Tiger Tiger Burning Bright

For the first time in the 46yr.history of Hamilton Zoo, NZ, a keeper has been killed by an animal.
Last Sunday morning, senior zookeeper Samantha Kudeweh was tragically killed by Oz, a male Sumatran tiger. Investigations continue into the circumstances.
Sumatran tigers are a rare subspecies found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and are distinguished by heavy black stripes on their orange coats. Experts estimate the wild population at fewer than 400. Although protected by Indonesian law and despite increased conservation efforts, a substantial market remains in Asia for tiger parts. Deforestation and poaching mean this critically endangered creature may become extinct in our lifetimes. The Sumatran tiger's future perhaps lies in conservation work in zoos around the world. Latest figures put the captive population at 235 globally – five of those Sumatran tigers reside at Hamilton Zoo.
So the bombshell - dropped by Hamilton City Council CEO Richard Briggs - that the council "has not dismissed euthanising" as a consequence of the attack, is of grave concern.
Sam had worked at the zoo for more than 20 years. She described the live birth of three tiger cubs at the zoo late last year as a career highlight. She loved working with these rare animals, and I believe, if she was alive, she'd be horrified by any suggestion of killing one.
I'm certain that wildlife organisations world-wide would be outraged, should this irresponsible statement by CEO Briggs gain traction. I'm not alone in this thought: a public Facebook petition – to save the life of Oz – already has more than 4,000 likes.
Losing Samantha Kudeweh was tragic. But killing a critically endangered Sumatran tiger as a consequence defeats the very purpose for which she worked with such passion and love.

UPDATE: 21 Sept.2015 - The zoo decides that Oz the tiger will NOT be euthanised after all...methinx in future Mr Briggs needs to engage brain before putting mouth into gear!

Maori Dodge A Bullet...Again

Maori caught driving without a licence in Sth.Auckland are being let off a $400 fine, and are being offered support instead!

"Holy shit, man, don't touch him! He's BRO!"

These most-curious Counties Manukau police guidelines are aimed at reducing maori offending. Bros busted behind the wheel without a licence, or in breach of their conditions, get referred for training and dodge the ticket that they're legally obliged to pay...just like the rest of us have to!
Superintendent Wally Haumaha, Police National HQ: "A panel looks at a whole range of issues that caused that person to drive without a licence or why that person hasn't had a licence, and then provides some support."

A real Wally?

Jeez, Wally, ya don't need a touchy-feely hand-holding support panel to diagnose their "whole range of issues" as:
1. Want to drive, eh bro.
2. Duuuh, don't have a licence.
3. Foo, cuz, gonna drive anyway.
4. After all, play lotsa Grand Theft Auto - so how hard can driving be? Chuurrr!
The policy is a part of a nationwide programme Turning of the Tide, aiming to reduce Maori offending. But Wally assures us it's not a race-based issue: "It just happens that more Maori drivers are unlicensed. So if they're unlicensed, we wanna know why."
Hmm, so maybe this Wally IS an actual WALLY!!! ANY programme targetting ANY race for ANY reason IS race-based. Get out the dictionary and start reading, Wally! I suspect you really mean that it's not racist! THAT is a completely different matter...
However, for now, all the rest of NZ sees...is Maori being allowed to dodge their legal responsibilities.
That IS institutionalised race-based favouritism. And it must stop!

Paddock Porn? Or Farm Fun?

An Aussie farmer could be deep in the excrement, after some country creativity.

Bruce Cook, who owns Kaktus Point Charolais stud at Lake Charm in northwest Victoria, made a sculpture out of hay bales, depicting a cow and a bull doin' da wild thang.
Police told him to pull it down, after they received a complaint about its 'offensive' nature. Bruce built his realistic artwork for a bit of fun - he says many passersby have enjoyed his sculpture and even stopped to take photos.
He's refused to deconstruct it, and reckons he "told the copper to piss off" despite warnings that he could be charged with publishing pornographic images:

It's just business as usual...

"I'm not going to take it down unless I receive a court order."
Cook says he'll be adding fairy lights to the structure and an extra two straw calves, made out of stuffed feed bags, to complete the sculpture. He's not fazed by the complaints but doesn't understand why anyone would find it insulting.
The local Kerang Police Station has not laid any charges yet - the matter's still under investigation.
You gotta wonder what type of warped womble would find this wee bit of farm fun offensive...!
I say: GO for it, Cooky!

