tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20017212200960299752024-03-13T21:22:23.000-07:00Stacey Knott This website is an accumulation of some of my stories, dated 2008 until 2021, when I was a reporter working in New Zealand, the US, UK and West Africa. staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-20721864730997378082015-10-10T02:39:00.000-07:002016-12-30T02:40:23.959-08:00Politics and social justice run through O'Connor sisters' bloodFor the O'Connor sisters, politics runs through the blood, as does the need to speak up in the face of adversity. Stacey Knott reports on four sisters who are dedicated to fighting social injustice, as part of the Wonder Women series.<br />
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Between them, sisters Mary Ellen, Julia, Margaret and Teresa have advocated for unions, nurses, schools, the environment, refugees, and the poor and disenfranchised.<br />
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They're not afraid to voice their opinions, and stand up for their beliefs - it's in their DNA, they say.<br />
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Sisters Mary Ellen O'Connor, left, Julia O'Connor, Margaret O'Connor and Teresa O'Connor.<br />
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Sisters Mary Ellen O'Connor, left, Julia O'Connor, Margaret O'Connor and Teresa O'Connor.<br />
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They grew up on a farm in Appleby, their mother was a social activist, in the mid 80s she fought for the rights of seasonal workers and the homeless in Appleby. Their father, a stalwart of the Labour Party.<br />
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Their parents set up St Vincent De Paul Society in Richmond and were instrumental in setting up Trade Aid.<br />
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"The twin pillars of our lives were the Labour Party and the Catholic church and social justice is at the heart," Margaret, the third eldest, says.<br />
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She is an oncology nurse in Nelson, and also the area council president for St Vincent De Paul Society New Zealand.<br />
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Margaret has been outspoken on union matters, and has acted as a spokesperson for casual nurses at Nelson Hospital.<br />
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The O'Connors act like a clan, she says.<br />
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With pride, they are quick to offer insights into each other's work and dedication to the community and what it means to be an O'Connor.<br />
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None changed their last name after marrying, and all have children, many also taking the O'Connor name.<br />
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"[We were] probably a bit marginalised where we were raised as Catholic, Labour Party people in the middle of a WASPish conservative farming area, so I think we probably always had that influence over us, and while we might have felt slightly marginalised, as a result it possibly gave us strength.<br />
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"[For] our parents, social issues were to the fore, political discussions were our meat and potatoes around the table. It was part of the fabric of our upbringing."<br />
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" I know some people will probably stray from how they were brought up politically, but for us it probably runs fairly strongly in our veins."<br />
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Oldest sister Mary Ellen has worked in English language schools through her career, and currently works for English Language Partners, working with former refugees and new migrants. She's written books on trade union histories and the history of Salisbury School.<br />
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She's outspoken about many issues, from poor housing, to the GCSB.<br />
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"It feels to me we are increasingly almost in a war zone, in terms of the number of fires you are fighting."<br />
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Second oldest, Julia, a lawyer, worked in private practice in Nelson for 17 years, much of that in family law, and has also worked as a legal educator for community law, and in the disputes tribunal.<br />
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She went to Papua New Guinea for a year in 2011 with VSA as a legal advisor.<br />
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In 2014, she went back to the Nelson Bays Community Law Centre where she has been doing immigration work with former refugees as well as employment law.<br />
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Through her work, she has "seen all sorts of horrible ways people treat each other," and still feels shocked by what she sees.<br />
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"I don't see myself as solving the world's problems, but it's really good to be able to assist and provide structures and processes for people to work through some of those issues."<br />
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She is also on the board for Salisbury School, and recently stood down from chairing it.<br />
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"There would have been no chance for me to have different politics, we were just so immersed in it," Julia said.<br />
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Youngest of the four, Teresa used to work as a journalist at the Nelson Mail, and has also worked as a nurse.<br />
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After the 1991 budget, she wrote an editorial about the impact of it for the Listener, and he employer tried to fire her for it. She wasn't fired, but had a warning placed on her file.<br />
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This sparked a national campaign to remove the warning from her file, the sisters said. Nurses wore stickers in support, and then opposition health spokesperson Helen Clark joined a rally in support of what was an ultimately successful campaign.<br />
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Teresa has also been involved with the Victory Health Centre and setting up a free nurse service at Franklyn Village.<br />
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She has been editing the Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand magazine since 1992 where she still works, it's a job she feels fits her values.<br />
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Teresa was the force behind setting up Voice Nelson, which Mary Ellen is also highly involved in.<br />
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Teresa said Voice Nelson arose out of the "complete and utter despair" she felt after the 2014 election.<br />
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Teresa said she and her sisters have loud voices and are able to use them, Voice Nelson worked to give voice to those who aren't heard, including the poor and disenfranchised.<br />
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Their great-grandparents fled Ireland's famine for New Zealand, and the sisters say they have "huge privilege" from that.<br />
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"I have a responsibility to do something, however pathetic and small or insignificant, to honour a legacy, that I, from some accident of birth, have benefited from," Teresa said.<br />
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Mary Ellen said Voice Nelson had attracted older members, and she sees it as a way to pay back for what her generation had, "in terms of having had free health and education handed to us".<br />
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They were hopeful about passing the baton to younger generations.<br />
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People need to care about those less fortunate, Margaret said.<br />
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With an impassioned plea, she says it doesn't make sense to keep letting the gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' grow.<br />
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"Everybody loses with inequality. Everyone stands to gain when we live in more equal societies."<br />
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They have another sister, Gabrielle, the youngest who was unable to be interviewed. The sisters say she is very animal-orientated, a natural farmer and works as a caregiver.<br />
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There was another sister, Bridget, who only lived to four months due to health reasons.<br />
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- Stuff<br />
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/72836274/Politics-and-social-justice-run-through-O-Connor-sisters-blood#commentsstaceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-16957087089555713132015-09-21T02:30:00.000-07:002016-12-30T02:31:07.085-08:00Campaigners calling for conversation on cannabis law<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Campaigners for cannabis law reform are working to start a conversation they hope will get politicians to act.</div>
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At a weekend screening of documentary Druglawed at the Free House, film director Arik Reiss was joined by Nelson's Rose Renton, who had campaigned for her son to be treated with a cannabinoid oil while in intensive care, and Abe Gray who runs a cannabis museum in Dunedin, and campaigns for legalisation.</div>
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Renton's son Alex died in Wellington Hospital on July 1, he had suffered seizures and it was not known what caused them. She has since dedicated herself to cannabis law reform for both medical and recreational use. </div>
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"The Rugby World Cup comes along and with a stroke of a pen they can extend drinking hours," Renton said. "I'm pleased for them, that's great they can watch rugby and have a drink, but what about the cannabis community that would choose to eat a bit of brownie and have a good night's sleep? I really don't get the stigma to it."</div>
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She said Alex was a recreational cannabis user, and it helped with his insomnia.</div>
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"He was an excellent student with a brilliant mind."</div>
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Renton said people should have the right to choose, and said Alex would have wanted to be able to choose cannabis. She and Alex both voted for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party in the 2014 election.</div>
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Gray spoke about a nationwide online campaign to "destigmatise the plant" and to open up a conversation to get politicians to legalise the use of the plant. Called 'Let's Start the Conversation' Gray said the aim was to have ads on TV about issues around prohibition.</div>
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He wanted people to be open about their use to show prohibition was not working, he said.</div>
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The film documented the history of cannabis prohibition in the USA and New Zealand, outlining political and economic reasons for its prohibition. It argued New Zealand mirrored the USA's war on drugs, and prohibition was failing. </div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/72238454/Campaigners-calling-for-conversation-on-cannabis-law</span></span></div>
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staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-59942811253497786132015-08-22T02:36:00.000-07:002016-12-30T02:36:40.472-08:00Serial rapist's sentence highlights 'fetid' dance party culture<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/71354750/Serial-rapists-sentence-highlights-fetid-dance-party-culture</b></span></span><br />
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Mateo Nixon was sentenced to 14 years for sexual offences against six women at dance parties and in homes across the South Island. STACEY KNOTT investigates.</b></div>
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The first time P (name legally protected) met Mateo Nixon he raped her.</div>
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His sentence was a relief for the woman who was assaulted on three separate occasions by Nixon.</div>
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Nixon, known as Tao to his friends and those within the dance party scene he was a part of, was sentenced to 14 years jail at the Dunedin District Court on Friday for six charges of rape, three of unlawful sexual connection, two of indecent assault, and two of sexual connection with a young person under 16, between October 2009 and July 2012.</div>
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In the dock, his long ginger dreads and beard were gone, and he remained expressionless throughout his sentencing.</div>
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P was at a friend's house in Dunedin in 2009 where Nixon was also present. Her first impression was that he was "self confident, manipulative and alpha." That night she fell asleep watching DVDs and woke to him raping her.</div>
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The two subsequent attacks occurred when she was staying with the same friend, and had been told that Nixon would not be present. However, Nixon defied the friend's request he not come over, and again, P awoke to him assaulting her.</div>
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"I would not have been there if I had known there was any chance he would have gone, and I totally regret it and blame myself."</div>
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She says abuse she suffered when she was younger stopped her from wanting to go to the police straight away.</div>
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And she would not have been able to go to police without other victims coming forward first.</div>
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When she did proceed, she felt impressed and supported by the police she dealt with.</div>
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In her victim impact statement read out in court on Friday she said Nixon's attacks had lead her to anxiety attacks, suicide attempts and drug and alcohol abuse and triggered memories of past abuse.</div>
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"While Tao will be dealt with by the court I am sentenced to a lifetime of flashbacks, panic attacks, endless hours of counselling, mental instability and always lurking is depression."</div>
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<img src="https://static.stuff.co.nz/files/nixon2" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></div>
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<i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Credit: Ashlyn Hornsby</i></div>
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She also feared about future suicide attempts.</div>
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"I will always feel responsible for what happened to me despite the fact I would have never returned to any place I thought Tao would be present. I felt ashamed and naive I put my trust in the wrong hands."</div>
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She said there was support from Nixon within the dance party scene "this made me feel sick and unsafe".</div>
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She wanted Nixon to sincerely own up to his offending and get treatment for his behaviour.</div>
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Nixon had written letters to the victims, and had offered reparation. P planned to burn the letter, and donate some of the funds to Dunedin Rape Crisis who had supported her.</div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Read more </b></div>
