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Read Between The Lines: Hollywood Mogul Buys 2,600 Acres Of Farmland; Moving To New Zealand Mac Slavo February 1st, 2012 James Cameron, the Hollywood producer responsible for blockbuster films like Terminator, Titanic and Avatar, is reportedly preparing to exit stage left. While the move for the Canadian born Cameron may initially be perceived as a rejection or denouncement of American policies and ideals, Cameron, who has made campaign donations to the Democrat Party in the past, most notably during the 2004 Presidential election where he supported democrat John Kerry, may have ulterior motivations, as evidenced by where he’s planning on...

SEOUL - South Korean security authorities were ready to carry out on-board inspections of a Bahama-registered freighter after being tipped off that the ship might carry some members of Al-Qaeda, police said on Thursday. The 17,000-tonne freighter, the Athenia, which was suspected of carrying members of Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda group, was due to arrive at the southwestern port of Kunsan late Thursday, the police said. “We have been informed that Al Qaeda members might be hiding in the ship,” a police officer in charge of foreign affairs in Kunsan Police station told AFP. “When the ship reaches the...

HONOLULU: Canada, Mexico and at least two other countries have expressed interest in joining US-led talks for a pan-Pacific trade pact, a US Republican lawmaker said on Friday after Japan asked to take part. “There’s a good deal of momentum for the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership),” Representative Kevin Brady said after meetings with members of President Barack Obama’s administration at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. That momentum was evidenced by Japan’s announcement earlier on Friday that it was interested in joining the talks “and what seem to be very solid inquiries from Canada, Mexico and a few others,” Brady...

The failed Range Fuels wood-to-ethanol factory in southeastern Georgia that sucked up $65 million in federal and state tax dollars was sold Tuesday for pennies on the dollar to another bio-fuel maker with equally grand plans to transform the alternative energy world. LanzaTech, a New Zealand-based biofuel company, paid $5.1 million for the plant in Soperton. Its main financial backer: Vinod Khosla, a California entrepreneur who also bankrolled Range Fuels, and helped secure its government loans, before Range went bust last year. LanzaTech hasn't received the same type of loans, but the company has received $7 million from the U.S....

New Zealand's earthquake-devastated city of Christchurch has been rocked by two powerful earthquakes in quick succession, damaging some buildings and forcing evacuations. The shallow tremors, both measuring 5.8 in magnitude, were 70 minutes apart but police say there are no reports of any serious injury or damage. It is being reported that one person was injured inside a shopping centre and has been taken to hospital. The first quake struck 20 kilometres north-east of Christchurch at a depth of less than five kilometres at 1:58pm (local time). The Christchurch airport and several other buildings in the area have been evacuated....

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his British counterpart David Cameron both stood up for their respective national interests last week and stared down a host of unelected (and unaccountable) bureaucratic rule makers. In doing so, they confirmed their position in the vanguard of conservative political leadership slowly gathering momentum in the anglophone world. How did they do this? They just said “no.” In Harper’s case, it was the rent seekers and incorrigible do-gooders behind the Kyoto protocols who were given their comeuppance. Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent told Kyoto cheerleaders in Durban that Canada is counting itself out of...

“I’d rather go to war in a Typhoon than in a F-18 (Super) Hornet” an Aussie exchange pilot says December 5, 2011 “I’d rather go to war in a Typhoon than in a F-18 Hornet”. This alleged Australian exchange pilot’s statement is one of the most interesting outcomes (and marketing slogans) of BERSAMA LIMA 11 an exercise marking the 40th Anniversary of the Five Powers Defence Agreement (FPDA) the only multilateral defence agreement in South East Asia with an operational element commitment undertaken by five nations (UK, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Australia) to consult in the event of an...

A church in New Zealand has put up a billboard showing the Virgin Mary looking worriedly at a pregnancy test. This is brought to you by the same jerks that brought you this billboard last year. This church has fallen into the same trap that so many fall into. There's no point to these billboards other than "look at me!" This isn't theology. It's not even evangelizing. It's advertising. It's we're the funny hep church. We're cool. They're just moron publicity seekers.

