In the news

Drawing my attention as I sit by the computer:

Magnetic Boy: a Serbian kid has extra sticky skin. Not sure why this is news, I've been sticking stuff to myself for a while. There are claims that he is somehow magnetic - but that makes no sense since some of the stuff that sticks to him is non-ferrous like porcelain plates ... just try a magnet on a dinner plate.

Decapitation in a supermarket: all the news reports focus on what happened after the attack - what about just before or during? This was a supermarket: where  were the shoppers? Did everyone just stand there while her head was hacked off?

Hone Harawira says Maori's are treated like dogs here: Well I suppose he's right in the sence that, like dogs, Maoris have a special protections in law here. The country of comparison, Australia, offers no such status - in fact, Maoris who have not nationalized will have restricted rights compared with full Australians. Is he suggesting that NZ should get rid of the special laws concerning Maoris so they will have the standing they have in Australia? Somehow I doubt it. I wonder how long it will take for one of his opponents to point this out?

Ideas for Chistchurch rebuilding expo:  a bit of a marketing thing isn't it? Nice for morale perhaps and gives the appearance that something is being done, but the reality is that CHCH will continue to look like a disaster-zone for a long time to come. There's a long-term real-estate opportunity there though.

Perhaps we can rebuild CHCH along secular lines? There is public money going into this after all ... should the NZ government implicitly support a narrow range of religions this way? The churches are not just architecture, they are meeting places and symbols for people whose ideology precludes freedom of religion (just read your bible). On the other hand, perhaps part of the rebuilding should reflect the multicultural nature of NZ as a whole (since, as a whole, NZ is funding it)? That way CHCH would become a sort-of multicultural capitol for NZ.

North Africa: it is just not possible to sort out the conflicting reports coming out of places like Libya. Maybe NATO did mistakenly hit a religious meeting? OTOH: it sounds an awful like those sleazy defences: "My client was walking along the street, minding his own business, travelling from his Church where he spent the morning in prayer on his way to help homeless orphans, when the police brutally decended upon him, without warning, for no discernable reason, emotionally scarring onlookers ..."