The last...

Steven Gerrard playing for Liverpool against Aston Villa a few days ago.
Spot the little white things they played in.

The last day of 2009.

The last post of mine in 2009.

The last of the snow in the United Kingdom for ever.

What? The last of the snow in the United Kingdom for ever?

Well that's what they were saying in 2000.

So as the decade ends I leave it with the knowledge that when it started, alarmists were, um, er, alarming us.

And nothing changed in the intervening years.

Hat Tip: NZ Conservative.

New Year horrurs

I won't be celebrating Helen Clark's supposed elevation to one of the 20 greatest living New Zealanders.

To me she has always been an arrogant, conniving liar who did what ever necessary to ensure her rise to the top.

She headed a party that stole taxpayers money and passed legislation to cover their butts.
She protected the corrupt Fields to protect her interests.
She cut deals with Winston Peters that reeked.
She signed paintings as her own.......

She used us as stepping stones and left our good country a poorer place, both morally and financially.

Apart from that have a happy New Year.

Labour's hypocrisy over pay increases

Just a quick post as I'm heading out for a run.

Chis Hipkins over at Red Alert is enraged over pay increases for ministers via a change to the residence allowance.

However despite the rhetoric, a few weeks before Christmas, four of his ministers got a pay rise thanks to Key’s new funding regime for ministerial residences, with more of them set to benefit as they enter the new system over the next 12 months.

Based on a comparison of their previous claims and their new allowances, all four of the first ministers to enter the new regime get a tax free pay increase. Pita Sharples gets $173 per week, David Carter $204 per week, and Maurice Williamson $84 per week. It’s harder to calculate the fourth minister, Nathan Guy, because he only recently seems to have started claiming.

But I recall this issue from a few months ago. The money quote:

Mr Rennie said the pay rises flowed through from a decision in 2005 to increase the overall funding for chief executives by 5 per cent a year for five years.

A decision in 2005 to grant pay increases for five years without any chance of review or linked to performance. Check out the numbers in that Herald article. They're scary and exemplify the largesse the previous government operated under.

Another Word Debased.

Once upon a time, one could go out on the town and have a gay old time. Forth formers would snigger as they sang "We'll all feel gay, when Johnnie comes marching home.' and homosexuals were poofters.

Now the enviro-nazis have stolen the word 'green.'



Someone, please tell Phil O'Reilly that in the Clean green context, the word green refers to a colour. Compared with most other countries (Except the Emerald Isle) New Zealand is Green. It's not a dirty shitty arid reddy brown like much of Canada, USA, Argentina, Russia, India, Australia et al. The bloody place really is very very GREEN. Never can I forget the involuntary gasp each time I flew in over Aphitu from Australia during the seventies. I simply had forgotten what real green grass and bush actually looked like.

So how can we we be setting ourselves up to fail?

Try Googling "clean green New Zealand" and you'll find many recent critical entries pointing out instances where we are failing to meet the standard of "clean and green".

We can't somehow 'not live up to' the colour of the landscape. The fact of the matter is, compared to most countries Adolf has visited, New Zealand is cleaner and a damned sight greener.

Whose standard is it anyway? There are some nutters (many were at Copenhagen) who would consider we fail as long as we allow homo sapiens to reside here.

So Mr O'Reilly, I suggest you stick your chest out a bit and stop prevaricating. By all means tell your mates this country is a great place to live but tell them also is because the joint is so Green.

What I've Long Suspected

The anti-Amerikkans from the left have screamed so long and loud about health care that I almost believed it. How often have you heard Labourites or Greens bemoaning changes to our health system as 'Americanising' or 'like America where people are left to die in the gutter'?

Victor Davis Hanson sums it up succinctly. The whole piece is worth a read, particularly the bit about where he lives.

"I have had long hospitalizations in the past abroad as well as surgery; my impression is that the American medical system provides better care for its indigent than most countries afford their wealthy."

What Took So Long?.........

......and what irreparable damage has been done in the meantime?

Stuff is reporting a change of attitude on the part of New Zealand in it's dealings with Fiji.




Mr Key, don't stuff around with letters. Get on a plane and get yourself up there to sit down and have a beer with the man. Face to face. Mana enhancing man to man.




Whatever you do, do NOT send anyone who is associated with the NZ Labour Party or is a Methodist. They are the enemy in this little revolution.

Police shooting

I've noticed that no one in the blogosphere has commented on the shooting of Constable Snow. I never expected Idiot/Savant to offer condolences, nor Bomber for that matter. But I thought uber-blogger, Farrar, might put something up. Alas, it appears not.

It's funny that when a cop is shot as a result of protecting the very freedoms that the likes of Idiot/Savant, Bomber (and others) take for granted, their silence is deafening.

Yet when a cop is placed in a similarly unenviable position of protecting those same freedoms, but forced to use a firearm in a split second decision, their squawking can be heard from Cape Reinga to the Bluff. Squawking which, at the time, I said was unjustified and would be proven wrong. I was right.

Constable Snow, thank you for patrolling South Auckland at 4am in the morning. Thank you for getting out of your car to investigate suspicious behaviour. You didn't know what was about to occur, yet in the dark, armed only with your notebook and a pen, you bravely did what 99% of New Zealanders wouldn't dare do.

May you recover fully and return to frontline policing. And let's hope your injuries aren't so bad they prevent that.

Loony letters

I enjoy reading the Letters to the Editor in the papers. Some are thought provoking, but most are just batshit insaneness.

Example 1

Labour stalwart, John Langdon, wrote to the Herald a week or so ago. His issue? TVNZ apparently considering reducing the programming of Coronation Street down to just one night per week.

However, it wasn't this that caught my eye, rather it was whose fault it was. Yep. John Key. You see Key is PM, and TVNZ is owned by Jonathan Coleman and Bill English, so if TVNZ cut Coro Street back it would be National's fault and, here's the main point made by Langdon, Key deserved to be booted out of office as a result.

There's nothing like Labour's prioirities to remind us why they were booted out of office last year.

Example 2

In today's HoS, a Barry Morgan of Manukau (no apparent evidence on being a Labour apparatchik) writes on taxes. He opines:

Why don't the middle and upper class people like paying taxes?...


When it comes to...(climatic adversity) they simply don't want to pay any taxes towards helping out...

Only tax increases will save our great-grandchildren. Tax increases to put us on a "war footing" against the ravages of global warming, and its consequences...


New Zealand and Australia need to at least double our armed forces and military capabilities to combat any invasion that will eventuate from the blobal warming crisis, should the current initiatives fail. It's simply that urgent.

Langdon thinks our number one priority is Coronation Street and Morgan thinks it's preventing military invasion resulting from "global warming"

Where's the invasion gonna come from? Tuvalu? Which has a population of ~12,000.00?

Now, some may think getting my jollies reading letters to the editor is a little odd, but at least I don't spend my holidays reading BSA decisions!!!.

If there is no news, invent some

It will come as no surprise to our New Zealand readers that not much happens in NZ that might be considered newsworthy. Generally, this is a good thing, as stuff that is newsworthy often involves large numbers of dead bodies. However, it does have one drawback, in that the nation's journos are forced to just invent news if they're going to be able to publish a newspaper every day.

