VJ DAY; the Crusaders and Covid-19

AS Aotearoa battles the current pandemic hopefully the significance of August 15 should not be forgotten.
The day should be indelibly etched into our collective memories and it certainly will be for many in our community who are in the sunset of their lives.
It was on this day in 1945 that "Victory Over Japan" was declared (marked as VJ Day) when Japan surrendered. VE (Victory in Europe) had been declared on May 8.
And while we discuss and dissect the statistics regarding Covid-19 we should remember what this remarkable nation sacrificed.
It certainly gives some perspective to the "crisis" we're currently facing. 
Remember our population at the start of the war was 1,164,600. Around 140,000 men and women served in the theatres of war all round the world.
11,671 paid the ultimate price.
That's perspective.
Lest we forget.

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IN the past month 61 criminals have been flown out of Australia on charter flights to be "housed" in prisons on this side of the ditch.
Many of these "crims" are hard-nosed gang types who, despite living in Australia for most of their lives, are returned "home" (a technical term obviously) to serve their sentences here and then released into our society.
Why are we being lumbered with these thugs?
It is especially ironic given the vile coward who went in to a place of worship and murdered the innocents in the Christchurch mosque is Australian (he's from Grafton in New South Wales) but will serve his life sentence in this country.
Surely this murderer should be sent back to where he came from. It can't continue to be one-way traffic.

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THE Crusaders rightfully took out Super Rugby Aotearoa.
The Scott Robertson coached outfit was too good, too tough and too smart during the disrupted season.
From fullback to the front-row to the players on the bench the men in scarlet and black proved once again that when it comes to consistent rugby excellence the Crusaders are the best outfit Super Rugby has seen.
That simply cannot be debated.
There have been players singled out for praise with Richie Mo'unga to the fore. That's fair enough because the No.10 has been instrumental in the Crusaders' triumph but I'd also question why halfbacks Bryn Hall and, to a lesser extent, Mitchell Drummond have not been given the accolades they deserve.
Hall has a fast, accurate pass that has always given Mo'unga the time and space he needs to run the cutter.
For a first-five or fly-half to consistently receive quality ball is a luxury that Mo'unga has enjoyed for the past few seasons thanks to the excellence of Hall's distribution.
It's a contribution that has been seriously underrated in the Crusaders' success.

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THERE'S plenty of merit in postponing the general election scheduled for September 19.
Given the shameful politicisation of the Covid-19 crisis by opposition parties firing cheap shots at the coalition Government and front-line health staff it's obvious the election should be postponed.
Three years would be ideal.

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HOW about those entertaining conspiracy theories regarding Covid-19?  But this has to be on the podium for the gold medal.
A viral Facebook post has claimed that NASA and the Vatican were hiding the discovery of an asteroid on its way to demolish our planet.
What’s the best way to hide the discovery of a doomsday asteroid? It's by unleashing a deadly and highly contagious virus that forces people to stay home. 
Seriously ...