Kiwiblog

A friend of mine, Chris Auld, is on the plane sitting in quarantine at Auckland Airport. He has been live tweeting what has been happening.

Looks like it is all okay, as they are being allowed off the flight now.

Ian Steward at Stuff reports:

After four years and four months, numerous pre-trial arguments, appeals and alterations, the remaining members of the group arrested in the Urewera police raids will finally face trial in Auckland today.

Of the 17 arrested across the country on October 15 2007, only four remain after a landmark Supreme Court judgment ruled out evidence that led to the dropping of charges against 13 co-accused.

The four remaining defendants – Tame Iti, Emily Bailey, Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara and Urs Signer – face charges of participating in a criminal group and illegal possession of firearms relating to camps held in the Urewera Ranges in 2006 and 2007.

I look forward to hearing the evidence.

The High Court at Auckland has been set aside for a three-month jury trial, though all involved hope it will not take that long for the mammoth case to be prosecuted and defended.

The Crown will call 75 to 80 witnesses and it is not yet known if the defence will call their own witnesses.

Iti’s lawyer Russell Fairbrother scotched rumours that the proceedings would be slowed through being translated into Maori, saying his client wanted the case prosecuted ”as efficiently as possible” and translation for Iti would not be necessary.

How unusual to be defended by someone who was a Government MP at the time of the arrests.

Michael Field at the SST reports:

In a briefing paper for the new minister, the Ethnic Affairs Office said there was a push within some communities to have their cultural rights enshrined in law.

“Ethnic communities are keen to discuss the development of a multicultural policy to entrench the civil, political, social and language rights of ethnic people in New Zealand,” the briefing says.

The head of the Ethnic Affairs Office should have never let such a loose briefing go to the Minister. A sweeping statement such as “ethnic communities are keen to discuss …” should not be used. Not all ethnic communities are the same. You can’t speak on behalf of all ethnic communities, especially on something so potentially controversial. If some people in some ethnic communities are keen to discuss something, you should say “Some members of the xxx and yyy ethnic communities are likely to want to discuss”.

The briefing paper does not specify what ethnic groups want entrenched in any constitution, but points to the main inputs coming from the Federation of Islamic Associations, the Indian Association and the Chinese Association.

Speaking from Saudi Arabia last night, NZ Federation of Islamic Associations president Anwar Ghani told the Sunday Star-Times that any changes his body would push for would have to be “simple and workable”.

When asked if that could include Sharia, he responded: “No, we are not talking about that.”

Instead the federation backed transferring statutory holidays based on Christian festivals to dates of religious significance in their own culture.

“If there was recognition, particularly from a faith perspective, to substitute the holidays so they can enjoy the festivities without taking their annual leave, those are the kind of things which we were looking at it,” he said.

“It has to be something simple which is going to work – we do not want to create layers of complications that might make it difficult as a nation for us to progress together.”

The Federation generally takes a very moderate and sensible stance on issues, and it is good to see their president say they are not pushing sharia law. The Office of Ethnic Affairs has effectively beat the issue up by accident.

As for the idea of having the dates of some holidays flexible, I think there is merit in looking at it. It may not be practical to do in some cases (such as where an employer shuts on a public holiday), but why should Muslims have to take annual leave for their religious holidays, and Jews annual leave for their religious holidays, while Christians get both Christmas and Easter off.

And Indian Central Association president Paul Singh Bains said an ethnic constitution would be wrong.

“It is sending the wrong message to policymakers. Once we are permanent residents here, or citizens, we are Kiwis.”

He dismissed any notion the Indian community wanted such changes. “There is no consensus for us to have a separate law,” he said, although he acknowledged some community beliefs did come from “ancient days”.

“We don’t think there should be a law for each community. That would make a nonsense of things.”

Excellent views.

Auckland Chinese Community Centre chairman Arthur Loo was unaware of the briefing paper or if anyone within his community wanted legislation protecting their cultural rights.

Loo warned against any of the potential policy changes in the briefing paper.

“As a New Zealander, I think it should be basically one law for everbody, a law that reflects New Zealand and its core values,” he said. “If you are talking about a `multicultural policy’, I can’t see it being any more than being a touchy-feely statement that we will be all embracing of different cultures, be welcoming and all that stuff.”

