It has been reported that OceanaGold's mine at Waihi has had a fatality. The mine worker died when his loader tipped over.
>>Read Here<<
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the bereaved.
July 29, 2016
July 27, 2016
NZ War on Pests
About time, it has been announced that NZ will launch its biggest ever pest eradication programme to protect its native flora and fauna Will it work, is the big question. We need scientific answers to the problem that's for sure.
July 26, 2016
Workplace NZ Busted
So now we know, New Zealand is actually a safer workplace than Australia. The only reason there are more deaths in NZ per capita is because a higher proportion of NZers are working in high risk industries, like forestry.
Worksafe NZ launched a major advertising campaign which has now been held to be grossly exaggerated.
>>Read Here<<
Read the Tailrisk Economic report>>> HERE
There you go.
Worksafe NZ launched a major advertising campaign which has now been held to be grossly exaggerated.
>>Read Here<<
Read the Tailrisk Economic report>>> HERE
There you go.
July 21, 2016
Boris Johnson Foreign Secretary
Looks like the appointment of Boris Johnson means there was a deal done; Theresa May gets Prime Minister and Boris gets Foreign Secretary, a position from which he can manage the EU exit. I'm presuming this was done based on who had the numbers and the backing of the party as a whole. This looks to be the case as every candidate dropped out apart from May, meaning no need to go to the party-wide vote.
July 18, 2016
Roots TV Mini Series
I have been watching the latest Roots TV Mini Series and I've enjoyed it. There is one major flaw though and that is where the slave 'Chicken' George Lea is sold to cover gambling debts and goes to England to train other cockfighters. He then returns as a slave to the USA (evidently so but I've only seen up to where he gets sold on, and spoilers).
WRONG. This could not happen. The moment 'Chicken' George set foot on English soil he'd be free. By the time depicted in the drama the slave trade had been banned by the British, and cases prior to that had already resolved that there was no such thing as a slave on English soil.
See Somerset v Stewart 1771. Slavery was unsupported by both statute and common law in England and Wales - end of. Moreover, slavery has never been legal on English soil. Can you Americans get that into your skulls. Never ever. In the colonies, always a grey area, England NO.
Abolitionists would have freed 'Chicken' George had he been in England.
Now I haven't seen the whole series, it wraps up next week in NZ. We'll see how this pans out but so far I'm calling Bullshit, the Yanks have simply got this wrong wrong wrong, and if Alex Haley wrote this in his novel then he's a blaggard.
[Edit to add: I've seen the final and yes, they've got 'Chicken' George a slave in England, but after 20 years he is able to buy his freedom and he returns to America a free man. The only problem with this is that in reality he'd be free as soon as his feet touched English soil. But all said and done, I still enjoyed the series even with this flaw. Anna Paquin was underused too, shame that]
WRONG. This could not happen. The moment 'Chicken' George set foot on English soil he'd be free. By the time depicted in the drama the slave trade had been banned by the British, and cases prior to that had already resolved that there was no such thing as a slave on English soil.
See Somerset v Stewart 1771. Slavery was unsupported by both statute and common law in England and Wales - end of. Moreover, slavery has never been legal on English soil. Can you Americans get that into your skulls. Never ever. In the colonies, always a grey area, England NO.
Abolitionists would have freed 'Chicken' George had he been in England.
Now I haven't seen the whole series, it wraps up next week in NZ. We'll see how this pans out but so far I'm calling Bullshit, the Yanks have simply got this wrong wrong wrong, and if Alex Haley wrote this in his novel then he's a blaggard.
[Edit to add: I've seen the final and yes, they've got 'Chicken' George a slave in England, but after 20 years he is able to buy his freedom and he returns to America a free man. The only problem with this is that in reality he'd be free as soon as his feet touched English soil. But all said and done, I still enjoyed the series even with this flaw. Anna Paquin was underused too, shame that]
July 16, 2016
English in New Zealand High Schools
Daughter number two is about to complete high school. She is a capable student, and she reads with great alacrity. She's not a bad writer either, I like her stuff.
So we were talking about how things have gone at school, as you do, and you know what? What she hasn't studied is truly surprising.
She hasn't 'done' any Shakespeare to date. That's not just this year, that's ever. Nor has she done Christopher Marlowe or Ben Jonson. She had seen T.S. Eliot mentioned in a book she got out of the library, so she had heard of him, and she'd read in a Bernard Cornwell book of Anthony Trollope propping up the leg of a table. She said she recognised the reference as I had recommended him.
