

What the f!@#?

Pregnancy is not a disease or or infection to be prevented. Society is in a bad way if that's the point we've reached with young people and sexual choices. That is all I have to say. Oh and I know there's a typo in the quote above - it's verbatim from the article, great work Stuff online editors, Taranaki Daily News and Sacha Molloy (AUT student)

Kia Kaha Canterbury

September 4th, 2010 will be remembered for a very long time by Cantabrians and New Zealanders alike. Almost everyone in NZ has friends, family or associates living in Christchurch so it's relevant to all of us. To all the people of Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region: be strong, stick together, stay safe and know that we will support you in any way you need.

We are never safe from nature's awesome forces here in New Zealand. This is a timely and shocking reminder that we live in a shaky little cluster of islands atop a mass of active faults. All we can do is be prepared and hold on.

The Solution to the Obesity Epidemic and the Energy Crisis

Use exercise equipment to generate power. You want to sit on the couch in a warm, well lit room and watch TV? On ya bike! Seriously, why are we not using our spent energy to create energy?

Lol of the Day

is this eager photographer in Hamilton.

Christmas Gets on my Nerves

I don't really like Christmas outside of the boozing and the time off work. The part I loathe the most is the tacky decorations. I refuse to decorate my desk, for goodness sake it's where I work and in my book, where Christmas decorations are, alcohol should also be. Since drinking at my desk is clearly against company policy, the decorations aint happening. I'm looking forward to when all the tinsel and baubles get packed away.

I feel sorry for my grandmother. Her birthday is on Christmas day.

Our Heroes Don't Die - They Just Go Crazy

I was born in 1989. The year the wall came down. The Erebus tragedy predates me. Elvis predates me. All manner of things predate me. Like pop stars dying from drug overdoses.

Our heroes don't die. All the heroes of popular music from my childhood and adolesence are still with us. With one exception: Michael Jackson. His death is, for us late-eighties kids, a funny thing. our heroes survive. They go to rehab, they fade out of the spotlight, they re-form their old bands and go on hardly successful reunion tours. But they don't die. Elvis died. Jimmy Morrison died. Countless other rockers and popstars gave their lives to the lifestyle. But not our generation.

The King of Pop's death is both saddening and a new phenomenon for us. We're not used to our heroes shuffling off the mortal coil. Shaving their heads, going on drug binges, losing custody of their kids, having very public meltdowns and dysfunctional relationships are acceptable to us but dying is something else.

So Mr Jackson, it may take my peers and I a while to realise that you're gone for good. Gone too soon.

To the hero of our generation.

Beautiful Photos

As you may know, I love animals and I love photography. I'd like to recommend a blog I came across which combines the two so wonderfully: Gecko's blog, Gecko With Canon. Gorgeous photos and great work!

End of the World?

Tsunami, earthquake, another earthquake, typhoon... end of the world?

You're Never Too Old

to enjoy a chip sandwich.

Stalking Hitler's Descendants

I don't really like the work done by a customs official and a journalist who claim to have tracked down 36 more of Hitler's relatives. Unless these folks have a proven link to the Nazi atrocities or any other criminal act, they should be left alone to live their lives. Stalking them and studying their used napkins is frankly disgusting.

The Super Ridiculous City

The arguments over the proposed new governance system for Auckland are ridiculous. Everyone's wheeling out their usual issues and oh god Delahunty is speaking again.

Hey Greenpeace

The real criminals are amongst you.

Bye Bye Clayton

Enjoy prison. Hopefully the parole board are as disgusted by you in 18 years as the country is now.

Why Does a Weather Presenter

Need to introduce the 6pm news? Just get on with it!

Farewell to Mr Pop Music Himself

Rest in peace Michael Jackson.

Perhaps the most moving statement I've read is this from Liza Minnelli:
"He was a kind, genuine and wonderful man. He was also one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived. I loved him very much and I will miss him every remaining day of my life.''

Please Would Someone Give Trevor Mallard a Smack as Part of Good Parental Correction

that is all.

Could Swine Flu

be the cure for obesity?

Wellington's Wonderful Weather

On the Bain Retrial

When the Bain murders happened in 1994, I was learning how to read and write in my new entrant year. I've now nearly finished a university degree and the man acused of the murders has just been found not guilty in his retrial. Justice is a funny thing. Justice is administered by humans.

We Will Remember Them

Tomorrow is ANZAC day. As I am heading out of town for the day, I won't have the chance to post an ANZAC message. So I shall post it today. It is as follows.

ANZAC day is a time for rememerance, grief, thanks, thought and commitment. 'Commitment?' you ask. Yes, commitment to the ideals of peace, the trust in non-violent means of resolving conflict and a resolution that we have moved on as a global community from the horrors of world war. Having said that, we must also respect and value the sacrifices that military personnel the world over made for our continuing peace and prosperity. To them, we are thankful. We will remember them.

It's Not the Drinking, It's the 18 and 19 Year Olds!

