The Weekender 24/01/2010

NZ News

A handcuffed and almost naked prisoner escaped from police by diving head first over a balcony & down a steep cliff. He eluded the police for quite a few hours but is now back in custody.

The most news stories this week were in relation to a proposed three strikes law that National & Act are hoping to introduce. Under the law after a second serious offence, the prisoners wouldn't be eligible for parole - early release under monitored conditions, after a third serious offence, the judge would also have to impose the maximum sentence for the crime.
Quite a number of people are jumping up & down making absurd claims & it does look like Labour is pushing a political charge against this law. The Labour leader says the law would have done nothing to prevent some of NZ's most notorious killings (except the likes of Urban Hoglin & Heidi Paakkonen back in 1989 & those listed by Act). Someone found an expert (who incidentally was a former prisoner & heroin dealer) to say the law is stupid, the Labour friendly prison officers union, claimed that the law will result in prison officers being killed, & someone else said criminals might now kill to avoid being caught by police.
Act released information detailing four murders which would not have happened under the 'Three Strikes and the Max' law.

Hamilton lost water in some parts of town this week after a night time lightning storm damaged the water treatment plant.

Kiwi Shaun Quincey left Australia this week in his bid to become the second person to ever row solo from Australia to New Zealand. He knows the risk, as his mentor has been his father - the only person to have ever completed the row. He is providing tweets & after surviving 40 hrs locked inside his cabin by 35 knot winds & 14m swells, he is continuing on his way http://www.tasmantrespasser.com/

We found out this week that the language made up for the hit movie Avatar was partially based on Maori.

Prince William left the country after a three day visit. He said he hoped to be able to return next year for the Rugby World Cup. He was 30 minutes late leaving after he hung around at Wellington Children's Hospital and said he didn't want to leave - perhaps because his next stop was Australia. It was the first time for Prince William doing some official duties including giving a speech on behalf of the Queen, he was well received everywhere with thousands crowding to see him.

The Numbers Game

3: c/L drop in petrol has dropped it off a 15 month high
5: th month in a row of food price drops, something not seen in 42 years - by a rise is expected again soon
5.1: richter scale earthquake hit Taranaki a couple of days ago
5.4: richter scale earthquake shook the East Coast this morning
12: mm of rain for Northland this week hasn't helped the government declared medium-level drought
19: % of NZers see global warming as a giant con, a further 28% thought it hadn't been conclusively proven
61: % of NZers surveyed thought the minimum wage should be increased to $15/hr, the government ruled out a rise that big
243: "boy racer" offences between January & August last year for Canterbury makes it the worst location in the country, Auckland had 77
1,000: tonnes of sea lettuce was cleared from around Tauranga harbour & Mt Maunganui
1,500: tonnes of Eden Park turf is heading to Waikato Stadium in preparation of the Rugby World Cup
6,361: Chinese immigrants to NZ for last year - topping 6,302 from the UK
375,000: $ fish theft by an Auckland Fish Market employee who gave about 30 tonnes of fish to a local retailer
400,000: $ contributed by the government for the International Paralympic World Athletic Champs in Christchurch - NZ will receive an estimated $72m
224.5m: $ worth of farms (29 of them) are for sale by Graeme Hart's Carter Holt Harvey, they were converted to dairy units from forestry land around Tokoroa

Finance NZ Dollar

GBP 0.4411 (-0.0131)
EUR 0.5026 (-0.0109)
USD 0.7102 (-0.0282)
AUD 0.7890 (-0.0117)

The Weekender NZer of the week

Maurice Wilkins
DNA ENABLER
Nobel Prize winner in Physiology and Medicine in 1962. Research undertaken by New Zealander Maurice Wilkins helped lead to the discovery in 1953 by James Watson and Francis Crick of the DNA molecule structure - the very essence of life itself. The discovery revolutionised biology and medicine.
http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/wilkins.html

Joke of the Weekender

Tired Son
A clergyman, walking down a country lane, sees a young farmer struggling to load hay back onto a cart after it had fallen off. 
"You look tired, my son," said the cleric. "Why don't you rest a moment, and I'll give you a hand." 
"No thanks," said the young man. "My father wouldn't approve." 
"Don't be silly," the minister said. "Everyone is entitled to a break. Come and have a drink of water." 
Again the young man protested that his father would be upset. 
Losing his patience just a little, the clergyman said, "Your father must be a real slave driver. Tell me where I can find him and I'll give him a piece of my mind!" 
"Well," replied the young farmer, "you can tell him whatever you like just as soon as I get this hay off him." 

Weekender Photos

Here are some photos from our Engagement celebration yesterday
Check out my photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/dunwich42/Engagement

Darren Harrison: darren@harrison.gen.nz
The Weekender: mailed weekly (Sunday nightish)
Website: www.dunwich.co.nz/weekender/
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