ALERT: Radiation Cloud Detected Over New Zealand (Jan. 29, 2012): Almost 2 MicroSieverts/Hour In The Wind!!!

From the article:

“Here is the location of Dunedin. It is on the south island of New Zealand, what I considered to be one of the safest places on the planet, if a Nuclear disaster like Fukushima happened. So what is going on?”


Radiation Cloud Detection Dunedin New Zealand 29th January 2012 (SCCC, Jan. 29, 2012):

I have been in contact with a person In New Zealand who just sent me information of a detection of a high level radiation cloud passing over Dunedin New Zealand. You will find a copy of his email correspondence below. This chart is the recorded background radiation level during this event.  Visual observation saw peaks reach an incredible 1.89 uS/Hr !

“Dear Peter,

Now that I have regained my composure, I thought I would write. It has been a wild afternoon! I shall write you a report upon what was observed later, if you wish to publish it, you can. Feel free to include those images on your website.


Gammascout detection of radiation cloud .81uS/Hr Dunedin New Zealand 29th January 2012

The steady-ish readings of 0.81 (photo) were taken when I came in off the street. It was briefly reading 1.89 on the street in the wind. I decided to come inside asap to the back yard, and then left the GS sitting outside for a while (0.25 photo) – checking on it. I’m in a relatively sheltered section. There was no way I was going to stand in ~2 microSieverts per hour in the wind!! No detectable radiation on me as such, it appears to be in the air. I can only speculate as to what it is. To be honest, it scared the cap out of me!

Read moreALERT: Radiation Cloud Detected Over New Zealand (Jan. 29, 2012): Almost 2 MicroSieverts/Hour In The Wind!!!

Mid-Summer Snow In New Zealand

Snow falling in South Island (New Zealand Herald, Jan. 22, 2012):

Mid-Summer snow is falling and settling on Porters Pass this afternoon in the South Island, along with hail and other winter conditions on Arthurs Pass reports WeatherWatch.co.nz.

WeatherWatch.co.nz’s West Coast reporter, Andy Thompson, says traffic is heavier than usual and describes the current weather conditions as “completely winter-like”.

Reports coming in from Southland to Canterbury talk of people lighting fires, turning on heaters and heat pumps and generally saying it feels like the middle of winter.

US Government Hits Megaupload With $500 Million Mega Piracy Indictment

From the article:

“Arrests were made at a number of homes in Auckland, New Zealand, on warrants issued by US authorities.”

“In all, addresses in nine countries including the US were raided as part of massive international operation.”


US government hits Megaupload with mega piracy indictment (Guardian, Jan. 20, 2012):

Seven executives charged as filesharing site shut down over accusations they cheated copyright holders out of $500m

Police in New Zealand have arrested four men after US authorities shut down the filesharing site Megaupload, including founder Kim Dotcom Link to this video

The US government has closed down one of the world’s largest filesharing websites, accusing its founders of racketeering, money laundering and presiding over “massive” online piracy.

Read moreUS Government Hits Megaupload With $500 Million Mega Piracy Indictment

US Government Shuts Down File-Sharing Website Megaupload – ‘If The United States Can Seize A Dutch Citizen In New Zealand Over A Copyright Claim, What Is Next?’

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player
Megaupload: Web Site Hit by Feds

Popular File-Sharing Website Megaupload Shut Down (ABC News, January 19, 2012):

One of the world’s most popular file-sharing sites was shut down Thursday, and its founder and several company officials were accused of facilitating millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content.

A federal indictment accused Megaupload.com of costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue. The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to make it easier for authorities to go after sites with pirated material, especially those with overseas headquarters and servers.

The news of the shutdown seemed to bring retaliation from hackers who claimed credit for attacking the Justice Department’s website. Federal officials confirmed it was down Thursday evening and that the disruption was being “treated as a malicious act.”

A loose affiliation of hackers known as “Anonymous” claimed credit for the attack. Also hacked was the site for the Motion Picture Association of America and perhaps others.

