Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Freedom of Speech

It hasn't even hit the bookshelves yet and the latest offering from born-again journo Ian Wishart is causing an uproar.

There's a facebook page calling for this book to never hit the shelves. When I first checked it there were 12000 likes. Fifteen minutes later there were 14000+.

Wishart's page
to promote the book has 10 likes. I think it's obvious which page will win this race. And, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.



I've always liked Wishart. Something in the way he thinks gels with me. I don't like his religion, and I disagree with a lot of what he says. But even though he's often ignored, and the stories he breaks frequently don't get legs until the mainstream media finally catches up, I cannot deny his journalistic ability.



I don't care a hoot about Macsyna King, either. She is just one piece of trash on our streets that are littered to our knees with trash. I don't care what happened that night... chances are we will never really know what happened. Ian Wishart could publish a hundred books about the killing of those babies and we'd never really know what the truth is. We will never know.


Apparently, Macsyna King is NOT receiving any money from the book - a suggestion the Banners are conveniently ignoring. Wishart and his publishing company might make some profit, but I of all people know how hard it is to make a profit on a book written and published in New Zealand. I doubt he'll get rich on this book.

It's fascinating to read the vitriol on the ban the book Facebook page.

Jordalyn LewerHonestly what kynd of mother wuld even write a book lyk tht afta such a horrible thng happend to those too lil inocent babies! No sympathy 4 hur at all its a mothers dutie to keep her children SAFE! yip thy shuld be all locked up one of thm will soon pop who the murde'r/s is/ r......stil walking freely! Punkz. This goes for the Dad to! Yr both Guilty of neglection already... arrrrrgggg i could gone on and on!

That's a particular favourite. I love the creation of the word "neglection". Clever. And she could go on and on. No doubt.

Anyway. What's key is that most of the posters have no idea about the book at all. Nobody's read it, or even seen it. The media has taken up the cause of discrediting it and the stupid, sheepish New Zealand public are buying into it.

Wishart has his detractors. On occasion I have been one of them. But he and this book deserve a chance.

The Kahui thing was a debacle from the beginning. Nobody denies that. Even Wishart acknowledges it, of sorts. We'll never know the whole truth. No one person knows the whole truth. So we're never going to get the sum of those parts who do.

A child is killed violently about every month or so in New Zealand. The Kahui twins' death, while unusual in that it was two children, was not that uncommon. Except in that the Kahuis and the Kings have come under particularly nasty public scrutiny.

So what if there's a book about it. So what if Macsyna King tried to hang Chris Kahui out to dry. So what if she's trying to save her own ass. So what so what so what. And so what if Ian Wishart makes a few bucks off of it. So what?


If you don't like the idea of such a book being written, don't buy it. But don't dare get on your high moral horse about the prospect of other people buying and reading it. Last I checked it's a free country. I can read the bible if I want to, the Koran, Mein Kampf, or Alice in Wonderland. And I'll buy and read Breaking Silence if I want to.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Michael Moonwalks Alone

Sadly, Cleveland, Ohio still holds the world record for the number of people simultaneously moonwalking over a bridge. 


The Sydenham Moonwalkers Trust was today (the anniversary of Michael Jackson's death) going to attempt to overtake Cleveland and grab the prestigious title of World Record Holder by inviting the citizens of Christchurch to simultaneously shake their groove thing on the Colombo Street overbridge, all in view of the inspiration for the event, the Michael Jackson Memorial. Proceeds from the event were to be donated to the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery fund.


Unfortunately, no donation will be made because no one showed up to moonwalk (at least at the agreed time of 11am today). Clearly, Christchurchians have lost their mojo. Even event organiser, SMT spokesperson Mick Aulyculkin, was a no-show, and was, obviously, unavailable for comment.

Readers of this article considered the possibility it was some sort of prank. However, a spokesman for the one non-moonwalking person who showed up today (me) said surely no one would so abuse the memory of the great gloved one, inventor of the moonwalk. Who would so callously insult the legend of Neverland?

