Winston Peters = Political Zombie

Winston Peters launches comeback bid

NZ First leader and former Tauranga MP Winston Peters has launched his comeback attempt by promising tax cuts and more Super Gold Card discounts - and has celebrity endorsement from singer John Rowles.

Mr Peters told about 700 supporters at the party's campaign launch at Alexandra Park in Auckland yesterday that he would cut GST back to 12.5 per cent and lower personal, company and savings tax.

NZ First would "make the multi-millionaires pay their share" by overhauling tax law to ensure the wealthy could not avoid their share of tax.

He also said Super Gold Card holders would be in line for discounted power bills, cheaper doctor fees and cheaper car registration under NZ First policies.

Mr Peters said he believed the party could get 190,000 votes this election, twice what it received in 2008.

How many times does a political career have to die before it just goes away - for good?!?!?

Someone get a political stake, and stab that thing already.

Occupy Auckland - Hangin with the protesters

I just returned home from a visit down to Aotea Square. I had an absolutely wonderful time in the sunshine, drinking coffee, taking photos, and just hanging out while i took in the laid back, peaceful, happy environment.

Contrary to the right wing blogosphere's statements that there is damage being caused to Aotea Square, or that there are drunks and the lingering smell of pot in the air, or that every protester is an unemployed ragtag - i found a very tidy, clean, completely sober atmosphere with lots and lots of tents - way more than i had imagined there would be - but not as many people around because, as some signs stated - they have jobs.

Good question

One for the right wing blogosphere!

Nek Minnit

Ok ok so they misspelled Auckland - Details details! It is still very pretty!

Empty tents of employed occupiers

More tents of the employed

No drunks or drugs

Don Brash would like them to have drugs though!

Just say no to Don Brash

Happy Halloween :)

Me - in front of the garden of love ;)

The very clean and organised kitchen.

Organised workshops

Workshop schedule

The right were not really concerned anyway

Amen

But 1% will be!

People enjoying their lunch without disruption

A list of the countries that the US have invaded since 1848

So there you go. That is what i found down at Aotea Square this afternoon - A lot of tents and signs made up by people who want a better, and fairer society for their children to enjoy in the future - but not many people lurking around because they had all gone to work in an attempt to make that happen.

Unless the protesters and the occupation have drastically cleaned up their act since Cactus Kate's blog post regarding her visit to the protest - what she wrote and portrayed on her blog was absolute crap.

Funny, and amusing crap - but still crap.

'Until'

'...[God] wrestled...with him until...' Genesis 32:24 KJV

The Bible says, 'Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man [the angel of the Lord]...until the breaking of the day.' When God decides to deal with you He will get you alone. Notice, Jacob was 'left'. When surgery is required, nobody else is allowed in the operating room. Something in you must be dealt with or you won't make it.

Notice also, 'There wrestled a man with him until'. Others may give up on you, but not God. '...He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ' (Philippians 1:6 NKJV). 'Until' Jacob becomes Israel, 'until' the deceiver becomes a prince with God, 'until' you begin to walk, talk and live in such a way that everybody around you knows you've been touched by God. God's not going to let you get by with stuff He used to overlook. When you're running out of time He will wrestle with you and show you that you're wasting your life. He will wrestle with you over your careless attitudes, words and actions. He will wrestle with you over your ingratitude and help you see how blessed you are. He will wrestle with you over your double-mindedness and unwillingness to make a commitment. You've changed jobs, changed relationships and changed churches; when are you going to let God plant you permanently somewhere so that you can bear fruit?

There are two 'untils' in this story. First, God wrestled with Jacob until he said yes. Second, Jacob wrestled with God until He blessed him. At that point Jacob's name changed, his past ended, and the future God had in mind for him began.

I was up super early this morning. The tiler is here to tile my bathroom and laundry floor. He is this little Asian man that reminds me of Mr Miagie or however you spell it from the Karate Kid movies - except he is like 50 years older. I had to carry the tiles around to the back of the house for him! The landlord told me that it is a one day job, but that because he is so old - it might take two days.

I am going to take the opportunity, while there is so much banging going on in my house, to visit the occupiers at Aotea Square today. I am going to try to answer Cactus Kate's blog post that she did, making fun of them. I don't know how successful i will be though. Even i had to laugh at Kate's photos, and her sense of humour in relation to the occupiers.

Right - i am outta here.

Deal with Your 'Ishmael'

'...Cast out the bondwoman and her son...' Galatians 4:30 KJV

Ishmael was born as a result of Abraham attempting to hurry up the plan of God and fulfil it through human effort. Are you doing that? We all have our 'Ishmaels': a good idea that was not God's idea, and it can complicate your life. You say, 'But didn't God love Ishmael too?' Yes, and He blessed him (Genesis 17:20). But God said He would only fulfil His plan through Isaac.

When you run ahead of God, or try to replace His will with your will, not only do you suffer, but the people you love suffer too. Spiritually speaking, when God says to you, 'Cast out the bondwoman and her son', He's saying, 'It's time to deal with your past and clean out your cupboard.'

But notice something else in this story. Like Ishmael and Isaac, sometimes your miracle and your mistake can grow together under the same roof. Things can be so bad in one area, yet so good in another. Today God may be saying to you, 'Because of the destiny I have in mind for you, you've got to put this thing out of your life.' It's painful letting go of something your flesh creates, but you have no choice.

Here are your options. You can be moved by their pleading and miss God's best. Or you can say, 'As much as I love you, I love God more.' When you're willing to walk away from something you love because you love God more, that's called the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15). And when you offer it up to God, you position yourself to receive the fullness of His blessing in your life.

I had the hugest sleep in this morning. I have only really JUST emerged from my bed about an hour ago. I totally wore myself out yesterday - working in the yard, at the beach, with kids etc etc. I had to pick Jorgia up from a Halloween party at 10:30 last night and it took everything that i had in me to stay awake that late. I can't even remember my head hitting the pillow last night. I love sleeps like the one that i just had.

Now i have to make up for losing half my day though. I am doing it all again today, so i am outta here.

Hopefully, the Sunday papers will provide me with some fodder for the blog. It has been a bit dry lately!

Ask God to Give You a Dream

'...Your old men shall dream dreams...' Joel 2:28 NKJV

God gives you a dream, He gives you the resources and relationships needed to fulfil it.

Not everybody will believe in your dream. Paul writes, 'What if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar...' (Romans 3:3-4 NKJV). If your dream is from God, disregard the naysayers and give yourself fully to it. Just be sure your dream is from God. It can't be born out of somebody else's wishes. Sometimes your dream is actually somebody else's desire for you. Parents do this. They want to relive some part of their life through you, so they push you to do something they themselves always wanted to do. That sets you up for a lifetime of trying to please your father and mother, to get their approval even though you're now an adult. Then one day you wake up and realise you're trying to live somebody else's dream. It may actually have been God's plan for your mother or father, but now you're stuck with it.

