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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Why cannot the spouses of Kiwi MPs enjoy paid-for porn?
David Bain questions for the day
In this series of photos we see Robin Bain was wearing a brown jersey when discovered, yet fibres from underneath the fingernails of Stephen Bain indicate a struggle with someone who wore a green jersey.
Why would Robin Bain wash the jersey, hang it on the line, and then change into a brown jersey?
Has Key laid a trap??? Will Uncle's UN corruption come out in the wash?
He has shown fine leadership, but Liarbour is already licking its lips at the prospect of scandal.
Labour is aiming to make hay over the issue in parliament today.
I am sure that UN-Gate is a far bigger scandal than Richard Worth and one that finally needs its audience in the mainstream media.
Right On Cue
This charming fellow had no less than twelve previous offenses, including one for a vicious and premeditated assault. He was out on bail when he murdered an innocent young girl.
What more could Rodney ask for?
Reshuffle or Recycle?
Can anyone imagine a more striking difference between National/John Key and Labour/Helen Clark than this demonstration of leadership style?
photo pinched from Herald
Adolf tried in vain to think of anything useful by way of public utterances or doings which could be attributed to the worthless National Party list MP from Epsom. Useful to the Party, that is.
At least Nick Smith has some PR (vote winning) runs on the board with his agressive handling of ACC. BTW, Adolf last week attended a conference session hosted by ACC and he left it in no doubt that ACC expects to face competition and is gearing up for it. Good on them.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Out of touch
We have probably all overdosed on tales of malfeasance by the UK Labour party here. And at my place too just quietly.
But it occurred to me that UK Labour really are out of touch with the common man when the husband of a senior cabinet minister gets sprung buying porn.
Who actually pays for porn?
For crying out loud, has the man no access to broadband and a computer?
Rise of Sea Levels the "greatest lie ever told"
Hat Tip: Crusader Rabbit.
Cross-checking at TVNZ
He has many convictions for fraud the story told us.
Well Gooner has discovered where some of the victims' hard-earned money went. Back to TVNZ through advertising spending.
You see during the ad break of Close Up there was an ad for a company called, um, er Envirotech Industries Limited, and they were advertising, um er portable kitchens and granny flats.
Not sure what a 30 second slot on Close Up costs but I bet it ain't cheap.
Probably around $60K I reckon.
UPDATE: A search at the Companies Office reveals a Graham Ashley Palmer is the sole director of Envirotech.
Hungarian-born US billionaire George Soros says it is "conceivable" that Britain will have to resort to a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
"It's conceivable," Soros said in an interview with the Times published on Saturday.
"You have a problem that the banking system is bigger than the economy ... so for Britain to absorb it alone would really pile up the debt."
Soros said that "if the banking system continued to collapse, it's (an IMF bailout) a possibility but it's not a likelihood."
The man who made $US1 billion on selling the pound on Black Wednesday in 1992 described the current recession as a "once-in-a-lifetime event", particularly in Britain.
"This is a crisis unlike any other. It's a total collapse of the financial system with tremendous implications for everyday life.
"On previous occasions when you had a crisis that was threatening the system the authorities intervened and did whatever was necessary to protect the system.
This time they failed."
He said he feared the problem in Britain, with its huge financial and banking interests, could be greater than in the United States.
At Last, A Beacon of Common Sense
"Contrary to widespread thinking and unlike previous coups, the December 2006 Bainimarama-led takeover was not to protect the indigenous heritage from Indo-Fijian-supported, Labour Party-led Governments.It was motivated by the perceived corruption of Laisenia Qarase's SDL party Government, and against its institutional racism towards Indo-Fijians."
You would never have guessed this from the strident rhetoric of Clark, Peters and, I regret to say, McCully and Co when in opposition.
"There's also a strong prima facie case, according to the Commission of Inquiry into the 2006 Fiji General Election, to indicate that this election was systematically corrupt and probably denied for the third time in Fiji's recent history the election of a Labour Party-led Government."
Somewhat like like NZ's 2005 election was rigged by way of illegal spending on the part of Clark and Co. Quarase had very experienced mentors in Clark and Peters.
Here is the most astute of observations:-
"But substantive problems arise because the achievement of a genuine democracy is not simply given by universal franchise.
The developed world often thinks democracy is a straightforward gift to developing nations and that its repeated failure has nothing to do with the complexities of achieving democracy. Despite obvious and less obvious anomalies, election observers from the UN and the developed world are keen to rubber-stamp just about any election."
The Commodore is absolutely right to politely tell the UN, The Pacific Forum, New Zealand, Australia and all other do gooder busy bodies to fuck off and mind their own business.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
All we did was fail to stop him saving the Earth
I went to see Watchmen today, so here's a pathetic imitation of a film review.
I took my son along to see it, as he's read the comic and was keen to go (and it gave me an excuse to go). He's only 13, so the poor girl taking tickets had to ask him for ID and then be browbeaten by me into letting him in on my say-so. I felt a bit ashamed of myself for it, but fuck it - if I ever want Bill Hastings to tell me what movies are OK for my kids to see, I'm capable of asking him myself, thanks.
I was more impressed with Watchmen than I expected to be. It's a long time since I read the comic, so can't really comment on how closely the film followed it (pretty closely, according to my far-from-photographic memory), but it did do a reasonable job in capturing what the book was actually about, which was the surprising thing. If there's one thing Hollywood hates it's moral ambiguity, and that's largely what Watchmen is about so it was a bit of a surprise to see that ambiguity survive the production process intact.
Hollywood isn't the only place that hates moral ambiguity, of course. I read a hilarious review linked to from Not PC, in which an Ayn Rand enthusiast finds the film "evil" exactly because of the way morality is anything but black and white in it. If there's anything an ideologue finds more offensive than the concept that morality isn't explained by a simple formula, I've yet to encounter it. Lotsa laffs if you have time to waste.
The crowning ambiguity of the movie is of course the climactic scene where our heroes confront the super bad guy in his secret base and discover that they're not only too late to stop his evil scheme, they're going to have to let him away with it if they don't want to return the world to its nuclear Mexican standoff. Disappointingly, my favourite line from the comic wasn't included in the movie: "All we did was fail to stop him saving the Earth."
Also disappointing: despite one of the points of the thing being to consider costumed crime fighters as ordinary people, the director couldn't resist giving them superhuman strength and reactions and making them impervious to damage or pain. I kept waiting for him to offer some plausible explanation of how a puny guy like Veidt has such inhuman strength and agility (not to mention how the portly Dan achieves barely inferior capabilities), but it never came. I guess the special effects arms race has a lot to answer for.
Earth Hour not useless after all shock
My daughter's contribution to Earth Hour learning moments was to ask whether the windmills above the town are supplying our house's electricity. In the interests of promoting national goodwill and co-operation I told her "Only partly, my girl - it all goes into the national grid, and our house gets its electricity from the national grid. I'm afraid those dirty, dirty Auckland huas are also getting our good clean Manawatu electricity." (I read this on a protest pamphlet a couple of years back, so it must be true.)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
David Bain questions for the day
After all, you are going to kill your family and yourself and then leave a computer message for David. Why would you try and hide your identity, if you wanted tell the world it was you?
Friday, March 27, 2009
How to get away with a crime
Anyway, normal service is resumed with a tough-on-crime post. I watched 3News' usual emotion-laden blather passing for reportage about Some-ridiculous-crim-kid-name Broughton's sentencing last night (Stuff's story here), and wondered how his earlier victim Zara Schofield must feel about the fact that he's essentially been let off for his attack on her.
How else could you describe our practice of giving concurrent sentences? This little weasel got a minimum 12.5 years for murdering Karen Aim. Zara Schofield gets to sit there and watch how the mere 6 years he got for failing in his attempt to murder her (incompetence rewarded, how very NZ) is made concurrent with the longer sentence, ie the only sentence he'll actually serve is the one he got for Karen Aim.
I feel like we've let Zara Schofield down. Stupid-name Broughton, a broken thing that's obviously lost or simply never had whatever it is that makes us human, should be serving a sentence for her before he even starts serving the one he got for Karen Aim - giving him concurrent sentences is simply a message to Schofield that she doesn't count, and a message to Broughton that the last crime for which you get caught is the only one for which you'll be punished.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Really-existing socialism pt 2
NB: this post isn't about Dresden and no correspondence on that subject will be entered into.
I'm still slowly ploughing through Walter Weidauer's "Inferno Dresden." I'm interested in the subject matter, but a historical work in the German of 50 years ago isn't light bedtime reading by anyone's standards, so I'm taking it a bit at a time.
It's weird reading a historical work about events of WW2 written by a Stalinist. It's kind of a distorted mirror of the more propagandist Western history a la Stephen Ambrose, in which the honest people of goodwill on the Soviet side, who want only peace and stability in Europe, mount a heroic struggle not only against the evil forces of fascism but against the secret agendas and undermining duplicity of their so-called allies, the imperialists Churchill and Roosevelt. As an example, consider these descriptions of the Yalta conference (all translations mine):
The representatives of the three powers, the USSR, the USA and England, came to Yalta with different plans and concepts for the shape of post-war Europe. While the USSR sought ways to a genuine peaceful order, the views of the statesmen of England and the USA reflected the wish on the one hand to remove annoying German competitors from world markets, and on the other to be able to dictate political terms to a greatly weakened and bled-out USSR. pp18-19
The Soviet Union stood firmly against any plans and intentions that would lead to the partition of Germany for the purpose of maintaining the dominance of imperialism and militarism in at least a part of the country. Its main aim at all times was the creation of a peaceful, democratic Germany forever free from chauvinism and militarism. p20
(I swear the above isn't a 'Dim Post'-style satire, but direct quotes.)
