The Riverman Reports - Inc. Huttz World

Friday, November 13, 2009

Boeing and Air NZ to airtest biofuel next month...

Boeing and Air New Zealand will fly a jumbo jet powered partly by biofuel next month, the two companies announced today.

An Air New Zealand jet will leave Auckland on December 3 with a 50-50 mix of jet fuel and oil from jatropha trees, in one of its four engines on a flight designed to show that jatropha biofuel is suitable for use in aviation as well as economical to produce .

"This flight strongly supports our efforts to be the world's most environmentally responsible airline," said Rob Fyfe, chief executive of Air New Zealand. "Introducing a new generation of sustainable fuels is the next logical step in our efforts to further save fuel and reduce aircraft emissions."

The jatropha nuts, which contain 40% oil, were harvested from trees in Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania.

Friends of the Earth's biofuels campaigner, Kenneth Richter, welcomed the move to get the aviation industry to reduce the environmental footprint of its planes, but he raised concerns about the impact of biofuels. "Even jatropha is being linked to food price rises and habitat destruction. Current rates of growth in air travel mean it is not enough to switch to biofuels."

Robin Oakley, head of Greenpeace UK's climate change campaign, said: "We need a dose of realism here, because this test flight does not mean an end to the use of kerosene in jet engines. The amount of jatropha that would be needed to power the world's entire aviation sector cannot be produced in anything like a sustainable way, and even if large volumes could be grown, planes are an incredibly wasteful way of using it."

Boeing said their trees were grown on marginal land not required for food in India and south-east Africa.

Billy Glover, Boeing's managing director of environmental strategy, said that to prepare for the test flight, his team had tried to source biofuel reliably and economically for commercial aviation.

"The processing technology exists today, and based on results we've seen, it's highly encouraging that this fuel not only met but exceeded three key criteria for the next generation of jet fuel: higher than expected jet fuel yields, very low freeze point and good energy density. That tells us we're on the right path to certification and commercial availability."

Air travel contributes up to 5.5% of UK carbon dioxide emissions and the search for a greener alternative to kerosene jet fuel has been fraught with difficulty. Airlines cannot use standard biofuels such as ethanol because this would freeze at high altitude. Testing for the Air New Zealand flight showed that the jatropha-based biofuel was more suitable for flying since it froze at -47C and burned at 38C.

Chris Lewis, a fuels specialist at Rolls-Royce, which tested the jatropha biofuel, said: "The blended fuel meets the essential requirement of being a drop-in fuel, meaning its properties will be virtually indistinguishable from conventional fuel which is used in commercial aviation today."

Last month, Darrin Morgan, an environmental expert at Boeing, said biofuel-powered aircraft could be carrying millions of passengers around the world within three years, much sooner than most experts thought.

The Air New Zeland plane is not the first to use biofuels. In February, Virgin Atlantic successfuly tried a mixture of 80% jet fuel and 20% biofuel (made from coconut oil and babassu palm oil) in one engine of a Boeing 747 on a flight between London and Amsterdam.

Oakley said that technological advances in jet engines could only make a difference if there was a limit to the "massive expansion of the airline industry around the world."

"If Boeing were really serious about reducing their impact on the environment they would end their vocal support for a third runway at Heathrow and put some of their billions into high-speed rail technology instead," he said.

Acknowledgements: Guardian.co.uk

Monday, November 09, 2009

A massive iceberg is heading for New Zealand...

The massive iceberg spotted southwest of New Zealand could be moving closer.

The iceberg was seen by Australian scientists working on Macquarie Island, who estimated it to be 500m wide and 50m high.

NIWA oceanographer Mike Williams said it was unusual to see icebergs in that part of the Southern Ocean.

"The only precedent for icebergs being seen that far north is the one that came through in November 2006," he said.

The 2006 iceberg, which broke off the Ronne Ice Shelf, came within 90km of the Otago coast. Sightseeing flights were arranged to view the iceberg.

Williams said, depending on ocean currents, the new iceberg could be pushed south to the Campbell plateau, southeast of New Zealand.

"But if it's far enough north, it'll come into the current that feeds up into the Auckland Islands and New Zealand."

Moving at 2km/h to 3km/h, the iceberg could take two weeks to come within sight.

Mike Williams said it wasn't clear whether climate change was to blame. There is every possibility that this is the case.

The previous iceberg in 2006 emanating from the antarctic, spent a number of weeks floating up the east coast of New Zealand before melting in the Pacific Ocean. It was the subject of tourist flights and helicopter rides to the iceberg. I don't know exactly how many people stepped onto the iceberg, but it would have been a risky business. I suppose there were a few Scotch whiskies on the rocks at that time. This particular iceberg is expected to move closer to the South Island than the previous one.

Should be some exciting times ahead. I would imagine the tourist operators to be out in force again this southern summer. More helicopter rides to the floating ice in coming weeks? It may attract a few foreign visitors as icebergs are a rare occurrence so far north of antarctic waters. A visit to iconic Queenstown and a trip to the iceberg could be part of a popular tourist package. Readers are invited to come on over to New Zealand in coming weeks.

Down by the HuttRiver

Saturday, November 07, 2009

British public support for Afghanistan war falling...

British public support for the war in Afghanistan is falling, while more than 40 per cent do not understand why British troops are fighting there, a poll released on Remembrance Sunday showed.

Some 64 per cent agreed that "the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable", up six per cent from July, while 27 per cent disagreed, down four per cent. Ten per cent said they did not know.

Similar numbers said British forces should be withdrawn as quickly as possible, with 63 per cent agreeing and 31 per cent disagreeing.

Some 54 per cent felt they had "a good understanding of the purpose of Britain's mission in Afghanistan", with 42 per cent disagreeing.

"Overall there is the sense that Afghanistan is becoming for (British Prime Minister) Gordon Brown what Iraq became for (his predecessor) Tony Blair," said Andrew Hawkins, chief executive of pollsters ComRes.

"More than four in 10 don't understand Britain's mission; support for the British presence there is ebbing away, and a majority have responded to the presidential election very negatively indeed.

"The results suggest that the impact of the war must be having an impact on Labour support, since it is that party's core supporters who are most strongly opposed to it."

Meanwhile, 52 per cent agreed that "the levels of corruption involved in the recent presidential election show the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting for." Thirty-six per cent disagreed.

"This is potentially devastating for the government's case for war," said Hawkins.

ComRes surveyed 1,009 adults of different ages and social classes across Britain for BBC television's "The Politics Show".

This is actually quite interesting as New Zealand public support has fallen too - about evenly split at present; just after NZ has sent its SAS special forces troops back to Afghanistan for another three six month rotations. It will also be very interesting if they survive their rotations there, especially if there are many casualties and even deaths.

Acknowledgements: Yahoo News

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Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Kiwi Mental Health patient restrained and kept in solitary confinement for six years...

A mentally ill patient held in restraints and kept in solitary confinement for almost six years is one of several disturbing cases of possibly inhumane treatment the country's Ombudsmen have uncovered in New Zealand detention facilities.

The public watchdogs found the patient in virtually constant "seclusion" - solitary confinement in a bare room - at the mental health unit of a district health board.

Chief Ombudsman Beverley Wakem would not name the board last night, but said it claimed the detention and use of restraints was required because the patient was likely to attack other patients and staff.

But Ms Wakem said that after her office became involved, the patient was moved to a more suitable facility.

"Why nobody thought to look at that and make that assessment before we arrived on the scene is a cause for concern," she told the Herald.

The patient was one example of "potential cruel and inhumane treatment" the Ombudsmen identified during the investigation.

The investigation also found a young intellectually disabled patient being kept in unwarranted and lengthy "seclusion", and another mental health patient who had been kept without any consent for years.

Ms Wakem said the health boards responsible took action immediately.

But the Health Ministry's director of mental health, Dr David Chaplow, said last night that he knew nothing of the cases and would be ordering an urgent report.

Dr Chaplow said he knew of one patient with a mixture of autism, intellectual disability and mental illness that was particularly challenging, "but I have never known a case in seclusion for six years".