She has not heard of Rudyard Kipling, Dylan Thomas or William Blake. No Alfred Lord Tennyson for her. Oh no.
Has Russia ever had an empire? Oh dear, the naivety. Yes child of mine and they have literature too. Lots of it.
What she has spent a lot of time on is writing ugly, no, very ugly creative writing pieces for her NCEA. The teachers train these children to emulate drivel like The Luminaries and The Bone People. I call this creative writing class pitiable and largely worthless crap. But like tame seals they have to do it or get a low grade. Gone is economy and elegance. We'll have none of that the teachers say.
This is bad folks. A very very poor state of affairs.
So we were talking about how things have gone at school, as you do, and you know what? What she hasn't studied is truly surprising.
She hasn't 'done' any Shakespeare to date. That's not just this year, that's ever. Nor has she done Christopher Marlowe or Ben Jonson. She had seen T.S. Eliot mentioned in a book she got out of the library, so she had heard of him, and she'd read in a Bernard Cornwell book of Anthony Trollope propping up the leg of a table. She said she recognised the reference as I had recommended him.
She has not heard of Rudyard Kipling, Dylan Thomas or William Blake. No Alfred Lord Tennyson for her. Oh no.
Has Russia ever had an empire? Oh dear, the naivety. Yes child of mine and they have literature too. Lots of it.
What she has spent a lot of time on is writing ugly, no, very ugly creative writing pieces for her NCEA. The teachers train these children to emulate drivel like The Luminaries and The Bone People. I call this creative writing class pitiable and largely worthless crap. But like tame seals they have to do it or get a low grade. Gone is economy and elegance. We'll have none of that the teachers say.
This is bad folks. A very very poor state of affairs.
July 15, 2016
Mike Pence
The choice of Mike Pence as Donald Trump's running mate is a good one. Pence doesn't agree with everything Trump says, and that means any voter thinking about whether to vote for Trump can in fact do so knowing the next guy in line is their kind of man.
I wonder how much influence Ivanka Trump is having on the campaign? She is one very smart woman.
Expect working class white voters from the rust belt to vote Trump come election time. It's all about jobs after all.
[edited to correct obvious and inexplicable spelling mistake grrrr]
I wonder how much influence Ivanka Trump is having on the campaign? She is one very smart woman.
Expect working class white voters from the rust belt to vote Trump come election time. It's all about jobs after all.
[edited to correct obvious and inexplicable spelling mistake grrrr]
July 05, 2016
Kevin Durant
Woh, Kevin Durant signs with the Golden State Warriors soon after losing the series with them while playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Anyone a little, how shall we say it, somewhat uneasy about that?
July 01, 2016
Boris Johnson, Winston Churchill
No-one has seen the parallel between Boris Johnson and Winston Churchill. Don't be so quick to write old Boris off just yet folks.
How did Churchill first become Prime Minister? Off the back of Labour votes in the House, that's how. Elements within his own party hated him. Sound like Boris does it? Well, in this Brexit vote, it was Labour heartland that voted to leave while the Tory middle classes wanted to remain in the EU. So poor old Boris can't run for leader of the Conservatives as they hate him. I'm not talking about the party caucus vote here, as with the Conservatives since their changes, the run-off is put to the whole membership, and Boris can't win that.
How he can become PM is either through a national emergency where Labour support for a uniting leader is needed OR Boris jumps ship and leads the Labour party. Unlikely I know, but Churchill jumped ship joining the Liberals from the Conservatives. In the world of politics strange things can happen.
How did Churchill first become Prime Minister? Off the back of Labour votes in the House, that's how. Elements within his own party hated him. Sound like Boris does it? Well, in this Brexit vote, it was Labour heartland that voted to leave while the Tory middle classes wanted to remain in the EU. So poor old Boris can't run for leader of the Conservatives as they hate him. I'm not talking about the party caucus vote here, as with the Conservatives since their changes, the run-off is put to the whole membership, and Boris can't win that.
How he can become PM is either through a national emergency where Labour support for a uniting leader is needed OR Boris jumps ship and leads the Labour party. Unlikely I know, but Churchill jumped ship joining the Liberals from the Conservatives. In the world of politics strange things can happen.