Universal Basic Income questions

Posted 17th March 2018 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

I have seen a few articles on the Idea of replacing all benefits and pensions with a Universal Basic income
as a fix for the cruelty of our economic system on the unlucky and helpless members of our community.
But did you know that conservatives like the Idea as well and it would cost less then the current system and discourage
Hopelessness. And massively  increase the part time workforce, coupled with a Point System where income is decreased for anti social or reckless behaviour  the government will have a direct way to encourage the good and punish the bad.
Which would benefit a decrease in Prison inmates. The money saved on less prisons would practically pay for itself.

However if politics get entwined in the point system things could get very dark so that would need to be managed carefully.
As the power to directly manipulate the population would be easy to abuse. 

Fiordland's GODZone Adventure 2018

Posted 16th March 2018 to the Fiordland Advocate Newspaper Te Anau NZ

It is Interesting to ponder what lasting effects the recent GODZone adventure race have on Fiordland now that it’s all done and dusted.

It’s not clear just how many people have followed it beyond the personalities and Fans involved but they certainly showcased some areas less traveled to the public. Some of their routes will be begging to be revisited.

As for photographic coverage there where some classic snapshots of amazing landscape but quite a few gaps and a fair bit of rural Southland mixed in.

The real star of the race was the amazing Lake Herries between Lakes Manapouri & Te Anau high in the Kepler Mountains that proved to be a hidden Gem.

The Manapouri-Te Anau Cycle trail survey route showed itself to be very handy  and could well be a staple in future events  as well as the Lake2Lake trail.

Also a shame they all missed Mount Titiroa but where so close!

Freedom Camper Blues of New Zealand

Posted 10th March 2018 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

‘Tis good to read in this paper that our mayors are busy trying to nut out a solution for the freedom camping debate.
I see it as a problem of a great big world trying to squash it’s mass holiday makers in to a small country with limited infrastructure and now limited tolerance.

I see on TV Oprah Winfrey addressed Stephen Colbert’s audience proclaiming EVERYONE SHOULD VISIT  NEW ZEALAND !  Many people treat Oprah like a messiah so let’s hope they don’t take it as a commandment or we literally going to burst!  The only hope is the Government puts a high tariff on cheap airline seats because we ain’t seen nothing yet... Or we could go the way of the Department of Conservation and go all NIMBY on them.

Future Invercargill: to stay or go ?

Posted 3rd March 2018 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

I read on the front page of this newspaper that old Invercargill may need to be replaced by a stronger city.
I have followed all the past expert opinions  I can find and It is clear that Old Invercargill is simply in the wrong place
for the Anthroposcine era... It would be great to preserve the old city as an open air Museum, perhaps tear the streets up and make canals, heck you even have a Venetian Basilica on Tay Street..   So the question is what would people like a new city centre to be and where should it be placed ? A Shining City on a Hill?

If I recall construction is good for the economy, but not something that one should have to abandon in a short lifespan. 

The Great Gwynne Dyer Tradition

Posted 26th Feb 2018 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

The Southland Times is lucky to have commentary from the great Gwynne Dyer.
Gwynne has so many achievements under his belt, he is a true heavyweight in the Journalistic World.
And he is one of the group of intellectuals  working on stopping human stupidity from destroying the world,
or at least slowing it’s demises down.

He also appears on podcasts talking about what concerned enlightened citizens can do
To help.

It’s nice to know that behind the current political freak-show info-news bot world that there are real people doing something for our future.

Good on you Mr. Dyer

American Christian Branding 2018

Posted 17th February 2018 to the New York Times Newspaper USA

It is clear in 2018 there are only two truly beloved leaders in US Politics at the moment
One is the Christ-like Senator from Vermont  who is by-far the most loved US Politician in the modern era.
The other is an ex Slum Lord from Queens who appears to be a master of deception and cruelty .
So why are the US Fundamentalists not loving to Christ-like man who offers to set them free from the pains
of this world instead of a character out of the book of Revelations?

I know the first Christians where originally a end of the world cult started by disaffected Jews but I though the had got over that in the last 2000 years.

They have inspired so many with their infused Greek Philosophy, soul searching and questioning in recent times.
Where has it all gone wrong ?

#lovebernie

Gwynne Dyer- Canada's Christopher Hitchens

Posted February 15th to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

Interesting to read Gwynne Dyer in the Paper on American Health Care..
There are a lot of Canadians like Gwynne in the USA trying to talk sense about
what the actual job of Government is. Apparently the Idea is to represent all the people
Without emotional distinction with the understanding that Govt takes tax money to insure that
citizens are protected from bad luck and disadvantage caused through no fault of their own.
Apparently this is the top objective of any healthy civilization.  We could do with a few more
Canadian Ideas in NZ and less American inspired social Darwinism.
Even India is getting onboard with universal health care.
If you put emotion into government, sympathy with reason is the best... Fear and paranoia is the worst. 

Ticket from Donald J Trump to Hitler Station

Posted 13th February 2018 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

It’s hard to write about the Current US President these days because he has captured the news conversation of the planet for what feels like forever. Many pundits feel like we are on a train to Hitler Station, but there is one thing they rarely touch on, both President #45 and the late German Chancellor both generated a wave of intense infatuation in the population. How is it homely, almost comic, cruel men can tap into unconditional love to cause wide scale death and destruction?

If only they could have used the Love of Bernie Saunders to derail number 45, America would not be split into 2 political Tribes.

Reading between the lines I recon the Trump is addicted to love like crack because of his childhood...  Just like other scary leaders of the past.    