The annual mental health services report says 1395 patients were secluded for between two minutes and 365 days in the past year.

Dr Chaplow said there was now a "sinking lid" policy on seclusion, but it had a place in mental health care.

The Ombudsmen's investigation covered prisons, mental health units, immigration detention centres, court cells and youth facilities.

It was detailed in the Ombudsmen's annual report, issued yesterday, and also raised concerns that prisoners were not given electric fans to control cell ventilation or temperature.

It said in excessive temperatures the lack of fans could amount to "cruel" or "inhumane" treatment.

It noted this was more likely with increasing lock-down times and double-bunking as the prison population reached crisis point.

Corrections prison services manager Karen Urwin said the department had looked into buying fans for every prison cell, but had decided it was not an effective use of taxpayers' money as extreme heat waves were rare in New Zealand.

* Case studies

CASE 1: Mental health patient in "virtually constant restraint and seclusion for nearly six years".

CASE 2: Young intellectually disabled patient kept in "seclusion" for lengthy period.

CASE 3: Mental health patient "treated for some years without any apparent consent of any kind".

Acknowledgements: MSN News

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

The massive underground complex in the Yamantau Mountain in Russia...

Starting in the Brezhnev period, Russia has been pursuing construction of a massive underground facility at Yamantau Mountain and the city of Mezhgorye (formerly the settlements of Beloretsk-15 and Beloretsk-16). The complex, reportedly being built by tens of thousands of workers, is said to cover an area of up to 400 square miles, the size of the Washington area inside the Beltway.

The exact location of this large facility is uncertain, and given its reported size it may span as much as an entire degree of latitude and longitude. It is apparently located near the the Zlatoust-36/Yuryuzan nuclear weapons production plant and the Yuryuzan national-level nuclear weapons storage facility. The Yaman-Tau Gory [mountains] range is centered at 52°25'N 56°45'E, while the peak of Yamantau Gora [mountain] is at 54°15'19"N 58°06'11"E. The town of Beloretsk is located at 53°58'N 58°24'E, though NIMA does not include a listing for Mezhgorye. This facility may be synonymous with "Alkino-2" since the town of Al'kino is nearby at 55°05'N 58°04'E.

On April 16, 1996, the New York Times reported on a mysterious military base being constructed in Russia: "In a secret project reminiscent of the chilliest days of the Cold War, Russia is building a mammoth underground military complex in the Ural Mountains, Western officials and Russian witnesses say. Hidden inside Yamantau mountain in the Beloretsk area of the southern Urals, the project involved the creation of a huge complex, served by a railroad, a highway, and thousands of workers."

The New York Times quoted Russian officials describing the underground compound variously as a mining site, a repository for Russian treasures, a food storage area, and a bunker for Russia's leaders in case of nuclear war. "The (Russian) Defense Ministry declined to say whether Parliament has been informed about the details of the project, like its purpose and cost, saying only that it receives necessary military information," according to the New York Times.

Satellite photographs of Yamantau Mountain show continued digging at the "deep undergound complex" and new construction at each of the site's above-ground support areas. Judging from satellite photos and other intelligence, US officials are fairly confident that the Russians are building an underground command bunker and communications installation. But "... the Russians are not very interested in having us go in there," a senior American official said in Washington. "It is being built on a huge scale and involves a major investment of resources. The investments are being made at a time when the Russians are complaining they do not have the resources to do things pertaining to arms control."

Aviation Week and Space Technology reported that "The huge underground complex being built there has been the object of U.S. interest since 1992. 'We don't know exactly what it is,' says Ashton Carter, the Pentagon's international security mogul. The facility is not operational, and the Russians have offered 'nonspecific reassurances' that it poses no threat to the U.S." Russia's 1997 federal budget lists the project as a closed territory containing installations of the Ministry of Defense.

Leonid Akimovich Tsirkunov, commandant of Beloretsk-15 and Beloretsk-16, stated in 1991 and 1992 that the purpose of the construction there was to build a mining and ore-processing complex, but later claimed that it was an underground warehouse for food and clothing. And then Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Rocket Forces General Igor Sergeyev denied that the facility was associated with nuclear forces. M.Z. Shakiorov, a former communist official in the region, alleged in 1992 that the Yamantau Mountain facility was to become a shelter for the Russian national leadership in case of nuclear war. Sources of the Segodnya newspaper in 1996 claimed that the Yamantau Mountain project was associated with the so-called `Dead Hand' nuclear retaliatory command and control system for strategic missiles.

According to one recent account ["We Keep Building Nukes For All the Wrong Reasons", By Bruce G. Blair, The Washington Post Sunday, May 25, 2003; Page B01] "... the Yamantau and Kosvinsky mountains in the central and southern Urals ... were huge construction projects begun in the late 1970s, when U.S. nuclear firepower took special aim at the Communist Party's leadership complex. Fearing a decapitating strike, the Soviets sent tens of thousands of workers to these remote sites, where U.S. spy satellites spotted them still toiling away in the late 1990s. Yamantau is expected to be operating soon. According to diagrams and notes given to me in the late 1990s by SAC senior officers, the Yamantau command center is inside a rock quartz mountain, about 3,000 feet straight down from the summit. It is a wartime relocation facility for the top Russian political leadership. It is more a shelter than a command post, because the facility's communications links are relatively fragile. As it turned out, the quartz interferes with radio signals broadcast from inside the mountain. Therefore the main communications links are either cable or radio transmitters that broadcast from outside the center."

Beloretsk is a center of Beloretsk region of Bashkortostan. It is situated on the cross of Belaya River and Magnitogorsk-Beloretsk-Karloman rail-road. It is 264 km. far from Ufa and 105 km. far from Magnitogorsk. The population was 73600 of people in 1995 ( 19900 in 1926, 59300 in 1959, 72400 in 1989). One of the oldest minig and metalurgical centers of South Ural appeared because of construction of the metallurgical works. Before The First World War narrow-gauge Zaprudovka-Beloretsk line was built. In 1923 the village Beloretskiy Zavod grew into town, in 1926 it was connected with Tukan and in 1927 with Inzer by narrow-gauge line. Wood and ore was transported from these towns to the plant. Including the plant to the field of activity of Uralo-Kuzneckiy group of enterprise was the reason of its reconstruction and its transfering to a coking coal. Town development became quicker after constructing the rail-road to Ufa (1997). The main city industry is the metallurgical works. Other plants in Beloretsk produce tools for building, springs for tractors, nails, etc. There are also woodworking industry, meat and dairy factories, plants producing bricks and ferro-concret items.

The Republic of Bashkortostan is located in the Southern part of the Urals along the line of Europe and Asia. Its area is 143,600 sq. m. As of January 1, 1995 the population of Bashkortostan was 4.097 million people. The capital is Ufa is with a population of 1.1 million residents. The republic has 54 administrative areas ("rayons") and 21 cities. Other large cities include Sterlitamak (256,000 inhabitants), Salavat (155,000), Nefetekamsk (123,000), Oktyabrsky (108,000). Representatives of 70 nations and ethnicities live in the Republic of Bashkortostan, including Russians (39.3 percent), Tatars (28.4 percent) and Bashkirs (21.9 percent). The urban population constitutes 65 percent of the total.

Acknowledgements: Global Security

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Monday, November 02, 2009

SOS Afghanistan – Are the SAS on a doomed mission?

An interview with US Afghanistan expert Thomas Johnson
by Gordon Campbell

On August 20th Afghanistan will hold a general election that is deemed virtually certain to return Hamid Karzai and his cronies to power. At best, the opposition is hoping to win enough votes to force a run-off vote, but that seems unlikely. It will be a hollow victory. Over the past five years, the Karzai government has squandered the goodwill it originally had – and is now widely seen among Afghans as being corrupt, inefficient, beholden to foreigners, warlords and the drug trade, and to be losing its war with the Taliban.

