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Showing posts from April, 2007

Daylight Saving Extended >:|

Yes, that's right - the idiots in Government have extended Daylight Saving .... GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Clocks will go forward an hour a week earlier than usual -- on the last Sunday in September -- and will go back an hour on the first Sunday of April, instead of the third Sunday in March. Are we ever going to see the Sun in the morning again? And what about the weather? It's hopeless in Sept, Oct, Nov. What a waste. However, Mr Barker said daylight saving had the potential to help with energy savings. Rubbish. In a study done in 2000 during the Sydney Olympics, it was found that more energy was used having the lights on in the morning than having them on in the evening. If I sound grumpy about this; I am >:| I am a person who likes my sleep.

Finding Socialists in the darndest places

Cactus Kate has revealed herself to be a Socialist . I suspected as much, when I wrote on banning boyfriends , but as with many things, a pattern only becomes apparent over time. Cactus does not consider herself a Socialist at all. Which doesn't surprise me. Little old NZ is such a hotbed of socialist thought, so much so that it takes either a very self-aware person or a complete ideologue to consider themselves socialist. To make identity even more difficult, socialism is one of those multi-layered things, where, while it appears to be soft and cuddly so as to attract the masses, it really is an iron fist lying hidden within a velvet glove. Cactus is certainly not of the soft and cuddly socialist type that most NZ socialists would fall under. No, she is the iron fist, the underlying socialist, the one who lurks within, advancing the core agenda year by year generation by generation. While the Capitalist worships money, the Socialist worships work. Everyone (let's call the

Gay activists threaten Italian Archbishop

A bullet sent to the office of Genoa's archbishop is the latest threatening message for the prelate, who is leading a campaign against same-sex unions, Vatican Radio said Sunday. [...] also inside the envelope [with the bullet] was a photo of the archbishop, with a swastika cut into the photo . This is not an unusual means of trying to scare the opposition into accepting gay rights" progress. In Poland last year, gay activists made bomb threats against the city of Warsaw that were taken seriously. The Vatican is taking threats against the Archbishop's very seriously as well, as it would only take one crazy person to end his life. The swastika included with the threat shows that the perpetrators are aware of the Nazi link with the gay rights movement as documented in great detail in The Pink Swastika . Related Link: International Herald Tribune

Green Pressure Politics

The Greens have taken to writing to Banks that have unethical customers on their books. The Green's believe that pressuring the Banks to drop these evil customers is one way to send a message the environment must be protected from Forest Rapers, Bush Buggerers, and Defilers of the Deciduous. I'm wondering why they just stick to hassling the Banks - why not any business that supplies product to these unethical companies? But then again, I'm coming around to their point of view. Perhaps it is time to write to the Bank and get them to drop their more unsavory clients. Here's a form letter people might want to use: Dear KiwiBank (or any other relevant bank) It has come to our attention that you have a customer on your books that is acting unethically. This customer is engaged in supporting wholesale environmental damage. They are ignoring every single environmental principle, even though their mission statement and press releases say otherwise. I urge you to drop them

Roundabout Drivers

Not so long ago there was an addition as to what sort of signaling we should be doing at traffic roundabouts. I thought I'd look up the road rules , just to make sure. It all seems fairly self-explanatory. So WHY is it that nearly everyday when I'm at a roundabout and wanting to go straight ahead, or to turn to the right, and there is some car that is directly opposite from me and who wants also to go straight ahead - why do they keep on putting their right blinker on? I mean, you w ait for these guys to turn right and pass in front of you (they are indicating to go that way after all) and then they go straight ahead. To me, it seems like it's slowing up traffic. This kind of thing is OK at large roundabouts such as the one at Greenlane, but for your average local roundabout it's wasting time. I mean to say, according to the official Road Code , you never have to signal with your right indicator when you're going straight ahead: it's the left one (see pic at l

Voting to end War

No Right Turn has a post up on Voting to end WWIII . Which made me wonder, if we happened to go backwards in time - would people like him be clamouring for a vote to end WW2? Demanding that we surrender to the Germans and the Japanese, because, war is just not worth all the loss in lives? Somehow, I think they would. Because they seem to believe that voting is the civilised way to do something, no matter how few people agree with it (Repeal of S59) and that plain old force is just wrong.

