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Sex billboard ruled to be offensive

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:37:45 GMT

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Sex billboard ruled to be offensive

In a decision released yesterday, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld 38 complaints received about the billboard for the Advanced Medical Institute.

Complainants said the billboard was near two schools and there was a high likelihood it would be seen by children. They said it was not clear what the actual product was and the dominant message was sex.

Upholding the complaints, the authority acknowledged that premature ejaculation affected about 30 per cent of men. But it said it was conscious of the public concern at using billboards to advertise matters relating to personal health problems.

It said the combination of the wording, large type size, bold colours and overall size of the billboards promoting a product for adult men to assist with a personal health problem was likely to cause widespread offence.

This was particularly so as it was visible to a very wide audience, including children.

husband deserved a medal for living with her.

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:05:58 GMT

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Clip Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

Agent's insult earns top fine - $750

An LJ Hooker real estate agent told a seller she was so difficult her husband deserved a medal for living with her.

The Auckland couple listed a property with Good Real Estate, a member of the LJ Hooker Group, and the wife had been presented with an offer, which she rejected.

In response, the agent telephoned her and made the accusation. She lodged a complaint with the institute.

People can lodge complaints with the institute if agents have breached its code of ethics or rules of practice which stipulate how agents must behave.

The agent gave the tenant seven days' notice to quit and pay the rent, failing to give written notice, abide by the terms of the Residential Tenancies Act or to apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for an eviction notice.

The firm was ordered to pay $750 for breaking one rule, $750 for breaking another rule, $400 costs and $50 GST.

Train hits man peeing on track

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:21:39 GMT

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clipper's remarks: dum

Clip Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

Train hits man peeing on track

A man was critically injured last night when a train hit him while he was urinating on the track at Penrose station.

Police said the man, who was very drunk, suffered pelvic, leg and back injuries and was in Auckland City Hospital.

"It's one of the dumbest things I've ever seen," said Senior Sergeant Junior Abraham.

"I can think of better places to relieve myself."

A witness said the man tried three times to get back on to the platform when he saw the train coming but could not make it.

Snub the China signing of free trade

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:41:00 GMT

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Clip Source: tvnz.co.nz

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Dunne snubs China deal signing

Mar 28, 2008 6:59 PM

A key figure is snubbing a government invitation to go to China for the signing of a free trade agreement.

Peter Dunne's United Future party backs the agreement but the Revenue Minister says he is boycotting the trip in protest at China's Crackdown in Tibet.

Dunne says he was invited to accompany Prime Minister Helen Clark at the ceremony next month, but has declined the offer.

He says to travel to Beijing to witness the signing while the events are taking place in Tibet would be totally inappropriate.

He says he probably would have gone if the violence in Tibet had not taken place.

ONE News understands New Zealand First, which does not support the trade deal, also declined an offer to go to Beijing.

Shortage of workers to lay cables

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:49:11 GMT

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clipper's remarks: double pay in Australia so we all go.

Clip Source: tvnz.co.nz

Shortage of workers to lay cables

The Electrical and Communications Industry Council is warning of a shortages of skilled workers to lay a broadband fibre-optic network and maintain exchanges.

The council is blaming Telecom for not providing enough money to pay competitive wages.

Spokesman Joe Gallagher says the workers are moving to Australia because they can double their wages there. He says Telecom is playing contractors against each other to the point where they just don't have the margins to pay staff properly.

Gallagher says by refusing to pay the money for decent wages and conditions Telecom is draining the country of people needed to keep telecommunication running.

Meanwhile, Telecom should know where it stands on its operational separation by the end of the month.

Completely starkers' cop nabs would-be thief

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:18:32 GMT

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Clip Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

'Completely starkers' cop nabs would-be thief

An off-duty policeman did not let being naked stop him from nabbing a man from trying to steal his wife's car.

The Balcultha policeman was woken by his wife early in the morning when she heard noises outside their home.

"The officer rolled over and recognised the sound of a starter motor turning over," police magazine Ten One reported.

The officer leapt from bed "completely starkers".

He grabbed a torch and raced outside to grab the offender, who had managed only to roll the car a short distance out of the carport.

The offender bolted with the officer in hot pursuit, the magazine report.

The officer's wife, more suitably attired, came out to help and when the offender ran into her, she grabbed him by the collar.

The policemen arrived moments later and ordered the man to the ground.

"The offender...startled by the sight of a naked constable with just a torch coming towards him, took off."

Iti want evidence in Maori Fluent in English

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:29:26 GMT

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clipper's remarks: Fluent in English?

Clip Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

Iti and co want evidence in Maori (+video)

Watch Video: Trial likely to be drawn out says lawyer

Tuhoe activist Tame Iti and others arrested after the Urewera police raids want evidence to be translated into Maori - and that could mean a depositions hearing could take weeks to complete.

The entire month of September had been set aside for a depositions hearing for Iti and 17 others facing firearms charges in connection with the police raids in different parts of the country last October.

"My clients want to speak in te reo ... they are fluent in English but would like to speak in te reo because they are more fluent in it."

UN enters terror raid controversy

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:38:03 GMT

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Clip Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

UN enters terror raid controversy

United Nations officials have sent a "please explain" letter to the Government asking for information about aspects of last year's high-profile police raids in the Bay of Plenty.

The UN officials are believed to be interested in the human rights aspects of the raids and particularly New Zealand's adherence to various international treaties it has signed up to.

Duty Minister Rick Barker confirmed yesterday that a letter had been received and it would be replied to "in due course" by the Government through the correct channels.

A spokesman said that the UN letter was not an investigation in itself, but simply a request for information.

But the Maori Party quickly tried to seize on the letter as "another incident of international humiliation" for the Government.