The NZ Herald has a good article regarding the proposed changes to alcohol laws from the Law Commission. I agree with all elements of it. While I consider drinking to be a personal responsibility, the article's argument about the cost to society of drinking is very important. $5.296 billion is no small sum. I would suggest that ACC requires a fairly substantial shake up as no doubt a sizeable chunk of that $5.296 billion comes from ACC funds. Raising the drinking age could go some way towards reducing student debt. However the police would ultimately end up arresting and processing a great many more underage drinkers. Tightening the drink driving laws would result in more police, courts and corrections time and resources being used to combat the 'alcohol problem'. Thus, the excise tax would have to be raised quite a bit to cover the extra costs to the government. It's all a complicated balance, moving away from an established equilibrium state creates all sorts of problems that the government will have to both plan for and deal with. Otherwise, I am in favour of changes to laws relating to alcohol consumption in NZ. A walk down Courtenay Place or a chat with a checkpoint cop on a Friday or Saturday night would convince anyone. When I was 18 I thought 18 was just fine for the legal drinking age. But as I've grown older by two and a bit years, I've realised that at age 18, there are few people who know their limits and actually stick to them without causing a myriad of social harm to both themselves and the people close to them.

That's just a really quick view of what I think of these proposals. This criminology essay won't write itself so I really must stop procrastinating.

Violence Ruins People's Lives

It's fair to say that the outcome of the whole Tony Veitch saga is that at least two people have had their lives ruined. Kristin's life will never be the same again as a result of the injuries she suffered. Tony's life will never be the same again as a result of the intense media scrutiny he has been through since the saga became public. I won't even get in to who suffered the most or who will suffer for longer because it's irrelevant. What saddens me the most is that two people's lives are irreparably damaged.

The lesson that must be learned is that violence ruins people's lives. It ruins the confidence and trust of victims. It ruins at the very least the careers, finances and reputations of perpetrators. All become victims where domestic violence occurs. It's time for the media to stop obsessing over the details of this case and simply move on. Justice has been done through the courts, and whether you agree with it or not you have no power to change it. You do, however, have the power to never get yourself into a situation where you use violence against a person you love.

Let's all learn from Tony Veitch and Kristin Dunne-Powell's sorry situation. Violence is never okay. I really do hope the public of New Zealand look at the terrible state these two people are in now and tell themselves that will never be them.

On Predators

There comes a time when a civilised society must recognise and systematically reject the predators that live within it.

Stricter Laws or Simply Parenting?

"A 14-year-old boy who froze to death after binge drinking has prompted a coroner to urge the Government to tighten laws on pre-mixed drinks. Malcolm Nicoll died last July after he freezing in - 2degC conditions following a night out drinking. He was found unconscious on a Taupo hockey field, and died from intoxication and hypothermia, an inquest into his death has found. Malcolm had been drinking pre-mixed Cody's Colt bourbon and colas, which have an alcohol content of 12 per cent."

WHERE WERE THE PARENTS?!

I am so sick of this bleating. The boy was FOURTEEN and should NOT have been consuming alcohol in that quantity (arguably any quantity but that's a parental decision inside the parental home). That he died is a reflection of his parents' FAILURE to provide care. It is not the fault alcopop makers and marketers. Absolutely ridiculous. Of course they market at teenagers - EIGHTEEN year olds who have just been granted the right to drink and want something cheap and tasty that does the trick quickly.

Oh it makes me so mad. Sure it's tragic that he died but the parents MUST take responsibility for their failings here.

Just Doing Their Job

Oh Christ. Here's another one from the people aren't responsible for their own law breaking choices file. A 17 year old girl died at the Perth Big Day Out because she panicked and took 3 ecstasy tablets outside the entrance to the festival after seeing police and drug sniffing dogs. Now those drug sniffing dogs, apparently, increase the risks of drug taking.

Drug taking is a risky choice, regardless of the circumstances. This is why drugs like ecstasy are illegal. I have no sympathy for people who make more bad choices after making bad choices and then turn around to try to blame the very people charged with protecting society and maintaining law and order. It beggars belief how these people can blame the police for just doing their job. It's time people faced up to the fact that they are responsible for their choices and cannot blame others who simply are not at fault.

Conclusion: silly bitch shouldn't have messed around with ecstasy. She had choices and she repeatedly made the wrong ones. The police are NOT to blame for her choice to not only acquire illegal drugs, but to carry them into a situation where she knew drugs were not tolerated. To then "panic" and down all three of them was the worst choice of all and it killed her.

I feel sorry for her parents. I don't doubt they did their best in raising their daughter and for as long as they could, they made good choices for her. Ultimately, her poor choices have killed her. It's a shame, but let it be a lesson to anyone who knowingly carries illegal drugs in circumstances where a police presence is inevitable. I also feel sorry for the police, who are just trying to enforce the law and have been dragged into the saga of the poor choices made by a 17 year old trainee hairdresser from Perth.

What the Fuck, Seriously

Grant at No Minister has a post on the maiden speech of Green MP Catherine Delahunty. I watched it on TV and as my comment on Grant's post says, I almost lost the will to live. I was kept from leaping off a bridge by the comforting thought that the right are in power and these lefty lunatics aint. However, just for laughs, I decided I'd go through Catherine's bio on the Greens website. Oh boy.

"She left university halfway through her B.A. and moved to the Coromandel where she learned to milk goats and grow vegetables as well as throw fleeces in the only Buddhist shearing gang in Aotearoa."