Chris Trotter on Gallipoli

Our favourite communist, Chris Trotter, is rabbiting on today in the Dominion Post how the Gallipoli massacre would have been impossible given our much advanced telecommunications that would most likely have been beaming the defeat all around the world as it happened. He's probably right. The only massacres that will occur are those that people don't care about, such as Rawanda. I can't bring myself to spend the time typing it all out, so if you all want to read him, buy the Dominion Post today.

Where have all the mental wards gone

It didn't take long after the Virginia Tech massacre for New Zealanders to starting pointing at America's lax gun control laws as the likely cause of the shooting. We like to think that nothing of that magnitude could ever happen here. Yet, NZ has pretty much similar conditions to the US that might very well have contributed to this deranged young man having access to freedom, when in days gone by his bizarre behaviour prior to the killings might very well have got him institutionalised. Penning up and carefully scrutinizing the killer was never an option. Not in Virginia or California or any other state in the union. Because in our well-intentioned quest to maximize personal liberty, we've moved conceptual eons away from taking the concept of dangerousness seriously. Related Link: Bedlam revisted - Why the Virginia Tech killer was not committed

Anti-smacking bill is an anti-smacking bill

David Farrar has just noticed that the Repeal of S59 (the anti-smacking bill), really is an anti-smacking bill . The purpose of this Act is ... abolishing the use of parental force for the purpose of correction. I'm really not surprised that that is so. When Sue Bradford's bill first came into the public arena back in 2005, I heard her being interviewed on National Radio on the bill. She explicitly said then, that she'd like to make smacking illegal , but that didn't think that now was the time for it. Looks like she's changed her mind a couple of years later.

A new planet breeds optimism

With the discovery of a new earth like planet, a mere 20 light years away, scientists are already redefining optimism: It's 20 light-years away and so we won't be going there anytime soon, but with new kinds of propulsion technology that could change in the future. Yes, if we could just get the technology hidden in area 51, we could be there by lunch time tomorrow. Apparently, they figured this all out with a bit of math. Like the fact that the planet orbits the sun in only 13 days. Now isn't that going to be annoying - we finally get a rocket out to a new planet, and we can't land on it because it's going too fast. Related Link: A New Planet

Lest we forget

For once, I am at a loss for words when I contemplate ANZAC day, and everything it means for me. Too many people good people die, all the time, for all the wrong reasons. And even when the reasons are right, the cost is still so fearsome. So we all really need to value what we have, and how we got it. Today is a day of stories. It is a day of remembrance. For those too young to have memories, listen to the stories and reflect. Related Links: John Simpson Kirkpatrick and his donkey More on Simpson and Photo Source

Ghost Yacht Mystery

The Kaz II was found off the Great Barrier Reef last week with its engine running and a table laid for dinner, but with no signs of [the three crew]. Rescuers who searched the vessel found the men's clothes folded in neat piles, a laptop computer charging, the radio working and navigational equipment laid out on the table. Three lifejackets and a dinghy were still on board. Fishing lines were also out, and the fenders extended. The official search is over, which is sad. Did all three decide to have a swim near the boat, and get caught in a weird rip? Forgot the engine was idling faster than they could swim? Stunned by jelly fish or eaten by swordfish? Kidnapped? I don't buy the "washed overboard" theory even though the sail was shredded - things were sitting out on the table, not on the floor. Nothing adds up in this story. A true mystery. Related Link: Ghost Yacht Mystery