US offered F-16s ‘to anticipate rising China’ Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The United States has reportedly asked for Indonesia’s help to counter the increasing influence of China, particularly in the South China Sea, which some foreign policy analysts say reflects the US’ strategy of “proxy by war”. An Indonesian source, who closely followed the contacts between the two countries, recently told The Jakarta Post that the US had asked Indonesia to receive 24 used F-16 fighter jets from the US, rather than purchasing new ones that would come in a fourth number of the granted units. The Indonesian...

New Zealand's giant weta is the heaviest insect in the world and this one is the largest ever recorded.

Apologies if this has already been postedAs you sit down with your family on Thanksgiving and consider offering a prayer of gratitude, be aware the turkey at the center of the table may have already been "blessed" – in the name of Allah. Customer service representatives from Butterball, one of America's most popular Turkey brands, confirmed to WND that the company's whole turkeys are – without being labeled as such – slaughtered according to Islamic "halal" standards. "Halal slaughter involves cutting the trachea, the esophagus and the jugular vein and letting the blood drain out while saying, 'Bismillah allahu akbar'...

A three-year-old girl fended for herself for two days by eating cheese and leftover lasagne after her mother died suddenly. Shylah Silbery, from Wellington, New Zealand, hugged her favourite toy - a teddy bear named Possum - as she waited alone in the house near her mother's body. She was rescued when 28-year-old Lauren Silbery's brother alerted the authorities when he did not hear from his sister, whom he talked to every night.

Death Row Inmate Sues Over Lack of Halal Meals

A snapshot of New Zealand's climate 40 million years ago reveals a greenhouse Earth, with warmer seas and little or no ice in Antarctica, according to research recently published in the journal Geology. The study suggests that Antarctica at that time was yet to develop extensive ice sheets. Back then, New Zealand was about 1100 km further south, at the same latitude as the southern tip of South America -- so was closer to Antarctica -- but the researchers found that the water temperature was 23-25°C at the sea surface and 11-13°C at the bottom. "This is too warm to...

MiG-21 touches down on Auckland roof By Greg Waldron on September 14, 2011 Came across a great story on the Auckland Now web site of a New Zealand businessman who has mounted a Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21 on the roof of his office building. The report says Manfred Bennet plans to put fabric around the aircraft's tail and then blow it with a fan to give the impression the aircraft is flying. Bennet is also planning on setting up a flight simulation centre for types such as the F-16, F-111, and the F-18. He is also working on prototype helicopter that...

St Matthew-in-the-City Congratulates Anglican Diocese on Support for GLBT Members Saturday, September 3 was a huge day in the ongoing struggle to end discrimination against GLBT members of the Anglican Church. The Revd Glynn Cardy rejoiced that, “Never before has an Auckland Synod so clearly, overwhelmingly, and emphatically endorsed the being, relationships and ministry of its gay and lesbian memberships!” For the first time an Auckland Diocesan bishop publicly said he would be willing to discern and ordain GLBT candidates for ordained ministry, including if they were in committed same-sex relationships. The Revd Cardy observed, “We thank him for his...

NEW Zealand has appointed its 20th Governor-General, former military commander Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae. The 56-year-old was sworn-in to a five-year term today in a formal ceremony in front of Parliament. The ceremony included a native Maori welcome and a military parade. ..... Mateparae, who is Maori, joined the New Zealand Army in 1972 and rose through the ranks to become Chief of New Zealand's Defence Force.

WELLINGTON (BNO NEWS) -- Heavy snow fell in many parts of the North and South Islands of New Zealand on Monday, causing major disruption, closing schools, roads and airports, the local daily New Zealand Herald reported on Tuesday. Forecasters have said that more snow is expected to strike much of the country later on Tuesday, turning the novelty into far more treacherous conditions. The blizzards have already caused a number of car accidents as well as power outages in hundreds of houses which were left in very cold conditions. Meanwhile, severe disruptions are again expected on Tuesday for schools, businesses...

The tiny Pacific nation of Niue is having a new set of coins with Star War characters emblazoned on them. However, the 2000 residents of Niue, which uses New Zealand currency is unlikely to use the $NZ2 coin for their regular shopping as it is worth way more than its value, Australia’s Herald Sun reported. The legendary film series - which has influenced literature, music, toys and popular culture for decades – is set make its first appearance on legal tender by November this year. The coin set, which includes eight one-ounce silver coins and 10 silver-plated metal coins, has...

