Love Hurts
They say money can't buy you love, but this is a case that came
close. A man pushing 50 meets the love of his life online.. nothing
unusual about that but she was supposedly in South Africa and
needed money to come and settle here. He gave her some, and then
more, and more, and more until he'd blown almost $20,000. Money he
didn't have.
Pain At The Pumps
As prices at the pump skyrocket the oil companies have become the
villains, posting record profits with no apparent checks and
balances on what they can charge. We invited the four major petrol
companies Shell, BP, Mobil and Caltex to come on Close Up to
explain how they set their margins. But no one was available.
However David Bodger from Gull and Mike Noon from the
Automobile Association fronted up.
Grain debate
We are told we need to eat more whole grains
and cereals as the answer to a long happy healthy
life. And then visiting nutritionist Melissa Diane Smith comes
along and says grains are killing us. She says our love affair
with breads and cereals is the cause of skyrocketing diabetes and
obesity levels. She says in the last 30 years grain consumption in
the United States has doubled... along with heart disease. But
Otago University nutrition expert professor Jim Mann says Melissa's
theory has no scientific evidence to back it up. Close Up spoke to
both of them, asking whether people should be dumping
grain from their diet altogether.
*Melissa's book
Going
Against The Grain
, how reducing and avoiding grains
can revitalize your health, is out now.
Club Upgrade
Here at Close Up we never cease to be amazed at your generosity. So
many of you put your hands in your pockets when you see a story
that touches you. A perfect example is the plight of the Kaeo Rugby
Club, in the Far North. The club rooms were devastated by two
floods last year. They knew they couldn't take it a third time, so
came up with an ingenious plan to raise the clubhouse on blocks.
And that's where you came in... they asked Kiwis to donate $5 a
block, and the generosity was overwhelming. Close Up was there as
Kaeo's rugby club rooms went on the move.
