hard earned savings have been sucked up in some unregulated offshore financial black hole nightmare

Given the rise in NZ indebtedness to buy grossly overvalued NZ property are you talking about a Japanese grasshopper or a New Zealand grasshopper.

Do you really believe any of the rest of that shit…

The Moral
Never trust a Grasshopper.

While we're on this tack ....

One day a lion was walking through the forest when he came across a tiny mouse. Being a lion and a predator he was feeling peckish and was about to consume the rodent for a late morning snack.…

You mean the chinese charge by the word? :)

no, but i've heard urban legends about New Zealanders paying by the hour or GB or something, having thresholds and the like after which their connections revert to alt pay scales. someone mentioned something on this site at an earlier date…

Our model has now more or less fully caught up with Obama's "Lehman Leap", and so he cannot expect too many more gains from inertia…

I said "IF" the Palin story becomes the central story of this election and buries "the issues – economy, climate, Iraq – to minor importance" that McCain will win.

Oh for gods sake Angus, let it go. All these things are quite clearly in play, including Palin, and on those…

I said "IF" the Palin story becomes the central story of this election and buries "the issues – economy, climate, Iraq – to minor importance" that McCain will win. Unless you have had your head up the proverbial for the past week you will have noted that an issue…

Steve, I've always wanted a useful rejoinder when smug twits cite that fable.

Thank you both on this fine day.

(and who needs Edit when you have Preview – I takes my chances)

OLD VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his
house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays
the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and…

itz onlee e ɹǝʇʇɐɯ of time before until the powz ʇɐɥʇ ǝq dsɐɹƃ that an idit buttin would 璧 befenicial 2 ɐɥʇ site

Woah, that's messed up. Backwards and upside down!

Iτ'ς αλλ GΓεεκ το με...

itz onlee e ɹǝʇʇɐɯ of time before until the powz ʇɐɥʇ ǝq dsɐɹƃ that an idit buttin would 璧 befenicial 2 ɐɥʇ site

Woah, that's messed up. Backwards and upside down!

Third of women still believe they don't have equal rights
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4697514a19716.htm

Kiwis emigrating to Australia hit a 19-year high in the past 12 months
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4698646a13.html
sincerely urged to stay there,

XVI.9: Confucius said, "Those who are born with the possession of knowledge are the highest class…

And I wish in our local context that people remembered ACT and their acolytes (including those in other parties) are the radical right, not conservatives.

Extreme fiscal conservatives, social liberals (except when it comes to individual rights for furriners). That's Act, anyway. National are purportedly social and fiscal conservatives, though…

Calling this a falsehood is in itself a falsehood.

So there, take that...and that.

I think Popper lumped him in with a line of bossy-boots running from Plato through to Marx...

Mind you, we…

Not that he can be meaningfully be described as conservative…

I didn't know her own politics except she was quite a passionate feminist, so its fair to say she wasn't one of…

I like the "democracy of the dead" concept and it's a great piece not only for the writing but for the sentiment. Cheers.

You're welcome, and I think Wick is also right that Obama's temperament and instincts contain more of what British philosopher Michael Oakeshott called a "conservative disposition" than…

. . . anyone who thinks the current iteration of the GOP is 'conservative' in any sense worthy of the name, is flying in the face of reality.

In line with John Stuart Mill's "Not all conservatives are stupid people, but most stupid people are conservatives", the GOP seems pretty…

With all due respect to people like Cafferty, Giovanni, they might want to avoid the kind of hubris that got the GOP exactly where it is today.

Insofar as they're talking about republicans, not conservatives, I think they have a point. And for the GOP to shift back to being…

It's in its last throes, I wouldn't worry too much. Cafferty and the many others who are foreseeing a future of irrelevance for republicans have got it right.

Well, Giovanni, some of us have been saying for a while that anyone who thinks the current iteration of the GOP is…

Now who's all emo?

And Craig, keep in mind you're very much part of the media these days.

Thank you, Mr Savidge – my ego is purring like a kitten at a tickle party. :) But modesty forces me to admit that my little radio pieces don't exactly have the…

the real issues

and as a New Zealander, i don't think supporting a…

We are five days into a general election campaign — and if the media isn't actually going to take this seriously, I don't see why anyone else should.

