Religions Unheralded Role in New Zealand’s Suicide Statistics.

New Zealand has one of the worst levels of suicide in the world & youth suicide in this country is a major issue.

The reasons for suicide are complex and often linked to mental health problems - depression being the number one precursor.

SPINZ (Suicide Prevention Information NZ) is the national body charged with reducing suicide in this country by providing the public with preventative strategies such as improving self-esteem.

Some of these ‘red lights’ family members and friends should look for include:

- Feeling down all the time
- Say that life isn’t worth living
- Get into death image and music
- Use alcohol in excess or drugs
- Acting ‘out of it’, dangerous or violent
- Out of character risk-taking
- Changes in personality

Despite the comprehensiveness of sites like SPINZ there was a disturbing oversight in their advice.

They all failed to deal with one of the lesser-known causes of suicide.

The ugly ‘throw-back’ child that is spoken about in hushed tones even in professional circles, as if it didn’t exist.

We are not talking about the easy cubby-holes of death metal and Marilyn Manson – its belief in the after life & the false hope entities, homo-erectus chimps have named, Gods offer to those seeking help.

International Suicide research shows there is a major ‘at risk’ group that feels they are disenfranchised from their families, peers and society as a whole. This is why homosexuals are over represented in suicide statistics.

Those that fail to integrate into the mainstream are therefore vulnerable, so are those that have suffered a relationship breakdown.

So back to the whispered role religion plays in suicide – the taboo subject within the taboo subject.

Religious apologists argue that ‘good’ comes from religious adherence and individuals are instilled a belief they are loved unconditionally, are part of a community and have a greater purpose.

Theist beliefs and those ‘at risk’ therefore have to be dealt with as a whole.

The success stories of those turned around at the edge of the cliff by a new found belief in God are touted publicly - but what about the failures?

When religion fails to treat the symptoms or makes them worse we hear nothing?

Surely it is the role of the state (via SPINZ etc) to monitor bogus treatments in this contentious and convoluted area of human-psychiatry and highlight the possible dangers of indoctrinating often mentally-ill individuals with tales of invisible beings and Lord of The Rings type stories with unicorns and seven-headed dragons?

Offering someone hope is fine – but what if that hope is a false one?

Placing a meme in someone mind that “Jesus loves you” if no one else does is meaningless in itself when your own crap-life continues spiraling out of control and you still see no way out of your hole.

What happens if the only person who supposedly loves you unconditionally also lets you down when you seek their help?

What happens if you are Gay and you get told you are inherently evil and need ‘rescuing’?

Hold-on, if you listen hard to what your new found buddies are telling-you there is a way out from the dark-times!

A place which by definition of the word is: paradise.

It’s called ‘heaven’.

How does one get to this place?

Well the quickest way to get to heaven is not to give your life to Christ and wait for old-age – simply kill your-self.

You can be re-united with love ones, live an infinite ethereal existence without the pain.

Rub shoulders with Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, a whole bunch of virginal Popes and if you so desire it Peter Pan & the interesting half The Beatles as well.

Instead of dealing with the ‘issues’ of those with suicidal tendencies in certain individuals religion offers not just offers false-hope but a way-out – the imaginary ‘after-life’.

For those that doubt the power of religious indoctrination & suicide I have a one word answer: Martyrdom.

Note: The letter at the top of the article is an actual 'Suicide Note'.

I Say Bring-on The Rapture!

I hope the Christian God gets some time-off in his busy schedule to read this fervent plea.

Diary reading my dissertation in-between devastating South Pacific Islands with tsunamis and giving some innocent an incurable disease.

BRING-ON THE RAPTURE!

I prostrate myself in your presence begging-you to whisk your believers off this planet and up-into the heavens.

The effect would be an immediate increase in the average IQ scores of at least 10 points.

Scientists and researchers could go about their business without baseless interference and as a result the life expediency would, in time, increase.

There would be no need to go-out murdering and maiming in your name any more.

People would judge other humans on their merits, not on their sex or sexuality.

Mankind could prevent the AID’s epidemic in Africa spreading further with the mass distribution of condoms your followers say are evil. Millions on that Continent would be saved.

All the time, effort and money that are currently wasted on worshipping you can be better directed into education, health care, feeding the hungry etc etc.

Boy oh boy, there are just so many positives that would result in you ridding planet-earth of all your devotees.

So stop pissing about 'Big Fella' and send that one way ticket to the clouds to your followers - before they drive me crazy and mankind back into cave dwellers!

It’s a win/win for all parties involved.

Yours sincerely.


‘One of the Home Team’.

PS: Oh yeah, another benefit for us heathen-types is the standard of music would go up proportionately as well.

Lay-Preacher – now there’s an appropriate name if there ever was one

The disturbing and bizarre sex-life of a New Zealand lay-preacher, was exposed to public scrutiny in District Court dispositions last week.

The lay preacher, who also ironically moon-lighted as a marriage guidance counselor, is facing claims he sexually abused and stalked two of his ex-wives and a stepson.

