The US doesn’t need opium from Afghanistan anymore

We should all know by now that Operation Enduring Freedom, which later turned into Operation Freedom's Sentinel, whereby the United States and its misguided allies invaded and occupied Afghanistan for two very long decades, has been a complete failure!

Not only has the US-led invasion of Afghanistan caused the deaths of over 171,000 people, including more than 47,000 civilians, the cost of this unjustified war has also meant a far greater number of innocent people have been displaced or lost their lives through increased disease and starvation. Despite these numbers, the true cost of the United States' unwarranted war on Afghanistan will likely never be fully quantified.

Of course these aren’t things that the current President of the United States dares to mention. Like most Western leaders, Joe Biden has been caught asleep at the wheel and is now scrambling to safeguard his reputation. In effect he has to clean up after former President George W. Bush, who actively lied to facilitate a so-called war on terror, and Donald Trump, who failed to properly negotiate and plan for the safe withdrawal of US and other coalition troops deployed in Afghanistan.

So what has the coalition of the willing actually achieved through this prolonged and bloody conflict? Well firstly much of Afghanistan has been bombed back into the dark ages, which aligns perfectly with the Pentagon's primary objective of stopping Middle Eastern and other Asian continent countries from unifying under Islamic rule.

The US also captured and secured Afghanistan’s opium production for twenty years, which under the occupation once again became the world’s largest supplier. Prior to the 2001 invasion, the Taliban had all but halted Afghani farmers from growing poppies, because they believe opium is un-Islamic.

Of course the propaganda campaign to protect the United States and other coalition countries has never ended. Even now the news reports are rife with claims that only the Taliban are involved in and profiting from the drug trade in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, Reuters reported:

Profits and poppy: Afghanistan's illegal drug trade a boon for Taliban

The United States spent more than $8 billion over 15 years on efforts to deprive the Taliban of their profits from Afghanistan's opium and heroin trade, from poppy eradication to airstrikes and raids on suspected labs.

That strategy failed.

Of course it failed, because it wasn’t the United States’ objective.

The Taliban banned poppy growing in 2000 as they sought international legitimacy, but faced a popular backlash and later mostly changed their stance, according to experts.

Why was a steady supply of opium important to the United States you might ask? Well it’s used to make the highly addictive and deadly drug heroin, which was first introduced into America by the CIA as a way to repress black communities. Then in the 70’s it was extensively used to decimate the anti-war and other resistance movements, which allowed the United States’ war machine to continue destabilising smaller resource rich countries around the world largely unencumbered.

More people now die in the United States from opioid overdoses (69,710 in 2020) than by homicide, which is really saying something when you realise that carrying a gun is a constitutional right in most of their states.

However a new drug has now taken over from heroin as the most deadly. Illicit fentanyl addiction has over the last few years meant that heroin use in the US is declining. Fentanyl is a completely synthetic drug with the ingredients manufactured in China, just like the precursors for methamphetamine.

It’s therefore no coincidence that the US is withdrawing from Afghanistan at the very same time that demand for heroin declines. They simply don’t need Afghanistan's opium anymore, because Fentanyl is proving to be a far more effective drug in their campaign to subdue the masses.

Penk wants to be Prime Minister

Unless you’re a bit of a policy wonk you probably haven’t heard of a guy called Chris Penk. He’s a former Navy officer who is now one of the new old boys in the beleaguered National Party.

Penk, who likes nothing more than to antagonise lefties all day on Twitter and has written a book all about how bad New Zealand's Covid-19 response has been, was interviewed recently on Newshub Nation's the Pitch.

It was an awkward and uninspiring performance that I watched so you don’t have to.

On Saturday, Newshub reported:

Welcome back to Pitch, where Newshub Nation gives an MP just 5 minutes to sell you on their ideas.

He's a former lawyer, submariner and now Chris Penk is National's spokesperson for Courts and Defence. And he isn't ruling out a run at the top job - one day.

Finn Hogan started by asking him how he'd clear the backlog as Courts Minister.

 

Penk obviously blew the interview. Not only was the National Party MP nervous as hell, he also got some pretty basic things wrong! To begin with Penk claimed that the Dispute Tribunal couldn’t sort out bad debts, which is entirely incorrect.

The Shadow Attorney General (of all things) then confirmed that National would maintain the status quo when it comes to New Zealand’s drug laws. Colour me surprised! But what was even lazier thinking was when Penk promoted policy that has already been implemented. In fact Penk’s pitch was almost word for word what the current National Drug Policy states as the goals to minimise harm from alcohol and drug use.

Penk then went onto claim that the New Zealand Defence Force currently didn’t have much of a social license to carry out its work. So what is his big plan to fix this hypothetical problem? Make the average New Zealander “understand” the debt they owe to the Defence Force. Just make them understand Penk.

It was such an awkward display that I almost felt sorry for the guy.

Penk’s inability to promote any new ideas and apparent lack of knowledge when it comes to all things legal isn’t the only problems standing in his way. The would be Prime Minister obviously doesn’t have the support required to roll Judith Collins, let alone enough charisma to attract any support back to the National Party.

So what was their biggest mistake leading up to National's monumental electoral defeat in 2020? The blue “team” apparently talked too much about themselves. Penk then left the interview to tweet more pictures of himself holding a spade and with his big blue ute.

Unless the National Party wants to spend eternity floundering on the opposition benches, their MPs will need to do a lot better than that.

Meanwhile, over on Facebook I’m attempting a tongue twister and unwise use of a spade. Went well. pic.twitter.com/wvBIKUdKay

— Chris Penk (@ChrisPenknz) June 18, 2021

Patrick Gower - Hero of the week

If you’ve ever been affected by the P epidemic in New Zealand, and it’s my bet that in some way you have, the documentary by Patrick Gower that aired on TV3 last Tuesday night was a must watch program.

Not only did this excellent show delve into the underbelly of local dealers and gangs who import and distribute the insidious drug into New Zealand, it highlighted the way in which P, also known as pure, ice or meth, is brought into the country by international cartels that are making a killing.

Gower, who also did a pretty good job of investigating New Zealand’s marijuana scene prior to the cannabis referendum, put himself in some very dubious situations to get the P story...and what a story it is. From the elation of border enforcement officers uncovering concealed meth imports to Mexican cartels boasting about New Zealand being such a good market, the Patrick Gower on P doco was an in-depth and well-balanced piece of broadcasting that every Kiwi adult should watch.

