I have a new email address...

Hey, I have a new email address:

peterofnewzealand@myspace.com

Drop me a line!
-peter

Dust storm moves across the Tasman sea from Australia to NZ...

The red dust storms that came down to Sydney and other parts of New South Wales and Eastern Queensland from the Australian interior, have moved across the Tasman sea 24 hrs later. They caused havoc in Australia disrupting airlines and other transport, forcing the cancellation of race meetings in NSW and Queensland, and also causing health problems for some people.

NZ Metservice reports this morning indicated the red dust storm had reached NZ shores, albeit in a diminished state.

Weather observers noted the dust had moved in with the inclement weather front that hit most of the country and had been picked up on satelitte images. There had not been any reports of any disruption or health problems in NZ.

What racism? Obama says he was black before the election...

What racism? Obama says he was black before the election.

President Barack Obama has poked fun at claims that racism is behind fierce opposition to his ambitious political agenda.

It was apparently his latest attempt to deflate the debate after former President Jimmy Carter claimed racism was behind much of conservative opposition to Obama's health plan.

Obama said as much on the recent THE LATE SHOW with David Letterman.

If it is true, then its another sad day for America and shows that conservative America has moved little during the last 40 years.

My trials with Google Adsense...

My trials with Google Adsense...

First published at Qondio:

I have posted the following message because it is genuine and proven to be so. Why? About 12 months ago I sent a number of messages to Google Adsense asking why my account had been disabled. All monies I had earned were forfeited. Up until this point in time I had not received a single answer from Google Adsense. The following message received today insinuated that they may not reply to this appeal if they have already received a prior one. The law of natural justice demands that people are entitled to know exactly what evidence has been collected against them. Surely? Not to do so amounts to professional arrogance. I encourage readers to comment on this matter, because it could happen to them.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Re: [#511342411] Invalid Activity Appeal
InboxX
Reply |Google AdSense to me
show details 10:17 AM (2 hours ago)

Hello,

This message confirms that we've received your appeal submission.

We'll get to your appeal as soon as we can, though due to the high volume
of emails we receive, it may take us up to a week or more to process it.
If you've previously submitted an appeal for this account, you might not
receive a response to this or future appeals.

Also, please be aware that appealing the disabling of your AdSense account
does not guarantee that it will be reinstated.

If you have any questions or concerns about accounts disabled for invalid
activity, please visit
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=57153.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

Patrick Swayze dies after long illness...

Patrick Swayze, whose good looks and sympathetic performances in films such as "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" made him a romantic idol to millions, died Monday. He was 57.


Patrick Swayze's doctor said in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Swayze died of pancreatic cancer, his publicist, Annett Wolf, told CNN.

Swayze's doctor, Dr. George Fisher, revealed in early March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from the disease.

"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," Wolf said in a statement Monday.

Most recently, Swayze starred in A&E Network's "The Beast," which debuted in January. He agreed to take the starring role of an undercover FBI agent before his diagnosis.

The network agreed to shoot an entire season of the show after Swayze responded well to his cancer treatment.

John's greatest gift to his best friend...time.

John's greatest gift to his best friend...

First published at Qondio:



A blogging friend from Blogevolve, who writes as Jellen, has written about a man she believes has been a real and true friend to her husband, who had a stroke in recent times. This is part of what she wrote.I would like to share it with you here:
"John visited my husband in the hospital after his stroke, and later in our home. He carried the conversation--because my husband couldn't. He entertained my husband with stories of old times, while they created a few new stories. John encouraged every little progress my husband made, and although a disability changed life as my husband knew it, John continued and continues to treat him with respect as a fellow man.

Aphasia not only robbed my husband's speech, but it also robbed his ability to establish new friendships. Physical disability resulting from the stroke compromised his cognition and physically robbed him of doing what he used to do for fun and entertainment. A real friend, John found something to do with my husband that enabled him. He brought cards."

So John didn't just visit his friend while he was recuperating, he became proactive and brought life to him at home. He carried the conversation and entertained his friend with tales of the old times they had also shared as friends in their younger days. It has been painfully slow as recuperation from a stroke usually is. He created new stories for his friend about now, in the present. He brought cards and involved his friend in trying to teach him to play again. Most of all he treated his ill friend with the deepest respect.

In my book the greatest gift John gave his ill and recuperating friend was good quality "time", his time to share. Just as important and valuable as the time you share with your partner and children, then good quality time is important to share with your friends. That is an example we can also share from John's selfless act of personal

Young South African runner Semenya's tests results a shock...

Young South African runner Semenya's test results a shock:

NZ sports commentator, Brendan Telfer, says Caster Semenya's running days prob over; leaked test results suggest she is a hermaphrodite.

News that teenage runner Caster Semenya has no womb or ovaries and has internal testes has sent the athletics world into a spin.

Sydney's Daily Telegraph has obtained leaked medical test results taken after the athlete took out the gold medal in the 800 metres at the World Championships in Berlin last month, which suggest Semenya is an hermaphrodite. Her body has three times as much testosterone as that found in a normal woman.

Athletics commentator Brendan Telfer says anyone involved in sport will be sad to hear the news of the 18-year-old.

"Here's a young person who has done nothing wrong. She is what god has made her and she clearly had a gift for running from an early age, so that's what she's done. Now it looks like she's going to be thrown out of the sport and possibly stripped of her gold medal."

Telfer says Semenya has not taken any drugs, has not been caught cheating, but unfortunately the test results mean she will probably never run competitively again.

The Daily Telegraph is criticising Semenya's South African athletics chiefs for standing blindly behind her.

Sports editor Ben English says the same South African politicians who denied AIDS was a problem in their country are now standing behind their new queen of the track.

The source of the newspaper's leak is quoted today as saying the two parties at fault are the international and South African athletics officials who accepted Semenya's entry to the games.

The source says South Africa has known for years that she is not normal and has not handled the matter responsibly.

The way this matter has been handled by athletics officials and the media has been despicable, disgusting and shameful in my humble opinion.

Fiji recently kicked out of Commonwealth...

It was recently announced that Fiji has been kicked out of the Commonwealth because Commodore Bainimarama has refused to set a date for early democratic elections.

The despicable illegal military regime continues unabated, with no change in the near future.

Commodore Bainimarama has been repeatedly warned that Fiji's actions could be detrimental to their future relationship with the Commonwealth. This is not been the first time that Fiji has been kicked out of the Commonwealth through illegal regimes following coups.

Forest kindergartens come to Britain...

Forest kindergartens come to Britain...


Would you like your children to get back to nature in a kindergarten without a ceiling or walls? I bet you would. Would you like your children spending time playing in the fresh air, being freed from the constrictions of urban life settings? Again I bet you would.

For decades "forest" kindergartens have existed in Scandinavia and Germany, and have now reached the United Kingdom - with the 'Secret Garden' in Scotland being the first outdoor nursery school for two to five year olds spending all day in a woodland, come rain, hail or shine.

They observe animals, plant gardens, collect firewood and climb trees (oh how politically incorrect). When temperatures dip to sub-zero, they reteat to a cosy tent. The founder, Cathy Bache, reportedly said "that being among nature builds resilience, creativity and a sense of place. There are no toys, but plenty of space and opportunity to go where the imagination may take us". How brilliantly refreshing!

In a general sense a wood or forest kindergarten is a type of preschool that was first conceived in Scandinavia in the 1950's and Germany in the late 1960's. There it was a daycare centre for children aged three to six years of age, exclusively outdoors in nature.

It is known as an outdoor preschool in British English and a waldkindergarten in German. It is simply a forest kindergarten or a nature preschool, and is a brilliant concept in my opinion.