Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Harawira: Fortune favours the brave
What do we take from ‘rebel’ MP Hone Harawira winning his by-election? … Even with a ‘slashed’ majority — from 6,000 to 867. Wait and see. Let the punditry begin. It must certainly be a victory sweetened by the decision by the Electoral Commission to register his new party, meaning he will be a ‘leader’ [...]
Not a bad mission statement
Broadcaster Keith Olbermann recently gave an insight into his motivations and goals for a controversial segment of his show… “This ordinarily is where you would see our ‘Worst Persons in the World‘ segment,” Olbermann said Monday late into the broadcast. “For more than two months, I’ve struggled with its value. We suspended it for a [...]
It’s raining Memphis!
… Memphis properties, that is. ‘Distressed’ or ‘bargain’ properties. Cheap cheap cheap!! A little while ago in ‘Safe investing means doing your homework‘ I mentioned that some members of the United Federation of Property Spruikers have moved onto shifting US properties to Kiwis and Australians. The exact commission structure (i.e. what’s in it for them) [...]
Pike River mine disaster
My heartfelt condolences to the families slammed by this gut-wrenching event. Hopes dashed by the second explosion. Awful. And now grief, a companion for life. – Peter
Living with a mountain in your backyard
I’ve just spent a weekend in the shadow of Mt Taranaki, with family on matters to do with our season of grief, and throughout that time I found myself ‘checking in’ with the mountain from various angles. There’s a kind of ownership — does the mountain belong to the people? … Or, more likely, are the [...]
Tax? ‘Quite a good idea’…
In New Zealand, there’s been a lot of, umm, ‘debate’ (heat but not much light) about finding a way to tax residential property investors. Much ado about nothing, we hope. Here’s a brilliant ad in support of a proposed UK tax on banks… I have one or two people I would like to question in [...]
Doctrinaire aggression vs physical aggression
Wole Soyinka: On origins of religious strife… In Mr. Soyinka’s view, the origins of the current phase of the world’s religious strife—including all of the bloodshed in Nigeria—lie with Ayatollah Khomeini and his fatwa against Salman Rushdie, in 1989. “It all began when he assumed the power of life and death over the life of [...]
W. Eugene Smith
The legacy of W. Eugene Smith… W. Eugene Smith learned the hard way that photography could be too easy, a matter of making expert images of interesting subjects. He set himself to learn the truth – about himself as well as his subjects. In the process, he produced a series of photographic essays, for LIFE [...]
