Older gent cleans up butt by butt

I saw the most beautiful thing today. An elderly man with a matted beard, dressed against the cold in a big woolly jersey and baggy track pants, shuffled slowly towards a sunny park bench. He unsteadily stooped to pick up two cigarette butts on the footpath. In that moment I wanted to buy him a pack. He continued his shuffle towards a street bin and appeared to look into it, as we are so used to seeing these days. He carefully deposited the butts in it, then, oblivious to my admiration, continued his determined shuffle into his day.

Stephen Prinselaar, Auckland Central.

Possum slugged

I wish a few kokako could pack a punch on a possum as good as that guy in the video when the furry fiend started to eat its eggs or chicks. We need to reduce or decimate the possum population.

I love animals, I wouldn’t have been a farmer on a possum-infested farm for decades if I didn’t. We used baits, cyanide, traps and guns on them but the best weapon was my Staffy dog. He would nurture an orphan lamb but wouldn’t respect a possum. His lethal nose to find the furry disasters should have got him a Queen’s Service Medal, his tally being in the thousands.

All methods will cause suffering, Fence Post Pat got away lightly. Don’t start me on feral cats. R.I.P. Staffy Jack.

Justine Adams, Ohope Beach.

No place to drive

You are more likely to die in a car crash in Saudi Arabia than be butchered in a terrorist attack. Every school morning for several years my husband drove us along the aqua waters of the Arabian Gulf. On most 10-minute trips we would have a near miss. There are no drugs or alcohol in Saudi — head off if caught. The tareegs (motorways) are six to eight lanes and the weather in this desert country is a beautiful cloudless sky with temperatures usually very warm.

But school buses were late and children’s eyes very round as they were assured that those lying on the road would be taken to hospital and revived. One day I counted 22 crashes, with cars upside down on either side of the highway. One afternoon, a lamppost had been bent to the ground and an expensive car was upside down across the road.

Stories tell of Bedouin tribesmen jumping off camels into Toyota trucks given to them by the monarch.

Julienne S. Law, Kerikeri.

Superfluous memorial

I note the paragraph headed “War memorial” in yesterday’s Herald. I have said before, Auckland already has a war memorial. The War Memorial Museum, together with the Cenotaph and its ambient court, are a splendid memorial to those who fell in World War I and all other conflicts in which New Zealanders served. Any further memorial would be disrespectful to the existing one, and a waste of money better spent elsewhere. I had hoped this ill-conceived idea was dead in the water, but apparently not. Jack Watson, Pukekohe.

Airport delays

What has happened to common sense? If we are to believe the newspaper report, one individual avoided security clearance, resulting in thousands of people having to be rescreened. Surely the individual could be investigated and excluded from the flight. But no, protocol must be followed, rather than using common sense. G. Jamieson, Titirangi.

Fuel tax

Minister Phil Twyford’s claim the fuel tax will hurt the well-off more than the poor is based on misleading averages. Yes, many more poorer workers use public transport but those forced to use cars to shuttle between part-time jobs at odd hours will find a huge hike in their fuel bill, eating into already tight budgets.

Bob van Ruyssevelt, Glendene.

Red meat

In response to the article titled “Red meat raises risk of endometriosis, study finds”, there are some points of clarification to be made. Firstly, the article refers to the increase of endometriosis risk attributed to eating two or more servings of red meat a week, when in fact the study compares the risk between women eating two or more red meat servings a day and those eating it less than once a week. This is a vast range, which is very important when we consider what the Ministry of Health eating and activity guidelines recommend for overall health, and what New Zealand women are actually eating.

Current New Zealand nutrition recommendations are guided by evidence that looks at the benefits of including a moderate amount of red meat as part of a healthy diet, around 500g cooked red meat per week. This takes into account the key nutrients red meat provides that play a role in women’s health and wellbeing, in particular zinc that contributes to healthy fertility and reproduction. Based on population consumption insights, New Zealand women are eating within these recommendations.

About one in 10 New Zealand women suffer from endometriosis. The cause remains unclear and generally it is considered multi-factorial with a strong genetic link. We recommend anyone concerned with the condition see their GP and seek advice from a New Zealand dietitian or registered nutritionist specialising in this area. Fiona Greig, head of nutrition, Beef + Lamb NZ.

Seymour robbed

Good try, David Seymour. His being in the final might just have been closer than many think. So what stopped him? Well, he certainly wasn’t helped last Sunday night by that silly wig. Also, I thought the choreography was dull.

I have a conspiracy theory. By Sunday night a secret plot had been hatched to stop him being in the finals. Some purists thought it was a dance competition and David, in their minds, mockingly degraded it. Evidence? The wig. The dull moves. The exaggeratedly high scores given to his competitors.

Of course, he was never going to win. But I believe David was robbed of being famously in the final. Anyway, he must have been a clear winner in the fundraising contest. Kidsline did well.

Tony Keegan, Remuera.

Trump’s way

With all the media “anti-Trump” rhetoric, maybe we are just not getting it. Maybe this tough love, bullying, narcissistic talk is solving world problems. Maybe some of these so called “terrorist rogue state” leaders need this sort of “love” to feel “respected”. It certainly worked for Kim Jong Un.

History may judge Trump as one of the greats, up there with Gandhi, Mandela, Churchill, Alexander, Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Lincoln and the like. Kim was just the appetiser. Who is next? Syria, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Russia?

“They eventually will all come crawling to me” seems to be the basis of this philosophy. Maybe Trump is a genius.

David Hick, Albany.

Tax no solution

Can your correspondent Glen Stanton suggest how much tax the poorest New Zealanders should pay for their sugary drinks? A 100 per cent tax on a drink that costs 88 cents will make that drink $1.76. This will mean it is still about $3 cheaper than a healthy option. If Stanton gets his wish, our poorest will still buy the cheap sugary option, still have an obesity problem and be worse off for it. If the Government thinks sugary drinks are the cause of our obesity issues, then legislate the amount of sugar allowed in a drink. Taxing it will simply make our poorest citizens poorer.

Kent Millar, Blockhouse Bay.

Inequality

It’s ironic John Tamihere’s article about huge global growth in poverty and inequality is opposite a full-page advert warning the Government “will turn the clock back to the grim days of the 1970s” by giving employees more rights. Would that be the grim days when New Zealand was one of the countries with the least income inequality in the world, before the 1991 Employment Contracts Act and large benefit cuts catapulted us into our current state of massive inequality?

Charles Goodwin, Devonport.

Burn plastic

Has no one recognised the major energy resource available in our piles of plastic waste? It should all be burnt and the energy produced converted to electricity and residual metals reclaimed. All that is required is an incinerator, that is an efficient unit similar to our hospitals and crematoriums. This process is known for its efficiency in Europe.

Mike D. Arthur, Matamata.