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<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/70116349/man-involved-in-outdoor-dance-parties-convicted-of-multiple-rapes" style="color: #256091; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Man involved in outdoor dance parties convicted of multiple rapes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/71323983/dance-party-rapist-mateo-nixon-jailed-for-14-years" style="color: #256091; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dance party rapist Mateo Nixon jailed for 14 years</a></div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">'MANIPULATIVE, SCARY MAN'</b></div>
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Over the last decade, there were warnings about Nixon.</div>
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A former friend, who asked not to be named, recalls first being told to stay away from the dance party crew member at a gig in Wellington in 2006.</div>
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She initially ignored the warnings.</div>
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"I treated Tao the way he treated me for part of our friendship, which was with kindness and companionship; there were many moments that me and my friends were thankful for Tao being there."</div>
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But behind the image of a caring and helpful friend, there were signs of a different personality.</div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">HAVE YOUR SAY: <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/rape-in-nz-join-the-debate" style="color: #256091; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Rape in NZ: Join the debate</a></b></div>
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On several occasions she saw him being physically violent "but he always managed to make sure we thought he was in the right."</div>
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In 2008 she became wary of him, when he pulled her aside at a party to make sure she believed him, and that allegations made against him were false.</div>
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"It wasn't until I heard he abused multiple friends, that me and my inner circle of friends stopped being friends with him."</div>
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She said when she tried to warn people about him she was met with the same disbelief she initially had.</div>
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"It has taken a long time for people to change their mindset and self educate about rape culture."</div>
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She describes Nixon as "a tall, intimidating, manipulative and a scary man, and I think this helped in him not having much opposition to his behaviour."</div>
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While drugs and alcohol were involved in the cases where Nixon assaulted the women, the former friend says it's important not to blame any situations on binge drinking or drug taking, "as this becomes victim blaming and not focusing on the fact Tao was a predator and manipulator and rapist."</div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A 'GROWING FETID' CULTURE </b></div>
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Nixon was a regular in the punk and dance party scenes.</div>
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He was employed in events production, and listed as living in Christchurch, although he followed the party circuit around the North and South Islands.</div>
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Performer and promoter Flow Ir In says Nixon got away with his offending for years because of a "fetid culture" where he could operate.</div>
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Flow first heard of Nixon's offending in 2012 and started her own investigations after someone told her a "horror story" about one assault.</div>
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She was shocked to find there were more victims, and approached party organisers to help.</div>
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However, she says in some cases, she was met with "classic rape culture" reactions to Nixon's offending.</div>
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"Victim blaming, dissembling, denial, justification. It was quite gross. Many men actually said out loud that they thought if a woman was unconscious, it was perfectly acceptable to have sex with them, and told me that I was out of touch with their culture.</div>
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"I talked to every event organiser I could find, to demand that they acted - since the scene was supposed to be 'countercultural' and has a natural aversion to police."</div>
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She said some people wanted proof and refused to act.</div>
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There was a growing "fetid culture" she said, "where older men plied innocent girls with drugs and alcohol in order to be able to have sex with them."</div>
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She says victims were blamed, ostracised and intimidated.</div>
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In reality, those who spoke up were "incredibly brave" . She says they faced an uphill battle against the rape culture within the scene itself and with the police, who she said understandably needed evidence to get a conviction.</div>
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The victims were "warriors" and it was up to others within the scene to "dig out the remaining rape culture infection and put an end to it. New Zealand deserves safe parties, where we can dance and have fun."</div>
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She was relieved to hear the sentence handed to Nixon.</div>
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"I pray that the sentence he received highlights the seriousness of his actions to other men who still think that having sex without consent is okay behaviour. My heart goes out to everyone who has been affected by his offending, and I have nothing but admiration for the women who took a stand against it."</div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A POSITIVE FUTURE FOR PARTIES</b></div>
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As allegations swirled around Nixon in early 2014, before police had laid any charges, dance party organisers in the South Island declared on Facebook posts they would ban him from their events, and introduce safety policies to guard against sexual predators. </div>
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But to the disgust of some Nixon was at the 2014 Alien Nation party in the Wairoa Gorge, near Nelson.</div>
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Even though none of the charges in the case were related to Alien Nation, Flow believes Nixon being at the party showed "the needs of a few men are placed above the health and safety of everyone else".</div>
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David Small, a Canterbury University senior law lecturer and dance party goer, was so alarmed he helped create a Facebook page calling for a boycott of the event.</div>
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He believed there was a high degree of naivety among a few people who Nixon was manipulating to maintain access to victims.</div>
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Small said outdoor parties were fundamentally safe places, that ran on trust and mutual respect.</div>
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He said Nixon's actions "impacted not only on the women he violated, but also on a cruisy positive social scene."</div>
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Dance parties "model forms of social engagement and entertainment that are so much more positive than the alcohol fuelled crap in city night clubs."</div>
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For the scene, Flow said Nixon's offending meant "we all have our eyes open now and we are saying 'that's not ok, we demand safety and respect for all our people'."</div>
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She said at many parties in New Zealand Nixon's offending would never have happened. At their best they were a "joyful celebration of life" where punters danced all night, and camped out depending on their length.</div>
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Dunedin mother of three Shalin White said many people were creating positives from what had happened. </div>
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White has been going to outdoor dance parties for the past 20 years, and has been involved with Dunedin's Winter Solstice for the last five years, helping with the party's safety zone.</div>
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When Nixon's offending was revealed, organisers of Winter Solstice held meetings to establish what they would do about sexual predators in the scene, and there were accusations against people involved at Winter Solstice, she said.</div>
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There were many meetings to deal with the accusations, with talks about consent, and approaching people on alleged bad behaviours.</div>
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The Winter Solstice organisers are also planning public meetings where other party organisers and bar owners can meet and speak about safety at parties.</div>
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She said it was a community focused party, where safety was paramount.</div>
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There is a doctor on the crew of Winter Solstice, and other crew members have first aid training, including drug and alcohol counselling.</div>
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White has experience in helping people feel safe when they are having a difficult psychedelic experience.</div>
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She enjoyed the community of a dance party when it was done well and was proud to be involved in Winter Solstice.</div>
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"It was the safest, cleanest, tidiest and kindest. We worked really hard at that."</div>
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She said they reiterated to people the safety message, where the safe zone was and how to find people who can help and to look out for friends and others.</div>
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"It was repeated, literally every single car and every single person that came through the gate."</div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">RAPE CONVICTION RATES 'TERRIBLE'</b></div>
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Nelson Sexual Abuse Support and Healing (SASH) coordinator Sarah-Jane Macmillan also said regardless of drugs or alcohol consumption, everyone deserves the right to be safe from predatory men.</div>
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"No one has the right to take advantage of someone else, it should be a basic human right no matter what we are doing, to be safe in this world and not be preyed upon."</div>
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Rates for reporting sexual assault to police, and then conviction rates were "terrible",she said.</div>
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An estimated 9 per cent of sexual assault incidents are reported to police in New Zealand, of those, there is an estimated 13 per cent conviction rate.</div>
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Society's attitude to rape and sexual abuses factored into the low reporting and conviction rate, she said.</div>
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A message that women were solely responsible for looking after themselves was damaging.</div>
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"The message needs to be one - don't rape and, two, that everyone in the community has got a responsibility to ending sexual violence in New Zealand."</div>
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She said Nixon appeared to manipulate "not just individuals but the whole system" by coming across as a good guy.</div>
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It took bravery and strength to come forward, and Macmillian said it often took one person to go forward first with others to follow.</div>
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"With these kind of offenders it's never just once."</div>
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She said people who went to police about sexual assaults needed support to do so, and should consider professional support as well, like SASH or Rape Crisis.</div>
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A police spokesperson said police would continue to work with any further individuals who spoke with police and take appropriate action as a result, and urged any victim of crime to contact police to discuss any incident that has happened.</div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">WHERE TO GET HELP</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.nelsonwomenscentre.org.nz/sexual-abuse-support-healing-sash/contact-sash/" style="color: #256091; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Nelson Sexual Abuse Support and Healing</a> (SASH) 03 548 2407</div>
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<a href="http://www.rapecrisisnz.org.nz/" style="color: #256091; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Rape Crisis New Zealand</a> 0800 88 33 00</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> - Stuff</strong></div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-8009027052452477692014-12-18T01:52:00.000-08:002015-03-19T01:53:09.346-07:00Rise and fall of financial adviser fraudster Tony Mount<br />Nelson Mail/Fairfax Media <div>
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/64270458/Rise-and-fall-of-financial-adviser-fraudster-Tony-Mount<br /><br />Former high-flying Nelson financial adviser Tony Mount will spend Christmas behind bars after being convicted for defrauding clients. Stacey Knott investigates his downfall.<br /><br /><br /><br />Tony Mount seemed to have it all.<br /><br />He had risen from working class beginnings in northern England to become a prominent financial adviser in Nelson. He drove around town in an Aston Martin convertible, had a large house in the Maitai Valley, sponsored Nelson Opera in the Park, and started an eco-paint company.<br /><br />But after a long-running fraud investigation, his world came crashing down this week when he was jailed for ripping off and stealing from clients who trusted him with their investments.<br /><br /><br />Mount was found guilty in October of 74 counts of fraud. At his sentencing in Nelson District Court yesterday he was jailed for six years and nine months and ordered to serve a minimum of half the sentence.<br /><br />He has lodged an appeal against his convictions.<br /><br />After two different cases against him, one criminal, the other civil, Mount was finally caught out. Over a decade, he stole $510,671 from the 18 complainants in the indictment by inflating the purchase price of investments bought on their behalf, and by deflating the sale price of investments sold or redeemed.<br /><br />In the civil case, brought by 20 investors, Mount has been ordered to pay $2.84 million, plus interest, expected to be about $900,000.<br /><br />Mount is still listed as a director for Independent Financial Consultants in Nelson and the sole director of paint company BioPaints. In 1999, he was a finalist in the Financial Planner of the Year awards.<br /><br />Back then, he was a credible man about town.<br /><br />He had taken in a child of a friend who had died, was a supporter of the arts and was used as a source of media comment on the financial world.<br /><a href="http://stuff.co.nz/about-stuff/advertising-feedback/?pos=storybody&adsize=300x250&area=onl.stuff.business/homepage">Ad Feedback</a><br /><br /><br />However, 15 years later, sitting alone in a courtroom, his offending was laid bare, as well as what the judge, Crown prosecutor and others said was his arrogant and untrustworthy character.<br /><br />Mount, who represented himself at the trial and sentencing , has shown no remorse and seemed almost uninterested in what was happening.