‘Super Rugby’
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Copyright 2012 © Patrick O’Brien
Starting today, the southern hemisphere’s rugby season kicks-off . . .
● Super Rugby
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Patrick O'Brien
24 February, 2012
23 February, 2012
On fear (2)
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“Fear not the path of truth, or the lack of people walking on it”
~ Robert Kennedy ~
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22 February, 2012
Anniversary: Christchurch Earthquake
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One year ago today, at 12.51 pm on 22 February 2011, an earthquake destroyed central Christchurch, killing 185 people and leaving many thousands injured and homeless. Now — more than 10,000 after-shocks later — the nation remembers:
21 February, 2012
On silence
Copyright 2012 © Patrick O’Brien
“A ship is safe in harbour, but that’s not what ships are for”
~ William Shedd ~
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I feel most at peace when there is silence in my heart and often-times have yearned to withdraw from the tumult of this world — perhaps monastic life, a retreat to some quiet harbour. And yet, that has not been my path. I need continue my work, while striving to also master the teaching . . . be in the world, but not of it.
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19 February, 2012
19 February, 2012
On prayer (2)
Copyright 2012 © Patrick O’Brien
“God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening
is the beginning of prayer.” ~ Mother Teresa
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18 February, 2012
Khader Adnan
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– Free Palestine –
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Khader Adnan is a 33 year old baker from the village of Arraba in Palestine, shackled to an Israeli prison bed awaiting death.
Adnan, married with two daughters, his wife now five-months pregnant, is a political prisoner being held by the Israeli authorities without charge under a four-month term of “administrative detention”.
Currently in the 63rd day of a hunger strike protesting his detention, Adnan is a sad yet powerful symbol of Israel’s cruel and brutal occupation of Palestine.
Here is a selection of relevant articles, references and updates that I’ve posted on my Wall at Google-Plus:
● Khader Adnan
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17 February, 2012
About (5)
Leaving home
I left home in 1966 to attend boarding school at St Patrick’s College, Silverstream, and, while I returned to the family farm for holidays, this marked the time when I flew-the-coop.
Though cloistered from the outside world, boarding school gave me my first sense of freedom — the simple things, like, choosing how many spoons of sugar I could have in a cup of tea, or whether or not I needed to wear a jersey when cold.
I enjoyed my time at Silverstream; being a capable athlete is an enormous advantage when forging one’s place in the pecking order of a boys’ boarding school:
Cate Brett, former editor of the Sunday Star-Times, when writing her investigative article “Broken Soldiers” on undercover police in New Zealand, described me as being “… a golden-haired-boy, the archetypal all-rounder: classical pianist and violinist, sports champion, leader of the symphony orchestra, house captain, school prefect, captain of the athletics team and vice-captain of the First XV.”
Our motto was “Sectare Fidem” — hold firm to the faith — and all the teachers were priests. My five years at Silverstream were a blessing in my life . . .
16 February, 2012
1500-days
@
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Jared Savage is Assistant Chief Reporter at the New Zealand Herald, and, following my letter to the Chief Justice of New Zealand confessing perjury and evidence tampering while working as an agent provocateur for the Crown, he has reported on the matter in this series of articles that are linked to my Blog.
After reading my recent Blog post, Corruption in New Zealand Police, which I wrote to mark 1500 days of inaction by the Crown, Mr Savage sent me an email:
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My response:
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(*) http://obrien.wordpress.com/legal/police/investigation/
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15 February, 2012
From the Street (2)
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Copyright 2012 © Patrick O’Brien
“Pippa”
Another in a series of my work from the street
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14 February, 2012
Just for fun (5)
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Something for Valentine’s Day . . .
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● Select & Copy the following enquiry:
sqrt(cos(x))*cos(300x)+sqrt(abs(x))-0.7)*(4-x*x)^0.01, sqrt(6-x^2), -sqrt(6-x^2) from -4.5 to 4.5
● Go to Google search
● Paste enquiry into the Search box
● Press enter/search
● Safe and harmless . . .