Now who's all emo?

And Craig, keep in mind you're very much part of the media these days.

http://www.weaselzippers.net/blog/2008/09/afghanistan-journalist-mullah-sentenced-to-20-years-in-prison-for-publishing-koran-with-errors.html

If ever you needed proof that Pipes is certifiable, and American conservatism has mutated into something that cannot live, this is it.

It's in its last throes, I wouldn't worry too much. Cafferty and the many others who are foreseeing a future of irrelevance for republicans have got it right.…

It's Daniel Pipes' Confirmed: Barack Obama Practiced Islam, for the conservative flagship FrontPage magazine.

Um, OK, so by the Pipes standard I'm an Anglican (because my father was one, and I've attended functions, weddings, christening and funeral/memorial services in Protestant churches) .

Never mind that I'm an observant Catholic, most…

It's Daniel Pipes' Confirmed: Barack Obama Practiced Islam, for the conservative flagship FrontPage magazine.

If ever you needed proof that Pipes is certifiable, and American conservatism has mutated into something that cannot live, this…

beer!

I think you've has had quite enough for one evening, don't you sir?

Perhaps you should go home now. Everything will seem better in the morning.

I sincerely urge you to stay there. Please.

just lame,
to suggest removing NZ troops to a safer area....
stay away from our country!
we don't want your foreign ideas here!
we are white men!
with beer!

To recap, tonight we've been discussing Sen. McCain's bizarre interview in which he appeared not to know who Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero was and, in an effort to wing it, assumed he must be another left-wing, anti-American leader from Latin…

But if you're happy in such an environment, I sincerely urge you to stay there. Please.

But I confess, I'm puzzled about what Angus and Simon are actually arguing about.

I agree with you pretty much Russell but I guess the discussion needs a d) as well: that the sheen has also gone off McCain as a result of b), she is turning into a GOP…

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4692285a11.html

But I confess, I'm puzzled about what Angus and Simon are actually arguing about.

Lies, damn lies and statistics. We disagree about the importance of Palin and how much "character" Obama has, but it has quickly descended into an argument about statistical phenomena in a petty effort to "prove"…

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4690978a11.html

And poisoning baby formula

wonder if there's any connection between army garrisons stationed throughout the city and very peaceful and safe neighbourhoods.

I think it has more to do with the camps and prisons you are likely to get thrown into.

Meanwhile, check out Chris Matthews tearing strips off a McCain surrogate on Hardball

Meh. His whole schtick is yelling at people. You get no actual information from his "interviews" and that gives his interviewees the opportunity to look all righteous and abused. Jon Stewart would have made better job of…

Judges are there to see justice done, that is all.

With the current glacial pace of cases coming to trial, justice is being done in it's own sweet time. It's a situation that appears to advantage the guilty while penalising the innocent.

Thanks a mil Mr Poole; "bitching" and "pissy" for what I thought was genuine concern.

I get annoyed when people complain that laws that still require judicial oversight, and in the case of the TSA go so far as to require the Solicitor General's acquiescence (which, as we saw, isn't…

The Reform of search and surveillance powers appears to be complementing the proposed Criminal Proceeds Recovery Bill, which provides for asset seizure and forfeiture withoug conviction. Here is the Select Committee report on…

Obama 48 — McCain 43

But I confess, I'm puzzled about what Angus and Simon are actually arguing about.

It seems that of:

(a) The Democrats should talk about the economy, all the time. Not about Palin.

(b) The sheen is going off Palin, especially as she…

I appreciate that you think that Obama is the most credible of candidates, but your opinion of Obama's credibility is exceptional in every sense of the word.

Angus stomps his feet and goes 'it ain't true it ain't true", which seems to be about the sum of these same tired…

No they look at the credibility of the candidates.....how simply does this need to be explained to you? It ain't hard.

I appreciate that you think that Obama is the most credible of candidates, but your opinion of Obama's credibility is exceptional in every sense of the word. You have…

So...are folks really going to believe JM when he says he is going to reform the ol' boys network responsible for the Wall Street…

You seriously believe there are millions of Americans (outside of the KosKids and MILF lovers Anon) who look at their pension funds plummet and think "Palin, yeah Palin really is my biggest concern"? Wow.

