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The View From Down Under Most Americans I think have a high regard for Aussies, based on our traditional mutual support of one another in our common wars. These positive views were I believe re-enforced recently with the rather sudden appearance of a whole bunch of first-rate Aussie movies in the 70s -- among some of my favorites would be Gallipoli and Breaker Morant. Then of course everybody loved Mel Gibson and Crocodile Dundee. Aussie culture quickly became the latest rage with the American in crowd. But Americans really don't know what Aussies think about them. And I think...

Knickers in knot over undies Beijing - The Olympic dress code applies to places never seen, it seems, with the New Zealand hockey manager banished from the field at a crucial men's match because officials objected to his players' underwear. Kevin Marr was ordered to watch the must-win match against Germany from the grandstand as punishment for three players wearing black underwear beneath white shorts in an earlier match. Initially, the officials wanted to suspend the players involved - Bradley Shaw, Simon Child and Blair Hopping - but Marr successfully argued it was unfair because he was in charge of...

A NEW Zealand court has allowed a parade of topless porn stars on motor bikes to proceed on the main street of Auckland, local media said today. Auckland City Council had sought a court injunction to stop the "Boobs on Bikes" parade, scheduled for Wednesday, saying it breached a bylaw banning offensive public events. But Judge Nicola Mathers said while opponents may find the parade offensive or tasteless, the fact that 80,000 people had gathered for a similar event last year meant a significant number of people did not agree with the critics, New Zealand Press Association said.

A newspaper report from Dannevirke featuring a comment which equates gay men with paedophiles has angered the manager of a nationwide LGBT support service. In a meeting of Dannevirke residents who oppose plans for a brothel opening in the small town's main street, the president of the Tararua chapter of the Full Gospel Business Men's fellowship - a religious group – reacted specifically to a plan by the brothel to offer a gay service. According to the Manawatu Standard, Garth Taylor announced: "Most paedophiles are homosexuals, and you know we don't want to bring that here." "This is shocking," reacts...

After her brief visit to Perth, the United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, will fly to New Zealand tonight. Dr Rice will fly into Auckland tonight and her minders will need to be on alert after a student group announced a reward for anyone who could arrest her. Auckland University's Student Association is offering $5,000 to anyone who can make a citizen's arrest. Association president David Do says Ms Rice should be ashamed of her role in the Iraq war. "I think New Zealanders have an inherent sense of fairness and justice and they understand why we are doing...

A judge in New Zealand made a young girl a ward of court so that she could change the name she hated - Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. Judge Rob Murfitt said that the name embarrassed the nine-year-old and could expose her to teasing. He attacked a trend of giving children bizarre names, citing several examples. Officials had blocked Sex Fruit, Keenan Got Lucy and Yeah Detroit, he said, but Number 16 Bus Shelter, Violence and Midnight Chardonnay had been allowed. One mother wanted to name her child O.crnia using text language, but was later persuaded to use Oceania,...

Christopher Lee offers his voice for Smaug… won’t go back to NZ. July 13th, 2008 by Compa_Mighty In a bittersweet note, forummer DiveTwin reports this note that appeared in Cinematical:

More than 30 Indian youths have disappeared in New Zealand, where they were in transit to go to Sydney for World Youth Day, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Church said Monday. Lyndsay Freear told Radio New Zealand that a party of 220 Indian Catholics who arrived in Auckland a week ago were due to fly to Sydney Tuesday, but 32 of them had disappeared. All were billeted with church members in Auckland under a so-called Days in the Diocese programme before going to Australia, where Pope Benedict arrived Sunday for events associated with World Youth Day. Freear said all the...

Two refrigeration engineers have been convicted by a New Zealand court for depleting the ozone layer. The country's Ministry for Economic Development prosecuted the two men in the first ever case taken under a 1996 law protecting the ozone layer.

President Bush returned to the White House today (presumably from Camp David). He was accompanied by Secretary of State Rice. First Lady Laura Bush made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Sunday with an appeal to the international community not to abandon the war-torn country in the face of resurgent Taliban violence. President and Mrs. Bush Saddened by Death of Jim McKay Laura and I were saddened to learn of the passing of Jim McKay. For a generation of Americans, Jim was more than the much-honored host of Wide World of Sports and ABC's Olympic coverage. He was a...

