The Wednesday Wire with Paul Deady

95bFM: The Wednesday Wire with Paul Deady

The bFM WIRE Today: 12 - 2pm weekdays

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We'll kick off the show with today's extended report from the bFM news team. Today Gabrielle O'Boyle looks at new figures that show a growing number of New Zealanders defaulting on their credit payments. Slow learners us...

1210 - Operation 8 Appeal Hearings

At 1210 we head back to October 2007, when Police conducted nationwide - but mainly Ruatoki-based raids as part of operation 8. A turbulent time it was! Police swooped on those involved with what they said was a paramilitary training camp in the Ureweras. The raids were carried out under the suppression of terrorism act, although no charges were ever laid under this piece of law. 18 people are still awaiting trial all of them them on minor firearms offences, while five face an extra charge of taking part in a criminal group. Support group Wellington October 15 Solidarity says the case is a desperate attempt by the Crown to save face for invading and terrorising communities around the country. Spokesperson Peter Steiner sez more than $20 million has been wasted on a 'farce' - keeping tabs on legitimate activists - and wants the Crown to drop all charges. Well, the 18 are in the court of appeal this week, so a timely reminder of the case, and what happens next when we speak to Peter.

1225 - Graffiti - Rick Stanton

At 1225 I'll be speaking with a chap by the name of Rick Stanton. He's in New Zealand as a guest speaker at a conference on reducing graffiti in this city. It was yesterday though, so poor publicity from me! Anyway, Rick ran a programme called Project Crackdown in San Jose during the 90s. This neighbourhood improvement programme concentrated the combined efforts of the Police Department, Code Enforcement and Community Organizing, and resulted in crime and graffiti being drastically reduced in several disadvantaged neighbourhoods. After that, he supervised the city's anti-graffiti programme which between 1999 and 2006 apparently reduced tagging in the city by a staggering 99.88%. So what does he make of Auckland's tags?

1235 - Counterclockwise

At 1235 Selwyn Manning joins us from scoops teflon-coated invisible plane hangar. Today he'll be taking a look at rumours former PM Sir Geoffrey Palmer could head a UN-backed inquiry into the botched Israeli raid on the Gaza aid flotilla early last week. Remember? Commandos boarded one of the ships, were attacked with clubs and bars, opened fire and killed 9 Turkish activists. Oh yeah, that one. Israel has rejected an international inquiry - they say they can do their own one, so what are the chances Sir Geoffrey will be able to add another page to his CV?

1245 - Solar Flares, Sean Oughton

Then at 1245 we'll be talking solar flares, and how they're going to make us all lost. In Washington DC today, space weather scientists (yes, there is weather in space) are meeting to discuss the potential problems of solar flares, eruptions on the sun's surface that can cause massive disruptions in the electrical power grid. Solar activity comes in cycles you see, and the next one starts in 2013. According to one boffin: "It could be ugly: a storm could disrupt credit card and ATM transactions. Cell phone networks could go." NOOO!!! We'd be used to that here, eh XT customers? I'll be speaking to Associate Professor (above) from the school of mathematics at the University of Waikato. He says his research interests are in the fields of hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, especially in connection with space physics applications. Who's NOT interested in that? Anyway, he'll be on to make sense of these fiery phenomena, and the threat they pose.

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