No they look at the credibility of the candidates.....how simply does this need to be explained…

Yes, so what. Once again Angus, read above. You really don't get this do you? Do you really think that a story like that on the financial pages (the NYT has a circulation of 1m..USA wide) last Saturday is going to filter through to nationwide polling within a day…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=955Y3NJTRIE

Simon Grigg is right. The mistake the Rep. ticket is making now is to be doing all the lying themselves. In the past they have left this to proxies. This year they are lying, and then lying about the lies.…

I know Russell wants this line of discussion shut down, but this point needs a response.

Actually, commentary on a police operational decision is fine — I'm just a bit concerned at everyone (me included) veering into discussion of suppressed material.

Daily tracking polls really do track polling daily. You have cited the daily tracking polls of 13 – 15 September.

That is irrelevant Angus, it's still a polling truism that it takes days for these things to reflect in the polls. You have no idea what you are talking about...seriously.…

First, the police obviously were able to act with some degree of discretion, as was shown by their decision to bypass their own local liaison people in the Urewera.

I know Russell wants this line of discussion shut down, but this point needs a response.
The cops will almost always…

Instead, he made a misogynist personal attack (yes, it is misogynist, look up hysteria).

Banking on John Key to know that particular etymology would seem imprudent.

Helen Clark made foreign policy judgement a campaign issue today when she told a Grey Power meeting that if New Zealand had invaded Iraq with the US as John Key wanted we would have lost up to 60 soldiers*. Through a spokesman,…

It's a model of logic compared with this view from the opposition leader

No, Simon. Pulling numbers out of your nethers isn't a model of any kind of logic at all.

And anyway Iraq is not a "core issue" (it's just, you know, the place where the next generation's world…

We supported the right to invade, but not the invasion, but if we did support the invasion, that doesn't mean we would have sent troops, and if we had sent troops, that doesn't mean they would have…

Had National got into Government it would have sent troops to Iraq and on a pro-rata basis, considering 4000 US troops were killed, there would be 60 body bags coming home, she said.

Clark did look like she had her pants around her ankles on the TV news last night.…

Once again Angus, polling proves a problem with you. Have you heard the much used phrase 'polling lag'.

Daily tracking polls really do track polling daily. You have cited the daily tracking polls of 13 – 15 September.

To blame the week's McCain drops on 'the economy' is either dishonest,…

Had National got into Government it would have sent troops to Iraq and on a pro-rata basis, considering 4000 US troops were killed, there would be 60 body bags coming home, she said.

"And for what? Is…

Cullen may seem unserious to you, perhaps a little boring but "The cupboard is bare" is in my mind pretty accurate.

Well, Sofie, would you pardon me for being cynical enough to assume there's going to be quite a lot of hitherto unknown dosh hidden at the back of the…

Those quiz question thingies that flash up on the TV screens between Wellington and Auckland have a question about a House Music club set up in the 80s by SG.

Ha..really? Am I allowed to say How Bizarre?

Is this supposed to be acceptable? How far are these laws creeping?

I think they're almost already there.

The TSA casts a wide net. The only thing between that and other activists (without guns) is the person who denies/allows police permission to proceed under the TSA. In its first incarnation it…

Russell: As to what peace activists might do with silencers... I think you might have meant 'What would some alleged peace activists be doing with silencers?' Tarring all the arrestees with the same political brush, terrorist or otherwise, really doesn't help matters.

Those quiz question thingies that flash up on the TV screens between Wellington and Auckland have a question about a House Music club set up in the 80s by SG. Buggered if I can remember the…

I'm not sure we can discuss this much further without really risking the ire of David Collins (and your mind's made up anyway)

I'm just concerned about a whole different side of this to…

Is ours a better system?

no, but it is a lot smaller and more personal.

but seriously, what went on in the housing markets and mortgage-backed securities markets in the US over the last 10 years makes even NZ's own little South Seas Tulip Mania seem cute and harmless in…

Besides, why have a dog and bark yourself?

That is a lovely sounding proverb that some day I plan to understand.

What happened back here, if people hadn't noticed, was that highly risky lending also went on. However, instead of investment professionals pricing the loans and stuffing up, they sold them to "little old ladies" who promptly lost all…

As long as we get a similar discussion about whether we really want to give someone this unserious a fourth term. After all, Cullen is trying to paint himself as the sober hand on the tiller. Not seeing much evidence of it so far.