Asked what the people involved in the complaint hoped to achieve by approaching the UN, Mr Jackson said it gave the people another avenue to tell their story.

Billboard offensive to Maori language

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:20:47 GMT

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Clip Source: www.scoop.co.nz

Auckland Billboard Offensive To The Maori Language

An Auckland billboard currently positioned at the bottom of Parnell Rise has been deemed highly offensive in its use of the Maori language by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori - the Maori Language Commission.

The billboard says: 'Rent a car from only $25.00 a day. So you can visit any whaka'. The billboard is a promotional advertisement for Auckland-based car rental company Ace Rental Cars.

If the copy of this advertisement was entirely in English, it would breach advertising standards.

Chief Executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori (Maori Language Commission) Huhana Rokx says: "Ace Rental Cars are inappropriately using te reo Maori to circumvent these standards. Their use of te reo Maori in this instance therefore reflects their double standard."

Cyclist videos bike ride to work dangers

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:08:58 GMT

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Clip Source: www.tv3.co.nz

Cyclist videos bike ride to work to highlight cycling dangers

A Christchurch teacher is going all out to educate road-users about the perils of cycling on New Zealand roads.

Cyclist Josh Campbell has grown so frustrated with other road users, he has taken to filming his misadventures to and from work and posted the footage on YouTube for the world to see.

“You're always telling people friends, family that you almost died on the way to work,” Mr Campbell said. “They have no idea, they don't believe you.”

The footage shows cars cutting him off and performing u-turns in front of him. One car even pulls out across an intersection while towing another vehicle behind - it misses him by just centimetres.

“I know they're not trying to kill me,” Mr Campbell commented. “It just seems to be the way it's working out.”

Greenpeace made the news in New Zealand

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:54:27 GMT

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clipper's remarks: 60,000 tonnes of black stuff

Clip Source: www.stuff.co.nz

60,000 tonnes of black stuff

Greenpeace made the news last night in spectacular fashion, highlighting the impact that our very own Solid Energy is having on the global supply of coal, one of the worst offenders of greenhouse gas emissions.

The World Coal Institute estimates that New Zealand contains 15 billion tonnes of coal, 8.6 billion tonnes of which could be “economically recoverable”. They also predict an ever expanding global market for coal, particularly as large developing countries aspire to continue to develop despite rising oil prices. Relative to oil, coal is a cheap fuel.

The flip-side is that countries such as ours have made some small commitments to curbing our greenhouse gas emissions, albeit small ones, but commitments nonetheless.

Aussie locusts hit New Zealand

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:41:40 GMT

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clipper's remarks: fly 1200 miles or 3000 km's

Clip Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

Aussie locusts hit NZ for summer

Plagues of locusts have crossed the Tasman to make the most of New Zealand's hottest summer for a decade.

Swarms of crickets, an insect "associated with drought", had hit the Hauraki Plains and there had been larger numbers of locusts in the northern regions, many of which may have come from Australia.

"It's the remains of the swarms that get over here, but the weather conditions are right to bring them over," Maddison said.

Grass grub beetles, whose growth is encouraged by hot temperatures, had been causing problems in the Bay of Plenty.

There have been strange goings-on at sea, too.

Fisherman and tackle salesman Scott Malcon, of Auckland's Fish City, said mahi mahi, typically a tropical water fish, had been caught off Auckland.

Other species, including the skipjack tuna and blue marlin were more plentiful than usual, and Malcon said there had been a highly rare spotting of a tropical sailfish near Great Barrier Island.

cheap Chinese labour paid going rate

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:10:49 GMT

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clipper's remarks: low pay issue 'red alert' to workers about free trade deals push down wages will work for less in new zealand

Clip Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

Cheap Chinese labour paid the going rate - PM

Air NZ is well within its rights to pay Chinese staff a quarter of what it pays Kiwis, says Clark. Photo / Brett Phibbs

He said the majority Government-owned airline hired more than 30 Chinese workers.

Mr Delamere said there was no provision in New Zealand law to give someone a work visa to work for a Chinese company that was not registered in New Zealand.

It was also prohibited from issuing a work visa to people who were paid less than the minimum wage.

Alliance Party co-leader Victor Billot said the low pay issue was a "red alert" to workers about what free trade deals would mean for New Zealand when "inferior conditions, contracting out, aggressive corporates and a hands-off approach" by the Government would push down wages and conditions for workers.

Air NZ paid "substantial taxes" to the Chinese government over and above the wages paid to Chinese workers.

$600m Tax blunder

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:15:04 GMT

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Clip Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

Tax officials admit $600m blunder

The Government's accounts are in better shape than previously thought after tax officials today admitted making a $600 million blunder.

The Government took a massive hit to its books in January, with figures for the first seven months of the financial year showing its operating balance had moved $394 million into deficit - $4.2 billion below Treasury's forecast.

It was the first time in almost 15 years the Government's books had plunged into the red.

But Inland Revenue officials today revealed they had failed to take into account $600 million in provisional tax.

The revised accounts put the Government's operating balance back in black to the tune of $200 million.

Computer whiz faces jail

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:42:55 GMT

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clipper's remarks: Fist for new zealand e-crime face up to seven years in jail the FBI came out

Clip Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

Teen charged with e-crime faces jail

Teenage computer whiz Owen Walker faces up to seven years in jail after becoming the first person in New Zealand to be charged with botnet crime.

But it now seems unlikely the Whitianga teenager will be extradited to the United States to face charges.

Using the cyber-id Akill, Walker is alleged to have been part of a small but elite botnet coding group that developed malware which is estimated to have caused more than US$20 million ($24.5 million) of economic loss and involved cyber crimes committed in the United States ranging from vandalism to virtual bank robbery.