Australia: Admit your sins to God, priest tells gay judge

Glad to see as ever that somethings remain static. In New Zealand, a priest has advised one of the High Court judges, who happens to be gay, that he needs to repent his sins or face the wrath of God. Well, ya know he is a judge, so far I would imagine he is doing quiet well without the wrath of God but anyway, here's the story.

Australia: Admit your sins to God, priest tells gay judge

A senior minister of a Sydney Anglican parish has made an extraordinary attack on Australian High Court judge Michael Kirby, warning he would face the wrath of God if he remained unrepentant as a gay man.

The rector of St Stephen's Church in Bellevue Hill, the Reverend Richard Lane, denounced the judge for calling himself a Christian Anglican while living in an openly gay relationship and warned as a "messenger, watchman and steward of the Lord in the Anglican Church of Australia", he faced God's judgment.

To call himself a Christian Anglican was a "perversion of truth" and to continue to do so without changing his lifestyle would brand him, like Herod, a "coward, a liar, a deceiver" and a "lawless one".

"I appeal to you to cast yourself on the mercy of Jesus … That is admit your sin, confess your wrongdoing and turn in humble repentance to the Lord Jesus, who alone can forgive you," Mr Lane said.

Via Stuff.co.nz

"Assult by Hedgehog" New Zealand style

We like Hedgehogs here at the Angry Hedgehog so we deplore the use of the little mites as weapons. A world of Epic Fail's notes a CNN story about a case in New Zealand. The Gentleman in question was soo irate at a 15year old kid that he picked up a hedgehog and threw it at him! That has gotta hurt, both the kid and the hedgehog. Dam funny tho.....but the poor hedgehog and kid.... :-) .

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A New Zealand man has been accused of assault with a prickly weapon -- a hedgehog.

Police allege that William Singalargh, 27, picked up the hedgehog and threw it at a 15-year-old boy in the North Island east coast town of Whakatane on February 9.

"It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks," police Senior Sgt. Bruce Jenkins said Monday. The teen did not need medical treatment, he added.

Police arrested Singalargh shortly after the incident, and charged him with assault with a weapon -- "namely the hedgehog," Jenkins said.

Via: CNN.com

Henhouse murder mystery: the hedgehog did it

A Shocker of a story about the humble hedgehog now. Obviously a case of mistaken identity. Saving that it was a renegade hedgehog and we at the theAngryhedgehog.com have nothing to do with it!.

---------------------------

The same week Frank Dowle's fowls were stolen, the hedgehog had his throat cut. Drawing on his old skills, former police detective Frank Dowle stopped a murderous hedgehog from claiming a second victim from his chicken coop on Saturday.

The mystery began on Friday when the Dowle family found one of its six shaver hens dead on the floor of its Weedons chicken coop.

The immediate suspect was a ferret or similar animal but a post-mortem revealed a lack of trauma around the neck which Dowle thought would be indicative of a predator.

Dowle said he assumed the hen had died of natural causes and disregarded the fowl-play option.

The next night "a commotion in the hen house" woke Dowle.

"I grabbed a torch and ran out to see what was going on. As soon as I went into the run area I noticed a hen in the far corner. At first I thought it was dead, but then noticed movement next to it. I went for a closer look to discover a hedgehog had one leg of the hen in a firm grip. The hen was not dead and was trying desperately to get away. Clearly the hedgehog had captured the hen inside the hen house and dragged it for about four metres."

Dowle said the hedgehog "did not surrender his prey easily, and I had a bit of a tussle with him" before he killed the intruder.

He confirmed the bite marks on the rescued hen's legs were the same as those on the leg of the murdered chook.

The Press offered Dowle the services of Arthur, the belligerent rooster exiled from Orana Park for attacking children, to guard the roost. Dowle declined, citing the safety of his young children.

Dowle said he had never heard of a hedgehog attacking mature birds, but Landcare Research hedgehog researcher Dr Chris Jones said there had been reports from England of hedgehogs attacking adult birds.

An attack on a mature bird was "unusual", but "not inconceivable".

Death by hedgehog was also "not a nice way to go" as hedgehogs lacked "killing teeth".

Hedgehogs were insectivores with broad flat teeth for crunching up insects so when they killed larger creatures they "just bite and hang on till it dies", he said.

Source: Stuff.co.nz

Making science sexy

A new course at Otago University is teaching students how to make science sexy.

The university's Centre for Science Communication is the first of its kind in New Zealand, set up to help students tell the public about scientific developments.

The centre is also responsible for teaching the country's future communicators through the Master of Science Communication programme starting this year.

Professor Lloyd Davis is heading up the centre which will take in 12 top students from a variety of backgrounds every year.

"Scientists are motivated by wanting to understand the truth about things around them. But almost all of them also wants to make the world a better place," he said.

"You can only get from outcomes to action if you can communicate the results well enough to affect the change.

"You really need to make it (science) sexy," he said.

Students can focus on three areas - creative non-fiction writing, general science communication or film-making.

The programme was open to non-scientists because often those who understood science were not the best at communicating it, he said.

"You have to make the complex things not simplistic, but simple enough so people can understand so you don't talk down to them.