<br /><br />Judge Arthur Tompkins highlighted Mount's "arrogant and aggressive fashion" that he used to "deflect and endeavour to defeat" his clients when they questioned him. Clients had trusted their life savings to Mount, who betrayed their trust to support his "lavish lifestyle", he said.<br /><br />And, it was "particularly galling to the number of clients living around Nelson, who see that manifestation of that lavish lifestyle in the region".<br /><br />Mount had maintained his innocence by filing appeals against his convictions, and prison was clearly the only outcome, the judge said.<br /><br />"In many respects he is a stranger to honesty. What he says disconnects to what he does."<br /><br />Clients and others who had involvement or interest in the case, including those who had just been involved in the civil case, listened with bated breath as Tompkins delivered his verdict.<br /><br />Lawyer for the clients represented in the civil case, Rick Farr, spoke to them afterwards. He congratulated them on their tenacity for sticking to bring him to justice, despite Mount's at times "lavish defence".<br /><br />Crown lawyer Jackson Webber told the court Mount's "gross breaches of trust were obvious"; he was "belligerent when challenged" and his victims were elderly and vulnerable.<br /><br />It was motivated offending "influenced by greed and the lifestyle Mount was living".<br /><br />He had not shown a "shred of remorse"<br /><br />and lacked good character, Webber said. Mount's dishonest and manipulative actions from the first trial showed this, he said.<br /><br />Mount's downfall has been attributed to one of his clients, Douglas Gregory. He had invested $300,000 from the sale of his mother's house with Mount in 2002. He said Mount was initially "so helpful" with his investments.<br /><br />Gregory started to look into his investments, which he expected to get a lot more back from. He said calculations showed he should have made $100,000 in profit with his investment.<br /><br />He had to work hard to convince others Mount was not to be trusted. "He was an icon around town," he recalled.<br /><br />Gregory first went to lawyer Rick Farr in 2010. Farr visited Mount to relay the concerns.<br /><br />"What struck me when I first went into his office was how large it was and he was the only person in it. That started to ring alarm bells for me because of what Mr Gregory had explained to us."<br /><br />Farr recalled Mount refusing to entertain any suggestion of "rather dubious accounting. After that meeting he sent me an email demanding an apology from Mr Gregory".<br /><br />At that point, they decided to get the police involved, but after realising this was not going to be immediate, and Farr finding he had a number of clients who had invested with Mount who had similar concerns, he put out a public notice to get investors to meet. About 30 came along.<br /><br />They formed a plaintiffs' group, and had Mount's assets frozen in November 2010. Farr took on 20 plaintiffs in the case. Their's was a civil case, going on at the same time police were investigating the criminal case.<br /><br />Farr says Mount's records were sparse and difficult to get hold of.<br /><br />Through the process, it was discovered Mount had advanced $3.5 million personally to his company, BioPaints, with his income being a tiny fraction of that.<br /><br />During the civil case, almost every preliminary order that was made was appealed or a review was sought, Farr said. It was expensive, and it was delaying the civil case.<br /><br />Farr said they had to be careful to keep the two cases separate. Mount wanted the criminal case to be finished before the civil could start.<br /><br />And, when it came to Mount's wealth, there were clear indicators of it.<br /><br />"An indication of his wealth was his assets - one of them was his Aston Martin motor car, he bought for some $300,000 and sold it for what we were told was $120,000."<br /><br />He doesn't know where that car went. Mount also had a property in St Arnaud that was sold around the same time. This was Mount dispersing his assets, says Farr.<br /><br />Mount's house, valued in 2012, is worth $830,000.<br /><br />There is freezing order on it so Mount cannot sell it, but the court is in the process of selling it.<br /><br />There was $1.4m in cash that was frozen, though of that $800,000 was "released to him on application to the court to fund his lifestyle and his legal defences".<br /><br />It was the plaintiffs' money being used against them.<br /><br />Farr calls Mount a bully. He bullied his clients "into accepting what he was saying as gospel".<br /><br />To keep the civil case going, they got a litigation funder on-board, LPF Group. Farr believes this was the first time this has happened in Nelson.<br /><br />"The expense of the case and their [clients'] exposure to adverse costs was a real concern to a lot of people who had already lost a lot of money; a lot were older people."<br /><br />If LPF had not got involved, Farr wonders if the case would have proceeded.<br /><br />Farr is reluctant to comment on searching out Mount's other assets.<br /><br />"Suffice to say we have some work still. The matter is not over yet."<br /><br />Detective Paul Heathcote took on the criminal case in 2010, when he was approached by Gregory. Due to resources and other priorities, police were unable to look into his complaint until September 2010. When they did, Heathcote soon saw it was a case worth looking into.<br /><br />Police executed a search warrant to get Gregory's documents. "From what we found there, that gave me the belief there may be other clients affected."<br /><br />They got a second search warrant to recover other clients' files. "That's when the investigation commenced in earnest."<br /><br />Police sent a letter to all known clients, past and present, explaining what they were doing, and what the allegation was.<br /><br />There was about 100 of them, and about 80 responded, making official statements and providing documents.<br /><br />Heathcote focused on a method he likened to "'clipping the ticket both when he sold and purchased", where Mount purchased and sold investments but misreported the values to his clients.<br /><br />He put it to the clients there was "maybe some misappropriation of funds" from their portfolios.<br /><br />Police needed to make a deeper examination to see the amounts, so called in expert help.<br /><br />Investigators from Inland Revenue and the Serious Fraud Office were recruited. Initially, all they had was the paper evidence. Police seized Mount's computers and cloned them, but were unable to make sense of the programs and data on them.<br /><br />Heathcote said he had to cut off offending before 2000.<br /><br />"That was as far back as we could obtain banking records. It is my belief this was going on before then."<br /><br />It was a challenge, he said. "It was always going to be complex and difficult, based on the evidence we had."<br /><br />In an ideal world, the Serious Fraud Office would have taken it, he said.<br /><br />However, their resources were stretched.<br /><br />The Mount case was supervised and managed from the Nelson District, with additional national funding. It took about 12 months to investigate and bring to court.<br /><br />And, in that first trial in July 2013, Mount handed over a laptop with printed documents. Mount intended it to confirm he was telling the truth and his figures were correct. It proved to do the opposite. It allowed police access to the figures provided to police by Mount's broker. Mount also lied to police, telling them it was the same laptop police had seized earlier.<br /><br />The first trial was aborted, and the second trial began in October this year.<br /><br />Mount's activities had been the focus of Heathcote's work for the past four years.<br /><br />It's also been the most resourced investigation, in time and money, the district had undertaken.<br /><br />It was of "huge" public interest, he believed. "More to the point, this man needed to be brought to account. He has put a lot of people in financial difficultly in their elderly and retirement life."<br /><br />There was huge breaches of trust between Mount and his clients. "Some he was on personal terms with, and knowing he was stealing from them has had a lot of the clients distraught."<br /><br />The Crown, police and courts are still working out if there will be additional charges.<br /><br />Victim feels for Mount<br /><br />While Tony Mount has been called a stranger to honesty, the man who got the ball rolling on his downfall can't help but feel sorry for him.<br /><br />Speaking to the Nelson Mail after convicted fraudster Tony Mount's sentencing, former client Douglas Gregory said he was after justice, and got it.<br /><br />Gregory has been involved in both the civil and the criminal cases against Mount.<br /><br />He has been credited for bringing Mount's dealings to police attention. He went to police with his concerns in 2010, after doing the sums himself.<br /><br />The retired plumber modestly says: "I'm just like that, it's one of my things.<br /><br />"I didn't do anything special. I only initially did it just for my own satisfaction really, it just happened it did steamroll a bit when we went to the police."<br /><br />Gregory wasn't looking to make any money from the civil case. Both cases were about bringing Mount to justice.<br /><br />"I feel sorry for him in a way, but he was particularly arrogant especially when I was trying to get paperwork from him to make some judgments. He wasn't clever, his figures weren't clever," he said.<br /><br />Geoff Gudsell was involved in the civil case seeking investors' money back. He had invested with Mount, before the year 2000.<br /><br />He attended an initial public meeting in 2010, called by lawyer Rick Farr who wanted to gauge how many clients Mount may have ripped off.<br /><br />"I don't think at the time we realised what a tremendous fight and battle he was going to put up.<br /><br />"All of us in the end felt, while we did not expect to return any of the money, we have at least obtained some justice."<br /><br />Between the two cases, clients spoken to said they hoped it would put him behind bars, as well as take away his assets.<br /><br />In the past, Mount had claimed to come from humble beginnings - a Yorkshire coal-miner's son.<br /><br />Clients spoken to yesterday questioned how he could have stolen off the same sort of people as he had come from.<br /><br />Timeline<br /><br />1997: Tony Mount and wife Kaye become guardians of a friend's daughter after her parents die in a road accident in the Lewis Pass.<br /><br />1999: Mount is a finalist in the inaugural Financial Planner of the Year awards.<br /><br />2009: Mount's paint company, BioPaints, is the new principal sponsor for Opera in the Park, offering free tickets for 2010.<br /><br />February 2010:: In a profile on Mount, he says his father worked in a Yorkshire coal mine for 30 years. In 1987 he set up his financial planning business, after reading an article that advised people to get a good financial planner.<br /><br />September 2010: Mount is charged with fraud. He tells the Mail the "charge came out of the blue". After his first court appearance, at least 40 clients contact police. A further article says he faces a further 58 fraud charges, with more possible.<br /><br />October 2010: Mount fires all BioPaints employees. A group of investors take civil action against Mount to try to freeze some of his assets until the police criminal investigation is complete. Mount later appeals the decision.<br /><br />November 2010: Mount's BioPaints is no longer sponsoring Opera in the Park<br /><br />March 2011: Mount committed to stand trial on 137 fraud charges.<br /><br />April 2011: A group of former clients successfully apply to have Mount's assets refrozen.<br /><br />October 2011: Police lay 390 new charges against Mount, bringing it to 527 fraud charges totalling $1.4 million.<br /><br />June 2013: Stands trial in the Nelson District Court on 77 fraud charges. Mount represented by defence lawyer Jonathan Eaton. Crown alleges Mount skimmed money from his clients' investments by telling them investments cost more than they did and told them investments had sold for less than they actually realised. Clients testify they did not receive a lot of information on their investments.<br /><br />July 2013: The trial is aborted as more information comes to light.<br /><br />October 2014: A new trial held in the Nelson District Court. Expert witnesses called, including from the Serious Fraud Office, and Inland Revenue. It is revealed that Mount's trial in 2013 was aborted after he handed over a laptop that had a working copy of a program called IMS on it which Mount used for his business.<br /><br />Police had cloned his computers when he was first charged in 2010, but were unable to make sense of data on them, because the IMS software used a specific operating system. With the laptop they can make sense of data and it backs up their findings.<br /><br />Detective Paul Heathcote tells the court Mount had claimed it was the same laptop, seized and returned in 2011. Evidence proves otherwise.<br /><br />Mount elects not to give evidence. Tompkins finds Mount guilty of all charges.<br /><br />December 2014: Mount sentenced to six years nine months on criminal charges.<br /><br />Mount wanted a High Court decision that he should pay clients in the civil case $2.9m, overturned. The Appeal Court dismisses his appeal. Mount ordered to pay $2.84m, plus interest expected to be about $900,000, bringing the total to about $3.7m.</div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-15359789144419531292014-11-07T01:37:00.000-08:002015-03-19T01:42:51.490-07:00Man jailed for fatally stabbing friend<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
For Nelson Mail/Fairfax Media</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Nelson man Kirk Day has been sentenced to six and a half years for killing Carl Joblin over a lit cigarette and a broken guitar.</div>
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A Nelson High Court jury found Day guilty of manslaughter in September this year, for <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/9001717/Man-fatally-stabbed-in-Nile-Street" style="color: #256091; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">stabbing Joblin to death</a> in a Nile St house on August 4 last year.</div>
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Today, Justice Joseph Williams sentenced Day to six and a half years imprisonment with no minimum set. Day has already served 18 months of the sentence while he was remanded in custody at Papanui Prison in Christchurch.</div>
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Over the course of the trial, the court heard that Day killed Joblin after a group of five, made up of Day, Joblin, siblings Delrose and Nathan Innes and friend Peter Harvey had been drinking at a Nile St house Day’s parents had rented and Day lived in.</div>
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Harvey lit a cigarette inside, angering Day who then pushed Harvey over and straddled him. Joblin pushed Day off Harvey, causing Day to fall on his guitar and break it.</div>
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Day then stabbed Joblin with a 15cm length blade kitchen knife, inflicting fatal wounds.</div>
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Day fled the scene, and crashed his car in Whakatu Drive, where he was arrested.</div>
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During the trial the six-man, six-woman jury heard from witnesses who were at the house at the time of the attack and emergency services who attended both scenes.</div>
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They also heard from Day’s former partner Zelia Smart who spoke about Day’s mental and addiction issues. Smart considered herself his support person.</div>
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During the trial, Day’s parents spoke about his history of panic attacks. Day also gave evidence and spoke of gaps in his recollection of events on the night. He had insisted he had no intention to kill Joblin.</div>
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He said he had been experiencing a panic attack that night, and had taken a knife to try to get a group of visitors to leave. He said he did not remember stabbing Joblin.</div>