Because goat milking and fleece throwing skills are really something to be proud of. Totally worth quitting uni for. Degrees don't prove useful in life at all... You can offer the country so much more because you're a capable goat milker and you're down with the Buddhists.

"She has a history of challenging corporate polluters, and a deep interest in developing decision-making processes which involve everyone."

Everyone... everyone except anyone who actually makes money or creates jobs...

"Catherine is one of the newest Green MPs but has been high on the Greens' list for several years, just missing getting into Parliament on several occasions."

Only now is she being inflicted on our Parliament. I look forward to the cough contributions she will make in the next 3 years. I am so, so glad she is in the opposition because power in her hands would be downright dangerous.

Just Imagining This is Horrific

'I saw a sheep alight running through a paddock ... it was just horrific'

Sincerity

I cannot help but be touched by the compassion shown by Australian PM Kevin Rudd. He's constantly shown amongst bushfire victims, speaking with children and embracing the devastated. Clearly emotional, he spoke to Sky News and I really did see compassion you don't often note in politicians. Victoria Premier John Brumby has shown similar compassion, as has NSW Premier Nathan Rees. $1000 ($Au) grants have already been made available to Victorians effected by the horrific bushfires. Meanwhile, huge parts of Queensland are under water. A land of contrasts.

Dixon Dies in Prison

Many have commented on Antonie Dixon's death in prison. I'd like to suggest that perhaps finally Dixon is at peace. Whatever suffering and torment he lived with is now gone. This is perhaps the best outcome for Dixon's victims and their families, but it is also sad for Dixon's family. The families of institutionalised mentally ill people are faced with constant stress and worry, as well as guilt that they are not able to care for them. Investigations into Dixon's death are necessary, however it must be noted that Dixon was a very dangerous and disturbed person. It is nearly impossible to prevent a suicidal prisoner from harming themselves whilst providing them with some sort of quality of life.

Trust Cameron Brewer

Typical behaviour from Cameron Brewer here:

Cameron Brewer, general manager of the Newmarket Business Association, said the power meltdown was a disaster for local business owners. "Businesses in Newmarket have been without power since just after 1pm," Mr Brewer said. "With the sales and fine weather there were a lot of people in Newmarket and this couldn't come have come at worst time for local businesses."

It's a power cut, Brewer. They happen from time to time. Quite why he couldn't have gone on TV and said, "ah yeah it's a bit inconvenient but you know, it happens. You just deal with it and wait til the power comes back on." But no, he had to go have a sulk and be quoted by the Herald being a prat. At the Righto Chaps residence, we got out some battery powered radios and continued with our day. The don't open the freezer rule applied while our power was out for 2 and a half hours. I spent most of it reading a book in the sun.

Clearly, Brewer hasn't learned from the bad press he got after banning Rodney Hide because of his legendary jacket. Cameron Brewer: prat.

Haddin Cheats

Gloves scoop together to clutch ball and bails are dislodged. Haddin's gloves are clearly in front of (over) the stumps (thus making the ball in question a no-ball anyway).

Regardless, we still beat the cheating bastards. Good to see potty-mouth Ponting has been dropped ("rested"). His language on-field was absolutely shocking.

I Don't Believe This

The pregnant 14 year old has been caught drink driving again after escaping CYF custody.

From NZherald.co.nz: Mr Dimery declined to comment further on the girl as her "shocking" case was "part of an issue that's bigger than the individual and not unique to Northland".

Oh right so choosing to drive drunk, unlicensed and 4 months pregnant isn't actually her problem, it's all the fault of the lower alcohol age limit.

Yeah, right.

Where's the personal responsibility here?

"Banks Milk Credit Card Customers" - give me strength!

Stuff has an article headlined "Banks Milk Credit Card Customers". It's another in the long line of banks = bad, customers = victims. It irks me to see banks help us as such nasty evil institutions exploiting their customers. No bank forces its customers to take out a line of credit in the form of a credit card. In fact banks are quite specific in who they offer credit cards to. Thus, people with credit cards are deemed low-risk by their bank, or in layman's terms: good for the money. Customers know the interest rates when they sign application forms for credit cards and read the terms and conditions associated with the issue of their card and credit line. If a customer fails to read the documentation issued by the lender, any misunderstanding is the fault of the customer. Credit cards are high-risk for banks. The reality is that New Zealanders owe circa $3.5 billion on their credit cards. Banks are right in charging high interest rates because funnily enough they want their money back! As a customer chose to take the line of credit from that particular bank, they are stuck with the rates, fees and conditions they signed up to.

Financially illiterate kiwis are a toxic blight on our market. Banks are businesses, they're out to make money. People who bitch and whinge because the OCR drops and they're stuck with a high-interest credit card or mortgage should shut up and accept they got duped. Concentrate on paying the debt down and once it's all paid, stick it to the bank by moving your custom elsewhere. Don't whinge that the ratees are too high once you've spent all the money they bank will give you. Funnily enough they want their money back and interest on your debt is an effective way of getting you to cough up.

The bottom line is this: taking out a line of credit from any institution requires that the customer does their homework and understands what they're signing up to. Take a bit of personal responsibility.

