Aaron Nicholson - Biggest News of 2013

Posted 26th December 2013 from Manapouri New Zealand

Without doubt 2 giant statements cropped up in 2013 that went mostly un noticed by the world Media.

Firstly earlyer on President Obama, with the advice of the World's Top Scientists announced somewhat surreptitisously that Climate Change is a threat to Humanity.

and Secondly and more Recently, Scientists have announced a break through in reverseing ageing in Mice DNA  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25445748

If these two things from 2013 are not a game changer for the Human Diaspora than there is something
terminally wrong with our International Media.

And it also Beggs the Question if truely stupid people should be included at all in the World's political process.

Tolkien Family Host Hobbit Screening

The Daily Post (Wales) 19th December 2013

Clwyd Theatr Cymru rolled out the red carpet last week as the venue hosted a special fundraising  preview of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

The advance screening of the film –  which is the second instalment in The Hobbitmovie trilogy – was organised by members of J R R Tolkien’s family to raise money and awareness of the MS Support Centre in Saltney.

The facility is close to the family’s  heart as it is where Tolkien’s great grandson Mike receives treatment for motor neurone disease.

Mike, who lives in Deeside, was diagnosed with the condition, which affects the nervous system, a year ago and attends the centre for treatment.

The 38-year-old invited volunteers and staff from the facility to the preview event as a way of thanking them for their help and support over the past year.

Mandy Doyle, Mike’s sister, said: “It's been amazing as we have so many close family and friends here – it's just been great to see everybody here and everybody coming to support Mike.

“We're a close-knit family and it is nice to give Mike that extra comfort and support that he needed to come out – it  is very hard when you have been so active to lose all that and be in a wheelchair and it takes a lot of courage to come out.”

She went on: “The MS centre in Saltney has just got amazing group of people that aren't scary medical people that are in your face – they just very pro-active and very friendly.

“We can go in and have a laugh in a relaxed environment and you don't  have to worry about anything. They do all sorts of things there and its a way of saying thank you to them because when you get diagnosed with MND you just feel lost and you don't know where to turn and a lot of people find it really difficult.

“And a lot of people there are volunteers as well so its really important to support them – hopefully they will raise lots of dosh tonight.”

There was an extra surprise for Mike at the screening as director Peter Jackson and stars including Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch appeared on screen to give him some special messages.

Mike’s brother Royd Tolkien, said:  “Mike absolutely loved the messages from all the stars – we only had a week to put it together and we weren’t sure who would even do it – but when I saw it, it blew me away.

“It was so touching and the messages were so personal – it was fantastic.”

The evening raised more than £700 for the MS centre in Saltney, which is the only dedicated MS treatment centre across Cheshire, North Wales, Wirral and Merseyside.

Jane Johnston-Cree, centre manager, said: “We are very grateful to the Tolkien family and Warner Brothers for supporting us and raising vital funds and awareness of our charity.”

Tolkien Mountain's Family NZ 

Peter Jackson - Monorail & Tolkien

From the Bloomberg Business Online News Site December 2013

       A plan to build the world’s longest single-track monorail through the pristine forests and rivers of New Zealand’s Fiordland is                 pitting growth advocates against environmentalists.

Developers want to build the track through the Snowden Forest, a part of New Zealand’s South Island classed a world heritage area by UNESCO. Opponents argue it will scar the landscape, whose Beech-tree covered mountains and snow-fed lakes featured in “The Lord of the Rings” films.

“Environmentalists need to be open to the fact that not all economic growth is necessarily bad,” said John Ballingall, deputy chief executive at the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research Inc. in Wellington. “It doesn’t have to be a binary choice between growth and no-growth.”

STORY: Green Groups Get a Big Win in the Palm Oil Wars
The monorail clash underscores a broader debate over the nation’s economic future. Prime Minister John Key’s center-right National Party government wants increased tourism, infrastructure and resource exploration to diversify an economy reliant on dairy farming and construction. With an election due next year, the main opposition Labour Party is likely to ally with the pro-environment Green Party to boost its chances of governing, putting some plans in jeopardy.