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The trial was presided over by Justice Joseph Williams, with defence lawyers Tony Bamford and Luke Acland representing Day, while the Crown was represented by Jackson Webber and Sophie O’Donoghue.</div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-41811338251340540372014-10-09T01:46:00.000-07:002015-03-19T01:46:50.112-07:00Happy hashtag creates social media buzzhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/inspire-me/10584104/Happy-hashtag-creates-social-media-buzz<br />
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For Nelson Mail/Fairfax Media<br />
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A Nelson businesswoman is hashtagging her way to happiness, and wants others to jump on board.</div>
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Nelson leadership coach Suzi McAlpine aims to empower people when they feel blue by getting them to think of what makes you happy, draw it, and put it on the internet.</div>
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McAlpine is aiming for her #myhappything campaign to become a movement, to get people to realise the power they have in lifting their spirits.</div>
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McAlpine said she was recently "dealing with some disappointments with human nature" and realised while she was not the only person who experienced ups and down, she could control how she reacted to them.</div>
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"I realised there's always something in our power we can do to lift our spirits."</div>
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She was inspired by Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl's famous quote: "everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."</div>
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Meditating is her "happy thing". She spent her week asking people she met, clients, passengers on a plane or people on the street "what's one thing you do, which makes you feel happy, or lifts your spirits, when you do it?"</div>
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In getting people to think about what made them happy, she said it was a good experience in appreciation.</div>
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"There is enjoyment found in doing it, it's really fun, they have fun drawing the thing, in the process of doing it, they already feel happy."</div>
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So far, people had posted that they liked spending time with their family, hugs from their children, working out, and helping other people .</div>
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"I want people to connect with the message...there's always something you can do to feel better."</div>
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To take part in the campaign, write down your ‘happy thing' on a piece of paper - it can be a sketch, a few words, or whatever you feel helps to describe it, take a photo of you holding the sign, and Post it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #myhappything.</div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-69246467099615725622014-09-30T01:43:00.000-07:002015-03-19T01:43:57.864-07:00Court told farmer refused to feed starving stock<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">For Nelson Mail/Fairfax Media</span><br />
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A court has been told of council officers seeing dead and malnourished stock at a dairy farm near Murchison, and a farmer who allegedly refused to buy feed for them.</div>
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Dairy farmer Phillip Woolley is denying charges brought by Tasman District Council at the Nelson District Court, relating to effluent at his Matakitaki farm.</div>
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Yesterday was the first day of the trial, presided over by Judge Jeff Smith.</div>
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Woolley, from Tuamarina in Marlborough, farm manager Hendrik Jordaan and Awarua Farm are charged with multiple breaches of the Tasman Resource Management Plan (TRMP) and the Resource Management Act which allegedly saw ponding of effluent in breach of the TRMP, stored effluent solids on unsealed ground, also in breach of the TRMP, and grazing a herd in a manner that may have resulted in the discharge of effluent and sediment into a nearby watercourse.</div>
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The charges date back to November 2012.</div>
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Jordaan indicated through his counsel, Tony Bamford, that he would plead guilty to the charges and file for discharge without conviction.</div>
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Lawyer David Clark appeared for Awarua Farm and Woolley.</div>
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There were a total of 16 charges against the three defendants; 12 of those were against Woolley and the farm.</div>
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The TDC, represented by lawyer Antoinette Besier, said the farmer had long history of enforcement orders dating back to the council's first inspection in 2004.</div>
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The Environment Court had issued enforcement orders in 2006 with respect to the management of dairy farm effluent.</div>
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The prosecution's first witness, TDC compliance officer Kathryn Bunting, described the farm as "very large", developed over two old river terraces, with 880 cows. It had streams running through it, and it was estimated to be worth $9.5 million, with Woolley owning 99 per cent of the shares and his wife Suzanne the other 1 per cent.</div>
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Bunting said the farm's effluent discharge had to comply with the TRMP. Effluent had to be sealed to stop it contaminating water sources and it could not be pooled on a surface for more than an hour.</div>
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On November 1 2012 she saw "a number of compliance issues", with the storage of effluent in an unsealed area, pooling of it on a paddock and effluent being discharged into an unnamed stream as a result of intensive grazing.</div>
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She had also seen "many malnourished animals" while on the farm.</div>
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"It did stand out how much dead stock there was on the farm at that time."</div>
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She said she spoke with a farmhand, who did not know about previous enforcement orders.</div>
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She saw farm workers trying to free stock caught in mud near the unnamed stream.</div>
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Former farm manager Hendrik Jordaan, who had worked at the farm from June 2012 to May 2013, was called as a prosecution witness. He described his time there as "stressful" and said Woolley did not give him any independence in funding for maintenance of the farm, even small items. Woolley was not often at the farm, and they communicated by phone and email.</div>
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He said he was concerned the cows did not have enough to eat. He asked Woolley for supplementary food for them on a number of occasions. He said Woolley was not interested in the the condition of his cows.</div>
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He said he decided to graze the "most under-fed and poorest condition" stock next to the stream for a day.</div>
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He said they were "desperate for feed".</div>
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"The feed was so scarce through the rest of the farm, Phil had not supplied feed for the cows."</div>
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He had told a farmhand to move the cows after one day of grazing near the unnamed stream but this was not done, and the TDC visited while Jordaan was on leave. The TDC saw two of the cows stuck in the mud, and sediments and effluent had gone into the stream.</div>
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Jordaan had suggested changes to the farm, but said Woolley did not act on them.</div>
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"Phil was well aware of issues of effluent ponding, but never did anything about it."</div>
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He wanted to buy concrete to ensure effluent was stored properly, but said Woolley would not give him permission.</div>
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He said he was in an "impossible position" at the farm as he did not have control over anything.</div>
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A former farm employee, Khyle Brookland, also described food shortages on the farm, and Woolley refusing to fix problems. He said Woolley told him to starve the stock.</div>
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The court also heard from TDC scientist Trevor James, who looked at the water quality in rivers and streams in the area, both up and downstream from the farm.</div>
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James said the TDC looked at water quality at several sites in the area, on an ongoing basis. Concentrations of the E coli bacteria (which came from animals) were higher after rain in the Matakitaki river. Levels were higher downstream than sample spots upstream from the farm.</div>
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He said the unnamed stream on the farm was an "unhealthy waterway system".</div>
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He said during rain contaminants ran off the farm and into the unnamed stream, which fed into the Matakitaki river. There was a risk to humans who used the river downstream from the farm as they could get ill from bacteria.</div>
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The hearing is to continue, with defence witnesses expected to be called today.</div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-6270045193728829862014-03-31T01:48:00.000-07:002015-03-19T01:50:18.198-07:00Cancer battler keeps smilinghttp://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/lifestyle-entertainment/weekend/9886465/Cancer-battler-keeps-smiling<br />
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Nelson Mail/Fairfax Media<br />
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Stacey Knott talks with Annette Taylor , named this week as Nelson's Most Wonderful Woman.</strong></div>
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It's been a rough year for Annette Taylor, but she still has an easy laugh, and a strong air of optimism.</div>
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The Nelson College director of boarding and international students was diagnosed with melanoma in April last year. She has cancerous tumours on her liver and spleen.</div>
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This week she was <strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/9879175/Most-Wonderful-humbled-by-title" style="color: #256091; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">named Nelson's Most Wonderful Woman</a></strong>, chosen by Mayor Rachel Reese for her positive attitude through her battle.</div>
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Annette worked at Nelson College for Girls at the deputy principal from 2001 until 2008.</div>
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A formidable force who demanded respect from her students, she then moved to Nelson College in 2009 where she took on the role of assistant principal, then added director of boarding to her portfolio.</div>
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In June 2012 she added director of international students to her list of school roles.</div>
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Ambitious and driven, she was meant to be a principal by now, but the cancer changed her plans.</div>
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Since she began at the school she has lived on site, in a house near the boarding houses.</div>
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Part of her role included travelling abroad on marketing trips, and it was after returning from Thailand in term one last year that she noticed something wasn't quite right. She wondered why she wasn't recovering from the jetlag.</div>
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Her skin was also a darker colour than she was used to.</div>
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She went to her doctor who ran extensive tests.</div>
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"Sadly, investigations were done and it was identified that I had metastatic melanoma in my liver and in my spleen."</div>
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This was the second time she'd been hit with cancer.</div>
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Back in June 2005, a melanoma was discovered on Annette's scalp while she was teaching at Girl's College. She had it checked out after her fortieth birthday. Her doctor referred her to a general surgeon who removed it.</div>
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It was a shock for her when results came back as a high grade melanoma. It was cut out and rigorous tests were done to ensure it had not spread.</div>
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"When I returned back to the role, everything was normal. I was keeping out of the sun, was wearing hats and lathering on the sunscreen."</div>
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She was tested rigorously for a spread of the cancer and did everything she was asked to do. And she was clear, until this time last year.</div>
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An ultrasound revealed Annette had tumours on her liver and spleen. The cancer was back.</div>
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"Those cancer cells from my head were sent to my body all those years ago, but were lying dormant."</div>
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The darkened, almost aubergine skin tone is melanosis, caused by a hyper pigmentation of the skin, which is a direct relation to the liver.</div>
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"I was devastated to find it had come back, but then relieved it wasn't anywhere else on my body. Melanoma is sneaky. Once it's inside you, it can transfer anywhere."</div>
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Annette was diagnosed on April 30 last year. On July 11 she was put on a drug trial, as one of 19 patients taking part in in New Zealand.</div>
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The trial sees her visit Wellington monthly for scans to see if the cancer is shrinking, or spreading.</div>
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At this stage, Annette is happy to report that the tumours are shrinking.</div>
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The drugs she is on are a pill form of chemotherapy. She takes two lots of tablets twice a day.</div>
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"So far the tumours are shrinking and there are no new tumours, which is good."</div>
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The trial will end in July this year, though if everything goes to plan, she understands she will stay on them.</div>
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If not, she will be put on intravenous chemotherapy.</div>
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"And that's it, really."</div>
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The drugs have similar side effects to intravenous chemotherapy, though she has not suffered hair loss.</div>
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She suffers fevers, sweats and a burning sensation in her feet.</div>
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Her tastes have changed as well. Coffee, which she once loved passionately, is out. So is yoghurt, and she eats minimal cheese and sweets.</div>