"There's a huge appetite amongst the population for information, but the problem is they can't access it very easily."

Davis said the issue of global warming presented in Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth had catapulted science in to the mainstream.

However, there were a whole lot of inconvenient truths in the world and most went unreported.

More than 50 per cent of scientific papers published every year seemed to disappear.

They were never quoted or referred to even by other scientists, he said.

Source: stuff.co.nz

Sight restored in time for Christmas

Around 400 people in Fiji's Ovalau have just received, thanks to a New Zealand charity, their best ever Christmas present - their sight has been restored after a decade.

"The people of Ovalau have no eye services on their island and have been waiting for a surgical eye team for a long time," says ophthalmologist John Szetu who headed up a team of Fred Hollows Foundation NZ trained eye professionals.

"To finally have a team visit the island is a significant milestone and the perfect Christmas gift."

He said they were able to help a large proportion of the people of Ovalau.

"However, there is still more to be done and I hope to return there next year."

A Solomon Islander, Dr Szetu, was supported by a team eye care nurses, which included individuals from Niue, Samoa and the Solomons, as well as Fiji.

The team carried out over 40 sight-saving operations, just in time for Christmas, as well as treating a large number of potentially blinding eye infections and providing low cost spectacles to the community.

Cataract blindness is the most prevalent cause of blindness in the Pacific, yet sight can be instantly restored in a straightforward operation that takes roughly 20 minutes and can cost as little as $25 in some countries.

Carmel Williams of The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ says that in order to reduce blindness in the Pacific, it is vital that more Pacific eye care professionals are trained to carry out sight restoring cataract surgery, and to service the region's need for basic eye care.

"The Pacific region, including Fiji, has a severe shortage of Pacific eye care workers," says Ms Williams.

"Over 80,000 people are needlessly blind in the Pacific Islands region, and in Fiji alone there is a backlog of more than 6,000 cases needing surgery. This number will continue to grow by roughly 800 new cases each year, unless we have more eye doctors and eye nurses available, in country, to provide urgently required eye care education and eye care services," she said.

Source: Stuff.co.nz,/a>

Doctor struck off after receiving money for 'free' care

In a Follow-up to this story, which Stuff.co.nz reported & listed on here , here is the result of this:
--------------------------------------------------------------

Doctor struck off after recieving money for 'free' care:

An Auckland GP has been struck off after accepting $260,000 from an elderly couple in return for "free" medical care.

Donald Ian McDonald, 62, was struck off the register after being found guilty of professional misconduct by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, a spokeswoman told NZPA.

He was also censured and fined and will have to pay 30 percent of costs incurred by the inquiry. The tribunal also found Dr McDonald had failed to manage the couple's medical care to an expected standard.

Dr McDonald admitted he accepted $260,000 from the elderly couple, who have name suppression, but denied he failed to appropriately manage the couple's health care.

The tribunal heard that the couple paid Dr McDonald in instalments between January 1998 and November 2004. His former de facto partner, who also has name suppression, was paid $60,000.

Dr McDonald had known the couple since he had been administering them with acupuncture in the 1970s but did not become their GP until 1998.

The former partner was ordered to pay back the money in the High Court.

The elderly man died in December last year. His wife is in a rest home and suffers from dementia.

The New Zealand Herald reported that the couple's lawyer, Stephen Gully, told the hearing yesterday he had drawn up wills for the couple and the woman named the doctor as one of the beneficiaries.

However, the elderly man subsequently told Mr Gully he did not agree with his wife's wishes to favour Dr McDonald in the will, preferring instead his nephew.

Source & Contd:Stuff.co.nz

Elderly couple paid $300,000 for 'free' health care

A family lawyer says he was surprised and concerned when his elderly clients told him they had paid their doctor and his partner more than $300,000, in return for "free" medical care.

Auckland GP Dr Donald Ian McDonald has admitted he accepted $260,000 from the elderly couple, who have name suppression, but is denying he failed to appropriately manage the couple's health care.

A Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal hearing in Auckland today heard how the couple paid Dr McDonald in instalments between January 1998 and November 2004.

McDonald's former de facto partner Aruna Williams was paid $60,000.

After proceedings in the High Court, Ms Williams has been ordered to pay back the money.

The elderly man died in December last year, his wife is in a rest home and suffers from dementia.

Dr McDonald had known the couple since he had been administering them with acupuncture in the 1970s but had not become their GP until 1998.

Dr McDonald has described the couple as his "second parents".

The couple's lawyer Stephen Gully told the hearing today he had drawn up the wills for the couple and the woman named the doctor as one of the beneficiaries.

The husband later contacted him to say he wanted to make changes without his wife knowing, he said.

However, the elderly man told Mr Gully he did not agree with his wife's wishes to favour Dr McDonald in the will, preferring instead his nephew, the tribunal was told.

Mr Gully said he learnt sometime in 2003 during discussions about the wills that Dr McDonald had accepted the payment and of the large amount involved, with "surprise and consternation".

The couple were vague about the payments but did say they expected free medical treatment for the rest of their lives, in exchange, he said.