The man, whose name, job and church role is suppressed for now, is now facing trial early next year on seven counts of sexual violation, six counts of indecent assault and 11 other charges relating to his former wives. There are also two indecency charges relating to his stepson.

The preacher claims all three aggrieved parties conspired together as part of a vendetta.

However The District Court said there was enough evidence for him to face trial.

His first wife told the court they began having marital problems due to his sexual demands and sort help with Church elders. At one of these meetings church elders basically rubber-stamped his desire for ‘sex on demand’ by telling her there was religious justification that "my body belonged to my husband".

In what must be one of the corniest demands for sex every presented to a court the first wife alleged her ex-husband propositions involved putting his hands on her and saying "Be healed in Jesus name." If sex did not result, he was alleged to have repeated the action until it did.

After separating, she claimed he apologised for the sexual assaults, saying his problem & justification stemmed from a sexual relationship with his mother as a teenager.

The second wife alleged that among the assaults she was raped in a spa pool in front of another family member.

Her son also claimed to be abused by the ‘man of God.’

Wife ‘two’ said she too went through the sham church-led marriage counselling, claiming she was told that if she refused her husband sex then he was free to perform a sex act with her against her will.

You can be sure there will be more sordid details to come-out next year when the full trial is set to start, along with the name of the dysfunctional church involved.

This Atheist Goddess can ride-on my Red Bus any-day

When I first spotted Richard Dawkins with this delectable piece of female flesh promoting the Atheist Bus Campaign in the U.K, my initial impression was she was in-on the photo-shoot as a piece of eye-candy.

Boy was I was wrong and way out-of-the-loop on this ("Geography is my only defense, your honour.")

The lady in the photo, Dawkins is clinging to, in a fatherly fashion of course, is none other than Ariane Sherin – the creator of the bus campaign!

Yes, it was Ariane’s idea.

Here’s a link to her blog – including details on her new book ‘The Atheists Guide to Christmas’.

More importantly, here’s more photo’s of this Uber Atheist Poster Girl.

Make that centre-fold (if I had my lewd way)

PS: If there is a slight-hint these writings are nothing-more than the sexist ramblings of a some-what sad middle-aged man, you are completely correct in your summation.

Let’s call an end to this Interfaith Crap!

From the outset let’s get this straight - the term ‘inter-faith’ is nothing of the sort.

The term is an oxymoron.

The fact Governments see the necessity to coerce the different religions around the one table in the first-place, is indicative enough of the fact ‘inter-faith’ is nothing but a shame & a total waste of tax-payers money (although great for MP’s frequent-flyer points)

No talk feast will ever change the theological chasm that separates religions as diverse, weird & wonderful as Scientology and Jesus Christ and The Later Day Saints.

Yes people, the New Zealand Government sees fit to invite even the followers of the intergalactic war-lord Xenu over for a chat-over tea and biscuits.

Politicians appear to be oblivious to the fact that every religious representative that sits down at that table in so-called ‘dialogue’ thinks they are right and the individual person next to them is totally wrong, and unless they come around to their way of thinking are doomed to some retribution in the afterlife.

Have they not observed Churches around the globe going out of their way to ignore human rights?

Shooting and bombing each other out of existence.

Do they not know ‘The War on Terror’ is but a politically-correct wank-term for a ‘War on Radical Religion’?

In a grand irony it is these very same Governments that organise these inter-faith bitch-sessions are the same-ones that go out of their way to pander to the varying superstitions, allowing them to engage in behaviour normally labeled sexist or homophobic under the guise of their beliefs, even supporting them to develop their own divisive schooling-systems which perpetrate the very issues these inter-faith meetings want to address.

So it is Governments themselves that have the power and tools to rid themselves of this perpetual war of beliefs that has spilt-over into secular life and now threatens us all.

Wiping-out religious privilege is the only cure – not talk-feasts in 5 star-hotels.

To take stock of the endemic level of bureaucratic brown-nosing when it comes to superstitious-entities, what better example than looking-at what our last Minister of so-called ‘Ethnic Affairs’ got up-to.

Between February and September last year as MP for that portfolio, Chris Carter attended in an official capacity the following long-list of pointless mumbo-jumbo meetings on behalf of you and me.

As a matter of public-safety I hope our very own ‘Captain Scarlett’ Chris Carter wore his public-service issue shiny tin-foil-hat to all of these equivalents of ‘entrails-throwing under a full-moon’ to protect him from the harmful-rays The Mysterons keep shooting at us from their base on Mars.

Frankly belief in concept of a race of little-green men (with/without puppet strings)on Mars has more credibility than ‘The Birth of Baba Deep Singh’.

So why do we pander to this farcical political-correct cobblers?