It is against this backdrop that the Key government has signaled its intention to put our combat troops back into the fray. In a couple of weeks, Cabinet is expected to respond positively to the US request for our special forces that was conveyed a few months ago by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Foreign Minister Murray McCully. This decision will entail re-deploying SAS units – presumably to the hot spots in the south of the country, and along the border with Pakistan. It will also entail winding down our successful aid and reconstruction work in the province of Bamiyan.

The wisdom of choosing to put our troops into this combat zone – in a war that many claim has already been lost – is obviously open to question. A few months ago, Prime Minister John Key was indicating that he would need to see a workable policy with a clear exit strategy, before re-deploying our combat forces. Obviously, that is no longer the case. Key is now offering the vague goal of ‘combating global terrorism” as his rationale.

At the very least, New Zealand needs to know far more about the country whose destiny we will now be fighting – and in some cases, dying – to determine. To that end, Werewolf contacted US Afghan expert and leading military adviser on Afghanistan, Thomas Johnson.

Thomas Johnson is not some left wing academic opposed to the Afghan war on principle. Far from it. He is a senior faculty member of the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey California. This link makes it clear that in his capacity as the director of the Program for Culture & Conflict Studies, Johnson works in co-ordination with the Department of National Security Affairs to conduct research in support of United States initiatives in Afghanistan :

Our research provides comprehensive assessments of provincial and district tribal and clan networks in Afghanistan, anthropological assessments of Afghan villages, and assessments of the operational culture of Afghan districts and villages.

Johnson’s analyses – based on extensive field research embedded with US and ISAF forces in Afghanistan – are fed back into briefings to the likes of the Council of Foreign Relations, to military commanders and deploying troops, to academics and the general public. Last October, Johnson published in Atlantic magazine an assessment of the current policy failures of the US Afghan strategy. In a nutshell, US forces are winning the battles and losing the war :

The U.S. engagement in Afghanistan is foundering because of the endemic failure to engage and protect rural villages, and to immunize them against insurgency. Many analysts have called for more troops inside the country, and for more effort to eliminate Taliban sanctuaries outside it, in neighboring Pakistan. Both developments would be welcome. Yet neither would solve the central problem of our involvement: the paradigm that has formed the backbone of the international effort since 2003—extending the reach of the central government—is in fact precisely the wrong strategy…..

To reverse its fortunes in Afghanistan, the U.S. needs to fundamentally reconfigure its operations, creating small development and security teams posted at new compounds in every district in the south and east of the country….

Deploying relatively small units in numerous forward positions would undoubtedly put more troops in harm’s way. But the Taliban have not demonstrated the ability to overrun international elements of this size, and the teams could be mutually reinforcing. (Air support would be critical.) Ultimately, we have to accept a certain amount of risk; you can’t beat a rural insurgency without a rural security presence.

As long as the compounds are discreetly sited, house Afghan soldiers to provide the most visible security presence, and fly the Afghan flag, they need not exacerbate fears of foreign occupation. Instead, they would reinforce the country’s most important, most neglected political units; strengthen the tribal elders; win local support; and reverse the slow slide into strategic failure.

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Kiwi spammers fined...

Two Christchurch, NZ, men have been ordered to pay $150,000 between them after sending two million spam emails

Two Christchurch men must pay substantial fines after admitting being part of a major international spamming operation.

A High Court judge has ordered Shane Atkinson pay $100,000 and Ronald Smits $50,000.

The men were part of a Christchurch business which sent over two million unsolicited emails over four months in 2007, to New Zealand addresses marketing Herbal King branded pharmaceuticals manufactured in India.

Internal Affairs says the New Zealanders were part of the largest pharmaceutical spamming operation in the history of the internet.

Atkinson's brother Lance, who lives in Queensland, has also had to pay $100,000 and is facing court action in the United States.

Friday, October 30, 2009

A Russian baby is attracting crowds of pilgrims after claims that verses from the Koran appear on his body.

Thousands of people are lining up every day to catch a glimpse of nine-month-old Ali Yakubov.

Religious leaders say the Koranic verse "Be thankful or grateful to Allah" was printed on the baby's leg in clear Arabic script this week. Apparently the script appears and fades every few days.

However visiting foreign journalists later saw a single letter, according to Reuters India.

But in Russia's mostly Muslim Kizlyar region, in the south of the country, many are convinced this is a miracle.

Sagid Murtazaliyev, head of the region, told Reuters: "The fact that this miracle happened here is a signal to us to take the lead and help our brothers and sisters find peace."

People are seizing on the "miracle" as a symbol of hope in an area which has been troubled by suicide bombs and attacks on police and security services.

The baby's home has now been turned into a shrine and imams have been putting up photographs of the baby's arms and legs covered in the Arabic script for the crowd to admire.

Vladimir Zakharov, deputy director of the Caucasus Research Centre at the Moscow State University of International Relations, told Reuters: "Islam and fear of terrorism now totally dominate the North Caucasus, and they are perhaps using this to escape from a certain reality."

But Yakubov's 26-year-old mother Madina told Reuters the script was a message from Allah. She said: "Allah is great and he sent me my miracle child to keep our people safe."

I just hope the baby doesn't mind being prodded and poked because presumably he's in for quite a lot of that.

Do you believe in miracles?

Source: Reuters India

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

U.N. inspectors entered a once-secret uranium enrichment facility with bunker-like construction and heavy military protection that raised Western suspicions about the extent and intent of Iran's nuclear program.

The visit Sunday by the four-member International Atomic Energy Agency team(IAEA), reported by state media, was the first independent look inside the planned nuclear fuel lab, a former ammunition dump burrowed into the treeless hills south of Tehran and only publicly disclosed last month. The inspectors are expected to study plant blueprints, interview workers and take soil samples before wrapping up the three-day mission.

No results from the inspection are expected until the team leaves the country, but some Iranian officials hailed the visit as an example that their nuclear program was open to international scrutiny.

"IAEA inspectors' visit to Fordo shows that Iran's nuclear activities are transparent and peaceful," the official IRNA news agency quoted lawmaker Hasan Ebrahimi as saying.

Another test of Iran's cooperation is fast approaching, however. Iran has promised to respond this week to a U.N.-brokered deal to process its nuclear fuel abroad — a plan designed to ease Western fears about Iran's potential ability to produce weapons-grade material.

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

How to Make a Difference: Any Publicity is Good Publicity?#disqus_thread

Is December 21 2012 - The End of The World?

Until a couple of years ago there were not that many people who were acquainted with the end of the world 2012 prophecy that was put forward by many scholars who studied the end of the Mayan long calendar. This Long Count calendar has lasted for five thousand one hundred and twenty five years, and although the end of the calendar leads to many different interpretations, one of the most popular is the belief that at the end of this cycle the world (or humanity’s existence) will come to an abrupt end on December 12th, 2012.

Get a Professional View of The Processes of The 2012 Countdown Scientists Do Not Want You to Know

In order to fully understand the 2012 end of the world predications, then you should first understand the calendar that is at the center of this controversy. The current cycle, or baktun, of this calendar began on August 13th, 3114 B.C. This marked the end of the last period and the beginning of the current one. The baktun that we are currently living in is the thirteenth, and the end of this cycle is one that has been considered to have a large level of importance to the Mayan people, which is why so many people have come to the conclusion that this cycle’s end is one that will mean the end of the world as we know it.

While there is no definite proclamation of how the end of the world 2012 will happen, those who have studied this calendar claim that the long calendar was created in order to correspond with a long term astronomical prediction by the Mayan people. This has led some to believe that this end of the world scenario will play out in a manner that has something to do with something from beyond this world. While this correlation to something that is going on in outer space is not a definite thing, for some it comes from a basic understanding of Mayan culture and their unique understanding of astronomical phenomena and planetary alignments.

The Truth About Planet X - Nibiru
Something else that has been considered is the belief that the 2012 end of the world will come to Earth not through some planetary force outside of our galaxy, but through the power of our own sun. Some who have studied the timing of the 2012 prophesy and combined this knowledge with an understanding of the solar system believe that the end will come via a large solar flare. This flare will come about because of the infiltration of the orbits of the planets in our solar system by an outside orbiting planet that the Sumerians and the Babylonians referred to as Nibiru, and is sometimes referred to by modern scientists as Planet X. Those who subscribe to this theory believe that this planet only orbits through our system once every three thousand six hundred years.