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She feels the cold, and her body struggles to regulate her temperature.</div>
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"For a while there the boys were walking around in singlets and I was wearing a sweatshirt because I felt the cold," she says with a smile.</div>
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"I have had a lot of side effects, but in saying that, the treatment outweighed those. You take each day as it comes and you decide ‘let's hope today is a good day'."</div>
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While there is no guarantees with the drug, it is currently working for her, and she takes comfort in the fact it may help others in the future.</div>
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She's frank about her condition and fairly pragmatic.</div>
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"I haven't been given any length on time, if this trial isn't successful then the next step is intravenous chemotherapy.</div>
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"I know it's serious because it's in my liver and spleen, I don't want it spreading, often melanoma spreads to your lungs or pancreas. It is serious - it's metastatic but these drugs are working. That's what you have to hold on to really."</div>
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By sharing her story, she urges anyone with a slight suspicion of skin cancer to get it checked out early on.</div>
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Her other piece of advice is protect your skin.</div>
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Growing up in New Zealand, summers by the water were normal for her.</div>
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From Ohakune, she would spend summer days at Lake Taupo.</div>
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"I was in my togs in the morning and out of my togs at night. As you got older, you wanted to be browned."</div>
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Now, she urges anyone who wants a tan to go fake.</div>
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"Tanned skin can lead to melanoma."</div>
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She also walks around Nelson College dishing out sunscreen.</div>
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It was coming back to work this year, after three terms off, that she needed both mentally and physically, she says.</div>
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Though it's exhausting, by the end of the day she feels supported by the school staff and students.</div>
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"Boarding became a passion for me, so have international students. They are very diverse and multicultural, every day is an interesting day," she says with an easy laugh.</div>
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The students have been kind and accepting of her altered appearance and illness.</div>
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In her first classes back, she addressed what was going on, right away.</div>
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She recalls telling them: ‘I am going to tell you about who I am now.</div>
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"Some days I am going to come in and drink copious amounts of water and I am going to have to teach sitting down. Other days I will be perspiring looking really bad but my skin is always going to be this colour.'</div>
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"They are incredibly respectful of difference."</div>
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Annette is unsure if her skin will return to its normal tone. Doctors had told her they had rarely seen the skin condition she has.</div>
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"It's hard to live with the stares I get, particularly in supermarkets or the bank. It doesn't always worry me but some comments I have snapped back at. I'm not usually like that but there's been a couple of times."</div>
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"It's people's natural curiosity. Some days I am darker than others it depends how tired I am. It depends on the colours I wear as well."</div>
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She avoids white and cream coloured clothing, she jokes.</div>
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"People ask me how I am, my usual response is: ‘As good as can be expected,' it's not a flippant answer."</div>
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When the cancer has gone, Annette plans on traipsing around France.</div>
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"I absolutely adore France. I have French connections with a wonderful family there, so that's what I would like to do."</div>
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By then, hopefully her tastebuds will be back to normal to enjoy the nation's brie and creme brulees.</div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-89812961672509815772013-11-28T12:37:00.000-08:002014-12-12T12:41:14.761-08:00Fast food and low wages<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px;">
The Wireless - Radio New Zealand <br />
Published 28th November 2013</div>
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<a href="http://thewireless.co.nz/themes/free/fast-food-and-low-wages" target="_blank">http://thewireless.co.nz/themes/free/fast-food-and-low-wages</a></div>
Jobs in the fast food industry are often a young person’s first taste of working life – from slinging burgers after school to delivering pizzas on the weekend. The hours are flexible, and while the pay is usually minimal, the social side of it can be fun.<br /><br />But full- or part-time, young workers spoken to for The Wireless agree – theirs is a tough job. Physically and mentally, there’s a lot to deal with: overwhelming heat in kitchens; demanding, sometimes abusive customers; standing all day, and the monotony of doing the same thing, shift after shift.<br /><br />It’s all go, and while the industry prides itself on creating career opportunities, moving through the ranks isn’t for everyone.<br /><br />Of people spoken to both on and off the record about their experiences in fast food work, responses were almost equally divided between enjoying the work, and despising it. None were particularly interested in careers within the fast food industry.<br /><br /><br />See link for whole article <br /><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 1em;">
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<span style="color: #0000ee; font-size: small; line-height: normal; text-decoration: underline;">http://thewireless.co.nz/themes/free/fast-food-and-low-wages </span></div>
</div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-67361232908978475172013-03-14T02:34:00.000-07:002013-10-21T14:59:58.738-07:00New laws needed to curb Cape Coast drownings.<br />
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For Atlantic FM - Cape Coast Ghana, broadcast on 14.3.2013 </div>
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The high number of drownings along Cape Coast needs to be addressed at a government level a<br />
local police officer has said.<br />
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Since March last year, there has been 16 drownings along the Cape Coast – the most recent was last<br />
Sunday when a teenager drowned near Oasis Beach Resort.<br />
<br />
Bakana police station officer ASP Edward Otumi told ATLM FM News that the government<br />
needed to enforce laws to make resorts take responsibility for swimmers at popular spots, like<br />
Oasis.<br />
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While some resorts along the coast have lifeguards and are designated safe swimming areas, he said<br />
there should be a law to make all resorts and popular beach-side restaurants provide them.<br />
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“Spots like Castle Restaurant where we know people are there to drink and have fun, they will also<br />
want to swim so you need to have lifesavers there, so we want the government to make sure (of<br />
that).”<br />
<br />
Mr Otumi had personally spoken with the Oasis management about hiring lifeguards after the recent<br />
drowning, but said they did not feel it was their duty to do so.<br />
<br />
Oasis manager Mirko Schumm told ATL FM News that the resort was currently trying to employ a<br />
lifeguard for the area, but could not find anyone qualified enough.<br />
<br />
He said they had hired a lifeguard in the past but the guard could not swim well enough for the<br />
job. Mr Schumm said he has personally had to save a few people struggling in the ocean by<br />
Oasis.<br />
<br />
He said the water in the area could be dangerous with the currents, winds and high waves.<br />
<br />
Mr Otumi urged swimmers to be aware of the risks in the Cape Coast oceans, especially over the<br />
upcoming Easter celebrations where he feared there would be more drownings with people going to<br />
the beach over the break. He said anyone wanting to swim should ask local fishermen which areas<br />
were safer.staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-78360390445447294992013-03-04T02:32:00.000-08:002013-10-21T15:03:25.100-07:00GOVERNMENT PLEDGES MUSIC SUPPORT<br />
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For Atlantic FM - Cape Coast Ghana, broadcast on 4.3.2013 </div>
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The government has pledged its support to the Ghana music industry as it says it will help boost<br />
employment in Ghana.<br />
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Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, was speaking at the<br />
launch of the maiden Ghana Music Week in Accra yesterday, and told the audience of music<br />
industry professionals that the government saw the creative arts as a wealth creator, as well as a way<br />
to grow tourism.<br />
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She said the government would “continue to provide the needed support to bring the creative<br />
industry on par with other sectors.”<br />
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She said President John Mahama's vision for this term – which was recently outlined in his<br />
State of the Nation address, would see him “develop and strengthen the creative industry to enable<br />
the county to actively engage in world trade for creative goods and services.”<br />
<br />
As part of the vision, Mrs Ofosu-Adjare also said the government would facilitate acquiring funding<br />
from the private sector to build a new much-needed arts venue in Ghana, which president of the<br />
MUSIGA Bice Osei Kuffuor said was a “key necessity” to accommodate the growing Ghana music<br />
industry.<br />
<br />
Mr Osei Kuffuor said a new venue would be great “for the development of the music industry to<br />
seat our numerous clients and fans who have outgrown all the entertainment venues in our country<br />
now.”<br />
<br />
The event organised by the Musicians Union of Ghana is taking place at the National Theatre<br />
and will feature workshops, performances and competitions. It opened yesterday with traditional<br />
performances from all areas in Ghana, including the Masquerade Dancers from the Central Region.<br />
<br />
As part of the programme, on March 6 – Independence Day – 56 Ghanian artists will be performing<br />
at the Accra Sports Stadium to celebrate 56 years of independence, and then on Saturday March 9<br />
the week concludes with an industry awards ceremony.staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-34604418223295099702013-02-25T02:15:00.000-08:002013-03-25T02:15:22.268-07:00Keep politics out of student leadershipFor Atlantic FM - Cape Coast Ghana, broadcast on 25.2.2013 <br />
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The University of Cape Coast's Student Representative Council (SRC) needs to keep the individuals and<br />their politics out of student leadership.<br /><br />At a public lecture today as part of the UCC SRC 50th anniversary celebrations, UCC professor<br />George K.T. Oduro told the student audience it was important that their council remained non-<br />partisan in the face of pressure from political parties on campus.<br /><br />The lecture, based on the impact of student leadership on tertiary education and social change, used<br />the UCC SRC as a case study.<br /><br />Professor Oduro, who was the UCC SRC President from 1992- 1993 and then the president of the<br />National Union of Ghana Students emphasised the need to remain non-partisan as student leaders<br />and be inclusive of all faiths and ethnicities, as the student leaders were the mouthpiece of their<br />diverse student colleagues.<br /><br />“One feature of the student movement is that it is a-political, it is a-political because membership<br />of the movement come from different political divides, they come from different religious divides,<br />they come from different ethnic divides so the movement does not adopt that notion or phenomena<br />of tribalism, partisan, imperialism and all the isms.”<br /><br />Professor Oduro also spoke about student leadership's importance, from Ghana's independence to<br />the present day, saying it is student leaders who initiate social change and in doing so, shape the<br />image of the university.<br /><br />“The fight against colonisation could not have been accelerated if the student moment, or for that<br />instance student leaders did not take the first steps.<br /><br />“For instance our former first president Kwame Nkrumah was a member of the West Africa<br />Students Association and played a pivotal role in accelerating the decolonisation process.<br /><br />“Students can never be taken out of the political history of our nation,” he said.staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-81270853798595742972013-02-20T02:28:00.000-08:002013-10-21T15:01:50.347-07:00OFFICIAL SAYS CAPE COAST WATER SAFE TO DRINK<br />
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For Atlantic FM - Cape Coast Ghana, broadcast on 20.2.2013 </div>
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An official at the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) says water in the Cape Coast region is<br />
safer to drink than sachet water.<br />
<br />
This assurance comes after expired aluminium sulphate was reportedly found in water treated at the<br />
Weija plant, raising concerns for health. National Security officials are currently investigating this<br />
issue.<br />
<br />
GWCL Regional Chief Manager Emmanuel Ashia told ATL FM News that water in the Cape Coast<br />
area was safe for human consumption, and had not had any official word concerning the expired<br />
chemicals issue.<br />
<br />
“Our water is tested every day from the plant where the water is produced, and also in the<br />
distribution system we take samples to make sure the water is tested, so if you drink our water – it is<br />
safe.<br />
<br />
“We add extra chlorine to kill any bacteria that happens to be in the system.”<br />
<br />
The company uses two treatment plants – Sekyere Heman and Briminso for water from the River<br />
Pra and Kakum River. Mr Ashia said the issue of iron naturally occurring in water, old pipes and<br />
hilly areas in Cape Coast were more of an issue in water management and distribution.<br />
<br />
He said water around the Cape Coast Castle was a problem due to the old pipes in the area, which<br />
would be difficult to replace as roads run over-top of them.<br />
<br />
Despite these issues, he claimed that the tap water was often safer to drink than some sachet or<br />
bottled water.<br />
<br />
“We know that most of the sachet water is not safe, they just filter the water and put it in the rubber<br />
bags.<br />
<br />
“Some do some disinfection that can last for a while, but when they are put in the sunlight there is a<br />
lot of algae growth.”<br />
<br />
He said not all the sachet water was unsafe, but there was a common misconception that tap water<br />
in Ghana was not safe to drink, and that these were a better alternative.staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-12710988514492007532013-02-19T02:25:00.000-08:002013-03-25T02:26:08.763-07:00UCC ABORTION RESEARCH<br />