Yours Is Here

I ordered myself a laptop from Dell's website on January 21st and it arrived on the 28th. I was very impressed given that there was a long weekend in the middle of that and Dell's intensive advertising aimed at the back-to-school market made me think there might be an assembly or delivery delay. Very impressed with Dell's speed and everything seems to work fantastically. Just set up Bluetooth with my phone and can happily publish this photo of my precious Ella sleeping next to me on the couch:

Excellent work Dell. Very impressed with my new toy and it won't be long until Studylink pay for the laptop (course related costs, so I do have to pay for it someday). Also, great work Dell on minimising the plastic packaging.

Trapped in a 9% mortgage?

Well that was f*cking stupid wasn't it?

I'm sick of hearing people whinge about banks charging hefty fees for breaking the fix on their loan's interest. You signed up for it! Perhaps before signing an important contract like a mortgage, you should have educated yourself on the way the debt market works. Perhaps you should have waited and bought a house, say, recently when property prices are falling and interest rates are coming down. Don't blame banks, blame yourself for being so financially illiterate.

New Toy

I am now blogging from my new laptop. I got myself a Dell Inspiron 1525. Cheap, but it does everything I need. I had a ridiculously expensive (and 2 year old) HP with a terrible battery and a tendancy to turn off without warning. Not to mention that the lid didn't close... Sigh. Fortunately it's still useable as a DVD player so it will be coming with me when I relocated to Wellington in 3 weeks time.

I'll Try to Be Optimistic

Pregnant girl, 14, accused of drink driving

I'm hoping that this is the absolute bottom of the heap, the lowest of the low. I'm hoping this is the pits of humanity and that there can be no worse than this. But maybe I'm being overly optimistic.

How long until we hear about a pregnant 13 year old hooked on P and robbing old ladies of their handbags?

I really do wonder where this country is headed to upon hearing of people like this. No child deserves to be born to a mother that stupid. What is the source of this decay in our society? Where does tolerance of this sort of behaviour come from? Who can we blame? What can we do? Is education the answer? Is free contraception the answer? Are benefits to blame?

Legal beagles: what does the law say about pregnant women who knowingly endanger the life of their unborn child?

Australia Day - One to Forget

Australia had their national day earlier this week but I couldn't help noticing it was marred by several unfortunate incidents... and that's without mentioning the cricket.

First there's Man found shot dead at Burleigh Heads
Then there's Man drowns off beach
How about some Racist violence on Australia Day
And to top it all off Ricky Ponting takes blame for thrashing in one-day game against South Africa

Poor buggers!

Hype and Expectation

So Obama the Great was sworn in yesterday, along with his sidekick Joe Biden-his-time. I woke up and was seated on the couch at 5 minutes to six yesterday morning but I managed to fall asleep half way through the Great One's speech. Maybe it's the cynic in me, but the hype building, America-congratulating motivational stuff really doesn't inspire me. Yesterday it seemed like everybody wanted to be an American. Everybody had a claim to Obama somehow, from Hawaiians to Kenyans to the descendants of slaves. One lady in tears told of how she planned to visit her mother's grave, place an American flag and tell her that "we're free". Dunno where she's been for the last 45 years but blacks have been free for a while now. Sure, a black president is a bit of a big deal. But I would have thought the getting elected part was slightly more important than sticking you hand on a bible and fucking up the oath of office. I hate to think how disappointed Americans may be in a couple of years when it's time to re-elect Obama the Great. What the economy isn't a picture of health and the health system isn't an economical picture? What if disparities in living standards persist? What if home-ownership for minorities keeps backfiring? His Greatness will have some serious rhetoric to spout then.

Forget Obama, this guy is the man

That man deserves a DB.

A Picture Tells A Thousand Words...

Let's not forget that the two tourists who were killed at the Franz Josef glacier yesterday walked 15 minutes beyond the roped off viewing area. It's still sad, and it's still tragic but these men chose to ignore safety precautions designed to stop people from being in danger.

"People visiting areas like the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers needed to respect safety barriers and notices."

Exactly.

ACC: WTF?

Some quotes from ACC's FAQ section:

"But when a person is released from prison they can apply for lump sum payments for injuries incurred before or during their sentence, including compensation for impairment sustained while committing a crime."

Are you fucking serious? We pay people to commit crimes? Fucking hell. Oooh and here's the cost: read it and weep, folks.

"‘No fault’ means that no matter what you were doing when you were injured – whether your actions caused the injury, or were illegal or dangerous – you will be covered by ACC, so long as the injury falls within the parameters of ACC’s legislation."

Oh christ.

No fault ACC cover is the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas. People will never be responsible for themselves while we pay them to commit crimes or acts of sheer stupidity resulting in injury.

Fat Chance

I had an idea recently. Here it is. Special parking spaces for fat fucks who have to waddle everywhere they go. Such parking spaces will be placed as far as possible from the entrances to malls or stores so as to make the fat fucks walk further than anyone else. Quite how this shall be policed I don't know, but it simply must happen. If the fat fucks must take up space in malls and shops, they should have to walk further to get to them.

Buy NZ Made Because Um... It'd Be Really Nice?