Megaupload is based in Hong Kong, but some of the alleged pirated content was hosted on leased servers in Ashburn, Va., which gave federal authorities jurisdiction, the indictment said.

The Justice Department said in a statement said that Kim Dotcom, 37, and three other employees were arrested Thursday in New Zealand at the request of U.S. officials. Three other defendants are at large.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which defends free speech and digital rights online, said in a statement that, “This kind of application of international criminal procedures to Internet policy issues sets a terrifying precedent. If the United States can seize a Dutch citizen in New Zealand over a copyright claim, what is next?”

Before Megaupload was taken down, it posted a statement saying allegations that it facilitated massive breaches of copyright laws were “grotesquely overblown.”

“The fact is that the vast majority of Mega’s Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay. If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch,” the statement said.

Read moreUS Government Shuts Down File-Sharing Website Megaupload – ‘If The United States Can Seize A Dutch Citizen In New Zealand Over A Copyright Claim, What Is Next?’

New Zealand: Mass Stranding Of 70 Pilot Whales In Nelson’s Golden Bay – Is Another Big Earthquake Coming?

TVNZ News has changed the article. Maybe they do not want you to remember this:

107 pilot whales beached in Stewart Island, New Zealand , one day before the February 22, 2011 earthquake (M.6.3).

(Source: EX-SKF)


Whales stranded in Golden Bay (3 News, Jan. 7, 2012):

A rescue of about 70 long-finned pilot whales stranded in Nelson’s Golden Bay is under way today.

Whale rescue group Project Jonah has put an alert out on its Facebook page. It is asking volunteers to go to Triangle Flat at the start of Farewell Spit.

“We’ve had a good response to our call out so far but we still need more trained medics to attend,” Project Jonah says.

TVNZ reported that the mass stranding last night followed the refloating of a single stranded whale.

Farewell Spit, at the top of the South Island, is an area of past whale strandings.

70 Pilot Whales Beached in Nelson, New Zealand (EX-SKF):

From TVNZ (1/7/2012):

Eighteen of the 25 long-finned pilot whales stranded in Nelson last night have been successfully refloated.

Project Jonah marine mammal medics, Department of Conservation staff and members of the public put the whales back into the water on high tide around 9am.

However, the situation will be monitored to ensure no more whales restrand themselves.

Project Jonah CEO Kimberly Muncaster said whales in a disorientated state can easily restrand.

“The ones that have been refloated are not out of the woods yet, either,” said Muncaster. “In their disoriented state they can easily restrand, so Project Jonah medics in the area and locals should remain on high alert for the next few days and keep informed through the Project Jonah website.”

The mass stranding of about 70 whales last night followed the refloating of a single stranded whale yesterday.

Read moreNew Zealand: Mass Stranding Of 70 Pilot Whales In Nelson’s Golden Bay – Is Another Big Earthquake Coming?

MANIAC FASCISM: New Zealand Food Bill To Make Growing Food A Government Privilege Rather Than A Human Right

NZ food bill to make growing food a government privilege rather than a human right (Natural News, Dec. 7, 2011):

The God-given human right to freely cultivate food is under attack in New Zealand (NZ) as special interest groups and others are currently attempting to push a “food security” bill through the nation’s parliament that will strip individuals of their right to grow food, save seeds, and even share the fruits of their labor with friends and family members.

In accordance with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Codex Alimentarius scheme for global food control, the NZ Food Bill, if passed, will essentially transfer primary control of food from individuals to corporations under the guise of food safety. And unless massive public outcry and awakened consciences within the NZ government are able to put a stop to it, the bill could become law very soon.

According to NZ Food Security, a group working to protect the food freedom of New Zealanders, the bill will turn growing and sharing food into a government-granted privilege rather than a human right. It will also make it illegal to distribute any type of food based on the bill’s language. This includes seeds, nutrients, natural medicines, minerals, and even water — without expressed government permission.