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<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3460441822329509970" itemprop="description articleBody">
For Atlantic FM - Cape Coast Ghana, broadcast on 25.2.2013 </div>
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A team from the University of Cape Coast are currently researching unsafe abortions in Ghana<br />which is the second most common cause of maternal mortality in the country.<br /><br />The study is supported by the World Health Organization, and is aimed at improving maternal<br />health in developing nations, as chartered in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.<br /><br />The research is led by UCC Population and Health lecturer Doctor Akwasi Kumi Kyereme and<br />looks at the use of labour-inducing drug misoprostol which can also be legally used to terminate<br />pregnancy in 80 countries if it is administered by a health professional.<br /><br />The researchers are looking at cases over five countries including Ghana, when this drug is not<br />administered by a professional, and the effects it can cause when it is not managed.<br /><br />“We have realised that the use of misoprostol, one of the drugs for pregnancy induction and is<br />listed on the WHO, the use is on the increase, and anecdotal evidence suggests that more and more<br />females who try to terminate pregnancy take this drug.<br /><br />“We realise that when they take this is reduces the severity of abortion complications.”<br /><br />Some abortions in Ghana are legal, such as pregnancy from rape, incest or if the pregnancy will<br />cause ill-health to the mother or child.<br /><br />Dr Kumi Kyereme said that the drug was being abused when it was not prescribed properly,<br />but evidence so far has suggested it is a safer alternative than other ways of unprofessionally<br />administered terminations<br /><br />“We don't support abuse but it is evident that those who use it have less severe complications than<br />those who use other methods.”<br /><br />The research is divided into three phases and involves interviews with providers of post-abortion<br />care, looks at the symptoms women may suffer from abortions and the third phase involves in-depth<br />interviews with those who have had an abortion, using the drug or other means.<br /><br />The study will also look at developing nations Bhutan, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Nigeria, started last<br />year and is expected to be finished later this year.staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-7083018439330685912013-02-18T23:40:00.000-08:002014-01-12T23:49:58.597-08:00Cape Coast police catch Accra extortion cop<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">ATL FM Ghana</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">An Accra policeman has been charged with extortion after Cape Coast police busted him last Thursday when he and three others posed as National Security Guards and tried to arrest a man they accused of dealing in mercury.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> On Thursday, Kotokuraba Police arrested detectivecorporal Daneil Adjei Asare of CID Headquarters in Accra, along with Sampson Mends a civilian employee with the Ghanian Armed Forces, Teshie Accra Peter Amenyo, an auto mechanic from Accra and Rijee Rizvi Mamudeen a businessman from Malaysia.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Kotokuraba police inspector ASP Emmanuel Tetteh said the four posed as National Security Operatives and arrested a man who they accused of dealing in a substance believed to be mercury.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">They allegedly forced the man to pay them 1000 cedi to be freed, and warned him not to disclose what had happened.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Kotokuraba police, upon a tip off, followed the four suspects, and arrested them at Moree Junction on Thursday afternoon.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> An Accra policeman has been charged with extortion after Cape Coast police busted him last Thursday when he and three others posed as National Security Guards and tried to arrest a man they accused of dealing in mercury.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">On Thursday, Kotokuraba Police arrested detectivecorporal Daneil Adjei Asare of CID Headquarters in Accra, along with Sampson Mends a civilian employee with the Ghanian Armed Forces, Teshie Accra Peter Amenyo, an auto mechanic from Accra and Rijee Rizvi Mamudeen a businessman from Malaysia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Kotokuraba police inspector ASP Emmanuel Tetteh said the four posed as National Security Operatives and arrested a man who they accused of dealing in a substance believed to be mercury.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> They allegedly forced the man to pay them 1000 cedi to be freed, and warned him not to disclose what had happened.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Kotokuraba police, upon a tip off, followed the four suspects, and arrested them at Moree Junction on Thursday afternoon.</span></div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-35723163726703034392013-02-12T00:07:00.000-08:002014-12-12T13:38:47.838-08:00Doctor's strike<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-GB">ATL FM Ghana</span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-GB">The Ghana Medical Association has started
strike action today, affecting hospitals through Ghana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-GB">The association has withdrawn outpatient
services from today, and will follow this by a full strike from February 18 if
the government does not settle their salary issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-GB">ATL FM news has visited three hospitals in
the Cape Coast metropolis – Central Regional Hospital, District Hospital and
the University of Cape Coast hospital but no one spoken to was willing to go
air with their comments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-GB">From what the ATL witnessed, the hospitals
were busy and doctors were attending to their duties – both emergency and
out-patient cases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-GB">An administrator at the University of Cape
Coast hospital who did not want to be named, said doctors were attending to all
patients and has no information about the strike.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-GB">ATL News also spoke to a University of Cape
Coast student who was waiting for treatment at the Central Region Hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="Standard">
<span lang="EN-GB">He told the station he felt his treatment
was being affected by strike action, and his appointment had been deferred from
last week due to this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-85611365193691823042013-02-11T02:17:00.000-08:002013-03-25T02:19:10.190-07:00SRC visits School for the DeafFor Atlantic FM Cape Coast Ghana - broadcast 11.2.2013<br />
<br />As part of its 50th anniversary celebration the University of Cape Coast Student Representative Council (SRC) visited the Cape Coast School for the Deaf over the weekend.<br /><br />The SRC is focusing on social development as part of its anniversary, so a delegation of its<br />members went to the school on Saturday to donate goods.<br /><br />The school has 429 hearing and visually impaired students and teaches primary through to technical<br />skills. Most of the students board at the school.<br /><br />School headmistress Barbara Ennin said the majority of students come from poor families, and the<br />school is reliant on government funding as well as philanthropic donations.<br /><br />SRC Project and Programmes committee chairman, D.J Sambah Francis said they chose the school<br />as they saw it as a very worthy cause.<br /><br />“These people have a special need, they are disenfranchised in so many ways. They depend on<br />corporate institutions and corporate organisations to come to their aid.<br /><br />“SRC as a stake holder in development have identified itself with Cape Deaf looking at where they<br />are situated and looking at some of the things they are disenfranchised from,” he said.<br /><br />While handing over the goods to Miss Ennin, SRC president Boateng Enoch said many of the<br />UCCs deaf and visually impaired students were educated at the school, and thanked the school for<br />their development.<br /><br />“You have been able to produce most of them, they are academically brilliant. I can recall<br />somebody being able to score a grade of ten.<br /><br />We want to still urge you to keep growing them, the University of Cape Coast as well as other<br />universities in Ghana have facilities that can cater for them.”staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-69222348400841606632013-02-08T23:36:00.000-08:002014-01-12T23:36:21.022-08:00Faculty Of Social Sciences Holds 7th Annual Conference On Microfinance<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">One of the objective of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is the eradication of extreme poverty particularly in developing countries, and according to experts, the Micro-finance Sector has been playing an intermediary role in reaching this goal. </span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The UN and its member countries have over the years put in place mechanisms to alleviate poverty and in order to enhance the achievements of the MDG's by 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The 7<sup style="border: 0px; color: #cc0000; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">th</sup> Annual conference Microfinance of the University Of Cape Coast Faculty Of Social Sciences has been held to help champion micro-financing, thus helping reduce poverty.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The opening of the two day conference was graced by the Vice-Chancelor of the UCC, Prof. D.D. Kuupole, the Oguaa Manhen, Osaberima Kwesi Atta II, Deans of Faculties, Apex Bodies and Microfinance Institutions, was held on the theme; Microfinance and Poverty Reduction, Taking Stock of Achievements And Challenges Towards 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Professor Kojo Awusabo Asare who is the chairman of the micro-finance committee of UCC and a lecturer in population and health said the idea of the conference is to help in the sharing of ideas.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“The whole idea is to provide a platform for sharing ideas and information on micro-finance and also the university is to provide academic backing for the issue of micro-finance. The role of research institutions like the University of Cape Coast is to study if it is working, or if it is it not working.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">He added: “if it’s working, what factors make it work and how we can improve upon them, and if it’s not working what were the reasons and how can we overcome it.” </span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Speaking on the role of the Ministry of Finance in enhancing the operations of Microfinance, Mr. Jeffrey Gargar of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning told ATL FM news, that the Ministry is running a program in a Rural and Agricultural finance.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“The focus of the project is how to deepen access to finance for people living in these areas who are in low income brackets. We try to deepen the institutions who provide these services to them so they can become sustainable.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The second day of the workshop is underway today at the Sasakawa Conference Center in the University of Cape Coast.</span></div>
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staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-36268969483042666472013-02-06T00:03:00.000-08:002014-01-13T00:04:06.537-08:00Spending outweights expenditureYesterday ATL FM News ran a story about Ghana’s worsening unemployment situation and the<br />
<br />
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology upcoming plans to run clinics to help<br />
<br />
young graduates find work.<br />
<br />
However, the ATL FM News has been speaking to some workers at the University of Cape Coast<br />
<br />
and have found even those with jobs are struggling to make ends meet, with expenditures often<br />
<br />
exceeding income.<br />
<br />
It is a wide-spread issue, and with easy access to loans over-spending can have dire consequences.<br />
<br />
Dr Aborampa Amoah-Mensah, a lecturer of international business and entrepreneurship told ATL<br />
<br />
FM News that the pressures of consumerism was a large factor is people spending more than they<br />
<br />
make.<br />
<br />
“In our society we cherish people who use flashy cars. People also like comparisons – if they<br />
<br />
went to school with this guy or this girl and the person is earning this much and you haven’t got<br />
<br />
anything, you spend more that you have – either going for a loan or finding fictitious or dubious<br />
<br />
ways to cheat.”<br />
<br />
Miss Evon Misroame an administrator in the English department agreed saying people need to<br />
<br />
learn to live within their means, and that access to loans when you are working can be too easy and<br />
<br />
lead to excessive spending.<br />
<br />
“People get to know that when in the working environment there is an easy way to access loans.<br />
<br />
Some people have not got the need for a loan, yet they will go for the loan and waste it. This<br />
<br />
accounts for why people spend more than they need.<br />
<br />
“They will not sit down and budget or plan for whatever they want to buy,” she said.<br />
<br />
ATL FM News also spoke to Emmanuel Quaye, an aluminium fabricator working on campus who<br />
<br />
said he was unable to live within his means as the cost of living in Ghana is too high, and the wages<br />
<br />
too low.<br />
<br />
“The salary I take a month doesn’t suit me. I have a lot of things to take care of, they are up and<br />
<br />
down. In my daily activities I have to take a car in and out and buy my breakfast and lunch.<br />
<br />
“To eat in Ghana its a problem, to buy products its a problem.<br />
<br />
“Anything you do you have to spend – at the end of the say the salary you takes is something<br />
<br />
small.”<br />
<br />
He said it was up to the government to fix this issues for Ghanaians in the same situation as him.staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-75294129029866232702012-09-12T13:45:00.000-07:002014-12-12T13:45:37.507-08:00Berlin's arthouse cleared<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Published 11.9.2012</div>
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stuff.co.nz</div>
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A Berlin art house that drew countless artists and tourists to its ramshackle charm has closed down after 22 years. Artists, supporters and tourists all over the world have been upset by the news, many saying it signals the end of Berlin’s alternative, bohemian appeal.</div>
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Berlin's KunsthausTacheles (art house Tacheles) had a long and varied history, it was built in the 1900s as a department store and was later used by the Nazis for meetings and holding political prisoners. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was taken over by a collective of artists who had kept it as an independent non-profit art house until it was evicted last week.</div>
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Tacheles was a five-storey tourist magnet in the Mitte district, the walls inside and out were adorned with graffiti and street art. Sculptures and bedraggled furniture were dotted around the space, and a man-made beach all added to its uniqueness.</div>
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While the legality of the artist collective occupying the building had always been shaky, in 2008 the collectives' lease on the building expired, as its last owner went bankrupt, causing the property to go under the forced administration of HSH Nordbank.</div>