Craig,love you dearly, especially the early…

I've got to tell you guys everything, and it's not even my first language.

Ah but it's that Renaissance style and way with words you have.

Not sure what it means yet but I'm sure someone can supply something appropriate

First you pillory the guy as per usual, then you slap him on the face with copies of Mr Pip. Hardback or paperback, depending on the nature of the offence.

I've got to tell you guys…

How easy is it do what?

Coming up with asinine poo-bites to bitch your political enemies with.

Isn't lecturing for ten years at Otago university a real job now?

I happen to think so — and I've always thought it was a rather fatuous sneer to launch against people like…

Russell gets great, and very perverse, pleasure from the lack of an edit button here.....

Long may it continue — the phantom edit button has been this boy's best scapegoat for years!

I'm still waiting for that failed academic who has never had a real job in life (see how easy it is?) to bring some.

How easy is it do what? Isn't lecturing for ten years at Otago university a real job now? And you could try beating being finance minister…

Other than everything is done in his first eight years as finance minister, you mean, or are you only ever as good as your last budget?

No, Giovanni, I'm talking about his sudden transformation into Dr. Phil — might be marginally more serious economic questions for our consideration over the…

Rereading your own comments for typos couldn't hurt either, I guess. Apologies.

Russell gets great, and very perverse, pleasure from the lack of an edit button here.....

After all, Cullen is trying to paint himself as the sober hand on the tiller. Not seeing much evidence of it so far.

Other than everything is done in his first eight years as finance minister, you mean, or are you only ever as good as your last budget?

Besides,…

The Fed comes up with an $85 billion bailout to save AIG from bankruptcy.

And, if I've read this correctly, the federal government now owns 80% of a deeply troubled insurance company and hopes the eventual sell-off will raise enough to cover the loan and the rather steep interest.

Be…

Of course you tell me it is the Palin story that is killing McCain, "proof" of which can be found in polling coincidental with a large Wall Street reversal. I'd put your assessment at 80% smoke & mirrors.

Once again Angus, polling proves a problem with you. Have you heard the…

Too right. Key is runinng on the self-made man myth, let's have a little conversation about what a currency trader does and how he makes his money, and whether you'd want to put him in charge of a country.

As long as we get a similar discussion about whether we…

And I am not quite sure what you are driving at, Craig, about Cullen's role as Associate Finance Minister during the 4th Labour Government...

I didn't think you would, henry, but here goes — even if you don't buy your narrative of Cullen as heroic marquis, it's a rather silly…

It IS lame-o point scoring but that's because Cullen didn't push it far enough.

Too right. Key is runinng on the self-made man myth, let's have a little conversation about what a currency trader does and how he makes his money, and whether you'd want to put him in charge…

The scale of the problem is such that it demands an intellectual heft that I think is simply beyond McCain, whatever other qualities he might claim.

Obama has much more of the intellectual grunt and, importantly, the quality of advice

Obama is making more and more speeches like this one:…

Banks "invent" spare money which they loan out to make a profit... but too much sloshing around is inflationary and bad for the economy?

Now, the Banks have got just a bit too creative for their own good.... I can see…

It's true though but eh?

No, Steve, if I really wanted to be catty I'd have to say the dearth of actual policy and endlessly repeated talking points is making Clark sound more like a John McCain-Sarah Palin mash-up. Though to be fair, at Day 5 of the campaign I'm…

Funny, it looked like lame-o point-scoring on Cullen's part to me ...

Certainly, and America isn't the only place where (sorry for getting all Aaron Sorkin here) but we've got real problems, and need serious people. If Michael Cullen wants to talk about the kind of character and judgement we…

Steve: You really want to troll for a fight, I'll give you one just not now.

Didn't mean to be unkind, you know that was the last thing on my mind.
*earworn inserted*
;-)
It's true though but eh?

Oh, and that bounce seems over, Angus. And its the fading Palin star that seems to be one of the bigger drags for McCain. I'd put your assessment at closer to 50/50.

oh really.