The book's also a kind of distorted mirror of the view of WW2 common amongst NZers. In NZ, WW2 European theatre is usually seen as a struggle of the democracies against fascism, which was fought mainly in North Africa, Italy and western Europe, with some insignificant sideshows fought by the commos, who were only able to get anywhere against the Germans thanks to our propping them up. In Weidauer's book, WW2 is a struggle of the Soviet Union against fascism, which was fought mostly within the Soviet Union, apart from some insignifcant sideshows mounted by the imperialists, who were only able to get anywhere against the Germans thanks to the Soviet Union taking on the bulk of their forces. (Most depressingly, Weidauer's tunnel vision is in this respect way less unrealistic than ours.)
The strangest thing for me though is the enthusiasm with which Weidauer, a German, discusses the successes of the Red Army against his own countrymen. He offers figures for casualties the Soviet forces inflicted on the Wehrmacht with such obvious pride that you could be forgiven for thinking he'd worn a Soviet uniform himself. The man is of course a Quisling - as a long-time member of the KPD (German Communist Party) he was a loyal servant of Stalin and was rewarded after the war with the mayoralty of Dresden, so naturally he's a supporter of his imperial patrons. Still, it's strange to read the obvious pleasure with which he describes the destruction and enslavement of his own country by totalitarian forces as bad as the ones he'd opposed.
Thanks to the superior leadership and rapid advance of the Red Army, the eastern front was a bottomless pit for the fascist Wehrmacht. To try and stop the Soviet forces at all costs, new formations were constantly created and thrown into battle. Almost always, the Red Army was opposed by an enemy well equipped with weapons of all kinds [this would have been news to the typical Landser of 1944 - PM]. Reports reveal for example that most divisions during 1944 were completely re-equipped from the ground up 3 times. Panzer divisions were re-equipped with tanks 5 or even 6 times. The crews however could only be partly replaced. So the Hitlerwehrmacht slowly bled completely out under the blows of the Soviet Army, and the German armaments industry couldn't cover the enormous material losses over the long term. p32
In extremely heavy fighting, the Soviet soldiers had driven the fascist Wehrmacht from the Volga to the Oder and east Prussia. The German generals tumbled from one defeat to another. Despite the bitter resistance of the fascists, the Soviet offensives stormed onwards. Often it was only difficulties with maintaining supplies that prevented Soviet forces from continuing to attack the badly defeated enemy. At this point nothing more could prevent the full, catastrophic collapse of Hitlerdeutschland. p42
On the 26th of January it was still 195km to Berlin. On the 30th it was 160km and by the 1st of February the Red Army stood only 70km from Berlin. In the south they pushed far westwards from Breslau during the course of the January offensive. In the clear nights, the sound of artillery was clearly audible in the heights around Dresden. This Soviet offensive cost the Wehrmacht around 500,000 men, over 1000 aircraft, about 1500 tanks and self-propelled guns and more than 11,500 artillery pieces and rocket launchers. The danger to allied troops on the western front was thereby set aside with one blow. German resistance in the west remained weak.
Millions and millions of people, driven from their homes by the animalistic fascists, dragged themselves westwards; p46
You have to admire the way the flood of Jerry refugees risking their lives to trek westwards is because they were driven from their homes by the "animalistic fascists" (vertierten Fascisten). And naturally, the orgy of rape, torture, murder, looting, destruction and arson the Red Army kicked off when it arrived in East Prussia on its noble quest to bring peace and order to Germany doesn't rate a mention. It's an interesting book in that it makes me wonder what German histories of the war would look like if the Nazis had won. Probably a lot like this one, but with the names and epithets swapped around, I guess. Reading it reminds me of the Iran/Iraq war, in that both sides are equally unsavoury so you don't feel like you can cheer one on against the other.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
What Recession?
Stopped at Katikati to get a couple of pieces of Tarakihi (no chips) and a couple of muscles for lunch - from the local Shark and Shavings shop run by a Chinese family.
Cruised up the to the shady and grassy layby at Athenrea and sat down beside the car on the grass to enjoy lunch. Delicious.
As I sat there watching the traffic go by I suddenly realised there was a steady stream of fully loaded logging trucks heading for Port of Tauranga, a steady stream of produce trucks heading for Auckland, a steady stream of camper vans going both ways and squeezed into what road was left, a steady stream of small commercial and private vehicles.
If the media would just shut up about the recession for five minutes, people might regain their confidence and invest in activities which generate employment.
Everywhere I went I encountered from people resentment on the part of business people at the spoiling and juvenile role being played by the media in over cooking their 'recession' stories.
They are quick to report on job losses but almost never ever report on newly created jobs.
On a different subject, there were some priceless gems today on question time.
Some jerk asked Rodney Hide - 'Can he explain what he meant when he said blah blah blah?'
Rodney stood up and delivered a three word reply - "Yes, I can"
Monday, March 23, 2009
Earth Hour fun
Anyhow, it was pointed out to me that we have the chance to win a brand new car by going into a draw. Cool.
Luckily, when you enter you get to comment on what Earth Hour means to you.
Can I suggest we all have some fun and enter the draw and in the comments please write what Earth Hour means to you, as I have.
I need to add that my daughter came home from school tonight saying how she was excited about Earth Hour this Saturday. I explained it was on at 8:30pm and she would be in bed by then and also said (mean-spiritedly according to my wife) that she should go to school tomorrow and proudly announce that we weren't taking part in Earth Hour as "daddy says global warming (oops, Climate Change) is not real".
Because it *is* our problem
Remember the ad? It featured the blogosphere's very own Russell Brown. He was the rational, bearded father extolling that child abuse is *our* problem. In other words we mustn't ignore it if we see it happening. That's fair enough. On the weekend I tried it out.
Being young & pretentious, my wife and I, and our daughter (who is of sufficent age to actually be called young and pretentious) checked out the race course for next weekend's Weetbix Tryathlon in St Heliers. We showed our eight year old where to make her move on the bike and then where to surge on the 1K run to come home in place #3,675. It went totally over her head.
But after talking about it we were all hungry and so the bakery in St Heliers, whose name escapes me, beckoned. We were lucky as there was a park right outside. In strolled wife and daughter who were under strict instructions to purchase for me a wholemeal chicken roll and nothing else. No pie. No donut. No cake. No sugary drink. My orders were followed without demur.
But as they were inside purchasing, outside eating was a lady with a 10 year old boy (or so). I presumed it was mother/son. It was with this couple whom I witnessed the child abuse.
This poor boy had a fat guts. And I'm not talking puppy fat that toddlers have. This boy was at least 10 and he had rolls of fat that could clearly be seen through his shirt. His mother was quite thin and it was with uncaring eyes through which she witnessed him stuffing his face with lolly cake, a pie and a chocolate milk drink - a large one at that.
I couldn't help myself. I had to intervene on the child abuse. I got out of the car and said she couldn't do that; it was against the law. She asked what I was talking about. I replied "abusing your son like you are doing". She looked strangely at me and asked "what abuse? I never hit my son. What are you talking about"? I apologised for intervening but explained as the TV ads featuring Russell Brown said it was *our problem*, and therefore *my problem* I had to step in when I saw abuse. She again queried what abuse I was talking about - that she didn't hit anyone, let alone her son and was I nuts? That was a fair question.
Then I just gave her a number: 580. I explained that she had just hit her kid 580 times: that's the number of calories I estimated he had just consumed for lunch and how he needed to exercise in excess of an hour this afternoon, solidly, to burn it off.
At this stage my wife and daughter had come out of the bakery with my singular wholemeal chicken roll. I looked at mum and son, pointed at my roll, and said "180".
We left. Point proven hopefully.
If in the future you want me to mind my own business don't go on TV stating it is *our* problem. You might save a well annointed mum from St Heliers a whole lot of embarrassment.***
*** I should point out I suppose that I saw what was mentioned in this post but never intervened. Mind you it was verrry tempting. My point is this: is there a limit on what is child abuse and what isn't? Because what I witnessed was, in my view, child abuse and therefore, according to Russell, was my problem to sort out.
S92A..... So what. The polite version
Many of us suspected this was foisted on us for a few reasons.
1.Tizard is a shameless freeloading trougher and the "luvvies" filled her up with liquid panty remover to get it in.
2. The yanks demanded it as part of Phill Goffs fake free trade talks with the USA which was never anything more than a patronising pat on the head anyway.
3. Labour wanting to shut down the noise.. That noise being the blogs who all use pinched pics.
How nice it is to be able to look up without fear of the labour party smashing it's boot in our teeth anymore.
Disclosure.. Have never downloaded any music... YET.
But as my local Warehouse does not stock Back in Black which needs replacing on CD after the first born STOLE it when he visited at Xmas....... Can somebody point me to a place where I can acquire this electronically without being forced to endure a legion of pop ups.
Oh, and it needs to be in a format that can save to my Ipod. I am up to 237 days of paid for music on this magnificent piece of kit but without Back in Black it is like Xmas without trifle.
Cross posted at the sewer with the sweary bits put back in.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Future political leaders
A budding-right-wing politician took out the New Zealand Vegemite Spelling Bee in Wellington yesterday, the second time in a row for a Hamilton Boys High School student.
Christopher Jury, 13, out-spelled 12 other year-nine students from around the country, winning a trip to Washington DC for an international spelling bee and a 375,000-word dictionary to study...Jury plans to become a politician and is already an Act Party member...
Meanwhile the future leader of the Labour Party (picture below) makes a headline himself.
Ex banker's crocodile tears
A FORMER bank executive says the complex formulas some banks use to
calculate mortgage break fees mean customers are being charged thousands more
than they should be to change their loans.
