And from the "only in New Zealand" file...

[667medic]

NZ sounds like a cool place. What are the job prospects for an Indian with a degree in Cell Biology ......

[gilgamesh]

Wasn't there a baby elephant seal walk, er, head butt? Sometime last year? I think he smashed up a couple of cars in Auckland.

[Repatriated Canuck]

Cash sent to pay father's fine in bully case
20 April 2006
By JOANNA DAVIS

Families from throughout New Zealand have been pledging money to pay the $500 fine of the Christchurch father convicted of assaulting a boy who bullied his daughter.

Beckenham mother-of-three Alisha Woodhouse is organising the fund to show support for Daryl Falcon's actions in standing up for his 11-year-old daughter, who had been repeatedly bullied by a classmate.

The bullying included being hit on the head with a book, being punched in the arm and verbal abuse.

Falcon was convicted on Tuesday of assault after the attack outside Mairehau Primary School before classes on March 30 in which he grabbed the 11-year-old boy around the neck (edit: he actually grabbed his collar, not his neck) and poked him in the face.

Woodhouse, a clairvoyant, said a network of parents throughout the country wanted to show support for Falcon and frustration at the lack of action on bullying.

"I don't necessarily condone what Daryl did, but the fact is he felt there was no other platform for him to get something done," she said.

"It shows something needs to be done in our schools."
Advertisement
Advertisement

Woodhouse said any extra money donated to the fund would be given to Women's Refuge, the Whatsup children's helpline or another women's or children's charity.

She was pleased to help the Falcons as they had been stressed recently with an ill premature baby, the bullying and the "blemish on Daryl's record" from the assault conviction.

"He should be commended in standing up for his daughter," she said.

Woodhouse has started an online forum on the case and bullying.

Falcon said the fund was generous and he would not have been able to make a lump-sum payment of $500. "Especially with my wife off on maternity leave and having to pay for a lawyer, and as coincidence would have it, my car broke down, too."

Falcon said he had had support from workmates and strangers.

"Lots of guys have been coming up and shaking my hand and saying, `I would've done the same thing'."

He was initially embarrassed by his actions, but people's response to his court case showed bullying was an issue that needed highlighting, he said.

Falcon said outside court on Tuesday that he was unhappy with the school's lack of action.

"At the end of the day, the bully still wins. The school didn't do anything."

Falcon said his daughter had not been bullied again by the boy but other children had.

He believed the boy should be suspended from school.

Mairehau principal John Bangma said his school had a zero-tolerance approach to bullying. It had run the police-led Kia Kaha programme for at least four years and also devised a special programme for children who bullied and/or had been bullied.

Bangma would not comment on the Falcons' case.

The father here was wrong, he should have knocked out juniors father for not being a man and teaching his boy to not hit girls. I think more parents need to step up and stop violence towarsd their children as from what I remember as a bullied child teachers don't do **** to help even if they say they are.

[Archer]

Background. To experience 'traditional' Maori culture, tourists flock to various Maori 'villages' around the country and are welcomed with a traditional challenge. When this actually means something then you'd do well to take it seriously but this is a tourist venture for gods sake, the poor bugger got his nose broken for daring to smile

But you gotta give the Maoris a thumbs up for their ferocity. ;)

[Archer]

Cook Strait is the waterway between the North and South Islands. It's located at about 41 degrees south (that's the roaring forties) and is the conduit between the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean. As you can imagine the currents through it are huge, and the waves regularly get higher than 10 metres. The true stupidity of these fellows can be illustrated by the photos below.
http://www.gunn.co.nz/aqua/images/Mi...ook-Strait.jpg
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ho...60suilven1.gif
http://www.hmnzsotago.co.nz/otagofol...shopwindow.jpg
http://www.brazen.net.nz/wahine.jpg
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/Gallery/...s/wahine-2.jpg

Give them a break, you wetblanket. ;)

All my life, I have wanted to do something big

[Parihaka]

Give them a break, you wetblanket. ;)

LOL, this is the adventure capital of the world, you (and I have) can bungy jump, drive a jet boat, parapont, ski, ski tour, climb, mountain climb, free climb, drive F3 cars around Mansfield, hunt, shoot, fish, and yes, just like dear old Burt build a superbike out of spare parts and race it at Bonneville. (cool story that one, eh?)
Take it from me, these guys are idiots

[Archer]

"Where would the world be without eccentrics". :)


"The line between genius and insanity is often a thin one".

Say what you will - there is something delightfully insane about a couple of men in a raft with broomsticks.

[sappersgt]

Otter recaptured!

June 21, 2006 - 2:44PM


Jin the otter is still on the loose after leading a daring breakout from Auckland Zoo.

The four-year-old Asiatic short-clawed otter dug her way through two walls and scaled a 1.8 metre barrier to get out of the zoo last week.

She then swam across the city's harbour.

Two other escapee otters were recaptured the next day, but there was no sign of Jin until she was spotted at a North Shore suburb 10km from the zoo and on the other side of Waitemata Harbour.

"While otters are good swimmers, we're absolutely stunned at the distance she has travelled," curator Maria Finnigan said.

