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Questions and Answers – Nov 15
Press Release – Hansard
EconomyReports 1. TAMATI COFFEY (LabourWaiariki) to the Minister of Finance : What reports has he received on the forecast for the New Zealand economy? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance) : Last week, the Reserve Bank, as part of their Monetary …• ORAL QUESTIONS
1. TAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki) to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the forecast for the New Zealand economy?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Last week, the Reserve Bank, as part of their Monetary Policy Statement, reported their forecast for the New Zealand economy, incorporating their assessment of Government policy decisions. They forecast that GDP growth will be higher than 3 percent annually over the next three years, following some weakness earlier this year. They also forecast the official cash rate track would reach 2 percent in March 2020, and that inflation is forecast to hit the midpoint of 2 percent in 2019. Overall, the Reserve Bank forecast shows an economy that, with the right investments, can become stronger and more resilient.
Tamati Coffey: What reports has the Minister received from other economists on the prospects for the New Zealand economy?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I have received reports from several bank economists. None of these reports state that it will not be possible—
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I just want an absolute assurance that these are reports to the Minister he has received.
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I have received them.
Mr SPEAKER: To the Minister? Reports—[Interruption] No, no. You might have seen them; you only receive official reports.
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I've received official reports.
Mr SPEAKER: From banks, as Minister of Finance? Grant Robertson.
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I have received a range of official reports, all of which show that it will be possible for us to meet our goals within our Budget responsibility rules, and I can assure the House that that includes a commitment to the goal of reducing net debt to 20 percent of GDP within five years.
Tamati Coffey: What objective does the Minister have for core Crown net debt?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As indicated during the Speech from the Throne, the Government is committed to reducing net debt to 20 percent of GDP within five years. Progress towards this will be set out by the Government during the usual Budget reporting cycle to the House, starting with the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update, before Christmas.
Hon Steven Joyce: Has he seen amongst those reports the economic forecast from ANZ chief economist, Cameron Bagrie, who calculates that the Minister , in fact, won't be able to meet his own Budget responsibility rule No. 2, to keep net debt below 20 percent of GDP, even with some rather heroic spending assumptions?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I have seen those reports and I disagree with them.
Tamati Coffey: Why is the Government committed to this net core Crown debt track?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The Government is committed to twin goals of reducing debt as a percentage of GDP while at the same time dealing with the social and infrastructure deficits we have inherited. We make no apology for making provision for a $2 billion investment in affordable housing, a $3 billion investment in securing superannuation, or a $1 billion annual investment in giving regions a fair go.
• Government—Policies
2. Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's policies?
Hon KELVIN DAVIS (Acting Prime Minister): Yes.
Rt Hon Bill English: Does the Prime Minister stand by her Government's policy to deny mothers and fathers the flexibility to decide how they take their paid parental leave as it suits their own individual family needs.
Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ēhara tēnā he kaupapa here—
[On the contrary, that's not a policy—]
Mr SPEAKER: Order! No, the member will resume his seat. I'll count only Paula Bennett as being the cause of National losing one; I could have taken four or five. The Acting Prime Minister will start his answer again please.
Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ko te kaupapa here mō ngā 26 o ngā wiki, tō matōu kaupapa he reka, āta whakaarohia e mātou wētahi atu whakaaro ā tōna wā.
[The policy is for 26 weeks, our sweet policy; we will consider other views carefully at an appropriate time in the future.]
Rt Hon Bill English: So why does the Prime Minister think that the Government knows best how mothers and fathers should distribute the paid parental leave entitlement that they share?
Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ēhara tēnā i tō mātou whakaaro.
[On the contrary, that is not our view.]
Mr SPEAKER: Was that Clare Curran on that occasion? Which member was it? [Interruption] Right, well that means that the Labour Party has just lost a supplementary.
Hon KELVIN DAVIS: E kore mātou e whakaae ki tēnā whakapae nā te mema.
[We will never agree with that allegation by the member.]
Rt Hon Bill English: If the Prime Minister disagrees with that description, does she agree with this description—that under the Government's policy the Government is saying it must be the primary caregiver, almost always the mother, who takes all the paid parental leave, and that the Government is opposed to the idea that the mother and the father, or the two parents, can chose how to distribute the paid parental leave?
Mr SPEAKER: I'm sorry to have to keep on doing this, but people will take a while, and seeing the chief Government whip has previously been punished, the Opposition will have two extra supplementaries.
Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Nā te Kāwanatanga i whakaroangia te wā ki te 26 ngā wiki, ka āta whakaarohia e mātou, whiriwhiri mātou i wētahi atu huarahi ā tōna wā.
[The Government considered the period of 26 weeks, and we will carefully consider and choose other avenues in due course.]
Rt Hon Bill English: So can the Prime Minister, therefore, having given this matter a lot of consideration, give us one reason why mothers and fathers should not be allowed to decide for themselves how to distribute their 26 weeks of paid parental leave?
Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ko te pūtake o tēnei pire, kia whakaroangia ake te wā e taea ana e te māma, e te pāpā rānei ki te tiaki i ā rātou pēpi. Koia te tino pūtake.
[The reasoning of this bill is to extend the period the mother or father is able to nurse their babies. That's the real reason.]
Rt Hon Bill English: So if the intention of the bill is to extend the time available to 6 months, why is the Government not taking the opportunity of the legislative process to allow parents—mothers and fathers—to make their own decision about how they use the paid parental leave, given circumstances they have to deal with, such as a sick child, or a mother with post-natal depression who may want the extra support of her husband?
Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ko tā te Āpitihanga whakaaro kia whakapopotongia te wā e taea ana e ngā mātua ki te āta tiaki i ā rātou pēpi. Ko ngā rangahau e mea ana, me tō mātou hiahia, kia whakaaroangia ake ki te 26 ngā wiki, ka āta whiringia e mātou wētahi atu whakaaro ā tōna wā.
[The Opposition's view is to shorten the period in which parents are able to nurse their babies properly. Research states, plus our desire is, that it be stretched out to 26 weeks; we will carefully consider other views at some time in the future.]
Mr SPEAKER: No, I am going to ask the Acting Prime Minister to have another go at answering that specific question.
Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Can he repeat that question?
Mr SPEAKER: Mr English, could you repeat the question, in rough form? It was almost like "Why not?", slightly extended.
Rt Hon Bill English: So can the Prime Minister give any reason why, having considered the extension of paid parental leave, the Government will not allow two parents of a child the opportunity to decide for themselves how to use the six-month entitlement, for instance in the case of a sick child who needs extended and extra care, or a mother with post-natal depression who may need desperately the support of her husband?
Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Te mea e hiahia ana te Kāwanatanga kia āta whiriwhiria ngā kōrero, ngā rangahau e pā—mehemea e pai ana rānei, ki te mahia i tā te mema e kōrero ana.
[The thing the Government desires is that related comments and research should be selected carefully—whether it is OK to do it according to what the member has stated.]
Rt Hon Bill English: Can I take it from the Acting Prime Minister's answers that the Government is opposed to this simply because it believes that the Government should decide how parents use their paid parental leave?
Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Kāhore.
• Government Financial Position—Crown Debt
3. Hon STEVEN JOYCE (National) to the Minister of Finance: Can he confirm core Crown net debt was $59.5 billion at 30 June 2017, and that it is his intention as Minister of Finance to increase net debt to $67.6 billion by 2022, as laid out in Labour's pre-election fiscal plan?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I can confirm that at 30 June 2017 net core Crown debt was $59.48 billion. I can further confirm that it is this Government's policy to reduce net core Crown debt to 20 percent of GDP within five years. As the member knows, the exact dollar amount of debt in each year will be determined by the Budget process.
Hon Steven Joyce: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That was a question written down on notice, and I don't believe the Minister of Finance answered the second part of the question. He talked about something about 20 percent of GDP, but he didn't actually answer yes or no to whether it was his intention to increase net debt to $67.6 billion by 2022.
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Speaking to the point of order, I'm not sure if the member heard the last part of my answer, where I did specifically address the question of what the exact dollar amount might be.
Hon Steven Joyce: He didn't answer the question. Nobody is any the wiser as to whether, actually, he will allow net debt to get to $67.6 billion by 2022, as laid out in Labour's pre-election fiscal plan.
Mr SPEAKER: Well, Speakers' rulings are pretty clear in this area. I think somewhere around page 171 is the ruling that members cannot demand a yes/no answer, and I'm just about confident enough that the former Minister of Finance understands that these figures might be affected by growth figures.
Hon Steven Joyce: Sorry to prolong things, Mr Speaker, but actually it is possible to say whether it will be higher or lower or about that figure. It is a question on notice—it's not a supplementary question—and I do think that the Minister of Finance could be a bit more specific as to that number, given that prior to a certain date in September he was actually accusing people of showing an affront to democracy for—
Mr SPEAKER: OK—[Interruption] All right, OK. I think where I'm going to leave it is that I might be slightly more liberal, as long as they are direct, on the supplementaries, if the member wants to drill down that way.
Hon Steven Joyce: Can the finance Minister confirm that the pre-election fiscal update forecasts net debt to reduce to $56.2 billion by 2022, meaning that his forecast of $67.6 billion is over $11 billion higher than in the pre-election fiscal update?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I can confirm that those were the numbers in the pre-election fiscal update. What we have discovered is that those numbers did not take account of the need for increased spending in education capital expenditure, health capital expenditure, or a range of other areas.
Hon Steven Joyce: Is the Minister then saying that, actually, he expects to increase debt significantly higher than $67.6 billion because of his concerns about the matters he raised in the previous answer?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The commitment of this Government has been that we will reduce net core Crown debt to 20 percent of GDP. The member well knows, from having prepared a Budget himself and being beside someone else who's prepared Budgets, that the exact dollar figures for debt are never decided until later in the Budget process.
Hon Steven Joyce: Why then was it an affront to democracy to question those figures prior to the election?
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is no responsibility for that whatsoever.
Hon Steven Joyce: Why doesn't he agree with the ANZ analysis of 7 November that concludes net debt will be billions of dollars higher than he has forecast, and that he will breach his own Budget responsibility rule number 2 to reduce net debt to 20 percent of GDP within five years, particularly as he's just told the House—
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member's finished his question.
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Because nothing that I have seen, in terms of the advice I've got to this point, would point to that, and because this Government is committed to reducing debt as a percentage of GDP—20 percent—within five years of taking office.
Hon Steven Joyce: If he doesn't like the ANZ's commentary, does he agree with the comments from the Bank of New Zealand on Monday, who stated that Labour's election campaign budget was just too tight to be credible; if not, what does he think the BNZ has got wrong?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What this Government has committed to is a set of Budget responsibility rules, and we will work within those. We made commitments before the election to address the social deficits in health, in education, and in infrastructure, and we will do that. I make no apology for having a slower debt track than that Government if it means that we build affordable houses, contribute to superannuation, and invest in our regions.
Hon Steven Joyce: Just to be clear, does he commit to meeting all the Government's promises, including those in his coalition agreement and his agreement for confidence and supply with the Green Party, and also the Speech from the Throne, while increasing net debt by only $11 billion, from what it was going to be, over the next five years?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I absolutely stand by those Government commitments and the Budget responsibility rules that we have put forward.
Kiritapu Allan: How does the Government's plan for net core Crown debt compare to recent historical trends?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I can inform the member that net core Crown debt in 2008 was 5.4 percent of GDP, or $10.3 billion. By 2016, it had grown to 24.5 percent of GDP, or $61.8 billion.
Hon Steven Joyce: Just to be clear, then, is the Minister saying—
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I'm going to ask the member—and, again, I accept that it's a bit of a new experience. I'm going to advise the member to have a look somewhere around Speaker's ruling 173 about prefacing questions with statements. The "just to be clear" thing, or "in light of this" or "in light of that", add nothing to the question. I'd like the member to go straight to it, and then I can be more helpful in getting an answer.
