Want some valuation info on your home?

Got this forwarded to me from a friend - Free property reports available at www.qv.co.nz/freereport. Limited time offer, one report per email address.

Even Helen says you have to be there!

Good Jokers* Unite! at the Razza Bar, King Street, Upper Hutt - this Wednesday, 6pm onwards.

Even Helen Agrees!
(180Kb, Windows Media File.)

* Male, Female, other and undecided welcome - as long as your a good joker.

Good Jokers are Welcome!

This caused Helen a bit of excitement yesterday:



As it says, Good Jokers are welcome - Male, Female, Other or Undecided.

I can confirm no taxpayers money was used for the advertisement in the paper - a party volunteer misunderstood the rules and put the Crest on, not realising it would make it appear as though it is.

Why I am a Royalist

Seems it a popular choice of my generation to be a republican.

But I am staunchly a loyal Royalist:

1. While it is true that the Monarch has some terrifying political power over the Parliament, she knows that to use them means she'll lose them. So as much as we are her subjects, she is our servant.

If we had a President there would be many limits on the ability of Parliament and the People to replace them. Nixon lasted almost two years from the first allegations appeared in the Washington Post until he finally resigned he could have probably stalled for another six months. Clinton went a year from Congress first initiating Impeachment Proceedings to the actual Senate vote. Clinton also pardoned his brother in his last days of office, when no effective means of revoking or punishing him for abuse of his power existed.

2. When you get down to it, a President is just the most popular choice. Even one chosen by a majority is one appointed against the wishes of 45% of the population. By maintaining her dignity and aloofness from our daily lives, and by being actively involved in the community, the Queen and the Royal Family is probably admired by most Republicans.

3. While some see the Monarchy as outdated, Prince Charles wants to "Defender of Faith", not "Defender of the Faith" - that he wants to be an advocate for religious freedom. The requirement that the Monarch be the first born male has been removed so that the first born will ascend to the Throne.

4. We don't pay for the Queen - all we pay for is the upkeep of two Government Buildings, a small staff, expenses related to the duties and the salary for the GG. A President would need a larger staff and would undertake more duties. We do pay for the Queen when she visits us, but if she visited us as a Republic, we still would have to put up the dosh for that, like we do for any other head of state.

5. If we ditch the Head of State that Britain has, Britain might not feel the need to be so loyal. Prince Edward lobbied all the European Countries to vote for Sydney as the Olympic Host City for 2000 (after Manchester lost in a early round). Given the closeness of the vote, that was vital in shoring up support for Australia.

Generation XY Comments of the Month

Awarded 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 10th Equal.

But Rebel Radius deserved to win - if not for his Grinch Poem then for his Laundry Chute caption. Brilliant.

What if the AG Report came out before the six month limit?

Now the Auditor General has ruled that a lot of material distributed during the election period was too political so should not have been funded from public money. If upheld, then the spending will need to be

In the weeks preceding the election I recieved the following items through the mailbox with the Parliamentary Crest:

• Two copies of "Trev's Tribune" - a eight page newspaper updating the electorate on Trevor Mallard's work in Parliament.
• A Pen and Fridge Magnet.
• A copy of "Labour Matters" - a four page newspaper updating how Labour's policies were benefiting Hutt South.

According to his electoral return, Trevor Mallard only spent $5000 defending his seat, so I doubt that if the costs of the publications and promotional items were included he would get near the $20,000 limit on candidate spending.

However, given the pattern of taxpayer funded items seems to have been repeated in a number of electorates then the following MPs may have been in trouble if they were included:

MP	Electorate	Declared
Darren Hughes	Otaki	$14,821
Chris Carter	Te Atatu	$16,284
Clayton Cosgrove	Waimakariri	$16,085
Marion Hobbs	Wellington Central	$17,931
Damien O'Connor	West Coast/Tasman	$18,221

For National, Nick Smith and Wayne Mapp spent within $2000 of the $20,000 limit. If they were among the National MPs who have repaid Parliamentary Services their new total could have breached the total spending limit as well. (But that's conjecture as National haven't revealed the MPs or amounts.)

However, unless the AG or the Parties reveal how much each MP should have paid for themselves, we may never know what the real returns should have been.

UPDATE: Rodney Hide spent $17,236 in Epsom and Jim Anderton spent $15,355 in Wigram - although I don't know what material either distributed out of their Parliamentary Budgets.

The quality of the comments just get better and better ...

Way back in May I commented on Massey University Student Publication "Chaff" printing a cover of Mao Zedong in a dress.

Today, I'm number one Google search for 'Chairman Mee-ow' and I've gotten a whole lot of comments from China about my article, some attacking me personally. Check them out - they're a little bizarre.

UPDATE: 18 Aug 06, 8.25am: It seems the China Times has decided to cover the Magazine controversy this Wednesday (almost four months after publication of the magazine) hence the sudden interest and comments.