The government has suspended the Buy NZ Made ad campaign. Bloody good. It's insulting to be told to buy locally made goods. It's as though we're presumed too thick to realise that buying locally made goods generates profits for local businesses and entrepreneurs and/or artists. Most people can work that out for themselves. It's like saying, you can go to the big bad supermarket where they're rude to you and it's cheap but you can't find what you want, OR you can go down to uncle Pete's store and he knows what you want and he'll help you get it. Who would say no to uncle Pete? Only an accountant...

Also: most of those "NZ made" goods are really just NZ assembled goods. Mostly, the raw ingredients were imported from overseas and then assembled in NZ. That doesn't mean it's New Zealand made. That means the NZ customer pays some manufacturer offshore, the freight forwarding company, the numerous other middle-men, THEN the NZ "maker" who just gets the bits and puts them together, then says, "oh look, buy our shit!" Doesn't stack up if you ask me. I'll buy good quality, functional products at outlets where I receive good service and feel comfortable spending money. If that happens to be an artist in Nelson or an importer's store, it matters not. The location of the last person to touch the product I'm about to purchase doesn't really matter to me.

Unions. Oh I Just Got Started.

National want to get their 90 day trial period for workers legislation through parliament quickly. Why? Oh because it might just encourage employers to take people on without the threat of costly legal bullshit if the employee turns out to be an incompetent waste of space. In today's economic situation, anything that encourages businesses to hire people should be applauded. It's not a hire and fire at will law like Labour say it is. What sort of business would waste resources recruiting, selecting and training an employee with the intent of dismissing them after 90 days? Believe it or not, lefties, employers want to hold on to their best workers and they want to offer those workers the highest possible wages and the best working environment. Seriously, employers will never win any praise from unions. Look where excessive union demands got the US auto industry. Unions need to shut up and deal with the fact that businesses which sized their workforce on growth and a flexible credit market are having to adjust their situation. Sure, losing your job sucks, it's something I've been through when my dad lost his job due to a takeover by a big US company. There are always more jobs out there. That first job after a redundancy might not be your ideal job, but it's a job. No one says you have to stay in that job. If a better one comes along, withdraw your labour: pack your photoframes and personalised sationery and leave.

It grates on my nerves hearing unionists and left-leaning folk harping on about how cruel employers are and how fundamentally different they are from poor, hardworking, bottom-ogf-the-heap employees. Workers are not stripped of their rights. Employers want to grow their businesses, they want to hire more staff and they want to pay those employees a wage that is at a good level. Employers and unions have a lot more in common than they seem to think. Both want economic growth. Both want happy workers. Both want healthy and safe environments. Ditch the "oh but workers need protection" bullshit. Workers get protection from all manner of ills and spills. No business should be forced to give employees what the business can't afford or what a worker is simply not worth.

The whole concept of unions really does seem so dated. What employer would want to pay an employee a pittance and see him/her show up for work having not eaten breakfast because the cupboard's bare? What sane employer would knowingly expose a worker to an unsafe environment? But on the other hand, what employer should be forced to subsidize jumbo sized families? Unions have a role. Some people are too thick to know their rights at work and there are definitely some c*nts for employers out there. But unions are the constant friction who keep the "class war" alive.

And EPMU staff seem to have absolutely no regard for yellow lines on the road outside their office either. Two of their union-marked cars parked on yellow lines, the drivers appearing in no hurry or seeming to have no legitimate reason for parking where parking is not permitted. Sums unionistas up really.

Saving Us From Ourselves Again

So when times get tough and the mortgaged to the hilt latte sipping lefty whingers are feeling the pinch, what does the Reserve Bank do? Drop the OCR, that's what. Damn the rest of the people out there who are trying to save money. Dropping the OCR and expecting banks to pass on the cut is a fucking joke. Reward the people who got themselves in too deep by buying that house, that car and those holidays at the height of the market and punish the people who decided to put money away for a rainy day.

Times are tough, people need to accept that. Anyone who's recently locked themselves into a mortgage at a sky high interest rate should be taken out the back and shot. These people chose to come play the borrowing game and now they're crying when it gets tough. You took out the mortgage, you signed the contract and you're responsible for getting the money together to pay the damn thing back. If you're incapable of reading market conditions and picking the right time to buy a property and/or take out a mortgage, you deserve what's coming to you.

Also, to the tourists stuck in (or now on their way home from) Thailand: sorry but the government does not have to help you. You chose to go to this country, you get yourself out of there. Air travel is not the only way out of Thailand, as Cactus Kate has so helpfully pointed out. Peter Cresswell and Annie Fox are so right. Too many people these days find themselves with a problem and simply cry out to the government for help when it's a problem they can easily solve themselves.

I'm sick and tired of being punished for the recklessness of other people. Why should I take a cut in interest just because people who bought massively overpriced property are struggling to pay back their mortgages and finance their lavish Christmas celebrations? Times are tough folks, tighten your belts. Chucking it all on the credit card might have worked last year, but things are different now. We've all enjoyed the good times of recent years and spent up large on just about everything. Now the economy is in the shitter and everyone's whinging. It's not a new thing. Capitalism is crisis prone. It's a boom and bust system and those booms and busts have been happening for as long as we've been trading.

