Horror and atrocities on day time TV

Todays sermon is not for those with a weak stomach - I give you that warning well in advance of what is to come!!


Why am I blowing off steam today? Well, those buggers at the Disney Channel have clearly over stepped the mark. My kids regrettably indulge in watching the drivel they serve up in a daily basis. Whilst it is normally mind numblingly dull, with stereotype characters, usually white, middle class, pure (the South Park skit on the Jonas Brothers is a classic episode) and never offensive - unless of course you are me.



Of course the Disney organisation is a global one, but with a very 'American' focus. It is not without critique, see this article - there are some interesting links too. Movies such as the Lion King, Pocahontas and Alladin have all bee criticized for being overtly racist.



The item is question is the dreadful Hannah Montana Forever - -here we see the mildly irritating Miley Cyrus in an episode (no. 91)  where the Disney Organisation does it best to cheer up all those little children whose 'moms and pops' are in Afghanistan or Aye Rack (I think that maybe be somewhere near Iraq).



Attempting to brainwash small kids with images of soldiers and their parents, a storyline revolving around a boy whose father is serving the good cause there and generally giving a one eyed slant on the world is far worse than any overt or covert racial undertones. Filling those impressionable heads with the concept that America is good and everyone else is evil is nauseating. War is not a good thing, America, you are not Team America World Police.

The defence of the realm

A few years ago there was a load of stuff in the media regarding the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the loss of its strike capability. If you need to know the reasons behind this the full report is here . The long and the short of it was that as an island nation, many miles from anywhere, with no real enemy (except Australia at Rugby, Netball, Cricket, etc) - well OK, we aren't that chummy with Fiji at present, but that's because they had a military coup - we couldn't really justify many millions of dollars to buy a new fleet of fast jets to replace our classic 1970's Skyhawks. So why raise this now, surely the water has gone under the bridge? Well, the die hard military freaks keep saying we need a strike capabilty, that it is an essential item. Well, I don't like to say 'told you so', but over in Blighty they are getting rid of most of their Air Force. Yes that's right, the UK, round the corner from the eastern bloc, close friend of the US, collaborator and ally in Gulf War One, Gulf War Two and Afghani-nam, are getting rid of the majority of the RAF's frontline attack aircraft. Why, they can't afford to run them. As much as I love jet aircraft, they do cost a few bob to run; teaching the guys that have the cool job of flying them doesn't come cheap, nor is the fuel and maintenence.

So this raises an important question - should the New Zealand defence force actually have any armed force capability? Maybe we need to redirect our efforts in different ways. For the air more heavy lift and search and rescue capability, we can look after the pacific, support our island neighbours and catch out those dodgy fishing fleets; ditto for the navy, maritime search and rescue, more fisheries work, etc. For the army, how about redeploying them to be a fully paid civil defence; almost monthly we have floods, slips, forest fires, earthquakes, etc. Lets use them to protect the citizens of the country and leave those overseas to sort their own problems out.

On a happier note I read that there is a new Tricky album due out; the interview is pretty unreal, giving a real insight into how he thinks. Can't wait!!