Category Archives: Politics

in case I just have to comment

Up the Tanami road

Posted on August 29, 2008 by

It’s the main drag from alice springs to the northwest, so I was expecting the Tanami Road to be pretty good. It was, but vast tracts were still unacceptabe for locals. I cruise at 100-110km, regardless of terrain. The worst … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Motorcycling, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Drinking in outback australia

Posted on August 27, 2008 by

The laws about alcohol are pretty interesting in rural, or, Aboriginal, Australia. This sign is on a road into Alice Springs, and the penalties for drinking in public are displayed.. Tipping out – sure. A fine (and that’s a lot … Continue reading →

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Australia fix your roads

Posted on August 25, 2008 by

On the one hand it’s great for people like me that there are vast roads of days of sand and corrugations. It was tough at first but ultimately I was skimming through the sand pit that is the NT part … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Motorcycling, Politics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Global official aid falls – NZ languishes at the back

Posted on April 9, 2008 by

Pathetic. Official development aid worldwide actually fell by 8.4%, in real terms, last year. This meant a drop from 0.31% to 0.28% of OECD member’s GNI, rather than rising up towards the 0.7% of GNI agreed to at the Gleneagles … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Macro Trends, Life, Politics | 4 Comments

China: all but wheat, sugar and rice

Posted on April 8, 2008 by

Wheat, sugar and rice, along with “certain paper products” those are the items that will remain subject to tarrifs when we export them to China. They represent about 4% of our exports to China, so not a bad outcome. All … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Global Macro Trends, NZ Business, Politics | 1 Comment

Blogging for $35 billion – Expensive Tankers

Posted on March 30, 2008 by

So you lose a $35 billion deal to a competitor that you have been keeping away from your major customer for years. What do you do? Well if you are Boeing, the customer is the US Government (Airforce), the competitor … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Global Macro Trends, media, Politics | 1 Comment

Ham-fisted intervention in markets is dull thinking

Posted on March 4, 2008 by

Score one for protectionism, and minus several ranks of the economic freedom index for New Zealand, after the Government intervenes to prevent a Canadian fund from buying into Auckland airport. When the market drops by 2% after a new protectionist … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Global Macro Trends, Investing, NZ Business, Politics | 5 Comments

Blocking Sky is bad for everyone

Posted on January 29, 2008 by

Sky may be forced to not bid for exclusive access to big events of “national significance”. Well, it’s one of several proposals apparently, so let’s not jump up and down yet. The result would be less incentve for sky to … Continue reading →

Posted in media, NZ Business, Politics | Leave a comment

Guaranteeing Safety on the roads

Posted on December 23, 2007 by

A timely topic as we head out on the annual Christmas travel-fest. It’s dangerous on those roads, and we all need to do something about it. The NZ Government has come up with their list of measures to reduce fatalities … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Motorcycling, Politics | 1 Comment

Anti Free trade: BNZ and USA

Posted on December 22, 2007 by

Why is it so complicated to wire money from the USA to NZ? I know the US laws are convoluted, but BNZ certainly isn’t helping reduce barriers to free trade with these instructions: Dear Mr Wiggs Thank you for your … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet Business, Life, NZ Business, Politics | 3 Comments

Why not charge $40 for a pack of cigarettes

Posted on November 22, 2007 by

Via Freakanomics, it seems that for men US$222, and for woman US$94, is the true cost of a packet of cigarettes, when you add in the net preent value of the damage to your health and lifespan. The public sector … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, media, Politics | 5 Comments

Blame the invisible man

Posted on October 30, 2007 by

Part of the blame for the underinvestment by Telecom, and under0-reaction by the NZ Government has to go on the National Party’s Maurice Williamson: A rare written question from National Party communications spokesman Maurice Williamson to Communications Minister David Cunliffe … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadband, Life, Politics | 3 Comments

Telecom’s $1.4 billion investment

Posted on October 29, 2007 by

It’s great news. Score plus one for Paul Reynolds, who is making all the right moves as he embarks on the Telecom turnaround. I’m running on the promised ADSL2+ here in Perth, and it is fast enough for most purposes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadband, Internet Business, Politics, telecom | Leave a comment

US State – enforcing Iraq postings

Posted on October 28, 2007 by

The US State Department (foreign service) is enforcing postings in Iraq – there is no turning them down it seems, else you lose your job. That’s scary for 250 or so people who will be informed on Monday, and have … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Politics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Al Gore unleashed

Posted on October 24, 2007 by

if you want to see what Al Gore could be like as a US Presidential candidate, then look at this camera phone video. He is passionate, and calls Bush on the blunders before 911. It’s an utter transformation – the … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Macro Trends, Politics | 3 Comments