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13 February, 2012
“The Urewera Four”
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State Terrorism
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On 15 October 2007 — following an 18-month undercover police operation — the New Zealand Government carried out a series of dawn raids on the homes of its citizens using armed police wearing masks.
Put simply, this was a terrorist attack by the Crown against its citizens and these events have been well canvassed in the full length documentary film, Operation 8, plus Vince Siemer’s in-depth article, The Operation-8 Saga, at Kiwis First, to list just two sources.
Today, four remaining defendants — Urewera Four — begin their trial in the High Court at Auckland . . .
● Free the Urewera Four / Facebook
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UPDATES:
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● ‘October 15th Solidarity’ ~ Legal Updates
Time-line of court proceedings since 2007 . . .
◦ http://www.october15thsolidarity.info/legal
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● ‘Protests as Urewera trial begins’ ~ New Zealand Herald
February 13, 2012 ― “The trial has begun more than four years after armed police descended on the East Coast township of Ruatoki.”
◦ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10785179
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● ‘Urewera four plead not guilty’ ~ Stuff | Fairfax Media
February 13, 2012 ― “The ‘Urewera four’ have pleaded not guilty to all charges against them in the High Court at Auckland this morning. The charges laid against the four – Tame Iti, Emily Bailey, Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara and Urs Signer – were read to the court before each one responded.”
◦ http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/6406982/Urewera-four-plead-not-guilty
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● ‘Urewera trial start, Crown propaganda begins’ ~ Press Release | Scoop
February 13, 2012 ― “We hope people in this country will see through the crown propaganda of the next few weeks and see this case for what it is: the state stifling political dissent and repressing the aspirations of Maori for control over their lives, the lands and their resources.”
◦ http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1202/S00114/urewera-trial-start-crown-propaganda-begins.htm
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Ongoing . . .
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Photo / New Zealand Herald
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13 February, 2012
Love Notes (2)
An anniversary . . .
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699669999999969999999966699666669966669966666996669966666699
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699666666699999999666666666699966666669966666996666996666996
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● select all the numbers
● then go: CTRL + F
● press: 9
● click: CTRL + Enter
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12 February, 2012
War on Iran: a reality-check
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– AN UPDATE –
Following my earlier posts on the lies about Iran, it’s reasonable to ask what, or who, is pushing the world to war? — only the war mongers and their politicians, it appears; most certainly not the military . . .
Military experts are opposed to any attack on Iran simply because, no matter which way their war-gamers at the Pentagon play this through (even best-case-scenarios) the reality is that, if attacked, Iran will kick their butts. Not only the Pentagon; there is also serious opposition to an attack on Iran coming from Israel’s war experts, too, and I’ve posted some relevant assessments and commentaries on my Wall at Google-Plus, here:
11 February, 2012
‘Jobless & Betrayed’
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Copyright 2012 © Patrick O’Brien (*)
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We Were Warned !!!
In the early 1960s, my father travelled the length and breadth of New Zealand, where, in a series of public meetings, he warned of the inherent dangers in joining the World Bank.
People laughed at him — for, at that time, there was no unemployment in New Zealand and we enjoyed the third highest standard of living in the developed world.
Today, New Zealand is a debtor nation — technically bankrupt — and, in recent years, successive Governments have begun selling off our assets and infrastructure to satisfy demands of the world’s banks.
We have been betrayed . . .
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(*) my photograph of the original poster which was given to me by my dad
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10 February, 2012
Syria: what is the truth?
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“Libya – II”
Are we being told the truth about the current situation in Syria — or are Israel, NATO and US Government repeating the same lies they used to justify their invasion of Libya? Here is a selection of articles and commentaries on my Wall at Google-Plus that may give some pause for thought:
9 February, 2012
Mr Mark
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. . . for a friend . . .
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8 February, 2012
The Sheeple’s Pledge
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~ Banksy ~
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7 February, 2012
Telling lies about Iran
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Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me . . .
