Posts by InternationalObserver
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Freely-exercised contempt
When I first saw the title I thought this was a blog about the Peter Stewart case. Obviously not, but I wondered if you were planning to blog on it RB?
I have heard a version of events from the Stewart side that made me shiver. Because the victim's name is supressed (automatic in sex cases) the public are not privvy to her identity and if they were it may give some people pause for thought. Obviously the jury knew the victims identity and heard Mr Stewart's defence, and still found him guilty. I'm not so sure I would have.
And since I'm not going to break the supression order (although TradeMe readers evidently had alot of fun laying breadcumbs to identify Mr Stewart -- will they now 'out' the victim?) it's really difficult to explain my concerns about the verdict. It seems, based on the published facts, that this case came down to she said/he said (since there is no corroborating evidence, given the length of time since the abuse) and the jury sided with the victim (can't call her or the abuse 'alleged' now) and found Mr Stewart guilty.
I wonder what bearing the 'Louise Nicholas Affair' (running simultaneously as the Stewart case) had on the verdict? During the ChCh Civic Creche case we were told that children wouldn't lie about the abuse they alleged, and Peter Ellis was found guilty. I wonder if this verdict isn't any more/less PC.
NB - I acknowledge that my comments may/will upset abuse survivors, particularly those who were unable to secure a conviction against their abuser despite knowing with certainty that what happened to them did happen, regardless of 'corroborating evidence'.
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I ended up getting very defensive about people giving him the hairy eyeball for being in the park with his own daughter
Crikey! Nevermind us possibly dating in the past - are we married? Didn't you give me a cap with "[__Daughter's Name__]'s Dad" embroidered on it for my second Fathers Day - so I could take her to the park on my own without getting stared at?
FYI to the ladies: nothing makes you feel more dodgy than having to wear a cap that reads "[......]'s Dad" to avoid funny looks in a public place. But my daughter loves it.
Gosh, look at the time ... must pick up daughter from school ...
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I wonder if I'm the only one here who's ever sat in a gang house and listened to guys talk about killing people.
I wonder if I'm the only one here who's ever been bundled into a car at midnight and then driven to a gang HQ to listen to guys making me an offer I can't refuse.
But, as Emma knows (and possibly Tze Ming Mok doesn't)
The first rule of Fight Club is ...
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Methinks Dunne has had a close look at the two Political Opinion Polls at the weekend and .... decided who will be his most likely Govt partner after the next election ...
As if. -
(I do agree the conference Russell writes about is crass and some attendees a bunch of hypocrites)
dey is not Hypocrites, dey is Capitalists!
I recently got a letter from Westpac invitiing me to participate in a great new investment offer: perpetual, deeply subordinated notes from giant French Bank__ Credit Agricole SA __callable after 10 years.
Hmmm ... that name rings a bell? Oh yes, here's what the NZ Herald said a few weeks ago:A book build will be held today and tomorrow to price the notes but lead manager First NZ Capital gave an indicative range of between 9.37 and 9.57 per cent - around 130 to 150 basis points above the swap rate.
However, Credit Agricole's notes issued in the US are trading around 220 to 230 basis points above the swap rate, suggesting buyers are paying too much, one professional bond trader at Agricole's roadshow said yesterday.
The bond trader said New Zealand mum-and-dad investors had a history of paying too much for such issues.
Institutions were unlikely to touch it as they could obtain better priced paper elsewhere.
So basicly the banks won't be buying it themselves, but they're happy to sell it to you.
Oh yes, the thing that stuck out in the original Herald story (but missing from the online piece linked above) was the use of the words Junk Bonds.
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Have peoples minds been changed by a well reasoned argument on the intarwebby?
I know mine has.
Interesting!
It's precisely because I think no-one's opinion will change by anything I say (or what anyone else says for that matter) that I've cut down on posting on PAS. Most of my posts are done around the midnite hour because that's when I have time to get on. I respond to blogs/comments in order to vent, but not expecting to change anyone's opinion. And sometimes I just like to play the fool.But as it turns out, various other polities granted votes to women earlier, provided they held property. So they had what looked to be a 'fair' rule for granting suffrage - all property holders could vote.
Interesting!
Maybe it is time we 'refreshed' democracy, in order to remind the citizenry of it's value. Maybe it's time we introduced/formalised the concept of 'second class citizens' ie those that can vote and those that can't. Perhaps if we denied the vote to the long term unemployed they might be encouraged to get a job and contribute to society instead of being a drain? We'd be helping them! -
Did you know that in this blessed land, you'll still find homes, "and we mean proper houses you can move into -- for less than US$50,000!"?
