Kiwi inventor of "planking" accused of Aussie death...

A Kiwi credited with inventing the game of planking is now being blamed for death of an Australian who performed the stunt drunk on a balcony railing.

Acton Beale, 20, fell to his death after falling from a seventh-floor railing in Brisbane on Sunday morning.

A message left on Dunedin man Paul Carran's internet site claims his game is fatally irresponsibe.

The message posted on Carran’s YouTube planking clip from 2009 reads: “Your video killed a friend of mine. You seriously should take this down”.

Planking is an internet fad which involves being photographed lying face down, with your body as straight as possible, in a random place.

The game became popular in the UK in 2006 but has recently enjoyed resurgence in Australia after NRL player David Williams attempted the stunt after scoring a try.

Photos have also emerged this week of a former Australian AFL player and TV show star Sam Newman "planking" on the railing of a 40-storey balcony, taken hours before the Queensland man fell to his death.

But Carran told 3news he is not to blame for any deaths.

"It’s not like anybody, or me personally, made him (Beale) do it,” he said.

More than 7000 people like the Planking New Zealand Facebook page.
 
http://anzacbloggersunite.co.uk/

http://theblogfrog.com/Users/home.aspx

Anti government group to highlight economic policies during RWC...

Anti-government group to highlight to the world about NZ Governments economic policies during RWC...

A protest group could try and disrupt the Rugby World Cup to highlight to the world the Government's economic policies. Photo / Brett Phibbs


A protest group could try and disrupt the Rugby World Cup to highlight to the world the Government's economic policies. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A protest group has said they will disrupt the Rugby World Cup (RWC) to highlight to the world the Government's economic policies.

Groups opposed to the Government's planned changes to KiwiSaver, family tax credits and public services and state asset sales, announced in last week's Budget, will march along Auckland's Queen Street tomorrow.

Spokesman Meredydd Barrar, of the Coalition for Social Justice, said the groups also "intend to take action during the RWC to alert the world that New Zealand is not as squeaky clean as people might perceive".

Earlier this year Maori activists Titewhai Harawira and Ngaire Te Hira said they planned to use the tournament to "expose" New Zealand's treatment of Maori, and Unite Union has said hotel workers whose collective agreements expire during the cup will seek a 10 per cent share of room rentals.

Former Green MP Sue Bradford, who will speak at tomorrow's march on behalf of Auckland Action Against Poverty, said budget cuts for public services were in stark contrast to tax breaks for rugby.

Another speaker, Meg Moss, head teacher of the MiniMarc childcare centre at the Mt Albert Research Centre, said early childhood centres were still reeling from cuts in last year's budget and would not stop protesting just because of the rugby games.

"It would be unpopular but it would make an impact," she said.

http://mylikes.com/signup?token=huttriver


Acknowledgements:  - NZPA

Looters have no conscience or empathy - looting in Christchurch...

A warning to watch out for goods sold by looters has been issued after recent reports of repeated looting from Christchurch homes and businesses.


People looking to pick up a bargain should be wary of encouraging looters in quake-hit Christchurch, according to the anonymous tip-off organisation Crimestoppers.

The warning comes after recent reports of repeated looting from Christchurch homes and businesses.

Crimestoppers chief executive Lou Gardiner said looters had "no conscience or empathy" and would invariably sell stolen goods on the cheap to get rid of them.

Potential buyers should ask questions of the seller to determine where the goods had come from, he said.

"These looters and thieves can only exist because of willingness of others to purchase cheap goods without asking themselves some obvious questions."

Mr Gardiner said residents had the chance to make a real contribution by helping to identify criminals and recover stolen goods.

"If you have real suspicions about the origin of the items then ring your local police, or if you have some reluctance to do that for whatever reason, contact Crimestoppers and provide the information anonymously."

Acknowledgements: - NZPA

Lower Hutt, Hutt Valley,Wellington,NZ...

Lower Hutt, Hutt Valley,

Wellington, New Zealand. This is where I live. The home of the Hutt River.

View video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyzc9egtrSc

What are Housing NZ and the government up to in the Taita North suburb of Lower hutt...

 

What are Housing NZ and the Government up to in the Taita North suburb of Lower Hutt? What is really going on in the Pomare community?

• 
  Evicted Farmers Crescent residents in the Pomare community of Taita North in Lower Hutt...

•  

  • Housing NZ keeps state homes vacant, why? Good question! 

The Minister of Housing has admitted to ONE News that dozens of state houses are being kept empty in a Lower Hutt neighbourhood because of three gang-related women who will not leave.

Residents of Farmer Crescent say keeping the properties empty is punishing the community and the school and local businesses are feeling the sting.