Get unstuck! Ask God for your own dream! Your dream can't be born out of wrong motives such as pride, jealousy, anger, rejection or competitiveness. Are you trying to prove something to somebody? Are you trying to win their admiration and respect? Are you trying to make up for being rejected? Acknowledge your motives, ask God to heal your heart, then ask Him for a dream that He can back up!

I did not die while i was away from internet access...but no time for blogging. I have gardening, beach, kids, and other stuff to do...

Absolutely adoring Spring.

Your Breakthrough!

'[The] One who breaks open the way will go up before [you]...' Micah 2:13 NIV

Are you thinking, 'If I don't get a breakthrough, I'm not going to make it?'

Try to understand these two things. First, your problem is just an opportunity for God to work on your behalf. You are positioned to experience the truth of these words: '[The] One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the Lord at their head.' By God's grace you can prevail over your circumstances. You can rise above discouragement and the self-defeating mentality that says: 'Nothing's going to change for the better'. You say, 'But I tried and failed!' Fine, mark that off your list and say, 'Now I know what doesn't work.' Rejoice, God knows the way, and He's going before you!

Second, before you experience a breakthrough there's usually a shake-up. Chuck Yeager , the World War II hero who broke the sound barrier, fractured his ribs in a horse-riding accident the day before he hopped into the cockpit and attempted to do what had never been done with a plane before. His friends said, 'You're in too much pain. Don't do it.' His fears told him, 'Nobody's ever done it before. You won't either.' At 1100 km/hr the plane began to shake violently. Then suddenly he broke through into what he described as 'a great calm'. That's how it is when you're about to experience a breakthrough. When everything around you starts to shake and your fear level skyrockets, you're not about to crash and burn, you're on the threshold of a breakthrough!

I am venturing out to a part of this universe that does not have internet access for the next 18 hours or so.

I think i might die.

If i never come back - that means i died.

Nail Meet Head

Robert Winter from Idle thoughts of an Idle Fellow hits the nail on the head with his blog post in relation to certain Blogger's and the Right's mocking, hatred, and recent tantrums that have been directed at the occupiers in Aotea Square - and around the world.

I have come to the conclusion that i don't mind the anger and hatred that is being shown towards the occupiers at the moment, and have put this behaviour down to simple fear.

People don't hate or mock something that they don't care about, or that doesn't matter to them. They will though direct that kind of behaviour towards something that they perceive as a threat, or that they care about.

It is not at all unlike all of the hatred and mocking that was directed at Quade Cooper during the RWC. Had Quade been on our side he would have been a hero - because he is that good. He wasn't on our side though, so he was hated and mocked. No one would have paid one iota of attention to him though, had he not been a threat. I can't recall any of the names of any of the other Wallabies, but the name Quade Cooper was everywhere - because New Zealanders were scared of how good he is.

Now the Right cannot stop talking about the Occupation Protests that are going on everywhere. They want them arrested. They make fun of them non stop, calling them names. They are screaming about who is going to pay for what. They align them with political parties and groups that they don't like. They suggest conspiracy theories between Len Brown and these political parties.  They suggest everything from water cannons, to dumping concrete and gasoline on them to get them to move on. They even take the time to complain that they might not actually be sleeping in their tents at night.

The sheer immaturity and nastiness that is being displayed by some is unbelievable, and not unlike the cheers that i heard from New Zealanders when Quade injured himself and could no longer play. Why on earth would we be happy that a sportsman can no longer play? Because we were scared that he could kick our ass - that is why!

If the Occupation Protesters were protesting for greed, corporate fraud, and stealing off the poor to give to the rich - they would be heroes. They aren't though - they are protesting for change and a fair society where everyone has enough.

If i was a protester - the more i was mocked and hated - the happier i would be. Greed is scared and so it should be.

Hat tip to Robert Guyton for bringing Robert Little's post to my attention! His comments are well worth a read.

Are you kidding me?

Ten Malaysian drug smugglers jailed

Ten Malaysian drug smugglers who attempted to bring eight and a half kilos worth of methamphetamine into New Zealand have been sentenced today.

They received sentences of between nine and a half years and ten years. The judge has advised that they will have to serve 40% of their sentences, and in the same breath has stated the following;

But he said it was important to send a clear message to drug dealers and couriers that New Zealand was not a soft touch.

"They have to know that if they are caught in this country, they will spend significant lengths of time in our prisons.''

What does that say about our justice system - when 4 years is considered a "significant length of time" to spend in prison for smuggling such a large amount of  a substance that causes so much misery to so many people?

I will tell you what message that sends drug smugglers. It tells them that New Zealand is a soft touch and the risk is worth it.

Four years - what a big, scary war on drugs we have going on here in New Zealand!

Commit Yourself!

'...all forsook me... But the Lord stood with me...' 2 Timothy 4:16-17 NKJV

Read these words slowly and carefully: 'Until I am committed there is a hesitancy, a chance to draw back. But the moment I definitely commit myself, then God moves also and a whole stream of events begin. All manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, people, and material assistance of which I never dreamed, begin to move towards me.' So commit yourself! When others refuse to go with you, commitment means going on alone. Daniel dined and prayed alone. Elijah sacrificed and witnessed alone. Jeremiah prophesied and wept alone. Paul said, 'No one stood with me, but all forsook me... But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me... and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.'

It's at the point of commitment, and not before, that God intervenes on our behalf. When the three Hebrew children made a commitment not to bow to the king's idols, God brought them out of the fiery furnace without even the smell of smoke. Indeed, King Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed that he said, '...there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way' (Daniel 3:29 NAS).

What do you believe God has called you to do with your life? Obey Him. Step out in faith and do it. If you're afraid, read these words: 'I'd rather be ashes than dust. I'd rather my spark burn out than that it should be stifled by dry rot. The proper function of my life is to live, not exist. So I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use every moment.'

Busy day today, and i am still all happy and stuff from the wonderful weekend that i had, and it is now Wednesday!

The builders turned up here yesterday morning, while i was still in bed. I got booted out of my wonderful, comfortable sleeping in state so that they could tear up my bedroom floor. I now have a new bedroom floor - with no carpet. I wonder how long it will stay like this. It has now been 6 weeks that i have been living on a building site. The bathroom floor is still not done, there is still a big hole in the ceiling in the laundry, and my front patio looks like a rubbish tip where they have dumped all their building rubbish. It seems that these builders start things - then never come back to finish the job.

O well. At least i am no longer breathing in gigantic mold spores as i sleep. You would not have believed the state of the carpet under my bed unless you had seen it for yourself. Unfortunately in my half awake - and pee'd off because builders were invading my house state - i didn't think to take photos yesterday. It was REALLY bad though. I am surprised that my bed had not just gone through the floor - it was that rotten.

