Prostitution Incompatible With Policework

From NZ Herald:

A policewoman who worked as a prostitute to ease financial difficulties has been censured, Deputy Commissioner Lyn Provost said today.

Apparently, prostitution is incompatible with policework, despite it now being legal in New Zealand. The argument the police are giving is that underground crime syndicates own a lot of the brothels and whatnot, and if a policewoman working as a prostitute was found out by this lot, they could possibly blackmail her into igoring certain criminal activites, etc.

Personally, I know what it’s like to live in Auckland and how expensive it can be – if you have the time and the energy to get a second job to help cover that, then by all means. I’m not sure there’s any legal reasoning why you should have to declare to your first job that you’re getting a second job (correct me if I’m wrong though). And if someone wants to take up prostitution as their secondary job, so be it – it shouldn’t be anybody’s business but their own.

Brings a whole new meaning to “Fuck the Police” though.

Why Veto Makes No Sense

After making it through the House and through the Senate, and being supported by the majority of the US population, the stem cell bill has been vetoed by Bush.

President Bush rejected legislation Wednesday that could have multiplied the federal money going into embryonic stem cell research, using the first veto of his presidency to underscore his stand on the emotionally charged, life-and-death issue.

The House then voted on overturning his veto, but failed to achieve a two-thirds majority (235-193 in favour of overturing the veto).

This underscores why the veto power is kinda ridiculous – a bill can be supported by the majority, make it all the way through the complicated legal procedure to make it almost successful, then one man can say “Nope, I don’t think so.” and it’ll be all over. Granted, this is the first time Bush has used his veto power, but you’d think he’d put his own personal viewpoints aside in favour of those of the populous he is elected to represent. He’s supposed to be there for them, not for his own agenda. One man should never have so much power that he can decide for a nation, against their wishes, just because he believes that it’s the right thing to do. It reminds me of a man named Adolf, really.

Commenting on it all, Bush had this to say:

“It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect.”

Ironic really coming from someone who, during his tenure as Texas governor, executed prisoners at the rate of one every two weeks.

Samuel L Jackson Is God

…or at least the voice of God, on an upcoming Bible audio book:

Jackson was given the lead role because producers felt his deep, authorative voice was perfect for the role of God.

The audio book will feature the voices of a number of other black celebrities also – I assume they’re trying to appeal to a new audience by using black celebrities… whether it’ll work remains to be seen. I would’ve thought James Earl Jones would’ve been a better choice for the voice of God (does that make him the Metatron?).

I can just hear Jackson now: “Thou Shalt Not Kill, Muthafucka!”

And speaking of Samuel L Jackson, Snakes On A Mothafuckin Plane.

Wanna be evacuated? That’ll be $300!

Details on what’s happening in Lebanon at the moment is all over the web, so I won’t bother going into it again here. But in my reading up on the situation, I came across this news story about a US student stuck there at the moment awaiting evacuation. I’m glad that the people being caught in the crossfire are being helped to get out, but this particular sentence shocked me:

Nucho said there was talk that Americans would have to pay a $300 evacuation fee and be left to sleep on the streets of Cyprus.

This is further confirmed in the article:

In statements e-mailed to Americans in Lebanon and posted on the embassy’s Web site, the State Department has stressed “that the U.S. government does not provide no-cost transportation but does have the authority to provide repatriation loans to those in financial need. For the portion of your trip directly handled by the U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date.”

This, to me, is horribly unacceptable. These are US citizens we’re talking about – you’re evacuating your own countrymen yet charging them to do so? The article goes on to say that once they’ve been evacuated to Cyprus, they’re on their own – no accommodation, no flights, no nothing will be paid for by the US government.

The US calls itself “the land of the free” – it seems freedom comes with a charge these days.

Long Way Round, Google Earth Style

If you haven’t heard of this excellent series, here’s the skinny (from the official website):

Setting off in London in April 2004, Ewan and Charley travelled through some of the most beautiful, and at times dangerous, terrain the world has to offer. Crossing over into mainland Europe, they rode through France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Alaska, Canada before arriving 115 days later at their final destination, New York City, USA.

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, taking the long way round the world from London to New York on motorcycles. The series (and the book) chronicle the journey from preparation through to completion, and is one of the most interesting shows I’ve seen recently, so much so that I bought it on DVD.

Now, being that Long Way Round was about travel, what better way to track it than with Google Earth? Finding some of the smaller stops isn’t easy though, but never fear – I’ve done it for you! Running off the DVD liner notes I’ve put together a KML file of all (barring one or two) the stops along the way, as precise as I could make them – numbering 75 in total.

Grab the latest version of Google Earth from their website, then grab the KML file and enjoy your tour!