During the 2 weeks the press is fascinated by "the Palin story", that you think is…

The Fed comes up with an $85 billion bailout to save AIG from bankruptcy.

Re the crash, Guyon Espiner has a peculiar take on the recent exchange on the subject started by Cullen who, quite rightly, points out the connection between John Key, his old firm and the current crisis .

Funny, it looked like lame-o point-scoring on Cullen's part to me ...

That's an interesting list. A whole heap of Bill Clinton's team; a pinch of University of Chicago (albiet liberal UC); and Bernstein and Galbraith (who are much more clearly to the left)...

The one people seem to be talking about the most is Austan Goolsbee, who's tech-savvy and aligned with…

Sounds like Helen Clark talking about National.

Steve: You really want to troll for a fight, I'll give you one just not now.

Re the crash, Guyon Espiner has a peculiar take on the recent exchange on the subject started by Cullen who, quite rightly, points out the connection between…

you mean apart from the bomb bomb bomb Iran stuff

I was more concerned that he forgot Iraq existed when he discussed the Iraq/Pakistan border.

I can be vaguely forgiving of forgetting the name of some African country that America doesn't have much to do with. But given that he…

(see the list of Obama's economists )

That's an interesting list. A whole heap of Bill Clinton's team; a pinch of University of Chicago (albiet liberal UC); and Bernstein and Galbraith (who are much more clearly to the left)...

Objectively McCain is more experienced, has a greater knowledge of foreign affairs

you mean apart from the bomb bomb bomb Iran stuff and the shoot from hip "We are all Georgians" stuff which had a lot of slightly more worldwise folks in DC, Europe and beyond grimacing. Oh, and the…

I am arguing that questions of the McCain campaign should be couched in references to the economy.

Well, sure – and I think it's entirely fair to point to the fact-based record of the "maverick" Senator and the "reformer" Governor, and then say "This is what they did, and they're…

And Angus, just as a thought experience, can you share with this conservative exactly what the positives of McCain-Palin are — apart from he was tortured four decades ago, and Sarah Palin has a vagina and a disabled infant.

Craig,

I weight any assessment 90%McCain/10%Palin, because he is running for…

Anything that can be framed as a long standing screw up favours Obama. His negative inexperience becomes positive freshness if it can be seen that McCain has spent his long Senate career helping to create the conditions for this recession.

I was thinking about this this morning. The scale of…

But, once more, I don't really get your point — because as far as I can see, you're arguing that McCain and Palin (who is back in media lockdown) shouldn't actually be subjected to any questions at all. Really smart strategy. Not.

I am arguing that questions of the McCain…

And I'm not keen to test the patience of the solicitor general by further discussing that.

Zipping it starting... now.

Does the McCain-Palin campaign have any economic policy? Any plan on…

I'm aware of that, and I see the merit in insulating the police and prosecutors from the crime of slander when they happen to get it wrong. But, as I say, it pays to be right.

Sure, but the only way of discussing how wrong or right the police were…

But you seem to be arguing for a position where police can't search for evidence unless they already have enough to convict, which seems a little arse-backwards to me.

Perhaps. But if you go in all guns ablazing like that you'd better be pretty sure you're going to secure a…

I'm aware of that, and I see the merit in insulating the police and prosecutors from the crime of slander when they happen to get it wrong.

But you seem to be arguing for a position where police can't search for evidence unless they already have enough to convict, which…

It's called legal process.

I'm aware of that, and I see the merit in insulating the police and prosecutors from the crime of slander when they happen to get it wrong. But, as I say, it pays to be right. I lived in a country that had anti-terrorism laws (and…

Yes – Obama is subject to substantial negatives in experience, foreign affairs, religious affiliation, cross party cooperation as a result of his long examination in the press.

So, we can concede that James has, yet again, reversed the usual flow of greenhouse gases in the human male.

But, once more,…

Could somebody explain to me very slowly how seeking evidence against somebody under the Terrorism Suppression Act does not tar that person with the suspicion of being a terrorist?

The police had cause to believe there were potential offices under the Terrorism Suppression Act and the Arms Act. In order…

If the police thought that the people were conducting activites that could be considered to be domestic terrorism, it's not a far stretch to put that law down on the warrant.

It pays to be right, though, no?