Humans May Have Come To New Zealand Later Than ThoughtHumans Arrived In New Zealand 1,000 Years Later Than Believed, New Study Finds WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Jun. 3, 2008 (AP) Radiocarbon dating of rat bones and rat-gnawed seeds reinforces a theory that human settlers did not arrive in New Zealand until 1300 A.D. _ about 1,000 years later than some scientists believe, according to a study released Tuesday. The first settlement date "has been highly debated for decades," said Dr. Janet Wilmshurst, a New Zealander who led the international team of researchers in the four-year study. The team carbon dated rat...

Road workers in a small New Zealand town got their wish granted when a woman stripped saying she was fed up with their wolf-whistles.

A man in New Zealand has been charged with using a hedgehog as a weapon, the New Zealand Herald has reported. Police said William Singalargh, 27, had hurled the hedgehog about 5m (16ft) at a 15-year-old boy. "It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks," said Senior Sgt Bruce Jenkins, in the North Island town of Whakatane. It was unclear whether the hedgehog was still alive when it was thrown, though it was dead when collected as evidence. The police spokesman said the suspect was arrested "for assault with a weapon, namely...

Fresh protests in New Zealand on Monday have highlighted concerns about China's treatment of Tibet. They come as Helen Clark leaves on an overseas trip which will see her sign a free trade agreement with the giant dictatorship. In Dunedin and Wellington, pro-Tibet protesters were demanding that human rights be respected by China and demanding that the PM rethink her free trade deal. "I think that Helen Clark should not be doing it especially when the situation is like this," says one of the protesters. The situation in Tibet is sensitive for China as it prepares to host the Olympics....

NZ's Pamplona Sheep Run..lol Sheep have raced along the streets of a New Zealand town as it tries to imitate Spain's Pamplona bull run.

Aug. 4, 2004 21:16 | Updated Aug. 4, 2004 22:01 New Zealand passport scam takes Canadian twist By HERB KEINON The New Zealand passport flap is thickening, with Canada trying to determine whether one of the Israelis allegedly involved in the scam who managed to leave New Zealand is traveling on a stolen Canadian passport. Canadian Foreign Ministry spokesman Reynald Doiron confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that the Canadian police and other federal agencies are investigating whether Ze'ev Barkan, one of the men New Zealand suspects of involvement in the scandal but who has reportedly left the country, is traveling...

China will sign its first free trade pact with a developed country on April 7 when it inks a deal with New Zealand, according to reports here Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT Details of the agreement, the result of three years of negotiations, will not be released until after the signing ceremony. The New Zealand government has confirmed the date and Prime Minister Helen Clark will lead a delegation of 150 business and government representatives to Beijing for the ceremony, the New Zealand Press Association said.

SYDNEY — A New Zealand man has been sentenced to community service after telling police he was raped by a wombat and the experience had made him speak "Australian".[snip]Cradock pleaded guilty in the local court to using a phone for a fictitious purpose. He was sentenced to 75 hours' community work. Police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Stringer told the court alcohol played a large role in Cradock's life.

Their weapons may not sound like much: two belts, a newspaper and a rose-pattern blanket. But six Chinese immigrants from Chamblee all but gift-wrapped an international fugitive for authorities recently, ending a five-month manhunt for a self-described martial arts expert twice featured on "America's Most Wanted." Nai Yin Xue had sought cover in Atlanta's Mandarin-speaking community. There, he encountered a scrappy band of cooks and deliverymen whose possessions, though few, include a good memory and a keen sense of justice. Now the "Chamblee Six" await final details of a sizable reward from New Zealand police. Today, the five men and...

New Zealand dolphin rescued stranded whales Last Updated: 6:10pm GMT 12/03/2008 A dolphin led a pair of stranded whales to safety on Monday after all efforts by a human rescuer had failed. Mr Smith said he was 'not aware dolphins could communicate with pygmy sperm whales' The pygmy sperm whales, a 10ft female and her 7ft male calf, were seen to be in trouble off a New Zealand beach. They appeared to have become confused by a sandbar near the beach and could not find their way back to open water. Conservation Officer Malcolm Smith was called to Mahia beach,...

Moko is well known locally for playing with swimmers in the bay A dolphin has come to the rescue of two whales which had become stranded on a beach in New Zealand. Conservation officer Malcolm Smith told the BBC that he and a group of other people had tried in vain for an hour and a half to get the whales to sea. The pygmy sperm whales had repeatedly beached, and both they and the humans were tired and set to give up, he said. But then the dolphin appeared, communicated with the whales, and led them to safety....

