AmeriNZ Podcast

This episode: Auckland had a holiday weekend. Thousands were amused, if only to have a three-day weekend in summer. Christian youth in New Zealand parachuted to music. New Zealand's election campaign is underway, sort of.

First up today, I tell you about Auckland Anniversary Day, which was yesterday. That means talking a bit about why there are no provinces in New Zealand. But there's also something about how the day is celebrated, and how our own holiday weekend went.

Some 27,000 youth took part in Parachute, a Christian, so-called, youth music festival. It's the largest outside the US. TV News coverage of it was a bit creepy, I thought.

New Zealand's 2008 election campaign got underway today, sort of. The Leader of the Opposition gave a speech today, and tomorrow the Prime Minister will do the same. This is unusual, and I tell you what's behind it all. The real, official election campaign won't begin until later this year.

A recently-passed law has given me pause. I tell you why, even though, on the whole, I think it's a good law. This also means talking a bit about recent NZ political history.

In Australian news, the Aussie Foreign Minister is in the US and has said that his country's leaving Iraq won't harm US/Australian relations. Australia will also be keeping their citizenship tests. I'm not a big fan of such tests, and I'll tell you why.

Comments create the opportunity for my podcast to be part of ArcherRadio. And more, of course.

Happy belated birthday to David Byrd of That Blue Jeans Guy and to “the Boyfriend” (as in Archerr's boyfriend).

Shownotes with links are on my blog, www.amerinz.com, where you can leave a comment. Or, you can email me at amerinz[at) yahoo.com or ring my US listener line on 206-339-8413.