Fine example of this yesterday: I noticed on Stuff Nazi uniforms upset RSA, in which we discover that RSA national president Robin Klitscher is furious that members of the Military Re-enactment Society put on Nazi uniforms and set up swastika flags and a portrait of Hitler. Well, yes, that would be a pretty offensive show to put on for your local RSA I should think, even if its national president does have a German name. Except, they didn't do it at the RSA:

The uniforms were worn at a private dinner at a Cambridge restaurant last month.

So how did the nat pres of the RSA find out about this private function and decide to call the press? How indeed? On reading the story at the NZ Herald site, all is revealed:

The Weekend Herald has obtained photographs of members of the Military Re-enactment Society holding a private dinner at a Cambridge restaurant last month.

In other words, the journo, Jared Savage, saw the photos of someone's private event and rushed off to wave them at Robin Klitscher so he could write a story about how the photos had outraged Robin Klitscher. I guess David Zwartz was unavailable...

I can't wait for Jared Savage's next story, in which he obtains photos of a pig on a spit at a barbecue and rushes them to the head of FIANZ for comment.

THANK YOU

A HUGE thanks to the peon from AUCKLAND (who has clearly sussed my identity) who sent me anonymously a Box of Jack Daniels CHOCOLATES. Have just skoffed my fifth 1 and life is LOOKING good. Nite all.

APPROPRIATE

The Veteran thought the Queen's Christmas Message where she singled out troops from the Commonwealth (United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand & Singapore) serving in Afghanistan for special mention was entirely appropriate and I thank her for that.

For the record the Veteran is not a Royalist. Once was, but the image of Charles the Third as King of New Zealand leaves me cold. Once the Queen departs I favour New Zealand becoming a Republic within the Commonwealth with a President as titular Head of State (however appointed/elected) having a ceremonial role with Parliament retaining primacy over all issues.

Christmas Day - The NZPA Way

They just can't help themselves - these lefties at NZPA. Not even on Christmas Day.

Bias can be such a subtle thing. As I read through this piece I was struck by what was left out. Witness:-

The banks survived and didn't stop lending, which had more to do with New Zealand getting through the recession than any of the Government's ideas.

Hmmmmm. I seem to recall that the gummint made it clear to the banks, time and time again, that they had to keep lending 'or else.' Somewhere in there was also a government guarantee given to the same banks - introduced by Labour in its dying moments and later enhanced by the current administration.

His mind, and Key's, was fixed on avoiding an international credit rating downgrade which would have made it more difficult and expensive to get the money.

English managed to stay on the tightrope. Core spending was maintained while "poor quality" programmes were cut across the board. Many of the previous government's pet projects were canned and payments into the superannuation fund were frozen. There was no ratings downgrade.

A prime reason our banks WERE able to keep lending and keep interest rates modest was the fact - conveniently ignored by NZPA - that an unexpected ratings up-grade resulted. A truly remarkable achievement.

By year end one thing was becoming clear - Key isn't leading a reformist government. There's no agenda for the sort of changes the business sector thought they were going to get. It might be more business-friendly than Labour but it's well short of an embrace. It is, as he said it would be, a pragmatic centre-right government.

Forgotten by NZPA are John Key's and Bill English's many election campaign promises that there will be no asset sales during the first term; and especially there will be no major boat rocking changes during a recession. NZPA doesn't seem to realise that while technically we have come out of recession, the figures released by the Reserve Bank yesterday indicate that we are only just out and in fact are still teetering on the brink. GDP growth for the September quarter was 0.2%.

Ignored by NZPA are the many signs of preparation for reform initiated during the first year - reform of taxation being one of the most significant.

Now let's see how they treated Philk Off and his mates.

Surprise surprise. As many bad things about Labour were hidden as were good things about National. That's how it's done, see?

Phil Goff says he knew it was going to be hard, the first year after losing an election always is. But Labour held a surprisingly upbeat annual conference and its caucus worked well with new backbenchers hitting their straps in Parliament.

I say, chaps. What about the damaging Indian sheila sooled onto Richard Worth by Phil Goff? What about his famous 'dole for millionaires'? What about his specially picked and fed to the media beneficiary battlers who turned out to be living a life of luxury as dole bludgers?

Commentators wrote death notices as Goff's popularity stayed in single figures but there were no challengers this year and there aren't likely to be any next year. Labour's support base didn't erode by much, staying around 30 per cent against its election night 33.9 per cent.

Never mind the cold hard fact that Labour's party vote dropped below 30% for a time and went as low as 27.5% as I recall.

But voters at last took notice of Labour and its leader, with polls showing a modest bounceback. Mission accomplished.

Maybe Adolf has been asleep but I can recall only one poll in which Labour 'bounced back' a little since Goff's speech. Since then he has been dragged back into line by his caucus and party president so it's a bit early to be calling 'mission accomplished.'

So there you have it. NZPA exemplifies the media's ability to 'hide the decline.' All you do is select the data which suits your hypothesis. It's easier for journalists than it is for junk scientists though. Journos don't have to rig the peer review process because when it comes to lies and distortions, they are without peer.

Blogger Aid

Let's help WhaleOil out.

This will be a series of posts.

Post #1.

Get a copy of the court orders you are alleged to have breached. You need to see exactly what the court ordered. Ask the police to provide them under the Official Information Act. You won't need them prior to the 5th though.

This will assist you for the offence under section 140(1) of the Criminal Justice Act. However, I doubt it will for the offence charged under section 139.

That's two six minute units: $70.

Here's a clue to what makes us warm

Even 0.1% change in the Sun's output can effect us.

Which is what has been happening for several billion years.

We should be happy that the sun is so constant.

Santa Came Early For Bill

The Four Pillars have finally agreed to cough up and spew $2.2 Billion into the general revenue. For the first time in human memory, Bill English has cracked a smile in public.



Can someone more expert than Adolf tell whether this will have any significant effect on quarterly GDP?

From The Horse's Mouth

An interesting extract from some musings on a Presbyterian parish website.

Hacked emails from an English Climate-research Centre were released this week. They've released an outpouring of righteous and sometimes hysterical indignation from the "true believers" on the web, and an equally righteous trumpetting from those who question the correctness of the true believers' science, and see them as evidence of underhand behaviour.

"Hacking is in itself disquieting, but the content and focus of the leaked emails is also disquieting. We read a sample in the Physics Department last week, and eyebrows were raised. I have been a publishing Physicist for over 40 years, and I never wrote emails like this, and my colleagues, after some thought, agreed that they hadn't either. We sound off to each other about incompetent editors and referees who reject our papers, often in robust language, but never question the right of others to reject our data or conclusions, describe dissenting colleagues disparagingly, nor hide behind freedom of information acts to release our data or modelling programs - which all seem to be present or implied in what we read.

I find it interesting and revealing that the majority of letters to the editor in the last few issues of the authoritative journal "Physics Today" reveal a robust, and ongoing technical debate about the science of climate change and its predictions, which are far from being as clear-cut as most of you probably believe."