Press Release: New Zealand Government Strategic assets to be protected in national interest Greater protection for New Zealand’s major strategic assets will be delivered by new Overseas Investment provisions announced by Finance Minister Michael Cullen today. A new regulation under the Overseas Investment Act 2005 was introduced by Order in Council today. The regulation will bolster the factors Ministers may take into account when considering overseas investment applications that affect a very narrow range of strategically important assets. The changes have been made in response to the uncertainty and debate that have emerged surrounding the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board’s...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A rare and threatened species of tiny frog has been found breeding in a New Zealand animal park, meaning its future may now be more secure, researchers said Monday. The 13 finger nail-sized Maud Island froglets were discovered clinging to the backs of full-grown male frogs at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in the capital Wellington, said researcher Kerri Lukis. The frogs are normally found only on two islands in the Malborough Sounds region of New Zealand's South Island. "Maud Island frogs have never been found breeding" before, even on their home island, said Lukis, a masters...

Hijacker 'wanted plane taken to Australia' Posted 10 hours 54 minutes ago Updated 7 hours 37 minutes ago The 33-year-old woman allegedly threatened to blow up the 19-seat plane and stabbed two pilots. (Reuters) Video: View video and pictures of the arrest (TVNZ) Video: Hijacker wanted plane taken to Australia: police (ABC News) Audio: Woman stabs pilots, attempts hijacking in NZ (PM) Related Story: NZ hijack attempt highlights security fears: Pyne Related Story: No bombs found after NZ hijack attempt Police say a Somali woman charged with trying to hijack an Air New Zealand flight this morning wanted the...

Woman wounds pilots on New Zealand plane Fri Feb 8, 12:27 AM ET A knife-wielding woman tried to hijack a regional domestic flight in New Zealand Friday, stabbing both pilots and threatening to blow up the twin-propeller plane before she was subdued, police said. The wounded pilots were able to land the plane safety in Christchurch, causing chaos at the popular tourist city's airport as police and emergency crews rushed onto the tarmac to arrest the suspect, evacuate the six passengers and search the plane for bombs. The airport was closed for about three hours. Air New Zealand, the national...

The 33-year-old woman allegedly threatened to blow up the 19-seat plane and stabbed two pilots. Police say a Somali woman charged with trying to hijack an Air New Zealand flight this morning wanted the plane taken to Australia. The 33-year-old allegedly threatened to blow up the 19-seat plane and stabbed two pilots in the cockpit - one in the hand and the other in the foot. Police say she claimed two bombs were on the twin-engine Jetstream aircraft, which was travelling from the South Island town of Blenheim, but none have been found. The woman was to appear in court...

Kiwis have most suicidal thoughts Feb 7, 2008 10:44 AM A global study shows suicidal thoughts are most common among New Zealanders. The largest ever study of such behaviours found that 9.2% of the world's population has contemplated suicide, but fewer than 3% actually make an attempt. And while the percentage of people who have considered suicide varies considerably from country to country, the overall risk factors - being female, having less education, being younger, being unmarried and having mental disorders - were the same across all of the 17 nations included in the analysis. "Suicidal thoughts are not so...

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A woman passenger on a New Zealand commuter plane stabbed both pilots and threatened to blow up the 19-seat aircraft, police said on Friday. The attack on the pilots, who were not seriously hurt, happened about 20 minutes into the flight between the South Island centers of Blenheim and Christchurch, police said. The plane landed at Christchurch, where police with dogs boarded it and arrested a 33-year-old woman, who is originally from Somalia. The woman was in police custody in Christchurch but the motive for the attack was still unclear, Canterbury District Commander Superintendent Dave Cliff told...

The entire body of the Jewish people today – in Israel, in Europe, in America, in Australia and New Zealand, and throughout the world – is in grave danger. Our very existence as a people and as a faith is in jeopardy. The threat to our survival has two components to it: the external siege being waged against Israel and the Jewish people throughout the world by the international jihadist movement, its sympathizers and appeasers; and the internal siege that we Jews, both in Israel and in the Diaspora, including the United States, are waging against ourselves.

Sir Edmund Hillary, the lanky New Zealand mountaineer and explorer who with Tenzing Norgay, his Sherpa guide, won worldwide acclaim in 1953 by becoming the first to scale the 29,035-foot summit of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak, has died, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced Friday in Wellington. He was 88.