However there was one part in particular that means Gower wins a Hero Award, his advocating for a health based approach. The often-contentious reporter made a very good argument for why the system should give P addicts a chance to get clean, including an inspirational story about Jessie who had beaten, with some help, her P addiction.

On Tuesday, Stuff reported:

Patrick Gower delivers heartbreaking and shocking stories in important meth doco

REVIEW: Journalist Patrick Gower admitted it would be viewers’ Netflix-fuelled fascination with the criminal underworld which would get people tuning in for his latest documentary.

And his access behind bars in New Zealand, and in video calls to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, certainly delivers parallels to the likes of Narcos or Ozark. But the real story uncovered in Patrick Gower: On P is from Jessie, a young mum in Moerewa, who is three years clean.

Jessie clearly loves her kids, and her whānau. They love her, too. But despite all that, she was dangerously addicted to meth for a long time – sometimes ticking up a bill of about $2500 each day, she says.

It’s hard to imagine the true hold of P but she describes the problem with clarity, power and a level head rarely brought to discussions about drugs and gangs. 

Gower also reported on a pilot program in Whangārei called Te Ara Oranga whereby the Police, instead of charging people, allow addicts to be referred to medical professionals with the expertise to help them kick the habit.

With an estimated 140,000 regular P users in New Zealand this isn’t just a good way for the Government to save money, but the only way to address what has become a somewhat insurmountable drug epidemic that the justice system simply cannot deal with by itself.

Extending this pilot across all of New Zealand so that addicts can get the medical assistance they require is something that must happen if we’re ever to address the harm that P does to our communities. 

The only real question is whether the Government is brave enough to do what is right?

Paula Bennett - Asshole of the Week

It’s pretty obvious that Paula Bennett isn’t fit to be a Member of Parliament let alone Deputy Prime Minister. Not only is she rather obnoxious in person, Bennett’s been in charge of the largest government portfolios over the last nine years and has essentially achieved nothing!

The statistics don’t lie, but unfortunately Paula Bennett does. Under her watch more people have became impoverished and homeless in New Zealand than ever before.

To obfuscate that terrible track record, Bennett’s made an art-form out of ignoring and hiding information which shows that we’re going economically, environmentally and socially backwards.

However, it’s not just Bennett’s woeful political track record and questionable history that people should be concerned about… it’s the fact that she’s been blatantly trying to mislead voters during the election campaign.

Yesterday, Stuff reported:

Auckland school responds to Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett's claim of infiltration by Head Hunters, drugs

A west Auckland school has denied a politician's claim that gang-related drugs are in its system.

Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett said she had witnessed, via police, "horrific", gang-related "stuff going on in our communities".

She said gangs' drugs were "partaking to our kids, in our schools" and it was happening in west Auckland with the Head Hunters.

"Bloody get your drugs out of Henderson High School if you actually want to make a difference in the society," Bennett said.

Her comment at The Spinoff's Facebook live election debate on September 6 drew a sharp response from Henderson High School.

Its executive officer Gillian Hill said "that's not true", but couldn't comment further.

Bennett appears to have gone right off the deep end. By saying that a school has a gang and drug problem on a live broadcast, the Minister is ensuring that the school’s ability to conduct its business will be adversely affected.

There is no doubt that because of Bennett’s untruthful statement some parents will simply move their children to a different school. That means Bennett has impeded the schools ability to function properly under the current system that awards funding based on the number of students attending.

Is there any evidence that Head Hunter gang members selling drugs have infiltrated Henderson High School? The answer is clearly no! Even if it was true, and it’s not, such matters aren’t resolved by such disorderly public announcements.

It’s entirely unacceptable that a Minister has made such a statement without any corroborating evidence to back it up. In fact it appears that Bennett has once again simply made incorrect assertions in order to look tough on crime.

Unfortunately for the National party there are some unanswered questions concerning Paula Bennett's history prior to her becoming an MP.

These include:

1. Did she mislead WINZ about her income?
2. Did she claim the DPB while also receiving an income?
3. Did she receive a government home deposit she wasn’t entitled to?
4. Did she declare that she was living with a partner while receiving a benefit?
5. Did she fail to declare her correct address?
6. Did she assault a minor in her care?
7. Did she smoke marijuana in front of a minor?
8. Did she take class A drugs?
9. Did she prostitute herself before the 2003 reforms made it legal?

Since we’re talking about unsubstantiated allegations, it seems only appropriate to give the Minister the same respect she’s shown Henderson High School.

In my opinion Members of Parliament must adhere to the highest levels of scrutiny and accountability. It’s in the public’s best interest that these accusations are resolved one way or the other so that voters can decide their validity and Bennett's suitability to be in parliament or not.

Personally I don’t care if an MP was a prostitute prior to becoming a politician. Sometimes people have to do difficult things in order to survive and the law was changed for a number of good reasons. I also don’t care if politicians have or do smoke marijuana. That law should be changed as well.

However I do mind that a Minister of the Crown has been accused of assaulting a ten-year-old boy in their care, and that the assault may have occurred while the Minister was inebriated. These are serious accusation that must not be ignored by the media, the public or the police.

If the PM had any balls he would stand Bennett down until these matters were resolved.

Bennett's statement came less than a week after the police minister said some New Zealanders – serious criminal members of gangs – had fewer human rights than others.

At the National Party's launch of a proposed $82 million crackdown on drugs and gangs on September 3, Bennett was asked whether she believed criminals had human rights.

"Some have fewer human rights than others when they are creating a string of victims behind them," Bennett said.

"There is a different standard."

Prime Minister Bill English later said his deputy got it wrong.

Making up lies about a school being involved with gang members selling drugs and claiming that human rights should be allocated depending on a persons circumstance must not be an acceptable part of any campaign strategy.

The vast majority of voters are unlikely to accept such dirty tactics from a Minister of the Crown. That’s why Paula Bennett wins this week’s Asshole Award. She's clearly not fit to be a Member of Parliament.

UPDATE: Paula Bennett admits that she lied about there being drug dealing gang members at Henderson High School.

