Racism is Alive and well in New Zealand Today

“Racism is Alive and Well in New Zealand Today…” Some people agree, others disagree. In this essay I will explore racism being alive and well in New Zealand today and other points that back this up like how New Zealand’s diversity brings discrimination and racism, how serious racism really is in New Zealand and what it could become, immigrants who cause New Zealand’s society to have difference, what New Zealand classifies as being racist and how aware people are of racism in New Zealand.
Since the signing of the treaty of Waitangi in 1840, New Zealand today has become a very diverse nation. European, Asian, Pacific Islander and Maori are the main ethnic groups that make up New Zealand. With diversity comes discrimination and racism. Discrimination is in our everyday lives even though we may not realise it. People are discriminated against because of little things like their shape, size, hair colour, likes, dislikes, gender, disabilities, habits etc. Then people also get discriminated against because of more serious things like, nationality, beliefs, religion and skin colour. This brings us to racism. Although we don’t want to admit it, racism is alive in our society today and something needs to be done about it.
We are all born equal. We have equal rights and freedoms. Most importantly, we are all human. Why is there racism in our society? Why does the colour of our skin or nationality matter so much? It might seem like New Zealand accepts the immigrants that come over here, most New Zealanders do, but in my opinion racism is alive and well in New Zealand today but my question is why?
Some people think of themselves as better, more superior or more dominant towards other people because of their skin colour, nationality and race. They therefore think that people of other races deserve to be made fun of or harmed. It often depends on how a person is brought up. Often, people who are born into upper class families who think they are the best and show racism towards other cultures, end up becoming racist just like their families.

Although some people take racism as a joke, it is actually really serious. Studies show that even though people won’t always admit it, 95% of people find racist jokes or comments targeted towards their nationality offensive.
New Zealand’s racism issues are nothing compared to those in America. Over there, gangs like the KKK have become illegal because of serious actions towards black people.
My hope is that racism in New Zealand will never get that serious. People are trying to stop the racism that goes on at the moment; most of which is behind closed doors.
New Zealand is becoming more and more diverse because of over sea immigrants and with diversity, unintentionally come racism. Some New Zealanders are beginning to discriminate against other cultures that are being introduced into New Zealand. For example, of the people surveyed, most agree that Asians need to find ways to fit into the community. But in my opinion, our society is so diverse, what exactly is defined as fitting in?
Racism is also becoming more alive because people from other countries claim that Maoris get specific benefits which they don’t, because of their race.
So with the natives, and the new immigrants diversity is among us, which brings racism.
I think that this is very unnecessary. We should all be able to live together in a diverse and mixed culture society in peace with out people discriminating against skin colour and race. Its only a colour, it’s the inside that really counts.

Do people know and realise that racism is alive and well in New Zealand today? Studies have shown that the majority of people surveyed in Auckland in Christchurch agree that there is racism in our society.
Although it is not all over the news or in major headlines, there are also people out there who are protesting against racism an trying to stop it.

How do you classify a racist? If a person were to occasionally make racist comments or jokes, would they be classified as a racist? Or what if a person constantly made racist comments and jokes? Would they then be classified or described as a racist?
There are separate levels of which racism is expressed. There are the people who think about racist remarks, then there are the people who occasionally share racist jokes, then come the people who are constantly repeating and creating racist comments and joke and then there are the people who act on these racist thoughts by harming people of another race or colour.
Are all these people described as racists? Its up to you how seriously you take racism and how you define those types of people.
In conclusion, my overall opinion on wether or not racism is alive and well in New Zealand today is yes, it is definitely part of our society. This essay has explained about how diversity and discrimination are the two words which are associated with racism and how they really shouldn‘t be. I hope this essay has made you think twice and opened your eyes to racism in New Zealand and how it really is part of our everyday lives.

- By Natasha Rishworth

My Food Tech Meal.

Barbeque Marinated Chicken Kebabs

What do I need?
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp balsamic or sherry vinegar
2 tbsp runny honey
500g skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1cm strips

How do I make it?
1. Mix together the ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar and honey in a shallow dish to make the barbecue sauce.
2. Add the chicken and turn until it is coated in the sauce. Set aside for 10 minutes, or longer if you have time, to marinate the chicken.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to medium-high and line the grill pan with foil.
Thread the chicken onto 12 metal skewers and place on the grill rack. Spoon over the barbecue sauce and grill for 8–10 minutes, turning once, until cooked through. Discard any leftover marinade.
Serves 4.

