Kiwiblog

The great Milton Friedman has died. It is hard to over-state how influential Friedman has been, and how so much of his work is now conventional wisdom.

The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation sums him up with:

Milton’s passion for freedom and liberty has influenced more lives than he ever could possibly know. His writings and ideas have transformed the minds of U.S. Presidents, world leaders, entrepreneurs and freshmen economic majors alike. The loss of his passion, incisive mind and dedication to freedom are all national treasures that we mourn for today.

And his son, David D, Friedman has a wonderful quote and tribute on his blog:

Cattle die, kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But the good name never dies
Of one who has done well.

On Saturday more than 200 cars were set alight. Over six months there have been over 21,000 cars burnt out. The latest saw a bus set ablaze when a group of teenagers forced open the doors of the vehicle and threw an inflammable liquid inside before fleeing – causing burns to over 70% of the body of a female passenger..

Is it Iraq? Is it South Africa? is it Sudan? Makes your guesses in comments.

Congratulations to Taťána Kuchařová, the new Miss World. She is from the Czech Republic, reinforcing my prejudices of favouring Eastern Europeans.

The Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin is dead, killed not by a crocodile but by a stingray.

Some may say it was inevitable, but still very sad for him family, friends and fans.

As Irwin used to say, Crikey!

Heathrow Airport has closed after authories arrested 21 people in the UK, in relation to an elleged plot to blow up up to ten aircraft, while they are over major cities in the US and UK – hoping to maximise civilian casualities.

The US Department of Homeland Security has set the threat level for flights originating in the UK to “red” – the first time.

Now I’m scheduled to fly into the USA on Saturday. God it is going to be a nightmare with this level of security. Even worse for my friends from London whom I am meeting there.

But still a minor hassle compared to what would have happened if the plot wasn’t stopped. However I see as a temporary measure one can not have any cabin luggage at all, except for a passport and a wallet!

The deputy head of a stae owned bank in Vietnam has been charged with “losing state resources through economic mismanagement” and faces the death penalty.

God could you imagine if one had such a crime and a penalty in New Zealand. I mean Steve Maharey would have been executed years ago for all the tertiary education scams.

Hat Tip: Tim Blair

Everyone knows Mel Gibson and his film “The Passion of the Christ”. And Mel claimed the film was not anti-semitic and neither was he.

As is often the case, the truth comes out with some alcohol. On Friday Mel Gibson gets pulled over for drink driving and he exclaims:

- Fucking Jews
- The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world
- Are you a Jew? (to the police deputy)

No wonder he produces his own films. All the other hollywood companies are controlled by those “fucking jews”!

Sonya Thomas is known as the black widow. Not because she eats the males of the species, shet out-eats them.

She has just won another eating competition despite weighing only 100 pounds comnpared to the 250+ pounds of other competitors.

Her records include the following:

# Chicken nuggets
* 80 chicken nuggets in 5 minutes

# Buffalo wings
* 162 chicken wings in 12 minutes

# Eggs
* 65 hard boiled eggs in 6 minutes and 40 seconds

# Hamburgers
* 7 burgers (3/4 pound) “Thickburgers” in 10 minutes

# Lobster
* 44 lobsters totaling 11.3 pounds of lobster meat in 12 minutes

# Oysters
* 46 dozen (552) Acme Oysters in 10 minutes

# Meatballs
* 10 pounds, 3 Ounces of Carmine’s Meatballs in 12 minutes.

I was surprised to learn, when I was over in Canada, that the age of consent there is only 14. It has been that since 1890!

The Government has just introduced a bill to raise the age to 16, but to have a “close age” exemption for 14 and 15 year olds if their partners are no more than five years older than them. So a 14 year old and 19 year old would be legal but a 15 year old and a 25 year old would not be.

Seems a pretty sensible change to me.

Incidentially the age iof consent is just 13 in Spain and Japan.

These two girls, Whitney Cerak and Laura VanRyn, were in a car crash. Only one of them survived – the girl on the left who was identified as Laura.

Five weeks after the crash, as the survivor regained consciousness, did they realise that in fact it was Whitney who was alive.

It is hard to imagine the pain of one family who spend weeks nursing their daughter back to health, to then realise that she was in fact dead and had been buried weeks ago.

But also imagine the joy of the family and friends of Whitney, who had buried her weeks ago, to find out she was alive and recovering. I doubt there are words which could do justice to what they must have felt.

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction!

