09-21-2005, 01:40 PM
whyBish,Sep 21 2005, 01:08 AM Wrote:You should come over to NZ to live. We have just had our elections and are in a 61/61 split between four left parties and four right parties. There are seats specifically allocated to Maori, and the four won by the Maori party currently look like they hold the balance of power (although it will take two weeks to know the final seat tally).
We have for years had a comission that pays out descendents for land confiscations that happened 150 years ago or so. We never had slavery here.
You would probably like the relaxed and inclusive atmosphere (We have a female primeminister, a transexual member of parliament about 10% population is Maori, 5% polynesian 10% asian, 3-4 Indian at a rough guess... I looked up the actual figures, but the census figures classify all non-polynesian as european ... go figure) over here, but you might not enjoy the lower wages, and the (anti) gun laws (I haven't seen a gun since I was a child, and only then it was my fathers duckshooting shotgun)!
You'd get (almost) free education, (almost) free healthcare, and if you choose not to work (i.e. are unemployed) you would get $NZ160~=$100US per week, more if you have a (married) partner and/ or children, plus the cost of living here is cheap.
Litigation is the last resort and usually results in small reparations.
You wont need to worry about the government response to a natural disaster, any major earthquake / volcano etc that affects one of our cities would likely wipe them all out ... ;)
.. and to top it off, our national sport is grown men running at full speed into each other, without helmets and padding like they do in the U.S. version of football...
Would you like me to send you a postcard? :)
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Bah, still white people living there. And no guns. I'll pass. :P
Please note, tongue planted firmly in cheek.
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."