Merry Christmas and a hopeful New Year.

We all know what Labours take is on welfare... the more the merrier.

National are now making some noise in right direction but what will the new year bring?

I guess we will just have to wait and see.

This has been one of the more challenging years for being a retailer but we seem to have survived with our shirts on. I have actually slashed my overheads and am looking forward to much less stress next year. Never waste a good recession as they say.

The highlights of the year were

Seeing the complete irrelevence of Labour under Goff. So well done Phil, keep up the good work.

The falling apart of the AGW scam, although we haven't seen the last of it. The main perpertrators will just ignore the science anyway. It's all about the money now.

So once again thanks to my fellow bloggers for your generosity to allow me to have a say on No Minister.

To them and all our many visitors

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

It's The Sun, Stupid!

or 'And Now For Some REAL Science'

Isn't it amazing how genuine scientists making genuine observations are now being published?

Ozone at Antarctica - Image NASA

Here's the devastating money shot from this latest piece of genuine research, presented in a prestigious and properly peer reviewed publication - Physics Reports.

“My findings do not agree with the climate models that conventionally thought that greenhouse gases, mainly CO2, are the major culprits for the global warming seen in the late 20th century,” Lu said. “Instead, the observed data show that CFCs conspiring with cosmic rays most likely caused both the Antarctic ozone hole and global warming..........."

“............Most remarkably, the total amount of CFCs, ozone-depleting molecules that are well-known greenhouse gases, has decreased around 2000,” Lu said. “Correspondingly, the global surface temperature has also dropped. In striking contrast, the CO2 level has kept rising since 1850 and now is at its largest growth rate.”

In his research, Lu discovers that while there was global warming from 1950 to 2000, there has been global cooling since 2002. The cooling trend will continue for the next 50 years, according to his new research observations.

John Key, please take note. This is not cosy 'consensus' junk science. This is the real deal.

Read the whole piece - it is very straight forward, logical and easy to understand.

It's the Sun, stupid.

Some Perspective on Farting Cows - Updated.

In New Zealand today there are estimated to be roughly 16.4 million head of cattle, belching methane into the air.




In India today there are estimated to be roughly 283 million cattle, belching untouchable methane into the air.

In Australia today there are estimated to be 28 million cattle, belching methane into the air.

In the USA today there are estimated to be 98 million cattle, belching methane into the air.


In New Zealand today there are estimated to be roughly 38.5 million sheep and goats, belching methane into the air.

In Australia today there are estimated to be 86 million sheep and goats, belching methane into the air.

In India today there are estimated to be 168 million sheep and goats, belching methane into the air.

Conclusion:

Without allowing for stock numbers in Russia and China, neither of whom will have a bar of these damned fool restrictions, if New Zealand slaughtered every one of our sheep and cattle, we would achieve a near to zero effect on the amount of methane produced worldwide by farting, belching sheep, cattle and goats.

None of these five countries has an ETS and none is likely to.

Why are we so keen to give away our competitive advantage and resulting export income to India, Australia and the the US?

Repeal the junk science ETS. Repeal the ETS.

Update: There you are, see? Toldyaso.

Campbell on Welfare

Gordon Campbell has a piece on Scoop about National's welfare reforms.

The image he uses (above) is interesting to say the least.

How can anyone possibly argue after this story that the Left's welfare ideals are about carrots?

Another victimless crime ?

Another pathetic Herald headline
Apparently home detention is now "jail".
Are they trying to pretend that people who steal from taxpayers are really being dealt to.
Because everyone knows that that is not the case.
Why aren't we selling up this guy's assets and getting our $68,000 back plus interest.

As an aside I thought I would take my annual visit to the Standard ( no link, you can find it but I wouldn't bother) to see what they had to say about climategate. I wasn't disappointed. Somethings never change.

Flogging a dying horse to get the last mile out of it, with Toad as jockey.

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS AND THINGS

To one and all the very best for the festive season from the Veteran. Thank you Adolf for your invitation to be a contributor to your blog. I have enjoyed the experience and respect the right of those who disagree with me to say so (even when they are wrong).

We may have differing political views but that is healthy in a functioning democracy. Any attempt to stifle political debate as Labour and the Greens did with their obnoxious Electoral Finance Act is to be deplored.

It has quite rightly been consigned to the dustbin of history.

Next year I expect the debate on MMP to heat up. Cards on the table time. Back in 1996 I was involved on the periphery of the Peter Shirtcliffe campaign against MMP along with my good friend Tony Farrington. We lost. Now we get the chance to re litigate that decision. Up until the last election I would have thought the likely result a foregone conclusion with bastard Parties like Winston First a graphic reminder of all the frailties of a system designed by the Allies and forced upon Germany in an attempt to ensure no more Hitlers. With Peters just a bad memory and with United Future and the Progressives likely to disappear from Parliament next time round I'm not at all sure there will be any change. For the record, the Veteran now supports a change to the 'Supplementary Member' system with the Party Vote % applied against the number of list seats on offer rather than the total number of seats making up the Parliament. Let's have the debate.

National needs both the ACT and Maori Party support if it is to be a long term Government. The Maori Party have scarcely put a foot wrong in terms of relating to their own constituency. Hone is an aberration they can do without but are stuck with. The reality is that he is that he has zip gravitas with Government and rightly so.

ACT is a worry. They appear to be tearing themselves apart over Hide vs Douglas with Rodney discredited as someone undergoing a mid life crisis and a perk taker and Douglas as an angry old man going nowhere except to London on perks "to which I am entitled". National needs ACT but if they cannot get their act together then perhaps they should consider the advice of Blair Mulholland and disband with their activists morphing back into National and Labour from whence they came. I would prefer ACT remains but unless they can move on from what has been a disastrous six months then National may well stand a quality candidate in Epsom with none of the nudge, nudge, wink, wink of the past two elections.

For Labour I just don't give a damn and the Greens are irrelevant to me. Goff, Norman and Turei don't cut the mustard.

As for the ETS and one might observe that with the hard Right castigating National for doing too much and the Left and hard Left the same for not doing enough then probably we are doing it about right. I remain a climate change skeptic but real politik has it that if we were to opt out of where the remainder of the world is going then as sure as god made little apples legislators in the EU and and US for starters would use that as an excuse to impose further tariff barriers against against our exports. Those who argue otherwise are being intellectually dishonest but perhaps populist politics rules ok.

It has been a good year for our war veteran community thanks especially to the efforts of Judith Collins. She has been a breath of fresh air after nine years of failure Ministers Hawkins and Barker.

Finally, if any are inclined to do so you might say a prayer for our son who is about to take over a senior UK command appointment in Afghanistan. His Regiment has lost three soldiers in the last ten days with the last one just yesterday. We can argue the rights and wrongs of being there. We should never take that out on the soldiers, sailors and airmen doing what an elected (Labour) government has sent them to do.

Happy Christmas.

Disappointed

The dismissal by NIWA of Dr Slazenger has been upheld and the good Dr is disappointed.

A twenty year career of doctoring data comes to a dismal end.