You see, agribusiness giants like Monsanto want full control of the food supply, which means putting an end to small-scale agriculture systems that operate “off the grid,” so to speak. This is why they have worked so hard in places like the US to convert conventional, staple crop systems to genetically-modified (GM) ones that are continually reliant upon new seeds and chemical interventions.

As far as enforcement, the NZ bill also authorizes private companies to deploy “Food Safety Officers” that can raid private property without warrant. Not only will these “Food Safety Officers” be permitted to draw weapons against those they are pursuing, but they will also be immune from criminal and civil prosecution for their illegal actions.

Read moreMANIAC FASCISM: New Zealand Food Bill To Make Growing Food A Government Privilege Rather Than A Human Right

New Zealand: Urgent Law Change To Sidestep Court Ruling On Police Undercover Filming

Urgent law change to sidestep court ruling on police undercover filming (New Zealand Herald, Sep. 20, 2011):

The Government plans to rush through an urgent law change next week to allow secret filming on private property by police.

Prime Minister John Key says that without the change, some “very serious criminals” will go free.

Mr Key said yesterday that a law would be passed under urgency next week, after the Supreme Court ruled that evidence from covert filming on Maori land in the Ureweras was unlawfully obtained.

That resulted in police dropping charges against 13 of the accused from the 2007 raids on what they claimed were military training camps.

Read moreNew Zealand: Urgent Law Change To Sidestep Court Ruling On Police Undercover Filming

Mad Scientists: Genetically Engineered Goat Experiments Create ‘Transgender Goats To Be Milked’

AgResearch Transgender Goats To Be Milked (Scoop):

Sunday, 12 June 2011, 1:12 pm
Press Release: SOIL and HEALTH Assn of NZ

AgResearch’s genetically engineered (GE) goat experiments have a new bizarre twist with surviving GE pregnancies producing mostly transgender offspring, that AgResearch staff term ‘goys,’ according to the Soil & Health Association of NZ.

An AgResearch farm manager recently revealed to Soil & Health and GE Free NZ, during a tour of its Ruakura GE animal field trial site, that most of the GE goats produced were transgender. It appeared that about 75% were “goys” with the remainder female.

“The “goys”, females in sterile male bodies, are to be induced into milking to ascertain whether the intended genetically engineered (GE) human protein will be expressed in the milk,” said Soil & Health – Organic NZ spokesperson Steffan Browning.

Read moreMad Scientists: Genetically Engineered Goat Experiments Create ‘Transgender Goats To Be Milked’

Worldwide Global Earthquake And Volcano Update And Overview (05/09/2011) – Pressure Buildup On The North American Plate, Yellowstone & Pacific Northwest Earthquake Activity & Magma Movement



Pressure is building on the north American plate beyond the rocky mountain continental divide. As far north as the Cascadia range in the Pacific Northwest, south east to Yellowstone, then further south east to Georgia, up north to Montreal / New York …

The threat of a new madrid earthquake , in my opinion, goes up ANOTHER notch, with the signs of more activity in the north east, extending along the faults down to Arkansas.

Read moreWorldwide Global Earthquake And Volcano Update And Overview (05/09/2011) – Pressure Buildup On The North American Plate, Yellowstone & Pacific Northwest Earthquake Activity & Magma Movement

Christchurch earthquake death toll rises with hundreds still missing – Supposedly quake-proof buildings collapsed – Galleries: Earthquake in Christchurch, NZ

Galleries: Earthquake in Christchurch, NZ (Daily Telegraph):

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Murray and Kelly James look at their destroyed house in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. Tuesday’s magnitude-6.3 temblor collapsed buildings, caused extensive other damage and killed dozens of people in the city. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

–  Christchurch earthquake death toll rises with hundreds still missing (The Guardian):

Curfew and cordon thrown around rescue zone in centre of New Zealand city, where 75 are confirmed dead and 300 missing

Supposedly quake-proof buildings collapsed (Independent):

Perched on the border of two continental plates, New Zealand’s position in the Pacific Ring of Fire is precisely what gives the country much of its astonishing natural beauty. Its mountains, volcanoes and geothermal springs are all the product of intense tectonic activity. But geological beauty can be a double-edged sword.