Zoo carnivore keeper Trent Barclay has a few theories.

"We figure maybe she made her way down to the foreshore and maybe caught the outgoing tide which shunted her across the harbour there," Barclay told Radio New Zealand.

"The alternative is taking the harbour bridge which would probably be a bit more hazardous for her."

Government conservation workers and zoo staff are searching the area where Jin was last sighted and even playing tape recordings of otter calls in an attempt to lure her into a trap.

According to CNN Jin the Otter and two other miscreant otters were recaptured today! Maybe they were just on holiday!? ;)

[Parihaka]

Dangerous driving charge against armless man dropped

Dangerous driving charge against armless man dropped

11.00am Friday September 1, 2006

A dangerous driving charge against an armless man was dropped by police today as his trial was set to begin.

Colin Raymond Smith, 31, a Tauranga beneficiary, had pleaded not guilty and was to argue that driving with his feet was not dangerous.

The case was dropped in Tauranga District Court today.

Smith, who was born without arms, has apparently been driving with the use of his feet for years without any problems.

He was charged after being stopped for speeding on State Highway 2 near Papamoa mid-morning on March 23.

Smith, clocked at 121km/h in a 100km/h zone, was issued with infringement notices for speeding and driving without a licence, which he did not dispute.

Police later laid a charge of driving in a manner which might have been dangerous to the public, which Smith denied.

'armless enough I suppose
- NZPA

[Parihaka]

Playboy seeks charity cut

Wednesday November 8, 2006
By Jarrod Booker

A Christchurch man is negotiating with Playboy Enterprises to try to avoid a hefty lawsuit after the American company accused him of illegally using its trademarks at a charity event.

The lawsuit has been filed in the New Zealand courts against Craig Douglas, who organised a Playboy Ball in Christchurch in September that drew celebrities such as All Black Byron Kelleher.

The ball raised $20,000 for children's charities such as Koru Care.

Mr Douglas contacted Playboy before the event and understood he was allowed to use the name made famous by sex mogul Hugh Hefner and Playboy magazine. Mr Douglas even invited Mr Hefner to the ball, but did not receive a reply.

Playboy sought 25 per cent of the takings, but Mr Douglas refused.

Since then, Playboy had written to Mr Douglas advising him of a lawsuit being brought based on a series of trademark infractions.

A court date has been set down for next week in Christchurch when a telephone conference between the parties is expected to take place.

I guess those girlfriends of his cost a lot to maintain

[Ray]

Sex is not cheap or so it appears.

[Parihaka]

A clumsy constable attending a domestic dispute in Central Auckland accidentally shocked himself and a teenager with a taser gun before pepper-spraying an innocent woman, reports said on Saturday.

The constable was loading his weapon when he accidentally blasted himself with the stun gun's 50,000 volts while trying to stun a man at the centre of the incident last month, the New Zealand Herald reports.

Another shot hit the man's 16-year-old son.

After five attempts to hit the man, the officer eventually used pepper spray, but succeeded only in hitting the man's 21-year-old daughter, an unintended target.

The wanted man eventually gave himself up.

[gilgamesh]

A clumsy constable attending a domestic dispute in Central Auckland accidentally shocked himself and a teenager with a taser gun before pepper-spraying an innocent woman, reports said on Saturday.

The constable was loading his weapon when he accidentally blasted himself with the stun gun's 50,000 volts while trying to stun a man at the centre of the incident last month, the New Zealand Herald reports.

Another shot hit the man's 16-year-old son.

After five attempts to hit the man, the officer eventually used pepper spray, but succeeded only in hitting the man's 21-year-old daughter, an unintended target.

The wanted man eventually gave himself up.

Son of Clouseau ?

[Parihaka]

Teenager pledges to drink and drive again

Teenager pledges to drink and drive again

8.45am Monday December 11, 2006

A teenager whose high-speed drink-driving left his girlfriend in hospital is promising to drink and drive again.

Rae Rae, 16, has admitted drinking heavily before driving his Toyota early on Saturday in South Auckland.

He had three other teenaged passengers and during a police pursuit the car crashed into a lamp post and caught fire.

Anita Matangi was pulled injured from the car and remains in hospital.

"I would do it again but with no-one in the car besides me. I would drink and drive again with just me in the car," Rae told National Radio.

His younger sister was also injured in the crash.

Rae said he had been drinking alcohol including beer and pre-mixed drinks.

"Too much to drink for me to be behind the wheel."

His sister estimated Rae hit 180km/h in a 50km/h zone.

Another sister said Rae would not have learned his lesson and would be enjoying the publicity.

Alcohol watch groups and police have slammed the behaviour and that of family and friends who supply young teenagers with alcohol.

Rae's mother told National Radio she gave her son alcohol and would not be punishing him.

"Every time I told him not to drink too much but he don't listen. He ignore it," she said.

"I don't blame him because he was working hard. He needs something to relax."

Police said the incident would be investigated by the police complaints authority.

They have not so far said whether Rae is likely to face charges.

[glyn]

What a caring mother the boy has! Is she going to be charged by the police?