In addition to this, these cultures believed that there were a race of people who lived on Nibiru that were known as the Anunnaki. According to their creation mythology this superior race of beings came to Earth and genetically engineered human beings. They did this because they needed to get gold ore from our planet in order to help save their own environment. The humans that they created helped them by mining the gold from Africa. The basis for this mythology was found in ancient writings that were recently uncovered in relation to the ancient Sumerians, and they documented this creation in detail in their writings. If they are correct, then the end of the world 2012 that is depicted in the Mayan calendar will also coincide with the return of the Anunnaki. In essence, it would be the return of our creators, and this is also something that is closely linked in with the belief that the Mayan calendar signals the forthcoming Apocalypse.

According to this 2012 end of the world philosophy, when this planetary body re-enters our system it will cause massive disruptions in the orbits of Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, and Earth. When Nibiru crosses our orbit they believe that it will cause the gases in Jupiter to ignite because it will get too close to the sun and the precarious balance that keeps its gas structure in check will be lost, therefore causing Jupiter to turn into a secondary sun. In combination with this, the solar flares that are released from the sun on a naturally reoccurring cycle are set to peak during the year 2012. It is believed that this occurrence in combination with the cycle of Nibiru will cause a massive amount of damage to the planet on a level that has never been seen before.

Planetary Alignment 2012
However, there are others who contend that the end of the world 2012 prophesy actually refers to a very rare planetary alignment that will occur during the winter solstice in the year 2012. At this time the entire Milky Way (including the earth and the sun) will align at a point that is known as the galactic equator. This alignment is so rare that it only happens every twenty five thousand years. It is thought that this rare planetary alignment could signal a shift in the magnetic poles. This polar shift has happened before in the distant past, and if it were to happen now it would cause massive destruction across the globe. Some claim that the reason the Mayan long calendar ends on this exact date is that something is going to happen in combination with this alignment, the introduction of Nibiru, and the solar flares. It can’t be a coincidence that all of these things are scheduled to happen at the same time that the Mayan calendar is set to come to its conclusion, can it?

If nothing else the 2012 end of the world prophesy that is brought about by the Mayan calendar does bring with it several questions about this culture’s knowledge of celestial events and happenings that they could not have possibly understood, let alone have mapped out to the extent that they did. Their understanding of the solar system, the planetary alignments, and other important events is something that cannot be easily explained or understood by most people who have studied this rare Mayan philosophy.

The end of the world 2012 scenario is one that frightens many people, but this does not have to be the case. If you are interested in finding out more about the theories and philosophies that the 2012 doomsday prophesy is founded on, then you visit the link below to find out more about the end of the world and what you can do to help your family survive any number of disasters. On top of this you can get a complete three hundred and sixty degree view of the processes of the 2012 countdown, including a special bulletin that will keep you up to date on everything that is related to this upcoming date and the disastrous implications it brings with it. So, if you are someone who is looking to make sure that they stay ahead of the danger and keep on top of new developments on the end of the world 2012, then this site is the perfect thing to keep you informed and prepared.

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Kiwis face job discrimination in Australia...

Kiwis face job discrimination in Australia - Aussies should remember the good days will return.

New Zealanders who have long called Australia home have been facing race discrimination when trying to find work.

While many are long-term residents of Australia, there is growing concern New Zealanders are being overlooked for employment because of their race — with several cases of discrimination recently being launched against companies.

David Faulkner told Stuff.co.nz that while he considers himself Australian he’s not “allowed to be Australian” saying he has been discriminated against when applying for work, and has even struggled to secure credit card insurance.

The 38-year-old recently reached an out-of-court settlement with the Melbourne Fire Brigade after the organisation admitted it breached the Equal Opportunity Act by refusing to accept an application for work from a New Zealand-born, long-term Australian resident. The brigade has since apologised to Mr Faulkner.

Having lived in Australia since he was six, Mr Faulkner says it’s because of a bureaucratic loophole that he has been unable to get the equivalent of permanent residency with many Kiwis stuck in this same situation.

Australia is currently home for almost half a million New Zealanders. A lot of Kiwis want to live in Australia, and make a huge contribution to the Australian economy.

Acknowledgements: Stuff.co.nz

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Samoans grieve and bury their loved ones - Anzac military and medical personnel help the human side of the clean-up after the tsunami...

LEONE, American Samoa – Mourning islanders of American Samoa were set to hold a national prayer service Sunday for victims of the tsunami that obliterated villages on the shores of the South Pacific and left at least 176 dead.

Territorial Gov. Togiola Tulafono said Saturday the service will bring the community together in the aftermath of the disaster. It will be held at the headquarters of the Congregational Christian Church of America Samoa, the largest religious denomination in the U.S. territory.

Families are still coming to terms with the sudden losses inflicted by Tuesday's tsunami waves that roared ashore after an underwater earthquake with a magnitude of up to 8.3. The disaster claimed at least 176 lives, in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.

In Samoa, scores of grieving people made a heartbreaking decision to sign over victims of the tsunami to the state for burial rather than take them back to ravaged villages for traditional funerals — a radical departure from Samoan tradition.

Government minister Fiana Naomi said Saturday she expected about half of Samoa's 135 victims would be buried in mass graves of up to 20 in a new cemetery in the capital Apia on Thursday following a memorial service in a nearby sports stadium. The state would carry the costs.

"The government sees the devastated areas, there are no buildings there, some villages might be relocated, people have lost everything and they can't hold ceremonies in the usual ways," Naomi said, tears welling in her eyes. "Usually they're very large communal ceremonies, but this is memorializing this event to serve as a constant reminder to us that we need to be prepared for natural disasters."

Government ministers put the proposal to about 100 village and family leaders gathered in a traditional wall-less Samoan meeting house. The government will still consider financial assistance to grieving relatives who elect to take their loved ones home.

Some leaders were concerned about the bodies remaining for so long in the city's overcrowded morgue.

Ben Taufua, who buried nine members of his family in the hills above Lalomanu on Wednesday and Thursday, said he was unhappy that some of them were inadequately chilled in a commercial cooler.

"Eight members of my family were found on the first day. When we went to pick up the bodies, they were worse than the bodies that were just found 48 hours later," he told AP with tears in his eyes. "It was very, very sad."

Faisimalo John Muaitau, a resident of Apia, said his family had agreed to bury their three victims in the new cemetery.

"It wasn't an easy decision," Muaitau said. "But we feel that what the government is doing is making a memorial for them and that is a good thing."

The village of Leone, the center of Christianity on American Samoa, was a bleak landscape of rubble. The beach meeting houses that had been the center of cultural rituals and family meetings were destroyed. An overturned van was jammed into the roof of one beach house.

Leone residents estimate the tsunami destroyed about one-third of the village, which has a population of 3,000. The victims were mostly elderly or toddlers. Four villagers were killed while making crafts on the shore.

Among the mourners is Taitasi Suapaia Fitiao, who is preparing for every parent's nightmare — burying her young child.

Her 6-year-old daughter, Vaijoresa, was ripped from her arms by the tsunami. As she floated away, out of reach, Vaijoresa pleaded, "Mom, please."

"I just can't believe that she's gone. At such a young age, you know? No parent should have to bury their child. It's supposed to be the other way around," Taitasi Fitiao said Saturday while sitting on her front porch next to a shrine to her daughter.

She said she just hopes her daughter — the youngest of her seven children — didn't suffer too much pain.

Vaijoresa's cousin, a girl, was also found dead. A boy cousin, also 6, is still missing.

The family will hold a joint service for the girls on Friday. Another memorial for the boy will be held at the bridge near where he was swept away.

And full support from Anzac military and medical personnel, and the governments of New Zealand and Australia.