The Palestine Human Rights Campaign is calling for other nations to support Helen Clark's condemnation of Israel. The Prime Minister has all but severed diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv after two Israeli men, thought to be government spies, were jailed for passport fraud. Campaign spokesman David Wakim says it is a long time since any government has spoken out against Israel in such a forceful way, but he says now the international community should wake up to what Israel is doing and follow suit. He claims the Israeli government is completely disrespectful of international law or borders, and the world...

The New Zealand Government called in an Israeli diplomat over suspected Mossad spies arrested in New Zealand, and demanded the Israeli Government return any bogus New Zealand passports it might have. The New Zealand Herald says, in a rare intervention, Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Jim Sutton summoned the Canberra-based Acting Israeli Ambassador Orna Sagiv a week ago after two Israeli men were arrested in Auckland allegedly trying to obtain a false New Zealand passport. Mr Sutton said the ambassador was called in to have the 'riot act' read - 'and for me to say on behalf of the New Zealand...

-excerpt- The Fairfax newspaper group, which didn't state how it obtained the information, said one of the Israelis who died was carrying at least five passports.

Authorities have launched an investigation into what a senior security official called "suspicious activities of several groups of Israelis during and immediately after the earthquake." The report claims Israel's reaction to the casualties and missing Israeli citizens was unprecedented. ... The report also claims that Israeli ambassador Shemi Tzur , who is posted in the capital Wellington, immediately ordered plane tickets to Christchurch. Furthermore, Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai also left immediately for the disaster-struck city.

Afghanistan began the long-publicized transition to control of its own security amid secrecy, not fanfare, on Sunday, a reminder of how tense the country is as foreign troops start to head home and violence spreads. Ministers flew to central Bamiyan province, one of the most peaceful places in Afghanistan, for a ceremony that was not announced in advance, did not run live on any TV channel and to which only a small number of media outlets were invited. The handover from New Zealand forces to Afghan police -- there is no Afghan army presence in the province -- is the...

WELLINGTON—New Zealand's Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Management issued a marine threat for the country's North Island after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck in the Kermadec Islands region in the southern Pacific Ocean early Thursday morning New Zealand time. "Confirmation been received that a tsunami was generated," the Ministry of Civil Defense said. It said a marine threat for Northland, Bay of Plenty, East Coast and Hawkes Bay had been identified. All are located on New Zealand's North Island. The ministry said the first wave would arrive in New Zealand round 8:52 a.m. local time. "

Just reported on FOX

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, July 5, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A group of advocates for individuals with Down syndrome has complained to an international human rights court that New Zealand’s prenatal screening program effectively targets disabled children for systematic eradication through abortion. Right to Life New Zealand (RTLNZ) revealed that they have joined their name to the complaint in a press release Tuesday. The complaint is being lodged at the International Criminal Court in The Hague by a group of thirty-seven parents or siblings who have a family member with Down syndrome. The complaint names the Minister of Health in the New...

When New Zealand's Maori tribes went into battle, combatants enveloped in kiwi feather cloaks were spared from harm by their foes. The laboriously crafted cloaks, known as Kahu kiwi, were so revered that some were given names -- one, called Karamaene, was traded with the Auckland Museum in exchange for a giant wooden war canoe. Now, kiwi DNA preserved in such cloaks -- some dating back to the nineteenth century -- has revealed clues to the origin and construction of Kahu kiwi, and hinted at a previously unknown trans-island feather trade1. David Lambert, an evolutionary geneticist at Griffith University in...

A New Zealand truck driver who inflated "like a balloon" when he fell buttocks-first onto a compressed air nozzle is being described as lucky to be alive. While working on Saturday, Steven McCormack slipped between the cab and the trailer of his truck and was impaled in the thigh by a high-pressure air cylinder which saw his body pumped full of compressed air. The 48-year-old Bay of Plenty truckie told the Whakatane Beacon he felt as if he was going to explode and began to scream as his neck, feet and hands swelled up. "I was blowing up like a...

New Zealand parents are outraged after learning some schools are helping to keep teenage girls’ abortions a secret, the Sunday Star-Times reports. One mom is angry that her 16-year-old daughter had a secret abortion allegedly arranged by a school counselor. "I was horrified. Horrified that she'd had to go through that on her own, and horrified her friends and counselors had felt that she shouldn't talk to us," she told the Star-Times. The mother learned that the school counselor had taken the girl for a scan and to doctors. “I didn’t know they could do that,” she said. Read more:...

