Hide and Seek

Environmental group Sea Shepherd can't find the nasty Nippon whaling fleet in the vast Southern Ocean, and is urging the Ozzie govt to help.

Its ship Steve Irwin left Western Australia on 18 Jan., to disrupt the annual hunt. SS says the whalers have greatly expanded their area of operations in the Southern Ocean, and this makes finding them very difficult.
Japan maintains it's trying to prove the whale population is big enough to sustain a return to commercial hunting, and says it has to kill the mammals to carry out its 'scientific research' properly.
Australia - leading global efforts to persuade Japan to halt whaling - has previously floated the idea of sending a customs vessel to monitor the hunt, but there's been no follow-through.
SS's Paul Watson: "SS was expecting that Oz or NZ would uphold their obligations as responsible members of the International Whaling Commission, to send a ship to intercept the Japanese whaling fleet. This does not seem to be something Australia or New Zealand are willing to do." He's calling for them to provide SS with the exact

"What? You expect me to be actually do my job???"

coordinates of the fleet.
Oz Environment Minister Greg Hunt is non-committal on the suggestion: "We do not accept...the concept of killing whales for so-called 'scientific research'. We will continue to urge Japan to pursue non-lethal methods of research and end its unnecessary whaling programme. Australia is committed to the protection of whales and we will continue to work with the international community to promote whale conservation and uphold the global moratorium on commercial whaling."
As you can see, he's saying nothing at all. And if you're expecting anything better from NZ Foreign Affairs Munster "Womble" McCully...think again. He can't even say ANYTHING on the subject... let alone anything of substance!
It appears as if, once again, the people's elected representatives sit comfortably in their ivory towers doing nothing, while the people's eco-warriors struggle on their own...

Sports Illustrated Finally Gets REAL!

This year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition is making waves...
for all the right reasons.
Thanks to voluptuous Ashley Graham, the cover has made history - as the first to feature a plus-size woman since the annual edition started in 1964. The shoot features the 28-year-old brunette, who is best-known as a lingerie model for the plus-size clothing store Lane Bryant. (Remember the controversy in 2010 when US TV channels refused to play Lane Bryant ads featuring Ashley...?)

The US-size 16 lingerie model (that's NZ size 18) Ashley says the shoot is for "every woman who felt she wasn't beautiful because of her size...you can do and achieve anything you put your mind to."
The 2016 Swimsuit Edition also features Ronda Rousey and Hailey Clauson as the stars of its two alternate covers. (Rhonda is an American mixed martial artist, judoka, and actress. She is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, as well as the last Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. Hailey Clauson is an American fashion model who has been the face of Dsquared2, Jill Stuart, and Gucci.)
It's the first time in 50 years that Sports Illustrated has featured cover stars representing three different body types. SI's assistant managing editor MJ Day: "All three women are beautiful, sexy and strong. Beauty is not cookie cutter. Beauty is not 'one size fits all.' Beauty is all around us and that became especially obvious to me while shooting and editing this year's issue."
FINALLY Sports Illustrated has seen the light!

Valentines Day 2016

So...how did YOU spend your Valentines Day?
With someone special? And did the earth move for you?
Hell, it sure did for me! THIS just happened...a "severe" 5.7 earthquake just off the coast and only 15km deep! It sure stirred things up, rollin' for about a minute!
And reports indicate it was felt up and down the whole country!