Māori to get equity in new drug law proposal

The Drug Foundation has proposed a new legal framework to reduce harm around drugs, including removing criminal penalties for the possession, use and supply of all drugs. And as our reporter Eruera Rerekura found out one of the aims of the proposed legal model is making sure that Māori are not disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system.

Barclay too wasted to speak

You’ve really got to wonder why Todd Barclay was selected in the first place and then protected by Bill English and the National party for over a year? He’s clearly unfit to be an MP.

The kicker is that National party staff also thought Barclay wasn’t suitable MP material, and that’s why they were discussing his bad behaviour.

Yesterday, the NZ Herald reported:

Todd Barclay tapes reported to include talk of 'sex and drugs'

Dickson could only recall one conservation on this subject, with another National staffer in Queenstown.

It came after Barclay pulled out of a prizegiving ceremony at the Telford Agriculture College in Balclutha. Barclay had been invited as the guest of honour but instead stayed in Queenstown after a big night out. According to Dickson, it was the latest in a series of events that had concerned staff.

It appears that Todd Barclay was too wasted from partying the night before to speak at the Telford Agriculture College in Balclutha. I wonder how the event organisers feel about that?

I also wonder what drugs we're talking about and who Barclay was partying with? Perhaps someone could ask Bill English if it was class A drugs? If that's the case, why did Police close their investigation in the first place?

Being that Barclay was on company time so to speak, how does his behaviour reflect on the National party? I mean wasn't he meant to be representing the New Zealand government or something?

The National party really needs to stop scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to selecting their candidates and new members of parliament. They also need to just come clean on the Todd Barclay incident instead of attempting a complete failure of a cover-up.

Maurice Williamson WTF!

Today, Radio NZ reported:

Customs Minister Maurice Williamson says he is extremely worried about what 3D printers will do to border security.

Hmm! OK I'm listening...

Mr Williamson says the printers are actually manufacturers of products and 3D computer files can be emailed or downloaded from the internet.

Yes! 3D printers manufacture things and files can be sent over the inernet... Nothing to really worry about there.

He says household printers will soon be able to produce drugs and weapons, and the country's borders are extremely vulnerable.

WTF! I will soon be able to manufacture an AK-47 with my household printer? Totes Amazeballs!

"If people could print off ... sheets of Ecstasy tablets at the party they're at at that time that just completely takes away our border protection role in its known sense."

Mr Williamson says the printers will become as common as PCs and he has asked his officials to think hard about how to keep up with this kind of technology.

Being the Minister of Customs you would expect Williamson to have at least a small amount of knowledge about such matters, especially if he's concerned... But unfortunately he seems to have no idea about how 3D printers work or how ecstasy or weapons are manufactured.

Clearly Maurice Williamson is a complete idiot or perhaps even a bit insane! Either way, it's pretty obvious he shouldn't be in government.

Prostitution law reform not the answer

Yesterday, the NZ Herald reported:

A church pastor says underage girls in south Auckland are being pimped out by their parents and as many as three generations of some families are working as prostitutes.

Pastor Trent Membrey of the contemporary Christian C3 Church said he and others from his parish had worked to offer support to underage girls, one as young as 11, who were working as prostitutes in Manurewa.

I hope the good Pastor informed the appropriate authorities and those authorities are targeting the men using underage sex workers?

His comments come after community leaders in the area announced a public meeting next month amid fears of a rising number of underage prostitutes in South Auckland, some as young as 13 said to be earning up to $600 a night.

Pastor Membrey said he and others from C3 Church had worked with young women who were being forced into prostitution.

"For a lot of them it's not their call. Their brothers and uncles are pimping them out ... a lot of them don't have a say,'' he said.

"There are three generations of [some families] out there ... it's an ongoing cycle. Some of these girls won't know any different because it's inbred in these families.''

Placing the blame solely on these girls and their families is a means to ignore the real cause for the apparent increase in underage prostitution; poverty.

In my opinion, it's desperation for money that's the reason for this kind of social dysfunction, and the blame can therefore be placed on a dysfunctional government that's failing to ensure there are adequate social services available for these young girls and their families.

Pastor Membrey said the toxic lifestyle was driven by drugs and alcohol and he believed police were doing all they could to keep underage girls off the streets.

He said police confiscated drugs and took home underage girls suspected of working as prostitutes but they immediately return to the streets.

"Their brothers and uncles are pimping them out" but the Police "took home underage girls suspected of working as prostitutes" anyway?

If that's the case, Pastor Membrey is basically saying that the police aren't doing their jobs properly. If there's evidence of underaged prostitution and that brothers and uncles are the perpetrators, simply taking these young girls back home to an often-abusive situation isn't the answer. Instead, we should be seeing an increase in the use of appropriate social services.

Despite Judith Collins recently declaring the government's law and order policy a success, there has actually been a steady increase in the number of charges resulting in convictions for sexual offences. This indicates that the problem of sexual abuse, including paedophilia is getting worse. In my opinion those worsening conditions are mainly due to social disintegration brought about by increased poverty and a lack of appropriate social services.

The main issue here is therefore a political one, whereby the government has caused an increase in poverty resulting in social dysfunction and certain MPs are now using the issue to try and change prostitution laws, which are clearly not the problem.

Yesterday, Scoop reported:

New Zealand First says the risks and dangers of street prostitution must be addressed for the benefit of both those working in the sex industry and society in general.

Social Policy spokesperson Asenati Lole-Taylor says alcohol and drug abuse, poor physical and mental health, and under-age prostitution are rampant among street sex workers.

“So far the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective has received about $8.6 million from the Ministry of Health to help tackle these issues. But there is another way that would prove to be effective.

“Our Prostitution Reform (Control of Street Prostitution) Amendment Bill would ban all street prostitution and confine sex work to brothels.

The Prostitution Reform Act 2003 (PDF) has worked well to reduce the amount of prostitutes being abused and the amount of sexual diseases being transmitted, both good indications that the current law doesn't need changing.

In my opinion, politicians trying to take advantage of what is essentially social dysfunction as a result of  an increase in poverty is entirely inappropriate!

Instead, the government needs to ensure the current laws are being properly enforced, social services are adequate and available and most importantly overal poverty is reduced... Only then will we see a reduction in such cases of social dysfunction.