It’s a familiar pattern — main stream media assisting Israel, NATO and America, justify their destruction of yet another Middle East country, Iran. Here is a selection of articles and commentaries on my Wall at Google-Plus that disassemble the lies we’re being told:
6 February, 2012
Happy Birthday New Zealand
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New Zealand’s Coat of Arms
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“Treaty of Waitangi”
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The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The treaty is an agreement between the British Crown and local Māori rangatira (chiefs) and stands as the country’s founding document. To mark this day, I have posted a selection of resources and references on my Wall at Google-Plus:
5 February, 2012
Word cloud (1)
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This “word cloud” of my Blog was generated by the following, free on-line tool tool, today’s date. I will be interested to see comparisons with those in the months ahead:
4 February, 2012
History of the World
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“All problems, depressions, wars, disasters, assassinations, all of them were planned, caused, instigated, and implemented by the International Bankers and their attempt to establish a central bank in every country in the world, which they have now done, thanks to corrupt politicians who have been bought and paid for. This is all you need to know about the history of the world.”
~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy / US President ~
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3 February, 2012
My ‘little helper’
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Copyright 2012 © Patrick O’Brien
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A new addition to my travel kit . . .
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2 February, 2012
On fear (1)
This is how change happens . . .
One more person standing up
One more person speaking out
One more person who is not afraid
~ Unknown ~
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1 February, 2012
Corruption in New Zealand Police
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“It is not necessary to bury the truth. It is sufficient merely
to delay it until nobody cares.” ~ Napoléon Bonaparte
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Copyright 2001 © Patrick O’Brien
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Burying the Truth . . .
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In 2004, a group of police officers admitted what countless New Zealanders already knew from first hand experience — New Zealand police tell lies in court.
The officers, around 50 in number and collectively known as The USED Group, appeared on National Television and told how the New Zealand police administration had trained them to tamper with evidence, tell lies and commit perjury to obtain convictions. Their sworn affidavits admitting to perjury were also tabled in the Parliament.
Police administrators responded with a press release announcing an independent inquiry, the results of which would be made public, they said.
The inquiry found there was “no evidence” to support the officers’ “allegations” — or so the police administration would have us believe, because the results of this inquiry were never released, as promised, and an Official Information Request by this writer for a copy of the final report has been refused.
No evidence?
On Christmas Eve, 2007, this writer provided the Commissioner of Police with some evidence, being my signed confession of perjury to the Chief Justice of New Zealand, Dame Sian Elias.
Since then, and at time of this post, more than 1500 days have passed and the question often asked of me — “why haven’t you been arrested” — remains unanswered.
Further to that confession, this writer appeared on Campbell Live, TV3 News, and featured in the Gibson Film Group’s three-part documentary, Undercover, on Television New Zealand . . . admitting evidence tampering and perjury while working as an undercover officer and agent provocateur for the Crown.
So, what has the police administration done in my case?
Nothing! Well, actually they have, yet another “independent” inquiry, which is the same as doing nothing, it just looks better.
And what has been the outcome of this inquiry?
Same as the first — my Official Information Request for a copy of their report (which was finished more than a year ago) has been refused.
But, wait, there’s more . . .
After spending more than three years holding their “inquiry”, police administrators are now holding (get this) an investigation. You couldn’t make this stuff up.
Napoléon was right: “It is not necessary to bury the truth. It is sufficient merely to delay it until nobody cares.”
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Some related links . . .
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● Time line in this process:
http://obrien.wordpress.com/time-line/
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● New Zealand Herald articles:
http://obrien.wordpress.com/media/3/
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● Summary of my Information Requests that have been refused:
http://obrien.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/18/
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● “Cop-outs & Cover-ups” / commentary:
http://obrien.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/17/
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● The sad case of “Craig George Withey” / commentary:
http://patrickobrien.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/craig-george-whithey/
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● “Bring on the Clowns” / commentary:
http://patrickobrien.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/bring-on-the-clowns/
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31 January, 2012
The dispossessed
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“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Dr. Seuss / The Lorax
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30 January, 2012
Fighting the Bureaucrats
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Copyright 2012 © Patrick O’Brien
On occasion, people ask my help in dealing with government or bureaucracy, often times assisting them with letters to a local authority when they’ve been unfairly treated. In this example, a community house called The Neighbourhood Centre faced closure when budget cuts by a District Health Board saw their funding removed, so they asked me to write something. The human characters in my piece are real, and so is their story:
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— The Neighbourhood Centre —
At the bottom of a narrow valley, its slopes covered with little wooden houses, is a small park with a tree in which I’ve built my home. Adjoining the park is a house, no different than any of the others to look at, but one which has a rainbow aura around it.