Hon Steven Joyce: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Does he commit to meeting all the Government's promises, including those in those coalition agreements from the Speech from the Throne, not in relation to a percentage of GDP but by increasing net debt by no more than $11 billion relative to the pre-election fiscal update over the next five years? A very specific question.
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The final exact dollar figures, as the member well knows from the Budgets he's been involved in, will be decided later in the Budget process, but we remain 100 percent committed to our goal of reducing net debt to 20 percent of GDP within five years.
Rt Hon Bill English: I seek leave to move a motion to refer the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill back to the relevant select committee for further consideration.
Mr SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that? There is objection; it will not happen. [Interruption] Sorry, I just want to check that Mr Joyce is finished.
Hon Steven Joyce: Yes.
• Education—Teacher Supply
4. JO LUXTON (Labour) to the Minister of Education: Is he confident that schools will be able to recruit enough teachers next year to fully staff classrooms, particularly in Auckland?
Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Regrettably, no, I'm not at this point. Student numbers are increasing, the number of teacher trainees completing their training has been declining, and an increasing number of teachers are nearing retirement age. Some schools are already advising that they are getting no applications for the jobs that they are advertising. I've initiated an urgent package of measures, which I'll be taking to Cabinet for approval very shortly.
Jo Luxton: Does he intend to proceed with the previous Government's decision to extend the voluntary bonding scheme to all Auckland schools?
Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Regrettably, the previous Government made no such decision. While the previous Minister did make that announcement during the election campaign, there was very little supporting policy work, there were no supporting papers going to Cabinet, and as a result, we are left with a $37.5 million hole because no funding was appropriated to meet that commitment.
Hon Nikki Kaye: Will he fund the extension of expat relocation grants and voluntary bonding for Auckland if this is such an urgent situation; if not, why not?
Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: On the expat relocation grants, the money was appropriated for that by the previous Minister, so that will go ahead, but she didn't appropriate the $37.5 million required to extend the voluntary bonding scheme, so I can't give that commitment, because there's a big funding hole where the money should've been appropriated by the previous Government.
• Education—National Standards
5. Hon NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) to the Minister of Education: Does he stand by his statement that National Standards "will be gone very quickly"; if so, why?
Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Yes, because they will.
Hon Nikki Kaye: How does he reconcile his comments, then, that some schools will be able to keep national standards with the comments, as well attributed to the Secretary of Education on 6 November, that national standards will be replaced?
Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Because the Government will be abolishing national standards. Whether schools choose to use them or not is up to them.
Hon Nikki Kaye: Firstly, I seek leave to table a New Zealand Principals' Federation newsletter—
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order! Don't try; that goes to all members.
Hon Nikki Kaye: OK, well, I seek leave to table the Ministry of Education education leaders' news bulletin, which doesn't go to all members, of 6 November, where the Secretary of Education—
Mr SPEAKER: Is it available on a website? Is it available on a publicly accessible website?
Hon Nikki Kaye: I will have to check that, because it actually goes to a link that I don't think is accessible to all members, but, also, the other point that I'd make is that, while it is available to education leaders, it's not available to a whole lot of parents and, necessarily, members of this House.
Mr SPEAKER: What I'm going to advise the member, and all members, is to ascertain, before they attempt to table things here, whether they are in fact available on a publicly accessible website. I'm willing to, if the member comes back at the end of question time and gives me an assurance that it is not available on a publicly accessible website—at that stage, I will put the leave.
Hon Nikki Kaye: How can parents have confidence in the robustness of their future school reports on the progress of their child if there is no nationwide consistent set of data that enables progress to be benchmarked against?
Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Well, there hasn't been up until now, because national standards have been neither national nor consistent. I think they can have trust in the teachers who work with their children.
Hon Nikki Kaye: Why will he not just admit that he does not have a detailed new system and that he is just trying to rename national standards and systems of progression that already exist, to please some of his union mates?
Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The previous Government acknowledged the problems with national standards when they themselves proposed to replace them and rename them. So there is already a widespread acknowledgment within the Parliament and within the education system that they were fundamentally flawed.
• Transport—Auckland
6. Hon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura) to the Minister of Transport: Is he satisfied that cancelling the East-West Link Road of National Significance will be beneficial to transport in Auckland?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Transport): The East-West link has not been cancelled and it is not a road of national significance. That is simply a political label coined by the National Party. This Government will find a higher-value, lower-cost option for the East-West Link.
Hon Judith Collins: How does he respond to the chief executive of the Auckland chamber of commerce, who has said it is unfortunate that Ms Ardern's Government did not consult with the Auckland business community before announcing a scaling back of the East-West Link project?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD: In fact, we consulted extensively with the Auckland business community, including Mr Barnett, and I have to say that the Auckland business community along with the likes of Ken Shirley of the Road Transport Forum actually agree that we need to find a more cost-effective option than the $327 million per kilometre option that that side of the House chose without even a benefit-cost ratio.
Hon Judith Collins: Is he aware that there are over 6,000 heavily laden lorries and tankers passing through Neilson Street and Church Street, Onehunga, every day and that any delay in progressing the East-West Link will do nothing to alleviate major congestion and loss of productivity that leads to increased costs being passed on to New Zealand families?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD: The Government agrees that it's urgent to find a cost-effective and higher-value option for the East-West Link. We just don't believe that a gold-plated option that would have been the most expensive road project in human history would have been a good use of taxpayer funds.
Raymond Huo: What is—
Hon Judith Collins: How will—
Mr SPEAKER: I have called another—sorry, Ms Collins. I have called another member.
Raymond Huo: What is the benefit-cost ratio of the East-West Link option considered by the board of inquiry?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Incredibly, the past Government committed to a $2 billion East-West Link option without an up-to-date BCR, benefit-cost ratio, which shows a reckless disregard for the public finances.
Mr SPEAKER: OK. I am going to intervene and ask members who are asking supplementaries, on both sides, to listen to earlier answers, because otherwise what will happen is what just happened now and that is the member asked for something that—it was very clear from listening—did not exist.
Hon Judith Collins: Will congestion along Neilson Street and Church Street, Onehunga, be improved by his Government not accepting the East-West Link board of inquiry's unanimous decision, published yesterday, confirming that the positive effects of the proposal outweigh the negatives?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I'm sure that the member opposite understands that the Environmental Protection Authority's board of inquiry is a resource management consenting decision that does not consider the economic merits of the project and does not consider any other option other than the one that the National Party put in front of it.
Hon Judith Collins: Does he agree with the New Zealand Transport Agency's prediction that freight movements in the Onehunga-Penrose area will double by 2035 and that the East-West Link is a necessary road for the 68,000 people employed in the area, as well as the distribution and logistics businesses that contribute a whopping $4.6 billion a year to the Auckland economy?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Yes, which is why we're going to invest urgently in a higher-value, lower-cost option.
• Women—Gender Pay Gap
7. MARAMA DAVIDSON (Green) to the Minister for Women: What is the most recent data she's received on the gender pay gap?
Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER (Minister for Women): Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Tēnā koutou e Te Whare. The most recent data I've seen shows that, nationally, women's median hourly earnings are 9.4 percent lower than men's. Despite consistent improvement in the gender pay gap in the early 2000s, in recent years—in fact, over the past decade—progress on closing the gender pay gap has stagnated. Women continue to be paid less than men and, as of yesterday, women in New Zealand are, effectively, working for free for the rest of the year.
Marama Davidson: How does the gender pay gap specifically affect Māori and Pasifika women?
Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER: The pay gap is even worse for Māori and Pacific women, for Asian New Zealanders, and for women of colour. According to Statistics New Zealand, the median hourly earnings for Māori, Pasifika, and Asian women are between 18 and 21 percent lower than they are for men for the same quality of work, even taking into account education, hours worked, life experience—all of those factors. There's still this huge gap. If we look at the average, it's even worse. For Māori, it's close to 23 percent. For Pasifika women, it's nearly 28 percent. What's clear is that Māori and Pasifika women and women of colour have been working for free this year for much longer than the average woman. That's not fair, and that's not right.
Marama Davidson: What is she planning to do to end the gender pay gap?
Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER: Thank you, Mr Speaker. This Government is committed to undertaking the work that is necessary to end structural discrimination, particularly against women, tangata whenua, wahine, Pasifika, and women of colour. This Government recognises that everyone in society is better off when they all receive fair pay for their contribution and their work. So we've started by halting the previous Government's legislation that would've made it harder for women to find a clear pathway to equal pay. We'll be bringing fresh legislation into this House that will implement the agreed principles of the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity. We will lead by example by closing the pay gap in the core Public Service, with a particular focus on Māori and Pasifika women, and we'll be working with the private sector, because there are many businesses that are already seeing the productivity benefits of measuring and closing the gender pay gap. We want to help other businesses catch up with that.
Hon Paula Bennett: Can the Minister please confirm that the median gender pay gap was over 12 percent earlier this year but has closed to just over 9 percent very recently, and will she be getting a 3 percent drop in the gender pay gap within the next six months?
Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER: Thank you, Mr Speaker. There are different ways of measuring it, and so if you measure the average pay gap, it's 13.1 percent. The median pay gap is 9.4 percent. I'm not aware of the accuracy of the figures that member has proposed, but I'll certainly be talking to my ministry to see if that is correct, and I'm confident that, with an ambitious Government that is committed to equality and not afraid of talking about the hard issues, we will make enormous progress.
• Economic Development—Regional Development (Provincial Growth) Fund
8. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (National—Tauranga) to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: When does he think that decisions on significant initiatives under the Regional Development (Provincial Growth) Fund will start being made, and when will the first of these projects physically start? [Interruption]
Mr SPEAKER: Who was that? Who made the interjection? Right, well that's—
Darroch Ball: It was after he finished his question.
Mr SPEAKER: And if the member had been listening yesterday, I made it very clear to the House that the silence period finished when I'd called the Minister. I'll be very generous and just call the Hon Shane Jones, and no one will be confused by that again.
Hon Paula Bennett: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would just like to make the point that you took a supplementary off this side because I did exactly that just earlier this question time.
Mr SPEAKER: Yes, and I apologise for being inconsistent. When I get everything right, I'll be very surprised.
Hon SHANE JONES (Minister for Regional Economic Development): Before I embark, Mr Speaker, I just want a little bit of clarity. The member is asking me what I think, which could be a guess.
Mr SPEAKER: I think it's fair to say it's a "what" not a "whether" question.
Hon SHANE JONES: In relation to his decisions on significant initiatives under the provincial growth fund, when will they start to be made? The criteria—the full character and content of the provincial growth fund—is still being developed. When will the first of these projects physically start? That depends on the quality of the analysis, but I look forward to early announcements, including one promoted by his colleague in Ōpōtiki—Mr Joyce.
Hon Simon Bridges: So is it the case, therefore, that he cannot tell us when we can expect to see rail projects, tree planting, or large-scale capital projects at all?
Hon SHANE JONES: In line with the rules around supplementary questions, let me focus on tree planting. That is weather dependent, climate dependent, and seasonal.
Hon Simon Bridges: Who will make decisions, and on what criteria will they make them, regarding the fund? Can he give us any information in relation to that?
Hon SHANE JONES: A very good question. Firstly, the Minister is wading through the ragbag of ideas and mess that was left behind under the other side of the House, but I am making progress in that regard—with a very sharp slasher. I can assure the member that he will hear, as his colleague Mrs Tolley will hear, as they pester me for announcements about projects in their regions that they never got around to doing when they were in power, once the criteria has been settled upon.