He was a darling to all those who lived in the harsh and hostile mountains under the protective gaze of Sagarmatha. He was a blessing for the Sherpas. He worked tirelessly to bring water and electricity in the upper reaches of the mountains where they lived. He built hospitals and schools. He was a true mountaineer in all sense and sensibilities. On the morning of 29 May, 1953, Edmund Hillary stepped on the summit of Mt. Everest along with Tenzing Norgay, shot into limelight and refused to fade away even after the evening of his life. Sir Edmund was concerned...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10485440 A Kiwi priest has died a hero after sacrificing his life for a 7-year-old boy drowning off the coast of New Caledonia. Jeremy Gray, 29, was walking in shallow water with the boy while on a New Year's church picnic celebration, when the pair fell into a hole in a coastal reef at Yate, near Noumea. Neither of them saw the hole because the water was muddied by the recent rainy season floods. They were trapped by the swirling seas. Gray managed to push the boy out of the deep water and back into the shallows and, despite being...

The medal was awarded to 21 New Zealanders Nine rare and valuable Victoria Cross (VC) medals awarded for acts of extreme bravery in combat have been stolen from a military museum in New Zealand.The thieves managed to evade security patrols, cameras and an alarm when they broke into the Army Museum in Waiouru on North Island early on Sunday. Defence Minister Phil Goff called the raid "a crime against the nation". Military officials estimate the medals are worth millions of dollars, but say they will be difficult to sell. The Victoria Cross, inscribed "For valour", is the highest honour...

New Zealand's largest glaciers are retreating fast in the face of global warming and could disappear altogether, scientists said Monday. A report by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said the volume of ice in New Zealand's Southern Alps had shrunk almost 11 percent in the past 30 years. More than 90 percent of this loss was because the 12 largest glaciers in the mountain range were melting due to rising temperatures, NIWA said. The glaciers have passed a threshold, causing the ice to collapse and creating large lakes at their base, the report said. "The 12...

Japan has confirmed that it will carry out its largest whaling programme in the South Pacific. The mission, expected to draw strong protests from environmentalists, will depart on Sunday and breaks a 44-year moratorium on hunting humpback whales. Japan's fisheries ministry said the fleet had instructions to kill up to 1,000 whales, including 50 humpbacks.

A new survey has shown that Kiwi women are the most promiscuous in the world, with an average of 20.4 sexual partners. The survey, by condom-maker Durex, questioned 26 thousand people in 26 countries... The poll showed that Kiwi women are up there with Austrian men, who have 29.3 sexual partners. New Zealand emerged as the only country where women have more sexual partners than their men.

I recently wrote about my Wife's experience while serving at a hospital in Tanzania with a 24 year old New Zealander. The girl was well versed in anti-American propaganda and felt compelled to heap abuse on my Wife. The Wife is quite capable of defending herself, but she lacks my background knowledge of American foreign policy and world history. During our brief phone call, I provided her with some basic facts to combat the Kiwi's propaganda regurgitations. Afterward I decided to dig deeper into the youngster's bigotry and did some research into New Zealand's attitudes towards Americans. What I found...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorOctober 8, 2007Wellington, New Zealand (LifeNews.com) -- The leading pro-life group in New Zealand has won the first court battle on its challenge of a 1977 abortion law. Right to Life of New Zealand took the law to the nation's high court saying that it was intended to provide abortion guidelines but has, instead, been used to promote unlimited abortions for any reason.Right To Life New Zealand filed suit against the Abortion Supervisory Committee saying the agency has misinterpreted the law. The measure was approved "with the objectives of stopping abortion on demand and to provide effective...

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!   For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.   Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     ~ Hall of Heroes ~Nancy Wake"The White Mouse"Info and some photos from this website.             Young Rebel from http://www.nzedge.com  Nancy Wake was born in the gusty heights of Roseneath, Wellington, New Zealand, on 13 August 1912 to Charles Augustus and Ella Rosieur Wake, the youngest of six children. The biography Nancy Wake, by Australian...

New Zealand in flap over plans for new flag By Nick Squires in Sydney Last Updated: 1:56am BST 01/10/2007 Union flag or rugby ponga? New Zealand's prime minister, Helen Clark, has suggested removing the Union flag from her country's national flag. Ms Clark said that removing the British emblem would "New Zealandise" the flag, leaving it as a stylised Southern Cross on a blue background. New Zealanders have agonised for years over whether to change their national emblem, with some recoiling at the inclusion of the Union flag and wanting it replaced with a Maori-influenced design. The most favoured alternative...

SAN FRANCISCO - Air New Zealand is delving into the gay and lesbian market with a special themed flight featuring drag queens, pink cocktails and a cabaret performed by flight crew. The destination for the airline's one-time "Pink Flight," on Feb. 26, ex San Francisco, is the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia, one of the world's most well-attended gay events, said Jodi Williams, an Air New Zealand marketing director. "We're tailoring inseat entertainment with gay-friendly movies, contests, different music and things like that," Williams said. The airline also plans to throw a going away party for passengers,...

