How about this little piece of idiocy from Whangarei.
Only 2 cats per household.
I protest!
Mind you it could be a good opportunity to get rid of that cowardly bully of a Minnie cat or that senile old bag of bones called Smudge..........and as for that ginger next door.........
13 June, 2007
The Food Police
Pies and chips for tea last night.
I am one happy cat. Youngest kid didn't finish his pastry. Choice!
I like pies.
Meat ones in particular, but custard ones are nice as well. I'll even eat fruit ones if I can leave the fruit.
It seems the government has decided that school children shouldn't be eating pies, chips and fizzy drink along with a few other things. It seems that there are too many fat kids.
School principals are less than happy about that.
It seems that school rely on the income raised by sell the banned foods to hungry students with cash regardless of what size their waists are.
Of course the menu at Bellamy's, parliament's own cafe, is unaffected and still contains sausage rolls and sugary drinks. All suitable fuel for extra wide MPs I am sure.
It has been pointed out that said students, be they lard butts or not, will just take their lunch dollars to the nearest dairy, bakery or take away instead of school tuck shops but to no avail.
Got to wonder about how keen Labour is to be reelected next year.
I am one happy cat. Youngest kid didn't finish his pastry. Choice!
I like pies.
Meat ones in particular, but custard ones are nice as well. I'll even eat fruit ones if I can leave the fruit.
It seems the government has decided that school children shouldn't be eating pies, chips and fizzy drink along with a few other things. It seems that there are too many fat kids.
School principals are less than happy about that.
It seems that school rely on the income raised by sell the banned foods to hungry students with cash regardless of what size their waists are.
Of course the menu at Bellamy's, parliament's own cafe, is unaffected and still contains sausage rolls and sugary drinks. All suitable fuel for extra wide MPs I am sure.
It has been pointed out that said students, be they lard butts or not, will just take their lunch dollars to the nearest dairy, bakery or take away instead of school tuck shops but to no avail.
Got to wonder about how keen Labour is to be reelected next year.
Another Bollard game
Oh dear.
It seems that the exchange rate against the American dollar is hitting "record" highs again. US76.4oc this time.
In steps Alan Bollard and lowers the exchange rate by one whole cent.
To be fair, that will work if the American dollar was about to rise again on its own.
That was 3 days ago.
Yesterday the exchange rate was still above US75c
About as effective as catching water in a leaky bucket really.
It seems that the exchange rate against the American dollar is hitting "record" highs again. US76.4oc this time.
In steps Alan Bollard and lowers the exchange rate by one whole cent.
To be fair, that will work if the American dollar was about to rise again on its own.
That was 3 days ago.
Yesterday the exchange rate was still above US75c
About as effective as catching water in a leaky bucket really.
08 June, 2007
Bollard's game
The official cash rate has been raised again. For the third time this year and the 12th time since 2004.
Blame for this is being leveled at government spending, as in Labour buying votes, or at Fonterra and the large payout because the rest of the world wants our milk and that old chestnut of the property boom.
Isn't interesting that the blame is never leveled at the weak US dollar and the affect of that on all those currencies fixed to the US dollar.
This increased government spending is the interesting one. The finger is firmly pointed at the increase to the family tax credit and kiwi saver.
The family tax credit was raised by up to $10/week/child. In reality that looks very much like the rate of inflation so it is unlikely to be that.
Kiwi saver, now there is a political hot potato. The government, obviously scared that the average worker was intending to give the scheme the thumbs down, increased the tax incentives on that and fiddled with the business tax rate on one hand and made it compulsory for employees to stump up so of the dosh on the other. Cost to the government $1000 for everyone who signs up and up to $20 tax break on the contributions. The average worker is now looking at the scheme and may sign up in unexpected numbers.
But hang on.
This money cannot be spent until the contributor is 65 years old.
It is savings.
The contributions are effectively out of circulation until then.
Isn't that exactly what Bollard and co want? People having less money to spend? Shouldn't that lower the OCR instead of raising it?
Since the whole thing kicks in in July I guess we will wait and see.