Christchurch CBD A Dead Heart?

A Christchurch investor group is pulling out of the city, citing a lack of tenants for high-rise office buildings.
Cristo Ltd has abandoned plans for the BNZ site in Cathedral Square,

"A good heart these days is hard to find..."

and wants to sell.
The building's an eyesore, half-demolished for more than 2yrs while developers and businesses head west to the banks of the Avon River.
Cristo director Stephen Bell says tenants are not interested in the site, so development plans have stalled: "The high-end tenants have settled elsewhere and are not interested in coming back into the CBD. The possibility of building offices in the city centre now seems quite remote." Cristo has had similar problems at its other properties, and has sold four other vacant sites: "We've basically shifted the bulk of our investment activities to Auckland."
Cristo's in dispute with CERA (Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority) over BNZ House: CERA dismantled seven storeys of the building during make-safe work in 2012, then handed it back to Cristo, despite the contract being for a complete demolition. The discovery of asbestos in the building did not help matters.
Other developers too are being forced to adapt post-earthquake to survive. The flamboyant Antony Gough is offering businesses pre-EQ rents to lure tenants to his hospitality precinct The Terrace.
Canterbury Property Investments, which bought the old Press building with plans to build a replica hotel, says the days of office towers around Cathedral Square are gone. It thinks the square better suits travellers, accommodation and hospitality.
Developer Richard Peebles feels the hold-up is lack of progress on the new convention centre and the cathedral.
It certainly looks like the CBD pattern has shifted to the west, rather than the traditional clustering around the square. Local and central government pace obviously must pick up, or Christchurch will be left with a cold and mostly dead heart...

Maori Veto Vehicles On Volcanoes

NONE shall pass...coz Rangi says so!

Hands up, if you didn't see this coming!
Driving to the top of Auckland's volcanic cones is ending, starting with a ban on all vehicles up Mt Eden. This may be followed by a ban on other volcanoes with road access - Mt Wellington, No Tree Hill, Mt Albert, Mt Roskill and Mt Victoria.
A new authority (heavily weighted to a maori perspective) has approved extending a 2011 ban - on buses driving to the Mt Eden summit - to all vehicles.
But Tourism Export Council CEO Lesley Immink warns the move is not in line with the work of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development to boost city tourism. She claims many coaches no longer go to Mt Eden, and instead give tourists the harbour view from the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial at Bastion Point: most Asian

groups don't want to walk 200m up to the summit, so their tour companies avoid Mt Eden.
Interesting that 2/3 of those responding to a NZ Herald strawpoll felt vehicular access should be allowed.
A 'how and when' report will be presented to the Tupuna Maunga o Tamaki Makaurau Authority in April for rubber stamping. It's likely vehicles will be only allowed halfway up the volcano to a kiosk area where there'll be parking and turning: people will then walk 200m to the summit. Still figuring out how to get elderly and disabled up there...oh yea, and rules for bikes too.
Hmmm, wonder what the rules will be, regarding maori-operated nicky-nacky-plastic-tiki stalls at that kiosk area!
One council representative said no-one was allowed to drive around Stonehenge in England, and the same should apply to Mt Eden. She forgets however that the walk from parking to Stonehenge is short and flat, not 200m up a 45-degree slope! "Maungawhau is a respectful place and it gives reverence to walk up to look at the view..." but it only has spirituality if you're the minority who actually believe it's some slumbering demi-god!
In fact, given that the hilltop fortress was abandoned about 1700, there was no valid maori ownership claim to be made on this overgrown pile of scoria! But the PC Brigade gave control to the bros a few years back...so no use crying over spilt puha, eh cuz!
Still, what's the bet we'll next be subjected to demands for koha (donation) for our wee stroll up to the top! If so, how much of that will go into summit preservation...and how much into the local iwi's KFC fund? Chuuurrr!!!

Sense And Sensibility

"Gisborne" is not it's official name!
According to the New Zealand Geographic Board, the city's name has never been gazetted and is regarded (by the board) as a collected or recorded name.

