Hells bells.

I don't know what he'll do to the Democrats, but by god he scares the crap out of me!

New Product!

Do you have trouble with multiple animals and limited heater space?

Does one of your furry friends have "issues" that make her less than completely friendly with others of her type?

Are the constant territorial disputes of winter getting on your nerves?

Well help is at hand with the new Stack-A-Cat!

Yes you'll never have to referee a heater fight again. Just add the Stack-A-Cat to cat A - the clueless blob that will take any kind of mistreatment - then place cat B - the old grumpy one that will not allow physical contact from others - on the Stack-A-Cat.

All is harmony!

Well Put.

I have no idea how good or bad the movie is, but this bit is priceless: "Part perky educational film, part goofy New Age recruitment effort, "What the Bleep Do We Know?" stars Marlee Matlin as Amanda, a grumpy, dispirited everywoman who gets a lesson in quantum mechanics from a basketball-playing child and ends up drawing little glitter hearts all over her body, apparently a sign of self-acceptance in some cultures of the American Far West." Far out, dude!

Who can fill these boots?

On 29th May, 1953 a British expedition under John Hunt made the first successful attempt on Everest when Ed Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made it to the summit and returned.

At long last it looks like there's a film in the making. So far Roger Donaldson, Richard Taylor and Barrie Osborne are on board.

Naturally the question is who is going to play Ed.

For me the question is more who is going to play Ed & Tenzing. The relationship between these two men was instrumental in the expeditions success. Not to mention the skill of John Hunt in leading it and making decisions in the best interests of the group. The decision to send a Kiwi and a Sherpa of the final climb did not please everyone certainly.

It would be a shame to make a story about one man vs a mountain that Hollywood usually tosses out. This must be about the men.

For Ed there must be a good sense of his physical presence. This is a man who was so awkward at school that the PE teacher took one look at him and put him in the no hopers group. So personally unsure of himself that he proposed to his first wife in a manner so indirect it involved her mother. Yet during his time as a RNZAF navigation officer during the war he hunted crocodiles for something to do in his down time.

And his companion Tenzing. A man who spoke seven languages but never learned to read or write. Who was a ski instructor during the war and after Everest established a mountaineering school. Yet towards the end of his life was depressed and regarded himself a failure.

These are not cardboard cutout Hollywood heroes. They are real people and to play them is a challenge that few will be up to, especially if the script is up to the job.

My vote for Ed is Colin Hanks.

Narnia?

Nope, just the South Island having a little bit of a cold spot.

Auckland went without power for five hours and the world ended has people couldn't get a hot latte' but some people have been out of contact and without electricity for over a week now.

This is why so many of the people that Richard Taylor employs for WETA are from the deep south. They're more resourceful. Also a lot of left handers - but thats because we're taking over the world and it's part of a seperate sinister plot.

A little latin punning there.

Charge them ALL

Acessories after the fact to murder.

Obstructing a police investigation.

Conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Thats for starters. 

This is a deliberate attempt to place themselves outside the law. 

Friday Night Free For All

Ok watch the new paint and don't soil the carpet.

Same rules apply - i.e. whatever I make up as we go along. Go for it. 

Like a mugger who waits for a tip..

Cullen tells us we're not saving enough. 

The country is now in the red to the tune of $14.5 billion.

Dr Cullen says the figures are evidence New Zealanders' savings habits are inadequate, which is why the Government is introducing the Kiwisaver scheme to lift the level of savings in this country.

He says the figures show it is no time for fiscal adventurism and spending billions of dollars the country has not got.

What the…. No doubt he is confused about his place in giving savings advice due to the mountain of cash he's sitting on. Listen Scrouge MCullen, thats not saving, that's over taxtion. It aint your money, it's ours!

You wants us to save then stop bloody taxing us into financial oblivion you odious little twerp.

Why the hell do we have a failed teacher telling us what to do with our money when he's got most of it anyway?

Ehren Watada, Warlock.