Anyway - very nice to wake up this morning knowing that i have not been breathing in poison. Yesterday gave me a good excuse to go through all the junk under my bed and biff a bunch of stuff out as well. Spring cleaning mostly done in this house for the year!

Must get moving. I have a bunch of stuff to do today. It is going to be a superb day. I can feel it.

John Key's Creepy Handshake

What the heck?

John Key desperately grappling for something - credibility maybe?

How Pathetic

France fined for haka stunt

The French rugby team has been hit with a fine of almost $20,000 dollars for advancing on the haka ahead of Sunday night's Rugby World Cup final.

Les Bleus took the challenge to the All Blacks by forming a spearhead and advancing.

But the IRB has ruled they did not stay the prescribed distance from the haka.

The New Zealand Rugby Union says it has no doubt the French team knew exactly what it was doing when it advanced on the haka.

Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden says what the French players created a real spectacle.

“I thought that signalled straight away we were in a sort of fight for the final,” he says.

“The crowd just absolutely lifted on the back of that, so it just added brilliantly to the occasion.”

NZRU chief executive Steve Tew says the incident set the tone for the match.

“Pretty much every time we’ve played France in a world cup knockout match they’ve done something at haka time which has given us an inkling that we may be in for a slightly different game than we had hoped for, and the rules have been in place for a while, so I imagine any decision that they made was quite deliberate,” he says.

The International Rugby Board rules say the opposing team must stand ten metres in their half and remain still.

How ridiculous.

If the All Blacks are allowed to jump around like a bunch of uncivilised village people in an effort to intimidate their opponents - why should those opponents not be allowed to step up to that intimidation?

The French team's response to The Haka on Sunday night was the most exciting thing i have ever seen in a rugby match.

Fining them for making the game more exciting is pathetic.

The IRB are ruining the game of Rugby with what is commonly known as GREED.

What an awesome weekend!

What a shame it is over!

Early night for me. Back to school tomorrow. Someone fed Nixon pasta tonight and now he has chosen to hide under my bed while he farts it out.

Despite the smell in my bedroom right now - life is awesome!

I hope everyone else had just as amazing a weekend as i just had.

My Peas

My peas, my peas, my peas...my lovely little peas!

Red Ribbon Week - October 22 - 30, 2011

This week is America's oldest and largest drug prevention campaign. Red Ribbon Week serves as a vehicle for communities and individuals to take a stand for the hopes and dreams of children through a commitment to drug prevention, education, and a personal commitment to live drug free lives with the ultimate goal being the creation of drug free America.


The Story Behind Red Ribbon Week.

Enrique "Kiki" Camarena grew up in a dirt-floored house with hopes and dreams of making a difference.

Camarena worked his way through college, served in the Marines and became a police officer. When he decided to join the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to talk him out it. "I can't not do this," he told her. "I'm only one person, but I want to make a difference."

The DEA sent Camarena to work undercover in Mexico investigating a major drug cartel believed to include officers in the Mexican army, police and government. On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found in a shallow grave. He had been tortured to death. ¹

Within weeks of his death in March of 1985, Camarena's Congressman, Duncan Hunter, and high school friend Henry Lozano, launched Camarena Clubs in Imperial Valley, California, Camarena's home. Hundreds of club members pledged to lead drug-free lives to honor the sacrifices made by Camarena and others on behalf of all Americans. ² These coalitions began to wear red badges of satin, red ribbons, as a symbol Camarena's memory. The Red Ribbon Week campaign emerged from the efforts of these clubs and coalitions.

Today, Red Ribbon Week is nationally recognized and celebrated, helping to preserve Special Agent Camarena's memory and further the cause for which he gave his life. The Red Ribbon Campaign also became a symbol of support for the DEA's efforts to reduce demand for drugs through prevention and education programs. By wearing a red ribbon during the last week in October, Americans demonstrate their ardent opposition to drugs. They pay homage not only to Special Agent Camarena, but to all men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in support of our nation's struggle against drug trafficking and abuse.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if New Zealanders recognised the work that the New Zealand Police do on a daily basis in an effort to minimise the damage that drugs and alcohol cause in our society?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the memory of police officers like Don Wilkinson, who was murdered by drug dealers in September 2008 was honoured every year with a week where New Zealanders recognised the havoc that drugs and alcohol cause to so many lives?

We have awareness weeks for every single thing from Alzheimer's to chained dogs. There are awareness weeks for gifted people, massage therapy, herb awareness, salt awareness...there are not enough weeks in the year for all the awareness weeks that we have, yet there is not one week where New Zealanders commit to being drug and alcohol free.

We need one.

France Should Be Proud

So much for the thrashing that the All Blacks were going to serve to the French. So much for the 30 plus points that New Zealanders had so arrogantly predicted The All Blacks were going to win by. So much for France not deserving to be in the final.

ONE POINT and in my opinion, the French deserved to win last night. They played better than the All Blacks, and were the better team.

France lose but gain the respect of the world

They say that France lost the final of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but we don't have to believe it if we don't want to. With everything stacked against them, they produced the performance that gave the tournament a most memorable climax.

All New Zealand did was win, which was presumably all they wanted to do in order to end their famous 24-year drought. They had hosted the tournament beautifully but when it came to the showdown they derived disproportionate benefit from home advantage, including a few free gifts from a referee who spent the first half infuriating even neutrals by giving virtually every decision to the men in black.

France's fans were unable to make themselves heard in a stadium draped in black but their team's display was full of spirit, generosity, creativity and adventure. Perhaps this was not the best France squad of all time, or anything like it, but they did full honour to the memory and traditions of their forebears and were hugely unfortunate not to become the first side from their nation to capture the Webb Ellis Cup.

The All Blacks were grim, pragmatic and joyless: a caricature of a stereotype. Nothing they did in the 80 minutes truly illuminated the game. Their try was a gimme, tinged with a hint of obstruction, and they never came close to scoring another. Their defence was impressive enough as France grew in self-belief during the second period but it would have been welcome, given the circumstances, had they felt able to take on France at a game of rugby involving more than the arts of attrition.

They could point out that they lost Dan Carter, their principal source of invention, before the tournament had got properly under way. But this is a nation of 4.3 million people obsessed by the game, and the absence of one player should not have caused them to go quite so resolutely into their shells on the big night. They appeared to be paralysed by fear of the consequences of another 1999 or 2007.

One or two first-half flashes apart, there was virtually nothing of the piercing movement that tore Australia apart in the opening phase of the semi-final. Perhaps Australia were not as good as we might reasonably expect the current Tri-Nations champions to be; perhaps, too, France were not nearly as bad as their earlier performances in the tournament had led us to believe.

Some Welshmen will no doubt suggest that last night's defeat by a single point represented a form of justice after France had reached the final via a similarly narrow victory a week earlier over a side controversially reduced to 14 men. But there can have been few among them who were not so seduced by this display into ending the evening nursing a sense of disappointment that, with 30 minutes to go after cutting the margin to that single, lonely point, the white shirts had failed to find the decisive touch.