Male doctors are four times more likely than female doctors to be disciplined for misconduct, and sexual misconduct is the most common reason for disciplinary action, a University of Melbourne, Australia study has found. Lead author, Ms Katie Elkin from the School of Population Health at the University of Melbourne said obstetrician-gynaecologists and psychiatrists had the highest rate of disciplinary action, followed by general practitioners. "This study provides for the first time, an accurate picture of the cases in which tribunals in Australia and New Zealand have found doctors guilty of misconduct," she said. "Previously, public perceptions in this area...

New Zealand seeks fresh bids for stored Skyhawks By Peter Clark New Zealand's defence ministry has put eight of its stored Douglas A/TA-4K Skyhawk ground-attack and training aircraft up for sale, with bids sought by 16 May. Part of a 17-strong fleet that was mothballed by the nation's Labour government after a 2001 decision, the package includes five single-seat A-4Ks and three two-seat TA-4Ks, plus up to 20 spare Pratt & Whitney J52 engines, ground support equipment and tooling. Auckland, which has failed to sell its fleet despite conducting a worldwide marketing programme over the past decade, says the eight...

Sorry for being gone awhile, but I came back with a superb shot of geysers in New Zealand: Rare triple eruption of Kereru, Prince of Wales Feathers and Pohutu Geysers, Te Puia, Rotorua. Click for full size!

Just a nice Sunday night version of Amazing Grace from a Memorial Service held for the victims of the New Zealand earthquake last week.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand >> A Chinese official said Monday that New Zealand should consider special compensation to parents of Chinese students killed in an earthquake last month because their loss was magnified under the country’s one-child policy. Seven students from China have been identified among the 166 confirmed deaths in the quake that devastated Christchurch city on Feb. 22, and as many as 20 others are still missing. Chinese Embassy official Cheng Lei said Monday that Chinese quake victims had lost not just their only child, but also a future breadwinner. He said New Zealand should consider providing additional financial...

A New Zealand teenager has faced death threats after boasting about stealing ice cream and insulted survivors of the devastating earthquake on her Facebook page. Amy Knowles, 16, sparked an embarrassed reaction from her mother after her page on the social networking site was bombarded with messages from furious residents. She was visiting Christchurch from her home in Canterbury when the earthquake struck on Tuesday. She wrote: 'Stole ice creams, got drunk and mished around seeing f***** up s***, earthquakes aren't soooo bad. 'Haha people give me s*** about loving in Rangiora. F*** you all, I have power, water, and...

US President Barack Obama on Thursday offered all help in rescue and relief operations, as he called New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to offer condolences over the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch. During the telephonic conversation, Obama noted that a US search and rescue team was on its way to New Zealand, and said the US was ready to provide whatever further support was needed in this difficult time. "The President underscored the close and enduring friendship between the American people and the people of New Zealand," the White House said. Prime Minister Key described the determination of the...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The terribly destructive earthquake that just hit Christchurch, New Zealand, was only a moderate 6.3 magnitude, but had certain characteristics that offer an important lesson to cities up and down the West Coast of North America that face similar risks, experts say. The New Zealand earthquake killed dozens – and some fear the death toll may rise to the hundreds – and was an aftershock of the much more powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck that nation last September near the same area, but caused no deaths. Even though this earthquake was weaker than last year’s event,...

2:59 pm Civil Defense HQ in Wellington is on level 3-its highest level fo a domestic incident. They are struggling to reach staff in Christchurch. 2:58 pm NZTA confirms tht all its staff, including those at the Lyttleton Tunnel, are safe. 2:54 pm All AM radio frequencies are out in Christchurch. Newstalk ZB is broadcasting on....

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand -- New Zealand's quake-ravaged Christchurch city was struck by a strong earthquake causing further damage after a strong quake hit the city last year, local media reported on Tuesday. The quake was measured at magnitude 6.3 by local scientists with a focal depth of 5 kilometres, 10 kilometres southwest of the country's second biggest city. Local media reported filing cabinets and computers being thrown from desks, damage to buildings, and a city bridge made impassable.