ASB, BNZ and the National Bank look at the change in "customer" interest rates the rates you see advertised in the window of the bank when calculating their break fees, yielding costs that Bolton says are quite fair.
But Kiwibank, Westpac and ANZ, and other lenders including GE and Wizard, base their calculations on the change in the "wholesale" interest rates (the rates banks pay to borrow from elsewhere). Because wholesale rates have fallen faster than customer rates, break fees calculated this way can be far higher.
Kiwibank, ANZ and Westpac deny their formulas do anything other then recoup the costs of breaking customers' loans. Westpac said: "We do not agree that our prepayment cost formula is inappropriate or that it overstates the loss suffered by the bank when a fixed rate loan is prepaid."
Kiwibank said: "The bank is certainly not `over-collecting' as only the genuine cost of breaking this external liability is passed on to the customer." ANZ said its formula reflected the actual costs incurred when a customer broke their contract.
Bolton says a bank using a customer rate break fee formula would not have charged Garabet anything, and using a fairer estimate of the bank's true cost of breaking Garabet's loan, the charge should have been around $4800.
Bolton says in normal times either calculation would yield similar break fees, but these are not normal times so all lenders should be using the "customer" rates, as it gives a fairer result.
In one instance a Kiwibank customer was quoted $45,800 to break their
$285,000 mortgage when, by Bolton's calculations, it should have been just
$25,300 (see table). Bolton is a former Westpac and ANZ executive, so knows how
banks fund their mortgages and therefore calculate break fees. His calculations are the first public attempt to show that banks are over-charging.
UPDATE: As Paul says in the comments, the wholesale rate is probably where it's at in the near future.
Momentous change
This is now all fixed, suede shoes can now be worn again.
And because of this I am doing this........... Soon.
Cross posted at the sewer
Less Than Three Months
Yeah, that's The Messiah with the skinny black legs and the big ears.
Matt lights up again
Matt really should quit smoking bananas
I like to think it has dawned on most people that unfettered capitalism is
just a form of gangsterism and is past its use-by date.
The real problem is that unfettered capitalism only exists between Matt's ears.
If it did exist people would have the freedom to choose to enjoy cigarettes and the freedom to take responsibility and pay for any nasty consequences to their actions.
It is actually unfettered socialism that is the problem.
Telling people that the state will look after then, regardless of their choices, personal responsibilities and actions is what is really past its used-by date.
If Matt's world really existed two things would have happened by now
1. Labour would have used it's 9 years of unfettered socialist gangsterism to throw tobacco companies out.
2. No one would now smoke in Cuba -the home of the world's finest cigar.
What did you learn today, kid?
My view is that Boscawen's got rich political pickings here, and if lefties don't like that they should blame Sue Bradford and Helen Clark for it, not ACT and Family First. But anyhoo, among the usual strawmen and false analogies offered by anti-smackers was this:
...during the 90s, ACT went to the polls with a policy of lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 12. So a few years ago, ACT thought of children as calculating, rational and culpable creatures that needed to be called to account in the dock. Now, they're dumb things that need to be hit so they can learn.
Leaving aside the fact that a 12-year-old isn't someone you're able to discipline with a slap on the arse, I'm interested in the idea that smackers supposedly think kids need to be hit so they can learn.
The bit about needing to be hit to learn was presumably hyperbole, but it did cause me to ponder what I actually learned from the occasional thoroughly well-deserved smack I got as a kid. According to liberals, what I learned was that violence is a good means of getting your own way, but given that the last time I threw a punch was in school, that lesson doesn't seem to have worked too well. I think what I actually learned from my parents smacking me was more like this:
1. Behaviour has consequences.
2. If you behave badly enough, the consequences can get swift and unpleasant.
3. If there's a credible threat, you pay attention to warnings.
4. If you push people far enough, they will hurt you.
5. It's possible for situations to arise in which even otherwise placid and charitable people are best served by some carefully targeted violence.
It may not be the stuff of which episodes of "The Waltons" are made, but frankly I think these are good, valuable lessons and I'm glad my parents troubled themselves to teach them to me. Perhaps liberals manage to get the same lessons across to their own kids in some way, but I have my suspicions about that.
They Never Learn
The lead story at 0300 was a rant from some jumped up heavily accented WOG (westernised oriental gentleman) from the inexorably corrupt United Nations, berating NZ for being number 15 on the OECD list of 22 nations which donate foreign aid. This looks like another of those feel good socialist bed wetting projects the Bilious Bitch and her mates signed us up to in 2000. They've called it The Millenium Project.
Mr Korruption himself, Kofi Annan and a UN head tilter
Adolf has some advice for these pricks from the UN.
Go and tell all your yabbering Ayrab and African mates to stop buying Kalashnikovs and spend the money on the poor. Problem solved overnight.
When we can improve our health system so that our citizens no longer die by the thousand waiting for treatment; when we improve our defense forces to the stage that we can put aircraft onto the sky and ships onto the sea all year round instead of just 120 days each year; when we can drive through our largest city in less than ninety minutes; when we can turn out from our schools young adults who know how to read and write other than text language; when we can lock crims up and actually keep them locked away; maybe, just maybe, we might be able to afford to spend a little more on foreign aid.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Larger Than LIfe
Even if you are only marginally into classical music, get along to see it - locally at the Bridgeway Theatre in Northcote. You won't be disappointed.
And as for the gorgeously seductive soprano from Romania - well enough said.
Shonky Science? Shonky Journalism? or both?
Some things were well established, in other areas there were competing explanations, and in yet others only speculation.
"The fact that there are speculative components does not eliminate the fact that there are well-established bits," Schneider said.
"System science works on the preponderance of evidence and you have to make risk management assessments."
In the well-established basket are the so-called "hockey stick" graphs showing steep rises in levels of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide since the dawn of the industrial era.
Is the above line an actual quote from "expert" Schneider or Brian Fallow's humble opinion. The absence of exclamation marks makes it very unclear.
Either way, along with some dozy TV1 "news" reporter on a beach with a tape measure, we are being fed BS.
It is my understanding that the hockey stick graph is in the not-so-well established basket. Or more likely the fear mongering basket.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Take a hike
With who exactly? Probably the nambies that Helen spent a lifetime buttering up to to ensure a comfortable retirement.
In the real world our reputation will only be enhanced as tourists will feel safer coming here and many decent NZer's will sleep better at night knowing scumbags are off the streets.
The UnNecessary can take a hike.
And speaking of hiking, I'm away next week on the boy's annual tramping expedition, out the back of Queenstown, so posting will be nonexistant.(whiskey is more important than laptops) Hopefully will return in one piece with photos.
Brumby Knackers Victoria
The Ockers should have taken a peep over the ditch at the Auckland Regional Council before it's gung ho Labour Premier decided to blow $3 million of tax payer's money on a commercial sporting event. Here's what the Premier had to say.
"We expect thousands of visitors from interstate and overseas will come to Melbourne to see the world's greatest golfer on one of Melbourne's world class golf courses.
"The event will boost tourism, create jobs for Victorians and beam Melbourne to millions of people through a worldwide television audience.
"When you think of major events, whether it's the Grand Prix the Australian Open or any other major event, nobody can put on an event as well as Melbourne does."
The estimated economic impact from the event is expected to be up to $19 million as well as a huge national and international television audience."
He really is pulling figures out of his arse, just as the ARC did with it's abortive foray into high risk event underwriting.
It's time Premier John Brumby went off to the knackers yard.
Police camera
A spook has leaked copies of the images to No Minister. They contain not only graphic victim images but also images if the worst criminal offenders New Zealand has seen in nine years. Warning: if you don't want to see graphic images of criminals, bullies and thugs and their victims then turn away now.
The offenders
The victims
Thursday, March 19, 2009
WINZ.... Client rip offs. Number 1 in an enormously long series.
Came as a bit of a shock to me as well.
As part of the personal odyssey I have been travelling on over the last few years in the North I have been in regular contact with one of the larger franchise groups. I shall not name them because they are not relevant to this post and I have checked the story with other contractors throughout the region.
WINZ will pay for your lawn to be cut if you cannot afford to pay or are incapable of cutting it yourself (no mower or a missing leg or any other reason you can think of actually).
Now, I was gob-smacked when I first heard this but after my initial gut reaction I had a think about it and now am of the opinion SO WHAT.
DPB mums or the elderly or people on a sickness benefit need help and WINZ provides it.
I really do not have issue with this.
The process in the North and pretty much everywhere else in the country as far as I can establish with the exception of Wanganui is very simple.
The WINZ client asks a contractor for a quote, then takes the quote to WINZ and then WINZ simply pop a payment into the clients account at whatever frequency the client has asked for (normally fortnightly).
Easy peasy, minimal paperwork for WINZ to deal with and everybody is happy.
It turns out that this appears to have become a major scam for WINZ clients.
The major franchise group I have discussed this with have informed me that of the WINZ quotes they provide; less than 1 in 10 eventuates in the client hiring them to cut the grass.
What is happening is that they get the quote, trouser the cash and then cut the grass themselves or in the case of the town of Kaikohe.. Simply don't bother.
Now people do not normally get written quotes for lawnmowing, they just get a price or three and hire the one they want. It is only WINZ clients that ask for quotes in writing and anecdotally they are often asking for the quote to be rewritten at a higher price.
WINZ never check that the work is being done EVER. And do not ask for more than one quote either!
I mentioned Wanganui briefly, aparently that office does check. Well done them.
How do we fix this rort?
Well the first thing I would do is make WINZ pay the contractor directly. They could tender the work by region or local office and they would end up getting the work done cheaper.
