Posted to Radio New Zealand's Afternoons program 25th June 2013
What ever happened to Capital Gains Tax?
John Campbell talked about the Problem of House Speculation in Auckland
As far as I can see if we are going to be one of those rare countries without a Capital Gains Tax
We are wide open to being ransacked. What do the Greens Think I wonder?
They where even thinking a Transaction Tax could stop the decline of Western Civilisation so there must be something in it.
to Morning Report - Radio New Zealand - 26 June 2013
I hear at last President Obama making a call on Climate Change in a key speech but the timing is off
Realistically he should have made a Nation Wide Broadcast on May 11th when we crossed the line into 400 parts per million..
It might be Dramatic to make a “We Got Bin Laden” type speech but saving the World is a bit more important than mopping up G W Bush’s freakshow
If there is any action on climate change I have always maintained that it has to be from the Whitehouse for it to work. And the President has to take ownership of it.
And it’s not all bad news for the economy, fixing the Environment will ultimately employ more people than the Wars on Terror and Drugs combined.
Unfortunately it won’t be needing much help from the defence industry and the NRA so don’t expect much joy from the Republicans Mr Obama.
To Afternoons on Radio NZ 27/6/13 and Susan Baldacci.
Interesting that President Obama has made his Call on Climate Change. This probably is the biggest turning point of this century and for Civilisation and
Our Prime Minister is still dreaming of spending all our resources on a Jet Powered Mega Auckland International Gambling Hub...!
Please Bring some Rational debate to the Future of NZ on your panel under the new world direction we are going to be heading ...
Now is the time.
Oh and Check out the TVNZ “What if” Doco trilogy on youtube especially the Green Version : )
The realization that humans have a finite lifespan on a small window of youthful strenght
and education to know what to do with Life, has been brought home by the health of the
Ex South African President, Nelson Mandela.
Of all the struggles humans have. life span is one of the things that really puts dung in our Chardonnay!
It is surprising that there has been so little progress in this area apart from helping selected people become very old and sick...
... Contrasted to other parts of the world where the effort is to produce way too many new people as to
make them poor and sick.
Here is a crazy though... Perhaps maybe Humanity should focus on quality of life and making the best of the finite amount we each have. Because if they ever find a cure for aging it better be for a grand purpose.
Hot Topic Section - Fiordland Advacate Newspaper - 13 June 2013
Sometimes it takes an Idea to tie a bunch of loose ends together and make something that helps everybody.
I see one of the Fiordland Trails Trusts Ideas could do this for Te Anau, taking to need for a Winter Attraction an easy grade walkway, A family Cycle Way and showcase both the Kepler Birdsong and the Pomona Island Wildlife Restoration Projects while creating a better way of maintaining them.
It’s the Idea of Refurbishing the redundant and existing track line with plus a few new bits making a Cycleway from the Hidden lakes Warf , lake Te Anau to the Pomona Isthmus at Hurricane Passage Lake Manapouri via the Forest Burn valley and Lake Westmere. Air New Zealand, who funds the Birdsong could hardly say no to not only making A Wonderful Winter Cycle Trail for Te Anau from beefing up it’s Trap-line Network But also giving work to the Seasonal Workers and Tourist Launches that would be required to Showcase their exceptional Bird Song Concept to the world.
Posted to Morning Report Radio New Zealand 11th June 2013 Subject America's electronic Spy Scandal in the News.
Today we see the true futility of the War on Terror, with no real objective our “war” turns on us all.
I Wonder if Osama Bin Laden knew this all along? After all he was an Engineer and part of there training is to
Look carefully at how things work as well as Cause and Effect.
So now the War on Terror has Morphed into the cyber WAR ON EVERYONE, Perhaps not the best use of the *700 Billion it has cost us so far. But it keeps people employed and as Modern Money exists entirely of cyber Electrons, the cost is literally immaterial.
Goodness Me, Our Only Tangable asset we have left is our Paranoia!
It's not just Bilbo journeying there and back again through Middle-earth - almost one in 10 international visitors are here for the same reason.
Tourism New Zealand figures published yesterday show overseas tourist arrivals were up 10 per cent from 2012 for the first four months of the year.
Of the one million international visitors in those months, 8.5 per cent said The Hobbit was a factor in their choice.
For one in eight tourists, a Middle-earth experience, such as visiting Hobbiton, near Matamata, was high on the to-do list.
Hobbiton manager Russell Alexander said the film set was "at the coalface" of the tourist boom, with January-March visitor numbers almost double the previous year's. "It's been a fantastic summer."
With the release of the second Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug, six months away, the boom looked here to stay, he said.
As the "middle of Middle-earth", Wellington was also enjoying the tourist surge. Wellington Rover Tours' Lord of the Rings trips were so popular this summer that people were turned away every day, guide Nathan Clear said. "We were looking at least 20 or 30 per cent up."
The continuing production and filming of the trilogy - a final 10-week shoot started in May - was also bringing in tourists.
"What you're getting now is a lot more general interest, rather than the big fans. Now you'll get people who've not seen the films, where friends or family members demand they do a tour because they couldn't come."
Weta Workshop, a popular stop on any Hobbit tour, is expecting an extra 40,000 people through its doors this year. "Middle-earth is popular in Europe, America, Asia, Latin America, Africa - it really has a global popularity," manager Tim Launder said.
Next month, Weta will collaborate with Tourism NZ at San Diego's Comic-Con to attract future Middle-earth travellers.
"New Zealand already has a wonderful image - [The Hobbit] pushes them over the line."
Prime Minister John Key said the latest figures were "further vindication" of the Government's efforts to keep the filming of The Hobbit trilogy in New Zealand.
"I expect increased visitor numbers and awareness of New Zealand will continue with the release of parts two and three."
Tourism NZ chief executive Kevin Bowler said The Hobbit already appeared to have surpassed the benchmark set by The Lord of The Rings, in terms of motivating international tourists.
Six per cent of travellers in 2004 said the original trilogy inspired them to visit. "To see that 8.5 per cent of people [were] motivated after only one film is a brilliant start."
*Sadly almost no money is being spent signposting Popular Hobbit Movie Locations in the South Island.