You can quote me on that

After a series of major political blunders, Helen Clark has decided to get back to the charm offensive style of Labour marketing. I open up the Dominion Post today and what is on the front page? Fatal attack shows up flaws, says Clark And Helen Clark weighs in on a nice safe policy of savaging pit bulls. On page two: Clark backs prison van restraints And Helen Clark again gets a safe headline - bashing prisoners. And again on page two: Helen Clark has confirmed Labour will pay back in the next few days the $826,000 identified as misspent..." There's Helen promising to repay stolen funds. Although she doesn't actually specify a date, and talks about the repayments as if the timing is beyond her control: "I understand that they intend to repay in the coming days" says Miss Clark. They? Nothing to do with the leader of the Labour Party obviously. And still on page two: Miss Clark said.. A common currency with Australia would..be quite rough on the smaller par

How to prevent fatal dog attacks

Much is being made of the fact that New Zealand does more to protect our dangerous dogs than to protect people from the dangerous dogs. So I have a very simple solution to the problem. Allow people to carry concealed weapons. That way if a dog rushes out at them in order to maim or kill, the dog gets it. The same solution has been proposed for places like Virginia Tech, where students were massacred by a gun-wielding maniac. No one on the campus was allowed to carry weapons, even thought the state of Virginia allows anyone over the age of 21 holding a concealed handgun permit to carry a weapon. New Zealanders are quick to jump on the ban gun band-wagon, while in the meantime, we have our own killers roaming the streets in search of prey. The only difference is that they only tend to kill one person at a time, rather than many, but dogs are no less dangerous to the person that dies.

Banking on the Greens

With Greenpeace reporting on the wholesale destruction of Papua New Guinea (PNG) hardwood forests by an evil logging company, the NZ Greens have decided to get into the act and do their bit for the environment. Especially since it seems NZ is buying some of this wood, and directly contributing to the destruction of Kyoto Credits. But what a strange approach. Green co-leader Russel Norman is calling on ANZ to withdraw banking services from the logging company. I can only assume this is seen as more effective than asking the Government to ban (or tax) the import of PNG hardwood, and to consumers to boycott the purchase of wood products that do not identify point of origin. Is this a message to the people of NZ that the government doesn't listen, and the consumers don't care, and it is up to the banks to provide the nation's moral back-bone? But that's not my main point. It was in response to this from Frog Blog, as they took the opportunity to advocate for their soc

Catholic Priests Banned

In an unusual move, the Corrections Department has banned Catholic Priests from entering prisons for the purposes of holding a mass. "Catholic Priests have been permitted to visit prisons for many years. Recently, we decided to revoke this right. Basically, the law says that only relatives and legal representatives may visit prisoners, and we realised that the Priest communicating with prisoners was a serious loophole that we have moved quickly to correct." Craig Ranapia was quick to offer a solution : "Lawyers can simply pop in and hold a mass. Now, lawyers may not seem like priests, but in special circumstances, I believe lawyers can act as substitute priests, which should be adequate for this purpose." Unfortunately however, this is not the case. Fake Priests can only be used when it is an issue on the health of a priest. Should the priest be on the way to mass, and is struck by a car and seriously injured, or develop a life-threatening allergy to prison blo

Trotter from the Ivory Tower of Isengard

Chris Trotter, broken record for the Labour Party, speaks from his Ivory Tower in Isengard. In last Friday's DomPost opinion piece he is warning Helen her Orcs are not bloodthirsty enough. With traitors everywhere, and Sauron on the rise, about to take Singapore (in the land of Mordor, not Asia), he spells out his precioussss plan for Labour. That nassty Auditors-General still figures. As does Gandalf. Is anyone thinking that Chris Trotter is just a few pledges short of an election campaign? I'm happy to provide translation services from Commie to Kiwi. But it isn't pretty. Sorry, not much I can do about that. He is losing it. Staring into those Orthancs will do it. The future is not looking good for Labour. Commie Speak: Oops! There goes another piece of Government legislation. Translation: Whenever the Labour Party put forward a bill, we assume it is already passed and can be called "legislation". I'm really trying to underscore the point that

No Amnesty for the Death Penalty

Amnesty International : The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It violates the right to life. It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on the innocent. It has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments. Amnesty International works for an end to executions and the abolition of the death penalty everywhere. Now, I also know that Amnesty fights to free prisoners "of conscience". That is, Amnesty go to bat for any person or persons imprisoned by others and held in captivity. I used to think they did a good job, but recently I came across a case where Amnesty had received a request for help, circulated the call amongst members and they are seriously considering supporting the death penalty, even though this person is innocent of any wrongdoing. Furthermore, they have suggested that all others in a similar situation should have the death penalty, if that's what their jailer decides. Here's the letter that s

Have They Asked 'Why'?