And what do we do with the fraudsters who have been stealing the money.. Probably nothing because that is not the way we roll in Noo Zild. But lets close this hole quickly.
Email going to the minister this evening.
How to make them utterly irrelevant......
What a message it would send to labour, the greens, the commisars at the standard, and to the shrinking number of kiwis who supported the clark government, if John Boscowan's amendment to S59 was passed.
Another piece of their odious legislation tossed in the bin confirming once and for all that the last nine years have been the equivalent of a handbrake on the wheels of New Zealand's progress.
And with respect to bradford's bill, what has it achieved? " Now our babies will be safe" she said.
Umm no sue, people are still killing them, but now Joe and Jess Average are criminals for smacking Johnny on the arse for his misdemeanours. I believe that this was the green's plan all along and the depth of sue's silence on the parade of beaten and bashed kids since the bill was passed, being inversely proportional to the lioness - like intensity with which she attacks the legislation's critics as it is, only confirms my suspicions.
I personally believe the Burrows amendment had merit, but am about to do some investigation into the Australian legislation which, I believe, allows for the use of smack with the hand as part of normal parenting practise. Anyone confirm that?
National MPs, you know what you have to do. Go to it.
Peter Schiff
Hat Tip: NotPC.
AIG - The Local Business
Zen Tiger has another perspective over at NZ Conservative.
Adolf looks back with amusement at the expensive PR exercise mounted two years ago to re brand the then AIA business. They renamed it AIG. Paid consultants a fortune for the job and patted themselves on the back now that they could piggy back off the good name and reputation of AIG. How the mighty have fallen.
Now you know why in the Life industry, those who have been around for a while will tell you 'big is not best.'
Readers might be interested to hear what the local 'industry' rumour mill is saying:-
Contrary to comments on certain blogs, there is no indication of an AIG internal policy to unreasonably reject claims.
The Australasian businesses are up for sale but nobody is prepared to pay the asking price.
There has been a shake up in underwriting with reinsurers raising their eyebrows at some recent past practice.
AIG's new business has tanked. They are taking a pounding.
Adolf would be very interested to hear from policy holders who do feel genuinely aggrieved.
There are a number of avenues for redress. (TVNZ's Fair Go programme is at the very bottom of the list.)
Their Cupboard Truly Is Bare
Key's charity push stirs doubts
Herald please take note. When the PM says to a conference of charitable organisations that he would like to see more wealthy people give more to charity, his remarks DO NOT CONSTITUTE A SINISTER SECRET RIGHT WING AGENDA. This foolish and hyperbolic use of the word 'push' is the sort of thing which does The Herald no favours. Leave that junk to the Murdock tabloids.
More importantly, Armstrong opens a window into the psyche of the miserly Ebenezer Balfours of Left. For them, the concept of personal generosity is foreign. They cannot see past the all embracing state. That's why they hate the Churches.
"The Prime Minister's speech to Philanthropy New Zealand's annual conference yesterday will be interpreted by those parties as further evidence that the current National Government is hell-bent on reducing the role of the state - especially when placed alongside cuts in staffing of Government departments and ministries."
Thank God these drab, shriveled and morally constipated people will not be returned to power during my lifetime.
A fat belly
But over the years people have gravitated to that fat belly called "the centre". This has probably as much to do with it being a western world comfort zone than anything else. Our recent elections have been fought and won in this no man's land. Our governments have responded by passing laws and collecting taxes to entrench it. MMP thrives on it.
People can hang out in the centre, knowing that no real harm will come to them and their risks are minimised. The government will be there to hold their hand.
The fundamental problem with the centre is that it breeds mediocracy, laziness and risk adversion. The much vaunted saviour to our current woes, "higher productivity", becomes meaningless as people have forgotten how to really achieve it or, even worse, it is all too much like hard work.
People should choose to give their whole hearted support to either one side of the ledger or the other.
By hanging out in the soft belly they are living in a fool's paradise.
There isn't a more capable man on the planet than John Key to manage and even trim our fat belly, but he is ultimately doomed to failure unless we as a people harden up and give him a clear mandate to move things out of the comfort zone we can't afford.
Otherwise we will wake up one day to discover that all we hold dear has packed up and moved on.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
DML DMolished
The guts of the deal is that the dickhead Arthur who heads DML in NZ underestimated the competition for his cosy little gold mine in the Auckland region and the nasty newcomer beat him hands down in the tendering process. Now dickhead Arthur is trying to save his sorry arse by scaring the shit out of Auckland patients and frustrating the decision of the DHBs and the courts by attempting to abort the transition from one supplier to another. If he fails, he's out on the pavement collecting the dole.
Technically and legally OK but morally and pragmatically very stupid.
You see, Labtests are not going to sit around with their thumbs up their bums waiting upon the indulgence of dickhead Arthur. They are going to screw him - and his staff, if they are stupid enough to believe the balderdash he is churning out.
Adolf's spies are out and the word is trickling in that there is a cunning plan to strand dickhead Arthur way up the creek without even a toothpick with which to scratch his arse.
DML thinks it has the whip hand because it appears to have cornered all the suitable blood letting venues and staff. Well, think again dickhead.
Adolf is advised there has been a massive block booking of some 400 camper vans for a four month period commencing one month before changeover date - September 7th 2009.
These bookings have been carried out secretly using cover names, a variety of dates and booking in groups of four or five. They will be outfitted for blood letting in the month before change over. Arrangements are being made with Progressive and Foodstuffs for their supermarket car parks to be used for venues for a three month period. Each camper van will service three supermarket sites each day - on rotation.
Fifty to sixty skilled staff will be shuttled in from Australia to man the units and or train new staff to take over.
All of this extra expense will be partially funded by the DHBs themselves because if they allow dickhead Arthur to disrupt normal medical services then they will have their arses handed to them on a plate by Tony Ryall. There is sufficient evidence now in the public domain for the DHBs to take legal action against DML for recovery of these costs.
The biggest losers in this fight are current staff of DML who are being shamelessly used as cannon fodder in a losing battle - in fact a battle which already is lost. Labtests will announce publicly that DML staff have until December the 7th (Pearl Harbour day) to apply for positions with the new regime. After that date no employment will be offered.
If I were a DML member of staff, I would right now be seeking a written guarantee of employment for at least six months after September 7th. Of course dickhead Arthur won't give such a guarantee. He'll just offer more inane platitudes and hollow promises which later will be broken.
Does anyone seriously expect DML's Australian masters to sit around for six months paying all those property leases and those hundreds of staff while there is no revenue coming in? Zero, zilch, nada?
Who knows, it may turn out that these mobile blood testing units turn out to be so much better than the old system that they become a permanent fixture.
After all, we in the life insurance industry now employ an outfit called Lifetest who sends a pretty little nurse along to your office or home to do your GP medical, take your bloods, blood pressure, height and weight.
DML is a monument to history.
To the Tune "Forth In Thy Name Oh Lord"
Fucked in the head I still go on,
My futile cause to pursue,
If only someone would believe,
In all I think or speak or do.
The Very Reverend Phil Goff
Martyr to the cause of socialism.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Cops totally exonerated: Herald plays on fear and hyperbole
He, Senior Constable Keith Abbott, has been acquitted by a jury in a private proecution, vindicated to most extents by the coroners report, and now totally cleared, nine years later, by the IPCC report. But does the Herald mention this? Not a chance. Instead it runs this headline:
Police should have shown more care to shot Wallace - IPCAAnd then it blabbers on about how first aid wasn't applied to Wallace despite this fact "The surgeon and a pathologist confirmed that even if first aid had been rendered immediately after the shooting, Mr Wallace would not have survived."
Stupid things people say
First up tonight is the Cock of Campbells Bay, who moonlights as the Mayor of North Shore. For all of those not in Auckland, that's in the greater Auckland region. One might then suppose that the COCB might just have the people of greater Auckland in his best interests in matters of tax and things like that. But what's this:
This is brilliant news for Auckland that we will not have to fund our rail electrification, ferry upgrades, integrated ticketing and the Penlink causeway solely from fuel taxes taken within the Auckland region," Mr Williams said.Next up tonight on Stupid Things People Say is naysayer extraordinaire and self-confessed Marxist, Bomber. Let's hear it for the Big Bomb Man:
I would like to extend my thanks to the people from the likes of Gore, Timaru, Hokitika, Waipukurau, Stratford, Opotiki, and Kerikeri for contributing in the future to Auckland' transport woes.Mr Williams said Aucklanders were willing pay their own way out of congestion problems, "but others knew better in Wellington.
While some of our political parties pretend climate change has nothing to do with the pollution...A-ha Bomber! It's no pretence my man. Climate change, if happening, does have nothing to do with pollution as the main greenhouse gas, Co2 isn't a pollutant. Plants live off it!
And finally, last up tonight on this special edition of Stupid Things People Say is Jordan Carter. Jordan thinks this about the economic situation:
What does it all add up to? Export markets contracting in volume terms, prices for our exports falling, and only a long slow recovery at the end of it, no matter what happens. And that is why I am looking with growing incredulity at a New Zealand Government that wants us to think that things might soon turn around.
My fear is the opposite: that we ain't seen nothing yet.
What fun.
Retreat, retreat
Finally, the word retreat is used in it's correct context.
1. the forced withdrawal before an overwhelming force.
2. the act of withdrawing, retirement;
3 .an asylum, as for the insane.
Update: And it seems they can't even retreat without spending 50k of our money.
At Last Labour Gets It Right
Up and coming future Labour PM Kelvin Davis (If he's descended from Merekaimanu Anderson and Edward Telford Davis then he is a distant cousin of Adolf's) has issued a stinging press release deploring Hone Harawira's support for his two wretched nephews who attacked John Key.