More use of the nation’s natural resources will be a critical component in meeting the goal of exports rising to 40 percent of gross domestic product by 2025, from about 30 percent, the government said in a December 2012 report.

New Zealand leverages its waterways, forests and mountains to attract tourists and uses the “100% Pure” tag to help sell dairy, meat and kiwifruit exports. Tourism contributes about 8.7 percent to GDP, down from 10 percent 10 years ago.

STORY: Why Rob Ford Happened
Decision Pending
Conservation Minister Nick Smith is waiting on officials’ advice before making a decision on the monorail proposal, a spokeswoman for the minister said. He’s unlikely to make the decision this year, she said.

“There really isn’t a valid reason not to approve this,” said Bob Robertson, chairman and majority shareholder of Riverstone Holdings Ltd., the company promoting the Fiordland Link. “It’s going to be essential that not only us but others facilitate tourism and spend some money on infrastructure.”

Critics say the very tourists he wants to attract will be turned off by the damage done to the landscape.

STORY: Drowning Kiribati
“The idea that you could carve a double line through the center of that incredibly beautiful piece of forest doesn’t make sense,” said Sarah McCrum, a former manager at the Takaro Lodge on the edge of the Snowden Forest, who’s among the more than 280 written submitters opposed to the project.

Quicker Trip
Passengers opting for the Fiordland Link would take a catamaran from Queenstown, an all-terrain vehicle over back-country roads and the 43-kilometer (27-mile) monorail ride, all in less than three hours. They would then connect with the existing road to Milford Sound, the region’s most popular destination. The Link aims to attract visitors who currently face a five-hour bus ride to Milford from Queenstown.

If approved, Robertson expects to spend NZ$200 million ($165 million) on the project, which he estimates would carry as many as 300,000 people a year. An estimated 140 construction jobs and work for another 300 suppliers would result, while as many as 100 people would be employed to operate the Fiordland Link, according to the project’s website.

STORY: What Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Learned About the Business of War
Middle Earth
Film director Peter Jackson, who used locations near the planned monorail site in the “Lord of the Rings” films, has added his support to the campaign against the project.

“Our National Parks and World Heritage area were created to protect and preserve the beauty of our country for all New Zealanders,” Jackson said in comments circulated by protest group Save Fiordland and confirmed by his spokesman. “If we don’t conserve our natural heritage, we will lose it.”

Similar arguments have been raised by opponents of companies such as Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC:US), which plans to seek oil and gas off the coast, and Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM:US) and Bathurst Resources New Zealand Ltd., who are preparing to mine for gold and coal.

STORY: Farewell to the Age of Free Trade
“New Zealand is in danger of damaging the unspoiled oceans that are the heart of who we are,” said Greenpeace campaigner Steve Abel. “New Zealanders do not want a fossil-fuel future.”

The green-growth tension is also evident in the dairy industry, which makes up a quarter of New Zealand’s exports.

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright last month published a report on water quality that concluded that more intense dairy farming, and the consequent release of nitrogen in animal urine, was polluting the nation’s rivers.

“This investigation has shown the clear link between expanding dairy farming and increasing stress on water quality,” she said. “New Zealand does face a classic economy versus environment dilemma.”

Kathryn Ryan - Child Poverty in NZ

Posted 9th December 2013 to Radio New Zealand

Hello, Capitalism needs slaves to work properly!
New Zealand was once a near Perfect Socialist State
But We Got Bored with it and then a faction of Radical Maori Made the Mistake of saying
That one day they would out-breed the European population.
If you are old enough you can remember all this.

There where two socialist based Parties to run the Country then, Now we have two Capitalist Based ones.

One at least says it puts New Zealand Voters first the other is a Multinational Party propped up by radical Maoris?!?
And leaves misery & poverty in it's wake

Southland the home of Giants - Lloyd Esler

Published 5th of December 2013 the Southland Times

Did you know. . . Southland's largest animal is The Lion, a 1302m high rock in Milford Sound that resembles a crouching lion.

Second largest may be The Giraffe, pictured, which appeared when a slip exposed rock at Lake Manapouri.

The perceived resemblance of natural shapes to animals and body parts, particularly facial features, is called pareidolia.

