Latest news with #Bloem
TimesLIVE
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
Cassper Nyovest sets his sights on filling Free State Stadium in December
Cassper Nyovest has announced he'll be taking his Fill Up concert to the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on December 6. Taking to social media on Tuesday, the rapper reflected on his previous concerts when sharing the news. 'Bloemfontein. Home of Masele (yah le nou). Home of the Free State Cheetahs. Home of the second highest court in South Africa. Hosh Karamaima capital (mare nna I'm married bathong), Centre of the Free State. Bana ba ga Oumama. We heard you, kele utlwile December 6 Free State Stadium. Re on on on. It's official, Bloem the next host for Fill Up.' The Free State Stadium has a capacity for 46,000, and many on social media asked if the rapper will be able to fill the venue.
NZ Herald
22-04-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Criminal defence lawyer Anoushka Bloem on breaking barriers and cycles of crime
'The dial hasn't changed much at all. In terms of senior positions, the judiciary, there's been no real significant change in recent times,' Bloem says. One King's Counsel recently suggested gender bias, where male clients think only men are best to represent them, played a role. Bloem says she doesn't really have a clear answer to why the gender gap persists, but in some cases the demands of family life might be incompatible with the demands of the legal profession. 'It's incredibly hard to do the job and also have kids. Things are changing obviously but it's still not reflected in the numbers.' The New Zealand Bar Association found women comprised 55% of the profession in 2023. Two years ago, 66.1% of new admissions to the profession were female but women comprised just a third of equity partners in law firms and only 26% of all King's Counsel practising. The stereotype of a senior lawyer being an older male might be grounded in facts then, but what about that of lawyers being workaholics? 'It is fairly accurate but it's not how I like to practise. It is generally the case that it's a demanding job. You do have periods like that when you have to work a lot. We have trials where you just need full attention.' Bloem says she tries to take regular breaks. 'Criminal defence is obviously a really difficult job anyway. I don't do back-to-back trials.' At her company, Bloem Law on Auckland's North Shore, she says there's a more flexible approach than at some older firms and probably greater appreciation of at least some work-life balance. She says the profession has more awareness now that workaholism, or even giving the impression of it, is not really a badge of honour. That doesn't make the job less serious, she says. One reason murder trials might be so captivating is because the stakes could not be higher. Top lawyers have to rise to the challenge, and it must be a mentally and emotionally taxing project to take on. 'You've got people's lives in your hands at times. But in our office I don't expect people to be working every night and weekend.' She said her approach was more 'You do it when you need to do it' and she wanted staff to manage caseloads as best they could. There's a virtually unlimited workload but Bloem says she's careful of not taking on too much. Technology used in the drug trade has made some cases more demanding. 'We're getting thousands and thousands of pages of disclosure. Certainly the gangs are thriving.' Methamphetamine is the biggest factor in that, she says. Police in March said the National Drugs in Wastewater Testing Programme found meth consumption rose by an unprecedented 96% last year compared with 2023. Meth is being imported in huge amounts, Bloem says, eclipsing domestic manufacturing of the drug. 'Some of the cases we have are way more complex than they used to be. They're quite sophisticated. There are lots of devices and encryption.' But new technology might help manage high workloads too. 'With these bigger cases, AI [artificial intelligence] can really help with summarising the disclosure we receive.' A complex case might include hundreds or thousands of PDF files, which can be very time-consuming. Bloem says AI can help decrease the stress load and assist with laborious tasks, but whatever work it does still needs to be checked by a lawyer. And for other reasons, AI lawyers will not likely replace humans. 'Our job has a lot of people contact, advocacy, people in court.' Anoushka Bloem represented one of the defendants at this 2021 High Court prison shanking murder trial. Photo / Michael Craig Bloem says she hasn't experienced hassles from red tape when starting and growing her business, although she finds banks incredibly complicated to deal with. 