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Since 2011 there has been serious eviction threats, which came to fruition in early September after squatters gave up the fight, after going to court, petitioning, protesting and trying to raise funds to buy the building themselves.</div>
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Wellington artist Dylan Bakker has been living in Berlin for the past three years, and was heavily involved in Tacheles, using it to create, exhibit and sell his work.</div>
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A screen printer and musician, he found one of the prominent traits unique to Tacheles was its openness to artists and tourists alike.</div>
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''Tacheles was an open, free space where the doors were never closed and anyone could come through. This promoted free art and collaboration from an international group of outsider artists.''</div>
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Tacheles allowed artists to produce work free of the commercial pressure that they may have found in other galleries. The worldwide fame of the Tacheles brought a broad audience, and artists could sell directly to the public.</div>
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Bakker called the eviction a sign of the times, saying it reflects Berlin succumbing to the pressures of gentrification.</div>
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''Unfortunately the city sees in black and white, in dollar signs and capitalism, and it is natural that a place like Tacheles, which exists in between the lines, was under threat.''</div>
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Photographer Petrov Anher was also dedicated to campaigns to save it from closing, as he considered it one of the last remaining living symbols of the cultural identity of Berlin.</div>
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He believed the closure would leave a dent in what makes Berlin attractive for visitors and artists, and that Tacheles had helped put Berlin on the international art map.</div>
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While the Tacheles undoubtedly held significant culture and tourism pull, attracting people looking for the edgy, creative side of Berlin, its closure has sparked strong emotions from its fans, like New Zealander Sophie Hughes who visited late last year, and was moved by Tacheles' artistic and social importance.<iframe frameborder="0" height="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="NO" src="http://tap2-cdn.rubiconproject.com/partner/scripts/rubicon/emily.html?rtb_ext=1&pc=8779/26834&geo=as&co=nz" style="height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 0px;" width="0"></iframe></div>
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''It was living and breathing - unlike a monument or a museum it has the ability to cross boundaries and continue to unite people and causes.''</div>
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As a tourist, she found it attractive because it gave her an understanding of these alternative ways of life, by directly interacting with the artists, which she says ''makes it so much more of an experience.''</div>
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''I think the space encompassed and represented the creative essence of Berlin, which in my opinion is a huge draw card for visiting in the first place, so in that respect it is a huge shame (it closed).’’</div>
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Likewise, New Zealand dancer Josephine Searles has visited Tacheles three times since February last year.</div>
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''When I first saw it, I hadn't even known of its existence, however I enjoyed it so much and thought it so iconic to Berlin that I brought friends to see it on subsequent trips.. it was unlike anywhere I had been before, and I had a lot of admiration for the concept and principles behind it.''</div>
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While the sprawling five-floor building can no longer host people like Hughes and Searles, the artists say they will keep creating their work in any spaces they can find in Berlin because, as Tacheles spokesperson Linda Cerna says, “Tacheles is more than a building, it is the strong belief in the freedom of art, the belief that without free and open spaces for art, there is no art.”</div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-78059381196402441852012-06-20T13:41:00.000-07:002014-12-12T13:42:07.165-08:00East End holds London's heart<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Published 20.06.2012</div>
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Dominion Post - New Zealand</div>
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By Amy Ridout and Stacey Knott</div>
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For years, a visit to London involved milling around Trafalgar Square, clogging up The Mall in the vain hope of seeing The Queen and standing on Westminster Bridge, tipping your head back at Big Ben.</div>
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But this is 2012, billions - 11 billion at the last guess - of pounds have been pumped into London's biggest event in decades, and eyes are turning to London's east.</div>
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The key to discovering the East End's rich history is easy: you just need $20 - and a decent pair of shoes.</div>
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There are a great many historical tours you can join but a Ripper tour has to be one of the creepiest ways to spend an afternoon. And of the many Jack the Ripper tours in the East End, only one is conducted by the greatest warlock in Europe.</div>
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The colourful Dr John Russell Pope-de-Locksley from Original London Horror Tours (<a href="http://www.londonhorrortours.co.uk/" style="color: #256091; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">londonhorrortours.co.uk</a>) tells us he is also a psychic who is proficient in 31 martial arts, related to Robin Hood, Dracula and possibly to one of the Ripper suspects. The exploits of The Ripper, who killed and dismembered at least five prostitutes, pale in comparison to those of de Locksley, who claims he spent his teen years working for gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray and has a psychic link to Jack himself via an old piece of crockery.</div>
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However, the short, affably bespectacled Ripperologist in his bright blue mac has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the man who terrorised the East End in the late 19th century.</div>
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"Everyone's fascinated by the Ripper," de Locksley says. "It's one of the greatest unsolved mysteries. The murders were the most gruesome London had ever seen and every grisly detail the dismemberment and mutilation was reported in the papers at length."</div>
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He points underneath a railway arch where crisp packets and old newspapers are mouldering in the gloom. "See over there? Frances Coles had her throat cut there on a Friday night in 1891," he smiles happily.</div>
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The tour takes in dank railway arches and grey car parks, and on a grey London evening it's possible to get a sense of the horror that gripped East London's residents who feared Jack could be lurking around any corner, waiting to slash and disembowel any woman caught alone after dark.</div>
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A few twists and turns away from poor Frances Coles' resting place takes you to the infinitely cheerier locale of Brick Lane, or Banglatown, as it's affectionately known by the Bangladeshi community. Upper Brick Lane is lined with curry houses, all in cutthroat competition; each restaurant endeavouring to wheedle tourists in with offers of "two for one", "best deals" or "bring your own".</div>
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<br />Before the Bangladeshi community moved in, the area was populated with Ashkenazi Jews, whose legacy you can see in one of Brick Lane's most famous shops: Brick Lane Beigel Bake. Its famous salt-beef bagels are sold 24 hours a day, but it's difficult to find a moment when the counter isn't jam-packed with customers clamouring for bread crammed with hot beef.Unfortunately the promises rarely live up to the boasts and the best curry is to be found off the main drag, in no-frills places like Needoo's on New Rd and Lahore Kebab House on Umberston St.</div>
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This is one store that has staunchly resisted gentrification, its Jewish legacy sitting comfortably alongside the trendy bars, cafes and vintage clothing stores that compete for any disposable income left after the hordes of local students, artists and trendsetters have paid their rents.</div>
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To woo this clientele, bars and clubs take precedence, ranging from classy joints like Callooh Callay where, if you are homesick for New Zealand, you can get a fabulous 42 Below cocktail. At the other end of the spectrum there's The Old Blue Last which has live music and DJs almost every night, and is best for those under 30 wanting to give their liver a good bashing.</div>
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It's hard to find a blank wall in East London, unless it's just been painted, as street artists from all over the world come to this area to leave their mark. Join one of Alternative London's street art tours (<a href="http://www.alternativeldn.co.uk/" style="color: #256091; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">alternativeldn.co.uk</a>) where passionate and knowledgeable guides will take you around the weaving streets and point out the incredible variety of tags, murals, portraits and stencils that adorn otherwise dreary buildings.</div>
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Owner-operator Gary Means tells us the ever-changing works of art are crucial to the East. "Street art is a massive part of East London it really is one of the world epicentres of one of the most important cultural movements of this century."</div>
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He describes East London as "a place of huge cultural diversity, colour and creative freedom".</div>
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It was this artistic culture that attracted Wellington artist Gemma Syme to East London. But she often finds herself overwhelmed. "There is so much going on all the time that you don't know what the best thing to go to would be, or if it's worth the effort of finding out where it is."</div>
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On a sunny Sunday it's difficult to find anywhere more colourful than Columbia Road Market. The narrow street is crammed with verbose vendors selling bright flowers and potted plants.</div>
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"All right guv'nor? Them orchids are six quid in the shops," a flat-capped stallholder booms at a startled tourist.</div>
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The market began in the 19th century and originally sold songbirds as well as local and exotic flora. The birds have long flown their coops but their memory lingers in the popular market pub, The Birdcage. The best time to go to the market is after 3pm, when prices drop rapidly as vendors try to shift their wares.</div>
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Every London borough has its own version of an outdoor market, where goods are sold at a fraction of the cost they would be in a store. If you're after clothing, it'll be off the back of a truck, often with the labels removed.</div>
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If it's fruit or vege you crave, grab a plastic bowl of whatever you want for a pound. Vendors are either fabulously grumpy or loudly jovial, ribbing their customers and raising their voices in competition with the other stalls.</div>
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If you're new to East London you might think it's a strange Cockney version of a yodel as men hawk vegetables with cries of "Pound a bowl! Pound a bowl! Five a day, 'aven't you 'eard?" until the words warp into an unrecognisable incantation.</div>
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With gentrification moving resolutely through its shabby streets and Olympics fervour illuminating its private corners, East London is changing fast. So next time you're in London, forget Big Ben: grab a salt-beef bagel, don your largest pair of sunglasses and join the stream of hipsters slouching up Brick Lane in search of the Next Big Thing.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">- The Dominion Post</strong></div>
staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-15211124953750871902012-02-19T11:17:00.000-08:002012-02-19T11:20:49.381-08:00Europe on a Kiwi shoestring<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="line-height: normal; ">Dominion Post, Fairfax Media</span></p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="line-height: normal; ">January 20, 2012</span></p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="line-height: normal; ">From swimming in the crystal-clear Mediterranean Sea to eating macaroons next to the Sacre-Coeur, expat Stacey Knott hits two of Europe's most famous cities without much cash, but with a lot of creativity</span></p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">It's late summer, just past peak tourist season, when I leave my grimy East London home to soak up the last of summer in Rome and Paris. With my younger sister in tow, we wine, dine, sightsee and shop but all on a shoestring budget of €50 (about NZ$80) a day.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">However, we switch flea-ridden hostels, two-minute noodles and the bad beers usually associated with super-cheap travel for a bit of class and sparkle. We do everything on our list, and remain in budget.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">We start in Rome in a private hostel room that has its own bathroom and kitchen and is central to all the historic sites, which we visit over three days. Entry to the Colosseum also gets us into the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, all of which are worth seeing.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">We also go to Vatican City, with wide eyes and craned necks, and gasp at the Sistine Chapel. The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps also wow us.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">We even do a bus tour through the city - great for getting your bearings among the winding, confusing roads. And we visit the sprawling Porta Portese flea market on a Sunday where people peddle clothes, art electronics and everything in between.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">We stammer and embarrass ourselves with our limited Italian, and despite Italians speaking slowly to us and using gestures to point to various knock-off art pieces at the market, we still draw blanks, smile sweetly and withdraw.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Italy is known for its flirtatious and forward men. We get followed home a few times, but shoo away the men, or glare at them till they get the message.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">With the historic sites checked off and the Mediterranean only an hour away on a €10 train, we go to a quaint seaside village called Sperlonga. The beach is mostly private, which means hiring chairs and umbrellas, but ever the penny-pincher, I find the free spots (after being told to leave the paid ones). The water is clear and refreshing and the beach sits below a picturesque village of white stone houses built into and along the cliff tops.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">To compensate for all our walking we do plenty of eating. My sister and I have a list of Italian food to check off: calzone, risotto, pizza, cannoli, linguine and gelato to name a few.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">We succeed in demolishing them all over the four days.