Empathy Refugees - Collatoral Dammage

Posted 16th September to Nine to Noon Program Radio New Zealand.

 It’s amazing how the Syrian People where somebody else’s problem until the throw themselves to the Mercy of the Europeans.
We as a whole don’t really care how they die as long as they don’t do it on our Shores.

The Anglo European World had the clout to stop this real Tragedy at it’s roots instead we went on a rampage in Afghanistan and Iraq
And spent ourselves on retribution and bogymen.

It’s a great Failure of our times when we have to think of Fellow Humans as Insects to carry on our great game show that is western life.

If we are asking the Germans to reprise Concentration Camps and Internal Passports to stop Europe from being overrun by Islamic Forces Modern Germans would be incensed beyond comprehension .

Everybody else is broke or hoping to be invisible, Europe is United in name only.

The upshot is this is a Crisis of Empathy, if you help one your hurt another.

It’s no good sacrificing other people to make yourself feel Empathetic-ally fulfilled either.

That amounts to arrogance. Life is about to get very Dark. 

Hobbit Labor Laws of New Zealand

Posted 12th of Sept 2015 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

Just a comment on the Chicane Cartoon in  your last Thursday’s edition.
The Hobbit Trilogy and John Key have surely darkened Sir Peter Jackson’s Name.
A bunch of Ugly stuff went on to get the Movies made here and the result was disappointing
To the Art-form and to Tourism.

Full marks to Sir Peter for Building the 2nd Hobbiton Set to last, and Sir Richard for upgrading the Weta Cave
But they did little service to the country with the Scenic Locations this last time around.

They recycled some from the LotR Films or butchered others so badly with editing & computers as to make them useless.
They also avoided accessible or Iconic New Zealand Landmarks that could have done with the exposure.

More computer generation meant less work for Real Craftsmen, Writers and Artisans.
And less real scenery meant Less future tourism jobs, even the music score was weak compared to LotR.

I have to say, our light-weight leaders should have negotiated for “windfalls” instead of Crushing the Actors Union, and looting our Coffers.

However, Sirs Peter and Richard at least need never work again. 

 

Syrian Refugees - The USA contribution

Posted 9 Sept 2015 to Radio New Zealand Afternoons Program

The Syrian Refugee Problem:
I think it is a bit sad that the Poorer People in NZ have to pay for the conscience of the wealthy people who desired war in the Middle East to pay for September 11
We are in a state of Austerity in this country and bringing in Syrians to jump the queue for jobs, Houses and welfare will no doubt push our desperate people over the edge,  sadly CNN will not broadcast THEIR demise.   This is Squarely  America’s Fault It would not have Happened if they knew what they where doing, THEY print the World’s money THEY should fix this problem.
The poor of this Country are not the Guilty Party here.

What says your Panel ?

Displaced Humanity Crisis - New York Times

Posted 11th September to the NewYork Times Newspaper

 Now that there are some 60 Million Displaced People on the Planet we have to address the Problem that
Our Nation States of Humanity are no longer working in the 21st Century.

There could and Should be a international System of Peace & Justice in place for all Human Beings but for some reason the political
Will from the World Powers is Stuck on sustaining Conflict.

We Humans have done some truly amazing things in the last 100 years but when it comes to looking after our Species we are not looking
Very bright at all. We have rewarded Greed, Violence, Hate, Lunacy and disloyalty to a point where our best leaders dare not come forward
To fix things.

Taking in mass refugees into liberal humanitarian Countries is only a band-aid. This Madness has to stop.. It’s clearly Priority Number One for us all.

If we can’t unite all our States under international Justice, Security and fundamental Rites then what the heck is our purpose as a life form?
Planetary Maggots?

Dunedin NZ - Heritage Preservation 2015

Posted 30th Aug 2015 to the Otago Daily Times Dunedin NZ

 20 years ago when I was resident in Dunedin I regularly pushed as much as I could for the “Powers that Be” in High Places
For better Stewardship and Presentation of the City’s Heritage.

Priority Number 1 then was the Cable Car and Tramway System.
Bring it back in some form and Preserve what was left of the remnants of Rolling Stock.
Protected Historic Precincts are another Issue
High Street in the 1990s was pretty much un afflicted by Modern Buildings and should be considered special.

I had to make a lot of Noise about Keeping Cargill’s Castle as a Historic Relic worthy of keeping as it was almost flattened.

I also noted Natural Features like tunnel Beach and the Harbour where in need of some TLC  especially the Harbour.  It could be the
Gem of Otago  if it where Landscaped with more recreational Islands and pleasure boating.

I am heartened now to hear that Dunedin is Finally taking it’s Heritage Seriously in 2015 and Good luck and Stamina to those who
share this vision.

Special Thanks to the People in Christchurch who saved and restored some of Dunedin’s Tram and Cable car Heritage and they should be
Granted funds to do more!

Sorry Otago Maritime Heritage, looks like your stuck with fading memories and Queenstown’s TSS Earnslaw.