NZ Geo.Board secretary Wendy Shaw: "There is no record for either Gisborne or Turanga (the original maori name)."
During colonial settlement, many place names were classified as 'recorded' and had 'pseudo-official status'. The status of Gisborne as a place name is identical to that of the 'North Island' and 'South Island'. It was revealed last year that those names had never been gazetted... remember what happened after THAT revelation!
87% of public submissions favoured the status quo. However NZGB dismissed those supporting numbers, and was swayed by submitters' reasons. Yeup, if you're a minority holding a good-enough reason (one of the BEST reasons being "I'm an oppressed minority"), you'll win the day!
So...Gisborne was named after William Gisborne, colonial secretary in the William Fox-led NZ Govt from 1869-1872. Good enough reason? The town's Post Office took the name Gisborne in 1870. Howzat! And the next confirmed official usage of the name was in 1877 when Gisborne Borough Council was formed. The clincher, surely!
Ahhhh, but wait: it's believed the name was changed from Turanga (shortened from Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa,"great standing place of Kiwa", to avoid confusion with Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. Kiwa was supposedly the witch doctor of the Horouta canoe, one of the supposed canoes that brought maori from their supposed homeland of Hawaiiki.) Supposed...supposed...supposed...
Well, in THAT case, we MUST change the city name to that of a maori, mustn't we! It's the way of the PC world! No matter that virtually no-one will want it, as long as the vocal minority is placated! But wait: even THEY are confused, having also credited Mr.Kiwa with being the supposed commander of another supposed migratory canoe! And some even claim Gisborne was first named Tairawhiti - "the coast upon which the sun shines across the water."
Oh, the pressure! I know, let's call for public submissions again!

There Shalt Be No Happiness In Iran



Having FUN???!!! How despicable!!!

Six Iranian youths, arrested for video-dancing to Pharrell Williams' song Happy, have been sentenced to up to a year in prison and 91 lashes!
The homemade video (filmed mainly on iPhones) shows three men and three *shock! horror!* unveiled women dancing on the streets and rooftops of Tehran. In six months, it had over a million views on YouTube.
The Happy We Are From Tehran clip was spotted by Iranian "morality" authorities, and the group was nabbed for violating oppressive Islamic laws, which prohibit dancing with members of the opposite sex, and women from appearing without a headscarf. They obviously also broke a secret law about being happy! The Thought Police said their "vulgar clip" had "hurt public chastity". Riiiiiight.
The majority of those in the video were sentenced to 6mths' jail, with one member given a year. However the draconian sentences have been suspended for three years, meaning they will not go to prison if they don't re-offend. But hey - no pressure!

The arrests drew global condemnation and sparked a social media campaign calling for their release. Pharrell Williams also protested at the arrests on Facebook: "It's beyond sad that these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness." His song has inspired over a thousand tribute remakes since it was released last year on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack.
Supporters were quick to quote Iranian President Hassan Rouhani from a public speech he made in June 2013: "Happiness is our people's right. We shouldn't be too hard on behaviours caused by joy."
He obviously speaks the same BS as his predeccessor!

Airline Has Egg Foo Yung On Face

An unexpected sight for visitors to Christchurch Intl.Airport on Monday morning...

A China Southern Airlines 787 Dreamliner bound for Auckland was diverted to Christchurch because of thick fog.
But the passengers had to stay onboard for five hours on the tarmac!
GM in Auckland Mike Ma said there was no alternative but to keep the passengers on board at Christchurch. The plane needed to be ready to fly at a moment's notice if the fog lifted, and there would have been a longer delay if the passengers had disembarked. There is also no agreement between the airline and Christchurch terminal to have workers bring the passengers into the terminal.
Passengers were given water after about 90 minutes on the ground, but China Southern was unable to provide food because the terminal did not have the ability to provide enough meals within a short period. (Jeez, Mr.Ma, if you can't arrange a special local delivery of stir-fried rice in 5hrs., there's something wrong with your organisational skills!)
Christchurch Airport says when an international flight is diverted, a number of different companies and agencies are involved in decisions around the aircraft and its passengers: "In this case, the airport company was not involved in any decisions about the plane's passengers."
The flight finally landed in Auckland more than six hours later at 12.46pm.

Three Times Not Out...If You're Bro Royalty

King and Son Co.Ltd.: such regal bearing!