If New Zealand won the right to call themselves world champions for the next four years, France resurrected a reputation grievously – but not, as it turned out, irreparably – damaged by the events of recent weeks. With four minutes left, Marc Lièvremont gave us one last bizarre decision by which to remember him: the replacement of Dimitri Yachvili, a normally dead-eyed kicker, by a player with zero caps at a time when a drop goal would have won the World Cup and changed rugby history. Yachvili was tiring, but still looked exasperated as he left the pitch.

On balance, however, Lièvremont's players assembled a performance that ensured they will be able to hold their heads up on their return home. This was not to be compared with the limp effort of Jacques Fouroux's side – including Serge Blanco, Philippe Sella, Pierre Berbizier, Daniel Dubroca and Pascal Ondarts – while losing 29-9 against the same opposition in the 1987 final. There was nothing anticlimactic about this return to Eden Park. At the end of a campaign in which he was endlessly ridiculed and vilified, Lièvremont could say that he had taken his squad closer to the title than any of his his predecessors.

"I'm tremendously sad but tremendously proud, too," he said during a dignified post-match press conference. He made no reference to the collision between Richie McCaw's knee and the temple of Morgan Parra in the 11th minute, which forced the early removal of France's own influential fly-half.

In many ways, even in defeat, this was the French at their best, slowly swelling in confidence through the first half and practically bursting with defiance in the later stages as they refused to accept the general assumption of their opponents' superiority.

The way they responded to the haka, with a novel formula devised in their hotel yesterday morning, provided the night's first drama. Forming up in an arrowhead inside their own half, with their captain at the tip, they waited until Piri Weepu was halfway through leading the All Blacks' performance before beginning a slow advance towards the halfway line and eventually, in contravention of the established protocol, a few yards across it.

In everything they subsequently did they were bold, they were brave, and they were nobody's idea of losers, even when the winners were queueing up to receive their medals. They were France, recalled to life, and you had to love them for it.

You won't see unbiased reporting like that anywhere within the New Zealand media today.

What really disgusts me is the photos of people in the crowd holding up signs regarding the Rainbow Warrior. Nevermind the fact that most of the French players on last night's squad were probably not even born back in 1984.

Their response to the Haka was spine tingling gold and from that moment on, i sat in a room full of screaming, yelling, nervous Kiwis - secretly hoping for a French victory.

Next time boys.

Vive La France!

Attn all Politicians, Fraudsters, Criminals, Celebs etc

If you want to get away with being naughty, and have the media completely ignore you - now is the time to do your thing!

Six out of every 8 headlines in the Herald on Sunday, and on The New Zealand Herald's website are about rugby. Yep - 75% of our news right now, is devoted to rugby.

I am thinking that all of the bad news, and all of the naughty people that would normally make up our newspapers are still doing their thing. We just don't get to hear about it because of a bunch of men who will chase a little ball around for 80 minutes tonight.

New Zealand rapt ahead of Rugby World Cup final

Buildup to the All Blacks v France eclipses all else, including the general election campaign.

A general election is to be held in New Zealand in just over a month, but you would be forgiven for not noticing. Attentions have been devoted to a weightier, more anxious date in the diary, the final of the Rugby World Cup.

Gaddafi more popular than Dixon

Can anyone say - methamphetamine induced psychosis !?!?!?!

You're in Partnership with God

'We are labourers together with God...' 1 Corinthians 3:9 KJV

Did you hear the story about the little boy who was selling ten-cent pencils door-to-door to raise the money to build a thirty-million-dollar hospital in his community? One woman said to him, 'Son, that's a mighty big goal for just one little boy selling pencils for 10 cents.' With a big smile he replied, 'Oh, I'm not doing it alone. See that boy across the street? He's my partner; we're doing it together.' Now if he had that kind of faith in a partner who was only his equal, shouldn't you have confidence in a God whose power is unequalled, and whose partnership guarantees success? The Bible says, 'We are labourers together with God.' When you truly believe those words you'll begin to live like a 'no limit' person.

When Robert Morrison sailed as a missionary to China, the ship's captain constantly criticised him and gave him a rough time. As Morrison left the ship, the captain said to him, 'I suppose you think you're going to make an impression on China?' Morrison replied, 'No, but I believe God will!' There it is; when you're in partnership with God your potential is unlimited.

Here's a prayer for you: 'Disturb me, Lord, when my dreams come true only because I dreamed too small. Disturb me, when I arrive safely only because I sailed too close to the shore. Disturb me, when the things I've gained cause me to lose my thirst for more of You. Disturb me, when I've acquired success only to lose my desire for excellence. Disturb me, when I give up too soon and settle too far short of the goals You have set for my life.'

What an awesome weekend so far. I had an absolutely wonderful day yesterday in the sun working on the weeds in my garden - and my tan. I then had an amazing time catching up with friends and enjoying the first of no doubt, many summer BBQs last night. The fact that i was not drinking didn't matter. I didn't get bored and i think i managed to avoid boring anyone else as well. I headed home earlier than i would have back in the bad old days, and was in bed by about 10pm but that is all good. I have a wonderful, pain free head this morning. The only thing that could possibly make it hurt is the thought of how my friend's heads will be feeling on this beautiful Rugby World Cup final Sunday morning. They are planning on doing it all again tonight! Arrghh!

I am so looking forward to the game tonight, for two reasons. One - it will hopefully be an exciting game, and Two - The Rugby World Cup will finally be OVER! I cannot wait to not have to hear, see, or read anything more about it. I have had enough of Rugby to last me the rest of my life. For reals. I am over it.

If i never hear the word rugby again for the rest of my life, after this year, i will die happy.

Have a great Sunday you lot, and enjoy the game!

There's a Way Out

'...when you are tempted...[there's]...a way out...' 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

Often we make excuses for our weaknesses, or blame others. The poet wrote, 'An enemy I strove to know, he dogged my steps where'er I'd go. My plans he baulked and blocked my way, to lofty goals he answered "Nay!" Till I from him the veil did draw, I looked and lo - myself I saw.'

When John Wesley's students met each week they would ask each other these four questions: (1) What sins have you committed since we last met? (2) What temptations have you faced? (3) How were you delivered? (4) What have you thought, said or done, of which you are uncertain whether it is sin or not? Those four questions will keep you spiritually alert, and on track. Paul writes, 'When you are tempted, [God] will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.'

In her essay A Way Out, Portia Nelson writes, 'I walk down the street. There's a hole in the pavement and I fall in. I'm lost; it isn't my fault. It takes me forever to get out. I walk down the street again. There's a hole in the pavement but I pretend I don't see it, so I fall in again. I can't believe I'm in the same place; still, it isn't my fault. I walk down the street again. There's a hole in the pavement. I see it, but I still fall in - it's a habit. But now my eyes are open and I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately. I walk down the street. There's a hole in the pavement. I walk around it. Finally, I walk down a different street!'