Then there is the property boom the has so far refused to bust.
Bollard ups the rate to make borrowing more expensive. Foreign money rushes in because foreign investors can make so much more money lending it out here than elsewhere. Credit is easy to come by. So people continue to buy houses and the price keeps going up.
There is another factor in play here as well. Houses in Auckland anyway are selling fast. Very fast, some in as little as a few days. This one sold in minutes. Very little is on the market for over a month.
Easily affordable credit or shortage of housing in the area?
Interest rates won't have any affect on the later.
Meanwhile those who have had mortgages for awhile are wincing in pain as their fixed mortgages roll over at interest rates beyond what they budgeted and exporters look at their bottom lines and shut up shop or shift off shore.
Time for a new game plan?
Even this blond cat can see the current moves aren't working.
Blame for this is being leveled at government spending, as in Labour buying votes, or at Fonterra and the large payout because the rest of the world wants our milk and that old chestnut of the property boom.
Isn't interesting that the blame is never leveled at the weak US dollar and the affect of that on all those currencies fixed to the US dollar.
This increased government spending is the interesting one. The finger is firmly pointed at the increase to the family tax credit and kiwi saver.
The family tax credit was raised by up to $10/week/child. In reality that looks very much like the rate of inflation so it is unlikely to be that.
Kiwi saver, now there is a political hot potato. The government, obviously scared that the average worker was intending to give the scheme the thumbs down, increased the tax incentives on that and fiddled with the business tax rate on one hand and made it compulsory for employees to stump up so of the dosh on the other. Cost to the government $1000 for everyone who signs up and up to $20 tax break on the contributions. The average worker is now looking at the scheme and may sign up in unexpected numbers.
But hang on.
This money cannot be spent until the contributor is 65 years old.
It is savings.
The contributions are effectively out of circulation until then.
Isn't that exactly what Bollard and co want? People having less money to spend? Shouldn't that lower the OCR instead of raising it?
Since the whole thing kicks in in July I guess we will wait and see.
Then there is the property boom the has so far refused to bust.
Bollard ups the rate to make borrowing more expensive. Foreign money rushes in because foreign investors can make so much more money lending it out here than elsewhere. Credit is easy to come by. So people continue to buy houses and the price keeps going up.
There is another factor in play here as well. Houses in Auckland anyway are selling fast. Very fast, some in as little as a few days. This one sold in minutes. Very little is on the market for over a month.
Easily affordable credit or shortage of housing in the area?
Interest rates won't have any affect on the later.
Meanwhile those who have had mortgages for awhile are wincing in pain as their fixed mortgages roll over at interest rates beyond what they budgeted and exporters look at their bottom lines and shut up shop or shift off shore.
Time for a new game plan?
Even this blond cat can see the current moves aren't working.
05 June, 2007
3rd Party Insurance Waltz
Harry Duynhoven has done it again.
He has got in very quickly on the heels of yet another motoring tragedy, which is pretty much expected when you're the Transport Safety Minister (or should that be Mini stir).
This time he was on TV3 News in response to a 4WD full of 15 year olds too cool to wear seat belts that over turned with the resulting death and injury.
The problem is that he has come up with the same answer as before
Compulsory Third Party Insurance.
Just how that is supposed to stop 15 year olds on restricted licences carrying passengers and get them to use seat belts when other older more direct laws haven't is beyond me.
I think his theory is that the insurance will be so expensive that they will have to be good careful drivers to be able to afford to own a car.
The fact that Mummy and Daddy may help teen aged offspring into vehicle ownership by paying either the insurance or part if not all of the purchase of the car in question hasn't seemed to have occurred to Harry.
How else does a 15 year old manage to own a car and afford to put fuel in it?
As any under 25 year old knows it is far cheaper, insurance wise, to talk your parents into owning the car and just to be the main driver than it is to own the car in your own name.
Laws only work when people obey them. As this group of 15 year olds has already proved, even the seat belt wearing law has fallen of deaf teen aged ears. No law change will save teenagers like them while they still think they are bullet proof.