But, alas, it appears it was indeed a hoax. Sadly, Christchurch will not grab the international limelight for gaining the world record, which still stands at 14, for simultaneously moonwalking over a bridge. Yay, Cleveland.

There's always next year, though.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Was Clayton Cosgrove arrested?


I went to the Art Gallery to see Clayton Cosgrove get arrested.

I heard on the radio that the Opposition MPs were going to be locked in a room prior to the announcement of the financial package offered to quake-stricken Christchurch homeowners. Cosgrove, MP for Waimakariri, had apparently said he would not stay in the room, but would leave, even if it meant being arrested.

So I figured it would be fun to watch him escorted from the Art Gallery in handcuffs so I hot-footed it down there.

Of course, he never was lead out in handcuffs, so I guess he complied. He did, however, front up to TV3 after the announcement.



Mike McRoberts was standing in the drizzling rain, and eventually stepped under an umbrella as he reported live from outside the Christchurch Art Gallery.






Then Juanita Copeland turned up. Apparently she has a house in what is now the Orange Zone.
Or Area. People in the Orange Area are in limbo. They still do not know what the future holds for their houses and land. People in the Green Area can rebuild on their present site.


After it became obvious Cosgrove wasn't going to be lead kicking and screaming from the building, John Key arrived so I thought I'd hang around and see what happened.

Not much.

John Key left just in time for me to take a couple of snaps before I had to leave to go get Josh. So all in all, pretty uneventful. Like the announcement.


I did get to try out my new lens, tho.



Friday, June 10, 2011

Shoe of the Week


I had given up on the Shoe of the Week posts. Somehow in the wake of the earthquakes it seemed a little stupid and frivolous. But when I saw these the other day I thought hmmm...maybe one more.

Aren't they adorable? I big YES from me!

Monday, June 06, 2011

MMP Referendum

So there's going to be a referendum this election as to whether we want to keep MMP or switch to another voting system.

I'm by no means an expert on political voting systems, and I'm really not even an informed political commentator. It's one of those subjects about which everyone has an opinion, and it's actually the nature of the beast that nobody really knows the truth because it is the job of political commentators to obfuscate. The better the obfuscation the more effective the spin.

I am, however, an average Joe. And as an average Joe, I listen daily to the stupidity, the arrogance, the lies, and the petty back-biting that is New Zealand politics.

When average Joes everywhere voted to change from first-past-the-post to MMP, I reckon they didn't want a change of voting system as much as they wanted at least a change of attitude. And in many cases they wanted a change in personnel.

The thing that amused me the most was that the day after the election of MMP, the same people were in charge. All the arrogant, smarmy politicians who ruled under FPP were still in charge under MMP. By and large. There were a few additions...like Nandor and Sue. And we know what they did for New Zealand politics!

But all the big players were still there - Clark, Cullen, Mallard, English, Anderton, Goff, Smith et al. There they all were. Still there doing the same thing - screwing middle New Zealand and feathering their own nests, saying exactly the same things they were saying the day before.

Since then, what's happened? Nothing. Well, not nothing, but the same. Nothing new. For average Joe nothing changed from the old system. Taxes still went up; prices went up; wages stayed still. Politicians perks changed, but were still pretty impressive and still on the back of the good old New Zealand taxpayer.

So, now that it's probably likely that the gullible New Zealand public will go back to FPP, thinking things might change, the conservative spin doctors will be out in force, talking it up.

But nothing will change. A few faces might appear or disappear. But all the old personalities will still be there, plotting against one another, back-biting and obfuscating on the really important stuff, increasing their pecuniary interests, sucking the New Zealand taxpayer dry.

