Examines the history and people the science and the society the lives times and themes the cultural impact and the critical response of the dynamic genre that is speculative fiction. CLICK HERE -Projections: Science Fiction In Literature and Film Anders Paperback at www.science-fiction-books.com.au
Get other Fantasy Science Fiction Books hereA French string quartet traveling from San Francisco to their next engagement in San Diego is diverted to Standard Island. Standard Island is an immense man-made island designed to travel the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The wealth of residents of the island can only be measured in millions. The quartet is hired to play a number of concerts for the residents during their tour of the islands (Sandwich Cook Society etc.) of the South Pacific. The island seems an idyllic paradise; however it is an island divided in two. The left half’s population is led by Jem Tankerdon and is known as the Larboardites. The right half’s population is led by Nat Coverley and is known as the Starboardites. Despite the obstacles encountered on their journey the two parties have a disagreement that threatens the future of the island itself. CLICK HERE -Floating Island: The Pearl of The Pacific Jules Verne Paperback at www.science-fiction-books.com.au
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A review of pathology services in Auckland will be carried out to see what can be learned from problems during a change over in providers, Health Minister Tony Ryall says.
But first the problems need to be fixed.
Ten per cent of the services will be handed back to Diagnostic Medlab (DML), the provider that lost the multi-million dollar contract to rival Labtests, it was announced today.
The arrangement would last four years and comes after much criticism over Labtests’ performance.
DML will start before the end of the month.
It should take pressure off Labtests, he said.
Mr Ryall said the arrangement would help fix the problem but it would still be “some time before things were fully remedied”.
The problems with services were unacceptable and not “what we were promised in Auckland”. .
Aucklanders were promised a quality laboratory service which has not been delivered, he said.
“Right now, I don’t want people looking in the rear-vision mirror I want them focused on the urgent issue of fixing this.
The main focus now was “putting every effort in making sure this gets fixed” and the review would follow that, Mr Ryall said.
Labtests is owned by Australian company Healthscope.
“There will be a focused review at the end of this to uncover the learnings for the health sector so something like this can never be repeated,” Mr Ryall told reporters.
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A woman charged with brutally assaulting her son after he wet the bed told her husband she had been “naughty, very naughty” when he asked her what she’d done to their child, a jury has heard.
Itupa Julie Mikaio, 40, pleaded guilty in the AucklandHigh Courtthis morning to one charge of injuring with intent to injure her son, Benjamin Mikaio, on June 27, 2008.
But she is defending two further charges – one of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and another of failing to provide the necessities of life for a child – which relate to matters that allegedly happened on June 30, three days after the assault.
Mikaio’s husband, Haini Mikaio, told the court that his wife had told him she had hit their three-year-old son with her shoe because he had been jumping up and down and had scribbled on the walls of the house.
A jury of six men and six women has been selected to hear the case before Justice Forrest Miller.”
In her opening address, crown prosecutor Deborah Marshall said the case was “about a mother who was angry at her three-year-old son because he wet the bed”.
“She said she was naughty, very naughty.
She said Mikaio had taken her anger out on Benjamin with such violence that he had been sent to Starship Hospital.
The court heard how, on the weekend before the assault, Benjamin had spent a normal weekend with his family going shopping, attending church and watching television.
A year on from the incident, Benjamin was still recovering from his severe injuries, Ms Marshall said.”
Ms Marshall said Benjamin was brought to Starship Hospital deeply unconscious, suffering from severe head trauma and extensive bruising to his buttocks, pelvis and chest.
“However, by the afternoon of Monday, June 30, he was in a very bad way.
“If he had not received medical attention it was likely he would have died.
He had two fractures to his pelvis, two fractures to his right hand, a fractured left hand and a fractured foot.”
Ms Marshall said Mikaio had caused all of these injuries.”
Ms Marshall said Mikaio had caused all of these injuries.
She then put him in the blanket and left him on the couch until early in the afternoon. .
The massage therapist took one look at Benjamin and told Mikaio to call 111, the court heard.
Ms Marshall said that, when Mikaio did seek help, she took him to a “Samoan massage therapist who lived in Glen Innes”.
Mr Faleauto said his client had tried to help her son.
Mikaio’s lawyer, Ted Faleauto, said his client disputed she had caused her son’s head injury.
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The swine flu death toll has officially reached six with a seventh likely.
A Northern Regional Health Co-ordination Centre spokeswoman said two people died at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital yesterday.
A woman was confirmed as having had the swine flu A (H1N1) virus.
The second was a suspected case and staff were awaiting lab results. .
The number of confirmed cases of swine flu was 1431, up from 1272 yesterday.
The spokeswoman was unable to say if the second person suffered from any other medical conditions.
Ministry of Health spokesperson Sandy Dawson said the most recent deaths showed how quickly complications could arise.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has announced the eligibility for a free seasonal influenza vaccine has been extended to all New Zealanders, not just those with underlying health problems.
Anyone with existing medical problems who developed flu-like symptoms should be monitored closely, he said.
“The free vaccine is expected to increase community uptake of the influenza vaccine, which is already showing increased uptake on previous years,” the ministry said in a statement.
The free vaccine is available from general practices from now until the end of September.
“The vaccine protects against the strains of influenza expected to prevail this winter.