Evaluation...

My Meal . . .
Today I made my final meal. I think all parts of it went really well, the taste, presentation, timing and client satisfaction were all really good.
I not only enjoyed my meal, but my client did as well. The kebabs were perfectly marinated and cooked for just the right amount of time which resulted in them tasting and looking really good. With the rice, this time Mrs Davies bought pre-cooked rice which just needed heating up. It had instructions on the back which meant I put it in for the right amount of time and didn’t burn it. I also remembered to put the sticks in the chicken before I cooked it so that they were actually kebabs not just strips of chicken. Those were all the things that needed improving from my trial and I think I did everything right the way I intended to do it in the first place.
As for time, once again I stuck to my time plan really well in my opinion which meant there was plenty of time to garnish, serve, photograph and eat my meal, and then wash up! I am glad that I finished on time because time is in my opinion really important. If I ran out of time I might not have been able to cook my meal properly, present it the way I wanted to, cook everything I needed on the plate or finish washing the dishes. I also would not have completed the task in the brief which was make a meal in 50minutes.
Two things I think went really well were the taste and the presentation. Firstly, both me and my client thought that my meal was really nice. Although I have not read her evaluation for it, I could tell by her expression when she ate the meal that she really liked it. The flavour of the BBQ marinate was really nice and tasty.
The second thing that went really well was my presentation. Both me and Mrs Davies thought that mine looked really appetising on the plate. I think this was because I had the 6 little kebabs lined up on rice next to a square little dipping bowl of BBQ sauce, then a colourful salad on the side all presented on a square white plate. Because my salad had bright red capsicum in it, I placed my plate containing my meal on a red apron to create a red background so that it would look good for photographing.
Something I think I could improve if I ever made them again would just be soaking the kebab sticks in water for a bit longer to prevent them from going so burnt and black.
Overall I think that everything in my meal went really well. I am definitely going to make this meal again at home some time because it tasted really good and I think my family would enjoy it too :D.

Human Rights Abuse in Kenya...

Human Rights Abuse in Kenya

Kenya is a presidential republic with a population of around 34million. Mwai Kibaki was elected president of Kenya in 2002 and he is head of State and head of Government.
The government claims to respect Human Rights but this was questions when certain incidents lead to the abuse of these rights.
-Unlawful killings by police
-Police beatings and torture of innocent people
-harsh and life-threatening prison conditions
-Use of excessive force
-Restrictions on freedom of speech
-Government corruption
-Abuse and discrimination against woman
-Child Labour
-Lack of enforcement of workers rights
Amnesty International is urging Kenya’s leader to protect the people of Kenya by respecting and living by The Declaration of Human Rights.
On the 27th of February, an event was held by the Amnesty International to allow people to express their views on the situation. Protests took place, including one that was done online through Face Book.


Along the streets of Kenya tagging is often seen regarding the abuse of human rights. This is the people’s way of getting out their anger and letting the government know what the people of Kenya think. They do it through tagging because then nobody can find out who wrote it and no one will be punished.

If something is not done soon, it is going to get even more severe than it already is and things will start to get out of hand. Amnesty International is trying it’s hardest to sort all this out but they are not sure if anything has been successful.

Cadbury Gorilla Ad

The Gorilla on the Cadbury ad is a man in a suit !!!! I thought it was real ! Ahhhh!

It turns out its Garon Michael this random actor.

The ad was the most popular UK TV commercial of the year. The Phil Collins song "In The Air Tonight" also reached the top of the charts a few weeks in a row.

I also heard on the radio that the next gorilla ad for Cadbury coming out is the gorilla playing Smoke On The Water with a guitar.

There were many rumours going around about the song and what it said in the lyrics.




Well, if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand.

I've seen your face before, my friend,

But I don't know if you know who I am.

Well, I was there and I saw what you did,

Saw it with my own two eyes.

So you can wipe off that grin,

I know where you've been.

It's all been a pack of lies.



Rumours are that in Phil Collins (artist and writer of this song) in his youth, witnessed a close friend drown on a nearby cliff. Being too far away and unable to help, he saw a man walk close by to his friend drowning and just ignore him.

The song, In The Air Tonight, was supposibly written based on this event. It is also said that Phill Collins sang the song to the man who let his friend drown up on stage at his concert.

According to most internet sources, these rumours are all false. Phil Collins is said to have stated himself, " I just made the song up as I went along and it has no real meaning."

SuMmEr !

1 month and 23 days until daylight saving begins.. S U M M E R !