How about playing a new tune Harry because no matter which way you look at it compulsory third party insurance will to nothing to improve transport safety.
He has got in very quickly on the heels of yet another motoring tragedy, which is pretty much expected when you're the Transport Safety Minister (or should that be Mini stir).
This time he was on TV3 News in response to a 4WD full of 15 year olds too cool to wear seat belts that over turned with the resulting death and injury.
The problem is that he has come up with the same answer as before
Compulsory Third Party Insurance.
Just how that is supposed to stop 15 year olds on restricted licences carrying passengers and get them to use seat belts when other older more direct laws haven't is beyond me.
I think his theory is that the insurance will be so expensive that they will have to be good careful drivers to be able to afford to own a car.
The fact that Mummy and Daddy may help teen aged offspring into vehicle ownership by paying either the insurance or part if not all of the purchase of the car in question hasn't seemed to have occurred to Harry.
How else does a 15 year old manage to own a car and afford to put fuel in it?
As any under 25 year old knows it is far cheaper, insurance wise, to talk your parents into owning the car and just to be the main driver than it is to own the car in your own name.
Laws only work when people obey them. As this group of 15 year olds has already proved, even the seat belt wearing law has fallen of deaf teen aged ears. No law change will save teenagers like them while they still think they are bullet proof.
How about playing a new tune Harry because no matter which way you look at it compulsory third party insurance will to nothing to improve transport safety.
01 June, 2007
Powerless in Auckland
Mercury Energy, not so proud sponsors of the 1998 "Queen Street" Blackout, have done it again.
This time it wasn't most of the Auckland C.B.D. that Mercury pulled the plug on. Just a single customer with an unpaid bill.
As in 1998 the news has spread all around the world and not in a good way.
The stories abound from the evocative She relied on an oxygen machine. The electricity firm cut off the power. Hours later she was dead to Power company in spotlight over death to this NZ Herald feature simply titled Power cut death.
While nearly every man and his dog, including Helen Clarke, our Prime Minister, is pointing the finger at Mercury, their sub-contractor and their poor dumb schmuck of an employee who may yet be up on manslaughter charges, this little item has appeared. Give us the facts on woman's death - oxygen patient.
So was Mercury really to blame or will the cannon of public opinion shift its aim to our much maligned health system or to the family who ultimately could have prevented it by ringing an ambulance sooner, running over to the neighbours with an extension lead or paying their overdue power bill?
No doubt one of the many inquires into Mrs Muliaga's death will come up with a scape goat or a large carpet to sweep it all under. Already the words "more legislation" have been mentioned.
One thing for sure. This will go on long after the funeral and long after we are all sick of it.
A bit like that six week power cut in 1998 so I am told.
Meanwhile all sorts of things will be snuck under the radar in the hope that the media and the public will still be looking the other way.
Thanks Mercury. Not.
This time it wasn't most of the Auckland C.B.D. that Mercury pulled the plug on. Just a single customer with an unpaid bill.
As in 1998 the news has spread all around the world and not in a good way.
The stories abound from the evocative She relied on an oxygen machine. The electricity firm cut off the power. Hours later she was dead to Power company in spotlight over death to this NZ Herald feature simply titled Power cut death.
While nearly every man and his dog, including Helen Clarke, our Prime Minister, is pointing the finger at Mercury, their sub-contractor and their poor dumb schmuck of an employee who may yet be up on manslaughter charges, this little item has appeared. Give us the facts on woman's death - oxygen patient.
So was Mercury really to blame or will the cannon of public opinion shift its aim to our much maligned health system or to the family who ultimately could have prevented it by ringing an ambulance sooner, running over to the neighbours with an extension lead or paying their overdue power bill?
No doubt one of the many inquires into Mrs Muliaga's death will come up with a scape goat or a large carpet to sweep it all under. Already the words "more legislation" have been mentioned.
One thing for sure. This will go on long after the funeral and long after we are all sick of it.
A bit like that six week power cut in 1998 so I am told.
Meanwhile all sorts of things will be snuck under the radar in the hope that the media and the public will still be looking the other way.
Thanks Mercury. Not.
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