""Hone can't have it both ways. On most days he lectures Pakeha on how they should respect the dignity of Maori protocol, yet at Waitangi he thinks it's cool that something akin to a street brawl involving the Prime Minister, who after all is his boss, takes place," says Kelvin Davis."
Good onya, Kelvin! ! !
Up north, the Maori word for trouble is 'Harawira.'
Yet Another Reputable Denier
Some choice and heretical extracts:-
"Is there unequivocal evidence that such global warming is real and dangerous? Well, actually, no."
"This evidence needs to be weighed against the "projections" of IPCC climate models that failed to predict the steady decline in temperatures since 2002.
We also know that the panel ignored the close correlation between sunspot effects and temperature that has existed over many thousands of years. Hence the "risk" that climate change is natural is much greater than 10 per cent."Not to mention the fabricated foundational 'science' called the hockey stick.
Then this
"Last year, $125 billion was "invested" worldwide in carbon trading and $160 billion in heavily subsidised renewable energy schemes such as wind farms. If climate change is natural, these investments will crash."
Promoters be warned
"I searched the internet and failed to find any evidence that anyone warned investors and others that the value of man-made global warming-driven investments would be at risk. If they crash, the promoters could be sued, many wind farms would lose their subsidies and wind turbines that break down could be abandoned."
Leyland rightly concludes that any rational risk/cost/benefit analysis will see the disastrous Emmissions Trading Scheme abandoned.
Declaration (If Brian Leyland is a descendant of Wilfred Brack Leyland then he is a distant cousin of Adolf's.)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Another Zealot Bites The Dust
In Adolf's view Paula Rebstock has been a disaster for New Zealand. This bloated white wahine has overseen the decline of the Commerce Commission from a genuine vehicle for consumer protection into an ineffectual ideological protector of academic competition theory - coincidentally during the reign of a Labour government which was totally ideologically driven, when it was not being pushed or pulled by opinion polls.
There can be no better example than the Commission's blocking of a merger between Qantas and Air New Zealand. You would have thought there was no other airline operating across the Tasman.
Where was she when Mark Bryers and his mob were ripping of Kiwis left right and centre? Nowhere to be seen.
Where was she when Bridgecorp was making whoopee? Nowhere to be seen.
Good riddance.
Crime debate
I don't really see the need for expensive and time consuming forums, think tanks, meetings and inquiries into matters crime. So much is available in universities, libraries, and on the net about causes of crime that I think this is a waste of time and money.
What we need to do, and I thought about this as a PhD topic one day, is not theorise and opine on the causes of crime, rather we should find 50 or so New Zealanders from across the divides who have never committed a criminal offence (or at least been caught) and find out why they don't get involved in crime and why their upbringing and livelihood led them away from crime.
Then we just need to find the common factors (which in all likelihood will be factors such as strong and loving parenting including boundaries and discipline, being taught what is right from wrong, personal responsibility etc) and then use these factors for any discussion about our policy framework.
I reckon that's pretty easy. It's contrarian, but that's a good thing.
On another crime matter, I see Lew over at Kiwipolitico has emailed David Garrett about his "homosexual rape" comments on double bunking. The emails make interesting reading.
There is one thing about David Garrett that you all need to know: if the sky is blue, David will say the sky is blue. He is delightful from the point of view that he pulls no punches and leaves you in no doubt what his views are. Whether someone like that will make a successful politician is up for debate, but it's a great personal trait IMHO.
I don't necessarily agree with Garrett's views on crime and punishment but he makes his points well and should be commended for getting stuck in. A perfect ACT MP in my view.
There is nothing inherently wrong with double bunking and I reckon the excuse that it will lead to more cases of rape utterly false.
That's because, by definition, males cannot rape males.
Fancy Footwork
Under his guidance, ACT this week-end has sidestepped with twinkle toes the biggest single danger facing it's political future. The prospect of a frustrated Sir Roger exploding himself out of the caucus with maximum collateral damage to all parties - National and ACT. It was neatly done by giving ACT MPs a conscience vote on all matters other than confidence and supply. Adolf detects here the behind the scenes influence of John Key, strategist par excellence.
If that's not the greatest political quickstep I've seen for a while, I don't know what is. Now Sir Roger can have free reign to express himself and to vote as he wishes without causing any serious repercussions for the coalition. Meanwhile Rodney can continue to abide by cabinet collective responsibility. A brilliant move.
Everybody wins. Except Labour that is.
It won't do National any harm to know it has to work a little harder to make sure it has individual members' support for legislation and it will do much to allow ACT to further capitalise on National's move toward the political centre.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Earth Hour
Here's a pledge for the good folk who know Al and his Gorebull warming based on rubbish AlGorithms from the hockey stick is, well, crap.
Leave your lights on. In fact go around the house and turn them all on, including the computers, heaters, dryers. Use all the energy you can for Earth Hour.
Make it your protest because I will be.
Nothing gets me incensed like this utter garbage. Power up dudes. Cowabunga.
Across Australia, 1000 megawatts of electricity was cut off the regular usage – and even then, immediately after the end of the hour, usage rose again, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A blog post by a Melbourne Herald-Sun columnist also noted that the overall effect of Earth Hour, taking into account the energy demand for the hour and subsequently, was negligible. In fact, Sydney actually recorded an increase in demand in the early minutes of the hour before cutting back.
PS: I wonder how many burglaries will be attempted during Earth Hour as baddies cruising the streets see lights off in homes mean "no one home".
Who's coming through your window during Earth Hour?
Come on you Spurs
The top four in the Premiership contest the Champions League next year. Fifth is not an option. Without Champions League football, the end of season transfer window is like a window in a German concentration camp: the players all try to escape.
Overnight, Villa play Tottenham. Gosh, how I love Tottenham.
Come on you Spurs,
Come on you Spurs,Come on you Spurs………..
And by the way, those scousers who are singing from the treetops this morning need to take stock. You are still five points behind and Man U has a game in hand - you're effectively 8 behind.
Get a grip.
Foxes in "not trustworthy to guard henhouse" shock!
Adolf points out in a post below that National aren't planning to privatise ACC, merely have it "opened up to the discipline of genuine competition," which is true enough - obviously you can't privatise it because there's no conceivable way to make a profit from the unfunded part. Open slather for the rest of it, though.
The left are rightly suspicious of this blather about opening ACC to the discipline of competition, because its potential competitors seem to be less efficient than ACC. Oram's figures show employer costs of ACC at $0.94 per $100 of payroll in NZ compared to an average of $1.73 in Aus (at time of measurement), and ACC's admin costs at 20% of funding compared to 25% in Aus. No point in looking to those guys to teach ACC anything about efficiency, then.
So what is it all about? Why try and talk ACC down? The bottom line is, National is the party of the employers and represents their interests. And for all that they're less efficient than ACC, Aussie insurance companies can still undercut ACC pretty easily on price, which is what matters to the employer. How can a less-efficient private sector company undercut ACC on price, you ask? Simple enough: provide poorer coverage and avoid paying out whenever the fine print allows, which will be very often if your lawyers are worth what you pay them. That's certainly how it worked last time National was in power. My employer back in 1999 opted for private insurance cover because it was cheaper than ACC. Those reduced costs came at the expense of our coverage for workplace accidents, but there was no particular reason for the employer to give a shit either way about that.
That's what it's all about for John Key in this, and don't forget it. I'm picking duplicity over incompetence on this one.
McCarten is our friend, really
The Matt The Cat Shat On
The headline says it all, really.
Key needs to stop playing with ideology and get seriousBut McCarten himself just does not seem able to get serious. He want's us to print more money like the rest of the world is doing. Apparently no-one yet has told him our current fiscal stimulus package is as large as that of any other country when measured in the only sane way which is dollars per capita of population.
"It seems every country in the world is following the US lead and pouring in massive amounts of public money to keep their economies solvent. That's everyone except, apparently, New Zealand."
And John Key is smart enough to see where that will put them in five or ten years time - down the gurglar of stagflation and high costs of production. He is positioning NZ to be better off and more competitive than it's trading partners
Then McCarten trots out the old 'does anyone believe' trick.
"For example, does anyone believe the nonsense run by Accident Compensation Corporation Minister Nick Smith is any more than a ruse to privatise accident insurance to business?"
and here:-
"Does anyone think they'll be paying lower accident levies for a better performance if it's sold?"
No Matt. No one, not even the National Party, believes it is going to be sold or privatised.
It IS going to be opened up to the discipline of genuine competition and it McCarten had his eyes open he would know that a good sixty percent of New Zealanders believe that will be a very good thing. Bill Ralston seems to think it will be a good thing.
Readers, including Fran O'Sullivan should study the actions of the current administration and ignore the rhetoric of it's detractors. Not so long ago I recall her lambasting John Key for failing to include Labour in a 'bipartisan' approach to the financial meltdown.' She and others don't appear to have noticed that in fact Prime Minister Key has drawn in and included all those organisations who share his political ideology - The unions, the employers, the bankers, the farmers, the ACT Party, the Maori Party, even the Green Party.
That ideology is "Whatever is good for New Zealand and new Zealanders."
The only stark absence is the Labour Party whose ideology - "Whatever is good for the Labour Party and its members"- has come very close to destroying our country.
It's time the The Herald dispensed with the services of McCarten, the greatest political ideologue of them all, and published the opinions of the far more astute leftist, Laila Harre.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
First, my comment from Farrar's place in respect of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Oversight Committee.
I consider myself a classic liberal and fairly close to Rodney philosophically. However in my view he is treading on thin ice here.