As for Auckland City Council's plan to move the homeless on from the streets of the CBD, bloody good thing. The CBD is where the majority of tourists to Auckland stay and tourists are the source of a lot of NZ's income. Our city needs to look great to tourists and if that means moving the stinky, overweight homeless-by-choice people on, so be it. In a welfare state like NZ, there really is no excuse for being on the streets or begging for spare change. Get off your arse, make an effort and get your life together. It's what the rest of us do and keep doing on a daily basis. There's no excuse. Addicts can get treatment, the mentally ill can get both accommodation and medical help and the displaced can get themselves to places like the City Mission.

The bottom line: stop whinging, buy less shit, have a leaner Christmas and wait it out. We all loved the boom while it was on, now we've got to get through the recession. Now if you'll excuse me I have a job to go to and money to save.

We Will Remember Them

Two days late, I know. Armistice day is something so few young people know about, yet all of us are affected by. Last weekend we went to the polls for our freedom. These men went to war for our freedom. They gave their time, their energy and some their lives. We sent ten percent of our population to fight. Eighteen thousand lost their lives. Forty one thousand were injured and spent the rest of their lives suffering physically and emotionally. It's vital that we remember 11/11. It's vital that we teach our children about the wars fought by New Zealanders. To love is to serve. And boy did they serve.

Look at this cutie!

Stolen from the WaPo.

Justice for Emma

Liam Reid has been found guilty of the rape and murder of Emma Agnew and the rape of a Dunedin woman. Finally there is some justice for the families of these two women. Let's hope Reid gets a sentence to fit his disgusting crimes. Emma's family will never have her back and the Dunedin woman will live with the rape for the rest of her life, but I hope Reid is kept out of the community for a long time.

on Fox

So Helen's little trip in Christchurch yesterday made it on to Fox News' Around the World in 80 Seconds. You can view the little trip as it was reported here. The only mention of St John on the Fox site is this article.

Amusement

the Debate

So Uncle John and Uncle Helen are battling it out on the TVNZ YouTube debate. I was seriously unimpressed with Helen's reference to John Key yelling at his wife and children. That's low. I'd vote for Key as the winner of the debate, but it costs 99c. So I'll declare Key to be the winner here. And the debate's not even over.

Universal Student Bribes

Labour's tertiary education policy could be seen approaching a mile away. Behind in the polls, Labour had to do something to court the student vote, just as they did in 2005. But guess what Labour, most of us students don't plan to be at university in 2012. In fact, I actually intend to be paying tax then! Shock horror.

The verdict: too little, too late. Looks pretty desperate alongside National's commitment to literacy and numeracy.

Don't vote Labour, folks. Vote for a party who's idea of managing the economy is more than just spending all your money. Vote for a party who's vision extends beyond the entrenched welfare dependency they've fostered for the last nine years. Vote for a party who are dedicated to economic growth, infrastructure, education, a healthy health system and a better New Zealand. Let's put an end to die-while-you-wait healthcare. Let's make education an investment in our young people as opposed to a nationwide chain of daycare centres. Let's trim the bureaucracy and flatten the state management structure. Let's show people how to stand on their own two feet and be proud of their achievements.

New Zealanders have a choice on the 8th of November. Vote for the status quo of ridiculous laws and teenager in a mall type spending. Or vote for a change of government that has New Zealand's prosperity as its first priority.

Green on the Outside...

Green party supporters were asked to stop handing out party pamphlets at a recycling drive by the organiser - one of their own supporters! A carload of them showed up to drop off some e-waste and couldn't resist the chance to get pamphlet happy. Meanwhile the National party volunteers were out in force, wearing their blue 'Key People' t-shirts and actually doing some work. That about sums up the Greens really, all talk about saving the planet but when it comes down to it they're just full of rubbish! The Nats were also on 3 News' coverage of the event, but there was nothing from the greens except hype from their campaign launch.

Hmph!

How dare Victoria University push enrollments back a week?

Hmph.

Now I really do have to write my history essay today.

Mulligan Magic

I loved Andrew Mulligan's line last night during The Crowd Goes Wild:

"More merchandise than a garage sale at the Deaker's!"

Awesome!

The Bailout in Pictures

Also another NYT interactive feature worth a look here

Some Sense in NSW

This from the SMH. Sense highlighted in bold.

The NSW government should direct its energy into encouraging more responsible use of alcohol, rather than band-aid measures focusing on labels and advertising, state Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell says. Mr O'Farrell was responding to NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca's comments to Fairfax newspapers that alcohol use was taking its toll on the health system. NSW Health figures reveal 40,000 people are admitted to state hospitals each year for alcohol-related injuries and illnesses, Fairfax reported. Mr Della Bosca is pushing for changes that include warning labels on alcohol, no alcohol ads on television before 9pm if not a complete ban on alcohol advertising. But Mr O'Farrell said the government should do more to encourage responsible behaviour by individuals and not try to be everywhere at once. "The key to fixing binge drinking or binge eating is personal responsibility, not some band-aid measure," Mr O'Farrell told reporters. "Government isn't big enough to be standing beside every person on every occasion to make the decisions for them. That's why personal responsibility is the key." The figures show young women aged 18 to 24 recorded the greatest increase in alcohol-related hospital admissions. The NSW government is also rolling out a trial of specialist nurses to deal with patients seeking treatment showing drug- and alcohol-related symptoms. The program will base nurses at Campbelltown, Liverpool, Royal Prince Alfred, Concord, Newcastle's John Hunter hospitals and the The Children's Hospital at Westmead at a cost of $1.5 million.