Technically any new structure built in New Zealand has to be able to withstand intense quakes but footage has shown that, although older buildings in Christchurch seem to have been hit the hardest, plenty of newer ones that should have been able to survive a 6.3 quake have also collapsed.

New Zealand: 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Devastates Christchurch, Hundreds Feared Dead

Live updates: Christchurch quake (TVNZ):

3.15am: There is no water supply to 80 % of Christchurch.

Latest updates: Christchurch earthquake (+ map) (New Zealand Herald)

In pictures: Earthquake rocks Christchurch (BBC News)

New Zealand earthquake: Your pictures (BBC News)

Watch the video here:

New Zealand’s darkest day: hundreds feared dead (Sydney Morning Herald):

HUNDREDS of people are feared to have been killed in yesterday’s devastating New Zealand earthquake, which has left large parts of the city of Christchurch in ruins.

Rescuers worked through last night searching for survivors among the hundreds of people believed to be trapped inside the wreckage of high-rise buildings in the city centre.

Read moreNew Zealand: 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Devastates Christchurch, Hundreds Feared Dead

New Zealand: Hundreds Of Little Penguins Die And Other Seabirds Wash Up Dead On Beaches

Little penguins are dying in their hundreds, leading conservationists to fear they are starving as a result of the La Nina weather system.

Other seabirds are washing up dead on beaches, raising concerns that species could become extinct if climate change causes extreme weather events to become more frequent.

At Wellington Zoo, two starving little blue penguin chicks have been brought in this week. One died on Wednesday and the other, found at Lyall Bay, was hanging on to life yesterday.

The zoo’s veterinary science manager, Lisa Argilla, said petrels were also starving around Wellington’s south coast, and five shags had been brought in this month. “They’re unable to find enough food. We’ve had a lot of starvations and a lot of mortalities.”

At Banks Peninsula, hundreds of little white-flippered penguin chicks have died of starvation, according to Shireen Helps, who has been caring for the colony on her property for about 25 years.

Read moreNew Zealand: Hundreds Of Little Penguins Die And Other Seabirds Wash Up Dead On Beaches

More Animal Death Mysteries Around The World

Quebec bird deaths stump wildlife officials (Toronto Sun):

MONTREAL — More than 80 pigeons have keeled over and died at a farm near Quebec City for unknown reasons, the latest in a string of mysterious animal deaths around the world.

Environmental officials in the province say there’s no connection to a similar case in Arkansas, but Sylvain Turmel is wondering why he’s been picking up dead pigeons for more than two weeks on his farm in Saint-Augustine-de-Desmaures.

The first dead bird was found on Dec. 18. He’s since found more bodies on his roof and inside the barn.

“I was stunned,” he said.

“I went to see my tenant to ask whether he’d been feeding them poison. He ended helping me pick up 25 corpses. In the time it took us to collect them, five more had fallen. Authorities thought it might be gas. But that’s not possible.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries said tests are currently being performed at the animal pathology lab in the provincial capital.

“The cause right now isn’t known,” said Nicolas Begin. “It’s not related to what happened in the U.S. (But) we don’t see this sort of thing every day and we’re treating this as a serious matter.”

See also:

US: Mysterious Death of 2 Million Fish in Chesapeake Bay

Hundreds of Dead Snapper Fish Wash Up On New Zealand Beach

Thousands of Birds Fall Dead Out of the Sky in SOUTH AMERICA

US: Hundreds More Blackbirds Fall From The Sky – This Time in Louisiana

US: Up to 5,000 Blackbirds Fall Dead Out of The Sky, Autopsies Find No Poison

US: Up to 100,000 Fish Found Dead Along Arkansas River


(Click on image to enlarge.)