This is one of the danger of very small government agencies or offices. They sometimes attract staff who are ideologically passionate about what they see as the cause, and end up being more zealous in pushing for policy than the actual communities themselves.

I think it is a good thing about NZ, that the heads of our chinese, indian and islamic communities organisations have all said they want one law for all.

The HoS reports:

A Mana Party worker is in hospital with brain damage after an accident which ocurred less than a kilometre from leader Hone Harawira’s home.

Joseph “Reti” Nathan, 35, of Kaitaia, was driving a Nissan Maxima the wrong way down State Highway 1 near Awanui in Northland when he struck a car coming the other way.

Even though it appears Mr Nathan was at fault, he is also the one most seriously affected, so sympathies go out to his whanau and friends. Serious head injuries can be an awful thing.

Firefighters who freed Nathan had to work around beer bottles scattered through the car. But a blood test taken hours later at hospital returned a negative result.

Empty beer bottles in a car is never a good sign, but it does not mean they were drinking at that particular time.

Members of the Harawira family, who were partying at home ahead of a family wedding, ran to help in the aftermath of the accident.

Harawira said last night that Nathan had not been at his family’s party. “The guy wasn’t at my house,” Harawira said.

I do wonder where he was, in that remote area. Hopefully he will recover, so he can tell the Police.

Members of a family of five in the other car, a Ford Territory, received moderate injuries.

The mother declined to be named but described the moments leading up to the crash on January 19. …

“We were driving home and he was on the wrong side of the road and hit us head on. I got taken by helicopter to Whangarei Hospital. I have broken ribs.”

The children are aged 3, 8 and 13.

“All my children have scrapes and scratches and my son has a broken collar bone. They are traumatised over the incident. It was horrific and horrible.”

That is a horrific incident, and they are innocent victims in this. Thanks goodness, the injuries were not worse.

Barbara Hall, who lives near the crash scene, said she had learned later rescue workers had not breath-tested Nathan at the scene. Instead, she said efforts were focused on getting life-saving saline drips to the injured man.

As is appropriate.

Hall said Mana Party members were waiting at the cordon wanting to retrieve a flag in the back of Nathan’s car but were restrained by police.

Good to see the Mana Party members being focused on what is really important, and not diverting police from their job.

Yes, that is sarcasm.

Station officer Grant Baker said Nathan was not wearing a seat belt.

“There were paua shells scattered all over the road, a box of shells in the car and there were bottles of beer on the passenger seat and in the boot.”

Witness Margo Wright, 17, who is a Students Against Drink Driving leader at Whangarei High, said she called the ambulance and, despite being in shock, took towels and water to the family.

She said the mother was clearly in pain. “They still had the [birthday] cake in the back seat. The 3-year-old boy was screaming.”

Again, thank goodness no one was killed.

The latest stats from Nielsen are interesting.

The South Island is doing well, with the ODt up 8% and the Press 2%.

The Dom Post is constant, the Waikato Times down 2% and the NZ Herald down 5%.

Both the SST and HoS have small increases, while Sunday News down 8%.

The huge drop is the National Business Review, whose readership dropped 16%.

Lloyd Morrison has died following a prolonged battle against leukaemia. He was aged only 54.

He was one of Wellington’s finest. At the age of 30 he set up Infratil, and it has become a major infrastructure company.

He also led the campaign to change the NZ flag, and helped bail out the Phoenix.

Lloyd was also a big supporter of the arts – setting up a musical trust and has served as a director of the NZSO and trustee of Chamber Music NZ Foundation.

He has been given so many awards for business leadership, I won’t even name them. Suffice to say he was a brilliant businessman, and a passionate New Zealander and Wellingtonian who did much for his country and city.

My condolences to his family, and closest friends.

Matt Stewart at Stuff reports:

He battled for seven years to win compensation – and now a Paraparaumu man has admitted he also spent seven years cheating the state insurer of nearly $86,000.

Simon John Kruidenier, 58, pleaded guilty in Porirua District Court last month to claiming seven years’ worth of weekly compensation payments from ACC while he continued to work as a repossession agent for 11 finance companies.