Korotangi Paki appeared in the Auckland District Court this week on charges of drink-driving, two counts of burglary and one of theft (the last three while on bail).
If this 19yr.old had been anyone else, he'd have been nailed.
But daddy is the maori king, King Tuheitia, so Judge Philippa Cunningham jumped through PC hoops and granted him a conditional discharge without conviction.
Immediately a public backlash began: a Stuff.co.nz on-line public

opinion poll says it all...
According to his lawyer, Paki could only succeed his ailing father to the throne if he had a clean record, so Madam Judge ruled the impact of a conviction would exceed the gravity of the offending.
Outside court, the family's representative Tuku Morgan (yes, he who spent $4,000 of Aotearoa TV's bucks on undies for himself in 1997!!) said the judge's decision had been a victory for maori and recognition of their unique culture: "The judge has recognised a very important and compelling cultural difference; that he is entwined in a succession process that one day will give rise to a new head of the kingdom, and his opportunity should not be in any way shape or form minimised or compromised."
University of Auckland law professor and author of Criminal Procedure in NZ Bill Hodge says that argument is bollocks: "That is up to the Maori authorities in question, not a matter of New Zealand law and to that extent is one law for common people and another law for royalty."
Paki has exploited his supposed royal status and culture to trick the judge into discharging him without conviction. What kind of message does this send to other NZers, of ANY ethnicity?
And quite frankly, as the judge obviously bought into this holier-than-thou royalty rubbish without adherence to the laws of this land (where ONE law is meant to fit ALL), what does this say about her??!!

No Parents Allowed

What's a school sports day, without parents to cheer their kids on?
But at Glapton Academy primary school in Nottinghamshire, UK, parents have been banned over fears they could cause a Hillsborough-style crush!
Headteacher Ruth Ellis says the decision was made because of "rising pupil numbers." The school has 318 pupils on the roll, up from 284 in 2010. Not a major school by any stretch of the imagination, and yet parents were told to keep away from the day – which features such events as the traditional egg and spoon race, and a sack race – because the school could not guarantee children's safety.
Children have been very upset to learn their parents wouldn't be participating and cheering them on.
Head of governors Nick Ydlibi: "We feel that due to the rise in pupils it would be extremely difficult to guarantee the safety of our children at an outdoor event with open gates."
Parents have branded the ruling 'bonkers'. David Elliott said he spoke to a school official who told him the ban was for health and safety reasons: "When I asked what the school was afraid of, she said there was a potential for a crush. I said "What, like Hillsborough?", sort of as a joke, and she said, "Yes"."
The Hillsborough Disaster happened in 1989 when, during the Liverpool/Nottingham Forest FA Cup semi-final, a human crush caused 96 deaths and injuries to 766 others.
David Elliott: "What's next? Are they going to stop us watching the school Christmas play?"

Freedom To Panties!

Don't ya just LUV Putin?
He's clamped down on Ruskie gays, jailed greenie activists, invaded Crimea, hidden his own dubious sexuality behind macho photos... and now he's banned women's lace underwear!

Ruskie undies, '70s style

Female protesters in Kazakhstan were recently arrested with lace underwear on their heads...demanding the freedom to choose their own knickers!
Lingerie outlets across Russia and its neighbours must dump up to 90% of their undies! A new trade ban prohibits the import, production or sale of synthetic lace underwear, and will outlaw any knickers containing less than 6% cotton (most sexy lingerie has less than 4% cotton) - meaning ladies' lacy undies are off the shelves in all three countries from 01 July.

Smokin' on the Volga!

Ironically, the legislators claim the best of intentions: women's health. Apparently this will allow "girlie bits" to 'breathe better'. The ban supposedly saves women from a lack of absorbency that lace and other synthetics bring. In other words: you VILL vear cotton! Or it vill be very harmful to your health... just like a little holiday in a gulag vill be!
Naturally, women have their knickers in a knot over this. Street protests (and arrests) in Kazakhstan and Belarus, social media protests, lotsa piss-taking on-line... To think that in 2014 anyone can tell a woman what she is allowed to wear is not only a complete infringement on women's rights, but also ludicrous, insulting and archaic. Too many govts have imposed laws that they believe protect women, but instead hamper basic rights. But then again, we are talking about Russia...
Perhaps the law-makers have only just seen Bridget Jones' Diary ...?
What's next: compulsory burqas in Red Square...?