Sorry, but anyone who wants to seriously claim that Obama hasn't been subject to any scrutiny since he entered the Democratic Primaries last February is either delusional or just lying. (You may want to choose your own description.)

Craig,

Yes – Obama is subject to substantial negatives in experience, foreign…

Could somebody explain to me very slowly how seeking evidence against somebody under the Terrorism Suppression Act does not tar that person with the suspicion of being a terrorist?

And seeking evidence under the misuse of drugs act tars them as a drug user, and a police car pulling someone…

I think you'll find that the police didn't "slander" anyone as a terrorist, and in fact carefully avoided using the term. They were obliged to advise people that warrants had been issued in relation to potential offences under the Terrorism Suppression Act and the Arms Act.

I'm sure that you…

Cool. What do peace activists use them for?

To silence guns. Could somebody explain to me very slowly how seeking evidence against somebody under the Terrorism Suppression Act does not tar that person with the suspicion of being a terrorist?

Cool. What do peace activists use them for?

Active pacification of moose?

By the way hunters in NZ use silencers on rifles to avoid scaring the other targets eg rabbits.

Cool. What do peace activists use them for?

He does use the "out of wedlock" phrase occasionally on the stump (discussing abortion rights), but I really can't see where he's bashed Palin with it, anywhere.

And you won't find me claiming he did, anywhere. But when I read that phrase in The Audacity of Hope, I confess thought…

So I guess Ike didn't blow out the cobwebs from between your ears? Sorry, but anyone who wants to seriously claim that Obama hasn't been subject to any scrutiny since he entered the Democratic Primaries last February is either delusional or just lying. (You may want to choose…

Well we can only hope that Fiorina ruins McCain like she ruined HP...

Well, Fiornia sure is turning out to be the gaffe that keeps on giving:

HOST: "Do you think [Palin] has the experience to run a major company like Hewlett Packard?"

FIORINA: "No, I don't. But that's not…

yes, I would say, sexist, in the sense that just because Sarah Palin has different views than Hillary Clinton does not mean that she lacks substance.

Ummmmm, what? How in gods name is that sexist? Comparing two people of the same__ gender and finding one lacking in substance is sexist?…

I think you'll find that the police didn't "slander" anyone as a terrorist, and in fact carefully avoided using the term. They were obliged to advise people that warrants had been issued in relation to potential offences under the Terrorism Suppression Act and the Arms Act.

Yeah, can someone clear…

Not for the first time, I don't think we're really that far apart, as opposed to coming to the same point from (slightly) different directions.

I think we both agree that:
1) FakeBabyMamaGate was as vile as it was bizarre.

2) Bristol Palin's uterus is not standing for public…

Uh, not that I'm doubting you, but you got a link for that railing?

Okay, perhaps "railing was excessive"... I'll continue my struggle towards a more perfect English. But he does talk about it a lot, that's how he frames the problem – rather than referring to solo parenthood. A…

However: the one who is actually railing against "conception out of wedlock" (bizarrely worked, and would include all of my children) is Obama,

Uh, not that I'm doubting you, but you got a link for that railing?

OTOH, what I'm definitely not OK with is a police force that rounds up all the local dissidents and slanders them all as terrorists when it's just done an extensive investigation proving they're nothing of the sort; what with us not having any actual terrorism at all, other than…

Other than suggesting she wasn't Sarah's daughter

Um, Trig Palin is her youngest son.

Quite, I keep getting the gender mixed up. It must be because trigonometry (which is, I assume, where they got the idea from) is feminine in Italian. :-)

like, as I said at the time, whether…

By now, I suspect most of you have seen the opening skit from "Saturday Night Live," which featured a joint press conference hosted by Sarah Palin (played perfectly by Tina Fey) and Hillary Clinton (Amy Poehler). If…

Other than suggesting she wasn't Sarah's daughter

Um, Trig Palin is her youngest son.

questioning the wisdom of Sarah's birthing choices?

Well, perhaps Palin would like to STFU about her opposition to abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. I'm in that mushy middle that finds abortion deeply troubling,…

And Craig transitions to emo status.

*yawn* I'll give you credit for getting some new material, Sage. The rather tacky Mallard-lite cat-calls of "take your pills" were getting tired.