Fush the Right Stuff - Toilet Issues NZ

Posted 25th August 2015 to the Fiordland Advocate Newspaper TeAnau NZ

The Story of the District Council Staff having to Repair Sewage Pumps because of the Flushing of non-dissolvable items needs
some proactive coordination from Regional Mayors who’s ratepayers are taking the brunt of the Cost..
One thing that should be done is to stop the advertisement of Baby Wipes for adults as a New Wonder Hygiene Product on TV..
This Idea is one of the worst Ideas ever thought up by a business executive, I think He or She should be made to repair a Sewage Pump as Punishment
and all our Mayors should get together and get them to pull this product as it’s quite clear it’s not going in the Rubbish Bins.

BTW If Te Anau is keen on Sewage Pumps, Tourists are great users of disposable Undies so if you plan to pump dung to Manapouri be warned!

 

Red Peak Flag NZ - Slight Problem

Posted 15 Sept 2015 to the Southland Times Desk Invercargill.

...Um there might be a small Problem with Andrew Little’s “Red Peak”
Flag Concept...

 

Kiwi Laser Flag of New Zealand - James Gray

Posted 13th September 2015 to the Odentroll Blog NZ

Thanks James Gray for your Laser Kiwi Flag which has been a grand diversion from what would have been a dull debate about white feathers and Debt Spirals in our New Zealand Flag Referendum.

We disgruntled graphic artists should join Forces againt John Ki-wi's Destructive Vision!
I present a joint vision Flag :-)

Ageing New Zealand Workforce 2015

Posted 25th August 2015 to Nine to Noon, Radio New Zealand

 The Over 65s hogging the Jobs was foreseen when Roger Douglas killed off the apprenticeship requirements for State owned businesses...
Private enterprise is just living off the pre Douglas fat we had in the system , one day soon that’s going to run out...
Our Government is also living of the fat from volunteers who still believe in the old days when we all worked together as a Nation.
We use to give the Young People a Leg up into Work and in return get more Leisure time for the Older workers... All that nice stuff we use to do has gone down the gurgler
In this brave New World we have now.

NZ Flag - Union Jack Heritage

Posted 22nd August 2015 to the Dominion Post Newspaper Wellington  NZ

 Looking at all the children’s flag designs for our prime Minister this Month it was Obvious no artist wanted to use the Union Jack.
After all what did the British ever do for us.. Oh sure...  Roading, Buildings, Infrastructure.. Commerce, Medicine, Justice, Education
OK, Maybe Justice and Public Health... But what difference did they bring to the Maori? What do you mean Peace... As in not war??
OK they built the whole country and financed it and stopped the Tribal Genocides but apart from that...? Rugby & Beer !?!

American Psychological Association - US Torture

Posted 22nd August 2015 to Kathryn Ryan, Radio New Zealand

 US psychologist Jean Maria Arrigo warned that the American Psychological Association was complicit in state sanctioned torture ?
Is TV to Blame ? A US Supreme court Judge said it works for Jack Bauer, (a fictional TV character)
If that is the case then TV is actually misleading the public as to it’s almost useless effectiveness for getting information.

It’s effect to scare populations is another matter.

So that beggar's the question, was the Bush Administration a Bunch of Thugs ?
They certainly scared Al Gore in Florida..

John Key - The National Austerity Party

Posted 20th August 2015 to the Christchurch Press Newspaper Canterbury NZ

 I have a lot of time for the policies of the Green & Labour Parties and I love Mr Peter’s no nonsense stance.
But if I was to enter politics I think I would go for the National Party because They need some Idealism as they appear to have lost their way.

The Contract politicians make to get in power is to make Government function for the good of all with a sense of justice and National Pride
This should be universal for all parties who should differ only in delivery.

The current National Politician are really an austerity party where as before National had a better grip on how capitalism works.
And what controls where needed to stop it from going off the rails.

Their biggest problem should be how Kiwis with money can invest it back in their Nation and get a good return without risk.
If National can’t deliver this then they lose their core purpose for being.

Austerity, Flags, Trade Deals, Tourism Branding, Sporting Events are all Window Dressing to cover up for lack of talent  in the art of
making capitalism run smoothly.

Tim Shadbolt reportedly once said, to be a good leader you have to make sure the plumbing keeps working.

I guess plumbing could be a metaphor for Money & Justice piped in to our homes.

Not so easy to keep up maintenance when our elected leaders are the kids from the Lord of the Flies.

Landcorp - State Owned Realestate NZ

Posted 19th August 2015 to  Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

 Hearing ex Landcorp head Chris Kelly on National Radio on the state of this SOE makes one ask again if our leaders have lost their way.

It was a Nobel thing that Governments past broke in new farms for returned servicemen but its sad that we have to suffer WARS to do this,
and as we didn’t have any wars for a while our government deemed that this service should be scrapped and replaced with a State owned Enterprise.
This was despite the fact they had a Ballot System in place for keen young Farmers who wanted to have a farm of their own and had not served in any conflict.