Acknowledgements: McGuirk reported from Apia, Samoa. Also contributing were Associated Press writers Fili Sagapolutele in Pago Pago, Australia, and Jaymes Song and Greg Small in Honolulu and AP video journalist Haven Daley in Leone.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Is New Zealand's iconic ACC scheme in jeopardy?

Is the world's first and only comprehensive no-fault state owned and operated fully accident compensation scheme under threat from the conservative John Key-led National Government in New Zealand. This scheme is the envy of the world. In 1974 the government of the day signed a covenant with the people of New Zealand that in return for the full provisions of this scheme, they would give up their right to sue, their employer or the person responsible for their accident and injuries.

The following are some comments made about what increase motorists may pay under the changes.

ACC choice - pay more or get less, says John Key

Cutbacks to ACC will be spelled out tomorrow
Govt to announce ACC changes.

Car owners are to pay more for vehicle licensing and petrol under ACC increases announced by the Government today.

ACC Minister Nick Smith revealed a $32 increase in the motor vehicle levy. This will take the fee for a petrol car up from $136.44 to $168.46.

The ACC petrol levy will rise from 9.34 cents per litre to 9.90 cents per litre.

The changes announced are much less than those proposed by ACC.

Dr Smith said he would cut entitlements rather than introduce the full increases recommended.

He said the proposed increases were too steep and the Government was introducing legislation to halve them.

"These changes are necessary because ACC's claim costs have risen by 57 per cent and its unfunded liabilities have grown from $4 billion to $13b in just four years," Dr Smith said.

The steepest levy hikes are for drivers of large motorcycles.

All motorcycles currently pay $252.69 in levies. Under the changes, while bikes under 125CC face only an increase of a few dollars, larger motorcycles will pay far heftier amounts.

601 plus cc: increases from $252.69 to $745.77.

Mopeds - which currently pay just $59 in ACC charges - will instead be classed with small motorcycles of 125 CC or less and pay $257.58 in license fees and petrol levies.

Dr Smith said motorcyclists were 16 times more likely than car drivers to be involved in accidents yet car owners were currently subsidising their ACC bills by $70 each.

The Government is also considering 'no claims' bonuses, experience rates, and lower levies for those with safer vehicles.

"Our objective is to secure the long-term future of ACC as an efficient and fair 24/7, no-fault insurance scheme for all New Zealanders.

"The changes to the law will not reduce the income compensation payments to any existing claimants but future claimants will receive lesser amounts in some circumstances."

Other key changes included:

* reversing 2008 income compensation extensions covering casuals, part-timers, non-earners and abatements for holiday pay;

* reversing vocational rehabilitation changes;

* introducing a 6 per cent hearing loss threshold;

* reversing entitlements for wilfully self-inflicted injury and suicide;

* further restricting entitlements for criminals;

* allowing incentives for employers and vehicles;

* requiring more open reporting of ACC liabilities;

* And the previously announced decision to extend the date ACC had to be fully funded by from 2014 to 2019.

ACC recommended increases in the work account levy from $1.31 to $1.89 per $100; in the earners account from $1.51 to $2.48 per $100. Also it said the motor vehicle account levy should go up to $417.28 from $287.

What will come next? Will they fundamentally change ACC? The NZ public traded off their right to sue in 1974 for a full 24 hours no-fault accident cover. Will this be under threat in coming months? We will have to wait and see.

Acknowledgements: NZPA, NZ Herald Staff

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Global rise in breast cancer due to 'Western lifestyles'...

Of all the exports from our modern world, breast cancer ranks as among the most dubious. Once thought to be a disease of the rich, it is now a global epidemic.

The rise of the cancer in Europe and America – cases have jumped 80 per cent in the UK since the 1970s – is being mirrored across the world. And scientists say increasing prosperity and the "Westernisation" of traditional lifestyles is to blame.

A richer diet, smaller families, delayed childbearing and reduced breast-feeding have driven the increase in the West, together with rising obesity and increased alcohol consumption, specialists say. Now these trends are being seen everywhere – with a growing burden of malignant disease in their wake.

An estimated 1.3 million new cases were diagnosed around the world last year. It is the commonest cancer in the UK and across Europe, even though it affects almost only one gender. In 2006, it outranked lung cancer, which affects both sexes, for the first time.

In Japan, Singapore and Korea – countries once renowned for their low rates – cases have doubled or tripled in the past 40 years.

In China, urban cancer registries have recorded 20 to 30 per cent increases in the past decade. India has seen similar rises and cases have doubled in parts of Africa. There are doubts, especially in Africa, about how far better recording has contributed to the apparent rise. But scientists agree that the disease is rampaging across the globe.

However, they disagree about the best way to curb it. Some claim the best hope lies in developing a preventive drug – a hormonal cocktail that would act like a vaccine and provide lifelong protection – and criticise the world's failure to focus attention on it.

Others demand political action, raising public awareness and galvanising governments to provide screening and early treatment that gives women the best chance of surviving. A third school of thought emphasises the need for a public health strategy to highlight the risks of alcohol, obesity and lack of exercise.

Peggy Porter, of the Fred Hutchinson Research Centre in Seattle, Washington, writing in the current New England Journal of Medicine, says the world must wake up to the growing threat.

"As more countries modernise, more women will enter an increasingly sedentary workforce, delay childbearing, exert control over their reproductive lives, live longer and eat a more Westernised diet. Their breast cancer rates will no doubt increase. It is crucial that women's awareness of their risk and their expectations of their government and the medical community regarding detection and treatment increase at a similar rate."

Professor Porter said the biggest barrier to improved care for women was ignorance. "In a lot of countries, women are still afraid to know. When Betty Ford [wife of US President Gerald Ford] admitted she had breast cancer in 1974, it changed the world. Women who had seen it as a death sentence became willing to talk about it, pushed for more care and more research. Other countries need to follow that lead."

Valerie Beral, head of the Cancer Research UK epidemiology unit at Oxford University, said that to blame Westernisation was to miss the central cause – changes in child-bearing.

"We don't need to seek subtle explanations when we know the main one. China has gone from the six-child family to the one-child family in a couple of generations. Most women in the past had six or seven children – it was fairly standard across the world. Each child was breast fed for two to two-and-a-half years, which meant they stopped ovulating and didn't conceive. The hormonal changes that occur around child-bearing and during breast-feeding are protective for life."

We need to investigate the nature of this hormonal protection and synthesise it, she said. "If we could find out why child-bearing gives life-long protection against breast cancer we might develop a hormonal cocktail that could be given to women at age 18 for a year which would have the same effect. I am frustrated that this is not a research priority."

Peter Boyle, head of the International Agency for Cancer Research in Lyon, which will publish global cancer rates next month, said alcohol was the most worrying driver for younger women. "The rise is a huge problem and one which is growing enormously quickly. There are places which 30 years ago had very low rates where it is growing very rapidly. In every region it is the commonest or second most common cancer.

"My concern is over the rise in drinking, especially among young women. For each single unit of alcohol per day, the risk rises by 7 per cent. It's the ladettes who hit the bars on a Friday night that I worry about."

Why rates have risen

* The rising breast cancer rates around the world are linked to increased exposure to the female hormone oestrogen, because of changes in reproduction and diet.

* Improved nutrition means girls reach puberty earlier and women have the menopause later. A century ago, girls had their first periods at 16 and 17, but today it is morelikely to be 12 to 13.

* Each year that the menopause is delayed increases the risk of contracting breast cancer by 3 per cent.

* Increased numbers of women going out to work has led to later births, smaller families and fewer women breastfeeding. Each year that childbirth is postponed beyond the mid-20s increases the breast cancer risk by 3 per cent.

* The more children a woman has, the lower her risk of breast cancer so the trend towards smaller families has increased many women's exposure.

* Breast cancer rates vary widely around the world. Japan has one fifth of the cases diagnosed in the US. However, Japanese women who move to the US rapidly acquire the same risk as American women.

* Breast cancer in the UK has risen by 84 per cent since the 1970s. In 2005, 38,212 women were diagnosed with the disease.

* Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in the UK even though it mostly affects one sex (there are a few hundred cases in men). Lung cancer, the next most common, which affects both sexes, was diagnosed in 30,997 men and women in 2005.