Andrew Johns Vs NRL

So Andrew Johns has been let off by the NRL Judiciary with a two week suspension for abusing a match official. The match officials did miss a knock-on but in the speed of the match and the angle of vision that is understandable. Refs make the calls they make based on what they see - and sometimes they can't see it all.

Andrew Johns should have more respect for referees. After all, if they did their nut at players who made a mistake at a critical moment in a match I could understand Johns giving it back. But they don't - and then they had to take his abuse.

And Johns should have more respect for his fans. When I heard that he threatened to leave the NRL if the punishment was too strong, my gut reation was he should be kicked out of the competition as that's what he clearly wants.

My 2 Cents on Banning Fresh Chicken

Accoring to a couple of websites I researched, Campylobacter is present in most, if not all wild birds, chickens, turkeys, seagulls, hamster cages, cat litter boxes, nappies of toddlers - just about every living animal carries some form of it. So, if you were to test an animal prior to slaughter it would likely to have Campylobacter, not just chicken.

And because Chicken is pretty much the only animal that is sold fresh and whole, it will be almost certain that it has campylobacter.

Our parents understood this, and cooked food, particularly chicken, properly. So why we have to demand that all food is sterile rather than cook it properly?

Don Brash on Agenda TV

Great interview with Don Brash yesterday. I think he got some very good points across.

He pointed out that a fundamental difference between National and Labour is that National wants to change the law to pay what it owes from overspending during the election; Labour wants to change the law to avoid paying back it's overspending during the election.

He also explained why he won't do 'whatever it takes' to win an election - that is, while he could bribe his way to victory, he'd rather not promise policy that would damage the economy long-term for a short-term gain.

On another note, Lisa Owen should not be presenting the programme. She doesn't seem to have any grasp on the history of the issues (although that could be as she has only returned from London at the start of this year) and I had to laugh when Chris Trotter told her she'd misunderstood his column in this weeks Independant Financial Review.

Dr Who and the Goblet of Fire

Watching Doctor Who last night, I found this kind of ironic:

In the movie version of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", David Tennant plays Barty Crouch Jnr, a man bent on bringing about a league of evil wizards with great powers. Roger Lloyd-Pack plays Barty Crouch Snr, a man who discovers his secret and tries to stop him.

In last nights Dr Who episode "Rise of the Cybermen", Roger Lloyd-Pack plays John Lumic, a man bent on bring about a league of evil cyborgs with great powers. David Tennant plays Doctor Who, a man who discovers his secret and tries to stop him.

Friday Giggle

1. A site called 'Who Represents' where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name... wait for it... is
http://whorepresents.com

2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at
http://expertsexchange.net

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at
http://penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at
http://therapistfinder.com

5. Then of course, there's the Italian Power Generator company...
http://powergenitalia.com

6. And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
http://molestationnursery.com

7. If you're looking for computer software, there's always
http://ipanywhere.com

8. Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is
http://cummingfirst.com

9. Then, of course, there's these brainless art designers, and their whacky website:
http://speedofart.com

10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at
http://gotahoe.com

Sometimes, I just don't get it?

Over on the Frog Blog, they've put up a post that includes the claim that the current Israeli - Hizbollah crisis is an attempt by the US to get Iran's oil.

Here's an excerpt of the reasoning:

"Oil and gas reserves are running out just about everywhere, except in Iran ..."

"Emerging superpowers like China and India need more and more oil ... and may be in a position to make exclusive deals with Iran for access to their oil, shutting out the US."

Okay, with you so far - except Oil and Gas reserves aren't running out (only between a quarter to half of known and predicted oil reserves have been extracted) - but what's this got to do with the current conflict in Lebanon, which doesn't directly involve Iran, China, India or the United States?

"Considering the US’s close ties with Israel, and assuming that a reader’s suggestion that “the US government is 100% convinced that both, Hamas and Hizballah are creatures of Iran and that Iran uses them to undermine US goals in the region” is accurate,

It may be that that hawks are thinking this way: Destroy Lebanon, and destroy Hizbullah, and you reduce Iran’s strategic depth ... leave [Iran] vulnerable to regime change, and a dragooning of Iran back into the US sphere of influence, denying it to China."

(Emphasis added)

Step back a moment and think about the sequence of events to date. Somehow, the US orchestrated Hizbollah into provoking Israel into a conflict to gain control of Iran, even though Bush thinks that the Syrians are the problem state? (and said so to Blair during the overheard conversation in Russia.)

In my opinion - Considering a suggestion is accurate, it may be that it's a complete crock.

Sounds Familiar

ACT MP Heather Roy tells the story of a teenager who stole the ACT Party Bus, crashed it, and apparently has got away with nothing more than a telling off at a Family Group Conference as no-one follows up whether the actions are completed.