The stark cone of Mt Ngauruhoe played a leading role in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, featuring as a smouldering Mt Doom. Now, only five weeks out from the scheduled start of filming for The Hobbit prequel, local Maori are set to put their foot down and refuse permission for the Oscar-winning director to use the central North Island mountains again. The iwi considered them sacred. In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins and his entourage journey through the Misty Mountains on their way to confront the dragon Smaug at the Lonely Mountain.

PARIS (AFP) – Global warming may wipe out three-quarters of Europe's alpine glaciers by 2100 and hike sea levels by four metres (13 feet) by the year 3000 through melting the West Antarctic icesheet, two studies published on Sunday said. The research places the spotlight on two of the least understood aspects of climate change: how, when and where warming will affect glaciers on which many millions depend for their water, and the problems faced by generations in the far distant future. The glacier study predicts that mountain glaciers and icecaps will shrink by 15-27 percent in volume terms on...

> A valuable pedigreed cat that went missing from its New Zealand home turned up two days later a little different — it had been surgically castrated. > "What am I supposed to do now? I can't exactly get someone to sew them back on," she told the newspaper.

Carol Moseley Braun, whose career includes a term in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois and a stint as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, clearly has an impressive record of achievement behind her. One accomplishment that she can't claim, however, is having graduated with a degree from Harvard. Be that as it may, Braun did just that in a radio interview on a Chicago radio station last Wednesday, but Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune quickly caught the glitch. Braun, currently a candidate in Chicago's mayoral election, was speaking about the city's finances before changing the topic to education and saying:...

“A group that represents owners of dairies and small liquor stores says shop owners should be allowed to use weapons to defend themselves against violent attacks,” Radio New Zealand News reports. At first glance, it seems a real cultural disconnect for some of us in the U.S.—people asking others if they’re “allowed” to use tools to defend themselves, although isn’t that what getting “permits” is really all about? How is such presumption tolerated, let alone obeyed and even embraced as legitimate and necessary? We’re told a liquor store owner was attacked by a robber, and suffered a gunshot and a...

UPDATE: The column has reappeared with no explanation or acknowledgments. A “Riding Shotgun “ opinion column by writer Rachel Stewart in which she related how seeing openly armed patrons in Texas diners left her “spellbound and queasy” is no longer accessible on the Taranaki Daily News website. Clicking on the link where the piece formerly resided results in a “Not Found” error message. [UPDATE: The piece has now returned with no acknowledgement of any controversy.] This follows publication of my Gun Rights Examiner column pointing out that open carry is not permitted under Texas law, as well as email inquiries...

“Sitting down for dinner at any Texan diner, in my experience, often involves guns,” Rachel Stewart of the Tarnaki Daily News (New Zealand) informs her readers. I can't recall the exact number of times I have eaten a meal in the immediate company of a man, or men, with shooters on their hips in plain view. For me, I am always equal parts spellbound and queasy. Spellbound because there is something so fundamentally cowboy and western about it. Guns, freedom, country music and the Second Amendment. It is Texas after all. Yeeha! Try to recall the exact number, Ms. Stewart....

Charcoal recovered from lakebed sediment cores has shown that just a few large fires within 200 years of initial colonization destroyed much of the South Island's lowland forest. Dave McWethy and Cathy Whitlock from Montana State University led the international team that carried out the study. Previous research by co-authors Matt McGlone and Janet Wilmshurst at Landcare Research in New Zealand showed that closed forests covered 85-90 percent of New Zealand prior to the arrival of Polynesians (Maori ) 700-800 years ago, but by the time Europeans settled in the mid 19th century, grass and shrubs had replaced over 40...

The United States and New Zealand ended a near 25-year break in intelligence collaboration last year but kept the news secret... US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ...warned the news "should not be acknowledged in public".

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A gas explosion ripped through one of New Zealand's largest coal mines Friday while dozens of workers were underground. Five of them, dazed and slightly injured, stumbled to the surface but 27 were missing, officials said. One was blown off his vehicle by the blast, which happened at about 3:45 p.m. local time (9:45 p.m. ET Thursday), while working about 5,000 feet into the mine. Television footage showed blackened and singed trees and light smoke billowing from the top of a mountain where a 360-foot ventilation shaft emerges. A nearby hut had been blown down, suggesting...