Kiwiblog

Now’s that’s a name from the past – I don’t think I had heard of him for 25+ years. But Robert Craig ‘Evel’ Knievel has died aged 69.

Knieval’s stunts comprise four of the top 20 most-watched ABC’s Wide World of Sports events of all time. His first major attempt to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace put him in a coma for 29 days.

If you ever think you have a bad relationship with your ex, I am sure it is not as bad as Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards:

CHARLIE Sheen has branded his ex-wife Denise Richards an “evil, jobless pig,” after allegedly sent the actress a vicious, abusive email. According to Fox news.com, Sheen fumed: “You are a pig. A sad, jobless pig who is sad and talentless and sad and jobless and evil and a bad mom, so go f**k yourself, sad, jobless pig.”

In another email, Sheen is said to cruelly taunt Richards about her mother, who is currently being treated for cancer. He wrote: “Go cry to your bald mom, you loser.”

I pity the kids.

Portugese Police have officially named Kate McCann as a suspect in the murder of her daughter Madeleine.  It will be fascinating to see how this ends up.  Has the entire world been hoaxed with appeals for sightings?  You’d have to be a first class liar to keep that up.

It sounds like the title for a movie but the tremors in the US (and wider) sub-prime market could become something very nasty.

During the last few days a number of my fellow attendees have been checking market updates every hour or so.  Lots of directors of banks and other financial institutions, so when these guys look a bit worried, you know it is time to start taking notice.

Brian Fallow has a story in the Herald on some of what is happening.

Also a cause for nervousness is the fact central banks have had to inject US$323 billion into the money markets over the last 48 hours.  And yes that is billion – around three times the entire GDP of NZ.

It sounds like this episode won’t go pear shaped, but nothing is for certain. People are waiting for the US to open again on Monday morning.

The Business Roundtable in their latest newsletter brought to my attention an excellent article by Andrew Leigh which appeared last month in the Australian Financial Review on congestion charging.

I am a fan of congestion charging.  It is the market at work, where in times of increased demand, you pay more.  In some areas in the US the congestion charge actually changes by the minute depending on how congested a road is.  This allows you to choose between a free road with no guaranteed time to reach your destination and a road where they can guarantee the time, but the price is variable.

In nineteenth century Britain, the law required all steam cars to be preceded by an attendant carrying a red flag. In cities, cars were not permitted to drive faster than 6 km/h. In twenty-first century Australia, convention requires that every peak hour driver in Australia must have steam coming out their ears, and be preceded by an equally red-faced driver. In cities like Sydney, this ensures that peak hour speeds average 12 km/h.

Congestion costs are a classic example of what economists call a ‘negative externality’ (or what your grandmother might have called ‘just plain selfishness’). In deciding whether to drive or take the train, I consider only on my own costs: fares, fuel, tyres and time. But I ignore the impact that my decision to drive has on you and everyone else on the roads.

A natural solution is to force drivers to ‘internalise’ the negative externality, by raising the price of driving into busy areas. Just as ’sin taxes’ on alcohol, tobacco and gambling recognise the potential harm that can be done to the rest of us, so a congestion fee is society’s way of making drivers take account of other road users.

Recognising the potential of congestion fees, London and Singapore now charge drivers a fee to enter the city during peak times. In April, New York has announced a plan to charge drivers US$8 to enter the southern half of Manhattan. Following successful trials last year, Stockholm will implement a congestion charge in July.

What is notable about these examples is that they come from across the political spectrum. In London, the chief proponent for the congestion fee was mayor Ken Livingstone (known as “Red Ken”). In New York, Republican mayor Michael Bloomberg is backing the charge. Congestion fees are a commonsense reform, not an ideological one.

In Australia, the use of public-private partnerships to build new motorways has led to a proliferation of toll-roads. Yet for the most part, those fees are not designed to reduce congestion. Busy old streets in the CBD are free. Quiet new toll-roads in the outer suburbs are pay-per-use. While a congestion fee should be higher in peak hour, Melbourne’s City Link and the Sydney Cross City Tunnel cost exactly the same whether you’re using them at 5pm or midnight.

With many cars now equipped with e-tags, Australia has the technology to get congestion charges right. An ideal system would charge commuters a fee to enter the city centre on weekdays. But simple changes could help immediately. For example, why not replace the $3 Sydney Harbour Bridge toll with a charge of $5 during weekdays, and $2 on nights and weekends?

Despite an outcry at the time it was implemented, British policymakers now generally recognise that the London congestion fee has been a success. Traffic volumes are down. Public transport usage is up. And average road speeds, which had fallen to jogging pace, are now increasing again.

As the Soviet Union eventually realised, queues help no-one. Time spent waiting in a traffic jam is neither devoted to productive activities, nor enjoyed with family and friends. With the typical worker spending the equivalent of seven days a year sitting in their car, coming up with clever ways to beat gridlock should be a high priority. A modest congestion fee might just be the solution that our lungs – and kids – have been looking for.