The New Zealand secret service has suggested the Chinese government was behind attacks on the country's networks. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday assured reporters that no classified information had been compromised but ... "We have very smart people to provide protection every time an attack is tried. Obviously, we learn from that," ... Warren Tucker, New Zealand's Security Intelligence Service director, hinted ...that the Chinese government was responsible for the attacks, referring to previous allegations about the country's spying activities by Canada's secret service. The allegations come only a week after the Chinese foreign ministry denied that the...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorAugust 31, 2007Wellington, New Zealand (LifeNews.com) -- The leading pro-life group in New Zealand is calling on that nation's parliament to draft legislation to make it illegal for people or groups to pressure or coerce a woman into having an abortion. The measure is similar to legislation some states in the United States have considered.Right to Life New Zealand cites the bill the Michigan legislature approved as evidence that this kind of legislation is not without precedent.The group says it is "trying to establish procedures to make sure that a woman is not intimidated into an abortion...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- New Zealand refused several times to take detainees the U.S. wanted to relocate from its Guantanamo Bay military prison, a senior official said Monday. "In 2005 and early 2006, New Zealand declined several requests from the United States to resettle Guantanamo Bay detainees as refugees in New Zealand," the Labor Department's refugee services director Kevin Third said in a statement. He was responding to questions after it was revealed that Washington had asked Canada to accept detainees of Uighur descent, because they were likely to be at risk if sent back to China. Earlier this...

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!   For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.   Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     ~ Hall of Heroes ~CPT Charles Hazlitt Upham VC             Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham VC and bar (September 21, 1908 - November 22, 1994) was a New Zealand solider who won the Victoria Cross twice during World War II. Earning the Victoria Cross and Bar for outstanding gallantry and leadership in Crete in May...

New Zealand Publisher Begins Newspaper Editorial Outsourcing Program WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Newspaper publisher APN News & Media began outsourcing editorial production work Sunday, a strategy being watched by media outlets in other countries, a senior executive said. An outside contractor now will do the editing and layout work for The New Zealand Herald -- the nation's biggest daily -- along with several regional papers and weeklies, said APN deputy chief executive Rick Neville. Starting Sunday, 20 full-time sub-editors at contractor Pagemasters New Zealand will be "operating on an extension of APN's 'Cyber' computer editorial production system" at a...

A thief was convicted and fined after being spotted on a video posted on the Web site YouTube. The man was taped slowly circling the store, stealing a laptop computer, slipping the computer into his overcoat and stepping out of the store in the South Island town of Greymouth, local media reported Friday. The whole performance was posted on YouTube — set to “The Pink Panther� music track — and attracted 500,000 hits from around the globe. One viewer recognized the man and alerted police. Dawson Anthony Bliss, 50, was convicted of theft in Greymouth District Court on Thursday after...

WELLINGTON (AFP) - They say you are what you eat, and growing numbers of vegans are shunning sex with meat-eaters because they see them as "a graveyard for animals", a New Zealand researcher says. These vegans not only refuse to eat meat or animal products but refuse to have sexual contact with meat-eaters because their bodies are made up of dead animals, the researcher was reported saying in The Press newspaper on Tuesday. Annie Potts, co-director of the New Zealand Centre of Human and Animal Studies at New Zealand's Canterbury University, said she coined the term vegansexuals during her research....

Gore, once satirised as the gay capital of New Zealand, has now been labelled one of the least homosexual towns in New Zealand. In 1999, television personality Mickey Havoc named the town New Zealand's gay capital – and the mayor of the time, Mary Ogg, was quoted in newspapers saying she wouldn't let them back and they would be run out of town if they ever returned. However, The Sunday Star Times yesterday reported that statistics New Zealand figures showed Gore was one of the least homosexual towns in New Zealand with just three gay couples residing in the area....

Pup sacrifices life for young girl By FAYE ADAMS - Eastern Courier | Monday, 16 July 2007 HERO: Jo Russell says Mickey is 'her hero' after the little dog procted her daughter from a savage attack. DEVASTATED: Jo and Laura Russell are heartbroken over the loss of their little dog, Mickey. A family's celebrations turned to tragedy when their dog was killed defending their daughter from a pitbull attack. Jo and Gary Russell say they are heartbroken at the loss of their silky terrier Mickey but are relieved their daughter Laura, who had been celebrating her 13th birthday, escaped unhurt....