Call A Spade A Spade - It IS War!

Hi-ho, hi-ho. It's off to war we go!
Make no bones about it – however the politicos sugar-coat it (by saying NZ is NOT sending combat troops but rather weapons trainers), we ARE sending warriors into harm's way in Iraq.
But are we really needed there?
Honestly? No. We can't supply big bucks, or enormous equipment piles. But we're putting our limited resources where our mouths are. Why? Speaking bluntly, it really has NOTHING to do with standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the fight against ISIS. It's more like if we DON'T step up, then the crumbs we currently receive from the global intelligence community will dwindle to zip!
So what role will our troops play? Prime Munster John Key's gone to great pains to assure us this is DEFINITELY a non-combat mission. He naively states that if the shit goes down just a few blocks away, we'd actually stand back and let our "allies" sort it out themselves!!! REALLY??!! But you can bet your last brass that, if OUR team was hit, he'd be expecting allied help to extract our derrieres from the fire!!
What, getting HIT??? Ya mean, NZ troops will be at risk???
Of COURSE they will be. They're soldiers in a war zone with weapons at-hand. To think otherwise is extremely childish. But don't patronise these troops: they've volunteered for their jobs and they know the risks. You don't send soldiers into a war zone, and then tell them to run if something goes 'bang' nearby!!!
So, by sending troops, are we now more at risk back home? After all, ISIS has shown itself capable of and eager to extend its fight beyond its immediate battlefields. It's recently called for jihadists to attack shopping malls around the world.
The big question is: will its poison spread to New Zealand?

More Deaths at Farewell Spit

Last Friday, Farewell Spit again took its toll on a passing whale pod, as 198 pilot whales were stranded.
Department of Conservation (DoC) staff, Project Jonah volunteers and at least 300 tourists and locals descended on the beach in a bid to refloat the animals. However, more than half restranded, many of them dying on the beach that night.
Rescue teams arrived from Northland, Auckland and Wellington, and were shocked by the condition of the 69 surviving whales at first light on Saturday. In some other strandings, volunteers have been able to keep the whales cool and wet overnight. However, due to safety concerns stemming from the terrain at Farewell Spit, DoC would not allow people to stay overnight. So by morning the animals were stressed, overheated and suffering wind burn.
With the surrounding wetland reserve making it impossible to use heavy machinery, rescuers had to rely on 'people power' to move the whales.

The four largest survivors, up to 6m long and weighing up to 4 tonnes, were dragged on rescue mats back into the tide. The refloated whales were rocked from side to side before release, a trick that helped them regain their equilibrium and reduced their chances of restranding.
In the end, 67 of the 69 whales still alive at dawn on Saturday made it back out to sea.

Bad Parking (2): Mike McLeod of Kaiapoi

There's a certain street in Kaiapoi that's afflicted by zombies!
Virtually every time the local Woodford Glen Speedway has a big stockcar race meet, there'll be half a dozen or so stockcars on wide trailers jamming Whitefield St.
Dunno why these particular vehicles are attracted to this suburban spot: perhaps it's Kaiapoi's version of Boganville!
But you'll see zombie-like scruffs, scratching their stomachs, dirty dungarees dangling below their derrieres, swigging beer on the street while gazing belovedly into their stockies' engine bays...then it's off to Woodford Glen to slam steel into steel, before lurching back to this particular zombie zone, to sink piss and park their vehicle trailers any-damn-where they like!
This trailer, clearly along a footpath, carries the No.46C stockie which (after a quick bit of Googling) appears to be owned by one Mike McLeod...methinx some driver education for you, m'lad!

Oh, and by the way Mike, if you are NOT the current owner of 46C,
I'll happily remove your name from the 'Wall Of Shame'...as soon as you supply the name of the DICKHEAD DRIVER who IS!!!

See also: "Chch Drivers Can Be Dicks!"