'Running a business is tough, especially the last five years.' But she says the constant flow of work means law doesn't have the high degree of risk you see in some other industries. That might make the law more appealing to young people, especially in times of economic turbulence, but the emotional toll of some cases remains. One client Bloem defended was in a prison shanking case where the High Court at Auckland saw video footage of a frenzied attack on a prisoner who was punched, stomped on and repeatedly stabbed. 'That's probably a pretty graphic example that most people would find extremely distressing.' Suppressing any visceral response to that could make a person callous, desensitised or reliant on crutches like booze to numb the emotion. Bloem says it's important to see the humanity in the tough cases. 'I think nothing really shocks me any more. I just have to process it as we go.' Most people she deals with come from difficult backgrounds. Some have been raised in families where violence or crime are normalised. Anoushka Bloem's law firm on Auckland's North Shore has established a team of criminal defence lawyers. Photo / Sylvie Whinray 'We don't judge people. That's not our job. Our job is to do the best we can for them legally. Nobody wants to see people stuck in these cycles of crime.' Bloem says seeing courts work with rehab centres such as The Grace Foundation can be rewarding and help break cycles of offending and dysfunction. The foundation established by Dave Letele snr takes people on bail, people serving community-based sentences, and those who have self-referred. Last year it received 3488 referrals. 'They do a lot of work not just in dealing with an addiction ... We have some amazing stories of whole families turned around,' Bloem says. Bloem says one of her children recently mentioned becoming a lawyer. She says she remembers thinking: 'I'm not sure how I feel about that because it's not an easy job. You've got to be able to deal with the emotional impact.' The law is one of those professions people sometimes refer to as a calling. 'I see it more as a lifestyle – not that it takes over my whole life. 'I'm definitely positive. The more I do the job, the more passionate I get.'
CBS News
05-03-2025
- General
- CBS News
Hundreds to flock to southeastern Minnesota town for International Festival of Owls
Minnesota is home to a number of owl species, including the barred, screech and great horned owls. It's also the only place in North America with a center dedicated to studying them. A sign overlooking the scenic bluffs of the Root Valley in southeastern Minnesota identifies Houston, a small town that goes big when it comes to owls. "We never intended to do an International Owl Center," said Karla Bloem, executive director of the International Owl Center. Houston was looking to put a nature center at the head of the Root River trail to attract visitors. That's when executive director Bloem found out about a great horned owl named Alice. "She fell out of her nest when she was about three weeks old and messed up her elbow," explained Bloem. That was 1997. Bloem took Alice in, and they started working to educate others about owls the next year. Alice's popularity soared. In 2003, Bloem and her team threw a hatch-day party celebrating the bird's birthday. "The first year three hundred people showed up, which in a town this size is a lot in winter," said Bloem. After a few years, the party, now called the International Owl Festival, was bringing in over a thousand people — more than the population of the town — and that's when the decision was made to dedicate a center to owls. There are other owls at the center, including Ruby, an 11-year-old great horned owl. "Ruby has a bit of a sassy personality. She's socialized with humans, but she knows she's an owl. So, she doesn't usually hoot or vocalize with us and if she hoots at us, she's swearing at us," explained Bloem. Pierce, a young barred owl was willing to hoot his distinctive "Who cooks for you?" call, but only from his perch. Twin Cities author Kat Beaulieu is among those who feel a deep connection with the mostly nocturnal birds of prey. "Coming down to the owl center, I learn something new about owls every time," said Beaulieu. Beaulieu's new children's book "Owl Music" was inspired by a walk where he found the feather of a great-horned owl. He will read and sign the book at the International Festival of Owls with half of sales going to the owl center. Beaulieu credits the international success of the festival and the center to Karla's research, outreach, and innovation. "It's an amazing, amazing place, that if you know it's here, you know you know," said Beaulieu. The International Festival of Owls is March 7 through March 9. Live demonstrations, speakers and art are among the events taking place at the International Owl Center and four other locations around town. You can find out more here.