I can't believe the school holidays are nearly over. B.U.M.M.E.R.

I was woken up at 7am, and now i am feeling a little on the grumpy side. I can't decide if i should try to get a couple more hours of sleep, or if i should jump up and make the most of having been up so early against my will.

I do have a busy day today. I am heading into town to go to an NA meeting this afternoon. Apparently the Saturday meeting at St Benedict's Church is a really good one, so i am kinda looking forward to that. Then i am going to head into Aotea Square and have a nosy at the "Occupiers" ...and THEN tonight, my best friend, and her partner are up from Papamoa so i am heading out West to a BBQ with them.

It will be interesting. This friend has been my best friend for years and years. She was my bridesmaid at my wedding to Danny. A huge chunk of our friendship was spent with Danny and her partner at the time - drinking. We were always drinking. We were always drunk.

Due to the fact that she knows the meaning of the word moderation - she still drinks. I don't drink these days, and neither does the friend that i am taking with me to this BBQ tonight. I don't know why, but for some reason i always feel awkward in these situations these days, almost to the point where i don't want to go.

I feel like we will be a downer on every one else's fun if we are not drinking with them. I feel like we will get bored watching everyone else drinking, and getting drunk while we sit there having no desire to join in.

Last year when i spent some time down in Papamoa with friends, i spent an afternoon and evening drinking V8 juice, while they got merrily drunk. A comment was made, about how weird it was being around me, and me not drinking. They used to joke and say no matter how much i drank, i never changed or seemed to get drunk so that either meant that i was just drunk all the time and they had never seen me sober - or i had just consumed so much alcohol in my lifetime that i was now immune to it.

Now i sit there with my V8 juice. There is no middle ground for me!

It is not even that i don't think that i could have a drink and be ok. I can totally have a drink if i want to and not overdo it, and have done so in the past year or so when i have felt like it. I just don't want to. I don't like the taste anymore. I don't like how it makes me feel anymore.

It is really difficult to keep things the same in regards to precious relationships like the one that i have with this friend, when so much has changed. I always feel like i am just boring now. Hopefully, this is a feeling that i will eventually get over.

It is difficult being a non drinker, while living in a society that revolves just about every social situation around booze.

Nevermind Andrew Mehrtens - what about Josh Kronfeld!?

Mehrtens accused of being drunk on TV

Accusations that All Blacks legend Andrew Mehrtens appeared on live television while drunk have been raised for the second time during the Rugby World Cup.

Mehrtens appeared on the TV3 rugby panel show Cup Talk on Thursday night with glazed eyes and slurred speech.

He was with host James Gemmell and panelists David Campese, a former Wallaby, and Scott Quinnell, a former Welsh rugby player.

The former Canterbury player, now living in France, slugged back water during the 30-minute late-night show and at one point Quinnell tipped his own glass of water into Mehrtens' empty glass.

After one of the ad breaks Gemmell mentioned an incident had just occurred but refrained from giving details to viewers.

Mehrtens' behaviour raised suspicions of viewers, including Davis Tui of Wellington, who tweeted during the show: "Is Andrew merhtans pissed on #cuptalk?"

Claims of Mehrtens drinking before going on TV were made after an earlier Cup Talk show aired on September 12.

TV3 bosses sidestepped the allegations and put his behaviour down to jet lag, though he had arrived in the country six days earlier.

Yesterday a TV3 spokeswoman declined to comment on the allegations, but said they were "thrilled" with Mehrtens' performance on the late-night show.

Thursday was his last appearance on Cup Talk but he was expected to commentate on the last two Rugby World Cup games, including the final tomorrow.

Wellington media lawyer Steven Price said there were no Broadcasting Standards Authority guidelines about intoxicated presenters appearing on television, though grounds could be found for a complaint, depending on the circumstances.

Mehrtens is currently playing for the third division French team Beziers after an illustrious 12-year career at first-class level.

The first-five played 70 test matches for the All Blacks, 87 games for the Crusaders and 108 for Canterbury

I spent my evening last night watching the Australia vs Wales match. I say i watched it, but endured or suffered through it would be a more accurate description of what i did. The game was boring, and i came to the conclusion that neither of those teams deserved to be in the final if that was the best they could do.

What was even more painful than the actual match - was having to listen to and watch Josh Kronfeld. What a dope! Or maybe that is just what he had been smoking? His eyes were half closed. All he did was state the obvious, that even someone who does not understand one rule of that game could have already worked out for them self, and repeat himself. I mean by the third time he said it while waving his arms around, i had already worked out that all the fans had turned up.

At half time, he looked half asleep, and the icing on the cake was at the end of the match when he announced that he was going to have another beer.

Five more minutes of Josh Kronfeld last night, and i was going to lose my will to live.

The End of The World - Part 6

Seriously?

End of the world is nigh. Again

A California ministry says the end of the world is nigh. Again.

The Oakland-based Family Radio International that stirred a global frenzy when it predicted the rapture would take 200 million Christians to heaven on May 21, now says the cataclysmic event will destroy the globe on Friday.

This time, the ministry and its 90-year-old leader, Harold Camping, are avoiding the media and perhaps a repeat of the international mockery that followed when believers awoke on May 22 to find themselves still on Earth.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we at Family Radio have been directed to not talk to the media or the press," Camping's daughter Susan Espinoza wrote in response to an email request about Friday's doomsday scenario.

Calls to the ministry in Oakland went to voicemail and were unreturned. Several followers who were contacted also declined comment.

Camping, who suffered a mild stroke three weeks after his prediction failed to materialize in May, still spreads the word through his Family Radio International website. God's judgment and salvation were completed on May 21, Camping says in a message explaining the mix-up in his biblical math.

"Thus we can be sure that the whole world, with the exception of those who are presently saved (the elect), are under the judgment of God, and will be annihilated together with the whole physical world on Oct. 21," he says on the website.
Followers were crestfallen in May when the rapture did not occur, particularly those who had quit their jobs or donated some of their retirement savings or college funds for the more than 5,000 billboards and 20 RVs plastered with the Judgment Day message.

Camping, a retired civil engineer, also prophesied the Apocalypse would come in 1994, but said later that didn't happen because of a mathematical error.

I guess i better make today a good one then!

The Power of Forgiveness

I just read this story on the Stuff website, and had to share it.

Forgiveness so hard, but dad will try

The father of a Kapiti man who was beaten to the brink of death on a Wellington street says if the attackers saw his son now they would never lift their fists again.

Yet Robert Bryden Sr, 52, who waited beside a hospital bed for 21 days for his son to open his eyes, says the only way forward now is forgiveness.

Robert Bryden, 25, was beaten unconscious in Tory St in the early morning of September 15.