  • Thousands of fish found floating in Florida after cold snap

  • 200 birds found dead on highway bridge in Texas
  • 50 dead jackdaws found on city street in Sweden
  • 100 tons of sardines, croaker and catfish wash up dead on Brazilian coast

  • Hundreds of fish dead in New Zealand

  • And in Britain, 40,000 devil crabs join list of casualties

More and more animals are being found dead as the mysterious spate of mass bird and fish deaths has turned into a global phenomenon.

The latest two separate incidents saw thousands of fish found floating in a creek in Florida and 200 birds found dead on a highway bridge in Texas.

Experts were yesterday carrying out tests on around 50 jackdaws found dead in a street in Falkoping, Sweden, that appear to have suffered the same fate as thousands of their cousins who fell from the sky in separate incidents in the U.S.

Swedish experts have said the shock of fireworks being let off near the city, in the south-east of the country, and difficulty finding food may have led to the deaths of the jackdaws.

Many of the birds are believed to have died from stress or as a result of being run over by vehicles while disoriented.

And scientists have also been left baffled by at least 100 tons of sardines, croaker and catfish washing up dead along the Brazil coastline near Paranaguá.

There were more fish deaths reported today in New Zealand, while in England, the carcasses of 40,000 devil crabs are strewn across a beach in Kent.

Hundreds of dead starlings and robins were found scattered in backyards in the Kentucky town of Gilbertsville while an estimated two million dead fish have washed ashore in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.

They are the latest in a spate of incidents which are being blamed on New Year fireworks, thunderstorms, cold weather, parasites and even poisoning.

The internet has been abuzz with conspiracy theories about secret government experiments being behind the deaths, or it being a sign of a looming Armageddon at the end of the Mayan calendar next year.

The mass deaths include:

  • 450 red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, grackles and starlings found littering a highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • 3,000 blackbirds on roofs and roads in the small town of Beebe, Arkansas
  • Thousands of ‘devil crabs’ washed up along the Kent coast near Thanet
  • Thousands of drum fish washed along a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River
  • Tens of thousands of small fish in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
  • Thousands of dead fish found floating in warm Florida creek
  • Hundreds of snapper fish found dead in New Zealand
  • Scores of American Coots found dead on Texas highway bridge

Tests are being carried out on the dead animals, but results are not expected for several weeks.

Thousands of Brazilian fishermen are struggling to make ends meet after the sale of seafood was temporarily suspended when masses of fish were discovered dead in Paranaguá, Antonina and Guaraqueçaba Pontal do Paraná.

Experts have speculated that cold weather or chemical leaks could be behind the deaths.

Read moreMore Animal Death Mysteries Around The World

Hundreds of Dead Snapper Fish Wash Up On New Zealand Beach

See also:

US: Hundreds More Blackbirds Fall From The Sky – This Time in Louisiana

US: Up to 5,000 Blackbirds Fall Dead Out of The Sky, Autopsies Find No Poison

US: Up to 100,000 Fish Found Dead Along Arkansas River



Horror haul … dead fish floating and washed up on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Hundreds of dead snapper have washed up on Coromandel beaches on the North Island of New Zealand, leaving holidaymakers perplexed.

The mysterious incident came as the southern United States was hit with a second unexplained mass bird death within a week.

People at Little Bay and Waikawau Bay, on the north-east of the peninsula, were stunned when children came out of the sea with armfuls of the fish and within minutes the shore was littered with them.

Charlotte Pearsall, whose family have lived at Little Bay for the last 30 years, said she had never seen anything like it.

“It was so surreal,” she said. “It’s such an incredible waste – it could’ve fed the whole northern tip of the Coromandel.”

People with binoculars said the snapper stretched as far as they could see and boaties reported “a carpet of floating fish further out to sea all along the coast”.

“We initially thought ‘woohoo a free feed’ but they had really cloudy eyes and you could see the birds had been at them. Some of them had no eyes,” Pearsall said.