Hon Simon Bridges: Does he agree at least with what he's previously said publicly: that the process must be rigorous and not just decided by politicians but meet a "higher threshold"?
Hon SHANE JONES: I'm presuming he's attributing that remark to me. Obviously, I agree with it.
Hon Simon Bridges: Will he give the House an assurance that the $3 billion being spent this term, in terms of decisions and its criteria, will be to the highest standards of process and probity?
Hon SHANE JONES: It's actually a serious question. It deserves a serious answer. The distribution and the allocation of such a large amount of capital will, obviously, meet very high criteria. It will not just be the decision of the Minister standing; a number of them will go through the full Cabinet committee process, something that members on the other side of the House have advised me to do.
Hon Simon Bridges: In light of all of the foregoing answers to the primary and the supplementary questions, how is it then that he has already told his local newspaper of the four regions that will get the fund and "Upgrading rail to Northland and a spur line to Northport, it is simply going to happen.", and doesn't this House deserve the same sort of candour that he gives his local paper when answering questions here?
Hon SHANE JONES: In relation to the extension of the rail and the spur to Marsden Point, what he has just reflected is dead accurate.
Hon Simon Bridges: So is it politicians deciding, or is it the higher standard he said earlier in questions?
Hon SHANE JONES: Naturally, given that I said it, it's a high standard.
• Benefits—Sanctions
9. Hon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō) to the Minister for Social Development: What are the exemptions in section 70A of the Social Security Act 1964 that mean sanctions aren't imposed on sole parents who don't name the other parent?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development): There are five exemptions to the benefit reduction. These are applied if, one, there is insufficient evidence available to establish who is in law the other parent; two, the client is taking active steps to identify who in law is the other parent; three, the client or their child or children will be at risk of violence if the client carried out or took steps to meet their child support obligations, or there is another compelling circumstance for the client's failure to meet their child support obligations and there is no real likelihood of child support being collected; or, five, the child was conceived as a result of incest or sexual violation.
Hon Louise Upston: Does the Minister now accept, given the comments just made, that there are already exemptions available for situations related to family violence?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: The advice that I have been given—and the same advice was given to the former Minister for Social Development—is that the sanctions regime for this particular section has been applied inconsistently and also that there is no evidence to support that the sanction has achieved its own goals in terms of its original intention, and I'm concerned because there are 18,000 children that have a reduction in their income because of the way in which this sanction is applied.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There was actually a very specific question asked, and while the Minister gave a very good answer, it wasn't to the question that was asked. Carmel Sepuloni, have another go.
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: No, I'm not concerned.
Hon Louise Upston: When will the Minister do her job to make sure that existing policies and exemptions are actually implemented by her department?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: The advice that I have been given on this sanction is the same advice that was given to the former Minister for Social Development, which points out very clearly that there is no evidence to support that this sanction is achieving its objective, but what it is doing is that it is punishing 18,000 children for a parent being absent. I think that this is my job.
Hon Louise Upston: What evidence does the Minister have that the current sanctions—which were introduced by a Labour Government in 1990 and increased by the Labour Government in 2005—are not working? That's what I'm wanting to hear.
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: We are talking about section 70A here, and I think I've given a very clear description of why we will be repealing it.
Hon Louise Upston: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I was quite clear in my question around the evidence that she has. She referred earlier to the evidence, and I'm asking that that is put before the House.
Mr SPEAKER: Ask the question again, and I'll make a decision about whether—
Hon Louise Upston: What evidence does the Minister have that the current sanctions introduced by the Labour Government in 1990 and increased by the Labour Government in 2005 are not working?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Advice from my officials and anecdotal evidence from places like Triple P and other beneficiary advocate groups.
Hon Louise Upston: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would request that the Minister table that advice.
Mr SPEAKER: Well, she didn't quote from an official document. Did the Minister quote from an official document right then, which she's got now?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: No.
Mr SPEAKER: No, she didn't, so there's no—
Hon Louise Upston: Does the Minister accept that changing the rules and removing this sanction will mean that pressure will go on the very solo mothers you've been talking to, by their liable fathers, so that they don't have to pay to support their own children?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: What I accept is that women and children should not be punished for an absent parent. There are currently 18,000 children that are being punished, and we want to stop that.
• Crime Statistics—Trends
10. GREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of Justice: Has he seen any evidence that victimisations of serious crime are increasing?
Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Justice): I'm advised by the Ministry of Justice that New Zealand Police data shows that since the 2014-15 financial year the number of reported victimisations for violent crime has increased from about 48,000 to 54,000, in the 2016-17 financial year. The rate of burglaries has also increased over the past three years, and that's why this Government is determined to do something meaningful to address crime and its causes.
Greg O'Connor: How will the new Government reverse—[Interruption]
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I think Mr Joyce has just accepted that he's lost a supplementary for the National Party. Mr O'Connor, could you ask the supplementary again, please.
Greg O'Connor: How will the new Government reverse the increases in violent crime?
Hon ANDREW LITTLE: In two ways: first of all, by being tough on crime, as we strive towards adding 1,800 new police officers over three years and commit to a serious focus on combating organised crime and drugs. The second limb of our approach is doing what works and not political point scoring. We will build more houses, making sure houses are warm and dry so there is housing security; have an education system that works and provides opportunity; have decent wages, jobs, and a New Zealand free of child poverty; and, finally, seriously address family and sexual violence.
Greg O'Connor: Why is it important to reduce violent crime in New Zealand?
Hon ANDREW LITTLE: We all suffer when there are broken victims and broken communities, and we must break the intergenerational cycle of abuse that was ignored by the last Government.
• Conservation, Minister—Statements
Hon MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore): Thank you, Mr Speaker. To Eugenie Sage, the Minister of Conservation, does she stand by her statement in the House, "Under this Government, we will have a Minister of Conservation and an Associate Minister for the Environment who believes in nature and in safeguarding the values of our species here in Aotearoa", and if so, how?
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It's a longstanding tradition in this House to read the question as it is on the sheet. In the nine years I've been here, I've never heard anyone named in a question.
Mr SPEAKER: I think what we'll do is we'll do the excusing, as we've done on a number of occasions, for people who haven't had much recent experience in asking primary questions, and we'll ask Maggie Barry to start again.
11. Hon MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore) to the Minister of Conservation: Does she stand by her statement in the House, "Under this Government, we will have a Minister of Conservation and an Associate Minister for the Environment who believes in nature and in safeguarding the values of our species here in Aotearoa"; if so, how?
Hon EUGENIE SAGE (Minister of Conservation): E Te Māngai o Te Whare, tēnā koe. Yes, by implementing policy that recognises that nature is at the heart of New Zealand's success and by adequately resourcing the Department of Conservation to better safeguard our indigenous plants and wildlife and their habitats.
Hon Maggie Barry: So did the Minister specifically advocate for endangered marine species, such as Maui and Hector's dolphins, in the Government's decision announced on Friday to defer the roll-out of electronic observation on commercial fishing vessels?
Hon EUGENIE SAGE: The delay in the roll-out of the integrated electronic monitoring will allow the Department of Conservation to better identify how that monitoring can be used, because there are significant problems with the camera resolution: it is unable to adequately identify some of the by-catch species.
Hon Simon Bridges: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister was asked a very straight, factual question: did she advocate? She didn't go anywhere near that.
Mr SPEAKER: Well, I thought she did.
Jami-Lee Ross: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I appeal to you: you ruled that we lost a question earlier when one of our side interjected before a Minister started speaking; Mr Jones did exactly that.
Mr SPEAKER: No. Mr Jones interjected after. He interjected, I think, three times, but all of them were after Ms Sage started her answer, or at least after the question was finished. Back to Maggie Barry.
Hon Maggie Barry: Does the Minister agree with Christine Rose, the chair of Maui and Hector's Dolphin Defenders, NZ that "the decision was fatally flawed, a massive disappointment, and a huge setback for conservation. Electronic [observation] coverage is essential" and "the new Labour Government has shown itself … to be no friend of science, or conservation"?
Hon EUGENIE SAGE: No, I don't agree.
Hon Maggie Barry: I didn't hear that.
Mr SPEAKER: She said no, she doesn't.
Hon Maggie Barry: Electronic surveillance on fishing boats is widely believed to improve outcomes for threatened marine species—
Mr SPEAKER: Question, please.
Hon Maggie Barry: —so does the Minister of Conservation agree with the decision to defer its roll-out and put further creatures at risk?
Hon EUGENIE SAGE: If the member had listened to my previous answer, she would be aware that there are deficiencies in the integrated electronic monitoring that the former Government was proposing to roll out, and the delay allows some of those defects to be addressed.
Clayton Mitchell: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. A member made a comment to another member, saying that we're in some pocket, I think. We take offence to that, and I would ask her to withdraw and apologise.
Mr SPEAKER: Who made that comment?
Clayton Mitchell: Paula Bennett.
Hon Paula Bennett: Bit of banter.
Mr SPEAKER: Well, I think the member is tempting me to have a bit of banter back. The member will withdraw and apologise.
Hon Paula Bennett: Oh, you want it to get that sterile around here? I withdraw.
Hon Members: And?
Hon Paula Bennett: Withdraw and apologise, with vigour.
Mr SPEAKER: No, the member will withdraw and apologise unreservedly.
Hon Paula Bennett: I shall withdraw and apologise.
Mr SPEAKER: Thank you.
• Film Industry—Collective Bargaining
12. WILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour) to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: Is the Government committed to restoring the right to bargain collectively in the film and television industry?
Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety): Yes. The right to seek fair wages and conditions by negotiating together is part of the basic human right to freedom of association. New Zealand has committed to this right by ratifying International Labour Organisation Convention 98. I am further advised that the current law would, in fact, be in breach of article 19.1 of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Willow-Jean Prime: How does the Minister intend to restore rights?
Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: It is important that any change works for the industry and the people working in it. To that end, we are convening a film industry working group to investigate and propose solutions. That working group will involve organisations such as the Screen Industry Guild, the actors' union Equity New Zealand, Weta, the Screen Production and Development Association, and the guilds for directors, writers, and stunt people.
Willow-Jean Prime: What has the industry said about the proposals so far?
Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: Good news: the industry has welcomed a more mature discussion around these issues. They've been clear that it is a delicate conversation but one that they are ready to have a constructive conversation about and to craft an enduring solution. Noted producer Barrie Osborne said he felt reassured by the Government's approach, and he said, "I want to encourage the people back home this is a good place to work."
Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does the Minister accept that thousands of Kiwis will continue to enjoy great incomes from the $3.3 billion local film and television industry only if major international players choose to invest in New Zealand?
Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: I do accept that, and that is why this Government is taking a constructive and collaborative approach. The only thing that will threaten that industry in New Zealand is scaremongering from Opposition members.
Hon Paul Goldsmith: Why, then, after seven years of good progress, is he risking ongoing investment in this country by introducing significant uncertainty into the industry at the behest of his union mates?
Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: I recommend that that member listen more closely to the industry. The producers, the guilds, and the unions have all stated on record that they are confident in this Government's approach. They have welcomed the joint working group that this Government has established, and what they have made clear to me is that the only thing that will threaten those jobs and will threaten that industry is misinformation and mischief from members like that member.
Hon Paul Goldsmith: Supplementary question.
Mr SPEAKER: No, you've run out.
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
Original url