I CANT wait for summer! Summer = Everyday being warm and sunny, running round in shorts and bikinis, going to the beach, swimming, surfing, boogie boarding, kayaking, eating ice blocks, wearing jandals, getting tans, putting on sun block, having to wear no jumper and just having fun!

Probably the BEST thing about summer is going to the beach! Its free, within walking distance and fun for everybody!

I havn't eaten one of these in SO LONG!!! It's been cold yuck winter for sooo long and its been too cold to eat any ice blocks!

I also havn't worn these for ages! Im so used to wearing jeans and closed over shoes and I really can't wait until I can just chuck some shorts and a singlet on with a bikini underneath and then slip on my jandals and be ready to go! I won't have to worry about jeans, jumpers, jackets, thermals, shoes/boots, umbrellas or any of that stuff !

At the time, I usually hate putting sun block on. But now that its winter, I miss sunblock so much!!

Beach umbrellas! Even though I don't usually use one of these, I just love seeing all of them covering the beach. All bright different colours littered all over the sand.. S u m m e r ! !

Introduced Species.

The Black or Roof Rat…
In this essay, I will share information about an introduced species to New Zealand, the Black or Roof Rat. It will describe and explain facts about the rat, effects the rat had on native species which were already living here and the result of the rat on the population of the native species. It will also include ways and methods in which the introduced species is controlled and how effective those methods are.

The Black or Roof Rat often live in places like trees and vine covered fences. They can also be found near river banks and streams.
Rats are omnivores and will eat just about anything if they have to. They mostly feed on native seedlings, chick eggs, fruit and nuts.
Black or Roof Rats have a very poor sense of sight and rely on other senses such as smell, taste, touch and hearing to survive.

Many different types of rats were first introduced in to New Zealand by many different settlers but “black or roof rats” were introduced by the Europeans in the 1860s. The rats came over to New Zealand on the ships of Captain Cook with the early sealers and whalers.
Rats are a threat to breeding birds as they prey on eggs and chicks. These rats also eat foods such as seeds and berries which native birds feed on.
In result, many native bird species have been unable to adapt to rats and have no defence against them. This has over the years caused native birds to breed very slowly and New Zealand’s native bird population has dropped.


To control rats, The Department Of Conservation carries out rat control in areas where there are endangered native birds such as the kakapo and blue duck. Controlling the rats is done by several effective methods, trapping, poisoning and putting rats and other pets on mainland islands which are set up for predator management. The intention of this control is to keep rat numbers low enough to allow birds to breed and eggs to hatch.
It has been found that on areas where rat control has taken place there have been seedling recovery which shows that rats affect vegetation as well. This also shows that the methods The Department of Conservation is using are effective.
It is very important that the rat population is kept under control because New Zealand’s native birds would be at risk of extinction if they weren’t.

The Harp

The harp is a stringed instrument which has its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. The soundboard is the largest part of a string instrument's body. It produces sound by vibrating and transmits the vibrations of the strings to the air. Sounding boards are usually made of wood, and most instruments have two sounding boards, an upper and a lower one.
All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Harp strings can be made of nylon (sometimes copper-wound), gut (more commonly used than nylon), or wire. The harp frame is made of wood.

Types of harps
The pedal harp, or concert harp, is large and modern, designed for classical music and played in solo, and in symphony orchestras. It has six and a half octaves (46 or 47 strings), weighs about 36 kg, and is approximately 1.8 m high. The tension of the strings on the sound board is roughly equal to 10 kilonewtons; kilonewtons are a force of sound. The lowest strings are made of copper or steel, the middle strings of gut, and the highest of nylon.
How they are played

The pedal harp uses the action of pedals to change the pitches of the strings. There are seven pedals, one for each note, and each pedal is attached to a rod or cable within the harp, which then connects within the neck. When a pedal is moved with the foot, small discs at the top of the harp rotate. The discs are pinned with two pegs that pinch the string as they turn, shortening the vibrating length of the string. The pedal has three positions. In the top position no pegs are in contact with the string and all notes are flat note. In the middle position the top wheel pinches the string, playing in a natural note. In the bottom position another wheel is turned, shortening the string again to create a sharp note. This is called the double-action pedal system.

The Electric harp

The electric harp is a concert harp, with microphone pickups at the base of each string and an amplifier. The electric harp is a little heavier than an acoustic harp, but looks the same.