Crown ignores P contamination

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

The house, listed with a capital value of $435,000, had been seized by the Government under proceeds-of-crime laws because its owner was convicted on serious drugs charges. But police didn't recommend to the local council that it be tested for drug residue and it was only withdrawn just before the auction when Waikato-based forensic consultant Todd Sheppard announced he had tested it himself and found a positive result for P.

[...]

Crown solicitor Nicola Graham said she erred on the side of caution after concerns were raised at the auction, and the property was now being tested for P.

Police Minister Anne Tolley last night said: "I would expect all agencies would work together to make sure all necessary checks have taken place to ensure public safety."

I would have thought that any house associated with the manufacture of P would be tested for residual methamphetamine contamination?

The problem here is that property owners have a lot to lose financially if the house they own is found to have been used to manufacture the drug known as P, and the same can be said for the Crown. That's why the government has done nothing to fix this issue.

If the Crown had actually erred on the side of caution, they would have got the house tested well before it was put up for sale.

This shows a complete lack of thought on the part of Crown agencies, being that they were willing to let the house be sold to a hapless buyer who would've been none the wiser to the problem and landed with a large cleanup bill of between $5000 to $35,000. In fact some houses are so contaminated that they have to be demolished, meaning years of litigation to try and recover costs from people who are often in jail.

Despite the government making a number of assurances, there's still no public database of houses that have tested positive as meth labs or the ones that have been decontaminated. Unfortunately the problem is still being quietly swept under the carpet by the Crown to protect property owners and insurers from potential losses, and this suits the drug industry just fine.

Government puts profit before peoples health

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

The multibillion-pound pharmaceutical industry has spent the last decade developing new drugs which have produced little benefit and caused considerable harm, experts say.

The claim that there is an "innovation crisis" in pharmaceuticals because of the difficulty and expense of discovering new drugs is a myth fostered by an industry whose chief focus is on marketing, they add.

Counter to drug industry claims that the pipeline of new drugs is running dry, the number of new drugs being licensed each year has remained at between 15 and 25. But most involve minor tweaks to existing drugs, designed to grab a slice of an existing market rather than offering genuine therapeutic innovation.

Independent reviews suggest 85 to 90 per cent provide little benefit over existing treatments with some, such as Vioxx, the painkiller, and Avandia, the diabetes drug, causing serious side effects which led to their withdrawal in Europe.

[...]

"This is the real innovation crisis: pharmaceutical research and development turns out mostly minor variations on existing drugs and most new drugs are not superior on clinical measures. [They] have also produced an epidemic of serious adverse reactions that have added to national healthcare costs," they say.

The other problem here is that without adequate generic drugs, ensuring people are medicated properly becomes a lot more expensive. Drug companies would of course like to corner the market and eliminate competition by ensuring generic drugs have more hurdles to pass through before being approved for general public use. However the article goes on to say:

Researchers from the London School of Economics in Britain argue that drug manufacturers should be made to demonstrate their products are superior to existing treatments before being granted a licence, rather than, as now, superior only to a placebo.

Superior to a placebo means new generic drugs only have to show a slight positive effect, meaning that approval methods are inadequate, which gives rise to unfortunate events like this one where a young woman died of side effects from a cancer vaccination.

The problem lies with the licensing system on new drugs and the patenting system on existing drugs. The patenting system is inhibiting new developments by companies that don't own rights and the licensing system is ensuring cheaper generic drugs often have little therapeutic value. Those caught in the middle of this dysfunctional dichotomy are governments and the consumer.

Governments these days are looking to reduce costs by favouring generic drugs, which have been shown to be dangerous on numerous occasions. As the article points out, this adds considerably to national health costs by increasing recovery times and creating secondary health problems from side effects. It could be that the additional costs caused by inferior drugs are more than the initial savings the government makes.

The real meat in the sandwich though is the consumer, who has to pay extra for prescription fees for existing drugs that are known to work, or run the risk of using a generic drug that is likely to not work as well and/or have increased adverse side effects. As usual it will be the poor and minority groups who are adversely effected the most. Even before the increase in part charges from $3 to $5 per script, 14% of Māori do not pick up prescriptions because of the cost.

How big is the problem you might ask... There's already been thirty drugs that have been recalled by the US Food and Drug Administration this year, which is a 7% increase on 2011. The problem is getting worse not better. Current government policy to increase user pays and further rely on unsafe generic drugs will increase the numbers of poor people not being medicated properly. llness reducing productivity will undoubtedly undermine any economic recovery National hopes to have while they're still in power.

Politicians told to get clean or face losing benefit

Today, One News reported:

Beneficiaries who face having their welfare cut by declining or failing a drug test will be given the opportunity to "clean themselves up", Prime Minister John Key says.

Key said the Government is still working through the details of the new regulations which Finance Minister Bill English yesterday told TV ONE's Q&A would apply only to beneficiaries who receive the new Jobseeker benefit.

On today's Breakfast programme, Key said the reforms are most likely to comprise of several sanctions in which users will first have the opportunity to give up drug use.

"They would have the opportunity to clean themselves up. If they need help we will give them that help," he said.

This is just another dog whistle from Mr smile and wave without any substance. Firstly National has been cutting funding to organisations that were in place to help young people with their drug and alcohol problems, secondly it's discriminating against a vulnerable section of the community and thirdly politicians are likely to be bigger drug and alcohol users than people who get peanuts on a benefit.

Why aren't we drug-testing government MPs who are in charge of multi-million dollar portfolios? Some of their decisions clearly point to befuddled minds. We have already had the catastrophe that was Piggy Muldoon, who had a serious drinking problem. Perhaps MPs should be breath tested before, during and after work each day. Another drunk in charge will only lead to disaster.

P-lab Contaminated Houses Ignored

Those who are unfortunate enough to live in a house that has previously been used to manufacture the methamphetamine drug known as pure (P), have an uphill battle on their hands.

P lab contaminated houses are a serious problem as the residual chemicals are highly toxic and exposure can cause illnesses related to immunodeficiency and serious diseases like cancer. Therefore you'd think the government was getting serious about the problem, unfortunately not...

All responsibility falls on those living in the contaminated property. Firstly they have to associate the initial headaches, nausea and skin conditions to a thing that is often invisible. Even when the association is made, they have to convince authorities to test for toxic residual; if the Police are not involved, this process alone can take years.