Kids from the neighbourhood come here to play, and, being winter, they have woolly hats and runny noses. The adults stamp their feet and blow onto their hands, complaining to each other of the cold.
Each day around mid-morning, my friends and I fly across the park to the back gate where the children feed us with scraps and crumbs left over from their morning tea. They’re an enthusiastic lot, bumping into each other and falling over, squabbling about who will throw us which piece of bread. In winter there is little else to eat.
I was surprised when, yesterday, one of the children spoke to me.
“Hello little bird, I’m Shannon. What’s your name?”
“Sparrow,” I replied.
“Where do you live, Sparrow?” asked the child.
“Over there, in that tree.”
I looked more closely at this child and remembered having seen him arrive each day on the back of a bike being pedalled by his father.
“Where do you live, Shannon?” I asked, picking up another crumb.
“Way over those hills there at a place called Tahunanui,” said the child, pointing back up the valley.
“That’s long way to come — surely there must be other play centres which are closer to your home?” I inquired.
“Yes, there are,” he said, “and on frosty mornings I often wish we could stay at home. Even though my dad dresses me warmly in a ski suit, my feet and fingers still hurt. It hurts my father, too; I often hear him moaning quietly to himself when it’s really cold . . . but he insists we come.”
“Why does he do that?” I asked.
The child raised his big brown eyes. A large tear ran down one cheek.
“My mum has gone away and my father is sad and very lonely. He used to yell at me, and hit me sometimes, too, when his pain was really bad.”
The child’s face brightened. “Since coming here, things have been a lot better at home. My dad seems much happier and it’s more easy for me to please him.”
The child smiled. “I don’t mind the cold bike ride too much. There’s always a warm fire going. My dad sits beside it with the other adults and they share their problems. The staff give our parents advice when one of us children are sick, so I’m pleased to bring him here.”
The child paused, then laughed and threw me his last scrap of bread. “See you tomorrow, Sparrow. I’m off to blow some bubbles.”
And, with that, he turned and skipped happily back to the house, dodging other children at their play.
This morning I waited for my little friend to return but he never came. I waited all day. None of the other children came either and there was nothing to eat.
Late this afternoon a large truck pulled up outside and two men began removing furniture from the house and loading it into the truck. I flew down to get a closer look.
“Where are all the children?” I called out, but the men ignored me and carried on working.
“Shame about all these budget cuts,” one of them said.
“Yea,” said the other. “Now the children will have nowhere to play.”
“I wonder what they’ll do with the house,” said the first.
“Pull it down and build a parking lot, I expect,” said the other.
They both laughed.
I flew back to my tree and sat thinking:
What, I wondered, is a budget cut — and why did it mean the children couldn’t play here any more?
Then, as the sun set, the rainbow aura flickered briefly, and went out.
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FOOTNOTE:
I’m happy to report that the District Health Board reversed its original budgetary decision and funding for The Neighbourhood Centre was increased. It remains open, delivering early intervention health care to its local community . . .
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28 January, 2012
‘Stealth Camping’
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Copyright 2012 © Patrick O’Brien
Being a hitchhiker, I’m often asked by people and
other travellers starting out — where do you sleep?
In the following discussion thread over at digihitch, my alter ego, Succat, offers some well practised suggestions to a young Canadian woman who is starting out on a solo hitchhiking tour of New Zealand. These tips are applicable universally, including the use of cemeteries . . .