Sure, the houses are in Tokanui -- but the people of rural eastern Southland are even friendlier that the people who live in cities.
The plumber who came to my rental to fix the broken water cylinder asked to pick my brain about property investment, since I was one. He's a young guy with a wife and 2 kids under 5, working for wages for a plumbing franchise. At the beginning of the year he bought a 2bedroom unit in Mt Wellington as his first home, with a 2 year fixed mortgage. The agent who sold him the house came to him 2 months ago to encourage him to invest in rental property. Everyone was doing it and it was the way to secure your future. The agent has been hounding him a lot it seems.
He said the agent had recommended a property in Tokoroa, which only needed a $25 a week top up. I then proceeded to recite to the plumber ALL the reasons the agent would have given him for investing in Tokoroa. The plumber laughed because I had nailed it exactly. I told him to tell the agent to F off, and that the best way to secure his future would be to put ALL his spare money into paying off his mortgage ASAP.
LONG STORY SHORT: agents are paid when they sell houses. If they can convince you that your unit in Mt Wellington has increased in value by $15,000 (on paper only, mind you) they will then look for an 'investment property' you can buy on $15k deposit. And if that house can only be found in Tokoroa they will try to convince you to buy it. And they will show you some great figures to back up that investment.
But why would you rely on a commission agent (who may or may not own/be associated with the property he's trying to unload) to make that decision? What's the unemployment rate in Tokoroa? Why have capital values risen? Could it be that a bunch of Aussies bought a lot of property there a few years back and Property Investment Gurus on both sides of the Tasman have been flipping those same properties to 'clients' for years?
It's people like that plumber who did buy investment properties that are going to feel the pain when the property market turns.
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it turned up in blog discussions without hours of the news breaking
__Within__?? (and you were dissing S.S.Trusts PR? tsk tsk!)
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can someone update me on what happened to the brit actor who was allegedly caught shop lifting? has someone killed the story or is the case still pending?
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re: property
I'm predicting a huge 'price correction' in housing this year -- but I've been saying that for the last 3 years. The difference now is that interest rates are up and that is making investment properties unprofitable for those on low/middle incomes. These are the people who bought in to a rising market on the basis that you 'couldn't lose' and that it was worth topping up the mortgage $100 a week because after a year that $5200 you'd chipped in would provide you with a $10,000 capital gain.
Admitedly that's a great return on your 5K but the problem now is that your property is no longer appreciating even 5k a year, and you've still got to top up the mortgage. But your fixed rate has expired and the floating rate is 10+%. And council rates have gone up too, and the water cylinder blew and it cost $1500 to replace. So you're chipping in $200 a week to the mortgage now.
So, people like me have got their money sitting in Rabobank at 8.2% on call, biding our time, waiting to swoop like vultures on the poor couple who thought they'd climb the property ladder, but now they've got a baby on the way and they can't afford what they've got.
The only solution is to put a capital gains tax on investment property. That will have many negatively geared investors bailing out quick smart. A more palatable political solution might be to ban foriegn investors from owning residential property. Most countries have some limits on what 'foriegners' can own, but we don't and that's why our market is attractive to them. Whilst I don't believe 'foregn investors' really hold much sway over residential prices, I have observed many who just buy/hold/sell for capital gain. But the same is true for NZ investors - in a rising market it's money for jam. Especially if you're not declaring your profits. If IRD trolled the banks they could ping a lot of people.
But don't forget that the councils are doing their bit too to push up house prices. If you buy some land and build a house you have to pay a (in Auckland City) a 7% levy. That means a new $450,000 house and land package will retail for $481,500. If you buy a house and subdivide the section you still pay 7%. And that's assessed on BOTH the value of the 'old' house and section PLUS the new house and section.
And what do councils do with the 7%? Well, in Auckland City they've just paid $20million to buy the Placemakers site in Cook Street (adjascent to the motorway) to build a new park. This will benefit apartment owners in the area, although there are relatively few, and I'm sure they'd prefer Victoria Park - only a block away. No doubt more apartments will be built now - this must have been great for the commercial building owners adjascent to Placemakers.
Meanwhile the Council have deferred an upgrade of Pt Erin Pools and a new pool for Avondale. I wonder what the community would prefer? A wind blown park on a slope next to the motorway in the arse end of town or more/better pools for kids?