Celtic harps and folk harps

The folk harp or Celtic harp is small to medium-sized and usually designed for traditional music; it can be played solo or with small groups. It is prominent in Irish, Scottish and other Celtic cultures within traditional or folk music and as a social and political symbol. Often the folk harp is played by beginners who wish to move on to the pedal harp at a later stage, or by musicians who simply prefer the smaller size or different sounds.

Double Harp
A double harp consists of two rows of diatonic (a seven-note musical scale) strings one on either side of the neck. These strings may run parallel to each other so the bottom ends of the strings are very close together. Either way, the strings that are next to each other are tuned to the same note. Double harps often have levers either on every string or on the most commonly sharped strings, for example C and F. Having two sets of strings allows the players left and right hands to play the same range of notes without having both hands try to play the same string at the same time.

Triple Harp
A triple harp features three rows of parallel strings, two outer rows of diatonic (a seven-note musical scale) strings, and a center row of chromatic ( a scale that has all 12 pitches) strings. To play a sharp, the player reaches in between the strings in either outer row and plucks the center row string. Like the double harp, the two outer rows of strings are tuned the same, but the triple harp has no levers. This harp originated in Italy in the 16th century as a low headed instrument, and towards the end of 1600’s it arrived in Wales where it developed a high head and larger size. It became a part of Welsh tradition and became known as the Welsh harp. The traditional design has all of the strings strung from the left side of the neck, but modern neck designs have the two outer rows of strings strung from opposite sides of the neck to greatly reduce the tendency for the neck to roll over to the left.


Cross-strung harp
The cross-strung harp consists of one row of diatonically tuned strings (strings tuned to a seven note musical scale) and another row of chromatic (a scale that has all 12 pitches) notes. These strings cross approximately in the middle of the string without touching. Traditionally the diatonic row runs from the right side of the neck to the left side of the sound board. The chromatic row runs from the left of the neck to the right of the sound board. The diatonic row has the normal string for a harp, but the chromatic row may be black. The chromatic row is not a full set of strings. It is missing the strings between the Es and Fs in the diatonic row and between the Bs and Cs in the diatonic row.

Harp History
The harp is the oldest known stringed instrument. The word "harpa" or "harp" comes from an Old German word meaning "to pluck". By the 13th century the name was being used specifically to the harp. The oldest references to the harp are from 4000 BC in Egypt and 3000 BC in Mesopotamia (region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey).
No one really knows where the harp originated and we will never know what harp music sounded like in the pre-historical time. One of the earliest musical instrument discoveries showed a harp-like instrument on rock paintings dating back to 15,000 BC in France. Many believe that the earliest harps came from the sound of the hunter's bow.
In Egypt, some of the earliest paintings of bow harps are from the Pharaoh's tombs about 5,000 years ago. These hieroglyphs (ancient Egyptian writing methods) show that there were many harps in ancient Egypt. The harps measured up to 2 metres in height with 19 strings and were played seated or standing up.
The lever harp came about in the second half of the 17th century to enable key changes while playing. The player manually turned a hook or lever against an individual string to raise the string's pitch by a semitone. In the 1700s, a link was developed to connect these hooks with pedals, leading to the invention of the single-action pedal harp. Later on, a second row of hooks was installed along the neck to allow for the double-action pedal harp, capable of raising the pitch of a string by either one or two semitones. With this final improvement, the modern concert harp was invented.

Cherry and Blackberry Pie That I Made !

Cherry and Blackberry Pie

Pastry

1 cup flour
1/2 egg
1 Tbs oil
1 Tbs water
2 Tbs brown sugar
Mix flour and oil together using finger tips. When mixed, add egg and brown sugar. Add water if the mixture is crumbling or not sticking together. Bake blind for 5-10 mins.

Filling
1/2 cup apple juice
100g can vanilla creamed rice
1/4 cup fresh / frozen blackberries
1/4 cup fresh / frozen cherries
2Tbs sugar
Put berries, juice and sugar into blender until blended. Then pour into pot and place on stove top. Gradually add 1Tbs of corn flour and stir. Remove off stove after 5-10mins. Pour creamed rice into bottom of pastry shell and then pour mixture on top. Cook for 10-15 mins.

Cherry and Blackberry pie is a delicious low-fat pie that you will enjoy.
The fruity filling is healthy and the pastry is sweet and low fat.

Antigone...