And why are all the normal politicians so un loveable ? Hillary & Al Gore missed the boat there... If they where loved there would be no tolerance for cheating behavior from the other camp.  Love is like Midichlorians from Star Wars. It’s a force!

Lamenting of Donald J Trump

Posted 8th February 2018 to the Southland Times Invercargill NZ

It’s hard to write about Donald J Trump in the paper but it was good J Wilson did on the 6th about the Laments of voting Trump...  If I had to sum the situation of US politics what once was a friendly game of chess now is a game of good and evil and one side has lost their queen in an illegal move and is only a few moves away from checkmate. And now the arbitrator of the game is being threatened.  Trump was heard joking that opponents  who do not smile and clap for him are traitors in his eyes. If that is a real opinion we should not be lamenting we should all be scared.

The game of Trumps and Mercers

Posted 25th January 2018 to the Dominion post Newspaper Wellington New Zealand

We political observers are very interested in Donald Trumps Mastermind Robert Mercers end game for the USA  but
Donald  seems to have some input as well. As far as we know he has a plan to divide his world into two nations: Normway and Nambia it was the argument is are citizens going to decide where they live on merit points or DNA markers ?

And will they need pass ports.  The Normal people of Normway will of course get all the perks and Nambians are free to work all the like for the Normwegians as long as they go back to Nambia when they are no longer needed.

As for border walls, North Korea discovered that you can built magical invisible walls if you have enough machine gun posts and attack dogs. Less Windows to clean.

We suppose passports will soon be obsolete anyway when number technology makes instant DNA Scans become available...
 
Robert Mercer is a genius at gaming numbers so he will be stoked.

And as for the Mercer’s plan to shrink the government down to the head of a pin, they are almost there as nearly all the US policy is now being managed by PIN heads :-)  (insert photo of Paul Ryan)

Tourism Boom New Zealand 2018

Posted 24th January 2018 to the Advocate South Newspaper Te Anau NZ

 I read that once again Tourists are stressing the local population to the limit because of the weight of numbers
Add this with unseasonal heat and it make for a bit of reflection on where this will all end.
After looking at the problem from an overview, some say it’s the overseas Airplanes that are the problem.
Our resorts and roads where designed for the people of a small sparsely populated nation now the Airlines are a bridge to MASSIVE population centers on a scale we can not comprehend and a lot of those flying  are young people with very little money to spend. So why then come here? It’s a wide open country with a generous taxpayer base who are willing to provide them with infrastructure and scenery as well as personal help in the form of Uber cars, free camping, free National Parks and Air B&B.

The Airlines are not just taking tourists for a ride they are taking us all for a ride. And we have to pay the fare, off shore.
Also the overseas online services are clipping tourism tickets on a big scale too.   

Save Manapouri & Te Anau 2018

Posted 24th January 2018 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

I am somewhat surprised that Meridian Energy has tried to test the resolve of the environmental movement by asking if they could be allowed to lower lakes Manapouri and Te Anau far below their natural lowest points... One figures to make more money off the electricity spot market.

Guys, this is not a good Idea  You might not have noticed but the WORLD  is at a tipping point and everything you do now is recorded for future judgment. I would not like to be in your boots when you are taken to task over complicity to permanently destroy the beaches on the greater Fiordland Lakes for a few dollars.

Those of us who where around in the 1970s remember the damage caused when the NZED tested the Lake levels to extreme.

You do know if Sir Allen Mark is Red Flagging you for gross neglect under your responsibly to future generations, you might want to take him seriously.  So my helpful advice is don’t do it :-) 

Otago's Wetland Kayak Adventures

Posted 16th January 2018 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

I have heard about wetland Kayaking in some of the eastern Otagos great wetland areas  but so far no one has done a feature on this summer adventure. The lake Waihola and Waipori area are rich in kayak friendly waterways  but so far only a dedicated few have navigated them. Perhaps these areas could become a feature and local guides could be encouraged ?
Or at very least have a social media presence. Better documentation of Coastal Otago Kayaking Hot Spots might be handy too.

Queenstown's Train of Shame

Posted 16th January to the Mountain Scene Newspaper Queenstown NZ

 It is clear now that the Government is the only hope for the Kingston Flyer as the Private sector is not fit for heritage tourism
Projects. I hope one day the Real Story of the demise of this iconic Steam Train concept will be printed as an example of everything going wrong that can go wrong when private enterprise fails.
At one time the Earnslaw and the Flyer where one package but both when their separate ways so what happened?
When did the Flyer get its curse ?  There is a lesson here to be told... And its not over yet...

Last Jedi - Please Stop

Posted 10th January 2018 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

If popular movies reflect our current times then I guess the latest Star Wars instalment is saying
It’s all hopeless and the only way to have a fair society is to use magic.  I think Hollywood should have just made this last film the final one.

Every story must have an end and as JRR Tolkien discovered when there is no future plot other than endless conflict and death then it’s time to stop. I mean If we want that story all we have to do is watch CNN.

Even Star Trek has given up on it’s message of hope by enlightenment and caring in favour of war & conflict and sadly our young people are engulfed in the same endless message in Online Games.

I suppose Star Wars is just reflecting our overbearing punitive free-market military industrial Complex instead of just being a Space Western as it original story was viewed. Today it’s role is looking like exporting Americas message of might make right in a grim magical context. The fact is for all it’s faults the Empire keeps order and it is just more sexy and better funded.

I prefer The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy where the galaxy is a humorous bureaucratic muddle and nobody is really in control of detail... People have flaws, Oh and the Ultimate question is the answer to life the universe and everything.
Or as some would say, the Human Condition .

Just Sayin’