Acknowledgements: The Independent - Health and Families: 24 Jan 2008

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Planting Trees, Growing Children - the Serafin Ramirez story

Bolivia, 2009

Bolivia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America, especially in the isolated mountain villages like Jatun Pampa. There, life is sustainable when good weather grows crops to feed families, but when the weather is disastrous, families are destitute.

Serafin Ramirez is a 47-year-old Bolivian with a wife and eight children. He is a skilled, gifted leader and tenacious about seeking solutions - solutions not only for himself and his community of Jatun Pampa, but for his children as well.

He knew something had to change. Once, the rain and sun provided good growth of crops and residents maintained their families on crop income. But lately, they were besieged with drought, and then flooding. They had little rain, new growth dried up, there was ice in the summer, and strong winds blew where trees once stood. It was the result of natural disasters, the need for firewood and climate change.

Making the Connection
Residents agreed it was a problem, but felt alone or resigned to their struggle. So Serafin traveled to Wayrapata, Bolivia, where Outreach International was working with another group. Serafin was persistent in requesting a facilitator come to his community and soon after, Outreach International was in Jatun Pampa.

“Trees neutralize the strong winds,” Serafin explained to Marcelina, the facilitator. “They hold the ground from erosion. We call the trees the lungs of the earth because they restore and replenish it. And when the ground is not eroded, we can also plant gardens.”

Through the process of authentic participation, a community group was organized of 16 families. They researched available services and resources, and acquired small trees from DESEC, a Bolivian forestry organization. But the trees were delivered to the valley and had to be transported by donkeys because the mountain road was not maintained. It was difficult work, and after planting the tiny saplings, many were eaten by animals.

So the community group petitioned the government for a better road and, once built, 9000 pine trees were delivered to the top of the mountain and 18 acres of the Jatun Pampa village were reforested with new trees.

Families then sought seeds for vegetables and apple trees for their gardens.

Now, after only a year, the trees have stopped erosion down the mountain, helping even the vegetable gardens to succeed. There is a surplus beyond feeding families, and vegetables are sold in nearby communities.

The greatest growth
But the greatest outcome of planting the trees has been on the children.

“I planted a pine tree with my children,” one mother says. “And I believe they will continue planting trees when they are older.”

“My children take the initiative to care for our trees. They are the first ones motivated to give new ideas, too,” another says.

“When I was a child, we didn’t have gardens and I didn’t know how to plant,” a proud mother says, “But my son Rodrigo is eating fresh vegetables and already knows how to plant. It is a good thing.”

And Serafin, who helped to initiate the transformation in his village? He just smiles and watches his own children watering the trees.

Outreach International upholds environmental sustainability along with the sustainability of communities and families. Jatun Pampa is just one of many communities in Bolivia, and one of thousands throughout the world where nurturing the environment is growing hand-in-hand with nurturing communities.

The Serafin Ramirez Story

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

New Zealand could patrol its home waters with "drone" spy planes...

Robotic "drone" spy planes flying by remote control could be used to patrol New Zealand's waters.

The Defence Force is keeping a "watching brief" over the unmanned planes, some of which have the range to conduct surveillance in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, and in the Pacific Islands.

Drones are best known for their use to fire missiles against militants in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But their ability to spend up to 32 hours in the air and send back video images means they could take up the Air Force's role of monitoring New Zealand's exclusive economic zone and neighbouring waters for illegal fishing boats, and even search for lost vessels.

The New Zealand Army has developed its own hand-launched drone, the Kahu, which is almost ready for soldiers to use for "over the hill" observation in battlegrounds such as Afghanistan.

The head of the Army's capability staff, Colonel Phil Collett, said the Defence Force was assessing drones "to find out what questions we should be asking to become an informed customer".

The force "certainly thinks there is a place for this kind of technology", he said.

It was examining how drones could be used by the Navy, Army and Air Force.

Colonel Collett said drones ranged from "global roaming aircraft that can stay in the air for days at a time, to the type of things soldiers might use to look over the hill in front of them".

The Kahu - Maori for hawk - was a "home-grown" drone developed with private interests. It recently had a night flight.

Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said that as well as the "watching brief", drones would probably be considered in the upcoming Defence White Paper, which will shape the future function and resources of the armed forces.

Dr Mapp said the US Coastguard and Australian Government were looking at using drones for sea patrols.

The US Coastguard wants an unmanned helicopter that can be launched from ships, and Australia has tested several drones, including the long-range Global Hawk.

The Australian Government this month rushed through a multi-million-dollar deal to lease two mid-range Heron drones for use in Afghanistan, where its troops are already using the hand-launched version.

Its Air Force has said it aims to have another drone for maritime surveillance by next year.

Dr Mapp said the use of drones had been raised several times at public consultation meetings being held for the White Paper.

They were "clearly one of the things we have to think about", Dr Mapp said, but he did not want the White Paper "turning into a shopping list".

He said being unmanned did not make the drones cheap, as they still required a pilot and support crew on the ground.

He said a top-end version with satellite links would be needed to monitor New Zealand's exclusive economic zone which extends 370km from the shore and is one of the biggest in the world.

It becomes even bigger when international obligations in the Southern Ocean and Pacific are factored in.

Dr Mapp said two manned planes could do a similar job, "with the added advantage that you can change mission and throw a liferaft out".

Drone technology is advancing rapidly, and the US Air Force is now training more drone operators than fighter and bomber pilots in what is seen as a fundamental shift.

Dr Mapp said New Zealand needed military resources with flexibility, and the advances being made in that particular technology.

Such a role could prove to be part of New Zealand's role in future ANZAC combined military operations. New Zealand does not have, and probably could never afford in the future, combat aircraft. In such a military alliance, New Zealand's Orion patrol aircraft could be better utilised as well.

Acknowledgements: Patrick Gower, MSN.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Sir Howard Morrison - A great entertainer, a great leader of his people and a great New Zealander has died.

Sir Howard Morrison passed away after a heart attack at his home in Rotorua. He was 74.

For more than 50 years he provided a unique Maori voice, becoming perhaps the greatest ambassador to New Zealand music the country has seen.

He was born in Rotorua in 1935 to a family he described as poor and has described his life as "beautiful, simple, but meaningful".

Morrison always loved music and once said he "fell in love with the way I sounded".

He left school to become a freezing worker, but by the mid-1950s he started putting together groups for gigs at local rugby club socials.

But it was the Howard Morrison Quartet that catapulted him into the spotlight and turned them into one of the country's original pop groups - and the first fully professional entertainers. The quartet was originally named the Ohinemutu Quartet and included Gerry Merito, Morrison's brother Laurie and his cousin John.

Advertisement
Their debut record, My Old Man's An All Black, topped the charts in 1960, selling 80,000 copies. By 1965 the quartet disbanded and Howard Morrison launched his solo career.

He married his wife Kuia at age 22.

In 1966 he made it onto the big screen, topping the bill in the musical comedy Don't Let It Get You. The role helped him win entertainer of the year and other awards would follow, including being named the 1982 television entertainer of the year.

Sir Howard was the uncle of movie actor Temuera Morrison.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Kenya: Innovative Cash Transfers Restore Hope, Dignity.
Cash-based program empowers communities displaced by conflict in Nakuru, Kenya

There is no “one size fits all” strategy for helping families and communities rebuild after a devastating crisis. Action Against Hunger’s Food Security & Livelihoods Programs uphold this principle when working to restore self-sufficiency by respecting a community’s economic and cultural character. Each community has its own unique assets, and it’s our job to work with local leaders to identify these assets and integrate them into a project’s overall design. While this painstaking commitment to community participation is essential, contexts are different, requiring new models and novel approaches.

The political instability that unfolded in Kenya in January of 2008 presented Action Against Hunger with one such set of unique challenges. Nakuru, the regional capital of Kenya’s Rift Valley Province, had been particularly affected by the post-election violence that tore through Kenya last year. With populations displaced along ethnic lines, livelihoods disrupted, and homes destroyed, communities were left adrift to fend for themselves in makeshift camps.