By Della Bosca's logic we should require warning labels on all kitchen knives and only advertise them after 9pm because people get into all sorts of strife when they use them irresponsibly...

$1.15 million and Still No Justice

An internal review of the police investigation of the Kahui double homicide case cost $1.15 million and there's still no justice for two innocent babies. $826,000 for lawyers to say, well we'll do things differently next time. Not good enough. Someone needs to be made accountable for the horrific injuries which lead to the death of two innocent babies. We can't let this sort of thing happen and then just say we'll do it differently next time. That's not justice. That's fucking disgusting.

Story: NZ Herald

Another Fine Example of What Our Taxes Get Spent On

James Raymond Warren Samuells, 20, appeared in the Tauranga District Court for sentencing this afternoon after earlier admitting charges of burglary, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, and eight counts of using a firearm against police. His co-accused, Yana Poata, 18, was jailed for six years. During the trial, the court heard how on January 21, Samuells and Poata stole a firearm and van from a Ngongotaha property, then led police on the chase. During the pursuit, Samuells repeatedly shot at police. He also phoned police and told them that if they did not stop their pursuit he would shoot his "hostage". When the van was eventually stopped by police in Waihi, Samuells ignored orders to drop his firearm and instead aimed the rifle at a constable. The officer fired one shot, hitting Samuells in the lower chest. Samuells' lawyer, Roger Laybourn, told the court that as a result of being shot, Samuells had undergone numerous operations, could no longer walk, and had had his pancreas and spleen removed. Samuells spent months in the Otara Spinal Unit and now required a full-time caregiver.

From: Stuff

This idiot will be suckin' on the state tit for the rest of his life and he could have just made better choices.

Duck, Duck, Pukeko

My father came home with an interesting work story today. One of the ladies from marketing noticed a mother duck fussing near a drain, then she saw one of her ducklings fall into the drain. She enlisted the help of a male colleague who retrieved the poor wee ducklings from the drain and off the six of them went with their mother. About an hour later, this lady came back to tell my father that they were all happily in their field waddling about and wasn't it just so lovely. They'd saved the poor creatures! And then before their very eyes, a pukeko appeared and smashed one of the ducklings in the head then carried it away into the bushes. The lady from marketing cried. That's just the way of nature, she was told.

Driven to Drink

A woman stopped twice within 24 hours for drink-driving while dropping her children off at primary school, will be allowed to continue to drive until she appears in traffic court.

The 48-year-old was stopped at a compulsory breath testing site at 9am yesterday on Centaurus Road, Cashmere, in Christchurch, and was nearly three times the legal limit.

The woman was dropping her primary school aged children off at school and blew 1199mg, Canterbury road policing acting senior sergeant Greg Murton said.

The legal limit is 400mg.

Today she was stopped at 8.45am, again as she dropped her children off at their primary school.

She this time blew 695mg.

Grumpy

I'm grumpy. School holidays for most kids started today. I hate school children and I wish they didn't get holidays. They were everywhere in town today and they'll continue to be everywhere for the next two weeks. The only way I can cope with the little menaces is to earn my part-time living from them and their overworked parents. Excellent.

Shocking State of Affairs

"In the last quarter of 2003, there was no wage earner in about 50% of single parent households with dependent children. This is a constant trend."

From: http://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/corporate/statement-of-intent/2004/statement-of-intent-2004-part-a.pdf

Campaign 08: Tertiary Education Debate

Tertiary education minister Pete Hodgson armed with a hot dog at Auckland University's Tertiarty Debate, (wonderfully) organised by AUSA.

Maori Party leader Pita Sharples in full swing

MP for Tamaki Allan Peachey

And in the end it comes down to policies. National wants to drive growth in the economy and offer tax cuts to ease the pain of high living costs. Labour want to "move towards a universal student allowance" RAM, the Greens and the Maori Party reckon tertiary education should be free and ACT think that education is a good that we purchase for our own betterment.

Allah: Working for Families

A Muslim cleric in northern Nigeria who has 86 wives and 107 children has been arrested and charged with breaking Islamic laws governing marriage. Authorities detained Mohammed Bello Masaba, 84, yesterday after an order from northern Niger state's Islamic court, according to police spokesman Richard Oguche. He was charged with "infringing on Islamic laws," Oguche said. Muslim principles forbid men to take more than four wives. Masaba says Allah helped him to maintain such a large family. "A man with 10 wives would collapse and die, but my own power is given by Allah. That is why I have been able to control 86 of them," he has been quoted as saying in Nigeria's local media.

Source: NZ Herald

Death and Destruction Tour of the World

25 dead in LA - train crash
4 dead in Texas - Hurricane Ike
16 dead in Bolivia - political unrest
88 dead in Russia - plane crash
20 dead in New Delhi - terrorism
72 dead in Pakistan - terrorism
24 dead (discovered) in Mexico - possible organised crime
14 dead in Iraq - religious suppression of the media
30 more dead in Iraq - car bombing
1 dead in Beirut - car bombing

All figures from CNN's world section

RIP Prof. David Cole

From the University of Auckland's website:

Professor David Cole, the second Dean of The University of Auckland’s School of Medicine, died early today. He was Dean from 1974 to 1989.