Now, what about Jones, Briffa, Trenbeth and Mann? The many illegitimate fathers of the bastard child 'global warming.'

Money Better Spent?

The world has just seen ONE BILLION DOLLARS thrown down the black hole of Nohopenhagen for no result which does any good for ordinary mankind.

Take your mind off the tragic enormity of it all for a moment if you will and reflect upon Lou's recent post where he remarked on what an extraordinary influence for good can be just a lousy one hundred bucks, put directly into the hands of the person who needs a hand.

Take your mental meanderings a step further and try to imagine what could have been done with the US$1 billion plus which was wasted in Denmark.

The result is eye wateringly staggering. You could have built houses for, fed and medicated for a year some four million, six hundred and seventy-three thousand starving homeless people in Africa, Bangladesh, Ethiopia or wherever.




Adolf's back of a cigarette packet budget (that's how it was done at Lincoln during the sixties) indicates a tonne of wheat (200 g/head/day) might cost say US$600 by the time it is bagged ($300 fob US) and delivered; US$20 will probably buy a year's medication per head at knock down ex factory prices; and US$525 would buy building materials sufficient for a rudimentary home for four people. (That's about the amount a Fijian villager spends on housing materials.)

Would somebody please check the maths? When you've done so, kindly send a note to Messrs Gore, Pachauri and Co and ask them to cough up.

A Very Good Week For ACT

Last week may turn out to be a very good week for the ACT Party.

It was the week during which the backroom shenanigans by the old goat and the young mother were revealed and which shenanigans appear to have cemented party leader Rodney Hide in place.



He now has a chance to clean out the stables and look to the party's Board to bring in to its list some candidates with more widespread appeal and political common sense. (Douglas and Roy have done their dashes.)

People like Shaun Plunkett maybe? (He's likely to be looking for a job.)



Or maybe Dr Chris deFreitas?



Which brings me to the second reason it was a very good week for ACT.

Copenhagen and John Key's childlike adherence to the rapidly crumbling and discredited mantra of the Global Warmenisers and their vast conspiracy of junk science, media manipulation and wealth transfer on a giant scale.

ACT needs only to hold its head high and campaign hard on it's opposition to the hot air and horse shit from Copenhagen; make the repeal of the ridiculous ETS a central plank of its 2011 campaign, get a few decent candidates on its list, put up John Bascowan for a win in Tamaki electorate and it's a shoe in for ten percent party vote in 2011 to go alongside two electorate seats. Hell, if ACT campaigned on the repeal of the ETS they'd get MY party vote.

If it was really brave it would also campaign to lift the MMP threshold from five percent to eight or even ten percent. (Good night Greens.)

Those two issues alone must be worth at least five percent party vote out in mainland 'feet on the ground' New Zealand.

That's the way to vault out of the nether world of political tail on the dog and become a party of substance and serious influence.

Steyn at His Best

Here are some gems from Mark Steyn's lampooning of the potential world disaster which was Copenhagen.

On Ah'madinnerjacket and Prince Charles:-

"Take Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Prince of Wales. One’s a millenarian apocalyptic loon, and the other’s president of Iran. On balance, widening the streets of Tehran for the imminent return of the Twelfth Imam seems marginally less deranged than insisting the planet is doomed in 96 months unless humanity abandons the evils of capitalism and “the age of convenience.” (This from a man who has never drawn his own curtains.)"

On free fucks for fools:-

"I resisted comment for a week—in part because, while a generous gift, it seemed unlikely to be taken up. For one thing, it’s far harder to “hide the decline” when you’re in a Danish bordello than at the Climatic Research Unit. For another, you have to pay extra if you want a second girl to come in and “peer-review” your submission."

On Rajendra Pachauri:-

"He’s not a climatologist but a railroad engineer. So, if he ever avails himself of a free half-hour with a Copenhagen hooker, I’m sure, like the Bombay to Cochin express, he’ll pull out on time. But it’s hard to see why he should be presiding over a multi-trillion-dollar shakedown of the global economy."

On "the world's most influential tree":-

Question: can you measure any tree-ring cycles for the last millennium and get a genuine hockey stick?

Answer: yes. Tree Number YAD061. That’s it. One tree. The temperature records show no warming in Siberia over the last half-century. But you can’t see the forest for the tree, singular......

............And, as Dr. Pachauri rebukes us, YAD061 can never be questioned because it’s peer-reviewed. Every December the CRU Tabernacle Choir should place (non-incandescent) lights on its snow-laden boughs and sing:

“O-Sixty-One! O-Sixty-One!
How lovely are thy cycles!
O-Sixty-One! O-Sixty-One!
At last, a match for Michael’s!”

On the serious duplicity and naked greed of it all:-

It’s the speed that impresses. In 2008, carbon trading worldwide reached $128 billion. That’s why Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are hot for emissions schemes. According to the writer Jo Nova, carbon is on course to become the largest traded commodity—bigger than oil or gas. As she says, it’s the subprime mortgage of the commodities market. Like Al Gore, the world’s first carbon billionaire, it’s testament mainly to a kind of globalized gullibility. In the blink of an eye, the “settled science” of a small number of ideologues was propelled upwards into a “peer-reviewed” “consensus” and then an international fait accompli.

A few weeks ago Adolf noted the similarities between the worthless pieces of paper flogged around the world from decade to decade.

Wealth redistribution 101

We are told we need to rely on massive bureaucracies like the UN to redistribute wealth to the poorer people in the world at a cost of billions of dollars. This is a load of bollocks.

The technology already exists for people to sort this out amongst themselves with no bureaucracy at all.

All you need is a bank account, a web site and email.

A person, in say Kenya, registers their details on a personal page on a secure web site outlining their specific needs.

In my experience the needs are reasonably basic.

Anyone can choose to contact this person via email and if they are satisfied with the genuine status of the person, can send a small amount of money directly to that person via the banking system.

The recipient can place feedback and photos on the website. And so build the relationship.

I am thinking of a model along the lines of Trademe.

Anyone could add comments to the person's page and so help eliminate the potential for fraud.
Of course people would try to rip the system off but with time the fraudsters would be weeded out and the individual sums involved would be a fraction of the billion $ fraud the UN gets away with every year.

I should add that in 20 years of dealing with 100's of "grass root" African people I have found 99.99% to be completely honest and only trying their best to put a roof over their heads and get their kids through school. The only African who has ripped me off ever was an aspiring politician, so I should have known better!!

Even $100 a year can make a huge difference to these people and our governments could make donations tax deductable.

And the banks could cut a deal to do the transaction for $5 instead of the $25 fee they extort now to send a TT.

The best thing is that it will be people power not government power.

Two Bob Each Way

".......and will fight to clear his name, says a close friend. The defendant, who has name suppression, was bailed........"

Thus sayeth the Herald.

Ponder if you will, the intellectual capacity of the modern day journalist.

Guardian Confirms Unconditional Surrender

All that remains is to bring out of mothballs USS Missouri for the official signing of the documents.

"Negotiators will now work on individual agreements such as forests, technology, and finance – but, without strong leadership, the chances are that it will take years to complete."