Kruidenier began receiving compensation in September 2005, paid on the basis that he was unfit to work because of occupational neurotoxicity – a result of his former job as a printer’s assistant.

He said he had developed bad headaches and migraines after working for three years at Porirua plastics and packaging manufacturer Cryovac.

He lodged a complaint with ACC in 1998 – and payments were event-ually backdated to that year – but he failed to tell ACC that he had started working again in 2002.

He kept working while claiming compensation until October 2009, receiving $85,878.99.

So he spent seven years battling to get ACC, and won his case, getting it backdated. And he was a fraud, as he was in fact not just capable of work – but actually working.

In 2005 he told The Dominion Post he had been assessed by six doctors and had been round and round the system since lodging the claim in 1998.

“I have been prodded and poked. They keep contradicting each other – one says yes, the other says no.”

Kruidenier said at the time that his condition was “a hell of a thing to live with”.

He could not work because his health was so unreliable that even petrol fumes or perfume triggered migraines.

“I think ACC is going to be bloody-minded about it. But I can’t quit now.”

So he actually went to the media, trying to build public sympathy for his right to steal money off us.

• Coach of the Year – Sir Graham Henry
• Sportsman of the Year – Richie McCaw
• Team of the Year – the All Blacks
• Sportswoman of the Year – Valerie Adams
• Emerging Athlete – Jacko Gill
• Favourite Sporting Moment – the All Blacks
• Disabled Sportsperson – Sophie Pascoe
• Supreme Award – the All Blacks

It was the Al Blacks’ year. No arguments from me.

Also of note:

• Sports Hall of Fame - John Kirwan, Philippa Baker, Brenda Lawson
• Lifetime achievement award: Bruce Cameron
• Leadership award: Sir Murray Halberg

Halberg is now aged 78. He set up the Halberg Trust to help children with disabilities almost 50 years ago.

Stuff reports:

Police are “seriously considering” a permanent crackdown on speeding drivers by slashing the 10kmh tolerance they now allow.

The 10kmh tolerance allowed on the top speed limit of 100kmh has been cut to 4kmh over public holidays since 2010. The 4kmh tolerance is now being introduced for the rest of this month.

If the Police do go ahead with this, I expect to see some quality research showing how many crashes occur with drivers driving between 104 and 109 km/hr on open roads.

“We are of the opinion that it’s having a positive effect on the road toll. On that basis, we would be considering it very seriously.

“It will really be an evidence-based decision, it’s about an assessment of whether it saves lives.”

I hope it will be an evidence-based decision, rather than just “we are of the opinion”.

A police spokeswoman said crashes during holiday periods since the change was introduced had fallen 46 per cent.

A meaningless stat by itself, in terms of measuring the impact of the tolerance drop. How much has the crash rate fallen outside the holiday periods? Has the fall been greater during the holiday period? Has the decline in crashes been crashes with speed as a factor?

Automobile Association motoring affairs general manager Mike Noon said: “We’re not convinced that 104kmh poses any significant risk on our best roads. 

Thank you Mr AA.

Dog & Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said the move would unfairly target innocent motorists, while failing to cut the road toll. “It won’t make the slightest difference.”

A high toll over the latest Christmas period showed the lower speeding tolerance did not work, he said. “Heavy policing does not lower the road toll.”

I’m not saying it won’t make any difference. I’m saying the Police have not yet made a case. Mr Matthew-Wilson does have a point that in the most recent holiday period, there was a high toll despite the tolerance drop.

UPDATE: The Police have said the reduction of the tolerance is temporary, and will not become permanent. Good.

The Herald reports:

A mother who bottle-feeds her son says she has been repeatedly harassed by other mothers in public – and is now embarrassed to go to the supermarket for his formula.

Kate Rhodes, 24, of Manukau, says she has been told off, harassed and accused of being a bad mother while bottle-feeding her 6-month-old son, Dylan.

“It’s ridiculous how much grief people get just for having a bottle. Two weeks ago I was at the mall in the food court and my son started to cry.

“I gave him a bottle and a lady came up to me and said it’s a really bad look and it’s not a good way to represent New Zealand parents.

“I was just like, ‘are you serious?’. I told her to eff off.”

Well done Kate Rhodes.