It had to do with her personal beliefs. Not everybody is making all their decisions based on how it will look…

the problem in the US is not tax cuts, but spending increases...both parties are truly fucked on this issue...and Americans living outside their means and greedy corp lenders that loaned money to people for houses…

Economy? Ha. Hope you're all working on getting those veggie gardens in. Beans go alright this time of year, as do some varieties of carrot and a few other bits and bobs.

best advice ever.
and Kyle: on yer bike, too.

I'm down the with Sullivan-Ranapia doctrine. Could these people get over their culture war and their novelty VP candidate and **start acting…

I'm down the with Sullivan-Ranapia doctrine. Could these people get over their culture war and their novelty VP candidate and start acting like old-fashioned conservatives? Their chump champions have been wandering in the wilderness for eight years and the world is a bit scared.

That'd be great. But then they'd…

her decision to bear a child she knew would be severely disabled — as a way to burnish her anti-abortion credentials in a way Obama hasn't.

And Craig transitions to emo status.

Seriously read that back to yourself Craig. The woman kept her first out of wedlock child and became…

When self-styled radicals start acquiring silencers for their rifles, I start to get more relaxed about them being under surveillance. I mean, seriously, are you okay with that?

I'm OK with all sorts. Marijuana, guns, fast cars, bikes without helmets, boys spending a few days in the bush talking shit.…

When the default global currency becomes worthless, there could be some flow-on effects even in far-off NZ. IMHO, of course.

Stephen, your post was chilling. I'm a rank amateur and was wondering whether the kind of avarice and corruption that caused the problem can also potentially fix it? Y'now, smoke…

Politicians with 40 years experience get burned by getting involved with the media. Your 1, 5, 10 year old kid? You get photos of them with their parents and…

You can't have it both ways.

What I'm trying (badly) to say is that you can, it's a convention of the political presidential genre. Families are useful props and at the same time strictly off-limits. Obama is following that very same script, and wasn't above parading his daughters at the…

But leave her family alone; she's using them to construct the narrative of who she is,

I'm on record here as saying how appalled I was by the Trig episode. But, sorry, I also find the public expression, by Palin, of a desire for privacy for her family and then…

Who the hell has been "going after" Trig Palin?

Other than suggesting she wasn't Sarah's daughter, and in more or less the same breath (which was quite an achievement) questioning the wisdom of Sarah's birthing choices? And it wasn't a lunatic fringe, you know, we talked about it here.

If…

so if they kill the US$, it's sort of like murder-suicide.

yes and no, they are also cushioned by a vast internal market which consumes in an increasingly middle class manner. 1.2 billion people buy a fair amount of almost anything. What they lose is the cream, which has given…

Wait a minute: Obama did that too. Would you be okay if somebody went after the girls?

Who the hell has been "going after" Trig Palin? If anything, Palin has been quite happy to use what (in my view) isn't anyone's damn business but her own — her decision to…

As for the Chinese, when they stop buying US$ debt, the whole system really is toast. and they know it. so if they kill the US$, it's sort of like murder-suicide. alas, it looks like they are running out of time to solve this insoluble catch-22.

If McCain & Palin pull…

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080915/ap_on_bi_ge/lehman_brothers_bankruptcy

Lehman said that as of May 31, it had assets of $639 billion and debt of $613 billion.

i just found it funny (???) that the total (book value) "assets" of Lehman is so similar to the amount…

Sorry, but if you really think your children aren't a matter of public interest don't use your disabled infant son as set decoration for you televised primetime acceptance speech.

Wait a minute: Obama did that too. Would you be okay if somebody went after the girls?

Sarah Palin's children is what the public are interested in

Because Sarah Palin and John McCain put them there. Sorry, but if you really think your children aren't a matter of public interest don't use your disabled infant son as set decoration for you televised primetime acceptance speech.

Just for a taste of how corrupt the US financial "system" is, take a look at this take on AIG's attempt to save itself by stealing US$20b from its own subsidiaries. All with the proper approval from the "regulators"

Understanding this is a learning curve for many of us, me…

Let's just say that this is not just an American problem. When the default global currency becomes worthless, there could be some flow-on effects even in far-off NZ. IMHO, of course.

Of course, but there is that two trillion dollars that China has in the bank. That'll surely provide them…