I was ruminating again today about this anti-smacking bill (and yes, I will refer to it as that, for it is) and the people who support it; particularly Save The Children. I am still trying to decide whether to continue financially supporting them in light of the revelations below in other posts. Anyway, this got me thinking about the proponents of this bill: do they really think that loving parents (around 85% in most polls) want to be able to hurt their children under the law? Do they really hold such a negative opinion of most New Zealanders (who are good, loving parents) that we would do such a thing? Surely not! If so, I am saddened to think that the opinion the s59'ers hold of their fellow NZers is so low. And if they don't think that loving parents will hurt their children, have they asked themselves why parents want the ability to be able to use smacking to discipline their kids? It seems to be that the proponents of s59 really haven't thought it through. Either

Friday Night Free For All

It's chatting time! It's getting cold! Is there anyone out there who has not turned on the fire or the heater, yet? That reminds me, need to buy some hot water bottles. I hope no one's following Oswald Bastable's suggestion to Ban Fire ! Where is everyone, have I really "spooked the atheists"? (Thanks Rick, I like that). PS. Apologies to anyone that has been unintentionally left off our blogroll. We are still building it (I added a few more this afternoon for the first time after giving up with my notepad list), so if you are missing, and want to be on our blogroll, leave a comment here or email me at Lucyna dot NZ at Gmail dot com.

Chastity for Men

I thought that some of our readers might find useful, the following: Looking at pornography and engaging your mind in sexual fantasies is a mental rehearsal of, among other things: — self-centeredness; — selfishness towards others; — using others as servants of your own pleasure and preferences. Masturbation rewards that mental rehearsal with physical pleasure. Thus, masturbation is a sin that trains you to sin more and more— not only in actions but also in attitudes. For more, read: The Meandering Monk

Chris Trotter sees defeat on the horizon

Chris Trotter spells out just how broke the Labour Party really is, and compares Labour's failure to get their debts funded by the taxpayer to the fall of Singapore in 1942, thus trying to create a myth of the good guys (Labour as the British) being overtaken by the bad (National as the Japanese). He also continues with Labour's $800,000 election overspend a "fine" imposed by the auditor-general ( he started using the word "fine" last week ). Trotter finishes off with advice for Labour on getting the public behind them again (referendums, scrapping student loans and helping young people get into their first home courtesy of the taxpayer, etc), with the alternative being that if Labour won't fight, they should at least sack Michael Cullen and replace him with someone who will. That's the summary, but, as always, Trotter's exact words are pure gold, so here they are: The enemy is at the gates Oops! There goes another piece of Government legislati

Second Bite

A quick look at our site traffic stats, and Eve's Bite is proving to be the most common search term that brings people here. And I haven't even done the review yet. I just mentioned it . But interesting to note that the book is raising interest out there, somewhere. Or are people just too cheap to go out and buy it? Go on - just buy the damn thing and read it. What, you want more? You want the truth? You can't handle the truth. Tell you what. I'll ease you into it: The book is written a bit like a series of blog posts. This was a bit off putting in the first few chapters, and I was wondering if it was going to alienate the target audience. Then I thought, who is the target audience? It was definitely going to antagonize Richard Dawkins should he read it - and, by evolutionary selection theory, all of the apes whose thoughts have been derived from Richard Dawkins. Whom, by the way, I am convinced, is an offshoot of the Fisk genus. Note the i is missing from

Retro Green Hornet

There's some really bad stuff on You Tube. Fortunately, this is not one of those. Instead, I find an extremely well directed tribute to the Green Hornet and Kato. Top marks all around. And you thought I had no taste?