The only real priority of a state nation is to protect its citizens, from both internal and external threats. To achieve this a state nation needs a security service and a defence force and a police force. Sure, the SIS may go around peeping and peering and who knows, they may hold a file on me. But I've got through 40+ years without worrying about them knocking on my door and I'm sure I'll get through the next 40 without any concerns too.
ACT was right to oppose the Terrorism Suppression Bill. It is constitutionally abhorrent because it removes the separation of powers principle that is essential in our democracy. But I'd urge caution on Rodney and ACT criticising the SIS on libertarian grounds because a true libertarian knows how vital a security service is to protect our liberty.
Then, a succinct little post from the one and only Whale Oil about politics and ideology.
Politics ulimately is akin to wrestling with pigs. Two things are absolutely certain when wrestling with pigs, you're going to get dirty and the pig will enjoy it. I suggest it is time for the Libertians of our nation to get a little bit dirty and learn to wrestle with pigs. Then we can truly get some of their fine ideals into the mix.
Finally, the point of it all. John Armstrong in today's Herald.
The lesson Act has taken from the failures of other parties to sustain themselves while propping up a government is that some kind of strategy needs to be in place throughout the three-year term to ensure the party maintains its point of difference from the larger partner rather than leaving things until election year.
In Act's case, that requires more than a soft-cop, hard-cop routine which sees Hide avoiding attacks on Key and immersing himself in his ministerial portfolios, leaving Sir Roger Douglas free to criticise National when he feels that is warranted - which so far is not infrequently.
Us ACToids must never forget that politics is the art of compromise. We have spent far, far too long sitting on the sidelines telling the World we are right and everyone else is wrong. Now it is time to make a change. I don't like the Gang Insignia Bill any more than the next ACTiod but I can swallow a dead rat because that's politics.
Blair, MikeE and Co. must keep remembering that. ACT is a political party, not a think tank. And politics is all about compromise.


text:
DTP Ganymede Resolving Discouraged Access Warnings
Document Status
[8/24/07]: This document is a draft and should not be taken as offical until reviewed and approved by the DTP PMC and project leads.
As described in the DTP Ganymede Project Plan, a main goal of DTP Ganymede is to resolve as many Discouraged Access warnings in the DTP code line as possible. The reasoning and general process for doing this is outlined in the DTP Ganymede Development Guildlines. The purpose of this page is to collect specific information about how these Discouraged Access warnings will be resolved.
Current Status
A check of DTP HEAD at the beginning of August, 2007, reveals a large number of Discouraged Access warnings. We will call a Discouraged Access warning internal if the reference is within DTP itself, and external otherwise. Using this distinction, we find:
- About 1800 internal warnings
- About 160 external warnings
Resolution of Warnings
While there are a large number of Discouraged Access warnings, fortunately the vast majority of these are internal. Since we have decided that DTP components can freely use code among themselves, this means that most of the Discouraged Access warnings are really not a problem. Hence, we only need to find a way of indicating, in project and/or plug-in meta-data, that no Discouraged Access warning should be registered for org.eclipse.datatools.* classes using org.eclipse.datatools.* code.
Resolving Internal Discouraged Access Warnings
Ideally we'd like to make use of the x-friend directive for plug-in manifests. Rather than setting certain packages to "internal," we would specify the exceptions ("friends") to default internal visibilty. Since there are a large number of DTP plug-ins, and this number is changing over time, we would like to use a pattern here: something like x-friend=org.eclipse.datatools.* to indicate that any org.eclipse.datatools code can free use other org.eclipse.datatools code. Unfortunately, this is not possible: the x-friend directive requires listing each "friend" bundle, and hence is not a good solution for DTP.
We can, however, at least filter the Discouraged Access warnings at build time, giving us a clearer picture of warnings we should be addressing and allow us (if we wish) to choose error severity when reporting this class of warnings. Eclipse supports this type of build-time filtering, as described on a WTP wiki page.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Australia and New Zealand have a historic bond with neighbouring Small Island Developing States, sharing the common interest of a peaceful and prosperous region.
Fairtrade ANZ works with both producers and consumers in these countries to pursue our joint vision of a thriving future.
Fairtrade is enabling commodities grown by small-scale Pacific producers, including coffee, cocoa, coconuts, vanilla and sugar, to reach highly competitive international markets.
In 2015, more than 40,000 Pacific smallholders benefited from Fairtrade. This number continues to grow as more farming groups become part of Fairtrade. Coffee, cocoa, vanilla, sugar and other commodities can reach highly competitive international markets.
Fairtrade ANZ's work in the Pacific region started in 2006, providing certification advice to a very small number of producer organisations that were part of Fairtrade at the time. Since then, Australian and New Zealand consumers' support for Fairtrade farmers and workers has increased, as well as their interest in ethically sourced Pacific- grown products. In response, Fairtrade ANZ has scaled up the level of support given to producers in the region, with a tailored and innovative approach.
Producer support includes:
Fairtrade ANZ launched its partnership with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) in 2011. This partnership has enable the organization to develop and strengthen its Producer Support and Relations (PSR) project through which services to producers in the region are delivered. Three years later Fairtrade ANZ launched its partnership with the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). This is enabling the project to deepen its work. The PSR project is also currently supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Fairtrade International and the Network of Asia and Pacific Producers.
The PSR team currently works in Papua New Guinea, East Timor and the Pacific Islands, supporting producers to develop strong and resilient producer organizations and businesses. The central objective is sustainable development of their communities. The team gives guidance and training on certification requirements, helping producers to access Fairtrade markets. It facilitates relationships with buyers, liaises with support agencies and promotes the development of the regional network.
Need some more information?
Check out these infographics that provide an overview of Fairtrade ANZ's key accomplishments of the over the past 5 years, as well as specific developments on the ground in Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea


text:
Listen free for 30 days
The Player
Ruthless might as well be Gray Bennett's middle name. When the renowned Washington, D.C. insider talks, powerful people listen. But Gray hasn't come home to Saranac Lake to play politics. Or play at all. A tragedy has shaken the unshakable Gray Bennett to his hardened core.
And so has the most unlikely of women.
The mousy redhead who used to run around the Moorehouse B and B - the one he never noticed - is now all fiery hair and lush curves. But sweet Joy Moorehouse is too innocent for a cynic like him. So Gray won't let himself lay a hand on her…until the night he can no longer resist the woman she has become. That's when he discovers a secret that leaves him gasping for breath - and wanting more.
Critic reviews
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
- Anonymous User
- 16-09-19
struggled to finish.
storyline weak.
listened tw
did not improve with retelling. Characters were not compelling. would like to exchange this one
- lucy
- 13-04-13
goood listen
love ,lust, heart break and love again . j r ward is a good writer i love her work
- Elizabeth
- 23-12-12
Not the best story from J R Ward
I have read many books by J R Ward and find most of them well written to the point i can't put them down so was excited to start listening to this. But I was disappointed with the story line. Its another tale of playboy who changes for one girl, the one from his youth who always only had eyes for him. There seemed to be no imagination and could have been written by someone. The ending is quite abrupt I would have liked to have known more. All this being said it was an easy listen, great to have when doing the housework.
- Jake
- 31-05-12
Two different stories combined in 2nd part
What would have made The Player better?
Please re-do the 2nd part of The Player. In the middle of the 2nd part, the story abruptly stops and continues with part of Susan Mallory's latest book which was posted on the same date.
27 people found this helpful
- Jan
- 02-06-12
2 separate stories/narrators in Pt. 2 - MISTAKE!
I love JR Ward, and was enjoying this story when Chapter 7 on Part Two ended - and Chapter 8 began with a different narrator, different characters, time period, story, etc. The rest of Part Two is obviously been mistakenly combined with another story. I have called, and the call center indicated it will be corrected - I hope soon, and I would like to download the correct part or get my money back. Would really like to see how the story ends, though.
That being said, if you like the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, be warned that this is a comtemporary romance, not at all like the BDB series.
6 people found this helpful
- M. Gould
- 31-05-12
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
First would need to hear complete book to determine any star ...incomplete it's a zero
How could the performance have been better?
A complete book ... though reader could also be improved
You didn't love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
W/o a complete book, cannot say
Any additional comments?
Audible has only supplied 2/3 of the book then suddenly switches to another book. You are left hanging after listening to what might be a good book .... why wasn't this found before listing it...why hasn't it been taken off yet. All purchasers should get money back plus book credits
it is quite disconcerting as well as a waste of time to listen, get involved then suddenly hear an entirely different story and wonder what happened .... going back and forth trying to find the original book continuation.
I am extremely disappointed with Audible...very poor quality and customer service!!!!! I called and they were willing to refund purchase but said couldn't do anything else. Don'the t they realize aggravation in listening to part of a book then be left hanging. Finally plus question on how this happened, I was given a small $ credit but IMO anyone who bought this book in good faith and went thru the aggravation plus wasted time searching should get at least a free credit ..actually even two ... Believe me, it was very disturbing listening to a book while sick so as to occupy mind and wham...story disappears and I'm going back and forth trying to find the story with no luck
Well Audible, are you going to take this book off list and give fairer compensation to customers who were so put out?????
32 people found this helpful
- Rowena Portch, Author of the Spirian Saga
- 28-06-12
Wow, this is a different book for J.R Ward
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I have read every book this author has written. I must say, I was surprised that this book came from the same author. Joy, the female lead, was not the typical strong character that Ward casts in her stories. Gray, the male character, was strong in some respects, but rather weak in others that didn't seem to quite fit. Honestly, I wanted to reach out and slap them both.
The ending was nice, but I was not truly satisfied with their relationship. It was too wishy washy for my tastes and lacked the in-your-face comments, descriptions and dialog that is typical for J.R Ward.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Not my type of romance. The characters were weak and seemed to sacrifice core values for the sake of physical gratification.