It's not a change in voting system we need or want. We need a change in attitude. We need a switch from the self-serving arrogance that is the backbone of the New Zealand political system. We need genuine policies that serve all New Zealanders, not just the loudest special-interest groups with the best lobby. We need honest politicians who genuinely care about average Joes, politicians who aren't so out of touch with AJ that it's embarrassing. We need a welfare system that actually takes care of people according to need, not some faceless, meaningless formula that invites corruption and abuse. We need an education system that doesn't categorise children according to the wealth of their parents, but teaches self-respect and innovation and genuine respect for others. We need a justice system that isn't a laughable contradiction. We need to feel secure in our homes and on our streets.

We don't need another expensive exercise in futility that will have politicians crowing that they're actually doing something for New Zealand.

Oh, and if FPP can somehow arrange for these bloody earthquakes to stop, then that would be a bonus too!

Saturday, June 04, 2011

One in Four Chance...

I really do hate banging on about the earthquake, and, like many Cantabrians, now we really really do want to just get on with our lives, whether houses have fallen down or there are just a few cracks in the walls.

So, just as we were starting to get back together after September then February happened, it was actually a bit of a blow to hear recently that there is a 23% chance of a 6 to 7 happening again in the next year. Not a blow like the February earthquake was, of course. But it was information sufficient to send a little tremor through my gut, and to reignite the whole 'moving to Wellington' (where we have family and, it seems, less than a 1 in 4 chance of a big earthquake) proposition.

A few weisenheimers - either non-Cantabrians or some of those eternally perky people nobody really likes - smarmily suggested that surely a 23% chance of it happening means there's a 77% chance it won't happen. Which is true. But in context, I kinda thought that was a little unfair.

If you lived in Tauranga in 2010, and the news was announced that there was a 23% chance of a 6 to 7 earthquake there I think it would be appropriate to focus more on the 77%. But if you lived in Christchurch in 2010, when the 1 in 16000 year earthquake shook you, and then within a matter of months another 1 in 16000 year earthquake shook you (does that make it a 1 in 32000 year earthquake, or probably a much bigger number?), I don't think it's that much of a stretch to be tempted to focus on the 23%.

If someone told me there was a 23% chance - near enough to 1 in 4 - I'd be winning Lotto Powerball tonight, sure I'd consider the 77% chance I won't win. But I'd be mighty distracted by that 23%. I wouldn't be out spending it yet, or writing Jackie's resignation letter, but I might be thinking about the right wording. Or ordering the newest Nikon D3S. or X. Or whatever model they're up to.

The point is that 23% would be loooooming large, despite the odds of it actually happening.

I wonder what's happening in Japan. Are they still having aftershocks, too? I guess they are. Scientists are still suggesting our aftershocks are relatively normal for the type of earthquake/s we had. Of course, Cantabrians have redefined normal. We all live with the aftermath and reminders, daily. And as much as we might like to ignore it all, we can't. And deep down, we all know it's not going to go away. We drive through the streets, and even though we're not civil engineers, construction experts or geophysicists, we just know it's going to be many years before the city looks "normal." But we all also know deep down that our lives will never be the same. Ten years from now, when there's a little 3.6 earthquake in Lyttelton or Darfield, we'll just for a split second remember September 2010 or February 2011. That's just the way we're wired.

And at the risk of being morbid, I have thought many times that the very fabric of Canterbury has been changed. Not just the physics and geology of it, but the spirit.

I believe we are all connected. There's a cosmic bond between all of us. Some bonds are stronger than others, but it's always there. So whatever happens to a family in Bexley affects me. In a cosmic/spiritual way. Whatever I do and feel, affects that lady in Rangiora.

I would extend that to the entire planet, and even the universe, but then it tends to sound a little whacky (but no less true), but for the moment I'm more concentrated on the immediate vicinity.

To hear of the possibility, even a slight one, of another significant earthquake striking Christchurch was always going to send shivers up the spines of most Cantabrians. I'm not really dwelling on it. And the moving to Wellington thing is only an extension of an already possible move. But as unlikely as it really is/was, with the news of another possible earthquake on the horizon, the prospect took on a 4% more positive spin.

But I seriously doubt I could move up there and start supporting the Hurricanes.