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Hollywood's Use Of "Stolen" Computer Technology Tests Ownership Theories
Technology is designed to arrange individuals for employment in expertise related areas. WHERE HE WENT WRONG: He most likely thought (as they need to do with all their victims) that I used to be as sensible as a doorknob, and rightfully so considering I gave him access to my laptop and as he is yammering at me with all this tech jargon, and heavy accent he begins to type on the black screen that there were xx # of makes an attempt to hack into my laptop. Right then I closed my pc and I hung up. That son of a nutcracker called me back I do not know ….. at the least 20 instances.
Wayne State students pursuing a Bachelor's of Science in Laptop Know-how might have the option of taking courses on the Superior Technology Center or on the Schoolcraft Heart Contact Joyce Lien, Engineering Know-how advisor, at [email protected] or 313-577-0800 for additional info.
Let's face information. In case you personal a pc, whether or not it's a laptop computer, desktop, or tablet, you run the chance of getting some type of virus. Laptop viruses are available all sorts of variations and might wreak total havoc in your technology. It seems that a new kind of virus or malware is popping up every single day and the newest one is a real piece of work.
Contrexx Net Contentmanagement System. Mit Contrexx werden dynamische Portale für Intranet, Extranet, Web und E-Commerce Anwendungen schnell, benutzerfreundlich und sicher erstellt. Willkommen und Glückwunsch. Lassen Sie Ihre Seite finden. Laufend über Contrexx informiert. Bewerben Sie sich nach Abschluss Ihres Projektes als Referenz bei Contrexx , nach einer kurzen Prüfung werden wir die Referenz freischalten. Damit erhalten Sie eine weitere Verlinkung auf Ihre Webseite und damit gewinnen Sie e…
That's… until I realised there was one thing that I may say that MAY make a difference to the scammer/caller. They usually sound like they're in or come from a non secular nation so now I string them along for a while then when I'm convinced they are certainly aware of their actions I merely say, God will punish you" after which it doesn't matter what they say next (and they usually get defensive) I repeat it with emphasise on totally different words. God WILL punish you." God will PUNISH you." God will punish YOU" and somethimes they still stay on the phonne so I start to embrace their household too. God will punish you and your loved ones." Etc. And so on. Ultimately they offer up but hopefully it offers them one thing to think about.
College students involved in the Switch University Parallel Programs ought to elect the next courses: MAT 110 Faculty Algebra for MAT 101 Beginning Algebra; PSY 201 Basic Psychology for PSY 103 Human Relations; ENG one hundred and one English Composition I; ENG 102 English Composition II and SPC 205 Public Speaking for ENG 155 Communications I and ENG one hundred sixty Technical Communications; and PHI 110 Ethics for PHI 103 Office Ethics.