My views on this issue are probably about as valid as on home birthing, but Eleanor Black at Pundit has summed it up very well:

Good grief. Piri Weepu is shown bottle-feeding his six-month-old daughter Taylor on an anti-smoking ad, and somehow this image of nurturing and positive fathering is construed as an attack on breastfeeding. As my nearly-three-year-old would say, “What?!”

Black sumarises how the anti-smoking ad was altered after complaints to remove the two seconds of Weepu bottle-feeding his daughter, and then notes:

First the obvious problems with the argument that this two seconds of bottle-feeding is an attack on breastfeeding. How do we know by simply looking at the image that Weepu is not giving his baby expressed mother’s milk? How do we know that his partner — like many women — didn’t try very hard to make breastfeeding work but found she couldn’t? Why would anyone see the image of a father helping with the baby care, feeding his child and nurturing her, and not think, “How lovely” instead of “How outrageous”?

98% of people did think how lovely.

And why do we parents have to put up with another scolding from well-meaning bossyboots in the health sector? Come on — give us some credit for being able to distinguish between something we see on TV and the practices we choose to employ in our own homes, for being able to assess the available information and make an informed decision that works for us and our families. We are not imbeciles, despite what you all seem to think. This coddling gets tiresome.

Absolutely.

Just returned from a dinner at MariLuca Ristoro. Until the change of owners, it was previously Maria Pia’s – one of Wellington’s best restaurants.

The occasion was a farewell dinner with Auckland Girl who is returning to Auckland.

I was interested to see whether MariLuca could keep up the excellent food and service that was a trademark of Maria Pia’s.

For the wine, we went with a bottle of Gavi  D.o.c.g. Duca di Aleramo 2010 Piemonte. At $42 a bottle it was very reasonable priced and a very good match to the pasta. So good, we had a second bottle. Very helpful that the wine list suggested foods it would match.

My entree was the Grigliata Impanata di Pesce, which was grilled prawn, squid, scallops and mussels in herbed bread crumbs. It was very tasty, and I had no complaints. 7.5/10. Auckland Girl had cockles, which were also delicious.

My main was the Pappardelle  con Anatra, which was with braised duck sauce. It was quite simply magnificent. The pasta was home crafted, and the duck was exquisite. A 9/10 easily.  Auckland Girl chose the gnocchi, which was also lovely.

My dessert (which I normally skip, but was a special occasion) was the gelato. Hard to get a bad gelato, and this one certainly wasn’t. AG went for the tiramisu, and from the sound of her groans of satisfaction, it was also very good. 8/10 for the desserts.

After dessert we had a port and a cognac. The service during the night was excellent and classy. The waitress (from Argentina) knew all the essentials such as how to properly pour wine, and was very friendly, but professional. The owner topped off the night by offering us a couple of lemoncellos on the house. I give the service a 9/10 also.

The overall bill was around $200, which for four excellent courses and two bottles of wine is very reasonable. A definite recommendation to those who want a classy night out, without paying the earth.

During the dinner, AG and I had fun playing Sherlock Holmes and trying to work out the backgrounds of all the other diners based on observation only. Our conclusions were:

1. A table of two older men, and an older woman. Conclusion was a businesswoman out with her husband a a business colleague.
2. A table of a young man dressed casually, a blond young woman in business dress and older woman. After considering they were a couple we decided they were brother and sister as they had no body language between them. Also he was dressed too casually for a date, and she had relatively little makeup on. The older woman was their mother, whom we suspect was from out of town, and this was her treat for them. Out detective skills were proven correct when at the end we heard her refer to them as her offspring.
3. A man and woman in their 40s. Had one course only. Conclusion was a local Thorndon couple and this is their regular.
4. Two men and two women, with one of each in their 40s and 50s. The men we decided worked together, and were out with their respective wives.
5. A young asian woman and a slightly older ginga. She gave him a card. Our conclusion is she is a law student and he is probably her tutor and boyfriend.
6. A man and woman in their late 30s. She was wearing an orange dress. Based on the dress we decided they were from Lower Hutt. They took 30 minutes to decide what to order, so were obviously not locals. Obviously a special dinner out, so I think it was an anniversary dinner treat for them.