Read moreHundreds of Dead Snapper Fish Wash Up On New Zealand Beach

Kiwigate: Global Warming Scam Revealed in Court

In the climate controversy dubbed Kiwigate,New Zealand skeptics inflict shock courtroom defeat on climatologists implicated in temperature data fraud.


New Zealand’s government via its National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has announced it has nothing to do with the country’s “official” climate record in what commentators are calling a capitulation from the tainted climate reconstruction. The story is also covered on web news aggregator site, icecap.com.

NIWA’s statement of defense claims they were never responsible for the national temperature record (NZTR).The climb down is seen as a legal triumph for skeptics of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition (NZCSC) who had initiated their challenge last August when petitioning the high court of New Zealand to invalidate the weather service’s reconstruction of antipodean temperatures. The NZCSC Petition may be read here.

According to the August official statement of the claim from NZCSC, climate scientists cooked the books by using the same alleged ‘trick’ employed by British and American scientists. This involves subtly imposing a warming bias during what is known as the ‘homogenisation’ process that occurs when climate data needs to be adjusted.

The specific charge brought against the Kiwi government was that its climate scientists had taken the raw temperature records of the country and then adjusted them artificially with the result that a steeper warming trend was created than would otherwise exist by examination of the raw data alone.

Indeed, the original Kiwi records show no warming during the 20th century, but after government sponsored climatologists had manipulated the data a warming trend of 1C appeared.

New Zealand Government Abandons ‘Official’ Climate Record

The NZCSC story reports that the NZ authorities, “formally stated that, in their opinion, they are not required to use the best available information nor to apply the best scientific practices and techniques available at any given time. They don’t think that forms any part of their statutory obligation to pursue “excellence.”

Read moreKiwigate: Global Warming Scam Revealed in Court

New Zealand Earthquake Causes New 3.5M-Wide Fault Line in Earth’s Surface, Christchurch Under Curfew, State Of Emergency Declared

* At least 500 buildings destroyed after quake
* Water and supplies starting to return to city
* Earthquake rips open new faultline

new-zealand-earthquake-2010_01
A man walks over a damaged road in Paiapoi, 20 kilometres south of Christchurch following the weekend’s devastating earthquake / AP

new-zealand-earthquake-2010_02
The powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake smashed buildings, cracked roads and twisted rail lines around the city / AP

new-zealand-earthquake-2010_03

THE powerful earthquake that smashed buildings, cracked roads and twisted rail lines in Christchurch also ripped a new 3.5m-wide fault line in the Earth’s surface.

At least 500 buildings were destroyed in the 7.1-magnitude quake that struck New Zealand at 4.35am on Saturday near the South Island city of about 400,000 people.

The earthquake cut power across the region, roads were blocked by debris, and gas and water supplies were disrupted.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker yesterday said power had been restored to 90 per cent of the city and water supply had resumed for all but 15 to 20 per cent of residents.

Read moreNew Zealand Earthquake Causes New 3.5M-Wide Fault Line in Earth’s Surface, Christchurch Under Curfew, State Of Emergency Declared

Over 50 Whales Die After Being Washed Up On New Zealand Beach

Rescue volunteers continue efforts to save surviving pilot whales, which are described as being in ‘fairly poor condition’


Rescuers try to save surviving whales after mass stranding in New Zealand

Fifty-eight pilot whales have died after they were washed up on to an isolated beach in northern New Zealand. Rescue volunteers’ initial efforts to refloat 15 others that survived failed earlier today.

A fresh attempt to save the 15 beached mammals – which weigh up to 1,500kg (3,300lb) each – will be made early on Saturday, using machinery including a crane and transporter, said Department of Conservation acting area manager Mike Davies.

The 73 pilot whales were probably stranded during the night on remote Karikari Beach which is why so many died before they were discovered, said the department’s community relations manager, Carolyn Smith.