Did The Player inspire you to do anything?
She made the characters sound too young. I felt as if I were reading about teenagers and not adults.
5 people found this helpful
- Julie E. Glick
- 14-06-12
Story OK, narrator seemed a little inexperienced
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Not the audio version -- the narrator made it a little tough to listen to
Would you ever listen to anything by J. R. Ward again?
YES! I love her Black Dagger Brotherhood series and Jim Frangione is a superb narrator. I also enjoyed Covet and the other 2 books in this series.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
I could tell she was reading and her inflections and male voices were off. It seems that the best narrators are good actors too. I don't like criticizing, but in the name of honesty it was kind of painful and made me want to stop listening at times.
Could you see The Player being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
4 people found this helpful
- 08-06-13
Well I'm ticked!
Yes the book was good, but it was misrepresented. After the book was over I felt there was more to the story, turns out I was right. JR wars wrote a series as Jessica Bird, this is book 2 in The Moorehouse series, none of the others are available on audible which makes me ticked!
Now onto the story. The chemistry was good the build up of sexual tension was great the overall premise was a bit unrealistic and frankly out of character for the characters but it was a good fluff love story kind of like the Sullivan series. It's a light read nothing suspenseful just nice.
3 people found this helpful
- Michelle
- 24-07-12
Nice story.
What made the experience of listening to The Player the most enjoyable?
J. R. Ward knows how to deliver an emotionally rich story. I really feel something for the characters, whether it be frustration, sadness or happiness; my emotions are touched.
Any additional comments?
About two-thirds of the way through the book, just as some of the main issues were nearing resolution, the narration changed to that of a completely different book! I was so very dissatisfied. I called customer service to make them aware of the problem and they reassured me that it would soon be resolved. To my knowledge, it has not yet been fixed. I am still waiting for someone from customer service to contact me and let me know that the problem has been resolved allowing me to reload it to my library. Until this happens, my advice to you is this: DON'T PURCHASE THIS BOOK, unless you like to hang indefinitely waiting for the ending. Why torture yourself?
3 people found this helpful
- Rosebud
- 16-03-13
Good story
Most of the other reviews seem to have been written over a year ago so maybe that's why I ran into no issues with the audio book switching stories in the middle of the recording.
I enjoyed this story but felt the narrarator was a little inexperienced. Her male voices are pretty good but every sentence seemed to be spoken with an exclamation mark after it. She seemed more relaxed with the 2nd half of the book.
All in all worth the money I spent.
2 people found this helpful
- Jeanneais
- 28-06-12
This book HAD a bug!!!!!
This is a great book . This had a bug on. But its fix now and its a geart book.
5 people found this helpful
- Leesa
- 05-08-13
Complete Book
First of all, eariler reviews had stated problems with the book but those issues have been taken care of.
I got this book because I'm a big fan of JW and my #1 series is her Brotherhood series. So I thought I would try out her romance only writing style. It was OK. It didn't set me on fire and to be honest there was nothing special about it. It was an interesting enough story but it's not something I'm going to listen to again.
My advice would be to pass on this one. I know the price is very good, but I'd rather wait and spend my money toward a great book. There's too many great listens you can get for only a few more dollars.
16 people found this helpful


text:
Catalogue No: OCRCD6057The West End's leading ladies sing great songs from the musicalsBuy the CD from Amazon:16 tracks available for downloadFor Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Fiji,Papua New Guinea & other Oceanic territoriesclick here: For USA & Canadaclick here: For all other available territoriesclick here: streaming from our® channel, or listen now on Spotify®:
Prices listed are subject to change without prior notification. Purchases will be charged at prices in effect at the time order is placed.
1. Anything Goes - Elaine Page [Anything Goes] 2. I Dreamed A Dream - Patti LuPone [Les Miserables] 3. Easy Terms - Petula Clark [Blood Brothers] 4. The Movie In My Mind - Joanna Ampil & Sonia Swaby [Miss Saigon] 5. I'm In Love With A Wonderful Guy - Gemma Craven [South Pacific] 6. Losing My Mind - Julia McKenzie [Follies] 7. The Last Man In My Life - Marti Webb [Tell Me On A Sunday] 8. I Don't Know How To Love Him - Claire Moore [Jesus Christ Superstar] 9. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Elisabeth Welch [Kern] 10. Wasted Life Blues - Carol Woods [Blues In The Night] 11. Maybe This Time - Kelly Hunter [Cabaret] 12. I Got Lost In His Arms - Suzi Quatro [Annie Get Your Gun] 13. As Long As He Needs Me - Sally Dexter [Oliver!] 14. Someone To Watch Over Me - Ruthie Henshall [Crazy For You] 15. On My Own - Kaho Shimada [Les Miserables] 16. Tell Me It's Not True - Stephanie Lawrence [Blood Brothers]
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text:
Tagged: Luis Vizcaino
TTPs for the Nationals
Nationals trade Austin Kearns to the Phillies for LHP Moises Melendez
There are
a lot of "ifs" in this trade. This deal
only makes sense if the Phillies fail to re-sign Pat Burrell, and if
Washington eats up most, if not all, of Kearns' salary for next year (last year of his contract). Kearns is
owed $8 million next year, about six million more than he is worth.
the Nationals are willing to pay that six million, then it makes sense for the
Phillies, with their need of right-handed outfielders, to acquire Kearns as
part of the solution to Burrell leaving.
I am not saying that Kearns is worthy of being the Phillies starting
left fielder. He's only as good as
a fourth outfielder, but he is a good guy to provide power off the bench, and be a
back-up in case of injury.
team interested in acquiring Kearns (actually Detroit and Toronto are
the others I can think of) should understand they have all the leverage in the
world. The Nationals need to get rid of
Kearns no matter how much salary they have to eat, and no matter how bad a
prospect they get. The Nats have Roger
Bernadina, Lastings
Milledge, and Elijah Dukes
set to start with Willie Harris,
Mike Daniel,
and Wily Mo
Pena behind them. Kearns doesn't
deserve to be in AAA, but he has no place with the Nationals.
I said, the Nationals hardly have any leverage even though they have the player
with the bigger name. Therefore they have to
take it easy on their asking price. The
important negotiation process will not be what prospect they get, but rather
how much they will pay of Kearns' salary.
I think 75% is enough. Obviously
the more money the Nationals eat, the better prospect they get but they can't
get carried away. Moises
Melendez is not trash. True, he's
not a high profile prospect (like Kearns once was) and probably projects as
a middle reliever or lefty specialist, but hey, that's the type of pitcher the
Nats need more of. Melendez wasn't used
as a lefty specialist this year in Class-A Lakewood, but being a left-handed
middle reliever without dominating stuff makes it a likely future
scenario. Melendez would go to Potomac
(A+), and maybe get a taste of Double-A before the season ends.
matter how much salary they he will have to eat, Jim Bowden (who apparently
thinks he a Jedi)
needs to trade Kearns. End of
story. I hope Jimmy B can put Kearns' "glory"
years with the Reds behind him, and move on to younger, more talented, less
expensive pastures.
Rockies trade 1B Joe Koshansky to the Nationals for RHP Saul Rivera
very sad (Saul
is my favorite player), but the truth is, if this deal were made, it would
benefit both teams.
Saul is extremely
nice to fans, but he's 31 years old entering next season. That's just slightly too old for the
rebuilding Nationals. Plus, Rivera is a
perfect fit for the Rockies who need bullpen help. After the Holliday deal, they acquired Street, but he will
probably be flipped over to another team.
I also doubt they will pick up Matt Herges'
option for next year considering his poor season and his age (39). If you add Rivera to the Colorado 'pen, it
will most likely look like this:
Corpas (CL)
Buccholz (SU)
Grilli (SU)
you noticed there were no lefties in the pen.
That's because the only left-handed reliever the Rockies have right now
is Glendon
Rusch, and he had a 5.30 ERA last year as a reliever, and lefties have a
.334 OBP against him in his career. A
.334 OBP is not bad but to make a team as a lefty specialist, you need to be
better than that.
Todd Helton, Garrett Atkins,
and Jeff Baker
block Koshansky
in Colorado, so the Rockies need to trade him.
He has shown enough talent and put up good enough numbers in the minors
to have legitimate trade value. There
will be other teams interested like the Giants and Mariners or maybe even the
Yankees. Ultimately, I think Saul
Rivera will win the Rockies over.
the Nationals have Kory Casto, Nick Johnson,
Dmitri Young,
and Josh
Willingham. All that doesn't mean
much though. First off, the Nationals
need to trade away Willingham; he just doesn't fit with the team. Plus, there is little chance Johnson or
Young can return completely healthy.
And if they are healthy, GM Jim Bowden should trade them for whatever he
can get, and that won't be much. If
they manage to start next season healthy, they better be traded quickly because
it won't be long before they go back on the DL.
There is almost as little hope as
Johnson and Young both staying healthy as there is a chance Kory Casto can
finally start producing in the bigs. In
82 career games, he's had 14 extra base hits and a measly .264 OBP. It's worth noting that Casto's horrendous
MLB stint in 2007 really drowned his career numbers, but even though he
improved greatly in 2008, he still wasn't all that impressive. This last spring I had faith in Casto. I truly thought it was not too late for him
to turn his career around. But now it's
time to move on and try something else.
That means it is time to finally give Koshansky a full-time major league
Casto can still make the team next year.
After all, he can play left field and both corner positions. Who knows, maybe Casto can capture some of his
minor league power and bring it to the bigs.