Summary of Story…
‘Antigone’ is a Greek tragedy set in Thebes, after the death of King Oedipus. His two sons, Etocles and Polynices are supposed to equally share the throne but instead Etocles refuses to allow his brother to rule so he banishes him.
Polynices soon returns accompanied with an army from Argive (a Greek city). Civil war commences in which both brothers are killed.
The story of Antigone begins when the new king Creon is put into power and takes over the throne. The new decree made by Creon states that because Polynices betrayed his own city, his body was to be exposed and not buried for all to see. Etocles meanwhile will be buried on full military honour.
Antigone and Ismene are the sisters of the two dead brothers. Antigone is determined she must bury her brother Polynices but Ismene disagrees and refuses to have anything to do with it.
Antigone knew what had to be done. Even though in doing so she would be risking her own life. Standing and going against King Creon was not something that anyone would usually do.
Whilst burying her brother Polynices, Antigone is caught and is taken directly to King Creon. Creon decides that both Antigone and Ismene are to blame. Ismene realises that she was wrong and wants to share the punishment equally with her sister. Together, the chorus and Antigone persuade Creon to let Ismene go, as she is innocent.
While Ismene is freed, Antigone is sentenced to starve to death in a cave with no way out.
Antigone’s cousin and fiancé arrives to speak with King Creon. He threatens that “Antigone’s death will cause another.” Creon is enraged and is unsure of exactly who will die.
An old blind man Tiresias arrives to peak with the King. He speaks to him of a prophet of which Creon does not believe.
Haemon sets out to save Antigone but is too late, he finds her hung in her cave. She had committed suicide just like her mother.
Eurydice also kills her self out of grief for her sons death.

WaTeR . . .

Without water, we obviously wouldn't be able to survive. But apart from that... water is used SO much in our everyday lives...

We drink water, we wash in water, we cook with water, water falls from the clouds as rain, we swim in water... things like that.

We Would Die Without Water...

~Water is needed by plants to live which are needed for us to live.

~About 55% to 78% of our bodies are made up of water.

~ We need to drink water to hydrate ourselves to survive.

Water can also be called:

Aqua, Hydrogen oxide, Hydrogen hydroxide, Hydrate, Oxidane, Hydroxic acid, Dihydrogen monoxide, Hydronium hydroxide, Hydroxyl acid, Dihydrogen oxide, Hydrohydroxic acid, μ-Oxido dihydrogen and Light Water !

Scientific Things About Water ...

Water exists in three states of matter. Solids (ice), liquids(water) and gases(steam). These can be melted, frozen or evaporated to change thier physical state.

Waters melting point = 0 degrees celcius.

Waters boiling point = 100 degrees celcius.

Water = H2O.

Water is known as the universal solvent because many substances are able to dissolve in water. At room temperature, water is nearly colourless (with a hint of blue) and odourless.

Water makes the world go round.. This is the water cycle.

**Its at the top of the page because it won't MOVE **

Summer Vs. Winter !

Which of these places would you rather be at ?

A nice warm and sunny beach on a hot summers day...

OR

A typical winters day.. To the extreme.

I think that I would much rather be at the beach. Summer is soooo much better than winter !

Summer time..

In summer, its almost ALWAYS a hot and sunny day. It makes school more bearable at morning tea and lunch because the weather is good and everyone isn't huddled around trying to keep warm. Also on weekends, there is always something to do that doesn't cost heaps of money.. the beach ! The beach never gets boring and there is heaps fo things to do there... like boogie boarding, surfing, swimming, tanning jumping off cliffs (into water) and just having fun !

In summer you pretty much wear togs underneath a singlet and shorts because it so hot and you just walk to the beach whenever you feel like it ( on the weekends and afterschool ). The dairy is afew minutes away to buy ice blocks and cold drinks which cool you down !

Winter time..

Winter is cold and yuck and typical New Zealand; it ALWAYS rains ! I hate it when it rains. Winter makes everything depressing because its always cold and disgusting. School is even more horrible in winter because most luch times are wet and freezing so we have to stay inside. On the weekends, everything that there is to do costs money like the movies or snow planet..

Sure sometimes winter sounds like it would be, snuggling by the warm fire toasting marshmellows, throwing snowballs and making snowmen but its really NOT at all like that.

In winter you have to wear a million layers of clothing because its so cold and you always get caught in the rain. Umbrellas are pretty much useless because they all blow inside out even if you do face them against the wind.

I think that it would be really awesome if there was such thing as SWINTER. Swinter meaning summer and winter ! Like a nice and warm sunny day, then with a snowy mountain for skiing and snowboarding ! There could be a giant ski jump that leads into the sea so that you can jump into the water off a ski jump without getting hurt

This is a picture from the show Phineas and Ferb on Disney Channel. They invented Swinter in one of their episodes. I LOVE disney channel.

