Starting today, the rugby season kicks-off . . .

● Super Rugby
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~  Robert Kennedy  ~
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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:

● Anniversary: Christchurch earthquake
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“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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A selection of related commentaries on my Wall at Google-Plus . . .

● Nazi-fication of America
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Copyright 2008 © TV3 News

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes”

~  Andy Warhol  ~

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Four years ago today — but I only got nine minutes:

● Video: Campbell Live, TV3 News
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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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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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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 . . .

● http://patrickobrien.wordpress.com/about/
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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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