New Zealand frequently sees several mass whale strandings around its coastline, mainly each summer as whales pass by on their migration to and from Antarctic waters. Scientists have not been able to determine why whales become stranded.

A pod of 101 pilot whales were stranded on the same beach in 2007.

Kimberly Muncaster, chief executive of the Project Jonah whale aid group, said the 15 surviving whales were in “fairly poor condition”.

Read moreOver 50 Whales Die After Being Washed Up On New Zealand Beach

New Zealand: Human DNA To Be Injected Into Goats, Cows, And Sheep

“It is a concerted plan to transform New Zealand towards GE-based, GE-animals economy.”


new-zealand_human-genes-to-be-injected-into-goats-cows-and-sheep

Scientists have been given permission to put human genes into goats, sheep and cows for the next 20 years, to see if the animals will produce human proteins in their milk.

But people will not be pouring the genetically modified milk on their Weetbix just yet – the milk will be discarded.

AgResearch won Environmental Risk Management Authority approval to allow a handful of scientists to breed and keep genetically-modified animals at the Ruakura research facility, near Hamilton.

The work will begin with genetically modified cows, and could be expanded to genetically modified goats within the next year.

There are no immediate plans to genetically modify sheep at Ruakura.

Simon Terry, of environmental consultancy the Sustainability Council, welcomed conditions making it clear the milk could not be made for commercial sale but he was concerned the 20-year time limit was three times as long as the last GM experiment at the facility.

Read moreNew Zealand: Human DNA To Be Injected Into Goats, Cows, And Sheep

Censorship: New Zealand’s Internet Filter Goes Live

The Department of Internal Affairs’ (DIA) internet filter is now operational and is being used by internet providers (ISPs) Maxnet and Watchdog.

Thomas Beagle, spokesperson for online freedom lobby Tech Liberty says he’s “very disappointed that the filter is now running, it’s a sad day for the New Zealand internet”.

He told Computerworld the filter went live on February 1 but DIA has delayed announcing that until it held a meeting with its Independent Reference Group. He says he’s disappointed the launch was conducted in such a “stealthy mode”.

The manager of the Department of Internal Affairs’ Censorship Compliance Unit, Steve O’Brien, denies any subterfuge in the launch, saying the trial has been going on for two years and that has been communicated to media for “quite some time”.

“The Independent Reference Group has met and the filter system processes were demonstrated as set out in the code of practice, that is that the website filtering system prevents access to known websites containing images of child sexual abuse,” says O’Brien.

Beagle says the DIA refuses to say which other ISPs will be joining the filter, claiming the right to negotiate in secret.

Read moreCensorship: New Zealand’s Internet Filter Goes Live

Asian leaders to pledge EU-style bloc

association-of-southeast-asian-nations
Graphic highlighting facts on the 10-member states of the ASEAN national grouping

HUA HIN, Thailand — Asian leaders will pledge to overcome their differences and push towards the formation of an EU-style community as they wrap up an annual summit in Thailand on Sunday.

Human rights issues, border disputes and signs of apathy over a meeting that was twice delayed by protests have at times marred the gathering of leaders from a region that contains more than half the world’s population.

But plans to increase the region’s global clout by building closer ties eventually dominated the three-day meeting of Southeast Asian nations along with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Heads of state at the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin will sign a raft of agreements Sunday on boosting economic and political integration and cooperating on subjects including climate change and disaster management.

Japan’s proposal for a so-called East Asian community will be up for further discussion, after Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said the region should “have the aspiration that East Asia is going to lead the world.”

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is also set to restate its commitment to create its own political and economic community by 2015.

Read moreAsian leaders to pledge EU-style bloc

New Zealand hit by freak snow storm

A freak snow storm has left hundreds of people stranded and unable to return to their homes in New Zealand’s central North Island.

A state of emergency was declared after heavy snow trapped around 700 people in their vehicles on two of the country’s major roads.

Read moreNew Zealand hit by freak snow storm