Figures show that one third of people who are suspicious of the house they live in are proven correct. Even when a house tests positive, Regional Councils simply list it as a property with higher probability of contamination, leaving all relevant details aside. To make matters worse, the limited information is not easily accessible for anybody who believes the house they reside in is contaminated.

People renting contaminated houses have the option of moving on. But the property owner must take it on the chin or hide the fact that the house is no longer suitable for living in. Even when testing shows a house is contaminated, there are no laws to say the property owner can't simply rent it out to the next unsuspecting tenant.

Perhaps the property owner might even sell to an unsuspecting purchaser. The costs involved can be huge, especially if insurers decline cover or authorities condemn the house.



Once it has been established a home has been used as a P lab, an extensive decontamination process is required - which can cost from between $5000 to $35,000. But there is no national standard for what constitutes a satisfactory clean-up.

There is no open database of what houses have been checked and tested positive. That means contamination from the manufacture of P is quietly swept under the carpet, to protect property owners and insurers from potential losses, and this suits the drug industry just fine.

It’s not only chance involved in who is residing in these contaminated houses either. The drug dealers et al actively choose people to reside in houses previously used to manufacture P. The more average Jo Bloggs these people appear the better. That’s because the next knock at the door is usually the Police.

The transient nature of P labs means the number of contaminated houses is growing. Even if a doctor recognises the causes of their illnesses, which is usually not the case, those who are affected have little chance at any recompense.

What we need is an open and easily accessible database of houses that have been tested for contamination and a dedicated task force to start testing more houses. Without these things, innocent people will continue to bear many of the costs of New Zealand's P epidemic, and that's simply unfair.

Stay off the Pipe

Last week, Chris Cornell sat down in Los Angeles with David Farrier for an interview. Chris was the front man of the hugely successful band Soundgarden. He then embarked on other endeavours such as Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo career.

The seminal statement in the interview was “stay off the pipe.” Although Chris delivered this with humour, it’s a serious topic that needs further investigation.

Chris was referring to smoking drugs through a pipe, which is the preferred method to imbibe various mind altering substances from Marijuana to crack cocaine. His advice came a little late for Rock legend Rick Bryant, who was just jailed for possessing 400g of cannabis, a small amount of cannabis oil, ecstasy and some cocaine.

Defence lawyer Paul Wicks said there was no evidence his client had dealt to anyone other than friends and that Rick was a long-term cannabis user who used the drug to manage chronic pain. Wicks said the cocaine and ecstasy were used infrequently and had been in his house for a long time and that Rick's problem was with cannabis and he would undertake counseling if he was given home detention.

Justice Lang ignored this and sentenced Rick to three years, one month in prison. However with discounts for his early guilty plea, his charitable work and moves toward drug rehabilitation, Justice Lang ordered a final sentence of two years in prison. Rick will have no access to proper drug rehabilitation services while incarcerated, which is at a cost of around $100,000 per year.

Like the Government, our Justice system largely ignores advice from reputable researches such as the New England Journal of Medicine. Their recent paper (PDF) on Medicine and the Epidemic of Incarceration in the United States probably hasn't even been looked at by any National MP's. The extensive paper reviewed the deplorable plight of drug addicted and mentally ill inmates in America's prisons and concluded:

“Locking up millions of people for drug­ related crimes has failed as a public­ safety strategy and has harmed public health in the communities to which these men and women return. A new evidence ­based approach is desperately needed. We believe that in addition to capitalizing on the public health opportunities that incarceration presents, the medical community and policymakers must advocate for alternatives to imprisonment, drug­ policy reform, and increased public awareness of this crisis in order to reduce mass incarceration and its collateral consequence.”

I mention this because National is hell bent on following an American system, which has completely failed to curb drug use in that country. By following America's example and continuing the costly war on drugs, National undermines the ability of addicts to properly rehabilitate. There's also a huge cost in human misery from such archaic policies.

Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in New Zealand after alcohol and tobacco, both of which cause untold harm and carnage in our society. Unlike many other recreational drugs, Marijuana is not attributed to any deaths.

In the 90’s a Ministry of Health report found that 43% of males and 27% of females aged 18 to 24 years used marijuana in any given 12 month period. 70% of prosecutions for offences involving cannabis resulted in a conviction. Around 5% of the population used Opium or its derivatives, with around 13% trying hallucinogens at some time.

Chris was in all probability refering to P, also known as speed, burns and meth. It’s a commonly manufactured drug in New Zealand with the amount of Clandestine Drug Laboratories (Clan Labs) growing throughout the country as more people become addicted.

Methamphetamine is now the world’s most widely used drug, with New Zealand excelling in this negative trend.

Still the powers that be prefer to promote a punishment instead of rehabilitation program. The negative effects of which make gangs millions of dollars, creates more crime and keeps people addicted for longer. This is because a lot of crime is undertaken to pay for peoples drug habits, which are not reduced to any significant degree by incarceration.

An extensive report (PDF) by the New Zealand National Health Committee found that:

 A lack of alcohol and other drug assessments and treatment for prisoners undermines community safety. An estimated 2,000 prisoners with substance abuse problems are released from prison each year without an alcohol and other drug assessment.

They made a number of recommendations:

• consider the case for transferring responsibility for prisoner primary health care from the Department of Corrections to the health sector
• adhere to six principles for health and disability planning and delivery to prisoners
• improve planning
• strengthen relationships among responsible agencies
• improve the quality of primary health care in prisons
• strengthen identification, assessment and treatment of health conditions and disabilities, with a focus on mental health, alcohol and other drug dependence, and oral health
• ensure seamless continuity of care
• support maintenance of family relationships and responsibilities for prisoners
• assist organisations that provide support to released prisoners and their families and whānau.

All of which will be ignored by a National Government. There is one thing that I disagree with the authors about though, the reason for New Zealand's high drug use is pretty obvious;  when the economy worsens, people turn to drugs because their lives are not working. Societies worsening conditions increases drug dependency.

What is the Government’s answer to this major problem? So far it’s been to remove funding for rehab units that can help addicts kick the habit and continue to spend millions of dollars on more Police and new jails in anticipation of more disaffected people finding little option but to commit crime. Sadly, drugs are often the only answer to the reality of peoples lives. Meanwhile, National continues to preach a tough on crime ethos that has totally failed to fix the problem.