In 2005 Mr Gully received a phone call from a medical professional at a geriatric hospital in the North Shore who was concerned about the couple's relationship with the doctor and the payment he had received.

Dr McDonald was not at the hearing today.

The hearing has been set down for four days.

- NZPA

Source: Stuff.co.nz

By a chinny chin chin, Zeus wins

The goatee competition was fierce at the Royal New Zealand Show in Christchurch yesterday and when a policeman was asked to mind a goat, things got a little gruff.

Senior Constable Heijo Bouma was asked by an exhibitor to hold her goat while she took a quick break, leaving photographer Kirk Hargreaves to capture the bearded duo.

With the crowd well-behaved, Bouma did not mind goat-sitting Highspur Zeus. Today is the final day of the 77th show which runs from 7.30am to 5.30pm.

The weather is forecast to be damp with cloud and drizzle, from early morning.

Source: Stuff.co.nz

Mary in NZ? Who knew?

So Mary's in NZ this week, who knew? I didnt. Not that the President is obligated to send a press release to me every time she leaves the country (thats the Government's role ;-p). However it would have been nice to know where Her Excellency is every now and then. Considering she was deemed elected without an election in 2004 & thus without a mandate, regardless of what she might say, I think that is the least her electorate deserves!

---------------

New Zealand and Ireland have signed an agreement to encourage joint film productions.

Prime Minister Helen Clark, who is also arts minister, and Irish Education and Science Minister Mary Hanafin signed the agreement at Parliament today.

The New Zealand Ireland Film Co-Production Treaty would allow official co-productions to access cultural funding and incentives in each country.

Miss Clark said under such agreements, the government of each country facilitated temporary immigration and importation of equipment for the reciprocal producer.

[....some content removed....]

"I hope it won't be too long before we see the first Kiwi-Irish movie," Miss Clark said.

The signing of the agreement came during the visit to New Zealand by Irish President Mary McAleese.

[.....some content removed......]

Dr McAleese flew into Auckland last night for a week long visit.

At Government House in Wellington this morning, members of the New Zealand Defence Force's Maori Cultural Group performed a traditional Maori welcome. She then placed a wreath at the National War Memorial and at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

Dr McAleese last visited New Zealand in 1998.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4254551a10.html
Image Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/images/337163.jpg

Random Story of the Day

Matters of size slows hoons across Tasman By IAN STEWARD - The Press Tuesday, 16 October 2007

Kiwi car hoons will not be insulted about the size of their "gearsticks" despite the tactic proving a huge success across the Tasman.
The New South Wales campaign implies young men who speed do so to compensate for having small penises.
A recent survey shows the campaign is one of the state's most successful anti-speeding efforts.
Land Transport advertising manager Paul Graham said New Zealand would not be following suit, however, with testing of the concept "not going down well here".
The "Speeding – No-one thinks big of you" ads show boy racers peeling off from traffic lights and other dangerous behaviour while pretty girls raise crooked pinkie fingers and exchange knowing looks.
A survey commissioned on the campaign showed 76 per cent of people thought the ads increased awareness about the problem and 61 per cent of young males believed the campaign had made them think about their driving behaviour.
The Australian Advertising Standards Bureau has received complaints that the ads demean men with small penises, but NSW Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal said the campaign was "about saving lives – not pride".
"If it dents a few egos but helps save a life, then it's worth it. Wiggling your pinkie has cut through to that crucial age group of young drivers. They're using it as a way to slow their mates down and stop them acting recklessly on our roads."
Roozendaal said the ads were a "calculated break from the tradition of crash and shock images", to which research indicated young people were becoming desensitised.
Auckland University psychologist Dr Niki Harre, who has researched road safety campaigns, said: "Making dangerous driving completely unglamorous is what we need to do. When the concept becomes embedded in the culture – that's when something takes off."
Graham said New Zealand had tested similar concepts, including trying to find a "symbol" that youth might take up to prevent speeding, but the ideas were not received well.
"We're not quite where they are in Sydney. Give us another few years."
New Zealand was screening three speeding ads that targeted different sectors of society.
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4238841a4560.html

Did ya see what she just did

So you are working at a show. You see people posing on the red carpet for pictures for the press for the big event. There are hundreds of other people running around backstage, front house, catering etc etc but you have one job and one job only to check and make sure that those on the red carpet have a wrist band because that is the only way that anybody is getting past you. Right? Well unless your Kylie Minogue, who is a law unto herself & rightly so. *bows down to her ladyship*



--------------------------------------------

Kylie embarrassed over awards show blunder

Kylie Minogue was left red-faced at the Q Awards after she was refused entry because staff didn't recognise her.

The superstar singer, who scooped The Q Idol award at the prestigious ceremony, happily posed for photographs with Kaiser Chiefs singer Ricky Wilson as she entered London's Grosvenor House Hotel before attempting to make her way inside.

However, organisers called Kylie back to the front desk telling her she couldn't enter without a wristband.

The bemused star began to make her way back to the desk, asking: "Sorry, do I need a wristband?"

However, Ricky quickly came to the star's aid telling the fussy staff: "She' s Kylie Minogue, she doesn't need a wristband!"

Source; www.stuff.co.nz