Around the World at Easter

Posted by Lambcut.

The US is to begin drone strikes on Libyan targets. Games without frontiers war without tears.

Your iPhone knows where you are and it can tell other people, like the IRD, the Police and your spouse’s divorce lawyer.

24 people had themselves nailed to crosses in the Philippines, to demonstrate their Christian love.

Live on Italian TV, a little girl asked Pope Benedict to explain the suffering caused by the Japanese tsunami. Poor old Bene the Rat was buggered if he knew about that.

In Israel yesterday, WikiLeaks revealed that whilst in opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu tried to make Ehud Olmert attack Iran. Benjamin is Prime Minister now. Watch out Iran.

And in the UK, Kate Middleton’s face was found on a jelly bean. It’s a good likeness too.

Happy Easter

Posted by Lambcut (the Brunette is away).


Easter is irritating to an irritable perimenopausal atheist. It’s Good Friday. It’s cold in Wellington in a thin, dry, sunless sort of way. And, everything is fucking shut. We have ANZAC Day to look forward to. I like ANZAC Day. In fact I love ANZAC Day. I trundle down to the cenotaph at dawn in the cold and become warmly emotional remembering elderly relatives and brave countrymen who fought in the great wars. And, I feel patriotic. But be in no doubt the patriotism I feel does not extend to a love of government. This government is turning my waning oestrogen to vitriol.

This 5th National government rules by bureaucratic fiat. It’s not too far from a constitutional crisis. It’s running round sacking Councils, creating obese Czars and not listening to anyone who might know anything helpful. It is without proper advice from industry, commerce and critical stakeholders. Nat5’s approach to the Ultrafast Broadband initiative is a perturbing case in point. Vodafone, TelstraClear, CallPlus, Kordia/Orcon, 2 Degrees, Maori rural Broadband Initiative bidder Torotoro Waea and its partner Opto Networks, Federated Farmers, Consumer NZ, InternetNZ and TUANZ have joined to protest the potential monopoly created by Telecom’s advancement. Steven Joyce is not listening.

A quick glance around the House reveals with staggering clarity that the necessary knowledge and experience to know and decide absolutely everyfuckingthing for you and me cannot be found within the House. Even scant knowledge of the bureaucracy will tell you that appropriate experience and knowledge is not contained in there.

I can understand why there has been a strong reaction against the precious and costly over consultation of the 5th Labour administration, especially in relation to the RMA. But at the moment we have Minister’s Offices and entire Ministries completely disengaged from industry, commerce and other vital pools of knowledge that exist outside the bureaucracy and the Beehive. That didn’t used to happen under Lab5. Other preposterous pie eyed, bury-advice-in-an-avalanche-of-cluster-fucking over-consultation happened. But not this overweening-overconfident-I’ll keep-my-head-blindly-up-my-arrogant-ass sort of crap.

It’s creepy and it reminds me of Muldoon. Have a happy Easter.

FREEDOM

This story on Stuff probably epitomises all that our country can be. With the vast numbers of cultures and religions it makes sense to expose our children to the various aspects of all walks of life.
A year ago this would have been difficult to celebrate because of the cloying Political correct thinking that seeped into every corner of society.
So the simple act of sharing a hot cross bun and explaining its religious significance and drinking some sugar laden chocolate milk as a treat at school takes on much more importance. It ensures that our society becomes more tolerant and our children grow up understanding why some people do different things but different isn't bad its just really interesting.