While most humanitarian assistance centered on the needs in the camps, a significant number of the displaced had gone undetected, having sought shelter with friends and relatives in Nakuru instead of the camps. After establishing a presence in the camps, Action Against Hunger discovered that there were unmet needs in town, where residents struggled to rebuild their homes and support their families without any access to income. Action Against Hunger saw a clear opportunity to introduce a cash-based program to meet these overlooked needs.

Read more here

Saturday, September 19, 2009

MY TRIALS WITH GOOGLE ADSENSE...

First published at Qondio:

I have posted the following message because it is genuine and proven to be so. Why? About 12 months ago I sent a number of messages to Google Adsense asking why my account had been disabled. All monies I had earned were forfeited. Up until this point in time I had not received a single answer from Google Adsense. The following message received today insinuated that they may not reply to this appeal if they have already received a prior one. The law of natural justice demands that people are entitled to know exactly what evidence has been collected against them. Surely? Not to do so amounts to professional arrogance. I encourage readers to comment on this matter, because it could happen to them.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Re: [#511342411] Invalid Activity Appeal
InboxX
Reply |Google AdSense to me
show details 10:17 AM (2 hours ago)

Hello,

This message confirms that we've received your appeal submission.

We'll get to your appeal as soon as we can, though due to the high volume
of emails we receive, it may take us up to a week or more to process it.
If you've previously submitted an appeal for this account, you might not
receive a response to this or future appeals.

Also, please be aware that appealing the disabling of your AdSense account
does not guarantee that it will be reinstated.

If you have any questions or concerns about accounts disabled for invalid
activity, please visit
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=57153.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

Saturday, September 12, 2009

President Obama's address to Congress on health insurance reform...

In an address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama explained how health insurance reform will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance, coverage for those who don’t, and will lower the cost of health care for our families, our businesses, and our government.

"I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year."

– President Barack Obama, February 24, 2009

Read further

Thursday, September 10, 2009

THE ONLINE CASINO REPORTS NEW ZEALAND...

I have just visited "The Online Casino Reports New Zealand" site. It appeared to be a very exciting place for confirmed or would-be gamblers looking for some action and a place to visit, with an automatic bonus for free betting for a limited period on a number of different sites. There is a real variety of sites there which should cater for many potential customers.

Under "A World of Online Gambling" the owners of the site have given Kiwis the opportunity to explore New Zealand online casinos, internet gambling, sports betting sites and poker rooms that they found exceptional. Kiwis can learn a little more about licensing committees, watchdogs and a whole host of very useful gambling links.

Interested in online gambling, or would like to learn more? This site would be extremely valuable in achieving this. It adds another layer and variety to online entertainment. So I encourage to visit here and see for yourselves first hand.

I would recommend this site to readers and may spend some time checking out things myself. I'm not much of a gambler personally but it can provide some alternative interest to those who are seeking an outlet for their gambling interests.
Online Casino Reports

Saturday, September 05, 2009

IS THIS A SHOCKING INDICTMENT OF THE AMERICAN HEALTH SYSTEM, AND PERHAPS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY AS WELL - MEDICAL HEALTH TOURISM A NEW INDUSTRY...

Is this a shocking indictment of the American health system, and perhaps of American society as well? Please read on:

A recent "20-20" television program in New Zealand exposed the problems existing in the American health system. The story starts in Idaho Falls, USA. An American woman named 'Heather' required a full hip replacement. The basic cost in America was US$60,000 exclusive of all other costs involved.

But like 45 million other families, 'Heather'and her family do not have, and cannot afford health insurance. Neither does she qualify for any form of government assistance, reserved for the very poor or those with identifiable needs. Sadly for her president Obama's proposed health scheme, if passed into law, will be too late for 'Heather'. She needs a full hip replacement now, or she will spend the rest of her life in a wheel-chair!

After some extensive online research, 'Heather' discovered she could get her hip-replacement offshore, not in Mexico for example, but in an English- speaking First World country down in the Pacific - New Zealand.

The total cost for 'Heather', inclusive of all associated medical costs, hotel bills and food for both her and a companion(her mother)would be US$23,000 all up!

'Heather' was able to find a foundation within the US who were prepared to pay half of her costs, and family and friends raised the other half.Then it was off to Auckland, New Zealand.

After flying to NZ and settling her mother into her hotel room, 'Heather' went to meet the surgeon responsible for her operation. She was interviewed and met the medical staff at the private hospital where the full hip operation was to be performed.

A new hip is guaranteed for about ten years, though some last indefinately.

She had her operation at a top private hospital in Auckland. They had the latest navigation system available to line-up her new hip.

Her operation was a complete success, and recovery took four weeks, during which time she was given an exercise regime, including walking. She was then passed fit enough to return home to the US for her rehabilition - with its market driven health system, which President Barack Obama is trying to overhaul. His opposition is coming from self-interest groups in the American health system, including the vast health insurance lobby.

So far there has really only been a trickle of clients such as 'Heather' seeking treatment outside the US. This has become known as "medical tourism".

How will this affect medical treatment for local Kiwis in the future? If this trickle becomes the flood that is anticipated it could well affect costs here in New Zealand. NZ could handle 2000-5000 clients a year, but if a tsunami of 20,000 clients hit NZ annually there could well be ramifications for the NZ health system - availabilty for operations could be compromised and costs could soar, affecting the state system as well.

There is no doubt that the estimated 15 million or so Americans will be going somewhere offshore from America in future years, and NZ will become a desirable destination and will get its share of an industry that could be equivalent to its present multimillion dollar wine industry. But what sort of "strain" could be put on the NZ health system? Could there be just a little temptation to sqeeze in some foreign clients into the NZ public health system too?

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

ACTION AGAINST HUNGER

Providing innovative solutions to world hunger:

Lomuria is a 16 month-old girl from Karamoja, Uganda. Last July, her family was left destitute after their village was raided and their cattle stolen.

Her parents, Mogole Maria and Lotonkul John, themselves subsisting on one meal a day, were unable to provide Lomuria with the nutrients she needed to thrive.

On the brink of starvation, and weakened by malaria and pneumonia, Lomuria was taken to Action Against Hunger’s local Stabilization Center.

Thanks to our immediate attention, and a two week regimen of intensive treatment, she survived.

Now at home, Lomuria receives bi-weekly examinations from our Clinical Officer and supplemental ready-to-use foods to nurse her back to full health.

This is what Action Against Hunger does every day. We save the lives of children like Lomuria and provide their families with the tools they need to regain self-sufficiency for the long term.

But help is needed to reach them: webmaster@actionagainsthunger.org

Saturday, August 29, 2009

NESSIE? LOCH NESS MONSTER SPOTTED FROM SPACE...

Claims that a blurry object in a satellite photo is the mythical Loch Ness Monster have sparked a flurry of interest among enthusiasts.

Security guard Jason Cooke said he "couldn’t believe it" after seeing a Google Image photograph of the oblong-shape moving through the waters in the Scottish Highlands.

"It's just like the descriptions of Nessie," Mr Cooke was quoted in The Sun newspaper as saying.

The object measures about 20m in length — the same length of a plesiosaur, a carnivorous marine reptile from the Jurassic period which "Nessie" believers say lives in the waters.

Five lines trail the main shape, raising claims they could be the fins and tail stemming from the mythical creature's body.

Others say it is simply a boat leaving waves in its wake.

Sightings of the Loch Ness Monster have been reported for centuries but scientists say the monster is nothing more than a myth.

The most famous piece of photographic "evidence", which appears to show a snake-like head rising out of the water, was taken by British surgeon Colonel Robert Wilson in 1934.

The Google Earth object was located at co-ordinates Latitude 57°12'52.13"N, Longitude 4°34'14.16"W.