subset: commoncrawl


text: After spending the majority of my fall shooting families, it was nice to get to do some romantic engagement photos! These two are so cute together, and I loved that Phil chose the locations for the photos. Beautiful fall colors, dreamy afternoon light, and a very in love couple made for the perfect session! Enjoy your sneak peek, and I am looking forward to shooting your June wedding!


text: A couple of years I read on a female business lady's blog that she was part of a mastermind group. I didn't quite know what that was but I wanted in! Now I'm part of a mastermind crew of six really powerful coaches. It's amazing how much more we can get done together. Im realizing that so much of success is finding the people who can see your power more clearly than you and are willing to hold you as you do the tough work of letting go. Letting go of what? My stories about how much I am allowed to do, have, be. To let them go I have to say them out loud, be vulnerable and allow myself to be guided. So scary, so liberating! I can't do this alone and I'm so grateful for this group. Do you have people like this in your life? Wherever you are today, please know I'm holding some space for you to let go, face those growing pains and surprise yourself with all the good stuff hiding behind the stories. The world needs it, you need it, you're supported, let's go!


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Recently the Belgian fighter-bomber F-16 crashed. Pilot with all this does not hurt, having to eject. «The pilot is safe and feels great,» — said the representative of the Ministry of Defence. Plane fell nearby Air Force base Klein Brogel Belgium, located 160 kilometers from Brussels, in the districts of the commune Pier. Inhabitants of closely spaced houses had to close all the windows and doors, so as not to inhale noxious fumes when burning fuel. Presumably, the tragedy occurred because of a collision with a flock of birds fighter, reports the newspaper Le Soir. This is
Continue reading A flock of birds knocked FIGHTER F-16 IN BELGIUM


text: Picture: Graham's the Family DairyPancake Day recipe: pancakes with whipped maple butter Flora Shedden February 28, 2017 Great British Bake Off star Flora Shedden has created a recipe for what she believes is the perfect pancake. Medium Graham's the Family Dairy's ambassador and Great British Bake Off star, Flora Shedden, has whipped up a recipe for the perfect pancake, using Graham's Gold Top milk and butter. Flora's top tips for fool proof flips would be to work fast, her pancake batter is best when freshly made, and only flip when little bubbles appear to achieve maximum fluffiness. Ingredients For the pancakes: 225g self-raising flour 40g caster sugar 1 tbsp golden syrup 150ml Graham's Gold Top Milk 1 large egg Graham's unsalted butter For the butter: 150g softened Graham's unsalted butter 50g maple syrup 1 tsp cinnamon Method For the whipped butter, place the ingredients in a free standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat for five minutes or so until light pale and fluffy. You can use a hand his but it will take longer. Set aside. For the pancakes, weigh all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until the batter is smooth. Heat a little butter in a non-stick frying pan and use a piece of kitchen roll to make sure the whole pan is covered. Spoon in dollops of the batter, making it as round as possible. The pan should be on a medium heat. Allow to cook for a few minutes or until bubbles start to form on the surface of the pancake. Flip and cook for a further few minutes. Serve warm slathered with the maple butter and more maple syrup if you fancy it. About The AuthorFlora Shedden Flora Shedden was a hugely popular semi-finalist on this year's Great British Bake Off and recently announced she would taking a year off from university to write a cookbook. Let us know what you think comments


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order by popularity | order by alphabet
Make A MovieThere Is HopeLife Is What You Make ItThis Is All We KnowHear ThisToday Is DescribedStarting LineCelebrate MistakesThese ThingsPretendInvest In YouThe Last TimeDisappearDarkYou Fail SometimesNumber One GunGet Up (the Way I Feel)On & OnAll You HaveWho You AreThank You EndingI'll Find YouWhite LiesBad HabitsThe MassacreThis HolidayThe Time Is NowGolden SmileFireside WingForestWake Me UpWe AreRegrets Of PhotographsMillionTry ItThe PeopleNoisesHey StrangerDon't Stop BelievingThe VictoryFind Your EscapeThe Different OnesThe Best Of You And Me
Related Information for Number One Gun Number One Gun is a Christian rock band from Chico, California, that was most recently signed to Tooth & Nail Records. They self-released their debut EP Forever in 2002, before releasing their follow-up albums Celebrate Mistakes (2003) on Floodgate Records and Promises for the Imperfect (2005) on Tooth & Nail Records.In 2006, Number One Gun decided to move on to different projects despite their growing success. A recently posted MySpace bulletin cleared up the state of the.. read more


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LMT, funded in 2003, is a RETA project focused on Math for Elementary, and Middle School grade levels. Here is some featured work.
President Bush Announces 2005 and 2006 Laureates of National Medals of Science and Technology
Excerpt from press release: "President George W. Bush announced the recipients of the nation's highest honor for science and technology, naming the recipients of the 2006 National Medals of Science... more >
"What mathematical knowledge do teachers need to successfully work with students, and how do we know when they have it?... more >
This session presented survey items designed to measure elementary and middle school teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching. During this session,... more >
"Acting on the assumption that improved teacher knowledge will yield gains in student achievement, scholars and policy-makers have focused increasing... more >


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If you need a dose of cuteness to get your week going, you'll want to start following the Meandrous blog-- Miniature Mondays mean you'll get to enjoy a collection of minis that will give you life. This week, I've rounded up pieces from three talented artists who've made tiny art pieces with great Summer vibes. So pour… Continue reading Adorable Summer Inspired Miniatures
Tag: Miniatures
Cute Animal Miniatures to Make You Squee
To bring a little more 'awww' to your week, Meandrous is now launching a series of Miniatures Monday blog posts so you can get a dose of adorable to get your week off on the right foot. So whether you're headed back to school, the office, or the coal mines, do yourself a favor and follow… Continue reading Cute Animal Miniatures to Make You Squee
Relaunch Sneak Peek!
Meandrous designs have been exclusively carried by local boutiques and galleries these last two years, but I've been flattered to have continued inquiries to purchase existing pieces or get custom work online. While some of these inquiries come from collectors and art fans, I get a lot of requests from folks who just love the… Continue reading Relaunch Sneak Peek!
Fairy Garden Penny Chairs (Throwback Thursday!)
For years I was an avid tutorial blogger. Although I've recently formally shuttered my old vegetarian bento and crafting blogs, I saved a few posts that I thought were still cute and thought I'd upload them for funsies. This one is an easy, 10 minute project to make some little dollhouse or fairy garden chairs… Continue reading Fairy Garden Penny Chairs (Throwback Thursday!)
Diorama Jewelry Video Giveaway
NOTE: CONTEST CLOSED! Congratulations to: Meghan (ParticleWoman) ! Are you stopping by to learn about how to win the jewelry giveaway? If you win my randomized drawing, you can choose between the tiny park diorama bracelet or the pendant (just add your own chain and you are good to go!) And it's for free. I pay shipping and… Continue reading Diorama Jewelry Video Giveaway


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Published : 02-08-2019
Route 97: bus stops not served on de la Forteresse between Route 148 and du Progrès as of February 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Temporary bus stops are installed on de la Forteresse at the corner of du Progrès.
Thank you for your understanding.
For more information, contact Customer Relations at 819 770-3242.


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Note: As this is Sangat Program, everyone is invited. Please feel free to share this information.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!
Guru Pyaari Saadh Sangat ji,
Please see below the Kirtan Samagam details over this weekend.
Date : 21st August 2015
Kirtan Timings : 9:00 AM- 11:30 AM (MIRI PIRI JATHA KIRTAN- 9:00 am to 10:30 am)
Venue: APARTMENT NO. 4401, D1 TOWER, CULTURAL VILLAGE, JADDAF NEXT TO NEW VERSACHE HOTEL, BUSINESS BAY CROSSING. (D1 is stand alone 80 Floors Tower on Dubai Creek, opposite side of Festival City, closest Metro Station is Creek Station, ample of open ground parking).
Sewa By: S. Jagjit Singh JI and family
If you need further details, please do not hesitate to contact:
|Bhai Gurcharan Singh Ji 055 8896827
|Bhai Mahabeer Singh ji 055 8827434
|Sikhs in UAESikh Sangat in United Arab Emirates
|View on sikhsinuae.com
|Preview by Yahoo


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Easy Thai Shrimp Rice Paper Wraps with Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce/
Homemade Thai Shrimp Rice Paper Wraps with Tasty Peanut Dipping Sauce are healthy, adaptable, and make a great light dinner, lunch, or snack. They are also naturally gluten-free! Here's exactly how I make them.
After over-indulging for my birthday this week I'm ready to get back on track ASAP!
These Easy Thai Shrimp Rice Paper Wraps with Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce are a go-to recipe after stuffing myself with cheese, cookies, wine, and an unbelievable SMORE'S cake.
My stomach hurts just thinking about it...
I love this recipe because it's light and easy to make. I especially love eating these wraps in the summer as a swap for a salad. Sometimes the thought of eating a salad makes me cringe.
Know what I'm saying? Check out my favorite not-salad summer salad recipe here.
This recipe allows me to get my veggies in while tricking my brain into thinking I'm eating a high-carb wrap.
The best part is....each rice paper wrapper only contains 30-35 calories and 6 grams of carbs! That's nothing! So you can enjoy a few of these babies and not feel guilty. It's a win/win!
The shrimp and veggie filling is extremely low-calorie as well, making this an extremely light, yet satisfying dish.
And lets NOT forget about the peanut butter dipping sauce. This is hands-down my favorite part/guilty-pleasure of this recipe. I'm OBSESSED with nut butters and always search for ways to sneak them into anything I eat.
This creamy sauce gives the wraps a sweet and salty bite while adding a healthy dose of protein and good fats (mono and polyunsaturated fats) to this dish. Plus, you get to eat PEANUT BUTTER. Enough said.
You can also use this sauce in other recipes such as pad-thai, as a dipping sauce for grilled chicken kabobs, and as a dipping sauce for raw veggies. So if you have any leftover get creative and add it into a few other meals to eat throughout the week.
Rice paper wrappers come in a variety of sizes. I used the 6in sized wrappers in this recipe.
Rice paper wrappers can also seem a little difficult to roll at first due to their extremely pliable texture. To help I've provided you with my best tips for rolling perfect wraps.
How to Roll Your Wraps:
Place veggies, herbs, avocado, lettuce, and shrimp very tightly on the edge of the soaked rice paper wrap. Don't over-stuff the roll. Begin with a small amount of filling and add more until you find what works with your size/brand of rice paper wrappers.
Roll everything up tightly– just like a burrito. Do this by gently pulling up the bottom of the roll, and rolling over the filling. Then, use your hands to tuck the filling in as you roll. Remember, you want a very tight roll. Fold in the sides of the rice paper roll to seal the wrap.
These wraps are healthy, adaptable, and make a great light dinner, lunch, or snack. Have fun making them and even more fun eating them! :)
This recipe is extremely versatile. The ingredients listed below are what I typically use and had on hand the day I made these. You can leave out any ingredients you don't like and add in any you love and have available when making them yourself!
Follow me on Instagram and hashtag #live2thriveKS so I can see all the tasty recipes you make. ♥
Start to finish: 10 minutes
Servings: 1
Ingredients For the Wrap
- 1 rice paper wrap
- 4 pieces of large, cooked shrimp, tails removed (this can be replaced with chicken or additional vegetables of your choice for a protein source)
- 4, 2 inch long slices of cucumber (If use mini cucumbers use 1), seeds removed
- 1-2 pinches of fresh cilantro
- 2 baby carrots, sliced thin. Can also use 2 tablespoons of shredded carrots
- ¼ of an avocado, sliced
- 1 small handful of romaine lettuce, or greens of your choice, torn in half
Ingredients For the Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce
- 2 tablespoons of all-natural, no-sugar-added, creamy peanut butter
- ½ tablespoon of low-sodium and/or gluten-free soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon of Hoisin sauce
- ½ clove of garlic, minced or grated
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, minced or grated
Instructions for the Wrap
Pour warm water into a medium-sized bowl or baking pan. Soak the rice paper wrap in the water for 5-10 seconds until the wrap becomes soft and pliable.
Remove the rice paper wrap from the bowl. Tap or shake it lightly to remove any excess water, and then place in on a clean plate or cutting board.
On one side of the rice paper starting at the edge, layer the cucumbers, carrots, cilantro and lettuce in the wrap. Layer the shrimp and avocado on top of the vegetables.
See detailed instructions and photos of how to roll your wrap above. Roll everything up tightly. To do so, gently pull up the bottom of the roll and roll over the filling. Then, roll and use your hands to tuck the filling in as you go. This is this like rolling a burrito! Fold in the sides of the rice paper roll to seal the wrap.
Slice the wrap in half. Set aside to make the peanut butter dipping sauce.
Instructions for the Peanut Butter Sauce
Place the peanut butter, soy sauce and Hoisin sauce in a small mixing bowl.
Add the grated or minced garlic and ginger.
Whisk all the ingredients together until the texture is smooth and creamy. If the consistency is too thick, add a 1 tablespoon of warm water at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Serve the cause with your wrap and enjoy!
If preparing wraps in advance, place parchment or wax paper in between each wrap to prevent them from sticking together. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
The wraps will stay fresh for up to 3 days. The sauce will stay fresh for up to 7 days.