The Four Freedoms

Time to break for a moment of culture and some time out for appreciation of the arts :) I had occasion to be in a bookstore yesterday and I found a book on celebrated American artist Norman Rockwell. He used to do these portraits of ordinary people in an America that might not have existed. The then American President Franklin Roosevelt made a speech to congress in January 1941 in which he mentioned the 'four freedoms'. In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want--which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear--which, translated into world

No freedom of religion in NZ prisons

There are times that No Right Turn surprises me. Today, he has a post up on the denial of religious freedom to Catholics in prison . The story is that a Catholic Priest was not allowed to bring wine an Auckland prison, wine he needed for the purposes of saying Mass. The prisoners don't even need to drink the wine, it's just necessary for the Mass to be said. Yet, the prison has decided to get tough on it's rules, and one of the rules is that no alcohol is to enter the prison. For any reason. I suppose they are worried that if the Catholic Priest gets wine into the prison, he might sneak it to the prisoners on the side. Or, that if they are soft on the Priest, that others might argue that their wine that they want to bring in is supposedly being brought in for a good reason. Or maybe the prison people just don't see any difference between disallowing wine for a Mass and disallowing wine for other purposes. Never mind that the whole purpose of the wine is for it t

Labour meets with Exclusive Brethren

I have just heard on NewsTalk ZB that Labour has had meetings with the group they pilloried National for meeting with. It was with, you guessed it, the Exclusive Brethren! UPDATE: So far, this is the latest news item online . There were apparently airport meetings, not mentioned in the article - and there could even be photos! Oh, this is funny.

Save the Children research on humanity of children

A couple of weeks ago the Dominion Post published an article on research done on the submissions to Parliament on the anti-smacking debate and concluded that pro-smackers didn't see children as fully human. This complete codswhallop was quickly demolished by ZenTiger here at NZ Conservative . Now it transpires that Save the Children (a major proponent of banning smacking) was responsible for funding the research . It's a pity that the Dominion Post didn't see fit to mention that fundamental fact and that it needed to be pointed out by a letter to the editor. Here is that letter on page B6 (not even on the main letters page): Connections are ignored Children 'not fully human' you trumpet (April 7-8) about a study involving Victoria University researchers and Save the Children. It concludes that opponents of anti-smacking legislation see children as not fully human. Your article, however, requires balance to avoid being simple propaganda. Though describing the F

Why were the British sailors released by Iran?

Apparently it's not well-known that Pope Benedict wrote a letter to the Iranian Ayatollah asking for the captured British sailors to be released - and they were, just in time for Easter. It has been confirmed by the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI wrote a letter to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on behalf of the fifteen British sailors and marines taken captive by Iran. Writing this letter to Iran's Muslim leader was a very bold move on the part of the world's leading Catholic. Evil incarnate is the way the Muslim world views the Catholic Pope. The Muslim world in general and Iran specifically have deemed the Pope the most dangerous leader on our planet. The Western world pales in comparison. The United States is a mere trifling annoyance. Israel is a speck on the Muslim hatred meter when compared to the Catholic Pope. The Pope is a threat to Islam. Unlike other Western leaders who, according to present day Muslim theological thought, might be misled by Western ideas and

Tiger world's most popular animal

The Tiger has been voted world's most popular animal. Some people like them for their majesty and grace, and others think they are cool to drink. We must wean China off Tiger Wine. I fully support Pepsi in expanding in true capitalist fashion into China with all speed. And their advertising slogan surely matches the promise of the Tiger Wine - " Pepsi - brings your ancestors back from the dead ." Related Link: Tiger Wine no Balm