Minister Phil Heatley said Housing New Zealand has been planning redevelop the neighbourhood, but has put plans on hold due to the women who refuse to obey eviction orders.

"They've (HNZ) never had a problem with cash, they've set aside money for that area and they've had that set aside for some time& it's taken longer because of the constant court challenges against the Crown," Heatley said.

Court battles over the very public eviction have dragged on for more than two years and in the meantime 60 houses stand empty.

The houses the women live in aren't among those marked for immediate redevelopment, but the minister said he doesn't want any new properties vandalised.

Housing New Zealand claims people don't want to live in 16 available units; another three are uninhabitable because of disrepair and another 41 are vacant and awaiting redevelopment.
A spokesperson for the community, 'Fats', told ONE News it's taking its toll on residents.

"The place is a mess, it's starting to look like a shanty town."

Vacant homes are boarded up, the local shops say business is quieter and Pomare Primary has fewer pupils. Principal Chris Worsley says they may have to cut a third of teachers in two years.

"Such a dramatic drop in the roll has been caused primarily by Housing New Zealand and their policy on the rehousing and redevelopment of Farmers Crescent," Worsley said.

Before the eviction battles, Pomare Primary had 171 children enrolled but that number has plummeted to 116 this year, costing the school $75, 000 in funding.

"We need some movement on this as a matter of urgency," said Worsley.

Patched Mongrel Mob member 'Fats' said Pomare is being punished for the lengthy eviction battle.
"They're taking it out on the whole neighbourhood and it's starting to look pathetic."

The Housing Minister said redevelopment is soon to start, with several houses scheduled to be bulldozed.

KR says: But why is there over sixty empty housing units in the general area not connected with those controversial  housing units  of would-be evicted tenants?

The problem is affecting everybody in the area, and Housing NZ and the government are obviously not interested in the families and their children. Are they going to use the controversy in their election campaign? Actually I hope they do, because it will backfire in their faces!

Liam Finn's Guide to New Zealand...

Liam Finn's Guide to New Zealand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cEOlK1c-kE

Cunliffe addresses Key's lies...

:

David Cunliffe has addressed Key’s truly uninspiring pre-budget speech this morning.
National have no economic plan, and it shows. Key’s tinkering to fix the massive economic gaps, and his only suggestions are a vague warning that National would reduce the member tax credit, and reverse its own earlier move to reduce the default contribution rate.
Yes: they plan to encourage savings by cutting savings.
But the speech was much more about blame-shifting on to the weather, the earthquakes, the GFC and the previous Government. After 2.5 years, we apparently still shouldn’t blame them.
Cunliffe addresses what he politely calls Key’s ‘misleading’ claims:

Rebutting false claims on Labour’s economic record in Key’s pre-Budget speech
1. Key says: “Government spending increased markedly in the mid-2000s”
Fact: Government spending was 31.0% of GDP in 2000 and 31.2% in 2008. Under National, spending as a percentage of GDP has exploded

Source: Parliamentary Library
2. Key says: “Government spending rose 50 per cent in just five years”
Fact: Between 2003 and 2008, core Crown spending grew 42.9% but this was before inflation and population growth. In real terms per person terms, spending grew by less than 20%, which was in line with economic growth. This money went into programmes like Kiwisaver, Working for Families, and increased infrastructure spending, which National hasn’t scrapped.
Source: Parliamentary Library

3. Key says: “Since 2004 almost 60 per cent of new jobs have been in heavily government-dominated sectors”
Fact: Key is counting the extra teachers, doctors, and nurses Labour funded as if they are ‘bureaucrats’. Core public servants remained roughly 2% of the workforce under Labour.

Source: State Services Commission, Human Resource Capability Survey of Public Service Departments; Statistics New Zealand Household Labour Force Survey. Compiled by the Parliamentary Library.
4. Key says: “export volumes grew only one per cent in total between 2004 and 2008”
Fact: Key is using selective dates and the impact of the global recession to mislead. In reality export volumes grew 42.2% in Labour’s first 8 years in office before shrinking 11 per cent during the recession. Under National, export volumes have just now regained the level they were at under Labour four years ago.

Source: Statistics New Zealand, Infoshare
5. Key says: “since the end of 2004, GDP per person have fallen by an average of 0.1 per cent a year – the weakest period since the late 1980s and early 1990s
Fact: Again, Key is using the recession and his own poor economic record and trying to attribute the blame to Labour. In reality, GDP per person grew 16.8% in the first 8 years under Labour. Since the recession, GDP per person has fallen 5%. National has made no progress on growth, with GDP per capita falling for 6 of its 8 quarters in government so far.

Source: Statistics New Zealand, Infoshare

[Update: now with graphs!]

Acknowledgements:  The Standard