Nicola Young
INSTEAD of New Year's resolutions, I'm sharing New Year's revelations.
The online dictionary defines revelation as "a surprising and previously unknown fact that has been disclosed", but some of these are not really surprising - maybe shocking would be a more appropriate descriptor.
Saudi Arabia, the country our Government is negotiating a free-trade agreement with, executed 47 people on January 2 for terrorism after - at least in some case - a questionable judicial process. This country is also a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
Why are some countries with questionable standards of transparency and fairness in criminal trials considered allies, while others are considered enemies? How influential is the supply of oil to Western powers in global politics? What is the difference between Saudi Arabia and the countries we dismiss?
Apparently, this week Saudi-led forces bombed a centre for the blind in Yemen, while North Korea has reportedly tested a hydrogen bomb.
I visited the Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa this summer and came out in tears - the loss of human life on both sides was tragic, and inevitable given the geography. I have been to Gallipoli in Turkey, too, so could visualise the harsh and unforgiving landscape.
We don't seem to learn - the loss of life in the past continues today and it is horrific.
There is also the lack of perspective - little more than playing favourites. In the United States, the occupation of a wildlife centre in Oregon by armed locals has been critiqued to strong effect. These people have not been labelled terrorists, instead described as "armed anti-Government activists" by some news outlets.
A tweet by @koush summed it up: "Today I learned: plural of armed black people is thugs; plural of armed brown people is terrorists; plural of armed white people is militia."
This has come hot on the heels of the outcome of a review into the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Ohio - a review which dismissed charges against officers involved. A tweet from @darrlyreeves describes the circumstances of the shooting: "Open Carry State. Toy Gun. No First Aid. Unqualified Cop. 2 Second Confrontation Before Shot. Police Lied On Reports."
One real revelation this week has been the announcement by US President Barack Obama of steps towards tightening gun control. The statistics around US gun deaths and mass shootings are huge so this is a positive move.
Elsewhere, original Star Wars star Carrie Fisher has been lauded this week for her comments in response to criticisms of her ageing appearance.
She wrote on Twitter: "Youth and beauty are not accomplishment - they're the temporary happy bi-products of time and/or DNA - don't hold your breath for either." Fisher also went on to say: "My body is my brain bag, it hauls me around to those places and in front of faces where there's something to say or see."
I've seen the latest movie and really enjoyed it - especially the character Rey, a young woman who can more than look after herself.
Innocent until proven guilty of course, but it was not much of a revelation to hear musician Chris Brown has been accused of assaulting a girlfriend, again.
On the environment front come claims from a former compliance manager at Origin Energy that the company failed to report leaks at its oil and gas operations, including those in South Taranaki. With the criticisms of oil and gas regulations in New Zealand by our independent Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, perhaps this should not be a surprise.
Let's hope for more positive revelations as 2016 progresses.
-Nicola Young has worked in the government and private sectors in Australia and NZ and now works from home in Taranaki for a national charitable foundation. Educated at Wanganui Girls' College, she has a science degree and is the mother of two boys.