The gross spectacle which was Copenhagen has given the voters of the free world their first real insight into the true agenda of the Global Warmenisers. A leftist/United Nations/World Bank/Socialist naked grab for world domination which dwarfed previous attempts by Stalin and Hitler before him.

We are indebted to Chavez in particular for driving the message home on world wide television.

Don't hold your breath

In light of the Copenhagen debacle crumbling here are a few wishful ideas

1. Our ETS be scrapped.
2. John Key apologises to us all for wasting our borrowed money.
2. Our politicians promise that we taxpayers will never be fleeced like this again.
3. Rudd, Brown, Sarkozy and Obama have their arses warmed by being booted out next election.
4. Now that the truth is out, The Green Party be renamed the Red ( Redistribute Everyone's Dollar) Party.
5. The earth is allowed to carry on warming and cooling, just like it has for 5 billion years.
6. CO2 goes back to being a lifegiving gas.
7. Science is reclaimed by real scientists who can solve the real problems the world faces.

Sadly, most of this will never happen ( except 5 & 7) and they will all be back at the trough next year in Mexicon and ... the year after and ... the year after and ... $100billion is a big carrot

These people will never give up until mankind is beaten into submission.

So keep working hard, paying your taxes and believing everything you read in the papers.

BBC Admits Defeat for Warmensiers

The BBC headline is instructive:-

'Meaningful' deal reached at Copenhagen

The word 'meaningful' is diplospeak for 'fuck all of any value.'

A US government official said the deal was a "historic step forward" but was not enough to prevent dangerous climate change in the future.

Analysts welcomed the fact that a deal had been done, but said its achievements were modest.

US President Barack Obama said the deal would be a foundation for global action but there was "much further to go".

The free world heaves a collective sigh of relief as the 'non binding' book full of bullshit is published.

After a conference which is estimated to have cost over one billion dollars US, the world's socialists retire to lick their wounds and figure out a new scam. The free world knows that by the time of the next scheduled billion dollar waste of money the junk science supporting the current scam will be well and truly debunked and its proponents expelled from the scientific community.

The burning question for New Zealand is:-

How do we prevent our politicians and their assorted hangers on from wasting more of our money next time round?

The Hollywood President

"I'm here to act"

Kinda says it all about this tinsel president.

Turns up to the battle after the action is over and expects to get an Oscar.

Bad parents make bad kids, unless we pass a law

Today, two young 17 year old girls were convicted of murder and sentenced to 17 years in prison.

The Judge blamed bad parenting and upbringing, which is almost certain the only contributing factor.

But in New Zealand we don't address that at its core, by incentivising families through personal responsibility, hard work and by getting the destructive nature of the State out of their lives.

No. We look at passing laws making bad parenting illegal. This, on the day the very reason for not passing more laws stares at us via the sad faces of two 17 year old girls.

I was never worried when I became a dad because I figured parenting is simple, if you stick to the tried and true of hard work, love, patience, praise, support, discipline and the other important factor - your ears.

But in New Zealand we reward doing nothing (DPB), remove discipline (smacking), set up a myriad of inefficient and bureaucratic state agencies, and pass laws, - as a panacea to parenting problems.

This country is unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

UN renames countries

So world governance by the UN is what its all about.
We should really think about how countries names will be changed

Unew Zealand
Aunstralia
UnSA
Fraunce
Eungland
Chiuna
Japaun
Caunada
Keunya
Unganda
Mexicon
Tounga
Irelaund

Sabateurs and Traitors

The duly elected government of the day goes along to a critical world conference with a carefully thought out strategy of being seen to participate while restraining the economic excesses of the world's extremists. All in the name of protecting the country's overseas trade interests.

The game is one of perceptions whereby our trading enemies are prevented from using the flawed hysteria of climate change as an excuse for slapping tariffs on our exports to their countries. The strategy turns out to be remarkably successful.

Not only does the government of the day achieve co-operation from a large number of significant countries for some practical long term research into improving agricultural production but it manages to have it's PM replaced in a potentially embarrassing televised debate by the desperate little blond bloke from next door. (Rudd will find this futile and inopportune appearance used against him mercilessly by the Abbott led Liberals next year.)

Then along comes NZ Labour and The Greens.

Chauvelle (who paid for this idiot to go there?) pipes up and bad mouth's NZ's ETS - a measure whose ONLY value lies in its ability to stave off our trade enemies for a couple of years before it is repealed - while the Greens complain l0udly that NZ is not serious about climate change.

What's it to be for these people?

Firing squad or piano wire and meat hooks?

Update:

Classic Put Down

Mr Key was yesterday bumped from today's BBC World news debate on climate change in favour of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

The Prime Minister said he was not concerned about being dropped by the British state broadcaster. "I'll just watch Fox News for a while."

The Science has finally settled...

ON LABOUR'S LEADERSHIP (OR LACK OF)

The Veteran had always thought that David Cunliffe was an arrogant tosser. The revelation by Audrey Young in yesterdays Royal New Zealand Herald that he was promoting himself and the Member for Drink Driving, aka Ruth Dyson, as Labour's (wet) 'dream team' has caused me to revise that assessment.

David Cunliffe is a stupid arrogant tosser.

But that along with Shane Jones' put down of his leader over the Maori flag debate having already set him up for his bollocking by the Labour Caucus over his race relations speech suggests that the BBQ season is well and truly underway.

So who will the Labour caucus opt for at their first meeting in the new year when a vote on the leadership will be taken? The contenders ...

Goff and King;
Cunliffe and Dyson;
Jones and Parker, or even
***** and *****

A month ago I would have said Goff was secure. Now I'm not so sure.

Sun spots

Here is another take on the Herald's attempt to keep up the climate change fear.

Is Len Brown taking orders from Labour?

In this morning's Herald, I see that Manukau Mayor and Labour man Len Brown is calling for much lower spending limits for the Auckland Mayoralty race next year.

Yet this follows on from his bragging in the Herald two months prior that he was going to spend up to one million dollars, in a campaign just like Obama (dry retching can commence). Apart from the obvious hypocrisy of the man, I couldn't help but notice he came out on the same day that the Labour losers in Parliament also started debating the spending limits.

What a coincidence. I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that Len Brown takes his orders from the Labour Party headquarters in Wellington.

But those Labourites (Len and the ones in Wellington) are certainly true to form - they will do anything they can to choke off the right for people to fundraise and spend their own money in election campaigns.

A BIG WIN FOR THE WAR VETERAN COMMUNITY

The War Pensions Act provides for unlimited free travel on public transport for severely disabled War Veterans.

Yesterday it was announced that Cabinet has signed off on a deal that extends this to include private transport. Once the necessary Regulations are Gazetted entitled Veterans will be able to claim reimbursement calculated at 22.5 cents per kilometer for every journey over 80 kilometers (160 kilometers round trip).

The Veteran estimates that around 1,500 Veterans will be eligible for this new payment which is tax free.

The change will particularly advantage Veterans in the Far North, East Coast North Island and West Coast South Island where there is limited public transport but the reality is that most eligible Veterans will benefit one way or other.