On Wednesday, after a long stay in Wellington Hospital's intensive care unit, he began his first day at a rehabilitation centre in Porirua, where his father says he is now "like a three-year-old kid". It is estimated he will need two years to recover.

"I'd like to go and grab the guys who have done it and come up and sit by my son's bed. Just to look after him for a week and feed him, because he can't feed himself, they've only just pulled his feeder tube out, and just watch him, just for one week for 12 hours a day, and I tell you what, they would be in tears.

"It would break their hearts. They wouldn't even go anywhere near fighting again," Mr Bryden said yesterday.

He and his wife broke down when they first arrived at the hospital and a nurse could not say whether their son would survive.

"He was nearly dead. I said to the nurse, `Is this kid gonna make it?', and she said, `I don't know' ... We just broke down and cried. I could only spend an hour in there. I had to walk away. I just told my wife, `I can't be here. I can't see my son like this'."

His son had suffered horrific injuries. Ten days ago he spoke his first words after the attack – "mum" – then an expletive at a passing nurse.

He has not spoken since.

"They nearly ripped both his ears off. They ripped his eyebrows off. They ripped all the skin off the side of his head, so his hair won't grow back. He's got massive concrete burns all down his face where they just carried on kicking him on the concrete. The kid was unconscious and they carried on kicking him."

Surgeons have placed a titanium plate in his head to repair a broken eye socket.

Before the attack, he worked with his father at his contracting business on the rail upgrade through Kapiti.

He was also about to begin outrigger canoeing training under his father, who has been a national representative in the sport, Mr Bryden said.

"I work with him and that's the neat thing. That's my enjoyment of life is having him next to me while we're at work ... He's a neat kid, I love him.

"Now, when I talk to him he'll look me in the eyes and just stare at me and he'll turn and look straight through you. Then he disappears somewhere.
"I know why they say the eyes are the window to the soul. You can see through them what he's going through."

Robert's strength, intelligence and creativity would bring him through the rehabilitation, and Mr Bryden would work to forgive the attackers.

"I've got to forgive these people because they don't know what they're doing. That's the only way forward for me. It says that in the Bible, `Forgive thy enemy', and the hardest thing is, that would have to be the hardest thing in the whole Bible to ever do."

The family had been humbled by a flood of support from friends and their local community, with about 40 visitors to Robert's bedside at Wellington Hospital every day for almost three weeks.

The All Blacks had donated a signed rugby ball for auction and Hurricanes star Dane Coles loaned the couple his Wellington home to use while they waited for their son's recovery.

"He'll come right, because he's strong. He's not your mainstream sort of guy. He's very creative, very intelligent."

Ioritana Tuau, 21, a promising rugby league player from Waterloo, Lower Hutt, is charged with assaulting Robert, and is currently remanded on bail.

The head of the police investigation, Detective Senior Sergeant Donna Howard, said yesterday they were waiting for a final prognosis on Robert's condition before they decided what charge to lay.

Wow - that is an amazing story of forgiveness. It is not often that the media takes such a horrific story and turns it into a positive example for us all.

I would like to think that i would be that strong and be able to remember what the Bible says about forgiveness if i was ever in that situation and someone had hurt one of my children - but I'm not so sure. That would have to be the hardest thing in the world to forgive.

What an amazing man Robert Bryden Sr is. What an amazing family. Robert Bryden Jr's recovery will be in my prayers.

Live, as God Intended

'His divine power has given us everything we need...' 2 Peter 1:3 NIV

The Bible says, 'His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness... For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities...they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive...' (2 Peter 1:3-8 NIV).

Here are ten Scriptural principles to help you live as God intended:

(1) Guard your tongue. Always say less than you think and others will respect you.
(2) Make promises sparingly, keep them faithfully, and people will trust you.
(3) Never let an opportunity pass to say a kind word, and some day you will look back with joy and not regret.
(4) Be genuinely interested in others; show it by listening attentively and expressing your appreciation.
(5) Be cheerful. Don't dwell on your aches and pains; everybody has trouble. There are people in the nearest hospital who would gladly swap places with you.
(6) Keep an open mind and try to get all the facts. Discuss, but don't argue. Learn to disagree without being disagreeable. Give other people the benefit of the doubt.
(7) Discourage gossip; it's destructive.
(8) Be sensitive to the feelings of others. If you do, people will consider you to be wise.
(9) Pay no attention to ill-natured remarks about you. Live so that nobody will believe them.
(10) Don't worry about getting the credit, just keep giving your best and be patient. God records and God rewards!

I don't know what happened to Spring, but Winter seemed to be back with a vengeance this week.

Today, is the first day that i have seen sunshine in several days. My backyard is muddy and flooded. My veggie garden looks more like a mud pool, and my carpet has muddy Nixon paw prints all over it.

The sun has returned just in time for the mean cold that i can feel coming on, and i have to spend half the day in hospital getting poked and prodded.

Not fun!

Blahhhh.

Grow a Sense of Humour

I cannot believe that Andrew Little's comments even made it on to the pages of our national newspaper - but they did.

Little stands by 'gun them down' humour

Former Labour president Andrew Little is not resiling from his "humorous, satirical" suggestion that Auckland councillor George Wood would like to end the Occupy protest in Aotea Square by gunning protesters down.

Mr Little, who is standing in New Plymouth this election, made the comments on Mr Wood's Facebook page yesterday in response to a post from the former policeman and former Mayor of North Shore.

Mr Wood was writing about the 150-odd protesters living in Auckland's Aotea Square, an extension of the global protests against corporate greed that started in New York in September.

"I certainly agree with my colleague Chris Fletcher. These people should have been removed from the Aotea Square on Sunday," Mr Wood wrote. "Their actions are illegal and the more that they are allowed to remain in situ the more difficult it will be to remove them."

Act member Cathy Odgers then posted: "Water cannons George. Hose them down hourly."

Mr Little replied: "Water cannons? Pah! Weakness! How about ice guns to freeze them out. No, no, wait a minute. Flame throwers. That'll burn their little arses. Forget that. Just strafe them with rifle fire, the way George always dreamed of dealing with unruly crowds when he was a cop."

Last night Mr Little said he did not regret the comments. "It's clearly an extreme, satirical send-up of conservative views. He's saying police should remove lawful protesters, which is a fascist response to a protest against corporate greed.

"I was using humour to highlight that point. If he's got a sense of humour he would [find it funny]." Mr Little said he supported and had visited a similar Occupy protest in New Plymouth.

Mr Wood said he didn't find the comments offensive. "But I'm pretty thick skinned." It was healthy that people could express their views freely.

Andrew Little's comments  are funny. Anyone who questions whether or not he seriously was suggesting that Mr Wood would like to have the protesters gunned down has a screw loose. Seriously, if i was a politician i think i would just disconnect my internet connection. It seems that they cannot say anything without it being turned into a national news item.

If this is all the far right have to pick on in relation to Labour today, then i am thinking that Labour is doing better than everyone thought.