An eminent cardio-thoracic surgeon based at Greenlane Hospital he was among the first appointed to the teaching staff of the new school, established in 1968. Over the next few years took up the role of Associate Dean of Graduate Studies before being named as Deputy Dean and later succeeding Professor Cecil Lewis, the Foundation Dean.

"In the 15 years David Cole headed the medical school, he took it from a fledgling medical training establishment to something much closer to the multi-disciplinary teaching and research-based Faculty we know today," said the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Professor Ian Reid.

"This was very much the maturation period for medical training in Auckland, and the Faculty, University and medical community in Auckland will long be in David Cole’s debt. He was instrumental in developing the research core and culture that underpin today’s Faculty, and played a major role in galvanising support for teaching and research activities from the wider community.

"Our sympathy is with his family and his many colleagues and friends inside and outside the medical fraternity."

Link: http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/about/news/articles/2008/09/david_cole.cfm

A Vote For Labour...

Lindsay's hit the nail on the head again with this post.

On Sarah 'Chuck Norris' Palin

Jesus has a bracelet that says, “WWSPD?"

Absolute gold.

From: palinfacts.com

3 Words:

"DRILL BABY DRILL"

RIP Nippy

Wellington Zoo's 60 year old gibbon Nippy has died. Not bad for a species who don't normally live past 40! Condolences to the Gibbons, friends and staff of Wellington Zoo.

Lyrically Speakin'

This from John Mellencamp's 2001, 'Peaceful World'

People know this world is a wreck
We're sick and tired of being politically correct
If I see through it now but I didn't at first
The hypocrites made it worse and worse
Lookin' down their noses at what people say
These are just words and words are okay
It's what you do and not what you say
If you're not part of the future then get out of the way

--

The money's good and the work is okay
Looks like everything is rollin our way
'Til you gotta look the devil in the eye
You know that bastard's one big lie
So be careful with your heart and what you love
Make sure that it was sent from above
It's what you do and not what you say
If you're not part of the future then get out of the way

--

Racism lives in the U.S. today
Better get hip to what Martin Luther King had to say
I don't want my kids being brought up this way
Hatred to each other is not okay
Well I'm not a preacher just a singer son
But I can see more work to be done
It's what you do and not what you say
If you're not part of the future then get out of the way

Very Gerry

Heh, Gerry Brownlee is in fine form. He's insulting the Labour back bench with typical brilliance. He was equally brilliant last night at a public meeting I attended, saying that in their caucus meeting tomorrow they'd be discussing how best to attack the government, but that they might just leave them to it, with the ETS and Winston causing problems for the Labour government.

I just want Helen to call the damn election. I want to know whether it's during my exams - which will be a problem for university students across the country. Auckland University's study break/exam period is October 25 - November 17. Other universities have similar dates, give or take a week.

Tasers!

So Howard Broad has decided to give the all clear for NZ police to carry tasers. From my (limited) knowledge of the situations involving the use of tasers, there may be issues with mentally ill people and there may be issues with racial targeting by police. Note the may.

On another note, perhaps Margaret Wilson could do with one to keep the members in order. "Would the member please... oh bugger it... *grabs taser and points at Rodney*..."

Rebel, Rebel

Russia has recognised two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states, escalating tension in the volatile Caucasus and putting Moscow on a collision course with the West. Check out the photos here at Reuters, they're awesome.

GWB had this to say: "Russia's action only exacerbates tensions and complicates diplomatic negotiations."

Uh-oh.

"That's how I express my expressions"

The above pearl of wisdom is from All Black Jimmy Cowan. He's referring to rugby's influence on his life. Good on Jimmy for wanting to beat the bottle and become 'a better man'. I strongly support anyone trying to pick up the pieces after booze-related problems. So Jimmy, if you're reading this, I'd love to take you out for a coffee. Because I think you're doing really well.

Window etching costly new style of tagging - police

This from the Herald:

Police in Christchurch say a new form of tagging in window etching has cost tens of thousands of dollars damage in the past few weeks.

Hmm. It's hardly new, boys. It's been happening on our buses here in Auckland for years. Messages are etched into either windows or seat backs, using repeated straight line scratches. The reversed R (Я) comes from the metal band Korn - or at least that's the first I've seen of it in popular culture anyway. Feel free to offer clarification there if you can.

Why I Love Mt Hobson

To call Mt Hobson a mountain is stretching the truth really. Mt Hobson is a large hill in the suburb of Remuera. It is situated approximately ten minutes drive from central Auckland. From it's summit, the views are stunning. Mt Hobson even has its own residents, who I have photographed when I visited them on Monday with Millie and Jessie, the two Border Collies who I look after. On a sunny Auckland day, a trek up the muddy Mt Hobson is a delight. One can see out to the harbour, across to Musick Point, out across the Tamaki river and as far west as the Waitakere Ranges. It's wonderful to see the city from such a close vantage point, as well as the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Millie and Jessie spend half an hour or so running around the summit plain, down into the crater and as close as they dare get to the cows. It's wonderful to be so close to the city, yet there's peace and quiet and a little slice of rural New Zealand amongst the motorways and the high rise buildings.