In a time of financial stringency it is encouraging that Government has seen fit to honour disabled War Veterans this way.

Judith Collins, as Minister for Veterans' Affairs, is to be congratulated.

Buggar!

No Test Cricket today.

What will one day at work without Cricinfo to keep one amused!

Brown Len opens mouth and inserts foot

Mayoral hopeful, Brown Len, who is a Labour Party member, a friend of Dick Hubbard (who is a good friend of Helen Clark), and undoubtedly is soon to be backed by Rod Oram, has opined on spending limits for the Auckland mayoral race.

Auckland's super mayoral race could be bought by a wealthy candidate unless the campaign spending limit is cut back, Manukau Mayor Len Brown claims.

Mayoral candidates will next year be allowed to spend $580,000 and Brown wants this cut back to as little as $150,000.

I agree. The limit should be $150,000.00 and should commence tomorrow. Why?

Because the hypocritical mayoral aspirant has already splurged big time, and intends to spend even bigger time.

Manukau Mayor Len Brown has predicted he will spend about $1 million in a Barack Obama-style race to be mayor of the Auckland Supercity - but he does not think his campaign will be the most expensive.

Brown has already spent between $150,000 and $200,000, according to his rival, Auckland Mayor John Banks - but Brown has dismissed this as at least $100,000 too high.

Is Conor Roberts responsible for this bout of hypocrisy? Or is Brown Len just making stuff up as he goes along?

Whatever is the answer, it doesn’t bode well for Aucklanders.

Adolf and the AO Squad

Adolf departed for his early morning stroll at 0543.

A good old stretch at about 400m and off into the sun rise.

What's that police car doing there in the roundabout with lights flashing? Further up the road- about 250m, half a dozen men in black.

The cop at the roundabout said "Sorry mate, you can't go up there." Then I saw his semi-automatic rifle held closely at his side as he stood near his car's open door. Then I heard the loud hailer being used by the police negotiator. Then I turned and went the other way.

I wonder what some poor buggers are going through in Sunset Rd this morning.

Could be a long "partnership"

I guess the fact that the Treaty has now morphed into a Partnership should come as no surprise.

John Key knows that pandering to the Maori will keep him in power for as long as he wants.

And the MP know that whilst they have guaranteed apartheid seats in Parliament they can hold the balance of power for ever.

All in all a cosy little arrangement for a few "elite".

Mad Mayer to Sue?

Adolf hears the Mad Mayor has threatened to sue certain radio talk back hosts if they refer to him again as the 'Mad Mayor.'

I imagine he might have a difficult job in court if the said talk back hosts simply refer to him as the Mad Mayor and leave out any reference to his city of precarious employment.

After all, who is it to say they were not referring to that madman Tim Tupped Green Sue Shadbolt or the egocentric Michael Eyeliner Laws or the Mare of Rodney or the mad rap artist Brown Len or the Crazed Chameleon from out west or , or, or anyone else for that matter?

North Shore City's great Chief Imbiber has managed to embed his nomenclature in the minds of every potential voter in the region. When he gets to court, the defense lawyer has only to put him on oath and ask him those three medical questions dreaded by all life insurance applicants:-

1. Do you drink alcohol?
2. How many standard drinks have you consumed during the last week?
3. Have you ever been advised by a medical practitioner to reduce your alcohol consumption?

Adolf is willing to bet the answers would render the the applicant subject to a 'decline.'

It's About Time........

...........to take a look at the next round of Climategate's political victims.

First there was Australia's Malcolm Turnbull who, too late, found that Liberal voters don't like their leader getting into bed with Labor.

Now, America's first Afro-Ayrab President falls to an all time low. Talk of impeachment appears for the first time - on grounds of economic destruction, epitomised by Cap and Trade.

Could it be coincidence or is it that ordinary Yanks are waking up to Climategate and the biggest lie in history? Maybe healthcare is a factor but not so in NZ.

Where, for the first time since last year's election, John Key has taken a modest hit in a poll.



Last night's TV3 poll showed a whopping 9% decline in those who think he is doing a good job. Adolf reckons this decline is due largely to the foolish ETS and even more foolish journey to the carbonbunkum which is Copenhagen.

The next six months will make for very interesting watching.

Voluntarily lower my standard of living? Sure, why not.

Some regular followers of local political blogs may recall debates on abortion, in which people who wrote in to say how awful it is that the govt funds clinics where children are murdered were sometimes called on it (I think usually by Ryan Sproull of Born on SH1 or Danyl of the Dim Post) with the rhetorical question that if they really did believe the govt was murdering children, wouldn't they be doing a bit more about it than writing angry letters to the editor?

I've been reminded of this by the feel-good blather recently about pushing the govt to do more in response to climate change.

In the comments thread of my post on the Copenhagen circus spectacular, deitynigel6888 wrote "I'll believe there's a crisis when the people telling us there's a crisis start acting like there's a crisis."

I believe it's a thought very much worth keeping in mind when considering climate change alarmism. It was directed at the fat cat politicians turning up in Copenhagen with their fleets of private jets and limousines, but could be equally well addressed to all the climate change "activists," including the scientists.

According to top climate scientists Lucy Lawless and other celebrities, we need to cut our carbon emissions by a minimum of 40%. This goal has achieved widespread public support, on the basis that it's up to the govt to do something about it. Well, yeah - if we're serious about this, the govt will have to take action. But if you personally are serious about it, why the hell aren't you taking some action yourself?

Talk to the average climate change worrier, and they are taking what they consider to be "action." They've installed compact fluorescent light bulbs; they've lowered the temperature on their hot water cylinder; they're using a bike or a bus more often; they're eating less meat; and so on. Er, yes. And these trivial reductions, a matter of a few percent, are in response to a supposedly desperate crisis, the last chance to prevent millions of people dying, the "moral equivalent of WW2," in which our only shot is to reduce our carbon emissions by at least 40 fucking percent? Really?

If you really do believe we're on a last chance bid to save humanity, act like it. That car's going to have to go. Likewise, the cellphone and computers. It's no good selling them, because that would simply pass the emissions on to someone else. What needs to happen is that the carbon in them is returned to the earth. I suggest burying them. Please don't use a digger to bury your car, that would emit a lot of CO2 - I suggest using a shovel. Maybe your equally progressive friends will help. Your typical poorly-insulated, single-glazed NZ piece-o'shit house that leaks heat everywhere and gets its power from the national grid needs a lot of expensive work: insulation, double-glazing, water-capture from the roof into tanks, some kind of independent power supply, composting toilet. You'll need to become a vegan - sure, it's bad for your health and really difficult to get enough nutrition if you don't eat the right kinds of food, but apparently meat and dairy are carbon-intensive. These are just off the top of my head, probably there's a lot more you could do. Certainly, you won't want to fly anywhere ever again (and don't give me that bullshit about paying some scammers who claim to plant trees on your behalf - we're talking about drastic reductions in your emissions here, not "offsets.") Once you've got started on those, come back with the "last chance to save humanity" stuff and maybe someone will take it seriously.

So Far So Good

The other day Adolph put his money where his mouth is.