And while i am at it - why is no one screaming about the fact that Cathy Odgers suggested that the protesters be hosed down every hour, on the hour? Why have Dick Quax's comments not been published? Apparently he called the protesters "a bunch of ragtag losers."

Maybe it is because they are from the right, and the lefties have better things to be doing with their time than picking on every word that their opponents type on Facebook? Maybe?

I am tempted to go join the "ragtag bunch of losers" for the simple reason that some people think that they don't have a right to free expression and assembly, to express their views.

We don't live in Nazi Germany last time i checked.

Hypocrisy at it's finest

This is amazing.

Kindsight

45kg Scrotum!

What. The. Heck???? That is almost as much as i weigh!

Man-seeks $1.25m for op on 45kg-scrotum

Is it my imagination or is that thing wearing a hoodie and sitting on it's own stool?!?!?

Poor guy - but somehow i don't think Howard Stern would be the person that i would turn to if my genitals started requiring their own wardrobe!

I am trying not to laugh but the whole Howard Stern thing is cancelling out any guilty conscience that i may or may not have right now!

So hahahaha!

Why i am tempted to support France this weekend

NZ, a little humility would be nice

Thankfully the All Blacks are about the only people in New Zealand not a touch complacent right now.

Everyone else it seems has already decided the final has been won with others going as far to label the French as the worst finalists of all time.

Such views are starting to grate. Not because the French are enigmatic and unpredictable and capable of an upset; in all honesty this lot probably don't have it in them to pull off the unthinkable.

It grates because it comes across as needlessly arrogant and disrespectful especially when predictions are made about the likelihood of a 20-points-plus victory. Imagine the outrage if it were the English or Australians talking with such premature confidence?

It's difficult to understand the logic of branding the French an undeserving finalist. There is no such thing - the point of the World Cup is to win games and progress to the final. The French have done that and yet they are less deserving than the All Blacks to be there? How does that make sense?

It's possibly been New Zealand's undoing in the past that they have been confused as to whether World Cups are judged on style or substance. For the record World Cups are simply about progression by any means.

Teams try to progress from their pool and then progress through the knock-out rounds. How that is achieved is immaterial and it's worth reiterating that it wasn't the French players who sent off Welsh captain Sam Warburton. It wasn't their choice to play against 14 men in the semi-final and again, just for the record, for those who say the rules are clear - they actually aren't. They are clear when the aggressor obviously commits a tip tackle and drives a player into the ground. They are not so clear when the tackler pulls out of the tackle once the man is airborne - as Warburton appeared to be doing.

But still, right or wrong, it was Alain Rolland who pulled out the red card and what could France do? So they weren't convincing and lacked direction and ideas. They still won and that kind of really is the point and it would be nice if a little humility could now be forthcoming from the hosts.

Winning with grace is maybe more important than losing with grace. It is probable that the All Blacks will get the job done on Sunday night - they stack as the better team on most, if not all fronts. We all believe that yet we don't have to flaunt it - we don't need to be quite so crass and blunt and unpleasantly adamant.

After all, it was that overconfidence and certainty displayed by the Wallabies after their win in Hong Kong that so got up the All Blacks' noses. One last thing for the record, the Wallabies took their semi-final defeat in precisely the right spirit - they were humble, generous and even supportive of the All Blacks in regards to the final - qualities that had previously been lacking.

New Zealanders could maybe learn something from them. Boastful, uber-confidence is not the Kiwi way.

That - and i am a huge sucker for an underdog.

New Zealanders ARE being so arrogant right now though, that we almost deserve to lose. The only thing worse than a bad loser - is a bad winner.

Vive La France!  Whatever that means!

You'll Come Out on Top

'...you will lift up your face without shame...' Job 11:15 NIV

Many of the world's most successful people were at one time considered to be failures. A banker in Iowa laughed and told Alexander Graham Bell to remove that 'toy' from his office. The toy he referred to was the telephone. Talk about missing an investment opportunity! A movie producer once scrawled 'reject' on the screenplay of Gone with the Wind. In 1906, the man who was Henry Ford's greatest investor asked that his stock be sold because he didn't believe the company would go anywhere.

Imagine living with that memory! Mr Roebuck sold his part of the Sears and Roebuck Company for $25,000 because he said it would 'never fly'. But it did, and in its heyday it was selling $4000 worth of goods every second.

Understand this: you have everything every winner in history had - plus God. The God of the Red Sea, the lion's den and the walls of Jericho is your God! So get your eyes out of the rear-view mirror and start looking ahead. Celebrate the fact that you survived. The devil may have tried to destroy you, but the good news is that he failed. In spite of all you've been through you're a walking, talking, living, breathing miracle of God's grace.

He must have kept you around for a reason, so find out what it is and pour your life into it. You say, 'I've got more troubles than Job.' Maybe, but Job trusted God and came out on top! His book reads, 'If you devote your heart to [God]...you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear.'

How awesome is that? I celebrate the fact that i survived, every single day. I am so darn grateful, and i thank God every single day for blessing me with a sense of contentment and happiness that i  never knew was possible, and that i live with now.

I look at angry, unhappy, unhealthy, miserable, mean, superficial people these days and they are just a reminder of how i once was, and how far i have come. Every once in awhile i have some one's anger and hatred directed at me and it makes me laugh, because that anger and hatred is a blessing to me. It is the reminder that i need every once in awhile of just how far i have come. Every ounce of stress, worry, unhappiness, or any other negative feeling that i might be experiencing at that point in time is washed away as i am reminded that i too was once like that...and now i am not!

Phew...what an escape!

I had the most awesome day yesterday. That NA meeting that i went to was well worth the rush, and the traffic to get there. I have been to enough of those meetings now, that when i walk into them and sit down, i then scan the room for familiar faces. There are a few people that attend those meetings who really make the meetings enjoyable for me when they speak. I scanned the room yesterday and one of my favourite speakers - who i have never even spoken to personally - but who i love listening to, was there. Yesterday he talked about his business. He is a successful business man now, and has not used drugs in 13 years or something crazy - long like that. He was talking about a problem that he was having with people that he was dealing with through his business and how it has reminded him of the level of "F*ckwitedness" that is out there in the world. He went on to say that the people that he has encountered in his years at NA, and during his recovery have a level of integrity, and honesty about them that you don't find in people who have not experienced and recovered from addiction, struggle, or adversity.

I have to say that i agree with his sentiments.

On that note, i am hoping for a nicer day weather -wise today. Nixon and i both need a run. I also noticed yesterday that my peas in my garden are already sprouting up like weeds...unfortunately so are all the weeds around them, so i need to spend some caretaking time in my veggie garden today.

One. More. Coffee.

Be at peace

Criminal Penguins

Some penguins turn to a life of crime to attract the ladies. ;)

Ok ok - NOW i am outta here!

Must. Get. Moving.

