Last Weekend

Last Sunday morning was one of the greatest times in my life of sport. Our New Zealand rugby league team, the Kiwis, beat Australia, the Kangaroos, in the final of the tri-series in Leeds, England. This was the first time we had beaten Australia in a series in 52 years, a little longer than I have been alive. Rugby league fans in this country have had to put up with misery for half a century as our big brother to the west always seemed to get the better of us.
Well, I can proudly say, NO LONGER! The Kiwis are the best team in the world, YES!

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Milford Sound

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Time is Running Out

For Australian Nguyen Tuong Van, time is running out. Tomorrow morning Singapore time he will be hanged. His crime? Importing heroin. The debate between Australia, which does not have the death penalty, and Singapore, which obviously does, has been fast and furious, but in the end the Singapore government will not be moved. It seems this 25 year old former refugee will be dead tomorrow.
Now, I am against the death penalty. I don't feel that anything is gained by state sanctioned murder even in the most extreme cases of serial killers or supreme sadists. With pro death penalty advocates, there seems to be an almost sickening 'eye for an eye' attitude which I believe undermines our humanity, deep I know...
Still even advocates of the death penalty may be shocked that a simple drug smuggler is going to be hanged. The argument is that a drug dealer or smuggler is bringing misery to many people and so should be punished. Well, in the end, where is the responsibility? These people are only feeding a demand. Instead of killing people, maybe governments like Singapore should look at why there is a demand in their country.

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Charity Fatigue

The past 12 months have been hell for all the countries around the world affected by natural disasters. I know I will leave some out but there was, the South Asian tsunami, earthquake in Kashmir and Iran, hurricanes in North and Central America, famine in West Africa, flooding in China... All these disasters have been too much for the affected country to cope with on their own (with the exception of the US) and so have relied on the kindness of donor nations to help them out. With each disaster competing with the next for media time, out of sight is effectively out of mind. This means charities are fighting a losing battle when the disaster they are collecting for leaves the headlines.

This morning on the BBC, they showed the situation in the country of Niger is dire. Whether it is lack of aid or the more serious problem of corruption, I am not sure. What I am sure of is that people are dying. Without reports such as this, we would never know. What worries me is how many other problems around the world are going unreported? It is a sobering thought. I can only hope that things get better for our fellow humans, everyone deserves a life without suffering.

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The Man Keyboard

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Dining with Terrorists

I have just finished reading the book Dining with Terrorists by British journalist Phil Rees. Basically for the past ten years he has been travelling to different parts of the world interviewing and filming different groups who have been labelled as 'terrorists' by Western governments and media. The real question of this book is what is terrorism. If you define terrorism as deliberate attacks against civilians, such as the 9/11 attacks, then the fire bombing of Japan and Germany by the Allies in World War 2 is terrorism as was the bombing of Indochina during the Vietnam War. I am sure that comparing these acts would not sit comfortably with many.
The groups Rees visited are varied, Basque Seperatists, Kosovas, Algerian freedom groups, Tamil Tigers, Kashmir independence groups and many others. After 9/11, the US government decided to list all these groups as 'terrorist', a blanket term which I tend to think is overused. The war on terror, much like the war on drugs, seems to have no real defined enemy. If the object is to defeat all the groups on the list, then the fight is never going to end. I worry that this term 'terrorist' is being used for those who oppose Western ideals, whatever they may be. Language is a powerful tool and I don't think that loaded words like terrorist are helpful here. Much the same goes for Mr Bush' use of Good and Evil.
Perhaps the worst use of English came with the Yugoslavian breakup. I am still upset by the term Ethnic Cleansing. I am not sure how media outlets around the world decided that this was the term to use, but it really is an abuse of our wonderful language. Reminds me of George Orwell's 1984 and Newspeak.
Anyway, this book is worth a read, anything that helps open minds can't be a bad thing.

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O H N O!

Tomorrow (here anyway) is the first of December. Christmas is around the corner and I have no Christmas presents to give... In November I could deny the existence of Christmas, but no longer! AHHHHHH! This means long lines and no carparks all through the world.

Right, time to take my chill pill I guess...

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I'll be here next year!

I can't wait!

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The Meaning of Life

What more can be said?