We also discussed what people would probably guess we are, if they were doing the guesswork on us, we had done on them. We figured their guess on us would be a couple who had met over the Internet and were on their first date

Anyway, back to the restaurant, definitely has kept up the good standards of its predecessor, and a restaurant worth returning to.

Jessica Tasman-Jones reports at Stuff:

Health authorities are calling on the council to stop the spread of fast food outlets in some of Auckland’s poorest suburbs in an effort to fight obesity.

According to the Auckland Regional Public Heath Service (ARPHS), there are more fast food outlets and less grocers and supermarkets in poor neighbourhoods.

The opposite is true for Auckland’s more affluent suburbs.

According to the ARPHS submission to the draft Auckland Plan, around 70 per cent of the city’s homes are within 1km of a takeaway shop.

That climbs to at least 90 per cent in wards like Otara-Papatoetoe and Mangere-Otahuhu.

ARPHS says it wants to see council restrict new fast food outlets across Auckland while seeking ways to increase food outlets with healthy food like supermarkets and grocers.

Those evil fish and chip shops, chinese takeaways, subways, hell pizza outlets etc must be stopped. We must not allow people to choose for themselves what food to eat, and suffer the consequences of bad choices.

Stuff reports:

The queen is now the second longest-serving monarch in British history after Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901.

During Elizabeth’s reign there have been 12 British prime ministers, 12 US presidents and six popes.

I believe NZ should become a republic, but I am also a big fan of QEII whose devotion to duty is without peer.

Incidentally she has had 14 New Zealand Prime Ministers, and by coincidence she has also had 14 Governor-Generals represent her.

Some facts from the diamond jubilee website:

• Only Queen Victoria has served for longer – 63 years. It seems likely that record will be broken in 2015.
• The Queen is the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror.
• Both Tony Blair and David Cameron were born after the Queen ascended to the throne, and hence have had no other Sovereign.

Kate Newton at Stuff reports:

A urinating Waitangi Day mob of “drunk Kiwis wreaking alcohol-fuelled havoc on the streets of London” has sparked a complaint to the New Zealand High Commission.

Not sure what they can do about it.

It’s a rite of passage for thousands of young Kiwis on their great OE. But this year’s annual Waitangi Day London pub crawl has sparked derision and disgust.

Kiwi Dylan Clements says up to 1500 drunken New Zealanders took to the streets on Saturday in a shameful display of debauchery.

He has filed a complaint with New Zealand High Commissioner Derek Leask, saying their antics brought “great shame” on New Zealand.

Mr Clements, 28, said he watched participants urinating and vomiting on famous religious landmarks, including Westminster Abbey and the historic Jewel Tower, and exposing themselves indecently on the street.

Others sculled alcohol on the Tube, intimidated Londoners and assaulted Korean tourists with snowballs during the marathon boozing session.

But kiwis who attended the annual event say everyone was in good spirits, generally well behaved and respectful of police and other Londoners.

The Waitangi Day pub crawl is a fun tradition. However vomiting on Westminster Abbey is a no no, as is exposing yourself. If they occurred, they sounds like isolated incidents. You can take part in a pub crawl, get very merry, but still not be so “wasted” that you do such stupid stuff.

On a website set up to promote the pub crawl, Clint Heine said he met police before the event and they were present on the day to keep an eye on things.

He said he had received feedback from police saying there had been a “few minor hiccups” with litter and public urination, but it was expected.

Yesterday, on the pub crawl’s Facebook page, participants said police had told them they were a “well-behaved bunch”.

It sounds like Mr Clements may be over-egging things.

Krystle Field said it was the first time she had truly celebrated Waitangi Day and was proud to take part.

“At home it is such a negative day full of politics, protesting and drama and is just seen as another public holiday to many. In London it makes us all patriotic and we celebrate by dressing up in kiwiana costumes,” the 26-year-old said.

Well said.

It is interesting that Mr Clements was complaining about the pub crawl on Facebook, even before it had happened.

The media have all reported this as a major story, based on one person’s complaint. What is interesting is that the UK media (you know where it actually occurred) have run no negative stories at all on it. So the Police had no problem with it. The local media have only had good stories on it. Is the fact one person complains, meritorious of massive headlines in NZ?

Some photos from the pub crawl are here and here. Some great costumes. Even more here.