10SCHE / WILG Limerick

Frankie encountered some drugs,
For Luke in a profession for hugs,
While Tash and Bree,
Got high on green tea,
Drew’s best friends were bugs.
Lauren and Grace would rave,
And Isaac would misbehave,
While Scott craves pie,
Sėamus would spy,
On Vinay chilling out in his cave.
Courtney Rata can do the splits,
And Courtney Morgan despises nitwits,
While Cerise sings and dances,
Rory talks and prances,
And Stephanie chillaxes in Saint Kitts.
Gabrielle’s futures in construction,
Eve’s is in elections,
Bobbie and Brennyn,
Are always grinnin’,
When our class is in tension.
Steen and Zane are rocking,
Cassandra’s always striving,
While Hillary does her work,
Aleisha carries a smirk,
And Chelsea is amusing.

The Banning of Incandescent Light Bulbs...

The reason for New Zealanders having to cut down on power use is due to the lack of rainfall over the summer. It has not been sufficient to fill up the hydro lakes which supply us with the making of electricity. As New Zealand grows and demand for electricity rises, the lack of additional power stations means that that demand will not be able to be met. We have to reduce power use so that there is more to go around.

New Zealanders are being encouraged to save power and if they don't we will be faced with power cuts. Auckland City is the number one power consuming city in the whole of New Zealand. Studies and observations have shown that The Sky Tower uses and average household's power bill per month every single night.

At the end of 2009, the government is banning the sales of incandescent light bulbs. New Zealanders will be forced to buy Compact Fluorescent Lamps more commonly known as EcoBulbs. EcoBulbs use about 1/5 of the power that incandescent bulbs (the light bulbs most people use now) use. New Zealand will also save $500 million by 2020 and will also cut lighting energy consumption by 20% in about 7 years.

Although these EcoBulbs sound like a good idea to use, there are also many negative aspects. Firstly even though EcoBulbs are supposed to benefit the environment, after they have been used they become toxic waste. This will end up costing New Zealand millions of dollars to dispose of these lightbulbs in the correct way.
The EcoBulbs, rather than heating up instantly like the incandescent bulbs, take 3 minutes to heat up. This means that when you go to turn the light on, instead of it being instantly bright, it is dull for about 3 minutes until it is heated up.

Another negative aspect is that the EcoBulbs are designed to face upwards. An extremely high percentage of New Zealander's house hold lights face downwards. Money again will have to be spent replace light fittings which will hold these bulbs.

So the real question is, will it benefit New Zealand by changing to EcoBulbs?
In my opinion, it probably will benefit New Zealand in the long term but it is still debateable. I think that they should not ban the sales of incandescent lightbulbs. It is not definate that the EcoBulbs will benefit New Zealand so I think that there isn't much point in going through the hassle of changing light fittings and finding ways to dispose of toxic waste if there isn't even a 100% chance of the EcoBulbs helping New Zealand.

This is the EcoBulb or Compact Fluorescent Lamp which will be used from the end of 2009.

This is the incandescent light bulb which most New Zealanders use now. They will become illegal to import at the end of 2009.

After the election this year, Labour (Helen Clark) may not still be in power. There is a chance that National (John Key) will win. The banning of incandescent ligh bulbs bill will still go through but could be changed if National is in power.

MiCrOwAvE FUDGE !! =O

This is the recipe for the best tasting fudge I have ever eaten. Its delicious and extremely easy to make ! It is caramal fudge but its not like all chewy and sticky and gross. It's crumbly, smooth and it melts in your mouth.

Most people find one or two pieces really rich and sickly, but it takes at least six or seven for me to even start feeling slightly sick.

>> i N g R e D i E n T s <<

- 1 Tin of Condensed Milk...

- 100g of Margerine...

- 1 Tsp Vanilla Essence...

- 1/2 Tsp Vinegar...

- 2 Cups Sugar...

>> M e T h O d <<

Mix together condensed milk, sugar and margarine in a large microwave proof bowl. Once combined, place bowl in microwave for 10minutes on high, stopping every two minutes to stir.

Make sure to keep an eye on the mixture as it sometimes tends to bubble over the bowl. If this happens then just stop the microwave for afew seconds and let the mixture cool down then continue.

After the ten minutes is up, quickly remove the bowl from the microwave and stir in vinegar and vanilla essence.