The best example is the "Face on Mars", which is actually an eroded mountain. Pareidolia is the explanation for ghosts which appear in photographs where shadows and reflections and patches of light and dark resemble humans.

New Zealand's largest muster of wild horses and biggest horse sales took place when the horses of Ruapuke Island were rounded up, shipped to the mainland on the Kekeno and transported to the Wallacetown saleyards in the 1920s.

Southland's first motels were probably Mitchell's Motels in Alice Street. In 1956 the tariff was [PndStlg]2 5/- per day per unit. That's $4.50.

Southland's remotest spot is the one remaining "confluence point" that has never been visited.

There are five confluence points in Southland where latitude and longitude intersect as whole numbers.

Four have been visited - at Chatton, Wairio, Big Glory Bay and on the Milford Road. 46'S 167'E is deep in the Cameron Mountains in southwest Fiordland. It is 36 kilometres from Port Craig and at an altitude of 548m.

The story of confluences can be found on confluence.org.

Southland's and New Zealand's most poisonous spider is the redback which turns up occasionally.

The female is black with a distinct red stripe. The similar, native katipo reaches its southern limit at Karitane, just north of Dunedin. Some other spiders have a nasty bite such as the white-tailed spider which is well established in Southland.

About The South Lloyd Esler 15 Mahuri Rd, Otatara, RD 9, Invercargill Phone-fax (03) 213 0404 email:esler@southnet.co.nz

Nelson Mandela - International Smile Day

8th December 2013 Odentroll Dispatch: Mark Steel's Smile Revolution

In respect for Nelson Mandela His Birthday Should be a day where all the repressed
people of the World and empolyees in Walmart and Macdonalds put on a Big Mandela Smile
for the day and dream of freedom.

National Memo - America's Corporate Bastards

Posted 7th December 2013 Odentroll Dispatch

Who Are Americas Modern Day Slave Drivers?
Who's Workers need Government Food Stamps to live...

Check out the National Memo:

http://www.nationalmemo.com/americas-greediest-meet-yum-ceo-david-novak-keeping-fast-food-wages-minimal/

If Capatalism isn't dieing, it sure smells funny!

ODT - Garry Tong's Big Mayoral Challenge

Posted to the Otago Daily Times Dec 1st 2013

As I see it Garry Tong, the New Mayor of Southland, has to deal with Southland’s shabby Image Problem rather than Cutting Deals with South Westland to attract tourists to the region, especially the regions greatest asset... Fiordland National Park. I have two Pictures here one is how Southland Promotes Fiordland National Park and the other is a New Zealand Tourism promotional advertising poster seen all over the world... Spot the Difference !

Vs...

And New Zealands Preimier Wilderness Experience, Doubtful Sound:

Radio NZ - Teenage Sex Catastrophe

Posted 14th November 2013 to Nine to noon with Kathryn Ryan

Radio New Zealand and other Media outlets in New Zealand seem to be very shocked about the sexual antics of some of our Young people.

But it is after all a question of morals, and in this case the Morals of our contemporary society, a society itself that is Deeply immoral
About the way it treats it’s own people especially it’s vulnerable, yes and that includes young boys as well as girls.

Since our wonderful Government made us all prostitutes to Capitalism in the 1980s there has been very little serious regard given to moral behaviour
Especially when it come to money and Power. Sex IS Money and Power so it is a key part of the whole Neo Liberal Regan agenda:
Use everyone and anything to become a Capitalist Pimp!

The last 30 years of Television & Media has also been a great teacher to this end and just look at us now.
Wage Slaves to the System, So overworked we can’t even look after our children any more to keep them out of harms way.

It seems incredible we are angry at the Children for having lousy morals...
They are not the ones Violating the Planet for every cent they can get out of it... Yet...