The Government has totally failed to even comprehend the negative dynamic their policies are causing. Poor communities have been hardest hit with police unable to contend with the tide of drug use to any degree as to decrease its negative effects. So now that the war on drugs is lost, what is the answer? I'm asking you because there's no point in asking the Government.

The King of Destiny Church

A few years ago, a couple of Density Church members came to my house and asked for money. They appeared to be hyped on some sort of drug or perhaps that was just religious fervour. I engaged in conversation with them for a while but ultimately told them I had nothing to give, which wasn’t far from the truth. Once I had made it clear that I wasn’t going to part with any folding, they skedaddled leaving the gate open on the way out. I thought this rather rude as I had sheep that could’ve escape onto the road. Luckily I noticed, as there are large fines for wandering stock these days.

After that a man started ranting outside my property like a complete nutter. I couldn't understand some of it, but most of the yelling consisted of:

“So this is the evil one then?” and “He’s the son of Satan!” etc…

I kid you not. Some of my neighbours went out to investigate and the man soon left. That was my introduction to Density Church back in 2003. What they failed to understand was that my soul didn’t need saving in the first place and I certainly wasn’t going to be bullied by a couple of parasites who have no control over such matters.

What happened that day was clearly designed to try and shame me for not donating my hard earned cash, which is a rather disgusting practice that I believe continues to be a predominant theme within the organisation. Enough is enough already! Such psychological abuse pretty much sums up what the Density Church is all about, they're just another hate group founded on bigotries and intolerance. If you're a current member, I suggest you leave.

Televangelist Brian Tamaki has done nothing to change my low opinion of his organization since then. In fact he has brought further shame on legitimate Christian values by continuing his homophobic and misogynistic campaigns, which prey upon the disadvantaged to line his own pockets.

Be sure your sins will find you out Brian Tamaki, for shalt your sins be known.

Most people have heard about Brian Tamaki dabbling in alcohol and drugs as a teenager. You only have to grab a copy of his autobiography to learn that the snake oil salesman has a few skeletons in the closet. Back in the day his teen girlfriend Hannah and mother of his out-of-wedlock first child, tried to stab Tamaki to death. He apparently had to barricade himself in the bathroom and got the fright of his life when the serrated blade burst through the door only 5cm from his body.

"I was shocked. This woman really wanted to kill me." Brian Tamaki wrote.

Now married to Hannah for 31 years, Brian Tamaki says the couple can laugh about the incident. 

“Remember when you tried to kill me dear? God it was funny!” Not!

But that was years ago and hardly even worth mentioning. What is far more relevant is that the Tamaki family is still dysfunctional. Amongst rumours that some Density Church member’s are having to resort to selling drugs to get their children into the Pentecostal fundamentalist “Christian” movement’s school system, is another story that is far closer to home for the “King” and his family.

From 2003 to 2005 Brian Tamaki’s very own daughter sold drugs to support her habit. The Tamaki’s have been clever at keeping this information secret, until now. They will claim this information is unfounded, but I can assure you that it’s fully credible. The Tamaki's might even say it’s defamatory and threaten the Jackal with legal action. Unfortunately for them, there's evidence to support this fact, so I’m not worried in the slightest about their response, if one is forthcoming at all.

Not only are the Tamaki’s a bunch of money-grubbing sycophants requiring a 10% automatic tithe from the some 9000 Density Church member’s incomes; they’re a bunch of druggies as well. Not really Christian like behaviour huh!

“Ten cents in every dollar God says belongs to him, so that’s a principle not of Brian Tamaki and Destiny Church, that’s a biblical principle,” Brian Tamaki preaches.

Despite his dubious history, Brian Tamaki does at least try to keep the veneer of a fine upstanding citizen about him. In 2008, the Tamaki’s obvious warped sense of reality led them to try to build their very own Holy Density Church City in South Auckland.

“I am not just some man or some spirit, I am God,” Brian ranted like a lunatic.

At the church's 10th birthday celebration, Brian also talked about the 10-acre (40,000 m2) site the church had just procured, with a budget of $2.4 million dollars in cold hard donations. He said the community would have its own maraes, medical facilities and that:

"Every child of every member of this church will never go to a state school again,"

The self proclaimed “King” has failed to deliver this to his gullible church goers.

In October 2009, about 700 male members of the church attended a conference called "MoMENtum" in which Tamaki likened himself to King David. The conference was designed to make “men fit to go to war,” whatever that means. Attendees swore a covenant oath of loyalty and obedience to the "King" and were given a covenant ring to wear on their right hands. A document entitled Protocols and Requirements Between Spiritual Father & His Spiritual Sons contained the oath:

“Above all, we stand here today in the presence of God to enter into this sacred covenant with our man of God, Bishop Brian Tamaki. To you Bishop we pledge our allegiance, our faithfulness and loyalty. We pledge to serve the cause that is in your heart and to finish that work. Success to you and success to those who help you - for God is with you.”

Following this pledge, the church was widely labelled as a cult. Mark Vrankovich of Cultwatch saying:

“Within this document we see here the very mechanism by which cults go askew, Christians were sick of being identified with Mr Tamaki and the Destiny Church. I mean here you have a man who thinks he is a biblical character, in this case King David, and he's building himself an army of mighty men who will do whatever he wants. I have grave concerns for that, grave concerns."

It should also be noted that many cults throughout the ages have utilize drugs to make their victims more amenable to their will. But as there’s no hard evidence of widespread drugging within the Density Church, it’s merely just another concern amongst many surrounding “King” Brian Tamaki and his followers of the questionable Density Church.

Last weekend the National Party MP and Chairperson of the Mäori Affairs Committee Tau Henare, Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples, Labour MP Shane Jones and the leader of the new Mana Party, Hone Harawira were invited to Density Church’s annual conference. During the service, Bishop Brian Tamaki placed his hands on their chests and prayed with his congregation for the MP’s to give the cult further taxpayer money.

“King” Brian Tamaki will instruct followers on how to vote this election depending on how much the bribes to buy votes amount to. Pita Sharples is reported as the only MP openly considering the illegal offer.

You can’t buy your way into heaven Brian Tamaki.