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Amanda Wakely
For two decades, she has dressed royalty and celebrities alike, including Princess Diana, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Beckinsdale, Demi Moore and Kate Winslet. Now U.K. designer Amanda Wakeley introduces her own jewellery collection, a thoroughly modern, sublimely glamorous collection, which we at Diamond Rocks are very pleased and proud to offer our customers.
Her jewellery evokes a strong sense of fashion, luxury and independence, whether it's a sexy diamond lariat, glistening diamond earrings or a colourful gemstone stacker ring. Also, as Wakeley says, her jewellery is of a style that can be worn every day and not just on special occasions. And, she says, it is meant to be purchased by women themselves; no longer do they have to wait to receive it as a present, though that is always welcome.
As with her clothing line, Amanda Wakeley jewellery utilizes only the finest materials - gold, silver, diamonds and gemstones - and settings are always masterfully crafted. Each piece of Amanda Wakeley jewellery stands on its own as a unique work of art. Click here to view The Amanda Wakely Collection
Diamond Education & Buying Guides
Diamond Information Centre
Visit our Diamond Information Centre for the full rundown on important information, buyers guides and tips from our online magazineLEARN MORE
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News: AMD Announces Next Generation Radeon PRO WX Video Cards!
Today AMD announced their new workstation line of video cards based off of Polaris; the Radeon PRO WX series which stands for workstation experience. The current line up includes the WX7100, WX5100 and WX4100. AMD stated that all three cards will be under $1000 as well. PCper covered the news and click the image or source link for their write up on it.


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People, Races, Ethnicity in the U.S. Danish Americans
About the Danish Americans in the U.S. including where they are from, why they left, how many there are, famous Danish-Americans and more.
Where They Came From: The great majority of Danish immigrants came from the northern part of Jutland and from the southeastern portion of Denmark, including southern Zealand and the islands of Lolland, Falster, Langeland, and Bornholm.
Why They Left: The first Danes to settle in America during the 1600s and 1700s were mostly well-to-do merchants and businessmen who were attracted to the New World by the promise of commercial profits. In the mid-1800s, when mass migration began, Danish immigrants tended to be farmers and unskilled laborers, who had been displaced by the industrial revolution and by the consolidation of small landholdings into large farms.
Mass migration was greatly stimulated by the Mormon Church. One of the closest friends of Mormon leader Brigham Young was a Dane who had Mormon religious teachings translated into Danish. In the 1860s, half of the 20,000 Danish immigrants were Mormons headed for Utah.
Where They Settled: While some 9% of Danish immigrants went to Utah, most Danes settled in the farming regions of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Nicknamed "Dane City," Racine, Wis., was founded by Danish immigrants and was the center of Danish culture in the Midwest in the 1800s. After 1932, during the Depression, Danish Americans in large numbers left their farms and migrated to urban centers.
Numbers: From 1860 to 1930, over 300,000 Danish immigrants settled in America; about 88,000 arrived in the peak immigration decade of the 1880s. In the 1930s, Danish immigration virtually ended. Today there are an estimated 2 million Americans with Danish ancestors.
Their Story in America: Danish merchants accompanied Dutch colonial enterprises. When the Dutch established New Amsterdam (New York City) in 1623, Danes were also there. A Dane named Jonas Bronck bought and settled a nearby piece of land which was called the Bronx in his honor and now is a borough of New York City.
The Danish immigrants who came between 1860 and 1930 were mainly engaged in agriculture. Skilled in dairy farming, Danish Americans became the major producers of dairy products in the Midwest, including the famed Wisconsin cheeses.
Danish immigrants have given America hundreds of place-names, including 22 towns named Denmark. In the realm of food, Danish Americans have contributed the Danish pastry to the American menu. In agriculture, Danes introduced cooperatives, which have greatly aided the production capabilities of individual American farmers.
Famous Danish Americans: Sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who created the massive presidential heads at Mt. Rushmore; social commentator Jacob Riis, author of How the Other Half Lives; and humorist Victor Borge.
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After weeks of agonizing over whether or not to hire a Doula I decided to go ahead and do it. For my sanity, to facilitate my natural birth, and to be an added support in dealing with my technocratic doctor. What's a doula you ask? Well a doula is typically a woman who provides non-medical support during labour and birth, and also the postpartum period. The person we hired is Lynn Christensen, CD, CLC, LCCE of Labour Day Doula Support. D and I had our first prenatal meeting with her last Monday. It went well, D was able to voice his reservations with having an additional support person, and Lynn was able to provide us with a lot of invaluable information that will help once I go into labour. We have our second prenatal appointment this Monday. Can't wait!
For more information on Doulas check out these sources: DONA + Childbirth International