Shamefully Honest Percentage Groups

A bit of humour to start your day off with!

I love the Borat one.

Don't Get Diverted

'While I was busy doing something else...' 1 Kings 20:40 NLT

This is what the Scripture says about being busy. 'While I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!' In this story, God judges someone for forgetting what's important and taking their eye off the ball.

In 1992, Fortune magazine featured 'The biggest business goofs of 1991'. In an act of corporate cooperation, AT&T reached an agreement with Con Edison, the power company in New York City. The contract stated that whenever power demands exceeded the utilities' grid, AT&T would lessen their demands on the electric utility by throwing a switch, unplugging some of its facilities, and drawing power from internal generators at its 33 Thomas Street station in Lower Manhattan. On September 17, AT&T acted in accordance with its agreement. But when AT&T's own generators kicked in, the power surge kicked out some of their vital rectifiers which handled 4.5 million domestic calls, 470000 international calls, 1174 flights across the nation carrying 85000 passengers, and the total communications systems linking air traffic controllers at La Guardia, Kennedy and Newark airports. It was a giant mess! The alarm bells at the 33 Thomas Street station rang unheeded for six hours. Why? Because the AT&T personnel in charge of the rectifiers were away - attending a one-day seminar on how to handle emergencies!

The Bible says, 'Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour' (1 Peter 5:8 NLT). If Satan can't 'devour' you with a frontal assault, he'll settle for diverting you with things that ultimately don't matter. So, don't get diverted.

Off to the Police Station this morning.

I am going to talk to them about a local liquor store that is well known in my area for selling alcohol to underage kids. Several times i have overheard Nicole and her friends talking about this little shop. On Friday afternoon, i dropped Nicole and "Harry" - you might remember Harry from a previous post that i did regarding my daughter's friends - off at another friend's place for a sleep over. I always worry about Nicole when she goes out with 'Harry" so it did not surprise me when she somehow made her own way home, and arrived soaking wet from being out in the rain and looking horribly worse for wear at 10am Saturday morning.

Nicole NEVER makes her own way home. She ALWAYS wants taxi service. The only reason that i can think of that she did not want to be picked up, is that she did not actually stay where she was dropped off.

She then proceeded to spend the rest of the day in bed, sick, sleeping, and thinking that i was not smart enough to recognise a hang over when i see one. Hello? I used to be a drunk. I know a hangover when i see one.

Around the 4th time that i checked on her, and felt her forehead, i said to her, with a lovely loving smile on my face, that i wouldn't get mad at her but did she drink alcohol the previous night. She admitted that she had. I asked her how she got this alcohol. I don't normally mind, if she is with friends that i know and trust who have responsible parents, if she has a 4 pack of something to drink, and i will usually buy it for her. I have always thought that at least that way she is not sneaking, and i know exactly what she is consuming, but this time, she had not asked me to get it for her. In fact - it has been ages since she asked me to get it for her.

Turns out, all the kids have just been buying their own at this local liquor shop. All the kids in the area know that is the shop to go to, knowing they will not be asked for ID.

I. Am. Spewing. The fact that my 16 year old daughter, who looks 16 - she does not look 25, 20, or even 18 - she still looks like a KID - can just rock up to that shop and be supplied with something that could kill her, without my knowledge - PISSES ME RIGHT OFF.

I was going to blog the name of this shop, but then i realised that would just advertise the fact even more, and might give them a heads up. I would rather have them busted. So i am off to the Police about that this morning, as well.

THEN i have a NA meeting to go to with a friend this afternoon. It has been 9 months this week since he last had a drink of alcohol. Nearly two years since he did that hideous drug, but 9 months since his last drop of booze. He counts his "clean time" since he last had alcohol so today is an important day for him - he gets another bright coloured key ring! How exciting! Haha...seriously - it is.

Looking forward to that meeting. Will probably enjoy a celebratory coffee in the sun, and just contemplate how great it is being us afterwards!

Outta here!

John Key's War on Drugs = Fail

$500k bill for meth labs in state houses

State houses converted into P labs have cost the taxpayer more than $500,000 in the past five years and at least two tenants face arson charges.

Throughout New Zealand, 26 state houses or flats have been used to manufacture methamphetamine, Housing NZ Corp says.

Extensive damage to Government property has resulted in the state chasing its drug-making tenants for compensation after some places were ruined beyond repair.

David Whitburn, head of the Auckland Property Investors Association, called for meth monitors to be installed in all state houses.

Housing NZ should be more vigilant and inspect state houses more frequently, enabling meth-makers to be evicted and some of the 8044 needy cases on the state's waiting list to be housed, he said.

"However, I would praise Housing NZ for their increasingly vigilant approach to ending tenancies where there is clear evidence of fraud and over-staying when tenants don't meet the criteria. Under this Government, Housing NZ has evicted 235 people in the year to June, 2011, 114 in the 2010 year, compared with only 42 in the 2009 year," Mr Whitburn said.

Miles Stratford, director of MethMinder, said the Government declared a War on P and made it an election issue last time around yet did not take enough action. "If the Government had a truly congruent anti-meth policy, given 75 per cent of all meth labs are found in rental accommodation, wouldn't its own property manager be leading by example and aggressively tackling this issue?" Mr Stratford asked.

Even Transpower has been hit: one of the properties it bought for its big Waikato pylon project upgrade to Auckland's electrical system was used as a meth lab, a spokeswoman said.

Housing NZ revealed one case where the tables were turned and it was forced to fork out more money on a damaged Christchurch property where a caravan at the rear of a section was being secretly used to make P.

Instead of recouping income, Housing NZ had to pay to store a tenant's possessions in a separate unit at the property to allow that person access to their belongings, the state agency has admitted. That was because it had to abide by a Tenancy Tribunal ruling.

Two adjoining Grey Lynn state houses were burnt after they were used as methampehetamine laboratories, causing more than $231,000 of damage and resulting in charges being laid against the state tenants.

"The former tenants involved in the two Grey Lynn cases have recently been formally charged on two counts: attempting to manufacture methamphetamine and arson. Housing New Zealand will be pursuing the costs of replacement and testing through the court case," a Housing NZ spokeswoman said.

Since January last year, Housing NZ has forked out $32,860 testing and cleaning up P labs in houses meant to be havens for society's poorest and most disadvantaged. The most expensive case was at Bader, Hamilton, where contamination was so extensive the state had to demolish and rebuild, costing $254,805.

In some cases, records indicate children were living at the addresses.

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P lab state house cases:

* 26 properties uncovered since 2006.

* Testing and decontamination carried out.

* Hamilton: house demolished, $254,806.

* Grey Lynn: fire damage, $121,739.

* Grey Lynn: fire damage, $92,627.

It amazes me, every day, that people think this drug will never affect them. John Key announced a war on methamphetamine during his previous election campaign.

Nothing has changed.

Nothing has been done.