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Blood is Red

In my many years on this earth, I have never given blood. Like my friend Ori, I have a huge phobia of needles. However, yesterday I got a big case of the guilts. It seems that my blood type, O-, is a rather important type. It is known as the universal blood type and no matter what blood type you have, you can take my blood. Only 7% of people here in Aotearoa have it, I am not sure if this follows around the world or not, but this means now they know I have this blood they will be knocking on my door every three months wanting more!
The blood people came to my work and set up right next to my office. After thinking about it for about 20 minutes I decided that it would be the right thing to do. Also, it is important to face your fears, right? I sat in the chair and tried everything I could to take my mind off what was about to happen. When the nurse finally put the needle in, well I am not going to lie, it hurt! It was really painful. However the pain quickly subsided and as long as I didn't think too much about the foreign object jammed in my arm, it was ok. About 5 minutes into the blood giving, the machine sucking it out of me suddenly started beeping. It scared the hell out me! It turned out that my blood just wasn't rushing fast enough for the machine's liking. Another nurse came along and readjusted the needle. More pain, and then... it was over!
Giving blood gave me a warm feeling. That may have been because I just lost a pint of San Nakji special, but I think it is more likely that this is what it feels like when you do a good deed...
I urge people who have considered it to go ahead and donate blood, it's not all that hard. A moment of pain for someone's life, much like having kids really...

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sannakji.org

Just for fun, I have registered my own URL. To visit my blog, all you need to do is go to sannakji.org and lo and behold... My email has also changed, sn@sannakji.org . Please don't go to sannakji.com, it is just some crumby restaurant selling squid (of all things!).

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Algeria Images

Just some more images of Algeria for you. It looks amazing, everything your basic exotic desert nation should be...







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Beautiful Desolation

The book that I am reading at the moment, Dining with Terrorists, has made me interested in Algeria. It still has its' problems, but not quite what they have been.

I love deserts, so with scenes like the above, how could I not book my ticket there... (well money may prevent it, I suppose) I must put it on my list of places to go...

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Happy Birthday Deepa!

Happy Birthday to my friend Deepa! Huttida Habba Subashayagalu! Still so young, which I am quite envious of and extra congratulations because you have finished with uni! Yay! I hope you enjoy your day, do you eat curry cake over there? Mmmmm curry cake, I can only imagine!

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What the Hell?

A bronze of martial arts legend Bruce Lee has been erected in the Bosnian city of Mostar - a day before a second statue of him is unveiled in Hong Kong. The life-size 1.68 metre statue depicts the Chinese-American actor in a typical defensive fighting position. Hong Kong unveils its own statue of the kung-fu star on Sunday, at a ceremony to be attended by Lee's widow Linda. The Mostar unveiling was attended by the ambassadors of China and Germany, both of whom assisted the project. The city witnessed fierce fighting between rival ethnic factions in the 1992-95 war. It remains split with Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Serbs still deeply divided. Lee was chosen by organisers as a symbol of the fight against ethnic divisions.
"We will always be Muslims, Serbs or Croats," said Veselin Gatalo of the youth group Urban Movement Mostar. "But one thing we all have in common is Bruce Lee."
Lee, who died in 1973 at the age of 32, was born in the US but moved to Hong Kong as a child.
The statue there will be unveiled on what would have been the Enter the Dragon star's 65th birthday.

Seriously.... What the hell?

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George Best - I Thought He Had Died Already

A brilliant footballer, George Best died way too early. Still, he brought it on himself with a major alcohol problem. To me it is a crime that he was given a liver transplant and then continued his wild ways with more drinking. Still looking at what he acomplished on the football field I think he will be missed. All across Britain this weekend there have been minutes of silence, remembering the footballing genius rather than the poor drunk he became.

I will always remember this quote, "90% of my money was spent on women, cars and drink; the rest I squandered."

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Mr Miyagi.... Nooooooo!!!!

Ok, this is officially the crappiest year ever for all the stars of movie and TV that I love. My all time favourite movie swings between Karate Kid or Karate Kid 2, so Pat Morita's death has hit me pretty hard. It is hard for people of East Asian heritage to make it in Hollywood, so Pat's fame was extra special.

People of East Asian descent have found it tough going in Hollywood. While Pat never managed to reach the heights of stardom in America, he did have steady work and was much loved all over the world. I wonder if the new generation of East Asian actors look at him as a pioneer in the industry? He was forced to play type cast roles, but then again in Hollywood you have to do what you have to do I guess. Pat, I will miss you.

Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita - Born. 28 June 1932 Died. 24 November 2005 RIP Miyagi San

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Birds of Aotearoa - Kea

This is the Kea, a native New Zealand parrot found only in the high mountains of the Southern Alps. They are the favourite bird of many a New Zealander as they are packed full of personality. One of their tricks is to all the rubber from your car in no time flat... Don't take your eyes of them!

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Weekly Animal Pic - Sugar Tail Glider

As much as it pains me to say anything good about Australia, I have to admit they have the best animals. This sugar tail glider, well, glides... It's tail doesn't taste as nice as you would think though...

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Hey Yanks!

Happy Thanksgiving, think of San Nakji as you munch on that yummy pie....




ps. Happy Thanksgiving to you Canucks too, I know I am a week late, but there you go...

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