Koshansky doesn't mean Washington is lacking future first base options. Chris
Marrero has dealt with injuries and slumps since he was drafted in the
first round two years ago but he still has big power potential. Bill Rhinehart
doesn't have the same big upside as Marrero but he put together a good 2008 and
should next year in Double-A Harrisburg.
Nationals trade 2B Ronnie Belliard to the D-Backs for RHP Josh Ellis
me first start off by saying that I don't think Anderson
Hernandez will ever develop into an adequate starting major league second
baseman. But with the way things are
for the Nationals, they need to at least give him a chance. Despite his AAA .262 OBP he did hit .407
after joining the Nats. He also seems
to have brought his hot bat to the Dominican Winter League as he holds a 1.055 OPS
for Belliard,
he is one of the oldest players in the team and needs to be traded this
I'll give Bowden credit for
signing Belliard. Ronnie was the
starting second baseman for St. Louis when they
won the World Series in 2006.
Weirdly enough (well, he only had a .297 OBP with St. Louis), Belliard
wasn't signed until February 18th to a minor league contract by the Nats. That was only five days before spring
training started. Belliard has done
everything Washington could have imagined and more. The reality is the only way the Belliard signing can truly help
the Nationals is if Bowden trades him for some prospects. Despite
landing on the DL and missing almost 40% of the season, Belliard's trade value
absolutely soared this season. Not only
did he have his best offensive season of his career, but also he increased his
versatility by playing both corner positions as well as his natural position at
second. The Mets, Brewers, and Dodgers
may hold some interest in Belliard as well, but Arizona appears to be the best
fit for Belliard and the Nats.
Chris Burke
and Augie
Ojeda didn't have good enough years to warrant consideration for a
full-time gig at 2B. Jesus Merchan
had a nice year at Triple-A and holds a good spot to take over Chris Burke's
spot on next year's 25-man roster. That
will allow Burke to gather up some time at Triple-A at bats after his
disappointing 2008.
Josh Ellis is
the prospect that makes the most sense for this specific deal. The two main needs the Nationals have in
their system are middle infielders and relievers. Since the Arizona system is weak on middle infielders, relief
pitchers are the best way to go. Ellis
had a 2.40 ERA this year in Visalia (A+) in his first professional season.
You can see, he pitches sort of like Brian Shouse or Cla Meredith. Too bad the Diamondbacks are moving their AAA affiliate to Reno
(the Reno Aces) because Ellis could have had a chance to be a sidewinder on the
Tucson Sidewinders. The Diamondbacks
are stocked with young relievers, so if pitchers like Abe Woody, A.J. Shappi, Kyler Newby, Jeff Dietz,
and Scott
Maine were offered for Belliard, it would be a fair and beneficial trade
Although it is time for Belliard to leave Washington, he will always be remembered becuase of
other baseball news, the iconic Oriole Bird has quit his diet. He has gone from this:
To this (maybe it's just perspective):
The diet obviously wasn't working because ever since
the Bird started the diet in 1998, the team is 98 games below .500. Ouch.
They need change. And that
change should come in the form of the logo and mascot getting a beer belly like
Wild Bill Hagy. Thumps up to the Orioles front office. This is their first sign of intelligence since they designed Camden Yards.


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International Space Station Status Report #02-43
A fresh resupply vehicle – Progress 9 – is on its way to the International Space Station following launch at 12:58 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Following a four-day rendezvous, the 15,000-pound spacecraft will automatically dock to the Zvezda Service Module's aft docking port at 1:07 p.m. EDT Sunday. NASA TV will cover the docking beginning at 12:30 p.m. EDT.
Expedition 5 Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson, and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev have spent the early part of the week preparing for the departure of the Progress 8 vehicle and the arrival of the next, and worked with science experiments in the U.S. Laboratory Destiny.
Also, the crew continues preparations for the arrival of Space Shuttle Atlantis and the STS-112 crew scheduled for launch between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT on Oct. 2 by pre-packing items to be brought home upon Atlantis' departure.
After the Progress 8 spacecraft – loaded with trash and unneeded equipment – was undocked Tuesday, it was parked a safe distance from the station where it will remain for about two weeks while Russian flight controllers use its cameras to document smog and smoke over northeastern Russia.
The STS-112 mission will deliver the Starboard 1 (S1) Truss to the station, with final connections being conducted during three spacewalks by shuttle crewmembers. The Expedition Five crew devoted some of its attention this week to preparing the station's Airlock Quest for those spacewalks.
Also, in preparation for the arrival of the station's newest component, Whitson will practice with the Canadarm2 Thursday, moving the robotic arm through the same tasks it will see during the installation of the S1 Truss.
As science activity, station maintenance and crew medical and health activities continued, Korzun, Whitson and Treschev took part in two educational events with school children in Iowa and in Japan.
Information on the crew's activities aboard the space station, future launch dates, as well as station sighting opportunities from anywhere on the Earth, is available on the Internet at:
Details on station science operations can be found on an Internet site administered by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., at:
The next ISS status report will be issued Sunday, following the Progress 9 docking, or sooner if events warrant.
NASA Johnson Space Center Shuttle Mission/Space Station Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to email@example.com. In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes). This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list. The system will reply with a con firmation via e-mail of each subscription. Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail.


text:
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1Whoever might vainly hope to do so
need only see him to be overthrown.
2No one is fierce enough to arouse him;
who then dares stand before me?
3Whoever has assailed me, I will pay back—
Everything under the heavens is mine.
4I need hardly mention his limbs,
his strength, and the fitness of his equipment.
5Who can strip off his outer garment,
or penetrate his double armor?
6Who can force open the doors of his face,
close to his terrible teeth?
7Rows of scales are on his back,
tightly sealed together;
8They are fitted so close to each other
that no air can come between them;
9So joined to one another
that they hold fast and cannot be parted.
10When he sneezes, light flashes forth;
his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
11Out of his mouth go forth torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
12From his nostrils comes smoke
as from a seething pot or bowl.
13His breath sets coals afire;
a flame comes from his mouth.
14Strength abides in his neck,
and power leaps before him.
15The folds of his flesh stick together,
it is cast over him and immovable.
16His heart is cast as hard as stone;
cast as the lower millstone.
17When he rises up, the gods are afraid;
when he crashes down, they fall back.
18Should a sword reach him, it will not avail;
nor will spear, dart, or javelin.
19He regards iron as chaff,
and bronze as rotten wood.
20No arrow will put him to flight;
slingstones used against him are but straw.
21Clubs he regards as straw;
he laughs at the crash of the spear.
22Under him are sharp pottery fragments,
spreading a threshing sledge upon the mire.
23He makes the depths boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a perfume bottle.
24Behind him he leaves a shining path;
you would think the deep had white hair.
25Upon the earth there is none like him,
he was made fearless.
26He looks over all who are haughty,
he is king over all proud beasts.
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text:
Feeling sad? Maybe you have SAD
Katie Couric used to be called "perky." When I think of perky, I think of my mother's old coffee percolator with Chock Full O'Nuts. Most patients and people I know say to me, "Where do you get your energy? You are so perky!"
My response is, "Better living through chemistry and a mortgage to pay my therapists." Many people are clinically depressed, but there are some who are depressed only in the wintertime. They have what's called "seasonal affective disorder," or SAD. (Do you think Batman has SAD– living in that cave and working mostly at night? I think the guano alone would make anyone depressed.)
Too many people try to be John Wayne: rough, tough, and stoic. But then again, almost no one has won an Oscar like John Wayne, so it isn't realistic to live up to that tough image. "Buck up, dude! Get yourself together!" "Cheer up, babe! Life isn't so bad!"
Ten to forty percent of patients seen by primary care physicians have depressive symptoms: down in the dumps and/or not enjoying things in life. Other symptoms include change in appetite and weight, sleeping poorly or too much, thinking about death or suicide, crying a lot, withdrawing and becoming inactive, fatigue, poor concentration or memory, feeling guilty, having low self-esteem, and sinking to the depths of watching Jerry Springer to cheer up– or worse yet, Dr. Phil.
About nine percent of the population wrestles with SAD, mostly in places in high latitudes. Most people believe SAD is caused by the lack of sunlight during the cold winter months. In fact, there are two varieties of SAD: fall-onset and summer-onset.
So, yes, some people become depressed every summer into the fall, but this is pretty rare. Most people have fall-onset SAD, in which every late fall when the days become shorter– like your weekends and days off– depression and sometime anxiety set in. For those folks, not only does Halloween make them want to toilet paper houses and soap windows, it also makes Thanksgiving dinner as attractive as going alone to Chuck E. Cheese.
Those with SAD want to hibernate for the winter like Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. Eating becomes a soul-sharing experience with Oprah Winfrey with resulting marked weight gain. Irritability and difficulties with other people are common in SAD, which makes visiting the relatives over the holidays as fun as a visit from Bree Van De Kamp's mother-in-law in Desperate Housewives. Eggnog, anyone? More nog than egg, please!
Besides feeling tired all day and night, people with SAD feel like their arms and legs weigh a ton. But come the spring– "Here comes the sun/And I say it's all right." The mood improves with "Sun sun sun, here it comes!"
Antidepressants work very well in SAD, and some people take them six months out of the year to get through the dark months. I guess you could move to Australia half the year to escape fall and winter, but that would be a hassle for most people. Some people use light boxes, but studies still have not fully proven their effectiveness (though most of my patients swear by it, and I think it does help). Light sources of 2,500 to 10,000 lux are used from thirty minutes to two hours a day. Sounds luxurious, huh?
Maybe Ebenezer Scrooge wasn't such a bad guy. Maybe he just had SAD all year long. Instead of the three ghosts visiting him on Christmas Eve, maybe all he needed was a good GE light bulb or Rudolph's shining red nose.