He offered a premium Australian red wine to the first warmist who could provide details of just ten weather stations where Jones, Mann, Slazenger, Briffa and their self selected peers had 'homogenised' the raw data and found a decline in temperatures where before there had been steady or rising readings for the past couple of decades.

If they could put forward such evidence, they might have some chance of refuting accusations that all of them have systematically 'cooked the books' in favour of fundamentalist warmenising.

You'd think they would have had enough brains to cook at least a dozen or so sites the other way, so as to provide a bit of insurance. These scientists clearly have not studied the science of lying.

You've got to have just enough truth in there to disguise the enormous lie.

After two days, it looks as though thay failed and Adolf's money is safe.

The Lunatic of Lake Rd embarrasses the Shore again

The Sunday Star-Times carries the news that the Mayor of North Shore City, Andrew Williams (known as both the Clown of Campbell's Bay and the Lunatic of Lake Rd in the blogosphere), has been caught sending obnoxious and offensive text messages to the Prime Minister. Also, Williams has been outed leaving late night rambling voice messages on the celphone of former North Shore Mayor George Wood.

The Mad Mayor denies having a drinking problem in the article.

Whaleoil, long time nemesis of the Mad Mayor, has the details, and has even kindly mashed up the phone messages into a famous US political party advertisement.

Honestly, help can't come soon enough for the North Shore with a John Banks led supercity.

No Ball

Adolf just watched McCullum given out off a no ball.

I saw it as the bowler bowled. The umpire was blind.

There should be introduced immediately automatic scrutiny by the third umpire of the bowler's foot and it's legal or illegal position via a vis the batting crease.

Most bullshit ever

Next year will be the "hottest ever" according to yet another fear-factor headline.

So the Met office has been recording temperatures for 160 years of the 5 billion years the earth has been in existence.
That's 0.0000032% of "ever".
These people seem to conveniently forget that the world has been heating and cooling in natural cycles that far exceed what we are experiencing now. So there is about a 0.00000% chance that next year will be the hottest ever. There is plenty of evidence to show that the world has been hotter than now, even the recent middle ages were warmer.

It seems that weather reporting is now firmly in the hands of hyperbole.
Everything is "extreme" when the reality is that we live in average times.

The weather is actually our friend.
Sure we get good days and some bad days but to promote it as something to fear is pathetic.
We should just be thankful that we can enjoy the planet whilst it is in an interglacial period.

Here is a photo of what extreme temperature really looks like. Some time in the past ( B.C. Before Carbon) this would have been a photo of a large chunk of ice.

Don't panic, it's alright, it's only a paper loss

I've been following iPredict and opened a small account a few months back: $100. It's pocket money really, but I just wanted to give it a go after observing it for a while.

My $100 was quickly turned into $148. I then gambled a little by putting most of it on one prediction: the OCR to be increased any time before 1 July 2010. But what I did was short sold it - I'm betting against the prediction.

So I was very interested in Thursdsay's OCR announcement because I knew the market would move on that. My basis for initially predicting against the 1 July increase was numerous statements by Dr Bollard that the OCR would not move from 2.5% until "the latter half of 2010", and also the fact that I think that both the world economy and ours are a lot more fragile than most think. I simply can't see any reason to apply any brakes in the next 12 months.

What I initially had to do for my prediction was to figure out the OCR date announcements in 2010 to see what "the latter half of 2010 meant". The OCR dates for 2010 are 28 January, 11 March, 29 April, 10 June and 29 July.

Dr Bollard's "latter half of 2010' meant, to me, that the first movement increse would not occur until at least 29 July, hence I sold the stock. My average price in was 72c. If it went to zero I would pick up a nice little gain.

But at Thursday's announcement, Dr Bollard said this:

If the economy continues to recover, conditions may support beginning to remove monetary stimulus around the middle of 2010. Recent tightening in financial conditions, driven by a higher exchange rate, increased long-term interest rates and a wider gap between the OCR and bank funding costs, reduces the need for more immediate action.

The statement in bold had immediate impact on my iPredict stock: it moved North at a rapid rate. My gain is now a loss. The stock is now at 83c.

Here's where you can help. Do I need to cover my position by buying back my borrowed stock? I'm not too concerned about the $ loss as it's rats and mice stuff. But what I am interested in is proving that I am right and the predictors are wrong. Dr Bollard has not been entirely on the button in the past and most economists have also been far too bullish IMHO. My short selling of the stock really means one thing based on Thursday's announcement: will Dr Bollard raise the OCR at his 10 June announcement? In my opinion, his use of the words may and around the middle are still very vague and it's not certain he will. But 83% of the population with this stock on iPredict think I'm wrong. What I think is also important is that Bollard said inflation is running at about 2% for the 12 months so is well within the band.

I'd appreciate your views.

A BRIDGE OVER - THE JOHN MASTERS STORY

New Zealand military history is littered with great names - Upham, Ngarimu, Ward, Trigg, Apiata, Bassett, Judson ... the list goes on and on and on.

A name probably unfamiliar to many of you is that of John Masters, ONZM, MC, JP. The action which led to his award of an 'immediate' Military Cross in a cross-border operation in Indonesia in 1965 is considered by many to be worthy of a Victoria Cross. Political considerations prevented this. A Victoria Cross and all the attendant publicity would have blown the lid on Operation Claret. Neither the Indonesian or the UK Governments (and by extension Australia and New Zealand) wanted it known there were cross-border operations into Indonesia. It was only in the mid 1990s that the British Government acknowledged the existence of Operation Claret.

And now the John Masters story has been told in a quite excellent book 'A Bridge Over' written by Allan Marriott and distributed by Nationwide Book Distribution Ltd. P.O. Box 65, Oxford.

It covers John's life from his early days; training as an Army Pilot, Borneo, his time as the last commander of 161 Battery in Vietnam, the obscene prosecution taken against him by Vietnam Protesters when 161 Battery paraded down Queen Street on their return from Vietnam, his crusade to rebuild the Rannerdale War Veteran's Home in Christchurch and his spearheading of the campaign to achieve justice for Vietnam veterans. It was during this time that The Veteran came to know and appreciate a truly great New Zealander.

His Borneo MC is 'boys own' stuff. Trapped inside Indonesia and in danger of being overrun John was separated from his patrol when he went to the assistance of a Gurkha Sergeant Major severely wounded in the fire fight. Fighting the effects of scrub typhus John first carried the badly wounded Gurkha on his back deep into the jungle until exhausted he was forced to leave him against a tree. John then navigated himself back through the jungle and over the border to their base camp. When he got there and with his temperature soaring he insisted on accompanying the rescue party back across the border to the tree. Only John could find it. They arrived to find the Gurkha close to death. 12 hours delay and he would have died.

It is not an exaggeration to say that John Masters is revered among Gurkhas. He was made a Life Member of the Sinmoor Club, the Gurkha Regimental Association. Only the fourth such member and one of two still alive.

John Masters has lived his life by a single world 'Service'. Sadly that life is coming to an end as he is ravaged by cancer, perhaps as a result of his time in Vietnam.

John Masters has described me in his book as "his friend". I could ask for no greater accolade. It is an absolute privilege to know John Masters.

Copies of the book can be ordered at www.abridgeover.net

Futile Wastrels

When I saw the first advert my immediate reaction was:

Atheist fools.

How much will they cost?

How many food parcels could they have bought instead?

On Decline Hiding and Homogenising

Adolf has followed with interest the unfolding schemozzle which is the emerging junk science of the Global Warmensisers at CRU, NASA and NIWA.

There has been a series of blog dissertations showing exampls in which raw climate data has been altered (homogenised) to turn a decline into an increase. (Funnily enough the two most striking examples thus far happen to be Australia and Alaska. By the time we get half way through the alphabet John Key will be able to repeal his damn fool ETS without fear.)

Adolf has a challenge for all fundamentalist warmists like this one.



Find me just ten weather stations in the world where the raw data showed a steady trend or an increase over this past twenty years and which after your beloved homogenising (altering) has turned into a decline. After all, that's your only real defense against accusations that you have cooked the books.

When you do, Adolf will present you with a bottle of his favorite Penfolds Bin 389 - worth about $45 retail.



Adolf's spies tell him the tax avoidance industry has taken interest in climategate. Apparently at least one enterprising accountant has suggested to IRD that his clients repairs and maintenance expenditure is not excessive. It's just that the capital expenditure has been homogenised.

ON TIGER

I guess the media frenzy surrounding 'Tigers' indiscretions is to be expected but it is a sad commentary that all the joy he brings to the golfing fraternity is now being overshadowed by what is essentially a private matter between him and his family.

Not defending him and Tiger will be paying for those indiscretions in so many ways and probably forever. But I at least can draw a line between his public and private life.

History is littered with stars from every walk of life who disregarded the sage advice the Regimental Medical Officer gave to those joining 1 RNZIR in Malaya/Singapore ... if I recall correctly it went something along the lines of ...'a rampant cock has no morals'.

And I prefer to remember Don Bradman for his cricketing ability rather than his supposed predication for y**** g****.

Or JFK for having inspired his generation rather than bedding most of it.

Or Edward the Peacemaker for indulging in what in the Royal Household passes as to be expected.

Or FDR, a great US President who regularly cheated on Eleanor.

Or

Or

and

the list goes on.

But I for one will be watching Tiger's next competitive round from start to finish in the hope of seeing more of his brilliant golfing skills on show.

And bugger the chattering classes.

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

The Veteran has been 'missing in action' for a little while purchasing a new house in Paihia and arranging the auction of our farm(let). But today it was on for young and old as I battled with my golfing adversary, the Baptist Deacon, at the 9o Mile Beach Links in the regular Thursday Haggle. As it transpired he scored a net 63 and I managed a net 62 which finally convinced him that God is indeed a Tory. But I digress.

Some of you may not have seen the TransTasman MP rating for 2009. It is a mixture of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Some extracts ... you pick which category.

National

Chris Finlayson (7) - Seriously sincere most of the time with odd forays of chirpy insolence in the House. Finlayson is highly rated by both sides and, like Simon Power, can work across boundaries . He's going to need all of his abilities to complete the toughest task of all - a replacement of the Seabed and Foreshore Act which has broad support in Parliament. We have a feeling he's going to do it.

Colin King (2) - May not have noticed National is in power.

ACT

Rodney Hide (4) - ACT's leader crashed from his pedestal after a bad attack of perk trough, then seriously damaged himself with inane comments about John Key. Abject apology followed. Prodigious effort as Local Government Minister guiding Auckland through its transition but discovered his limits when he tried to reform local government.

Sir Woger (5) - Time warping MP hasn't changed - the Government is wasting billions, taxes are way too high, everyone else is wrong and he could fix everything. Has maintained absolute self belief since the 1980s. Often seems to make sense, which is a worry.

Maori Party

Te Uroroa Flavell (6) - Carried a heavy load in Parliament when his Party maintained its record of speaking on every Bill. Respected MP avoids useless rhetoric and makes a bigger contribution than is probably apparent.

Hone Harawira (0) - Apology not accepted. There are no excuses. His appalling behaviour was a disgrace. Has no respect for Parliament and shouldn't be there.

United Future

Peter Dunne (4) - No one doubts his competence as a minister but his party is sliding into obscurity. Whether he cares remains to be seen, but he may not find it easy to hang on to his electorate next time.

Labour

Ruth Dyson (4) - Hasn't really fired as shadow health minister but Tony Ryall is a very difficult target. Needs to strengthen her targets, lift her profile and drive hard issues. Disappointing. Missing Helen.

Chris Carter (3.5) - Foreign affairs appointment was unexpected and there are doubts he is the right stuff for the job. Distracted by travel perks excesses and unwise claims he was being targeted because he's gay didn't impress his colleagues. Used Samoa tsunami for self promotion. Another person missing Helen's protection.

Kelvin Davis (4) - Impressive Maori MP is listened to in the House. Has cross-over potential. A good asset.

Greens

Jeanette Fitzsimons (6) - She'll be sorely missed when she stands down in 2011. Maintained unswerving commitment , an unchallenged expert on on energy conservation the Greens won't be able to replace.

Kennedy Graham (3) - A brilliant man from an alternative universe. He's too far ahead of his time for Parliament to notice his contribution to planetary problems.

Progressive

Jim Anderton (3) - Retirement beckons as his party dissolves into Labour. Spokesman for agriculture through weird coalition-in-opposition but his heart doesn't seem to be in it any more.

You can argue the toss but not the substance.

For KG

Over at Crusader Rabbit, KG offers his readers a diatribe against me, headed This is how gutless, unprincipled leftists "argue":

On reading the post, it turns out that not only am I gutless and unprincipled, I'm also a weasel. The vitriol was prompted by this thread on No Minister.

I responded in comments and was told:

Ok, you've had your say, and that's the first and last you get here.

Apparently, disagreement with the blog owner is not welcomed at Crusader Rabbit. The comments thread now informs me "Banned by webmaster. Your comments will not be added."

I'd like to say I was surprised, but I wasn't. However, given that I have this platform available to me, I can post my comment here:

Hilarious: you use terms like "gutless" and "cowardly" for someone who lets you argue freely against him on his blog (well, it's mostly abuse but sometimes there's an argument to discern in there), yet you can't bear someone coming here and disagreeing with you. That's unbelievably rich.

Psssst! Wanna Buy Some Cheap CO2?

Here's a foretaste of life with your ETS.



Partial translation:-

Ninety percent of the transactions thus far have been fraudulent. The Carbon Con is an even better scam than credit card fraud.

CarbonHagen's Heroes

Most of us are familiar with cult TV programme Hogan's Heroes. Here they are in their finest outfits.



Now I introduce CarbonHagen's Heroes - Gore, Clark, Rudd, Sarkozy, Obama & Key.



I know, I know, they're all villains really. But hey, what the heck. Let's have a laugh at their expense because they are all certainly laughing at us. Or at the very least, they're taking the piss.

Thanks to Whale Oil for the photoshop skills.