Two months after the fall of Baghdad -

"I, Ehren Watada, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

And then shortly after that -

"I, Ehren Watada, having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of Second Lieutenant do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter. So help me God."

Having enjoyed the pay and privileges of commissioned officer of the Untied States Ehren is to deployed to Iraq and makes the following -

"I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to watch families torn apart, while the President tells us to 'stay the course.' … I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression. I wanted to be there for my fellow troops. But the best way was not to help drop artillery and cause more death and destruction. It is to help oppose this war and end it so that all soldiers can come home."

In Gulf War V1.0 my company was advised of the possibility of mobilization. Not for Iraq but for the possibility of taking over the duties of regular force soldiers. The troops were simply advised that we needed to know where they were on a daily basis and they may receive a mobilization notice without too much warning.

It was then that some fun started as a few people mistook their "rights" when inside an area with the yellow warning signs. After a week or so of having a couple of guys debating the morality of kicking Saddam out of Kuwait, I had one private make the statement that he would not be deploying on such a mission, as it was amoral to fight for oil. Unfortunately he did this in front of me with other soldiers present. So I mapped out his future for him. He'd do whatever the hell he was told to do or he'd face some damn serious charges and he was to cease making comments of that nature.

Being a barrack lawyer he was silly enough to argue with me about his right to free speech.

Two hours later I delivered a lecture on the AFDA and exactly which articles they had been violating. I started with the big numbers (least serious) and worked my way down to the little ones. From 79a & 79b committing or failing to perform and act prejudicial to service discipline they looked a little bemused. By the time we were working our way through the 50's they were looking uncomfortable. Into the 40's when we were looking at various forms of mutiny, mutinous uttering and ignominious assembly a couple were looking positively ill.

I ended with the simple statement that in future all of these articles would be enforced and any soldier committing an offense would be charged immediately. If that was not acceptable to any of them the company clerk was ready to press discharges that afternoon.

To the one soldier who was doing a good impersonation of a union organizer I hauled him off and told him the last moral decision he got to make was when he signed on the line and he was no longer in my platoon. I also suggested that he take advantage of the immediate discharge, which unfortunately he didn't.

The contempt I felt for this individual is a pale shadow of what one soldiers spouse feels for Ehren Watada. Go watch to total ass kicking she delivers to this specimen.

To put it simply the military is not a democratic organization that allows it's member to second guess ever decision made or to act on their own opinions with out consequences. I you choose to disobey you had had better have a really good reason to do so. Several times i have disobeyed orders at various levels of seriousness. I believed I was right to do so and i was prepared to allow the military to judge my actions. I was never found to have disobeyed a lawful order although I was found to have have been insubordinate on one occasion and fined a whole days pay which was really more of a slap down for the tool who charged me.

Ehren Watada has decided he is outside the regulations and above consequences in his going to media he has shown he has no faith in the validity and legality of his own actions.

A highlight -

Your assertion that your responsibility is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States is correct. However, you cannot pick and choose what articles or amendments you wish to protect and defend. You must protect and defend all of them. And that includes Article I, Section 8 which states that Congress has the power “To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;” At this point in time, United States forces are currently in Iraq according to the mandate set by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1637 which was passed unanimously and considered at the request of the Iraqi government. Our troops are in Iraq in full compliance with both international and domestic law.

If you find the title of this post odd I suggest you look up the meaning of the word warlock.

Government legislation gets knocked back.

In an uncharacteristic display of common sense the Greens have split their party vote and gone against the Labour party to support the National led oposition in preventing the micro-chipping of farm dogs. Considering that their pathelogical hatred of National had them saying they were going to vote with the government supporting total chipping when their own position was against ANY chipping this is a big step into the bright and shiny world of making a concession rather than total win or lose that they’ve been glued to for so long.

Eventually even they have worked out that as long as they will blindly oppose National and toe the Labour line Helen is going to crap on them.

A little taste of things to come as the minor parties discover that they can actually have an effect on what laws get passed and what don’t make it.

The headmistress will not be happy.

So thats how democracy in an MMP form is suposed to work. I was wondering.