Well, this is surprising. The Herald reports:

Mr Harawira said he “hated to say it” but he admired Mr Key for choosing to be the “bigger man”.

“In my view he is to be respected, that in the face of opposition – some of it quite strident – he chooses to come back year after year.”

Key’s response is the right one, in my opinion also. The PM should be at Waitangi on Waitangi Day.

However I have been of the view for some time that we should have a New Zealand Day, as well as a Waitangi Day.

Stuff reports:

A judge has told a 42-year-old Nelson man with 41 previous driving convictions that it was only a matter of time before he injured or killed somebody.

Norman Mostyn Teece appeared in Nelson District Court for sentencing yesterday by Judge Tony Zohrab on a charge of dangerous driving causing death, and was sentenced to three years in prison. …

Judge Zohrab said a law change last year meant the maximum sentence he could impose had doubled from five to 10 years.

“It’s hard not to be sympathetic to the situation you find yourself in, but the sympathy is dulled or tempered because of your history.”

Teece had received 41 previous driving convictions in the period between 1986 and 2001, and since 2001 had had his driving licence suspended twice.

“You have a terrible prior history. You have placed members of the public in danger again and again.” Judge Zohrab said.

Judge Zohrab is right that it was only a matter of time before he killed someone. I think he is lucky to have got only three years jail. A case for manslaughter could be made, if you take into account his past history.

This got me thinking, is there any way different laws could have prevented this death, or minimised the chance of its happening.

I’d advocate two changes for such recidivist dangerous drivers.

The first is that after a certain number of offences, you face a lifetime ban from driving. I’m not sure how many offences that would be, but certainly less than 41.

I note even now he has only been suspended for five years, of which around half he will be in prison for anyway.

The second change is around penalties for driving while disqualified. We know certainty of being caught and certainty of sentence are deterrents. I would advocate that any driver who has been permanently disqualified from driving (I would hope we have less than 100 in total) is subject to pro-active checking by Police that they are not driving and that if they are caught driving while permanently disqualified they are automatically jailed with say a minimum three month sentence.

If they refuse to drive safely on the roads, then better they are in jail than they are allowed to carry on until they do kill someone, as Norman Teece did.

Post Day One Sevens brunch for our group. Very good at soaking up the alcohol.

Day Two was great. I was convinced New Zealand would lose after their semi-final vs England, where they played awfully. And Fiji was very impressive in their semi-final.

But my God, what a final. I can’t recall seeing a better performance from the NZ Sevens team. Four tries in the first half. And it wasn’t that Fiji were playing awfully – more NZ was playing very very well. The Fijians got quite bad tempered as the game went on – I don’t think they are used to being thrashed.

So a great finish to a very fun tournament. The only downside for the girls is that the Ultimate Warrior never turned up again. One of them spent most of the day looking for him!

Jamie Morton at NZ Herald reports:

The European family of a little girl raped in a Turangi campground have made a “heart warming” and “remarkable” gesture to New Zealand – and despite the horror ordeal they plan to come back.

The brutal attack on the 5-year-old on December 21 – which took place as she was sleeping alongside her little brother in a caravan at Club Habitat – drew an outpouring of both national shame and support, leaving the family overwhelmed with messages of support and more than $62,000 in donations.

It also stirred a wave of fury toward the youth responsible – a Turangi 16-year-old who will be sentenced in Rotorua this month.

Yesterday, the girl’s family re-iterated they bore no grudge against New Zealand, and announced they had donated $20,000 towards four organisations.

The money will help buy paediatric surgical instruments and items for Waikato Hospital’s Waikids Ward 26, support protection agency ECPAT Child Alert NZ Ltd and Victim Support Hamilton, and will go toward a new children’s playground for the Turangi community, who gave the family $13,000 in donations.

That is staggering generosity, when you consider what they have gone through.

There will be a lot of interest in the sentencing later this month.

I was behind a car a few days ago that was advertising Superloans and telling people they can help you make ends meet between pay days.

I commented to the driver that I bet you they charge an outrageous interest rate, so I checked when I got home. I was expecting an annualised rate of 100% or so.

On their website, there is no mention on the home page of their current interest rates. No mention under their super pay advance FAQs also.