Geri Halliwell has named her baby girl Bluebell Madonna Halliwell.

Once the girls grows up, if she kills her mother I am sure a jury qould acquit her on the grounds of provocation for such a name.

Scoop has a lengthy essay and photos from three students who visited North Korea. One of them is the AUSA International Affairs Officer.

Read all about their moving scenes:
* wearing suits as a sign of respect and laying flowers at a 30 metre statue of Kim Il Sung
* Observing the “reverence the people of North Korea have for the

Nuclear Power is more and more being seen as part of the answer to global warming and limits to other resources.

Australia:

Soaring oil prices would push Australia more quickly towards the

Forbes has compiled their annual list of the richest rulers. In order they are:

1. King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia, $21 billion
2. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Brunei, $20 billion
3. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, United Arab Emirates, $19 billion
4. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai, $14 billion
5. Hans Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein, Liechtenstein, $4 billion
6. Prince Albert II, Monaco, $1 billion
7. Fidel Castro, Cuba, $900 million
8. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatorial Guinea, $600 million
9. Queen Elizabeth II, Queen/U.K., $500 million
10. Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, Netherlands, $270 million

So the only two non royals who make the list are Fidel Castro and the President of Equatorial Guinea. Has there even been a poor communist leader?

As you read this article on rioting in East Timor, please do remember that we live in a “benign strategic environment”

a) 50
b) 200
c) 1,000
d) 2,500
e) 6,000

One of these numbers represents the approximate verified death toll from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.

Another of these numbers represents the *annual* death toll from coal mining for coal power plants.

Guesses in comments for which is which.

This is amusing. Adam Gilchrist, Australia’s wicket keeper, during the last cricket test match was heard endorsing sponsors between balls saying things like:

Travelex Foreign Exchange boys!
Plenty of energy from a Milo Energy Bar.
Keep it well oiled with Castrol boys come on.

Why?

The broadcasters are meant to turn down the stump mikes between balls. They hadn’t been (probably to try and catch any sledging) so Gilchrist thought that him providing free advertising to sponsors would give the broadcasters the right incentive to keep their word and have them turned down.

Very smart.

Hat Tip: Backin15

Looking at this baptism done by the Archbishop of York, I could be tempted to become a priest

Just read that China’s economic or GDP growth is continuing at 10% a year.

Out of interest I just projected how long it will take for China to have a higher GDP per capita than New Zealand, assuming we continue at 3% a year.

NZ is currently US$23,846 per capita and China US$1,272, so we are 19 times larger.

By the year 2050, China will have a higher GDP per person than New Zealand, if we both continue at the same growth rates.

Reuters: Muslim hardliners attack Playboy building

Some things are worth fighting for!

Talk about stating the obvious. The Reuters story on the death of an Sinn Fein spy, is headed up that his death is being treated as murder.

No kidding!!

I mean his arm was just almost severed off and he had been tortured. You think that is maybe some bizarre accident or a very sado-masochistic suicide where he cut one arm off and then shot himself in the arm and face.

This Kentucky teacher obviosuly went to the training college which advocates sticking tennis balls in mouths to keep stiudents quiet.

But Caroline Kolb went one better. She bit her student on his upper left shoulder. She was dismissed after admitted to finding fabric in her mouth afterwards!

Today is the Ides of March. 2,049 years ago Julius Caesar was murdered.

I originally was going to post he was killed 2,050 years ago but then remembered there was no 0 AD. That is why of course millenium celebrations should have been held 31/12/2000 not 31/12/1999.

An amusing story from South Korea. Girl’s dog poops on the subway and she doesn’t clean it up. Uploaded mobile phone photos of her become most searched for item on the Internet!

The story talsk also about Korean use of the Internet and how President Roh Moo-hyun is known to surf the Web, often posts open letters on the Internet and he plans his first online debate with the public on March 23.

Not really watching but have it on in the background. Winners to date are:

Best Animated Feature: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Best Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Brian Van’t Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor – King Kong.

Best Costume Design: Memoirs of a Geisha

Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney

Achievement in Makeup: Howard Berger and Tami Lane – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz

Best Documentary Feature: March of the Penguins

Achievement in Sound Mixing: King Kong

Not too bad to date for Kiwis.

Further winners:

Best Foreign Language Film: Tsotsi (South Africa)

Achievement in Film Editing: Crash

Achievement in cinematography: Dione Bebbe (Memoirs of a Geisha)

Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon in