In December I had what now appears to have been a brain seizure. This was followed some months later by three TIA’s (mini strokes). Then I had a stroke and after superb diagnosis at Christchurch Hospital I was admitted to Burwood Hospital. I was unable to stand or walk. I was at Burwood 10 … [Read more...]
Deeply ingrained social conservatism?
An Observation by Chris Trotter... Depressing though it is to admit, New Zealanders’ deeply ingrained social conservatism; their fury at any person, or group, who see themselves as being better than everybody else; their unwillingness to tolerate one rule for thee, and another for me; their … [Read more...]
The invisible hand of the “market”
Here’s a photo of the commercial barge which became stranded on Carters Beach last week. I wonder how much the State spent extracting it. In the Press it was reported: Former harbourmaster David Barnes said the barge was underpowered and had insufficient propulsion. He said the Westport bar … [Read more...]
On Keeping & Growing Christchurch City Council Assets
Ownership, management, and control of public, community, and private assets: what, why, who, how? TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 7 pmWEA 59 Gloucester St, Christchurch CBDFacebook Event In December 2023, the Christchurch City Council voted, by the narrowest of … [Read more...]
Garry’s thoughts – Mr Bates vs The Post Office
I seldom watch TV. However, I had been following the Mr Bates v The Post Office saga on various media outlets in the UK. The issue seemed to me to be a window on what neo-liberal economics has served up across the world. So, I sat down and watched the TV drama and the documentary which followed. The … [Read more...]
Christchurch Cathedral:
I think the Anglicans and Catholics should share the rebuild of the Cathedral in the Square and share the site for their services. When David Williams of Newsroom How Christchurch got sucked into an expensive cathedral rebuild (newsroom.co.nz) sought the opinion of each of the bishops individually, … [Read more...]
A photo tells a thousand words:
Here a woman grieves over the body of a child killed in a bombing. It says it all. Nothing, nothing is achieved through war. How do those who caused this war, which could be anywhere, explain to that young child’s whanau why they killed her? As this email goes out to you all Iran has … [Read more...]
Transport planning…
I think this cartoon reflects how the current Minister for Transport views forward planning for transport. If you can’t drive a truck or a car, then planning for anything else doesn’t enter his consciousness. Especially if you live anywhere in the South Island. He is a true disaster on two … [Read more...]
I’ve paid my ZOOM bill and I’m wondering why there was no GST…
Because of my technical incompetence I have failed to produce a copy of my recent bill for my Zoom account to show you all. However, here’s a copy of the account payment: Zoom.Us 888-799-9666 Www.Zoom.Us Ca $272.05US. I wrote across the invoice I kept for my records “No GST – bastards”. I … [Read more...]
Why did the coalition Government got rid of the Productivity Commission?
It’s because the Commission Chair Dr Ganesh Nana wrote things like this: Our business models continue to focus on volume, rather than value and again that’s a misunderstanding of productivity – increased revenue is not productivity. Revenue can be generated by, just as we have done, … [Read more...]