Sam looks like Tim Robbins, of Shawshank Redemption fame, to my eyes.

It would seem so, Pierson.

So Winston had something in common with me?

Can I now be set free?

Stop being a girl and post your photo. The only thing you have in common with Winston is that you both went off the radar for a number of years.

Moderated!

Soory for the mistake. Isn't Ruby Claudia's daughter too? The Van Dorp family is becoming the SOLO version of the Von Trapps.

BTW, Sam will get moderated for his Winston photo. Beware the beady eye of El Perigo.

Now I do have to post a pic. Don't have any daughters called Claudia that I know of.

only I'm allowed to say things like that about him Lord Baron.

And I always thought Sam was your father!

if Sam were my son, that would make me very old, not the gorgeous, ever-youthful 37 year old that I am. He's my brother Kenny. The other lurking "Piersons" go by the name of Van Dorp. Shandra is my daughter.

Great coverage. It was a great fun event judging by the reports. A decent protest is worth far more than ten boring think tank reports (and I have a written a few of those myself). Online and street campaigning is the future!

When I attended the March for Free Expression (Mohammed cartoons), the Metropolitan police made up a large proportion of the crowd in Trafalgar Square. They photographed everyone and recorded the speeches. I hope that the NZ plod were not as bad.

I just twigged that Sam Pierson must be related to "Claudia" (aka Olivia Pierson), probably her son. And she called him a weirdo! Do we have any more Piersons lurking or posting on SOLO?

Photo has to be up by April 1, with a 2-week grace period. Photo is to reassure us that folk are indeed mentally unstable weirdos. Unnecessary in Sam's case, but still mandatory.

Rules are you have to have a photo up now. You could be some kind of mentally unstable weirdo.

...against nanny-statism and the anti-smacking legislation even made its way today into the free commuter newspaper "Metro" of the London underground and UK train network read by millions of Brits each day on their way to work.

Thank you everyone involved. Brilliant!!!

Great work Linz. Congrats. Excellent points made in that speech.

(Heya SIM!)

I see Katherine Rich--our next Minister of Education--is crossing the house to vote in support of the anti-smacking bill.

National has the option to do as Labour has done and insist that members toe the party line, but perhaps they just need to set their boundary dog on Rich.

I liked your ballsy comment about the "real child abusers, whom the government pay to have children and then they kill them." That's saying it! I'd never thought of it like that before - dead true unfortunately.

Thanks Mitch for all your efforts in this area! Good job.

And as one of the girls, I second Linz's call that you not stay hidden in the shadows!

Indeed. Linz was the instigator. Well done Linz! I thought your performance was marvellous. What a born rabble-rouser you are!

And good-on-ya Mitch for having the balls to take up the challenge.

A superb job! Well done, all of you. Bloody well done.

PC

PS: The always choosy Cactus Kate seemed suitable impressed by the photo of Mitch I posted last night. Perhaps he could use that one?

Mitch Lees was the organiser. But it all started with a talkback call to me on Radio Live from a caller in Nelson who asked me to organise the thing. I said I wouldn't, but could probably rustle up someone who would. Enter Mitch, who was listening (btw, he's not really taller than I—he's standing on a higher step at Parliament ). And it snowballed from there. Marches all over the country now. This was activism at its most successful, except, as yet, for the outcome.

I made sure the crowd gave Mitch a huge cheer at the end. He deserves it. Here's one from me, Mitch!!

Linz

And btw, put up a decent photo of yourself—you're way too goodlooking to be hidden in darkness. The girl's here and I insist!

2. Lindsay Perigo and Heather Roy - 8:28 mins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiQAI04jm0g

...Linz makes it to the international broadsheets