Fiordland Advocate - Luxury Tourism Boom

Posted to the Fiordland Advocate 16th of November 2013

 

So while the Fiordland Community is pondering the future of the Tourist Industry in this Region it seems Landcorp and Bob Robertson have an eye for the Top End tourists and investors in the form of exclusive building projects for the Wealthy... Bob wants an Exclusive Lodge at Te Anau Downs to compete with the Peacock’s Fiordland Lodge just North of Te Anau.... and Landcorp want a Millbrook type Community at the Eweburn to complement its exclusive Subdivision overlooking Lake Manapouri.
It’s Interesting to see Landcorp expand from farming to the Luxury Housing Market. Soon the Department of Conservation will need to put up their own Luxury developments or be left behind, Perhaps a Regal Fishing Lodge at Queens Reach or a Arcadian Summer Camp at Little Tahiti Or what could be better than a Gated Community for Nobs at Knobs Flat ! Look out Queenstown we haven’t started yet and don’t forget, Monorails run both ways!

the Human need to please - Ken Cloke

16th November 2013 Nine to Noon, National Radio, New Zealand

Ken Cloke Talks to Kathryn Ryan About solving Human Conflicts and how the need to please is endangering our very existance.

http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ntn/ntn-20131118-1010-ken_cloke_-_global_mediator-048.mp3

Hollyford Haast Road - Te Anau Meeting

Report to Kirsty McNicol Fiordland Advocate 5 Nov 2013

The meeting last night played out as expected  but there was a few unexpected moments.. That interrupting cell phone call was just bizarre...

The total Lack of knowledge of the Monorail was another... Then there was the Missing Kilometres of Paper Road,  Sir Erkine Bowmar and the Greenstone Road to Elfin Bay,  The World Heritage Wilderness Status issue,  the slighting and total dismissal of Environmentalists, Moving the Hollyford Track out of sight of the Highway, the Direction of traffic (we have Hundreds of Buses on our side by Havill’s own admission they only have 7 on a good day), Not reading all the submitted Questions was a bad sign,
And not addressing where the projected Extra Tourists are to come from was another.

As for the People of Haast like Glenorchy they seem to be quite happy as they are.

On the Radio this AM Mr Havill said that at the meeting with over 200 people only seven put up their hands to object to the project in Te Anau.
He did not ask for people to put up their hands if where unsure or undecided or just didn’t wish to be rude. Nor did he bother to count the hands that where up.

Garry Tong in his first public Te Anau appearance as Mayor probably drew a few people in to see how he preformed

Garry was canny, he said he supported the road but was non committed on Mr Havill and handing him 5 million bucks for a feasibility study, or the millions in sweeteners for Queenstown and Wanaka not to throw their toys out of the cot.

Radio NZ - Guy Fawkes Debate

Dispatched 4th November 2013 to Morning Report Radio New Zealand.

Once again I think our over protective Government should do the bleeding obvious when it comes to Guy Fawkes Fireworks..
If we insist on voting for people who treat us all like children they should use the systems already in place for Fire Arms...
Fire Works Could then be sold only to people with Fire Arms licenses and only at Gun Shops... And Might I add all year round
So they can also be used for special events and festivals other than the planned destruction of Parliament....
And maybe include more commercial fireworks into the bargain, anyone deemed safe enough to handle a projectile shooting Rifle should be safe enough to
Handle fireworks!

Once again the Government is not thinking straight.

Ch Ch Press - Kiwi Bank Insurance

Posted 4th Nov 2013 to the Christchurch Press

I have to say Canterbury got a Double Whammy when it got Struck by the Earth Quakes at the same time as National was in Power.
Labour’s David Cunliffe has addressed the need for the State to act as in the Nation’s own insurance broker and Mr Dunger Brownlee National MP drops a Chamber Pot on it!

Mr Brownlee forgets, we have a State insurance set up in place called EQC and if we intend to live on Islands surrounded by potential Tsunamis, Potential Earthquake, Storms, and Volcanoes we ALL need a better system than the rickety Private Enterprise Model in Place Now.

I am only an ignorant layman but even I can see we are living with a faith based insurance environment in post quake NZ.

And the Reaction time and desire to help the afflicted in Christchurch is most unsettling and the shear waste is unbelievable.

Our insurance should be Belt and Braces stuff, not a ratty piece of string!

At any rate, What is our Taxation for if not a universal insurance policy, and a Social Contract that We fund a State who will protect us all from Bad Luck
not of our own making. A fundamental Human Need, but something the Brownlee’s of this World can’t comprehend.

