The GCSB bill, and my thoughts......

So, here in New Zealand, a lot of controversy has been raised by the implementation of the GCSB bill, which basically allows our government spying agency, the GCSB or Government Communications Security bureau to have more of an ability to spy on us, often without permission.

Now, I have absolutely no problem with this, and this is due to a few reasons. Firstly, if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about. Seriously, regardless of what the GCSB does actually spy on me for (which I will delve into later in this article), I couldn't care less. That's because I have done nothing illegal. So therefore, when i hear people complaining about the bill, I often think that they must have been doing something illegal, and often dismiss them. Probably not the greatest strategy, but seriously, there should be nothing to worry about if you have nothing to hide.

Secondly, many people seem to think that the government wants to know what you are having for lunch, and other personal information. To put it simply, people think that the government simply want to have this bill so they can spy on us for no reason, and for completely irrelevant data. Now I actually like the bill, because the government is able to spy on anything we do, which means that they can stop a large amount of crime, but I also don't buy into the idea that the government wants to know what you are having for lunch. People need to stop perpetuating the idea that the government wants to spy on personal details, all they want to do is spy on you so they can stop crime, there is nothing more to it then that, and therefore I support the bill.

There is also the argument that this bill will start us on the 'slippery slope' or privacy infringements. And again, I don't buy into this argument. Our government is not that of Nazi Germany's, nor that of Zimbabwe, therefore I think this is just one step, and the only step of possible infringement of privacy that will ever happen, because we rely on a democratic process which would never allow further steps to  be made.

Finally, I think the GCSB bill simply clears up a legislation on the powers of the organisation, and allows the GCSB to use its full powers to keep New Zealand a safe and peaceful country.

Well, that's it for me this article, keep reading and have a great day!

Concussions in contact sport

Well, here in New Zealand, the major topic recently in the news has been concussions in sport. Especially rugby. This has also been the centre of much debate in the states, with NFL players developing illnesses such as dementia later in life.

Firstly, before I get into this topic, I would like to clarify. I have enormous sympathy for those who have had their life changed by head injuries, and wouldn't risk it on my worse enemies. I hope that some sort of cure is developed, and the occurrence of the issues can be reduced in all forms of sport.

That being said, I do believe that sports should not be banned due to the occurrence of head injuries (within reason of course). While again, I acknowledge that the injuries are horrific, and life changing, the frequency of them does not justify the complete upheaval of a sport. When players sign up to play any contact sport, they acknowledge the risk, and therefore take into account that they may get injured.

Furthermore, the banning of the shoulder charge also comes under the same banner. Players who signed up to play in the NRL acknowledge the risk of the game, and therefore, the shoulder charge shouldn't have to be banned, because the players realise and know that it will be used, as part of playing the game.

I also think that it is not OK for ex NFL players to sue the NFL. This is because again, they played in the NFL, and must have realised the risk of a full contact sport, and thus acknowledged that risk when they decided to play. Therefore, they have no right to sue, because they took the risk themselves when playing.

While I think the danger of head knocks needs to be reduced and this is occurring in modern day sport, I do overall believe that players take the risk, and therefore must be able to accept the consequences.

Well that's article, I hope you guys enjoyed it, have learnt a bit of my opinion, and most have all have realised the danger associated with playing full contact sport.

Have a great day, and keep reading!

Can the Chargers charge into the playoffs?

Sorry about the long wait between posts, I have been really busy recently, but will work my best to ensure that the page kept up to date.

So, we are on the brink of the new NFL season, with the pre season beginning today, and to be quite honest there are two main questions on my mind, one of them easy to answer, the other, not so much.

The first question is whether or not RG3 will be good to play for the redskins by week 1. I think this will almost definitely happen, and he could probably even play in the pre season, but the Redskins won't want to risk it after last years wild card play-off. I want to see him as soon as possible, but I do not want him to rush into it, as the worst thing for his career right now would be another injury.

Now, onto my second question, and this is indeed quite complex. This question is, as the title suggests, whether or not the Chargers will actually be able to make it into the play-off's.

I think there will be two deciding factors on this. Firstly, the performance of the Broncos, and secondly, the performance of the Chargers offensive line. Personally, I think that the Broncos are going to crush a lot of teams this year, with Peyton and Welker, so the hope of the Chargers there somewhat diminishes, so therefore the Chargers need to bank on gaining a wildcard spot. now relying that other teams do as badly as I hope they do, they will probably get around a 11 and 5 record. This may just be enough to get them into the play-off's in a wildcard slot.

However, that relies on them actually winning games, and to do that, the offensive line needs a lot of work. The line completely collapsed last year, and this led Philip Rivers to have one of his worst seasons ever, and pretty much led to the failure of the team. The defence of the Chargers isn't awesome, so they have to win on offence, and to do that they need the offensive line to fire. DJ Fluker will help with this, but to what extent is debatable. Personally, I think someone with his size and ability will help the Chargers greatly. I also think his mental attitude will be great for the team- he cried because he was so happy to be selected by them, and that high up in the draft.

Furthermore, I think players such as Keenan Allen will help the team immensely, and thus the team should have little problem with offensive fire-power, especially considering Antonio Gates is still there.

So overall, what needs to happen? Firstly, some wins against Denver would be great, but I wouldn't get my hopes up about them, and secondly, the offensive line really needs to pick its game up. If they do this, and players like Keenan Allen do well, they should be able to thread enough wins together to make it into the play-off's.

Also, MANTI TEO WILL BE AWESOME!!!!





Well, thats it for today's article, keep reading guys, and have a great day!