Don't bend over too far, Mr Putin. Yes, we know gays are welcome in Russia, just for the Olympics!

Fabulous dears! Isn't Mr gay Icon, Putin wonderful, making gays welcome to Russia for the Winter Olympics? I can hear gay people all over the world getting  ready for a gay old time in every sense of the word that 'was,' but after the Olympics, good God my dears, watch out! Don't dare talk to anyone under 18 or you will be charged with spreading gayness to the youth of Mother Russia. It's OK, for the brief period when the world actually takes notice of what is happening in Russia, Putin and his cronies will be so sensitive and use words like 'sexual orientation,' before throwing up at their dachas. They will smile and appear to be welcoming, underscoring the policies that all must follow. Will Russians be sucked in by Putin's cynical manoeuvring to placate the world press? Of course most of them will. Why should they give a stuff about the plight of Russian gays? They have enough on their plate. Those who dare to speak out only need to look at what happened when Pussy Riot did their thing in a church, not the most sensible way to endear themselves to the Russian authorities. The Olympics will be like the old 'show trials,' staged to fool public opinion, both inside and on the wider international stage. Come the end of the Olympics and Russian gays will head back to the closet from whence they came, to hide or face the wrath of  Putin. The sad things is that most Russians simply don't  or can't care. Those who do, will need to look over their shoulders. Back to the past for a dim future!
www.authorneilcoleman.com

Good on you, Mike Lee!

I applaud the actions of Mike Lee re his reaction to the plaque the Auckland waterfront and its depiction of ‘thugs’ who help to bring about the end of the 1023 strike by workers fighting for their rights. This was at a time when workers were struggling to achieve the most basic of living standards. That the ‘strike-breakers’ be put up there as ‘lovers of Auckland’ is beyond belief when we see the current struggle of workers to keep those hard won rights in many sectors of the economy. That anyone could deny the rights of workers to struggle for a living wage, either in the last or now, is tantamount to supporting the ever widening gap between those at the top and the huge majority who are having to struggle to make ends meet. That the plaque featured in an Auckland setting is doubly insulting, given the real situation faced by many Aucklanders and a Government that does nothing to support the Provincial areas to remain viable. Well done, Mike Lee. That is what we elected you for.

www.authorneilcoleman.com

'USA not spying on me', says Prime mInister Key!

I had to hold on fast and true to my steering wheel as I listened to PM Key being interviewed on the radio this morning. He was asked if he was being spied on by the USA. His response really did test me. What utter arrogance. His reply that he ‘knew’ that he wasn’t being spied on by the USA was pathetic, not just in the manner of his reply and the smugness that dripped from every orifice, but in his body language that oozed through the airwaves. Come-on Mr Key. Who in the hell do you think you are, if you think that you have some sort of special relationship with the USA that transcends that of every other leader in the world. Oops, maybe I am wrong! Perhaps you are so insignificant in that the USA ranks you so lowly that you do not warrant any particular attention. I better apologise then for not recognising your ‘actual’ stature. Damn, I should have known that mentions of NZ in the Lonely Planet are about as good as it gets re mentioning NZ in anything re the USA. So, go back to your enjoyment of living in the belief that you are ‘special to the USA and that they do not spy on you because you are--- ‘special.’ Nah---you just don’t rate!

www.authorneilcoleman.com