Anti-Smacking debate cranking up again

Mr Tips posted earlier today on John Key's impressive political nouse . And as Peter S says on at DPF's : The offer of mediation of a reasonable solution that is also acceptable to the public is a threat to Labour on several fronts. First- if it works, then National has effectively sidelined Labour on this issue, because the option would give a level of consensus (NZ1, UF, National, Act, Greens & the Maori party) that could work without Labour support. Second, if Labour & the Greens reject the proposal it makes them look really bad in the face of a reasonable opposition. Both ways National wins & Labour losees. Oh, and Bradford gets to look stupid either way give her statements about withdrawing the bill. Which is an added bonus. Meanwhile, those who would ban smacking obliviously continue firing into their own ranks. Here's No Right Turn : There's a lot of talk in the papers this morning about National wanting a "compromise" over the anti-sma

Interest rate rises to punish small number of mortgage holders

Yesterday, the Dominion Post published a very revealing article on the number of mortgages that New Zealanders hold, and the level of property ownership in NZ. There have been a number of myths reinforced in the public domain, the most dire is that one that NZ'ers continue to spend on mortgage money and that raising interest rates in the only way to rein in that spending. But, if you read the article below, you will see that very few NZ'ers are affected by interest rates, because most either rent (not explicitly spelled out), own their homes outright, or have small mortgages. Only a small percentage of total mortgage holders owe more than half the values of their houses, and an even smaller percentage owe more than three quarters. So, every time interest rates are raised to punish consumers who keep spending more and more money, it really only affects those that have only just bought their houses - typically young, first home buyers. And these are the people that will be ban

Sex advocate arrested - lets bash Catholics instead

A couple of days ago I posted on a prominent psychiatrist who pioneered sex-education to children in the 60's being arrested for pederasty (molestation of young boys). Andrei at TBR picked up on the theme of the guy not even being a Catholic Priest , therefore not to expect to much coverage of the arrest here. The irony of Andrei's post is in the comments where the usual suspects come out to bash the Catholic Church, raising a spirited defence from some us here at NZ Conservative (mostly Fletch). But really, the issue is that a prominent proponent of sex-education, one who could easily be credited with paving the way for sex-education in schools to children being considered normal has been arrested for molestation of children. This is big and yet, there are people who will deflect the conversation back to the Catholic Church, which as an organisation, has never had the aim to normalise and then legalise sex with children, which is where people like the arrested psychiatrist

Political points on gun control in light of massacre in US

Last night, Kerre Woodham, NewsTalk ZB talkshow host, was encouraging listeners to phone in to not only discuss the Virginia Tech Massacre , but how the gun culture in the US allowed the massacre to occur in the first place. Many people obliged, joining in with their indignation that America considered ownership of guns to be sacrosanct, when obviously guns were dangerous and allowed a person to go out and kill many people more than if they had to individually club them to death. The underlying message was really that the US needs better gun control in order to prevent massacres in the future. A political point being pushed if ever I heard one. So, when a woman phoned in and said that with 18,000 deaths a year in NZ of unborn babies, we have no right to criticise George Bush over gun control, and then hung up so as to not get involved in any sort of argument, I thought it was a bit rich of Kerre Woodham to say the following: "I think it's a little cheap to use a highschool ma

Sex Ed pioneer arrested for molestation of boys

Here's a good reason to question the motives of proponents of childhood sex education. Child psychologist and pioneer in the quest to bring sex education to children and former president of the prestigious American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from 1993-1995, Dr. Wil­liam Ayres , has been arrested for multiple charges of child molestation of boys under the age of 14. In 1968, Ayres created a 15- part sex education series for KWED Public Television in San Francisco called “ Time of Your Life” that was viewed by hundreds of thou­sands of children in California and across the country, which many parents objected to on the grounds that it “ taught nine- year­olds how to do it.” The series fueled the national sex education debate in the 1960s, and Ayres and his video se­ries were the subject of a 1969 Time magazine report, as well as a New York Times feature which praised Ayres for his commitment to enlightening children about sex while disparaging parents who op­posed t

Making It Personal

WhaleOil is having some fun with personalized number plates. Helen Clark said she didn't know she was going at 170KPH. Why would she lie? Can you tell from the number plate that I'm not too impressed with their latest moves to curb freedom of speech via some disturbing changes to the electoral laws? Related Link: WhaleOil's Personalised Number Plates