Peaks to be named Hillary & Tenzing

the Telegraph  4 / 10 / 2013

Nepal to name two Himalayan peaks after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay

Nepal plans to name two Himalayan peaks after pioneering Mount Everest climbers Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a senior hiking official said, in a move designed to boost tourism in the beautiful but desperately poor country.

New Zealander Hillary and his Nepali guide Tenzing made it to the 29,035-foot (8,850-metre) summit of the world's highest mountain on May 29, 1953 as part of a British expedition, which put Nepal on the map as a destination for adventure tourism.

A government panel has recommended that two unnamed mountains be called Hillary Peak and Tenzing Peak, said Ang Tshering Sherpa, a former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

"This is to honour their contribution to mountaineering in Nepal," Sherpa, who headed the panel, told Reuters.

The two peaks – Hillary's at 25,200ft and Tenzing's at 25,971ft – have never been climbed and are expected to be opened to foreigners in the spring season that starts in March, he said.

Officials hope the peaks will attract more climbers and help boost tourism in Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains. Tourism now accounts for about 4 per cent of the country's economy and employs thousands of people.

In 2010 the New Zealand Geographic Board turned down a submission to name two New Zealand Peaks after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

Royals by Lorde - Dissected, Explained

Just What Makes Royals by Lorde Ring a Bell with Music Fans /
What is it saying about society.

Otago University and Radio New Zealand have some Answers:

http://www.radionz.co.nz/radionz/programmes/nat-music/audio/2573408/graeme-downes

Fiordland Adocate - Queenstown Haast Link

Posted to the Fiordland Advocate 2 November 2013

Putting on my Devils ADVOCATE Hat I would like to throw in a 2 cent observation about the Hollyford Road and the Monorail...

From an Engineering Perspective surely they have got the whole thing back to front...  A high speed highway would be far better suited from Mavora to Te Anau Downs

As it is relatively easy terrain and far less likely to be flooded than the Hollyford Pyke area where as a Monorail in the Hollyford- Pyke would be way-better suited to that problematic landscape than a Roadway and Ironically cause less invasive Human activity to the World Heritage Wilderness.

And one could argue that if a Wakatipu Te Anau Downs Road was serviced by Car Ferry Instead of Passenger Ferry it is likely that a return trip Via the Scenic towns of Fiordland and Northern Southland would be a higher priority than a double back trip.

In any event If construction of the monorail project and Mavora Settlement (to Service the Round the Mountain Bike Trail) takes place the whole backcountry road system will need to the upgraded, Power and Bridges installed so there will be more traffic in that quarter and whole the dynamics of tourism will indeed shift.

That goes for the Hollyford-Pyke too.

Beware of unintended consequences, the Devil is in the details, especially if they BOTH go ahead!

New Zealand's Island Names Confusion

24th October 2013

A Report was posted on line last week from an English Historian studying the Pre Colonisation of New Zealand... and he says there is no Historical Record of the New Maori Placenames for the North and South Islands of New Zealand... Captain Cook was allways very exacting about such detail but there was no...

http:// oxforguardian/Stanberg/qst8739/stamp/873410/Myths/New Zealand/

Radio NZ - The Meaning of Life is...

Posted 19th October 2013 to Nights on Radio New Zealand.

I don’t know why there is so much speculation about the Meaning of Life
And Listeners Asking you about it repeatedly...

The Never Ending Quest of Life is to “Adapt Adopt and Improve”
And any life form worth it’s salt will do these three things or eventually it will stop becoming a life form.

No Doubt in difficult times Humans have to follow that rule too, but given a choice they would rather sit still and Complain to the Cosmos for not being fair: )




(in the Hichhiker's guide to the galaxy this is rule number 42)

ODT- Southlland's New Mayor Resinates

Posted to the Otago Daily Times  10 October 2013

Of all the Candidates for the Southland Mayor, Garry Tong had a better Branding advantage for attracting the Voters, especially with his
“Tick Tong” campaign, Tong is a name with a Resonance and Tick is associated with the passage of time. It gives a feeling of a Great Tolling Bell ringing times up for the other Contenders! So Much so we think Next Election Garry should use the slogan Tick Toc, time for Tong!

