big brother ethos
it's happening, and it seems that our (the people) permission is not required (until voting day). first we have had mp's trying to tell us how we raise our children. the fact that 80% of kiwis do not agree means nothing. now we have govt departments putting
spyware on our doctors computer systems to gain information without our permission. never mind doctor/patient confidentiality. i can (just) live with the cameras around trouble spots to help with crime, but it is now going way overboard. i guess we'll have to wait until the elections to make our opinions known. they (the govt) won't pay any attention until then.
Labels: abuse, allegations, anti-smacking bill, consequences, government, privacy, spyware
anzac day
war veterans and political leaders are disgusted by an anti- war protest that allegedly included the burning of the new zealand flag during anzac day celebrations in wellington.
two members of a group called peace action wellington, protesting at the deployment of troops overseas, were arrested after the incident on the grounds of victoria university's law school opposite a dawn ceremony at the cenotaph.
valerie morse, 35, was charged with offensive behaviour for allegedly burning the new zealand flag.
mark daniel rawnsley, 29, faces charges of obstruction and resisting arrest after allegedly trying to disrupt the service by blowing a plastic horn. the pair were remanded to reappear on may 22 at a hearing in the wellington district court yesterday.
in a separate incident, vandals attacked an anzac day site in patea, south taranaki, smashing crosses arranged around the town's cenotaph.
last night, politicians and ex- servicemen joined in their condemnation of the wellington group's actions. brian mannix, who fought in vietnam, said the protest was a disgrace to the country.
"i stand on anzac day to remember my family, to remember my mates," mannix said. "anzac Day is not glorifying the military. it is not celebrating war. it is the day that we repay respect to the people that fought for our freedom."
speaks for itself really. how can anyone think that anzac day is an appropriate day to protest? my whanau went to war for this place and its people. we do not need the insult. grow up.
Labels: anzac, choice, freedom, personal responsibility
savage pitbull kills mum
the family of a bay of plenty woman killed in a dog attack say the "vicious" dogs had attacked before and should never have been roaming free.Virginia Ohlson, 56, a member of a well-known family in the murupara area, was mauled by two dogs - a pitbull and a staffordshire terrier cross - while on her daily 6.45am walk to buy bread and milk at the local dairy.
she died in an ambulance en route to hospital.
do we really need this type of dog in our society? what advantages do they give us? what do they add to our way of life that is worth putting up with the damage? just what upside is there to allowing them to remain?
Labels: mauling, pitbull, staffordshire cross, vicious dogs, virginia ohlson
another police rape investigation
a young woman might have been raped 10 years ago at a christmas party. this was released by "investigate" magazine. it seems to have happened at a barrister's office party and a policeman stands accused. lawyers and policeman. an untrustworthy mix it seems. i wonder how this one will go? check it out
here.
Labels: abuse, allegations, nz police, police rape trial
lean mean ab machine
i was watching good morning and they had an advertorial about the latest new ab machine. you know the kind. just four minutes a day and you to can have the sculptured lean abdominal look that is sooo popular when advertising these machines. why do they always leave out the bit where you have to lose xxx amount of body fat for the abs to show through? why do they always say that the exercise machine is they answer to losing the weight? the truth is, it is a combination of aerobic exercise and diet. they are just preying on people's insecurities to make muns.
Labels: advertising, body mass index, diet, lean abs, lies
girl raped at hastings primary school
she should have been safely tucked up in bed. she was however, walking alone, through a hastings primary school between 11pm and 2am. she knew about keeping herself safe. she is twelve years old.
the girl told police she was raped as she walked through the grounds of ebbett park primary school. she she had attended a display of krumping, a high-energy dance style to loud music, which has gained popularity among hastings teens. groups gather to watch each other compete.
the girl said she was attacked by a young maori man, probably a teenager, wearing a white "krumping" shirt with a blue and black paint design and jeans. he had shaggy hair with a shoulder-length "rat's tail". the attack happened between 11pm and 2am. constable lisa tod said the girl managed to run away and some youths found her in a distressed state and called police.
the girl was injured in the attack and had received medical attention. she was traumatised and was recovering with her family. police were concerned that children and young teenagers in town for the dance competitions were usually unsupervised by adults.
the question is, do you know where your children are?