Canada Complicit In Whale Trade

Iceland and Japan are shipping meat from endangered fin whales through Canada — the very same species that Canada agreed internationally to protect.
Canada says it can't stop the trade, even though it signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which in 1981 gave fin and other endangered whales the highest level of protection against commercial trade.
Iceland, Japan and Norway also signed but did not agree to the 1981 listing, which means they're legally permitted to trade in whalemeat and even to use Canada for trans-shipping.
Environment Canada spokeswoman Jirina Vlk: "When two countries do so, like Iceland and Japan have for fin whale, Canada has to allow shipments under customs control to transit, provided they meet normal documentation and other requirements. CITES provides an exemption for shipments of CITES species in-transit through a country, as long as the shipment remains in customs control, that is, in bond or under seal."
News of Canada's complicitness has stunned Greenpeace. It received a tip-off about Iceland shipping 12 containers of whale meat to Halifax: the containers were then railed across Canada to Vancouver to be trans-shipped to Japan. Greenpeace is shocked that the containers not only arrived in a Canadian port but were cleared to be shipped across the country: "By allowing (this) transit, Canada is an accomplice...(it) must prohibit the transport of whalemeat through Canadian ports."
USA has protested Canada's actions, saying they're undermining global conservation efforts. Canada's Environment Minister, Leona Aglukkaq, has refused to comment.
Jirina Vlk confirmed that Environment Canada inspected the shipment and then sent it on its way, because it lacked authority to do anything else. She also claims this is the first time Canada's been involved in the trans-shipment of whalemeat.
So that's makes it ok, does it???
Read more here...

Eye For The Main Chance

Australia is about to witness first-hand the maori way of doing "volunteer" work.

Last weekend, the Victoria Maori Wardens in Australia officially launched. It was established mid-2012 as a not-for-profit organisation (note that!), after concerns about the number of maori youth involved in petty crimes in Oz. Since then 82 Maori Wardens have been sworn in, and local businesses have provided equipment for their use.
Now the group is appealing to NZ's High Commissioner in Canberra for financial support! Branch chairman James Hohepa Smith says it is important the High Commissioner knows about the benefits of having the wardens patrol the streets with the Victoria police on Friday and Saturday nights, watching out for wayward youth.
I doubt there's anyone in NZ, or representing this country overseas, who does NOT know the value of Maori Wardens. These volunteers have considerable success in bringing wayward bro teens to heel.
But note: they ARE volunteers. By their very title, they do it for love. Nothing more. No dosh, no moolah, no folding, no money. They volunteer.
So why is the Victoria branch of these "volunteers" putting its hand out for financial support?
And furthermore, if they're keeping troubled maori out of Australian courts and jails, then why is New Zealand expected to pay for that?
What benefits do we back home gain from their "volunteer" service abroad?
+ Meanwhile the Maori Council in NZ is bickering that technically, the Ozzie group can't call itself Maori Wardens, because it's not covered by the same laws as back home.
+ And there're even some mutterings from Ocker rednecks about brownskinned vigilantes... 
Ahhhh, feel the love...

US's Antarctic Big Chill

Hundreds of US scientists in Antarctica may be evacuated, as funding dries up in Washington's continuing government shutdown.
A decision's due by the end of this week and, if scientists are pulled out, it'll be a disaster for their research.
US has three major bases: McMurdo Station (next to NZ's Scott Base), Amundsen-Scott at the South Pole, and Palmer on the Antarctic Peninsula. Any shutdown by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) will have a severe impact on Christchurch-based

C-17 Globemaster: dozens of supply
runs to the ice each season

Antarctica NZ which shares facilities and the vast logistics associated with the summer programme. An official says so far the US govt shutdown hasn't affected the NZ programme in Antarctica: "...but we are following the US situation and keeping in close contact with our partners at the NSF and their McMurdo Station."
Lockheed Martin, which runs the NSF's Antarctic operations, says it will run out of money by mid-October, and may be forced to evacuate all but a skeleton staff at the bases. That would spell the end to this year's research season, which normally runs from October-February. Personnel have only recently begun to be flown down to the ice for the new season. Lockheed: "We're in major planning mode to begin an orderly transition to caretaker mode at the stations."
Researchers are devastated at the prospect of losing an entire field season of work. John Priscu, a Montana State Uni biologist who's been to Antarctica about 30 times, says if the programme is put in caretaker mode, it'll be hard to reverse the situation quickly: "In Antarctica the planning is so intense...scheduling military aircraft and icebreakers. The planning goes on years ahead. You can't just throw a switch and say, 'OK, we're better now'."