Pour into a well greased cake tin.

Cool down and cut into squares.

Store the fudge in the fridge and cover completely with glad wrap.

! >R a i n b o w s E n d< !

On Sunday me and three other people whos names I shall not mention went to Rainbows End for the day.

We first arrived there about 15 minutes after it opened. We got our Rainbows End wrist band things and after the lady bit Bree's off and got her a new one we were free to go on the rides. We all agreed that we should go on the roller coaster first...

When we arrived at the roller coaster, there was nobody in line so we had first choice of seats. All of us hadn't been to Rainbows End in years so we were all pretty scared to start off with but we buckled ourselves into the seats and as the roller coaster began to move, there was no going back.

After screaming literally the whole way round, we decided to go again ! Since there was nobody in line we just stayed in our seats instead of going around. After about half an hour had passed, we had gone around 11 times!! One in which we sang the national anthem all the way. We all felt a bit sick so we thought it would be a good idea to go on the POWER SURGE !

After two rounds of that we realised that it wasn't the brightest idea so we chose to go on the peaceful Log Flume. Which wasn't so peaceful because we rocked the log.

Later on, after seeing the new SpongeBob Movie on the Motion Master, nearly throwing up on the Pirate Ship, getting soaked on the Bumper Boats, and going on every single ride except the Fear Fall, we decided to go on the Fear Fall. Courtney and Cerise went first because me and Bree felt too "sick." After about 8 goes they dragged us on. We were both terrified and when we were strapped in Bree decided to grab the instructers sleeve. I had to pull her off because she wouldn't let go.

Just like the Roller Coaster, after we went once, we went again and again and again.







This is me and Bree on the Log Flume while Courtney and Cerise were on the Power Surge again. We felt too sick to go on it again so we took a relaxing ride on the Log Flume instead.

This is me and Bree on the Fear Fall..

What Would You Do Without MICROWAVES !?!

Microwaves are found in most households in New Zealand and are used everyday to cook, bake, defrost or simply warm up food.

What would you do without a microwave ?!
-Firstly, you wouldn't be able to simply heat any food up. You would have to wait ages and put it in the oven which would only work with some foods.
- If you needed to quickly defrost any meat or bread, without a microwave the least amount of time it would take would be about 2-8 hours depending on what food it is.
-For things like making noodles and heating up spaghetti, you would have to cook them on the stove in a pot which would take about 3 times as long.
- Although most baking is done in the oven, more modern day recipes are made in the microwave. Without a microwave you would always have to bake using the oven and you would not be able to bake any microwave recipes.

Life without a microwave would SUCK !

Personally I would not be able to live without a microwave. I use it probably 3 or 4 times a day.
- Firstly I use it in the morning to make hot chocolates and to heat up my toast.
- I then use it when I come home to either make noodles or a melted cheese wrap.
- I then also use it half way through dinner to heat it up because it usually gets cold.

Microwaves used for food was discovered by Percy Spencer while building magnetrons for radar sets. It was discovered like most technology; by accident. While he was working on an active radar set, he noticed that his chocolate bar began to melt. The radar had melted the candy bar with microwaves.
The first food that was intended to be cooked by a microwave was popcorn. Ever since the success of cooking popcorn using microwaves, the microwave has become an everyday appliance.

Why Do Giraffes Have Such Long Necks !?

While most people think giraffes have long necks to reach food in trees which are high up, scientists believe that their long necks have more to do with fighting. Most of the food that giraffes eat is found in low shrubs or bushes which shows that the purpose of the giraffes meck is not for getting food.

Scientists are still unsure of the exact reason for giraffes extremely long necks but the rough idea they do have is that it is used for fighting. Having a long neck is an advantage to a giraffe that no other animal has.

M o R e - A b O u T - G i R a F f E s

Giraffes are the tallest mammels on earth. Some of the tallest males stand up to 19 feet high ! On average they weigh 1,200 - 4,200 pounds but amazingly still manage to run at a speed of 35 miles per hour. They have seven bones in thier neck; the same amount as we do.

Giraffes can be found in grasslands, savannas, open woodlands and of course, zoos.

F a C t S

- Giraffes only sleep for 10minutes to two hours a day ! The shortest period of sleep of all mammals.

- A giraffes tomgue is approximately 45 cm long which is helpful because they use it to clean bugs off thier faces.

- It has recently been discovered that one way of communication between giraffes is infrasound. Infrasound is a sound frequency that is too low to be heard by humans.