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"Analysis of the use of funds by Polish beneficiaries under programs managed centrally by the European Commission: Financial Instuments and COSME" – expert panel 01.02.2018
Ewa Rekosz, CLUSGRID project coordinator, participated in the expert panel organized by the Ministry of Investment and Development at the headquarters of the Polish Bank Association. The panel was attended by representatives of the ministry, PARP and the National Contact Point for EU Financial Instruments. The conclusions from the study conducted by the Ministry of Investment and Development were discussed, the main objective of which was to diagnose the reasons limiting the participation of Polish entities in the COSME horizontal program and in programs supporting financial instruments, implemented directly from the European level. The purpose of the study was also formulating recommendations on the necessary institutional and operational solutions, raising interest in horizontal programs and resulting in increased efficiency obtaining support from these sources.
"The quality of key management for effective cluster operations – cluster excellence" – workshop 05.12.2017
The quality of key management for effective cluster activity – cluster excellence" is the title of a workshop organized by the Eastern Cluster ICT in the Centrum Kreatywności Targowa in Warsaw. The event was initiated by two National Key Clusters as part of ongoing COSME / Cluster Excellence Programme projects – "CLUSGRID Clusters for Smart Grid" coordinated by ECICT and "Cluster Excellence for Creative Industries Leadership" with MCICT participation.
The main subject of the Workshop was the cluster management methods learnt during trainings and study visits in various clusters. We discussed the elements that allow us to ensure high efficiency of the cluster's functioning. We wondered how they affect the effective implementation of the cluster's strategy and the fulfillment of its objectives and assumptions.
Study visit in SOLARTYS
The visit, composed by twelve clusters belonging to different European countries: Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech Republic, France and several regions of Spain (Catalonia, Aragon and the Canary Islands), aimed to offer attendees – all of them cluster managers – a global vision about the ecosystem of clusters in Catalonia and Spain, and foster the exchange of good practices. Barcelona, 06-07.11.2017. It should be noted that the members of the INNODROP project were invited to join the CLUSGRID consortium to increase the impact of the study. During the visit, the members of the consortium had the opportunity to learn about Clusters policy in Catalonia from Emma Vendrell, of ACCIÓ, to study first-hand several clusters of very different typology, both by topics, by origin and by structure. As well as this, the group had the chance to learn in depth about Solartys and its ecosystem of clusters. Mr. Jordi Giral from CITCEA – Polytechnic University of Catalonia gave an overview on the Smart Grid sector. Study visit was also an excellent possibility to discuss the outcomes of the two case studies elaborated after the on-line training.
Training in Stuttgart
170 clusters from 30 countries, including the Eastern ICT Cluster. Behind us are two days spent in Stuttgart at the 5th Cluster Matchmaking Conference – Bringing Cluster Collaboration to the Next Level. After five years of cooperation with clusters from all over Europe, it is time for cooperation at a higher level. The meeting in Stuttgart at which representatives of the Eastern ICT Cluster also appeared was used for this purpose.
It was not a traditional conference. The program was interactive and full of interesting presentations. Clusters used matchmaking, learned from each other, shared experiences and challenges. It was enough to have an open mind and the willingness to learn – the organizers comment.
In addition, participants could gain practical knowledge about the internationalization and competition of clusters, their internationalization and the development of strategies for international projects. The full program can be checked here.
Training in Berlin
On 25-28 April members of the Eastern ICT Cluster participated in the Berlin training "Improving the quality of cluster management" under the COSME program.
Ten clusters from CLUSGRID and INNO-DROP consortia (Germany, Czech Republic, Romania, Spain, France, Peru), including members of the Eastern ICT Cluster, under the supervision of trainers discussed the most important issues from the following thematic blocks – benchmarking, cluster economics, analysis of industrial segments, cluster management and change management.
Among the trainers appeared, among others Enric Pedrós, Elisabeth Molina from FEMAC, Daniel Cosnita – president of the Romanian Cluster Association and Christoph Reiss-Schmidt – Member of the Technical Advisory Committee of ESCA, Coordinator of the Advisory Committee of the National and International Business Projects of Upper Austria.
The training was theoretical and practical. Both the theory and the practical approach to cluster management were discussed. Complementing the training in Berlin will be a 5-week online training, which will focus mainly on individual solutions for individual clusters.
Mazovia is strong in ICT
Mazovia Cluster ICT found its way to the elite. Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI in Germany named its to the 15 clusters with the greatest potential of ICT among the 270 regions in the EU. The press office of the marshal's office points out that works on smart specialization of this region are continue. Today's proposals are : safe food , intelligent management systems , modern services for business and quality of life. But even in such a configuration, the ICT sector is needed.
Trade Mission to India for clusters and networks
Mazovia Cluster ICT is the only cluster from Poland was elected on a trade mission to India. On 23-26 October trade mission takes place ( matchmaking event) for representatives of organizations and cluster management and for SMEs in clusters organized by the Economic Commission (DG Eneterprise and Industry ) in India. The mission is aimed at technology sectors related to environmental protection and resource efficiency (resource efiiciency and clean technologies) .
Brown badge of quality and management for Mazovia Cluster ICT
On 04/11/2013 Mazovia Cluster ICT received the Bronze Quality Label. Badge is awarded by the European Secretariatfor Cluster Analysis (ESCA) operating under the VDI / VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH. The award is part of the European Union Cluster policies implemented under the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI, www.clusterexcellence.eu)
European strategic partnerships of Clusters were chosen
Recently the first competition concerning creating European strategic partnerships of Clusters was finished (European Strategic Partnerships Cluster – ESCP). As a result chosen 13 following partnerships. Three Polish clusters participate in four consortiums. Mazovia Cluster ICT is current in two parttnerships (ICT4Future and Energy in Water).
European LightingCluster Alliance – ELCA
European Aerospace Partnership Cluster – EACP
European Sports Clusters Partnership
European Semiconductor Consortium Cluster – ESCC
Food, Health & Wellbeing
Textile 2020
Energy in Water
Mind the Gawker – Health and Wellbeing for the Elderly
International Cleantech Network – ICN
Photonics & Packaging for Innovation – 3P4I
Personalized Healthcare
Natural Resource Efficient Europe – Natureef
New member of Mazovia Cluster ICT – PLATINUM SEED INCUBATOR
A company acceded to members of Mazovia Cluster ICT – Platinum Seed Incubator. The Platinum Seed Company is a pier between originators and investors.
India Engineering Sourcing Show Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC), Mumbai 22-24 January 2014
Visit of the Mechatronica Chairman Cluster from Jagdish India- of Mahayanas
On 23 and 24 November Mazovia Cluster ICT had staying Mr Jagdisha Mahajana Mechatronica Cluster Chairman from India
The Cluster is concentrating MACHATRONICA SMEs leading forms in India from the field of electronic Engineering, electronics, control systems, design, software and the intergrace of systems of fields. An effective cooperation is a purpose of the Cluster between members causing the planning, the development and the manufacture of mechatronic systems about the highest operational capacity folded from automation, movement control and robotics world – wide.


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13:05 Crews from Brackley attended reports of a smoke alarm sounding. This was a false alarm caused by decorators on site. #Croughton
Abington Park Model Yacht Club are hosting a family-friendly sailing championship. Hire a yacht and pit your sailing skills against other competitors! ⛵ For details click https://t.co/K7g1xwzF2a ⛵ #Northampton https://t.co/3ULmWjrf4a
We are looking for a highly motivated & capable individual to join @mycountycouncil as an Emergency Planning Officer. This is an exciting opportunity within our Emergency Planning Team here in #Northants For more information https://t.co/dBinFlUICP #JoinUs #EmergencyPlanningJobs https://t.co/LRxhklrryQ
Subscribe to Northamptonshire County Council's monthly e-newsletter. This is your brief of the month's news headlines, upcoming events and important consultations.


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We have thought about this stuff!
As Kokley officially launches it's blog, I am particularly excited about our "insights" section. This is where we get to offer our expertise to anyone who will listen. I say this with a bit of sarcasm and a bit of confidence knowing that we have some of the brightest bulbs out there. The Kokley team and our partners have worked around the globe with major brands and led our niche with innovative solutions. I hesitate from calling what we do an industry, because it is truly a specialty.
Kokley does not develop mobile apps; we develop in-store apps. We consider integrated hardware and software solutions to create experiences. We focus on topics such as shopper behavior and confidence. Our goals go beyond ROI, as we benchmark KPIs like DPC, UPC and conversion ratios. We provide an end-to-end solution called Kokley Complete. Our ongoing system management platform, Kokley Connect, allows on demand control of thousands of iPads globally. Ultimately, we have brought together a team that turns an interdisciplinary process into an integrated solution. We are not a fit for every need, but we are a needle-mover when the chemistry is right.


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2 Corinthians, Day 12
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:16-33
Observation: Paul demonstrates how much he's suffered as an apostle. Unlike the other false teachers who boasted about their own successes, he boasted about his weakness out of humility.
Application: I need to confess something.
I am a total fan girl of the apostle Paul. It's probably borderline insane, but I can't help myself. Y'all, Paul is just the man. He went from persecuting people who loved Jesus to proclaiming the name of Jesus. He survived pretty much every horrible thing you can think of. He was beat up, torn down, hated, and opposed – yet he was still humble and honest and hungry for more of Jesus. He didn't care what people thought of him, and he never minced words. He even loved the very people who would try to kill him. Seriously, who does that?!
Sometimes, I'll get caught up in my own suffering and start wallowing in the why – why is this happening to me? Why isn't this person nicer to me? Why can't I be nicer to other people? Why am I going through this? Why isn't my marriage perfect by now? (For goodness sakes, I read 1 Corinthians 13 at my wedding and made a vow – isn't that enough?!) Why, why, whyyyyyy?
And, in those moments, when I'm "why'ing" (which pretty much just sounds like whining to God and everyone else around me), I make myself read these words from Paul – and I remember what true suffering looks like. Many of Paul's suffering stories are recorded throughout the book of Acts, but he gives us a brief overview here. While proclaiming the name of Jesus, he was:
- Whipped 39 times
- Beaten with rods three times
- Stoned
- Shipwrecked three times (Who gets shipwrecked not once, not twice, but three times?! Seriously, people, this man went through some crazy stuff.)
- Adrift at sea for 24 hours
- Faced with robbers, skeptics, and opponents countless times
- Hungry, thirsty, and cold
This leaves us with one of three conclusions:
1. Paul's the unluckiest guy to ever live.
2. He's a fool who's gotten himself in some terrible, life-threatening situations.
3. He's doing something so big and so purposeful that the enemy will do anything to deter him.
I'm going with #3.
None of my suffering even comes close to matching Paul's – yet there's an enemy working in my life. (And yours, too.) The enemy knows I'm working for the Lord. He knows I wake up everyday thankful for the cross that saved me and set me free. He knows I'm committed to using my spiritual gifts for the glory of the Lord. He knows I'm deeply in love with the church – even with all of its messy people and imperfections. He knows I pray for those who don't know Jesus and consider it my personal mission to bring them into a relationship with him. He knows I'm steadfast in my commitment to Jesus.
But, that same enemy also knows what can deter me from all of that – my lack of patience, my propensity for pride, my struggle between how to be radical and remain relevant, my body image issues, my deepest insecurities, my people-pleasing ways. He wants to catch me off guard, make me question myself and plan God has for me, cause me to give up. He wants me to fail. But, my God designed me to endure.
And endure I will.
Just like Paul, I will not be defeated.
And neither will you.
Stand strong, my friend. Just like Paul, God has a great purpose for your life. He put a power in you stronger than anything the enemy can throw at you. He has called you and set you apart. He designed you to endure.
And endure you will.
Prayer: God, thank you for allowing Paul to be a role model for us, showing us how to live with faithfulness and endurance. I pray you'll help me draw on your strength, remembering that you designed me to endure. I praise you today! Amen.


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US Campgrounds
Onion Mountain Lookout
Onion Mountain Lookout, Coast Ranges, Oregon
Custom Search
Tent camping is available
RV hookups are available
Nearby attractions
Picnic and Barbecue area is available
Activities: hiking, swimming and biking
There are of course restrooms at this campground; this campground is a good place for boating. Alright, it's time you went on a camping trip, don't you agree? Onion Mountain Lookout in Oregon is such a fine place.
Oregon has such a vast number of things to offer nature lovers. The friendly staff and the abundance of fun stuff to do have people coming from all over.
There are tent sites here at Onion Mountain Lookout
where you can set up that camp site. If by chance you enjoy comfort, there are good cabins here at Onion Mountain Lookout. There are RV hookups for your RV here.
This camp ground is one of the magnificent spots to camp here in
the Coast Ranges. For the duration of the summertime months highs here at Onion Mountain Lookout get into the 80's, and through summer nights temperatures are in the 50's. High temperatures throughout the winter are normally in the 40's, and winter nights come with lows in the 30's to Onion Mountain Lookout. A good deal of rain falls at Onion Mountain Lookout. Most of the rain falls during December while July is typically the driest month.
Oregon Campgrounds
Complete list of all campgrounds in Oregon
Books about campgrounds in Oregon
List of books available on Amazon.com about campgrounds in Oregon.
Copyright © Stratus-Pikpuk, Inc.