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">One of my favourite meals is a three-course dinner - €15 each - which includes a cheese board, carafe of wine, creamy risotto, pizzas and dessert. The streets of Rome are bustling with al fresco dining and the menus, more often than not, are in English.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">A three-course meal with "vino da tavola" house wine will set you back only about €10 at lunch and €15-20 for dinner. If you want to go cheaper than this, make a picnic. We dined picnic- style on a river bank at Vatican City, but drew frowns from passing Romans. I suggest playing the naive foreigner card.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Find a bakery, a few beers or a nice bottle, some cheese and you're good to go. The scenery, wherever you happen to sit, will inspire you.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">With our heads about to explode with new-found knowledge of Roman history, we escape for Paris.</p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Paris sprawls, and in my four days there I don't feel like I have scratched the surface, despite cramming as much as possible into my limited time.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">It is best to do Paris area by area. On our first day we do the Eiffel Tower, stroll the Champs-Elysees and visit the Arc de Triomphe .</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">At dusk the Eiffel Tower queue is long, and it's dark when we reach the top, which is a little underwhelming. At €15 for the Eiffel Tower, if you are counting the centimes, skip this. There are two other free views in Paris that are just as good: the view from Sacre-Coeur in Montmartre and from the top of Galeries Lafayette department store.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">We traipse around the Montparnasse cemetery, then walk to Rue Mouffetard, an old shopping district, quintessentially Parisian. We stop for the perfect meal - three courses for €12, including onion soup and creme brulee, and there is even an elderly man playing the accordion for us.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">At Luxembourg Park a folk-pop band is playing in a gazebo. Attentive senior citizens are wrapped in shawls, and groups of old men play chess.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">We are sitting contemplating this lovely city when three well-dressed male fashion students approach us and start ranting.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">"Je ne comprends pas," I stammer. The leader of the well-dressed trio switches to English and points at my ripped stocking. "You cannot wear those here! French women would never do that!" he fumes. He introduces himself as "the fashion police" and tells me if I ever make such a faux pas again, I'll be arrested. In East London rips, holes and nonchalant looks are in vogue, so I'm horrified.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">We finish our sightseeing for the day and I console my unrefined self with cheese, wine, bread and chocolate.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Better dressed for our third day, we're up for an action-packed time, beginning with a visit to the Sacre- Coeur, free and beautiful. We then head down to Montmartre and see the Moulin Rouge - going inside is not an option for the cheap traveller; the cost of dinner and a show begins at €100.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">We then hit the seven-storey department store Galeries Lafayette, gasp at the exquisite designer wear and eat strawberry tarts looking out over Paris from the top floor.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Our final day in Paris is at the Louvre. Whether you are an art fan or not, a visit is essential.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">We ended up back on the hill next to Sacre-Coeur, with French staples macaroons, chocolate, wine, camembert and baguette, watching the sun set over a beautiful city and a memorable holiday.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">TOP TIPS</strong></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Soft drinks are super-expensive in Rome - from cafes/restaurants we paid €3 for a Coke, so stick with tap water, or wine. If it's summer, bring plenty of water for daily excursions, or you'll be tricked into paying €3 for a bottle of chilled water.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Research the sites you want to go to; in Rome you can go to the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum for €15.50 for two days.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Use hostel comparison websites when booking where you want to stay, and try to get somewhere that includes free breakfast - <a href="http://www.hostelworld.com/" target="_blank" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(37, 96, 145); "><strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">hostelworld.com</strong></a> or <a href="http://www.hostelbookers.com/" target="_blank" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(37, 96, 145); "><strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">hostelbooker.com</strong></a> are good sources.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Learn a few phrases, and smile sweetly. This will always help with language barriers.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Dress well in Paris, or risk being yelled at by fashionistas.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">- © Fairfax NZ News</strong></p><p></p><p style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></p>staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-62013383542777332432011-12-29T13:48:00.000-08:002011-12-29T13:50:18.681-08:00Occupy London protesters take over Shoreditch courthouse<p style="margin-top: 0.8em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; ">The Hackney Gazette</p><p style="margin-top: 0.8em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; ">Thursday 29 2011</p><p style="margin-top: 0.8em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; ">Anti-capitalist protesters have moved into another disused Hackney building after taking over the old Shoreditch courthouse in Old Street.</p><p style="margin-top: 0.8em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; ">Members of the Occupy London movement have already set up the ‘bank of ideas’ inside a UBS office block in Sun Street.</p><p style="margin-top: 0.8em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; ">But the group - including ex-servicemen called the Occupy Veterans - have now settled inside the former magistrates’ court, which has been empty since 1996, after entering the property at 7.15am on December 20.</p><p style="margin-top: 0.8em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; ">Protester Ronan McNern said they would be using the courthouse, renamed Occupy Justice, to “put the 1 percent on trial” by inviting people they believed had caused the financial crisis to defend themselves.</p><p style="margin-top: 0.8em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; ">“It is not about mock trials, we have qualified solicitors who are volunteering to do these cases,” he added.</p><p style="margin-top: 0.8em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; ">Occupy London campaigners are currently embroiled in a High Court battle against the City of London Corporation over their encampment outside St Paul’s Cathedral.</p><p style="margin-top: 0.8em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; ">A spokesman for developers Mastcraft Limited, who bought the Old Street property in 2008, said work to transform the courthouse into a luxury hotel was planned to start within the next month.</p><p style="margin-top: 0.8em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; ">He said the company was pursuing taking legal action against the occupiers, which they expected to start on January 3.</p>staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-44279401613788219702011-12-09T13:13:00.000-08:002011-12-09T13:14:25.400-08:00Here to Stay<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The Occupied Times</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">October 26 2011</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Anti-cuts activists in the heart of London remained defiant this week as Occupy London Stock </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Exchange nears its first fortnight in action - infrastructure and all.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">An estimated 5000 people have passed through the sprawling camp on the steps of St Paul’s </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Cathedral, with a resident population around 300.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The camp is part of a global movement against corporate greed and unregulated banking systems, </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">subverting hierarchies and creating a space where people are encouraged to join - with a second, growing occupation established at Finsbury Square on Saturday.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">It has been nearly two weeks since the initial chaotic scenes on October 15 when police kettled </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">protesters, arresting eight on suspicion of police assault and public order offences.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Since then the camp has turned into a solid, peaceful working community - complete with kitchen, </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">university, prayer room, waste management and power generation - and speakers at the camp’s </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">daily general assemblies have frequently voiced plans to stay “until Christmas.”</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">German student Nikita Haag told the Occupied Times he planned to stay as long as the camp remained.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“I’m going to stay here as long as it exists, the thing is going to exist until we reach some change,” he said.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">All work done at the camp is voluntary, with occupiers lending their support when needed.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Meanwhile food, clothing, equipment and monetary donations have flooded in; mostly gifted to the occupiers from people passing by.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">One camper, Sean, told the Occupied Times he had put his experience as a civil servant to use in the </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">information tent, a first point of call for many visitors - along with stints in the kitchen, tech tent </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">and setting up Finsbury Square.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Since his arrival on the 15th he had seen the camp become more and more organised, he said: “We </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">spent the first week getting the structure together - the working groups - and getting people used to our direct democracy.”</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The camp is founded on direct democracy, where demonstrators gauge support for various motions </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">and ideas at daily assemblies. </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Residents and visitors alike are welcome to vote and contribute.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“Every time we have a problem we find a collective solution,” said Tina Louise, a grandmother </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">who had joined the movement. </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">But the movement has not been without tension: on Friday a spokesperson for St Paul’s Cathedral said the church was closing its doors while the occupation ran its course - despite initially supporting the protests.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The church had offered no reason for the closure when the Times went to press, and occupation </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">organisers told the Times they had repeatedly tried to contact the church with no success.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Nor had the City of London’s health and safety team told them of any contact with the church.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“We once again urge the Cathedral to bring to our attention, immediately, the particular details of the health and safety issues to address them,” organisers said in a statement Saturday. </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“Our concern is if there are health and safety issues (which we in any event refute) by the Church failing to tell of them, they are exacerbating any perceived dangers.”</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">*last names withheld</p>staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2001721220096029975.post-42001893943945246902011-12-09T12:57:00.000-08:002011-12-09T12:58:38.935-08:00Occupiers Unfazed By Eviction Threat<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">The Occupied Times</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">November 23 2011</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; "><br /></p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">Legal action against OccupyLSX protesters is underway, but occupiers remain unfazed.</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">At the time of print, the City of London Corporation was planning on taking occupiers to the high court to start an eviction process. The City considered the St Paul’s occupation a trespass on its public highways and said it was disrupting businesses in the area.</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">Eviction notices were served last week after negotiations between the two parties failed- the City asked occupiers to scale back the number of tents and leave by the New Year, to which occupiers asked the City to make its business transparent and democratic.</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">Protesters spoken to by the Occupied Times were not fazed by this recent development, and remained defiant about their cause when the eviction notices were pinned to their tents.</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">The notices told occupiers to remove “all tents and other structures” by 6pm last Thursday or face legal action. The tents remained and in the lead up to this City deadline, the camp’s legal team John Cooper QC, and Karen Todner talked to occupiers about the legal issues.</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">Cooper said they would make sure occupiers interests were “fearlessly defended” but urged occupiers to continue to stay within the law while they could work on their case.</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">“Right down to smallest degree you have followed the legal advice you have been given, and you have become respected for it.“</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">Cooper told the Occupied Times he was “very interested” in how the City had worded its eviction notice, and said ownership of the land was a contentious issue.</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">My clients were accused of health and safety breaches when this started and that was entirely wrong, we need to check everything.”</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">When asked by a camper if there was any chance the police might “jump the gun” and forcibly evict occupiers before the case went through court, Todner said it was unlikely as long as the campers “remain within the law.”</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">“The only way the police could forcibly remove you is if there was a public order incident and as far as I know there hasn’t been any.”</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">Cooper and Todner were representing the occupation at no charge.</p><p style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; ">Cooper told the Occupied Times he was doing this as it is “an example of how the legal profession do have a social conscience and it’s just me perhaps expressing that conscience.”</p></span>staceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13214760291220158433noreply@blogger.com