Labels: abuse, allegations, assault, consequences, supervision, teen rape, teens
new problems with police
looks like the latest accusation has to do with racism. three officers!
david newell, 29, alleges during the incident in auckland last week that an officer pulled down his pyjama pants and called him a "monkey." these guys [police] just might be a heck of a worry. are there racists in the police? absolutely. i am a victim of it. i was on my own so have no proof, but i know it exists.
Labels: allegations, david newell, nz police, racism
napier octopus opens bottles to get at food
something friendly for a change. an octopus at the national aquarium in napier can now open bottles to get at her food. the octopus, brought to the aquarium by a family who found her in a rockpool three months ago, uses two of her eight tentacles to open a bottle containing a crab. called octi by aquarium staff, the octopus has perfected the trick with the help of keepers who noticed her friendliness, hawke's bay today reports. rob yarrall, manager of the aquarium, said octi was the friendliest octopus he had come across. she is not on display but lives in a tank out the back where she spends most of her time hiding in a shell until a keeper comes to play.the octopus has also learnt to rise to the top of the tank, eye up the keeper and squirt water in his face. Labels: napier, nzpa, octi
easter
time for the retail trap to begin. badly made hot cross buns and lots of chocolate. looks like most have forgotten the reason for the season. Jesus paid the ultimate price, which is recognised on good friday. he rose again three days later, this is celebrated on the sunday [i think]. i don't call that a holiday.
i try to avoid the retail scene. its not healthy. this deserves consideration.
the hot cross buns on sale are so pathetic.
trying to sign up for adsense. its not proving to be the easiest thing i've ever done.
Labels: adsense, easter, holidays, retail
bazley report consequence
apart from spelling her name correctly, another rape has come to light. it seems our police force might be the biggest group of rapists in the country. it seems a woman had her rape complaint ignored by the police. it seems that howard broad's [the commissioner of police] apology has yet to encompass all that it should. the charge that had been ignored by the police was looked at some years later but the man who was accused was let off because of the time that had lapsed and of course the medical evidence was missing. Herbet-Savage [the woman concerned] is definitely looking for compensation, about $500,000. she intends to speak with louise nicholas about it too. it seems there is hope for this case as there is support from the bazley report. something needs to be done about a force in disarray. the public loss of public confidence is very harmful. someone somewhere needs to come up with a formula for addressing this issue. it needs sorting, and quickly. the mike moreu cartoon is to the point.
Labels: bazley report, herbet-savage, louise nicholas, police rape trial
bazely report
i am sitting here listening to 'eye to eye' which is a look at issues in nz from a maori perspective. they are discussing the 'bazely report' on police behaviour and culture. quite interesting from the differing perspectives. the commissioner seems to be walking a very tight line. he has the pm to placate as well as the public. rana waitai [top cop] is definitely maori in his outlook. nice to see that he will stand up to the commissioner [broad]. listening to the boss of women's refuge, it is easy to tell that women might not be happy with the report [doesn't go far enough in terms of what they should actually do]. broad reckons it is his task to fix it up.we need an independent body to look into the culture and practises of the police. we need an independent body to investigate issues that arise re the police. we need good men.Labels: bazley report, commisioner, ely report, eye to eye, howard broad, nz police, police rape trial, rana waitai, willie jackson
white flight in canterbury school?
it seems that several families have decided to leave
tuahiwi school in north canterbury because the school has started to consider applying for status as a '
special character' school. this on account that they want to be recognised as a bi-lingual education provider. i think the school mistakenly held separate meetings for the general school population and the bi-lingual population with regard to consultation on this matter but i fail to see how this can be fuel for 22 families to up and leave unless they [the families] find the idea of bi-lingual [maori] education repugnant. with the limited information available, it sure looks like white flight. still, more information might decide the issue either way.
Labels: bi-lingual education, ministry of education, white flight
a wee break from the chaos
ms 15 and her mum were away this weekend. so i spent the weekend at home with ms 18 and a distinct lack of mess. it was nice. no really bad music, loud ms 15 exclamations, no soaps, just peace and quite. ms 18 really surprised me. oh well, they're all back now. loud obnoxious music and television with the added sweetener of ms 15's exclamations regarding whatever enters the canyon's of her mind. if you're not tired, it's funny.....
any day now, she'll do the dishes.
Labels: ms 15, ms 18, mum, soaps, teens
