Protesters have a right to free speech, we don't live in a communist state, yet.
There are some people in NZ who abort their babies if it is discovered that it is female.
Which is the worst act?
The way the article read, the child asked for one of the handouts. My 12-year-old daughter was given one several months ago and came home a little confused. My response was to answer her questions openly and honestly.
This is actually an important topic which gets brushed under the carpet all the time because nobody has the guts to deal with it openly.
I, for one, would be very happy to see the topic discussed in sex education classes in a non-biased way. It would certainly be a lot more relevant than some of the the highly questionable things which are discussed.
Does the mother of the child involved realise the word promiscuous features in the Year 8 spelling tests given out by the Ministry of Education for instance? Apparently most of the children being tested have no idea as to the meaning of the word ... personally I find this much more appalling.
Carole Dudding, Hastings
Tracks unconfirmed
As more than 180km of walking and cycling tracks are completed around Hawke's Bay, there are some areas that are still under consideration with final routes yet to be confirmed.
The Pandora Pond section linking the cycleway from the inner harbour to the old Embankment Rd is one of these areas.
A map which was included with a story in HB Today (Saturday, November 19) may have given the incorrect impression that sections still under consideration have been confirmed, specifically section 1 relating to Pandora Pond.
This is not the case; HBRC is still looking at a number of options and alignments for this section in consultation with the appropriate authorities, and acknowledges the significance of this sensitive area.
Hawke's Bay Trails has succeeded because of the collaborative approach to the project from a range of groups including local councils, agencies, rotary clubs, community trusts, corporates, private individuals and the New Zealand Cycle Trail Project. Of note is the total financial contribution of New Zealand Cycleways of $2.6million via the Ministry of Economic Development and the $2.1million sourced from a special fund arising from the sale of HBRC leasehold land.
While the work is not complete, the trails have already achieved one of their goals of opening up more land for the public to enjoy.
Andrew Newman, HBRC Chief Executive
Train would help
Why haven't the councils put their heads together with the Manawatu Gorge out of commission and put a train on from Waipukurau to Palmerston North? It could leave at 7am and return from Palmerston North maybe 5.15pm or later pending on the time it takes, also put a bus on to the CBD.
This would take some of the pressure off the Saddle Road during the Christmas period.
What's the bet it won't happen because we would be using public transport and the petrol company's would lose money.
Maybe if this happened in the main centre's something would have been done long ago. What do other readers you think?
Cherie J Graham, Hawke's Bay
Have and have nots
It is usual for me to buy the daily editions of HB Today. It is unusual for me to buy the HB Today Weekend edition but this weekend I did.
I was browsing through like I usually do and came across the advertisement for a new cafe on pages A12 & A13.
The ad for this business was surrounded by ads for other business' that obviously were used in the set of the cafe - designers builders, etc. I did note that the whole thing took up of both pages.
I also noted that on page A13 there was an article of less than page titled "Aid Scams see 60 million Indian Kids Starve".
My immediate thought was, this was not a very flash from the paper's point of view, having both these on the same page. I wonder what the cafe or a market guru would think?
However my considerations soon turned to the social commentary that this provides. Not great on election day.
To me it gives an example of the expansion of the gap between the haves and the have nots which was part of the rhetoric of the election campaign.
It is my opinion that our society has moved from, what I view as a society centralised on "us" to one centralised on "me".
We have lost our concern for our countrymen and neighbours particularly those said to have a lower socio-economic status. I pity NZ for the future.
Ian Jarvis, Taradale
$800,000 wasted
TV3 has announced that the taxpayer-funded Marsden Fund, administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand, has granted $800,000 to a bunch of Auckland University parasitic loonies so that they can research whether pornography affects our society.
Well, here's a thing - the director of Rape Prevention Education has just come out and affirmed "known links between pornography and sexual violence".
And for a little less than $800,000, I could alert the researchers to the fact that, as pornography has inculcated our "entertainment" media, violence of all sorts has inculcated our community.
So, there we are, $800,000 of taxpayers' funds saved.
Now what useful project could we spend that $800,000 on?
Leo Leitch, Napier