“While the vaccine will not protect individuals from pandemic (swine) influenza, it is expected to ease the numbers of people who will be seeking treatment for seasonal ills this year as well as reducing the numbers of hospital admissions.”
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Double-murderer John Barlow has been denied parole.
Barlow, who is serving a 14-year jail term for the 1994 murders of father and son businessmen Eugene and Gene Thomas in their central Wellington office, was convicted in a rare third trial.
The November hearing was adjourned to allow for further psychological testing, which the board said indicated he would still pose a risk to the community.
He appeared before the Parole Board on March 31, after first appearing for consideration last November.
However, the board said it did support reintegrative leave for Barlow, saying he was clearly in the reintegrative phase of his sentence.
”We are not prepared to take the risk of releasing him at this time,” the board’s decision read.”
Meanwhile, Barlow is waiting to hear the decision of the Privy Council in London after he lodged an appeal against his conviction in February.
”Release to work and graduated home leaves will be appropriate in a safe planned way at this time.
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The legal aid system is going to be fundamentally reviewed, the Government has announced.
Justice Minister Simon Power said all aspects of the system would be considered by a review team headed by Dame Margaret Bazley.
“The purpose is to consider how the system can best be structured so it delivers effective legal services to those who need them most, in a way that is cost-effective and sustainable,” he said.”
Mr Power announced the review in a speech to an international legal aid conference in Wellington.
“Quality will be an important focus, as will ensuring that any changes have a positive impact on the wider justice system, especially on the way the courts operate.
“Legal aid has a defining role in upholding access to justice.
“I don’t need to tell you that in the current fiscal environment, legal aid systems are likely to face increasing challenges in achieving their objectives,” he said.
“By funding legal aid services, governments give effect to the principles of equality before the law and natural justice.
Dame Margaret, a retired public service chief executive, headed the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct and was a member of the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance.”
The members of the review team have not yet been announced.
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New Zealander Rob Hamill is to be heard at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal trial of the man who ran the Cambodian Prison where his brother was killed in 1978, though his words will be conveyed only by his lawyer. .
Mr Hamill, an Olympic rower in 1996, is expected to appear at the tribunal.
Their lawyers can ask questions on their behalf of witnesses and of
Kaing Guek Eav, or Duch, who ran Tuol Sleng or S21 prison where an
estimated 17,000 were tortured then executed. One crewman,
Canadian Stuart Glass, was shot dead while Mr Hamill and Briton John
Dewhirst were taken for interrogation before being killed.
His brother Kerry Hamill ended up at S-21 when the yacht he and friends
were sailing strayed into Cambodian waters in August 1978.
The trial is the first of senior leaders in the Khmer Rouge regime
under which 1.
Rob Hamill told yesterday that it was good that Duch admitted
in court yesterday that what he did was wrong, although he did claim
he was acting under orders.
Duch faces charges including crimes against humanity, breaches of the
Geneva Convention and violations of the Cambodian penal code, including
premeditated murder.7 million Cambodians died to be heard before the UN-backed
dual international Cambodian Court.
Maggie Tait travelled to Cambodia with the assistance of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
Maggie Tait travelled to Cambodia with the assistance of the Asia New
Zealand Foundation.
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More New Zealand firefighters head for Victoria
Wellington Monday, 02 March 2009
A second contingent of New Zealand firefighters will fly to Australia on Wednesday to help contain the bushfires in Victoria.
Internal Affairs Minister Richard Worth said the team of 57 firefighters, crew leaders and incident management team members would leave from Whenuapai on an air force Hercules.
They will be deployed until the end of March.
The returning firefighters will come back on a Hercules on Thursday. In the meantime, 16 of the 53 firefighters from the first contingent will stay on for another week. .
National Rural Fire Officer Murray Dudfield said arrangements for the second contingent had been made after a second request for assistance from Australia.
"They will be required to walk into the remote wildfires in forested lands which will involve dry firefighting with hand tools and machinery, along with backburning tasks."
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Pacific people hit hard by recession
By KATHERINE NEWTON Friday, 20 February 2009
Pacific Islandersare far more vulnerable to the effects of the economic crisis than other groups, a forum was told yesterday.
Pacific Island Affairs Ministry chief executive Colin Tukuitonga told the meeting of community and business leaders that almost a quarter of islanders were employed in manufacturing an industry already hit by the downtown.
Mr Tukuitonga said that, although the community was resilient, he was worried about the proportion of young, unskilled workers.
The ministry forum is designed to help New Zealand's Pacific Islanders through the recession. "We want to focus on skills and training and higher education so they .
He said younger people should be encouraged to stay in education…"
In 2006, 48 per cent of Pacific Island people in New Zealand were aged under 19 and 64 per cent of Pacific Island employees worked in semi-skilled to low-skilled jobs. set themselves up for better jobs when the upturn comes. .
Dr Tukuitonga also said he had concerns about how extended families, who exist on money sent from wages earned in New Zealand, would be affected by the downturn.
"It's very real out here in Porirua," Porirua city councillor Litea Ah Hoi said. Many believe the recession is hitting Pacific people hard."
People still felt obliged to help out extended family even though times were tougher, Ms Ah Hoi said. "Our unemployment rate has risen by 500 in the last three months.
"We just have to hold back and look at what is really important. "And families still want to spend big money on weddings and funerals, leaving less for essentials."
. That's making sure that the rent is paid, there's a roof over kids' heads and food in their tummies