The week that was 30 April - 6 May

New Zealand has the third-highest rate of children living in single-parent homes, an OECD study says. This means nearly one in four Kiwi children are growing up in single-parent homes as more marriages break up and single women choose to enter motherhood on their own. Of twenty seven industrialised countries, New Zealand ranked third in the Doing Better for Families study, with 23.7 per cent of children living in a one-parent household, compared with the 14.9 per cent average across all countries.

Children's Commissioner John Angus said Kiwi children were four times more likely to be living under the poverty line if a single parent was raising them.


As of December last year, any person or organisation that provides financial service to a member of the public has to register with the Companies Office as a financial service provider and belong to an approved dispute resolution scheme like FSCL. The new responsible lending guidelines launched this week could prove a deterrent to loan sharking practices as they can be used to look into complaints made against lending companies whether they signed up to the guidelines or not, a dispute resolution provider says.

Child Poverty Action Group executive member Claire Dale said its good to see consumers will be able to access free information about the dispute resolution services but she objects to "the pretence that the guidelines will address the issues of finance companies making loans with cripplingly high interest rates, punitive default conditions, and excessive security and powers of repossession".

"New Zealand is one of the few countries in the OECD who has continued to deny the most vulnerable citizens the protection of a capped interest rate. The guidelines slap loan sharks with a dead fish, and sidestep the very real need for the government to cap interest rates," Ms Dale said.

The Law Commission issued a report on the 35-year-old drug laws, saying there was room for "a more flexible approach to small-scale dealing and personal drug use", particularly when linked to addiction. The report also suggests that the Government should carry out clinical trials on the effectiveness of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

A new system of warnings for personal possession and "social dealing" of drugs is proposed, with three warnings for a class C drug offence before an offender would be ordered to attend "a brief intervention session". Two warnings would apply for class B drug offences, and one for class A. There should also be a presumption against imprisonment for those prosecuted for "social dealing" that had no profit for the dealer, the report says.

Nearly half of New Zealand's adult population has used cannabis at some point in their lives and about one in seven were classified as current users in 2006. The report says there should be no changes that dilute prohibition of drug use. "However, there is room for taking a more flexible approach to small-scale dealing and personal possession and use." The police submission on the report, obtained by Fairfax, objects to the proposals for a "cautioning" approach. Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said too many resources were directed into criminalising people rather than providing them with medical help.

"This new approach, if adopted, will actually save money, enabling greater resources to be directed into health services for breaking the cycle of drug abuse and addiction. It will also free police to tackle more serious crime." Metiria said.

On Monday Greenpeace activists began blocking the construction of the European Pressurized Nuclear Reactor (EPR) being built at Flamanville, France. Two trucks were anchored to the ground, blockading the entrance carrying activists. More activists scaled four cranes, attempting to impede further construction work at the site.

The EPR design in particular has a number of safety risks similar to Fukushima, as the French nuclear safety authority ASN pointed out a few weeks ago. The regulator must now act and enforce a moratorium on the site.

Click image for Fukushima status.

Worldwide concerns surrounding radioactivity continue after the Fukushima Dai-ichi meltdowns, with both levels in the atmosphere and sea water surrounding the plant containing higher than normal levels, and more concerns over the radioactivity which may have entered the food and drinking water systems.


In Germany, the Christian Democratic Union, blamed the Fukushima meltdown for a regional election loss. Seven of the county's oldest plants were temporarily shut down in the immediate aftermath of the event and protests have taken place in Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne and Munich, where 200,000 people gathered to demand the closure of all Germany’s reactors.

Austria's environment minister called for stress tests to make sure Europe’s nuclear facilities are earthquake-proof. The European Commission also agreed that in the wake of the disaster, stress tests should be performed on power stations in the EU to test how robust their safety systems are. EU Energy Commissioner Gunter Oettinger raised doubts that all the 143 reactors in Europe would get approval under the review.

In China, one of the biggest builders of new nuclear, has suspended building on its new reactors, pending new safety regulations. The Bangladeshi government on the other hand has announced they will go ahead with their new power station, while in India a safety review has been announced, although no shift looks likely in their pro-nuclear policy.

Customs officials in Chile detected radiation in cars that arrived from Japan onboard the Hyundai 106 cargo ship. Twenty-one of the 2,500 cars that arrived in Iquique, Chile from the Japanese port of Yokohama have been found to have low levels of radiation. Nearly one hundred port workers have protested the arrival of the shipment and subsequent exposure, claiming their health was at risk.

Global anti-corruption coalition Transparency International (TI) has released the ‘Global Corruption Report: Climate Change’, which presented guidelines to prevent corruption which could undermine climate change remedy actions. 

"Where huge amounts of money flow through new and untested financial markets and mechanisms, there is always a risk of corruption. Some estimate total climate change investments in mitigation efforts alone at almost $700-billion by 2020. Public investments of no less than $250-billion a year will eventually flow through new, relatively uncoordinated and untested channels. In addition, pressure already exists to ‘fast-track’ solutions, further enhancing the risk of corruption,” said the report.

It called on governments, international organisations, businesses and civil society to ensure good governance in climate policy, because under global climate agreements, substantial funding would be gathered to finance mitigation of emissions, such as renewable energy projects, and adaptation to impacts, such as construction of sea walls, irrigation systems and disaster-ready housing.

Conservation Department staff have been told to expect job losses as part of a wide-ranging review and restructure of the organisation. Director-general Al Morrison has told staff of the review, which follows a year of mergers and job cuts after the department had its budget slashed in 2009. It is refusing to say how many jobs may be at risk, saying it is too early and that the restructure is still in a "design phase".

The restructure could affect teams who process permits and concessions, mapping staff, resource management planners, and legal, payroll and administrative staff. Scientific and technical officer jobs were also being looked at as part of the review. Public Service Association national secretary Brenda Pilott said the review was being done to save money. The union did not know how many job losses there would be. In the 2009 Budget, DOC had $54 million cut from its budget over four years.

John Key is adamant that the NZDF has done nothing wrong in Afghanistan and continues to refuse an independent enquiry into allegations made in John Stephenson’s recent article in Metro Magazine, which accuses the NZSAS of being complicit in the torture of Afghan Civilians. This has resulted in the Greens saying;

"If the Prime Minister John Key and Governor General Designate Jerry Mataparae have nothing to hide, then they should welcome an enquiry as an opportunity for their version of the truth to be confirmed. If they continue to stonewall an investigation, and throw mud at the messenger, then the New Zealand public will have no choice but to assume that the SAS are in fact guilty as accused, and that the Governor General Designate and Prime Minister have deliberately lied the New Zealand public on several occasions" The Green Party said.