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This is our second paradox in story: The Absolute is known in the personal.
I used to teach my counseling students how to utilize and understand paradox. The point of paradox is being able to change the client's frame of reference. If a person has more ways of viewing things – more frames of reference – that have a fresh reality and more choices in behavior.
Jewish tradition and stories are filled with paradox. Take a paradox like the absolute is known in the personal. Our concept of God persists that he is distant. He is "up there" somewhere. We even tend to call him by names the philosophers give him: First Cause, Unknown Mover, and perhaps if we are fans of Star Wars, "The force." We seek the Absolute in absolute remoteness. But this paradox says it "ain't so", for the Absolute is known in the individual, never in the abstract. It (He) is known in persona experience and in relations.
A Jewish story goes like this: Two brothers worked together on a family farm. One was unmarried and the other married with children. They shared what they grew equally as they always did, produce and profit. But one day the single brother said to himself. "You know, it's not right that we should share the produce equally, and profit too. After all, I'm all alone, just by myself and my needs are simple. But there is my poor brother with a wife and all those children." So in the middle of the night he took a sack of grain from his bin, crept over the field between their houses and dumped it into his brother's bin. Meanwhile, unknown to him, his brother had the same thought. He said to himself, "It is not right that we should share produce and profit equally. After all, I am married and I have my wife to look after me and my children for years to come. But my brother has no one, and no one to take care of his future." So he too, in the middle of the night, took to taking a sack of grain from his bin and sneaking across the field to deposit it in his brother's. And both were puzzled for years as to why their supply did not dwindle. Well, one night it just so happened that they both set out for each other's house at the same time. In the dark, they bumped into each other carrying their sacks. Each was startled, but then it slowly dawned on them what was happening. They dropped their sacks and embraced one another. Suddenly the dark sky lit up and a voice from heaven spoke, "Here at last is the place where I will build my Temple. For where brothers meet in love, there my Presence shall dwell.
That the Absolute God is known, not in the abstract, but in the personal is, of course, enshrined in the Lord's saying that as long as you did it to one of the least of my brethren or sisters you did it to me. It has also become the theme of countless stories such as Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant or Van Dyke's classic, The Other Wise Man.
In Van Dyke's class, the Wise Man, Artaban, in his pursuit of finding the King of the Jews, misses his three friends who set out before him: Casper, Melchoir, and Balthazar. He misses the Christ Child too because his adventures lead him into strange encounters with dying beggars, and frightened mothers to whom he gives two of his three jewels saved for the Child. He returns to Jerusalem after a fruitless search in Egypt and there for thirty-three years he still diligently searches for the Child.
This year it is Passover time. Artaban, now an old man, notes an unusual commotion and he inquires as to its cause. People answer him, "We are going to the place called Golgotha, just outside the walls of the city, to see two robbers and a man named Jesus of Nazareth hanged on a cross. The man calls himself the Son of God and Pilate has sent him to be crucified because he says that he is King of the Jews." Artaban knows instinctively that this is the King he has been searching for. So he rushes to the scene. But on his way he meets a young girl being sold into slavery. She sees his royal robes and falls at his feet pleading with him to rescue her. His heart is moved and he gives away his last jewel for her ransom. Just then, darkness falls over the land and the earth shakes and great stones fall into the streets, one of them upon Artaban, crushing his head. As he lay dying in the arms of the girl he has just redeemed (ransomed), he cries out weakly, "Three and thirty years I looked for thee, Lord, but I have never seen fully thy face nor ministered to thee!" but then, a voice comes from heaven, strong and kind, and says, "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of my brethren or sisters, you did it to me." Artaban's face grows calm and peaceful. His long journey is ended. He had found his King.
You can see in this story a journey, an obstacle, and an ultimate grace and redemption. Notice, too, where Artaban found his absolute Kind: in the personal, in the people who crossed his journey's path.
Gerard Manley Hopkins says it this way:
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundly wells
Stones ring: like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves – goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying What I do is for me; for that I came.
I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces:
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is –
Christ – for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.


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Welcome to VoiceOver Universe! You have joined a wonderful group of very generous people! You'll love it here!
I'd like to invite you to join my VU group Positive Thinkers UNITE. All positive, forward thinkers are welcome - we hope you'll join us!
I wish you the best of luck in your VO career. If I can be of help, just let me know!Penny Abshire
Welcome to VoiceOverUniverse!
I think you'll like it here!
It's a Great Place with a Bunch of Great People!


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Lifestyle: A Boys' Night Out You'll Wanna Remember
We don't do enough boys' nights out these days. Did plenty back in the teenage years when we had better access to the crew of lads, didn't have adult responsibilities or require permission slips to get leave for the night 😂 These days when we think of a boys' night out, we automatically default to hitting the pub, and yeah for sure sometimes that's all that's required, just a few cold handles at the local with the hopes of taking home the infamous meat raffle. But in reality, we know we can do better, we just need to set our sights a little higher, put in a touch more effort and we're likely to have ourselves a fun night that'll be talked about for weeks, and for the right reasons!
For this particular boys' night out execution, I enlisted my two good mates Glenn and Chris. I've known Glenn since I was a teen and met him through his cousin who was also a Shore boy like me. Glenn grew up in the big bad capital of the North, Whangarei (more on this later) and loved coming down to spend holidays with the more 'refined' Auckland boys. Then there's Chris Breezy as I call him, 'cause he can do some fairly impressive breakdancing moves after a couple of drinks. I've come to know Chris over the past few years through my best mate Ash who studied Geo with him at Auckland Uni. Chris is an Auckland Grammar boy, but I've never held that against him. I'm compassionate like that.
One of the major challenges to a successful boys' night out is having a variety of activities at your fingertips. It can be a bother arranging constant travel from a to b, so it didn't take me long to decide that we'd be making SKYCITY our home base for the evening. It has all the essential ingredients for making this night a goodie; entertainment, food and drink. Now you just can't turn up to SKYCITY without looking the part. Think Oceans 11, that was our inspiration for the night. You gotta be looking sharp and make people believe you're somewhat important. So we got our glad rags on, sprayed on some fragrance and ordered our Uber into Federal St. Being the refined gentleman we are, we believed it was appropriate to warm us into the evening events by swinging by Masu to try one of the new and exclusive Japanese whiskies they've just added to their lineup. We sat at the bar, sipping our blended Hibiki whiskey and watched in amazement as the Japanese barman, Akira, carved out numerous balls of ice from a solid block that looked like it was a slab straight from Antartica. After taking some time to gently finish the whiskey it was time for the main event, hitting the SKYCITY Casino.
Glenn hasn't been on the casino floor for years, so he was dazzled by all the flashing lights as soon as we walked in. And well Chris, he's a bit of a pro since he's a regular winner at our social Wednesday night poker sessions and has done a few trips to the real Las Vegas (not Rotovegas) so he knows his way around table games like Roulette and Black Jack. Chris set the tone by putting a quarter of his pocket money on red straight off the bat, which totally paid off and subsequently set off a chain reaction. I followed suit with the same amount but instead put my chips on black - while yelling black repeatedly as the wheel spun - and won.
I didn't stop there however. My confidence got a boost and I managed to win two consecutive numbers in a row and multiplied my winnings by 35. I was playing small, so no new Maserati was purchased. Glenn however was struggling with Roulette, so we switched over to Black Jack which was very new to Glenn and myself but we were all quickly educated on how you're playing against the dealer. After a solid session we collectively came away better off, with Glenn back in the positive, Chris had $190 in hand and I walked away with a cool $430. It was exhilarating, no matter the size of the win, it felt good and we had many a laugh while doing it. Winning got us a hankering for food, so it was time to take off the ties and grab a bite, and we beelined straight for the nearest burger joint.
Andy's Burger & Bar is a funky spot filled with booths that give you that classic American vibe. Fantastically it's open 24 hours a day so no matter what adventures your night holds, the fries and burgers are cooked fresh when you need it. Even though our activities weren't exactly strenuous, we were ravenous and got ourselves a selection of yummy items off the menu from burgers, buffalo wings, bacon wedges, to fries. And I have to make special mention of what Glenn chose to order; he went straight for the Jim Beam burger, complete with onion rings, bacon and no surprises - bourbon sauce. He didn't stop there too, he paired it with an appropriate Speight's swappa crate bottle to show his true Whangarei colours. Really should have re-thought who I invited on this night out.
It's fair to say we had a rip-roar of a time. From tasting Japanese whiskey, hitting the casino floor to see how our luck rolled out, to grabbing burgers and beers, it was something that we rarely ever do as a gang. I've had messages from both the guys saying that had a blast and enjoyed feeling like they've just closed the big Rutherford deal by sipping on top shelf drinks while dressed in suits.
It's worth making the effort and doing something different (and winning is a nice cherry on top too). Next time you've got a boys' night out on the radar, be the one who takes control and sets the bar high.
Just don't forget to bring your style game too.
Jaheb wearing // Zara suit, Ralph Lauren shirt, Calvin Klein tie, Aldo shoes, Bailey Nelson sunglasses & Daniel Wellington watch.
Glenn wearing// Hallensteins suit, Topman shirt, shoes from Hannah's & Apple Watch x Nike Series 2.
Chris wearing// head to toe Topman, Ray-Ban sunglasses & Daniel Wellington watch.
This article was created in collaboration with my friends at SKYCITY. All choices, words, opinions and creative direction are all me. Thanks to Glenn & Chris for joining in on all the fun!
📸 Amazing photography by my talented friend Sophie Miya-Smith


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Sunday, March 05, 2006
I don't get websites that don't allow you to browse for products without signing up. Is there a reason?
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This blog is my small business blog. I make handcrafted jewelry. This blog contains my musings on business and also great sales and deals from me, and other independent business women. My website is http://www.cassowaryjewelry.com