Birth of Baba Deep Singh Celebration
Chinese Consulate Chinese New Year Celebration (3 of these in-fact)
International Mother Language and Martyrs Day Celebrations
Meeting with NZ Buddhist Council
Year of the Rat New Year Festival
National Interfaith Forum
Dinner with Sikh Community Leaders
Holi Celebrations
International Convention on Basava Philosophy
Ministerial Meeting on Immigration Policy and Faith Leaders
Norouz Celebrations
Opening of Shree Dham Swaminarayan Temple
Takanini Gurdwara 3rd Anniversary
Visit to Jam Tse Dhargyey Ling Buddhist Centre, Kamo
2008 Buddha’s Day Multicultural Festival, Auckland
Fourth Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue on Interfaith Co-operation for Peace and Harmony, Cambodia
Meeting with NZ Compassion Buddhist Trust
Meeting with Waikato Muslim Association, Hamilton
Songkran Festival, Auckland
Vaisakhi Celebration at Takanini Sikh Gurdwara
2008 Buddha’s Birthday Ceremony
Khalifat Day Celebrations
St Dionysius Indian Orthodox Church Fifth Anniversary
Visit to Al Madinah School
Visit to Zayed College for Girls
2008 Moon Festival Celebrations
Meeting with NZ Muslim Association

New Zealand Olympic Committee Whores itself to I.O.C

Small fish in a big pond, New Zealand athletes struggle for funding even in major sports. let alone the minor ones like Taekwondo.

This lack of funding hasn’t hindered Kiwi Olympic Games hopeful and martial arts exponent Logan Campbell.

Logan is getting the company he owns to fund his bid for Olympic glory in London.

There is one problem with his enterprise and initiative.

The business he owns happens to be a brothel and the New Zealand Olympic Committee has written to the athlete and business-owner stating:

"Based on the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect, we would place your actions as totally inconsistent with these values,"

"Your open solicitation of 'clients' for your 'business' while using the Olympic or Olympian connection must cease immediately, or the NZOC will be forced to consider taking legal action against you."

For the benefit of those of you reading this blog outside New Zealand – prostitution of this nature is perfectly legitimate.

So what exactly are these so-called ‘Olympic Values’ the N.Z Olympic Committee wishes to up-hold on behalf of its overseas big-brother?

There is little doubt the I.O.C were behind the bully tactics employed here.
The rampant drug-cheating by athletes?

Bribes and back-handers to committee members to pick their venue to stage the event?

Ironically one of the widely published inducements for voting a given-way, being the services of a high-priced prostitute.

Are these ‘values’ alluded to in the legalese - judges block-marking in sports like boxing and gymnastics?

What exactly has Logan Campbell done wrong?

The logical conclusion one can make from this is athletes who have availed themselves of a prostitute are automatically ineligible for games selection, so this could signal the beginning of a crack-down.

Yet, The Olympic Games should be about athletic excellence – moral judgments, race, religions should play no part in who wins or who comes last.

The guy who wins gold at London in Taekwondo could be a sexual-deviant with a string of failed relationships, collapsed businesses, Nazi party member and an all-round bastard of the highest order – so what?

Who has the right to stop any athlete winning let alone competing just because they don’t like an aspect of their background?

The I.O.C - that’s who.

Letter to Mr G. Capill C/- Rolleston Prison

Dear Epitome of Virtue and Morals,

So Graham, earlier this week The Parole Board has turned-down your application for early release from ‘the clink’ starting you were “an undue risk to the safety of the community'', eh?

I guess with that denial, those applications to get your old jobs back as a Police Prosecutor & Christian College Minister – also went down the gurgler.

Far be it from me, the eptimone of the filthy secular heathen you rallied against on the outside, to point-out some of the reasons why the Parole Board may well have taken this dim-view on your ability to function as a normal human-being on the outside.

- May be it could have been those emails to friends saying that sex with one of your young victims was some-how consensual?

- They may well have spotted in your file how statements made to your Probation Officer shortly after your arrest in which you revealed those feelings of lust and excitement.

- Then again the board may also have seen that at the time of the original sentencing you offered little in terms of apologising to your victims and instead were more interested in saving your own skin - asking friends to pray for a lenient judge and prison term.

- Perhaps they took into account one of the victims was eight when you began abusing her?

But even pushing this ‘dirty washing’ to one side one moment, what you need to get your head-around Graham is The Parole Board doesn’t have the same decree of automatic forgiveness your God gives-to even the-lowest-of-the-low.

The heavenly ‘Get out of Jail Free Card’ thankfully doesn’t work when you put it on the mercenary table of The Parole Board.

In-fact it rather works against you, one thinks.

You are a profound embarrassment to all those that follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in New Zealand and at the same-time cut a hypocritical figure of derision to anyone else.

So basically: no one likes you.

But let’s stop going over stuff that is well versed, let’s try and move forward and not back.

In case your legal-team and your sycophantic supporters have missed-something, the elephant in the room, The Parole Board look at the rehabilitation of the individual during his/her time incarcerated.

The inmate’s contriteness, the ability to come to terms with their crimes.

On the last two points in respect of atonement – the ones that count - you have failed miserably.