Finally on their disclosure page you fund out their interest rate is 16%.

Not per annum though. That is per fortnight. That works out to 416% per annum.

I feel sorry for people so desperate that they allow themselves to be exploited by these loan sharks. Yes these are unsecured loans, but hell even if you had a default rate of 20%, then an annualised rate of say 50% would be a pretty reasonable 20% return on capital.

It would seem to me there is a market opportunity here for a company to undercut the rip off merchants. Maybe there are barriers to entry that make this difficult.

First day of the Sevens was lots of fun. As always I’m amazed by how creative some of the costumes are, and the sheer variety of them. It did make me think what it would be like if one year everyone was urged to come in the same costume – say as blue smurfs. A stadium of 35,000 cheering blue smurfs would look amazing. On the other hand, one would find it damn hard recognizing your friends, and there must be a good chance a fair number of people would go home with a stranger whom they thought was someone else!

The rugby side (yes I do actually go for the rugby) was good. Canada beating France was excellent, as was Tonga beating Fiji. South Africa playing quite well and beat England and NZ looking good in their three victories, but not unbeatable by any stretch.

Anyway two amusing stories. The first is of how not to pick up a girl.

A guy in a duff beer outfit is cavorting in the aisle and then sits down in the aisle next to one of our group (Anna). He doesn’t speak to her, just sits there for half an hour, occasionally smiling at her. We are having fun teasing her that she has picked up a friend. Then after half an hour of sitting there saying nothing he asks “So you’ll be going home soon”. As it was 9 pm or so, Anna answers “yes”. He then goes “So I’ll come with you then”.

Well you have to give some marks for the direct approach!

The other incident happened soon after that. A young guy (aged 21) dressed or undressed as the Ultimate Warrior came up. He was basically naked apart from his underpants/wrestling shorts. He very generously lowered himself over a couple of the girls and umm shook his booty in front of them. The girls were not objecting too greatly I must say (probably helped by the fact he did have a wrestler’s physique) and I was having great fun urging him to make sure none of the girls on our group missed out.

But as I was urging him on, he looks up from being draped over Kirsti and Anna and goes “You’re David Farrier*, I love your blog”. In fact he loved my blog so much, he insisted on also shaking his booty over me – to the extremely great amusement of the girls in the group, who I think now believe in karma.

Some very unfortunate photos were snapped on iphones, and my KiwiSaver savings are going to have to be raided to ensure sufficient bribes to stop them ever being published!

Anyway heading back in around 1 pm. Here’s hoping for a New Zealand win!

* People would be amazed how often people either get my surname confused with TV3′s David Farrier, or even mix the two of us up (as in I give them my name, and they say oh yes you’re that funny guy on Nightline).

UPDATE: Kirsti has provided this photo of the Warrior.

Stuff reports:

Angry pit bull owners are biting back over comments made by the SPCA that the breed is bad to the bone.

SPCA Executive Director Bob Kerridge last week said pit bulls are the exception to the rule that dogs are not born bad. …

I’d be interested to hear from any pit bull owners as to why they have a pit bull.

While not all pit bulls attack humans, the proportion that have or do is notably high. So I can’t work out why anyone would acquire a pit bull, unless they specifically wanted a dog that will attack.

Meet Steven Karu.

On July 4 last year, Karu was riding a bus when he performed an indecent act, the Palmerston North District Court heard yesterday.

A 13-year-old girl on the bus saw what was happening and texted her parents, asking what to do. They told her to take a picture to show to the police and to get off at the next stop. She did. Trouble was, Karu got off too. …

On October 13 last year, Karu was jailed for one year on an indecency charge but while in Manawatu Prison awaiting sentence, he sent the girl a threatening letter dated August 22. …

“And on the back ‘original hoodlum pay back’.” There was also a picture of a gang gesture and the phrase “Highbury gonna get you”. The letter to the girl contained threats against her and her family.

In it, Karu described himself as “Highbury’s worst criminal”.

He also commented that he was due to be released when the girl would be aged 16, the legal age of consent for sexual intercourse.

His letter said:

“Delete the photo or else. “I don’t want you, me, and your mum and dad to have a problem. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, I’m sorry. “If my mum dies when I’m in here, so does yours and your dad.”