Readers will remember how before the French Presidential election, Sarkozy was uniformly painted by the media as divisive and destructive.

Well the only area where Sarkozy is being divisive, is within the  Socialist Party.

First he bagged their most respected member as his Foreign Minister.

Now he has nominated their most popular member to be managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

This at a time where the Socialists are slit between two factions – the Royal  faction and the Hollande faction – whose respective leaders were partners with children up until a few weeks ago.

Sarkozy has also raided the centrist Union for French Democracy, leaving just a tiny rump of a party headed by its former leader Francois Bayrou who says the President is behaving like a piranha in a goldfish bowl.

Sarkozy just smiles, as his opponents are left in turmoil.  And as he says “Should I deprive France of his candidacy because he is Socialist? How would I be President of all French people if I reasoned like that?”

No wonder his popularity is so high. How do you argue against that.

I can’t wait for him to implement his 0% tax rate on earnings over the first 35 hours a week.

The video above is a Penn & Teller expose of Mother Theresa. I’ve always been away she was somewhat controversial, but never gone into it too much. I think the critics are right that her motivation was expanding her faith, not relieving poverty, yet I still think on balance she did more good than bad.

Christopher Hitchens wrote a book about Mother Theresa. He also was called by the Vatican, during Mother Teresa’s beatification process, to argue the case against her. He was fulfilling the role of what was previously known as the “Devil’s Advocate” and Hitchens has jokingly referred to his work in the case as the person chosen “to represent the devil pro bono”

Hat Tip: Bryce Edwards

Okay now this one is only for those with a serious interest. It’s 20 minutes long but bloody captivating as various countries and regions are shown changing over time.

Paris Hilton is back in jail after the Judge over-ruled the Sheriff’s Department to have her serve the 45 day sentence at home.

I am surprised that No Right Turn has not been leading the campaign to have her freed though, if he is to be consistent.

You see No Right Turn has stated that it is inhumane for New Zealand to jail illegal immigrants who refuse to sign their deportation papers. He’s said that if any illegal immigrant is willing to spend three months in jail, then they should be allowed to stay in NZ, and says keeping them there longer is sadistic and vicious.

Personally I think it is about upholding the rule of law. Imprisonment is the final sanction for any law breaker. If obeying the law becomes voluntary, then we’ll have massive problems.

Now take the case of Paris – she is no threat to the community. Her crime is, just like the illegal immigrants, refusing to obey the order of a judicial body. There is no actual point to having her in jail, instead of killers and rapists etc etc. So where is teh human rights campaign for her?

But oh wait, there is a reason she is in prison. A great reason. To show that no-one is above the law. That wealth and privilege does not mean you can blame your disobeyal of court instructions on your assistants.

But just as the law applies to wealthy people, it also applies to illegal immigrants. If they have had their due process, their appeals, their multiple hearings, and they have been ordered deported from NZ, it is unacceptable to just let them ignore this if they choose not to sign their travel papers. Because it will send a signal to all illegal immigrants to do the same.

I am very pro-immigration. But it is for NZ to choose who gets to live here, and how many. We can not afford unlimited unrestricted immigration.

A Melbourne hotel has won the right to ban both lesbians and straight men from its bar and nightclub.

I wonder how they will enforce it? Perhaps they should have some naked gorgeous women at the door, and anyone who looks twice at them is refused entry?

The head of the UK Army has decided that Prince Harry will be too big a risk as a high profile target, and will not be deployed to Iraq, due to specific threats against him.

He will be gutted and kudos to him for being so firm in his desire to go. It does highlight the consequences of having a hereditary monarchy where people by virtue of their birth alone are given a special place in society. If not for that he would just be a 22 year old solider of no interest to the insurgents.

Most of us are aware of SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome.

Well a case of Adult Sudden Death Syndrome has been reported in China. It occurred without warning to a judge charged with corruption.

Unlike SIDS though, ASDS results in cuts, bruising, and missing teeth.

A total mystery which will keep the scientists puzzled for decades.

We all know Alec Baldwin, self appointed spokesperson for peace etc etc. Well many will have heard or read by now his phone message to his *11* year old daughter:

“I’m tired of playing this game with you. I’m leaving this message with you to tell you you have insulted me for the last time. You have insulted me. You don’t have the brains or the decency as a human being. I don’t give a damn that you’re 12 years old, or 11 years old, or that you’re a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass who doesn’t care about what you do as far as I’m concerned. You have humiliated me for the last time with this phone …

Do you understand me? I’m going to really make sure you get it. Then I’m going to get on a plane and I’m going to turn around and come home. So you’d better be ready Friday the 20th to meet with me. So I’m going to let you know just how I feel about what a rude little pig you really are. You are a rude, thoughtless little pig, OK?”

