Benighted – overtaken by darkness; in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual, moral or social ignorance or darkness; unenlightened.
Benighted – overtaken by darkness; in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual, moral or social ignorance or darkness; unenlightened.
It Kerre McIvor’s voice but are these her hands?
Whoever’s hands they are, even one as lacking in fine motor skills as I am, should be able to make a bow like this to pretty up a parcel.
From Story People by Brian Andreas.
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Today is the southern hemisphere’s summer solstice giving us our longest day and shortest night.
Sunrise in Invercargill was at 5:50am and it will set 15h 49m 06s later at 9:40pm.
The sun rose in Auckland at 5:59am and will set 14h 41m 33s later at 8:40pm.
Aren’t we blessed in the south – a whole hour more of light than the benighted north.
. . . “This is the most significant concession ever sought on public conversation land and the longest monorail in the world. I want to ensure my decision is based on the best quality advice,” Dr Smith says.
“I’m satisfied with the advice to date from my department on the proposal but I also need to decide if the project is financially viable. This is beyond the expertise of my department which is why I have asked for DOC to commission an independent financial viability report.
“This is an ambitious $200 million project. If it fails it could leave the department and taxpayer with a half-built or under-utilised structure through public conservation land.
“A bond can help manage these risks but it would never be possible to completely reverse the effects of such a construction. I need an independent robust assessment of the project’s financial viability to enable me to make a good decision.”
The Minister expects to receive the additional advice in February and will make his decision once he has given the report careful consideration.
The proposal is contentious but if it succeeds an economic analysis of the proposed project says it could create 1000 jobs and deliver $80m a year to the economy.
The report for Riverstone, run by Bob Robertson, was prepared by Brown, Copeland & Co in Wellington to forecast the employment and income effects if the monorail gets a green light.
Mr Robertson said it was important the public recognised the economic benefits of jobs and increased tourism spending in Fiordland.
“The estimates contained in this report are conservative. Even so, generating $80m more in export receipts and adding hundreds of permanent jobs to the economy is a significant opportunity for New Zealand.”
If consented, Riverstone say the company plans a multimillion-dollar international annual marketing campaign and the monorail could attract 30,000 people a year, equivalent to $82.5m based on the average spend per visitor of $2750.
At a national level, the Fiordland Link Experience would provide more than 300 fulltime jobs or equivalent during a 2 -year construction time frame, the report said.
Once operational the project was estimated to generate an additional 747 jobs and $38.2m a year in additional income.
Mr Robertson said 45 per cent of foreign tourists did not visit the South Island and Riverstone would target this group to extend their stay and encourage a visit to Fiordland. “If we can convince just five per cent to do so, even if only for two days, that’s an extra $26m for our economy. We also hope to persuade many New Zealanders to spend a family holiday in Fiordland.
“Like any major project, we have our detractors. But we are ambitious for New Zealand and the Fiordland tourism industry. Our aim is to beat these estimates and deliver $100m in increased tourism activity every year.” . . .
These are big numbers and the area could well do with the business opportunities and jobs the monorail would provide if it succeeds.
Whether a business succeeds or fails is usually the business of the business doing it.
But in this case failure could leave a mess on public land and the Minister is wise to get the extra information he needs before making his decision.
Sunday’s soapbox is yours to use as you will – within the bounds of decency and absence of defamation. You’re welcome to look back or forward, discuss issues of the moment, to pontificate, ponder or point us to something of interest, to educate, elucidate or entertain, to muse or amuse.
“It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.” – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.
69 – Emperor Vitellius was captured and murdered at the Gemonian stairs in Rome.
880 – Luoyang, eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty, was captured by rebel leader Huang Chao during the reign of Emperor Xizong.
1135 – Stephen of Blois became King of England
1550 Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher, was born.
1639 Jean Racine, French dramatist was born (d. 1699).
1769 – Sino-Burmese War (1765–1769) ended with an uneasy truce.
1790 – Turkish fortress of Izmail was stormed and captured by Alexander Suvorov and his Russian armies.
1805 John Obadiah Westwood, British entomologist, was born (d. 1893).
1807 The Embargo Act, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, was passed by the U.S. Congress, at the urging of President Thomas Jefferson.
1809 The Non-Intercourse Act, lifting the Embargo Act except for the United Kingdom and France, was passed by the U.S. Congress.
1819 Pierre Ossian Bonnet, French mathematician, was born (d. 1892).
1851The first freight train was operated in Roorkee, India.
1858 Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer, was born (d. 1924).
1885 Ito Hirobumi, a samurai, became the first Prime Minister of Japan.
1888 J. Arthur Rank, British film producer, was born (d. 1972).
1901 André Kostelanetz, American popular music orchestra leader and arranger, was born (d. 1980).
1907 Dame Peggy Ashcroft, English actress, was born(d. 1991).
1909 Patricia Hayes, English actress, was born (d. 1998).
1914 Swami Satchidananda, Yogi and Spiritual teacher, was born (d. 2002).
1916 Peter Fraser, who later became Prime Minister, was charged with sedition following a speech attackign the government’s military consription policy.
1942 Dick Parry, English musician (Pink Floyd), was born.
1948 Noel Edmonds, English game show host, was born.
1949 Maurice Gibb, English musician (The Bee Gees) was born (d. 2003).
1949 – Robin Gibb, English musician (The Bee Gees), was born (d. 2012).
1956 Colo, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity was born.
1962 Ralph Fiennes, English actor, was born.
1963 The cruise ship Lakonia burned 180 miles north of Madeira with the loss of 128 lives.
1964 First flight of the SR-71 (Blackbird).
1978 The Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for Chinese economic reform.
1989 After a week of bloody demonstrations, Ion Iliescu took over as president of Romania, ending Nicolae Ceauşescu‘s Communist dictatorship.
1989 – Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate re-opened after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.
1990 Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of trusteeship.
1992 – Archives of Terror – archives describing the fates of thousands of Latin Americans who had been secretly kidnapped, tortured, and killed by the security services of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay – were discovered by Dr. Martín Almada, and a human-rights activist and judge, José Agustín Fernández. This was known as Operation Condor.
1997 Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas werre massacred by paramilitary forces.
2001 Burhanuddin Rabbani, political leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, handeed over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by President Hamid Karzai.
2001 – Richard Reid attempted to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.
2008– An ash dike ruptured at a solid waste containment area in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion gallons (4.2 million m³) of coal fly ash slurry.
2010 – The repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, the 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the United States military, was signed into law by President Barack Obama.
Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia