The new Iphone---a cheaper version---great?.

I wonder how many people, espeically the young and---you know the rest, will buy one of the new cheap version of this iconic phone. Sometimes I wonder if the phone itself is a mere accessory for some people. Mean of me you say. Really? Just watch how mnay people will display their cheap new phones when they are out in public. Watch out for the flash new cover over covers, disguising the real thing beneath the 'plastic.' Oh, I have gone too far, you say.  Time will tell. In the menatime, I shall continue to use my cheap version of the Samsung Galexy and I won't give a hoot as to who sees, watches or passes judgment on my little 'cheapie.' It's good to be older and less encumbered by fasion, sometimes!
www.authorneilcoleman.com

Labour 'leadership candidates' determined to keep it clean!

There is no doubt that David Cunliffe’s quick action signalled that all three are sticking with the plan in the Labour Party leadership contest; that is to keep clear of personal attacks. Perhaps the more cynical would say that Davis merely used this move to portray himself as decisive and that he can lead from the front.

A more generous view would be that he indeed wants to keep it clean. Whilst the person in the middle of the latest rather tame pronouncements from David’s team (Grant Robertson) was slightly bemused, one could still adhere to the position that the actions taken were necessary. I very much doubt that the person ‘fired’ for her opinion will stay unemployed for long. One does not throw away good people, certainly not for something so far down the chain in terms of indiscretion.

Labour has almost completed the process where they chose their new leader and it has to be said that so far, it has been a successful exercise in promoting how the party can be; one united and quite different from their Australian counterparts. Something is missing in that party, apart from the ‘u’ in their name!

However, we should not get too carried away as the New Zealand Labour Party also has it’s natural divisions between ‘left and right,’ union and technocrats, just to mention a few. The personalities too, will always provide fodder for future struggles. In the meantime, they need to stick to the current path and present themselves as a true alternative to the present government. The prize is there for the taking, if only they can hold it together.

www.authorneilcoleman.com  

Roskill--- First review is out for the Kindle version.

It took a while, but the first review for the Kindle version of Roskill is out. If you wish to read it just go to the website, click on the Kindle version and read on. Better still, download your own copy and do your thing.

Thanks for your support.

 www.authorneilcoleman.com

I have said it before----'An attack on a police officer is an attack on us all!'

When I heard the news that a police officer was viciously assaulted; hit from behind, kicked in the head, over and over again and only stopped when two brave women (who knew him) put themselves between the fallen officer and his assailant.
There can be no excuse for such behaviour. I do not want to hear that the accused had a difficult upbringing or had experienced a 'bad day.' His choices led to this assault, nothing more. The officer was alone, doing his duty, a situation that needs to be looked at, especially late at night.
Now, the officer faces a long time off work and the damage to his health could well affect his future career in the police. The public has responded by donating money; it will take a large amount to make up for the pain, loss of confidence, (not just for him, but his close colleagues) and possible decreased functioning. Only time will tell just how bad the ramifications are for him and his future.
The accused was described as a 'youth worker;' a position that must raise some concerns re his carrying out that particular occupation. I watched the news reports as he faced the court and wondered what could possibly drive his uncontrolled anger. I tried to understand, but in the final analysis, he has damaged two lives; his victim's and his own. Another unfortunate fact is that these assaults on our police are not uncommon; this one however, being at the extreme end of the spectrum. I am sure that the vast majority of New Zealanders support the work of our police. They are after all doing what we want them to do, upholding laws that we generally agree with and protecting those who most need it---us! Just know that you have our support.
www.authorneilcoleman.com 

The America's Cup. Exciting or a damned farce.

OK, I have to admit that the sight of those two huge catamarans slicing through/above the water yesterday in SF was wonderfully enticing. Yes, they were dangerously beautiful and for a while we even had a real competition.

I am not going to go on about the ‘money the New Zealand Government gave to our ‘effort’ as being ‘better spent on other issues, because in my view NZ stands to gain far more than that.

What angers me is that the ‘carnival’ could have been so much more. Let’s face it; the number of contestants was pathetic and it is only NZ’s obsession with winning back the Cup that made it of any interest to us here. Most other countries in the world would hardly even know the regatta is going on. I would far rather see a return to the days when more than a dozen countries contested the ‘Olde Mug.’

I used to love the long drawn out affair we had in the past when many weeks were involved in finding the ‘challenger,’ for the Cup. The ‘craft’ used were more traditional but even they had to be right up there in terms of technology.

Will we see a return to the good old days? Will the huge catamarans be the order of the day, because the sheer excitement and speed will rule the day? I hope that sense prevails and the winner of this round will be able to take us back to the future!

www.authorneilcoleman.com

Roskill sales. I would love to know how many.

If you have downloaded Roskill, could you please send me an email. Either go through my website ( www.authorneilcoleman.com) and follow the link to 'send me an email,' ot just go first to neilcolemanauthor@gmail.com   Thanks.  just a simple little blog! But---it means a lot to me. Just click on the site and then on the Kindle version in the link.

Australia decides that it doesn't want the damaging infighting of the Labor Party!

Yes, Australia has 'voted out' the Rudd Gillard and Rudd again Government. I very much doubt that they votes the Tony Abbot Government 'in.' We have seen this understandable fact of political life both here in NZ and Australia; indeed all around the world that purports to be 'democratic.' The alternative----well just look to Syria, Egypt and the like where either a 'military oligarchy' or a wannabe dynasty rules.
Australians will now have to live with their decision. Who can blame them for giving up on the ability of the Labor Party to rise above the petty, yet extremely damaging sector and personality driven leadership battle. Whilst it inevitable that a certain level of 'struggle' will go along with any attempt to garner support for a leader, when it becomes a semi-permanent feature of a political party, then it becomes damaging to a country. In Labor's case it seemed to be never-ending. The end result was always going to be collective,' shrugging of shoulders' as if to say, a curse on your bloody internal feuding.'
When an electorate reaches this stage, it turns it back on the incumbent party and casts it aside, like so much flotsam. It is the perception that a government does not have the best interests of the country at heart, purely because the infighting dominates any good that that government has done, in the form of progressive legalisation and economic management that leads to the destruction of trust.
Yes, I know there are many out there who would challenge any idea that such a government had achieved anything while in office, but that too is the nature of politics, right or wrong. Certain held beliefs are often unchangeable and a large 'rump' of people always vote the same way, probably just as their parents had always done. It is that quite small minority of people who think deeply and represent a true 'swinging' voter position that makes or breaks a government.
When you throw the craziness of the Labor leadership struggle into the mix, then anything 'good' achieved by that government is lost in the media attention and talkback shows as people get swept up in the perceived hopelessness of the peoples' feeling about a government.'
Labor had it coming: The polls had it right and that the Labor Party was unable to stop its mad dash along a the stuffed railway line towards political disaster was an predictable result---one that quickly played itself out on our TV screens last night.
has Labor leant from this. I doubt it!
Has the NZ Labour Party taken note of the fate of their cousins over the ditch?! I feckin well hope so!
www.authorneilcoleman.com