In today's crazy world it would be comforting to have such an option especially when you look at the capital gains the winners of those Ballot Farms have today.

Just why is it servicemen where so much more deserving than ordinary workers and children of farmers anyway? Every Worker Risks their life in one way or another when they do a job,
policemen risk their lives as much as many servicemen, large amounts of servicemen & women are purely their for administration and support and are less likely to get killed in their job
than your average Taxi Driver.

So how did the great Ideal of a Government hand Up  end up carving up the unspoiled Vista of Make Manapouri to sell Lifestyle Blocks to Rich People for Trophy Houses?
And How did they manage to pull a Public Easement off of a Landmark Hill with links to early Maori there to sell it to an Asian National? 

It’s all a bit of a mess.  Perhaps next election cycle the public should “vote in” a Parliament that is not a bad parody of the Lord of the Flies and bring in some grown ups for a change.

United States of Humility - Bernie Sanders

Posted 17th August 2015 to the New York Times Newspaper

On Bill Maher’s TV Show the other Night on Guest stated that American has won the Stewardship of the World but is at a loss to know what to do next.

YES the Anglo American elite owns nearly all the Military Power and Economic Power (as they print the world’s money)... but what to do?
Do we go with Bernie Sanders and try and go to the next level or do we pretend the World is still a load of colonies waiting to be exploited by Anglo US Corporates?

I think we are at a Crossroads. America Can Keep fighting the Rest of the World or Try and use it’s power to heal it.  Both Trump and Saunders are the Alpha Males in this Struggle
The rest are really time servers looking for a meal ticket living under the comfortable delusion that the 1980s is the World’s blueprint forever.

Whatever the outcome, the True Leader of the USA will need to have superhuman guts to address the real problem of planet earth. To Many People and not enough planet, too many Pointless People and way too many unwanted People.

NZ Flag Oppinion - Aaron Nicholson - Designer

Posted 14th August 2015 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

A Life time ago I took a Visual Communications Course at the Southland Community College (now SIT)
One of my Tutors was a Mr David Russell Who encouraged us to use our eyes and brains together  and see things that other
Didn’t, so for a bit of fun in one class I applied this advice to the NZ Flag design with the Idea it had to do the following things, Instant Recognition, for starters
A nod to the Commonwealth as well as Maori and a touch of our communal passion for sports without using Black or Rugby Logos of any kind.

But I did not submit it this time around as I think the chosen Flag that gets picked in the end will be despised because of the way this referendum has been presented
And yes, other Artists feel the same.

Up until 1946 all Kiwis held British Passports, this is a commonwealth Country with a English Head of State. I think that EVERY new Flag on offer slights this historic Fact
Is not just wrong but actually creepy.

NZ Flag Oppinion - Otago Daily Times

Posted 14th of August to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

Re Audrey Young’s story on the Flag Design Selection
Let it be known that not all flag designs have been submitted because some artists do not want to be tarnished by the kill-joy way Mr Key has gone about
This referendum  also the fact that our Scots Irish English History is Stomped on is bizarre coming as it is from a man who brought back Knighthoods.
So my Flag design that Incorporates a Stylized Union Jack was never submitted.

Poor John Key... He is cursed, Potentially Fun thing he touches turns sour. The Flag debate was always a bit of fun for artists but not anymore.
Cycle Trails where suppose to be Fun ad so was the filming of the Hobbit Movies but Mr Key Spoiled the Party Just like the Idea of Building a utopian Christchurch
And the art of Property Speculation and investment now has the shine taken off.

No offense Mr Key but you are a Party Pooper. You could have had a Newspaper Poll and spent the Flag money on Otago Health Services.
What ever Flag you pick will remind everyone of THAT every time they see it.  

Media Climate Distortions - ODT

Posted 3rd August 2015 to the Otago Daily Times Nespaper Dunedin NZ

Out here in the Rural Heartland I have noticed the seeping in of Right Wing American Talkback rhetoric about Man Made Climate Change.
If you want to Argue that Cows have a negative effect on the environment I think it’s fair to argue that maybe it’s not that much on a planet this size.
But you surely can’t say that Cows don’t exist or in the Case of Man Made Climate Change, that it is all an Illusion.

However the Right Wing Shock Jocks don’t stop there They call man made Climate change a Faith or Religion which is bizarre to say the least.
If being slightly concerned about a possible danger is just “Faith” to them, then I think they must have no fear, empathy or a desire to survive.

As someone who has lived in the USA I would like to point out that Right Wing Shock Jock Radio Hosts are what you call “Barking Mad”
and they do it for ratings and entertainment. Yes they DO exist albeit in a Logic Free Bubble. Please do not take what they say too seriously.

And don’t ask scientists for complicated facts if you can’t understand complex issues that you are not trained to comprehend.
Very few people can articulate how an Iphone works...That dosn’t mean they don’t exist or that they run on magic!