At least he never spanked her!!

Well the bookies will be pleased and not paying out on any of the bets as to when Prince William and Kate Miiddleton will be married, as they have split up.

On the plus side millions of girls can dream again of their chance to snare William.

The Sun (of course) has fuller details.

After I defended Steve Maharey against Sean Plunket’s comments re comparisons to Botswana, I got a lot of comments which made me look at Botswana more closely. It is certainly one of the most successful countries from that region.

* Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of US$11,410, only half of NZ at $24,797.

* Economic growth averaged over 9% per year from 1966 to 1999.

* It has the highest sovereign credit rating in Africa and has foreign exchange reserves of over US$7 billion

* The Botswana Government provides full scholarships with living expenses to any Botswana citizen in university, either at the University of Botswana or for subjects not offered locally they are provided with a full scholarship to study abroad.

* Their literacy rate at school is around 95% and for the entire population is the second highest in Africa, and will soon become the highest.

Botswana it seems, in fact, has arguably the greatest focus on education of any country, with it consuming over 10% of their GDP. They see it as their future salvation, when their minerals run out.

So upon reflection it was an extraordinarily bad choice to use as an example of why we should not use Cambridge exams.

This is Knut. Stuff reports he is an orphaned polar bear because his mother rejected him. So one of the zoo keepers has become his adoptive parent, bottle feeding him and washing him etc.

This is of course blasphemy to the animal rights extremists who say they think this will humanise Knut too much. They want the zoo to execute Knut instead. Yes, seriously.

Luckily Berliners are sensible people and support for the zoo is everywhere. In fact if the zoo did change its mind and try to kill Knut, they would probably be over-run by a rescue mob.

Mr Humphries has died.

The NZ Herald reports that the crash of a Garuda 737 in Indonesia is their seventh crash in 25 years and 14th since 1950. As someone who was on a Garuda 727 (for all I know that 727) just a few days ago, it gets a bit too close too comfort.

The good news is that it looks like most of the crew and passengers survived – maybe 117 out of 133. As so many crashes have 100% fatalities, I’ve always been bemused at the detailed instructions on what to do in case of a crash landing – my theory has always been that you’re toast if you crash regardless of how much you lean in towards the seat in front of you. So nice to have evidence to the contrary.

An interesting report on a study which concluded that “Attempts by the British Government to combat the growth of Islamic extremism among a minority of young Muslims are making the situation worse”.

I thought the statement:

“Government policies to improve engagement with Muslims make things worse,” the report’s lead author Munira Mirza said. “The Government should stop emphasising difference and engage with Muslims as citizens, not through their religious identity.”

was perceptive.

Most will have seen the wonderful story of the Subway Superman who lept onto subway tracks to help a stranger and by pushing the stranger down, they both survived the train travelling over them.

I find it amusing that his boss didn’t at first believe his excuse for being late to work, until he saw it on the Internet!

I just love this photo I saw over on Jacqueline’s blog. It seems to be from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and sums up perfectly what we’ll do to keep our pets safe. I reckon the container with three cats in it would have got pretty damn heavy, and it looks to be a long walk.

Most people will know novelist Michael Crichton. His last book, State of Fear, was heavily critical of the environmental movements, so hence his appointment by Bush to an advisory role on climate change was criticised by many, including Michael Crowley who wrote for The New Republic.

By coincidence a Mick Crowley appears in Crichton’s latest book. He is a paedophile child rapist. Yes seriously.

Boy is that holding a grudge. One would think Crichton would not be so petty or at least slightly more subtle, I mean you could have him a a hack journalist or a petty thief, but a child rapist!!

On the positive side it might all lead to a good Southpark episode!

Hat Tip: Apricot Flan

Did we really need a three year police investigation to confirm the obvious – Diana died because her driver crashed while driving too fast and drunk. It wasn’t a conspiracy of Cuban exiles and Prince Phillip.

Of course the mad Mohamed al Fayed rejects the finding despite having said he had total confidence in the inquiry.

The most amusing thing to come from it all is the revelation that the Clinton Administration was bugging and eavesdropping on Diana and Dodi. Priceless.

The Herald has a link through to the full report, for those keen.

25 year old Paris Hilton has said she would like to have four babies by the time she is 30, as she has got clucky babysitting for gal pal Britney.

Surely there is some law or UN treaty against this?

And talking of Britney, how many of you have seen the photos? Be honest!

The NZ Herald has a summary of tributes to Milton Friedman, including from Don Brash who knew him fairly well and had dinner with him just last year. The NZ central bank model and was regarded by Friedman (and many others) as world leading.

Also David Buckingham has a video of Friedman talking about his philosphy in terms of New Zealand. Note the file is large.