- Giraffes have a high risk of being struck by lightening because of their height. This risk is only in zoos because lightening rarely strikes out in the giraffes natural habitat.

$$ .P.e.t.r.o.l. P.r.i.c.e.s. $$

Unfortunately, the petrol prices in New Zealand have risen by 150% since 1999. Not that that really matters for people our age but it means we don't get lifts from our parents as much as we used to.
$2.10 for 91 Octane and $2.16 for 95 High Octane are the average petrol prices at the moment. Although these prices are already extremely high, they will continue to rise.
Reasons for this are:
~ International oil pricing is increasing.
~ Our exchange rate is decreasing so its costing us more to buy the petrol.
~ Government taxing is high.

In result of the petrol prices rising, people are using public transport when possible and are downgrading to smaller cars which use less petrol.

In the 1980s, petrol prices were below 60c. A lot has changed since then. The petrol prices have doubled in the last decade.

Although the rising if petrol prices is a bad thing, some people are seeing the posivtive side to things. They are seeing it as a step forward to a cleaner environment. The higher the petrol prices become, the higher the demand is for alternative energy cars. The energy cars do not harm the environment and are cheap to run. The only problem is, New Zealand cannot afford to import millions of these vehicles as they are extremely expensive.

Developed Nations Have A Responsability To Help Developing Nations?

Developed Nations Have A Responsability To Help Developing Nations? In my opinion, yes.
Developing countries or nations are never going to get themselves out of poverty and improve living standards for themselves. They earn very little money which is neede for everyday things like food and water which results in it being spent almost instantly. There is no way of saving because they do not earn enough. How are they supposed to work themselves out of poverty with no help whatsoever when they need to be able to pay for things like proper schooling and education for all children, a sufficient amout of food, clean water, medicine and medical facilities and extra money on top of all that for things like housing, fees, food and water?

Developed nations need to help. They need to take some responsibility for developing nations. Not in ways where they take over the developing countries and provide them with exactly what they need. In ways where the developed nations provide small things for the developing countries so that they can work themselves out of poverty. Things like second hand clothing, all types of donations, aid workers, trees, wells etc will all help.

Some responsability for developing nations is taken on now. Things like World Vision set up places in parts of developng nations that need the most help. They do small things for people in extreme poverty such as, repair houses, set up small businesses for young and poor families and things like that. All of these things provide opportunites for the population of developing nations to better themselves; with a small business set up for a family, they have the opportunity to earn a reasonable amount of money to care for their families.

So in conclusion, it is not fully up to developed nations to have full responsibility for developing nations but they should be responsible for helping.
Developed nations would not be harmed in any way by helping developing nations work themselves out of poverty so in my opinion I think they should be responsible for doing that.

2008 Beijing Olympics ! And the history of the Olympics

Only 57 days to go until the 2008 Beijing Olympics !! China has been preparing for these Olympics for 7 years !!

At the moment, there is a total of 35 different sports and more than 400 events that take place in the Olympic games.
In the last Olympic Games which were held in Athens in 2004, the mascots were Athena and Phevos. The mascots for this year have not yet been decided.

History Of The Olympics >>

The Olympics first began in Greece. It is believed by the ancient Greeks that Zeus started the games to celebrate victory over his father. It is impossible to find out the exact date of when the Olympics began but alot of historians state that the first Olympian Winner was around 776BC which gives a rough idea of when the games began. The first type of Olympic race was a footrace. Over time, footraces were extended and lengths of races began to vary. New events were also introduced into the games such as chariot racing and weightlifting.
Strictly only men were allowed to compete in the games. No woman were allowed to compete let alone attend the games. The consequences resulted in death.
Unlike today, the winners of the games did not recieve medals. They were each presented with a crown made from olive leaves. As well as getting a crown, the winners recieved many privilages after winning the games. Winners were treated as celebritys by their home town, their meals were bought at public expense, private facilities were sometimes built for victors and many other general privilages were given out.

The Olympics Today Compared To The Olympics Back Then >>

Back then, the athletes who competed in the games were all men. There were not many men who competed and they were all Greek. The Olympics wasn't a competition between countries, it was between men from the same country. There were also nowhere near as many events as there are today.
Because the Olympics was not a world wide event back then, they were held in the same location each year in a place called Olympia, Greece.

The Five Olympis Rings >>

The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913 and first appeared in the 1920 Olympics. The coloured rings represent the five continents of the world all linked with eachother because the event of the Olympics brings all of those continents together.