There was some confusion with younger people not familiar with the voting process...  One was heard to say he thought “Tick” was Mr Tong’s actually Name or childhood Nick Name.

All puns aside I think Garry TONG should make a good strong Honest Mayor and set a new TONE for Southland.
  

Radio NZ- Homeless People of NZ

Posted 18 October 2013 to Afternoons on Radio New Zealand

Jim:
It is NO secret that the People who run this Country are believers in the survival of the fittest and punishment of losers.

Indeed the whole purpose of work and Income these days seems to be focused on getting people off their books at any cost, there is  little
Interest in people who are too weak to support themselves and even less in the general level of happiness of their clients.

But hey, that’s what our voters seem to want when they go to vote and only voters get represented in this brave new world,
The rest are politically invisible, displaced people.

As Douglas Adams once wrote “Nearly all the Problems of today’s Modern Galaxy are caused by Displaced People!”

Simple, but true!

Mayor Len Brown Confirms Affair - Stuff

15 October 2013 stuff.ed.co.nz

Auckland Mayor Len Brown has said he caused his family "harm, shame and humiliation" by having an affair but will not step down.

He appeared on TV3's Campbell Live this evening just hours after news broke that he had had an affair with a junior council advisor - named as Bevan Chuang.

Earlier, he said in a statement: "I told my wife previously, and she and I are working through the issues privately. We are looking to protect our children as best we can."

Brown was elected for a second term on Saturday, and said he had told his wife and daughters about the affair last week.

"This evening my house is surrounded. As I go through this, I ask the community and the media to respect my family," he said.

"I’ve cost my wife and children harm and shame and humiliation."

Details of the affair were revealed after Cameron Slater's Whaleoil blog published an account of a woman, her identity not revealed, detailing a  two-year affair.

The mayor, who refused to confirm Chuang's name, said she was not a council employee but served on a council advisory board and stood at this year's election for a ward seat.

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Odentroll Says: I see no good reason a Man can not have sex and make a good Politician, infact it should be considered a "perk" of the Job, in fact some of our Best Leaders have had Sex on a regular basis. 

Or to put it another way, The Leadership of a City is more important than one wife's Ego.

Otago Daily Times - Queenstown Convention Centre

Posted 14th October 2013 to the Otago Daily Times

I am amazed that Queenstown is asking Central Government to Fork out some 20 Million for an Ugly Convention Centre
Perched on some of the Towns Prime Real-estate.. Job Creation is the issue, but Considering Queenstown has to import workers from overseas and average kiwis can afford to live there,  added to that is the Government trying hard to Promote Auckland as a Convention Centre it all seems a bit of a long shot..
I recall Dunedin Actually Clocks in Massively More tourists than Queenstown Yet Nobody is Talking about giving Dunedin a Taxpayer funded Windfall..

Patricia Edgar on Radio New Zealand

Posted 13th October 2013 to Patricia Edgar via Radio NZ

Interesting Interview with Kim Hill and Patricia Edgar yesterday...
It put me in Mind of “Blade Runner” where Rutger Howard demanded from his designer to Give him More Life F****R.

I know someone who is 80 and insists on running a business (7 Motels) single handedly.
And though we try our best to help she insists on total control of every detail despite bad eyesight, bouts of severe back pain and memory glitches..

Yes it is Great to be allowed to be a useful Member of the Community for as long as you can but it is not something one should insist on if one is not really able to do the job.

As Human are not Robots this point in time can come at any age  from 8 to Eighty.  It’s about Bad Luck, Again we as a society tend to punish people with bad luck and that is our real shame. Not the Issues about ageing.

The Message I get from Patricia is that she is pissed off about the process of dieing... But so, I think everyone is... We need to find out how to turn off our termination genetics*, not grouch at our Children for being young... That dosn’t fix anything!

*But if we can Self Repair our age damaged DNA, we first need to have a serious discussion with the Catholic Church about Population control.