Business Class to Antarctica...4,000km and no in-flight movie!

Air New Zealand: Not Patriots?

As the America's Cup frenzy subsides, we're hearing more behind-the-scenes stories of the good, the bad and the quirky.
I'll leave it to you to rate THIS...
When Team New Zealand was building its America's Cup AC72 catamaran, Air New Zealand denied them help - because the Kiwi sailors were sponsored by a rival airline, Emirates!
Team NZ approached the airline to use its carbon-fibre manufacturing facility, but senior managers turned them down. The airline had the only autoclave machinery in the country capable of producing the specific designs required by the Kiwi sailors. But Air NZ refused as it wanted limited sponsorship rights in return. But that couldn't be done, due to existing major sponsorship from Emirates.
After the rebuff, Team NZ's Auckland-based boatbuilders Cookson Boats found a way to change its autoclave technology to make curved dagger boards for the team, and that machinery was used almost daily for a year while the huge catamaran was being built.
Now *shock*horror*probe* Air New Zealand (which says one of its guiding principles is to champion and promote NZ and its business) says it provided the same service for Oracle!
Our govt pumped $36 million into Team NZ's cup campaign.
Air NZ is owned by our govt.
Yet Prime Minister John Key says Air NZ acted as a commercial organisation and made decisions it believed were in its own best interests.
An Air NZ spokesman said the airline had been strongly supportive of Team NZ, with a commercial arrangement to reduce its travel costs during the cup campaign: "The airline is grateful for the efforts of all Team New Zealand's sponsors, as a successful regatta has driven strong passenger traffic on our Auckland-San Francisco route."
Yes, I'll BET it's benefited financially...
Spite...? Or just straight-out business? You decide.

On The Tip Of The Tongue

The first language of children in North Wales would most likely be English or Welsh, right?
Imagine the surprise when Young Boyo skipped home from school with a form asking parents to tick the dialect that applied to them from a list of more than 80.

Conwy: anyone for Kannada?

Remarkably, the local authority in Conwy (where 96% of the population is white) has trimmed the list from one supplied by the Welsh govt., which contained around 300 different languages and races!
The baffling list included obscure languages spoken in the boondocks of the world, including Igbo (from SE Nigeria), Tagalog (spoken by a quarter of Filipinos), Kannada (mother tongue of people living in the Indian state of Kannartaka) and Wolof (a dialect spoken in Senegal, Gambia and Mauritius).
It came with an equally confusing form asking parents to detail their child's ethnicity, which included seven categories for gypsies alone, plus around 85 other nationalities and races.
The 'data collection' documents were issued by schools in Conwy County Borough Council: it says the information is needed to help provide a better education service.
Annoyed parents are complaining the council has gone completely over-the-top, in Political Correctness and not wishing to offend anyone whatsoever! Conwy Council defends itself by passing the buck, saying it's a statutory requirement of the Welsh govt.
So too - it seems - is a total lack of initiative and street-savvy!

Pen Mighter Than Sword?

Is our military might scared of...journalists???
Opposition defence spokesman Phil Goff has demanded Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman condemn the defence force's definition of investigative journalists as "subversives".
A leaked NZ Defence Force security manual cites three main "subversion" threats it needs to protect itself against: foreign intelligence services, organisations with extreme ideologies and (brace yourself!) "certain investigative journalists"... highlighting people who acquire classified information to "bring the Government into disrepute".
Recently, investigative journo Nicky Hager reported our military asked US spy agencies to monitor the phone calls of Kiwi journalist Jon Stephenson, while he was in Afghanistan reporting on the war. Phil Goff says he also expects the govt to apologise for this.
Minister Coleman says the "subversives" policy had been in place since 2003 - when Labour was in power - and was intended to protect soldiers on operations. Goff (defence minister from 2005-2008) claims he was unaware of this, and also says he'd never known an instance where a NZ journalist knowingly put at risk the safety or wellbeing of NZ soldiers. Well, he must've forgotten the NZ Herald publishing in 2010 a clear non-pixelated photograph of our Victoria Cross recipient, SAS Corporal Willie Apiata on patrol in Kabul. This action spurred the NZ Defence Force to withdraw him from active service, which in turn made him decide to leave the full-time military.
Having served myself, I fully understand the need for national security, and especially operational silence. Bringing back a 'D-Notice' would provide more control over sensitive information. Otherwise, why not work together with media on general and transparent issues? That is far preferable to labelling them "subversives" and stirring up a hornets' nest!