Heather's experience is familiar to me. In 1996, a group of teens broke into my car and were attempting to steal it when the alarm went off. Several people witnessed them jumping out of the car and running away. A police dog tracker team caught one of them shortly afterwards. The local Community Constable told me he knew it was them anyway as witnesses saw three people abscond (he knew them all) and the other two in the area known to be breaking into cars was in the Waitangirua Police Station Cells at the time.

Their punishment was decided at a family group conference - to write a letter of apology to each of the victims of their crime. Ten years later I haven't got that letter.

The car never worked again and ended up at the wreckers as they damaged it so badly trying to crash start it.

Easy Fixes for First Home Buyers will make it harder to buy a home

Two recent fixes for First Home buyers sound to easy to be true - either the Government giving a grant, or longer term mortgages of up to 50 years.

Both will fail in their objectives for the same reason.

Remember when you were in third form, and you had your very first lesson in Economics - Supply and Demand? You learnt that when demand exceeded supply, prices rose (all other things being equal) and that when supply exceeded demand, prices fell.

As there is only a limited number of houses available to go on the market at any one time. And increasing the number of potential buyers will just drive the prices up further as buyers have to outbid each other for the same houses. I bet that $1 of Government grant the value of houses will rise around $10. (Based on 90% mortgages.)

Increasing the demand is not the solution - then the obvious answer is to increase the supply. But the RMA and other planning rules are barriers to increasing the supply of houses.

And perhaps first home buyers need to be realistic - our parents generation bought their first homes in Wainuiomata, Naenae or Porirua East, not 200sqm apartments on Cuba Street or trendy suburbs like Khandallah. When they had built the equity, they would trade up.

Paris Hilton on ...

Paris Hilton, famous for being famous, reveals that she is even more shallow than she looks.

Having said that, if they paid me $1 Million to go to Austria, wave at the crowds and say why I love Austria - I'd do it!

How does one get a job like this?

Imagine a job, where you go round the world, stopping at well-known resorts and tropical islands, lying on your back measuring who blue the sky is - All expenses paid.

One lucky Scot scientist has.

More on the Blue Libs

The debate over whether the new National Policy group - Blue Libs - is the equivilant to Labour's gay grouping is going on in the NZ Pol Blogsphere. It seems some Labour Bloggers have suggested it is as it is headed and was launched by gay MP Chris Finlayson.

I guess this debate over the Blue Libs shows a fundamental difference between National and Labour:

Labour sets up groups based on 'identity politics' (e.g. Womens Council, Rainbow Labour, Pacific Island) and then focus on implementing policies to advance the interests each of those identifible groups.

National set up groups (BlueGreens, BlueLibs, etc) based on idealogy within the Conservative brand with the aim of developing policy that take the 'best of breed' from each group to create superior policy for all New Zealanders.

UPDATE: Some claim that National never explained the purpose of the Blue Libs, here is an article from a month ago (4th June) with an explanation! Talk about a short memory.

Why I am a Blue Lib

I have a lot of time for the Libertarianz - they say a lot of good things about Private Property, Limited Government and Personal Freedom. But there are some things I disagree with the Libz over - things that make me a Blue Liberal, not a Libertarian.

For instance, if a sign was put in the front of a shop saying "No Jews or Dogs", the Libertarianz would defend the right of the property owner to exclude whoever he chooses. They would probably also boycott the shop in horror at the blatent racism, but I couldn't stand by and allow the shopowner to act in such a blantantly discrimitory manner.

Also, I couldn't agree with a contract like this: Imagine if you were dying of heart disease, and no donor could be found. You do, however, find an impoverished farmer in Asia who is willing to sell you his heart for US$1 million as it will provide for his family much better than he can. As long as there is no coercsion, the Libertarianz would defend that contract. I think no-one person has the moral authority to commit deliberate homocide, except in cases of provoked self-preservation.

Equally though, I am not Labour - while I appreciate their stance on some social issues, I cannot understand why they promote freedom and limited Government interference in some areas (for instance, Homosexual rights and some other moral issues) but more complusion, less choice, erosion of property rights and social engineering in others (For instance Education, private contracts and health). Even when they liberalise some areas of Government control they seemingly just replace one limitation with another - for instance, creating 'Civil Unions' when secualr marraige was already available.

Finally, there are other areas where I am very conservative and a natural fit for National's conservatism. But I accept it is my choice to be conservative in those areas and I cannot force my values onto others.

So I am grateful that National has launched The BLue Libs for people like me - who see Limited Government as a good goal, but believe having No Government will not solve our problems; who see Private Property as worth protecting, but not a total absolute that cannot be infringed upon in any way; and have Personal Freedoms not including the right to infringe on others right to live their lives in peace.