Dominion Post - Costa Concordia NZ

Posted 10th October 2013 to the Dominion Post

Dear Sir:
I had an Interesting Talk to a Civil Defence Coordinator for Southern New Zealand on the Subject of the 100 some odd Cruise ships Planning to Visit the Fiordland Area this coming Season and I asked him what if we had a Costa Concordia type Accident in Fiordland and He had to admit it would be a total disaster. If a Large Mega Liner was to loose power off the Fiordland Coast it would be Violently Destroyed with in minutes in a westerly storm... If it Lost Power in the Sounds it would Take Weeks for a Tug to be dispatched from Singapore and evacuation would overwhelm the Local Rescue services.

It’s all a big Gamble but as more and more tourists avoid the Land  and our local pay rates the Ships will increase and so will the Chances of a mishap

Who would Pay for it Is another Problem... But on the bright side any “Costly Recovery” from sinking would be near impossible in the South West Corner of New Zealand.
A pity about the environment though.

Fiordland Focus - Te Anau Potential

Posted 12th of October 2013 to the Fiordland Focus

I hear voices being raised from the likes of Mervyn Cave , Andrew Welsh and Jack Murrell that our community is not very open to new business opportunities to support our population.

But I recon we have to take stock of a few Historical Facts about the settlement of this basin, Like it only exists because of Central & Local Government initiatives and all private enterprise here is just a spin off of that Government insistence in Infrastructure.

It is a fair bet nothing new and exciting is ever going to happen here unless it comes from Wellington and as long as this area is a safe Political Seat there will be no need to change anything unless we have the money to lobby.

Another important Thing to contemplate is that The World now wants our area to be a Last Great Wilderness and by definition that means No People or Infrastructure.
So the upshot is don’t expect Private Enterprise to come to our rescue out here on the Fiordland Frontier... We just have to make due with what we got, Landcorp, Rugged individuals, stray tourists and Retiring Fontera Farmers for the foreseeable future.

Radio NZ - Gorbachev vs Reagan

Posted to Sunday with Chris Laidlaw 29th September 2013

Thank you for going over the Mikhail Gorbachev story on you Program..
It’s odd how the Republicans in the USA are convinced Ronald Reagan brought down the end of the
Soviet Union using astrology and voodoo economics...

Where as in reality Reagan pushed the Human Race to the edge of Oblivion and wrecked the US Economy
When he could have easily done nothing. But as a trained actor he certainly knew all about timing.

What was odd was how the Iranian Hostages got released just as Reagan took office and he basked in glory then as well.
What was that all about? Oh No, don’t mess with him he is an actor !

I often Wonder what if... Carter got a second Term... Reagan was assassinated... Or Gorbachev was allowed on to finish his reforms...

How would it have worked out.. I know there are Writers who Speculate on such things but it would be hard a daunting task

As for the US They probably would need to start with an earlier flash point like:

If Lincoln had not Been Shot.. Or Turtledoves musings on what if Robert E Lee was advised by a Military Logistic Expert from the Future..

Radio NZ - Americas Cup Feel Good

Posted to Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan 27th of September 2013

I have to smile when I hear Camp Followers of the America’s Cup Crying to the Media that the Tax payer should fork out for another Challenge in four Years time
Especially because of the Feel good aspect of it... Well Yes, I can see why they Feel Good, but Ironically there are a lot of people who pretty Feel Lousy right now.

It’s not just the dark feeling of un-fair play. It’s when we blew 35 Million on money that could have helped save so many other slightly less Feel Good jobs around the Country.

What Surprises me is that Both the NZ Boat and the US boats where built in NZ and Both where made by the same People and yet the Yacht Builders tell us that they need welfare because despite building the top 2 Boats in the World, one of them lost the race!

What is not surprising is that some Economists are not impressed with these big windfall events and their trickle down effects. Yes they Fill the Beds and Bars for a few nights.

But how do we know the “Windfall Money” doesn't just go into Tropical Holidays and Real-estate Speculation. Then some ask that thorny question, How can we sleep after a Feel Good Big Party when People are suffering all around us?