Acknowledgements: MSN NZ

Nessie from space

Friday, August 28, 2009

FROM JOE BIDEN REMEMBERS TED KENNEDY:

"On the morning of the day before the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin, Senator Ted Kennedy called the White House to inquire if it was appropriate to bring to the burial some earth from Arlington National Cemetery. The answer was essentially a shrug: Who knows? Unadvised, the senator carried a shopping bag onto the plane, filled with earth he had himself dug the afternoon before from the graves of his two murdered brothers. And at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, after waiting for the crowd and the cameras to disperse, he dropped to his hands and knees, and gently placed that earth on the grave of the murdered prime minister.

No spin, no photo op; a man unreasonably familiar with bidding farewell to slain heroes, a man in mourning, quietly making tangible a miserable connection."

I really don't know how to sum up a life of so much diligence, striving, and tragedy (as both victim and perpetrator, yes), so all I can say is that as a liberal and an American I hope Ted Kennedy can now rest and that our government will honor his life's work."

Certainly a man used to losing those close to him over many, many, years. Who will the Kennedy clan turn to now?

Read story:

Vice President Biden just gave a very emotional speech about the passing of his long-time friend, Ted Kennedy:

"You know, Teddy spent a lifetime working for a fair and more just America. And for 36 years I had the privilege of going to work everyday and literally -- not figuratively -- sitting next to him. and being a witness to history every single day the Senate was in session. I sat with him on the Senate floor, in the same aisle, I sat with him on the jUdiciary committee, physically next to him, and I sat with him in the caucuses.

"And it was in that process, every day I was with him -- and this is gonna sound strange -- he restored my sense of idealism and my faith in the possibilities of what this country could do. He and I were talking after his diagnosis, and I said, you know, I think you're the only other person I've met who like me is more optimistic, more enthusiastic, more idealistic, sees greater possibilities, after 36 years than after we were elected. He was 30 years old when he was elected, I was 29 years old. And you'd think that would be the peak of our idealism. But I genuinely feel more idealistic about the prospects for my country today than I have at any time in my life. And it was infectious when you were with him."He also paid tribute to Kennedy's abilities to fight for his beliefs, but not with malice towards his opponents:

And you know, he was never defeatist, he never was petty -- never was petty. He was never small. And in the process of his doing, he made everybody he worked with bigger, both his adversaries as well as his allies. Don't you find it remarkable that one of the most partisan, liberal men in the last century, serving in the Senate, had so many of his (long pause) so many of his foes embrace him, because they know he made them bigger. He made them more graceful by the way in which he conducted himself.And Biden told a very personal story about how Kennedy helped him get elected, and then helped him very personally, when Biden's first wife and a daughter were killed in a car accident, in which his sons were also injured, soon after Biden's first election:

"And for the hundreds, if not thousands of us, who got to know him personally, he -- he actually, how can I say it -- he altered our lives, as well. Through the grace of God and an accident of history, I was privileged to be one of those people. And every important event in my adult life, as I look back this morning and talking to Vicky, every single one, he was there. He was there to encourage, to counsel, to be empathetic, to lift up.

"From 1972, as a 29 year old kid with three weeks left to go in a campaign, him showing up at the Delaware armory in the middle of what we called Little Italy, which had never voted nationally for a Democrat, I won by 31,00 votes and got 85% of the vote in that district, or something to that effect. I literally would not be standing there, were it not for Teddy Kennedy. Not figuratively, this is not hyperbole, literally.

"He was there, he stood with me when my wife and daughter were killed in an accident. He was on the phone with me literally everyday in the hospital, when my two children were tempting, and God willing, God thankfully, survived very serious injuries. I'd turn around and there'd be some specialist from Massachusetts, a doc I'd never even asked for, literally sitting in the room with me. You know, it's not just me that he affected like that. It's hundreds upon hundreds of people.

"I was talking with Vicky this morning, and she said, "he was ready to go, Joe. But we were not ready to let him go. He's left a great void in our public life, and a hole in the hearts of millions of Americans and hundreds of us who were affected by his personal touch throughout our lives. People like me who came to rely on him. He was kind of like an anchor.

"And unlike many important people in my 38 years I've had the privilege of knowing, the unique thing about Teddy was, it was never about him. It was always about you. It was never about him. There's people I admire -- great women and men -- but at the end of the day it gets down to being about them. With Teddy, it was never about him.

"Well today, we lost a truly remarkable man, and to paraphrase shakespeare, I don't think we shall ever see his like again. But I think the legacy left is not just in the landmark legislation he passed, but in how he helped people look at themselves and look at one another."

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

GEOTHERMAL GENERATION IN NEW ZEALAND:

Geothermal Energy & Electricity Generation
Geothermal energy produces about 10% of New Zealand's electricity supply. Most of New Zealand's installed geothermal generating capacity of about 600 MWe is situated in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, with another 25 MWe installed at Ngawha in Northland. The temperature and conditions of a particular geothermal reservoir determine which type of generation technology is used: dry steam, flash steam or binary cycle.

When the first generator was commissioned at Wairakei in 1958, it was only the second geothermal plant in the world to begin large-scale commercial operation and the first to exploit a wet (rather than dry steam) geothermal resource. The impetus for the development of Wairakei came in 1947 from severe electricity shortages following two dry years which restricted hydro generation, and a desire by the New Zealand Government for the electricity supply to be independent of imported fuel. New Zealand is now faced with a similar situation which geothermal energy has the potential to alleviate.

There are currently six fields used for geothermal electricity generation, which is dominated by Contact Energy Ltd (a listed company) and Mighty River Power (a State Owned Enterprise). A significant factor in recent geothermal projects has been the high level of commercial participation by Maori-owned enterprises.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

A MAN WHO USED A PUBLIC TOILET IN AUSTRALIA TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER SICK JOKE BACKFIRED...

A man who used a public toilet in a shopping mall In Cairns, Australia, was taken to a hospital to have the toilet seat removed from his backside after someone smeared it with glue in what an official condemned Monday as a sick joke.

Police urged possible witnesses to come forward after the 58-year-old man was humiliated in the northeastern city of Cairns by the prank.

An ambulance was called to help the man after he was found stuck by fast-acting adhesive glue to a toilet seat on Saturday in the busy shopping mall.

Paramedics removed the seat from the toilet and took him to a hospital, where medical staff used industrial solvents to get it off.

Cairns local government official Di Forsyth said the man, who was not identified, was not injured but was "extremely embarrassed" by his experience.

"I'm disgusted that a gentlemen has had to go through that because someone thinks it's funny," Forsyth said. "It's a sick joke."

AP

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

BULLIED AND FRUSTRATED KIWI TAXMAN DRIVES CAR THROUGH WORKPLACE WINDOWS...

A Christchurch, NZ, tax department employee smashed his car through his own Inland Revenue office because he was fed up with "incompetent management and workplace bullying".

David Jerrold Theobald, 47, drove through two sets of glass doors and smashed a third at the Christchurch Inland Revenue building before coming to a stop.

Mr Theobald, a well-known musician in Christchurch who has worked for the IRD for 25 years, said he had been careful not to put lives in danger.

"I checked with the cleaners the night before to make sure no-one would be in the building," he told The Dominion Post.

"I drove right up to the doors, looked both ways, then slowly pushed forward till the doors broke."

Mr Theobald posted pictures of the damage on his blog , along with copies of legal documents he received from police and his employer following the incident.

One of the documents was a letter from Inland Revenue human resources head Patrick Crawford.

"Information has come to my attention which indicates that you may have intentionally driven a car through Inland Revenue's Christchurch building," Mr Crawford wrote.

"I am concerned that your conduct may be inconsistent with the Code of Conduct."

Mr Theobald said he was upset with what he saw as workplace bullying and incompetent management at Inland Revenue.

"This has been going on for three years and now I've got four official information requests in with them and they're making that as onerous as possible," he said.

"This was just a way to make a gesture."

He also said he wanted to highlight the potential for a terrorist attack if someone were to drive a car full of explosives into the building.

"It's just another 9/11 waiting to happen," he said.

Mr Theobald appeared in court yesterday. He has been charged with intentional damage and reckless driving and could face up to seven years in prison if found guilty of criminal damage.

Acknowledgements: MSN NZ