Americans, Hang Your Heads In Shame!

April 17 2013: a date that will live in infamy!
The late US President Roosevelt's Pearl Harbour line perfectly describes last Wednesday's incomprehensible decision by the US Senate, to reject expanding background checks for gun buyers.
The plan to extend checks to on-line and gun-show sales was shot down like a clay bird. And other measures, including a ban on assault weapons and a limit on ammunition magazines, are also expected to fail.
This was despite emotional pleas from families of shooting victims, and broad public support - polls show more than 80% of Americans support expanded background checks. And recently, nine out of ten voters in a Washington Post/ABC News poll backed universal background checks. There was no party-political divide, nor was it gun haters going after gun owners. These checks were supported by more than 90% of gun-owning households.
So if there is such overwhelming backing, why did this not become law in the blink of an eye? Surely the National Rifle Assn and Gun Owners Of America don't hold a gun to the head of every politician in America?
US citizens, if you truly want this change, it is YOU who 'holds the gun to the head of politicians' - it's called your vote. You must deal to those who do not truly represent your desires, who do not support such obvious and common-sense legislative changes.
Otherwise you too are responsible for the next schoolyard shooting, movie theatre massacre and drive-by death. Your grief will seem like crocodile tears, if your country's sick obsession with weapon ownership and outdated irresponsible gun laws doesn't end.
Can YOU look your children in the eye, and tell them that tomorrow - when they go to school - they'll be perfectly safe? That no gunman will mow them down too?
Or must you hang your head in shame?

Since When Could The Ancients FLY???

It's not unusual for folk to have personal rituals when flying on planes, like wearing a St Christopher chain or keeping their eyes closed during take-off.
But recently a passenger on an Israeli airline El Al flight took his beliefs to new heights, by covering himself in a plastic bag for the whole journey!
This Orthodox Jewish man is a kohein, a religious descendant of the priests of ancient Israel, banned from flying over cemeteries and having contact with the dead (that includes no visiting cemeteries except for the funerals of close relatives)! Some mid-eastern flights go to great lengths to avoid flying over cemeteries. And Orthodox passengers can also be made aware in advance if a body will be aboard the plane in cargo.
Kohanim (that's the plural) reckon the plastic bag is a barrier against the impurities of the deceased. But how do they breathe? And this also raises security issues: even if bag-wrapped passengers can be secured by a seat belt, they can't reach an oxygen mask or quickly escape the plane in the event of an emergency.
In 2001, El Al decided not to allow ultra-Orthodox Jews to cover themselves in plastic. A year later, flight crew got into an argument with a passenger who attempted to fly in plastic: eventually the pilot turned the plane around!

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and women aren't allowed to mix in public, and El Al reports an increase in the number of religious men demanding to be reseated away from women. One woman even sued El Al, after she was moved to the back of a plane when an ultra-Orthodox man refused to sit next to her!
So, if this man is following a strict teaching from ancient Israel, tell me: when and how did these ancient priests come up with this bizarre flying rule in the first place?
And, hello: priests who can't visit cemeteries – what's with THAT?!

[...see also my blog post of 14 Dec.2010!]

Saudi Women, On Ya Bikes!

Still trapped...

A Saudi Arabian religious authority has condescended to allow women to ride buggies and bikes in public!
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice says women can now use parks, esplanades and desert areas to enjoy themselves, as long as they're dressed in the full Islamic head-to-toe abaya.
Oh BTW, a male relative must be present at all times. Why? Um...er... to provide prompt assistance in case of falls, of course.

Going nowhere fast

It adds that women on buggies or bikes should avoid assemblies of *gasp* young men, to protect themselves from harassment and possible theft.
Women can use the bikes and buggies only for recreation, not as permanent means of transport: "Our concern is the positive traffic culture, and full compliance with traffic rules by all drivers and riders. Wearing abayas and erratic driving could result in terrible accidents." (Well, here's an obvious solution - ban the damn things!)
So in other words, Saudi women can't use bikes to go shopping, to go for a job, to drive anywhere without a controlling male present...just round and round in little recreational circles. Oh, such FREEDOM!!
The Commission says it's never barred foreign women from riding buggies or bicycles..oooh goody!

So THIS won't be seen in Saudi Arabia any time soon...!