The Governor General Designate Jerry Mataparae and Prime Minister John Key.

John Key publicly attacked John Stephenson's journalistic credibility over the NZSAS Metro article. Mr Key also said Mr Stephenson made a phone call to him and alleges Mr Stephenson impersonated Duncan Garner, a well known TV3 right wing journalist.  The public attack by the Prime Minister as well as statements made by Rhys Jones, the chief of defence force - will possibly be the subject of legal action undertaken by Mr Stephenson.

New Zealand has the highest incidence of melanoma in the world, which is the most likely cause of cancer in Kiwi men aged 25 to 44, and those over 60 are most at risk. One in 13 men will get melanoma in their lifetime, compared with one in 18 women. Melanoma unit surgeon and Melanoma Foundation trustee Richard Martin says continued exposure to the sun for a long period, as in the case of farmers, means a higher risk later in life. The foundation says melanoma is a deadly skin cancer that has a devastating impact on 2000 New Zealanders and their families every year.

Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. While it is not the most common skin cancer, it causes the most deaths. Melanoma is most common in white-skinned individuals, but it may develop in those with dark skin as well. About one in 15 white-skinned New Zealanders are expected to develop melanoma in their lifetime, and Australia and New Zealand have the highest reported rates of melanoma in the world. It was the third most common cancer registration in New Zealand in females and the fourth most common cancer for males in 2000.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Christopher Finlayson welcomed the beginning of the 11th New Zealand Music Month, saying it was a great way to sample from the full range of local music offerings with events nationwide.

“New Zealand musicians are consistently recognised on the international stage, from contemporary acts at the annual SXSW music fair in Austin, Texas to the NZSO performing in Vienna. We can take advantage of the fact we have thriving live music scenes across many genres right on our door-steps during May. New Zealand Music Month is an excellent opportunity to get out of the house and see our world class musicians in their natural environment, whether that is Auckland’s Aotea Centre or Karangahape Road, the Wellington Opera House or Cuba Street,” Mr Finlayson said.

Sir Bob Geldof was honored for his humanitarian work at the Gulf Intelligence Food Security Forum held in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. According to statistics presented at the conference, the number of people suffering from chronic hunger surpassed one billion for the first time last year. At the same time, food prices hit a new high in February 2011, surpassing the previous peak prices of December 2010.

“Countries such as the UAE that control vital natural resources like oil should take a stand and put pressure on other nations to ensure food security for all,” Sir Bob Geldof said.

Speaking on the occasion, Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the UAE, said ensuring world food security called for innovative and scientific solutions to the problem. 

"Food security is a complicated problem. Higher standards of living and better health care are signs of development, but they also increase the demand for food. We therefore need to increase food production and supply in ways that do not pose a threat to development, as well as ensure that development does not increase food security concerns," Shaikh Nahyan said.

There are reports of many civilians being massacred in the small Syrian town of Tel Kalakh, with reports that the Syrian army's 4th Brigade fired into unarmed protesters. Almost half the Sunni Muslim population fled over the river frontier into Lebanon, babes in arms, old people in wheelchairs, pushed through the shallow waters of the Nahr el-Kbir.

As many as 4,000 of the Syrian Sunnis made it to the safety of Lebanon to be given food, shelter and blankets by relatives and by strangers and they were there yesterday – 80 living in one house alone scarcely 20m from Syria, desperate to praise the kindness of the Lebanese, fearful of the things they had seen, ferocious in their anger against their president.

The men responsible for the killings in Tel Kalakh were members of the Syrian army's 4th Brigade, the same unit, commanded by President Bashar al-Assad's little brother Maher, that is besieging the southern city of Deraa, along with government snipers and "shabiha" thugs from the Alawi mountains. Dressed in black, the latter spent some time, according to Syrian refugee women, tearing the veils off girls and trying to kidnap them.

Muammar Gaddafi meets Barack Obama.

NATO undertook an attack on a Libyan building which killed Gaddafi's youngest son Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, and three of his grandchildren. This occurred despite the UN resolution 1973, which prohibits attacks on civilians. Nato maintains that it was not an assassination attempt and that the building was used to support military personnel. Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said;

"The house of Mr Saif al-Arab Gaddafi was attacked tonight with full power. The leader with his wife was there in the house with other friends and relatives. The leader himself is in good health, he wasn't harmed, however this is a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country. This is not permitted by international law. It is not permitted by any moral code or principle." the spokesman said, adding that Gaddafi's wife was also unharmed.

A Response to Disaster

Disaster-related experiences including negative life changes,  post-disaster stressors, and resource loss, which have a unique relationship with mental health. While resource loss has the strongest inverse relationship with mental health, disaster exposure has a negative interactive effect on psychological distress and anxiety.

In America, Multivariate analysis revealed that rises in AT use were positively associated with education. Females and younger evacuees were more likely to have increased AT use. ID use increase was positively associated with resource loss and leaving the city before Katrina. Decreases in AT and ID use were found to be associated with disaster-related exposure.

Another distinguishing characteristic of New Orleans compared to other US cities is that it had one of the highest drug-use prevalence rates in the country. According to the 2003 results of the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program, 78 per cent of the adult male and 60 per cent of the adult female arrestee population in New Orleans tested positive for any of five drugs (cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines, opiates and phenylcyclohexylpiperidine (PCP) (Zhang, 2003). African American neighbourhoods had the highest levels of crime, drug use and identified major drug distribution centres (National Drug Intelligence Center, 2001). Many of these neighbourhoods were located in areas most devastated by Katrina and the ensuing floods.

Even the psychological consequences that lead to drug dependency in relation to disasters in our mass media psychologically dependant society determine a ratio of implications that should not be underestimated. A response to the physiological trauma from disaster must be made.

There is no question that reliance on mind-altering substances is attributed with traumatic occurrences. The addict or recreational user requires a shift of consciousness to remedy the negative impact of the circumstances that surrounds them, in the present or past. This, depending on your point of view is a good or bad thing. However in relation to a copping mechanism it is usually determined in a negative light.