Sounds a lovely chap. But this is the part that staggered me:

Judge Lynch noted Karu’s long history of offending, dating back to 1989, which included more than 180 convictions.

I might be wrong, but I imagine more than a couple of those offences would be serious enough to qualify for a strike under the three strikes law.

Karu sounds like exactly the sort of offender who should no longer get the benefit of parole and shortened sentences. I think at 180 convictions we can all agree he is not going to stop offending.

Seamus Boyer at Stuff reports:

Hollywood movie mogul James Cameron is coming to live in Wairarapa – and he is bringing his family with him.

The director of blockbuster films Titanic and Avatar has purchased two large plots of land along Western Lake Rd in south Wairarapa, where he is expected to arrive and live later this year.

Records released today from the Overseas Investment Office show that James F Cameron, of Canada, was given consent in December to purchase two separate properties, one 817 hectares and the other nearly 250 hectares.

That’s around 15% the size of the Crafar farms. where are the howls of outrage from Labour? I mean Cameron is a foreigner.

But the documents show that Cameron’s New Zealand connection will be more than just a working one.

”James F Cameron and his family intend to reside indefinitely in New Zealand and are acquiring the property to reside on and operate as a working farm,” it notes.

But but but what expertise do they have in farming?

Under Labour’s election policy on foreign investment, Mr Cameron’s application would be declined as they said all sales will be declined unless the purchaser “will also invest in significant further processing of related primary products and related jobs”.

So I look forward to Labour MPs forming a picket line at the airport waving “Cameron go home” placards.

Of course I think it is a good thing Cameron has been allowed to purchase land here. There are numerous way we may benefit from his presence in New Zealand.

Just as when Julian Robertson purchased rural land up north. Who would have thought that he would come to love this country so much (despite not being a citizen) that he would donate over $100 million of art to New Zealand galleries.

That is why I think the current test of “in the national interest” is the appropriate one rather than Labour’s highly restrictive criteria.

There’s two great reasons to go to Circa at the moment. In Circa One they are staging The Motor Camp for a repeat season. But if you have already seen that, then you can see Esencia del Flamenco in Circa Two.

I attended last night along with Stalker Girl and the performance put on by the Desde Sevilla Flamenco Dance Company, is captivating and engaging.

The first half is very serious – the Cry of Spain, about the Spanish Civil War. Five stern faced dancers do a wonderfully timed routine, supported by singer Christina Gomez and guitarist Paul Bosauder, both from Barcelona. Also in support are a couple of percussionists.

If you like great dance and music, you’ll love Esencia del Flamenco. There is a great contrast between the serious dancing of the first half and then the Fiesta Flamenca in the second half where the smiles light up the theatre as they dance and sing up a storm.

We had a very engaged audience, and you could see some of the audience almost wanted to jump onto the stage and join in.

We both thought it was a great performance, and I’m really glad I went along. I am never sure if I am going to enjoy a performance if it isn’t my traditional comedic or dramatic play, but Circa has been great at helping me discover a much wider range of performance to enjoy.

Highly recommended if you enjoy song and dance. Also would be a very good event to take a date to!

I’m always in two minds about posting about Great Barrier Island, as I’m worried too many people might start holidaying there, making it harder for me to holiday there. But it really is an iconic part of New Zealand that provide world class beauty, just 30 minutes flying from Auckland.

Myself and three friends stayed at Blind Bay, and you can see the view from the balcony. The weather was so nice, that we were able to drink and play cards out on the balcony until close to midnight. One can never get sick of views like that.

A couple of the locals very kindly took us out fishing over the weekend. This is their dog Max who just loves being out on the water.

Even I managed to catch a couple of fish, including this parrotfish. We also caught lots of snapper, which we had for dinner.

I loved this sight of the dog being towed along in his own boat.

After the fishing, we went to this very remote bay (basically only accessible by boat or a two hour walk) and it really was a piece of paradise. The water was wonderful.

Yum. I can never get enough crayfish. It was a perfect end to a great day out.

Also love the sunset over Blind Bay.

I love living in Wellington, and don’t think I would ever live in Auckland. But if I did, a big plus would be being able to spend more time on the Barrier. The locals are so absolutely friendly, and the scenery so wonderful.