Or where was the 35 million Bonus for the Government Owned Hillside Railway Workshops that are slightly less feel good on the National Pride hype machine? Why are People falling through the Cracks and taking their own lives in alarming numbers ? And Just How are all these Fell Good Schemes going to stand up when the Climate Change Debate Shifts it gears to the next level?

No Sorry I don’t “Feel Good” thank you very much.

Fiordland Advocate - Battle of the Lakes

Posted 26th September 20113 to the Fiordland Advocate Newspaper Te Anau

It was interesting that Gerry Forde’s people picked the Real Journeys Event Centre Stadium For their Fundraising  Battle of the Lakes event
To help the Manapouri Hall, as the Manapouri Hall would have been able to handle this event better, it would have been warmer and Acoustically Better as well as much better suited for lighting. And it has a stage.. It was great everybody pulled together on the night to make “The Battle Work” and Te Anau did pull the Hardest in the Tug of War. As for Technical Problems... I heard it described as a Marx Brothers Farce, but I have to hand it to my Wife Pauline, Who Worked the Fiordland Players stage lights that despite suffering from a fracture in her foot from a badly placed cable, the lighting did not fail, and despite severe pain she manage to make it right through to 2am! As they say, in any Battle there will be casualties.

Mountain Scene - Kelvin Heights Tunnel

Posted to the Mountain Scene Newspaper Queenstown 22 September 2013

Thanks Bryan Wilkinson Revisiting the Old Suggestion of a Perspex Kelly Tarlton Underwater Walkway to Kelvin Heights in this weeks Opinion Column.
It Remains the Best Tunnel Idea For Queenstown So Far!  Though an Underground Convention Complex near the Gondola
would be nice, Cool in Summer and Warm in Winter... Just like those Tunnel Shops in Salzberg Austria, another Tourist town short on space.

That reminds me, there is still no long term parking available in Central Queenstown for People using the Around the Mountain Bike Trail...
You might need to look at Kelvin Heights anyway...

Bathhurst Denniston Supreme Court Coal Debate

Posted to Busyness Day 20/9/13  stuff.co.nz

I don't want to Burst the Bubble but the Capitalist Economy is ONLY A GAME, it is not based on any Science at all.

To think for one moment that exploiting every last crumb of energy is going to save this insane system of wealth distribution is dangerous nonsense. Money is NOT made from Coal, it is manufactured electronically by the US Federal Reserve. Our Environment is REAL and as President Obama said,
Climate Chgange Denial is real Flat Earth Stuff.


Yes we should be honoured to dig coal with our bare hands for our Glorious Chinese Overloards.
I don't want to Burst the Bubble but the Capitalist Economy is ONLY A GAME, it is not based on any Science at all. 
To think for one moment that exploiting every last crumb of energy is going to save this insane system of wealth distribution is dangerous nonsense. Money is NOT made from Coal, it is Manufactured electronically by the US Federal Reserve. Our Environment is REAL and as President Obama said Climate Change denial is real Flat Earth Stuff,

I don't want to Burst the Bubble but the Capitalist Economy is ONLY A GAME, it is not based on any Science at all.
To think for one moment that exploiting every last crumb of energy is going to save this insane system of wealth distribution is dangerous nonsense. Money is NOT made from Coal, it is Manufactured electronically by the US Federal Reserve. Our Environment is REAL and as President Obama said Climate Change denial is real Flat Earth Stuff,

don't want to Burst the Bubble but the Capitalist Economy is ONLY A GAME, it is not based on any Science at all. 
To think for one moment that exploiting every last crumb of energy is going to save this insane system of wealth distribution is dangerous nonsense. Money is NOT made from Coal, it is Manufactured electronically by the US Federal Reserve. Our Environment is REAL and as President Obama said Climate Change denial is real Flat Earth Stuff,don't want to Burst the Bubble but the Capitalist Economy is ONLY A GAME, it is not based on any Science at all. 
To think for one moment that exploiting every last crumb of energy is going to save this insane system of wealth distribution is dangerous nonsense. Money is NOT made from Coal, it is Manufactured electronically by the US Federal Reserve. Our Environment is REAL and as President Obama said Climate Change denial is real Flat Earth Stuff,