Barnardos Put Politics First

Barnardos seem to be putting politics rather than children first, as they quickly capitalize on the recent headlines created by the infamous "Riding Crop" case to push their agenda. The "new" case hasn't even been judged yet, but as usual, judgment is quickly passed by organisations that should know better. But since we are asked to "pause and reflect" by Murray Edridge, Chief Executive of Barnardos New Zealand, I will. Murray muses: "Perhaps the latest incident would have been avoided if the community, through the court, had told the family that the use of physical force in child discipline was unambiguously wrong." Well, perhaps the latest incident could have been avoided if CYFS had not removed her younger son against his will from his mother and sister, and kept him away from the family for two years now since the mother was acquitted. Does Murray see any correlation between being found "not guilty" and the psychological damag

Abuse by Clergy Thoughts

My folks pointed out this article in The NZ Herald today and I thought it was a good time to post on it, what with a TV programme on the other night (which I didn't see) devoted to the wrongdoings of Catholic Priests. I am Catholic; but of course I am just as disturbed as anyone else (Catholic and non-Catholic alike) by the abuse of children at the hands of priests or by anyone. A visiting Cardinal, Theodore McCarrick from Washington DC who is here for a Eucharistic Convention, brings a little more perspective to the issue. He raises some points: that it's not just the Catholic Church that this is happening in. "Unfortunately it is existing in religious bodies that have married clergy to, at least, the same extent, from what we have been able to figure out" "When all is said and done, you are still talking about less than one out of 25 priests over a period of 60 years. "When civil society finally accepts the challenge of making its own statistical s

Leaving No Commissioner Behind

The NZ Government today signed off sponsorship for a $30 million dollar NGO titled the CFC. The Commission for Commissioners is charged with maintaining the well being of all people serving as Commissioners in this country. The Director of this newly funded organisation, Dr Zen Tiger, said: "New Zealand has taken a major step forward in human rights by ensuring advocacy for Commissioners. It is a fact that some Commissioners do not have the same advantages as others, but this is not always obvious. Therefore, I have launched a plan that will ensure EVERY commissioner has a lifetime plan, with life time monitoring." Dr Zen Tiger was quick to thank Dr Cindy Kiro, the Children's Commissioner for the inspiration. "Dr Kiro was indeed instrumental in establishing this program. On one level, here was a Commissioner that was crying out for support. On another level, her moves to track EVERY child in a database, to interview EVERY child at key points in their lives was

Courageous Corruption

Back in August 2006, Chris Trotter admitted the Labour Party had indeed stolen from the public purse. He justified it as "courageous corruption", because (so he said) a civil war was likely if National had "taken power" (i.e. got voted in). Now he is trying to re-write history to suit his purposes. I reprint my August 2006 post below for the sake of posterity. After this, read his latest take on Labour's latest attempt to grab public money: More Courageous Corruption . [August 2006] Chris Trotter is glad Labour overspent. He thinks the issue is all about working out fairer ways of setting election spending rules. He is wrong. This is all about a party that deliberately overspent. Deliberately abused its power. We can see just how wrong he is by reading the last paragraph of his article. It reveals much about the man. And we can see the danger inherit in such a corrupt attitude. Labour are now suggesting retrospective legislation to restore thei

More Courageous Corruption

When Labour stole $800K of tax payer funds, Trotter called it Courageous Corruption . He's already regretting that little outburst. Never admit guilt. A year later, he's pretending it didn't really happen that way. I've translated Chris Trotter's latest opinion piece for those that do not understand "Commie": Commie speak: State funding has become a matter of necessity for the Labour Party because of the unprecedented and massive political fines levied on it by the auditor-general in 2006. Translation: Naturally, there were no "fines" levied by the Auditor-General, but just watch how I begin to malign Brady in this post, the first in a series of 300 articles. Labour passed restrospective legislation to ensure they didn't have to pay it back. It was only the mounting public opinion that made Clark announce an intention to pay back the stolen loot. Has she paid it back yet? Of course not. But it wasn't stolen tax payer money, it